Junk spaceship model

I got the kids involved in building models out of junk with me one weekend. 

Here's the model I worked on myself...first a few finished shots...

Kinda reminds me of a Matrix vehicle. 

Here are some pre-paint shots...

Hot glue, plastic bits, a container from the recycling bin, and spray paint. This one turned out pretty nice after painting...but it looks much better in person than in my photos. Flash highlights all the imperfections.

What I learned from this project was that it's useful to mount your base piece (in this case, a lemon juice container) on some kind of stand to start with, and that hot glue leaves lots of spiderweb-like strands that are super annoying.

This project was quick and satisfying. It's kind of impressionistic and didn't require any planning. Now, if you wanted clean joints and precise details, then you'd have to work in a much more precise way.

Chloe's banana hobby is out of control

Clearly.
This is not her Halloween costume, by the by. No, she wants to be a table for Halloween.
She started collecting bananas on our Germany trip. Below is her version of cannibalism.

She purchased this costume with her own money at Goodwill.

Lou the clown

This is a character I've been drawing for some years now, in whiteboard form.

Chile Rellenos

Chile rellenos are something I've enjoyed but considered too complicated to make at home. But I've been  buying chiles lately, and after family friend Marie showed me how to roast them, I found myself with roasted chiles and some taco-seasoned ground beef handy. So I mixed the ground beef with grated cheese, stuffed it into the chiles, and dredged them in seasoned flour and eggwash, frying them in a small pan. I didn't try to deep fry them, just used a half inch of oil. It didn't take long, and they were delicious...and I didn't have to so much as crack a cookbook.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that my wife is a font of knowledge when it comes to cooking.
"Do I do the egg wash first or the flour?"
"Flour, egg wash, and then flour again."

Sadly, I couldn't convince my capsaicin-phobic family to try 'em, but they were delicious. I only wish I'd had some cooked chicken handy. Next time I'll try that for a filling.

Hiltercorns?

Yes, Hitlercorns. Warning, swearing unicorns.

Slowly increasing the wordcount

This month I decided to go from 500 words a day to 750 words a day. So far so good. It makes me stretch just a little. Maybe I'll go to 1k/day in December.

It sort of cuts down on the odd hobby stuff. I still do crafts and whatnot, but I can only do what I can do in addition to family and writing. I'm generally happy with that choice: at the least, I'm producing art every day. Seems like wordcount alone isn't enough: I have a tendency, I think, to drag out projects without a deadline. My current project always has something else wrong with it that needs to be fixed. But more writing certainly helps.

Chinese chess

I got this Chinese chess set for a dollar at a garage sale yesterday. I found some rules here.

Spiderman on Broadway

Look, I can't explain it. I just heard about it: Spiderman on Broadway.

Proof:

Writing and guilt

Here's one way to get yourself to write every day:
http://twitter.com/susanorlean/status/24414323004