best laid plans

i've been sick for a few days, and unusually tired for several days. but i have managed, in my own way (read: stretching and massaging the definition of "make something") to make something pretty much every day. i might have missed one or two. i have not, however, been very good at photographically documenting my creations...many of them were food related and were eaten before i remembered. a couple of them were just private (read: logo design sketches and/or: ugly). i have for you today a representative photo of the last week-ish (well, 2 photos. anyways). it's my favorite project of late. here's why:

1. i did not think about it. or the time it involved. i just did it.

2. it totally reused stuff that i hoard (magazines, amazon delivery boxes)

3. it took stuff i hoard and made it into stuff to organize other stuff i hoard! rad.

4. jubal did it with me.

5. it used tape, which is an awesome invention.

6. it did not involve moving a lot, or getting in and out of "the zone". i didn't have to move further than 15 feet from where i was to get everything i needed to make it, from start to finish.

7. it has pictures on it.

i wanted something to organize my communication arts magazines, a subscription to which is a gift to myself to support my interest and career path in design. it's not a cheap magazine and i keep them all to reference for information and inspiration. i want them separate from all the other magazines so the kids don't accidentally cut them up, making a VERY EXPENSIVE collage. but. i have a thing against spending money on those fancy magazine holding box thingies that you can get at fancy places that i don't shop. the most money i will devote to organizing or holding the things that i pack-rat is the occasional purchase of a big clear plastic tub or a pine board to erect a shelf.

so i found a box. and i grabbed two national geographics. i was determined to use only 2 and not head back to the magazine stash. i also grabbed some packing tape, a utility knife, and some scissors.

the box was too deep to snugly hold the magazines, so i made a spacer out of the flaps of the box all taped together with some other random cardboard pieces i found. then i cut down the front. and i just found images i liked and taped them on. jubal joined me and he found stuff he liked and i taped that on. he made "books" out of stapled magazine pages for a while and then he wandered off and i just kept cutting and taping. when the box was all covered i put another solid layer of tape on it for sturdiness. THEN i had to leave the zone to find all my communication arts magazines scattered around the house. i didn't find them all, but when i do, i know where to put them.

another cool thing about this project was that before i started it i was checking some musical reference online for a discussion r. and i were having and noticed my e-music amount had re-booted, so i bought some new music and got to listen to it while i worked. my e-music account is almost exclusively for treating myself to stuff i wouldn't necessarily normally buy. it's like a "hey, try this" account. or for splurges on things i've always wanted but never gotten around to buying.

here's the set-list to my magazine box making:

the black keys: the big come up

beck: mutations

breathe owl breathe: the fall album

demons: scarcity rock

the maccabees: colour it in

*i didn't get all of those albums in one day, some of them were still un-listened to much from last month. i also got nina simone: nina simone sings the blues, but didn't listen to it in that session (i did later though and it was deeeeelicious.)

spring fever

blast this heat wave! i suppose it will be for the good in the long run--causing the last seeds to germinate and whatnot. but damn it's hot. hot hot hot. we filled up the "yard tub"--a big galvanized stock tank shaped like a giant pill. the dexatrim of pools. it's so nice. after i do some yard work i go and sit in it for a few minutes. the water is nice and cool. cold, even, the first couple of days after you fill it up. i'm working on figuring out how to attach a hose to it so i can water the garden when it comes time to clean and refill it. i also sit in it after dinner. beer and smoke time. all alone with the water, staring up at the canopy of the oaks above me, against the blueblue sky. if i put my head under the water i can't hear anything (like the hideous screaming of the neighbor kids abusing each other for a scrap of attention from their mom). it's instantly refreshing and temperature reducing. i have a fantasy of surrounding it with whiskey barrels of things that grow tall and flower...passionflower, honeysuckle, bamboo...so i'm free from prying eyes and can feel all jungly and luxurious. the tub is big enough to hold two adults facing each other, and if it's just one adult you can glide a few feet in the water, back and forth back and forth. so nice.
stay hydrated. enjoy the sun and the heat. bust out your sunscreen if you use it. crack open a beer after a long, hot day and feel satisfied with yourself and whatever it is you accomplished. grill a meal and love eating it outside. take care of yourself, your plants and pets, and everyone around you. feel the love and show it to everyone.
oh yes--and drop off your ballots!

today i am grateful for:
love
wholeness
generosity
miracles
faith

home again, home again, jiggity jig

we had a good time in sun river. the days leading up to it were a bit rushed and stuffed, a little stressful...but not too bad. and everything went fine. wyatt wayne was amazing. i'm sure carly (dad's dog) disagrees, as he wanted to play with her all the time, and she wasn't having any of that...but he's a puppy and it's in his nature to want to play with other dogs. he had to spend more time than i would have liked shut away in our bedroom, but only because he was so excited about carly and the new people about. he only had two accidents in the house and when we took him outside he sniffed and played about, but didn't run off or misbehave. he came when called and pottied when asked. he didn't chew and destroy everything in sight, held in the contents of his bladder and intestines through the night and was sweet and fun.

we biked and hiked and saw falls. we attempted to visit the newberry caldera, but the roads were still closed due to snow. it was a good time, relaxing with our family, playing mancala with the kids, finishing reading (and then watching the movie of) The Golden Compass. it was nice to cuddle in bed and on the couch with rodney and lounge around in bed watching trash tv and feeling lovey.

it was excellent to get back home! first thing i did was to travel around the yard looking at all the plants. i planted out as many tomatoes as i could fit the morning we left and they were all hanging in there--looking fuller and greener than they did in the pots. my beet, chard, and collard seeds all hung in there and grew bigger. the carrots doubled in size. the beans jubal and i planted last week that were just barely breaking the surface when we left were up and had big, gorgeous green leaves. the radishes monumental. the onions deep green, tall and strong. the roses have buds. the spinach positively lush and shiny and with round, folic-looking leaves. the lettuces karen gave us all light green and filling out. amazing. the fruit trees that were in bloom lost all their blossoms and the maple out front got all its deep red leaves. so much can happen in just a few days.

back to regular life now...a trip into town today to get supplies for my sock knitting class and a cup for jubal that doesn't leach carcinogens into his water. lunch together and maybe a bit of walking around eugene. i have another soap order to make and multiple sewing projects on the horizon--i'm into these little notebook wallets now, fun and quick, and handy.

i'm feeling happy and enjoying the world and my place in it.

gratitudes:
the orders that keep sliding in
playing mancala with hazel, who taught me how
that ODE decided in our favor, even if it doesn't go where we want it to. some kind of justice prevails!
kisses from rodney, which are perfect and sweet, and blot out the rest of the world for their moments
jubal's strong body and perfect heart