Resolutions Addressed

I decided it was time to take a look back on my list of summer resolutions to see just how productive I've been over the last couple of months. Not great, but not horrible, either.

Number 1 (Noah's Ark mural) was worked on a little today as I put the remaining coat of sky blue-tinted gesso on the MDF panels. A rough sketch (my sketches are very rough; I have a hard time spending too much time on something I know is only a preliminary draft) has been drawn and a good plan is in order. I need to work fast before my landlady rents that apartment and my sweet studio space is yanked out from under me. For this reason alone, the mural is my top priority.

The painting of Olive is most of the way done, and I plan to do more (on this one, and will do more paintings soon once the mural is finished). Here 'tis:

Since the sewing machine is in Zoe's room, I'm going to wait until she's gone to explore that. I've gone twice this summer to Loom, a wonderland of a fabric store down in the Strip, and its wares have filled my imagination with so much inspiration I'm itching to get down to business - but it will have to wait till the fall.

Our garden stinks, to put it plainly. I'm still not too down on it, though - as it was my maiden voyage with such an endeavor I'm pleased that I've been able to pluck yellow squash, peppers, lettuce and kale leaves, and a fine selection of herbs. Having a garden in our own back yard would make things oh, so much easier, but I'll take what I can get.

The housecleaning has actually been pretty successful. I've taken to vacuuming at least every other day, and an allowance deal has worked wonders for getting Zoe to keep her room looking less and less like the Allegheny County Landfill (I only wish I was exaggerating here). The house is usually, while by not means pristine (nor will it ever be), in a very manageable state thanks to my floor and bathroom cleaning and Rob's attentiveness to the kitchen.

The cats, I'm convinced, will never be trained to use the toilet, much less their litter box. It's a lost cause. What's not a lost cause, however, is Rob's cat food enterprise. Here he is, posing proudly with his brand new Tasin meat grinder. No more evenings spent laboring and sweating (and bleeding!) over the old manual grinder. In fact, he just walked in the door with a canner, a $20 score from one of our neighbors, so he can start selling his product to the public. On that note, if anyone is interested in organic, local, free-range, grain-free cat food, contact us and we'll ship it to you! He'll make it to order, too, depending on your pets' needs (Ché, for instance, is going to be given a "lite" chow from now on - chicken with the fatty skin removed. Our little gray cat will get the full-fat version for the foreseeable future).

I still can't believe I'm married to this guy.

We're no closer to getting my dream bike, but on the other hand, I'm still cancer-free, so I'll call that one a wash. I did, however, get this amazing dress on eBay (I have two weddings to attend in the coming year and didn't have an appropriate frock for the occasions). I'd been watching it for three weeks and got it with the "Buy It Now" option the night before the auction ended. If only I could find a way to commute to work on it.

No Gillian Welch in Bethesda for me this year, but only because I learned that she was coming here on October 19th, so I opted to save my gas and see her play locally. I'm kind of excited about it, and eager for Rob to finally witness the guitar wonder that is David Rawlings.

I'm still not certain what's going to become of the jail job. I'm going in to be fingerprinted tomorrow and work for them short-term until they can find someone permanent.

Guitaring is still at a stand-still, but I've been singing more to Olive which she seems to enjoy - mostly R.E.M.'s "You Are the Everything", a sweet little song, no? I should break out some accompaniment one of these days. Also, is anyone else wondering why Michael Stipe never got more credit for sporting that hair triumph in the mid-'80s?

The kombucha production is well under way! I've been enjoying some of my iced brew during these scorching days and it's almost as good as the Red Star brand stuff I get at the market that's made locally. I just need to perfect my recipe and work out a few kinks in order to get my drink to be as fizzy and snappy as that gal who cranks it out in Troy Hill.

Look at that SCOBY (symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria)! That's one fine specimen.

Oh, and the album from that wedding that happened over two years ago? DONE. I ordered two boxes of archival "olde white" tab corners on eBay and the day after they arrived I sat down to allow myself the satisfaction of truly being able to strike one of the tasks from my list. All while Rob chatted on the telephone with his mama and pizza dough rose. It was one productive Friday afternoon. Have a look! And there's plenty of pages remaining to be filled with shots from our vow renewal ceremony. (I think I'm kidding, but then again, the idea of marrying that guy all over again is pretty appealing - and next time with more family and friends! Three family members and two friends with whom I still keep in contact left me with a few regrets about the actual day, but what I look each day at what I came away with I really can't be too sorry).