two kitties

Re-entry Plan for Tinley

Debra wrote on Sunday, and enclosed a copy of what she called the "ultimate street find." She had been walking along a Pittsburgh side street, and found an envelope on the pavement. It had been sent from the Airmen's Service Club in Roswell, New Mexico - and postmarked 1952.

I told her to send it in to Found Magazine. That's where I came up with this re-entry plan for Tinley - found on the streets of San Francisco and emailed to the site. Unlike most found objects, somehow, folks managed to find Tinley and get an update. She said she had never moved back into her parents house, and life is just fine.

Flathead Lake Cherries

Orchard manager Rod (left) said it's time to take the fruit. Just like that.  We hitched a ride down to the cherry processing facility on Finley Point. There, the bins are off-loaded, graded for size, and then washed in ice cold water.

Temperatures matter. The crew picks first thing in the morning because the fruit gets juicy and soft in the sun. The ice water wash cools them down and then they're stored in a reefer truck until they go to the  grocery store.

It happens fast. Our crew arrived at 5:00 this morning, and all of our 8000-odd pounds of fruit will be washed, sorted, and refrigerated before lunch.

Ahhhh....

We didn't plan on putting the boat in this year - too many other things on our "to do" list - but it's Mike's baby. He couldn't hold out forever.

And all of us are happy about that......

Sunset on Flathead Lake

If you visit Montana, the air is the first thing you notice when you step outside the airport. It's so clean it squeaks. Unless, of course, there are summer forest fires.

This year we've been lucky. Tons of winter snow seems to have dampened things down a bit, and that's a big relief. No one wants a repeat of last summer. The air has been been clear and the skies are bright blue and sunny.

At least until yesterday afternoon. A little haze blew in from somewhere, possibly the fires in California. The upside? The sunsets filter through the smoke to make a very pretty pink-orange. We hung out in the adirondack chairs last night and watched it go down.

We Have Cherries.

All of the sudden, our orchard is wild red, bright green and all blue skies.

Something Nice.

Today, do something nice for the universe. Print this and post it in a place where others will see it.

Track it's un-doing with digital photos and send those photos here....

Tagged...

A photo from our hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park on Thursday. It was beautiful up there! More on that later.

I picked up this meme from Adrienne over at Real Life: Live and Unscripted. If you're reading this, consider yourself "tagged", and answer the questions with just one word:

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging.
2. Your significant other? Sleeping.
3. Your hair? Ponytail.
4. Your mother? Minnesota.
5. Your father? Dead.
6. Your favorite thing? Studio.
7. Your dream last night? Gardening.
8 Your favorite drink? Coffee.
9. Your dream/goal? Artist.
10. The room you’re in? Kitchen.
11. Your hobby? Thrift.
12. Your fear? Success.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here.
14. What you’re not? Patient.
15. Muffins? Oatbran.
16. One of your wish list items? Lensbabies.
17. Where you grew up? Minnesota.
18. The last thing you did? Laundry.
19. What are you wearing? Jammies.
20. Favorite gadget? Paintstripgun.
21. Your pets? 2cats1dog.
22. Your computer? HP.
23. Your mood? OK.
24. Missing someone? Kari.Debra.
25. Your car? Lexus GX 470. But in my heart it's my little Beetle.
26. Something you’re not wearing? Bra.
27. Favorite store? Anthropologie.
28. Like someone? Tessa.Talia.
29. Your favorite color? Blue.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday.
31. Last time you cried? Not sure.

Maison Martin Margiela

This jacket from Maison Martin Margiela is not for the woman who depends on public transportation.

The rest of the collection is disappointingly pedestrian.

Grab a tissue, then push play.

I Woke Up Today: Port O'Brien

I've had a love affair with dioramas ever since I was a kid, so when I came across this video over on Magpie & Cake, I just had to post it here. I love the idea, and I love the song. Maybe even more after watching Be Kind, Rewind last night.

What I Was Wearing the Day I met Mike.

Since we're friends, I can admit that I've been more inspired by my garden this week than art or craft.

To get my mind going, I headed over to Miranda July's site, "Learning to Love You More" to accept one of her 60-odd creative assignments.

I chose #55: "Photograph a Significant Outfit." The idea being that the outfit became significant because of an unexpected happening. Not a photo of an outfit you chose on purpose for a special event.

So this is what I was wearing the night I met my husband. Very ordinary.  A white shirt, Lucky jeans, and some suede sandals my sister bought me at Marshall's in Chicago when I didn't have $20 on me. Never did pay her back.   

Mike and I met four years ago on a Friday night at Smith and Wollensky in Miami -  where we both were living at the time. We chatted for awhile, then agreed to meet on Sunday morning for a walk on the beach. That was the beginning of our story, and this is what I wore.

Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting and

OH...MA...GAWD...!

The lemon-blueberry combination was summer on a plate. You've got to try it.

(Jeff, in my mind the cake was in honor of your birthday. Happy Birthday!)

Hike to Sperry Glacier, Glacier National Park

Twenty-one miles round trip - half of it straight uphill - but it was so worth it.

Close to the top, we passed through a boulder forest that made me feel as if I was on another planet. Pictures don't do it justice. It reminded me the world Jonathan Lethem created in his science-fiction novel, Girl In Landscape.

We had lunch on top of Sperry Glacier (I'm in the cowboy hat) and returned to earth to a fabulous dinner prepared by the Spatz family.

Flathead Lake Cherries

Aren't they beautiful? It seems like just yesterday the trees were bursting into bloom.

The fruit will be harvested and sold to a distributor at the end of July, but I've already started eating them.

I go over in the morning and pick a few handfuls for our breakfast. I make cherry preserves with lemon peel and cloves, cherry ice cream with real vanilla bean, cherry pancakes, cherry vodka, cherry this, cherry that.

By the end of August, I won't be able to even stand the sight of a cherry. But right now, I'm really happy.

Glacier National Park - Camping and Helicopter Tour

Mike and I spent a perfect weekend camping in Glacier National Park. We have kind of a running joke about our fancy EOS digital Rebel camera. If we don't bring it along, we're bound to see something good - like three grizzly bears being spoon-fed peanut butter.

But "baby camera" did just fine, and I got quite a few shots on the helicopter tour that may be Christmas Card Worthy. These photos show a hidden glacier just beginning its summer melt. Its gentle twist reminds me of an installation by the artist Andy Goldworthy at Storm King Art Center in upstate New York.

The rest of the weekend was more mellow. We took a long walk by the river, then poached some salmon in riesling, butter, lemon and dill on our new "RVQ" barbeque.  The best two hundred bucks we've ever spent.

My Hands are Bananas

Well, I'm back from Anderson Ranch and I got so much out of working with Miranda Lake. Later this week I'll update the blog with photos of collage and encaustic work we did during our time in Aspen.

In a sillier moment, we shared our favorite You Tube videos. "My Hands are Bananas" tops Miranda's favorites list. Enjoy!

On Board from Netflix...

It's pouring here - oh wait, now it's snowing - and I woke up grumpy and fuzzy-headed. I had a late night of trying to weave too big straps through the dark tunnels of a denim drawstring handbag I designed.

Note to self: Creativity doesn't always work as well in sewing as it does in collage. Next time? Follow the pattern, Heidi.

Here's a list of some of the movies I'll be watching this month during Montana's spring downpours:

• Matilda
• Kitchen Stories
• Art 21: Series 1 and 2
• Notes on a Scandal
• I Know Where I'm Going!
• Bread and Tulips
• Never Cry Wolf
• The Office: Season 3 and 4
• Lonesome Jim
• Mon Oncle

The Winners...

Last week I asked for comments on a post about The Secret. The responses were nothing short of heroic. I realize now that it was totally unfair to ask you to consider the problems of vacuuming and serious illness in the same paragraph. I apologize. It won't happen again.

But your comments DID help me. I've been asking myself why I continue to procrastinate on tasks big and small. Especially those that will connect me to some of my larger goals life - making art, rewarding work, writing, spiritual connection, abs of steel - just to name a few. So I guess I'm figuring out what I need to do.

Using a random number generator online, I picked three winners and one "ultimate loser" from the batch of comments I received. The winners are: Simi, Wilsonian and DebraT. The "ultimate loser", the person who gets a prize just for playing the game, is Teent.

A very special thanks to all of you! For Trade4, JulieW and Simi for giving me practical advice about how to get things done. I took all of your suggestions and got my art studio cleaned out in one afternoon! To DebraT for suggesting I keep a list of truths about myself on the fridge that I can consult when I'm having a bad day. I spent a meditative day sewing and thinking about what those truths might be. I'm still working on it. To Wilsonian, Teent and Jeff for reminding me that there is a greater truth out there than my own.

But maybe Alison summarized it best when she said, "Basically, Heidi, you just need to suck it up and quit whining."

The Secret - Everything is Energy

Answer the question at the bottom of this post and you could win a PRIZE. See below.

I'm still reading The Secret and trying to keep an open mind. I know a couple of my friends have really gotten into it and I'm trying to relate to their new wisdom. Mike gets visibly agitated when I try to have a conversation with him about the "universe." He's a confirmed Presbyterian he tells me - not a new age guy.I have doubts too. It won't replace my beliefs, but The Secret has helped my thinking about what and who I want in my life. It is also a good reminder that our expectations are a determining factor within our day-to-day reality.

But lately, I'm preoccupied by things I really DON'T want to do. Vacuuming. Figuring out what's wrong with our desktop computer. Organizing my Outlook business contact database before Christmas rolls around again. The list goes on and on and I never seem to get ahead.  A lot of my friends also seem burdened down by the crushing routine of work and confused about how to shatter their ennui.

The Secret tells me that if I'm putting strong emotions out into the universe that say "I really don't like this", then I'm attracting more of it back to me. When negative things come up in your life it is your responsibility to "...emit a new signal... Give your powerful thoughts to what is wanted. You have the ability to give so much to the world by emitting feelings of love and well-being, despite what is happening around you."

OK...I guess. But how should that make me feel good about vacuuming? And I'm not being sarcastic - really. I need to figure out how to feel better about what I have to do so that I can get on with what makes me happy. So here I am, putting a question out to my millions hundreds of readers: What is your secret for getting yourself get through the things you don't want to do? And I'm not necessarily just talking about housework. I'm talking about jobs, dinners with work colleagues who treat you like you're stupid, chemotherapy, taxes and all the other things we have to deal with before we get to the good stuff.

Answer this question and you could win a BIG PRIZE. Three responders will win a novel hand-picked from my list of favorites and delivered in a small box stuffed with surprises.

Fine print: Please use the public comment system on the blog so that everyone can read and respond to your ideas.You can also send an email to buddycrenshaw@hotmail.com if you don't feel comfortable making a public comment. The closing date for the contest is May 1, 2007, but the blog will accept comments on the topic indefinitely.

Things that Take Flight

Easter weekend, Mike and I took off to Freezeout Lake, just north of Great Falls, Montana and about four hours east of our home. Hundreds of arctic snow geese and tundra swans stop at the lake each spring on their way north. Watching 150,000 birds take flight  was such an incredible sight and sound that we didn't stop to take a single photo. I did catch these yellow-headed blackbirds later in the day.

Later in the weekend, we took off north and went looking for a small airport hidden in the mountains called "Benchmark." Mike had heard about it but never seen it and we wondered if it would be long enough to land our small plane there. This was beautiful, but remote country so we were amazed by the long, wide runway we found there. Big enough for a bomber.

Maybe [not] by coincidence, this area is also host to hundreds of nuclear missiles, given away by weird, white poles sticking up out of the ground. Mountain sheep graze nearby and I caught some great shots of the herd before they ran away. This sheep was my favorite - he loved the camera.