Life Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

Jim and I took a little runaway on Sunday, up to Scranton, Pa., to see the Allman Brothers play at Montage Mountain....here's the venue, nothing short of spectacular:

http://www.pnclive.com/

We met Howie from NY and his friend Steve. Howie knows band people, who left us 4 free tickets, Row G, middle....at the will call window.

We stayed at the Clarion. Heated indoor pool, whirlpool...complimentary breakfast.

The night was lovely, the band in top form. My husband was in heaven.

Still ALL About the Girls...

for days and days and days....BUT, today I took myself for a quick trip down to the Hirschhorn Museum and the Museum of American Art....and am actually contemplating what to paint next. The opening and the reception seem to be in a place where I can rest a bit and turn my attention to some other things.

It's Been ALL About the Girls...

For days and days and days...it's been all about the girls...

http://www.girlsgottarun.org/

Remembrance of Things Past

I check in on my friend (and former Mount Vernon colleague) Deborah's blog (http://caxton.stockton.edu/distracted/) every once in awhile to see what's new and what she's been thinking about. Several days ago, it seems she had been thinking about a talk on the psychology of gender I had given to my faculty colleagues at Mount Vernon, lo, those many years ago. She is the mother of a son and had been reading some of the latest yit about how boys are being shortchanged...blah, blah, blah....and she remarked on what she had remembered from my talk...and that she had cause to think about it often...and I was surprised and pleased, because she had never told me, that someone in the audience had not only entirely understood but remembered and found useful, in an ongoing way, the substance of the talk, at least some of it. It touched me deeply. I don't often think about how much or what kind of an effect I may have had as a teacher in my past lives, generally taking it on trust at this point that I did some good and made a difference, but every once in awhile, I do hear something specific from someone and it feels good.

Ahhhhhhh, Bubble Baaaathhhh!

Decided to have a good long soak.....one great thing to do on a quiet Sunday.

All's Quiet on the Jocelyn Front

Jim went up to the cabin on Friday night to do some fishing and go to the Ashton's annual party. The weather here is now fabulous, no humidity. Continuing to do all kinds of work for Girls Gotta Run, everything from reviewing By-Laws and 501(c) 3 IRS application to touching base with artists and drafting fund raising letters to revising parts of the website. But took a break yesterday to walk up the street with Anja and Ella for lunch at the Parthenon and have been doing a little bit of reading and a little bit of thinking about art. And had long conversations with Mom and Kaye, who are heading off today with Terry and the kids for a week at a cabin at Heston's in the Boundary Waters, the same place we all stayed about 20 some years ago when Mikey was a baby. Not sure what I'll do today, but it's another beautiful one and I'm feeling like taking it easy.

Out of Control Hydrangea, After

So, when I got back from Wisconsin in July, I trimmed it way back and cut away all of the dead wood. It seemed a little sad, because it was so glorious, but it really is for the best.

Out of Control Hydrangea, Before

This is what our back yard hydrangea looked like when it was in full growth and flower this summer. It was GORGEOUS!, but was aggressing on the holly bushes, the hostas AND the lariope.

Free Checking and Cosmic Synchronicity

I was going to go to the Chevy Chase bank to open a Girls Gotta Run checking account this a.m., the kind that required no minimum balance but charged $6.00 a month. But on our way home from Curves Marianna told me not to, that Wachovia had free accounts for non-profits. Knowing what I know about banks, I was skeptical, but told her I would check it out before I took action at Chevy Chase. She dropped me off, I got something to eat, got ready to shower....Marianna called. She had gone straight over to Wachovia to doublecheck her understanding and she was sure.

So, I thought I may as well stop in there and if it were true, then I would open the account there. I doublechecked with Kathleen to see if it would still be okay to use the $100 she gave me last night to open it if it were. Yes...so I called Wachovia. Talked to Bersabah...she said, yes, it's true. Come on down....

She was lovely, helpful, really interested..knew Ethiopian artists, would recruit, would call people.....was going to come to the opening herself...we were all done. I asked what was the origin of her lovely name. "Why," she said, "It's Ethiopian...didn't I tell you?!?!"