I think it's done

If I were you, I’d be wondering.

Okay, I’ve been sick: stuffy/runny nose and some kind of stomach flu thing. I’m hoping to get better in time to enjoy all the smells and foods of the holidays, let me tell you! And, this cuts into my motivation to bake holiday cookies, too. Doh!

I haven't been drawing or painting! Double doh!
[weary sigh]


Every time I’ve gotten sick since May, to where I’m, you know, passed out on the couch, I’ve noticed that several things happen. Every time.

(1) My landlord calls to tell me he’s miraculously managed to get the next kitchen repair construction guy available, that day! Don’t I appreciate how hard it is to schedule these guys? I can’t possibly understand what an inconvenience it’s been for HIM, trying to schedule and coordinate all these people!
It's a long, long story, this bit with the kitchen.

I think to myself, “Uh, that inconvenient unfinished construction zone? I’ve been living in it, dude.

24/7.

Since May.”

and ..

(2) Something goes wrong with my car that requires leaving it in the shop for the whole day. Or for even longer.

The painter guy was the nicest of the bunch - - apparently the world decided to save the best for last, thankfully. And he was done pretty quick. So when I unpack my stuff back onto the kitchen countertops this time, I'm not going to have that nagging wondering in the back of my head of when I'll need to pack it all back up to prepare for the next construction step. I just hate drywall dust all over my cooking stuff, you can't even imagine.

So, I'm looking forward to that cup of coffee that I’d been hoping to make earlier this morning - my first in about two weeks.

The frustrating part is that I’d scheduled a few hours this morning to sit down at the kitchen table to get into the nitty gritty of WORK that I finally felt perky enough to do since getting sick. I smirk at the irony that in exchange for getting that work done this morning before class, I was also going to get my stuff out to paint tonight. The acrylics and gouache and maybe the tube watercolors - - goodies that have been stashed away, also since about May. Guess it could all still happen, but you know, this is how the whole kitchen thing has been. Tentative starts and jolting stops. Again and again.

I know. In the grand scheme of things, these are all pretty insignificant blips.

Can I say it now?

I think it’s FINALLY done.

Didn’t I say I wasn’t going to get bogged down in complaining? This is the holiday season after all. [Sigh]

Looking forward to being able to:
Have that cuppa coffee
Drive my own car (maybe later tomorrow? One can hope)
Smell, eat, and bake (in what order, I don't care)
Enjoy life without construction interruptions and with a little more comforting peace for myself
Draw and paint a little bit at my kitchen table

and put the postcards of Bellows Beach and all the other good stuff ...
back up on the Fridge Door.


Have you missed me? Ooo, I've missed you.

Distraction to Share

I typically don’t intend to write posts that are just links to other places. I figure you’re curious when the heck the darn cookie-baking is going to start, where we’ve been, and if it involves hiking or painting.

But sometimes, it’s just fun to share.



This photo is from my first 5K, last year, the Nike RunHitWonder run. I haven’t been training very hard since Spring (injuries and general distraction), but how much fun is this? For next year: More running!

Steph’s post about her running the New York City Marathon and the little adventure that followed inspired me to dig up this photo. If you smirked at all reading the details of my last 5K, I think you’ll really enjoy the details of Steph’s story. Steph and Jim's HumanBeingCurious website is great, too; What a great premise.

While I was going through the guide brochures we got when we entered Yosemite, a postcard that announced a photo exhibit fell out. My personal, private Yosemite guide is quite knowledgeable and, so, yeah, we didn’t think to go through the brochures. We missed what looks like a great exhibit while we were there - - whoops. Here’s a link to some samples, though, of great landscape photos taken by Stan Jorstad of all of our National Parks. Beautiful! This is what my J ought to be doing!


Okay, I have to admit:
I have a folder for links that is called “Distraction”. Here’s a sampling.

- When your day has been too long, and traffic’s made you crazy, maybe you need to spend some quality time with something really cute and cuddly. They don't call it 'Cute Overload' for nuthin'.

- It’s a little late, but you can always carve a pumpkin. You know I have a thing for carving pumpkins ...

- A little more timely:
Line Rider – The little dude will bravely ride whatever you can dish out, and then some.

- And, the ever-popular Snow Days.

Fun, huh?
Now, get back to work! :)

Thanksgiving in Yosemite

She said, swinging her feet back and forth, "You know what I want to see?"
He said, "No, what?"
"I'd like to see Yosemite. With a light dusting of snow. Someday. And the Grand Canyon, too. With snow. [wistfully] Someday..."
"It'd be cold, you know."
"I know. That's what I have you for."
"Hmmm..."

Well, it was chilly, but not quite cold enough for any snow to 'stick'. The first few days were a bit grey and dreary, and the colors of the mountains and trees were just flat. It was a bit disappointing in that respect ... nothing we really felt compelled to photograph or paint, but the mild weather meant that we could spend our days outside without having to worry about being too hot or too cold. We got in one nice long hike ("No really! I think we just finished the worst part of the hike! We're almost to the lookout point!" "Hmmm. I've heard that before.."). The next afternoon we spent biking all around the valley floor, with long, long stretches of road through the trees, all to ourselves. Oh boy, how great is that?

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning, when we'd planned to drive back home, to a day that finally promised blue skies. We decided to stay another day and got in one last, perfect day. J got in his nice long hike (vertical gain), and I got to paint and ramble along (very flat), traipsing along the river, looking at the rocks in the water, the leaves, and all the gnarly trees along the way.

We'll have to cook up our Thanksgiving dinner some other time, but it was a great week to get away from it all, be outside with the conifers, say hello to all that majestic granite, and breathe in all that crisp, fresh air.

The 'light dusting of snow' ... will have to wait for another trip.



Lots of hiking and walking ...



... and a little bit of painting ...


Click this image ...

...for the rest of the photo set!

Cobb Estate

Karen and Robin have posted great paintings/sketches from their visits to the Cobb Estate in Altadena. I finally had a chance to go see. It's rustic, overgrown, bright, with great views no matter what direction you face. What survives of the pavement is great for hiking, walking your pooch, mountain-biking, drawing and painting.

We all agree: The spring, with everything abloom, will be well worth a return trip ...
Oh, so lucky we live in SoCal.

Almost Thanksgiving

mid-November in Southern California / the Cobb Estate, Altadena. Off the very top of Lake.

[I can’t believe I let you guys sit with that OSU/UM post for a week. Yeesh.]

I know, it’s not ‘almost’ Thanksgiving anymore. It’s hard to even think of Thanksgiving, with the holiday/Christmas rush on, seems like it came and went in a hurry! But, still, no matter where we are on the calendar, it’s good to stop and give thanks.

We just got back from a nice long trip to Yosemite (photos to follow, be patient), and so we were away (on the trail, actually) for Thanksgiving Thursday. We did get roast turkey dinner the weekend before we left, though, not to worry. And yes, pumpkin pie. I like the idea of Thanksgiving - - the idea that so many people have this craving for turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and Dallas Cowboy football, wherever they are in the world. The other thing is that, I’m going to guess, that most people say grace. No matter who or what higher power you might believe it, it’s nice to think that we also share in a national moment of pause, of reflection, to give thanks for all that we have, all the food, all the goodness.

Things that I’m thankful for:

- The endless blues of the sunny Southern California sky and of the ocean, that, in spite of all of its moods, still holds its arms open to welcome and soothe us, without question, without fail.

- The sweet, gentle kisses of mauve at sunrise and the vibrant… sweeping… passionate embrace of gold and peach at sunset.

- The golden splendor that bathes the leaves in late afternoon.

- All the greens of the trees that never fail to stop me in my tracks, to look up and lose myself in the wonder of color and texture.

- Pancakes and scrambled eggs, chocolate-covered caramel, popcorn and Heineken beer.

- The pictures, pencils, paint and brushes that let me capture so many fleeting moments, let me tell my stories. Even though I may not record it in words, the memories of the day and my mood are locked into each painting, as each layer is added, memories stored in both the painting and my memory, slowly, stroke by stroke.

- The people in my life who hug, in person, or with warm thoughts from afar.

- Steve and Ken, who told me to just go for it already.

- The Internet, high-speed access and wireless networks. And all the people at the other end.

- And of course, my big ol’ hunky man. He just lights me up. [Sigh]

It’s hard to believe we’re a month from Christmas (oh man, my Christmas cards are SO gonna be late..). Well, I guess it's not that hard to believe. Time flies when you’re off having great adventures. Thanks for keeping me company. Let’s go out and make each day a good one.

xox, -w

Don't 'gotta'

It's true: I love college football.
And, make no mistakes about it, I love BigTen football.

The rest of you wish that your conference was duking it out, undefeated, One and Two.

A few years ago, when one of the local teams played in the National Championship, some of my relatives commented, "Oh, gotta cheer for the home team, 'eh?".

Cheer for one of the PacTen teams here in town?

Uh, no. Don't 'gotta'. I don't think so.

For all the years that I had to read through the Sunday sports pages, flipping flipping flipping to get the weekend results ("Let's see. Okay. USC. UCLA. Northridge. Local High Schools. Hm. Okay, any day now. Oh, here. Next to the last page. Next to ... uh, fishing conditions. One stinkin' paragraph for the whole BigTen? Great."), I'm going to admit that I've enjoyed knowing that all this coverage has spared me all the hype that normally goes along with sunny fall football Saturdays in Los Angeles.

I close my eyes and think of mid-November in the midwest, walking to football games, the crunch of leaves, the cold wind off Lake Michigan. It's cold and grey, and you know that the dirt on the field is cold and damp. Brrrr. But there's marshmallow free-for-alls. And you jingle your keys for kickoff. And when it's over, there's the smell of fireplaces being stoked along the walk home, and the promise of deep dish pizza and more beer.

Now that's college football.

So, Saturday, I'm going to put on some purple (hey, the 'Cats play, too), park myself in front of the TV, settle in, and get my fill of some big time BigTen football.

Go Blue!

And Go Cats!