Travelin'

Again.

The boys and I headed to Austin for a long while this time.  I'll be working on enameling and playing with my family.

It was strange to leave this.

And three days later see this.

But we did see some interesting things along the way.

The boys enjoyed visiting rest stops in four states, checking interstate pee mail is their job.

And, my treat was to see Little Radar open for Surfer Blood in the outdoor stage at Red 7.

Peace

Falling into winter...

slowly, slowly, drifting down like the leaves.

If I could freeze the calendar, stuck in mid October, warm days walking in the sun, cool nights under soft cotton blankets, leaves swirling down off the trees, crunching under my feet.

But no, the trees will soon be bare and yet it does seem like it's possible to capture those colors, at least in my jewelry.

These are going to Art Works Gallery.

More will be coming soon, but from Texas as I'm heading out there for a bit to work and hang out with my family.

There will be new adventures ahead, no doubt.

Peace

First weekend

The first weekend is done.  This is the first time I've participated on the tour as an individual.  I was pretty nervous, not sure what to expect.  My Sister came to help, having her laughing self around made all the difference.  We had a good time and in between groups of people we sat on the front porch, rocked and talked about all the things sisters talk about.

I got a lot of nice comments not only on my jewelry and my interesting studio processes but on my cute little house and my collection of artwork.  One lady wanted to know if the art was for sale, I said, "Nope, sorry".

The arts community in this area is really strong and we like to do trades, so we end up owning pieces that we could never afford, it's wonderful.

One more weekend to go, which I'm now looking forward to, because most of the work is done.  I ripped through my inventory and pulled out large handfuls of good quality jewelry that I either don't make anymore or that I've had too long.  It all went on the "island of misfit jewelry" table, "Make me an offer.", which ended up being sort of fun.  I heard a lot of bargains were available from many artists on the tour.

Peace

Rowing - Day One

Question: So what's it like getting in and out of the boat, does it feel like you will fall over?

Hell yes.

I used the boat ramp rather than the dock.

I'd rather get my feet wet than fall in altogether.

So you get in and the seat is sliding back and forth.

The oars are lost and you can't reach one of them, jeez, try to stick a foot out and snag it, almost tip over.

You're trying to put your feet in the feet holders, and strap them in.

Which is merde.

The last goddamn thing I want is my feet strapped into this deathtrap.

And the boat is rocking back and forth sideways like crazy.

And I'm thinking, "Can't drown in a foot of water, can I?”.

Hopefully not.

Shit.

Finally, got the oars, lookie, if you turn them the right way they actually make the boat move.

Yowsa, that’s right.

And then the ramp has buoys and mooring buoys all over the goddamn place.

And you are backwards.

Why am I loving this?

Running into every frickin' one of them.

And you have to coordinate rolling the seat forward and feathering the oars so they don't drag on the water.

Thus fucking up the boat again and rocking it like mad.

Is it too late to buy a kayak?

And then you run into another fucking buoy.

Which is about the size of a very large beach ball, but floating concrete, scraping it's way down your new boat.

Is it too late to put on my PFD?  Can I even reach it?

I'm sure I was talking to myself, thank GAWD the lake is empty.  Do those houses have binoculars?

And gradually it came back.

Slide forward, bend the legs, hands forward, reach, feather the oars, grab the water, drive with the legs.

All the way, then pull with the arms, open the back just a little.

Feather the oars, slide back into a crouch.

Oh, then the oar handles are long enough to hit each other.

So you have to decide if your left hand is going under or the right is going over, or what?

And you keep forgetting that, and your shirt catches on an oar and gets stuck and jerks the boat around and punches you in the chest and you curse again.

You let the oars drop, large outriggers that steady the boat, and you float and look at the sky and the water shimmering in the sun, the birds wheeling and squeeling.

You can be rowing in a few trips, perfection takes a lifetime.

This is the perfect time to get out there.

Worse would be running into boats moored.

Oh, excuse me.

Sorry.

Whoops.

Don't mind me.

Not a great way to meet new people.

Then again.

They'd invite you on board and give you a drink just to save their boat.

Can’t wait to row again.

New girl on the block...

A dream come true.

It was probably 1984 or 85, I was taking rowing lessons in Sausalito, loving every minute of it.  Everything in my life was beautiful and alive and that time has never left my heart or mind.

Then came a baby boy and a move to the Midwest and eventually a baby girl and life was amazing, filled with happiness and joy.

The kayak day set something in motion inside me, a wish to take charge of my dreams.

So, here she is, she's an Echo rowing shell from Echo Open Water Rowing in Marblehead, MA.

Tomorrow I'm going to the lake and I'm going to go out and no doubt make a huge fool of myself, but that's ok, I've earned it.

Peace