The Day

Friends are moving. Our good friends, Dom , Lisa and daughter Lucy, just packed up and moved to Santa Cruz. Fred and I have known them as long as we have known each other- 9 years. They are ending one chapter of their lives a beginning a new one. I feel that way about Fred and I too...

I was thinking today about what it's like to sort through the stuff in a home and pack it up into boxes. All of those boxes full of stuff that we keep for x amount of time- moving it, cleaning it, organizing it, storing it...all of the stuff. The great thing about the moving process is getting rid of stuff you don't need anymore and then really thinking about the new place, the change, the move and everything is fresh and new and you are then with a little less stuff...until....

I would love to get to a point where we don't have so much darn stuff. Where it's just furniture, tools (useful stuff) and some momentos and photos.

Scraps

Growing Up Online

Fred and I watched this the other night- completely fascinated. It really made me feel like I'm in an older generation. It made us wonder about how these kids deal with reality that doesn't have changeable wallpaper and a soundtrack...we also wondered about how these kids brains were being wired differently with all of the multi-tasking they do vs. (on an extreme) Einstein who is famous for saying, "It is not that I am so smart, It's just that I stay with the problem longer."

One of my favorite professors in college was from India and he told me this story of when he was a young boy of about 3 , his family was moving from one village to the next. Everyone in his family was busy helping out, but when he was found to be be missing, his folks went and looked for him. He was found squatting near a puddle watching a snail make it's way from one place to another. They left him alone there all day and really valued that he was able to focus all of his attention on this very slow and very quiet happening...

Anyhow...it's an interesting show that you can watch online and it gave a glimpse of a gereation that is completely at ease at integrating technology into every part of their lives. Fred predicts that we'll live to see the day when people elect to just plug into a cyber reality instead of living their "real" lives...very Matrix-like.

Cafe

Monday

Today is a full work day for me. Puppies, cats...guinea pigs and kids in school are the subject- oh and a scene with an open window and a summer night and small lights glowing.

Sporatic showers and crispy, fresh air outside. Someone is mowing a lawn outside. I have a pot of french onion soup cooking downstairs. It's a perfect day for soup.

Sunday

I have the place to myself right now...atleast for the next hour. I've gotten greedy about these times that I can get cozy in my studio get into a good space to create some stuff....

Two Very Good things

I've been scoping out charities lately and came accross these two that seem exceptional. Kiva is an organization that allows people to make loans to people who need them. Room to Read is an organiztion that provides books/libraries for children in 3rd world countries who would otherise have none.

Rain

We've woken up to rain the last 2 days. It's been such a nice change. It's so much easier to focus when it's raining. I think that's one of the things I really miss about living in a place with more dynamic weather. Winter invites the imagination to do it's thing....It's no surprise that so many creative people live in Northern climates.

I popped over to Paige's blog the other day and saw a picture taken from inside a cozy home looking out on a snow blanketed neighborhood. It looked like bliss.

The other day- when I took those pictures of the storms moving in- Fred and I were talking about how hard it would be to move from here. Despite the fact that we both pine for a 4 season climate, this has become home in many ways. It's where we met some 9 years ago and there are so many memories here...still..

We have good friends who are moving up to Santa Cruz this week and it made us think about where we would go if we moved. I'm all freaked out (still) about the coming big earthquake so, I like the idea of Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, Austria, maybe Holland (unless the sea waters rise too much)...Where would you go if you could move anywhere you wanted?

Storm (small one)

Rain is moving in- the ocean is oddly still.

Sun

Trees at the park- one of Fred's projects.

Studio

Viviane just posted a picture of her studio space on her blog and asked what other people studios looked like- here's mine. Missing is the table I have yet to cart up and assemble. I did include a picture of the new storage blocks I just bought for my New Year's organizing. The candle light picture is from a recent storm where I worked in the dark hoping the colors I put down were what I thought they were....

On the Topic of Religion

I've had quite enough of religion this year...not other people having their own beliefs and being content with that, but people coming into our lives and shoving their religion on us. Right now we are in the throws of the presidential primaries and I would like to remind everyone of the great importance that the founding fathers put on the separation of church and state. I recently listened to an interview with Joseph Ellis about his book American Creation. For everyone who thinks they remember their history- take a listen to this.

Peddlers

I just got done chasing some peddlers of religion away from my front door. What is it about these people? I cannot imagine going door to door saying, "Hi, hey, let me come into your house and tell you what I believe....allow me to invade your home space and pontificate."

Slow ...Slow..Quick...Quick...Slow..

Deadlines are hitting...every thing at once. But, oddly enough, they are being met.

Writing...sketching...taxes...turning this studio upside down...organizing, tossing out...making lists of new things to do...thinking up new stuff...revisiting some old stuff...

Seed Salon: Jonathan Lethem + Janna Levin

Mathematics, Perception, Physics

A truly fascinating radio program I listened to today- it's part of Krista Tippit's Speaking of Faith show. This episode featured a theoretical physicist and how what she knows about mathematics shapes her world view....this is a world view I can get on board with.

Recharging

On Friday Fred and I had friends over and we had "Mojito Night"- I spent yesterday (all day....sigh..) recovering from Mojito Night.

2 Radio Programs Worth a Listen

This first one is about various self help books and gurus- I thought it was really good. About people always looking for the magic pill or the secret and it all boils down to repackaged common sense for sale.

This one is about how George Bush really got his fortune- it wasn't oil...

Onward

2008 is going to have more changes than 2007 had for me and Fred and 2007 had a lot of them. I like the changes...lots of challenges, but lots of good stuff. I was standing still for a long time before and I'm glad to be moving again. Funny, you don't realize you're standing still until you have things to measure your movement.

Tonight Fred is up on a roof in SLO working with electricity...makes me nervous..I worry. He knows what he's doing, but I still worry.

The year is already flying by fast and furious. we're planning to go to NYC next month. I haven't been in ages. I'll finally get to meet some of the people I've worked with for years and maybe even present sketches in person- something I've never done before. We're driving to Delaware afterwards and to Maryland...I've never been before.

Lots of stuff appearing on the calendar already for 2008. Lots of bookwork, lots of travel and lots of possibilities- Hurrah for 2008!

Never Buy a Dell Computer

Here I am, all proud of myself that I figured out the problem with my computer and that I ran out and bought the right part and fixed it. The downside is that the tech people at Dell wiped out my hard drives (I have two to protect me against disaster) and I spent a great deal of time reinstalling and reconfiguring my system.....days later, Dell sent out a replacement part and IF I had waited for that part I would have missed my deadline by days. Now, get this- they want to charge me for the part they sent out even though I'm under warranty with them....I'm fuming- can you tell? The next computer I will not buy a Dell...I'm sending their part back- a well taped up box with a note inside (not a nice one).

Wind and Rain

The big storm is here today. This morning, the family of humming birds living in the jasmine vine, bobbed in the wind drinking out of the humming bird feeder. Those tiny birds are amazing. They truly navigate their world in 3 dimensions.

The power has gone out twice today from the storm. For awhile I painted by candle light and hoped I was getting the colors right.

I have a deadline tomorrow. I'll be working late tonight until the work is done so I can chill tomorrow and enjoy the last bit of the storm.

Weather is something we don't see much here and it feels good having a bit of energy spinning and swirling outside.

A request

So- my day went from worse to even worse....after 8 hours on the phone with the dolts at tech support (no I'm not kidding), they determined that my whole darn computer had to have the files cleared and we had to start from scratch...So, we did that AND still it disn't work...so I say COULD it possibly be the video card and they say"possibly"...So get this is- it WAS! So now here I am...I have most of my data back up and most of my programs installed, but something happened to my e-mail addresses. SO-

Would everyone who knows me please, oh pretty please, send me mail so I can get youe e-mail addresses??

Thanks so much!

My Day....

Last night I was taking care of some e-mail and all of a sudden my monitor went black.....5 hours of tech support later (one last night and 4 today) I am opertaing in "safe mode" ... scanners and printers are non funtional....and I'm feeling very similar...Thank the tech whizzes at Apple for inventing the 80 gig ipod...I'm backing up my whole system because the tech people say that we're at the point that we need to begin at the beginning and do a total dump and reload of my computer...I have 2 hard drives- I thought this was supposed to save me from this, but apparently, it won't. Bastards. Anyhow....

Onto happier things...there is a whole humming bird community visiting our feeder. Today a baby humming bird has been camped out on top of it and has been feasting all day....They are fascinating to watch- so little and so agile... amazing creatures.

Wish me luck with the gutting of my computer. I'm actually pretty freaked out about it all- I'm thinking I should get an additional laptop just in case this ever happens again because I"m dead in the water with projects right now being unable to scan or print....