#2917 back and better than ever!

 

painting & having cappuccino in Rapallo
photo by Lizzie

Ciao! I've been back from my vacation for almost a week, and I'm starting to get settled back into my routines. There were just four work days in my week, since Monday turned out to be a bonus vacation day, and with jet lag hanging on tight for three of those work days, and my workload being pretty big, there wasn't much time to tap into the creativity and vibes from vacation. It's to be expected, I suppose. This is real life. Yesterday I devoted myself to getting my finances in order and getting my art space organized a little. Today I have let myself paint, read, rest, and now write. It feels good!

Each time I go on a trip, I think of something I'd like to bring home with me. Not a trinket or a souvenir, but some little habit or saying or practice that worked for me on the trip and that I think I can incorporate into my everyday real life. Some obvious examples are having coffee, a habit I picked up in Costa Rica, and doing art, which I glommed onto in Greece. 

From this trip, I think what I want to incorporate into my real life is choosing my clothing with more care. Maybe I wrote about this last time I posted here, but I was pretty thoughtful about the clothing I took with me. I had very limited space because I choose to use a smaller suitcase, so I wanted to make sure my clothing choices all worked together so I could easily mix and match tops and bottoms. I was certainly no fashion plate, but I felt good about how I presented myself, and I was comfortable. The limited choices actually made it easier to dress myself! 

It is cold here now in SLC, and I had planned to change out my warm weather clothes for the winter clothes. It's sweater weather. ;D It's probably not going to happen since it is 17:00 and there are other things I'd rather do, but when I do it around to it, (likely sooner than later!) I'm going to have a serious talk with myself about what stays and what goes. I always say that, but somehow I still end up with lots and lots of clothes, even when I fill up multiple sacks to take for donation. 

Where I'd like to get is sort of a capsule wardrobe with more limited clothes that I really like, that fit well, and are still in good shape. No stains, holes, or pill-y armpits allowed. Hmm...I'm already a little intimidated at the prospect of it all. Wish me luck and courage! 

In the coming days I'll write about the trip and share some photos of the places we visited. I enjoyed myself everywhere we went. My favorite thing was being able to hang out with my sister for two weeks. She gets me, and it is a pleasure and a blessing to be able to spend that time with her. I always wanted to go on this trip, and I didn't know if Lizzie would choose to go. I think I could have handled the Rapallo part of the trip on my own, maybe, but I am pretty sure I would not have spent the second week seeing Milan, Florence, and Rome by myself. I likely would have gotten lost. I really relied on Lizzie's navigation skills in those cities, and I appreciate her willingness to lead me around more than I can say. 

Until next time...salute!

at a wine window in Florence
ussie by Lizzie

#2916: my three phases of vacation emotions

 I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow night, and I realized there are three emotional phases I go through as I prepare for a trip. Really, these three phases are all happening at the same time, but the intensity level of each phase varies in this order:

1. Anticipation. The trip is booked, and I feel excited, nervous and mostly full of anticipation about the trip. What are some things I really want to do and see? What can I learn about the place before I go? Are there any foods that are specialties of the region that I would like to try? What's the weather like? What's the language? What should I pack to wear? I like to do some research before I book a trip, and after it's booked, I am in info-gathering mode. I will likely buy a travel book or two if I don't already have one, and I comb through Pinterest to see what other people have done that I might like to do also. I love the anticipation stage. It's fun.

2. Nerves/anxiety. It's nearly time to go on the trip. It's time to pack. Do I have all the things I want to bring? Do I have too much? Will it fit in my suitcase? Will my suitcase be too heavy? Will my suitcase join me at my destination? Is there gonna be room for souvenirs? Did I pack my charging cables? Don't forget the glasses! Should I take the bottle of melatonin? What's going to happen at work? Will MT and T be okay? Will the dogs miss me? Will they be okay? What if I eat so much pasta that my pants don't fit? Do I have enough money? As a person who can spiral into anxiety, this phase really sucks. It leads me to procrastinate, which in turn can lead to forgetting things and/or overpacking. I tried to mitigate this phase somewhat by putting together a pretty good list of things I wanted to pack. It's still a lot. It's almost 11:00 pm the night before I leave, and I am packed, but there's still a bit of work to do.

3. Excitement. Once I get to the airport, I usually get into vacation mode. I realize that I can probably find almost anything I need at my destination. I know that I am bringing more than I likely need of everything. I feel so happy that I get to go somewhere awesome with people I love and who "get" me. All the planning and research I've done is about to come into play, and my mind is open to soaking up all the vibes.

At this very moment, I feel like I'm turning the corner on the nerves/anxiety phase and slipping right into excitement. 

I won't be writing here for the next couple of weeks. When I get back, though, I will want to relive the memories here on the screen!

#2915 leaf-peeping 2024 and art show

Happy Sunday! I'm listening to the Padres/Dodgers game as I write this post. How's that for multi-tasking? Go Padres!

MT and I went on our annual leaf-peeping tour in the Wasatch mountains this afternoon. We decided to do the alpine loop that starts in American Fork Canyon and winds past Mt Timpanogos and the Sundance Resort over to Provo Canyon. There are a lot of quaking aspen trees on the loop, so mostly we saw gold leaves and it was magical.

The bad thing about the alpine loop road is that it is quite narrow, and most of us have oversize vehicles. We were in MT's truck, which is big, and we found ourselves with the passenger side tires off the road many times. There were inches between our truck and oncoming cars and trucks. The drive was beautiful, but we agreed that if we wanted to do it again in the future, we'd bring my car. There were also about a jillion other cars on the road and pulled out onto tiny little wide spots to take photos. It was not a relaxing drive.

We had lunch in Park City at The Spur. We got a nice table out on the deck. I had a burger and a beer, and it was satisfying. I think there's something about sitting outside for a meal that just makes food extra delicious, if the conditions are right, that is. On our way back to the car, MT got some ice cream and I got a chai tea latte. There were a lot of people wandering through Park City this afternoon. It was a gorgeous fall day! We went over Guardsman Pass and down through Big Cottonwood Canyon on our way home. There was more orange on that road, but I didn't take any photos because we were moving along pretty quick. We'd been out for a long time!

Next year, I think we will peep on the Nebo Loop. 

~~~

It's been awhile since I posted some of my art, so let's do it now, okay?

This little highland cow was a birthday card for one of my coworkers. The hair isn't quite right, but I still like it.

highland cow for Sally

This flower is from one of Jill's prompts (#1490) in which she presented us with two lists of words and the instructions to pick a word from each list and make something happen.

Surrealistic Sunflower

I love making little calendars and zines every month!

September wee calendar

September zine

A quick note about this zine: I printed some words from a post on this very blog, put a cute font on it, and cut it to fit the zine, then dew the flowers on it. It was fun and different.

I drew and painted this little doggo for one of my coworkers. She has a dog called Baxter who kind of looks like this. 

little pupper for Tupp

Another of Jill's prompts (#1497) - paint something to honor the Fall Equinox.  It's meant to be a pumpkin, but it isn't very well executed. I still like it, though. I enjoy doing kind of a stained glass type painting. 

cubist pumpkin

This little birdie is a response to Jill's 1500th prompt, an artistic celebration. 

chonky bird with balloon

And finally, the October wee calendar to celebrate my upcoming trip to Italy. 

October zine

Have a great week!

PS...If you are still here, I just updated my 2024 reading page. I've read or listened to 39 books so far this year.

#2914 I skipped September

Well...I knew it had been awhile since I wrote here, but I didn't realize the last post was on Sept 1. Where did the month go? It felt kinda long. It was full of work, concerts, long days and short nights, and constant thoughts of the looming trip to Italy. For tonight, though, let's just stick to three things:

1. The end of the volunteer season. I finished my final volunteer assignment of the season last Sunday, the 29th. I did the docent gig, then I recorded blooms. I don't usually do both on the same day, but things had piled up and it just worked out that way. It was a nice day, a little warm, but the colors were beautiful and I was happy to be doing what I was doing. I finished up my concert schedule with the last show of the season on Tuesday September 24, a show by Rodrigo y Gabriela. I worked the first show of the season (Burning Spear in May) and the last show, plus 11 in between, so 13 shows out of 30 (or was it 31?) Anyway, it was a good summer full of live music, and good times at Red Butte Garden. I gave the Garden 132 hours this summer. I feel good about every one of those hours. I truly love that place.

2. Prepping for Italy. The trip to Italy has been on my calendar for about a year, I think, and now here we are, just 10 days away from leaving. SQUEE!!! I have a list of things I need to take like art supplies, my journal, a book to read, and an umbrella, among other things. I have a list of clothes I want to take, too. This weekend I will be trying on the clothes to make sure they are how I want to represent myself while I'm on vacation. Not only that, but I am planning to keep not only my clothing but all the other stuff to a minimum. I pack around a lot of detritus, so I'm trying to be very mindful of that habit as I prepare for this trip. 

3. Why don't I do that here? A couple of Fridays ago, I wore a concert t-shirt to work. I got it at the Lukas Nelson show. I like the color of the shirt, sort of a mustard yellow, and I liked the graphics: a pair of cacti on either side of a skeleton head wearing a cowboy hat and smoking a cigarette. Except, when I got home and was really looking at the shirt, it didn't appear to be a cigarette, but a joint. I wore a shirt with a skull smoking a joint to the office. No one said anything, but I was annoyed with myself. That is not how I want to represent myself at work. I am fine wearing that Lukas Nelson shirt around the house (it's really soft!), but not out and about. When I'm feeling lazy, a simple white t-shirt, jeans, and a jacket of some sort will always be better than a shirt showing a skull smoking a joint. The thought that I take more care about what I wear on a vacation among people I probably won't see again and what I wear to work among people I see multiple times a week upset me. Clearly, it's been at least two weeks and I'm still obsessing about it! I can do better to look put together. Maybe part of it is that I have so many clothes that I get lazy instead of being thoughtful about what I'm wearing. Hmmm...

Happy October! Happy Q4! Go Padres!

#2913 three things: oh deer, triple shot, back-to-back musical nights

 Happy Sunday and happy September! The 'ber months are here, and I'm ready for them. I don't usually write a three things post on Sunday, but these three things summarize the week that was, so here we go.

1. Oh deer. MT was driving home from Pocatello on Monday night and a deer jumped out and ran into the truck. The deer was not found by the highway patrol, but we can only assume it did not survive the impact. The passenger side headlight was completely removed from the truck, and the whole passenger side is dented and scraped and the doors cannot be opened. MT is fine, although he was mightily shaken up by the event. He is sad for the deer and sad about his beautiful beloved truck. It is drivable, so he made it home safely, even though he was a cyclops (one headlight.) Insurance will pay the $7,500 repair bill, and our portion of that payment is...$100. Whew! Apparently being hit by a deer is covered by comprehensive insurance, so we just have to pay the deductible. Here are a couple of pics of the damage:

2. Triple shot. I've been thinking about getting a new coffee maker for a few weeks. I figured I'd do it when I returned from Italy, but my subconscious had other ideas, and when I was washing my coffee pot on Monday, I accidentally cracked the pot on my sink, rendering it unusable. My coffee maker is duo, meaning I can brew a pot of coffee and it has  Keurig, too, so I was not completely out of coffee-making options. I could have waited and just used the Keurig, but that's not my style, so I went over to Target with a gift card I'd received and purchased a moka pot.

This is the 3-cup size, and it is small and cute. It's also heavy duty. I can't crack this one because it is made of steel. Did you know that a coffee in Italy is espresso? American-style coffee is a drip situation, way more water than coffee. What I'm trying to say is that the 1 cup in the moka pot refers to 1.5 oz of espresso, which is a shot of espresso. Three cups from the moka pot is a triple shot of espresso. 

I didn't actually put all of that information together when I made a pot of coffee on Wednesday morning with my shiny new moka pot. I was delighted by the bubbling up of the coffee and lovely aroma that floated through my kitchen. I poured the whole three cups into my big American mug, and it only filled the mug about halfway. I added milk and sugar and took the coffee outside to the deck. It's a simple pleasure. I took a sip and said out loud, "Whoa you taste good!" I took another sip and my eyes popped open and I felt alive and alert. I slurped down the rest of the coffee and felt great all morning. I didn't even miss having a second cup, which I usually do when I make a big pot of coffee. 

When I am in Italy, I will be looking for a small, espresso sized cup to bring home as a souvenir and from which I will enjoy my espresso. And I might not have the whole three shots at the same time again. However, I'll be using the moka pot again tomorrow, so we'll see.

3. Back-to-back musical nights. I volunteered to work at two concerts last week, one on Tuesday, and the other on Wednesday. I try to manage my schedule so I don't have back to back shows because too many late nights aren't good for me, but I didn't realize the date of the second show when I offered to work that night, plus I really wanted to see the artist.

Tuesday night I saw the band Pink Martini.  I didn't know anything about them, but I like their name. It turns out, I really like their music, too. They are more like an orchestra than a band, and the singer, China Forbes, has a gorgeous voice. It's like cocktail party music. Plus, the songs are performed in a variety of languages. On Tuesday, there were songs in English, French, Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Italia, Korean, and Japanese. I really loved it. At the end of the night, they encouraged the audience to form a conga line, and they did, and it was a spectacle. I had a good time, even though I did not join the conga line.

On Wednesday night, I heard Lukas Nelson. I say I heard him because I didn't actually see him. I was working the west side recycling station, and the view of the stage is non-existent. I did take a few minutes to try to get a look at the stage, but everyone was standing up, so I couldn't really get a good look, although I can say that I did see him on stage for a minute. Yes, he is Willie Nelson's son, and yes, he does sound a lot like his father. He also has a much bigger vocal range than Willie, including a spine-tingling falsetto. He was really good and I enjoyed the music very much. 

Have a great week!

 

#2912 10 day wrap-up

I mean...I don't know where the time goes! I wrote here on the 14th and today is the 25th . What the heck have I been up to these past 10 days? I have to consult my planner because I haven't even been writing in my journal. I miss it. Anyway, let's catch up, shall we?

MT got home from his trip to Missouri on the 14th. Technically it was on the 15th because it was after midnight. I don't think he moved around very much on the 15th. It's a long drive to come straight through, but that's what they did. The 15th was our 31st wedding anniversary, so it was cool that he got home so we could hang out together. He sent me a sinfully beautiful (and expensive, I found out) bouquet of flowers, delivered to my office. I think he was trying to pick up style points with my coworkers. LOL

On Friday the 16th, we went to RBG to see Fitz and the Tantrums and O.A.R. in concert. I had to work on the clean up crew, so we got to enjoy the whole concert together, then he waited in the truck while I picked up garbage. MT hadn't seen either of those bands before, and he especially liked Fitz and the Tantrums. Both bands are great, and it was a fun show.

Saturday 17 August was a dark and stormy day. MT and I went to Cabela's so I could buy some trail shoes - I had a gift card there. I didn't care for the store, but I really like the shoes! The two of us had a late lunch/early dinner at The Pie in Midvale. Such good pizza!

Sunday 18 August was a big Garden day. I worked the docent shift, came home, had a bite to eat and a quick nap, then went back to RBG to work in the bike valet station for the Beach Boys show. We have had some big storms this month (monsoon season) and that night was no exception. I was under a canopy watching the storm roll across the Wasatch Front, complete with lightning and thunder. It rained hard to go along with the lightning, too. The gate time for the show was pushed back one hour because the authorities don't want people in the venue when there is lightning. Most people just stood there in line under their umbrellas. When the rain ended, the wind kicked up and it was gusty and kind of awful. By the time the Beach Boys came out around 8pm, the weather had calmed down a bit and then it was fine. I didn't stay for the whole show because I was kind of cold and tired. And no, there weren't many bikes being stored with us. 

I didn't have any concert duties this past week, and I spent my evenings puttering around the house, not doing too much. I've been learning Italian, French, and Spanish with the Duolingo app. I've got a 165 day streak going as of today, so I make sure I have time for that practice every night. 

That's really pretty much it for home. Other than that, I'm working and constantly thinking about the upcoming trip to Italy. Only 49 days away now!

I've got a lot coming up this week. it is the last week of the month, so work will be very busy. In addition, I have back-to-back concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both shows are artists I haven't seen before. Tuesday night is Pink Martini, and Wednesday night Lukas Nelson. College football season starts on Thursday; the Utes will play Southern Utah that night. MT is planning to go on a backpacking trip over the long weekend to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. There is a fire in the area, so he is being thoughtful about where he will go. I'm looking forward to staying home and watching the first part of Season 4 of Emily in Paris.

Have a great week!

#2911 three things; home alone, sleep, and live music

It's been 10 days since I wrote here, so here are three things that defined last week.

 1. Home alone. MT and his brother Kelly spent the past 10 days in Columbia, Missouri. They went there to freshen up a rental property we have there. They thought the work would take a couple of weeks, but by putting in some long hours, they were able to finish it up quickly. They drove straight through yesterday (Tuesday) and arrived here around 12:30 am. It's a 17.5 hour drive.  I guess they were eager to get home! I'm glad MT is back. I didn't mind his absence the first couple days of the week, but then I was ready for him to come home. It's not that I was lonely, but I like having him around. That's what happens after 30 plus years together, I suppose. (Our 31st wedding anniversary is tomorrow!)

2. Sleep. Since I was home alone, I was on family Lyft duty for taking T to and from work. He only had a couple of shifts at FedEx, so it was fine. On Friday and Saturday, he and Jordyn worked at the Das Energy festival at Salt Air. I was thankful Jordyn worked there, too, so they rode together and I didn't have to deal with the festival traffic. Friday night I was so tired, and it was so quiet that I wound up going to bed by 9pm, and I was asleep with ten minutes. I know that T and Jordyn got home around 2:30 am, but only because the dogs went to greet them and I was joggled by Harley jumping off the bed. I went right back to sleep, and the doggos let me be until nearly 8am. I felt so good on Saturday! I like sleeping. 

3. Musical bookends. On Monday the 5th, I had a volunteer assignment at the Stray Cats concert at RBG. Their songs kind of all sound the same, but it's a good same-ness. That rockabilly style is energetic and fun. They sounded great, and it is amazing what a bunch of joyful noise three dudes can make. The crowd was totally into it, dancing and singing the night away. Here's a pic I took:

On Sunday the 11th, I was back at RBG to see Gary Clark, Jr. I think this was the fifth or sixth time I've seen Gary. I really like his music. I was a guest that night because this was the show I chose for my benefit tix for volunteering over 100 hours last year. I had two tickets, but T didn't want to come with me since he was hanging out with Jordyn, and of course, MT was in Missouri. I didn't mind. I go to shows at RBG all the time by myself. This time I packed a couple of beers and some snacks and felt glad I wouldn't have to get my cleanup gear ready during the encore.

Not a bad way to start and end the week, eh, listening to live music outdoors in the summer? I am so fortunate to have these experiences each year. 

I hope your week is going well. It is already the middle of August, can you believe that? The summer has flashed by. I'm looking forward to the autumn for many reasons, so I'm certainly not complaining!