Baby Toe Socks

 

It's an effective word picture. There's a reason babies don't get gloves with fingers, they just have mittens. It's hard enough getting loose clothing on a baby - our kid has started the grabby phase so she's grabbing the inside of sleeves as you're trying to slide them on or off and yeah, not the easiest task there. Now I kinda want to see if anyone has made toe socks for babies. Do places even make toe socks for adults anymore? It wasn't a very good idea to start with but they were popular back when I was in high school. Now I want to see. Ah, they are specialty items for preventing toe blisters when exercising. And now Google and Amazon think I want toe socks. I don't - I remember wearing them in high school and thinking, there's something between my toes. All of my toes. It's distracting. 

Text:
A: What do you think of my idea?
B: That's as ridiculous as toes socks on a baby. 

Adults Have First Names

I remember having a conversation like this either when I was in college or had just graduated. It's really weird to start calling people by their first names when you've been using titles for the past twenty years or so. And then you also have to learn their first names, not just Mr. Williams or Melody's Dad. Yes, that's a sci-fi reference there. And then you're working with these people in ministry and kids start using a title with your name and it's weird and you've joined the other side! Now you're gonna start sympathizing with the parents in children's movies! 

Text:
D: So, Mr. Williams -
R: Call me Rory - you've graduated college so you're an adult now.
D: ...am I?

Protein Cupcakes

 

Before my recent family vacation, my sister stopped by with her family. My nephew forgot the word for muffin but he found a way to still communicate it. He said he wanted to save one for me but he ate them all because they were good. I can understand that - it's hard to keep some for later when they're super tasty. And now I want to go find a snack....

Text:
A: We made protein cupcakes!
L: So, muffins?
A: Yep!

Lychee Leeches

 I don't recall how lychee came up on our family vacation, but it did.  I am not a fan of lychee OR leeches. Lychee tastes too floral for me - I'm not a fan of rose or jasmine teas either (I've only had lychee in a drink). The leeches aversion is just common sense - I don't like any of the blood suckers or slug-like creatures, and combining the two categories is a hard pass. My sister-in-law knew a doctor that had medicinal leeches, so there are still those who use them but I think that's gross. I guess it's good that they found a use for them? Bleh.

Text:
M: I love lychee!
E: Leeches?
S: So slimy either way. 

North & South

 On the recent family vacation, there was a desire by some to watch North & South. I crocheted from another room and tried to not make comments because it's really not my type of show (I'm not a fan of period dramas, or really any dramas). I did watch a little bit because I recognized the voice of the main actor (he was Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit) but not enough to follow all the misunderstandings that were being had. Because dramas always have loads of misunderstandings and that's frustrating. But if that's your cup of tea, go for it. I get that many people like things that I don't like, and also that I like things that others don't like, but we can all enjoy the enjoyment people get when they get what they like. That is a rather complicated sentence to say don't rain on someone's parade just because it's not your favorite one - let them enjoy their parade. 

Text:
Title: *Watching "North & South"*
S: Her mother is dying so they sent for her brother.
K: What is she dying from?
L: Mesothelioma. 

Chicken Stick Time

 

Another one from our family vacation, this one courtesy of a conversation where I only heard part of the dialog. I know we were eating chicken tenders that night, so that could be the chicken stick in question, but I'm still not sure how it's a measure of time. I do enjoy hearing random parts of conversations that just sound so wild with no context. I had an example of one I overheard recently, possibly when I was in Target, but I don't recall what was said - just that it was weird and unexpected. 

Text:
S: My attention span is shorter than a chicken stick.
L: I have so many questions from that statement. 

Blood Relatives

 

On our recent family vacation, a nephew made an interesting comment which revealed that he doesn't know what a blood relative is. I thought about telling him that I'm not his blood relative (he is my husband's sister's kid) but refrained. And the brother-in-law in this comic is now engaged to said girlfriend, so I guess she's one step closer to being a blood relative per our nephew? I'm not sure what he thinks a marriage license is or does, but he might be disappointed that there's no blood involved (some places still do blood typing so there's that). 

Text:
P: Nephew, this is my girlfriend.
J: You're not a blood relative - yet.
K: *concerned*

Raised in a Barn

 

Way back in the day, my dad renovated a barn into a house and that's where I was raised. We always closed our doors and my mom tried really hard to teach us our manners (we were not a very receptive audience). This saying doesn't make sense to me but I've heard variants of it all my life so I'm finally going to look it up. Oh, it means you have the manners of a barnyard animal. I guess that kinda makes sense - the animals didn't close the doors or use their manners. 

This is the start of a few comics that I thought up on our recent family vacation - this comic was inspired by little nephews and nieces leaving the back doors open. 

Text:
M: Why are all of these doors open?
E: Because we raised our kids in a barn.
L: That's an untrue stereotype.

Filberts vs Peanuts

 

I had a container of mixed nuts that I had used to make peanut butter (technically nut butter since it wasn't just peanuts) but then I made cookies that called for peanut butter so I used my home-made kind and since I was sending the cookies to a friend I wanted to list what all was in them and that's how I found out about filberts and thought up this comic. Also, making your own peanut butter is super easy - dump the nuts in a food processor and blend beyond what you think is necessary. That's all - no extra ingredients (can add salt if desired) and if you get a nice jar of nuts (i.e. a screw on lid) then you can use that jar to hold the nut butter. And you can use whatever nuts you want! 

Text:
M: This mix has peanuts, walnuts, filberts, -
L: Isn't that a comic strip?
M: Filberts, not Dilbert.
L: I was referring to Peanuts :)

Namaste in Your Lane

I don't do yoga so I actually wrote this comic with "Lamaste" instead of "Namaste" and thankfully caught it before scheduling. This comic came about because I saw a statue in some eclectic store (possibly TJ Maxx) of a dog in the position above and the phrase just appeared in my head and struck me as funny. "Namaste" is a phrase people use as a greeting in yoga (it's Hindu in origin). This comic is also funny because there's a position in yoga called 'downward facing dog' so saying a dog can't do yoga when there's a position named after dogs is humorous to me. I'd also like to add, it's a little difficult to draw a dog in that cross-legged position because it's very unnatural and also I draw stick figures (tried with a stick figure dog and it was too vague). 

Text:
P: I don't think dogs should do yoga.

D: Namaste in your lane, bro. 

Trunk Control

 

My kid does have excellent trunk control for her age, but now I'm wondering why your torso and solid luggage share the name 'trunk' but then it hit me that they also share the name 'chest' and I'm wondering if I'm on to something here... And once you bring in an elephant's nose, it just gets confusing. Is it their nose? What exactly is an elephant's trunk? They use it to pick up things, so that's not what noses do, and I think they suck up water with it but do they spray it into their mouth or just ingest it through their trunk? Now I have to find answers. Ok, per Wikipedia it's a proboscis which is a type of nose in vertebrate (backbone) animals and it is used to bring food and water to the mouth, breath, and pick up things. And all that to say, 'trunk control' is a term used on babies to describe how well they can hold themselves up and move their torso. 

Text:
S: Your daughter has great trunk control!
L: ... She is not an elephant. 

Technically Stupid

 

I don't recall what I was actually trying to say in this situation, but there are many things that fit this scenario. 

Text:
L: I'm forgetting the technical term for that.
M: Stupid?
L: Well yes, but that's not the official name.

Elementary Mistake

 

When we have time, video games are nice way to relax. Mark usually plays on his computer but that is difficult to draw so just like before, I re-imaged it as a hand-held device like the Switch. I don't recall the game or the mistake that inspired this comic, but now I am wondering what constitutes the different grade levels of mistakes - what separates an elementary mistake from, say, a high school or college level one. That could be interesting to explore. I don't think I will, but let me know if you come up with a scale. 

Text:
M: Well that was an elementary mistake.
L: You should at least be at middle school mistakes by now. 

Metro Baby

 

Happy Anniversary to my amazing husband! I'm not sure what we're doing this year, but it will likely be a day trip with our little one. Not sure if we will drive somewhere or take mass transit - unsure how Lucy will handle either (she hasn't been on a long car trip as of the time of writing - just local errands and locations like church or friends' houses). We might find something to do by looking at a local blog - Mid-Atlantic Day Trips. The author has a lot of great travel tips and locations, and we have found several nice local spots by looking there. 

Text:
L: I wonder if Lucy will like riding the Metro.
M: If she doesn't, nobody else will!