So Out of It…

Well hello. I don’t know what day it is. Don’t ask me. I know my art residency is coming up soon and I should be maybe panicking more about packing for that. Although I’ve been collecting shit in piles for days. There needs to be more though. Really. Really? Welcome to my brain.

The Man says I can’t call this a waste of a day. Even though really nothing is getting done, it’s a day when a thing needed to happen, which is why I am currently strapped up in three Ace bandages with an ice pack on my boob. Fun times. I got less than four hours of sleep last night and then had a needle stabbed from the left side of my left breast all the way across to my cleavage. Also, I’m fascinated by the word ‘lavage’. It has such a nice sound for what it actually is. And I had an official ‘boob holder’ nurse who kept pressure on the bleeding hole while I walked across and through a waiting area and a hallway and another desk area to a lying-down place (it had a name), where she continued to squeeze my boob as we talked about school and art and her kids. I wish I could tell you I remember her name, but I don’t. The bleeding did stop. Eventually. I don’t remember the last biopsy being this annoying…it also wasn’t over 90 degrees out and I probably had more sleep. I slept on the couch through the middle of the day and then all of a sudden, it was 4:30 PM. Girlchild is coming tonight. I need to deal with her room, the compostable trash, and dinner. It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m annoyed by the compression bandage (who wouldn’t be?)…it’s uncomfortable and hot and itchy. That said, they found a thing they didn’t like and now they have sampled it and hopefully it is nothing and if it is something, then that boob will get a second scar, and it’s a good thing I didn’t get around to tattooing the first one, because they will be dueling scars. SIGH. Fucking huge sigh. Science is good. Really. Also, I found the acetaminophen (yeah, I knew I spelled that wrong, flipped the a and the o)…so pain relief! Well, no, because honestly, aceta…fuck…Tylenol doesn’t do much for me. Tomorrow! I can remove the 17 Ace bandages and take real meds.

So. Art. I have two openings this weekend, which is awesome. I posted about Infinite Rivers down in San Ysidro before; I will be at that opening (5-7 PM), and I know I’ve mentioned the Lubeznik show, Women to the Front: Artworks from the Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell Collection, but they sent installation pictures…so here’s those.

There’s my piece The Way Out in the center. And there it is again.

This is an amazing show.

Lots of cool people in there.

More installation photos…

Another one…

Another one…

And another…

More…

Looks like an awesome show. Wish I could check it out. Couldn’t figure out how to get there and see it without spending a million bucks, plus I had the residency and the other opening.

I finally finished tracing…

It was 17 1/2 hours total…

Bowie is so not helpful…it’s 4 yards…

Time to trim. Obviously not getting to the ironing before I go on the residency.

I finished making this a solid rectangle.

I’m not sure how I feel about it…I think I will be embroidering it. Words I think. It needs a good solid ironing too. Maybe tonight.

Maybe something about this idiot.

Maybe I’m confused by why you would need to advertise the baby, put the baby in a vehicle that has so many recalls, drive such an ugly stupid vehicle and then put this ugly stupid sticker on it? Ah well, they probably feel the same about my bird-poop-covered car with its National Park stickers.

This is too real. I have a piece of wall in the hallway that’s needed to be painted for over a year. I thought I had bought a roller for it but can’t find it…so I bought another one.

Sigh. But haven’t painted it yet (just bought the new roller yesterday though).

This is mind-boggling…

My Medicaid household member has a workers’ comp back injury. How is that gonna work? Are they going to drive him to wherever he needs to work? Are there farmers near here for that? Are they going to house the babies, children, and elderly who will be doing that work? The disabled? Absolutely so insensitive and idiotic.

Luna has toe beans to show you…

The heat takes it out of the animals too…

Poor Simba. His boy is gone again. No long-term fires yet though. Knock on wood. There was one down here, heard all the helicopters and sirens and got all the warnings on multiple phone apps. It’s under control now…stopped forward progress. It was heading for one of our local hiking spots. Gotta stop it (also houses, so there’s that).

OK. I usually would now tell you all the things I’m going to do today. I am feeling more human finally, although ready to rip these Ace bandages off…ugh. I might get some fabric pulls together for next week. I might read my book some more. I might drink more tea. Feed the dog, deal with trash, make dinner, go get girlchild. Oh shit, finish cleaning up her room. Gonna go do that now. So out of it…

Get My Act in Gear…

Hello Monday. I am, as always, not prepared for your existence. And yet, you arrive. With emails. And a to-do list. I finally managed to cross one thing off my to-do list that has been on there for probably 6 months. Impressive. I’m going to do a few more today. Maybe. Because sometimes I only get one thing done. And the quick start I wanted for the morning did not happen. Ah well. Typical.

It was a slow weekend. I mean, not really…but in terms of a diary of what I did, I got a scratch on the back of my leg from a stabby pot and a scratch/divot on my finger from IDK what plant did that. And bites…buggy/spidery/skeetery bites. I got those. I spent too much time watching flood stuff in Texas. We all did, right? Horrifying. Not preventable, but certainly we could be doing more than we are right now…increasing climate crap plus warning systems. I’m boggled by where the blame goes. I’m boggled by a lot lately. Humans don’t do what’s in their best interests.

The Man had a show on Saturday night downtown. I rode the trolley down and read my book the whole way, as the soccer fans filled up the trolley, and then all got off at the stadium. The band is trialing with a new singer, who actually sings for another band.

It was different. They opened for another band. There weren’t as many people there as usual (day after a major holiday). We ended up having to stay really late to get back. It was fine; I read a lot of my book before and after they played. Not sure what it all means for the future of the band.

I traced for about 3 hours on Saturday and another 90 minutes last night. Those are hot cats on Saturday afternoon…

And Bowie not helping last night…

He stabbed the planet Jupiter (the drawing) and then tried to eat the corner. He’s not the first cat to do so. Nova ate a piece out of a drawing a few years back. I do cover things up when I’m not tracing, because they are excited by paper and want to destroy it.

I have filled two yards of Wonder Under and started on a third.

I’m in the low 900s, so about 450 pieces to go. I’ve been tracing for 11 1/2 hours. Yikes. It’s been slow. I’m hoping to do a goodly chunk today and tomorrow. It’s supposed to get a lot warmer in a few days. Don’t want to be sitting in the window/hottest part of the house then. Although trimming will just be on the couch.

It’s a busy week. Need to clean up the girlchild’s room because she’s coming to visit. I’ve been collecting materials for next week’s residency. I have another breast biopsy on Wednesday…hoping to have negative results before the weekend (they were fast before), but no guarantees. I need to shop for food and do food prep before the residency. I have an art opening on Saturday night. I’d like to get to the gym; I have two pilates classes scheduled, but I’m waitlisted on both. OK, it doesn’t sound busy, but that biopsy will eat up time and energy. Mentally and physically.

Trying to read nonfiction from Rebecca Solnit in between fiction, which is where my brain prefers to be…

And this is what will get me through all the stupid shit my country is continuing to do. And it’s why I make art. Well, that and my sanity.

Here’s the owl hanging out on the pole under the box…

This is dad. There are two babies I can hear. They’re loud this year. And we haven’t even gotten to the part where they come out and practice flying. It’s all good. Just glad to have them back.

Today. Finish strapping the three sprinklers to rebar (fun times). Create a wet box for ceramic stuff. TAKE A DAMN SHOWER (I do that every day, but sometimes it’s hot enough that I need two). Go to ceramics and attach that damn hand again. Sew up the boychild’s pants (they just went in the washer). Trace for a few hours. Read a few books. Go try to find my deodorant at a different store (the only one I’m not allergic to at the moment, knock on wood). There’s probably more things on the to-do list that aren’t here, but many of them are overwhelming so I just do a bit at a time. Which is fine. Pretty much need to get my act in gear though. Like now.

Refill the Cup

I really hate my ironing board. I would like a new one, one that doesn’t have sharp metal feet that grab my toes. One that is stable and doesn’t threaten to fall over. That said, when I’ve tried to find ironing boards in the past, they’re even more tippy and unstable than this one…this one was my grandmother’s, I think. It’s ancient. I put a heavy board on top that I use for ironing quilts together, because I need a larger space. At the moment, I have to move it around a lot because I’ve been trying to clean up in here and it’s problematic…I can’t put fabric on one shelf where it used to be, because one of two cats keeps peeing on it. I’m pretty sure it’s the old lady, but it might be the teenaged boy…they regularly are vying over the space. Probably the old lady. I even had piled some towels up that I was using to cover the fabric bins there, and then she peed on those. So. Yeah. I’m having to store bins on the floor and this room is not very big anyway…with two desks, a table, three bookshelves, a computer, a sewing machine, and all my fabric (well, not really ALL my fabric…that’s funny), it’s just crowded. The ironing board is always open and I move it around for what/where I need to use it. And every time I search for a new one, I get sidetracked by options and reviews and can’t make a decision. Because there isn’t an ironing board store I can go to and look at them (OMG I am old), so I have to do it all online, and the thought of trying to return an ironing board makes me break out in hives. So there’s that. But we might be there.

So the stupid stuff, eh? Overwhelming. But I could focus on the big fat ugly bill or Alligator Alcatraz and why we think it’s OK to treat HUMANS that way or the campers missing in Texas after the floods (look! God took the white Christian girls! See, it’s not any better, is it? It doesn’t matter what the kids look like or where they come from…it’s not OK.). Sigh. Certainly didn’t do much celebrating yesterday. My country is broken. OK, it always was broken. Now it’s just more in your face about it. So I’m trying to live my tiny life in the middle of all that. Plus this week, the Man will hear about a job (yes please) and I have a biopsy (ugh) and the girlchild is coming to visit (yay) and I need to pack for my residency (yikes). It’s not the chillest week in the world. My response to that is to read more books. And try to clean and fix more things. With the help of the Ex, the sprinklers are now back up and running. I tried but there needed to be more things fixed than the one I did (it was a valve). The two sprinklers that really weren’t working were totally corroded inside (ah, hard water)…so replacing those (and blowing all the dirt through the system) helped immensely.

This was a big achievement. I’ve had this on my list for months. I replaced one thing and then nothing worked. Sigh. I tried to patch the gap on the deck too, but I couldn’t get the caulk to move. Might just be too old? Frustrating though. So I think I’m going to Home Depot later. Fun times. I ran some errands on Thursday (waited until rush hour like an idiot) and ran into a former student, a not-pleasant reminder of him. I had totally blocked him and his entitlement and his annoying parents (mom mostly) from my mind, and now I need to reblock him. It’s OK. He’s a kid. Even as an adult, I won’t need to deal with him…and maybe he’ll get a clue by then. He’s smart, just spoiled.

So artwise, I’ve been sort of efficient. I’ve made it to the ceramics studio more times than usual, which is good.

A bunch of stuff fell/broke (I think it gets bumped on the shelf) and I had to fix a lot, but I got the greens done. Went back yesterday and reattached and reglazed stuff that broke, but that damn hand broke off again.

I’m close though. Almost there. Honestly, it’s glazed except for the flagpole and reglazing all the broken stuff.

I just need to finish it and get it in the kiln. Like this week. Hopefully.

I pinbasted my Sue Spargo Folk Tails, which has been done since 2020? I think? Seriously.

Mostly I hadn’t done it yet because I wanted to finish the bird one first (the bigger one) before stashing a bunch of safety pins in something that would just sit in a pile for a while. It’s a challenge to quilt this…mostly because I need to go AROUND everything. Not hard, just a pain. So it’s next on my list to finish this summer. But before I do that, I’m trying to piece together the improv piece I did on Zoom with Irene Roderick…

It’s all these random shapes that need to fit together, and then I need to make it into a rectangle shape. So I worked on that yesterday. I have it all in three pieces at the moment, with a freaking Y seam (not the first). Almost there. This is so not my style, and I realized at Quilt National that all the Irene people’s quilts look similar, so I’m deciding how to make it mine. I’m trying to finish this so I can take the design board on my residency next week. Whatever gets it done, right? I could probably finish putting the top together today.

Then I cut out all the wool/cotton bits for the side borders of Homegrown (another Spargo…yeah, I enjoy making them), pinned them on, and am slowly stitching them all down. I won’t get this one done in 2025. Bet.

The embroidery will take forever and then I’ll put it in a pile for a year or two before deciding to quilt it. Let’s be real. It’s not about the finished product; it’s totally about the making.

In art quilt news, I’m still tracing Wonder Under…

The dirt was a lot of big pieces, and then I had a bunch of little pieces that fit in between all those big pieces.

I tried a bund of people and then started tracing gravestones. Right when those dumbasses passed a bill kicking a ton of real live people off Medicare. Including one I live with…yeah, it won’t take effect until after the November elections, and hopefully he’ll have a job by then, but there’s a lot of people who can’t work or can’t find work. So we aren’t taking care of people any more unless they’re so rich they don’t really need to worry about it.

Last night, I made it into the low 600s…of 1366.

Not even halfway. I was hoping to be done with tracing today, but I would have had to be way more focused than I have been for that to happen. So maybe that’s the other thing I’m doing today. I’m still only on the second yard of Wonder Under…lots of small pieces to drive me nuts later.

My little quilt made it to my SIL for her birthday.

I love the location.

I lost the dog in the ferns…he likes to pee in there.

Really, this is yet another part of the yard I need to control. Ha! This yard is beyond my ability. I’d need a gardener and even then…

I found these guys (screamed a little because a bunch were on my shirt) while trimming shit.

They become some kind of beetle. But for now, they are in the greenery trash can.

I saw this…and yes, I feel like I need that but also, no I’m not doing that.

I’m putting it here for when I’m really old and retired and maybe bored (will I ever be bored?). That dissociative state is looking nice.

Although honestly, making art helps with that. And it’s too hot for sweatpants, but the other night, I found myself tracing Wonder Under with shorts and a tank top on, but also fuzzy socks, because my feet were cold. Love old body. It’s so inconsistent.

This.

So frustrating. Incredibly.

Simba after three hours of fireworks on THURSDAY night (not even the 4th, y’all). He barked the entire time. And I was tracing stuff, so I wasn’t making him feel safe.

Last night, he was better…only a little. Mostly because the boychild was back. For how long? We never know. His sister is coming to visit, so if previous years are anything to go by, he’ll be sent to some fire this week.

This is amazing. This is Liberty Bleeds by Niki McQueen.

I wish I had enough wall space for her work (it’s available as posters to benefit the ACLU)…it reminds me of my own stuff, the cutting open part.

I think Nova is the big softie that both Luna and Bowie turn to for love and safety.

Luna is so paranoid. And it’s hot, so it’s funny when they curl up together, because I’m like, don’t fucking touch me, it’s hot. And yet there’s always a cat or a dog (or both) next to me.

This is always true.

So yeah. I think I already decided I’m piecing things and tracing things today. The Man has a show tonight downtown, so I’m probably riding the trolley down and then getting a ride back. Their regular lead singer has ‘quit’ (we hope not permanently), so they’re borrowing a singer from another band. Should be interesting. Luckily they are the opening band, so it’s not a midnight thing. I’m too old for that stuff? That’s a lie; I happily stay up past midnight doing art things. I just don’t like mornings. My goal for the week? Be chill. Stay chill. Make the things. Find the supplies for next week. So excited for next week. Meal planning now. And making sure I have materials. I don’t want to get up there and realize I need one chemical I left at home. Inevitably I will forget something though. Truth. 33 days until school. I can’t find a countdown timer that works with the iphone widget or whatever they’re calling it now. Frustrating. That and the ironing board problem are an issue for another day though. Right now, I need to eat, shower, and do some stuff that refills the cup. Or something. Finds the spoons.

It Should Be OK…

Sitting here waiting for health insurance chat to answer. So much wait time with health stuff. That’s not going to get better. And I’m glad to have insurance. Health stuff is stressful. Time-consuming. Expensive. Crucial. It’s so easy for some people to say, well get a job, then you’ll get healthcare…not always true, not always possible. My household includes someone who’s been trying to get a job with physical restrictions for over a year, and it’s not as easy as J.D. Vance and his compatriots think it is. People with disabilities who may need support at work; they just don’t get interviews, or they get one and then get ghosted. It’s stressful for all of us to see that and live with it. But hey, we’re not rich, so we don’t matter. We’re gonna die anyway. The politicians…sigh…I mean, at least Lisa Murkowski was honest about doing what’s best for Alaskans, but in doing so, fucked the rest of us. The rest of those who voted for that bill? What is wrong with them? Some complain and then vote for it anyway? And now the government is refusing to send all the education money that Congress allocated. As someone in a Title I school, where kids live in a variety of not-great situations, I’m worried; no that’s not a big enough word for what they’re doing to kids, to families who struggle, to anyone of color. I don’t get it. I’m scared by it. Worried is not a big enough word.

So in all that, I make art. And try to get control of my diabetes. And worry about the things growing in my boob. And worry about my cat…she’s old and not doing well, especially with the heat. Worry about my job. New boss. The damn sprinklers. How to paint the shed when one wall is right against a chainlink fence. Obviously need to make more art, exercise more.

Finished numbering.

Did you guess? I guessed 1500 based on where I was and how much was left. I was wrong…it’s 1366…

Give or take a few, because I always miss something or double number something. Not a ton, but a lot. A goodly amount. I could have filled the sky in and got more, but I kind of didn’t want to. So I didn’t.

Last night, I started tracing…

I’ll be there for a while. Like 12 more hours probably. Which is fine. I’d like to get myself to a place where I’m tracing for more than an hour a day, but so far, there’s been too much other stuff to do. I spent the last two days planning with my science partner, about 8 hours total. It looked a lot like this…

Well, and there was other stuff, but this is the only picture I took, and I took it because I realized when I moved all the files, I wouldn’t be able to find them in all the other files because most of them had illogical names. I can delete this picture now. THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IT WILL EXIST.

Anyway, I’d like to say that my 8 hours (it was more than that; I did some at home too) of unpaid work was all I needed to do for school this summer, but that’s not true. We’re meeting again in August. We did well, but my late August/September self will be happier if I do a bit more specific shit. But not today. Today, I need to go to the ceramics studio and underglaze. I know I broke something on Friday. I felt it. Like every fucking time, I’m breaking shit. Sigh. And there will probably be a bunch of people there, but I couldn’t handle going the last two afternoons…I was so braindead after working, so I didn’t go. Oops. Oh well.

That political shit again.

And the amount they want to spend on ICE? Just terrorizing people who are actually trying to be legal and paying taxes and all that shit? Who aren’t committing crimes? So fucked up.

Attempting to ignore the political crap is impossible. I can hide in art, but my art is also political, so it’s not always hiding in a non-stressful way. Ah well. I can try to eat better and make art and clean the house and take care of the cat and paint the shed. I mean, that might be all I really can do at the moment. And I know that should be OK, but it’s not. Not for the planet or the country. OK. Going to ceramics…soon. Then I’ll just do what I can.

The Aargh Part of the Year…

Aargh. Yes. Officially the Aargh part of the year. Head up! Off the desk! Wake up! Yes, you have to do the work. Sheesh. Trust me, dude, I am also done (except I’m not unfortunately). So much grading. How did I get so behind? I tried to have a life (ha! Stop that.). It’s fine. I’ll get caught up. Also I keep reading my book when I get home as a reward, and then I read for too long and I should have graded some things. And some things take longer to grade…all the late and makeup work takes forever. So I got through about 9 of those last night…9 kids who turned in work late or redid something. I mean, I didn’t do NOTHING yesterday. I had to record a video (in three pieces) and try to make all the pieces go together. Minorly successful. The app I use was being weird and I didn’t have the time or patience to figure it out. Next time. Maybe. I also went to an author talk: Matt Dinniman of Dungeon Crawler Carl fame. I’m through book 4, all on audio book, which for once, I can keep track of the story (mostly) in my ears. The reader is good. Here he is, waiting for the next question…

He seems like he’d be fun at a party. A chill party. One where we dress as we like and eat pizza. I found my book club friends when I was there!

I haven’t seen these guys in person for a while; we zoom as a book club. One I had never met in person. So that was really cool. Plus I was sitting in a random one seat in front of them (my introvertedness meant I didn’t contact them before the event) and the guy next to me kept showing me cool things in his books, which was awesome. Weird community vibes, but good. The talk was supposed to be at Mysterious Galaxy, but there were over 500 people, so they moved it to the Air/Space Museum in Balboa Park…much better parking and actual seats! Totally cool. I enjoyed it, although I was glad the books were presigned, because I was number 192 (two friends were numbers 1 and 2 WTF) and I was too tired to wait in a line for two hours.

I did finally pick something new to start, art-quilt-wise. I have this drawing that doesn’t even have a date on it. I think I drew the bottom strip and numbered it in 2020, but it was drawn before that. And I like it. It’s simple but to the point…BOOM.

So I started tracing it. You can see the bottom drawn bit there, above, with the date upside down.

It’s only got 130-some pieces, but I’m not tracing super fast at the moment. I’ll finish tonight and start trimming. I still need to clean up my friend’s mom’s quilt…just haven’t had the energy at the end of the day. Maybe tomorrow? I have an in-person SAQA meeting tomorrow that’s an hour away though. I always think these things are a good idea and then the thought of driving that far throws me. It’ll be fine.

So this is my school district’s financial report…

Love that. Especially since they now want to implement a dress code for teachers, so we’ll have to buy new clothes with our -5%. Also no ‘unnatural’ hair colors. That was a fun discussion. I wish I were protesting tomorrow, but I already had the other thing RSVP’d. Planning on one in June, though.

Nova looking for geckos.

There weren’t any that night. She’s patient. She’ll find them.

This stuff is so bad. There’s some woman in Georgia who was declared braindead and has been kept on life support for three months so the fetus that was 9 weeks when she became braindead can be born, because of the anti-abortion laws there.

So expensive. The family hasn’t commented on what they want, except that the baby might not even be able to survive when born. And they have borne the costs of the hospitalization as well. Crazy shit. Maybe some rich person should donate money to that family to help them with that.

I know. That side isn’t seeing reason most of the time. It’s frustrating.

Much like school! Ah well, today is the last day I try to review any more science before next week’s state science test. Then we do an egg drop and then sex ed and then we’re out! Woo! I’m excited. Really. Trying to make summer plans that will help me refresh.

OK, gotta go to the day job, maybe fit in some down time to grade the unit packets covering my desk, plus find a copier that works to get ready for next week. Sounds awesome. Then clay, then home and grade and cook dinner and then trace some more. Oh, probably read a chapter somewhere. I’m allowed. I don’t work all these hours to NOT be allowed to read and make art (and sometimes sleep). Right?

In Between Everything Else

Good morning, ye Day of Chaos before Springe Breake. Yee? Not sure of my Old English. Ye. Definitely. Am I ready? For today, no. Today is supreme chaos, both at work and after. For break? Absolutely. Done. Exhausted. Need a space without school. Getting in a car tomorrow and hopefully finding it. The boychild can handle all the animals. It’ll be fine. Even if all I do is read in the car for 8 days. It’ll be fine.

I did spend some time last night prepping some hand embroidery for the next quilt for the trip. Hoping it works out OK. I found the thread I wanted, and thanks to my incredibly efficient spreadsheet, realized I had 8 spools of it around the house. So I don’t need to order any (which is good, because I left it too long for that). Wednesday night, I managed to pinbaste the quilt I’m currently working on…

Really need to replace the bulbs in that room. I’ll need to quilt this in like two days flat. It’ll be fine. No worries. It’s not huge.

Then I did some tracing on the next one last night…

It’s actually four small quilts that will work together. I traced 3 and part of the 4th. If I have time after packing tonight, I’ll finish the 4th. It won’t take long. And hopefully I’ll get all the embroidery done while traveling (there’s 4 pieces of embroidery)…and can start that one the following week. It’s got a pretty tight deadline. And grades will be due right after we come back from grade. Like to torture us. It’s like if you don’t grade over break (which I will eventually have to do), you won’t have grades to put in the progress reports. Ah well. I finished grading everything I could yesterday. Today I will be grading tests as they take them and homework as they hand it in, if I can pull it off. I also have to prep my room for having floors cleaned, which they just told us two days ago. Sigh. Good to have floors cleaned. Need more time to move shit. I do have after school, but I also need to go to ceramics and make sure everything will be OK for a week while I’m gone.

Packing is stressful too. Yesterday was a long conversation about coolers. I still don’t know what we decided. Minor issue.

Oh my. Well I don’t spiral into self hate at least. And being a teacher is pretty hard. I have not cured cancer or saved the world, though, and there was definitely a feeling that those things should have happened by now. All I do is piss people off with my quilts.

I’m taking a few months of Rooted blocks with me (Sue Spargo BOM)…but this one was almost done, so I finished it.

Although the fluffy bits were supposed to be two different colors, and I spaced on that because I was doing this in a variety of Zoom calls. It’s fine. So I have two of these done. They’re not hard; they’re fun and relaxing. I enjoy them. I’m also taking books to read and my sketchbook for drawing. No schoolwork. I’ll deal with that when I get back. In between everything else.

Today, I think we’re all giving tests. Mine is short and then they need to finish the rest of their shit…without losing their shit. My last class period may not survive. One class period was better yesterday because there was one kid missing. Ooooh. Interesting. He’ll be gone again today. Lots will be gone. We give them two weeks off and they take more. I had to do an independent study contract for the week after break because of that. Three weeks. Ah well. After testing, we’ll lose some more to the Middle East…or maybe not, with all the crazy deportations. Scary stuff. Scary stupid too. Lots of that around. But my future holds some bigass redwood trees and some wineries and some hiking and probably a banana slug or two and definitely deer. All good.

Nothing New

I read this terrifying article yesterday about the pronatalists…those who want more childbirths…some have some realistic concerns about decreasing birth rates, although their ideas about why that is happening are sometimes absolutely nuts. Honestly, there are too many people on the planet, so some restraint might be a good thing, but when you put their ideas together with some of the legislation that’s currently on the table, it does smack a bit too much of The Handmaid’s Tale. Why I would need to vote with a passport (those are expensive and difficult to get for many people) or a birth certificate (also sometimes difficult to get) IN PERSON, I do not know. I haven’t voted in person since before my kids were born. I know some people like to gather in groups and do tribal things, but I like to have all the stuff in front of me, read through it at my leisure, mark all the things, and then put it all in a freakin’ envelope to be delivered somewhere that I don’t have to talk to anyone or interact with humans. And I have transportation and the ability to move around without assistance. AND my birth certificate name matches my current name. Unlike many women. PLUS my job here on this planet is not to birth replacement workers.

But maybe that’s just me? Hard to say. By the way, burning the Teslas is not about the car, you dumbasses…it’s about the man. And we don’t just do it here…Germany and France and others are also protesting fascism. And oligarchs. Sometimes the far right’s take on things is just amazingly ignorant. I’m sure someone thinks the same of me. They can stay in the kitchen, giving birth, not allowed to vote apparently.

Sigh. Also, it’s not really ‘getting rid’ of the Department of Education if you farm out its responsibilities to departments that aren’t even related. Double sigh. I can’t NOT read the news. It’s impossible. So I keep making art.

Monday afternoon, I went to ceramics and worked on part two of the current sculpture. I built a tiny man with a gun.

He definitely needs a head, although he doesn’t have a brain. I also made a flagpole, but not the flag yet. I needed these to stiffen up a bit, so I just tucked them down in there, to be later attached to the arm. Hopefully Friday. Also pretty sure I broke one of her arms off again.

It’s my fault for not picking a bigger base and for making that arm lower than the base and then trying to transport shit. So IDK what the solution is, but I’ll deal with it on Friday.

Monday night, I did stitchdown…

Then last night, I finished it, washed the batting, cut a backing and ironed it, then remembered the floor where I pinbaste was horrendously dirty, so I mopped it at 9:30 at night. Hoping it would dry in time (it didn’t). So all that is ready for pinbasting…and then I started tracing the next one, the banned-book piece…

I also wrote out all the stuff I will need to hand embroider while we’re traveling. I’ll need to figure out how I’m transferring it to fabric and make copies of the drawings for travel purposes. I’ll be doing that probably tomorrow night. Tonight, I’ll pinbaste. After pilates and book club. Yeah. Long day.

We’re doing a teacher spirit thing all week where we all dress up and don’t tell the kids. Yesterday was dress like a kid (ah, those pimple patches) and Not a Cup (drink out of anything that is not actually a cup).

Today, we wear tiaras and sashes. That’ll be pretty noticeable. It’s just a way to help us survive that last few days until break. My boss came in my class yesterday while I was about to bang my head on the desk. Teaching Punnett squares isn’t hard, except for those few kids every period who don’t listen to instructions. Ever. They just want to copy, and they can’t. So they whine and tell me I’m not teaching them (read: I’m not giving them the answers) and by the end of the day, some figure it out eventually and some just don’t. But it can be frustrating for me. Plus with Eid, so many kids were still out yesterday, so they haven’t even started this thing that has to be done today. Fun times. I was hoping to grade homework papers all week, and I’ve gotten through three classes of one homework, and most of that was in my advisory class while we were listening to the book.

It’s fine. Really. It is. It’s nothing new anyway.

Not sure I believe that. Certainly. No. I don’t.

I do support this though.

I feel like all my fabric is emotional support fabric. And I support that choice.

OK. So more Punnett squares today…but it’s a test today, so that’ll be fun. I already have a plan for the one kid who never shuts up in class. The kids who come back today…well, I was going to make a video, but I don’t know if I’ll have time before school (meeting x2), and I think I need to use the phone because the doc cam won’t record unblurry, so that means I can’t post it until I get home anyway. Hmmm. Will think that over. Lots to do today. Gonna go do some of it.

How to Get There

Yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life…wait. No. I’m teaching gravity today…not going to Disneyland. Seems like a questionable life decision. Computer is still not restored. The internet is intermittent. So frustrating. I just need it to finish ffs. I’m tired of trying to do things on the phone or this ancient iPad. Ah well…at least I have that option.

Artwise…I finished trimming Wonder Under…

And last night, I sorted them…

Ready to iron to fabric. Unfortunately, my studio is not ready for that. I’d like to be ironing tonight, but realistically, I will probably be cleaning and putting fabric away after a long long day, so wish me luck on actually ironing. Definitely tomorrow night though.

Someone needs to change all the clocks in the house. I don’t know why I am in charge of clock changes. I have changed two…well three if you count my school clock. I’m sure the men would argue that I’m the only one who cares about the other two…possibly true.

I started underglazing (finally!) the base to the newest piece…someone bumped it (again) and broke two things off. Community shelves sometimes suck.

Super pale at the moment with 2 coats…got one more coat and then all the details. I’ll be here a while.

The current government just needs to die. I’m done with the stupidity. The illogical bullshit that puts Teslas on the White House lawn and claims we can’t speak our minds. At least some of us have minds…

Gonna end with that. Too much in my head right now between the Orange Dumbass pissing off Canada and the crazy demands of the day job…gonna demo some gravitational force today and get through a union meeting and go to Pilates and then clean the studio so I can make art. Sleep if I’m lucky (not last night). Dream of a better world and how to get there.

No Time Has Passed

I have a new computer. It’s still restoring all the stuff from before. It was at 12% when I went to bed last night and it’s still at 12% this morning, like no time has passed. Granted I feel the same way about the amount of sleep I had last night. I know I went to bed at the appropriate time for whatever time hell we’re in now, but I was still out of bed in the early dark feeling like I hadn’t slept. So maybe the computer feels the same way. It’s gonna be a rough week, for me and the kids.

This weekend was my 58th birthday, and I did my best not to work. There’s some level of having to pay for it during the week, but the week is already a shitshow, so I probably won’t notice much. What did I do? I read, I made art, I went on a short hike. All good.

Simba appreciated it. Maybe.

It was a little closer than I like to be to coyotes, but it reminds us that they are always there.

I did a little ceramics on Friday. I was tired though. There’s a bunch of stuff going on her arms.

Fun times. My glazes came in Friday as well, so that’s hopefully what I’m doing after a two-hour staff meeting after school. Ugh.

Friday night I finished tracing…

Four yards (just under) of Wonder Under. I spent almost 4 hours cutting stuff out this weekend…

And not a lot else honestly.

There are never enough hours in the day. I did a little yard work; I have bulbs to plant. but I quit when I accidentally trimmed a branch with a hummingbird nest and broke two eggs. Mom bird had lots to say about it and I felt (still feel) horrible, so I quit. It’s spring! Don’t kill baby animals. If you can. I was actually trying to avoid another thing that looked like a nest so it felt even worse that I fucked that up.

I had two dinners out, which was nice, and got a pile of books to read and my mom’s stash of silk ribbon, which is fun, so that didn’t make up for the hummingbird babies, but I also found out there’s a grove in Humboldt named after my Great Great Aunt Bertella who was an obstetrician, so we’re totally visiting that over Spring Break.

Government still sucks, if we can call it that. Our National Parks are at stake here. And people’s lives. Sigh.

I am coral. Ok, gotta teach and professionally develop and clay.

Paper Towels!!!

Yo Friday, I appreciate you. It’s been a long week. Eye issues, kid issues, but grades are done! So I’m not working this weekend…it’s my birthday. I’m gonna hike and read and make art and go out to dinner. And try not to think about school…although next week is not fully planned, nowhere close, so I’m freaking out a little bit. Ah well.

I’ve been tracing Wonder Under all week…I should be done tonight.

Crazy ass butterfly…did not number it well. Brain must have taken a break.

Last night, I had a stitching Zoom meeting, so I got two hours in…I’ve got about 150 pieces to go. Then trimming for a few days, ironing by next weekend? Hopefully.

Minus the pumpkin patch.

Agreed. So much stupidity going on right now. I’m having some panic moments about where to buy things I need due to The JoAnn closing down and avoiding Amazon. My free time is generally not free and online shopping is awesome. Working on a list. But with quilt stuff, the secondary issue is the politics of stores. Sigh. My local quilt store is owned by a trumper.

Working on all of it. Today is an assembly (ugh), but mostly making a little eclipse flipbook. And planning. Hopefully some ceramics, finish the tracing. There’s something I need to remember for today and it keeps flitting into my brain (paper towels!!!) and leaving again. Caught it. Good times.