Oh..y'know, stuff...
Lots to update...lessee...
Artomatic
I had a great time at Meet the Artists night. Thanks so very much to everyone who came by to say hello and check out my wall 'o art, including 7500centfish and kumquatqueen. Rob and I showed up on the 6th floor a little after 7, set up a table of munchies (and dammit, I had some good munchies!) and drinks, read the AWESOME poem Brash left me (thank you, Brash!) and spent the next several hours talking with people who came by to look at my art.
The work I tend to do is very personal and evocative, and seem to bring out a lot of personal connections from other people-- especially my big family tree painting that I've shown here before, and the conversations I had with others were just so absolutely fantastic-- about family memories and stories and realizations, and I just loved it.
No sales, but I wasn't really expecting any, so I'm not disappointed. Hopefully if someone likes my stuff enough to contact me about it later, they will do so. A couple of authors who stopped by seemed interested in using some of the work for illustrative purposes, so who knows?
Anyway, we were going to head back down yesterday evening after a friend's wine party to retrieve my table, but went for Moroccan instead. Oh well, I'll be back over there soon.
Social life
Jamie had her 80s birthday bash on Saturday, which was the PERFECT opportunity to put my curling iron and hairspray to work. Remember the puffball bang look? Yup, that was me. Pictures soon shall follow of this little event that make me look like I did in middle school, orange tights under fishnets included. Scary. Rob gelled his hair in different directions, wore his Chuck Taylors circa 1989 (with the toes practically falling off), a shirt from his college days, and I tight-rolled his jeans for the occasion. The party was fun, even for me, the non-drinker. I felt old, though. Most in attendance were still in their early to mid-twenties, and couldn't exactly relate to some of the conversations those of us who actually sported hairsprayed-burgundy curling iron barrels or Pizza Hut's Pac-Man machine high scores. There were two cases of drunks passing out, some licking of cake icing off a naked Barbie, and a rousing game of I Never.
The next day's gathering was a very adult affair in comparison, as we were there to blind test several sparkling wines and pinot noirs. I did a good share of sniffing, but not a lot of drinking (I really miss wine!) though I do admit to taking just enough on my lips to taste. Favorites were ranked 1-5 (1 being favorite), and results were plugged into a spreadsheet, then covered bottles were revealed. A pleasant surprise to everyone in attendance was a sparkling shiraz that was pretty decent. Conversations this time centered around aromas and notes and wine festivals and houses (our hosts are moving to the neighborhood into what's currently her parents' house, and the place looks so fantastic that I'm jealous).
Neighborhood Eats
The farmer's market on Saturday was hopping, as the weather was much sunnier this week. More artists and craftspeople joined the non-food booths, and guitar player serenaded us over breakfast. We came home with some bok choi, goat cheese and yogurt, fresh bread, eggs, and herbs.
The Moroccan restaurant in our neighborhood was pretty darn tasty. I had a salmon tagine (summer squash, carrots, onions, potatoes, saffron seasoning, etc), and Rob had a chicken mhammer. We'll definitely go back.
There's a new international grocery store that just opened nearby, and a lot of it was pretty impressive. They had lots of fish (LOTS!), shellfish, and meats (including fun things like tripe and tongue), a large variety of packaged products, and quite inexpensive produce and dairy (a gallon of milk for 99 cents!). We came home with a gallon, plus a box of crushed almond Pocky (yay!), a bag of quinoa, and some giant Peruvian corn kernels. People were EVERYWHERE, milling around, turning a full cart around in tight spaces, and creating very long lines at checkout and to load their cars. Yikes.
Doodle
I'm 20 weeks now, and folks are looking at me as if I sprouted a second head... or a suddenly giant belly. I'm sleeping much later than I feel comfortable with (today for instance I woke up and had to leave the house in ten minutes... tsk tsk.) Doodle's been moving around like crazy for a couple of weeks, which I feel when I sit down (like now for instance-- boogie boogie boogie). Big ultrasound appointment on Thursday, so I'll make a post in the filter afterward for more details.
I had the weirdest (pregnancy?) dream over the weekend that kept me in deep slumber until 10am on Sunday (I'm usually awake by 7). It goes something like this:
I was in this town that reminded me of Athens, of parts of Naples, of San Francisco, and of Denver... Wherever I was, the subway that had normally embedded little red bottle cap things into the sidewalk leading to the stations was overlaying them with green ones-- and it was expected to pick the green ones up. So I did.
On my way down the sidewalk, I walked into a building with a glass door. I was interviewing for a job with a childcare group. The building was cavernous, and elaborately decorated in golds and reds. Children were everywhere, and my colleague was teaching. Her entire head (face, teeth, tongue, eyes) was blueberry blue. One of my students (shrunken to crawling infant age) tried to get out of the door, but I shut it quickly to prevent an escape.
Then I was in the auditorium where I was supposed to get up to sing, following the kids' truly beautiful orchestra concert. Just as I was to go on stage, Rob turned on the shower, and I woke up, completely confused.
I walked around the house in a huge daze for a good hour before I could reorient myself.
. . .
With that, I'd better get to bed before I have another late start.
Artomatic
I had a great time at Meet the Artists night. Thanks so very much to everyone who came by to say hello and check out my wall 'o art, including 7500centfish and kumquatqueen. Rob and I showed up on the 6th floor a little after 7, set up a table of munchies (and dammit, I had some good munchies!) and drinks, read the AWESOME poem Brash left me (thank you, Brash!) and spent the next several hours talking with people who came by to look at my art.
The work I tend to do is very personal and evocative, and seem to bring out a lot of personal connections from other people-- especially my big family tree painting that I've shown here before, and the conversations I had with others were just so absolutely fantastic-- about family memories and stories and realizations, and I just loved it.
No sales, but I wasn't really expecting any, so I'm not disappointed. Hopefully if someone likes my stuff enough to contact me about it later, they will do so. A couple of authors who stopped by seemed interested in using some of the work for illustrative purposes, so who knows?
Anyway, we were going to head back down yesterday evening after a friend's wine party to retrieve my table, but went for Moroccan instead. Oh well, I'll be back over there soon.
Social life
Jamie had her 80s birthday bash on Saturday, which was the PERFECT opportunity to put my curling iron and hairspray to work. Remember the puffball bang look? Yup, that was me. Pictures soon shall follow of this little event that make me look like I did in middle school, orange tights under fishnets included. Scary. Rob gelled his hair in different directions, wore his Chuck Taylors circa 1989 (with the toes practically falling off), a shirt from his college days, and I tight-rolled his jeans for the occasion. The party was fun, even for me, the non-drinker. I felt old, though. Most in attendance were still in their early to mid-twenties, and couldn't exactly relate to some of the conversations those of us who actually sported hairsprayed-burgundy curling iron barrels or Pizza Hut's Pac-Man machine high scores. There were two cases of drunks passing out, some licking of cake icing off a naked Barbie, and a rousing game of I Never.
The next day's gathering was a very adult affair in comparison, as we were there to blind test several sparkling wines and pinot noirs. I did a good share of sniffing, but not a lot of drinking (I really miss wine!) though I do admit to taking just enough on my lips to taste. Favorites were ranked 1-5 (1 being favorite), and results were plugged into a spreadsheet, then covered bottles were revealed. A pleasant surprise to everyone in attendance was a sparkling shiraz that was pretty decent. Conversations this time centered around aromas and notes and wine festivals and houses (our hosts are moving to the neighborhood into what's currently her parents' house, and the place looks so fantastic that I'm jealous).
Neighborhood Eats
The farmer's market on Saturday was hopping, as the weather was much sunnier this week. More artists and craftspeople joined the non-food booths, and guitar player serenaded us over breakfast. We came home with some bok choi, goat cheese and yogurt, fresh bread, eggs, and herbs.
The Moroccan restaurant in our neighborhood was pretty darn tasty. I had a salmon tagine (summer squash, carrots, onions, potatoes, saffron seasoning, etc), and Rob had a chicken mhammer. We'll definitely go back.
There's a new international grocery store that just opened nearby, and a lot of it was pretty impressive. They had lots of fish (LOTS!), shellfish, and meats (including fun things like tripe and tongue), a large variety of packaged products, and quite inexpensive produce and dairy (a gallon of milk for 99 cents!). We came home with a gallon, plus a box of crushed almond Pocky (yay!), a bag of quinoa, and some giant Peruvian corn kernels. People were EVERYWHERE, milling around, turning a full cart around in tight spaces, and creating very long lines at checkout and to load their cars. Yikes.
Doodle
I'm 20 weeks now, and folks are looking at me as if I sprouted a second head... or a suddenly giant belly. I'm sleeping much later than I feel comfortable with (today for instance I woke up and had to leave the house in ten minutes... tsk tsk.) Doodle's been moving around like crazy for a couple of weeks, which I feel when I sit down (like now for instance-- boogie boogie boogie). Big ultrasound appointment on Thursday, so I'll make a post in the filter afterward for more details.
I had the weirdest (pregnancy?) dream over the weekend that kept me in deep slumber until 10am on Sunday (I'm usually awake by 7). It goes something like this:
I was in this town that reminded me of Athens, of parts of Naples, of San Francisco, and of Denver... Wherever I was, the subway that had normally embedded little red bottle cap things into the sidewalk leading to the stations was overlaying them with green ones-- and it was expected to pick the green ones up. So I did.
On my way down the sidewalk, I walked into a building with a glass door. I was interviewing for a job with a childcare group. The building was cavernous, and elaborately decorated in golds and reds. Children were everywhere, and my colleague was teaching. Her entire head (face, teeth, tongue, eyes) was blueberry blue. One of my students (shrunken to crawling infant age) tried to get out of the door, but I shut it quickly to prevent an escape.
Then I was in the auditorium where I was supposed to get up to sing, following the kids' truly beautiful orchestra concert. Just as I was to go on stage, Rob turned on the shower, and I woke up, completely confused.
I walked around the house in a huge daze for a good hour before I could reorient myself.
. . .
With that, I'd better get to bed before I have another late start.