Caffeinated Dispatches 002

I just want to start this newsletter off by saying:

“BEHOLD! CAST YOUR GAZE UPON MY SAD IRISES AND DESPAIR!”

They looked nicer when we moved in. Of course, that was before the bellflower/hellflowers took over flowerbeds.

Here is the before image that I had to post to Instagram and ask: Weed or Flowers?

The responses ranged from “pull the damn things” to “burn them! kill them with fire!” People are pretty passionate about their gardens.

I was able to fix the garage door, the kitchen cabinets, clean/repair the linen closet shelves and, by the time to read this, replace the remaining locks/doorknobs. The giant pile of dirt in the back yard is still a giant pile of dirt.

There are never enough hours in a day.

How are you this week?

Hot Wheels

The other day I had to run over to London Drugs to pick up my daughter’s repairs iPad (long irritating story), and found these. The price sign was wrong, so I ended up paying more for these than I’d care to admit (because I’m not going to argue with an underpaid cashier over the cost of toy cars).

I’m not a Hot Wheels collector, but these three really summed up my early childhood:

1. The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo.

2. The Batmobile from the 1960s Batman TV series.

3. The Landshark from Masters of the Universe.

The Landshark is ridiculous, just look at it!

I never had this toy as a child, but I knew it was one of Skeletor’s rides and was a shark on tank treads with guns on it! Like the original toy, the jaws open and close. I find these to be equally nostalgic and amusing. I’m really not a car guy, but it’s hard not to draw inspiration from these things.

At first I was going to keep these in the packaging and hang them on the wall above my drawing board, but it occurred to me that my son will be old enough to play with them in a couple of years, and if he is anything like his big sister, he will play with these until the tires fall off. It’s worth the sacrifice to keep your kids entertained while you try to get some work done.

Evergreen Comic Content

Here is a throwback to my comic journal from January. The youngest is still going through a sleep regression, makes up at 4:30am-6am and god help you if you are not there with a bottle in hand when he starts declaring that he is awake and everyone else should be as well.

Still posting from your phone?

Yes! They Substack has not revoked my beta access to this feature. I made a couple of suggestions, and it sounds liken they will be implemented as part of their planned release for everyone. I’m not sure when that will happen, but I’m delighted to hear it. My creativity has been all over the place this past week. I have several stories I want to tell, but I’m having trouble finding time to sit at the drawing table, or even writing in a journal. Being able to write posts like this from my phone at least gives me a creative outlet. Once we get a little more settled in I will be able to sit at my laptop and hopefully get a couple hours of writing in everyday. Until then, I can use this app and add to this draft whenever I have a few moments of downtime.

Prime Day Deals!

I really splurged this year. I got me some new doorknobs and deadbolts. Like to see the previous owners get in to this house now! I feel like this house has become my hobby now. Some people are constantly upgrading computers or cars. Not me! No, I only upgrade bungalows.

I also purchased a couple television wall mounts. After living in an apartment for the last two years, constantly bruising my shins and stubbing my toes on TV stands and other useless furniture that just gets in then way, I have decided I want to wall mount everything I can. I want these floors clear of all obstacles. Just wait for my home office renovation, that’ll be a good time!

That’s all for this edition. I will be back next week with some flash fiction and what I hope will be a newer comic.