- Mr Turtle took a long time to get over the infection he developed end of April, though finally he is on the mend.
- My province has been crazy hot and dry and hundreds of wildfires have broken out over the past few weeks, especially in the northern areas (none near me).
- Last week I took the kids on a solo road trip to AJ’s dance festival (about a 3 hour drive away). Usually this would be a fun family weekend, but Mr T was on IV antibiotics and could not come. I took a deep breath and decided I could do the trip on my own.
- …..and all was going well until about half an hour from the hotel when my car broke down on the highway.
- I kept my head and did all the right things, getting the car off the road, calling AMA, etc.
- The weekend was still enjoyable in many ways. There was no wildfire smoke at the time (though it was unseasonably hot) and AJ’s performance went swimmingly. Gold medalist!
- One of the nicest parts: thanks to my car trouble, we reconnected with an aunt and uncle of Mr Turtle’s we hadn’t seen in years. The kids were especially happy to meet this lovely new auntie after they had just had the stressful experience of getting stranded by the road in an unfamiliar place.
- My father in law drove up to rescue us, yay.
- Back in home city, we went out for a nice dinner on Mother’s Day with the recovering Mr Turtle. All was great, and then AJ woke up puking the following night. She recovered quickly though and nobody else got sick.
- The wildfire smoke blew in with a vengeance last week, turning the air yellow on the worst day. The air quality index was 11, which sounds like a number somebody made up because 10 wasn’t bad enough.
- Several of my students graduated this week. I think work is going fine. I can’t remember right now.
- My car is still in the other city, but reportedly fixable. It’s getting expensive to maintain through, so probably will be car shopping in the future. Not exactly excited about that but better in summer than winter.
- Mr Turtle is off the IV and able to do most things again. Yay!
- On a day with no smoke, we met up with some friends in the park. The kids played, and we just did nothing and talked, then went out to dinner and talked some more. The sky was blue.
- The smoke came back. It was hot. I couldn’t sleep.
- I came down with a cold.
- But most importantly…..
torthúil
Monday, 22 May 2023
Sometimes rain that’s needed falls
Sunday, 30 April 2023
Spring moments
Saturday, 15 April 2023
Visual journaling 1a
Marshmallow roast again, abstract. I really like this one. The words that weave through the fire are what the kids told me about their experiences.
The girls made a fairy garden with one of the little girls they met there. Again, I tried to create a realistic depiction. It was difficult because of all the detail and light and shadow in the photo I was using. But I kept playing with it and actually I enjoy the result. It is called “Nature did most of the work” since that is how AJ described the process.
In the previous picture, I particularly liked how I drew the evergreen branches. So I did a piece just using that technique.
What I learned:
- I enjoy visual journaling
- I’m more likely to do art when there is no wifi
- It works to start drawing as soon as I have an idea (do not overthink)
- I’m inspired by life but I like to represent abstractly
- I like playing with textures and patterns
Friday, 7 April 2023
Birthgap Documentary
Monday, 27 March 2023
Sketchbook
Saturday, 18 February 2023
Living inside stories
I haven’t listened to any of the analysis yet: again I like to allow myself and others to experience something on our own terms before going into the other layers. I’m always curious if I can find a way to understand and relate even to my presumably different experience. My observations on these fairy tales?
- Lots of repetition: everything is organized into in 3s. Each event happens 3 times: the first two with very similar outcomes and the third time with a twist. It is a bit odd till I remember stories used to be passed on orally and if nothing else this would make them easier to remember.
- I have kind of a fixation on 3’s so this was amusing.
- Random life lessons I have picked up:
- if you meet a wild animal on your journey, don’t try to eat her babies, not even if you are really hungry.
- Let your sisters marry whom they want: they probably know what they are doing.
- Always get lots of sleep, even under extremely stressful conditions. Example: you are living with a witch and she is hoping to put your head on a stake that next morning. But have a good rest and most likely a critter will help you out the next day.
Saturday, 4 February 2023
Art of '23
This is the third time that each person in our family has created an original painting around the time of the New Year. I think I truly can call it a tradition now because it was AJ who reminded me this year.
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Left: AJ, Right: Dani, Centre: Mr. Turtle |
The girls, of course, create art constantly: any time is the best time. It is as natural as breathing to them. Mr. Turtle and I need to be more deliberate about it.
I was the last to participate. The idea that came to me was to do something organic, abstract and inspired by ancient cultures. Sometime completely different from last year's attempted realism and symbolism.
I started by collecting a few images, specifically from Neolithic Ireland and Mesopotamia. But it was after reading the beautiful essay Time Unweaved by Flat Caps and Fatalism that I felt I was onto something.
My creation for 2023:
"If time is a directionless field for the email worker, a forward arrow for the mill hand, and a turning circle for the peasant, then what is it to the people who know how to stay alive? Perhaps it is the spiral, of which there are many prehistoric examples in Yorkshire."The spiral has the rhythm of agricultural time without the lie that we can return to the same point. It has the movement of mechanical time without the lie that it has a direction. It has the all-encompassing field of flat time without the lie that nothing will change. Perhaps we can sing a spiral song with the world awhile." --FFatalism, Time Unweaved