Life, continued...

Hi all! I'm happy to say that whatever had me illin' since Saturday is on its way out. Just the phlegm remains. TMI? Anyhoo... It's amazing how working on a show, especially one with such a concentrated schedule, can alter the normal routine. Li'l Abner was so much fun, but now I have to dive into all the stuff that's been waiting for me whilst I was away...

I'm deep into work on various illustration jobs – a family portrait for some lovely folks who earned my ink in a charity auction, a comic/coloring book follow up to my previous Green Riverside project, and a coloring book design for a bus company. I also have a party caricature gig coming up on Saturday which will be fun. The Squigs is busy and that's a good thing.

It's also time for catching up on things that aren't as much fun. I went to the dentist yesterday. Ugh. I had to get a little work done so I ended up numb then sore. So, going with the flow I set up my tax appointment. It's time to pile all the unpleasant routine stuff into a giant bandaid and rip it off at once. "Ouch" now. "Ah" later.

But to counteract the "ouch", I gots plans. In the near future, I'm going to catch a few shows with friends – Watkins Family Hour at Largo tonight, Punch Brothers at The Troubadour next week, and the Elvis-y musical All Shook Up at MTW soon thereafter. And in a few weeks I'm happy to say that I'll be visiting the Bro and his family in Minnesota. The niece and nephew are growing up so fast, and I've got to drop in for a play date.

Well, that's a heck of an update for now. Take care, all. Peace and love.

Sniffly post-show recap.

Yes, Li'l Abner is a memory, a series of really fun memories. Check out my illustrated impressions of the show here. It's a bit of a departure from my usual work, inspired by the comic strip roots of the show. I really like how it turned out, and my peeps seemed to think so too.

I'll miss the gang and the shenanigans. While I had a great time, the last couple days were spent at the mercy of a bout with the flu, and I'm still recovering. This flu thing is a super bummer – the worst I've felt in years. I've been sniffly, cough-y, ache-y, and moody. Ugh. But I'd like to think things are looking up from here. Still, I think I'm going back to bed.

Tidy.

I'm not the neatest person. That is, I'm not the type of person that needs one's space to be hyper tidy. But it's funny how nice it feels when the living and work spaces are neat. On my day off on Monday, I was able to clean the room, the desk, the car... and besides being a relatively nifty accomplishment, it just feels nice. Simple pleasures, y'all. Take care. Peace & love!

Chillin' on a mountain.

Okay, well... not a mountain, but about as close as you can get inside LA. As I write, I'm at the Getty Museum enjoying beautiful vistas as I work on a little art project. We performed Li'l Abner this morning for a house packed with screaming high school kids. It was fun to perform for them and see what they would react to, but it's just way too early to drag my carcass through a dance number. Just kidding. We had a great time and it sounded like the kids did too.

I'm diving back into the sketch pad before grabbing dinner and heading to the theatre for the evening show. Hopefully this time I won't ram a desk into a light pole at 55 mph, risking life and limb. But that didn't already happen, did it? Take care, all. Peace and love! Go Obama!

Accomplished and refreshed.

Is it possible to get a lot done on a lazy day? Yes. Yesterday I rolled out of bed in time for the 11am news. I cleaned out the car, got the oil changed, and hit the laundromat. After putting away my clean duds I tidied the living space and organized the work space. This left the evening open for working on some projects while watching some mindless TV. Hooray! Great day! Take care, all! Peace and love!

Gimme a break!

How quickly the time flies... but thankfully so. After two weeks without a full day off, we have achieved this beautiful gift. Tomorrow (well... later today) is our Monday off! The show has been received very well and we're selling lots of tickets, but we have been working our butts off to do so. Tomorrow is totally free of Li'l Abner.

As I mentioned, the show has been received very well including really positive reviews in the LA Times and Variety and numerous blogs. That's super nice. And we had a special event on Saturday – a talkback with Charlotte Rae (original Broadway Mammy Yokum), Julie Newmar (movie Stupefyin' Jones), Stella Stevens (movie Appassionata), and Hope Holiday (original Broadway and movie casts). It was rather surreal watching these lovely ladies in their latter years still fight for the limelight. Next Saturday is supposed to bring a visit with movie Mammy Yokum (and Witchie Poo from H.R. Puff-N-Stuff), Billie Hayes.

But as of now, I have a list of stuff to do on my day off. At the top of the list... sleep in. Then I've gotta do laundry, get the oil changed, tidy the room and car, and... we'll see what else gets done. I'm just happy to get a day of R & R before heading back to good ol' Dogpatch U.S.A.

Take care, all! Peace and love! Go Obama!

We're open!

Li'l Abner opened at Reprise! last night. It went rather well and folks seemed to really enjoy it. If you want to see a video feature on the show (including a little show footage) meander on over to BroadwayWorld.Com.

It's great to have the show open for a number of reasons, one being that my schedule opens up considerably. Weekdays are mostly mine again (although we do have an understudy put-in rehearsal tomorrow). I have a bit of illustration stacked up – another fun green education project, a sketch of the Abner show, and an endless stack of work on my own projects. I'm loving being able to dive back into the sketching while visiting Dogpatch in the evenings and on weekends.

That's all for now, folks. Take care! Peace and love.