Valentine's Day Approaches

 We don't ordinarily do much for Valentines day. I'll get dw some flowers, a card and a small selection of good chocolate (which I get a share of), and occasionally we'll go out for dinner. And that's about it. But this year, the Christmas Tree skeleton was still in place, so dw took advantage of it and did a Valentines Day decorative installation. -- A first for this house (as best as I can recall) and there's a good chance it'll be the last -- for the present though, it's a festive bit of color in the living room.

   When the piece returns to the studio it will have been setting in the house for over two months -- it has worked out very nicely -- I've been looking at daily for all that time and I've figured out what I don't like about it and how I can fix it. When I get it finished, I'll post a photo of it.

  

Last week dw had another of her regular classes/tests for a particular job certification (she's a CCRN)* 

She spent the week studying, fretting about studying, worrying about failure, worrying about being embarrassed with failure and etc. I pointed out that this test seemed similar to all of the previous tests and that so far disaster had not struck and wasn't likely to this time.  "But it might. It could." she said -- mostly joking. I'm glad I don't have to do that, either the studying or the tests.

Lately I've had a mild case of the punies so I've done little and accomplished less.

Books: Tangled Webs (James B Stewart) A book about perjury (Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, Barry Bonds and Bernard Madoff) There were no great surprises -- all four lied repeatedly and under oath. Although R. Armitage, and K Rove were the ones who actually outed a covert C.I.A. agent (in fact treason, although too difficult to prove and prosecute "I didn't know she was a secret agent.") Libby was the only convicted because he was the only who repeatedly lied -- Probably to protect V.P. Cheney -- As I said, no real surprises. -- And Memoirs (Kinsley Amis) it's as much a "Famous people I have known" book as it is a book about Amis himself. He's sometimes a bit smug for my taste and I don't always agree with his literary criticisms but in all it's consistently entertaining and (of course) well written.   DA

   *dw tells me she's not actually a CCRN -- which is a specific designation -- "You can write out: 'She's a Critical Care RN', or just put in: 'She's a Hot Nurse!' "  -- works for me. DA

P.S. When I put a photo in the blog, the program starts doing odd things to the spacing and margins. If I ever figure out how to fix it, the weird sentence and paragraph breaks should improve. DA

Duck!

  A couple of days ago, during a walk, I saw three bald eagles in a tree by the river below the University of Portland bluff. I think they were dad, mom, and teen aged kid, and I was surprised to see them in such an urban setting. -- Very impressive birds. The sight of them reminded me of how the U.S. came to have the bald eagle as our national bird:

   (At this point I  launched into a story about Ben Franklin -- in honor of his birthday -- an eagle, a turkey and a duck. After dw read it, I asked: "Is that as sophomoric as I think it is?" dw took a delicate pause and said: "Yes." -- So I saved myself some embarrassment and erased the  story.) 

   I haven't thought of anything to replace the story, so I'll just leave in the ink and crayon sketches of the eagle and the duck. (Sorry, no turkey)
   



  

  

Books: Grants Final Victory (Charles B. Flood) About the last two years of U.S. Grants life when he was dieing of cancer and struggling to finish writing his memoirs. It's an excellent book and it reminded me of the memoirs themselves -- One of the best memoirs ever written by anyone, I'd strongly recommend them;  Dickens (Peter Ackroyd) This book has a modest word count and few biographical surprises but it's heavily illustrated and well written. I always enjoy seeing pictures of people and places mentioned in a non-fiction book and this one delivers;   Rats (Robert Sullivan) a natural history of rats with no great surprises but well written and consistently interesting;  and Pushkin's Button (Serena Vitale) Which is about the duel that killed Alexander Pushkin -- not as interesting as I'd hoped -- I'm half done with it and I just might be all done with it.  DA
  

Home Again

   "There's nothing half so pleasant as returning home again." (M. E. Sangster) -- except starting out in the first place. In any case, we're back in Portland after our family visit to Wisconsin. It was a nice visit, and was the first time in over twenty years all of dw's immediate family has been together for a holiday. The weather was unusually benevolent: a couple of nights the temperature fell to 5 degrees F, but except for a couple of days in the twenty's, daytime temperatures were usually above freezing and one day saw a record high of 51 degrees. Some fog, two days of light snow (less than an inch) and mostly sunny days were a welcome change from Portland's grey drizzle. 

   We went to Milwaukee twice, once with John and Jan (dw's bro and his wife) to see the zoo -- It was nice enough -- a good monkey/ape exhibit and an exceptional aviary -- but we didn't have enough time to shiver through dw's bete noire, the snake and reptile house.

   The second Milwaukee visit was to MAM -- Milwaukee Art Museum -- which I briefly wrote of on 9/21/2010. This time I have pictures: The pedestrian suspension bridge crosses five lanes of traffic, a fountain area and a wide two lane driveway. Rather than being anchored in the ground, the mast's base is a three foot trunnion, and while it doesn't, it probably could waggle back and forth like a car's windshield wiper.

The wings or sails open and close in the morning at noon and at night (depending on the weather).  After viewing an exhibit of works on paper (by a bunch of artists not commonly associated with drawing -- even the sketches showed the differences between great artists and the rest of us) -- After viewing the exhibit we were wandering around in the atrium when we noticed everyone was staring at the ceiling. -- We were oblivious so we didn't see the sails opening. 

dw teasing a Chihuly (the Liberace of glass blowers -- in my opinion -- as much showman as substance --) that's near the entrance. and dw not taking art too seriously (and isn't the building amazing? -- this hallway is part of what is essentially the entrance to the museum). And the collection itself is well worth a visit. Part of the collection is examples of Outsider Art -- pieces of art done by artists without formal training. Included is a series showing the Garden of Eden, The Temptation, and the fall -- carved by Edgar Tolson. This carving is Aden and Eve getting it on -- aka -- The Fall (dw denies any responsibility for this picture)

After the museum, we returned to Oconomowoc for one day before going on to Madison for the flight home.  At Madison we again stayed at Kay and Steve's (SO and brother) house.  Their house is a large normal 1951 ranch with hardwood floors and varnished maple woodwork. The interior is low-key moderne atomic style. It's a quietly beautiful house, with what might be a unique room in the basement: an honest to god chained and locked dungeon. Steve and Kay haven't told us what they use the dungeon for, but the possibilities are vast and Steve is a retired Postal Worker. He also has read Edgar Allen Poe.

Our last night there, Steve and Kay hosted an evening three mile run for a running group they belong to. dw and I waited at the finish line.  We didn't run because we didn't have our running shoes -- or it was too dark -- or it was too cold -- or it was several other good reasons, but we didn't run. While we waited dw decided to sprint across the finish line so I could practice taking pictures, but the sprint ended in a tumble.  (I assure everyone, dw was quite sober). Her injuries were minor but a large goose-egg on her knee was painful. But the photo is amusing -- I can use it for many occasions:  dw sleeping it off -- dw, street person napping -- dw 0, gravity 1 -- dw, listening for approaching buffalo herds -- dw, listening for an approaching train, but missing the actual track. And so it goes DA

The Road To Oconomowoc

Except that no one has a basket of fruit on their head and there has been very little Chica, Chica, Boom -- the last week has been similar to The Road To Rio. Except that Hope and Crosby are missing as is Carmen Miranda (although dw is here). Also there's been little actual excitement or peril or chasing anything and the closest thing to da bomb here in Oconomowoc is Mighty Mount Olympus.

   The flight from Portland to Madison via Minneapolis / St Paul was uneventful. No geeks, freaks or knuckle-draggers in the airports or on the planes. The only thing of mild interest happened in MSP: dw and I had a two hour layover and I decided to get a burger. While I waited for it to be delivered (It was a not very good burger from A@W, but lowered expectations are useful in any airport) -- while I waited for it to be delivered, two young women  looked at me and amid a flurry of giggles asked for my name. I answered and one of they asked "Is it OK if I name my frog after you?" Of course I agreed, so somewhere in the great Midwest a large stuffed plush frog is carrying my name, and how many others can make such a claim?

   Our time has been pleasantly spent visiting with family and friends. dw's Dad Robert, and Aunt Barbara live here in Oconomowoc, and other family and childhood friends are scattered around the area. Brother John @ wife Jan also are here from Portland Today we went to the zoo in Milwaukee -- it's a nice zoo, and tomorrow we're going back to Madison (where brother Steve and SO Kay live) where again we'll largely hang out and visit.

   On the way to Milwaukee, we passed Mighty Mount Olympus, aka Mighty Mount Oconomowoc, aka The Great Pimple, aka Southern Wisconsin Highlands -- The highest point of land between Milwaukee and Madison!!  If you look closely at the first picture you can see the post(s) for the chair lift and distinguish individual skiers -- giving a sense of scale that makes Mighty Mount Gaining-On-Vail look even bigger than it actually is.

   There's nothing wrong with quiet and uneventful visits with family and friends -- actually it's quite pleasant. But it doesn't make for exciting reading -- but so it goes. DA

Christmas Is Nigh

  dw has largely finished putting up the decorations. The Christmas tree, as happens about every other year, is unusual -- this year it's not actually a tree, or even organic: Two weeks ago I was working in the studio when dw came in, noticed an incomplete steel sculpture leaning against the wall and after a moments thought asked if we could use it as a tree. There was no reason not to, so I cleaned it up a bit, built a temporary stand and voila' -- a Christmas tree.

(The sculpture was inspired by -- but isn't a representation of -- Yggdrasil, a tree in Norse mythology. I anticipate I'll be able to write a particularly insipid piece for an artists statement)

   Last year we used a potted evergreen. That one we really liked because it looked like a Xmas tree drawn by Berkeley Breathed for Bill The Cat. On another occasion I cobbled together three bamboo stalks for a tree -- that wasn't very successful, it just looked goofy  -- In between times we do a real tree
   The second picture is part of the assorted wall hangings dw puts up. The total effect is quite festive  and way more work than I'd ever do on my own.

   My sister, Rosemary L. stopped by Saturday to show off her way cool sports car (a Mazda rx7) She was looking very sports-car-driverish, with a long duster type coat, driving gloves and shades. Having a sports car has been a life-long dream for her and it's great that she finally has one.
   I've scratched my sports car itch a couple of times: Once with a Porsche, which needed far more work than I was willing to do myself, and which I certainly couldn't afford to have done. But when it ran, it was really fun. And my favorite was a Triumph TR3 -- it was a piece of junk but I loved that car. On one occasion some of the wiring under the dash caught fire -- the smoke was so thick I couldn't see the floor pan. I pulled over, jumped out, and waited to see if I owned a TR3 Brulee. After the smoke cleared, I got back in, started the car and drove away. I never did figure it out. Another time the wheel studs started snapping off. I did manage to limp home but two of the wheels had only one stud each left. Finally it got a leak in the gas tank and became a yule log -- a TR3 Flambe'  -- I sold it to the knackers at that point.      

   In spite of all dw's decorating efforts, we're going to be gone for Christmas. We're going to visit dw's family in Wisconsin where I expect I'll freeze my Mediterranean Climate Buns off. And I will note that I already got no ass. I use duct tape to hold up my underwear. All of my flab is up front where I can see it.    

   Books:  A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (David Foster Wallace) -- a collection of essays from the 90's -- some are dated, some very erudite and some very funny. I enjoyed the book a lot -- it's really too bad he died so young (suicide). I've started Trophy Hunt (C. J. Box) so far so good, and I don't think I've already read it. And Great Paintings (assorted authors)  reproduction of assorted works from 1100 to the present. With an analysis of each work and a brief discussion of the artist. It's very good.  DA                                                                                                                        

Xmas Moose

  Several years ago dw gave me this moose head as a Christmas present. It is one of my all-time favorite presents and for awhile it was a peripatetic House Moose, but now it has settled into it's permanent home -- perched above the computer. And there it has been growing old, losing it's proud erect stance. The Moose doesn't have a bladder as such, it sort of is a bladder, and I feared that -- as some old things do -- it had a leaking bladder. In the event, I took it down and with several strong puffs, restored it to it's former erect strength. I confess I hesitated but what else could I do? Fortunately no artificial assistance was needed, not even duct tape, and now it seems to be holding it's own, even sporting it's Christmas earring.

  dw has been putting up our Christmas decorations and I, as usual, have been emotionally supportive with the project. (In a couple of days I'll post some pictures)

  Otherwise things have been quiet. dw has been working a lot and I'm continuing work on a couple of sculptures -- It's been cold enough that I've used up nearly a quarter of my wood pile (the studio has a small wood heater). And I've started a new painting which will be the best thing I've ever done until it's done and then not so much. 

   Books:  Charlie Chan (Yunte Huang) -- "The untold story of the honorable detective and his rendezvous with American history"  Huang uses Biggers' Charlie Chan books and the character to explore U.S. racism particularly as it applies to Asians, as well as writing a general biography of Biggers and providing the back story for Charlie Chan. Of particular interest to me: Chan was based on a real person -- Chang Apana -- a real Hawaiian cop. I thought the book was remarkably interesting. Cold Wind (C.J. Box) A mystery set in Wyoming. I enjoyed it but as I noted before I never remember mysteries -- I was nearly finished with this one before I remembered I had already read it. The Relentless Case of the Rose City Rain (Robert Durand) An unpublished first draft from my long time friend. Sort of a mixed genre mystery which I enjoyed. -- Murder in PDX -- And re-reading parts of Napoleon's Buttons (Le Couteur and Burreson) a discussion of seventeen important molecules -- their chemistry and discovery. Science medium-lite and much more interesting than it sounds.    DA

More Pussy Galore

   To take care of business, specifically my car -- it's up and running again and I didn't need to kick it. It was just a bad battery, but the new battery (from United Battery, Inc.) was also defective and that fault didn't show up except by a load test. (the details aren't important or interesting) In the event, I got my money back from United Battery and only had to tolerate for a few minutes the a-hole clerk who treated me like a senile idiot. It's good to know some businesses are doing so well that they can casually alienate customers

   Back to cats. The item has been around for a couple of years, but if anyone hasn't read "Missing Missy" by David Thorne it's really funny -- good for a re-read if you've already seen it. (www.27bslash6.com) click on Missing Missy. Thorne has a bunch of other items and most of them are worth a look, but Missing Missy is the best (in my opinion).

   And I reliably heard that a pet, which, to save it from embarrassment, I won't identify by name or species or sex -- enjoys it's visits to the vet. So much so that when her (oops) temperature is taken she (oops) lies on the table purring (oops). Again we can each draw our own private conclusions.  DA