I’m off to the wilderness…plan to summit three peaks tomorrow…

LizAnn's first rafting float trip since her accident last summer.

 

The "Ding-a-lings" - Leslie, Zaydee and I

Eight gals, two boats, and Yogi who is the kind of friend his name implies. Made banana split cake early this a.m. for Yogi’s 50th celebration on a sandy-beached river island. Missed the storms, soaked in the sun, watched the dramatic sky...baby ducks, marmot musings, bald eagle sightings and gulped Brandi Slush. Shared LizAnn’s first river float and swim since her accident on Cowen nearly a year ago. Healing, feeling, and fun.

 

Beautiful 300 foot climb on an arête up Emigrant gulch. The climb is named after Britney Spears...?! Emigrant creek roared 1000 feet below and big black birds circled overhead. Leslie and I swapped leads then celebrated on the summit with chocolate, salami, and tiny swigs from my girlie flask. Later...homemade sushi, tempura shrimp and wine with friends on my deck at sunset. We rallied after dark and bounced down my mountain to town for a night out in a bar full of cowboys...”Livingston Saturday Night.” Now I gotta grab a few hours of sleep before floating the river…  

   

             

We’ve had a hot week. Thank goodness for delicious cool mountain breeze nights. Perhaps a snow photo would almost feel good. Taken the 4th of July on a ridge below the summit of Ramshorn Peak, my nieces enjoyed the huge snow bank. Just in case you are wondering…yes! Of course we had a giggly fun ridge top snowball fight!  

 

 

A red-tailed hawk has been scrutinizing my work on an outdoor commission up Tom Miner Basin. Early mornings are cool enough to wear a fleece coat. Noon arrives and I’m usually in shorts and a tank, swatting flies and creating wood chips and sawdust.

 

"Sweet Summer" - is the third artwork with a SOLD red dot sticker in the exhibit at Elle's Belle's Bakery and Cafe. Stop by for something scrumptious baked with love and check out the show!

Zaydee jumped in the Yellowstone for a swim after a post-sunrise climb on cliffs above the river. Three pelicans flew in formation downriver as I traveled up the valley at 9 a.m. to begin the staining stage of the carving commission up Tom Miner Basin. Love working with wood after touching rock. Mmmm...the fresh rainbow trout dinner was pretty good too!

Heavy stifling gooey wet grayness attached itself and slunk into bed with me last night. Strange dreams involved awkward mechanics such as a faucet installed by Shawn too high over the sink which left a puddle on the floor since he conveniently located an existing pipe rather than routing to where I needed the pipe to go. Dreams felt like a “to do” list without end or joy or satisfaction. I woke feeling splashed on and drippy; soaked by disappointment and wrung out. Plumb tuckered and uninspired, the sky matched my mood; heavy, overcast, cold and wet. Forty degree temps in July?! I’ve much to be thankful for. The last few weeks were a whirlwind of activity and joy: my brother and his family vacationed here, various fun visits and events with friends, a road trip to the incredible music festival in Butte, Paul’s dedication, imagination, and hard work on my cabin, cash flow much improved, commission prospects encouraging, art sales good, my health just fine. So why the blues? Sometimes the Blues Monster simply rears his ugly head and wrecks havoc with peace, slobbers on my happiness, burps discontent, farts impatience, and shits a pile of the grumps on the floor near my bed for me to step into…barefoot…first thing in the morning. Creativity is a window for me to crack open on days when the Blues Monster disturbs my tranquility. Occasionally I can leap toward the window and throw it wide open, laugh, and dive into the adventure which waits outside. Other days I muster a little lump of gumption, crawl painfully, and with slow excruciating effort I force open a window that screeches and groans as though the pesky monster painted it shut. Eventually I get out of bed no matter how tempting it is to curl up in darkness under the covers. We all have dark places. Some of us choose to remain in the comforting dark places which require little effort (i.e. under the covers). Some of us blame others for the presence of the Blues Monster. The blamers lie in bed and voice accusations or jump and rant and rave in violent trantrums. Some of us quietly rely on others to open the window, air out the room, and clean up the monster poop for us. I have at different times done variations of all of those things and more to survive the monster visits. Ultimately it seems that my efforts…however klutzy…to fuddle my way through the muck always bring me to a creative place. I am thankful for purpose, people, and passion. And yes…in a strange way I am even thankful for the monster visits.

 

I love seeing just who is drawn to what when it comes to the basket full of finished original works on paper. Each child got to select one as a gift from me. Here's what they chose: "Henri" chosen by Chloe (13 years old)    

 

 

 

 

 

"Little Boo" chosen by Kiera (11 years old)

 

 

 

 

 

"Leala" chosen by Zach (15 years old)

 

"Lucinda" is on her way to PA...bought by a collector as a gift for her friend's newly remodeled kitchen...think she'll rule her new roost?

Sweet little nieces tagged their first summit! Ramshorn Peak - 8 miles, 10, 223 feet - total troopers, super strong, no complaints, LOTS of fun. Snow ball fights, fried chicken, chocolate, watermelon and a late night soak at Chico complete with pool games and fireworks.

July 2 My cute little nieces are visiting from MN and we're having a blast...Livingston parade...rodeo...art fair...slumber party...cotton candy, fries and Italien ice. yum and fun