A Long and Difficult Month

Life's a beach, and sometimes it's not.

It's been a difficult three weeks for The Artist and me. His mom was ill, recovered and became ill again with a different problem. She's getting better, but at 91, it takes a long time. She's so used to being independent and wants to return home, but must spend some time in a rehab center to build up her strength.

Making sure she's taken care of, visiting her and cheering her on to keep her spirits up and make her eat has taken a lot out of us. As my very good friend (who has two aging parents) says, there's a lot of mental stress. "Who will take care of me when I'm their age, since I have no children?"

Fortunately, she has a strong will to live. We long for her to return to her apartment and life to return to the way it was before she became ill. Secretly, we know that it will probably not happen exactly like that.

Work has been very hard and very difficult. Projects are due sooner, new projects appear from the ether to be fit in to normal workflow and more is expected with less staff. I try to tell myself that it is not age, just work, but my self-image suffers. I expect it to get harder and more difficult.

The show circuit has stunk this summer. The Artist has not done well, but neither have many other craft artists. Sometimes it's like that. The Economy.

So, what cheers us up? When the sun's out. Good food (but not too much of it). Reading. Working in the shop. Talking with friends.

Ah, Sweet Peas

I can just smell them now, can't you? The wonderful thing about sweet peas is that you have to cut them, or else they go to seed and stop producing. So you let them bloom, cut them, bring them inside, put them in a vase and sit around sniffing them. Ah, Heaven! Then, they bloom again in a couple days!







I used to plant sweet peas with my father when I was little. Every April (as I recall; maybe it was March) we'd plant in front of his shop. He'd dig up the cold ground, pound in the sweet pea double-staked wooden trellis foundation with protruding little nails heads in a row and I'd unroll the string, winding it around the nails, up and down, stand and squat, and plant the big, round seeds, one inch apart.


Nice weekend. Very warm on Saturday. It was a great day to have a neighborhood yard sale and sit around the driveway in my shorts and a V-neck T shirt getting a red chest. I also trimmed the lemon verbena, which should have been done last winter. I have a hard time just sitting still, sometimes. Bought a book from my neighbor and finished it this morning. The Artist and I made $17 and change. What's left is going to Goodwill, not to the attic.


The Artist and I used our new shower for the first time last night. It's great! It works! It's big and unclaustrophobic! The Artist is playing a tune on one of his dulcimers right now - Pack Up Your Sorrows.


Today I worked on my Fiber Art piece. The Artist worked on a birdhouse to enter in a show. It's so creative! So him.


We're both tired. Don't know if we can watch that movie or not!


Guess I'll just sit around and sniff sweet peas.

Apple Blossom Time

Apple Blossom Time

Shades of Pat Boone. Lovely day, but cold and windy. The artist and I bundled up for our weekly walk to the ATM and Farmers' Market. Yard Sale on the way. (Fire alarm sound, please.) For a buck, I bought a wooden carved komoto dragon from Indonesia to add to my carved animal collection, a rather large piece, but c'est la vie. (The seller needs to repair her truck. My heart went out to her.) Earth Day in the park. We strolled thru with our asparagus, artichokes, carrots and fresia, then along the choppy bay, watching the sea otters.

We're showing off our new bathroom and office to everyone we can get our hands on to pull into the house. Waiting until we get the shower glass in to show you. It's so exciting! A real office. A real bathroom. The artist and I each swore we'd never again buy a house that needed repair and look what we have done. I added up just how much we've spent on this house and it makes me almost weep. But, it is a half block from the water. And we have a $2 million plus house going up across the street. And, we really like it here. It's cozy.

Trying to put stuff back in my work room (the guest room), the thoroughfare for the recent tiling. Dusty from leaving the door open to the outside; I ordered a new vaccuum cleaner attachment.

The artist has been in his workshop all afternoon, except for a short time with one of his graphics clients and time he helped me hang something. He's so good. He works so hard. He's a great artist.

Time for dinner. The artist is a good cook, too. He likes to be an artist in everything he does.