Opening a Art Center!

I'm going to open an art center! I think it's a great idea. One reason is because this little town doesn't have one (I checked the phone book). Also, there is little opportunity to work in a small town; at least doing something you like doing for enough money to live on. Something I like to do (besides write) is teach art.

The idea just came to me one night as I was falling off to sleep, then I couldn't sleep at all. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I've done this before, mind you, (teach art classes I mean) but this time I'll have an actual classroom (well, an entire finished basement), instead of my kitchen table or someone else's borrowed space. I'll have plenty of storage for supplies like paint, paper, scissors, glue, and art books; instead of lugging everything around in cardboard boxes. I'll have walls for displaying student work, running water for rinsing and cleaning, linoleum floors for spilled paint, and white walls for projected images.

I'll teach the little ones fun arts and crafts projects and everyone else will learn to draw, paint, and take good photos. I might teach creative writing too. Or a puppetry class!

Why didn't I think of this before?

Interested? Take a look at my new Blackfoot art center weblog. Very soon you'll find a journal of what we're doing, and we'll be showcasing lots of student work. You'll find class schedules and registration forms there too. Is this exciting or what???

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One of the best thing about spring is Spring Flowers. I used to go out to the foothills in Monterey County to photograph and paint the amazing displays of spring wild flowers in March and April. Wherever you happen to live, don't miss the flowers!

Please, Tell Me It's Spring!

Okay, I've had enough winter now. Time's up!

Tomorrow is officially the first day of Spring, and I'm ready. And yet, as I sit here looking out the window I'm seeing snow drifting to the ground, which, by the way, is steadily turning white and not at all a spring-like green! It seems like every morning when I wake up, I find that it snowed all night. Then every day it melts away, and warms up a bit and we think we've seen the last of it. And then it snows. AGAIN.

Yet, during the earlier months of winter when we were looking forward to a beautiful winter wonderland, it rained. Or it snowed every so often then boom! It was gone. Or it didn't do anything but get cold. And no matter what, the roads were ALWAYS made of ice.

Well, in any case I'm ready for some warm, even hot weather. I'm ready to see the daffodils and the tulips and the crocus pop out, and I'm ready to plant my tomatoes and squash and sweet peas and maybe some pansies and petunias and anything else that'll brighten things up and get me out of the house and into the yard. Heck, I can hardly wait to mow the lawn!

This has been brought to you by someone who has cabin fever and wishes she had a nice second home in a warm state to go for a nice cozy visit right about now. . .

Silly Inventions - They Just Keep Coming

I never cease to be amazed at the stuff I see advertised on TV. Do you know people are still trying to invent stuff? Now, it should be obvious to anyone that anything worth inventing has aready been invented. Well okay, that's what folks said at the beginning of the 20th century, but nobody listened. Well, now everything worthwhile HAS been invented. For sure this time! If you ever watch late night television, you'll know what I mean. That is, if you can force yourself to sit through the 20 minutes of commercials between five minutes of programming instead of going to the john or fixing one or several midnight snacks or vacuuming the popcorn out of the carpet.

This stuff has no business ever being invented. Maybe that's why you can't find these items in stores. Sometimes we in our house watch an ad and then look at each other and say in unison "That is so STUPID!" (Yes, this has really happened, and on more than one occasion.)

My theory is that this rash of stupid, useless inventions, is due to the commercials for inventors to hurry up and send in their ideas. Maybe they hurry too fast before they come to their senses and realize that the invention still needs a lot of work or was just a bad idea right from the start. In any case, what I think happens is people send in their invention ideas, then the people who receive them send them a reject letter (very bad idea, just forget about it, etc.) then claim the idea as their own. And it really IS a bad idea.

Or maybe it's because of the commercials that show these wonderful inventions that everyone now owns and loves, except the inventor never got rich because they "didn't - have - a - patent!" So, so sad.

The thing about these new innovations is that first the ad has to convince you that you need the item. A perfect example is the Pasta Express - just cook, strain, and drain! (Of course, first you have to boil the water in another container, then pour the boiling water into the Pasta Express.) Uh - it seems that I always cook, strain, and drain, only all in one pot. Now, I grant you I didn't go out and buy the SPECIAL pasta cooking pot with the little draining holes in the lid, and I thought that was a mistake, but now I know it was a good thing because it has ALREADY become obsolete with the birth of the Pasta Express! Yet, I'm old-fashioned I guess. I don't mind draaaagggging out the strainer and straaaaaining my spaghetti and then waaaaassshhhhing the strainer, which takes up an extra three or four seconds of my busy, busy schedule.

And speaking of spaghetti, did you know some genius invented a self-twirling spaghetti fork? Truly amazing! And suspiciously similar to the battery-operated Crest Spin Brush, come to think of it. So, can I say, "I rest my case," or does my reader need still further evidence? I mean, if you really insist on inventing something, why not take something mundane, yet useful, like office chairs and redesign them? Add more cushiness, for example, and maybe a pillow for all those long meetings, and a soft foot rest and maybe an insulated beverage holder.

In any case, I think the best way to go is to forget the stupid TV commercials (us viewers will just laugh at you anyway). Put your innovative new product on the Internet. You'll have a world-wide marketplace, and someone out there is bound to love your what-ever-it-is!!!

Big Boys and Boats

What is it about boats?

For some unknown reason, all men dream of owning a boat. Every man I ever knew did. My ex always talked about how "someday" he would get one; however, he never specified what kind of boat. Maybe it would be a sailboat, a power boat, or maybe a fancy yacht. Maybe a small boat with an outboard motor or a rowboat or even a log raft would do. Remember Huck Finn?

Does the type of boat count, or must it be merely something that floats?

Now-a-days electronic marine devices are a must, especially since most boat dreams involve all-day fishing. Gizmos like fish finders, GPS plotters, depth finders, and electronic compasses all belong in boats now (apparently). Often, that all-important fish finder is more valuable than the boat itself.

When I was a kid, finding fish was not the problem. You go out early in the morning to the center of the lake, then sit quietly. Eventually, if the fish are around, you'll see them beneath the boat. The question is, are they biting? Do they have devices to tell you if the fish are hungry?

Well, in any case, I'll never understand why guys think they need to have a boat. With today's sleeker, fancier, faster boats (not to mention jet skis) and all the great electronic gadgets to put in them, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

If you are a guy who just bought a boat or a very expensive electronic device to find hungry fish, you might want to think real hard about what to say to your significant other. My suggestion: send flowers.

By the way, here's a joke for you.

This guy went ice fishing for the first time. That morning he went to a house near the frozen lake to borrow an ax, which he promised to return as soon as he got through the ice. He finally showed up to return the well-used ax late that evening. The ax owner said, "Wow, that took quite a while! Did you catch a lot of fish?" The fisherman replied, "No, not really. I never actually did any fishing. It took all day to get the boat into the water!"