today's challenges

The next round in the artist tournament is coming up. This time the challenge is to illustrate the perfect (or not so perfect) valentine. The picture is to be in black and white and grey with one shade of red.
I sent mine in several days ago. I will post it here when the entries are released.



The Jeopardy Online Test was today. I am not getting any younger, and, although I like to think I'm reasonably intelligent, I just don't think as fast as I used to. I know I would have done better if I could have had a few extra seconds for each problem. They give you fifteen seconds for each problem.

Some things I know I got right. Some things I know I got wrong. I really do need to brush up on geography. I had absolutely no idea what the sports questions were about. They don't tell you how you did, or what the correct answer should have been.

When I watch Jeopardy on TV, I sometimes get most of the answers right. But I know that, if I were ever ON the show, I'd be way too nervous to be able to think at all.

what's been happening lately

In the last two weeks, these things have happened...

(1) On my birthday, we had plans to meet my sister and her husband for dinner. We had Momma all strapped into the handicap van. The van wouldn't start. The battery was dead. John had to push the van (a Dodge Grand Caravan) out of the garage so we could jump the battery. And John couldn't find his jumper cables. So we had to borrow some from a neighbor we hardly know.

(2) The same night, after we got back from dinner, I was sitting in the living room watching TV. My face was itchy. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I had an insect bite under my eye. I took a Benadryl and went to bed.

The next morning, I had a huge swelling under my eye. It was nearly as big as my eyeball. Since it didn't get any better after a few days, I had John take a picture of it and I emailed it to my doctor. He called in a prescription for antibiotics and antihistamines.

The swelling is almost gone now, but there's still a sore red mark where the bite happened. Oh, and I was told it must have been a spider, although I never saw the critter. It's creepy to think of a spider unseen on my face under my glasses.

And THEN -

(3) Tuesday I had minor surgery. I've had this bump on the back of my neck that keeps getting infected. Tuesday I had it removed. They said it was a cyst. They used a local anesthesia so I could drive myself there. I made sure to park where I wouldn't have to back up to get out.

(4) I am also participating in an artist tournament put on by some of my Facebook friends. I have voted for my favorite entries in the past, but this is the first time I've participated.

Most of the other artists have much different styles than mine. I think there's a lot of testosterone muscular super hero illustrators among my competition. Really good ones. I don't expect to win, but I think it would be good for me to try.

The premise of this first entry is that of a harrowing experience. There needs to be a survivor who has just escaped a deadly situation.

I will post my entry here when they become public.


Here is where you can vote for the various art works. They had quite a few no-shows this time, probably because of the blizzards in some parts of the country.