Change and Corelle

Change is the only constant.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
There is nothing new under the sun.....
and so on and so forth. We have heard them all and we tell ourselves that we handle change well, or I hate when that happens, or I am prepared for anything.......


In the past few years I have had major changes in my life. The past few years we in the US have had major changes...our economy, our president and now maybe even healthcare! In this past week there has been a change in our earth's surface causing a major earthquake and devasting one of the poorest countries in our world, Haiti. It changes us all as the world grieves and comes to the aide of this tiny poor country...and it enriches us. Makes the world a better place by the common bond of our empathy or by the chorus of our prayers. We are changed, we are better.


When we outfitted the horizontal condo/studio on wheels we purchased a new set of Corelle Livingware dishes. Not the plain white set I had received in my other life of being a new bride but something more up to date...white with a blue edge. Today one of the four dinnerplates broke into sharp shards, 5 pieces to be exact, while being washed by hand in our tiny stainless steel sink. We discussed how it was guaranteed. After carefully wrapping the shards in several plastic bags and a towel, we went to our local Walmart (the cultural center of Lake City, FL.) and ask for the guarantee to be made good. No problem, it was part of the open stock at Walmart and they gave me a new replacement plate with a smile.


 My thought is it's a shame that life isn't more like Corelle Livingware with a guarantee. But then change wouldn't be nearly as challenging and we would lose the opportunity to be better, wouldn't we?


purple grannie

3 dog night

For those of you who remember the music of the sixties this is not about them.

This is about dogs, three that are my travel companions in the horizontal condo/studio on wheels.

This is about the cold that much of the United States is suffering under.

And eskimos.

It is said in a joke, perhaps based on some truth, that eskimos determine the severity of the weather with a description of how cold the night is by how many dogs you have to sleep with. A three dog night was three times colder than it should be.

Which brings me back to the USA and Florida, where I still am, and it is three times colder than it should be. I am so glad I have three dogs! And now we can say they are service dogs, their work is warming us!
Still haven't figured out what the cat is good for! I'll let you know when...

space

No not as in outer space but as in not enough work space in my horizontal condo/studio on wheels.

 Okay, so in the house I had a spacious studio,about 800 square feet, that I hardly used and now I have moved into the motorhome, which, if I am lucky, has a total of 400 square feet and none of it designated as studio. I take that back...the outside storage area by the door...or basement as rv-ers refer to it...is filled with all of my art supplies, neatly organized in plastic boxes and drawers. Canvases waiting for the plein aire experience to begin. I figured it would be convenient at the picnic table at our campsite so I could paint or give classes...you know whatever we artists do.

Well, now that we are stuck in not so warm Florida I want to paint and the picnic table and plein aire does not seem very appealing. I mean they keep talking about the Ps on the weather...people, pets, plants and pipes....oops they need to add plein air painters...take care of us all!

So to ease my frustrations I enlisted Jon to help me come up with a solution. I had a plan that he felt wasn't feasable but after several days of mentioning he started to participate in the planning and measuring. We hardly use the dinette booth in the kitchen area...only a 2 seater but if I have a 6 foot surface 2 feet deep with a fold down surface of another foot curved like a round table leaf...walla 6 foot by 3 foot work surface, aka studio space. We can still use the dinette seats for storage and a hidey spot for our cat, Tiger. We won't be able to see it all because my work station will be on top. Sounds like a deal to me. Now just the making of it to be a done deal!

You may wonder what all the fuss is about and I pondered on that also.

While at lunch with three other artist friends  we were all intrigued by the details of Julie's Christmas gift from a thoughtful husband. He had given her a top of the line nicely crafted wood work station, that when all of the drawers and doors were closed, was a handsome piece of furniture. Now this was important because she paints in their dining room. Now it should be mentioned that he did not want to share his garage so the fancy work station made both of them very happy. We all participated in the excitement of where the paper towels, brushes and etc could go.

Now to anyone who is not an artist it may seem strange, but we artists have also been known to carry on about brushes, easels, canvases and such as if they were rare diamonds. The tools of the trade so to speak. But I do believe it is all part of our creative process...the almost art part. When I was in college I would stretch and prep canvases, it gave me the feeling of being near, or almost ready to create art. When I am stymied I'll go to the closest art museum and stand in front of a Vangogh or Monet. The almost ready to create, the nearness of art is an essential to our art.

So given the space I'll be near, or at least almost there.....ART

slow start

It seems like we cannot get out of Florida! omg!


We almost made it ...we started out late on November 1st...9:15 to be exact. Scott and Ashley were there to help me close another home one more time. Scott and I agreed that we are not ever going to do it again.

We had spent days, weeks, months getting to this moment. Finding our horizontal condo on wheels, a 1996 Fleetwood Storm, was the first major step that Jon (my menopausal male teckie love of my life) and my number 1 son Scott accomplished. Then days putting in my stuff. Going from 2000 square feet to 500 (if I am lucky!) was not an easy task. 

The leaving was exciting..to be gone finally, heading towards Biloxi to visit Matt and Katie before he leaves for Korea. We slept in a rest stop in Florida late to catch some much needed sleep. Fell asleep with sounds of traffic but peace in our new home...animals, sleeping curled up in new found spaces they were claiming as theirs, and Jon and I nestled.
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We awoke to the sounds of semis starting out. I had a feeling like all was right with the world...finally. And that this really could work! We walked the dogs and headed back out on I-10. As we were traveling through a work zone and I was thinking how great everything was...well you know what happens next...disaster of course.

Disaster in the form of orange barrels on my side, the passenger side, were  flying every which way but we weren't hitting them! The arm of the awning had broke loose and was bouncing between the barrels and the side of the motorhome. We limped to the nearest RV repair place where they found time to remove the awning so we could make it to Biloxi somewhat on schedule.

We arrived in Biloxi traveling in rush hour traffic and fast arriving darkness. We met Matt and Katie for a late dinner. We were too late to check into the on base Fam Camp. We finally ended up at a Waffle House that had a truck parking area. Our stress level was high and all was no longer right with the world.

Not to say that the visit with the kids was not good and fun but there was a stress level maintained underlying everything and then Hurrican Ida. Yes we weathered it in the motorhome with the dogs and cats...for a rough 24 hours. Yes Jon and I were learning alot about each other and living in our small new home. We went our seperate ways after returning to Lake City.

The grand adventure was over before it began. I was devastated...I just didn't have anymore dreams in me. But all was not lost...We opened lines of communication first texting and then meeting for lunch and things progressed and we decided to try again. So we moved back in at Casey Jones RV Park in Lake City. And we are still here enjoying the Holidays with a purple Christmas Tree and dinners and parties with friends at the local Moose.

So things are better and I feel we are stronger for lessons learned and if the frigid cold nasty weather would leave we would be on the road...but we are still here in Lake City!