I’m on a total posting binge (aka procrastination) and Sandy Denny Strawbs kick.
Also a note to say THANKS to all you folks who came out to Love Garden Sounds (my favorite record store) last Friday for Final Fridays. Super duper thanks to Aaron at LGS for the arduous task of hanging my artwork from basically the ceiling. It was a great time, Maria the Mexican put on a great performance, and of course, I bought more records including some old gospel-bluegrassy stuff and Jackson C. Frank (original writer of Blues Run The Game, and coincidently Sandy Denny’s boyfriend at some point in history). Goooooood stuff.
Coming up next Saturday: Crafts and Drafts at the Uptown Theater shopping area in Westport, Kansas City. 25+ beers on tap, 75 artists and crafters.. Should be a great time.
In the spirit of randomness and learning something new, I’m teaching myself how to juggle. It’s also a great practice of being totally in the now, plus I assume it’ll build up better hand-eye-brain coordination. And for now, it’s a great workout since I have to chase after the balls constantly. Today was my third go at it, and I turned on this record to practice to, realizing that the beat to this song not only was perfect for the rhythm of throwing and catching, but it also puts me in a good, loose mood, which is necessary for juggling. I went from only being able to manage 4 beats (what I’d describe as throw, throw, throw, catch) before flinging the balls across the room, to 8 beats (before they go flying in every direction) in the matter of the song really. My current skills are laughable, but I’m confident. My utter nerdiness unfolds.
I’ve discovered the danger of Ebay.. I’ve never really searched for records that I wanted before, and when I finally did recently, I immediately bid before checking on alternatives (err, lower prices).. For the sake of the pocketbook, my exciting first foray into the Ebay record world was for the most part unfruitful after being outbid and gathering myself enough not to bid further, but I did get this record for a nice price: The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey. A great one for sure. It’s been spinning on my player for days now. Thanks dude, in Torrence, CA, for sending me this in great shape.
Happy weekend to you. I’m off to celebrate multiple birthdays and other events. Plus I hope to clock some nature time in these cooler temps. I felt immense joy sipping tea yesterday morning and hearing rain fall. And then smiled wide as I walked through it. The heat that I had to endure during last weekend’s art fair made me appreciate cooler temps more than ever. It was by far the hottest I’ve ever felt at a fair — I was actually trembling because of the heat Sunday afternoon and had to take refuge in a restaurant. Fall is definitely my favorite. Definitely.
Another week of work ahead preparing for Omaha at the end of the month plus my upcoming exhibits. And looking forward to getting the kayaks out on the water Saturday. Til next time..
Pardon me, loyal readers, for being so absent from my blog-a-log. I’ve been taking advantage of every break I get and doing as minimal as possible. Actually, that’s not true — I’ve been in simplify mode. I’ve been filtering through my house and getting rid of things that I don’t need, cleaning, etc. Otherwise, it’s been a pretty busy summer of paper cutting. I still have lots of new work that I have not yet posted here, which I will in the coming weeks. I head out Thursday for the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis, and then after that, my summer shows will be in the past. As will summer, really. Also in my past is my hair.. I decided I no longer needed it — it was almost down to my waist, and I woke up at 2am the other morning and decided it was time to let it go. I cut off a lot of the past along with it, so to speak. And now I’m enjoying a new sense of self. I’ve gotta do some sort of drastic transformation every so often..
Anyway, this record (These Trails) has been serving me well all summer on the road. It’s in my head now– never gets old. Til next time..
About 10 seconds after I crossed the street in this exact spot this morning this happened.. I had just turned the immediate corner and then heard the noise, but continued walking because I thought it was something industrial from a next door business that’s always moving around heavy loads.. Upon my return a few minutes later, I realized it wasn’t. Nobody was hurt thankfully. My ears also witnessed a car accident yesterday (both of these happened just up the street from my house. What gives??). Lots of horn honking and then.. CRASH! I ran outside to see if people were ok (they were) but one driver was none too happy as she yelled at the other driver for ruining her car.. Hey, the first thought on my mind when I woke up yesterday morning was that I was thankful to be alive another day. And I suppose a car is something that lady probably worked or works hard for, but I hope she was also glad to be alive more than angry about her car.. To each his or her own I guess.
In other news, I restocked Phoenix Gallery this morning in Lawrence – lots of prints and cards and a couple original paper cuttings. Go visit. Then I headed across the street to Love Garden Sounds and in the mood for something to go along with this lovely weather, picked up the record “Hawaii Calls: Exotic Instrumentals”. It’s finally spring. It felt good to have the sun on my back as I ran this morning. And it felt good to sit on my deck and sip coffee and watch two hawks thermal higher and higher until they were almost out of sight. For a few seconds out there, I had childlike presence and didn’t think about all the things that need doing… which I must do now. Til next time.
I spent parts of Friday evening and Sunday afternoon taking refuge in my local record shop, The Love Garden. I picked up a few records, including Mighty Sparrow, John Fahey, Bob Desper, and Bill Monroe, among others; an array of musical styles. This one takes me back to my Brooklyn days where I assimilated into the Caribbean community.. quite an unforgettable learning experience for a small-town Kansas girl, and some of the best food I’ve eaten (and learned to cook and still cook regularly!). Mighty Sparrow was a constant, as were lots of other Calypsonians. It’s been almost 4 years since I left, but so much has happened since then that it seems like a whole other life already.
