STUDIO TIME

Amber came over on Sunday for some studio time. This was her first attempt at block carving since some horrible high school wood carving incident which causes her to drop to the floor into the fetal position when mentioned (I'm kidding...kind-a). I assured her that this would be far less painful + with only one band-aid needed, she did great! She'll print thank you cards for her business, but since she is a wedding photographer, her weekends are pretty booked in June + it may be awhile until her next visit.

YOU CAN'T G.O. HOME AGAIN

Saturday I hung out with my good friend Hezza, lunch at burrito-ville (patio photo above) + a trip to the newly re-located Goodwill outlet. Known 'round here as The G.O., it used to be my happy place, my lunch break escape from the job I commuted to in Nashville. Well, here's the thing, it just did not give me that same happy feeling. Yes, my life has changed, I'm far less stressed + no longer need an escape, but the new location is smaller, well lit + (I say this like it's a bad thing) really clean + odor-free. Hezza kept saying, "I know change is hard for you..." I love how well my friends know me.

Hezza passed on the string art owl (she said she did not like the fuzzy angora). Among my treasures, I found not ONE, but TWO identical macrame owl necklaces! One for each of us. You still have to dig, so the odds of this happening are pretty slim.

p.s. for those of you who live in Nashville + are familiar with The G.O., Cordell is still working there, has been promoted to greeter + his birthday is next week, + they have gone back to pricing items by the pound.

KINDNESS

I don't normally talk about my day job here, but for 6 years (in 2 stints) I have been a receptionist at a community mental health center. It's rarely a dull job + often quite rewarding, but some days I have to remind myself that I love my house + I want to continue receiving regular paychecks because if one more person starts a conversation with "I NEED!!!!!!!..." I will go ballistic + probably lose my job. That being said, lately my job has been a bit hard to handle, but the day can completely turn around when someone shows up for their appointment with the gift of a basil plant they nurtured from seed.

TOMATO CAGES

Our friends are replacing the funky old wire fence in their backyard with a privacy fence + instead of taking the fencing to the dump, I asked them to bring it over so I could make tomato cages.

In Tennessee there is a free quarterly publication called Local Table with a column by Farmer Jason (AKA: Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers). In the spring issue he sang the praises of tomato cages, claiming plants have a higher yield when used.

I don't have proper wire snips + tore up my hands using incorrect tools, but I managed to make 3 cages this morning + have enough fencing to make about 10 more (after a trip to the hardware store).

WOW! I'm on a blogging roll this weekend. I guess I'm making up for those 3 weeks of illness.

MISSING LOS ANGELES

At The Getty in 1998, a couple months before we moved to Tenn.

Lately I've been really homesick. My mom reminded me that it's been a year this weekend since I've been back, an entire year without seeing friends, family + the ocean! Watching Lakers playoff games is making it worse. It's funny though, every time I go back I get so overwhelmed because our life in Tennessee is so quiet + I don't do a whole lot of driving. It always takes me a couple days to adjust + remember street names.

The next trip is planned for August, coordinating with my aunt, who lives in New York, + a cousin, who lives in Oregon. Until then I'll keep cheering on The Lakers + avoiding the song Los Angeles by X because the opening riff alone can make me weep.

JACKIE SEES ALL

Today I reprinted a piece from long ago, when I first started carving linoleum blocks. It sold like hotcakes (to an excessive number of women named Jackie) at the very first show I did + for some reason I put the block away + forgot about it.

Jackie's Glasses is based on a painting I did in college, the assignment was iconic objects. I remember one guy painted the Holy Grail + that the class was in the fall semester after Princess Diana was killed + another student painted her death car.
ANYWAY: the print is available in my Etsy shop.

p.s. While going through some old photos for my next post I found this one of "Missy," a mannequin head (with a horrible wig) that turned up in the painting studio at my college. One day, during class, I needed to stretch my legs + walked around campus, taking pictures of her.

I WON A PIE

plate by Susan Smith

My friend invited me to a vegan cooking class (some friends of hers will be teaching classes + needed test students). At the end of class they had drawings for the demo foods + I won the chocolate cream pie*.
I also learned about Blendtec blenders + really want one
(I'll have to save up).

*Cashews, silken tofu, melted chocolate + pure maple syrup.
It's really, REALLY rich.

DANG! IT HAPPENED AGAIN!

Card boxes out can only mean one thing...I have a show coming up (the 2nd annual On the Beaten Path show in 2 weeks). Had I not spoken with my friend Claudia last night I would not have realized this until I flipped the calendar to June. Now you know why I don't take commissions- I'm dreadful with dates + it turns out bad.

Luckily I have a lot of stock + I think I'll be fine. This weekend I'll re-print some OLD pieces that have not been seen in years + finish Wool 100%. The Wire season 1 is next on the queue, which gives me motivation to finish the movie + send it back.
Update on movie watching- I loved the sweater the girl kept knitting over + over + over, but her yelling was more than I could take. After about 1 hr I realized I stopped paying attention, put the DVD back in it's red envelope + off it goes.

WHILE MY BOY IS AWAY...

...visiting his brother in St. Louis + going to a Cardinals game, I've been putzing around the house + playing with the new camera.

I'm also trying to get through the movie Wool 100%. Visually + on paper (Selvedge had a great article) it looks like I would L-O-V-E it + want to own it, but for some reason I can't get into it. I will watch it + I think in the end I will have enjoyed it, but right now it's about the destination, not the journey. (7 uses of the word "it").

WISH YOU WERE HERE

New postcard set of 3 (2 blue + 1 green) available in my Etsy shop.

Well it's about friggin' time is what I have to say!
Feels grrrrreat to get back in the studio.

A "WEED" NO MORE

Some friends stopped by this afternoon + noticed that we have edible weeds growing in our back yard. This leafy green (I forget it's name) helps cleanse the kidneys.

CURRENTLY DIGGING (IN ADDITION TO DANSKO CLOGS)

Noodles (udon or soba) with miso (paste) + hot pepper flakes

Footless tights

AND our new Netflix subscription
(ooh, now I can use the word "queue")

We finally got around to watching The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford + I'm wondering what took us so long. I was so moved by the stunning imagery, color palate, pacing, use of narration + overall tone of this movie. Brad Pitt's acting was a little distracting because at times he seemed to be revising his roll as Early Grayce from Kalifornia (although not as quotable), but Casey Affleck was absolutely mesmerizing. After watching this, I think The Proposition might have be next on our queue
(Nick Cave is a common element between these two movies).

IS THERE A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR MY DANSKO ADDICTION?

I bought 2 more pair (2 on left) at the newly re-opened ultimate source for discounted Danskos. Since I walk to work, comfort is a high priority.

~Other news~
I was supposed to teach my first yoga class today, however, between being knocked on my ass for 3 weeks + my yoga teacher's son graduating from high school, it's been pushed back 2 weeks.

~AND even more other news~
We have a new-to-us camera, a Cannon PowerShot G9 which is a big upgrade from our little PowerShot A540 (which is still a great little camera). It's not Amber's sup-a dup-a professional camera, but we'll get there one day. Now I have to figure out how to use it!

"THE RUMORS OF MY DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED"

(10 days of thunderstorms + the garden is off to a great start)

After 16 days of Bronchitis + a nasty post-Bronchitis persistent cough,
which caused me to lose my voice for 5 days,
I am 95.5% back among the living.
Needless to say I really have nothing very exciting to write about because this has been my life:

• All 4 seasons of The O.C.
• Several episodes of Action
• Session 9
• Be Kind, Rewind
• Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains
• The Filth + The Fury: A Sex Pistols Movie
• Walk Hard
• Junebug
• There Will Be Blood
  
• Lakers play-off games
  

I have got to get back to 100% because my last few posts are pretty sorry for someone who has a craft blog. Again, thank you for all your warm wishes + empathy for the whole antibiotic thing. I'm done with my 10-day round + can finally drink a beer!!!