Plans

Here it is almost Christmas and I am ill prepared for it this year. I do have some plans. I planned to go to Las Vegas and be with friends from Christmas through New Years but plans may have to change.
I walked into my laundry room to find a puddle of water ankle deep last night. The room contains a furnace, water heater,water conditioner and washer and dryer. I set about finding the cause and after a bunch of phone calls determined that it is the water heater. After calling the 24 hour hotline the manufacturer has on the unit I was still in a quandry. They said it was probably just a bit of condensation due to cold weather. Condensation? The water was dripping about half an ounce an hour. If you do the math and factor in a ten day vacation, I may as well have a jaccuzi in there. So I have a call in to a plumber or two and see if anyone is in town to fix this before I head out for what is a 600 mile journey. Will I be able to take a shower before I go? All these little things make me crazy.
Did I mention my cat sitter and the backup cat sitter both flaked out on me? Sure, why not, just add that to the joy of the holidays. I finally called all my friends, cajoled and grovelled until someone offered to at least be here every three days and look in on the kitties.
I do have most of my gifts wrapped, one more to go, and need to have my mail held which is not a big deal. I just have this feeling that no matter what I do there will be obsticles in my way and my little vacation will be less than great as I will be constantly stressing about the house and the kitties.
My friend Dianne sent an email to me about stressing less and enjoying life to the fullest, you know, one of those we get every once in a while meant to cheer us. I did follow one bit of advice though. I am now wearing my best clothes, even to the store, along with my best perfume. After all, what if this is my last day on earth, who am I saving it for anyway. I have also colored my hair from blonde to an earthy red/brown. When I got out of the shower and my hair was still wet it looked like my head was on fire. I don't care, I like it. I will no longer wear high heels because they cause pain and foot problems I no longer wish to endure. Admittedly heels make ones but look better, sort of uplifiting, so I will continue with my long forgotten and overlooked Hatha Yoga practice and that will lift more than my spirits and butt. I reccomend the 28 day Yoga plan by Hittleman. It was published in 1969 and still is the best book on Yoga around. Very simple, good illustrations and very doable.
So happy holidays to all of you who care to stop by and read my ramblings. If I get a chance to blog in Las Vegas I will, if not, Happy New Year too.

Song of the waves - Parayil A. Tharakan Blog: Lenin Rajendran going ahead with Raja Ravi Varma movie

Song of the waves - Parayil A. Tharakan Blog: Lenin Rajendran going ahead with Raja Ravi Varma movie

Photos

The photos below are, from top to bottom, a street in San Miguel Allende, my painting of a buffalo and my painting of Caleb. I love to paint and I love to take picture. I am continually fascinated with the world and the people in it.
My recent exhibit at a local gallery got rave reviews,"best show ever" etc. No sales, but terrific reviews and press. I guess we all take a hit in this economy and art has always taken it. I am not disappointed although I would have been over the moon with some sales.
Some of the best paintings I have done where the ones that I stopped the car just to take the picture because the scene was so beautiful and full of life. My award winning landscapes however were done from memory so maybe the pictures don't help that much, who knows. I intend one day to do a painting of that street in San Miguel although the photo is really special. I'm tempted just to do a bunch of prints from it and call it good.
Tonight I attended two galleries and met some artists. Despite the cold our little town was out in force to watch the Christmas parade and look through the shops. I had a terrific conversation with a native Idaho man who filled me in with stories about the local lore, it was lots of fun to hear the legends mixed with facts. So very entertaining to meet people. I can't wait to do it again.

OMG

I was looking at the pictures of celebs on OMG. I like to see what the fashionistas are looking like and of course who everyone is dating. The comments sometimes seem really abusive. If you think about it, here are people who have never achieved any kind of fame or recognition in their lives but they feel free to totally trash people who have made it. It must be really hard for a person to depend on their looks as part of their job. I don't think I would like that kind of pressure.
Some of the clothes, especially the ones women wear, do get pretty strange. I'm guessing it's because they want the attention at any cost. I have heard that there is no such thing as bad press. Getting in the limelight must be a priority for some.

I saw a picture of Pam Anderson in a dress which looked like someone threw a bunch of pink cloth at her and pinned it on. Now there is a lovely woman and I can only imagine desperation made her do it to get some press. The obsession with the youth culture is so pervasive and poisonous. Very few have the guts to age gracefully if they are celebs. Then there are the before and after pictures of child stars in their golden years. Can we ever leave these people in peace? I don't like the way time changes my looks either but at least my net worth is not connected to it.

Abel

I am an artist. I must admit that in our group, artists,we can be a most peculiar bunch. I recently had a conversation with a young guy who said he just got married because his parents felt like the end of the world was near and he and his girlfriend should be united at "the end". I will call my friend Abel. Abel said his parents have been severely disappointed over the years as each and every prediction of the end of the world failed. Pity. The thing which is curious for me is that anyone who remotely believes the world will end soon would bother with higher education or anything else. Why not just sit around and wait to die? I don't know if I would function well if I believed this to be true.
I suppose the disappointment comes in because of some belief that there would be a rapture or a heavenly ascent of some kind. I just feel so connected to this earth and my life that any promises of that sort, of heaven and such, do not even interest or tempt me. I like living right here and right now. I despise what some people do to the planet like tossing poison into rivers. I actively fight to keep the earth clean and healthy. I wish everyone would. Is it such a burden to want the next generation to inherit a decent world?