August long weekend is sliding by.There is an abundance of color and in my busy mind I am often dancing between reality and the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, floral splendor in form and color. Makes me want to give florals another shot! Yesterday I poured through art supplies, work set aside to rework, fresh new canvas in a a good run of sizes, all seemingly just out of reach.
My current deadline is to finish getting everything out of the space i used for painting, eek, and move it to the space not remotely ready to receive it – but that is life. A cliche joined by, this too shall pass, two frequent phrases in our house these days! I packed the little tractor trailer like the opening from the Beverly hillbillies several times yesterday to cart things from one old house to the other! The result being a hellish mess in both spaces! Although I must say tossing things into carts and trailers is WAY easier than the traditional albeit sensible ‘packing up’!
It is hotter than usual in the little yellow house. That happens when you replace the roof and shoddy insulation with plastic tarp! Thank God for nights that see the temps drop or sleep would be a next year thing too. But here it is the start of the shortened week, here I am blurry eyed but ready to roll.
We have agreed at the start of the weekend / the summer would not be wished away. Reminders are required but the schedule goes sort of like this: some work, some garden which is less work and more meditation, mixed with some walks/ swims and some time to simply be. Saturday and Sunday went quite well, by Monday as I recognized how far I am from the finish line, and yet how I could see it if I just pushed a little harder… I lost perspective for a bit. When I asked my daughter to text her dad and say I was going to read for a bit and take a break, she added teasing, and you can’t make her start again until after dinner. He responded with, yes of course i can, just tell her I will finish up and she will come screaming back with it’s okay, aka, GET OUTTA MY STUDIO! Some things you have to do yourself even if the help is deeply tempting!
My thoughts time travel to ‘next year’ more than I would like to be honest. I forgive myself for that and still i realize there is the need to stay present. There is no promise for tomorrow. Take time for all of the good things offered you. I shared a conversation about seed packets and sun loving flowers with a smile – gardeners know while enjoying the present there is always an eye on next year.
If fall and winter finds much undone-
‘Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed
That with the sun’s love
In the spring
Becomes the rose’
lookuntilyousee 