Thankful
Thank You, Veterans
12 Things Learned in October
For a couple of years I have been posting lists of things I learn at the end of each month. This year it feels particularly important to encourage you, Blog Readers, that 2020 isn’t entirely filled with difficulties and mayhem.
- Kayaking! It was so fun, and easier than stand-up paddle boarding (well, duh).
- White pelicans are huge and don’t dive like brown pelicans do.
- Harbor seals and elephant seals are different. Did you know that? Elephant seals are playful and curious, sometimes trying to climb onto kayaks. Harbor seals are much more shy.
- A friend sent a Youtube link to a song called Rayburn Crane by someone named Tom Russell – it is about a guy in Mineral King!
- “8 million people have left California” – I heard this on a podcast, but the speaker didn’t say in what time frame. I think he must have been speaking of the past 10 years (since the last census). I looked it up, and the main states attracting California refugees are Texas, Arizona and Washington. I know people who have moved to Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.
- A little mosquito has been a real nuisance this summer (I didn’t save the newspaper article with the name of the bug.) The mosquito is smaller, it is out in the daytime, you can’t feel it bite, and it itches and sometimes swells up way more than regular mosquitoes. To add insult to injury, it carries West Nile virus. Good grief, what next??
- Retail therapy late at night can be expensive. I ordered some clothes from a site, knowing it was probably a mistake. The sizing was wonky, the fabric was cheap, the clothing differed from the photos. In order to return things, the customer has to email and get an authorization code. The company didn’t reply in a timely manner, the 15 day return window started narrowing, and finally the company said they would offer a 15% refund so “you can buy cloth to repair clothing”. Or, if you prefer, they will give you the address in China where the order can be returned. WHAT?? Our local thrift shop just scored some brand new items. Sigh.
- Vanilla water – I invented this because my giant bottle of vanilla extract ran out but had some residue in the bottom that I didn’t want to waste. I filled it with water, put it in the fridge, and it was SO GOOD!
- Rock stacking – There are cairns or “ducks” along routes where trails aren’t visible, and this differs from rock stacking or balancing. This article goes into depth on the topic. Like almost everything, a little is interesting, copycats turn it into a problem, and then finger-waggers come along and turn it all sour.
- This isn’t new, but it has been several years since I showed you – this is the link to the website of an artist whose work amazes me in its brilliance, precision and subtle humor. Her name is Sandra Busby.
- This is new information to my blog readers: one of my drawing students had a Cooks Illustrated magazine with beautiful art on the cover. We looked up the artist, Robert Papp, and just swooned over his fruits and vegetables. Later that day, I reached for my favorite stamps to put one on an envelope, and was gobsmacked to see that they were Robert Papp’s work!
- I can draw from my computer screen instead of ordering prints. This is a new experience for me. Using both print and on-screen provides the best information, but sometimes there isn’t enough time to wait for professionally made prints; my tired Epson printer is a poor option because it uses too much ink, has incorrect colors, and prints with stripes in the photos.
A Year of Personal Learning
The summary lists continue as I keep working on some private commissions, a fancy Art Speak word for custom artwork.
Personally, not professionally, this happened in the last weird year:
- Tried and thoroughly enjoyed kayaking
- Tried and thoroughly enjoyed stand-up paddle boarding (even thought it made my feet hurt – a weird result)
- Missed church on Easter Sunday for the first time in my life
- Realized that I like not having social obligations
- The lock-down reinforced how much I like being at home.
- We managed to keep 3 cats alive by locking them inside the garage each night (although sometimes they still go rogue)
- Learned what possessions matter when facing evacuation from both our main home and our cabin
- Realized how much I depend on the library
- Learned how thin the veneer of civilization is in our country and how easily people are controlled by fear
- Learned how people share food with one another as a gesture of love especially in hard times – we got more food brought to us and shared more food with friends than I ever remember in the past.
What’s on your list? (Does anyone besides me do this sort of evaluating and list making?)
Autumn Break
Today’s post is a break for you from my normal bloviations about art.
Something red caught my eye on my commute* out to the studio last week.(Feel free to get a pumpkin spice something to accompany these photo.)
And this, which looks like a symbol of wildfire to me:
Meanwhile, Pippin has been very delinquent, refusing to come into the garages at night, running around like an unruly hooligan. This makes him very tired during the day.
Tucker has had a campout or two, but likes to wait outside my studio for me to finish work.
Two out of three, always two out of three. Jackson is hiding somewhere. When he appears, one of the others will go away.
We all sleep better when there are three cats safely locked up in the outbuildings.
But wait! There’s more! Why are these August flowers still blooming in October? (Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth).
It was still raining ash and the light was still orange last week when I took these photos.
P.S. Happy Birthday, Blog Reader Anne!
*50 yard walk? 100 yards? how about 35 seconds?
9 Things I Learned in September
In September I learned nine things, many of which I wish hadn’t been necessary.
- Did you know that shower mixing valves come from the factory preset at a low temperature? Did you know that you can adjust the temperature by asking The Duck? (You might use The Google; I use The Duck, as in DuckDuckGo).
- AQI – Air Quality Index – Suddenly everyone is discussing the number of the air. There is a website called Airnow.gov where you can obsessively type in your zip code all day long and then compare your number to that of your sisters in other zip codes who are obsessively typing in their zip codes.
- “Meat bees” are not bees, but wasps, actually Yellow Jackets. They don’t live on pollen and nectar, but on meat, usually from dead animals or picnickers. They can sting repeatedly, unlike a bee that dies after it stings. I have made baking soda paste to take out the pain for 3 different cabin neighbors this year. Those dudes HURT, but baking soda mixed with water fixes the pain immediately (and stops working when it gets dry).
- When ash falls outside, you can easily locate all the spider webs.
- It is difficult to decide if a cough is due to The Virus or if it is due to very bad air. Very Bad Air. Very Bad Air. VERY BAD AIR!!
- Tea made from boiled leaves of the Wooly Mullein plant is supposed to be good for respiratory troubles; it tastes like boiled weeds.
- When there is a possibility of evacuating one’s home, one quickly decides what stuff matters and what is meh. But the longer the wait to know if one must evacuate, the longer the list grows of what to take.
Jackson isn’t interested in changing addresses. - We have a tremendous number of helpful, kind, concerned, generous friends, more than anyone deserves. So many offers to haul our stuff, store our stuff, host us if we were evacuated. Really took some of the edge off of wondering what to do.
- Finding truth seems harder than ever, and the topics seem more weighty than ever. You can find evidence, science, experience, and convincing facts for any side to an argument. Do masks help or don’t they? If they work, why do we have to distance ourselves? And if distancing helps, why do we have to wear masks? And if both of those things are the answer, why is so much still shut down? Has global warming caused the fires or not? Will managing forests harm the environment? Don’t fires harm the environment??
Makes me tired. Anyone want to recommend a good book to read as an escape? Never mind. The library is closed again. I don’t want to buy any books. I don’t want to buy anything. If I own it, I’ll have to decide whether to add it to the pile of other things to grab and go, if that becomes necessary.
Good News
Isn’t it a thrill to have good news? (Although “good” is a relative term these days.)
On Wednesday afternoon last week, we were told that there was a voluntary evacuation order for Mineral King. On Friday afternoon, the road was abruptly closed by the county to all traffic.
This struck fear in the hearts of all who love Mineral King. Uniforms (that’s what we have around here instead of Suits), barricades, and unknown reasons now prevent anyone from going up to check on cabins. Many of the owners live far away, unable to just show up at the drop of a Smokey The Bear hat. (I think his middle name is The, and I do realize he is a National Forest bear, not a National Park bear.) New info on Smokey here
Trail Guy and I have been faithfully (obsessively?) following the CalTopo fire map. There is no fire in or near Mineral King. Well, okay, how does one define “near”? We define it by listening to people who know the area and know how fires burn. None of those folks are worried or feel that Three Rivers or Mineral King is in imminent danger. Sure, if there was a catastrophic windstorm or more lightning strikes, it could get bad.
But neither of those things is in the forecast, so for now our beloved Mineral King doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy. That’s good news.
Odd Sort of Job
My two favorite ways to spend time with friends are either taking a walk or working on a project. While in Mineral King, my friend had a project and allowed me to help. If it had been a job, I would have called it an “odd job” to be sure.
We used every tool at our disposal. She brought some up the hill, and we both had other supplies to dig into.
What in the world??
We spent about 3-4 hours working on a project that I would have NEVER chosen to do, but was happy to help. She had the ideas and did the prep; I had the skills. We worked together like a well-oiled machine, and these were our results.
I hope the attendees at the bridal shower are impressed. These are Pinterest and Instagram worthy, eh?
P.S. I almost NEVER go to bridal showers, never go to baby showers, and the idea of decorations and tabletop centerpieces does not enter my mind under 99% of my circumstances. Ever ever ever. But working with a friend is always rewarding, and no attendance at a shower was required.
Still Smoky
This is a long post. If it is a TLDR*, you can just look at the photos.
The smoky conditions varied widely over the past weekend in Mineral King, WHICH IS NOW CLOSED.
Now, let’s look at some other views in Mineral King. These first 2 are looking toward Farewell Gap on Saturday evening. (The weird grayish spots in the sky are just the mysterious moving spots on my camera lens.)
On Sunday, mid morning, we could see smoke moving up the canyon toward Mineral King, so we went for a walk while it was still relatively clear. First, we stopped on the bridge. Then Trail Guy encountered a Park mule that was out of the corral, but wanted to go back inside. There was smoke visible coming up from the direction of White Chief. We walked to Crystal Creek, which is hardly a creek. I found a few flowers still blooming, and we passed a hornet hole, AKA a wasp nest. I looked those critters up in a couple of books; although we call them “meat bees”, they are really just yellow jackets. Mean dudes, don’t mess with them.
One more pass over the bridge, then we packed up and headed down into the smoke of Three Rivers, talking about evacuation, thinking dark thoughts.
Please God, don’t let locusts come next.
*Too Long Didn’t Read
A New Card and So
Are you a note writer? Do you send thank you notes, or thinking of you notes? Getting real mail is fun. Email is good too, but there is something special about ink on paper in an envelope with handwriting on it, arriving at your home (or in your P.O. box).
I saw an advertisement in a magazine about 20 years ago when email was new, and it was for fancy stationery. The line on the page said, “No one has ever cherished an email”.
About my cards
You probably know about them already, so consider this a reminder. They come 4 to a package with envelopes, and each package has all the same design, $8/package including postage and shipping.
The newest one
Standards (but not old enough to be called “Classic”)
Who in your life would like to receive a note in the mail? Your Grandma? Your grandchild who may never have received real mail before? The mechanic who keeps your car running so you can drive worry-free? The grocery store checker who is always cheerful, even when she has to wear a mask every day? The barber who lets you come in the back door of his shop so you don’t have to wear your hair in a ponytail?
Cards available here: Notecards
P.S. You don’t have to use the website and Paypal to buy cards because you can send me a check IN THE MAIL and I will send you your cards IN THE MAIL.
P.P.S. (This means PS#2) There are more designs than the ones I’ve shown here, including cards in color, different sizes, and even an assortment package (Mineral King, larger cards, $15).