I have really been enjoying my break from school. Mostly, I have just been listening to music when I am home. While I have realized that I need to invest in a stereo of some sort, I have still enjoyed listening to music around the house (and in the car, and at work).
At the moment, I am enjoying:
I have been catching up on the second season of Big Love. David Byrne did the music for the season - and it is pure genius. From the original score to the cover selections and placement - genius.
This past weekend I also happened to watch a film called "Young Adam," also scored by David Byrne. Genius.
That's it.
It just today dawned on me that I failed to commemorate the birth date of Mr. Nick Seymour on the 9th day of this month. Oh how I love you, Nick, so please accept my apologies.
I won't go into how I realized this oversight, but I will tell you that I unearthed this little tidbit in his own handwriting somewhere on my travels through the interweb:
I don't frequently find myself in elevators - not that I have any issues with or about them - but I often find myself making similar comparisons.
Case 1: That is an empty lot with a garage, not a Parking Lot at the State Fair !
Case 2: That's an alley, not a urinal at a sporting event!
Case 3: This is a public restroom, not your personal phone booth!
Oh, Nick! We are soul mates. I just know it!
Finals are over. Not the stellar grades I wanted, but I can't really complain. Many of my favorite artists dropped out of art school, so I don't really know what grades are supposed to represent anyway. Clearly, my semester was marked by some instructors who rewarded natural talent and ability over improvement and dedication. W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R!
I spent the majority of the weekend in the house, as winter weather raged on outside. I had plenty to do in the house, and I can safely say that not too much of it got done.
I finished my magazine project (more details as that story unfolds - get it? magazine. unfolds? ha!). I did my best to organize my semester's work so that I can get safely store, repurpose or discard things as necessary. Progress was made, but it just might be one of those never-ending tasks.
Olive enjoyed the snow outside and only showed signs of cabin fever when she noticed I was on the phone. My apologies to anyone who had to attempt a conversation with her barking into the phone. At one point in time on Saturday, I walked into the bedroom to see Olive's rear end sticking up and out from under the dust ruffle on my bed. I said something to her like, "Olive! Please stop tormenting the cat!" Then I realized that the cat was nestled comfortably on the heat register (as she likes to do in the winter). Then, as if in some Holiday Tale, a tiny mouse ran out from under the bed, directly to where Lys was sitting. I suspected that the mouse had run into the heat duct via the register, so I went to shoo the cat out of the way to further investigate the whereabouts of the unwelcome houseguest. Here comes the unbelievable part: I leaned down to move the cat, and there, nestled next to her was said mouse! Of course, this all happened in a few seconds, so as soon as I spotted the mouse, it did disappear into the register. This is mostly remarkable after just seeing last week that Japanese scientists had genetically modified mice not to fear cats, therefore realizing a true Tom and Jerry story. I think in the case of Lys and this mouse, the story was less about a mouse being fearless than it was about a cat being clueless.
So I set about setting my snap traps (the most humane trap I could find, as my live catch trap rarely catches a mouse). These snap traps are terminal to mice with a nose for peanut butter, but there is no suffering. With pets, poison is out of the question (plus I don't want poison in the house), and glue traps are awful. I can't believe they even exist. Horrible! By Sunday morning, I heard the tell-tale snap and Olive ran into the room with the mouse and the trap in her mouth to show me. While she didn't catch the mouse herself, she has clearly shown herself to be tops at mouse detection. I never imagined my 80-pound dog would be a more effective mouser than my cat, but that's the case.
I won't go into much detail, but the horrible, horrible renters next door with the mountains of trash in their back yard might just have something to do with this weekend invasion. Call me Scrooge.
I already made this admission to cheekymonkey, but I am soothing my office nerves with this:
Does that make me a nerd? Well, if it does, I really don't care. And don't think I didn't notice the over-the-top lip-synching... Mark can't play that guitar while he's doing The Swim!
Actually, not too much at all:
I am in the middle of finals. Paint, paint, paint.
Work is insanely busy. Good problem to have most of the time, but my head is about to fly off.
Olive and Lys are enjoying my studio work when I am home. Yesterday, though, Olive knocked over a houseplant and broke the ceramic planter it was in. I repotted it on the deck in the rain. It was warm enough, but gray and raining - and I really didn't have time for Ms. Fussypants and her attention-getting antics. I didn't yell at her, but I much prefer her lying near my easel to keep me company.
Good news about selling artwork is forthcoming. I have a magazine interested in a feature about some of my stuff. I'll post it here when it becomes a reality. Stay tuned. Usually good things happen for me at lighting speed.
Show us your library card.
You're kidding, right? Is Vox working on a special assignment for the Patriot Act or something?
I have been invited to Paris for Spring Break.
This isn't something that I would normally consider, but I am so tempted. I got to looking around my house and quickly realized that I have the money to go on this trip in my house already. It's not tucked away in the wall somewhere, mind you, it's in my stash.
As an artist, I have a considerable amount of art supplies and whatnot. As a creative person, I have stash. A stash of yarn for knitting and crocheting. A stash of fabric for quilting and sewing projects. A stash of beads and findings for jewelry-making. You see, before I was the busiest woman I know, I actually had time to make things.
After looking at my yarn stash, I decided to knit up some cutesy winter scarves and put them in my etsy shop. Have a look, and check back soon. Now that I have a goal, I'll be on a mission to reduce my stash inventory! Anyone who knits will surely know that these garter stitch scarves aren't difficult to make, but at these prices, you can barely buy the yarn, let alone take the time to knit them up!
Maybe you have a dog (or a kid or a cat or a significant other) like Olive and you will understand.
I spent a considerable amount of time last week not feeling too well. I am happy to report that I am much better now, but for a while there I wasn't so sure. I'll get back to that in a moment.
Olive is a fairly demanding companion. Why, why would I ever pay attention to anyone other than her is she is right there in the room? Hmmm? When I am winding down at the end of the day, making a phone call or two, Olive takes objection to it by staring at me and barking. Loudly. Barking until I am off of the phone. C'mon, man! After all, in many ways when I get home after a long day at work and school, that is just the beginning of Olive's day. Okay, I get that.
Back to the infirmary: When I am ill, and attempting to sleep at a time when I might otherwise be awake or gone, Olive also objects loudly. It's the loudest silence ever. She sits on the bed, close to me and stares at me. Sometimes, she might thump her tail, but mostly she just stares at me until I finally get up and let her out or go out and sit on the sofa with her. Would I put my dog up against anyone in a stare-down contest? You bet I would. The staring is deafening!
