STAR CHART

It happened just a few minutes before I arrived on campus for class this afternoon; I saw the firetruck pull onto the square and saw lots of flashing lights and people milling around. I’m so glad I didn’t actually see it. Apparently he was running around and people were trying to put out the fire with water bottles and fire extinguishes and their clothes. A lot of people saw it. When I was leaving the campus at 5:00 there were men in hazardous waste gear still cleaning up the square. I saw girls hugging each other and crying.

Cooking
Drawing
Fashion
Gardening
Health
Maintenance
Miscellaneous Crafts
Painting
Photography
Pottery
Reading
Spirituality

I won’t be talking about my spirituality here, because it’s a very personal issue for me, and not really anybody’s business. But I’ll try to keep up with the rest as life changes. It’s good for me to stay in touch with everything that’s important to me, because I tend to feel a little lost if I don’t.

COOKING On a whim, I baked chocolate chip cookies Thursday morning. Dan has been craving them, just plain, without peanut butter in them or anything else. Since the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I have includes peanut butter and oatmeal, I decided to follow Jeffrey Steingarten’s advice and try the recipe on the package of Nestle’s Toll House chocolate chips. Yum! :9

Since it’s Dan’s birthday weekend, I wanted to make something special for dinner tonight. I wanted to try making foie gras, but I can’t find any for sale anywhere. Instead, I made Coquille St. Jaques, a French scallop dish. Oh boy! It was really good. 8D

DRAWING Ugh. I improved a ton last quarter, so I think this quarter I’m just trying to feel out my new learned skills. It’s frustrating and draining. But I love my drawing teacher.

This afternoon I drew a master copy of a Frank Auerbach drawing. It was really great, but I really wish I would focus on one thing or the other. When I’m not drawing I’m worried about drawing and when I’m drawing I’m worried about everything else. I really need to put everything into what I’m doing in the moment. Life is much more enjoyable that way, and less stressful.

FASHION I haven’t had time to do makeup before classes lately, but I’ve still been having lots of fun with fashion. For a while I was taking photos of my outfits before I left, just like in real fashion blogs. But I haven’t posted them. Or anything.

It’s not even the end of October yet, and I’m already thinking ahead to Winter fashions. I think Winter may be my sparsest wardrobe yet. What should I wear? The pre-Christmas stuff is easy. Red, white, and green. But from January to March? How can I get by on ice colors? Ice pink, ice blue, ice purple, ice pink, ice grey, and white will be the palette. Did I say ice pink twice? LOL. Well…who says I can’t still wear cranberry red and pine green in February? Nooooo, no no no, it just doesn’t work. Maybe in January. Actually…I think red can work through all winter long. But not pine.

As far as autumn fashion, I still need a few staples. A chocolate tank top and a gray tank top. I just bought some autumnal socks from Sock Dreams. I can’t wait ’til they come in the mail. : )

GARDENING My basil and mint plants are dying and I finally figured out that it started as soon as we turned the heat on. Unfortunately, the heater is right under the big south window. I pulled the plants back a few inches; hopefully they’ll perk up. Also, we’ve eaten lots of tomatoes from the garden, but I think the season is over. We haven’t been to Paula and Grant’s for a while, but I doubt there are any left. I did roast some, which was wonderful.

Soon we need to pull up the plants and get the bed ready for winter. It got totally overrun with weeds.

I am thinking about putting in a long window box for herbs and tomatoes. Dan is all for it as well. A couple of heirlooms, basil, tarragon, parsley, cilantro, sage, and thyme. For starters.

HEALTH So I haven’t been walking to and from school like I planned. It’s good in theory, but I just never feel like it. I did walk home the other day. Or no, I walked to school. It was nice! Although I had stuff to carry and I was in a bit of pain afterward. But it was OK. Maybe I will walk every other Wednesday. : )

I have been taking better care of my teeth. I saw a girl with a scarf that had one tooth happy and one tooth crying. It made me think of a completely different way of looking at self-care/maintenance. I have been thinking of things in the manner of obligations. My doctor says to lose weight. My dentist says to floss. I should be going to the dentist soon, so therefore I should start flossing again so they won’t be on my ass about it. But really, it’s my body, and how do other people have a say over what happens to my body? In reality, my body is a slave to my mind. It’s my mind that decides what is going to happen to it, for the most part. I may know I need to floss, but my mind says, “I don’t feel like it.” So I don’t. I may know I need to eat less cookies and more fruit and vegetables, but my mind says, and feels, “ME WANT COOKIE.” So really, my poor body is at the mercy of my whims. My teeth are like innocent children, suffering or thriving under the care of a neglectful or diligent parent. My teeth want to be taken care of and my mind is bored with the idea and wants to move on to other things. So why can’t I open up a dialogue between the two? Why can’t my mind be the adult in the situation, since it’s the one with all the power, and give the defenseless teeth what they need? It’s definitely an interesting way of looking at things.

MAINTENANCE What does this mean? I guess mostly housework. Keeping things neat and beautiful, or even decorating.

I did the laundry yesterday. We also want to buy some gold and red pillows for the couch to get it nice and autumnal looking. I want a golden candle and some of those pretty fake leaves I saw in the Crate and Barrel catalog. I bought a beautiful autumn colored shawl/blanket in Eastsound in the San Juans. Dan just loves it, which makes me so happy.

MISCELLANEOUS CRAFTS I haven’t knitted in forever. Another “craft” on my list of things to learn is sewing. Also, candlemaking. Those things are currently on back burners.

PAINTING I’m learning painting from Zhi Lin, who teaches a very perfectionist and precise approach. He teaches very important skills to learn, but it’s more work and drudgery for me than joy and exploration. It’s good for me to learn, but it’s not fun.

My drawing teacher has been talking a lot about Frank Auerbach, so I checked out a book about his work from the library yesterday. Wow! What amazing work. He piles on the paint so much that his portraits look like melting skulls. I love them. I’ve been dreaming of piling on colors, thinking about making studies of light and color for different times of day. I would rather play with that than with precision. Oh well. hahaha.

PHOTOGRAPHY There are always photos being taken, but there are rarely photos being uploaded. I still have lots to upload and post. I wonder when I’ll get to that? Hmmm.

POTTERY Nothing. I can’t find anywhere in Seattle that will let me just go and throw pots and glaze them and let them be kiln fired by someone else. In order to be able to use any pottery studio in Seattle, I must either take lessons or submit a resume (ergo, be a successful potter).

I did finally buy another matcha bowl at Uwajimaya today. I bought the same beautiful white one that Stacey did.

And I have lots more photography to upload too. I also need to write to my parents!

So far this quarter is crazy. I have a painting class (beginning painting…painting classes are all supposed to be taken twice, and this is my second time), a drawing class (intermediate drawing) and a fun class (the human past, an archaeology class that covers human prehistory from about 4 million years ago to Egyptian and Syrian, maybe some later prehistorical cultures as well. We’ll see how far the class gets). My painting teacher is very formidable and scary…his class is very nerve-wracking and tense. My drawing teacher, on the other hand, is one of the sweetest teachers I’ve ever had. I love her already. And she paints the most beautiful abstract paintings.

Mondays and Wednesdays are craziest. I have the painting and drawing classes back to back, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and it takes me hours to calm down after my painting class. Even in the quiet and peace of my drawing class, it’s hard to just relax and have a good time. Even though my painting class ends at 2:30, if I don’t take a bath before bed, I can’t sleep!

1.Are you male or female?
Lady Stardust

2.Describe yourself.
Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed

3.What do people feel when they’re around you?
I Feel Free

4.How would you describe your previous relationship?
Wishful Beginnings

5.Describe your current relationship.
Modern Love

6.Where would you want to be now?
Moss Garden

7.How do you feel about love?
Fill Your Heart

8.What’s your life like?
An Occasional Dream

9.What would you ask for if you had only one wish?
Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy