Blissed OUT

Last Thursday afternoon I had an hour an a half massage which was so intense I came home and forgot to watch the Bernie\Hillary debate leaving me speechless at Current Events the next day, so I talked instead about the N. Carolina trans/bathroom discrimination issue. Men's bathrooms which have no waiting line but are always so filthy on the few occasions I have resorted to using one I am sorry. I guess unisex bathrooms are the answer, but there would surely be a long line of them to accomodate us all.
When friend Beth from Alameda came up to paint last Sunday we were invited to another artist's garden to view her iris. Beth's eyes got so big! There must have been a hundred in bloom. I don't think Beth had ever seen my iris garden in bloom in Oakland. Just as large, but spread out over an acre. The kind men who bought the property gave me a few of my own bulbs, having no idea which colors they were. Last year only two came out, but this year it looks like I'll have half a dozen. A couple of them are posted here. It soothes me to see them.

Comes Change

An unseasonal and significant rain has descended in the night and this morning the new limbs on the Japanese maple in my back yard are  bumping their arms on the  ground. Yesterday on the way to the Art Board meeting (where I declined, reluctantly,  to serve another term)  I snapped these pictures of a pink dogwood making an enormous statement.  I imagine it looks dejected and weather beaten today today.
Change comes when we least expect it. Last Tuesday seeing a new opthamologist I got shocking and scary news about my eyes. Seems I have vitelliform dystrophy, quite advanced in the left eye. It is a genetic disease caused by lack of nutrition to the macula, not macular degeneration but in the same family. (How can anyone as well rounded as me be lacking in nutrition?) Im taking special eye vitamins now to try to slow the process. The condition has not affected my vision so far, but I could loose the vision in the left eye in a twinkling. Then on Thursday I got unexpected good news about my heart. Seems that when one has had a pacemaker and an ablation there is a tendency for the heart muscle to get lazy at pumping Well, mine isn't. Yeah. I guess life is always full of checks and balances. Certainly nature is .

Accepting Differences

Friday my friend Karen, who grew up in a Mormon family but is not Mormon, did me another favor by explaining that if one truly believes abortion is a crime, it follows logically that the mother is a criminal and deserving of punishment. She had to repeat it in five different ways for me to finally understand, but now I do, though it contradicts everything both of us believe. Thanks, Karen.

As I write, I am midway through a watercolor class with Dale Laitinen which I arranged here. Dale is a prominent California watercolorist and a seasoned teacher. He is pleasant, but not vibrant or personal. Perhaps he is depressed because his house and paintings burned in last summer's fire. Anyway, after scheduling several classes here with prominent male teachers I think I am ready for a woman's touch. (Any suggestions?) Friday night Dale  he did a live demo for the public which was enthusiastically received. Yesterday I painted on a full sheet for the first time, a goal I have had for years. Contrary to my taste, I followed his color palette and technique. Certainly not my cup of tea, but learning is extending boundaries. Others in the class thought mine was the best, but I thought it just a step above ugly. To the left is the abstract I did on a full sheet of a Bali waterfall. In the postcard photograph which inspired me an almost naked Bali girl is sitting bathing on the edge of the pool, but you wont find her here unless you have a vivid imagination.

Somewhat Nostalgic Parting

Since neither friend Karen nor I can quite bring ourselves to personally toss our own theses or dissertations we are doing for each other what good friends do...trading services. So tonight on the way to Peruvian dinner with my book club I will say goodbye forever to "The Role of the Miller-Unruh Reading Specialist, '71" and "Search for a Confluent Model to Improve Curriculum in an Inner City Elementary School, '76' and Karen's recycling will be a bit wordier by over 400 pages  next week.  Yeah. There will be a little more room on my garage shelf for flower arranging stuff.
If I were contemplating research now it would be on cures for blood cancers and/or what makes so many thousands of angry Americans believe in an incompetent braggart and bully like Trump. Surely they never learned to read effectively or ever took a class in civics.

Irish Eyes Are Smilin'

According to my mother whose stories were more apt to be fabricated than truth, I had a six foot red headed great grandfather, pure Irish. Could this be? I'll probably never know, but I have always had a fondness for old Irish ballads. I recently sent in my saliva for genetic testing, so maybe I'll find out.
One thing I'll say about my maternal family is that they were all poor, but they had a great time singing, especially after a few beers. And they grew and cooked great potatoes. Last night Rainbow Women had a lovely program of Irish music put on by great musicians. I so looked forward to singing along to the likes of  Long Road to Tipperary and Danny Boy, but it turned out to be more original celtic music.
Lovely in its own way, and definitely peppy. But driving the short way home I found myself singing
the songs from childhood memories, and feeling nostalgic for a simpler life (though not a potato famine).
The photo above is from a book club dinner party a couple of years ago. Whether I have Irish blood or not, I do love the merriment.  The photo below goes with next week's blog. Just a hint of what's brewing.

Wet, wet, wet and wetter

The monsoon seems to have arrived. Wowie. The little creeks in Oakmont are roaring, and there are more toadstools in my yard than I have ambition  to count. Seasonal allergies much relieved, because no pollen could survive this drenching. It feels like Seattle, only warmer. I'm ready for some sun.

Big Blow Coming In, Not Named Trump

February producing not enough rain to jiggle an angle worm, today's predicted storm is supposed to be a make-up whopper. Parched Sonoma County will be smiling. Just hope the trees don't blow over but I'm sure my tulips take a beating.  I' ll be staying home painting, in readiness for class I'm setting up with watercolor artist Dale Laitinen next month. I'm experimenting with his color palette, which is quite different than I'm used to. To me it almost looks like pastels. Maybe subtle is good....but I have a rain barrel full of practicing to do.