Category: Thoughts

December was a month of random life lessons and thoughts.

1. Open studio events aren’t for me. Although I enjoyed visiting with each person who came, and the sales were decent, my studio is just too small, and I’d rather be doing other things than sitting inside, listening for cars so I can go help people find their way up the steps to my little shed. 
2. Christmas decorating no longer interests me; in pondering my indifference and reluctance to participate, a pattern emerged. It isn’t just Christmas; I am satisfied with how our house looks and would rather put my energy into other things than fitting in some seasonal tchotchkes. Good to know it isn’t just Scroogism.
3. It is very important to pay attention to all notes and messages from a customer before gleefully announcing that something is finished. Maybe I can call this the Remember Hockett Rule. (This post tells all.)
4. I rarely go to Starbucks – neither Three Rivers nor Exeter have them, and when I am in Visalia, my list is too long and my time too short. But these are interesting: (clickable link that will open in a new tab): Starbucks hacks that can save you money
5. Eyelashes are a big deal; 2 different friends told me about getting fake eyelashes, and suddenly I began noticing them everywhere. Someone even invited a “lash technician” to BNI, my business networking group – that’s a real job title? (Hint: mascara is easier and costs way less.)

   

6. Note to self: ALWAYS check the dates carefully before scheduling a post. Note to subscribers: When I first scheduled this post, I used 2019 instead of 2020 – ugh, confusing to the subscribers. I’m sorry.
7. Christmas can be as hasslesome or as simple as you want it to be. Very little is truly mandatory, and “No, thank you” is a complete sentence. Once all those shows and events were finished, my holidays became simple, with time to crack walnuts, paint a mural, help friends, read a stack of books, write letters (yep, I often write personal letters in response to some of those Christmas newsletters), visit with neighbors, and just enjoy what passes for winter in Central California.
8. Adulthood feels stronger in the S’s. There is a new confidence when dealing with difficulties and customer “service”. Recently, I’ve encountered big mistakes both with the DMV and our phone company. Instead of accepting the default first answers (summarized as “Too bad, Chump, just deal with it”), I calmly pushed through the layers and levels until the bureaucrats did the right thing. Yippee-skippee for adulthood!

September was so full that I forgot to tell you what I learned! Better late than never, so here is the list of recent nuggets I’ve gleaned from life.

1. Painting with Marty Weekly – I learned so much about plein air painting by observing Marty.
2. Kinesthetic Sand – this is a cool toy of gritty squishiness, fun and fairly useless (but is fun supposed to be useful??)
3. Travertine is a new word to me: “white or light-colored calcareous rock deposited from mineral springs, used in building”. I doubt if I could use it intelligently in a sentence; it was used to describe the grass in the front yard of our cabin (hunh?) and I learned of Travertine Hot Springs on the East Side of the Sierra (but haven’t been there.)
4. Shopping in stores does not suit me – I’ve known this most of my life, but it was recently reinforced. It is not a recreational activity to me where I want to examine all the possibilities but more of a hunting expedition. The music is annoying, loud, and makes me want to leave immediately upon arriving; there are too many choices and too much stuff, which makes it hard to find what I am seeking. Further, I don’t even dress right to be in those settings (nope, leggings are NOT pants and I will outlast this fad).
5. Cities are fun! I enjoyed living in San Diego in my late teens and early 20s, but didn’t really belong and got homesick. Tulare County is a mess, but it is our mess and it is home. However, it is crazy fun to visit a city, especially with people who also enjoy being there.
6. There is a book called “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now” by Gordon Livingston, and it is summarized on this website: https://sivers.org/book/30TrueThings  of Derek Stivers. Wow, great information from a long time psychiatrist, gleaned from listening to patients for many years.

1. Estate sales are difficult for many reasons. They involve so many decisions that are hard enough to make without experience, and those decisions are layered over with emotions. It requires enormous organizational skills, and lots of patience and energy. I helped with an estate sale recently and was astounded by the amount of work.
2. There is a new frozen yogurt shop in Three Rivers, appropriately named “Three Rivers Yogurt” and it is very well put together with a great product and service. (It is next door to Sierra Subs and Salads.)
3. A very high-end motel complex is in the planning stages for Three Rivers. The developer came to a town meeting and described it, then opened himself up to many questions from the audience. I went with a completely open mind, and left convinced that this will be very good for our community. This will be a class act and I believe”a rising tide lifts all boats”.
4. Mountain lions chirp, almost like a shrill bird. A cabin friend heard it while sitting around his outdoor fire ring in Silver City (4 miles below Mineral King), looked it up online and learned that yes indeed, that is the mountain lion’s sound at times.
5. People, we are getting slammed and bombarded on three fronts: email, real mail, and the telephone. Most of our incoming calls these days are from unidentified sources who do not leave messages. Most of our mail is solicitations for money. It takes me a pair of minutes or more to delete the unwanted emails several times every day. Does anyone actually respond positively to these solicitations? There must be some sort of success rate, because otherwise these highly annoying interruptions to life would cease.
6. If you have a spot on your shirt and spray it with OxyClean, don’t let it sit there and dry for a week; it will make a hole. (Bummer! I loved that dress for about 20 years!)
7. Dentists are artists, sculptors, and kind care givers. My dental experiences are limited, and I was kind of shocked by how unpleasant such a common experience actually is. My dentist, Dr. Darren Rich in Three Rivers, is OUTSTANDING! (and so is his staff)
8. If you wait long enough, maybe your pomegranate tree will produce fruit. Twelve years is a long wait, but this year it is producing about a dozen pomegranates, very small, but very real.