It’s been a bit of an adventure around here, lately. In fact, I was chatting with someone on the phone the other day and he asked me what I do.
I laughed! Then I replied that my current business cards say, just after my name, Author – Artist – Activist – Grandmother
All of that is true. And I really like the cards! Which I why I had some new ones made recently. Certified Intentional Creativity® Coach
I finally realized that, while a 36×48 inch canvas is huge fun, it doesn’t make a great business card and I could have more than one kind!
I’ve also been promoted to Phoebe’s physical therapist. Phoebe is one of our Newfie rescue dogs and she has the very beginnings of what her chiropractor refers to as little old lady syndrome. (She may not be the only one!)
Her favorite exercise goes like this:
Phoebe, come. Sit. (Treat)
Then I back up a few steps and we repeat. Four or five reps. Quickly. Three times a day. If you’ve met Phoebe, you’ve already guessed that it’s the treat part she enjoys! (We won’t talk about the other exercise!)
Just between us, the backing up bit is not my hip’s favorite part!
I’ve been thinking a lot, though, about the future. Part of that, I suspect, comes with the amazing artist and summer intern who’s hanging out with me and teaching me at least as much as she’s learning. If you want to learn new things, try answering questions! The really good, deep kind that come from a person whose journey and perspectives (not to mention, age!) are different from your own.
Grandchildren are great for this! Asking helps everybody learn, too!
One of the urgent questions in my world just now is what I’d like to be asked in an interview about my work tomorrow. Thankfully, some of my friends have come to the rescue with great hints. The laundry is done. (Well, what needed to be done for tomorrow. Or most of it. Writing this reminds me that there’s more of that.)
And the new oven, whom you’ve met before, is pre-heating. It’s roast chicken night, thanks to a great deal of help from Bill who’s in charge of bending over to baste tonight.
Actually, it’s not just a new oven. It’s a whole new dual-fuel range from Fisher and Paykel. The matchmaker in this relationship was a great guy named Greg at SRAppliances, here in Atlanta.
I love the stovetop part, especially the way the heat adjusts perfectly to whatever I’m trying to accomplish. And there are five burners!!! The oven racks are the coolest ones I’ve ever seen. They’re so easy to slide in and out. The little challenge with the oven light is all fixed with help from a nice guy named Eric who arrived with shoe covers and a mask, and actually liked the dogs, who were very calm about spending a bit of time in their box while we had a visitor.
And, I must admit, one of the things I love most is the way this fabulous new appliance has such presence in the kitchen I worked so hard to design. All of which is great as we’re eating at home all the time!
In about an hour and a half, the kitchen will smell fabulous and that chicken will be crispy and golden and comforting.
For this moment, though, something that appeared in my mind during the painting process called Artifact. Part of the journey involves four or five statements to complete the prompt: I am one who………………………
The response that feels most important to me just now goes like this:
I am one who carries multi-colored genetics in a cooling sack of stars which appears white.
It’s okay if it doesn’t quite make sense to you. It’s possible you had to be there. The point, I think, is the question more than whatever specific answers might come. I’d love to hear some of yours!
ps… if you’d like to cause a perfectly roasted chicken to appear in your kitchen, click here for the recipe.
pps… watch for a link to the interview, as soon as the techno magic happens. We’ll have more questions to play with!