Girls just want to have fun

Publish Post

Sarah and I , occasionally this summer work at the same location. Her gallery has taken over a space for the summer that is attached to the Historic Home that I work for. So this week we have been working together, or at least inhabiting the same space while each of us work.Yesterday we had lunch, or rather I had lunch, and Knowing that she wouldn't have anything, I bought enough to share. Fruit, raw Manchego cheese, and some dark chocolate... hey, its a good nutritious meal! It is dark chocolate for petes sake!

We may seem sophisticated and worldly, ok, well, while not seemingly sophisticated and worldly, we are two bright and witty women who at times can be incredibly goofy. This is Sarah being incredibly goofy. I am just trying to continue to talk, waving my fork in the air for emphasis on some rather important point, and Sarah clearly thinks this ought to be all about her.
Don't you love my oh so sexy State of NH Parks and Rec shirt?
I do.
I even had the matching hat on today.

Warning, Old Photos can be dangerous!

My dad, every once in a while hands me a bunch of old photos. He is systematically going through his collection, scanning them in to the computer and then letting go . At least I think that is what he is doing. I came across this photos of me and my neighbor, Suzie (she's the BLOND one, just in case you are new here) as we 'graduated' from Brownie to Girl Scout. I didn't last long in girl scouts, it took way too much time and energy. Not enough instant gratification. I mean seriously, it took forever to earn those badges!

I think we are suppose to be looking at our reflection in a woodland grove pond. I remember having to memorize a poem. I just scanned in a lot of old photos myself. Quite a number from some misadventures in college. Boy, can these make you look at your life from a different perspective! Who you are and how you got here. Were there wrong turns, or were they just lessons in life? Were wrong choices made or is everything perfect?I think we just have to take the lessons and the gifts and move on. So instead of letting my mind linger on some slightly unfocused frat party shot, I am choosing to remember the young brownie in the woodland glade, gazing into her reflection.

Just as it should be.

Getting Better

A Universal Truth, acknowledged by women around the world. Shoe therapy is often just as effective as traditional therapy, but you can spend less than the copay.
I woke up this morning and thought for a moment that I was living back in Tacoma Washington again. I am not complaining. I love the rain. I am grateful I didn't spend the money or energy this year to put in some vegetables. Always looking for the silver lining. Always!

This is it.

Here are some great images from inside the Hopi House at the Grand Canyon. I love them. They are very vibrant and graphic. And for some reason they resonate with me. They speak of faith and hope. And right now I am a bit lacking in both.

I read once that a good way to put things in perspective in your mind is to ask yourself if any of this (whatever you are obsessing about) will matter in 100 years. See, in one hundred years, you will be dead, mostly everyone you know will be dead. So, really will it matter?

Usually I can be a very roll with the punches type of gal. The leaf in the stream and all that. Every once in a while I have a hard time finding that place. And I think that scares me more than whatever it is I am obsessing about to begin with. That I have momentarily lost my grip on my beliefs and my faith that everything will be OK.
Now I know these images are one persons interpretation of an idea on what a Hopi dwelling could represent. But I wonder if the people who used these symbols to represent their lives, hopes, dreams and beliefs had moments of crushing doubt that things were going to turn out OK?

Maybe I should start painting on my walls at home, all my symbols?

No Words Needed

I went on a garden tour today in a nearby village. Lots of ideas, beautiful landscapes. I love it when people love their gardens! That's all...enjoy the images, maybe you will find your own inspiration!

Well, it has begun.....

The rug rats are officially out of school. We all slept in today. 'Sleeping in' being relative. For Son #2 Sleeping in means sleeping until 6am. For son #1 sleeping in means 10am.

For me, somewhere around 7am.

I am sure as the summer progresses, #2 will get up earlier, and #1 will sleep later. Isn't that what teens do?

I had planned on painting today, but you know what they say about plans....

So instead we are going to Denny's for a late breakfast. Hanging out for a while and then heading up to the Weare Farmers market. My friend Wendy is the coordinator of it and I can't wait to see all the good things she has put into place. I love New England in the summer and farmers markets seem to embody all that there is to enjoy up here.

You know it's summer when...

My car starts filling up with the flotsam and jetsam of the ocean. As luck would have it, this summer I am working at a historic home with its own beach! So taking 15 min here or there at the end of the day to beach comb all by my self is nothing. Here are some of my finds from this week. (clearly I have yet to start painting again) Here are my 2 'bear' rocks. The smaller one is the newest.

I collect heart rocks. The one on the far left is my Salvador Dali heart rock.

And here is one days work of beach rubble. Sea glass and pottery. It must be the historian in me. These make me so happy. I can't pinpoint it exactly, but it is the combination of the hunt (very meditative), the finding, and the speculation on the origins. Love the little bits of blue and white pottery that I find. I even found a teeny, tiny glass spoon. Probably drug paraphernalia, but could be something else.

Could be.

I am a very cheap date.

A Little Friday night fun

Sarah and Henry greeting each other after a L O N G 2 hours apart.

On Friday, I got the call from my friend Sarah to go to an opening at the Gallery she runs. Warm bodies needed. I think with the weather , and bike week, they anticipated a slim turnout.

So I went.

The art was fun, the artist was lovely. The turn out was, unfortunately, slim. But every person who showed up was personable, fun and interesting.

Ok, my job as friend over, lets hit the local Mexican restaurant for some wine (and garlic chicken nachos!!!)

But first of all I have to let you in on a little secret about my friend Sarah. She doesn't like change. Uh-uh, not at all. I lOVE change. I would move every two years if I could. When I walked in to the gallery she gave me first a startled, then a dirty look. You see I changed my hair and didn't tell her or warn her. Surprisingly, she had a bit of a tough time with it. I might even add that she went over to the not so lovely Sarah mode and said "So is this your trolling look?"

Now to be fair, Sarah is one of the few friends I count on to keep me real. Many of my other very lovely friends I count on to keep me happy

Not Sarah.

But still I think her reaction was a little over the top.

Lovely Art, lovely wine, excellent Garlic Chicken nachos, lots and lots of laughing, and great conversation (code for gossip) and friends who keep it real. What more could I want for a Friday night?

So BAd!

Hello my name is Michelle and I am a procrastinator! I just started working this week. (yes, at a real place of business, where I have to put on grown up clothes and do my hair!) I knew this was coming, I even planned out all I had wanted to get done before I started . But did I? Nope. Not a one! I have so many projects to do. So much to do, and now (not so suddenly) not so much time! Hmm. I knew this was coming. I had very efficiently planned all that I needed to do and also scheduled in some play time. I have paintings to finish. Basements to clean and organize. Garden beds to weed (Sarah..got some free time?) ....I think my thought process went something like this...."Uh-huh, sure I can go to lunch,...no really, I don't have anything planned at all" thinking that I could push the few things I had planned onto the next day, since I did so well at balancing out my activities. Multiply this by 23. Lots of play, little work. And now my thought process is chugging along with something like this..."Well, I am only working 15-22 hours a week (blissfully ignoring the 2 hr commute daily) so I will have PLENTY of time to do my stuff.
To this I say.."You poor delusional thing, when will you learn? When will you realize it is about more than playing and friends and socializing?"
To that I reply...."Never"

This is my friend/neighbor/babysitter on my trip to Arizona, Pam. At the Grand Canyon. I just have a funny story to tell. Well, I think it is funny.
I tan.
And by that I mean I tan fast and I tan DARK. No lotions, oils, bla bla...(please, no admonishing emails) So after one day by my brothers pool I got pretty dark. Pam, over the course of the week, would look at me and mutter "It just isn't fair"as she put on her 100th layer of sunblock and she still burned (or as we started to say, she got some color) After the 50th time of hearing her say it just wasn't fair, I had to let her in on my secret...
This is how I got my tanning powers......
Up in heaven, God was handing out attributes, There stood Pam, Tall, blond, great smile, and MARKETABLE SKILLS. God took a look around the souls assembled before him and thought that it was good. He asked if he had misses anyone. Not really thinking that he had, because, well, he is GOD after all. There was a murmuring from the far corner.
"Yes, you in the corner"
I raised my hand, barley seen above the crowd.
"Yes, yes, you, the short, sturdy on in the corner...did I forget you?"
I nodded, and the crowd started to swell around me , since they thought, collectively that it was their duty to protect God from acknowledging that he might have forgotten something or someone.
"Well" God rummaged around next to him, where all the attributes had been..
"all I seem to have left is the ability to tan easily"
"I'll take it"
So, Tall Blond Miss Pam......Do not want to hear it!

Tidbits on Trip

WEll, I am finally getting settled down and back in the swing of things after returning home last week from Arizona. It was a wonderful trip and I hated to leave. The scenery was great, more than great, it was spectacular. However nothing could beat getting up close and personal with my niece Elyse. I hadn't seen her since she was about 6 months old. Now she is over 2 & 1/2 and expecting a baby brother this fall. I think she will make a terrific older sister. Hopefully she will treat her brother better than I treated her dad at times!

I woke up from a disturbing dream about a friend of mine at 2.30 this morning, and it is 5.16 right now and I haven't been back to sleep. I finally gave in on trying , made myself a cup of tea, and am watching the sun rise. I forgot that I actually like this time of day, but it seems, more often than not to get trumped by wonderful sleep. Maybe I should adjust my schedule for the summer?

This is at the Grand Canyon. My mother, bless her heart, made my friend, Pam promise to hold on to me there because in her words..."Michelle falls going UP stairs, she isn't very graceful" and as true as that may be, I still managed to come away unscathed from my Grand Adventure to the Grand Canyon!

I don't know the name of this rock in Sedona, it seems that they name ALL the rocks there. I wonder if it is one persons job, or do they work by consensus. (this is me feeling the need to be a bit sarcastic about such a touristy place, because in spite of my abhorrence of most things touristy, I did fall in love with Sedona.)

One odd experience there. Pam and I had gotten a drink one morning and were just walking down the street. A man was coming towards us and just stared at me (now, discounting my ravishing beauty, this doesn't happen to me) but not with a "friendly guy smile " on his face, more of a scowl and a very intense stare until we passed each other. Thinking it could have been my very over active imagination, I quite casually glanced at Pam and she was looking back and forth between me and said strange guy with her mouth open. She saw it too.

Creeped her out too.

Funny thing, all my life there have been some complete strangers that take an instant dislike to me. Always men.

Go figure.

Now I really must start making art.

Not because I have to.

Because I need to.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Taking the Leap!

Lots of changes coming up. Can't quite talk about them right now. But they are there, hovering in the background.
Family things this weekend. Just downloaded my vacation photos. I will post some and more information later.
Enjoy your weekend!

woman-ish things

I had tea with Sarah the other day. She has been so busy lately that we never see each other. She was going thru town and we met on the side of the road, the side that happened to have a deli that sold coffee and tea and had a few sidewalk bistro sets up.

A few years ago life was different for both of us, she lived int eh same city as i did with her husband and dog, we lived a few short blocks from each other and would often get together, whether it was me driving by after work and 'happening' to see her in her garden, I would naturally have to stop by, wine would come out, flowers would be admired, gossip exchanged, before you knew it I was 2 hours late in getting home and frantically trying to wipe that red line off my bottom lip that always seems to appear when I drink Merlot. Then things started to change, her husband passed suddenly. But that actually did not affect our routine all that much. I actually saw her more. Then we decided to move to a different part of town. Oh, that still gets thrown up in my face "You are the one who moved first!"

Then Sarah met Le boyfriend.

And then they moved, to a whole other town.....an hour a way!

well I guess I opened that door!

And add to that she is taking over another gallery this summer, a hour plus away from both her and I.

So the side of the road meeting fit in well.

So...I digress.....we were talking about girly things....and Sarah noticed a ring I was wearing, it was my grandmothers little diamond ring from the 1930's. She looked startled, I am not one to wear a lot of rings, never mind diamonds. She looked knowingly and remarked that it was my one concession to femininity. This from a woman who is going to cut her hair oh, about 2 inches from her scalp. Ii must have given her that look, she held her had up in the air....."This is me on the girly scale", she then held her other had about one inch from the first, "this is you"

I guess I am slightly more girly than Sarah, but in the over all scheme of things, not by much.So, what does it mean to be girly? Do I scream at spiders and snakes? No, not really. But I have pink running shoes. I don't paint my nails, but I buy lingerie.

Is it a state of being or a state of mind?

Sarah screams at snakes, and paints her nails, but keeps her hair super short and has the longest, most athletic stride of any woman I know. And to be perfectly honest, when we are out together some people mistake us for a couple.

So, what is it that makes you more or less womanly? I have had children, but she hasn't. But I am pretty sure she loves her dog more than I love my children.

What do you think?

What makes you feel more womanly?

Oh, I just remembered the photo ...I went thrift shopping the other day and bought what I would consider pretty girly things. Some pretty glass goblets (for summer wine) , a pretty blue pottery vase from the 50's and a very feminine floaty skirt.

All for under eight dollars.

I just can't seem to get out of my own way.

I am leaving for phoenix on Monday. I have a to do list as long as my arm. I have not done one thing on it all week.

What is on this list? Oh, very very important (and non essential) things such as clean out the fridge, go to the library, finish the new garden bed I dug up. Anything that has to be done before I leave? No, not really. Honestly mostly busy work. I just don't want to come home to loads of stuff to do. My #2 son already informed me that I should not expect his room to be clean when I get back. OK, good to know where I stand with him!

My main project is a new perennial bed I dug up in the front. I still need to go and shake off all the dirt and put some actual plants in. If I leave it for a week, it will pretty much have solidified by the time I get back. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. This is the after pic, somehow the before and after shots got mixed up in the uploading.

and the little cutie pie at the top is jasper, our neighbors King Charles, he joined us all at a deck party last weekend. Here he is looking less than thrilled that he is about to lose his seat as more neighbors joined in!

Muy Exciting post today. Sorry about that. I also have more art I am working on. I think what is happening is I know soon after I get back from AZ. I will be starting a job, and then a very different routine will develop. I feel a little in limbo, waiting for all these things to happen. I guess I should just enjoy it, go with the flow and try to enjoy the day.

Hope all of you do to!

The Teeny Tiny Vacation (house)

It must be the romantic in me, but I have always loved those little motor cabins in touristy areas. I don't know if they are all over the country, but they do abound here in New England. From the White Mountains, to the Coast of Maine, to the Green Mountains of Vermont. Whether they are perched over looking the Atlantic ocean or Lake Champlain, or in the shadow of Franconia Notch, I find them irresistible. They are charming, quirky, and oh so homey. They always have the look of home.

Growing up we use to take lots of local vacations. A weekend here a long weekend there. There were many times that we stayed in places like these. They sometimes (mostly) had a particular campy smell to them. A combination of musty, moth balls and wood smoke. When you are ten, and just had a day filled with swimming, ice cream and fighting with your brother, it was a pretty cool thing.

The beds were more than not 'springy', with decades old bedspreads. If lucky, the bedspreads was an old, soft chenille or a very traditional Bates spread (for those of you from this area, you know what I am talking about)

There was a pull out and a camp kitchen.

I know none of the above sounds especially appealing. And I am sure (absolutely positively sure) that as a kid I complained bitterly about everything.

BUT....as an adult, the lovely, blessed fog that drifts in to cloud your memories and takes away the sharp edges, leaving only the warm fuzzes.

And that's a good thing.

So for all of you parents out there who are hyper vigilant about the experiences your children are having now, step back and let the good come with the bad. Because in the end, it is the mix that makes a full and vibrant life, not perfection in every moment.