Here’s another shot that was a bit of an accident. I was in my studio trying to focus in on the fire, hubby walking toward the house – I really didn’t want him in the shot but at this crop and with this screened effect I thought it turned out really cool! Er… I mean hot.

Yesterday blew by like it was only 2 hours long. I swam in the morning and felt good and refreshed and energized. I came home and my neighbor had called (ahem. The one that is supposed to be swimming with me every day, Ms. Sleeperinnerhead.), so I called her back. She has a Very Important Person visiting next week so took this week off to prepare. Her house. By redecorating every room. And she lives next door to an artist. Heh.

Can you tell where this is going? I helped her paint a room a few months ago, a nice beautiful rich bordeaux color. Introduction to Color 101, shall we say. She does like color, just not on her walls. She wanted to lighten it up so started to sponge this – uhm – yuk face labeled color all over the nice deep rich red walls, and they turned What’s Eating Gilbert… Grape. Yesterday was grape-squashing day.

I checked my canvas first, still wet, so I thought “No one can say when I’m dead that I don’t make good use of my time”. At least not yesterday. I ran next door to see what her plan was and she was already pouring primer. I sent her over to the Java Hut to pick up some Gasoline, or rather Diesel, I think it was Diesel, that Pumpkin Pie Spiced Latte, because I didn’t run out until 1AM. I primed, two coats, I painted, two coats of “off-white”.

She tried to convince me that it’s really not white (el blanco, it is!), I tried to convince her that white that is tinted with less than two squirts of hue does not count as “color”. It is so close to the absence of color that it’s too close to call. She cussed at me in Spanish. (Tip: when you hear people having a conversation in Spanish and they start to talk faster, they’re ticked and generally cussing.) I dissed her in English. It was all good, I love my neighbor. We have an open, honest relationship like that, and thank God I don’t live in her house because I would have fallen over when the white walls closed in on me while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing white floors.

I should envíe una factura para mi trabajo, no?

She ordered pizza, we dressed the room with as much as was ready to put into it, and because I wasn’t quite out of fuel I started doing other little things here and there until finally, 10PM came and I remembered that I had children in the other room. Quiet little boogers, they are! Oh they were happy and totally not neglected, so you just hush right up. I finally crashed at 1:30 this morning after a pre-emptive strike on the pain with a dose of Aleve.

Did I say 2 hours? Oops, my bad, I meant 20!!!

Phew. I’m awake, ready to :swimming: to relax and get in gear for another layer of paint today, this one in my studio!

I would also like to thank everyone who stopped by yesterday. I will probably not get a chance to respond to you idividually but thank you so much for your comments on my Burning Leaves photograph and my Work in Progress! I have to add that Taba, you’re a fruitcake and I love ya. If you (who are not Taba) want to know why, please have a look at my Blogmap (sidebar map link) at my latest entry – that cute little chickey flipping me the bird. That’s Taba. (She’s an artist too, she just pretends she ISN’T ONE at the moment!)

:wave: Hugs to all of you today! :hug: