You Know You Live in New Mexico...

... when one of the greatest thrills your children experience in the summer is putting on swim suits and playing in the rain!

Our kids are seriously excited whenever it rains. It may be that they truly love water in any form, as most kids do, but I think there's also a certain feeling of lack here in the high desert. They'll often remark on any water they see from the car when we're driving, and beg to go to a stream when we're hiking. Water play is important business to these two!

Coyote and Stars

Coyote Zendoodle

Pen and Ink, Watercolor on Paper

3" x 3" 

Holding Hands

There is nothing like having a best friend. 

A best friend is there for you when you need help,

humor, a reality check, or a shoulder to cry on.

 It doesn't matter how old you or your friend are, 

or how much time you spend apart.

Best friends are secure with each other, 

and forgive the difficulties of the relationship.

And, most importantly, 

even if you are 1st grade boys,

best friends hold hands.

I was lucky enough to witness this display of friendship

on a recent afternoon, in which these boys

could share their friendship in 

an activity as mundane as walking.

The conversation roamed from zombies to Star Wars

 to the recent rain and flooding of the path we were on, 

and these boys were secure in their little world, 

knowing with certainty they would be there for each other,

 even in the face of disasters like aliens shooting dog poop at the populace.

We are so lucky to have best friends.

The Most Beautiful Vegetable

This is undoubtedly the most beautiful vegetable that I have ever seen. There are other remarkable vegetables, certainly, and lovely fruits abound. There could be contenders in this Most Beautiful Vegetable category from other parts of the world, tropical or sea vegetables that have characteristics unknown to me. But this romenesco broccoli is the winner in my mind.

Also called Roman cauliflower, it is an edible flower, which graces it with even more remarkableness. And, perhaps most importantly, my 7 year-old was very impressed when he saw it, and touched it and talked about it, and then ate it at dinner. He informed us he doesn't like broccoli, except this kind. Maybe it helps that it's actually a cauliflower.

Before and After: Knot is Not

Transformation, evolution, metamorphosis, revolution.

Revelation.

Amazing changes all around me.

This is a beautiful baby alpaca yarn, soft and promising. So promising, in fact, that my nearly-naked 4 year-old daughter wouldn't give it back to me after she found it, unwound and wonderfully tactile. I'm sure it felt amazing against her skin as she used it as a pillow, a crown, long green hair, and a drapey shawl. By the time I reclaimed it, however, I wasn't sure letting her play with it was a good idea. Of course, it was my own fault. And really, it is sooo soft, and she was so cute modeling it and whispering her little stories about it to herself in front of the mirror. I was left to untangle it later. And now it's even been put to use in a new project!

Nagging Tasks

Here I am, today: Tuesday September 24. You'll notice I haven't posted since the 11th? I've noticed. I found myself repeatedly trying to get up the motivation to blog some more over the last couple of weeks. I take photos all the time of the things going on around me; I constantly compose (witty! brilliant! insightful!) blog posts in my head, narrating this journey through life and the serenity or chaos that ensues. But sitting down to put those thoughts and images on the screen can sometimes become a job that builds up until the backlog of information is nothing more than a jumbled, incoherent blob of nonsense. Breaking the dam can feel like opening myself to a deluge of over-stimulation. Yet, it doesn't go away- it swirls and muddies and mixes with random sediment the longer it sits there. Thus:

"Nothing is so fatiguing 

as the eternal hanging on 

of an uncompleted task."

-- William James

Gretchen Rubin in The Happines Project calls these uncompleted jobs that don't go away Nagging Tasks. She went through the practice of making a written list of these tasks and crossing them off as she completed them, with the idea that writing them down gave them a certain concreteness that made them more accomplishable, and since she really like to give herself gold stars for her accomplishments, it felt good to cross them off her list. For the most part, I'm on board with Ms. Rubin. I even followed her example after reading the book, and created my own Nagging Task list and posted it in a prominent location so that I could cross things off, too. And I did accomplish many of those Naggers, and I did give myself mental gold stars for my good work. But my brain eventually worked in its usual way, and I found myself more and more easily able to ignore the remaining tasks. And once I trained myself to not notice the list, it was as if it didn't exist. After I finally got around to admitting I maybe needed to take the list down and figure out some other way to tackle the remaining items, it was time to make and entirely new list with new Nagging Tasks...

I believe that's the way with life, however. The Only Constant is Change, right? So no matter how many times I will make a Nagging Task list, and how many items I will cross off, and how many items will become obsolete by the time I get around to tackling them, there will always be another list. But I'm not sure that's a bad thing, either. How boring would life be if everything was taken care of? You'd likely be dead, because there would be nothing left to do. Increasingly on my Nagging Task list are the really happy things I want to work on: including exercise nearly everyday instead of reserving it for short bursts of intensity that feel like work; draw or paint or somehow apply fine arts daily (yes, daily!); engage positively with my children and my spouse each and everyday; spend time with people who matter to me, and let them know they matter to me; and I've even included on my list sharing my thoughts and photos on a blog regularly.  The quandary is that I can never cross off these most important tasks. They are perpetual. I will always be working on the improvement of my application of them. And in turn, these tasks will improve me.

Of course, the question becomes one of tracking. Does writing down these tasks make me more likely to accomplish them? Perhaps. They are now officially documented on this blog, so they've gained a presence here.

And wait a minute– here I am, today. And I can cross this blog post off my list. And give myself a big gold star. Turns out, a journey of a thousand words* starts with a single idea.

*I couldn't help myself: I had to check. 650 is the answer. And thanks to my hubby for the quote, which, ironically, he wrote down and posted in nearly the same spot as my previous Nagging Task lists...

Early Morning Tyrannosaurus

I've been getting up early so I can have some morning time to myself before everyone is up. Drawing has been a wonderful way to start the day! I've been enjoying the very small constraints of a 3 inch square to do some animal doodle zentangles.

I took this photo a couple of days ago, with the light streaming in onto my work space and my coffee cup in the background. Other projects have bloomed since then, and I can't even see the table top right now! The memory of this enjoyable morning is a good reason to get my space cleaned up so I can draw again tomorrow morning.

Before and After – Juicing

Transformation, evolution, metamorphosis, revolution.

Revelation.

Amazing changes all around me.

Fruit and Vegetables ready for the juicer.

Breakfast
and
future garden soil, the scraps are headed for the compost.

Kangaroo

Zen Kangaroo

Pen and Ink, Watercolor on paper

3" x 3"

Magic Words

"I want some candy! Please."

"No."

"But I said the Magic Word!"

What a thought– that one word can change the outcome of a situation. Of course, she's right; often the addition of that magical of words can improve the situation. But does it actually make me more likely to follow through on a request, or a demand? Was I already headed for compliance before the Magic Word was added to the sentence? Certainly, I ask for and wait for politeness before I serve my kids snacks or help them with small tasks. You see, I feel like nothing more than a tool when something like the dexterity to dress small dolls, or taking apart Legos, or tying knots in dress up silks is demanded of me from the little people in my house. But perhaps that's just what I am– a tool to help them in their quests of play and imagination. Does that change my desire to be spoken to respectfully? Not at all. The Magic Word somehow makes me feel more human.

However... My 4-year daughter is trying out the idea that "please" unlocks all doors, without consideration of what that door might actually be. She and I have been going around and around about this for several weeks, and while I'm now hashing out some thoughts in a blog post, I'm not sure what new information she's gleaning from out interactions. I certainly hope she's learning appropriate situations in which to use the Magic Word– my hope is to teach her ways to treat people with respect– but maybe she's just thinking I'm a fickle tyrant who randomly chooses to grant requests based on some mysterious algorithm she can't fathom...

...instead of having good reasons for not granting her desire for candy as I'm putting dinner on the table.

Morning Cardinal

A sketch this morning of a cardinal (photo). 

Working to broaden my Zentangleish pen and ink doodling to include representative subjects. 

Before and After – Cherry Tomatoes

Transformation, evolution, metamorphosis, revolution.

Revelation.

Amazing changes all around me.

 Cherry tomatoes from the farmers' market on the dehydrator tray.

Little jewels of summer delight two days later.