Ugh. Head. Under. Pillow. Alarm. OK, I’m up. I swear. I’m mobile. Although the first thing I saw was yet another baby gecko who needed saving but was being stupid about it. I mean, we have a houseful of cats, and honestly, a small dog who loves to chase geckos and lizards. This baby has to be smart or it’s dead. It’s definitely not being smart and letting me rescue it…so I guess that’s fate. I saved one last night. Does that make up for the one in the window who won’t come out? Probably not.
Honestly, it’s more thinking than I can deal with this morning. I was at school for about 11 hours yesterday, minus the kamikaze drive right after school to come home and pee the old lady dog. My blood sugar was a disaster due to food and stress and exhaustion and trying to eat before people showed up and then once I got home and whatever. I can’t have all good days, right? Which reminds me…pause to take insulin. I forgot yesterday. I mean, I remembered when I was about 1/2 a mile down the road. So I came back. Then I did what I used to do…wrote INSULIN in big letters on a piece of paper and taped it to the inside of the front door. Six weeks to train yourself…and when I forget? It’s because I’m tired. I’m up too early, my routine is off, and I fuck up. It’s fine. I’m getting better at it.
OK. So the ironing together/down of the quilt got delayed by exhaustion. I had the rest of the planets done on Wednesday night…
The whole thing, which is pretty cool.
So I started teaching space…three or four years ago? And I’ve put the sun in SO MANY quilts, but none of the other planets, until I did the sort of mythological piece for the Fierce Planets exhibit…but never the whole batch of our solar system. This was cool. It symbolizes hope to me…the solar system is still out there doing its thing and will (but not forever, because you know, science…this one will destroy itself and another one will take its place) continue to do so. For a long time anyway.
I made a video of my decisionmaking process last night…
Because I almost just gave up and sat on the couch to read my book (my book is really good and I was really tired). But I didn’t. I did the video. And then I put the parts of the quilt on the background and decided, Yah, that’ll work, and then I ironed the background and trimmed the selvedges so I can sew it together tonight and then iron the whole thing down. And then tomorrow, which is Saturday, thank fucking goddess because I am so done (after a four-day week, y’all)…I can finally start the stitchdown. Which is relaxing and meditative and blissful.
Speaking of hope, there’s my baby barn owl and her olive branch.
I do think of all the baby barn owls we’ve had as girls. I know they’re not. I just like it better. One of them is hanging around…either the baby or mom. I hear them every night in the tree outside my studio, and I talk to them (her). Hi owl. Nice to hear you. Thanks for hanging around and eating gophers. Appreciate it. Thanks for all the owl pellets and the random feathers. Also, thanks for finally being quiet. Ha! Oh that last baby squawked for so long.
OK, yesterday morning, this piece of honeycomb was floating in the pool.
No bees. So weird. There is a tree above the pool? Still weird.
And when I was leaving school last night, the teacher who tends our tiny garden calls me over to identify the caterpillars on the apple tree, who are decimating the leaves.
It’s a moth. It’s not even a very exciting moth, like that Sphinx one I found…but the caterpillars are amazing. And he’s knocking them onto the ground. Meanwhile, one of my students, a girl, runs over and says she LOVES bugs and caterpillars and is trying to take one home (OK then)…weird world, y’all. (one of us…one of us…)
Today I am teaching. Like direct instruction and demos. Like an idiot. I mean, yesterday was bliss because we did cover pages (I forgot to take a picture of mine…which I did finish for once), and today is all gonna be talk all day (ugh). Next week was gonna be all on as well, until I said no, reminded us that we need breaks, and put in a day of independent work. Good times. We’re planned out about a week at the moment. By the skin of our pants…chins?…seat of our pants…but what is the skin one then? My kids always give me crap for not getting these right. By the skin of my TEETH (it’s biblical…)…no wonder I didn’t remember it. It makes no sense. Might as well say skin of my pants. I’d like to say I’m going to ceramics after school, and I will take my stuff, but I’m exhausted now, I have a meeting before school and duty after…and I need to check my parents’ mailbox…so maybe not. Maybe tonight I read my book and shit. I need to go make my lunch. Ugh tired. Art this weekend. Also school stuff. It is what it is. Peach out and plenty of sleep to all.
Kathy Nida 