My Monster

Last weekend, I came across this book with "MONSTERS" in the title by Dan Reeder and just couldn't leave the bookstore without it. I tried out Papier-mâché once before, but this book had a lot of helpful hints. Plus, the dragon "trophy" was very impressive. It looked like something I could easily follow. So, first, I decided to try out the instructions for the sample monster.

I had a stack of newspapers ready to go, but had to hunt down some wire hangers around the house. Then, I bought a gallon of Elmer's glue, paint, tape, clay and other recommended supplies. The Papier-mâché recipe is just flour and water. And, part of the technique is to NOT DIP THE STRIPS! After the pieces hardened overnight, I added feet and hands to the limbs.

I went with the knarly hands method. This is just balled up newspaper for knuckles taped to the wire fingers.

This is a Papier-mâché ball that has been cut open for jaws and clay "teeth" glued to it using a glue gun. Along with the tongue, the instructions are copied straight from the book.

The jaws are prepared with strips of an old bed spread dipped in Elmer's glue. What a mess to work with hands covered in glue! The tongue is wrapped in one, long strip and allowed to sit in the lower jaw where it will bond. I made stands using old toilet paper rolls to make it easier for drying.

...more to come.

San Diego Zoo Orchid House

The San Diego Zoo Orchid House is open once a month and I happened to be there on Sunday. The variety of orchids never ceases to amaze me.

Oatman, AZ

From Laughlin, NV last weekend, it was easy to take a GPS-guided trip to Oatman, AZ. The small (ex?) gold mining village had shops, ice-cream, beer, etc.

There were a lot of old things to check out like this car and gas station.

Several wild donkeys, deserted from past gold miners, were allowed to roam the streets. They used to be fed by the locals, but now they're trying to cut down on that practice.

At high noon, the main road was closed off as a shoot out broke out. These three amigos were planning to rob one of the local stores.

But, they killed each other off as they got greedy with the loot!

Road Trip

We took a weekend trip to Laughlin, NV.
Here's the Prius resting in Oatman, AZ.
More pics will follow, later.

Cuyamaca State Park

I went hiking with some friends in Cuyamaca State Park this morning. The temperature was a few degrees cooler than what I've previously encountered. With not much cover on this particular hiking trail, a bottle of water was required if you wanted to avoid dehydration. There was a lot more dust on the trail due to the current drought conditions in Southern California.

Nevertheless, the hike was enjoyable and I found some interesting plants along the way. This plant was growing a curious stalk of flowers that fanned out on the top. The leaves were soft like the "lambs' ears" garden variety plant.

The thistle flowers had a lot of bee activity. I could see a wild "mini-honeybee" along with the two regular honeybees. I wondered where the mini-hive was located, and what would it look like?

The swirly seeds of San Diego mountain mahogany were out in full force. On some parts of the trails, these shrubs dominated the scene. With the sun shining behind them, the fluffy seeds' brightness lit up the branches.

The species living near my home is named Cercocarpus minutiflorus and it's most likely the same plant growing out east in the Cuyamaca State Park mountains.

CityFest 2009

The community of Hillcrest had its Cityfest street fair today. After Mahi tacos and a few Tecate beers at Baja Betty's, I walked over to the fair. For some reason there were linens to buy at several of the booths this year. I settled for a 600 count Egyptian cotton set for $20.

These wine bottle holders were so colorful. At a different crafts display someone was waving a "NO PHOTOS" sign at me, so I guess I won't be showing them here!

I don't know much about "The Fellowship of the Surf Monkey", but these figurines sure are cute!

The locals and the sun were out in full force as usual. I'm glad that I managed to steer clear of the funnel cake booths!

Beach Hike

I went hiking with some friends last Sunday. The hike started near the Scripps Pier and went north to Black's Beach. On the way over, a guitar fish and small shark carcass were being nibbled over by the sea gulls and flies. We decided to make an octopus sand sculpture before we left.