toxin petroglyph tissue

Do not fear that you are a worthless impostor: 

fear that by such talk you are destroying your chance of being an artist.

  Eric Maisel

Well, bunnies, I got my Archie McPhee catalog in the mail the other day and boy, have I been having fun.  Every year I buy *something* for everybody on my list at this place-  something that is a personal joke with, or a dig at, the recipient.  Gets some stuff off my shoulders and a laugh.  And I'll do most anything for a laugh as long as its passive.  So, it seems that the theme for Archie this time around is SQUIRRELS.  I'm telling you, if your'e after squirrel underpants (in both boy  or girl models so you better know what you need before you order!), squirrel cups (Yeah, cups for squirrels!), and more more regular stuff like salt and pepper holders in the shape of squirrel heads and a flask advertising squirrel moonshine.  I know.  I promised no more squirrels, I lied.

  Lurking squirrel

  Giant squirrel mask

Got the little family to the airport on Friday and am left with the adult two and it's amazing how quiet and contained life seems again.  I've taken off the 'eyes-in-the-back-of-my-head' thing we all do with young kids, and have been able to refrain from telling my 35 year old son that it's time for bed or to pick up his shoes.  Sigh.  Life is easy again.  Except, yesterday I woke up sick, wouldn't you know.  I managed to drag myself to the lemon tree for enough to make a pitcher of lemonade, paid my bills, and collapsed in a heap-  I'll be fine in a few days but meanwhile I am committed to helping at the registration for the Special Olympics golf tournament and sitting in a cart watching for a hole-in-one.  I've done this for years now and never seen one.  So, that's the plan, right after I go get some cold stuff to shore my nose up for a few hours.  One that won't let me operate heavy machinery like a golf cart.

Cannot believe I've had to take the whole week off from the studio, thought I could squeeze in a few hours here and there but that didn't work at all.  The complications are still coming because I must head back to Boston next week to check on the construction. Apparently they found the source of the leak in the apartment above me where his walls are all damaged too but he never bothered to find out about it!  So, I am going back to my living room being in shambles, walls down, floor ripped up, and hopefully it will be de-molded by then too.  Then the floor gets replaced and sanded and refinished and the whole place painted.  I don't know HOW they can do this but I feel the need to be there to check on things as they happen.  My heart isn't in this, all I wanted was to sell it but TY dragged his feet and it didn't get on the market last spring-  giving the walls plenty of time to absorb the Russian guy's pee from upstairs.

I have no equipment or studio up there any more, so I just ordered a pattern for a shawl and I'll pick up some yarn while I'm there-  need something to do or I'll go crazy-  one can only clean out closets for so long.  

Enough whining, just telling you the groundwork for future unloading.  Hope that the internets start sizzling after today when everybody gets back to routine, I miss my blogs I miss my emails, and am getting tired of the ads.  

And here we go into Christmas.  How I wish that this was an every-other-year event, maybe sharing with Thanksgiving on an even/odd year basis.  Wouldn't that make both more meaningful?  I think so.  Back to hanging ornaments on the chandelier- today's project while I'm 'resting'.  What a joke.