Taking a Break

Well, Derek is now at school and I thought I would be settling into life a bit more calmly but __it happens.

A teacher and friend at school has had a massive stroke and lost the use of her whole left side. She will probably recover most of her motor skills and be able to teach in the future but not quickly. As a result, I've been asked to take over one of her classes and we start next week. I have a very short period of time to put the class together and I now am carrying a full time teaching load. I"m sure everything will work out ok, but I don't have the luxury of daily blogging this term.

So, dear readers/friends, I'll be posting a bit less often but still making drawings.I'll be reading blogs when I have time and I'll be with you in spirit. Wish me luck and some to my friend Sandy too!

Vacation Mental Space

To my West Coast family: B, W and B, R and R, and Mom, we had a blast. Thanks so much for being such excellent event planners, car loaners, stand up comedians, and all around good sports. You know we will be really happy to fill the bill next summer! Craig is thinking of putting one more spot in the hat for next year. We can talk soon!

This vacation, I was able to shed much of my ordinary daily chatter enough to do some nice, long range thinking.

I have been rethinking how I want to best take care of my physical self. Adjusting my training and deciding not to test for my second degree black belt was on important change. A black belt is good enough and I have nothing to prove by getting another bar on my belt. Besides, to get ready for the October promotion is loads of extra work and I'd rather be doing other things.

Lately I've been thinking about aging issues. I don't want to be a burden to my kids and the thought of living in a dreary,depressing "old folks home" makes me cringe. Besides, its a great way to squander a life time of savings. One idea I came up with was to see if friends or family wanted to form a group of people willing to share skills and services. I'm not quiet sure how this would work out but it quieted a very noisy and anxious part in me. Having choices makes me feel much more comfortable.

The third major thing I was mulling over was that we have too much stuff. I want to clear out, lighten up and (ok I know this is a cliche) simplify. Having less stuff to take care of will make life easier. Our CD shelf is bursting and I know there are at least 10 titles I would willingly part with. In case anyone out there has any audio tape classes they want to get rid of, Sounds True has a prison donation project. Just go to here for more information.

What was interesting to me was that when we arrived at our sea side destination, I had a totally different set of colors and landscape that I am familiar with. It took me a few days to get comfortable with different color combinations. This was I did after quite a few really muddy looking ones.

End of Vacation Blues

So sorry to not have posted sooner but the moment we arrived home from vacation none of us has had a moment!
DS had his wisdom teeth out.
DD registered and started school.
I've had 2 meetings at school.
Craig is back at work.
DS goes back to school soon. (boo hoo)
I have some routine medical nonsense to take care of.
The usual avalanche of mail, bills to pay and laundry awaited us! Sigh. Our vacation was wonderful. Here is a quick sketch I did of Half Dome on the Muir Trail at Yosemite. But alas, re entry has had its bumps. I'll post more when I can shovel out from underneath.
Karen: Thanks for your comment about "long time no ..."
Don, the book was absolutely perfect! Just the right size and accepted graphite beautifully. Thanks.

Insomnia

Drawing is a great companion for insomnia: quiet, satisfying, peaceful.

Ninety Eight Degree Drawings

Don, you were 100% right about the heat "creeping up" on me. Trust a Southerner to know these things. I did these drawings in 10 minutes intervals: 10 minutes in and 10 minutes out in the shade. ( I have not completely lost my mind!)