Getting Ready for Summer

The weather is still a little unpredictable, but it is definitely warmer. It is nearly June and with all the hustle going on around here with graduation and trips and such, it seems to have snuck up on me a bit. Summer is easily my favorite season and I feel as though I've missed out on it a bit the past couple years. I am determined to extract some basic summer pleasures out of the next few months!

That said, it has been work, work, work and home, home, home for me these past couple weeks. Not to complain, of course, there is always something to do and something that is waiting to be done. Still, I'm ready to slow things down a bit--wander the farmer's market (I've yet to go this year), hang out with friends, make some sangria, contemplate what I'm going to do with the second half of my life...you know, summer things. And there is always that beckoning novel waiting to be finished...

Preparing for Graduation...

It is hard to believe that we are at this place. Lilly surprised us all by going and getting her GED in a matter of weeks and now she is preparing to take some classes at Lane Community College this summer; Lucy is in the final days of her high school career at South Eugene. Together, they are bolstering each other as they end one phase of their lives and prepare to move on to the next. We are busy, things are heavy and unpredictable, and there are such growth spurts going on around here it is all I can do to just maintain some semblance of stability.

Lucy is set to attend the University of Oregon in the fall and yet, I keep reminding them that they can do and be anything they want. They can even change their minds, stop and start, take side-trips and just generally experiment and experience. Nothing is cast in stone. There is certainly that feeling in the air as we all wonder what will happen now?

Home from the Midwest...

It was a lovely visit with my dear soul mate Wendy and her family--three dogs, two sons, her spouse and her mother--a full house smack in the middle of the heartland! It was both strange and wonderful to be back in Indiana after what I figure to be over 12 years. So much has changed and it also seems as though nothing has changed at all!

We did a great deal of visiting, walked the dogs, and I got to serve as Sous chef as Wendy prepared some fabulous meals (she is truly a great and creative cook and manages to prepare large quantities of tasty meals with ease). She drove me to all of the old "haunts" as we found the house where my kids were toddlers and the hospital where both Lilly and Stuart were born. A highlight, of course, was our tattoos--we managed to settle on and adjust a design and as our skin heals, I know that I am quite happy with the outcome--two arching roses in a basket--orange for Wendy and yellow for me, and the whole design looks sort-of Pennsylvania Dutch. Very sweet and I will have it with me now always.

Good to be back home too, however, and I have been met with very sunny, 90-degree days. Summer at last!

Beginning the Art Collection

My New Year's resolution this past January 1st was that this would be the year I would start collecting art. Art--particularly local art and artists--has long been an interest of mine and I love perusing the galleries and shows, but I did not have the confidence or the knowledge to think I could ever actually purchase and collect it. After all, when you think of "art collectors" or collecting art, a person thinks of famous painters and pieces costing thousands of dollars--definitely not my scene or my budget.

I started with a trip to the book store and the library and finally found a great little paperback called "The Intrepid Art Collector: The Beginner's Guide to Finding, Buying, and Appreciating Art on a Budget" by Lisa Hunter. It has become my bible or my handbook in starting this adventure. I decided that I would start with the parameters of purchasing only Pacific Northwest artists but be open to media and such--going where my passion took me.

So far, I have acquired two beautiful photos from an ex-coworker of mine who is also a talented photographer, a couple pieces that I fell in love with and discovered at thrift stores and garage sales, and last night I made my first "gallery" purchase. I stumbled across these two paintings in one of my favorite local galleries (Opus6) while waiting for a friend to join me for the First Friday Art Walk. Ever the cautious skeptic when it comes to love and purchases--I fell in love HARD at first sight. Who knew? The pieces are by a local artist named Erin Bucklew and no one working at the gallery knew much about her. I tried to sound experienced as I drew on the advice I'd read in the book--asking questions to find out as much as I could about the artist. In the end, it came down to the fact that I loved the paintings and knew they were meant for me. So, I'll have a little less spending money on my trip to Michigan and Indiana, but the paintings are on the wall (Lilly helped me hang them as soon as I got home--she was relieved to see that they were not of naked women.) So, the burgeoning little collection is developing and I am discovering that I am so enjoying the process.