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3:23 p.m. - 2002-11-08
Errands
Just a really splendiferous day. About 70 degrees or maybe higher, clear sunshine, fresh air. Yeah, you can just imagine me throwing my hands in the air and having a big ol' stretch.

Well, I did that, too, but I also went out into the world, which is something I do less and less often lately. Since we bought the house I have become more and more satisfied with being at home, in this sanctuary of peace and quiet and chipmunks that come right up to my front door.

And besides, whenever I leave the house lately I spend too much money. And we are trying to save money. I desperately try to remind myself of this when I am mulling over that outrageous on-sale gotta-have item that only costs 27.99, down from whatever insane price it was to begin with. Most of the time my inner skinflint Yankee takes over and I walk away. But just a tad too often my inner trendy young new homeowner comes out and I can't control myself.

I have actually removed my credit cards from my wallet, so I guess there's still hope.

Also contributing to my hermitude is the fact that I'm a really terrible driver, and I don't want to push my luck. After not driving for all the years we were in Boston and then the first year we were here, I find I have developed disturbing habits.

Like stopping at all traffic lights, whether they are red or not. And forgetting to put the car in park and then wondering why it is rolling down the driveway. And not putting my lights on unless I absolutely have to because I've forgotten to turn them off so many times.

You know that bumper sticker that says "warning: I brake for no apparent reason"? Yeah, that's me.

So what this means is that I only go out of the house if a certain combination of circumstances arise. IF I feel really alert and up to driving (ie: there is no possible chance that I will have a seizure) and IF it's a clear and sunny day so I won't have to turn my lights on and IF there are multiple errands I can do to make it worth the effort of gearing myself up to go and IF the moon is not void of course and Venus and Mercury are in happy alignments (you think I'm joking about this don't you?) then, and only then, will I venture forth.

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Today I had multiple errands. I planned them all out so that I'd do the least possible driving.

A stop at my favorite thrift store to get some shirts was first. I'm down to my last two studio shirts which means that I wear the same clothes every day and wonder why people make disgusted sniffing noises when they're close to me. Yeah, it's time to get some cheap clothes that can handle some paint smears.

This process is actually more complicated than one might guess. I can only buy cotton and silk clothes because I have allergies to any sort of artificial fiber. Nylon makes me itch. Polyester gives me strange little hives. Spandex? Forget it. I also can't handle certain types of wool, and I spend large amounts of time in stores with my face buried in wool sweaters, waiting for that tell tale tingly feeling.

One of the reasons I'm so attached to the infamous yak wool sweater is that, in the seven years that I've had it, it has never made me itch once.

But I'm in luck today. Some equally fiber-challenged donor must have just dropped off a ton of all-cotton long sleeved shirts which are all about $2 each. There's also a couple of oversized silk T shirts, not in great colours but they'll be easy to dye.

This is one thing I will brag about. I can dye anything, any colour. I'm forever grateful to Randal for helping me perfect this skill. I can even dye cotton a deep black, a skill I would have killed for in my old Goth-punk days.

The thrift store also has a few more old encyclopedias, and my favorite prize of the day: a can of Florida Sunshine! Yeah, it's a can that has a label which says "Guaranteed Pure Florida Sunshine!" with a big sun. It was obviously made to be sold at some goofy tourist trap. For 25 cents even my inner Yankee can't complain. I'm going to put it in with the rest of our canned goods and see how long it takes Bruce to notice it.

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One of my other stops was at Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of Art Calendar. Lucy sent me an email yesterday to tell me there is an article about "Studio Neatness Vs. Chaos" and since this is a subject we've been going back and forth about for awhile I wanted to check it out.

Good lord, I sort of wish I hadn't. After a brief glance it appears that they are equating lack of artistic success with a messy studio! The key to success is evidently making sure you empty your garbage pail every night and have your jars of beads organised by size AND colour! Do you have a pile of disorganised tubes of paint on your table? Well, you'll never be on the cover of Artforum!! AAAAHHHH!

Jeez, maybe this is why the muse spends so much time on vacation! It's my mismatched studio furniture!

I also picked up a copy of Fiberarts, which coincidently has an article about various artist's studios. Where do they find these people? Their studios look like no one has ever actually worked in them - cloth neatly organised and folded in perfect little squares. Furniture that looks like it's brand new from Ikea.

My cloth is all sort of jammed into big plastic tubs with labels like "Faery Breeches" and "Spun Sunshine"(according to what they remind me of), and my furniture is all from where ever I can get it cheapest.

I feel so....sniff... inadequate!


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