Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Cairo Blog*

*Warning: This post mostly consists of pictures of a cat, and creating it was a blatant act of open defiance and procrastination in the face of domestic perils, such as too much laundry, and an office that needs torching dusting. The cat is adorable, to be sure, but there is little or no substance to this post. Proceed at your own risk.



Someday I will create a chart that illustrates my Blog Cycle, which is basically a rotation of emotions and behaviors around how I cope with being a B Blog, chronically unnoticed, yet inevitably irrepressible... like resistant bacteria, but nicer.

In the meantime: Look at my cat!

Cat

Catito

Catness

Catnoyed

Cattilac

Cattle

Catto

Catty

Catcat

Cattitude

Choose your favorite Cat for an entry into a drawing for a fabulous find out of the office, which I am *dusting.*

Monday, April 30, 2018

Last Days of April








April 14~

Let's see... there was an Earth day and a Tax day, and all sorts of other significant days, I am sure, but now we are at the last day of April, and I am struggling to think of the particulars. The month has been a blur. It may be that I was far too preoccupied with waiting-hoping-stressing about a response from the school Max applied to, and it obscured all other thoughts or feelings of ease. It could be that the colossal, and ultimately awesome project of turning our weathered and beaten carport into a top-notch workshop has been all-consuming. It seems the days, and activities, have been busy and consuming enough, that I can't immediately distinguish details, or stand-out moments. But sorting through just a few of my pictures, I can see that there have been some very good and memorable days, and I'd like to record some of it...

April 15~

For sure, there has been a lot of painting, drawing, sketching, and creating. We seem to have convinced Cairo to behave, most of the time, and not walk across our works. I love it when he is a quiet observer.



April 16~

Alex has been painting a lot, and there have been serious offers from people interested in buying his work. He's looking into figuring out the best way to sell, and considering options for printing. If anyone has any suggestions, we'd welcome advice. Maria is prolific, too. On her screen is a challenge she accepted to create a digital image from a single point, extruding the original shape to create a portrait. I'm glad she continues to explore both digital and traditional mediums.



April 17~

With Janece's recipe, Maria has become the resident Banana Bread Chef, and we love it! Personally, I think every loaf should be covered in pecans.




April 19~

The sweet peas... oh gosh, those sweet peas. I've shared bouquets and kept a vase or three around the house, for weeks now, and still they keep coming! I waited (too long) to plant these darling flowers, and now that they are here, I cannot stop admiring and enjoying them. Even when I know that I've taken a hundred, or more, pictures, it doesn't dissuade me from taking just one more. Soon, they will be all bloomed out, and we will plant something else... I will be looking forward to planting new sweet pea seeds, and passing the time looking through these pictures. If only I could save their fragrance, too.





Sean and Alex~

Jim~

Robin, James, Pat~


April 21~

Well, this day was definitely a stand-out... when we went to Robin and Sean's for pizza making. That's their home-made pizza oven... diy par excellence! And then there were blueberry-hibiscus macarons, and a sunset, and laughter, and bat talk, and glow in the dark tiles and mosaic plans, and the company of friends. Really, just the company of those friends would have been enough. I'm still still smiling, feeling the glow.









April 22~

Smiling and feeling the glow, and motivated to get our home and lives in order... it's that same lesson, about starting over, adjusting the sails. Part of me says, dust those cobwebs, and file those papers, so you can have friends over, and part of me says don't wait for "perfect" before enjoying life, and throwing open your doors to welcome fun. I am sure there is a middle ground. Well, wherever the middle ground is, I seem to be doing the dance... one step forward, two steps back, and cha-cha-cha!





April 26~

I reclaimed this shelf, upstairs, that had been placed there "for a minute," which became more like five years. Well, it took me long enough, but finally I concluded that if it's there, it may as well work, and look good, too. Over time it had become (another) drop-off station, collecting the odds and ends that no one seems to want to claim nor reject, dusty, and an invisible eyesore.

Do you get those? Invisible eyesores? I find them all the time... a surface, or corner that is basically awful, but so well-established and long lived that no one seems to see it any more. Which reminds me, please don't let me forget to do something about the lamp in the entry, and the straw sombrero on the bookcase.

So... now we have a bookcase with my travel guides, atlases, and other travel themed literature.

Oh, that is so satisfying... to have a completely orderly, and aesthetically pleasing corner. This ought to inform me about all other corners and surfaces in my home. I am inspired. Honest... one step forward, two steps back, and cha-cha-cha!


Increasingly, since practicing illustration, and sticking to my learn to be an artist resolution, I notice shapes, patterns, textures, colors, shade, light, forms, curves, lines. All of it seems more pronounced, more interesting, which is kind of funny, because I feel like I have always noticed those things. The difference may be that I noticed and liked shapes and patterns, but now I think about them, and study them, too. And I think this may hold a clue into why I am enjoying the dip pen nibs and India ink... having to dip the pen in ink, and not smudge it when it's wet, forces me to slow down. And when I slow down, I allow more time to observe, to contemplate all of those textures, lines, curves, and patterns. Ah, insight... now I am thinking about how much I have learned, which is nice, but also humbling, because I see ever more clearly how much more I have to learn.



Please, let me be as comfortable in my own skin, as my goat is in her wooly coat.

(I have not been aging "well." It's emotional, as well as physical. Attitude with latitude versus gravity and time. But if I could harness just a bit of Tasha's regal air, life is beautiful mantra... well, it couldn't hurt.)





It is the last day of April. Next comes May, and if this pace keeps up, it will be time to clear a space for a Christmas tree.

No! We have trips in the works, and hot summer days ahead. We have new schools to prepare for, birthdays to celebrate, new months, new plans, more dances to do, and friends to laugh with. It can be a blur, and move along quickly, but I will take pictures, and reflect, and make time to notice the many and good stand-out moments.