Last Friday I was working my security job at the Issaquah Court house. I had a homeless guy in the lobby who was there to give a urine sample. He told me he had an instant container of Folgers coffee in his back pack and asked if it was okay to drink in the lobby. We get dozens of people a day that come in with coffee so of course it is okay. He made is coffee from the water fountain and I offered to stick in the microwave to warm it up. The cup was old and when he started to drink the cup was leaking. I went to our kitchen and I lent him one of the spare mugs (there were at least 50 in the cupboard). He was sitting in the lobby sipping the coffee waiting his turn to give his sample. While pointing to the homeless man the bail lift came up to me and asked, “Where did he get that cup while. I told him I lent it to him as his paper cup was leaking. The bail lift said to me, ” We do not lend cups to homeless people, he could use it has a weapon or he could have hepatitis! Go get it from him! I replied he is not going into the court room and I too could have hepatitis!

I got home from work and had an email from the security company that employed me saying, ” we need to re assign you.” I told them no thanks I am tired of getting in trouble for being nice.

I am thankful to be out of the court house I have more time to make art and I have taken up golf!
This is a bottle tree that a friend has been bugging me to make for 2 years!

Today’s Quote
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
– Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
About Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

French author Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr is remembered primarily for his epigram “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” He is also known for his autobiographical romances, including the popular Genevieve. He was born in 1808 in Paris. As editor of Le Figaro and, later, Les Guepes, he became widely quoted for his sharp witticisms. An avid horticulturist, he named more than one new flower, and when he retired to Nice, he popularized the tradition of selling cut flowers. He died in 1890.

Back in elementary school my friends used to tease me for being such a worry wart. I wanted to be a half an hour early to every place I went. I was always worried that my watch would be slow and I might be late so I connected two watches together. I wore these watches from 3 grade until I was 21 years old! The bands have been replaced a half dozen times and the watches still work. I have recently learned that worrying about things I have no control over is not a good use of my time or energy.

“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.”
– John Lubbock
About John Lubbock
John Lubbock, the multifaceted British banker, statesman, and scientist, was responsible for the institution of England’s monthly Bank Holidays, sometimes referred to as St. Lubbock Days. He was born in 1834 in England. Growing up, he learned science from his father’s friend Charles Darwin. He coined the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic to denote the different Stone Ages, and he wrote the well-regarded books Prehistoric Times and Ants, Bees, and Wasps. He died in 1913.

I like to take short hikes after work to unwind and think. This week I did two quick hikes,one to Franklin Falls and another to twin falls.

Today’s Quote
“We must dare to think “unthinkable” thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world.”
– James William Fulbright
About James William Fulbright
James William Fulbright, the US senator who represented Arkansas from 1945 to 1975, is memorialized in the Fulbright Prize, the international exchange program he created. He was born in 1905 in Missouri. As a congressman, he sponsored a resolution to form the peace-keeping organization that became the United Nations. As senator, he chaired the Foreign Relations Committee for 15 years. His book The Arrogance of Power critiques the government’s involvement in the Vietnam War. He died in 1995.

I have had 6 projects in the works for almost 6 months and I have not been very motivated to work in my shop. Today I finally finished another goose. It is going to be nice to step away from birds for awhile.

Our neighborhood real estate agent has been after me to make her a bottle tree. I was not excited to get started on this project either. As of today I am almost done with the bottle tree. I just need to get more re bar and then I can get started on the next project! I am finally looking forward to working in my shop again!

Today’s Quote

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
– Harvey Fierstein
About Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein, the raspy-voiced American actor, playwright, and gay activist, is best known for his semiautobiographical play, Torch Song Trilogy, which garnered Tony Awards for writing and acting. He was born in Brooklyn in 1954. His onstage debut as a female impersonator at age 16 led to a role in a 1971 Andy Warhol play. He adapted the French show La Cage aux Folles into a Broadway musical and, later, the movie The Birdcage. He has appeared in such varied movies as Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire.

“Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or by the handle.”
– James Russell Lowell
About James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell, the sometimes romantic, often ironic American poet, was also a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Spain and, later, Britain. He was born in 1819 in Massachusetts and became known as a New England poet. His satire The Bigelow Papers was his best-known work. While a professor at Harvard, he wrote critical studies of Dante, Shakespeare, and Chaucer, among others, and also served as the founding editor of the influential magazine The Atlantic Monthly. He died in 1891.
This piece is from my runaway paint brush collection sold to private collector, Fucked Up Baby

For some strange reason many people think that being an artist is glamorous.
Below are some glam shots of me working this week.

Okay, I wasn’t exactly creating art. I was patching a concrete mixing bowl for my friend at Native Stone Concrete.

“I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”
– Lily Tomlin
About Lily Tomlin
American comedian Lily Tomlin rose to fame for characters like sassy phone operator Ernestine and devilish five-year-old Edith Ann on the TV show Laugh-In. Born in 1939 in Detroit, she moved to New York after dropping out of a college pre-med track. She won a Tony Award for the hit one-woman show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, written by her partner, Jane Wagner. She has also appeared in films, including Nashville and All of Me. She lives in California with Wagner.

“Reading is important — read between the lines. Don’t swallow everything.”
– Gwendolyn Brooks
About Gwendolyn Brooks
In 1950, poet Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American awarded a Pulitzer Prize. She was born in 1917 in Kansas and grew up in Chicago. Her poetry often evokes the environment of Chicago’s tough South Side neighborhood. In later years her work became more overtly political, though she continued to combine an understanding of traditional forms like sonnets and ballads with the rhythm of the blues and experimental verse. She died in 2000.

Home Sweet Home 16 x 20 x .8 Acrylic $65

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
– Samuel Beckett
About Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett, the absurdist Irish playwright known for his darkly funny minimalist plays like Waiting for Godot and Endgame, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 and reportedly gave away most of the money to needy artists. He was born in Dublin in 1906 and moved to France to join the resistance during World War II. His plays, poetry, and novels used elements from burlesque and vaudeville to explore the human struggle to make sense of life. He died in 1989.

This is Daisy, she started out as a garden shovel but was over worked one day and her handle broke in half.She is now retired and looking for a new garden where she can spend her time. $65

“I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”
– Anna Freud
About Anna Freud
Austrian psychoanalyst Anna Freud was a pioneer in the field of child psychiatry; she also worked closely with her father, Sigmund Freud, in developing his theories. She was born in Vienna in 1895 and fled to London with her parents in 1938, escaping the Nazi regime. When her father became sick with cancer, she took over his studies, becoming his intellectual heir. She founded the Hampstead Clinic to work with children. She died in 1982.

We finally had a break in the weather so I got outside and worked on adding some color to the hill outside my office window. The weather has had me a bit down in the dumps so I am hopping to get back to painting or welding next week.

Today I planted the vinca, lavender and a red maple tree. We are hoping to install some rock steps to the left of where I am standing that will go up between the two tree trunks.