A Tragedy Tonight

That slinky went down the stairs FAST.  We zipped past that dangerous season, and it seems we’ve jumped straight into summer.  Hot and the humidity factor is rising.

But sticky is no excuse for not hoofing it in to work.  Rain will still force me into the car, but just because we’re above 80 in the afternoon is not enough to stop me from taking to the streets.  And mornings have been beautiful!

Except for THIS morning.  As I was making my way out of the park, thoroughly enmeshed in the song pounding against my eardrums and celebrating the smell of freshly mowed grass…I happened to see this…

The poor little fella!  To be cut down so brutally in his prime by a riding mower!

Some day…when I’m ALLLLLLL chopped up!

I’ll never forget ya, little buddy!

My Good Deed for the Day

I rescued a little birdie today…

Seriously.

There are a couple of different ways to get up to the 2nd level of the city parking structure, where I park my car.  The one I use most often is the main entrance on South Street, currently being torn all to hell & back (and, let’s make this clear…this is NOT one of the nicer hells) by Wisconsin’s ‘other’ season.

Last night, they had torn out the sidewalk leading up to the structure’s main doors.  When the construction crews aren’t in the street, you can still get in there by crossing the torn-up street and sneaking in around through the barriers.

Well…they start early.  By the time I need to access my car and get to work, they’ve got the construction zone all full of moving equipment.

So I’ve gone to plan B – Use the street entrance to the SSI building, go up the elevator, and cross the alley by means of the skyway.

 

 

This morning…there was a bird stuck in the garage side of the skyway.  He was frantically beating himself against the glass, certain that there HAD to be a bird-shaped hole he could get through so he could return to the sky.

 

Poor little thing.

 

I started by trying to guide his frantic flight through the big open doors in the garage.  Nope…he was having none of that, and I probably scared the thing half to death in the attempt.  So next, was a careful cornering of the fella and a catch.

He didn’t resist the hands much.  Once I cupped his wings, he was quiet while I transported him back to the open side of the garage structure.  As soon as I opened my hands, he was gone, back into the skies of his domain.

He didn’t even poop in my hands.  I’d say that’s all the thanks I need 😀

Slinkys, Shoes, the color Green, and Amazon

WE.  HAVE.  GREEN.

Everywhere!

 

 

The trees are starting to leaf again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tiny little bluebells (at least, I think they’re bluebells…) are blue-belling their happy little selves out from the soil.  Flowering shrubbery is finally living up to its name, and the birds are extremely relieved their seasons-senses didn’t actually betray them.

 

As an aside, I did see a robin standing in (to them) belly-deep white stuff a couple of weeks ago, glaring in the way that birds can glare with their black eyes, insisting (again, in the way that birds do) I – PERSONALLY – get rid of this white crap and dig out some tasty worms.  I may have actually imagined the robin saying (in a chirpy voice, nonetheless) What.  The.  Actual.  FUCK????

The slinky has officially started down the stairs in Wisconsin.

To celebrate, I looked at new shoes on Amazon, as I’m starting to feel the pavement a bit too keenly in my old pair.  True to the power of their awesome algorithms, they’ve sent me this recommendation based on my browsing history:

Ok, I admit I looked at ladies shoes.  Probably because that’s the style of plumbing I currently use within my body to handle liquid waste products.  And, stereotypically, ladies wear makeup (although I do have a few friends who are decidedly male and slather on the war paint).  But I’m dying to know how wandering through the shoe selection of Amazon results in skin care?

Honestly, I expected them to send me a recommendation for those stiletto-heeled, thigh-high, platform, patent pleather boots again.

Guess I’ll just be satisfied with this silly sign I saw in one of the downtown resale shops…

 

 

 

Art Abandonment Project – 9th Drop

The long winter is coming to a close…and so, I can spend a bit more time outside now, wandering about my little corner of the world, spreading influence and

ART.

I did mention I considered the angel pins I made part of the Art Abandonment project, even though I handed them out instead of spreading them to the fates.  This drop, I have once again followed our ‘official’ protocol, and left a little piece of something behind on Sunday, March 4th, for one lucky finder.

Not a great stretch, eh?  I’ve been obsessed with the rubber duck form, so it only seemed natural to drop a ducky to the winds…and, because the weather was cooperating this weekend, I got to pair it with a lively stroll around the downtown area.

My first camera-worthy event is one I’ve kinda drooled over for a year now, ever since I first saw the icons spray-painted on the pavement.

Wisconsin has 2 distinct seasons…winter, and road construction.  When you see the pavement getting all painted up, you know we’ve officially crossed into the ‘other’ season.

Road Construction Prep, or HUGE Tie-Fighter Battle Reenactment?

I know these markings are ‘officially’ to mark where water, sewer or utility lines are under the pavement, but I ALWAYS see them as tie fighters from Star Wars.

Perhaps I should hold this photo until May the Fourth?

I got this shot from the top of the parking structure, which gave me plenty of room to snag the shot, as my street level attempts throughout last year all failed rather spectacularly.
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This is one of my favorite buildings in the downtown area.  It’s the Waukesha County Museum.  An interesting couple of snippets here…the building was originally built in 1883, so it’s got an age tag of roughly 135 years, or well on it’s way to the second century.  It’s still standing tall and proud and majestic as hell.  It started out as the county courthouse, has gone through several expansions throughout the years, but ALWAYS housed the County museum.  The shots I’ve got here are both of the original building.

 

Of course, a walk for me wouldn’t be complete without stopping by to chirp a happy greeting to my favorite ribbon of water, so the Fox River once again grandstanded for my camera.  All I have to say is…we have some hella stubborn trees in this town, because this one refused to drop its leaves in the fall.

 

I didn’t forget to mention earlier that Waukesha hosts a veritable nest of art-lovers, did I?  This one may not depict our legendary ‘Guitar Town’ moniker, but it’s an awesome mural nonetheless.

And the dropped duck?  Well, I did call him the Fire Duck, because he’s got the red eye and a couple of red rings along his crest, and he mentioned he was thirsty, so I dropped him off in front of Bernie’s Tap to peruse the fire water menu.  I hope whomever was lucky enough to adopt him can handle his liquor consumption.

 

Hoofin’ it.

Plans went…according to plan, which is an odd occurrence for me.  Yesterday morning was crisp and a bit frosty (well, the grass was, anyway) but once I got to moving, the layers started to come off.

First the gloves…

 

 

 

 

Then the scarf…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the jacket got opened up.

 

 

 

 

Well, it DID get zipped back closed a bit later once the wind hit…but trivialities!

 

Ooooo – I can’t convey how MUCH I’ve missed the quiet time of the walk in to work, and the trek back from the office in the afternoon.

And…I don’t want to jinx things here…but I SAW A ROBIN!

Once we start seeing robins, it means spring has come.

All I can do is share the pics 😀

 

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More of my town

Can ya’ll stand more photographs of me walking around my hometown?

I’ve come up with a winter plan to keep myself active during the winter months.  It’s a bit too cold to tackle the walk to work in the morning, so I’ve taken to lots of layers and a roundabout circuit to get home.  Tonight, I expanded into new territory.

There is a leather restoration shop perched mid-way up one of our more impressive hills.  It’s another of Waukesha’s rather unique old stone buildings – and someone took their artistic flair to decorate the…well, I think…basement windows.

There are three mini-murals here…one in each of the window-wells.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my favorite of the trio:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waukesha, especially the downtown area, has a serious love and appreciation of artistic expression…coupled with little bits of quirkiness.  I’ve had this store sign shot in my phone for months – it’s about time I shared it, no?

And my last bit of this evening’s walk was this shop.  I’ve marched past it many, MANY times, as it’s right on Main street…this is the first time I’ve actually stopped to capture some shots to share.  Me likey what I see…

Yes, that is a full window display of coffee cups.  And the sign?

yup…we’re a nest of artistic appreciation in this town.

 

 

 

Shopping Madness and Avoidance

Etsy developed a new platform for offering sales for their sellers and their customers – so I decided to offer my first ever sale this weekend.

We’re having a SALE!

So, if anyone out there wants to electronically finger the wares in my shop – I’m offering 15% off with a minimum of $45.

 

No charge for window shopping 😀

In slightly related news – someone put together a compilation video of the Black Friday madness.  Why anyone would think this crush of humanity well-steeped in greed is FUN is beyond me.  You couldn’t drag me to one of these events even if you pressed a gun to my head.

I had a very nice Black Friday – I did abandon my goal to become a hermit because it was sunny and slightly warm.  I took a looooooooong 3 mile walk around the Fox River with my camera and my iPod for company.  Here are some of my favorite shots:

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Winter is Coming

the river has started to ice up just a bit

I’m in a quandary, here.  It’s been really, REALLY cold in the mornings.  Too cold to hoof it in to work.

But I miss my walks.  I miss all the little landmarks – the river, the Big Sky, the rubberized ground on the playground.

THIS is what made me name my new landmark Big Sky

I also miss the solitude of that afternoon walk.  It’s a perfect break between work and home…35ish minutes where I’ve got the iPod blasting in my ears and I can ignore the world while moving around within it, lost in whatever song I’m pounding the pavement to, or working out whatever shit is currently rolling around in my brain.

More importantly, I’m concerned that, if I spend the entire winter in my car, I’ll lose some of the stamina that got me all those miles over the summer.

So, what’s a chilly girl to do?

 

I’ve decided to take … the long way home.  I park the car, and go up the street instead of down toward the front door.  I get to float past some of my favorite storefronts, down to the highly decorated river walkway, and all along the river behind the main downtown area.

So far, the path I’ve sketched out is about 3/4 of a mile…nowhere near the 3+ I was doing in the summer, so I plan to extend it out a bit.

And, as a bonus, I get some pretty cool dusk shots.

Fox River Walkway

I got mooned 😦

 

The Ring: The Sequel: Escape Artist

I love my little circlet of white gold.  Housed on the middle finger of my right hand…a perfect (albeit obscure) reminder of my first Ex Husband.

It’s always been a bit big for that finger.  There’s some resistance in getting it over the knuckle, but not much.  It rolls around my finger effortlessly, yet is still secure enough to sleep, shower, do dishes, housework, etc…with it on.

Not anymore…

The kids and I went for our traditional laundry day at the ‘mat on Tuesday.  Nothing special about it – grabbed some takeout, shoved clothing in machines, added detergent & coins, spun some poi (the kids) & read the kindle (me).

When I pulled my stuff out of the washer, I heard the familiar scraping of metal in the bottom of the tub.  My first thought was:  Must have left a quarter in the pocket of one of my pants.

I was a bit shaken to find my ring.  It had slipped off without me being the wiser to its loss.

It escaped AGAIN when unloading the dryer – it wanted to hang with my socks and ended up at the bottom of my laundry bag.  I found it the next day (after being convinced I’d lost it on the walk home) when sorting the underthings.

JOY for second reunion, but – when am I gonna lose it for good???

I’ve been doing the ketosis thing for around 9 months, and this is the first serious snag I’ve found in losing some of the tonnage…my FINGERS are shrinking, too.

So what’s a girl to do????

Now…I didn’t want to have the ring resized…the ring snuggies out there look both damn uncomfortable and unsightly, and I can’t switch it to a different finger, as they’re ALL losing their pudge.

I went shopping.

Found a new 3mm band, in my size, and slipped that in front of the larger ring.

Disaster averted..yea!!!!

 

Mr. First Ex Me’s ring now has a partner in crime 😀

 

 

On Funerals and Seating Arrangements

Everything has its season.  You start out all fresh & shiny and new – then that little thing we like to call time happens.

The shine dries out.

The leaves start to droop.

The aroma begins to fade…

Smooth goes to gritty.

Soft becomes hard.

The stitching starts to fray…

My computer chair has finally breathed its last.

 

The poor old dear has been showing her age.  The seat cushion has lost it’s cush.  The casters feel gritty when they roll across the floor.  The pleatherette has faded to a dusty blackish-grey, crossed all over with fine pressure lines.  The back is pebbled with tiny claw holes.

 

Flowing across the entire surface, the criss-crossed scrapes, scars, and tears combine into a roadmap of the journey I and my chair have traversed together.

 

 

We’ve been through a lot.   She originally resided in the office of a dance studio in downtown Waukesha, where she was loved furiously by the owner’s (then) 3 year old daughter.  She’s sit and spin, giggle, spin, giggle, spin and giggle, often rubbing the chair’s corners against the wall in her youthful zeal.  I received this affection-abraded chair from the owner when he closed his shop- my only cost being to love the chair as much as his daughter had.

The chair and I have been through photo editing for several bands.  We embarked on learning to manipulate images, first with the free online editors, later investing in Photoshop. We’ve conducted hundreds of Photoshop experiments, both successful and not, worked together to develop my photographer’s eye, learned origami, glass etching, wire wrapping and chainmaille.  We’ve created announcement banners for my vaping group, a couple of graphic ideas for business cards, and watched the increasingly downward spiral of politics in this country.

We’ve laughed and cried over various social media outlets – Facebook, ECF, VF, SpaceCiggies and Google+, and researched the hell out of Keto before tentatively dipping the first hesitant toe into the diet waters.  One day, we vowed to figure out what good Pintrest does for the world.

I was on this chair when I heard of my sister-in-law’s death as a result of a heart infection, and my Grandmother leaving us at the age of 92.  It officiated over the purchase of 3 different cameras, and supported me when I finally upgraded to that damnable smart phone.

It has been THE place to sit whilst I compose flash fiction, and my perch when starting this blog & my Etsy shop.

This chair has additionally survived my 3 moves, 1, 2 and then 4 cats, and the great flea & bedbug invasion of 2015.

No wonder she started to act like a cranky old Auntie…I’ve put her through more drama than a piece of furniture ‘aught to have to survive.

The hydraulics started gasping their final tortured breaths about a month ago.  I’d lean back, and the chair would sink rapidly.  I’d be working at the computer, and realize I wasn’t as high as I used to be.

Last week, the old girl could no longer support me.  I’d sit, and immediately sink.  She’d spring back up once I vacated her seat.

Yesterday – she dropped for good, the hydraulics no longer giving even a hint of pressure.

She lived a full life.  A good life.  Time now for her to rest.

 

 

 

 

The funeral will be Friday, at dusk, in the Rusting Dumpster Cemetery, located behind my building.  Flowers, a candle in vigil, or good vibes appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a (not-so) surprising twist  –  I would also like to announce the birth of a clean, cushy, bouncing baby new chair and play-palace (that thing we humans call a box)  for the cats.

Once Mariko allows me to get INTO the box, that is…

 

 

 

 

Cycle of life, huh?

 *R*I*P*