We need them.

One interaction with a positive person can change a day.

I think it must have been Ringo Starr

He does a fun concert with several of his musical friends fairly regularly.

It was a complete treat to see Ringo. He looks great. Young for his eighty something. Sounded awesome. It was fun to see all the performers having fun on stage.

I also saw BTO fairly recently at the same venue. They had some fun early songs. I lost interest when they changed style in the 80s, but always fun to see the oldies play live.

I haven’t seen much in the way of performances lately. I hope to soon.

Is a Bruce Lee quote and a book by his daughter, Shannon Lee

I love the reassuring sound of that statement.

Be water.

My friend.

Water is a beautifully metaphor. I wonder if we use it so often because it’s the closest thing we have to energy. Water, unlike energy, is tangible. We can feel it and see it and hear it, yet most of it’s qualities are a lot like the qualities of energy.

So it is with this energetic theme, that I keep reminding myself to be water. Stay fluid. Stay open. Water becomes the shape of what ever it’s in. Cup, bowl, stream, lake. It has no preconceived shape, it’s not out to be anything. When contained it’s still looking for the path of least resistance. Meandering around any obstacle without becoming engaged, offended, really anything but neutral.

I’m finding the concepts in the book are fun to learn, but hard to remember and even harder to articulate. I’ll have to read it again, but I’m enjoying it. I like reminding myself to be water, especially when my peace is being challenged.

I like community. I think it’s important.

I like to find something I enjoy and show up regularly to be part of it.

A bunch of us went to a town meeting today to support a neighbor who has been trying to get a small home improvement project approved. After over two years of modifications, finally their plans passed. A non comedic Parks and Rec’ style meeting, not fun, but yay for our friends.

I attend yoga at the same time most days. There was a book club meeting at the studio last Sunday. Many old friends from last year, some new ones too. That’s a fun community to be part of.

I enjoy this Word Press community here online. It’s very supportive and provides many interesting and informative nicely written posts.

I miss my community in California.Whenever I’m homesick I like to look at all my pictures of fun times. My sweet supportive, fun loving friends, I miss them.

Sigh.

One that’s so successful that the sky is the limit.

Basically more of last winter.

Every day something different and interesting.

Last winter I did stop often and look around. I knew I was living my own dream. I enjoyed so many fun art-filled moments.

I worked every day and loved it. Sure there were things to navigate, glitches here and there, things to challenge me, you know less glamorous, less fun issues to solve. I would welcome one of those now!

How can I bump some art into my life here? Is the obvious question that I’m asking. This is my puzzle.

Some have suggested that I volunteer to teach a class at the senior center. I did that last year. They told me they already have people. (with a tinge of attitude)

I wasn’t offended. Life has a rhythm here that has been going on long before I arrived on the scene.

I have been painting a little in the attic. Today it’s been pouring rain and cold and I have this cough. So Van Gogh/la Boheme vibe. I should just embrace it, but I’ve just been so spoiled. I guarantee things are going to improve. It’s just that for right now I’m probably adjusting to discomfort, which I will get the hang of.

Good things every day. There have been plenty. This cough has nearly run its course. There are only three more days of predicted rain. It’s all working out.

I’ll find some art, some way to contribute artistically.

Good morning! Greetings from the NE

I think this subject has been talked about a time or two already.

It will be raining all week according to the weather report (which I am remembering is not always accurate) So grain of salt.

And

we didn’t realize we were out of heavy cream for our morning coffee until last night.

That is, G realized and texted me, but I was at a very engaging bookclub and had left my phone in my coat pocket, on a hook, off in the distance.

When I got home I realized my blunder.

Before that, all was well and Fun.

Here are some lessons learned:

Nothing is worth closing my heart over. Not running out of heavy cream, rain or grumpy people who don’t like rain.

Not mornings where nothing opens until 7, even coffee places.

Also, sometimes if I want a nicer morning, it might be better to race to a store before it closes the night before, even if I’m tired and think I’d rather do it in the morning, because stores aren’t as convenient here as they are in CA, another important lesson.

Last year we learned to never run out of heavy cream. How did we let ourselves down today?! I’m sure G has a good reason for not going out for some last night as well. He isn’t offering any explanation, but I know him. And the awkwardness of some things.

Chalk it up to more reasons for not letting my heart close.

As we revisit this rainy heavy cream-less wake up (call), I can feel that G and I have changed. We’ve already dropped the subject. He’s back from the long trek to a store. We sit drinking our coffee watching the steady rain outside.

Yoga starts soon…

Hmmm

I care less and less about the holidays.

I might pick Earth Day because it’s easy to forget and not notice.

The others have become so complicated they aren’t much fun.

Oh well

Let’s celebrate a good day

Any good day

Some joy

Some fun

Not often.

Few enough times that I can remember every one.

Nothing makes memories like camping with three kids plus a four month old baby in the Utah mountains in early May. Cooking spaghetti in water that has frozen solid? Keeping all those little heads and fingers covered? Hard to forget

Or, group camping with people you only know from church. How these cranky non morning people pulled themselves together for church every week, was a miracle that I didn’t know I witnessed week after week. I learned a lot on that trip.

Then there was the four teenagers, their four additional friends, and a new fiancée camping trip. Welcome to the family G. I mostly remember all the cooking and dishes we had to do in a make shift laborious way. G called his mom and thanked her for all her work on his family camping excursions growing up.

I am usually up for adventure, but I like it better when there is a nice hotel involved. I like the idea of camping. It’s just that I’ve really only had one experience that might make me want to repeat it.

Mostly, it’s long extra dark sleepless nights, many long dirty days trouble shooting through usually easy tasks at home, like opening cans or washing your face with ‘camping’ equipment.

Do all men love camping epuipment? REI was my first husbands favorite date night, family outing, rainy day activity.

There are terrible tasting freeze dried foods, water purifiers, tiny can openers, stuff I don’t want to have to use in normal life, but life savers if you can find them while camping. Organizational skill is pretty important.

Fishing or hiking with toddlers? Don’t get me started on the guilt. Many families LOVE camping, I sincerely wanted to, but I wasn’t good at it. Liking it? I stayed hopeful for a lot of years.

I have a heathy respect for pioneers, but me? I like navigating survival with more comfort. A real bathroom. A bed…

I do love the marshmallow- toasting-campfire parts and the beauty and peace of being in nature.

When I was in high school I went on an epic cross country ski trip for a class. We stayed in hostels in the Canadian Rockies. It snowed without stopping for the full three days and two nights. Our teacher had everyone take turns ‘breaking trail’ which meant being out in front starting to make a path for everyone. It was both grueling and breathtakingly beautiful. We were up to our knees and thighs in fresh snow for 25-30 kilometers each day. When we got back to the school the city had declared blizzard conditions. Many of us stayed late into the night waiting to be picked up. Canadians are rarely detained by snow.

I loved that I did that trip. I barely remember the blisters and the fatigue and the soreness of muscles I may never have used before. Or the cold. Oh it must have been so cold! Powdered snow only remains powder if conditions are cold and dry enough.

I don’t regret my camping experiences, I just don’t know if it’s something I would look forward to doing now.

Staying with G’s mom is as close to camping as I want to be these days. And we are searching hard for ways to remedy the camp like parts.

I feel like I slipped into an alternate universe.

Maybe a different planet.

Only a week or so ago I was emersed in paint and art and fun

Today it’s all about yard work. Every day. Weeds. Hidden weeds, weeds no one can see. Literally hours of weeding. For reasons I’m unclear about. After putting on weed killer (which caused a rift with neighbors) I’m just not computing. Big brown spots from grubs. Huge. Mostly dirt. Those you can see, but no one can know if the grubs are winning

Yet

New seed has been laid out. It’s just a matter of time.

I don’t know how to follow the conversations about the lawn. Last year the side lot was all brown. Same with the year before. When I asked about it, I was told it was always like that. It didn’t get enough water. I argued that it probably got the same amount as the rest of the lawn. Then when it stayed brown after weeks of record rain, I asked again. Looked up stuff online. Suggested grubs. Three summers later the war is on. The grass seems to be losing.

Except on the side lot. That grass looks better than it ever has according to G.

It’s a woman vs nature drama.

From the looks of things, the grubs have destroyed probably forty percent of the non side lot lawn. Turns out grubs grow up and fly and spread.

G is more helpful. He seems to follow the logic better than I do. We spent hours last fall getting the side lot ready and seeding. It looks great, but it’s not about the side lot. We only care about the front and the other side.

Is what I think I’m learning. And who knew Gs mom can sit on her little stool and weed for hours even if she doesn’t like weeding and no one can tell where the weeds are or that anything was done afterwards. This is not for me to understand.

Thank goodness for yoga and nice weather. I made myself tea. It’s been a long first day back to work kind of day. I guess I don’t share the passion for lawn work. Oh well.

I feel productive when my days are filled with flow-like work.

Our last few months in CA felt productive and fun because of the fast paced busy ness of doing multiple different art projects. Every day I was engaged. Every day was full.

The gallery shows, the gala collaborations, the staging, the commissions, team building art classes, plus painting all the time. A little staging. Oh and the meetings, I loved my important meetings in LaJolla, or in cool coffee houses over pastries or beer and tacos. Planning out lessons and making stuff happen. All my favorite ways to stay busy and feel accomplished and productive.

How could it get better than that?!