#2894 hey! it's May!

 

Hello! 

The little drawing is my May zine. Please admire the stack of flower pots that also resemble upside down top hats, as well as the bug-eyed little birdie at the top. I got some Papermate flair markers that I used to color with, so the pots are skritchy. It's a mood.

It has been awhile since I wrote here, and I won't go back into all that activities that were happening during my hiatus. The short version is that I think I made my final monthly trip to Dixon in April. The house is empty except for some pieces of furniture. I may have written about the well problem, and if I didn't, now you know the well had a problem. That is in process of being resolved with the drilling of a new well. I was surprised by how emotional I became as I was preparing to leave the house. It has always been in my life, and will miss it. I love the house and the area. What it mostly comes down to is missing the people who lived there. I can't really see myself living out there, even though I thought about it a lot. Lizzie and I ran around crying and taking photos like nobody's business. MT was really kind about it. He didn't rush us at all and said he understood, and I appreciated his patience. 

I remember that Grandma, Mary, and Dewey used to stand at the gate to greet us when we arrived at the house, and also when we left. I wanted to recreate the photo with Lizzie, since we are the last of the Wann women from this line. I'm totally weeping in this photo; I just couldn't seem to compose myself. I felt a little broken. My throat is tight and my eyes are hot even as I write about this moment. 

At the start of the day, though, we had a good giggle. Lizzie found a hat that was made in Italy and it looked pretty cool. As you can see, it was a sunny day, and we were doing a lot of walking from the house to the dumpster in the back yard, so we both wanted to wear hats for protection from the sun. (Skin cancer sucks, you know.) Lizzie tried the hat on first.

She's adorable, but the hat is weird. I had to give it a try.

I felt like a clown, so I made a dumb face. Them MT came in, and we asked him to try the hat on, too.

He looks cute, but the hat wasn't really good on him either. Who wore this hat? I can't see Uncle Dewey or Uncle Lee in it, but I'm probably wrong. Why is it so tall? And really, what the hell is the matter with me? Is it even possible for me to take a normal photo? (I've pondered this quite a bit, some might even say I have over-thought it, and I have some theories. Maybe a topic for another time, but maybe not.)

We got back from California on the 24th. There was lots of  work-work to be done. The last couple days of that week, and all of last week were long hours and lots of computer time, so I couldn't face sitting here to write during that time. I'm good now, though. so I hope to stick to my Wednesday and Sunday schedule. Two days feels right.

I'm getting into my summer schedule. Red Butte Garden announced its concert line-up. I think I'm scheduled for 10 shows, which feels like a good number. I'll probably pick up another couple here and there; I'm only on the roster for one show in July, so I could do another one or two that month. Today was the first docent day. I was happy to see Wendy and Tracy, the tram drivers to my docent. We chatted and waited for people to come, but it was pretty cold up there, and then it started to rain heavily. We called it off just after 11:00. No one was coming out, and we were getting drenched. I had on my winter raincoat, layers of clothes, and an umbrella, and I was still thoroughly chilled. I stopped at the 'bucks on my way home for a hot beverage to warm up. I also had the heater blasting and the seat warmer on high. BRRR

I've recorded blooms three times so far this year. I went twice in April before the trip to Dixon. I didn't get up there after Dixon because it was raining on the days I planned to go. I did get up there on Friday, and man, it was glorious! I think next week will be spectacular. All the show-stopping, best-smelling plants are this close to bursting into bloom. I'm talking about the wisteria, the lilacs, and the viburnum especially. The apple trees are all blooming, and they look so pretty. Here's a pic of a crabapple tree:

Let's see...what am I looking forward to this week? Tomorrow, I'm going to the concert volunteer orientation at RBG. I don't expect much new information, but it's mandatory, and I get time credit for going. Afterward, my friend Liz and I are going to get a beer and catch up a little. She is also a volunteer, and I enjoy chatting with her. On Saturday, I will attend a creativity workshop on Zoom with Jill the Artist, and Sunday is Mother's Day. If it is nice, I will get some plants and make the deck pretty. No docent gig on Mother's Day. 

Art time!

I've just got a couple of things to show you. I've been so busy, I haven't been able to do much art, and I've really missed it. I showed you the May zine at the beginning of the post. Here is the calendar I made that I have in my bathroom. I call it the wee calendar because it is small, and because it's in the bathroom. LOL

I like the simplicity of this one, and the colors. I made all the little dots with a Q-tip!

This is a collage I made in response to a prompt from Jill the Artist. She provided a list of about a jillion painting names, and we chose a title and made some art. My approach to choosing the title was haphazard: I closed my eyes and scrolled ten times down, three times up, twelve times down, one time up, then down, down, down. I put my finger near the screen and came up with Root Above the Ground, or something like that. I didn't like it, so I scrolled some more with my eyes open until I came to Shattered Sunset. I had this photo of the sunset from our drive to Dixon. This was just outside Battle Mountain, NV. I printed the pic on regular paper, then using some crafty scissors with a jaggedy edge, I started cutting. Then I pasted it on a page in my sketchbook to make a shattered sunset. Kinda cool, right? 

Okay, time to practice some languages and get to bed. Thanks for working your way through my lengthy and rambling post. See ya here Wednesday!