Very sad news for a Marin girl

Mrs. T has passed on to the big tippy glider in the sky. She was such a wonderful part of my childhood education and opened up a lifelong interest in the natural world!

CBS has some nice video of her at work with kids.

Sock monkey for Thursday, November 30

I am big on cheese. But more importantly, I am big on being civil while enjoying cheese. For the penultimate in cheese etiquette, please enjoy this pdf from Charles Purdy, a.ka. "Social Grace."

wealth a go-go + cats are not dogs

I had a meeting with a wonderful new acquaintence in Tiburon this morning. Susan was the highest bidder on an auction item that I donated to MSW. The winner gets a painted portrait of her favorite pet. So Susan has this great red cat named Rudy and I went to her house early (8 am) to take a few photos of him for reference.

Well, Rudy was not in the mood to have his photo taken. He was in the mood to go outside, which we weren't letting him do. He also did not love the flash on the camera when I finally did corner him. It ended up that Susan had to hold him in her lap and point his face to the camera. Kitty cat torture! She told Rudy, "This will not actually kill you." I liked her a lot.

As money issues have been forefront lately, it did not escape my notice that her house was enormous, beautiful furnished, bedecked with art that was just fun and great and beautiful, and all of this nearly eclipsed by the stunning wide sweeping view of San Francisco Bay. I couldn't help wondering how in the heck people ever get so much money. It seems like either a fluke occurs or it doesn't and -bam- you're rich. Or not. I know so many people who work quite hard but never have a stroke of luck and live a normal middle-class life. Do the super-wealthy really work that much harder? Somehow I doubt it.

I also spotted the money guru / author Suze Orman at Safeway in Tiburon on my way to Susan's house. She was getting into her very schnazzy silver Audi. Coincidence?

Went by the Cove apartments after the semi-botched cat photo op. The management office folks were delightful. Better yet, it looks like they will have a very affordable (albeit cozy) apartment coming available soon in a pretty good location in the complex. The drive from there to the offices in Berkeley where I work was easy peasy, about 25 minutes. And a nice view for most of the drive - gorgeous views from the Richardson Bay Bridge. So this perked me up.

rich man, poor man

I have been ever so slightly obsessed with moolah over the past few weeks, not too shockingly, but it's getting to annoy me. I am in 'no wiggle room' mode, scraping by, and all the while living in a highly affluent community, so of course it's on my mind.

Then, to make matters better or worse (depending on how I decide to take this), I read about this young artist who created some great art pieces out of her creative investigation of her relationship to her own debt. I can't remember now where I saw this (which is making me nuts, but that's another story) and I'd love to link it from here if I could. Maybe I heard it on the radio??? In any case, this artist ends up selling drawings that perfectly replicate one of her very own American Express bills. And she's making good money at this. If anyone reading this can send me a link, I'd be quite grateful. Usually I'm very skilled at ye olde google search, but I can't find this.

So, this got me to thinking, again, that I should have thought of that. Or that I need to shake myself more into that way of thinking so I can take the next opportunity.

As in, what creative expression can I make about my current situation, even if I have some judgement or fear about it? It's the fearless artists who are making an impact, getting some freedom, moving on.

I enjoy seeing art of this kind, where people are being so close-to-the-bone authentic with explorations. One can sniff out a fake 'investigation' easily enough.

One thought I had this morning was triggered by this "implicit" judgements test from Harvard University. Flawed though the test might be, it was thought-provoking when my dark/light judgement test showed I had a strong preference for lighter skinned faces. My first reaction was to deny the result altogether. Then I realized that I probably do have a subconscious script about dark faces. I thought about all the faces I've ever drawn or painted. I'd say at least 90% of those have been light-skinned faces. So that's also a factor in familiarity, recognition, and comfort-level.

What would it tell me, I wondered, if I did a series of paintings (or drawings for now, since my painting stuff is in storage) of dark-skinned people? I remember an art teacher telling me about a student who did a self-portrait every day for a year. This reminds me a bit of that. Now, to 'simply' obtain some more free time!

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

mercy me

Ok, so now on a more serious note. Serious but not dour.

As I sat in the chapel at St Andrew yesterday morning, listening to the incredible music, being encouraged by the inspiring, forgiving, human, thought-provoking, welcoming words from the Rev, I just felt right to my bones that no one could help but want to be part of this place.

The Rev was talking about Hannah singing a redemption song, about giving it all over to God, including your emotions, your trials. About not keeping a stiff upper lip.

I think of myself as someone who has been hugely redeemed when I was allowed recovery from addiction. But as I listened, I started seeing myself as someone who could be allowed more than one redemption song. I could keep my house clean and share it with someone else. I could get health around money and be a good partner.

higher consciousness

my consciousness-raising group is all up in my grill about my overidentification with 'the man.'

they insist that i would not be tortured with self-recrimination about my nudity if i were to become more fully evolved and shuffle off the oppression of this defect of character.

ack.

i laugh because i cannot cry hard enough.

Sock Monkey (Couple) of the Day for November 18, Saturday

When did we move to the city, Hank?

I think it was 1999. Just before Jenny went to Davis. Isn't that right?

We love it here.

We do.

guaranteed smile generator

This thing is so simple and fun that I can't believe no one has thought of it before. Don't know if it's art or not, but I don't care.

Sock monkey for Friday, November 17

My name is Horatio and I live in Bolinas, California, where I play guitar and watch birds. Sometimes I go get a tuna sandwich at the Bolinas Market deli. Every now and again, I have to drive "over the hill" to San Rafael to get groceries and stuff or see a movie.

I used to have this groovy long ponytail but now I'm getting a bald spot. Lucky for me, there's this surfer dude named Kenny who makes these rad bandanas.

I'm pretty happy. The only thing that gets under my skin is when people don't know who Kristin Chenoweth is.

sock monkey of the day

I hearken from Portland, Oregon where we remain humble despite our eco-urban superiority. Although surrounded by earthy, practical folks, I remain dedicated to always looking my best. I achieve this by making the most of my accessories - in this case, a jaunty yet minimalist belt.

I heartily advise young sock monkeys everywhere not to cross their legs. It only causes varicose viens later in life.

Read here to learn about a sock monkey shelter. This web site is everything this Cracker wants to be when she grows up. Dang cracker.

bopping along to "Hold to His Hand"

Here is a lovely thing about attending St Andrew - instead of some insipid and mind-numbing pop thing kidnapping my brain, I am hearing the rockin' African-American gospel song "Hold to His Hand" all day. And thanks to i-Tunes, I can refresh my memory when it starts to fade a bit.

Smitemaster 2000

Do you have trouble smiting all the people you want to? The new Smitemaster 2000 offers a scalable and flexible smite solution for your organization to reach new heights of smiting efficiency. All smiting, all the time.

house for sale

I've decided to lose the internal war I've been waging with the who-says-so notion that this blog needs to be all about art and only about art. I'd rather have everything in one place and sometimes it will inform the art, sometimes the art will inform it, sometimes it will be random and who knows?

So - about selling my house

the kitchen then

The kitchen now:















When I first viewed this house about 3 years ago, it smelled of cigarettes and also faintly of cat urine.

In 2004, photo on left shows the second bedroom, which had (just out of view) fake wood paneling tacked to the drywall. On the right is the same bedroom now:

It was all decorated with pink lacey frilly things with not even a nod toward the modern architecture.

The master bedroom was set up in such a way that you couldn't really even see that there are these great sliding glass doors onto an atrium!

I pulled out all the smoke-infested carpet and tossed various tints of concrete stain on the floor. I ripped out the sliding metal doors on all the closets and pantry and painted the brown faux-wood kitchen cabinets a rich blue. Lucking out big time, a friend who just happened to have a crane on his truck also just happened to want the old wood stove, so away that went too. My wonderful sister helped enormously by paying a painter to give a significant lift to the living room.

Now, as it comes time to sell it, we’ve added carpeting and the stagers have done their magic with arrangement of furniture. I also spent a few days pulling down a large wall collage in my bedroom, scrubbing the rubber cement off, patching the drywall, priming and painting the whole room a color called “wheat.” Turns out I love the warm tone, very cozy.

Want to buy it, by the way? Check it out.

sock monkey fellowship

someone as nutty as me???

Someone very arty about it all.

the sincere and straightforward approach

new attitude, thoughts about my sister's adoption process

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant to all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

- Mark 9:35-37