I am fed up!
I am getting super over not being able to post my little captures of imagery... It is like I have them captured and all I want to do is set them free, but they are trapped inside my computer for crying out loud!
I am getting super over not being able to post my little captures of imagery... It is like I have them captured and all I want to do is set them free, but they are trapped inside my computer for crying out loud!
Sorry friend-ships, to leave you high and dry and wondering... For nearly a month now.
when I write about all the flowers of motherhood
While my head is still bobbing above water.
This blog of mine is kinda like a relief map, all bumpy and rough.
THE FLOWERS!!!
I got a new camera, and this time it is pink!
I super love it already and here are some results of my new purchase...
THE FLOWERS!... One by one... umm, over-photo-compensation much????
Naahhh, just every picture of every fence flower I've ever painted!... And it's about time!
This little cutie was made by Anna, Leo's Mom.

A bird really liked this one... Or didn't?

That is it for now, I'll save the Rocket-Ship scene for another time... I am going to bed now, Goodnight.
MY CAMERA BROKE!!!!!
WHAAA!!!
I can't believe it... I picked it up and had a fishy feeling as I put it into my pocket to go capture those big beautiful wooden flowers on film... Well, digi. I had this sinking feeling the whole way over to the spot, and what do you know? It was true!
I always have that feeling--quite often when I am super excited about something (as I was with this- I was so excited to show you all the work I had done!)
I get this sinking-somethings-gonna-happen feeling when I get a new CD or a new pair of shoes... Like I am gonna get hit by a train before I ever even get to put those new dogs on my feet... I just know it!-- So that is the feeling, and it always goes right away when I push play or slip into my new kicks...
This time I push power on my camera and well, the stupid thing turns on but keeps zooming in and out, trying to focus but the thing just won't stop moving... It's like a Riddlin kid with a wad of Big League Chew (bubble gum) and a cap gun-- It just will not focus!
I tried everything people! It is toast!
So, until I gets me anotha'- it will be visually disappointing 'round these parts...
After 40 hours... That is no exaggeration, and you know how I love to exaggerate... but this is real folks, So yes, after 40 hours of cutting out, painting and mounting eighteen 24"x24" flowers and an entire rocket-ship scene I am finally done! I have got that project in the bag... or rather, shall I say, on the fence!
It was really fun and it looks super cool... I think the only reason I took any notice of the time I spent on them is because I had three shows worth of paintings I had to get done and was not working on any of them. But I usually work well under pressure so I thought the heck with all of that, LETS DO THIS! The fun stuff!
It is all fun, I love my job, and I loved this one (of helping out my son's school) even a little bit more!
It was the perfect weather last weekend to get the last of it done, the actual painting--my favorite part.
As I sat there on a drop cloth in the sun, painting those giant wooden flowers in every color of the rainbow, I noticed I was living my exact childhood fantasy, of what being a mom was gonna be like.
I had always imagined painting for the school along with other vivid imaginings like building crazy cool forts with spiral stair cases and a real working telephone. Sewing super hero capes and buttons back on when they'd come off... And so on and so on... Too many dreamies to ramble on about at this particular time... As always, I have a sink full of dishes to do, yet, for some reason this part of the job never entered into the dreams of being a mother, not once?
Anyway it was really super special, the feelings, the perfect blissful absolute right feelings that came along with the painting of those little flowers... I sure do love this momming business... I sure do love that boy!
Around here lately... And I don't think I am going to touch down anytime soon.
You may find that at the end of each month... That I am scarce if present at all. The case is usually that I am hulled up in my glorious studio spinning out artwork like indian burns... Shoving every bit of time I can find into concentrated chunks, then forcing out masterpieces in multiples. That is the way I seem to work it out these days, with just a slight bit of pain.
As the story goes, much like the last, I have a number of shows to produce paintings for and the deadlines are, well, near, very near! Like... I have one show up (done), one half hung (with the rest of the paintings perched on my fingertips), and I was miraculously gifted a weeks push back for another hanging, as well as the opening reception (sheesh, still more time left there).
Sorry I have been missing,
I am smack dab in the middle, you see, of an all out art cram!
On the family fun side of art obligation... I have been working on a project for little Ree Bee's school. I am making Flowers... And a rocket scene for the chain link fence that encloses the playground area. I was supposed to start it last weekend, during their annual spring work party, but... I was called, last minute, to do a Nike commercial, for the 2008 olympics, and well... I could hardly pass it up, those gigs kinda make a days worth of work seem like a weeks worth of pay-- for those of you who don't know, that was my old life, I use to do hair... BUT NOT ANYMORE! I am an ARTIST NOW, STRICTLY... Unless you are Nike... Or anyone else who wants to pay $800 for a days work... No really I WILL do your hair ALL DAY LONG for $800... No takers??? O.K. then, I guess I am an Artist, so I will, instead, do a weeks worth of flower painting for free- and love every minute of it!
I will be back soon when this little duster of deadlines drops me off anywhere near my computer.
Well, the moms and babes, they came and went...
And we had a real groovy time!
I don't know what I was waiting for? It was so fun to have our friends over... I guessed I just always assumed that our little tree house was a one friend over at a time type of joint, turns out I was wrong--that is rare.
Ree and some good-time pals
They played really hard and then one by one, started to melt down.
This was the scene about one minute after everybody left...
It's to bed in red for this sleepy head
While he did that I did these... A sure sign of good-times.
Tomorrow, my moms group is coming to our house for breaky. We all met at the hospital's new moms group, shortly after our little ones were born... Our kids have known each other pretty much their whole lives. We all do different things together, as often as we can, ideally once a week... We have been over to almost all of the other moms houses, but none of the moms have ever been over here... Oh yeah, Junko, Iris and Chris did come over to watch Ree one night, while we had a date to see John Prine, but mainly what I am trying to say is that I have never hosted the moms and babes... And I am super excited to have all of these lovelies over to our home!!!!
I will be making the usual, what I make pretty much every morning for Ree and I... Scramby eggs with diced, and sauteed spinach and onions. Delish... so quick and simp... And it just delights me that (for now) my kid loves spinach!... Oh and I had to make more of those cookies! They were just too good!
I just love an oven window with a light--don't you? Peak a boo... I see you!

Well, I don't have crystal ball (you'd think being raised by gypsies, I most certainly would have one of those, but nope. Two broken teeth... an eighth grade education... but no crystal ball). The reason I mention my lack of a crystal ball is because I would love to show you pictures of all of the festivities to come, but I have not the technology nor the witchcraft ... So you have to wait for the recap.
Although it is pretty safe to say that I can give you a clear depiction of what is to follow our gathering... The forecast (surprise, surprise) calls for more rain... And that, we have plenty of stock footage of... How about, here is one from our trip to Cannon Beach two weekends ago.
So this is what well be doing after the friend filled morning indoors. We'll gear up to get drenched (as you can see, this is a favorite activity) then we'll head home and take a nice hot bath.
In late March, when Easter happened (that still seems weird to me) the spring time sprites left little Ree a basket full of gardening tools and seed packets.
And I am pretty sure we are just about ready to put them all to good use?... No, we ARE ready, it is the weather we are waiting on.
The weather has been especially freaky here in the Northwest. Bright and sunny with the temperatures in the 70's, then near freezing and almost snowing. I have been weary of putting precious little seeds in the ground, as I fear they may not be able to handle this roller-coaster-weather-ride.
But Billy is going to go head and build our little one his very first garden bed this weekend--for when the weather shapes up.
Ree is getting a head start. He made a little start to put into the bed once the weather gets stable enough. He poked his tiny little finger in to the soil, then dropped his seed in (am not sure exactly what he planted) and pinched a bit of dirt over the top of it... Now, we just wait and see just who is in there. and just when we can get to planting.
I was a little emotional today--I worked myself in to a bit of a frazzle with the state of things... As you may have read.
SOOO, I did what anyone would do in my situation... I made a big ol' batch of JoAnnie's (that's my mom... one of them) famous famous oatmeal chocolate chip COOKIES!!!... with double butter!
Aww, now all is right in the... My world.
A sleeping angel babe, a snuggy husband, two frosty mugs of whole milk and a huge plate of cookies...
Thank You
&
Goodnight
Thank you Billy! You are a true grown up!
So I plopped those five different envelops into one official blue box today... All thanks to the adult in our partnership, my loving and more importantly (today) RESPONSIBLE husband, Billy!
I wipe my virtually spotless hands (because I literally didn't touch the things-- aside from dropping them in the box) clean of that gawd awful mess of papers they call taxes... I call it Blood money, that pays for three rich guy's oil war! I am not all that political but nor am I blind. I can't believe we, our family (lovers of PEACE) are contributing to this genocide!
IT MAKES ME SICK!
I am all for taxes...
That HELP OUR CITIZENS... that FEED OUR ECONOMY... That PROTECT OUR CHILDREN!!!!!!!!
NOT THAT KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING OUR CHILDREN!
So we paid our taxes today in money...
And guilt and shame and embarrassment and reluctance and resentment and fear and anger!
Knowing that (for now) it'll end up ill used.
I surly know it isn't going to pave the horrendous maze of potholes that lines our "unincorporated", "unimproved" dirt road... Or go to any sort of UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE to help with the fifteen thousand dollars it is going to cost to fix my teeth (which by the way, is as a direct result of growing up an all american welfare kid... Being seen at clinics by disheartened practitioners, with tied hands, authorized to do only the absolute bare minimum. As a child of unfortunate economic circumstance I was treated as a lower class of human, yet, given the the very best our country has to offer?)... Or to feed the countless number of homeless people, down the street from my studio, that line up around the block each day, at noon, to get their one meal a day (FROM A CHURCH--NOT UNCLE SAM mind you) It sure isn't going to aid in treating these people as our citizens, let alone as human beings! Or what about those solders (so many of them just boys, really) who fought for what they thought was helping their country, to find out that it was all just bullshit and that they were pretty much war slaves fighting a dirty, corrupt war to make rich men richer... Only to end up dead or ruined physically, mentally and emotionally... Oh and then abandon and forgotten by the very country they were fighting for...
SICK! SICK! SICK!
AND SAD...
I JUST GET SO SAD WHEN I THINK ABOUT ALL OF US, OUR PEOPLE, SUFFERING, AND CAST AWAY... PEOPLE, KIDS IN OUR COUNTRY NOT BEING (IN THE VERY LEAST) FED!!!!... AND THE PEOPLE WORKING THIER ASSES OFF TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES TO PAY THEIR TAXES... AND HERE WE ARE... WHERE WE ARE... IN A POINTLESS WAR USEING OUR RESOURCES TO PAY FOR DESTRUCTION, CHAOS AND MURDER?????!!!!!!!
SAD, SAD, SAD
SO SAD!
Whatever we do people, whom ever the nominee may be, we have got to vote...
DEMOCRAT
in 2008
like I started out saying, I am not super political... and sometimes I am a bit insecure about using my voice because I don't know everything (I think I should)... But I know my feelings, and so I go with that... And just go ahead and use my little voice however shaky it may be. I think if we all did that--used our shaky little voices, then we will be heard.
USE THAT VOICE!