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That was a big problem for me when I was six, in first grade. My best friend, Jimmy Brookhouser, never had a problem. I still remember his picture of a couch with a cat on it. He was good.

My mind was always a blank, so I started trying to remember what he had drawn last and tried to draw my version. Mostly my versions sucked, but at least it was something. Except when he drew a picture of a horse’s head. I was excited, I could do that! And I liked my version. Until the teacher teased me and asked if it was a giraffe. Apparently she thought the neck was too long, but I didn’t have a good mental picture of a horse in my head, so there was no way I could tell.

Fortunately after I went to a wedding I decided to draw a bride. It was more simple-minded than this picture,

I remember the circle for the head and most of a triangle for the body. I added something for the veil and had her arms sticking out with some flowers.

For some reason the teacher loved it. I didn’t understand why, but it solved my problem. From then on if she wanted a picture, that’s the one she got. Apparently she told my mother that I must have really been impressed by that wedding. I loved the teacher, but she never figured out I was just trying to avoid being humiliated.

Nowadays, of course, we’re not expected to draw from images in our heads. We can look at as many images as we want to find some we like and that might be suitable for our abilities. Did I ever say I love the internet?

October 23, 2024

In My Mother Was Crazy Penny Marshall says when she first went to school her teacher thought she was retarded. She didn’t respond when the teacher called her. Her mother wasn’t fazed by that. She wrote a note telling the teacher to call her Penny, not Carol, her given name. Why? Because her mother didn’t pay any attention to the names on her children’s birth certificates. She called them all by names ending in y. In order to pronounce the final “ee” sound, you have to smile.

Crazy? Maybe. Brilliant? I think so. It was a simple way of adding some happiness to the world.

October 22, 2024

I have a new pup.

I bought him because he’s supposed to be a microwavable heat pad, but he’s so soft and huggable I don’t have the heart to zap him.

Fortunately Clancy likes him too, so there’s no problem with jealousy .

October 21, 2024

When you sit down to draw something, time stops its crazy dance. You will feel your mind focus and quiet. A 10-minute drawing can leave you composed and refreshed. It’s not about the lines on the page, it’s about the way your eyes, brain, and hand come into alignment, about how you are mooring yourself to the here and now. At first, your monkey mind will chatter and distract you, but soon you will find you can snap right into this state of calm and focus. I have never been able to empty my mind through traditional meditation, but a simple drawing before breakfast starts my day off in a connected, grounded way.
—Danny Gregory, Art Before Breakfast

October 20, 2024

The batteries seem to be working fine. Andy is still checking the system, and he won’t turn the power on to the house and greenhouse until we get enough sun to fully charge the batteries.

The greenhouse needs power to operate the exhaust fans. Without them the temperature has ranged from over 50° to 130° The dead-looking avocado plant clearly thought the highs were too much. But the little tomato plants taking over the greenhouse didn’t seem to mind.

October 19, 2024

Andy and Rita, my Visiting Nurses physical therapist, had both thought I shouldn’t drive until a doctor officially okayed it. I was physically capable of doing it, but I was content to go along with them for the last few weeks. For one thing, after Monday if I want more PT I will have to do it as out patient at the medical center. No more Rita coming here to the apartment.

Anyway, I could drive this morning so took a little trip. Where did I go? To the County Building to cast my early ballot.

Can you think of a better way to celebrate?

October 18, 2024

They finished installing our new solar battery system after Andy left yesterday, so he went up this morning to turn it on. He came down for lunch and to take me to Santa Fe for my doctor’s appointment, then back up to the land to start understanding how this system works differently from the old one. He won’t start using it until we get enough sun to fully charge the batteries. Needless to say, we’re relieved it’s installed.

The doctor’s appointment — we were both looking forward to it. It was the three-month follow-up x-ray of my fractured hip. The x-ray six weeks ago said the bone had healed. This one says there is even more bone in that area. That’s what had been hoping for because I’ve been doing weight-bearing exercises to strengthen it. Anyway, I’ve been officially discharged from their care.

Monday I have my last visit from the Visiting Nurses physical therapist. I could continue with PT over at the medical center, but unless something happens I will just continue with the exercises I’ve been doing at home. I need to continue them but I’m already noticing a slow but steady improvement.

I should mention that it’s been five weeks since I started with Merry Maids, and having an uncluttered apartment is still one of my top priorities. That part is working fine. I love the way it looks and I’m automatically putting things away rather than getting immersed in projects.

All in all things are going well!

October 17, 2024

(1) Silver Sneakers. I finally had a chance to tune into it and I love it. It gives us a good cardio workout as well as exercising all parts of our body. And it’s fun. Nalani is still teaching, so it was like going home. (Via Zoom.)

(2) My laundry bag backpack I ordered from Amazon. I always use a handrail when using stairs, and carrying a big laundry bag with one hand throws me off balance. I can now safely carry my laundry to the laundry room and back.

(3) Deciding to separate coloring from drawing. I’m trying to integrate more playing with colors into my life, and I decided to start with designs I can do quickly and easily. And not worry about how the finished product looks. Today I did a flower.

I’m not going to try drawing everyday, just when the mood strikes. Last night I played with a portrait of Tempi.

When the mood strikes I will do another one. Again with an attitude of curiosity and play, no judging the results. Just noticing. (Yes, there are at least three things that I am itching to change. They will have to wait.)

How did your day go?

October 16, 2024
 

I was thinking of going back up to the land this weekend, but I’m having second thoughts. This was tonight’s weather forecast:

(Click on the photo for better resolution.)

I redrew the bear with water color pencils:

Then I went over it with a wet paintbrush. It smooths out the pencil marks.

October 15, 2024
 

I’m not talking about Florida or down here, I’m talking about up on the land. We haven’t had it for a couple of weeks now, and there’s no telling when we’ll have it again. The idea was to change our battery system so it required a lot less maintenance, and the change was supposed to start happening about August 26th. Hopefully they will work on it again this week. More about that later when we know what’s happening.

In the meantime I had been waiting for the internet to come back before going up to the land, but the fall colors weren’t waiting for that. So I went up Friday.

It’s been a patchy fall, but there were some bright colors.

A set of colored pencils came before we left here to go up, so I brought them along. I used one of Annie’s pictures for inspiration,

and I drew this:

It was a short but good trip. We left early because we had appointments to get our flu shots down here that afternoon.

October 14, 2024