Probably not going to make it, but I gave it a shot.

I had a fantasy of filling up this journal before going on my trip, so that I could take my new smaller one. Oh well - I guess I will have to take them both.

I spent the evening last night scribbling with my watercolor pencils and watching the second and third episodes of the Wire. I’m still not hooked, but because of how everyone talks about it, I am intrigued enough to keep watching. I was supposed to be at Rebecca’s karaoke birthday party. But I just couldn’t bring myself to spend my evening that way, no matter how hard I tried.

I’m having enormous anxiety about going on vacation and leaving my beasties. Which is stoopid. I am spending all of this time and energy mourning something that hasn’t even happened yet. I will have plenty of time to deal with it when it actually becomes relevant. But I am so not cut out to have pets. I can hardly function.

On that note, I am going to go have a quality snuggle-fest.

Back at it.

This project actually took place over the course of three evenings. I have colors in mind for it, but I didn’t have the patience tonight to do more than just try out my print in monochrome. I keep flipping back and forth between thinking this is an early winter/late fall tree, or an early spring/late winter tree. Whatever. I’ll see what happens later, if I mess with the colors.

Tonight I am watching Gosford Park. Ugh - it is so freakin’ sad. Speaking of unwed mothers, I talked to M.W. a little bit. She is pregnant, and the father is being a bit of a twit. Could be worse, could be better. Whatever the case, I am still excited that she is going to have a baby. She’s always known she wanted a baby, and I’m glad her deadbeat ex-husband didn’t rob her of the chance to do that.

Tabby Cat kept me company while I was carving:

I haven’t done much of anything the past few weeks. I haven’t posted on any of my blogs, and even going to yoga was a challenge, all thanks to the tall shadow in the picture:

After one particularly bad day, I came home to find this sitting in front of my door. I can’t even imagine where he would have found such a thing. Something about it makes me think of that hotel in Donostia-San Sebastian. Or those post cards I found in the Dominican Republic. I love it. Why does he have to make me so crazy?

A library book and a bad movie

It was sunny and cold, with crunchy snow on the ground, leftover from last night. I made myself a mini-batch of Rice Krispie Treats, turned on my bad movie (Melinda and Melinda by Woody Allen), and got to work. I was completely not in the mood for my art project and had to use all my will power to resist the new library book (American Masala - cookbook) sitting on my coffee table.

But after I had made the first few cuts, I was in the zone, and loved the rest of my evening, even with the bad movie. Now I have my library book to wind me down - after all - it is a school night and I need to go to sleep!

I had an awesome walk at Golden Gardens today with S. The sun felt incredible on my eyeballs after so many days of grey!

A library book and some tracing paper…

…that’s all I could manage on Saturday night. But the fun part is that I have future plans for the results. I’m enjoying walking around thinking about the project I will do the next evening I have at home alone. I guess that is evidence that my experiment is working!

And so the work begins…

Utterly uninspired and without ideas, but I kept at it. Although I have no idea what I ended up with (two pieces of paper stuck together with two grommets?). I used some watercolors, watercolor paper, and 2 grommets (?). At this rate it will be a very long time before I get to buy new art supplies.

For the record, it is still pouring down rain. I went to Cedar’s for lunch today with Carmen and Teresa, for some much needed social girl time. It was cold and wet outside, warm inside. The lunch rush was over so it was pretty quiet for that place. We hung around for quite awhile, taking advantage of the chai refills - they serve it really hot, and their mugs are appropriately shaped to keep it that way (as opposed to the soup bowls you get in cafes these days…)

I’m getting ready for bed, feeling slightly glum. But that is silly - I should feel triumphant - I have another post despite feeling blocked. That’s the whole freakin’ point, remember?

The Bruiser

Inventory: I used some tracing paper, colored construction paper, black speedball ink, and a piece of whatever that stuff is that you carve on.

I cooked (and ate) chicken for the first time in 15 years tonight while working on this project.

I listened to my iTunes on shuffle, and it was one of those nights where everything sounded good, from Aretha Franklin, to Indigo Girls to Justin Timberlake, to Bob Dylan, to Pink, to Rent, to Nanci Griffith, to Martha Wainwright, to Prince, to Beyonce, to Johnny Cash, to Dolly Parton.

It is pouring down rain.

Boo Cat slept on my table while I worked, and I discovered that Trix is a big fan of chicken.

Now it is 11:19 and there is no way I will be sleeping any time soon. I think there may be some benadryl in my near future.

I have a lot of art supplies.

Sometimes I take them out and use them to make things, but often I get stingy - they are expensive, and I don’t want to waste. I put pressure on myself to only use them if I am going to do something “good”. Umm - needless to say, that leads to me making not much of anything at all.

My new goal is to fill my Fish Closet, using as many of my art supplies as possible. I want to use them up. I plan on documenting my experiment here.

Tonight I used watercolors for my heart. At the end of yoga class today, our teacher asked us to gaze inwardly, and see what color our heart center was. Mine was purple and red and blue - bruised, basically. Which is definitely how it felt today.