Things you need to clean a palette, especially if it's long overdue

• Razor blade to scrape the dry paint off


• Container to put the scrapings in


• Towels to clean the blade, palette, your hands and whatever else. Those scrapings can fly.


• Mineral spirits to also help clean the blade, palette, hands and whatever else


• Something stiff. Jack works well. Vodka too, probably.


• A good excellent vocabulary. A sailor's is a good starting point.

Done In

Geez - has it really been that long since I last posted on this thing? I've really got to stop letting time get away from me like that.

What's been going on? Let's see:

On the home front, there has been a bit on an invasion - at least as far as the reformed Sea of Felinity is concerned. One of the neighbors has acquired two half grown, stupid but probably likable doofuses(doofusii?) puppies. They look like hunting dogs. I can count on them showing up a little after four in the afternoon and trying to clean out the bowls of day old cat food. However...

I didn't even know they were around until I heard one of them yelp the other day. Apparently, they got a little too friendly with the new cat. When I walked out the door, all I heard was her growling and the one of the puppies barking at her - from fifteen feet away.

Okay, I'll admit it right now. I was almost done in by these two. After watching the Standoff At The Front Porch for a minute or two, I decided it was time for the doofuses to go home. So I tried to use the Dog Voice.

They stood there and looked at me. I guess the lack of brains granted them some sort of immunity. One of them even got down on his belly right at my feet, like he was saying, "Oh come on, you know you won't hurt me. I'm very cute and likable."

Damn. By now, I was getting irked because they were going to make me get downright domestic. I got out the broom and swiped it at them a few times. The doofuses looked at me and weren't fazed in the least. You could just hear them thinking, "Oh yeah, you're badass all right." I swear one of them rolled his eyes.

There was a plastic two gallon watering can near the remains of my tomato plants and I had the bright idea to hit it with the broom. You know, to convince these two of my badass-ocity(? -ness? -icity?) So I hit it a few times, trying to show I meant business. Bam! Bam! BamBamBam!

That's when the absurdity of the situation hit me. Here I was, wailin' on this watering can with two half grown and now fully confused dogs staring at me.


Oh yeah, it's hard to be badass when you're giggling your head off.