Easter

There is probably enough for a blog post by now…

(Useless– but profound— random thoughts…)

It seems that my blog post count is tied closely to the act of de-cluttering….last year, I was deeply into that task, and felt the need to be held accountable in some fashion, so posting to my blog worked.

This year, the de-cluttering, while not finished, seems to have taken a back seat to –well, just about anything else.  It seems like there is something to this other than pure laziness; there is an acceptance that I WANT my things, an understanding that they have a certain level importance attached to them that possibly isn’t smart (although not unusual, or hoarder-ish, I am apparently just not evolved enough to let it all go.)

I am happy to say that there has been no event or catastrophe here at the Greenhouse to cause my posting to slack off. A picture is worth a thousand words, however, and by that accounting, I have been very much on target, having posted a photo each day since the beginning of the year on my companion blog.

I have made small inroads into those areas of clutter that seem to refuse assistance—staying out of Goodwill is a huge help to the book pile and the clothing pile, not to mention the cash pile.  (My nook is an even better help to the book pile). I have downsized all my work clothing to one drawer. It’s not like the washing machine is in an inaccessible location! (It’s in the bathroom which is attached to our bedroom.)

We have just returned from another quick trip up north; this time our annual Easter Eggstravaganza at cousin Susan’s, topped off by the annual trek into Manhattan to the Car Show. (Note: It isn’t annual for ME. But when my daughter wants to attend and my mother-in-law wants to attend, I end up attending. Personally, I would rather wander the streets of Manhattan than look at cars, but am apparently very out of step with the majority here.) As I had a pretty rotten cold and sore throat (courtesy of the very generous and giving man I married) it was probably for the best; the weather outside could have been best described as a rich, moist pea soup.

A good time was had by all, and those who were missing were missed (that’s you and you!) Saturday seemed a bit tame, if wet, so we invited the local fire department over for a tour of Susan’s home—sharp wits at work, they declared the cause of the  CO2 alarm going off was the meatballs, and they would have to confiscate them. (They settled happily for a “Thank You” handshake and smile from one very brave Miss Vanessa, and we got to enjoy the meatballs while Rich went and bought a new CO2 alarm.) PSA—CO2 detectors are apparently reliable for 5 years.

We spent the weekend at cousin Ken’s home, and *GASP* he doesn’t have wireless internet, so the laptop took a break, and the uploading of my photo a day took a break as well. (It’s probably not too much to say that my creative juices as far as subject matter may have also been on hiatus).

After the car show, my mother in law wanted to see Times Square. So Timmy pushed her there from the Javits Center and back.  We stopped for dinner at the Shake Shack on Eighth Avenue in the Theater District. Great food, (burgers, milk shakes, etc) incredible prices for Manhattan and wildly friendly staff…and did I mention nice? There was a line outside going to the corner. Their computer crashed and they comped the meals of a half dozen people who had placed orders before they realized it and got a handle on it… (we were one of those lucky ones—had we cash, I would have gladly paid….)

I am now in the home stretch of preparation for the Fort Clifton Festival, to be held on Mother’s Day Weekend. I am busily matting my photographs and framing some as well. I hope it will be a wonderful weekend, with great weather and the chance to showcase and sell some of my art.

Life goes on, ob-la-di, ob-la da….

(AND, a VERY happy anniversary to my husband. Nine years ago tomorrow, he made me the happiest woman on the planet! And he continues to do so, day after day. LOVE YOU!!!!)

Where does the time go?

They say (revise that to IT IS SAID, ‘they’ will be dealt with in another post) that as you get older that time goes by more quickly. Maybe that is why I thought it was just the other day that I posted. Where does the time go, indeed. I just spent a wonderful Easter weekend with my family up in Connecticut. All of the little kids are still insisting on growing a foot between visits and losing teeth and getting cuter. Heck, one of them even got her drivers license!

But that is nothing on the feeling old thing that my daughter pulled on me on Tuesday last, when she had the audacity to turn a quarter century! 25. Amazing. She is a beautiful woman now, don’t you agree? She graduated last May and is still looking for full time work. The only jobs she’s ever left have been because she moved away from them, and even those she found hard to quit, because her boss’s would bend over backwards trying to keep her. She worked for me while in high school and I will honestly say that she was my second best employee. (It’s ok, she knows I favored her boyfriend, Ozzie.) She will do ANYTHING at this point. You won’t regret hiring her for almost anything, almost anywhere. ANYONE???)

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Checked in on Dad on the way home from Connecticut. As you may know we have an odd relationship, but he is enjoyable to be around. Keep your thoughts flowing positively in his direction, as some of those spots have re-appeared on his lungs.

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So, now that I have all this free time since I am not writing anything currently, you’d think I would have made headway in the studio, in any fashion, right? Wrong.

But, I DID open an ETSY shop. I am selling my photography. I have only two prints available at the moment, because I want to be able to order them, sign them and ship on demand, not have a large inventory. At least that is my idea for the moment. I am TOTALLY open to suggestions as to that thought, by the way. Part of that is probably my lack of confidence in what is considered ‘good’ by other people. The pictures I like are not always saleable. Or maybe that is merely the deep-seated procrastination in me.

I decided to just do it! I have been debating, plotting, thinking and ruminating over my photographs lately. I pull them up on PSE6 and play with them; I colorize, and age, and re-touch new and old images and generally have a grand time playing with them.

…but, it is time to motivate. Get moving in a direction that means something…I need to be more active in pursuing this goal; not forgetting the show deadline at PRAC every month, get down to the show, put art in the show..

…is it laziness or fear?…whichever…

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What else….hmmm. Here, click on this link to my husband’s photo page. He went crazy at the New York International Auto Show last week, and has written a very good intro and his captions are amazing (even if you think he may be speaking in tongues)

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They think a tornado touched down at the corner of Temple and Puddledock this evening…far better than last year this time, when it shredded part of our roof at work, while i was hard at work under it …(a half mile from tonight’s action…it may be time to get out of DODGE!)

OK. Think we are all caught up.

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We are off to Florida on Friday for a ten day vacation…. Beach, sand, sun, seashells…. Bring it on!

The Ides of March….and other ramblings

well, no this has NOTHING at all to do with foreboding,  but Happy Ides of March sounds off, don’t you think? …And I am about two days too early for St Pat…but then again, I am Irish year round–not to mention a Patricia and  a Green,  so Happy St Patricks Day early….

I see my last post was for Dad’s birthday…that seems so long ago, until you figure that was way close to the end of the month–oh, heck; yeah its been a long time since I have updated.

 No real excuses. I celebrated my 43rd birthday with considerably less fanfare than my 42nd…(42 being the meaning and purpose of life and all that… you can check out last years blog for how I spent my day)

As an early birthday gift, every year I spend the weekend before at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt show in Hampton.  This year I finally made the leap and purchased a ‘real’ machine. The Viking Sapphire 830, with a 10″ throat, for me to hopefully be able to master machine quilting this year.  Thanks Nana, who left me a small sum of money, that I used for the purchase. I wanted to buy something she would approve of with the money, and not allow it to fritter away on those silly bills.

And as a late birthday gift, my brother-in-law Joe gave me a computer. Yep, really. He tinkers with them (hey it keeps him off the streets) and he cobbled together a pretty nifty set-up with a monitor that needs its own room…but free is free, and greatly appreciated….and I have almost found enough room in my studio for it. That has required the wholesale shifting of almost every item in there. Good practice for spring cleaning.

Speaking of spring cleaning, you know that my husband is reminded often that he did NOT marry me for my domestic prowess. (as this is a PG place WHY he married me is NONE of your business  LOL) I maintain that housework belongs at the BOTTOM of any list of things to do. I have a sign in my kitchen that reads “A clean kitchen is a sign of a wasted life!”

But did you know that housework is dangerous; possibly even fatal to electronics? Last week, like the good wife I am, I decided to do laundry (and NO, it wasn’t ONLY because you had to climb over the dirty stuff to get into the bathroom). Well, Timmy had been out in the garage playing cars, and had tossed his dirty clothes onto the pile. I was doing towels and sweats and in they went.

Lo and behold the next morning, who is muttering all through the house, trying to figure out where his Nano went?  Now, just let me stop for a minute and tell you that Timmy is just this side of OCD about emptying his pockets.

Yep, you guessed it. I washed Nano.

Turns out the gods were with me, and it’s not a particularly rare thing to have happen.  I googled washing your nano of course and discovered it was probably most thoroughly dead, but sit it out for a few days to dry before you bury it was the advice I located.

And do you know it worked? About 4 days after it’s tumble through the machine (it was rescued before the dryer) Timmy plugged it in and it worked! Catastrophe averted.

But I’m still a little leary about housework.

So, what else do we have going on this spring? *(yes, the nice thing about here is it’s mostly spring…my daffodils are almost GONE already)

Heading north next weekend to catch up with family for Easter, Connecticut here we come.  Spend a day in Manhattan, and possibly pop by Dad’s house on the way back to see how he’s doing. 

 Give a good thought to him when you have a chance— he just had some lung cancer surgeries, but he’s fiesty and ready for battle…. you can catch up with him and keep a closer eye on his life by checking in at http://countryjoesblog.com/ , since he shares more readily with people there whats going on medically.