absentee mashed lordly

Eventually everything connects--people, ideas, objects. 

The quality of the connections is the key to quality.   

Charles Eames

Finally the Yeiser website had a little window of opportunity to get a couple of images in for the show. They allowed an extension for a few more days too, so hopefully everyone who wants to enter is able to.  These problems seem to come up when we wait until the last possible minute, and when the website is clunky to start out with, problems multiply.  

A ride to Mt. Fuji

Good news yesterday afternoon-  My quilt arrived from Chandler Arizona, in less than two days!  I was anticipating that IF it could make it back, it would possible come on Saturday so I was taken aback at first by the FedEx guy and nearly hugged him.  I slammed that tube into the car (oh, OK, it doesn't slam, I had to maneuver it in because it's a 72" tube and doesn't take to being slammed!) and brought it right over to the studio and got it out and pinned up immediately so the fabrics will 'relax' a bit before the Open Studio on Sunday.  And I word about FedEx.  I opened an account with them a few years ago and have had nothing but the best experiences with them.  I mail from their Kinkos storefront and it couldn't be easier.  My ONE bad experience was the day I mailed out one of my quilt tubes to a show, and then went home.  Later that evening FedEx delivered it to my home instead of the show!  Basically they almost got to my house before I did!  Seems that the return address had been typed into the 'To' section of the form, but the next morning they took in no questions and expedited it on to the show.  Now I glance at the forms and they are always right.  

On Robert Genn this morning he talked about different 'circles' that are important:

A typical virtuous circle in the art vocation is (1) quality work, (2) proper marketing and distribution, (3) collectorship, acceptance and recognition, (4) artist happiness and productivity, and (5) quality work. Get the idea? On the other hand, many artists are stuck in a vicious circle: (1) substandard work, (2) inadequate, local or inconsequential distribution, (3) poor collectorship and recognition, (4) artist disappointment, frustration and torpor, and (5) substandard work.

I've been in both, the first one is actually as scary as the second!  Where are you right now?

And an operatic ode to going no-gluten!  

With an aside from me-  'Gluten Free' is such a fake and it's on so many packages now, having about the same significance as 'Lite'.  I am so tired of listening to the self-diagnosed, always on one bandwagon or another.  If you have celiac disease you simply MUST follow a STRICT food regime.  But you know what?  I have never been around someone with celiac disease who doesn't know exactly what they can and can't eat without making a big public fuss.  They don't question whether there is gluten in their burger, they simply order it without a bun.  No questions asked.  If you have a gluten problem you probably have other allergies to food or food additives along with it, and should be tested and watched and diagnosed by a real doctor, not someone who plays one at the dinner table.  Personally it was easier for me to give up 'flour', which means NO flour, EVER.  I don't have a gluten problem but I don't like the genetic modifications to flour since the 70's and truly believe it has everything to do with rampant obesity as well as other various and sundry 'symptoms'.  Read 'Wheat Belly' to get really scared, but stop it with all this gluten-free stuff.  'Gluten free Salmon was actually on the menu the other night.  My olive oil bottle says it's also 'gluten free'.  Oh, really?  How friggin' stupid are we?  Rant over.