Thing-a-day.com

Last week I was cruising along on a cold but sunny day, singing along to some song on the radio that I have since forgotten. I was thinking about how things in my life seemed to be taking a turn for the better. The sting of a recent breakup had faded, I was feeling healthy and fit, I was contemplating a crush that I have on a friend. As I was nearing my office, going to a job that I love, I turned a corner in the road, reached for my lovely hot cafe latte that I rarely stop to purchase on the way…when “Shit!”…a UPS truck was stopped in the road in front of me. I hit the brakes, started to slide, said “Shit!” again, closed my eyes…BAM!! I smelled the smoke and dust from the airbags before I even opened my eyes. My hand hurt, and I was confused…was the car on fire? I jumped out and went to the other driver. She was fine and laughed about how her UPS crew had just celebrated 100 accident-free days with a cake. I was near work…I called my boss…he sent in the cavalry…my friends and coworkers arrived to help me out…the police were called…my insurance man..the tow truck…it was all over almost as quickly as it began. My hand was not broken, but my back and neck took a good jolt despite the seatbelt. I can’t run or do yoga for a while, which keeps me sane, but I am getting good chiropractic and massage therapy…my car is being repaired…the incident popped the little bubble of joy that I was experiencing that morning…and hadn’t felt for a while. Yet, my problems seem small…woe is me. Yesterday four children were killed when a school bus was struck by a van…in a town not far from where I grew up. Four little people will no longer walk this beautiful earth, will never feel the sting of a breakup, will never sing while driving a car, will never have a crush on one of their friends, will never savor a good cup of coffee, will never go to a job they love or view a lunar eclipse. Everything changes in an instant.

Subtitle: Visiting the tomb of Eva Peron

Postcard 3 of a series of “Little People explore the world” (all photos by me)

Postcard 2 in a series called “Little people explore the world”

When I saw that one of this week’s themes is “Little people”, I was instantly reminded of the Fisher Price Little People that I played with as a kid. They were made of wood back then, and I no longer have them, so I drew them with markers. Then I decided that they deserved more adventure than just being placed in little plastic cars, so I sent them to Chilean Patagonia via a photo I took there in 2001. Two of them seem to like it, but the other one is never satisfied.

Chocolate chip pancakes provide comfort…it’s as simple as that.

After my grandfather retired, he spent much of his free time in his wood shop, building furniture, custom doghouses and ice fishing houses for the good people of his hometown. My gramps was a well-known craftsman, an avid fisherman and a storyteller. He knew everyone, and everyone knew him. I remember countless times when men would pull into the driveway just to confer with E.J. about where the fish were biting, at what time of day and with what type of bait. He was always willing to share his fishing secrets and to offer up a story with a twinkle in his eye. He was the guy to go to if you needed custom woodcraft built, if you needed a chainsaw sharpened or if you just wanted a good chat. My grandmother used to chuckle at his tall tales and grumble about how difficult it was to pull him out of a grocery store because “that E.J. sure can talk!” I loved him with all my heart and spent every moment I could as a kid, following him around, asking questions to which he always provided a logical answer, tailored for my age and comprehension. I was known as E.J.’s shadow – his favorite grandchild. He taught me how to use a band saw when I was merely 12-years-old, he helped me build my own wood projects, he taught me how to fish, how to drive and how to walk on stilts. Once when I accompanied him to the city dump to drop off some trash, he came back to the truck with a little baby chick that had somehow ended up in the dump alone; I named her Sunshine and kept her safe for about a week until the neighbor’s dog ate her. I remember sitting on the beach, listening to Minnesota Twins baseball on the radio, fishing with my gramps for hours. He never got mad when I lost an expensive lure, as he was so impressed with my ability to tie it on my line, to cast it further than anyone else on shore and to occasionally reel in a fish that grown men would ogle. He would just laugh and say, “that’s my granddaughter”. Gramps and Grandma were in love with the great American road trip, and I was lucky enough to be able to accompany them on many cross-country adventures, stopping at every roadside attraction and scenic vista along the way. I loved the adventure and the sense of discovery that we shared on the road. When I graduated from high school, I asked gramps for advice. “Gramps,” I said, “If you could offer any advice, what would it be?” He laughed and said, “your mother wouldn’t like what I have to say because you’re a girl”. To which I responded, “since when has my being a girl ever made a difference? Just give it to me straight”. He said “Well… if I were you, and I had to do it all over again, I would hop a freight train and see the world”, and he laughed. I took his words to heart, and although I never have hopped a freight train, I have spent a great deal of quality time seeing the world. Twenty-seven countries, six continents and 28 states later, I hope I’ve done him proud. Every time I board a train, a plane or a car for a road trip, I give him a nod and thank him for sharing with me his indomitable spirit, boundless wisdom and the advice that he knew would bring me a lifetime of fulfillment. He knew me better than I even knew myself.

One thing I love about fresh baked banana bread is that it’s one of the only foods that is created from old, over-ripe food that would otherwise be thrown out. Mmmmm… wish I could post the aroma!

Rough logo ideas for a family business (yes the last one is a joke)

Come a little closer…yeah, that’s it. I’m looking at you…directly into your eye. I challenge you to a stare down…are you up for it? Go on then, try me. Will you blink first? You have no idea how deeply I’m looking into your eyes right now. I know what you’re thinking. What if this isn’t just a still image of my right eye? What if I can actually see you…right now? Will you blink? Will you turn away? Will you avert your eyes? Will you quickly scroll to the next entry? Will you wonder if my eye will follow you after you’ve logged off, after you shut off your computer, after you’ve tucked yourself safely into your warm bed…after you’ve drifted off into deep sleep? I’ll see you in your dreams. Good night.

(in celebration of my new reading glasses)

Dedicated to all of the people who don’t have a Valentine this year.

I thought about posting some wireframes that I created yesterday for a website, but since they’re confidential to the business, that would be a career killer. After work, I had a lovely dinner with a friend and went to the play “Peer Gynt” at the Guthrie Theater, so no time for more creativity, but it was a creative day nonetheless. Today I started to set up a still life with tulips for a sketch, but the cats decided that they would make things easier and pose for some photos. Yeah, I know cat photos are not the height of creativity, but they’re pretty damn cute, so here goes.

You are a vision of beauty
You are a sight for sore eyes
See what I mean?

A room with a view
Take a picture, it will last longer
Look out!

Today I went to the eye doctor for the first time in my life. I’ve never needed corrective lenses, and I’ve never had problems…until recently. Blurred vision and glaring halos in my peripheral vision were cause for worry. After anesthetic eye drops and another drop to make my pupils dilated for several hours, I received the diagnosis – the blur requires reading glasses and the halos are ocular migraines. I was relieved, but the most impressive thing about the experience was that, during those several hours of dilated pupils, I could not see very well…couldn’t see my own face clearly in the mirror, and I couldn’t read anything with a font size less than about 6 inches tall. And now that my vision has cleared, and my pupils no longer make me look like an anime character, I feel *incredibly grateful*…for years of perfect vision, for an ability to see the beauty in the world, for all of the amazing places I’ve seen and photographed, for the flowers that I grow, for the sunrises and sunsets I’ve smiled upon, for the ability to create things every day in February. See you later!

I’ve been thinking about painting a room in my house, and I seem to be very attracted to the color orange for this room. I created a collage of things in nature that inspired the orange theme and added some furniture, floor and paint swatches to see how it all might look together. Hmmm…now I’m not sure about the orange.

I bought a ‘create your own tumbler’ at Starbuck’s a while ago and finally got around to creating a photo collage for it. Here it is.

I haven’t drawn anything in years, so I bought some brush markers today and sat down to meditate on the theme of War. I couldn’t think about war without considering peace as well as my own attention to finding peace within and the loving kindness that wishes peace to all living things. The result was this rough drawing of the Buddha. It’s no masterpiece, but it brought me peace to create it nonetheless.

My cat Max on a t-shirt.

Today I created a yummy vegetarian lasagna; hope I can remember the recipe!

My 6-year old niece participated in a karate demo during half time at the Minnesota Timberwolves game tonight. Here she is about to get her ass kicked by a large man with a black belt. This is my first attempt at sports photography, and I couldn’t have asked for a more opportune moment.

Whee! Here we go! Although I have some ideas for projects, I’ve decided to try to wing it as much as possible in order to seek inspiration in the moments of each day. Have fun everyone! I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with y’all.