The Art of Not Working

I had a fabulous dinner last night with my DH and my friend R.  Good times at Ya Hala (in Portland, OR at SE 80th and Stark--highly recommended.)  One of those meals where I spent most of my time laughing about something.  We were the last people to leave.  I get to relive a bit of the flavors, if not the companionship, today when I dip into leftovers: wonderful bread they baked on the spot last night, homous (Lebanese spelling) and the cabernet sauvignon we had with out meal (we bought a bottle but didn't finish it.)  A meal like we had is a celebration of life.  The whole brain is engaged.  I'm sure my DH would have enjoyed a little danger with the meal, but I thought it was perfect.    

R is on her way to Glacier National Park today--have a great road trip, R, and take lots of pics!

R is the one that keeps me honest about my art, reminding me about the difference between an amateur (hey, it's a love thing and therefore not bad!) and a professional artist.  I simply don't put the effort into art that I put into writing.  I would like to!  But there wouldn't be hours left in the day to do that.  Well, I guess I could not sleep.  Volunteering for stuff does eat into my time, but only during certain times of the year.  That doesn't explain away my lack of focus on things of color and mind-hand-brush.  I think painting is what I do to relax and think, and I think and relax so that I can write, if that makes sense.  Gardening is the same way.  I don't think and plan and schedule my time around gardening.  I garden so that I have time to relax, think and plan my work.  The fact that I'm accomplishing stuff and sweating is purely secondary.  If I wanted to nudge myself into professional art, I would have two full time jobs instead of one (or two--however many I have right now) and the relax/think time would vanish, which would impact my creativity.  Hard to create when your creativity is compromised.

Big working weekend this weekend.  All kinds of stuff to do inside the house and out on the acreage.  Lots of time to think and plan and work on those projects that might keep us afloat over the next few months.  The weather is perfect.  It's non-stop happy happy around here.