The Day After the Night Before

Out for the count!

Sunny Cat has now managed to Houdini himself outside at night two nights running. Unlike other times of day, he won't return when called if he gets out in the late evening...and has thus managed to attend the local all-night cat raves w/o parental supervision. He's been on the porch in the morning wondering where his breakfast is, though. He then eats like a (little furry) horse and hits the hay.... sleeping so deeply he doesn't even flinch a whisker if you drop something on the floor near him. Typical teenager!

I have heard that in other places people deliberately put the cat out at night, but here where I live we have such a panoply of raccoons, foxes, owls and even the occasional (it is rumored) coyote, that it makes me too nervous to let him roam free among the night-hunting predators. Typical mom!

We Have A Winner (yawn!)

Well, even if nobody else cares, I was pretty excited to win the weekly Trader Joe's drawing! ;-)  I've been filing in those little raffle tickets (for bringing my own bags) once or twice a week for several years now. I might have been suspicious that nobody ever wins except that my friend Carol Peterson won once, back when the store in our neighborhood was new. She won like $50 and had her picture on a poster. It was all very exciting!

But now, years on, and hundreds of weekly winners later, nobody cares and it is only a $20 gift card.  They barely bothered to make eye contact today at the store's service desk, had to root around for the Winner Cards in a drawer, started chatting amongst themselves even as they were sliding the card across the counter to me and basically were pretty yawn about the whole thing. However, I got great props from another customer waiting in line at the desk who exclaimed and congratulated and said Wow! People actually win this thing? No way! That's so great!  and etc. Thanks, dear unknown shopper lady, for making my win more festive for me.  ;-)

In fact, despite the Trader Joe's managers' lack of enthusiasm, I was pretty thrilled. Ironically, they'd called to tell me I won on the same day last week that I had rotator cuff surgery! When I'd gotten home after a day in the hospital and was lying upstairs groggily (on my bed of pain...violins please) my son H told me the good news, with a pleased smile on his face, and you know, that was really a sweet little thing to hear! Something nice, some random stroke of virtue rewarded, that's always going to be kind of nice, however small. A quiet yay! 

A Turnip Bouquet

It's not every day
a bouquet of fat turnips
is laid at your door

(I have such cool neighbors.)

Double Rainbow

A double rainbow
brilliance and its subtle twin-
which is more lovely?

Sun Drying Oil Paintings!

Front yard full of wet oil paintings drying (I hope!) in the sun

With PAFA MFA program Final Reviews coming up quickly I have been galvanized into actually trying to finish up a few pieces! Unfortunately, with Henry just at home for a long and late two full week spring break from his special needs school, I found it hard to snatch more than a few hours here and there. I did my absolute best but it was not enough (that always feels bad!)
This week, despite Paul being overseas on business, I did manage to squeeze in lots and lots of hours at the easel (and at the computer! I also have a large term paper and presentation due. OMG. Deep breaths.) Unfortunately, this past week was wet and cold and dark and the paintings have simply not been drying. I am not a wet-into-wet painter, and despite my use of drying medium and occasional sessions in front of hot lights, the paintings are still maddeningly gooey. And yes, unfinished!

Another angle

Today has dawned cool but sunny and I am hoping that although the air temps are not super warm, perhaps the steady rays of the springtime sun will help speed up the process a little! I hope?
I suspect my lovely neighbors are bemused by my family and this front yard full of oil paintings is just one more incident of oddness for them to wonder at. Oh well! Keep shining, sun!

Son Peter gives the thumbs up to the unfinished portrait of himself and Henry

Let Us Try

"Let us try what Love will do." ~ William Penn
(from this evening's walk with Henry and Paul.)

Two for Two!

Ay yi yi yi...

So, P's Ultimate Frisbee injury of last week which was originally thought to be one wrist strained the other sprained, and treated just with one lightweight removable cast, has now been UPGRADED to one wrist broken, and the other possibly broken even worse than the other, with TWO casts! We'll know how bad the second one is tomorrow after the MRI. Poor guy, he's really being a good sport about it but, as you might guess, this really sucks.

He does get out of doing dishes for the next six weeks, though! (I'm really scraping for something positive to say...!) Cute picture courtesy of our neighbor Hiroshi Iizuka.

My Town

Off the evening train,
stopping to drink in the sight-
my town at sunset

June Colors

My street is loud with
crashing clashing colors shrieking
"It's spring! It's spring!"

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! (A scene from my town's parade, about an hour ago.)

Henry's Spring Break

Henry comes home

As usual, Henry's recent two-week spring break reminded me of Hemingway's words: The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.  Sometimes while I am squaring up to a six-foot-five 250-pound young man in a rage, I get a sudden objective flash of vision of myself doing this, and I am momentarily shocked at how strong I have learned to be. (Not always though. Sometimes I turn weakly away.)


All in all, this was a nice sojourn with Henry. Overall, his aggressive behaviors seem to be diminishing. What is increasing is his deficit in finding ways to entertain himself. So, there was more driving Mr Henry around than ever before (one activity that soothes and pleases him seemingly endlessly is being driven around. A shame that the gas prices are going up! ;-)


Here are some random photos from his break. We had many happy times:

We also had some dark times:

But we got through these rough patches. What helped was the love and support of friends and family. In no particular order here is a gallery of Henry Helpers and Friends:

Henry's favorite person on earth: Miss Janice!

Wonderful Ynnon brightened our days

Peter was a huge help with his twin brother. Here we are delivering some of my work to the Philadelphia Sketch Club. Peter drove, parked and Henry tended with grace.

Taz and Zai: but Henry is not at all  interested in new babies

Shaking hands with his emergency care coordinator Joel (the guy whose number to call if there is a huge emergency involving hospitals and/or police)

Hen and his neurologist, Dr. McHarg

It's hard to take Henry clothes shopping without help. Thank you Janice!

 One thing people don't hear much about is the occasional intense loneliness of being a special needs parent. You are often cut off from a lot of normal interaction others probably take for granted. So it was a special blessing to have several visits from friends and family over this vacation:

Our dear friends Andy and Diane Strauss

The Downs brothers  Tony and Paul measure up to each other

Friends we rarely get a chance to see Paul and Rose-Helene Spreiregan

My girlfriends were the best support imaginable. Bouquets to all of them:

We visited Sarah on her birthday

There was a lot of driving involved! Mary accompanied me on the night shift

Alex

Theresa

Carol heroically did day AND night shifts

Eliza

Sarah and her delightful, intrepid children came with us for a long nature walk

We had mixed feelings when it was time to say Goodbye:

Collapse!

Dark Spring

this long cold dark spring-
small flowers thrust and parry
with the wet grayness

Sugar Moon

Sugar moon rising
gently tugging the sweet sap-
the trees sigh softly

****************************
Happy Spring!

Snow Buddha

small snowbound Buddha
his hand raised to dispel fear
greets me on my walk

Snow Day

Snow Toast

Upon waking up to a soft, unexpected, snowfall

I raise my glass high-
bubbles gently rising to
snow gently falling