Goodbye

Monday June 29, 2009

Dear Grandma,
I'm wearing that big, goofy, fold-out hat you gave me so I can go out to the garden and do some weeding. I'm going to weed the garden, clean the house, make dinner and go on about things just like you'd want me to. I won't promise not to cry. And I won't promise not to have moments of overwhelming sadness. But I promise I will remember how to make Garbage Soup and how to play the card game Spite and Malice. I will write letters and thank-you notes and make rhubarb pies. I will make crafts with my niece and nephews and I will give things away. I will be kind to animals and I will be a good teacher. I will always believe that nothing is more important than family. I will never forget who you were and I will always remember who I am. And I will miss you for the rest of my life.

And it's not even summer yet!

Back when we first started dating, Dan and I used to love to squeeze as many activities into a day as we possibly could. It was early June and one of us would often remark, "And it's not even summer yet!" surprised by how much fun we were able to cram into our evenings and weekends and knowing that when summer came, we'd have even more to do.
This weekend reminded me of that. But it also reminded me that I'm a little older than I was then. I'm so ready for a nap.
I went rollerblading on Friday after work and when I headed for home, I got stuck in Balloon Fest traffic. I had forgotten it was going on this weekend. So Dan and I scarfed down dinner and ran out to the clearing to see if we could see the balloons. The wind was JUST right. All of the balloons headed straight towards us and ended up landing all over our neighborhood. As you may remember from a previous post, Bandit is NOT a fan of balloons. So even though Dan and I really enjoyed this, we ended up having to put Bandit in the house because I was afraid he'd have a heart attack. The balloons were coming right over our house!



The Barn Balloon landed down the street from us. This was Bandit's least favorite balloon.


We spent all evening running from the clearing to the yard and up and down the streets (literally running- did I mention that I'm getting old?) chasing balloons.
Then we spent most of today in Ithaca. We took my parents out to Moosewood and then wandered around Cornell where my dad went to school. We walked through all the gardens, checked out the buildings and got to go up in the bell tower for a little one man concert that was being performed. Those bells are REALLY loud when you're standing directly under them. My dad was a little dismayed, though, by all the new buildings and changes over the last 40 years. "How's a man supposed to reminisce if they keep changing stuff?" he asked at one point.


And, since I have another show coming up at the coffee shop, I thought I'd better spend a little time in the studio today, so I worked on the butterfly painting when we got home.


There's always a distraction... I kept looking up and seeing more balloons out the window, so I finally took a break and walked Bandit down to the clearing to see if they were headed this way again. But the wind wasn't quite right tonight- probably for the best. I need to put curtains up in the studio and chain myself to the table or I am never going to get these paintings done. And it's not even summer yet!

Spring

I've been waiting to post the pictures of these little friends... I wanted to make sure everything turned out ok first! Dan was looking for the step ladder some time in mid May, and when he finally found it in the shed, he also found a nest on top of it. This was after he was dive-bombed by the mama robin. A few days later, I had to go down to the shed to get mulch and I brought the camera with me. The robin was not in the nest at the time so I reached up and took a picture of the eggs. Every couple of days I would sneak in and take another picture. It was amazing how fast those little birds grew. And how they came out of those tiny eggs! It was kind of scary, really. I know some of the neighborhood cats wander around near our shed sometimes. Ordinarily, I don't mind the cats dropping by for a visit, but I worried about these birds everyday. Today when I stopped by for a picture a bird flew out of the nest, but it wasn't the mother. The babies have learned to fly. So I guess we can have our step ladder back now. I don't even remember what we needed it for in the first place.

SPCA Pet Walk

Dan and I participated in the Finger Lakes SPCA pet walk last weekend. I have to shamefully admit that it was really hard for me to tear myself away from the gardens, but it was worth it. Worth it, of course, to raise money for this organization AND to get this photo...


Look carefully at the front porch of this house. There is a very angry looking cat sitting there watching the dogs go by (and there were at least 50-60 dogs or more). What's really funny is that he was out there LAST year too. I thought this was hilarious, but I didn't have my camera on me then. I kept telling Dan that I hoped he'd be back again, out watching the dog parade, thinking how this is probably the worst day of the year. Dan said "No way- that was a once in a lifetime shot." But sure enough, there he was.


He's probably thinking he'd like to plant some land mines under the sidewalks for next year.

Snow Bunny

Thought you might like to see this year's snow sculpture. For some reason, I feel like I missed part of winter if I don't make at least one snow creation during the season. But the snow has to be just right and hopefully it's "just right" on a weekend! This was created on a Sunday in early February.

The Lion

The lion-like entrance that March is supposed to make will probably be arriving tonight. And I think I've reached my limit. I'm all done with both sets of skis for this year. I've had enough fun trudging through the waist-deep snow (seriously, I actually find that fun) and watching the dog pretend to be a dolphin. I've made my obligatory yearly snow sculpture. I am ready for the lamb. I've ordered all my seeds and they arrived a few days ago. The snow has melted enough for me to see the remnants of last year's gardens, and I'm getting the bug again. I'm ready to see some color. But I think I have a few more weeks at least before I get my wish. So I will try to enjoy these last few days of confinement and get some more housework done before I can't stand to be inside anymore. I spent Saturday cleaning the kitchen and part of the studio and then today I helped my sister-in-law with her wedding scrapbook. I also went to my parents' house to visit with my sister, brother and all the nephews and the niece.
Friday night was the third annual Pawcasso silent auction to benefit our local spay and neuter clinic. Engine (pictured above) donated one of his many wire sculptures and I did a painting of Lia. We didn't do as well as we have in previous years, but for a silent auction during a depression, I think we did pretty well.

The Altered Page: Natural Evolution

There is an interesting winter project going on over at The Altered Page called "Disintegration". If you want to participate (check out the link below), all you have to do is create an art piece that you place securely outside, and expose it to the elements until sometime in April or May. Photograph it when you put it outside and then we will all photograph the pieces again at the end of the project. I wedged this into the branches of a pine tree that we planted last spring that didn't make it. This will be its last hurrah before we have to remove it. Hopefully I tied the piece up tight enough! As I was securing it, dark storm clouds started rolling in and it started snowing pretty hard. I took the idea of the tea bag from Judy Wise, who is also participating. I am curious to see how this turns out. One more reason to look forward to May!
The Altered Page: Natural Evolution