I have 8 minutes, approx, to write. Folks coming over for dinner. Everything is almost ready.

Here are some kitchen demo pics:
one here another here more here and here, finally, here... and here + here.

I've arranged to run stairs with a firefighter tomorrow. I'll try to get a story out of it...

I'm off...

I painted tonight. Got the drafting table up into the dining room, which I'm taking over as a studio for the cooler Seattle months. Did three paintings, started them anyway. I've pulled an image from earlier as my inspiration, duplicating a photograph from 1993 - in Volunteer Park, facing the Lake View cemetery, where Bruce Li's remains remain.

This was a fun weekend. We helped friends demolish their kitchen Saturday - tearing sheetrock & lath from walls that were coming down anyway - pulling up tile and finding more linoleum underneath - breaking door & window frames after removing the glass. After that, we went to a birthday party...for everyone born in January. Happy birthday everyone born in January! This means you - Barb, Kat, Connie, Dad, Lolly, Tricia and dear lord I hope I didn't forget anyone.

Today was pretty mellow in comparison. I pulled pics from the camera of the recent snowstorm, the above mentioned party & Pearl, Kachi's pet cockatiel. That took a big chunk of the day, then putting the studio together took time, then painting...all that's left is cleaning up the mess in the kitchen & then off to bed.

I'm not posting pics tonight, I'm happy enough to have painted.

More pics are up:

Marathon pics (from Oct):

before, then after, then icing my knees

Pics of Richie's garden (Richie is my ex-boyfriend, he got custody of our dog, who now spends his waking hours in one of two gardens. Yay!):



and from the night before Christmas:



I'm working out again, regularly running 3 miles & more to come. Things are going well. I miss folks who aren't here. So, much love to family & friends.

Also, I will visit Austria sometime, but not this year.

After seeing Hotel Rwanda

In the spring of '94, I was preparing to go to school in Scotland. The big news story in the US was the OJ Simpson case. I went to school, graduated in '96 & just saw the film Hotel Rwanda. There's a line that one of the departing photographers says, as he's getting onto a bus - leaving behind thousands of folks who will surely be murdered. He says "I'm so ashamed". Right now, the Sudan is experiencing the same & Barundi, same. What is our obligation as people, to ensure peace for all? What is our obligation as americans?

I remember chiding my mother for her ignorance of the concentration camps in WWII, pardoning her only for slavery - which predated her. I've lived now through so many atrocities that haven't affected my day to day. I hope that I can take actions that help people live lives that reflect their inherent value.

Troubling stuff.

Lovely day here in lovely Seattle. J & I stayed up into the wee hours & were rewarded with a big, fluffy snowstorm that completely evaporated by morning's light. I've been wandering around Seattle while J hung out at home - got to visit Dandelion Botanical Co., where I chatted with one of my best friends and picked up some essential oils (myrtle, vetiver, fennel, tea tree and two more I can't remember). Then, after window shopping for a bit, I settled in this new coffee shop in Ballard, Verite, home to many cupcakes & somehow many birthday parties. I answered e-mail & listened to ween played over & over & over again. Tonight, J & I will see Hotel Rwanda. Don Cheadle is one of my favorite actors & I've only heard raves about him in this performance.

This week has been good, varied. Old friends from art school have reconnected, which feels very yummy, b/c they are some of my favorites. It's good to be talking about art with folks who are in it up to their eyeballs, I spend a lot of time trying to gauge folks interest around me.

It's been good to be back at work, although there's heaps to do. The two folks on my team are leaving this month & so I've been strategizing for the transition. I usually have to bear the brunt of training & make up the production work myself during this time & I don't think this transition will be the exception to the rule. I'm trying to stay positive b/c I love the projects I'm doing now & the prospects for more, but am a bit nervous b/c my boss has been way overworked and may well be crabby with me, sigh. Anyway, my time off energized me, so good things are in the works.

I was able to donate to a local Sri Lankan orphanage through a co-worker this week. It felt really good to know that the money was going directly to an established place. I sent out a mailer to folks who may also want to donate, ping me if you're interested. One of the great things I got from that was that most of the folks I know have already given what they could.

2005 is well under way. My goals are listed out & the next step is to see how I did last year. I think J & I have a dance class to take to catch up & we still need to buy a house, but we're mostly there for last year's goals.

Well, that's all for now. More to come soon - we took pics of the snowstorm last night, afterall...

Back from the holidays & still putting the finishing touches on the plan for '05. I'm sleepy today after the 8 hour trip back from Winthrop. Amazing jam around Sultan, very boring driving for hours. I read from Temple of My Familiar to J while he drove - am glad he's getting into that book, good stuff.

Pics are up & I should point out that the Oblique Deck link to the right is actually my MSN Group, where I put up pics when I'm too time constrained to work out the php code for a photo gallery.

Here are two galleries for you:



and now, a nap is in order.

Happy New Year, everybody!