My 10,000 Hours

http://www.easydrawingtutorials.com/

Recently I decided that while I love being a stay-at-home-dad (and I really, really do) there needs to be a bit more to my life than just taking care of the little girl It just makes sense that I should use her nap times to clean the house have some fun and learn new things.

I've always wanted to learn how to draw and recently I asked my friends on Facebook how I should go about doing that.

Turns out the only way to learn how to draw is to just sit down and draw. Strange.

So, I sat down with a sketch pad, a mechanical pencil, and the internet. I Googled "Easy drawing tutorials" and strangely found http://www.easydrawingtutorials.com.

The tutorials were simple, short, and fun. It looks like it's just full of a bunch of kid's stuff but since I'm a big kid this was perfect.

I'm strangely satisfied with how this all came out. I learned a few things (like when you're drawing the framework you really barely need any pencil pressure at all) and laughed at myself a lot.

Drawing is my new project when I have time during the day. It's something I know I can have fun with and hopefully pick up fairly easily (the basics, anyway). If I use her nap times to draw (assuming the house is clean) I should be able to put in at least an hour or two per day on it.

If it takes 10,000 hours to master something and I take 2 hours per day to work on it that means it'll only take me about 14 years. I better get on that!

Also, I have no idea why Mario looks so angry but I'm really happy with my Luigi and Sonic. Harley Quinn? Well, let's just assume I was distracted by the Joker or something.

I voted for Epic Rap Battles of History to win Artist of the Year at the...

A New Direction

I've decided that my life is rockingly awesome and that instead of only using this when I go somewhere special, this blog title adequately describes my and my family's life. As such, I am turning this into my daily blog, for when what I have to say doesn't fit anywhere else. I'm sure there will be some cross-over between here and other places since those other blogs are part of my life but there's been plenty I want to say and I've had almost nowhere to say it.

Now I have somewhere!

I'm not going to shill out this blog; I'm going to let people come upon it on their own if they want to. I'm writing for me, not for other people, and I think that that's probably for the best. That way I can share all sorts of things and not feel like I have to spin it for anyone's enjoyment; I can write it exactly how I want to write it, say what I want to say, and damn the torpedoes. Erm. Consequences.

See? Like that. That was hilarious to me. If it wasn't to you then I don't care because I don't believe you're reading this.

The great Trash Heap has spoken. Nyah!

Here's a cat. Because I can.

Sweet Springs, WV

The walkway to what was Old Sweet Springs resort and spa.

The old bath house.

 Laura and I drove down with the little one to a little place called Sweet Springs, WV. We stopped along the way to see a little restaurant called the Swinging Bridge Restaurant on the way but didn't eat there; I just had to see the bridge inside the restaurant. Check out their website for a good look!

The real reason we went out there was to look at a place known as Old Sweet Springs resort and spa. It's been long-since defunct but the building was used as an old-folks home for many years and now lays completely empty.

Except for the ghosts.*

It's an amazingly gorgeous area. The lawns are still groomed, and one of the houses (that I did not take pictures of) is still lived in, probably by the caretaker. There was talk in 2010 of restoring this place to its former glory but judging by the dusty scaffolding, broken windows, and a few beer cans seen through windows I have a feeling that has fallen through.

Old Sweet Springs resort and spa (and sanitarium, and tuberculosis ward).

One of the old stairways outside.

 Truly, though, the scope of this old resort is amazing. The brick is still holding together fairly well on the facade, though they show some major bowing out at the bottom in the under-tunnels.

The whole area is beautiful and I'd like to go back some time with a picnic lunch, though the "No Trespassing" signs may suggest that I have the lunch somewhere nearby, rather than on the front porch.

One of the houses that used to be rented out at the resort.

The ivy was beautiful.

Locally known as "The Jefferson Building."

*I cannot confirm nor deny the presence of ghosts. All I know is that I kept expecting to see faces peering from the windows in my pictures but have not spotted one yet.

The Cascades - The Adventure That Never Was and Mountain Lake, Pembroke, VA

Yesterday we went adventuring since the weather seemed nice and we have a friend visiting for a few days who also enjoys adventure. We thought we'd go see the waterfalls known as The Cascades.

An excess of water at a waterfall? Oh...no?

Sadly, that adventure was not to be. As you can see in the picture here, the road was closed due to flooding and we were warned not to enter.

Because they left the marker with the white board (you can see it at the bottom right) I may have written "Darn" on it. I wanted to write "Unless you are a fish" but decided that was just too much; you never know what people might think they have gills.

I snapped a few photos in this area but we didn't get to see the real falls, unfortunately.

This was about 2 inches high. Still counts!

The alien-like creature, is a ladybug larva! Weird looking, no?

Not to be deterred, we allowed the sign to stop us. Instead, we went a few miles away to a place high up in the mountains called Mountain Lake. Apparently, during the time of the settlers, the first people through this area wrote back home to say "Hey, there's this lake on top of this mountain. It's a great place to water your horses and resupply!"

When the next batch of settlers came through, they arrived at the town where the first bunch finally settled and had murder in their eyes. "You sons of bitches! You said there was a lake on that mountain where we could resupply and your joke almost killed us! There was nothing for miles!*"

What neither batch knew was that the entire area was riddled with Limestone deposits and this lake actually drained into an underground cavern! It would then fill back up over the course of time but meanwhile there was either no lake, or a much smaller lake than expected.

The area was beautiful and it was very serene. Walking where the old lake used to be to get to the shores was an interesting experience, knowing that where I walked was once a giant lake.

Oh, and did I mention that this was where they filmed Dirty Dancing?

Fans of the movie should recognize these cabins.

This was a dock, once surrounded by water.

These amazing rock formations were on the other side of the lake and were easily several people tall.

Lois was attacked by the wildlife! Daddy (that's me) saved her.

Some of the flowers growing at the resort near the lake.

More of the local flora.

We drove through the mountains nearby and  this little girl stopped to let us snap a few photos.

While the adventure we had may not have been the one we started off on, sometimes I think it's important to realize that maybe the accidental adventure is the best one you can possibly have.


*This story may not be 100% historically accurate but the gist is true as I understand it.

Angel Oak Tree in Charleston, SC

Angel Oak Wiki

The signs mostly said "Do not climb or carve tree." It's sad people need to be told this.

First, I beg your pardon for the quality of these pictures. I didn't forget my camera but instead accidentally left the memory card in my computer, so these shots are all taken with my phone.

I think the majesty of this amazing Southern Live Oak tree is well-captured, however.

Here are a few shots I took while there. Enjoy!

For some perspective: I am 6' tall, give or take half an inch. (Take)

Many folks say the tree is 1500 years old or more! Science isn't 100% sure on the age, however.

One of the dozens of off-shooting branches being held up by poles.

Look closely and you'll see some local wildlife! (Skink!)

The Animal Park in The Charles Towne Landing State Park in Charleston, SC

While in South Carolina visiting family, one of the great places we got to see was Charles Towne Landing. There were animals, remains and re-creations of old buildings from the first SC settlement, a great old boat, and a ton of nature to enjoy! 

Fair warning now, I suppose: I do enjoy taking photos of insects and insect-like creatures, so there is one picture below of a very small, very harmless spider. No other insects or arachnids, however, just lots of animals we found in the animal park part of this state park.

Enjoy!

The Aviary Enclosure

Bear with me, folks!

This big guy was right up front near the fence, working the same place over and over with his teeth and paws. He's probably brighter than the average bear and is slowly but surely weakening the structure of the fence so that he can be free. You can't see the rather large enclosure behind him but I assure you that he has a very big place to call his own.

Really, with him only a couple of feet outside of arm's reach, I wanted to pet him. He just looked like a really large, lovable, pet-able puppy dog.

Thankfully, I know better.

Total size, including legs, smaller than the nail of my thumb.

There were a bunch of these little guys dotting the sides of the paths but nothing large and you could easily stay clear of them as long as you didn't wander off the path itself. It was obvious that the staff takes really good care of the grounds, allowing wildlife and wild plants to flourish directly off the walk paths without encroaching on the guests.

As we left, he said "It was good seeing you. Bison!" I didn't even know he was my dad!

It's amazing to think that these huge, alien-looking creatures once roamed this area freely. They simply do not look as though they belong here but would rather be at home in the west somewhere, on a prairie. Instead, they were once indigenous to South Carolina, a state not very well known for its prairie-like climate.

Who you callin' "chicken?"'  ...you thought I was going to go for the easy pun, didn't? Oh no, I'm better than that...

Did you know that the turkey was once put up as an idea to be the national bird of the United States? It's true! Look at the wattles here and you'll see why: You have red, white, AND blue! Apparently they change colors/intensity when excited, which I think means the turkey in front really wanted to be in my friend.

You wanna go, punk?

Does it seem like a bad idea to anybody else that they had the turkeys in the same enclosure that they had the turkey vulture in?

I do understand that the name 'turkey vulture' is because of its coloring and not because turkey is its primary meal but has anybody explained that to the vulture?

Hey, hey, hey!

If you click to make this picture bigger (something you can do on any of the photos in this blog, by the way) you'll see Fiddler Crabs, and in the bottom right there's a bunch of oysters all bunched together!

These were actually over near the boat, nowhere near the animal park part of the park, but I figured they belong here anyway, with the other animals.

I've never actually seen Fiddler Crabs, OR oysters, so this was pretty cool!

The whole trip was a lot of fun and there's a part that we missed so I'm sure we'll have to come back next time we're in the area! I'm told there are often alligators here and I look forward to seeing some; for some reason I'm a bit obsessed with seeing alligators in the wild.