Good morning and happy Monda--- errrrr Tuesday. Yeah, these four day work weeks always throw me off. lol :)

As the year winds down, I've put together one of those "art vs artist" graphics that get posted at this time of the year. 

2022 was not a high output year - I started the year with high hopes - that I could conclude the Lone Apple/Squeeze story that I started in autumn 2021 (yikes! that looks terrible when I write it out). I hadn't been 100% happy with the strips and felt that I could expand a bit and I did. So I re-did the original strips and added some additional bits to expand the story. My favorite part of the 'expansion' was the whole series of "bib" strips. One of those is included in the "art vs artist" graphic below and you can see the whole saga (so far) in the gallery to the right. 

Unfortunately due to an extended grueling time at work (this went on for nearly 10 months) and a house hunt, I had to put MEMO aside. I was pretty bummed about it but did what I could when I could. Thankfully, once I started to shift some things in my life, I had a little bit of a renaissance this autumn and came up with some really terrific stuff. It's been more sporadic than I'd like, but am just happy that I'm creating again! And, on top of it, I got a little freelance design work - two neat projects that I was VERY happy with. :)

Anyway, it's anyone's guess what 2023 will bring, but I hope you'll come back to find out what's new in the wonderful world of MEMOs! :)

Good evening and happy Sunday! I write to you from December 2022 where, since my last batch of regular blogs, I've left one job, started another, traveled to Vermont, celebrated Thanksgiving, put up two trees with my partner (whom I refer to as "the Mister" since he values his anonymity), and tackled and finished two freelance design projects for a client. Whew. That was a lot to do in just six weeks. I suppose most people would have preferred all sort of spread out but while it felt like that the Michelle Yeoh movie "Everything All At Once" was the guiding light of autumn 2022, change happens when change happens and, although kind of chaotic, I managed to get through it with some grace. More on all of this at one point or another or maybe not, who knows. I sometimes overshare, and sometimes undershare but it all evens out in the end, I think. :)

For the moment I'm just sort of sailing through December trying not to fixate on the stress of the season as those who live here know the "special" kind of place our fair city is during the holidays. Instead, I'm trying to enjoy the moment and, to some degree, succeeding. :) 

Looking ahead into 2023, I realized that two of my favorite obsessions... uhm, er INTERESTS (lol) are celebrating 60 years in 2023 and I though how fun it would be if there was a cross over episode. I mean, Disney owns ABC which produces General Hospital and will start to stream Doctor Who in America next year so it's possible. I mean, common sense tells me that it  will never ever happen but in that small chance that putting it out to the universe will make it happen, here it is. Get to work, universe!

As an aside here, while we're wishing, "hi universe, I'd also like to put in my request for $10M to suddenly appear in my life" thank you. This could be because my comic strip characters get noticed by Netflix or Disney and they just HAVE to own them (now you know my asking price!) or maybe some person in the world decided that I should have $10M. I'm OK with either (but quite frankly, I'd rather it be the former than the latter... how wonderful for these characters to have a life beyond this blog and Instagram). 

ANYWAY. 

The point of all of this really is - I made it through all of last year, It was a LOT but I made it. With the help from The Mister and many friends. Please note that I will not be singing "I'm Still Here", but I absolutely could - I have, as the kids say, the receipts to prove just how much I've earned that (this is slightly cryptic for those who don't know some additional personal stuff that I was battling this year that I have not yet graced this blog with... ) 

The upcoming week is filled to the brim with all sorts of event work/holiday stuff and I am 100% looking forward to it but also looking forward to next Sunday, when most of it will be behind me. :) I probably won't have time to blog til this short cycle is over but know that I am chugging along in fine fashion. 

Finally- here is an advance poster for an event I'm doing at work. We decided to do a "Baked Potato Bar" and so today I purchased a stuffed tater at a local diner, shot it on a white towel, cut out the background and added some dazzle. I'm pretty happy with it and thought I would share it with you my blog reading public. :) 

Growing up in Wisconsin in the 70s pre-comic books and Star Wars, I was a huge Disney and Laurel & Hardy fan. We'd occasionally eat at Shakey's Pizza and they'd show old black and white comedies. My dad, having been born in 1925, grew up watching all the old Hollywood stars in movies and shorts. Somehow I took a shine to Laurel & Hardy and at one point both dad and I did what I'm sure others thought were pretty lame impersonations, but we, at least I, loved being Stan Laurel to his Oliver Hardy. :)

When I was 10, my older sister gave me Laurel & Hardy busts for Christmas and I've kept them all these years. They remind me both of dad and her and the good times we had then (and of course the delicious pizza we always had at Shakey's then. To a ten year old, it was THE BEST!!). 

Today, as we were doing some major house cleaning, I got it in my head to spend a few minutes dusting them both off. They sit at the top of a bookshelf and I don't think I've handled them in well over 2 years and I definitely haven't cleaned them in ... well, I don't think I've ever REALLY cleaned them. 

So today I dusted them off and then used a tiny brush to dig out the dirt. So. Much. Dirt. Below is the finished product. Aside from the few chips (inevitable given how many moves I've made over the years) they look as good as they did the day I got them. OK maybe not THAT good lol but much MUCH better than they did.