A weekend ahead filled with art and a few other fun things to do. And cleaning...ugh...always cleaning. When I got home from school today I was met by Cairo in the front room of my house, sitting panicked amongst the paint brushes. Kizzy had gotten out and took over his cage. When I think of the damage Kizzy could do with that beak of his but chooses to just sit in or on his brother's cage, I am grateful. Lots of stuff on the floor that will need sweeping up, but no holes in the walls. I am lucky. 

Mixed bag at school today with MCAS testing making the schedule lighter than usual. Both feet are flaring up, reminding me of the pain levels that used to make me couch-bound with ice. Thank god for medication and plain old getting used to it. Though there were a few moments today when I was reminded with sharp stabs in the mid and forefoot as I tried to walk. Brutal. The show goes on, though, and I am trying to just keep moving. So much to do in the next few weeks at school! 

So I put together the new lawnmower. It is my favorite color, lime green. We shall see how it works when the feet calm down a bit and it is a bit cooler. It was easy to put together and is sturdier than I thought it would be. Hoping for dry weather this weekend to give it a whirl. 

As for art, I am again experimenting with digital printouts. I have selected one that I printed last summer to start with, and have matched it with other smaller images that connect in a personally relevant way. I can see the embellishment steps, but want to work in some fabric collage, too. This is challenging as I usually make images with fabric, and in this case I will be adding texture, pattern, and smaller shapes of less realistic things. And then there is paint to add...then I can stitch it on the machine and see where I am with it. Still deciding if it should be assembled as one irregularly shaped piece or if I should make separate parts and build a relief. Or both. So many options to try, and at my snail's pace, I'll never be able to try them all. Sigh. 

It is a lovely warm Friday and that is enough to get the weekend started well. Off to the races!







​
​

Hapi's asking politely for his morning toast, so I know this will be a short post. Maybe that is better! As I sip my blessed espresso and wait for the legs to cooperate, I found myself wandering over to the April the Giraffe live webcam again, and saw the baby galloping around the pen. Awkward, joyful, precious. Great way to start the day and  I will miss it when they take the camera down. I've really enjoyed watching the whole process of mama and her calf. We are so far removed from nature these days...sigh. And that baby is so dang cute! 

Yesterday was awash of housework and errands. Someone always needs food around here, and it isn't me. Dog food, cat food, three kinds of bird food.  My hands were paying the price for the yard work, as sort of expected. What wasn't expected was the complete and utter physical exhaustion that hit. I was a washed up dishrag yesterday and found that laying down was all I could accomplish with success. Had a good and honest talk with Tim last night, and reaffirmed there are just some people in your life that become inherently and inextricably part of it, and the brain has little to do with it. He's like that.  

Today after a run to NH to get Toby's eye meds and see Carol, with the wonderful Judy Hartman along for the ride, I will hopefully work on something artistic. I mean MAN I've had the WEEK OFF and haven't done more than draw and organize my planner. It's hard taming the domestic tiger, the RA dragon, and the Artistic angels. 

Have a new motif that keeps insisting it wants to be painted or collaged every time I pick up a pen. Funny - it is a variant of a mummiform figure that I've often worked with since college and has appeared in my quilts, but with a new twist. Negative spaces inside the form are like gaping, amorphous holes. I see the psychological interpretation but am not sure that that is the meaning. I think I need to paint a bit to find out. Maybe this afternoon? Hmmm. I have to give myself permission to put the domestic stuff aside, put the book on, and just enjoy the process. Every day. Hard to do when the chaos is up close and personal, though. The battle continues. 

Since things have changed and I don’t get to write daily (who needs a boatload of daily complaints?) I am shifting my blog over to my art website instead of trying to maintain Make-Art Everyday, too. I still aim to Make Art Every Day and actually do in one way or another - I just can’t always write about it. Apparently I am too busy monitoring Toby’s urine for sugar levels, telling Tilly that he is the most wonderful little white dog in the world, and procuring unwanted Amazon boxes for Hapi to destroy so he keeps his feather plucking to a minimum. And working, let’s not forget that! And taking lots and lots of medicine to fight back against the scourge of my life, rheumatoid arthritis. I’d like to be able to push it aside and say “yeah, yeah, I know about that and it isn’t going anywhere, just fogetttabout it.” The reality is, though, it never is far away from current thought as it interjects itself pretty consistently throughout the day in the form of pain (often pretty uncomfortable), limitation, fatigue, and anxiety about how much worse it is going to get.

So, this is a “new” blog connected to the “old” blog. This one is under my own name, though, on my site. Feels more organized already.

Something in my fridge smells like death, and I wish I could napalm my entire backyard and start over. Boy, it is great to be on vacation and be able to actually do something about these things! Spent the past two gloriously beautiful days outside cutting, raking, and bagging yard mess. And have about thirty more days of work ahead. I went to bed last night almost crying at my jelly legs, knowing they are plotting their revenge. That is the funny thing about RA -- overuse doesn’t always hurt when it is happening  -- it could be a couple days later that BAM the rioting body parts have had time to coordinate an effective assault. Insert expletive here.

Today is cooler, though, and I think some indoor maintenance is taking preference with a little art time tonight. I have been doodling out a new idea (again) and am not sure if it needs to be just painted, a soft sculptural thingy, a mixed media collage, or a fabric collage. Hmmmm. Seems like a lot of play is in order. AFTER I chase Toby with a urine stick and clean out the fridge. And do laundry, And floors. And. and.and. Why, I ask, did I not marry rich??? Oh yeah. All the guys I met back then when I was of the marrying age were not into art, and that is what I was all about. And still am. Now I remember. At least now I can have three rooms in my little house dedicated to art and no one can tell me to put it away. Except the cats, who feel compelled to move things around as they see fit. I don’t mind that a bit, though.

Lots of changes ahead artistically, teaching-wise, and beyond. Time to give the blog a new twist, too. Cheers!

​