I shared these 1st two stories on my Facebook author page but I’m going to share ’em here for those who haven’t liked that page and read those stories.

Walking The Dog

I was traveling home from the Boston Post Road last week when I saw a young girl of 7 or 8 y/o walking her dog on a leash on her front lawn. She was scowling; impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for her dog to do its business.

Then I did a double take as our car went by.

She was walking a stuffed animal!

The Leggings Incident

My son Silas designed leggings for Redbubble. I decided to purchase them so I made an order. They look like this:

See, the idea is that if I wear these while I’m painting artworks (making a mess), I won’t mind too much if I get paint splatters on these leggings. The splatters would blend in.

Redbubble sent me the WRONG leggings. They sent me these by mistake (which I’ll keep although they owe me the other ones as well.):

Yes. That is the guy from Beyond in Click. The guy in the cowbell skit with the memorable line. Christopher Walken, REALLY, Redbubble???????? They do amuse me though.

Some not-Funny things have happened in my little world. As is the case for everyone. Silly little things. Nothing major———

my small town happenings are often so meaningless in comparison to the world’s problems.

That said, I’m working on a commemorative painting to memorialize the Maple Tree outside that was murdered. I mean, for over 50 years it hasn’t been able to leave this yard and suddenly it’s gone.

I’m calling the painting

“The Last Shadows Cast.”

Here is a small portion. It’s just in sketching/planning stages right now.

I’m “too” sentimental, I know! As I tried doing my software work, I was cringing (physically ill) as I heard and felt each stump-sized chunk of tree hit the ground.

Me: Ever an empath, feeling too much, I looked upon the yard of ruin and the aftermath, and was thankful that the little evergreen was spared, as I’d asked. I’m told however that when the stump grinder comes in to level the remains to the ground, this tree will be obliterated too.

It was just the right size for decorating at Christmas…..

So the workers went home and Al chose a few stumps. With the hand-dolly, he painstakingly moved a few heavy stump-sized chunks to the side of the driveway, tucked into the recycling bin area.

Out of sight of the road.

One select piece he put on the front porch. I grabbed some small sections of the limbs and put them in the cellar. Zsolt (my late carving mentor) would be happy to know that I plan to carve them after they dry out.

Al said to me, “I’ll make you tables from the two best stumps, I put them on the side of the house.”

I brightened at the thought!

We went out for a day because on Saturday, Spring made an appearance here in Connecticut.

( Note: Spring has since left the vicinity; whereabouts unknown. )

The Wood Theft

When we returned, there were tire marks across the yard and the new shoots from my plants were driven right over. The pile of small logs AND the select pieces Al put aside near the recycling area, were TAKEN.

It’s not unusual for people to do this but when Al asked the neighbor if it was ‘the tree guy,’ she said it was some guy with an attached trailer.

Someone who sells firewood? Ok that’s fine. No problem: people often take wood (the tree murderers have not had the chance to come back and take it away yet.)

However I DO have a problem with someone taking pieces that were obviously put aside, to KEEP- not even viewable from the road!

At least there is one left. Surprisingly they didn’t steal the one stump off the porch. We recently put a tarp on it until we can get it into the cellar to dry out…

Parting Humor (Al’s Big Fright)

And I’ll end this post on a funny note; at least funny to me. Al was sitting on the couch the other night with his right arm draped backward behind his head so that his hand lay next to his left ear.

Suddenly I heard him shout and he visibly looked startled, like he jumped out of his skin, so to speak:

“Aaaarrrgghh! What the hell was that?!” He squealed.

Apparently he’d wiggled his fingers, saw them out of his peripheral vision, and didn’t know what they were!

You had to be there. It was tears-coming-down-the-face funny.

I deduce there is a balance if I look for it. Free time vs. productive time, for example. And State-of-the-world vs. hope.

I’ve been trying so hard to do things outside my comfort zone(s)… and to accept -chin up- that which I can’t control.

I’ve done the Podcast, my presentations at Lesley college, the radio station interview, Collage workshop at Good Purpose, etc. to name a few things.

Despite all my trying, (which is very rewarding) I still get down on myself. Am I doing enough?

And I try not to add fuel to my natural melancholy state by mourning a tree.

But still, I do.

It’s interesting how, sometimes, “life” throws you amusing scenarios to balance out woes. Like the funny stories (at least to me!) that I mentioned here.

That’s all for now. I’ll close with a line I heard in the new opening of this season’s Deadliest Catch:

“To get something you’ve never had, You have to do something you’ve never done.”

…working on that.