The Ending of 2010

Well then, here we are, a few days before the end of the year. I'm musing over events, wins and losses, lessons learned and all the associated geewhiz. . .

I've loved this year. Haven't accomplished as much as I imagined I would, but heck, I'm sitting here in a warm, happy home, my hubby well fed and content, sitting in front of the game on the idiot box, and a pleasant social event to attend this evening. How bad is that? I have no concrete idea how the next year will play out, and I'm thinking that (oooh, interruption... hubby just came over and nuzzled the back of my neck) I can make plans, and laugh at how life alters them.

So: Plans (yeah, right. Maybe this is more of a wish list?)

1. Take the Auto-CAD class at ARC College (finish it this time?) I'm signed up, have paid the fees, so...

2. Grind and grout the mosaic gazing ball I've started. (photo above of progress so far). OH! Just talked to my mosaic-ball expert, and am infused with ideas for the coming year. Classes, festivals, meetings of the pine nuts, what a shot of energy.

3. Finish the cobblestone patio.
Pretty close, just need a little bit.
Love the part that's done so far.

4. Sort through stuff in studio and make the supplies more easily accessed, apply logic to it. (I vote this least likely to be finished in my lifetime)

5. Find some more money-paying work. Something that makes me smile when getting out of bed in the morning. (Short of that, win a reasonable lottery jackpot).

6. Work in the garden. That's a given. It's a pleasure, a blessing. It pays back every moment I put into it.

7. Take some more art classes. It doesn't really matter what kind, as long as I'm learning something new.

8. Sign up for T'ai Chi or Yoga or Chi Gong classes to keep my body in shape. I've learned this year that if I don't do something, I'm going to be in a deep world of hurt - literally! Have a flyer from a local meditation center that gives senior discounts.

9. Figure out how to tame or socialize Houdini. Didn't know how apt that name was going to be.

OK, I'm starting to daydream of stuff, so it's time to get out of my chair and start something more active than typing. Going to create an hors d'oeurve for the dinner tonight. Tiny potato pancakes with caramelized onions, creamy goat cheese, ham and fig jam...

TTFN.

A Kitten is the Reason for this Painting

No, really! A small, ginger-tabby kitten has become a resident of our home. He is or was feral, and had not overcome that skittishness. I picked him up from his former custodians on Saturday, and since that time, have had about 7 minutes of hold time. He is being called Houdini, because he can hide ANYWHERE and disappears in the blink of an eye.

My studio is his favorite place so far. In a effort to help him become used to us being near him, I sat down in front of my easel, and started to work with oil pastels. I'd been wanting to work on a still life with a persimmon, and so began. Over the last several nights, I've been enjoying the creamy, luscious feel of these pastels, adding layer upon layer of color on the art board. He has yet to peek out to watch or even acknowledge that I'm there, but the drawing is finished (or at least, for tonight, that's what I believe.)

And Schmeres

Here are two more of the studies. The one below is further work on the one in the last blog entry.

I have another on the easel that I'm working on, probably should take a photo of it now, before I go back and paint over everything. I missed the last session of class, for various excuses, but I have a good feeling about what I did learn from this. I am likely to be back among the unemployed in January, and hope that my husband will so some nagging to keep me in the studio, instead of lapsing into the doldrums.

(Anybody who wants to nag is
welcome to do so, I will need all
the help I can get.)

I think that's why I broke down and brought a kitten home today. Pets do something to lift your spirits. They
are so immediate, and live only in
the moment. I've missed cats.