I.F. Magnify

Please cover your mouth
whenever you sneeze.

You know not what lurks
within that breeze.

IF: drifting

SHEEP SLEEP (or Counting Peeps)

Sheila Sheepington-Fleecewater,
found it hard to sleep well.

So she sipped a bit of sweet water, 
while she counted people.

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The Illustration Friday theme lends itself to quite a few images this week. However, what immediately comes to my mind is the trouble “drifting” off to sleep insomnia often gives me, as my alter-ego Sheila demonstrates above. (Plus, I wanted another excuse to draw sheep shoes.)

contagious

 

I might not be the brightest kid

I know I’m not courageous

but that awful bird and swine thing,

is really quite contagious

I think I might have caught it,

so I need to ask some things.

Will my nose get long and piglike,

and my shoulders sprout out wings?

I guess I shouldn’t worry,

and make a big tadoo,

because all that would happen

the same day that swine flu.

WHEN SWINE FLU

I might not be the brightest kid,
I know I’m not courageous,
but that awful bird and swine thing,
is really quite contagious!

I think I might have caught it,
so I need to ask some things.
Will my nose become all piglike,
and my shoulders sprout out wings?

I guess I shouldn’t worry,
and make a big to-do,
because those things would happen,
the same day that “swine flu”.

– Linda Silvestri

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This week’s Illustration Friday prompt is (oddly (0;) “Contagious.”

theater

THE SINGER

She sings for the crowd,
and feels very proud
of a voice that can shatter glass.

But rather than cheers,
the crowd plugs their ears,
she sounds like she’s full of hot gas.

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The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Theater” and I had big plans for it. But as luck would have it, once again the tempest fugit-ed and… sigh… you know… another repost.

poise, thy name is Ignatz

ODE TO IGNATZ (Iggy)

With snowy white fur,
and a deafening purr,
her toes are like a pink pearl erasers.

My Ignatz is shy,
but you cannot deny,
she’s the great lizard hunter and chaser.

———————————————

This kitty-ballerina image came to mind a last year while staring at my kitty, Iggy’s feets. I studied admiringly, her pristeen white fur and pink toes, bringing to mind the white tights and pink shoes of a prima ballerina. That along with an almost preternatural grace she’s been known to exhibit, while padding, almost toe dancing across the fireplace mantle. She lithely slinks along this 3 inch wide path, past tons of chachkis and photos, with nary an item being knocked over.

The girl’s got mad grace-skills!

Of course, when I have to rescue a terrified, de-tailed lizard from under our bed, one of many she proudly trots into the house, the ballerina image dissipates rapidly. –Sigh.

Click to get better look at Iggy’s feets!

Hey! This might be my very first post to Illustration Friday… on Friday!!!! WeeEeeeEEE! Ok, ok, I know, it’s because this is a repost. But I think you’ll agree it’s a good fit for “Poise” and I did punch up the rhyme and reworded the whole thing a bit. That counts, right?

instinct

Fortunately for jazz lovers everywhere, Maynard (the hottest clarinet player this side of the pond), decided to ignore his animal instinct and follow instead, his bliss.

I’m very excited to announce that my Catpid won second place at the Anti-Valentines Day contest over at Dabbled! I waited until the last minute to enter but it paid off. 

If you get a chance hop on over to Dabbled and check it out. There’s always something fun going on over there.

climbing

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A little bit of a stretch, but that little dude had to have climbed up there to be hanging from the ceiling… right?

Alright, well, now that we got that cleared up, I’d like to say, yes, yes, I reposted yet again. I mean… is anyone else having a hard time getting back into the creative swing? Jeepers!

contained

Talk about containment, eh? Get it? Heh heh… sigh…

Once again I find myself in dire need of intense mojo resuscitation…
… and it’s not pretty! So, yes, I’m late to the party aaaaaand reposting yet again.

It happens.

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Also, I just wanted to take a moment to thank the wonderful, talented, beautiful Laurel of Studio Lolo, my buddy, for the fantasmigorical print she sent me ( I was lucky enough to win her giveaway last month!) I was able to pick which of her pieces I wanted and I chose “Raven’s Gift”, one of my favorites and as it turns out, one of hers as well!

I need to find just the perfect home for it on my wall!

If you haven’t yet you really need to stop by and see all the wonders
that are Studio Lolo!

RAVEN’S GIFT by Laurel Gaylord

resolve

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Diet and exercise. What it lacks in originality for a New Year’s Resolution it more than makes up for in shear volume. You’ll see what I mean on your next visit to the gym. Just try getting on a treadmill tonight. You might want to download your favorite TV show to watch on the ole iPod whilst you wait.

Oh, and a warm and sincere Happy New Year y’all!

repair

GRIM REEP-AIR

In times of vampires who ghoulishly scare,
of witches and pumpkins and monsters with hair,
It’s tough to come up with original fare,
so I reposted Frankie for this week’s “Repair.”

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For Illustration Friday’s word of the week, “Repair.”

sugary

He ate a great big breakfast
of sugar coated flakes,
with toast and berry jelly
and honey covered cakes.

He washed it down with soda pop
and wiped off all the crumbs.
He smiled up at the waitress,
but all she saw were gums.

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The Illustration Friday theme for this week is “Sugary.’

a runcible spoon?

So I was sitting around sketching at lunch and “The Owl and the Pussycat” just popped onto the page. Only problem is, I got them mixed up. The Owl is supposed to be the one playing guitar. Oh, well, I imagine after more than a century, the kitty would like get some licks in.

Get it… licks… guitar licks… and kitties lick themselves?

Yeah, fine, whatever, I’m going to bed.

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT
by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are.”

poof!

Penelope Kellogg,
married a bull-frog.
hoping he’d become a prince.

When she planted a kiss
on his future highness,
POOF! he turned into a blintz!

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The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Poof!”

As I wondered and wondered what to do for this weeks theme… POOF!… I remembered an old post I could re-purpose!

It’s the first time I ever submitted an Illustration Friday… on a Friday!

wrinkles

WRINKLES THE RHINO

This fellow I know,
a rotund rhino,
finds grazing completely preposterous.

Prefers reading sonnets,
to birds sitting on it,
forgetting to be a rhinoserous.

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The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Wrinkles.”

naked as a jaybird

NIGHTMARE

I woke up with a start today,
because my dream went wayward.
I dreamt I went to my first class,
naked as a jaybird.

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“Naked as a jaybird” seems an odd phrase, especially when you consider the blue jay is quite nicely outfitted in blue, feathery, finery. However, I couldn’t really tell you the origin of this idiom, although some folks speculate that the term may have something to do with the youngsters of the jay family.  Baby jays, featherless, (naked, you might say) have a tendency to get so overexcited and impatient about getting out there and flying, that they sometimes clumsily plop right out of their nests. So, I suppose we can just go with that one, unless anyone out there can unlock the secret.

Hee hee, little naked jaybirds scrambling about on the ground, waiting for mama jay to bail them out. How embarrassing, eh? Wonder if they ever dreamt that would happen.