A little more to the right

I'm so happy!

A woman down the street appeared to be having a garage sale on Saturday, and as we drove by we noticed that she had an assortment of gardening supplies laid out in her driveway. We pulled over to check it out. Turns out, she was just giving the stuff away. She gave us all kinds of pots, and those dish thingies that go underneath, a plant box for herbs, and a bench! Amazing. This was most fortuitous, as we'd like to grow our own vegetables and weren't sure how much everything would cost. Yay!

There's a Michaels in Beaverton, which isn't all that far from where I am, so after we brought our garden swag home and parted ways, I drove over to check it out. And... it's TWICE the size of the one in Brandon, FL!!!! :D I was in heaven. Heh-ven! Then I went to Freddy's and bought seed packets and ice cream. There was a coupon for the seeds, and Purely Decadent was on sale, so how could I resist? There, you see, I couldn't.

I hadn't been home long when the mail came. My drawing supplies arrived! I jumped right into Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain that afternoon. I did a self-portrait, a picture of a person from memory, and a drawing of my own hand. The s-p turned out pretty well, as did the hand, but the other one... hmm. I drew a picture of an ex-boyfriend, but I haven't seen him in a couple of years and I don't have any pictures of him, and what I'm trying to say is, er, the drawing looked nothing like him. I don't dare post it for fear that he might see it and be deeply offended. Sorry!

That night I started on the upside down drawing exercises. When you draw something that way you're forced to draw exactly what you see, not what your mind thinks should be there, and you produce a better drawing. That's the idea, anyway. I had to copy a line drawing of Igor Stravinsky done by Picasso. That poor man, I crushed his skull and collapsed one of his shoulders. :( My mom raved about it, but this is the woman who is painting wonderful watercolor pictures almost daily and thinks they're horrible, so she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about. The next picture was a knight on a horse. This author is crazy, I thought. Called it a night right then and there.

Today, after some toast and coffee, I figured what the hell and tried the picture. Drew it upside down. Turned it right side up. And...



I like it! Sure, I robbed that horse of its backside, but other than that I'm pretty pleased. :)

I also did two loads of laundry. While I certainly didn't enjoy doing them, I'm glad they're done. And my ruler came today! This one!

Changed the Twitter name to match the blog now. "DnSsnvr" was lame anyway.

So, yeah. No complaints today.

A better woman than I

I once knew a little girl who was pretty cool. She loved all animals great and small. She gave every person the benefit of the doubt. She loved to draw, paint, build things. Especially drawing, that was her thing. Paper, walls, any surface would do. She created elaborate stories off the top of her head. She wasn't lazy, there was always some activity in which to lose herself. She was sensible, didn't get overly upset and freak out over the things that life threw at her. And damned if she ever let anyone see her cry.

She was me.

Puberty dulled every creative cell in my body. Through my teen years I didn't care about much. Friends, boys, and... er... that was pretty much it. I stopped drawing, I stopped making stories, I stopped caring. I was shallow and selfish. I dabbled in makeup, but that was the extent of my artistic endeavors. I don't particularly like who I was then.

Passion didn't find its way into my life until I fell in love in my early 20s. It was an unhealthy fixation, though, and I was addicted to the ups and downs. I don't like that girl either. She's flying solo for the foreseeable future.

At some point I remembered that I liked animals and felt bad for eating them. I was probably destined to become a vegan. When I was 8 years old, I wrote to Bill Clinton because I was concerned about the manatee population in Florida. He hadn't been in office long, he had the power to do something. The reply I received was a pre-printed letter thanking me for writing and encouraging me to do my part in my local community. Oh, and included was a glossy photo of Bill. *sigh* Anyway, long story long, I went vegetarian, and then vegan, and in a small way I regained a part of myself. This makes me happy.

My aunt has gotten into watercolor painting. Her pictures are really cute. This inspired my mom, who also has gotten back into watercolor. My mom is a really great artist (and writer!), though she will deny this if anyone mentions it. I've been using her watercolor pencils to draw on the backs of paper statements from collection agencies. Hey, I can't pay them, so they may was well be used for something! My aunt and uncle are being way generous and sending me my own drawing supplies. It's like Christmas, only better, because it's 'just because.' I want to be an artist again. I want that part of myself back, too.

I'm borrowing art books from the library. Right now I have Colored Pencil for the Serious Beginner by Bet Borgeson, and Drawing Workshop by Lucy Watson.

And the tip of Dexter's tail at the bottom for good measure. I also have Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards waiting for me at the library. And I'm writing with prompts everyday. I'm trying to stretch in all directions now. I am hoping that something lucrative can emerge from this, but if nothing else I will be happier. I hope to eventually expand to painting, sculpture, and even metal craft. I want to write short stories, novels, anything. I just want to create. Like I did when I was young.

The little girl I used to be should have grown into someone special. I'm trying to do her proud now. I owe her that.

In a land of carousels and sunny shores

On Saturday I discovered some extremely disturbing news about a relative of mine. My life will never be the same after this, nor will the lives of those involved. Our concern for my mother's friend, and her family, in Fukushima continues. And there have been the usual petty, superficial problems around here that we face on a daily basis. I've reached my limit. I need an escape. Not just any escape, though. To enjoy anything too happy and joyous actually feels wrong to me right now. On Saturday night I was mindlessly flipping through the channels, searching for just the right amount of mindless garbage to let me unplug for a while. And I found it.

I have always said that I would never ever ever watch an episode of Jersey Shore. I can't say that anymore. Would it be too ridiculous of me to say that this show is a lifesaver? Probably, but it was exactly what I needed at the moment. Unfortunately, though, now I, like most people, have been sucked in and now find myself hooked like a drug addict. There's a marathon on this upcoming Saturday. I can't wait. I'm so ashamed.

On the other end of the spectrum, I borrowed Carousel from the library. Unlike most musicals, which I know by heart, I've only watched this one a couple of times because it's depressing. I was watching clips of Gordon MacRae on Youtube recently, and decided to check the film out again. Maybe I have a better appreciation for it because I'm older, maybe my tastes have changed, or maybe it's just the right film at the right time, but this has now entered my top faves list. Granted, nothing will ever top Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for me (it just can't be done, I've always loved it), but I have a new appreciation for this movie. I mean, how can you not?


*sigh*

So, uh, Carousel and Jersey Shore balance each other out, right? I hope so. Speaking of carousels, I love this. Anyway, I'm hoping that we'll get a break from tragedy, at least for a little while. Long enough to recover from what we've been dealt. And long enough for me to get my hands on a large bag of Jelly Bellies, because I have a massive craving.

Ugh.

A mini adventure

Starring: Dexter
A Chihuahua



"Look! I think the rain has finally stopped!"



"Yes, the rain has definitely ended and the sun is shining."



"Hmmm. The ground is a little squishy when I walk, but I think I kind of like it. Weeee."



"Wait a minute, what's this? I like the way it smells."



"If I roll in it, I'll smell that way too!"



"Oh yes, this is nice."



*HAPPY*


Later, back at home...



"What do you mean I have to take a bath?!"


An hour later...



*sigh* "Well, it was fun while it lasted."


End.