Estoy Nueces

It is always interesting to re-read what I wrote just days ago. I don't remember being pukey that morning. But that makes me curious because I was pretty pukey last night, too. I was super hot and just uncomfortable. I took some soda and Pepto and a shower and got into clean sheets and felt better pretty soon. In fact, I felt okay to just go into a deep sleep and then I could NOT get myself to sleep. I turned on the light and read a while twice and got so sleepy reading, but then I would turn out the light and be awake again. But, no reason to get up this morning so I should be fine.

I have been dreaming bit this week and making some lists and envisioning what this house can BE if I just give it some effort. Ah, there's the rub! I could honestly just sit here at this desk all day. Poking around on the Internet, clearing off a few things here and there on this trashed desktop, just piddling.

I truly hope I get my curtains hung today. I bought them over a week ago, had to put it off because I was out of town last weekend and I went to see what they look like! They are mustard yellow. Kind of an odd color to pick. I'm trying to make my studio COZY. I had the coziest studio in Austin and I miss the feeling of walking into it. It was a room in/off the garage so completely separate from the house (therefore, no cats). It had been my husband's "drum room" where he had his collection of snares on shelves all around the top of the room and he could practice. When he left I worked really hard to get my studio desk in there (it had to be dismantled) and I got a different computer and set it up really nicely. There was an old filing cabinet in there in an ugly brown color. I took leftover paint from my bedroom and painted the filing cabinet and the wall behind the desk. It was gorgeous. So rich and deep. A pretty dark teal. I didn't paint behind the file cabinet or on the two sides of it I couldn't reach, but you couldn't see any of that. The wall you could see as you walked into this small room was completely white. He had had a gallery wall of pictures (with a prominent picture of his girlfriend which rankled me and drove my blood pressure higher). I experimented and sprayed some "clouds" of pink spray paint at random and then I drew several mandalas overlapping with a big one in the center. I did the mandalas with black magic marker and that is not as pretty and as solid as you would hope. And I didn't use a lot of guidelines so lots of the divisions and flourishes were not as even as I would want. But it still turned out very cool and made me happy to see my creativity every time I walked in. Of course the realtor recommended I paint before I sold, but I didn't. I think the hippies that bought the house probably liked it. I know they liked the colors on the walls throughout the house. (God that makes me wish I had color in this house) I bet they kept the mandalas. They may only be using that room for storage, but he's a bass player so it may be his practice room now.

But, back to DALLAS. My studio now is a room with two windows so there is lots of natural light. I also do my daily job in there so it has another desk. I do like the way I have the studio desk set up. The room was too echo-y so I put a large patterned blanket on the wall and that helped. But my hopes are that the curtains will let me take down the blanket and use that wall for paintings or something artistic... though no mandala this time. I want the room to be able to be darker and get more indirect light. The carpet is just blah builder's grade beige. I may get another rug for in there. The one I had in Austin looked fabulous with that teal wall, but it is in use here elsewhere. If the curtains don't work or help enough, I guess I'll investigate paint and getting a pretty deep color on an accent wall or two.

Throughout the whole house I am beginning to want to get rid of stuff like I never have before! I have my great-grandmother's dining table and my grandfather's chifforobe and I'm even thinking about letting them move on. My antique dealing brother-in-law says "people" are wanting real antiques again. I don't quite believe that. I haven't seen any evidence of it in my world (which, admittedly is very small!). First I should probably let my china cabinet go. It was a wedding gift to hold my wedding china. I need to get rid of the china, too! It is really not me. If I were the creative type that could paint it and make it something cooler, I would. I know my limits.

I got THE NICEST compliment this week. I am still glowing from it. I work with a guy in Washington that is very interesting and quirky and he may be my favorite coworker, though sometimes I feel like he is over my head with his cool references and such. But he originally came from Oklahoma and we have family history in common and we both love the Alt-Country and Americana. We've never worked in the same city so we haven't had long conversations, but we occasionally have a good conversation via email.

Last week he and I were emailing about the death of Charlie Robison and how it affected us. I wrote a short email with my favorite story about Charlie. A few days later we had a meeting with our team and he and I were the first in the (virtual) room so we chatted a minute. He said, "Oh, my wife said to tell you that you are a really good writer." I said, How in the world does she know that? He said, "I forwarded your email about Charlie to her." He went on to say that she said I wrote where it was easy and pleasant to read and she felt like I was talking to her (or maybe that's what I wanted to hear and how I remember it, but it was a COMPLIMENT). I glowed all the rest of the week and I'm glowing again. It made me so happy. I went back and re-read some of my old writing from my more public-facing blog I did and I am good!

Okay- Like I said. I could stay here all day and one of these days I am going to do it just to prove to myself that I'm not lying. But today really needs to have some STUFF done. So, first to find the drill and see if it is charged...