Hot as Chocolate

So I have a sibling who loves to order frozen hot chocolates all year round, and I get why they call it a frozen hot chocolate because "cold chocolate" sounds like you're just drinking from a chocolate fountain or something. Also, I wrote this comic back when we were in a super bad heat wave and it was in the 90's every day and my daughter would signal that she wanted to go outside and I would say NOPE not gonna melt out there today. She wanted to go on the swing set but all the pieces were too hot to touch :(  But it's better now! At least at time of writing, and I hope it stays nice like it is because LOOK OUT it's nearly September which is the best month. 

Text:
L: It's as hot as chocolate out there.
M: ... what?!?

Grill Power

I don't recall what interesting tidbit my husband was going to tell me about the charcoal grill, some new feature most likely? But I do recall how I derailed the conversation. He probably got the conversation back on his tracks but my mind had already wandered away. That's how it goes sometimes. How would a hybrid grill work? It could have a gas tank but also charcoals? Now I want to know if that's a thing. It is! 

Text:
M: Did you know that they now make charcoal grills that are - 
L: Gas-powered?!
M: No.

Sno-Ball Flavor

 

Whoa, this might be my first time drawing my stick figures facing away from the viewers! I think it works. So where I am, there's a summer treat called a sno-ball, and it's very similar to a snow cone which is what was served where I grew up. Apparently the texture is different but both are ice with flavored syrup, no dairy. I recently tried one with a fruit flavor (maybe peach?) and marshmallow topping and it was rather good. Oh, and the song referenced is Escape but it's know as "The Piña Colada Song." And my sister-in-law, who tried the referenced flavor, ended up not liking it but it was ok because the stand accidentally gave us an extra ice cream sundae (they do both sno-balls and soft serve) so that worked out for her. 

Text:
S: What flavor sno-ball should I get?
L: Well, we did just get caught in the rain.
S: And that song was on the radio!

Wheel Chock

This happened in a conversation with my dad about one of his trailers. Poor hedgehog :( But here's a wheel chock in case you don't know what they are. It's like an external brake, fully manual. Now I kinda want to say "remove your wheel chocks!" the next time someone isn't using their brain, but I guess the phrase is more "get your gears turning" rather than "get your wheels turning." But it could work? Will probably just confuse, but that's part of the fun. 

Text:
A: I'm missing a wheel chock.
L: Missing a hedgehog?!
A: Yes, I use them to stop my wheels from rolling.

Busy at the Moment

I find it humorous to say a quote with a different tone than the actor. It really changes the feel. Yes, this a quote from Pirates of the Caribbean. Alas, my little one has been getting insistent during meal prep that she wants the food NOW and we are like, it's raw. You can't have it raw. The food will be ready in a short amount of time but for you that will be like forever since you want instant gratification. But such is life. It is surprising what she will eat when she is just too hungry - I have given her some veggies that she normally rejects and she'll chow down during meal prep time. Or she'll try something (arugula), make a face and dig the offending item out of her mouth to give back to me, then request said item again when she sees me eating it, and repeat. 

Text:
L: Darling, to quote Captain Barbossa: *spoken softly* "I'm a little busy at the moment."
L2: WHAAAAAAAAaaaAA

Stranger Things

 

My man is up to date on that show now so we are catching up on some other Netflix ones that we like, such as Blown Away and Forged in Fire. That's on nights when we aren't gaming, reading, or working on blogs or websites. I can crochet while watching some shows provided I don't need to look at the screen the whole time and it's a pattern that I know. 

Text:
L: I'm gonna crochet. Are you gonna watch those things that are strange?
M: That's not the title of the show and you know it.
M: And yes, I'm gonna watch it.

Day Mixup

 

How convenient that this is posting on a Tuesday :) The restaurant was actually closed on Sundays - it's a local German place that has really good everything but especially schnitzel. 

Text:
L: Ready to head out for dinner?
M: Oh, first we should check that they're open on Mondays.
L: Irrelevant since it's Tuesday, but go ahead. 
L2: *vibing*

Dunk Tank

Tis the season for VBS (Vacation Bible School, a Christian program for kids in the summer that usually is a full week), and some of them have a dunk tank on the final night apparently. Also, we were at the local County Fair this weekend and it was super hot and we saw a dunk tank and thought, those people have the right idea. It's in the 90's where I am, and that's just too hot to be outdoors. It could be a good time to be in water, if you are able to not get sunburned while enjoying it. 

Text:
M: How was the dunk tank?
E: It was a hit.

Trash Levels

 

So this is a continuation of the previous comic, with all three levels of garbage to match the standard levels at a petrol station (I didn't think up a parallel to diesel, let me know if you think of one). I had to look up what the middle level is called because I just know there are three levels but not what they're called. I tried drawing the compostable logo on the mid-grade bin - it's a loose interpretation. And yes, the premium is recycling. My husband likes to say how at one point the local trash trucks were combining the trash and recycling because something about the center not being able to handle something or other so everything was getting pitched. 

Text:
Image of three garbage bins
Regular Trash: no symbols on it
Mid Grade Trash: has the compostable logo on it
Premium Trash: has the recycling logo on it

Regular Trash

 

So I was at a church fellowship and saw a few trash bins with this sign on them and I was confused but figured they meant "not recycling" and sure enough, someone said there was a bin with "recycling" on it but I didn't find it. I just like the mental image of someone looking through what they're about to throw out and sorting it into regular and premium garbage. 

Text:
Bin with sign: REGULAR TRASH
L: As opposed to what, premium?!

Waste or Waist

Two different mindsets :) It took me a while to get to a point where I don't need to clear my plate - I can just stop eating when I'm full. No need to make myself uncomfortable for the arbitrary reason of finishing what will no longer be enjoyable due to the quantity. You can save for later but if it's later and nobody has eaten it, maybe it's time to set it out to greener pastures. 

The joke is that "waste" (to throw out) and "waist" (your gut/belly/hips) sound the same. And if you eat something instead of throwing it out, you are not wasting it (throwing it out) but you are waisting it (adding it to your belly).   

A, holding food: I'm not really hungry, but I don't want to waste it.
B: So you're going to waist it?

Fried Iced Tea

I don't recall what restaurant we were at but it was a recently opened one near us which had delicious Asian food and I don't recall which type specifically but there was rice so our daughter was happy. She really likes rice and noodles. And potatoes, and pasta, and bread, really all carbs. She's a fan. We work to sneak in vegetables. But the iced tea - I feel like fried iced tea is something you would find at a county fair and I would be super curious to try it. Usually the fried food we have once a year is deep fried Oreos and I know they are the epitome of like, obesity, but we split an order of them (5) once a year so I think we're in the clear. Oh man, this year Lucy will want to try them. Less for us :( or do we order more?? Probably not, we will just get 2 each instead of 2.5 since she will get 1. Yay August means Fall is coming and that means county fairs and Renaissance Festival and corn maizes and all things excellent. 

Text:
L: They have Thai Iced Tea here.
M: Fried iced tea?!?
L: ... Yes.

Mint Survival

 

I couldn't decide which version of the comic was better, so first is my original and next is where I added the clarifying mint plant. 

I like both versions - I feel the first one is more hilarious because how else would you keep a plant alive? Hydroponically? There are air plants but I believe those are very specific breeds of plants, not just anything can grow purely on sunshine. The second version loses some of the hilarity due to the plant being right there, dying in its pot. But once you plant the mint in the ground, it takes over and you can't get it back out! You probably can contain it in a raised bed or something similar. 

Text:
L: At this point, I think I'm gonna plant my mint in the ground since I can't keep it alive otherwise.
R: ... that would be a good plan???
*bonus* - mint plant in a pot, dying from either neglect or over watering or lack of sunlight or ...