Sophie is obsessed with the Count.

Every morning, when we sit on the futon in my studio and watch Sesame Street, Sophie waits with bated breath for the appearance of the Count. When she hears the first few notes of his theme music, she starts to hyperventilate and has to half-hide under the quilt. She talks like the Count, she loves numbers, and she pretends she's the Countess almost every day. Peter and Angela now think you're supposed to yell "Ah ah ah!" after every number, and don't even get me started on what they all do during a thunderstorm.



My brother saw this hero-worship in person when we were all watching a Christmas special at my parents' house and the Count made a surprise appearance. Sophie immediately laid prostrate on the floor and covered her eyes - she wanted to look at him, but she couldn't bear it. My brother couldn't believe it.

"She can't even look at him!"

"Well, that's because she loves him so much."

"I swear to God, it's just like a teenager seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show!" he marveled. He grabbed the remote and rewound it so we could watch her grovel again.

We even made her a Count poster to put stickers on when she uses the potty:



I've had these images for quite a while, but it was Dooce's sidesplitting commentary that made me finally post them... thank you, my little Sachertorte!

"The tiny seed inside split open and began to sprout and grow." A page from an unfinished story I've been working on.

I have a necklace I wear almost every day. It's not impressive looking at all. It's a tiny globe of glass, and inside is a mustard seed. The story of the mustard seed is one of faith; you're not required to have the hugest, most impressive, earth shaking faith. All you need is to begin with something small - faith the size of a mustard seed. And in case you didn't know, from this tiny seed grows a huge, flowering plant.

I try to keep that in mind for everything; I don't have to have huge ideas, enormous inspirations, the biggest and best plan. All I need to do is start with a small seed of thought and let it grow and flower from there.

"If you have faith no bigger even than a mustard seed ...nothing will prove impossible to you" —Matthew 17:20 and 24.

Apparently Target is having a 2 day sale after Thanksgiving, and you can register on the site to have Kermit give you a wakeup call! My shopping is 99% done (#22), but we're having Kermit call us anyway!

You can see the commercials here (the banjo one is my favorite - "My grandmother plays faster than that!")

And see Kermit singing a lullaby here.

Back in June when I first posted this painting (in the middle of The Artist's Way. ), I asked you what you thought it meant. Now I'll tell you what I think it means. ;)

The red bird is the girl's heart. It's got a safe and comfortable place to be, a place that's got green leaves on it that are starting to grow. The blue bird is singing to the red bird that it's okay to come out, to fly, to try new things and new adventures. It will always be able to return to that safe place, but it has to take a chance.

The girl? I think she's a little ambivalent. She's nurturing towards the red bird - she's almost cradling it and trying to shield it, but at the same time, she's holding the blue bird right up close so they can talk to each other. I think she knows it's time for a change and is hoping the red bird will make the right decision and fly away, free.

...when I deal with the boy who needs to wear pajamas backwards to bed, because if he doesn't, he'll take off his diaper and decorate the crib, the walls and himself with the contents. Trust me, it's not pretty.








...to be patient with the girl whose latest trick is emptying her milk into her tray and seeing how high it can go when she smacks it. And more strength to be patient for the way she laughs in my face when I yell not to do that.


















...when Sophie treats the church to a rousing rendition of 'The Muppet Show' theme as she marches up the aisle after church.

Thank you for giving me: a sense of humor, wisdom to learn from my bazillion mistakes, and for such nutty children. If they were normal, I wouldn't know what to do with them.

A little painting I did when Sophie was teeny.

Nighttime is a wonderful time of the day for me. It's when all the babies are in bed at last, and I have a few hours for myself. After a full day of cooking, art directing, chasing the kids around the yard, reading/singing/dancing, baths, and prayers, I savor having time to create and make my own messes. (Currently, I'm making sock monkeys for the babies, and writing Christmas cards - I plan to mail them out super-early, like last year.) And some nights, I actually just go to sleep. ;)

ps ~ Get cards (and prints) for yourself, here.

Whilst channel-hopping last night, annoyed that ANTM was a recap, I stumbled upon Trading Spouses. An over-the-top Christian mom switched places with a new-agey mom (with hair uncannily like mine). It looked like there was a fight a-coming, and of course with the magic of editing and creepy music they can infer all sorts of tension. But what really got me upset and was so not faked was this; the new-age mom meeting the other mom's best friends for the first time. It went something like this:

Friend: So, what do you believe? What are you?

New Age Mom: (Completely taken aback) Well, I was raised Catholic, but now I'm Unitarian.

F: Oh... so what does THAT mean?

NAM: Well, we're all one, you know...

F: Oh, so do you believe in God or some (does quote thingy with her fingers) "Higher Power"? (smirk)

NAM: I believe in God, if that's what you're asking. (Thinking, hello, I just met you!)

F: But would you call yourself a Christian? .... No? Oh, I see. (Turns her back on NAM, goes to kitchen and greets other friends loudly.)

I had to turn this garbage off, I was so annoyed. Not only am I thinking, this is a crappy way to treat anyone, but it's especially rotten if you call yourself a Christian. I pictured Jesus sitting in His armchair throwing the remote down in disgust and going, "No! You guys keep getting this wrong!"

Go on, see the rest of them. You know you want to.

One of the main concepts of The Artist's Way is that work doesn't come from you, it comes from the Creator and you're just the conduit. I really have absolutely no problem accepting this concept - I mean, look at the simple joyous abundance there is in all of nature! There's not just one kind of flower, or animal, or fish, there are a bazillion of them. God is supremely creative, and the concept of me as God's vessel makes perfect sense to me.

Now... giving up the control and letting God work through me - that's something I need a heap of work on. Lord knows, I'm trying.

This movie makes me want to grab my camcorder, my puppets, and my brother and go to the playground and make a video. I love this.

I'm thrilled to announce a brand new special on my holiday cards:
Choose 5 card sets and get an 8" x 10" print FREE!

Whether you're looking for something deep and thought-provoking, or artwork to just plain make you laugh, this special's for you! These two paintings are the ones I've gotten the most mail about: the thoughtful girl with a tree and two birds; and the one we like to just call "Fishies." Choose any combination of 5 card sets to send out and pick a print for yourself! Each print measures 8" x 10" and is printed on glossy stock with quality inks. Just let me know which print you want in the field marked "Additional Information."

All cards are professionally printed on glossy stock in full, luscious color. And each card shows one of my original watercolor and colored pencil paintings. Or if you just can't decide which to choose, there's an assorted multi-pack so you can have a little of everything.

Go see the cards, read the stories behind them, and check out those prints right here at the French Toast Girl Shop.

Nothing says "cold" like a naked figure playing piano in the snow.

This is the new CD cover for the Winter Recordings at Paul's studio. Little did I know years ago when I did the first cover that it would become the Summer Recordings and we'd need another one. Trying to figure out a companion cover that was seasonal, but not pertaining to any religious holiday; that had plenty of room for text (the student's name, date, etc.); that featured a figure suitably ambiguous that it would be appropriate for any of his students (ranging from kindergarteners to retirees); and that was in the exact same style as I painted several years ago - well, it was a heck of a challenge, to say the least.

I like seeing the covers side by side...



And you can listen to the music that goes on the CDs here - Paul encourages his students to write their own pieces as well; go to this page and click "Brighter Days" to hear an original composition... wish I could have written something like that when I was 14!

I posted it, finally! See the 34 things I'm working on between now and August 15.

Do you have a "big" list? What's on it?

Doodles from my lost evening. Too tired to do anything but sketch and watch TV - I tried to capture as many faces from the screen as I could.

Someone out there didn't want me to be creative last night.

After a harrowing day (which comes after a harrowing week), I try to take advantage of the kids all being in bed to do some art. I'm going to save time because I have a great pic already done for this week's Illustration Friday; all I have to do is scan it. Except all my watercolour sketchbooks are on the shelf, except this one. I look again. Can't find it, anywhere.

In my house-wide search (so much for time-saving!) I take a second to check my email and get a note about my art that really, really bothered me. (not a critique; I may write more about it later.) While I'm upset from reading this, I hear Sophie getting louder and louder and louder. So I abandon my search, go put on the mantle of mom (did I ever take it off?) and go see what's up.

Sophie has somehow leaked a full sippy cup of water into her crib. Which means a full change of sheets and pajamas in the dark, because the lightbulb burned out on her dresser lamp. She thought this was hilarious; I'm glad one of us did. Oh, and I should mention that she's lucky there was a clean sheet since Peter's latest trick is taking off his clothes during his naptime and peeing on them.

I spent the rest of the evening moodily eating potato chips and watching Leonardo's Dream Machines (engineers use daVinci's sketches and build and test his creations - fascinating!). But creativity-wise, I'm shot.

So please, cheer me up, inspire me, tell me a joke... I need some serious recharging of batteries here.

RUN to your post office and get them while they're here - the lady behind the counter was impressed that I knew about them so early. I said, "Are you kidding, I've been waiting for these for months!" Anyway, she thinks they'll sell out soon, so if you want them, go get 'em... we got 4 sets and I'm thinking of ordering more. :)

And of course, the quote says:

"When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for my having been there."

ps ~ the pic of Jim with Kermit, is retouched as far as I know... the original photo I've always seen in that pose, he's holding Bert.

pps ~ Sophie was able to correctly identify everyone on the stamps (exept Statler and Waldorf, she knew who they were but not their names) including Jim Henson. Clearly, we're bringing that child up right....

So after a gazillion false starts, all of something totally different, I let my mind wander and this is what happened.

This is a work in progress. With a tip o' the hat to Anonymous, I invite serious feedback this week. Constructive criticism, please. Should I watercolor it? Paint a version as big as me? Only do the top half? Leave it alone? What? I have been toying with doing something with layers of acetate and tracing paper, but I really have no idea. Make me think.

ps ~ If you hate it, that's fine. I'm a big girl. You can tell me.

category | Illustration Friday

Taken from one of Paul's childhood Richard Scarry books - now one of Sophie's favorites.

Does anyone else find this disturbing?

Closeup, in case you missed it the first time:

She's feeding her family BACON!

Our version is from 1968... the book is abridged now, and what's been cut? Hmmmm...

(from an Amazon.com review:) They removed 4 stories from the original: busy (stay at home) mom, water treatment plants, electricity and how we get it, and Sgt. Murphy the Busytown policeman.

Wonder why? Some reviewers complain that the women's roles are sexist. But we know the real truth:


Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacon!

Congratulations! Kendra Drury Vanasse is the new proud owner of a french toast girl original painting! Thanks to Kendra, a generous donation will be made to the Mercy Corps Hurricane Katrina Fund.

I kind of like the idea of sending out this painting and giving it a new home - maybe I'll get to the point where it doesn't take a disaster for me to part with a piece of my art and I could (gasp!) actually sell originals and let them fly free.

Check out this article about a giant knitted pink bunny. [via Loobylu]

"An enormous pink bunny has been erected on an Italian mountainside where it will stay for the next 20 years."

My first thought was, how cool! But then after sending it around, too many questions came up, like, how many mice are going to be living in this thing in 20 years? What kind of rot is going to set in? My boss thinks its all an elaborate photoshop hoax, and no matter how much I really want to believe that it was "knitted by dozens of grannies out of pink wool", I still find it hard to swallow.

This can't possibly be real.... can it?

ps ~ More Big Bunny (of the demented sort) here. Make sure you listen to the theme song.