Another Paper in the Wall

 
Today, two layers of paneling came off the bedroom wall. 

And tucked inside we found another sweet surprise.
A note left by a previous owner says:

"Remodeled by J.C. Clayton
Oct 4th 1966
House built 1935 by others"

 We're thinking that we'll put the note back in the wall when the new drywall goes up. Maybe we'll add something of our own from 2012. Any suggestions of what we should add?

Job's Tears

A bracelet made from Job's Tears

(from Kahakuloa, Maui)

and white elastic cording.

cat can art

My grandson's art installation "cat food on the window sill".....

Tourists in raincoats

Numbers Without a House

This is an empty hillside. There is no house here. But someone went to the trouble to put up some edging, plant some flowers, and set up an illuminated address.

rear view

The view from the side mirror as the tow truck pulls our car home....

In Need of Repair

Next week, they'll start pulling apart our bedroom. I lay on the bed taking pictures of the walls and the ceiling, feeling sad to be losing more of the quirks of our house. But then I looked through the pictures and noticed how worn and dirty and completely in need of repair everything is. Not sad anymore.

cat casualty

This guy sacrificed his life to be a gift Boots the cat presented at our door step.

Huge Bird of Paradise

I've decided to concentrate more of my entries close to home. I walk our hill several times a day. Every time I walk it feels like a new neighborhood - every time I see something that makes me stop and notice. But usually I have forgotten my camera. No more.

drive without distractions

Thankful this is all that happened when a woman checking her GPS on her cell phone rear ended my husband in his parked postal vehicle.

Out of place

Yesterday I was with a friend
She: a white woman who'd grown up among the Maori of New Zealand

Me: a white man who teaches an ancient Hawaiian tradition

And we came across a wild turkey, digging for grubs and worms

in Battery Park--the very bottom tip of a very urban

New York City

All of us "out of place" in our community

and yet all of us managing to survive

(and perhaps even thrive)

Freeway walker

While I was on the 101 fwy, I saw this woman walking along side; didn't see a broken down car or anything.

The How of It

Art college for the fine artist is all about the why of it - theory and critique. It's all about figuring out why you are making art.

In art college, very little is directed to the how of it. No one taught me how to prepare a canvas or organize a palette of colors. No one showed me how Rembrandt or Rubens painted.

Now, it's time to learn the how.

I'm taking a painting class that is the exact opposite of the painting classes I had in college. This one is all technique and no content. No one here cares why I'm painting; they only care how.  A hard mental switch, and a slow process of painting. But I'm happy.

The underdrawing on my carefully prepared wooden panel

Lucky Penny

I pick up coins from the ground. Even pennies. I pick them up, put them in my pocket, and feel richer and wiser and luckier. 

 Every day, when I walk the dog, I see this penny. I want to pick it up and put it in my pocket. But this penny mocks me. When our street was resurfaced, someone placed a penny on the wet tar and pressed it just enough to embed it. It shines and winks at me everyday. "Pick me up. You know you want to."

a pair

This pair of avocados are just asking to be picked...soon.

Fearless Playing

Today, my violin finally moved from the piano bench where it had been sitting quietly since last Christmas. I dusted it off, tuned it (sort of) and played. I tried to fearless, but I am quite sure it must have sounded something horrid to anyone passing by the open windows. Now it sits on the dining room table. I hope I have a chance to be fearless again tomorrow.

instructions

Step by step instructions on how to wash your hands in a local restaurant restroom.

Daily News, 1947

We pulled the cheap 1970's paneling off the wall in the bedroom. Underneath we found more, but this time heavy wood panels. And glued onto that, we found pages from the Daily News, October 31, 1947.

License plate

I was on time, I guess this driver wasn't.

Christmas Violin

Last December I got out my violin (that I hadn't played in 35 years) and did my best to learn the most simple Christmas carols I could find. I promised myself that the following year I would spend some time with my violin and really learn to play something right. So I didn't put it away; I left it sitting on the piano bench (the piano also gets little to no use) thinking that if I saw it sitting there, I would remember my promise to play it. Now, it's almost October. The violin hasn't moved since last Christmas.

I promise that tomorrow I will pick it up and, at the very least, dust it off.