Updated map

visited 14 states (6.22%)


 I realized I have been to some new places since I posted this map a few years ago. Since Hong Kong is part of China, it looks like I have been to mainland China.

And I've been to a little tiny bit of Canada, but the map makes it look way more impressive. Ditto Spain, Italy, France and Mexico.

I haven't travelled abroad since the 2011 trip to Spain and France. I am so happy when I am in a new place for a while. But now that I have a dog it is more complicated getting away for any length of time.
He is such a sweet loving creature and I know he is confused when I am not around on a regular basis. Maybe once I retire I can hit the road again.

Ah yes, retirement.  I have finally started setting some wheels in motion.

Banjo

This is my newest folly.

 His name is Banjo.

He is 3 years old and a retired racing greyhound.

He is just as sweet as he looks.

His one mistake was eating a teddy bear.  Which was not because he had no other toys of his own. It was just tastier. He pooped stuffing for a couple of days but otherwise suffered no ill effects.

He is exceedingly polite and well-mannered.  He has made me enjoy walking again.

Sometimes a cat or two or three will join us on our walk. Banjo has learned to ignore them. But it is a pretty silly sight to see us all strolling down the street together.

When I come home he does this adorable happy dance. Look at that tail. It goes like a bullwhip when he is excited.

What a sleek handsome creature he is. I hope it is true that people start to look like their pets. I will be skinny and leggy soon.

 He loves attention, and especially from his buddy Anne.

Cancer

Nothing derails your train of thought like the words "invasive" and "carcinoma" coming out of the phone. Well. There it is. 

After planning my funeral and wondering who would take all the cats, I finally gave up waiting to hear from my primary care physician and made an appointment with a breast surgeon. So following the MRI and the pathology report I learned that this is not going to be a reason to quit the job and spend the retirement account. Dang. 

There will be a lumpectomy (what an ugly word) on Monday, and then I will find out about radiation and chemo or hormone therapy. But apparently there will be no excuse for doing the Camille thing. 

In the meantime here are some words of wisdom:

FIVE RULES TO REMEMBER IN LIFE: (blatantly stolen Susan Wever who attributed them to someone named Roz)

1. Money cannot buy happiness but it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.

2. Forgive your enemy, but remember the bastard's name.

3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they're in trouble again.

4. Many people are alive only because it's illegal to shoot them.

5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk. Drink Up Everyone !!!

January

Here are some things from this January.

First Friday at the Harrison Center, there were giant hamster balls in the gym.

Snow.  Lots of snow.  And tracks on Pogue's Run where the animals dance.

Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library opened.  

Fringe people Paul Strickland and Beth Marshall stayed at my house and made friends with the cats.  

This is Beth and Smudgie.

Places I have been, however briefly

Got some major holes to fill in. Just need some time and money.


visited 13 states (5.77%)



visited 39 states (78%)
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Crafting a New World

Click on this link and read the article from Utne.com. 

http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Crafting-a-New-World.aspx?utm_content=01.13.10+DIY&utm_campaign=DIY&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email



A very interesting article about the importance of making, using your hands and mind and doing things well.  It expresses well some ideas I have been mulling over for quite some time, but have never really put into a coherent form.  It began when I started weaving, making pots, knitting.  Why am I doing these things?  Why do I feel compelled to make things as soon as I can escape from cubicle world? 

Of course, in cubicle world I find myself taking extra time to figure out ways to help the users, get the data they want, create edits that might seem impossible, and decipher what they really need in spite of what they say they want.  So I guess the idea of craftsmanship can be applied to part of my job, even though most of it is soul-sucking tedium.

Please post a comment if you have any thoughts on this article.

Christmas Tree

I never seem to remember to take pictures.   Here, for posterity, is my beautiful tree.

It is full of the ornaments I have collected over the years, mostly gifts from friends who are fondly remembered as I hang each little treasure.


There are the many eggs mom decorated so meticulously, with tiny scenes inside and glittering rhinestone outside.


And there are the family ornaments that go back to my childhood.  

Not a lot of presents under the tree.  The cats were not willing to wait for theirs, once they got a whiff of the nip inside.  And I haven't got others wrapped yet.  Or finished.  


So I need to get back to my knitting.

There are Pots at Last!

I have finally managed to complete and
photograph some pots. I have resolved my glaze problems and things are coming out nicely.

My photography needs work, but the colors are pretty accurate, and they are reasonably sharp.

Taking some days off work to spend in the studio made all the difference.  

I sold a couple of the best things before getting pictures.  But selling is good.  Very good.  


Many more photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mudlarque/PotsDecember2009# 

The Crows

Every year right around Halloween the crows arrive and roost in the cottonwood trees along the creek.  Thousands of them appear from nowhere at dusk, raising a ruckus and filling the topmost branches of the trees.  They do this every night for a month or so, then disappear.  

They are here now, freaking out the cats.

Herding Cats

Some of my cats have always walked with me around the immediate neighborhood. When I walk over to visit neighbors on Dorman Street Guapo and Smudgie will usually follow. When I walk to Oriental Street to pick up my csa share and eggs or to drop off Julie's share of the veggies they sometimes come only as far as the alley and wait there for me to return. Sometimes Guapo will climb the steps to the door like he expects to go in and visit, though at the first dog bark he will dash off into the cover of the shrubs. Last week Guapo and Tipitina followed me all the way to Karen's house and hung out in the garden chasing rabbits for over an hour, then came bounding over as I exited and joined me for the walk home. A couple of dog walkers had a chuckle at the sight of us strolling down North Street together.

On Tuesday, Guapo and Little Egypt walked with me to Julie's. Coming back, Smudgie and McGee joined us. I really did look like a catherd with all four of them surrounding me. And when I arrived home Fatface and the two feral boys, Tuffy Biggs and LC, came trotting up to see if I might put some food out for them.

Here is a picture of Tuffy, the white and orange one, and LC, his longtime companion, who always looks rather concerned.

It is good to live in a place with so many good friends, bipedal and quad.

California Vacation

I spent a week in California. A couple of days in San Francisco, then a drive down the coast to Morro Bay for a surprise summer camp birthday party. It was all wonderful. Except that my knees would not let me walk for any distance at all. Which is not good in SF.

This the the courtyard at Katy's house where I stayed. Dylan lives in the downstairs appartment and had a cookout the first night I was there. He has some delightful friends, and sitting around the fire in the jasmine scented garden was lovely.








I spent a day at the DeYoung museum in Golden Gate Park, which was also beautiful. The sculpture garden and tower view of the city , and an exhobit of clay and glass works were most memorable.



Friday I picked up a rental car and drove down Route 1, stopping frequently to enjoy the views and buy fresh fruit at farm stands - apricots, cherries, strawberries.

Finally reached Morro Bay and the campground where Noelle and Eleanor and a jolly group of freinds were setting up. I pitched my tiny little cocoon of a tent, which turned out to be perfect and comfy, and we all enjoyed ourselves waiting for the birthday boy.




There was an elaborate throne and crown, beer, glitter,harp music, and more.


I do believe the other campers thought we were a cult.

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mudlarque/CaliforniaJune2009#

Seriously Spring

Oh yeah, baby! This is what all the digging and planting was about! My beautiful "Sultans of Spring" tulips next to my crazy new rainbarrel.



But wait...there's more! The backyard was an explosion of color. The bigger tulips and daffodils are done now, but more little ones keep opening. You can see that even the beasties are impressed.

Sign of Spring

Yesterday when I came home from work the cats ran to greet me as usual.

(They generally want to come inside for a bite to eat and a hug after a day outside in the sun.)

I noticed something stuck to Guapo's whiskers. Yep. Bird feathers.

The hunting season is officially open.

Snow at Last

We finally had some shovelable snow here. Just enough to make me stiff and sore from clearing my sidewalks. But it is so beautiful.

After the House Tour

The house tour was a great success and the neighborhood raised a good sum toward our many projects. The house has never looked better.   Of course I can't find anything now that I'm all organized.

Squandering my Retirement

I have decided that I may not be around to enjoy my retirement so I am going to enjoy my present.  I watched my parents postpone so many things for a future that never came.

Since my house is on the neighborhood home tour I have been spending money like I had it.  I have not added any debt, but the proceeds from the sale of the Boston condo are pretty well burned through.  

I have hired professional help to finish some of the house projects, so now I have a working shower in the downstairs bath (yea!!!) that is really nice, and tile in the laundry/mud room area, and cleaned and organized the laundry area, and had the upstairs bath tile finished.  

The contractor added beadboard to the front of the tub area to finally finish it off, and I hope to get the touch-up painting done next week.  I am even having professionally made curtains done for the downstairs.

I have some wonderful new paintings hung too, and that really brightens things up.   

Lots of new plants in the garden in front and down the side.  The hollyhocks are budding, and the roses, and the first of the wildflowers in front.   There will be lots of sunflowers this summer, and in front there are astilbe, lilies, lenten rose, lilly of the valley, bleeding heart, columbine, and iris.   In the meadow there are milkweed, coneflowers, russian sage, ornamental corn, and lots of things I don't know the names of.   On the side there are delphinium, lots of strawberries, poppies, foxgloves, more lilies, and of course sunflowers and hollyhocks.  Oh, and clematis, and lavender, and peonies.

I have actually signed the contract for the landscapers to do the back yard, with patio and plants and walls with phlox spilling over, and a fountain.    It is amazing what there is room for if you get rid of the grass.  And I have rainbarrel, and birdfeeders and a little birdbath to keep the wildlife happy.

Spring at last

It was the most perfect spring day yesterday. My jonquils burst into bloom, my little redbud tree is covered in buds ready to open, and as I raked away the dead leaves in the gardens there were all sorts of little plants reaching for the light.

I planted lots of sunflowers, about 6 different kinds, and some stock, globe amaranth, and some seedlings that I don't remember the names of. I am really really sore now.

Took a workshop up at Ball State U with Linda Christianson, who is a wonderful potter. It was most inspiring. Her work is so warm and lively and inviting.


I really want to get into the studio now. Meeting with Steve the contractor on Thursday to see what he might do to get the building into better shape. And maybe a few things on the house to get ready for the home tour next month.

Winter nesting

This is Mr Fish and his amigarumi friends. The crazy little lady and her doragon came from Wawaya on Etsy.com. I love them. Mr Fish's bowl rests on a heating pad to keep him thinking he is in the topics.

El Guapo likes to visit Mr Fish and drink his water. He never actually bothers the fish, and I am not sure why the fish water is more appealing than the fresh cool water in the the cats' bowl. There's just no figuring the critters.

January

Here is is, early January and I have been sleeping with the windows open. Which is nice, and makes the cats happy because they climb out onto the porch roof and survey their kingdom from on high. But at this rate the spring flowers could get very confused and lured into a doomed early bloom. Hope not.

Back from Massachusetts

A perfectly lovely time in Massachusetts.
Saw a hunt:




Saw the Essex marshes from Janet & Jim's house:



Saw the ocean:


This is The Barnacle, where I had clam chowder for lunch looking out the window onto Marblehead Harbor.


Mostly saw friends - Katherine H, Dave R, Jim D and Lee from the old job, Georgette's play with the Mugford Street Players, and even Tom, the ex, who was friendly and cordial.

It all makes me wonder what I am doing in Indiana. Maybe I should pack up the cats and move back east.