Drawn In

ACTION!: Today's drawing lesson, delivered via author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka on his YouTube channel, was about how to use motion lines effectively in illustrations.


I am really impressed with how CJ is embracing these lessons, and his attitude and work are paying off. Here are some of his drawings from today.

 They definitely evoke movement, and his humanoid figures are really improving!

Annabelle, who draws for hours each day, was up to the task.

JJK had a guest illustrator on the program today, Mike Curato. His debut title was "Little Elliot Big City." Elliott is an elephant, so viewers were encouraged to try their hand at drawing a pair of elephants. 

 Cute stuff.

Speaking of art-ing, we signed Annabelle up for a whole bunch of online art classes thanks to a local school, Gage Academy of Art, graciously offering up free lessons. They're calling the series #ArtToGo. 

The classes will be conducted via Zoom, and here's how they describe the program: "Art to Go is a free community art series presented by Gage 360! As a public service to the community, we have developed twice-weekly classes that are FREE to anyone interested in learning about art! This new program will provide free art tutorials, demos and lectures from our most esteemed Gage artist instructors." 

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: One of the things we're trying to do is get back to making music on a daily basis. And by 'we' I mean CJ and Annabelle, playing guitar.

Today, they worked on an over-wrought song, "Bring Me to Life." We found a decent YouTube tutorial (video below) and some guitar tabs on Songsterr 
https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/evanescence-bring-me-to-life-tab-s6728t1

Maybe if they practice it for a week of so, we can actually make a video and post it. Stay tuned. 

I'LL JUST LEAVE THIS HERE: While I was hanging out in the basement for a couple of weeks, I kept seeing an ad on TV featuring me. 

Yes, really. 

It was an ad for an NBC News podcast with host Trymaine Lee. The ad had a voiceover of a woman talking about voting in November. The image on the screen is a blue ballot bag. When I first saw it, I thought, "Hey, that looks just like the one we used at King County Elections!"

About the third time I saw the ad, I thought, "Gee, those pictures on the wall in the background look just the the ones where I worked."

By the fourth time, I spotted myself (in olive green in the background), assisting a woman in a printed skirt.

It was surreal, sitting in the basement seeing that over and over while sewing masks to help combat a virus I almost certainly caught while performing the work in the photo. Here's a link to the podcast the ad

Making and Baking

DESTRUCTO MODE: With seemingly every building project, at least a little destruction is a part of it. Today, the kids and I gave some shrubs a bad haircut. The tops of them had to go to make way for the new storage area's floor.

Yesterday afternoon, Christian hung the ledger board up against the existing exterior west wall of the house. Today, we muscled the the joists and sub- sub-floor into place. (The joists extend beyond the sub- subfloor because there will be a little walkway around the shed to allow a meter reader access to our meter.

Tomorrow, it's posts in concrete time. Then Saturday or Sunday we'll set the beam. 

OUT OF THIS WORLD: You may or may not recall back in January or so, our blog mentioning the first cookies baked in space. They were baked aboard the International Space Station in a special convection oven. The goal of the experiment was to study cooking options for long-haul trips. 

Sadly, the ISS inhabitants didn't even get to taste those cookies since they were a test. Instead, the cookies were sealed in individual baggies and sent back down to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on January. (As a consolation, astronauts aboard the ISS were able to enjoy special pre-baked DoubleTree chocolate-chip cookies that were sent up to the ISS on Nov. 2, 2019.) 

Astronaut Christina Koch checks out the first cookie (or any food item) to be baked in space  (Image credit: NASA)

I can't help but wonder what it smelled like when the cookies were baking up there. According to a Space.com article, "In space, even without gravity, smells travel via individual aroma molecules. In the microgravity environment aboard the space station, these molecules travel in whatever direction they are moved. (On Earth, the aroma molecules move in all directions due to random collisions with air molecules.)" 

A closeup of one of the first space cookies - Image credit: NASA

Anyway, when we learned we could order some of the space cookies, we sent a couple of tins to some Earthbound folks. Granted, these were not the actual cookies baked in space. Rather, they were the same recipe that was used up there - dough from the DoubleTree Hotel chain. 

One of the recipients of the cookies (hi Nonnie!) said they were so good, she looked on the Internet for the recipe and when she baked them, they were the best chocolate chip cookies she'd ever made.

Ever since then, we've been meaning to make some. What better time than when you're stuck home thanks to a worldwide pandemic!

Last night, CJ, Annabelle and I mixed up the dough at about 9 p.m. The recipe calls for refrigerating the dough for at least four hours or overnight, so that's what we did ... except for two little balls, which we baked in the toaster oven for the kids' dessert.  

On Earth, the recipe calls for 13-16 minutes in a standard oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The astronauts baked the first four cookies at 300 F and the fifth cookie at 325 F (165 C). The first cookie they baked was underdone at 25 minutes. They cooked the second one three times longer, and it was at the 75 minute mark that they could start to smell the cookie baking. 


The fourth and fifth cookies baked for 120 and 130 minutes, respectively, and they were then left to cool outside the oven for 25 and 10 minutes, respectively. 

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait nearly that long. This was our test cookie, which baked about 14 minutes. Doesn't it look divine?

The kids report they are, indeed, delicious. This morning we baked the rest of the batch. 

The recipe is definitely a keeper. I'm looking forward to making these for an upcoming Teen Feed, that's for sure.

If you're interested, here's a link to a short video about the project: https://www.space.com/first-space-cookies-final-baking-results-aroma.html?jwsource=cl

You can learn more about the baking experiment and the technology behind the oven by visiting www.cookiesinspace.com and www.newsroom.hilton.com/cookiesinspace.

I should point out that baking these cookies was a legit educational endeavor, as the kids read up about the experiment on the ISS. In addition, we checked out the curriculum DoubleTree by Hiltonand Scholastic partnered to develop related to a "hospitality in space" program, "Opening Doors in Space." It includes a  lesson and activity sheet, focuses on better understanding the challenges of living and working in space, and encourages students to think creatively about what innovations need to occur to ensure long-duration space travel is comfortable and hospitable. 

I had the kids each fill out a worksheet from the lesson plan. They had to pitch an idea they thought would help make space tourists more comfortable at on off-planet hotel.

Annabelle proposed an easy-access system.

Meanwhile, CJ had food on his mind, and figured visitors would want a way to cook up a snack.

SPEAKING OF SPACE: One of our favorite astronauts has some advice about how to spend our time sheltering in place and trying to ride out the big first wave of COVID-19 infections.

Here's one of his suggestions from his interview with Euronews:

"Build your own little spaceship in your house, your own little crew of people, and treat them as members of your crew. All of them are trying to get through this thing together. And that's what we do on board."

Seems like sound advice. I also appreciate what Col. Hadfield has to say about trying to deal with the threat posed by the virus:


"Dig into the actual risk of it. Become expert on what it is about COVID that you need to know. What causes it, how might you catch it, how might you minimize your own chances, what are the symptoms, if you start to get the symptoms what should you do? So that you actually have a way to react — you're not just crossing your fingers and hoping. That's not how astronauts fly spaceships."

You can watch the full interview here. ...
https://www.euronews.com/embed/1064048

Starting Something

SOW WHAT?: Today we finally started our garden. We should have done this a couple of weeks ago, but I was in the midst of a COVID-19 quarantine, so, sorry. The garden's a little behind.

Annabelle, CJ and I filled little coconut husk pots with starter soil and then planted three kinds of tomatoes and some eggplants. We've never attempted eggplants before, but decided to give them a go after researching what home grown veggies give you the best bang for your buck.

We also have come summer squash, spaghetti squash, green bean, and cucumber seeds to sow, but those will go in the ground likely in late April or early May.

In other vegetable news, we made another round of sauerkraut today. This is our second batch. The first one turned out soooo gooood! It's nice and crunchy and you can really taste the caraway and mustard seed, and it has just the right amount of salt. Hopefully Round 2 is similarly tasty.

BELL RINGERS: On Tuesday, the big excitement for the day was a Taco Bell giveaway. (Hey, our options are limited right now, being mostly house bound and in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.)

In an attempt to be a bright spot amidst the COVID-19 blues, Taco Bell was offering free Dorito Locos tacos on March 31. The kids and I made a midday say-hi (from a distance) and supply run to Mukilteo, so we hit a Taco Bell there are scored three free tacos (I brought 'mine' home to Christian.)

Later this afternoon, we had a Safeway grocery order to pick up, and there just happened to be a Taco Bell half a block away, so we made another 'run for the border' as their past marketing campaign used to say. There were four of us in the car for that trip, so in all, we got seven free tacos in all. That made CJ mucho happy. 

The dining rooms of the Taco Bells were closed, so it was a drive-through only endeavor. We wore masks and gloves, of course. 

MASKED: It looks like the CDC is about ready (finally!) to tell everyone they should be wearing a mask. In my research, when it comes to homemade masks, t-shirt material is one of the better options. Here's a short and simple hack to make a mask out of an old t-shirt. 

Sloth-Like

WINNING WAY:  One of the things Annabelle did last week was participate in a coloring contest hosted by Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward. Henry's murals are found all over the greater Seattle area, including a couple where the kids used to go to school.

Henry made a multi-paged PDF coloring book available for free, and people were encouraged to pick one image, color it using any media they chose, and submit it by midnight, Sunday, March 29. 

After flipping through the many pages, Annabelle zeroed in on a sloth holding a trio of crystals and chose that as her page. She used her Prismacolor colored pencils for the sloth, and watercolors for the background. 

I thought she did a terrific job blending the colors of the sloth's coat, and shading the critter and the crystals. I loved how his eyes were different colors. 

Monday night, while watching the jaw-droppingly entertaining "Tiger King," I was scrolling through my email and saw one from Henry announcing the winners. I read one winner was a 15 year old named Annabelle, and thought it most certainly had to be our Annabelle. I hopped onto Henry's Facebook page and watched the video of him sharing the winners, and sure enough, her sloth was there. Neat-o!

If you're on Facebook, you can watch a video of the announcement of the winners here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=205112994126589

As a prize, Annabelle will receive a Henry poster. I think the biggest prize though is a nice new accolade to list on her future resumes and another impressive page for her portfolio. 

CAT FEVER: One thing that is entertaining millions of people during this pandemic is the Netflix series "Tiger King." We binge watched it over three nights. I'm sorry it's over. (Actually, I'm sure it's *not* over. It's so phenomenally popular, there just has to be a sequel.)

CJ will tell you a bit more about it.

Attracting hype as being quarantine's Netflix sensation, the seven-part documentary Tiger King chronicles the decades-long drama surrounding competing Tiger zoos in the southern United States. The two main competitors documented are Joe Exotic, a lion breeder and musician from Oklahoma, and Carole Baskin, another lion breeder and PETA affiliate from Florida. Throughout all seven episodes of the documentary, viewers learn about the start of the conflict, competitions for attention, visitors, and funding, over-the-top threats and acts of violence. and a general sense of tension and chaos. 

Unfortunately, it's difficult to talk about the details of the documentary without really spoiling it. However, there are three things I can safely say: Each episode is crazier than the last. You will never look at or think about tigers the same way again, and most of the interviewees are terrible people. 

It's just an utterly fascinating watch, and I highly recommend it.

PROMPTLY:  On Monday afternoon, Annabelle had her first online writing workshop. It's offered by Clarion West, a non-profit literary organization.

The description for her Monday class was as follows: "These weekly sessions are for writers who want to build a regular writing practice or find creative inspiration for generating new stories. Each session you’ll get a set of writing prompts based on The Picture Game. The first exercise we’ll do together and share the results (IF you want to). The rest are yours to do between sessions. All the exercises are designed to allow you to play around with craft and character and setting while planting story seeds in your brain. Even if you already have stories or novels in progress, you can use these exercises to kick your brain into creative gear without pressure and get into the habit of practicing regularly. In partnership with Writing the Other."

This picture was one of the prompts for the group. Below it is what Annabelle wrote in response. She says writers were encouraged to focus on using two senses, but not sight.

The rain hits my skin in a pitter-patter rhythm. One-two, one-two, one-two, on and on. The muttering of the people and the distant buzz of traffic provides a complex bass line, murmuring underneath the sounds of the city in my ears. My hair, clothes, and shoes are all soaked – I don’t mind, I remind myself, stepping out into the street. My feet splash against the puddles beneath me, tossing chilled rainwater up onto my legs as I walk backwards into the soothing drip-drop, pitter-patter, plink-plink feeling of the weather surrounding me. I pay no mind to the way the people around me hiss under their breath, scoff as I stumble backwards in a teetering dance of pure emotion. The footsteps of folks running underneath business awnings, opening umbrellas, swearing at their lack of jacket, fills the symphony with a entropic, chaotic swing of improvised lyrical accompaniment, each voice lending itself to the bigger picture. I tilt my head to the sky, allowing that same rain to hit my closed eyelashes and drip down the sides of my cheeks. The song of the city is beautiful, if you truly understand how to appreciate it.

Unmasked

SELF PORTRAITS: The kids worked through another Draw Every Day with JJK" session this morning. One part was called Spooky + Sketchy.

It included drawing a self portrait while wearing a mask.

That was good for some comic relief. Here are their finished drawings.

Speaking of comics, CJ drew this while watching the video. Annabelle says it represents something JJK shared on the screen. The overall theme for the day was "Panels."

Here's the session if you want to play along. 


MAS MASKS: I continue to sew masks.

I'm done with Seahawks and Mariners masks for awhile. I've moved on to some fun prints, including bees (inspired by Bee), some dogs (inspired by canine-loving CJ) and Star Wars (a favorite of yours truly).

CJ helped make his own mask today.

DIY: What are you going to do when you're stuck home indefinitely?

You're going to build things. And by 'you' I mean we.

We're going to build a little pop out pantry on the west side of our kitchen. That space will make up for the storage space we're going to lose when we knock down most of the wall between our kitchen and the living room (righting a nearly 60-year wrong). 

You can expect a few more construction photos in the weeks to come.