December 26, 2007
Back in office. Had a very nice Christmas at home. Stayed close to family and the studio stove. Took the dogs out a couple times a day and they frolicked like the dogs they are.

Yesterday we watched the very well produced Semester at Sea video of Kathy's South America trip, and Deena told us stories of her trip to Peru. She and Tommy hiked up to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, which is in a "cloud Forest." Very dramatic, as the clouds obliterated everything and then, as Deena described it, "you are standing there, can't see a thing and the clouds give way to the incredible site of the ruins." Also, the locals say that Machu Picchu is the "Seja de la selva" which means the "eyebrow of the jungle." Is that cool, or what? The clouds form the eyebrow of the jungle. Amazing stuff. As it stands, I'm the only member of the family that hasn't been there. Ha.

Here's a sketch done in the chicken house of "Spike", the Silkie Rooster (at left) and "Bea-52" one of J.D.'s last surviving hens. Of course, I have exaggerated their size difference, but not by much:



Really enjoying the new Charlie Schulz (Peanuts) biography. We have quite a bit in common: he was an only child with a Lutheran farmer's side of the family; his mother's name was Dena (our Deena is named for Dena Madison my great Aunt on the Hauan side); his family moved to Needles, California for two years, which is sixty miles from Kingman; both of us entered the "Draw Me!" contest to win a free cartoonist course, we both "won" the right to buy the course for $170; he felt strongly that his hometown (Saint Paul) didn't appreciate his talents; and, he had a severe inferiority complex about being a small-town boy, but he also had a wicked sense of humor about himself:

"I suppose I'm the worst kind of egotist, the kind who pretends to be humble."
—Charlie Schulz