Art, Music, Cats – what else is there?

Edith Vonnegut – Mermaid in Oil Spill

Did you know? One of Kurt Vonnegut’s daughters is a very interesting, talented painter. Her name is Edith Vonnegut.

She set herself the goal of creating a painting on each of 45’s first 100 days as president. An as-we’re-living-the-horror, painted chronicle – none of the work is of him, it's of his damage.

I’m grateful and inspired.

All 100 compositions are on her website. You can see her other, non-Orange Menace themed work too. Check her out.
~~~
Dream – The Amazing Bob and I were sitting at a picnic table in a park chitchatting with random folks. He was upset, panicked about something – dunno what. Nothing I said cooled his fire. Thinking it might help, I brought him a cranberry/vodka drink. I did this despite knowing full and well that he was an alcoholic. TAB hadn’t had a drink in 30 years. WHAT was I thinking?!

I’d thrown a switch, sparked a landslide. After the cranberry/vodka drink he wanted a shot of Jamo and then more and more. 

I dragged him away from the picnic table and into the house, all the while petting him, speaking soothing words in Valium tones. I was hoping to distract and stanch this downward spiral that I'd, mebbe, made much worse.

What's this all about? Eh, prolly more of my guilt and self-castigation for not being able to keep my beloved alive and healthy. Yup, I'm unreasonably hard on meself. It's a talent, a superpower.
~~~
Coco has been playing mega finicky princess lately.

No, I don’t think I care for this Fancy Feast turkey that I was just wild last week. Fix me up something else, K?

No, the salmon FF just isn’t appealing this morning. How about some Chicken of the Sea instead?

The princess is rollin’ me somethin’ fierce.
~~~
Janice had an absolutely BRILL idea yesterday. Ya see, I knew when I began this new flute journey that I might NOT, with my nerve damaged wonky mouth, be able to play, get a sound, outta the instrument. I’m trying to chill, not pressure myself. I’m giving myself time and space, doing embouchure research, attempting sound in a mirror where I can immediately see how I’m forming my mouth. Trying to relax all over. Not easy and def not my first, outta the gate, way of tackling what scares me.

Not having grand, brill success so far but it’s early days.

I was confessing my fears as well as waxing orgasmic over my music major days when:

I’d sit with Mary Beth in the pipe organ practice room. The organ took up most of the room and the sound, the feeling as she rolled out Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, was magnificently overwhelming.

AND

I'd lay under the grand piano in the big orchestra practice room while Doug banged out Liszt’s Totentanz – dude had wicked chops. The BEST music is the stuff you can feel in your sternum! OK, maybe that's just me.

And then there was me, playing cello in a summer classical orchestra.

She didn’t know that I’d once played cello, that most wondrously, deep resonant instrument.
Wouldn’t cello be easier, more possible as you don’t need your mouth to play it? she asked.

Huh. Well, yeah it would.

Thing is, I only played the instrument for a few short years. I don’t remember fingerings, bowings or, for that matter, the bass fucking clef! I’d be starting from the very beginning. I’d have to rent a cello AND take a few lessons.

This is utterly intriguing though. Could I feel the vibrations enough to make a solid, satisfying go of this? Can I afford to rent an instrument and take a handful of lessons? Can I find a teacher willing and able to work with a deafie? MUST FIND OUT!