I love that the term “Disney Adult” has gone from snide label to proud self-declaration. If there’s a group of people choosing wholesome whimsy and joy, call ‘em whatever you want but sign me up.

Unlike their lowland cousins, Mountain Gnomes are essentially all beard. The gnomes of Fluff Mountain Theme Park are, of course, the finest of them all.

Pleasant Fluff has its own tiny Instagram page and naturally almost no one’s over there yet. But it’s less shouting-into-the-void and more leaving-a-note-in-the-hollow-of-a-tree. I like imagining how happy someone might be to find it. Later’s fine. It’ll be just as good.

Warm fuzzies, Kellie

Books may also soon arrive in the mail. These things are mysterious.

I read a lot of middle grade books and this is a bit of a pet peeve. I’m all for series. Once I get attached to characters, I like getting to spend time with them again and again. I just would like each of those outings to come to a full and satisfying end, please.

On the topic of beginnings, though, we’re getting ever closer to the start of Pleasant Fluff the-comic-about-a-cat-with-her-own-theme-park. You, as an original reader of Pleasant Fluff the-sporadic-newsletter-full-of-Niddles will have bragging rights for remembering the olden times. And there will still be plenty of Niddles. But — and this is a key point — there will also be fluffy gnomes!

Warm fuzzies,

Kellie

It’s time to level with you. I’ve been keeping a big secret about Pleasant Fluff.

As you already know, I believe deeply in the value of things that are often dismissed as fluff. And pure pleasantness is a balm for the soul. So, conceptually, “pleasant fluff” is exactly what I want to create with my comics.

But! “Pleasant Fluff” is also the name of a character who has been slowly charming her way out of my sketchbook for a long time now. She and her world are still developing, but I’m thoroughly in love with them both and I hope you will be, too.

Pleasant Fluff is a cat whose family runs Fluff Mountain Theme Park. She lives in the park, which is staffed primarily by gnomes. Pleasant’s best friends, a bear and a dragon, also live on the property. They all help run the park, but have plenty of time to play.

There’s a graphic novel in the works, but it will be a while. For now, I’m going to post in-progress stuff, because this little imaginary theme park world is just too fun not to share!

Warm fuzzies,

Kellie

This version is one I colored digitally in recent years, but Happily was a strictly analog undertaking back in the 1990s and very early 2000s. Bristol board paper, dip pens and brushes, and India ink.

Here are the originals (not sure why I re-inked it — usually there’s only one):

I hope your Fall is going along very Happily!

Warm fuzzies,

Kellie

A Little Niddles Halloween Countdown Calendar!

Here’s how it works. There are three PDFs that you can download (scroll down to find them). The first one is in color, so if you have a color printer, that’s great. If not (and this is what I did), you can get OfficeMax or some such place to print a copy for you. It works nicely to use a heavier paper, like cardstock, for this. The next two pages are in black and white and you don’t need heavy paper unless you just want to use it. Print all three.

See the lines on the front of the calendar? Use an x-acto knife or box cutter to cut a slit along each line. That’s where the slips of paper for each day will go.

Cut out the slips of paper on the next two pages and fold each one so that the number sticks out of a hole in the calendar.

Then each day leading up to Halloween, you can pull out that day’s Little Niddle. Color and fold the paper and you will soon have a whole costume parade of Little Niddles to play with.

(I used a bit of glue between the front and back. Tape also works.)

I hope you have lots of fun with this! Happy Looking-Forward-To-Halloween!

Halloweenniddleprintable

6.34MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Halloweenniddles1 15

1.77MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Halloweenniddles16 31

2.18MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

If you know someone who would like to have their own costume parade of Little Niddles to help count down to Halloween, please share this with them!

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I freely admit that I have too many bins full of “possibilities.” But oh how lovely they are in all their potential! And every once in a great while, we’ll have some small problem around the house that I immediately realize can be fixed with craft supplies. And then how glorious it is to dive into a bin and come up with the unlikely but perfect solution.

Sooo… you might have noticed that you didn’t hear from me for a while. This comic is a partial explanation. I’ve been working on something really fun that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. It’s not quite ready yet, but you fine folks on this list will be the first to hear about it. (Hint: Not too surprisingly, it’s a comic and it has Niddles in it.)

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Thanks for being here!

Warm fuzzies,

Kellie

My neighborhood is not exactly wild country, but it’s spread out and pleasantly scruffy, compared to a standard subdivision. Some folks have chickens. There’s a goat at the end of our block. There are plenty of freelance animals, too: foxes, skunks, roadrunners, a gazillion lizards, hawks, rabbits.

And then there are the deer. Having herds and hordes of deer around is too much of a good thing. Imagine a fantasy world where you get pretty sick of tripping over elves all the time. Instead of being these lovely, etherial creatures you glimpse in the distance, they camp out on your lawn and eat anything that isn’t behind a maximum security fence.

The plus side of deer, though, is fawns. There’s a little sunken corner at the back of the yard that we literally never set foot in, so it’s an ideal spot for soon-to-be mama deer. Every year we have at least one fawn, often two. One year we had two sets of twins. We don’t feed them and they move on after the babies are big enough. I think the mamas want to keep our yard a relative secret for the next time they need a nursery.

But this time of year, we get to enjoy watching the fawns. It’s easier than growing vegetables anyway.

Multitasking is not my thing. I especially can’t do any two things that involve words at the same time, like writing while listening to music with lyrics. I guess I only have one verbal track available. Of course, research suggests that none of us really multitask. We just switch quickly between higher-level activities, fooling ourselves into thinking we’re doing both or all at once. And it ends up taking more time that way.

To be fair, though, not all of my tasks are exactly higher-level. So when I do manage to walk and chew gum at the same time, it’s kind of a win.

One more drink of water,

Before I go to sleep.

One more update on the game,

Before I’m counting sheep.

I only want another kiss.

I only want my cup.

I only want to know:

How is the defense holding up?

Tell me that you love me.

Tell me I am safe in bed.

Tell me, wont you tell me:

Did the loser beat the spread?

Now, from MLM to MMM… Mmmaybe

I live in Texas, which is known the world over for its lack of anything resembling winter. So this week of ice storms and heavy snow has taken us all by surprise. The beautiful flock of birds in the video below probably flew south to avoid all that, but at least they found frozen berries in the trees beside my house. They were so focused on the feast that they let me walk right up to them and flew all around me. Magical!

To all the socks I’ve matched before,

Who travelled to and from the drawer,

I guess you’ll think I’m wrong

To leave you with the throng,

But I won’t match you anymore.

Come on, dear socks, you must confess,

This system is a crazy mess.

Twelve left socks in a row.

Where did the right ones go?

No, I’m not matching any more.

The piles of socks are always growing

Faster than I can put away.

How many odd ones? There’s no knowing.

Won’t stand here searching all the day.

Argyle can go with plain off-white,

Bold polka dot with subtle stripe.

Each of you can belong.

I hope you’ll get along,

‘Cuz I won’t match you anymore.

Now all you socks have been set free.

Go forth and live in harmony!

Just take this thought to heart:

Your life can truly start,

When I don’t match you anymore!

P.S. I’m enjoying this newsletter format! I’d like to send out Pleasant Fluff regularly, so if you think that’s a good idea, please encourage me by subscribing!

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