Can Blogger and Follower Coexist in the Same Body?

As my dear pal  Dorothy used to say, "Oh, shit piss, fuck.......what have I done?"  What I have done seems to be that I have royally screwed  myself not to mention having done the same to my loyal followers.  Of course, it is actually their fault that I find myself in this Gordion Knot condition..........not that I can actually blame them for being so talented and inspired and disciplined and all of those admirable things while I, miserable wretch that I am, can only wallow in the snake pit of my insatiable greed, unable to stop  devouring blog after wonderful blog.

Well, in case you haven't figured it out, what began as a nicely balanced routine.....blog a bit, follow a bit.......
 enjoy other bloggers' brilliance with my morning cereal and give a bit back as I sip my coffee......has totally deteriorated into chaos as my insatiable appetite has led me to total ruin.  I have found so many marvelous bloggers out there in Bloggsville that it now takes me all of the morning and into the afternoon (and even evening)  to read and relish all the goodies on my list and by the time I have finished I am so overstuffed, not to mention  awed and intimidated,  that I cannot even consider making a contribution of my own.  What is even worse, I cannot restrain myself from commenting (I know how bloggers need comments and sometimes I actually have somethng to say) which also occupies time and some intellectual (?) effort which might be saved and hoarded for blogging purposes.  This is not good, folks.......I have painted myself into a corner of the room and the paint shows no sign of drying..........unless Jason  Bourne will drop down on a rope out of the heating grille in the ceiling and rescue me I fear I may be  lost forever in the conflict between reading and writing...........


I have not solved this conundrum, but I am working on it..........in the meantime I will welcome any suggestions.......I can't be the only one who has encountered this problem............hell, most of you have jobs and families and even chickens to care for beside bestowing goodies daily on your worshipful followers........I am deeply ashamed but hope somehow to learn to rise above it all....... with your help.  (hint, hint) 

She Keeps Coming Back....... Like the Tide (or Heartburn)

Well, my dears, it is long past time that I reappeared after surviving having my throat cut.....sorry for the long silence, but I found this so-called simple little operation quite taxing. Perhaps I can blame it on the fact that the surgeon (no doubt a stellar fellow at his craft) chose to execute a bit of creative stitchery on my jowls, therby making it impossible for me to turn my head to the right. I have made various jokes about this situation including giving thanks that I had not spent a fortune for tickets to Wimbledon or Forest Hills thus being able to watch only the left half of the tennis match. However, It has made me.....well.......grumpy to say the least.

I have also found myself a bit woozy or light headed and have questioned my doctors as to whether this sudden renewal of blood circulating to my brain has perhaps proven to be too much of a strain for the ancient plumbing therein. I have been roundly laughed at for this theory so I have decided to keep it to myself from now on. (It makes perfect sense to me !) However, I seem to be improving a bit day by day and decided today that I have been sufficiently self indulgent, lounging around indolently on overstuffed sofas and cosy recliners wondering what interesting stuff has been going on in the right hand side of the room that I have been missing. (not a damned thing, of course).

So here I am, back at my blog post, generating some of my usual nonsense. Actually, my plan is to attempt to conjure up some goodies from the past for your delight and contemplation.....depending on whether or not I can manage to wrench forth a few more drawings from the insatiable maw of the picture files. My wonderful cousin, Bruce, just visited me today and brought a bounty of precious stuff which his father had saved (his father, my cousin Bud, who has appeard in these pages somewhere was undoubtedly the world's most accomplished Pack Rat and his offspring are still discovering stuff in his treasure trove even after years of selective culling. What Bruce found was a whole bundle of samples from my line of greeting cards which I had sent to Bud during the late 50's and which are in amazingly pristine condition looking crisp and spritely though a little dated. Many of these I recognized but did not even remember doing......I was quite a busy bee back in those days apparently. With all the drinking and carousing I indulged in back then, I can hardly understand how I had the time or the stamina do so much actual productive work.

Anyway, without further ado I will attempt to summon them from their hiding place.

Congratulations                                But You Go On Forever

Now to try for a couple more. Only trouble is that, once again, I am having trouble putting the type where I want it so I will sinply say that the card  below, right has an inside caption that reads," For Medicinal Purposes Only".

I guess it is only fair that I attempt to display the inside drawing of
What",

Wish me luck.

And with that I think I will quit while I am more or less ahead.  That is the best I can do in my weak and enfeebled condition.........Enjoy

I Survived

Greetings from my own little dining room, dear ones...........I not only survived Jack the Ripper, but I escaped with my life from the hospital again.

I am a bit wimpy and weak, but I think I will live and recover.  Glad to be home.  Will be in touch soon.

Thanks for all of your good thoughts!

Exquisite Put-down

Before I go to bed  I must pass on this marvelous quote from Zagat, the Restaurant and Food critic in their section called called Outtake of the Week:

                     "They should have let the fish live."

The Day Before

No foolin' around today....this is just to say a heartfelt " thank you" to all you lovely folks who brighten my life with your own wonderful Blogs and with your comments on mine.

Going in to get my carotid artery plumbing fixed tomorrow.........I hope to  be back blogging next week.    Be patient and think good thoughts.

Love 'ya all madly.

More of Lo's Gallery

I am feeling much too lazy to write a lot today so I will take refuge in the pictures (that may be worth 1000 words.)

I did notice that the blogs in which I include photos or sketches draw infinitely more comments than the ones with just words and drivel.  I think I am beginning to get the message, but I still intend to write lots of words during blog time because I love words.  However, on lazy days I am delighted to be able to fall back on illustrations of one kind or another.

During the 50's, guitars and folk music were a big thing and a boyfriend gave me a guitar when I wistfully confessed that my ukulele was no longer satisfying.  I took one lesson, developed a few rudimentary callouses and learned the chords for about 6 songs.  I only played and sang when I was mildly to crazily drunk but since that was my condition much of the time back then I guess I played and sang a fair amount....loudly but not too well.  I did NOT always play and sing naked.

This sketch was intended to be a Christmas card I believe, or maybe it actually WAS a greeting card.....I can't remember if it was published or not, but I just may use it this year.........I have no idea what those funny dots were.

This sketch always reminds me of the years in which I took my life in my hands to climb out the window of our apartment onto the very sloping roof and erect a Christmas tree by wiring the stand to the nearby chimney, then bringing out said tree, boxes of balls, strings of lights  and a ladder.  This rooftop was visible to all who traveled along
Sunset Blvd at the end of the Sunset Strip and beginning of
Beverly Hills and my Father insisted we bring joy to the public by putting up this  tree each year.  (Easy for him to be so benevolent......it was always my neck at risk.)





The little flyer below was one sketch that I actually sold and made money (?) on.  Two dear friends had a lovely shop on Melrose Ave. called

The Four Winds.  They had incredibly good  taste and wonderful merchandise and honored me by hiring me to do their periodic mailing pieces.  We had great fun with this series.  I am so glad I found this sketch.


Uh Oh...I have cats crawling all over my keyboard  making further typing impossible so I will take this as an omen and sign off for now. 

As I often promise, I will close with a tease.....
More later.

Do Not Worry- That's An Order

Dearly Beloveds:
I do not want to cause you worry or anxiety, but I feel it is only fair to warn you that I have hit another bumpy patch in the road and will be in the hospital for a couple of days next week.  Being one of those unfortunates with rampant cholesterol despite meds it appears that all of the Big Macs and KFC chkn I did NOT eat over the past 83 years has somehow found its way into my right carotid artery and there is nothing for it but to call in Roto-Rooter.  Not to worry....I have been assured that the risk is miniscule....a paltry 1% as compared to a 50% risk of a stroke or whatever.  I go in Thursday, July 22 and should be home by the weekend or sooner.  My only concern is the 30 seconds during which they must shut off the blood supply to my precious  brain (my most favorite body part next to my good eye)........if I emerge without my sense of humor or without funny-brain function you all are instructed to pull the plug.........

I will post as soon as I can to report on this newest adventure (?).  Good thoughts and prayers will be welcome....  I totally understand  your unease....no one (especially me)  wants an unfunny LO.