winter hours

I've noticed I don't get as much done during the winter months as I do any other time of the year. Some of it is the cold. I'm slow to start and quick to slow down when it's cold and keeping the house at 66˚ doesn't help. But keep it at 66˚ we do. It's amazing how much difference 2˚ can make those times we ramp bump it up to 68˚ in a fit of icy fingered indulgence. But mostly 66˚ is adequate with just a nominal amount of moving around. Oh, and lots of clothes. Did I mention the clothes?

I put in less work hours in the winter so consequently it takes me longer to complete any tasks, especially when the blanket and my book are calling to me and waving me over every time I pass the couch, but I think the main thing that makes me shut down early is the dark. I don't much keep track of the time so my two big indicators are whether it's day or night. When it gets dark, I'm ready to quit and give in to the couch, the blanket and the book. When it starts getting dark 5ish and I don't often get started til 11 AM or sometimes noon, that's a fairly short day. The balance to this is that I often work til 7 or 8 PM when the days are long. what a whiner, right?

Right now I am working on some sketches and ideas for some new things for the art consultant. I need to work with color to get my art glass on the wall as the etched glass doesn't show up well on white or beige walls which is de riguer for institutions. So I'm working out a few ideas for using metal leaf and rubbing oil paints in the etched surface and also some fused techniques using frit and working with my friend.

I don't feel I made much progress today so I want to put in a few more hours except that now, it's not just cold, it's dark too. And my brain gets confused and indecisive. And, oh, look over there. My friends the couch, the blanket and the book are calling.

lady bug, lady bug, fly away home

Some of you may remember that during the summer of '09, we had an arsonist in our neighborhood. He targeted abandoned houses and burned down somewhere between 15 and 20 old homes, all within a couple mile radius of the city house. Eventually they arrested someone for one of the fires, one that was only blocks from me, and although there were a few more after that, they eventually stopped. We were only spending three days a week in the city then and were fearful our house would be targeted so took to leaving the porch light on all the time to let him know the house was not empty. The porch light is still on though not because we are warning away the arsonist but because the switch to turn it off no longer works.

before

I tell this as an intro to a totally unrelated fire. Early Monday morning in our city neighborhood (the chi-chi part), a $2 million, 10,000 sq ft Victorian replica house completed in 2007 burned to the ground. The fire must have been well under way before it was noticed and called in and eventually it was totally consumed by the fire. Unfortunately, the owner and her health care attendant were also consumed by the fire.

This house was 9 short city blocks to the east and 2 ½ long city blocks to the south of our house. It was built in what had been the 'wealthy' part of the neighborhood of Houston Heights. Our little house is actually in Height's Annex, the poor step child of the Heights, a working class neighborhood when we moved in 35 years ago. Was, actually. Oh, our house is still there, but with the gentrification, it's all wealthy now.

I am amazed by how fast and how completely this house burned. I've been watching the gentrification of the neighborhood for about 7 years, the demolishing of the small one and two story bungalows with yards and their replacement with two and three story town homes built nose to butt, a hand width apart. Even the large expensive homes are built to fill the lots. I have seen them go up in a matter of months (although this house was 2 years in the building), matchstick frames covered by a house of cards, modern flimsy pre-fab structures that shake and shudder in high winds, a far cry from the solidly built structures they replace. That it didn't take out the adjacent houses, considering how completely engulfed by fire that it was, is a friggin' miracle and a testament to the firefighters on the scene. Even so, I'm sure they must have sustained some damage.

after

all photos via the Houston Chronicle at

http://www.chron.com/news/photogallery/3alarm_fire_on_Heights_Blvd.html

beginnings

a rosy end to the year just passed

I think New Year's Day is possibly my favorite holiday, after my birthday of course. What!? you don't celebrate my birthday? I know, my birthday is not a national holiday but it is a personal one for me and always a happy day.

I'm always in a good mood on New Year's Day. The end of the year holidays and festivities starting way back with Halloween, culminating in fireworks and revelry, are over. Today is the first day of a new year, a clean slate, and the possibilities are endless. Today we are supermen and women, we can accomplish anything. We can choose to be new and different, happier and more fulfilled, kinder, gentler, more compassionate. We can take control of our lives and live more consciously. We can set out our goals and start on the new path to achieve them. Of course, maintaining those changes and commitments is the challenge as the year progresses. But now, today? All is possible!

Last night's sunset was one of those rare events where the very air is colored. Everything was suffused with a pink glow. Not too shabby an end to a year of challenge, progress and karmic lessons. Oh yes, several karmic lessons for me this past year.

I let go of a drive for fame and fortune and in the process became re-inspired in my work. I started a new decade of life. We fully settled in the country house and made substantial progress on building the new shop. We gave thanks for our daughter's survival of a life threatening event and spent a lot of time with the g'kids. We got out of debt (mostly). I helped and cared for my sister as her husband passed out of this world. And through all, we have been happy and healthy.

For all this I am grateful.

Now here, poised on the threshold of this fine new year, I am filled with optimism as it lays open before me to make of it what I will.

and a rosy portent for the new one starting

in review

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

easing back in

Trying to wrap my head back around the routines of work, of making a living. We head back to town today for three days to do a small job and to see what else I can jump start. No one really is being too serious about working this week, sandwiched as it is between christmas and new year's. I meet with the art consultant tomorrow to see what we can do to help him promote our work better.

I'm not looking forward to being back in the city. The old house there is suffering from having the life stripped out of it. The ceiling fan in the living room no longer works, the kitchen sink is stopped up, the termites are inviting all their friends to the feast. It is cold and unwelcoming. What a dump. Sad to see it in this condition, abandoned after sheltering me, my family, providing us safe haven for so many years.

I want to stay home, snugged in my country house, gazing out the window at the fallow fields waiting for their spring planting. I want to stay home where, when I look out the window as I sit at my desk/drawing table, I can see the large shrub right outside and watch the birds that seem to find endless interest in it.

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Fast forward a few days. I wrote the above while waiting, waiting, waiting for the cat to show up so we could load up and leave. She finally strolled in just before 9 PM Monday night so we had to get up early and get on the road yesterday getting here just in time for my morning appointment. Now that I'm here, it's not so bad. We got the little job done and the guy picked up the glass yesterday. We're heading back home today a day early because the other thing I wanted to do can't be done this week.

It's raining out there, badly needed rain. I just wish it wasn't raining right now. We had planned on getting more plaster and silica flour for the casting molds and the rain puts a big damper on that. hee hee

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Thought I'd show you how the wren box is progressing.

the rough cast wren inlay piece

excess glass ground off

carving the depression for the cast wren piece

wren inlay in place

carving the texture on the box

finished texture with wren inlay in place

The casting mold has been made but not steamed out yet.

fallow

Thought I'd try my hand at a little haiku.

fold bereft of crop

winter sky hovers above

bare furrows exposed

bare furrow exposed

shivers under cold gray sky

a dream of green growth

to dream of green growth

sleep deep in winter's embrace

bare the fertile fold

keeping my finger in the pie

I hope everyone had a joyful day yesterday. We went over to my sister's house for a late lunch/early dinner. It was cold and windy and overcast. Not very beckoning. Except for that one foray out, we spent the day on the couch snoozing and reading and watching movies.

I actually wrote two posts yesterday and deleted them both. The first one sounded too depressing so I tried again with the same results which was curious because I'm not feeling depressed and had had a fun week, if a bit tiring, with the g'kids. But the major event of this month put a damper on any christmas/holiday post I might have made, the holiday season was a non-event for us this year and the document where I keep my ideas and work on posts had me singularly uninspired.

In fact I'm still a bit uninspired, still drained I guess from the whole death experience. So why, you are probably wondering, am I writing at all? Good question. See the title above.

I like this day of the year a lot. The big run up to christmas is over, no more pressure for us to go out and single handedly save the economy, no more christmas carols twisted for marketing, no more christmas music in the stores. Hallelujah! Christmas is over and it's not Marcmas yet.

Now begins the week of reminiscing, the lists of best and worst, the tidying up of the events of the year. The firework stands are open and I believe I will joyfully see this one out. I haven't had time to work on my cast projects since before Thanksgiving and I am anxious to get back to them here at the tail end of the 'lost days'.