Artwork by Mindy Carpenter
It’s been almost two weeks since the Almeda Fire happened. It’s been about two days since the severe risk has passed and about two hours since we’ve seen blue skies and can breathe fresh air. The numbers are staggering. Over 2800 structures and homes lost. Hundreds of small businesses that thrived in this valley are […]
Yesterday I wrote a very long heartfelt upsetting blog post. It was about the Almeda Fire that happened here on Tuesday. The day it started, how it started, where it was and what I saw. I have published hundreds, maybe thousands of posts and not once has one not saved or accidentally been deleted. Yesterday […]
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust. Thank you thank you thank you to those charming gardeners in my life. Near and far, those I see regularly and those I think about every day. We’re all in this together. […]
Hello, friends! This has been a season of silver linings amidst these dark storm clouds. I’m doing my best, not always successfully, but sincerely trying, to look at the good bits. The other day I was thinking about the “new life” and one of the most striking differences for me is my routine. I am […]
When I was in high school, I used to borrow-steal this beloved vintage tennis (cricket?) sweater from my dad’s closet. It was and remains the perfect sweater. It’s both nostalgic and classic, a perfect memory set to the soundtrack of Footloose, Breakfast Club, Flashdance and Pretty in Pink. My paintings are nostalgic. And sometimes funny […]
The muse has a sense of humor. I think. Exhibit A, “Vintage Typewriters”. I was more than half way in on this painting, enjoying myself enjoying the subject matter, taking my time with each still life piece working my way around the canvas. I arrived at the vintage black typewriter, one of my dearest possessions, […]
I’m in the mosaic zone! Collage, mosaic, patchwork, creative anthems, painted stories, whatever they’re called, I’m IN. I want to write about these came about for a couple of reasons. The primary being, in creativity, nothing is lost. Things you do or create now that seem like nothing or not satisfying, will most likely pop […]
It appears that the world is reopening, cautiously or with abandon, depending on where you live. My little town of Ashland, Oregon is in the slow lane and we’ve been given word that retail shops, salons, personal services can begin opening, or i should say, begin the application to open May 15th. The vibe is […]
Hello out there! Pandemic fatigue, anyone??? Day 50 here. Shocking really. Shocking that it’s day 50, shocking what we get used to and shocking that it’s not over and I’m oddly used to feeling like it won’t be truly over any time soon. Lots of things are opening around the United States today but it […]
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop Even though times are wrought with anxiety, sadness, worry and fear, there is profound kindness happening all around us. I see it or hear about it every day. It’s the tiny to the huge. The big tip the stranger leaves for the restaurant […]
You ok over there? I’m ok over here. Times are scary, sad, uncertain and…strangely morphing into a new normal. Day 25, day 26, 27. For me, I’ve found routine and purpose critical for this sheltering in place. In no particular order, I make the bed, do the dishes, walk the dog, cook, do the occasional […]
Remember when a bubble bath was a luxury because you’d been out all day or super busy and needed to destress? Yeah, me neither. Pretty sure we’re on week forever and a day of quarantine and for us here in the United States, we’re looking at least least another month. Exhale. How’s everyone holding up? […]
