Blog 807

Man resting
Art Group sketch
Acrylic on canvas
14 x 16 inches
Barbara Muir © 2010
(I made the man look happier
than he did. Tonight the same
pieces of opera played
over and over, and at the
end of our session the machine
began skipping. So the model
actually asked for no music.
The fellow I've painted here is
cool with our group's eclectic
musical selections, and really
loves opera. Hey! I'm the
artist.)

Seriously. Blog 800 should have been a blog party. It's a nice
number. If it was 800 pages, (and it was) it would be
a long book. I'm not boasting (much), but the actual
day slipped right by me in a fog of active living.

There was a cool article in the Globe and Mail yesterday
about Neil Pasricha who writes a blog about what he thinks is
awesome called 1000 Awesome Things. Read Sarah Hampson's
A few awesome things about 1000awesomethings.com's Neil Pasricha.
Neil is dedicated to noticing what's worth being happy
about in life. I think that's a brave and wonderful
pursuit.

I think passing the 800 point in a blur of
activity is awesome. It's awesome to have so much
going on. But you know what else will be exciting?
Tomorrow. That's what. Now that I've taken my income
taxes in to the accountant, and as soon as I finish my last
marks meeting, I will be completely happy. I am completely
happy right now, but I am also completely exhausted.
For the past month it feels like I've worked from list
after list, after list -- I'm not finished everything on the
big list by any means, but each huge task brings me
closer to regular life.

There's a little bottle of Veuve Cliquot sitting in the
fridge for after all is said and done. That's to celebrate
1. Getting the three paintings for New York done.
2. Getting the paintings to New York (Hey they
arrived safely at the gallery today!). 3. Marking all
of my student exams. 4. Getting the two paintings finished
and in to the Don Valley Art Club Spring Show -- (if you're
in town the opening is on Friday night from 7 p.m. until
9.p.m. at Todmorden Mills.) 5. Getting help to get
my taxes to the accountant (today). 6. Getting help
to book the hotel and flights. (I better go and get a big
bottle of champers so I can share it with all of the people
who helped me here.)

Front door pansies
(We didn't get time to buy flowers
yet this week. But coming in the
front door there are pots of
pansies on either side of the steps.
I picked fresh ones tonight after my
art group -- and here they are.
No wonder we feel so
ridiculously happy at this
time of year.)

Here's my dream, to sit in the garden under the white
blooms of the cherry tree, and drink a glass of lovely
champagne. To listen to the birds, the squirrels, people
building, planting, playing and watering their grass,
and then to wander inside and read for as long as I
want to... Coming up.

Have a reading-as-long-as-you-want-to day.