the space to be

As per your request.... a little, well, little. A lot of Potential, your potential if you can get on the list for the next session at Cabana 600.

Drahwring!

after a long wait, drawing night has finally returned! I opened our art studio to a small group of local artists this past week for our first open figure drawing session at "cabana 600" where 600 sq. feet of wall space need to be filled with new original artwork. here's my choice for the night, a 25 minute scetch with a ball tip pen.

My son and I

Happy day with Tay! heading to the zooooooooo.

Petey Babes and Aunty Judy Booty

Nell's cabin

Grandpa "Pa-ta"

boating fun on big deer

fishing on litte deer

no place like home...

we are back home in Seattle after a long splendid week in Minnesota with the in-laws. it was so magical to see Taylor enjoy his grandparents and discover new things, like "jumbo jet!" and "canoe!". we spent several days in Northern Minnesota near Grand Rapids hanging out at camp, boating, fishing, swimming and lazily reclining while the feather dusting tree tops swayed to and fro. the weather was unbeatable.

besides the day when about 50 honey bees found their way into our cabin the trip up north was purely a joy. turns out you can't prop your door open for 3 hours without some local creatures entering to investigate maple syrup!

I caught a Great Norhtern on Little Deer Lake, but it was too small to keep. which was okay by me. I couldn't imagine being fully alright with the process from lake to table anyway.

in the nights the lullaby songs from the Loones and the snap crackle of forest brush against mysterious animal hooves kept us happily indoors. except for a couple of brief adventures outside in the dark to see the enormously brilliant wash of stars above us we stayed happily enclosed in our turn of the century cabin overlooking the big lake.

on one 2 and half minute adventure outside after sunset we mistakened the sound of a boat engine in the distance for a hungry wolf lurking just beyond our vision, and peeled across the field back to safety before we became another's late night snack!

so here we are, home again. was it all just a dream? nope, we've got the mosquito bites to prove it.

Last.fm: liz shared Today

Hi there,

liz (liz@computersleuth.net) was on Last.fm and wants to share this with you:

Today
http://www.last.fm/music/Jefferson+Airplane/_/Today

---
liz said:

song for M
---

If you like this, add it to your Library.
This will make it easier to find, and will tell your Last.fm profile a bit more
about your music taste. This improves your recommendations and your Last.fm
Radio.

The more good music you add to your Last.fm Profile, the better it becomes :)

Best Regards,
The Last.fm Email Monkey

--
Visit Last.fm for personal radio, tons of recommended music, and free downloads.
Create your own music profile at www.last.fm

Farewell Margaret M.

This week I received the news. an old friend, a young friend, has passed away. Margaret and I became friends in Corpus Christi and she quickly became part of our posse. Milena, Tiana, Cheryl, Margaret and I were a tight pack back in the mid 90's. we all decided to shave our heads and started a faux gang of tough girls living in a neighborhood where we were the minority. Margaret was the youngest, and the most alluring of us all. she was a nanny, loved children and loved boys. she shot pool, danced and drank like a sailor.
when I was accepted to PNCA in Portland Oregon I asked her to move with me. I thought a change would be good for her. she talked about starting school as well. so we traveled together with less than $1000 to start a new life on the West Coast.
as I started school and got a boyfriend, Margaret was bored, and idolized the cool skinny culture of Heroin users so proliferate in Portland. they looked like Waif's and started cool trends in music and fashion. We were room-mates for a while, then grew apart. she went down a path that I could not follow. I stayed in school and later moved to Seattle. Margaret remained in Portland where life for her took a turn. A tumultuous road to say the least.
Last Monday 8-18-08 Margaret died from an overdose. Over ten years since she chose that risky path. but within that decade + she battled endlessly with the addicts life. she died with 2 young children, 1 year and 2 months old.
the last time I saw her was in 2002, and she was ecstatic that she had finally quite drugs, mostly, but had everything under control. Unfortunately her boyfriend was still using. I wrote, called and searched for her after that, but couldn't ever get in touch with her again. too bad, too bad.
so long young life

alright alright already. here he is, THE MAN OF MY DREAMS. to clarify who the man of my dreams is I must say that the dream began about 20 years ago. I strongly believe in the power of intention, btw.
in about 1989 I did some serious delving into the "self help/new age" section of the local bookstore. turned up with some pretty good stuff.
I learned that if you imagine what you want, what you really really want and even write it down ( in detail) that the universe will give it to you. so it finally happened.
I asked for the guy who is smart, knows how to type (remember this was 1989), wears boxer shorts AND glasses and who doesn't know that he is really cute. he has sat in the back of the library his whole life and has no idea how absolutely amazing he is.

granted, we met when we were well beyond our teens. but he lived in Minnesota and I in Indiana at the time of the intended wish. it only took us around 11 years to find our way to eachother here in the PNW. (pacific northwest)

so, that's it. one less thing to worry about. one more soul to trust. and love. and be grateful for. along with the others who I shall mention in no particular order at some point on this log.

you can obviously see that he, in his now mature state of being, is completely exposed in his lust for life, no longer hiding out in corners with books. now he reads right in the middle of the library. and I love every ounce of him.

ttfn

Slugs!

I have to reconsider the gardener in me. I'm afraid we've been taken over by snails, slugs and drought. yes, drought! all of my hostas have been shredded by the heat and the slippery varmits. ugh de ugh ugh. well, I have some organic pesticide and some cayenne pepper that may save the day yet.
the problem is, they are so cute and magical looking. snails! aren't they supposed to be like pixies or rainbows? now I do see why the French eat them. Die snails! take that! maybe I'll ship them to France.

oh, and this guy is no help either. grass, what is left of it? grrrrrrrrrrr.

mom

Here is a photo of Trudi, my mom, the night before her life changed dramatically. she called everyone she could think of that night, or emailed them. she went to sleep thinking of more people she wanted to touch base with, but just didn't have time. she never woke up as that same person.
all I have done for the last couple of years is complain about her. now I feel like such an ass. believe me, most of it was founded though.
the next night, May 14, after her heart surgery she had a devastating stroke. and a few days ago she completed her final surgery toward recovery. she had her skull bone replaced over her brain. she's doing pretty well. but she is missing. parts of her are really gone. it's surreal in a way, like thinking of infinite space. where did she go? was she all just in her brain, or aren't we all existing beyond those borders?
here she is now. well this is a couple of days before latest brain surgery. Maybe she will return.

this is why I am sick of dust

I live here! Damn, another reason to leave paradise.

'Alarming' elevated cancer risk in South Seattle linked to air pollution

Trying to make Hummus (take two)

just how do you make hummus without a recipe? well, I memorized the label on my favorite container of the creamy dip. lets see, it's just garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, olive oil, lemon and salt, right? so logically if I just blend all of those things together it becomes hummus. right. except I don't have any tahini, but I do have sesame seeds, so I will just mash those up instead.

that is why today is the second time I try to make hummus. I emphasize the word TRY. just a tweak here and a pinch there and I should have it!