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  Well, what can I say, Lorraine has just finished her seventh children's book about a badass crow. You know that crows are very  intelligent and they sometimes like to steal your bling but would rather steal your lunch.   This crow though had a thing for bling.  Lorraine was having a lot of fun writing about him which is a true story.  I'm a little jealous of this crow because Strieby is spending so much time writing and illustrating this  crow book that she didn't have time for us moles lately, but she now is with her producer and she is back painting too! Here is one of her illlustrations about this crow painted in her End of Hannalei Drive Studio. We will keep you posted,  I'm going to close now because Strieby just returned from the hair salon and she still doesn't know that I sometimes commandeer her computer, at least I don't think so. #crows #mayormollymcmole #whyisaspycalledamole #lorrainestrieby #author #illustrator #bling #childrenbooks...

JUNETEENTH HOIDAY - GEORGE WASHINGTON'S AIDE WARRANT OFFICER MR. BILLY LEE

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 We just celebrated Juneteenth and I I bet there were no articles about this hero, black Warrant Office Mr. Billy Lee.  Do you know him? Bet not.  He was Commander George Washington's aide and right hand man in the American Revolution, historians called him a slave. OK, what did he do?   Well, he saved Washington's life more than once with his carbine Washington wouldn't go anywhere without him He was famous as the best horseman in the colonies with his horse, Chinkling.  Colonists would visit Mount Vernon afetr the Revolution to see Mr. Billy Lee ride his horse through the nearby virgin forest He did all of Washington's finances during the war and beyond He was in at least 6 paintings with Washington including Washington Crossing the Delaware (standing behind him) He helped Washington lead the troops on his famous horse Please let me know if you knew of him and learned about him in school He was probably the 2nd most important soldier in the American Revol...

Hawaii History found in Lorraine Strieby's Children's book, Mayor Molly McMole Foillows the Sun

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 This is the famous banyan tree in Lahaina, HI,  and my impression above.                                                        Mole Mayor Molly is in the red had Banyan fig trees have  a unique root system that hangs from its limbs and grow into tree trunks that can overtake the mother tree in size and therefore are not recommended for your lawn because they will overtake it and are VERY hard and expensive to remove.  The famous Lahaina tree  above takes up a whole city block. Your kiddos can find out more about Hawaii--such as the Goddess Pele, Polynesian navigators, and volcano forming--in my book, Mayor Molly McMole Follows the Sun .  Cat Sophia also meets the villain Brooster the Rooster.  This book takes place in Kauai and it teaches a little Hawaii history as well. Kindle/Amazon Thanks for reading #banyan...

LORRAINE STRIEBY PRODUCTIONS - SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR HER MENTORS, RON PEKAR AND JIM GAINES

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 EXAMPLES  OF MY BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS AND THAT'S  ME AT WORK IN MY STUDIO AT THE END OF HANNALEI DRIVE    Being an artist is fun but hard work when you have deadlines.  I am grateful to my mentors, Ron Pekar and Jim Gaines who taught me needed skills and Ron never tried to change me but encouraged and coached me beyond measure.  Along the way I was juried into art shows, received awards, galleries wanted my work,  and I participated in international shows in Britain, Italy, Sicily,  and France AND I survived.   When I gave up teaching business subjects in the 80s, I decided to be what I always wanted to be-- an artist, starting with oils (Jim Gaines) and then branched out to my real love--acrylics and mixed media. Little did I know that one day authors would want me to illustrate their books and that an idea I had would  become a 6-book children's adventure series starring Mayor Molly McMole.  She became my alter ego and som...

BEN FRANKLIN AT VERSAIILLES AS A YOUNG MAN WEARING HIS SIGNATURE PIECE--A COONSKIN CAP

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  HISTORY IS LIKE THE BIBLE,  it continues to be amazing, read/not read, and offers solutions to everyday problems. if you care to take a look. Here is Ben Franklin--as a young man--with his coonskin hat as he appeared in Versailles and the French courtesans found him charming. Here I took author's liberty, drawing him  as I thought he looked as a young man, in my book, Why Is a Spy Called a Mole, starring Master Spy Christopher McMole. Question:  What was Franklin's important role in the American Revolution? Were you taught about this extremely important role in school? Somehow, I think not, and neither was I.  I had to read an old dusty history book to  tell this story.  Hint--it involves some ships. The story is one of many in my book, which is sold on Amazon, Kindle, and Abebooks in Europe. You can reach me at strieby.org #benfranklin #americanrevolution #versailles #masterspy #whyisaspycalledamole #storyteller #americanhistory #americanforefather ...

ILLUSTRATING FOR ORMLY GUMFUDGIN WAS A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE

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  A few years back Ormly Gumfudgin approached me to illustrate a book that he had drafted and entertained audiences with Chapter 1 and his bazooka at Christmas time.  He described himself as the "World's Only Living Bazooka Player." He was also a member of the Western Writers of America.  He picked me out of many artists in Los Angeles to illustrate his book and I might add-- he was a kick to work with. Needless to say, he wanted a western looking Santa and I illustrated this book with Texas and Santa Fe  in mind, a Stetson cowboy hat and Tony Lama boots. I noticed that he gave me credit for also editing this book.  Ormly has passed on but it occurred to me to give him a little press todoay.  He was also a. member of AFTRA,  and.the Official Historian for the International Chili Society.   While working with  him I had no idea that a mole would pop into my mind  a few years later by the name of Mayor Molly McMole, head of her mole t...

-Border Invasion, WHAT THE HECK! Constitution Protects States from lInvasion:: Why is this allowed to Happen?

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                                                                 WHAT THE HECK MAYOR Molly McMole believes the above forefathers would NOT be happy,  Forefathers James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Jay (first Supreme Court Justice) wrote the Constitution and the Bill  of Rights.  Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution." Re:Border Invasion  ""The Federal Government shall  protect each of the states against invasion."  Section IV, Article 4 of the US Constitution.  OK, this article was written in 1788 so our forefathers thought it was EXTREMELY important  WHY doesn't our government today? Please explain: So how can the Fed Government ignore our invasion at our Southern Border? Also, now our Government is  flying in illegals to various cities bypassing our southern a...