A Few Slings and Arrows

Turning 65 and planning cataract surgery have made me ponder aging more than I'd like to. I think it is healthy to acknowledge feeling badly...and then go on to try to fix as much as possible and accept as much as possible. Maybe even some bonuses.

I talk with my patients, with friends and family, and with my online Hot Flash Women group about expectations, aspirations, and taking responsibility for doing as much as we can to first, realize what our expectations and aspirations are, and then do our best to make them happen.

Time rushes by more quickly as I age...and it's even more important to fully APPRECIATE each moment and all my numerous blessings.



I spent the weekend in Seattle with
David and Brian, Doug and Amal, Serene and Thayer. I'm so lucky to be in a family where we
all like each other and enjoy sharing food
(spectacular Thai dinner created by David,
Doug, and Amal). Brian and I got to see David's
999 Amazing pictures from his trip to Thailand.
I love to share vicariously in his experience, but
can give up the desire to travel to exotic places myself.

We saw the Gaugin show at SAM, and I found
it very interesting, both to see the way his
work matured over time, and to hear about how
much his painting, print making, and carving was influenced by his gallery in Paris, and trying to
make things to sell, to support his wife and children...and maybe to justify his love for exotic places.

David, Doug, and I continue to make 2-D Art, even when the chances of selling anything seem
quite remote. I thanked Mom on the phone yesterday for encouraging our art making both when we were children and now. In a world full of turmoil, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to keep making pictures that will accumulate in our garages...but I can't think of anything more exciting than to develop a skill and keep pushing to see where it goes.

Two more of my 100 Hot Flash women series, Joanne Hays and Renne Brock-Richmond. Next Friday's Sequim Art Walk theme color is Pink, so I'm going to have to finish a few more paintings for that. See you at Sequim Sunshine Cafe on Friday, April 6th!

Life is Good, even when I feel grumpy.

What to Do About Birthdays?

Birthdays keep on coming, whether we welcome
them or not. I'm not exactly excited about turning 65--and seeing body parts that I've come to rely on disintegrating...on the other hand, it IS good to be alive, and perhaps learning and growing bit by bit, with set backs here and there. (reading Pema Chodron: TAKING THE LEAP, Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears.)
I'm no longer interested in big parties with lots of presents and cards, but I love taking a special day for myself, with treats and adventures that I'll never be too old to enjoy. Now that I live on the Olympic Peninsula, a visit to salt water is always on the agenda, picking up a few good rocks for my yard.


Port Townsend is a great place for self-indulgence: A beautiful lunch at Alchemy, my first Kir Royale, a scallop salad...and I forgot to take a photo of the goat cheesecake with fig sauce and a candle. The waitress and two women also born in 1947 serenaded me. An intellectual movie, A Dangerous Method, at the Rose Theater, Art Supplies from Akamai, drink from The Wine Seller, browsing at William James Bookseller and the bead store. I'm happy to see that I have at least as much fun on my own, as I do with a friend along, and next time I'll go over with Suzanne.

Time for Ourselves--what a great concept! Take yourself on a one day or one hour vacation and feel refreshed!





Back to painting tomorrow. Here's Dianne Drake of Sequim Sunshine Cafe, where I'll be tonight for first Friday Art Walk and collecting more photos for paintings of 100 Hot Flash Women.