Taking notes of my life

I like to get up early and start drinking coffee around 7a so by the time I have wasted 2 hours on stupid us news ... I still have some of my day left.

Yesterday on the way to the grocery store I saw a man feeding walking and feeding crows from his pocket. The crows happily jumped around him as they meandered down the street. It made my day. 

After coming back home, I change back into my sweatpants faster then you can say "Lucy, I'm hoooomeeee". Sadly, I can not stand to be properly dressed anymore. I need to change everyday to get back into the habit of being a real human.

I had Noah most of the weekend, the kids are busy working on their house. Mason went out of town with a friend and family to the mountains. Yesterday, after Mason returned and the kids were starting to argue, I thought God I am mentally exhausted and then realized IT WAS ONLY MONDAY.

Noah has been singing the same Taylor Swift song all weekend.

It has been a pretty depressing news cycle. But I did enjoy the $399 golden sneaker offer. And the right asking the ridiculous question ... why isn't Biden selling merchandise? 

 

or you can buy these

 

 

Ukraine down to counting bullets while little mike down in florida kissing the ring and getting his "to-do" list from trump. Religious zealot speaker mike takes orders from donald.

Navalny being murdered and trump comparing himself with his own legal self-made problems while tucker to praising russian grocery stores and putin. It is simply all unbelievable. And I don't think it can get any crazier. Except of course if trump wins and implements Project 2025 and dismantles the government.

I will spare you the state of the house. The backyard looks pretty white-trashy with dog toys, dog shit and quite a mess in the grass which no one sees except me.

The entire house has the crud. We are all sneezing.

It was David's birthday the other day. I keep having dreams about him and my mom and some wild creative dreams. I start getting settled in around 730p and usually drop off close to 9p. I take the kid's version of Melatonin.

Did I share the near psychotic episode after taking an "edible"? The kids swore it would help me go to sleep and relax. I tried 1/2 of a tablet one night while Kate was here. And we both had another a few nights later. I had deja vu for hours and it took all I had not to go into a panic attack. It was not my cup of tea to put it mildly. I can't explain exactly what I experienced but it was like the one and only acid trip I had. Something I never did again and this is something I will also never do again. As I explained to the kids, having that horrible feeling is not worth it.

One of the big dogs vomited this morning. Not on the carpet, thank you! But even before my first cup of  coffee. Did I say I am planning a trip to see my SIL soon?

Even with my headphones on, I can hear when the cats are scratching my chair.

Emerging stronger than ever

My friend send me this passage the other day concerning birds moulting, loss, rebirth, renewal. I think it is from a book I sent her, A Short Philosophy of Birds, Kate and I found at Watson Kennedy.

 

Cosmic explosion

The house settled in eat nachos and watch the Superbowl for in honor of David. His team, KC Chiefs being there and all. The grand kids watched in case they got a glimpse of Taylor. 

After they eeked out a victory this happened: 

I did a little victory whoop in the family room and Noah ran in here and said ‘they won on our tv too!’

And of course we are all waiting for tucker to honor his "I am going to suicide if the Chiefs win". And people, lots of people are reminding him of his promise. Threads is having some fun today with it. I spent most of the remainder o the night reading Threads comments and laughing.

Remember what Tucker Carlson said he was going to do if the Chiefs won? How’s that coming along, Tucker?

 

I missed tucker's ass-licking interview with putin, but apparently he LOVES it there. Just remind him NOT to get an apartment on a higher story and to stay away from windows. In case he loses favor with his second favorite dictator. 

The GOP takes the question "How stupid can you get?" as a challenge. 

It is time to start taxing the churches. 

Noemi Ibarz, I have mentioned her before but her art makes me so happy.

International talent

Felice “Lizzie” Rix-Ueno (1893–1967) was an Austrian textile, wallpaper, and craft designer. She lived in Japan, and became an influential figure in the Japanese modern art scene Felice “Lizzi” Rix-Ueno (1893–1967) was known for the vibrant works of design she produced from her bases in Vienna, where she was born, and in Kyoto, where she settled after marriage. 

This collection looks back at her fantastical oeuvre, from wallpaper and wall decorations to cloisonné items, textiles, and accessories. Inspiring essay contributions by women who have forged their own expressive path—like Lizzi—in their chosen fields of art, literature, and design add further dimension to the exploration of her appeal. 

I wish I could find more on her. 

It's complicated

Another blind bites the dust and I need to order replacements. This one is in my bedroom and I want privacy at night. I have pulled out all of David's kept receipts of all things we have ever purchased or had built in this house. Files and files. Just checking who we  ought these from.

I am having strange dreams. Maybe watching too many political videos? LOL. Murphy woke me up  wanting to get up with me to sleep and I was trying to encourage him to the foot and not ON TOP of me. He finally went away but later I dreamed that he was laying there talking white supremacy crap and he had  some man's name that I remembered when I first woke up. It was funny but scary to think my dog was turning racist!

And on the news this morning Trump does not have immunity in Jan. 6 case. My, oh, my. He might be held accountable for trying to overthrow the government, wouldn't that be something. NO PRESIDENT has ever needed or asked for immunity before this orange POS. HE IS A CITIZEN LIKE ANYONE ELSE trying to break the law, period. Surprise .... he is not KING.

On a personal note ... I posted this on FB today in response to 2-0-year-old-me. Me, late 20’s, in my favorite raw silk shirt and linen skirt. At my favorite place, the Hardy house in Denton, with the candy drawer right behind me in Sally’s kitchen.  I still have a candy drawer now in my house in memory of Sally!

I didn't watch the Grammy's but I heard it from the other room. But I did hear all about Tracy Chapman. Love her! Apparently there was not a dry eye in America! I don't think there was one in this house. 

 

  

Love that Luke kept the lyric, "And I work in a market as a checkout girl." That's mad respect. 

I love pufferfish surface pattern! This particular species of puffer, called a "map puffer", has a reticulated pattern on its body with dark lines radiating from the eye. It is quite large, with a length of over 14 inches.

The white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus) is known for its unique and complex courtship display which involves creating large, geometric circles in the sand. These circles are constructed in an effort to attract females for copulation. Males must maintain their circles in order to attract a mate. A female will evaluate the structure and choose to mate with the males after evaluation and completion of other mating behaviors. 

 

 

No nail, no glue

On a lighter, depressing note: I just found out Keebler quit making my favorite cookie: Danish Wedding Cookies. My friends who really loved me would send big supply of them from Texas, they have never been available here.

I would love to be able to do this. I guess I could make one very simple joint using this technique. It is so incredibly beautiful.  

Edo sashimono is a type of wood joinery made in Tokyo with hand-cut dovetail joints and without nails. The word sashimono comes from the process of measuring with a monosashi or woodwork ruler. 

This craft is based on the Kyo wood joinery produced as part of the Heian period (794-1185) court culture. In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), carpentry skills evolved, giving rise to professional cabinet-makers who made furniture pieces like chests of drawers, display cabinets, and boxes for storing tea ceremony items. These articles were used by the Imperial Court and nobles. Kyo wood joinery developed as the tea ceremony culture, chanoyu, did. Another type of wood joinery is Osaka karaki sashimono, derived from Chinese joinery techniques studied by Japanese missions visiting the Tang dynasty (618-907). Edo wood joinery began in the Edo period (1603-1868), when the Tokugawa shogunate (feudal military government) relocated artisans from across the whole country to establish artisan towns specializing in a particular craft such as blacksmithing, dyeing, and carpentry in some areas of Edo. In the middle of the Edo period, as handcraft manufacturing developed and demand increased, the carpentry work was subdivided. As a result, cabinet making was established as a separate profession along with temple and shrine carpenters and artisans of doors and shoji screens. 

Chisels and knives are used to carve interlocking finger and dovetail joints into the timber and boards, which are then joined together without the use of nails. Additionally, small handmade wood planes are used to produce a variety of finishes and patterns along the edges of the boards. While the variety of techniques cannot be seen from the outside, their use results in a finished product that can be used for decades. The chisels are soooo sharp! It is so satisfying watching to process. If you want to know more, this is a good resource about the traditional practice.  

7 Things You Need to Know About Japanese Joinery

   

  

Also ran across this The Making of Trifecta Bowl by Kris DeVo. This guy has some serious tools and patience! It would scare me to make this! 

His Full Disclosure: I am into this bowl for about 50+ hours of labor and $400 in wood alone. I am asking $3,750 with shipping from Alaska. It works out to me making about $55hr for 1 bowl. Will it sell for this much? I'm not sure. Can I keep the lights on in my shop making $55 an hour before taxes and cost of tools? Absolutely not. 

The intensity of life

Sometimes I feel paralyzed by sadness and loss (and losing). Like today. We are going through and deciding what to get rid of and what to keep. I am taking photos of books to send to a friend of mine who has a book collector as a friend. What he does not want, Bri will take to 1/2 price books. It seems like to much but as Bri pointed out (what I do) is shove it in a corner and let it sit there collecting dust bunnies. 

The pain of giving it all away makes me never, ever want to purchase anything again. I honestly wonder sometimes, when David was buying something (it was always very cool), if he thought about where we would store it. He bought a beautiful hand-crafted, wooden 6 candle holder and 12 birch branches cut into segments for candles. All very nice but we have used them maybe twice ... and then they got shoved in some corner to be forgotten.

I still have to tackle David's suits, dress shirts and shoe collection. I am trying to keep my focus on the future, what will we really use and what we won't without getting emotional. I keep putting the clothes decisions off but it feels like it is time. Trying to be easy on myself ... but we are at critical mass here and time to let go of stuff.

On a lighter note, I watched to worst movie I HAVE EVER WATCHED, Titanic II. And you know coming from me, who watched all kinds of dumb movies ... that is sayin' something. This is how I spend my time whilst doing dishes and cleaning bathrooms. 

Intense colors of Jean Millard. His style reminds me a little of Henri Rousseau or maybe it is just the jungle/leaf similarities. 

Art on the line

I promise I try to stay away from political post, but sometimes I just can't help myself. 

This is what I meant to post this morning ... Tjitske Kamphuis and here is more about her on Fishink

Laughing my days away

I woke up with beautiful, brown Rottweiler's eyes staring at me about 1 inch from my face. Remy wants out ... 3:30a. I briefly think ... if I don't let her out she could eat my face right now.

She does not look like this anymore

 

 

She looks like this. She is a very gentle dog ... so not to worry.

 

This is normally what I wake up to, Murphy's nose right in my eyeline.

 

Instead of raging these days, I am just laughing my ass off at trump. He is a dumbass, his cult ... even dumber. The last month has been the best laugh I have had in some time. This morning was full of me snorting with laughter in my house. 

Kimmel, Colbert, Seth ... and the Taylor Swift right-outrage is just precious.  Just in case you missed them and need a belly laugh ...

 

  

From Melania's haircare cost to trump's ad bad photoshop attempt (I hope you didn't miss the six-finger praying trump) ... I laugh and laugh.

Melania's hair stylist pulled in $371K from Trump's Super PAC. (I don't think she got her money's worth)

 

Did you catch the trump's white house 2019 drug output? I mean ... fentanyl, morphine, provigil, ambien (2,000 tablets), ketamine ... it is NOT the southern border where the drugs are coming in ... it is the White House!

You too could own this great piece of propaganda ... Poster - The C-Team (Donald Trump) - Epic American President Art by Jason Heuser (Sharpwriter) on Etsy 

 

 

 

My latest addiction is this