Category: Thoughts

Things I’m learning in Artworld.

9 Things I Learned in September

In September I learned nine things, many of which I wish hadn’t been necessary.

Did you know that shower mixing valves come from the factory preset at a low temperature? Did you know that you can adjust the temperature by asking The Duck? (You might use The Google; I use The Duck, as in DuckDuckGo).
AQI – Air Quality Index – Suddenly everyone is discussing the number of the air. There is a website called Airnow.gov where you can obsessively type in your zip code all day long and then compare your number to that of your sisters in other zip codes who are obsessively typing in their zip codes.
“Meat bees” are not bees, but wasps, actually Yellow Jackets. They don’t live on pollen and nectar, but on meat, usually from dead animals or picnickers. They can sting repeatedly, unlike a bee that dies after it stings. I have made baking soda paste to take out the pain for 3 different cabin neighbors this year. Those dudes HURT, but baking soda mixed with water fixes the pain immediately (and stops working when it gets dry).
When ash falls outside, you can easily locate all the spider webs.
It is difficult to decide if a cough is due to The Virus or if it is due to very bad air. Very Bad Air. Very Bad Air. VERY BAD AIR!!
Tea made from boiled leaves of the Wooly Mullein plant is supposed to be good for respiratory troubles; it tastes like boiled weeds.
When there is a possibility of evacuating one’s home, one quickly decides what stuff matters and what is meh. But the longer the wait to know if one must evacuate, the longer the list grows of what to take.
Jackson isn’t interested in changing addresses.
We have a tremendous number of helpful, kind, concerned, generous friends, more than anyone deserves. So many offers to haul our stuff, store our stuff, host us if we were evacuated. Really took some of the edge off of wondering what to do.
Finding truth seems harder than ever, and the topics seem more weighty than ever. You can find evidence, science, experience, and convincing facts for any side to an argument. Do masks help or don’t they? If they work, why do we have to distance ourselves? And if distancing helps, why do we have to wear masks? And if both of those things are the answer, why is so much still shut down? Has global warming caused the fires or not? Will managing forests harm the environment? Don’t fires harm the environment??

Makes me tired. Anyone want to recommend a good book to read as an escape? Never mind. The library is closed again. I don’t want to buy any books. I don’t want to buy anything. If I own it, I’ll have to decide whether to add it to the pile of other things to grab and go, if that becomes necessary.

Salt & Light, or Reading Rabbit, oil on board, 11×14″, Not for sale

Odd Sort of Job

My two favorite ways to spend time with friends are either taking a walk or working on a project. While in Mineral King, my friend had a project and allowed me to help. If it had been a job, I would have called it an “odd job” to be sure.

We used every tool at our disposal. She brought some up the hill, and we both had other supplies to dig into.

What in the world??

We spent about 3-4 hours working on a project that I would have NEVER chosen to do, but was happy to help. She had the ideas and did the prep; I had the skills. We worked together like a well-oiled machine, and these were our results.

I hope the attendees at the bridal shower are impressed. These are Pinterest and Instagram worthy, eh?

P.S. I almost NEVER go to bridal showers, never go to baby showers, and the idea of decorations and tabletop centerpieces does not enter my mind under 99% of my circumstances. Ever ever ever. But working with a friend is always rewarding, and no attendance at a shower was required.

odd job

Still Smoky

This is a long post. If it is a TLDR*, you can just look at the photos.

The smoky conditions varied widely over the past weekend in Mineral King, WHICH IS NOW CLOSED.

Now, let’s look at some other views in Mineral King. These first 2 are looking toward Farewell Gap on Saturday evening. (The weird grayish spots in the sky are just the mysterious moving spots on my camera lens.)

On Sunday, mid morning, we could see smoke moving up the canyon toward Mineral King, so we went for a walk while it was still relatively clear. First, we stopped on the bridge. Then Trail Guy encountered a Park mule that was out of the corral, but wanted to go back inside. There was smoke visible coming up from the direction of White Chief. We walked to Crystal Creek, which is hardly a creek. I found a few flowers still blooming, and we passed a hornet hole, AKA a wasp nest. I looked those critters up in a couple of books; although we call them “meat bees”, they are really just yellow jackets. Mean dudes, don’t mess with them.

Whoa. Is that from an existing fire, or is there one roaring up from Three Rivers? *(It was from the SQF Complex and the Creek fires, not a new one.)*

Blue sky directly overhead! Remember that? Thrilling (but fleeting).

Looking up toward Farewell Gap from the bridge.

One more pass over the bridge, then we packed up and headed down into the smoke of Three Rivers, talking about evacuation, thinking dark thoughts.

Please God, don’t let locusts come next.

*Too Long Didn’t Read

A New Card and So

Are you a note writer? Do you send thank you notes, or thinking of you notes? Getting real mail is fun. Email is good too, but there is something special about ink on paper in an envelope with handwriting on it, arriving at your home (or in your P.O. box).

I saw an advertisement in a magazine about 20 years ago when email was new, and it was for fancy stationery. The line on the page said, “No one has ever cherished an email”.

About my cards

You probably know about them already, so consider this a reminder. They come 4 to a package with envelopes, and each package has all the same design, $8/package including postage and shipping.

The newest one

Standards (but not old enough to be called “Classic”)

Who in your life would like to receive a note in the mail? Your Grandma? Your grandchild who may never have received real mail before? The mechanic who keeps your car running so you can drive worry-free? The grocery store checker who is always cheerful, even when she has to wear a mask every day? The barber who lets you come in the back door of his shop so you don’t have to wear your hair in a ponytail?

Cards available here: Notecards

P.S. You don’t have to use the website and Paypal to buy cards because you can send me a check IN THE MAIL and I will send you your cards IN THE MAIL.

P.P.S. (This means PS#2) There are more designs than the ones I’ve shown here, including cards in color, different sizes, and even an assortment package (Mineral King, larger cards, $15).

cards notecards

7 Things I Learned in August

These abalone shells have nothing to do with this post, in case you were wondering.

“Anon” means soon, shortly, presently. A friend said to me, “See you anon”, and I said, “What does that mean? Never mind, I can figure it out, but never heard it before. Is it French or Latin?” She didn’t know, so I looked it up in the cabin dictionary (from 1936) and learned it is English. Who knew?? It doesn’t seem to be related to “anonymous” in any way other than appearance.
Techno-wizardry in perfect harmony – listen to this song with your best speakers. I sent the link to an acquaintance who told me he doesn’t feel proud to live in the USA right now. I did not want to hear his answer of why that is. But his response made me sad, and my hope is that if you feel sad, this beautiful song will lift your spirits. God Bless The USA
After 33 years, is it unreasonable to expect my washing machine to keep working? I looked up the problem on DuckDuckGo (rather than asking The Google, I ask the Duck) and found out there is something called a lid switch. A replacement doesn’t exist, but a Q-tip dipped in white vinegar can clean it back to working condition. Phew – avoided having to go shopping and make a decision.
Isn’t it interesting how you can “know” someone for 30+ years but not know them? I made a new friend in August, and it was such a privilege. (Yes, a distant shot, because we respect people’s privacy here, “we” being the Royal We, since it is only me, myself and I.)
Some people believe that wearing masks is helpful, some believe it is harmful. Is anything easy to figure out anymore?? I am doing my best to make drawing lessons happen again for my students, but it is tricky business to be able to group people together in classes where Maskers and Non-maskers can work together. I am thankful for a large workshop room in an accommodating gallery along with understanding and gracious students.
Trail Guy and I got 2 census forms. We filled out one and tossed the other. Now it has become our problem to slog through the bureaucracy, notifying them that we have indeed complied with the census. Maybe we should have just gotten counted twice and avoided all the hassle that THEY created. (And we are supposed to trust THEM to do mail-in balloting? I feel tired.)
On my trip to the Central Coast with a lifelong friend, we drove by the weird house in Cambria called Nitt Witt Ridge. What a mess – a historical landmark that cannot be lived in (no water meter any more) nor turned into a place of revenue (wrong zoning). It is privately owned, and the owner took us on a tour. He calls it the “anti Hearst Castle”. Indeed. Fascinating, and truly a peculiar sight.

Did you learn anything new and interesting in August?

Not Scared

Did I scare you with that rough painting of a rough cabin on a rough shutter?

These deer weren’t scared.

Let’s soothe your fears with some giant Sequoia trees.

Well, oops, it might have scared you to see them lying sideways. Let’s try it again while they are hanging up to dry.

I’m feeling so proud of this that my head might pop. That’s a scary thought.

Pippin’s not scared. He feels very safe behind the chimney next to the window near my chair. He scared Tucker away from that spot so his selfish little self could have it.

Three Rivers Post Office

When it was time to mail the cabin drawing to the customer, I packaged it. Trail Guy came out to the studio to offer his delivery services, and I was delighted to not have to interrupt my work with a trip to the Post Office. Yes, I know it is only 3-4 miles away, but in the summers, my work days are limited because I keep going to Mineral King instead of keeping my feet planted in front of the easels. So, I value my work time and appreciate not having to do my own errands.

Trail Guy returned from the Post Office with the receipt and an explanation of why it cost $18 to send a piece of paper to San Diego – had to buy a box, pay for insurance, etc. And “piece of paper” isn’t meant to discount the value of an original pencil drawing, but essentially, to the post office, it was a highly insured piece of paper packaged carefully in an overpriced box.

He turned toward the counter in the painting workshop, picked up a taped-together bundle of cardboard and said, “What is this?”

Ahem. That would be the drawing that I thought he had just mailed.

When I got back up off the floor from laughing, I emailed my customer to tell her to expect a box of cardboard, minus her drawing before actually receiving the drawing.

Later that afternoon, I went to the Post Office with the actual drawing. The clerk retrieved the box from the back, we opened it, inserted the drawing, and she taped it back up. No new packaging, no new payments. It was in time to go out with that day’s mail.

I LOVE THE POST OFFICE IN THREE RIVERS!!

This is the Kaweah Post Office, not the Three Rivers Post Office. The unframed original is available for $200. Interested? Give me a pair of minutes to look for it because I can’t find it right now. What else would you expect from someone who mails empty boxes to customers?

cabin pencil drawings pencil drawing

Harder and Two Gifts

An old insulator that we hoped to install it in a cabinet but we have yet to get a key that fits.

A wise friend of mine often reminds me that “life is much harder than I expected it to be”.

I am inclined to agree with that statement because somehow I assumed that adulthood would smooth out the bumps, either because I’d have money, wisdom, or experience to solve or avoid problems.

Haha. Fall down laughing.

When you have a plumbing incident, you do NOT want to hire the guy whose name is always followed by “bless his heart”. (But “all’s well that ends well”, as Ma Ingalls used to say.)
When you order something online, it is a real nuisance to have it arrive in the wrong color or size. The emails and paperwork tell you what you ordered, but the actual item is clearly wrong. This precipitates phone calls to navigate through tangled phone trees where they lie and tell you that the long wait is “due to an unusually high volume of calls”. There are ALWAYS more calls than can be handled; it is not unusual. So then you go to the website, and it doesn’t work. Sigh.
Upgrades for technical devices provide you with 2 choices: skip them and eventually things won’t work or do them and immediately things won’t work.
When you buy something that has to be assembled, you can assume that there will be typos, parts will be called by the wrong names, little pieces will be missing or won’t work, and then you can go through the same type of maddening exercise as in scenario 2 above..
When you have a key made to a door or perhaps a locked cabinet, just assume it won’t fit and that you will have to have it remade. Recently I am three for three on failed attempts to get keys made right the first time.

In spite of these situations, every once in awhile life hands you a little gift or two.

It was time to buy oil for Fernando (he burns some but what do you expect at 230,000 miles?) and IT WAS ON SALE FOR HALF PRICE!

I only bought 2 quarts. Motor oil, cat food, and printer ink should all be bought in small quantities. This is one of my guiding economic principles in life. You can probably figure out the reasoning behind this decision.

2. And a friend sent me this unexpected gift, because she is thoughtful, generous, full of good humor, and tuned in to what I enjoy.

Sneering, smiling and snorting

I like having lots of work; thinking about the next step on multiple projects energizes me. Having many jobs boosts my confidence and calms down all the self-doubt for awhile.

Thinking about rude comments from old art teachers, snobbery in the Art World, or during times when work isn’t selling and jobs aren’t coming my way – these things cause doubt and insecurity in your Central California artist. (“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad. . .”)

Happy customers, helping people learn to draw, sales, commissions – these things build my confidence. (“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. . .”)

Confidence is a good thing, but one must take care not to let it grow into arrogance. That might be why I often slip into self-deprecating humor here on the blog. I’ve heard it said that arrogance is a sneer and confidence is a smile, but haven’t heard what sort of facial expression comes with insecurity.

The painting of the ranch in rural Southern California is now in the hands of a happy customer. Join me in a smile or even a big laugh when you read the name of the place!

And let’s smile some more at the beauty in the desert.

I am struggling to find a good title for this piece. “Beauty in them thar hills” probably isn’t the best one, but that’s what is rumbling around in my brain.

9 Things Learned in June

Tucker, before the grass got really tall. (You should see it now!)

Dang, a card game – when a certain friend comes to our cabin, she forces us to play games. She taught it well, but without practice, I’ve already forgotten how. It might have been fun. Being with her is the fun part.
Yahtzee research – while she was there, I got curious. How many times does one need to roll to get a Yahtzee? We did it with 3 rolls per attempt, like in the game. Several times it happened in just the first three attempts; one time it took 63 turns. The average was about 17-20 tries, and the game of Yahtzee only provides 13 turns (maybe it is 15). We also tried it with rolling as many times as necessary. This was entirely random, and I have forgotten the results, although the number 94 seems relevant.
Borgi – a neighbor had a weird little dog. I said, “What is that? A cross between a Border Collie and Corgi?” She said, “Yes, it is a Borgi.” WHAT? In spite of my cat preference, I guessed this. (Gold Star for me.)
Transplanting grass – Our one remaining lawn is sparse and spotty. I have been transplanting clumps of grass from the back side of the house where the lawn was wrecked 21 years ago in the remodel of this place. I have requested that Trail Guy not mow in case these clumps will produce seeds, or perhaps spread by root growth. The cats are loving the tall grass. Will Miracle-Gro help? More will be revealed.
I need a reason to paint – When work ceased to come in, I lost interest in producing. This is mostly due to an aversion to excess stuff, whether paintings, drawings, or one-function kitchen items. I like painting, but not when it just builds up my inventory without hope of showing or selling.
“My choices are not a commentary on yours.” I read this somewhere, and it seemed appropriate after I talked about all the things I like to make from scratch. It might have made some of my readers feel inadequate. No reason for this, because my choices are NOT a commentary on your choices. Really. Just be you, and I’ll be me. It will work out just fine.
“Prone” means face down; “supine” means flat on one’s back. I didn’t know this until a lengthy conversation with a doctor friend who went into way more detail than I could comprehend – hence, I came away with 2 new vocabulary words instead of whatever else he was saying.
1996 Honda Accords are no longer the most stolen year and model of car – Fernando is safe! (Safer. Besides, can the bad guys drive a stick shift??)
Stand up paddle boarding is FUN! There is nothing athletic about me, and I have zero interest in sports of any kind. Stand up paddle boarding is a way to motate on a lake in a quiet manner. I probably won’t pursue this in any large way (as in buy the equipment), but it was quite thrilling to realize that this is a sport that I can do.
Upper-middle-aged non-athletic chubby chick, zig-zagging her way across Hume Lake and NOT FALLING IN THE WATER!