Happy Friday!

You’re reading the latest issue of the Skook Works-in-Progress Newsletter in which I ramble about … stuff … and show off some recent art.

These Days …

This week has been relatively uneventful.

I’ve been working half days at USPS to give my knee time to recover. It’s better than it was back in December but it’s still telling me that something is wrong. I’ll be seeing my orthopedist this morning to get a check up and have paperwork updated. Workman’s comp did not approve an MRI so I don’t expect that he will be able to tell me much new. Hopefully the updated paperwork will push Workman’s Comp into approving the procedure.

I have been without a regular vehicle for about two and a half months now. Every morning I come to work and check to see which routes are being broken up for delivery by the overtime folks. Then I check to see how many of those routes have vehicles available. The truck assigned to my route broke down at the end of October. It sat in the station’s parking lot for a month before Vehicle Maintenance finally took it away. It hasn’t been brought back yet. I heard that the engine needed to be replaced. Last week our new station manager asked where my vehicle was. When I told her she said she would call Maintenance and find out what was happening with it. I’ve had a couple of supervisors say they’d check too. My truck remains MIA.

Driving other routes’ trucks has provided me with lessons in hygene and organization. One look at my studio space will tell you that I am comfortable with a certain level of chaos. But that’s home. It’s my studio. No one uses it when I’m not there. I’m a lot tidier at the post office. I keep the shelves of my case clean, put my rubber bands away after I’ve organized the day’s deliveries, put the trays under the shelves and give all the missorts and undeliverable mail to clerks at the end of my shift. The only thing I would leave in my truck are few forms for vacant addresses and certified mail pick ups. I would always take my personal belongings home. I don’t want the next person who has to use my station or drive my truck to have to deal with mess.

Many of my fellow carriers seem to be comfortable sharing their messes with the other potential users of their truck. They leave food. They leave trash. They leave jackets and hats and satchels. They leave stacks of rubber bands. One guy has a selection of small tools stuck to his dashboard with magnets. I’m tempted to take photos.

Mugshots

Below is this week’s process gif. I am … hmmm … I was going to say, “Not a fan of clowns” but that’s not accurate. I like the idea of clowns. I like the idea of silly beings dedicated to making regular folks laugh. I feel bad that clowns are considered scary and creepy by so many people. I like the idea of putting on wild make up and ridiculus clother and going bonkers.

I just can’t remember ever laughing at (or with) a clown. A lot of clown humor is slapstick and slapstick doesn’t do much for me. I sympathize too much with the person getting the pie in their face or falling down the stairs to laugh at (or with) them.

Regardless, I don’t find clowns scary or creepy. Clowns just want to have fun. The world needs more fun. And lots of people deserve pies – in their faces.

This image is available on a mug in my Zazzle store and a variety of schtuff in my Redbubble store.

Full House

I did the design above last year for a client. He generously told me that I could use it for my own projects if I wanted. This week I spent some time coloring and expanding it so it would fit better on t-shirt and other schtuff. Yes, Halloween is always on my mind.

And that’s it for this week. I hope your days are pleasant and your nights are relaxing.

See you in February!