A Very Busy Week!

Yes, that's me and my fellow women artists being interviewed on WPKN, a local very independent radio station. Thanks to Debbie Hesse for the invitation- and the photograph! We were all radio neophytes (and quite nervous initially!)but settled in and had a delightful hour long discussion of art, music, politics and Nasty Women in modern day America.
On my way to the radio station, I was enthralled, listening to public hearings into intelligence gathering and the evidence coming forth about Russian meddling in our recent election- shades of Watergate! Yes, I was one of those youngsters who couldn't get enough of Senator Sam and the rest of the subcommittee as delved into nefarious Nixon White House doings...
I had work to complete for my inclusion in the show "Mincing Words" curated by the artist (and organizer of wonderful shows) Martha Lewis. Hangers to be affixed, work to be delivered- the typical pre-game details. And this was at the same time as trying to get the car repaired, go to work, finish a collage for another fund raiser auction.
Not to mention Maggie still needs additional TLC because while her hoof is on the mend, she needs to regain the weight and strength she shed while hurting. Maggie actually broke into a trot and then a bit of a canter yesterday so I know she's improving. And of course, the extra attention that Maggie gets requires me to lavish more focus on Lil' Robin (who waxes jealous...). No wonder I run around like a nut before leaving for work.

(Another shot, taken by the station manager, Steve Constanza).
Bob and I were jubilant and celebrated the rethuglican defeat of their non-replacement of ObamaCare. Hooray! You can't take away benefits and give a tax break to the wealthy and expect to pass a cruel and unusual law (that the Unpresident doesn't seem to have read...) Can we nowpush on to Single Payer Universal Coverage, please? Instead of pandering to the Tea Party turned "Freedom Caucus" who didn't think the absurdity proffered went far enough... yeesh!
And then the truck screwed up as we dropped the car off for brake repairs, essentially leaving us transportationless. Thank goodness for our good friend Joe who ferried us to my opening in New Haven yesterday afternoon! I was able to drop off my work for the auction and then we were all free to enjoy a crowded and boisterous opening and dine on Japanese food afterwards. A good night!
But I experienced a funny moment when I went into my studio the other day and my walls were entirely bare. It was shocking! I guess it's good to have a bunch of your work out in the world and empty space to fill up with new art.

Warning: A Most Political Editorial

Yes, Satan himself makes a guest appearance in my despairing, dispirited post. Election day is only two days away and my stomach is clinching at even the remote possibility that Trump could win. I am old enough to have been through many a presidential election but this one is definitely the weirdest!
I am among the many Americans that finds her/himself wondering... "Just WHAT are people thinking?"* How can anyone ever consider voting for the republican offering? (I mean, I wonder that in years where (groan) people like Mitt Romney or Dubya were presented. But Trump is obviously an even stranger choice!)
 And there is a distinct possibility that Trump could win... the polls are saying how close this election is. And (we all know) it shouldn't be. As you may be aware, Hillary Clinton was not my first choice but she is so obviously head and shoulders better qualified, better prepared and just all around BETTER a candidate than Trump. (And yes, I miss Bernie Sanders! I am wearing his name on my tee shirt and my bumper sticker still shines.)
AND I miss Barack Obama already! A good president (if racist, obstructionist Congress people hadn't prevented him from doing more- like appointing a Supreme Court justice!), a good man, a good dancer, a happily married, non-philandering man with a lovely wife and two great kids; the Obama's even have two swell dogs! Too bad he couldn't have had a third term and let the country come up with more time to sort out dilemmas, such as how Donald Trump became the republican nominee...
So, let's all cross our finger, toes, tails, hooves and whatever other appendages that we have that sanity prevails and Hillary Clinton is elected. And it would be nice to have a woman (nasty or otherwise!) president!

* And I am not going to start listing all the ridiculous and relevant evidence proving that Trump is an appalling and legendarily awful choice to "lead" the country- lead it straight to Hell!

Gardening in February

This is the truck the morning after the Connecticut Horticulture Society's Symposium that Bob and I attended yesterday. Long day! We were up early to attend to all the "farm chores" before driving off to Hartford where Bob had been asked to present as a vendor. Fortunately, we made some money because we've done a few of these events and came home without having sold a bloody thing. Not only are you out the  money that they charge to be a vendor, but you are doubly frustrated by having to schlepp all that metalwork home again!

And while this may look like a truck full, it is a much lighter load than we left with. But at 5:00, when the symposium ended, this weighs way more than it did in the morning... coupled with the fact that the hall where we all set up was up a labyrinth of halls and elevators and some moron parked thier car right in front of the loading dock so that we all had to hand our items up and down and carry them to our trucks and vans. Bob and I were exhausted by the time we got home, but we did hear a few interesting lectures on shade gardening, odd edibles (paw paw and hardy persimmons), and gardening to encourage pollinators and beneficials. A nice diversion from that unwanted snow...

The heavy wet (and does anyone want to say "unexpected?") snow on Friday morning caused a heavy limb of the pine tree directly above Maggie's barn to break off. It scared the hell out of Maggie who circled, snorting and spooking for a good while afterwards. (She may have even been in the barn when it landed!) Much to my chagrin, she began chewing on the tips of the pine branches, forcing me to run into the house and do a quick google search to learn that pine tree needles are actually good for horses, providing a green, fresher source of vitamins and fodder in the winter. Who knew?

 

Bob and I pulled the branches down, Maggie gets a free lunch and no harm was done to the roof. Now, if only this snow would go away...
Oh! We might have been tired but we did manage to stay away long enough to hear 2/3 of the those foolish republicans take pot shots at each other. And we are very excited that Tuesday is the first primary AND the start to Mardi Gras! Where is my king cake?!?!?!

I am Sick, Therefore I Ramble

This is a piece that I'm working on but I'm further along with it than when I shot this picture (it's pinned, not sewn in the picture.) I like the potential and the potential open endedness of "As If". I also admire the hint of a threat in"...as if". But you can read it however you like. (At present, I think I'm inclined to act as if I'm not sick.)This and the crazy book project about collectors has been keeping my fingers busy.
But something is going on cosmically. Like I developed a cold (and am therefore not really smart right now), and I don't get colds too often. I successfully fought it off all week, but had been feeling run down and tired but was unable to sleep well. And then there's stress... did someone say stress?
But in addition to my cold (which is a minor inconvenience, like we were supposed to be hosting dinner guests), let's face it: Bob and I are down to one car again, my horses feet have something going on (as she's been abscess prone), Mommy went back into Hospice care, fall is here and the weather is getting colder and the days shorter. Yech.

On the other hand, the fall color can be spectacular- or at least peculiar. Check out the pinkish cast to the fall color of the oak leaf hydrangeas. Although I didn't think this year's color was especially great because of the summer drought. And the sudden cold snap made for a quick shedding of foliage...
See? Told you I was rambling... But is this better than the fact that I was contemplating ranting? Ranting about those pesky republicans? Oooooooooooooh. They're so weird.
Most recently, I want to address how they pilloried Hillary Clinton and grilled her for 11 hours of fruitless Benghazi testimony- and this from the party that's always railing about "wasting tax payers money"? Really? Isn't this the biggest waste possible? Especially after one of these clowns was asked if they'd learned anything new. He responded as how Hillary Clinton's statements and answers were consistent with the last time they'd questioned her. I wonder why... Maybe because she is telling the truth and her story IS consistent. At least Hillary Clinton sounded utterly stable, calm and reasonable- and presidential!- in the face of so much political triviality. That fool Kevin McCarthy (who pursued the Speaker's position) let loose a big wet one when he claimed how Benghazi had hurt Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. Boy, did that back fire! Where is he now?
Of course that leads back to republicans and that weasel Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House?!! I'm sick! I can't breath! Get me to bed!

The Red Truck Decade

As you may recall, Bob and I were hot in pursuit of a new(er) Ford F 150. AND we had such specific requirements: conventional rear wheel drive, short cab, long bed, standard transmission... I am happy to report that we have found our truck and it is here!
We did have to drive to New York state and it did take a few anxious weeks of constant Craig's List/Car Fax/Auto Trader/ Car Gurus etc etc to locate the right truck. And not one of those icky odd green ones that I kept seeing. This truck is "toreador red" (Who thinks these color names up?!) I guess the color comes in handy if we decide to herd bulls.

Here's the front in relation to the old trucks back and vice-versa:

We didn't really want the cap on top, but it may prove handy when transporting delicate art work, and yes, that duct tape on the upper right of the cap! But it's just clamped on so we can lift it off and store it behind Bob's studio when not in use.
But here's a trully awful view of our driveway.

What with our Honda, the old F 150, the new F 150 and Mommy's now deceased Subaru, we have four cars in the yard. Looks like a parking lot.... But hooray! We're more than happy with the new vehicle: Bob said it drove really nicely and feels more like a car than a truck. The dealership was an hour and a half away so he had plenty of time to get acquainted with the new truck on the way home.
Both Bob and I confessed that it was a nerve wracking experience. The dealership has been there for like a million years so I wasn't too scared that they were trying to rip us off (despite this weird Soviet-style sales tax switcheroo. Still don't get that...) but we both admit to feeling stressed while spending thousands of dollars. The truck was a good deal and under our price point so I am pleased, but it's still tough to hand over large sums of money even if you're getting what you want. This must be what it feels like to buy art! Hahaha.
So tonight, we can relax, knowing that we have a newer truck and that the second Republican debate is on for entertainment. We're getting Chinese food, a bottle of wine and our Bernie Sanders bumper sticker is getting applied to the new bumper.

13, 14 and 14 (Pretty Cryptic, No?)

In honor of July the 4th, I have presented a numerically cryptic posting. And I have thoughtfully illustrated this blog with images from my beaded Credit Card series. What could possibly be more patriotic than images of credit cards? Money and flags, united in one iconic artwork.
The "13" in my title refers (of course) to the 13 original colonies that caused a revolution and broke away from England. This is why we celebrate the Fourth of July and why the more reckless among us celebrate by blowing off a digit or two after a few brewskis and the old chimpanzee and dynamite conundrum. Happy fireworks to you too!
The first "14" in the title references the 14 idiots that are currently running for the republican nomination for the next presidential cycle. What could be more worthy of the next revolution than to consider that Donald Trump actually thinks he'd make a "good" president.  Can you name all of them? Several are so damned peculiar that it's nearly impossible to forget them, no matter how hard we try. Bobby Jindal anyone? Governor of a state that he has done nothing to help and boy does it need help. Low wages, no health care, the attractively named "Cancer Alley" running through it, poverty just to name a few issues that might hurt his chances. Rick Perry? How about nominating a guy already under indictment? Or Chris Christie who has staked out a platform based (so far) on making pot totally illegal again. Ad his approval rating is in the single digits in his own state. (There are those pesky digits again. I guess you can count Christie supporters on one hand...) Or Rick Santorum? Please. Carly Fiorina? She seems to have announced and then disappeared. I suppose it does help the republican cause to have a woman hanging around. Again, the number of digits on one hand can be used to account for all the woman the republicans have welcomed into that big ol' tent. Not to mention that her record seems based on taking jobs away from people. do I really need to go on? Stop me!!! (Although I should mention that we're all waiting with the proverbial "bated breath" for number 15 and 16 to throw their hats in the ring.)

Okay the last number "14" is the number of acupuncture needles I had inserted into my head, ears, hands, feet and neck this morning. What a way to start the Fourth of July! But I have to say I feel really good and the sitting still for forty minutes this morning was probably the most inert and restful I've been in ages. I seem to have less discomfort and more energy so God Bless Chinese medicine!

Whoops! Almost Forgot to Blog!

I've been so busy that I almost forgot to blog! And I think my one year blog anniversary is rapidly approaching... I'll have to do something really special like put up more pictures of our deranged dog. (See above photo. Sometimes, Bob wonders why we allow these truly weird animals with sharp fangs to live in our houses with us... And Jules wasn't even growling; he was sleeping upside down.)

So it's been busy around here because both Bob and I applied for grants for art making and boy howdy would it be nice if at least one of us got a grant this year. Make it both of us and I be REALLY overjoyed). Filling out grant applications is an odd process as the people who "create" the forms are so obviously not artists or even vaguely right brained. (I think right brain is the right one right?) Anyway, the on-line forms suck and have all these crazy pitfalls, like concealed slide bars and areas that you can't cut and paste words. You have to type them all out. It's archaic and arcane. And not at all interesting. But there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

And Mommy isn't doing really well. My mother is 91 years old and I keep saying her batteries are wearing out. She's had a good long run but I suspect that old quality of life issue is beginning to raise it's ugly head. Mommy is at present in a convalescent facilty and not too happy about it. I'm really not sure what to do...

Jules just woke up so I need to take him outside. I promise to post a more insightful blog tommorrow. That's if I don't barf listening to rabid republicans yattering away about how much money they make. Screw them!