No so Random

I am starting Chapter 4 of the Artist's Way tomorrow. This is the week I've been dreading, since there is no reading of any kind outside of the book & the exercises! No tv! No radio! No computer! What awful timing! Nanowrimo starts on Sunday - I can't check in with my accountabilibuddies until Tuesday night. I just joined a very chatty e-coven. I have to skip a week as soon as I did my intoductory post. Project Runway is on tomorrow night! Ack! This is going to be rough.

So, everyone have a great week, Happy Halloween, and for everyone in the Denver area - I hope you get a snow day Thursday :)

random thursday on....Thursday! Wow!

I have dishes to do, a sickle to make, a costume to finish, and a sister to pick up at the dentist office, as soon as she calls.
But all of that pales in comparison to actually making this uber-flexible deadline.
I began a new batch of sourdough starter on Sunday. It starts with rye flour and water, and goes from there. I just did the third refresh about half an hour ago, and my little dough balls (one for home, one for work) are already beginning to rise. Yeast and I play well together.
The chocolate and I.....well. It seems to be back in the 'on' phase of our on-again/off-again relationship. Mostly. At least I'm not the only one having the same problem.
I am seriously considering further my education and broadening my options by attending culinary school. I'm leaning toward Cook Street (short commute, short intense program, month in France & Italy, lots of wine....). I'm searching for grants, because I really don't want to take on a massive amount of debt. If you know of grants for middle-aged, childless women (doesn't Obama want us to better ourselves too? Why just "Obama wants moms to go back to school" ads?) please let me know.
The roofing saga continues. 2 sections of the new shingles need to be replaced. At the company's expense. The gutter guys mistakenly put gutters on the garage. We get to keep them. At the company's expense. So...yay.
I have about a dozen or so iris bulbs to plant. I keep waiting for that magical combination of good weather, a day off and feeling well. Saturday or possibly tomorrow afternoon may be that day.
The Witches Ball is Saturday night. I have finally decided to go. (Yes I made a costume. Just for fun. It was my Artist's Way project this week). I was invited to participate in the opening ritual, but declined. Najah told me the planning meeting got a bit contentious, what with people trying to blend various pagan traditions, taking exception to certain words and making assumptions about other people's practice. Glad I missed that.
Project Runway tonight - I think the only reason Logan is still on the show is because he's pretty. If he was plain or homely, he'd be long gone.

Shadow Shot Sunday -

A snake in the grass.

I like the way the shadow frames the light coming through the hole in the log. I also liked the puzzled looks the orienteering folks gave me as they walked by while I was taking it.

Random thoughts, Wildlife, and a Very Happy Dog

If it weren't for the park, manual labor and morning pages, I might have gone crazy this week. I am having a bad time with chocolate this week. So much so that scientific explanations mean nothing, and it just boils down to ...SHE HATES ME! IT'S PERSONAL! I'm more kinesthetic than visual or auditory, so movement is soothing. Walking, writing, weeding, kneading, rolling dough - it's all good.

On Wednesday's walk, snakes posed for me, rather than slithering off as they normally do.

I like snakes, when they aren't venomous, and are outside where they belong.

Same goes for spiders, like this one. I was off the trail at Chatfield State Park when I saw him. I went there for my first weekly artist date (part of the Artist's Way thing I'm doing). At one point, I came across a lot of people with maps and compasses. Was this a scavenger hunt? No. It was an orienteering class. Oh. My explanation was more fun. Although if one wants to test one's orienteering skills safely, Chatfield's a good place to do it. It's big, but bordered on all sides by roads.

Yesterday, my sister came with us for walkies. She is a more focused walker than Puppy and me, so we kept a brisk pace, and walked the entire loop of the park. The sun was setting as we headed back toward the car. Just as we reached Tabor Lake, an owl called. It called again, and I spotted him in the bare branches of a tree. He called again, and then flew off into the sunset. This is not that owl. He was at the Highlands Festival. My camera is not capable of long distance twilight photos.

Here is Puppy, at the beginning of the walk. She was still this happy two miles later.

Today was massive yardwork, after the artist date at Chatfield.

Then up to Prospect Park, with tarp and body bag to load up on free mulch. Yes, we have a body bag. Bevin got it from work. It's not used. It's new. It's 'FEMA blue', has handles, and is very good for hauling mulch.

I am making a new batch of sourdough starter tonight. Baking bread makes me happy in a way that is physically and spiritually fulfilling.

Am still not sure I want to go to the Witches' Ball this year, but I'm having fun planning costumes. I haven't made one, but the planning is fun. It's next Saturday. I love Project Runway. It's so inspiring. I loved the week they made clothes from paper. And the costume week was fun.

random sort of thoughts

If an opportunity presents itself

do I walk through that door

do I leave what I know behind

do I make that leap

walk off that cliff

or stay in the familiar

If the path leads in a different direction

than the one I expected

do I open myself to the possibility

that the map in my mind might not be the best one

stay

or go

or something else

but I think I'm ready

for another adventure

This week I finally got all our scraps of paper, parchment, legal pads, printout and copies into a coherent, legible, organized recipe notebook. I have been trying to get this done for about two years. Today, I was alone in the kitchen and took advantage of the solitude to rearrange the kitchen into what is hopefully a more efficient and functional space. This involved lifting a table over my head in order to get between the stove and the sink and get one leg of the table between the wall and the gas line. Yeah, I'm a bit sore from that.

The distasteful chore of the weekend: buying a new bathing suit. The one I have is one Ai Chi class away from an arrest for indecent exposure. I'm guessing a sporting goods store is my best bet for a reasonably priced, modest, functional suit. We'll see.

I'm hoping to get some bulbs planted this weekend, but it's supposed to be cold and wet this weekend. Planting may be postponed for a few days until the sun and milder temperatures come back.