Finally

somebody starts pulling his weight around here.

Ain't it cute

how Daisy plays with extremely fragile glass objects? Happy holidays!

The addiction

is

real

Whatever it is

it's behind the chair.

Where's your teeth?

No, your teeth.

Drum majorette

The T

is for traveler.

Uncle Jeb

reads "Old Black Witch."

Headed to a party

Another flashback to Halloween, because I just forgot to post these two pictures the day I'd planned to.

The committee

A group of kids grills Mr. Costume Shop about the knife through his skull. Most of them wanted to know how the knife got there, but Buster's girlfriend Madeline, dressed as Supergirl and partially hidden next to Dorothy, wasn't buying any of it. For the rest of the night, she walked up to Mr. Costume Shop every few minutes and said, "You're faking." Madeline's a pistol, boy.

Airborne bliss

The very definition: The baby has fallen asleep. Left arm has too? Doesn't matter. We'll be landing in a few hours, probably.

I was able to leverage my rigorous professional training in this matter. I leaned down and, in a low monotone, I recited into her ear the name of every modern World Series winner. "In 1903 it was the Boston Pilgrims. In 1904 there was no World Series. In 1905 it was the New York Giants." And so on. I felt her start to become dead weight around 1930 (Philadelphia A's), and I was pretty sure she was out by 1948 (Cleveland Indians), but I kept going anyway.

Why eat candy

when you can go for the Drano? Mother would like you to viddy the leg warmers.

Winter league

Actual trick-or-treating

She's a dalmation. With a jacket on.

Still Batman

Batman

For the third consecutive year. And, at Batman's request, Batgirl.

Costume shop

This is what Dad went with. A costume shop. One of everything. Lame, and yet eerily ... uh, lame.

The trusty

We're flashing back to Halloween. Or maybe the day before Halloween. Trying to figure out a costume here. Do you think these stripes are slimming? Or the pancakes? Anyway, the prison outfit went back in the box.

The buzz

Daisy also working the horizontal stripe angle.

Book

One leg at a time

Meta

Soccer

In the front yard

Grandma!

Hard hat

Someone else's toy

Nothing beats it, Buster and Adam agree as they play with Daisy's ball-flipping thingy.

Someone else's brother

Also cool, says Charlie, Adam's brother.

Stump grinder

Kinda loud.

Buster stumps Dad, who punts

Why is water wet?
You know, your mom used to be a science teacher*











* It's true!

Knickerbockers

Daisy

Joplin. (Homage not intentional.)

Witch ring

Buster has a witch ring and he says he kills witches by throwing water on them.(1)

Some people don't know that I'm a witch-killer.
Who doesn't know?
I don't know. Some grownups. And also some kids.
Why don't they know?
I don't know. Maybe they don't see me. But Dorothy(2) sees me all the time.
She sees you killing witches?
No. But sometimes Dorothy, she doesn't see me downstairs so she thought, maybe I'm upstairs somewhere. Maybe he's upstairs somewhere, getting his baby.
Getting his baby?
Yeah, me. I. That's why I say me, because that's me: I. So she goes upstairs and she goes to my baby's room. Well, I sleep in my baby's room, and she sleeps in my bed. And also Dorothy went upstairs, and she went up to my room, and she sees me in there getting my baby. She comes in the morning when I first wake up, and she sees me in there getting my baby.
Is Daisy your baby?
No, her name is Maliha Daisy Paris-Kaufman. Maliha(3) is her first name. Daisy is her middle name. And Paris-Kaufman is her last name. Like Paris-Kaufman is my last name. I call her Maliha Daisy Paris-Kaufman. That's what I call her. I think I should get another ring because this one hurts me too much. But I think this one's(4) fine. I think I should keep it. It's not hurting me too much.


Notes:
1. "The Wizard of Oz" is a big hit in our house.
2. Dorothy Gale. You know, blue dress, sings about rainbows. Yeah, she's Buster's cousin, apparently, and hangs around here a lot. Once in a while, we're informed that she's gone back to Kansas. She usually comes back within a day or so.
3. Maliha is the name of the baby elephant at the STL zoo. It's also the new name of Buster's stuffed white tiger, which is also known variously as Mouse, Deppard and Dike-Jobe and is sometimes referred to as his son, though since he became Maliha he's turned into a she. The tiger, that is, not Buster. Maliha the elephant is a she. It's not clear to me, by the way, that Buster was referring to the tiger when he was talking about his baby.
4. Same one.
(11/2)

Lambs

also gotta eat.

Batman

has gotta eat too.

And evidently bumblebees have gotta blow up basketballs.

An announcement

Alas, poor note taking. What Buster was saying here -- with a maraca standing in for the microphone -- was funny, but is now lost to history.

Here's a slightly older conversation instead.

I have a new restaurant.
You do? What's it called?
It's called Come to the New Restaurant and Eat Whenever You Can.

Well-rounded children

Study hall

Boogie break

Red tide?

No. Cardinals rally downtown before Game 3 of the Padres series. Only after publishing this did I notice that Daisy is mimicking the statue. Or vice-versa. (10/7)

Daisy is a punk rocker

Well New York City really has it all
Oh yeah, oh yeah

Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed is taking orders.
What would you like?
I'll have some apple pie.
I don't have pie. I only have drinks.
Oh, OK. I'll have some apple juice.
I don't have any apple juice.
Well, what do you have?
I only have apple cha-bapp.
[Very nearly passes coffee through nose.]

The hat is a pot, you see. Apparently a Johnny Appleseed thing.

Manoletdaisy

¡Olé!

Daisy: What Happened?

In the dressing room on the last night of the tour.

Writing

Buster's learning his letters. He can't sit down and write a word yet on his own, but he'll ask what the next letter is and write it. The actual question is "What comes after next?"

Crowns

Buster on Daisy

Sometimes we call her Daisy, and sometimes we call her Dais-eh.

Street fair

A familiar site. Daisy about to take an unscheduled seat.

Well she's trying to take one, but there's a window in the way.

The latest failed attempt to be quicker than Buster's "don't take my picture!" spin-away.

Helping out on a mural.