Officially DONE with the website. All the code works. All the links are as they should be. I’ll still periodically add, edit, and remove content, of course, but the site itself is done!
If you want to take a look, it’s here: http://www.karenbjones.com
Now I can get back to writing and illustration work.
I implemented my new website design. Take a look and let me know what you think: http:www.karenbjones.com
I’m designing a new logo for myself. I’ll print off business cards, promotional materials, and redesign my website around it sometime soon. But first, I needed the logo.
This is what I came up with. I may still fiddle with it a bit, but that’s basically it.
I thought I’d post my sketches for this design, for anyone who’s interested in my process.
Here’s my first sketch.
This was my brainstorming sketch. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn’t quite sure how to accomplish it yet.
You can see the very first, rough attempt in the middle. Then a more detailed, refined sketch on the left. That was way too detailed for a logo, so I simplified that on the top right. Since the simplified version eliminated the little girl, I sketched out another idea with the girls on the floor drawing.
This one is almost the finished form. I wasn’t happy with one of the curls in the hair, though. So, I added a few curls to experiment with. You might note that the final version incorporated some of these curls.
This is very close to the final version of the girls. As you can see, I didn’t like the paper on the floor and made a couple of extra attempts at it.
Then I just played with positions and fonts to come up with the finished logo.
Way back in high school I had a Commercial Art project to illustrate a nursery rhyme. I chose to illustrate Sing a Song of Sixpence and it turned out really well. My teacher even went out of his way to compliment me on it, which didn’t generally happen because he was more of a fine arts sort of person. Cartoon work was beneath his notice.
Anyway, for several reasons that I won’t go into here, those illustrations never made it home with me and I always regretted losing them a little. So, about a year ago, I re-did them from memory. It wasn’t exactly the same work, of course. But I remembered the unique elements of layout and style that made that first version work so well.
The new version was composed of two line drawing in black ink colored with colored pencils. I liked it really well when I first created it. However, as time went on, I liked it less and less. The line drawings were great. It was the coloring I didn’t like.
So, this week I redid the image once again. I had a version of the line drawings from before I colored them, so I opened up Photoshop and started from there. I just put the finished version up on my website. This version is the best one yet.
My last post is being featured on Mamapedia Voices on May 31st 2010.
http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/please-promise-not-to-use-your-cell-phone-while-driving
Does anyone else know one of these walking contradictions?
I’m talking about Moms who are so careful about their kids. They baby-proof their homes until there’s nary a sharp corner or exposed outlet to be found. They pull all the strings out of their kids jackets and hoodies. They cut everything the child eats into quarter inch pieces to avoid any possible choking hazards. They never let anyone post pictures of their kids online for fear that a child molester might see it and somehow track them down. They carry disinfecting wipes and gels everywhere to sanitize the child every time they touch something that may be contaminated. They shop around for just the right, highest safety-rated child safety seat for the car, no matter how expensive. They agonize over whether or not to immunize their kids and fret over every illness or injury they acquire.
And yet, these same mothers think nothing of driving around town while using their cell phones. Do any of them really understand the danger they’re putting themselves, their kids, and anyone on the road with them in when they do this? Talking on the cell phone while driving, hands-free or not, increases your risk of an accident as much as driving drunk! Texting is even worse! Think about it. Whenever someone’s doing something stupid in traffic, don’t you usually see a cell phone in their hand? Often they never even realize how close they came to an accident until they actually wreck the car. They just go drifting down the road oblivious to everything else. Well, believe it or not, when you drive while using your cell, that person is you!
There have been several studies proving this. But people don’t want to believe it because, if they did, they’d have to change their behavior. What conversation or text message is important enough to risk the health and even lives of you, your passengers, and everyone else you’re sharing the road with?
But of course, they think they’re so much more careful than everyone else. They can hold a phone conversation and drive at the same time. It’s not dangerous for them. They’re careful. Maybe they restrict their cell phone usage to when they’re driving on slow, familiar routes. But is that any better? So, then they’re impaired when driving on residential streets where kids, pets, and other pedestrians may be crossing. Or maybe they only use their cell phone on the long stretches of highway where they don’t have to change lanes or merge for miles. Is that better? Driving impaired when one wrong move could cause them to hit another vehicle at speeds that could kill someone? But, of course, they’re careful. It won’t happen to them.
There are so many distractions around us all the time. Given that, why on earth would you voluntarily add the unnecessary, additional distraction of a cell phone to the din? It could be the one last distraction that tips you over the edge and makes you plow into that pickup truck in front of you or that kid riding his bike.
Think of all the inconveniences you go through to keep your kids safe on a regular basis. All that baby-proofing and vigilance. All that to protect them from dangers that are, let’s face it, fairly remote. Is restraining yourself from using your cell phone while driving any more unreasonable than that? And as a bonus, you’re not just protecting yourself and your passengers, but you’re protecting everyone else who is out there on the road with you. Isn’t that worth the minor inconvenience?
Remember, your phone does store the number of whoever called you and they can always leave a voice mail message. So, you can pull into a parking lot and call them back within 2 or 3 minutes if it’s really important. Try not to even glance at the caller ID unless you‘re stopped. Just like texting, anything that takes your eyes off the road is dangerous. Especially if it’s habitual and you don’t think about what’s going on around you before you do it. It’s best to just wait until you’re stopped to check it. Think how embarrassed you’d be if you caused an accident because you were checking your caller id or a text message. Even worse than embarrassment if the accident was a bad one. Could you live with yourself if checking your phone resulted in an accident that killed or crippled someone?
For God’s sake, put down the phone and drive! Pull over to text or talk! Make a promise to your kids that their safety is more important to you than any cell phone conversation!
Some reference material:
Texting is Incredibly Dangerous While Driving:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091222121949.htm
Cell Phone Conversations are as Dangerous as Driving Drunk:
http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
Cell Phone Conversations are Worse than Conversations with Passengers:
http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/appliedcognition/publications/passenger.pdf
This post was featured in Mamapedia Voices on May 31st 2010.
http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/please-promise-not-to-use-your-cell-phone-while-driving
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp minute tapioca
2 tbsp butter at room temp
4 cups fresh blackberries
Frozen Deep Dish Pie Crust (for bottom crust)
Refergerated pie dough (for top crust)
water
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine sugar and tapioca w/ wisk.
Add butter and blend w/ wisk.
Add berries and mix with hands.
Let mixture set for 15 minutes.
While that sits, prebake frozen pie crust for 4-5 minutes. This prevents a doughy bottom crust, but can prevent good adhesion with the top crust if baked too long.
Fill pie crust with berry mixture.
Moisten edges of bottom crust until doughy again.
Cover with top crust.
Trim edges. Use fork to crimp edges.
Cut vent slits in top crust.
Whisk egg in bowl. Paint egg on top crust with pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar.
Cover edges with aluminum foil or crust shield. Spray back side of shield with cooking oil to prevent sticking.
Bake for 45 minutes
If you make at least 2 pies, you’ll have enough crust trimmings to make turnovers, if you also have some extra berries and tapioca.
Do not ever make a blackberry pie using a recipe that calls for flour in the Blackberry mixture. It doesn’t work right. blackberries are too acidic and, for some reason, it prevents the flour from acting as a proper thickening agent. Instead, you just end up with floury glop. This is the voice of experience. Tapioca works much better.
1 frozen deep dish pie crust
1 refrigerated roll-out pie dough
½ cup sugar (1/3 to 2/3)
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
dash salt
8 cups tart apples
1Tbsp butter
1 egg (beaten)
2 or 3 Tbsp cinnamon/sugar mixture
Thaw crusts.
Slice apples.
Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon & salt in large bowl.
Stir in apples.
Fill pie crust with apple mixture.
Dot with butter.
Cover top with roll-out pie crust.
Crimp and trim edges.
Cut slits for venting.
Brush crust with egg, then sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix.
Cover edge of piecrust with foil or pie crust shield to prevent overbrowning. Spraying back side of shield with cooking oil will help prevent sticking.
Bake at 425º for 40-50 minutes or until crust is brown & juice bubbles through slits. Remove foil during last 15 minutes.
Asparagus is delicious, but easy to overcook. It only just needs a few minutes and it’s done. More than that and you get a horrid, stringy vegetable mass that tastes a bit like canned green beans.
I recently ordered asparagus at a local Perkins restaurant. I don’t know what I was thinking. There was little chance they’d do it right and, in fact, they didn’t. So very disappointed, but I didn’t think the cook had any idea. Perhaps I should have complained. Would it have made any difference? Would it have gotten back to the cook and educated him on the proper way to cook this vegetable? Probably not. *sigh*
I’ve overcooked asparagus myself before. Several times, in fact. I always feel bad when I do because it can be such a lovely dish when done properly. I wonder how many people don’t know how to cook it and think that the overcooked version is what it’s supposed to taste like.
My favorite, and most successful, recipe for Asparagus is below. You can tell it’s good because it starts with bacon.
Sauteed Asparagus with Onions, Peppers and Bacon in Cider Vinegar
5 or 6 strips of bacon, cut into one inch pieces
One Medium Onion, sliced
One Sweet Bell Pepper, chopped into one inch pieces (Red, Yellow or Orange is best, but Green is acceptable)
One bunch of Asparagus, chopped into one inch pieces
Some Cider Vinegar (Maybe 4 tablespoons or so)
Note: Make sure you snap off the woody end of the asparagus stalk and discard. You don’t eat this part of the stalk.
In a Medium-Hot frying pan, cook the bacon. Do not drain.
Add Onions and cook until just soft.
Reduce heat to Medium.
Add Cider Vinegar. Use your discretion on how much. A couple splashes, is how I’d define it.
Add Peppers and cook for a minute or three until they start to get a bit soft.
Add Asparagus and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Every minute or so, take a piece out and taste it so you can be sure not to overcook it. It should still be crispy, but warmed through and not raw.
Take off heat and transfer to a large bowl to serve. The dish cools quickly, so be sure to cover if you won’t be serving immediately. I like to use the Warm Hold setting on my microwave for this.
Enjoy.
Karen B. Jones - Illustrator 
