It's been a Jonah day.

The kind of day when all the little mistakes you didn't realize you had made in the last week...two weeks...month, catch up to you at the same time and throw themselves, mocking, into your face.

That kind of day.

But a new day follows today, and, Lord willing, there will be a new day even after that. And after enough new days have passed, maybe then I will have learnt wisdom.

Trying not to say anything.

"I try not to say anything with my art," the Artist Statement began. To which I laughed, because that's not the kind of thing one ought to admit to in an Artist Statement, not if one wants to be taken seriously.

And yet, I approach art in the very same way, which is why I have never considered myself to be an artist. I don't care so much about "saying something." If that means that I will never be called an artist, that's quite alright. Because it doesn't matter what lofty title I go by (or not), I will keep learning and keep creating; in the end all I really care about is offering a bit more beauty to those around me.

Random Photo + Happy Weekending.

Life is slipping quickly, quietly by. I'm staying busy and learning contentment in all things, doing my part to change those things that I can and trying to accept those things that can't, or won't, be changed...but keeping on praying that they'll change anyway.

Tonight I went to Final Friday with a few friends, the first time I've been in several years. I was secretly hoping to ride the trolley, but it kept coming by at the most inconvenient times, such as when we were nearing our destination. Maybe next month. Walking around the city on the night of a major art event, and on the eve of Halloween, opened my eyes to how very small and sheltered my world has become. The things and people we saw - oh! I loved it.

My Saturday plans were canceled at the last minute, and despite how much I was looking forward to them, I am now looking forward to spending the day working like mad on a few Christmas gifts. Which may be the story of all of my Saturdays between now and Christmas, since I lost track of time and am just now getting started making gifts.

Anyone have any thoughts on good handmade gifts to give men?

Another day, another cemetery.

Something about this time of year makes me want to spend a lot of time wandering through cemeteries, a fact which most people probably find disturbing. This one was particularly creepy, being one of the oldest in town. The air feels different when you walk into the graveyard: still, heavy, and rich with the stories of the lives of the hundreds lying there dead.

But despite all that, this set of mausoleums did strike me as a bit funny because they so remind me of my very first apartment. A little blond fourplex apartment that really was not much bigger than one of these mausoleums and even had the arched doorways. The resemblance is uncanny.

Those Fall colors.

It has been a very cold, very grey Fall (when was the last time we saw the sun?). I am loving what the constant cloud cover has done to the colors of the Fall, muting them, fading them into tones that are calming and comfortable. Here's hoping that the gloom hangs on just a bit longer so I can look my fill.