Get Back to Work.

Back to my cubicle after a week in Winnipeg. Funny how once you get back into your routine, everything seems a little like a dream. Was I really in Manitoba just a few days ago? Did I really see 13 performances in 3 days at the Fringe Festival? Did I really walk to Tim Hortons every morning for coffee because the stuff at Kelly's house was so nasty??? (heehee)
Well anyway, I am back in Winston-Salem, where it is 90+ degrees and like a tropical jungle. I'd cut the lawn, or walk the dog, or water the flowers, but come on, you have got to be joking. All I can do is look at Jimmy and say "you're on your own buddy. If you want some exercise, go find a cat to chase."
I do enjoy the first day back after a holiday. The day one spends going through emails and memos and trying to figure out what went on while you were gone. The bliss of not knowing enough to realize you should be in a panic.

Magazines

There was a time in my life when I thought I would keep my subscription to seventeen magazine forever. I was naive enough to believe it wouldn't matter how old I got, I would always connect with seventeen. Because, well you know, it was just so everything.
I cancelled my subscription when I turned 18.
Then there was a stint with W which lasted three or four years. I'm still not sure what that was about... I certainly couldn't afford (or wear!) the clothes. But I was so into the makeup and models. It was a little fantasy world for me, and the large format and photographs were just so wonderful. Then InStyle arrived on the newstands, and the beginning of a 10 year relationship. I finally cancelled that subscription a year ago, having noticed that after the initial flip through, I never went back to actually read any of it.
Today my coffee table holds Yoga Journal, The Sunday Times, the occasional RealSimple, Oprah or Domino and (bought just yesterday) the premier issue of Blueprint. I wonder how Freud would interpret the evolution of my magazine subscriptions... (or how I look forward to taking Grace to the beauty shop, so I can read all the trashy mags I'm too embarrassed to actually buy, like People and US).
What's on your coffee table?

Monday Mix

Even though I am slightly PMS-y and in a bit of a funk, so many good things from the past few days to balance it out...
A very cool felted lily pin arrived in the mail.
Lilies in MaryAnn's garden are outrageously beautiful.
A new bowl finished.
A salad I made for lunch today. So simple. So yummy. So proud of myself for finally learning about making good food.
And other stuff.
I met with Gwenn, the owner of one of my favourite little galleries on Saturday, and she wants to carry my bowls! She will stock half a dozen from September through Christmas. Of course I want them to sell, but I am equally thrilled that she thinks them artsy enough for her gallery.
Saturday evening we went to watch Cinema Paradiso shown on the huge lawn in front of Reynolda House (the estate home of RJ Reynolds of Camel cigarettes fame). About 150 people showed up, blankets and folding chairs and picnics in hand. Everyone ate and socialized waiting for the sun to set and the movie to start. It may have been partly due to the wine and the fun of watching it outside on a beautiful summer night, but I loved the film. Go rent it.
The Sunday Times. A great walk with Jimmy. Dairy Queen. Lots of fireflies around this time of year.

Sticky

Illustration Friday's topic this week is Sticky, which seems appropriate because it has been REALLY HOT! the past few days. I can now go from fresh to frazzled in under an hour. I hope whoever invented air-conditioning is living a wonderful life somewhere. I try to be as environmentally friendly as possible and not run it constantly, but with the forecast today for 34C, 70% humidity and code orange air quality, I hope the planet will forgive me.