desert like dessert

We've arrived in the desert for a few days: get some sun, soak in the mineral-water pools. A complete rejuvenation session to start the new year with. Even though the pools can tend to feel like you're sharing a huge bathtub with total strangers...once you get into it, you actually end up either totally relaxing due to the anonymity of it all or chatting it up with some really great people.

This time around though, I think it's just time to totally relax.
I even bought an itsy bitsy teeny weeny black bikini for the occasion. Who'da thunk it? I haven't worn a bikini since I was a kid (and, for one brief moment, on my honeymoon) but it feels great! I also got a book for Christmas called The Four Agreements, so, between soaks in the pool (and, sometimes, even in the pool), I'm reading that.

hello dessert happy!

to fill and be filled

I want to raise children for so many reasons.
I'd like to raise children to influence and to be influenced. I want to watch them light up at new findings. I want to squeeze them and give them millions of little kisses on their soft little cheeks. I want to try and explain the unexplainable to them. I want to watch RK's eyes fill to the brim when he watches them ride their bike for the first time without training wheels, 'cuz he's spent hours in the road teaching them. I want to hear them whisper 'i love you kick and grampa' when my mom & dad put them to bed. I want to watch them play with their friends, and make little crafts, and laugh so hard they can't stop.
And I want a reason to subscribe to the juiciest little magazine I've ever seen, called SMALL.

Thanks to Bluebird for the link, and Andrea Land for the photo.

Home and extremely happy to be here...the busy-ness of work and holiday parties has passed a bit for now, but who knows what's next? Looking forward to 2009 'cuz 2008 was so great!

Hope everyone's holidays are happy and filled with good cheer and good cookies!
All the best in the coming years.

Happy Everything!

I think I'm in Love Now

Recently, I've found myself dissing San Francisco. I'm not proud of it. I don't like doing it. But, I find myself constantly comparing SF to NYC: The vibe, the restaurants, the public transportation, the electricity of the 24-hour city, the bars, the old stores, the neighborhoods...on and on.

But, lately, having had wonderful weather here in SF, and getting together with friends over and over, really making the most of each moment, things have perked up a bit...and then our friend, Dylan, goes and takes these photos at Dolores Park and the photos make me gasp at the beauty that is basically our front yard.



So, I promise, at least for now, I'll stop with the whining. And, for more insane nighttime beauty captured, go to Dylan's flickr stream. You'll want to move here.

Newsy News Newspaper

An adorable little shop in Australia, Newspaper Taxi, contacted me recently about carrying my cards. I LOVE the look of her shop and got really into her blog, too. Tons of great artists she profiles, and ideas she shares, a real gold-mine.

One artist (or group?) that impressed me is Castle and Things. I love their aesthetic. And I'm at a bit of a loss to say why or how...and, besides, their work can really raise the bar all on its own. They are one-of-a-kind pieces handstitched on vintage linen with felt, velvet and wool.
So, without further ado...

Flooded with Thoughts

While we were away in NH for the Thanksgiving holiday, there was a flood in our apartment. The upstairs tenants had a broken pipe, no one was the wiser and hours later, the boy who lives downstairs from us called the Super because he had a fairly large pond growing in his living room. There's part of me that's actually glad we weren't here to witness it. It's not the first flood in this apartment (nor in my lifetime of apartments) and it probably won't be the last.

We found out about it, two days later, while we were on a Las Vegas layover. Luckily, we'd just played a few slots and won six times our money (that's what happens when you play a dollar slot machine and get six bucks back!), so we were in a pretty darn good mood when I heard a frantic voice mail from our neighbor. Well, right there in the airport, I blew my top! Really, it felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I really freaked out. I had all these horrible visions of our living room being under water and the huge hole in our ceiling that we would be greeted with in just a few hours.

Turns out, I totally overreacted. Whoops! The beautiful 1906-floors were ruined...our shoes were covered in plasterboard...and yes, there was a big hole in our ceiling. But, that's it. Once we got inside and really surveyed the damage, RK and I looked at each other and started laughing. It really was the only thing left to do.

I was reminded of the whole thing again when I saw these photos from Venice: A town that is used to being under water, or at least living on the water, was recently flooded. Check out every single person in every single photo, not a grimace among them. It's a bit of a beautiful sight and a good attitude to take when things don't go exactly your way...



these girls are waiting in their shoe shop for the flood to recede!

all images from here

Saturdays Ideal

Saturday morning.
I wait for it all week long.
I dream about it.
I fantasize how it'll go down.
And then, here it is: I sleep in 'til about 8am (if I really push it, I'll lay prone 'til 9, but I know I'm taking up valuable ideal time), roll out of bed and start the coffee. RK is off on a ride and the house is quiet. I shuffle around in my slippers, gathering up the latest issues of The New Yorker and the books I'm reading (currently: the first Harry Potter, Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, and Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth), I even grab a copy of Rolling Stone (a subscription randomly started arriving at our house about four months ago....sometimes i give in to it)! Pop some toast in the toaster, butter it up and slather on peanut butter. Fill the thermos with hot coffee and a little pitcher of milk (though, since 'tis the season, the pitcher is filled with eggnog this morning). If I get to it, I might even put on some classical music to set the mood. With my entire bounty, I jump back under the covers, phones by my side (i also accept & make phone calls during this ideal time), pour my first steaming cup of coffee, set it on the bed tray (thank you, kaari, for one of the greatest gifts ever!) and start in on the reading material. I know I've got at least three hours before RK gets home and I'll start feeling a bit like, "um...i guess i should get out of bed..." Luckily, (remember this is saturdays ideal) when RK does get home, he walks in and smiles from ear to ear, "ohhhhhh! i'm SO glad you're doing this! can i get you more coffee?" and he sits down next to me and tells me all about his ride.I have to get up now, but I'm already plotting out next Saturdays ideal.....

just one...

Years ago, living in NYC, I ran into a boy I went to high school with. Though I hadn't seen him in years and he was a few years behind me in school, I recognized him instantly when I stepped into the Ear bar one night. It was a lot of 'ohmygosh, i had no idea...' and 'you live here?!' and finally numbers were exchanged with a promise of getting together sometime.

We did end up hanging out a few times and on one of those occasions, we came up with the idea of creating a book. It would be a children's book all about people's impressions/ideas/knowledge of how New York City came to be called "The Big Apple". We had a lot of these great ideas over the next few weeks. Every time we walked into a coffee shop or a bookstore or watched a clever reel of commercials, we thought of something new that we didn't think had yet been made and we should be the ones to make it. Eventually, I got a blank cassette tape and my little hand-held tape recorder and took to the streets...asking everyone from doormen to tourists to bodega owners why NYC was called the Big Apple. Though I've fallen out of touch with that boy from high school, I still have that cassette tape. I should pull it out and listen to it.

This lovely little video that T posted the other day made me think of it and wonder if I shouldn't still write that children's book...

Fifty People, One Question: New York from Crush & Lovely on Vimeo.

Life Changing Fiction

Awhile back (before the full time teaching gig set in), I spent some serious time strolling the blog scene and came across more goodness than I could possibly list in one sitting. So, instead, I use this time to highlight a great anecdote and a interesting project for all. I read on a few blogs, but the full story on this one, about this classic issue of copyright. Seems another blogger used the phrase "life changing fiction" when writing about a book he read and he received, basically, a 'cease and desist' letter from an author who claimed she had copyrighted that phrase. So, of course, in the name of blog: This started a backlash. (Ooooh, good times) I wanted to join in here and show some of my life changing fiction. When I started in a-thinkin', I realized the list was too big...so, I decided to stick to just the ones I still have in our bookcase...and then I realized, we're missing tons of good books! After that, I realized, the list is just too huge to put down in a list. I could barely scratch the surface. So, here's just a few I've loved and loved again...

Que Sera Sera

RK and I have been trying to figure out what to do next. It's amazing how time can just sort of fly by, 24 hours in a day seem like a mere 8 sometimes. Full-time jobs and keeping up with laundry and making dinners and then getting in as much sleep as possible. Next thing you know, hours, days, months have passed and it's almost as if you've been standing still. I'm not sure what it is that we're supposed to do next. Some big step. Some major decision to be made. But, I do know that each day I wake up and every day I go to bed, I'm so very happy to be spending the time I have with RK. I think that might just be enough...

Eleven Eleven

I'm thrilled to be participating in a group show again this year, titled 11 Eleven. It's a lovely show with 11 (or more...) artists showing on the eleventh day of December and it benefits Toys for Tots. Held at the new location of Reaves Gallery, I just LOVE the artists involved in the show and feel completely honored to be a part of it. Sure, the show is in a mere four days, but I'm still busily working (like Santa's elves on Christmas Eve) to make a few more new pieces. I'll slide them up on the wall at the last minute (thanks to gallery owners, Matt, Blair and Sharon!) and happily sip a drink with friends and art-lovers alike on Thursday night. It's a warm fuzzy that's worth being a part of.

Spam: Giving You the Creativity You Might Otherwise Lack

Not particularly enlightening or dramatic or moving, but I've been inundated with spam lately--the titles of the emails, as well as the "senders" are hysterical... and I couldn't help but notice that I just may have the entire cast of characters for a funny book some day:

• Sabir Council
• Golebiowski Behrns
• Hinchee Ty
• Waks Witman
• Rosendale Caska
• Meszaros Baher
• Meals Bernal
• Roekle Berdy
• Hauer Winberry
• Grueser Delrie
• Reech Phung
• Boudewyns Enrico

Perhaps Hinchee Ty is a strange, wrinkled, old doctor that is an expert in rashes.
Or Waks Witman is the local, infamous author, having gained his fame by stripping a tree of it's bark and painting it yellow for inspiration.
And Meals Bernal, well, he's a classic. He's the local nutritionist who everyone thinks is bonkers because he only eats legumes.

Then, there's:

• Joland Cornejo
• Sukovaty Alexis
• Dwan Lebouef
• Sleeman Lutchman
• Morgas Goestel
• Manspeaker Malaney
• Bercher Schueler
• Ramon Felciano
• Tallis Enstad
• Crevier Sarley
• Bjornberg Lindley (the tennis player seeded no.1, i'm sure!)
• Hardrict Hanek
• Vannote Dobis

Morgas Goestel has a sad history, having lost his whole family in a terrible storm while sailing the great seas.
Ramon Felciano is the towns resident flirt, all the ladies love him.
Hardrict Hanek is a bully, hated by all, but hated by himself the most.
Manspeaker Malaney gave himself his own name when he went from alcoholic to motivational speaker.
Dwan Lebouef has been in trouble with the law, but just met a fine young lady who is trying to turn his life around. He collects glass giraffes.

Of course, none of these characters are set in stone yet. There's always more spam to be had.

Thanks Giving

A time to give thanks. And I'm happy to do so.
I'm thankful for my health, my husband, my friends, my family, my job, my apartment, my bike (plus a whole load of other things that I could list and, with more time, might do just that!) and especially all the happiness each one of these things bring me over and over and over and over, all year long.

I screened you

I used to call my friends a lot more.

Remember the days when you had only the option of calling someone?
There was no email.
There was no texting.
Or Im-ing.

You really had to pick up the phone and call someone.
Hear their voice.
Or, eventually, their voice mail, at least.

I remember being stalked by phone. Twice, really.
Ahhhhh, the good ole days.
When people actually dared call you.
Now, I think stalking only happens by text or email.
If it happens at all!
Sad.
My second stalking incident actually moved me up to the world of caller id (something i swore i'd never get!)

You no longer have to have the courage or the energy to call people.
Now you can just email them. Or text them.

I miss dialing.

Dollies

My brother is a collector. Well, for that matter, so are my sisters, my mom, my dad and my other brother. And me. I'm a huuuuge collector. My brother is also a really fantastic "dumpster diver"--and I put that in quotes because it's not necessarily dumpsters he needs to dive into. He finds goodies everywhere. He rides his bike all over Los Angeles, so he sees things the rest of us don't. And he usually picks them up.

For awhile, one of those things was hand-made dolls. He'd find them in thrift stores and estate sales. He found a lot of them, brought them home to my sister's house and there the collection grew. The thing that made the collection so very interesting was the added bonus of removing their clothing to reveal these amazing little cotton bodies. Hand sewn fingers. Tiny painted nails. Perfect little silk shoes.




It's made me look at those wacky little dolls I see at every thrift store quite differently. The collection now residing at my sister's house is a beautiful set of undressed dolls that I wouldn't mind dumpster diving for myself.

Some days I feel as if my list,
my pile,
my intentions of things to get done
will never recede.

Play it again, Spam!

Chronicle books has come out with the latest in creative endeavors. It's a book of fantabulous artwork by Linzie Hunter, based on SPAM titles.

Really, really funny, beautiful stuff.
Now a postcard book, but you can get 20x20 prints of these, as well.

Whenever I see great things like this, I always wish I'd thought of it first...
hmmm,
is that terrible?

Bella, part deux

Bella Bigsby, a really fantastic artist that I've written about once before, recently contacted me about a show coming up next week. Details below.
I love that she's throwing a "full moon party"

New Works in Oil

Full Moon Party
and
Artist Reception

Wednesday, November 12, 5-9PM
winter warming food and drink

AUGUST
5410 College Ave, Oakland CA, 94618
510 652 2711

exhibit continues through November

Because I can't get enough.
Because I will never tire of hearing his voice.
Because I'm so excited to look at this man, his beautiful wife
and adorable daughters, for the next four (and, hopefully, eight!) years.
Because he speaks like a true leader.
Because never before (in my lifetime)has there been such a passionate and inspirational leader.
Because in every speech he's ever given, he is inclusive.
Because he is what I've been waiting for...


Great, big thanks to Maggie. She really put it best.
And, like David Letterman said the other night: "would anyone mind if he started a little early?"

Oh, what a beautiful mooorning, Oh, what a beautiful daaaaay!

Martin Luther King's Sister, taken when Obama was named the winner

I'm not sure I would have done anything today but try to write down what this feeling is. I'd try to write it a hundred different ways, never quite capturing the palpable energy that began last night around 8:30pm and has yet to dissipate.

Luckily (I suppose), I had to go to work today. I only cried about three times, talking about Obama, the election, the reaction from people, the joy...and really, most people cried with me. Teachers and parents alike all weighed in with a great big sigh. The world seemed rosier today. The kids came skipping in early, singing "Obama won! Obama won! Miss Molly, did you hear? Obama won!" Yes, yes, I did hear.

I heard it on the corner of Valencia and 19th. Our party of fifteen (who'd been happily ensconced in the living room with the big ole tv, having just listened to and given a standing O for, Obama's acceptance speech) converged with an eventual party of hundreds. All hooting and hollering at the top of their lungs. Tons and tons of people had tears streaming down their face with these huge, elated smiles to balance it all. We couldn't get enough of it, turning to look at each other with these wide eyes and heads shaking, "Can you believe it? Really?, really?, FINALLY!" It was incredible to witness. It was incredible to be a part of.



thnx to deb
& huffington post for the photos (from all around the world, reactions to obama's win)

TODAY IS THE DAY

courtesy of AIGA

Think Happy Thoughts