Panda's First Smile
PandaPig's First Smile!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
AT LEAST WE AIN'T MOM...TAKE 2
YumYum, I miss you!
I haz an IDEA!
I haz an IDEA!
Climb over my cage into YumYum's cage...
Can't be that hard for such a smart boy like me...
Just kinda sidle up to the top of my hay bin
which I usually do from the side so why I doin'
it from the front, that not sidling? Think, lil'Vinny,
THINK~THINK~THINK like a big boy...
which I usually do from the side so why I doin'
it from the front, that not sidling? Think, lil'Vinny,
THINK~THINK~THINK like a big boy...
O.K. I haz the answer.
O.K. I doesn't haz the answer.
O.K. I doesn't haz the answer.
YumYum, I miss you, remember me? Vinny,
your old pal and how we shared one sleeping
sack together and kept each other warm and
played? Remember me? I miss you...
your old pal and how we shared one sleeping
sack together and kept each other warm and
played? Remember me? I miss you...
Hi YumYum, Bhindi here, wanna share breakfast?
No?
Well, O.K. I can be philosophical:
At least we ain't MOM "gettin' ready"
for First Friday Art Walk!
HOLY OWL HORK, YUM-YUM,
she in trubble now!
"NICE STUDIO, MA!"
(all da piggiez laughin' and laughin' and rollin'
over on their sides kickin' their wee liddle feet
out wid da giggleZ!)
No?
Well, O.K. I can be philosophical:
At least we ain't MOM "gettin' ready"
for First Friday Art Walk!
HOLY OWL HORK, YUM-YUM,
she in trubble now!
"NICE STUDIO, MA!"
(all da piggiez laughin' and laughin' and rollin'
over on their sides kickin' their wee liddle feet
out wid da giggleZ!)
"I AM ORGANIZEDD!!DD!!
Was that a goat?
Who ate my reading glasses?
See where that ORANGE
ARROW is on the next shot?
Yeah, you know what I's talkin'
about. Who ate that last card I made?
Seriously, is there a goat in here?
Was that a goat?
Who ate my reading glasses?
See where that ORANGE
ARROW is on the next shot?
Yeah, you know what I's talkin'
about. Who ate that last card I made?
Seriously, is there a goat in here?
oh my.
WE ALL MISS YUM-YUM AND GONNA GETZ HIM, TOO!
TODAY IS "GET ORGANIZED AND
FOCUS!" DAY WHICH IS WHY I
JUST DOWNLOADED ALMOST THE
EXACT SAME PHOTOGRAPHS
TWICE WITHOUT REALIZING
IT BECAUSE I WAS HEATING
CANNED BEANS IN THE MICROWAVE,
FEEDING THE PIGGIES,
TRYING NOT TO STEP ON ANYTHING
BREAKABLE WHICH IS EVERYTHING
ON THE FLOOR, TRYING TO STAY
HYDRATED, ORGANIZE THE CARD-
MAKING PROCESS BACKWARDS SINCE
I CAN'T DO IT FORWARDS, KEEP MY SPIRITS
S O A R I N G
AND
LET'S FACE IT...
all you friends love me just the way I am
which means you are perfect friends, the
best kind in the whole world because it's
easy to love the pretty people but you love
the ones with rodents and floors like mine
and blogs like this and kept me going this
winter when I couldn't stop crying, so I'm
not going to erase this in shame I'm going
to leave it here knowing you are all
accepting, patient, hopefully laughing and
going "Whew! and I thought I had problems!"
and because I love you and so do
YumYum, VinnyGuinea (especially Auntie
Connie better call him, he is the first obsessive-
compulsive talking piggie I have ever met and
if he knows she is on the phone goes to it and
actually starts telling her all his problems: TRUE!)
AND BEAUTIFUL BHINDI!
as we say in India,
LOVE INFINITE.
YumYum: "Mom, we ain't in India..."
Bhindi: "Shhhhh.....just shhhhh...."
FOCUS!" DAY WHICH IS WHY I
JUST DOWNLOADED ALMOST THE
EXACT SAME PHOTOGRAPHS
TWICE WITHOUT REALIZING
IT BECAUSE I WAS HEATING
CANNED BEANS IN THE MICROWAVE,
FEEDING THE PIGGIES,
TRYING NOT TO STEP ON ANYTHING
BREAKABLE WHICH IS EVERYTHING
ON THE FLOOR, TRYING TO STAY
HYDRATED, ORGANIZE THE CARD-
MAKING PROCESS BACKWARDS SINCE
I CAN'T DO IT FORWARDS, KEEP MY SPIRITS
S O A R I N G
AND
LET'S FACE IT...
all you friends love me just the way I am
which means you are perfect friends, the
best kind in the whole world because it's
easy to love the pretty people but you love
the ones with rodents and floors like mine
and blogs like this and kept me going this
winter when I couldn't stop crying, so I'm
not going to erase this in shame I'm going
to leave it here knowing you are all
accepting, patient, hopefully laughing and
going "Whew! and I thought I had problems!"
and because I love you and so do
YumYum, VinnyGuinea (especially Auntie
Connie better call him, he is the first obsessive-
compulsive talking piggie I have ever met and
if he knows she is on the phone goes to it and
actually starts telling her all his problems: TRUE!)
AND BEAUTIFUL BHINDI!
as we say in India,
LOVE INFINITE.
YumYum: "Mom, we ain't in India..."
Bhindi: "Shhhhh.....just shhhhh...."
IF IT'S ART DAY IT'S...WELL, YOU KNOW!
NO OFFENSE but up here in the Great
Pacific Northwest on the road up to Mt. Baker
is a little place the locals stop at to get
"locked and loaded" and we mean no foolin'
around! THESE LATTES SERVED IN
SOUP BOWLS EACH CONTAIN AT LEAST
TWO MEGA-SHOTS OF ESPRESSO AND...
(Hmmm...to do art or go skiing?)
Are capable of rendering even the most
intellectually endowed amongst us
(STOP LAUGHING
RIGHT THIS MINUTE!)
quite delusional!
Now, where did I put the glue?
My Queendom for some glue!
Pacific Northwest on the road up to Mt. Baker
is a little place the locals stop at to get
"locked and loaded" and we mean no foolin'
around! THESE LATTES SERVED IN
SOUP BOWLS EACH CONTAIN AT LEAST
TWO MEGA-SHOTS OF ESPRESSO AND...
(Hmmm...to do art or go skiing?)
Are capable of rendering even the most
intellectually endowed amongst us
(STOP LAUGHING
RIGHT THIS MINUTE!)
quite delusional!
Now, where did I put the glue?
My Queendom for some glue!
THANK YOU, MARIFUN!
OUR FRIEND, MARIFUN knows how much
mom gets her britches in a bunch when First Friday
Art Walk comes along (as if for the very first time,
every time! A-MAZE-ING!) and sent mom some
real good advice and a spot o'tea with some friends
to help keep us all focused. No doubt this'll work!
(heh-heh-right!)
THANK YOU, MARIFUN!
mom gets her britches in a bunch when First Friday
Art Walk comes along (as if for the very first time,
every time! A-MAZE-ING!) and sent mom some
real good advice and a spot o'tea with some friends
to help keep us all focused. No doubt this'll work!
(heh-heh-right!)
THANK YOU, MARIFUN!
GOODBYE FIRST BEGINNINGS, TIME TO START ANEW IN 2012
DON'T READ THIS IT WAS
LIKE FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE
MORNING AND I WAS
SLEEP-TYPING AND
EATING FROZEN
TOASTER WAFFLES...
REALLY.
THIS WOULD BE TIME
YOU WILL NEVER GET
BACK IN YOUR LIFE:
DON'T WASTE IT HERE!
LIKE FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE
MORNING AND I WAS
SLEEP-TYPING AND
EATING FROZEN
TOASTER WAFFLES...
REALLY.
THIS WOULD BE TIME
YOU WILL NEVER GET
BACK IN YOUR LIFE:
DON'T WASTE IT HERE!
Barnyard Jazz (see close-up)^^^
YES, you've seen these about a million
times before but it's 3:13 a.m. and clearly
I cannot drink a double-shot latte after
12 noon, it's that simple. These cards were
a step in the door and, frankly, I must thank
MARIFUN and Ms. A for being with me
the first time I made them because,
let's face it, other than knowing I needed
to be listening to vintage Eric Clapton
(ROCK ON, SLOW-HAND!)
I DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE...
as if i have one NOW.
But I need art therapy because my heart
and soul are screaming to be let out of
the frozen Silence which has enslaved them
since January 1, 2012, and the shields will
be a VOICE more powerful, yet quieter than
a chain-saw.
Raw, primitive, visceral, survivalist,
ancient, indigenous, reminiscent of
cultures who valued their elders instead
of locking them away in nursing "homes" ~
I am going to scream through my hands,
non-toxic glue, paint, leaves, ink, hand-made paper,
things found on the sidewalk,
things insisting they grow and thrive between cracks
in the sidewalk, and drawings scribbled on napkins
in cafes. The only way out is through and if
I am screaming to tell my guinea pigs I love
them but never got a chance to, I will wail.
For all the changes in my lifestyle, those are
adaptable. But my babies I will never hold again...
Must make a shield to remind me it was worth
the sacrifice and love is the only thing in live
that the more you give of it, the more you receive.
I miss them terribly, still.
Little rodents!
Now that "The Great Thaw" has begun
so does the "Tribal Tribute" to of you
those who saw me through those darkest days, you
deserve honoring now. How happy these shields
will make me thinking of you the entire time!
An earthy way of honoring YOU,
much like people once honored heroes, tied to
the land, sea, sky, tides, moon cycles;
art painted onto cave walls, etched in
stone for eternity. That's what friends are for.
I have never needed you more.
And there you were!
~
SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVIN' WAS EASY...
If you look hard enough between the pond
and cattails you can see the little trail that
leads into the woods that leads to the waterfalls
that leads to the salmon stream that lead to
many, many places with rocks and rushing
glacial melt and a barred owl surveying his
kingdom at dusk if you are lucky enough for him to
let you see where he is perched in the open on
"his branch" hanging over Whatcom Creek where
dipper birds dipped and dove.
He presides.
The bald eagles nest to the left of the pond.
This is what waking up felt like:
REAL! FRAGRANT! TINGLY: STARVING
WITH CURIOSITY TO GRAB MY BINOCULARS,
UNABLE TO WAIT TO LACE UP MY BOOTS
AND HIT THAT TRAIL SILENTLY WITH REVERENCE, SEEKING BALD EAGLE FEATHERS (YES, A FEDERAL
OFFENSE BUT I DID OFFER THEM TO MY NATIVE AMERICAN ART TEACHER, DOES THAT COUNT?)
DISCOVERING BUFFLEHEADS HAD ARRIVED, FLOWERS
WERE BLOOMING, PICKING RIPE,
WILD BLACKBERRIES, THE WOOD DUCKLINGS WERE ALL HITHER-AND-THITHER!
DISCOVERING MR. BEAVER HIDING STEALTHILY BENEATH LAST YEAR'S FALLEN CATTAILS NEAR SHORE...LONG, LONG BRANCHES IN HIS MOUTH
READY TO REFASHION HIS LODGE WITH AN
EXTREME BEAVER MAKEOVER!
AT DUSK HE WOULD ACTUALLY SIT ON TOP
OF IT AND ALL OF US WOULD WATCH HIM
FROM DECKS IN SHEER AMAZEMENT!
HE WAS A GUY. HE WAS PROUD OF HIS
"DO IT YOURSELF" ATTITUDE.
JUST ANOTHER AMERICAN GUY, YEAH?!
'TWAS A GIFT.
and cattails you can see the little trail that
leads into the woods that leads to the waterfalls
that leads to the salmon stream that lead to
many, many places with rocks and rushing
glacial melt and a barred owl surveying his
kingdom at dusk if you are lucky enough for him to
let you see where he is perched in the open on
"his branch" hanging over Whatcom Creek where
dipper birds dipped and dove.
He presides.
The bald eagles nest to the left of the pond.
This is what waking up felt like:
REAL! FRAGRANT! TINGLY: STARVING
WITH CURIOSITY TO GRAB MY BINOCULARS,
UNABLE TO WAIT TO LACE UP MY BOOTS
AND HIT THAT TRAIL SILENTLY WITH REVERENCE, SEEKING BALD EAGLE FEATHERS (YES, A FEDERAL
OFFENSE BUT I DID OFFER THEM TO MY NATIVE AMERICAN ART TEACHER, DOES THAT COUNT?)
DISCOVERING BUFFLEHEADS HAD ARRIVED, FLOWERS
WERE BLOOMING, PICKING RIPE,
WILD BLACKBERRIES, THE WOOD DUCKLINGS WERE ALL HITHER-AND-THITHER!
DISCOVERING MR. BEAVER HIDING STEALTHILY BENEATH LAST YEAR'S FALLEN CATTAILS NEAR SHORE...LONG, LONG BRANCHES IN HIS MOUTH
READY TO REFASHION HIS LODGE WITH AN
EXTREME BEAVER MAKEOVER!
AT DUSK HE WOULD ACTUALLY SIT ON TOP
OF IT AND ALL OF US WOULD WATCH HIM
FROM DECKS IN SHEER AMAZEMENT!
HE WAS A GUY. HE WAS PROUD OF HIS
"DO IT YOURSELF" ATTITUDE.
JUST ANOTHER AMERICAN GUY, YEAH?!
'TWAS A GIFT.
WHERE WE QUIETLY LIVED IN NATURE...BEFORE THE FALL
Outside was a marsh with beavers, many species of ducks,
the rare Virginia rail, songbirds, red-winged blackbirds,
titmice, chickadee-dee-dees, a bald eagle's nest high up
in a cottonwood tree, geese, swans in winter from the
arctic tundra, bats at night, swallows, barred owls, just
to name a few. Deer and their fawns strolled beneath our
windows and we slept in the living room for ten years to
wake up and fall asleep to the sounds of the pond, the
woods, the fragrance of rain before storms moved in from the North Cascades, Sea, or Frasier River Valley in Canada, plaintive cries of coyotes after dusk, barred owls, and rustling of beavers and
raccoons through tall marsh grasses and cattails in summer.
Numerous trails you could walk or bike in summer then
snowshoe or XC ski in winter led to salmon streams, a
small fishing pond for families, crashing glacial-fed waterfalls sporting an historic, stone bridge built by the CCC back in the 1930's and a meditation bench upon which to sit with eyes closed and just listen in silence to the language of nature.
At dusk I would walk the Bengal cat in his harness to visit his fawns before the raccoons inherited the boardwalks. We often heard sounds of animals or birds we never recognized. I'd call Jerry, forgetting it was 4 a.m. Atlanta time and demand to know:
"WHAT IS THIS?"
He usually didn't pick up the phone but I would still record it. Usually the sound of owls mating. The barred owls sounded like howler monkeys I remembered from Woodland Park Zoo.
Tibetan Monks came a month after I moved in for a week to create a sand mandala which they then poured into the tragic waters of grief following an oil pipeline explosion that had occurred less than one month before moving here. It was to heal the waters who had seen loss, death, not only to three boys but all wildlife...residents thought the volcano had erupted but it was a man-made tragedy.
Instead of cutting down the burnt trees, we planted more and restored the park, leaving what remained in honor of the two little boys and fishing teenager who perished in the pipeline explosion.
Mostly, I felt peace here until falling on the unmaintained wooden, plank boardwalk...slippery, slimy moss had accumulated on it for thirty years, October leaves had just dropped on it during a pouring windstorm, there was a ramp downwards and slippery, I was just walking Chai: Badda-Bing! Badda-Boom! I woke up to find
people around asking if I was all right but all I cared about was Chai the Bengal cat who sat and kept watch over me, terror in his eyes. How long I had not moved was anybody's guess. Six weeks later, a seizure at my Seattle doctor's office, I fell on exactly the same place on my head - on concrete, possibly covered with a thin layer of carpet, not sure: just that that was that! The owner from whom I rented put the unitmup for sale, this new building was beautiful and for handicapped, disabled, and healthy people, a mixed-use building...and we adjusted by watching Molly the Barn Owl and making new friends as I was bereft to be without my
animal and bird friends, Chai had to move back to Seattle
where Edwin could walk him so I had my owl through my
laptop and it was a perfect first clutch. As abilities narrow, life becomes simpler and, in many ways, that really isn't such a bad thing after all. A resident bald eagle circles downtown with a number of other raptors, including a merlin, because we are on the
water...and the merchants are so friendly they do all the thinking for me, we here are an odd lot and not only know it but are proud to be so. We are friendly, kind, it's easy to sit down in a favorite cafe, meet someone you have never seen before in your life,
know you will never see again, and have a meaningful,
thought-provoking conversation for three hours over
lattes and gluten-free, vegan muffins.
I love life.
The guinea pigs do, too.
It has changed a lot since Jan. 1, 2012.
But it's beautiful for all the friends who make it so.
Thank you, friends.
love,
Chana, YumYum, Vinny-Guinea, and Bhindi
Why so many blog posts? Double-shot too late in the day.
Life is simple.
Don't drink a double-shot later than noon.
OOPS!
the rare Virginia rail, songbirds, red-winged blackbirds,
titmice, chickadee-dee-dees, a bald eagle's nest high up
in a cottonwood tree, geese, swans in winter from the
arctic tundra, bats at night, swallows, barred owls, just
to name a few. Deer and their fawns strolled beneath our
windows and we slept in the living room for ten years to
wake up and fall asleep to the sounds of the pond, the
woods, the fragrance of rain before storms moved in from the North Cascades, Sea, or Frasier River Valley in Canada, plaintive cries of coyotes after dusk, barred owls, and rustling of beavers and
raccoons through tall marsh grasses and cattails in summer.
Numerous trails you could walk or bike in summer then
snowshoe or XC ski in winter led to salmon streams, a
small fishing pond for families, crashing glacial-fed waterfalls sporting an historic, stone bridge built by the CCC back in the 1930's and a meditation bench upon which to sit with eyes closed and just listen in silence to the language of nature.
At dusk I would walk the Bengal cat in his harness to visit his fawns before the raccoons inherited the boardwalks. We often heard sounds of animals or birds we never recognized. I'd call Jerry, forgetting it was 4 a.m. Atlanta time and demand to know:
"WHAT IS THIS?"
He usually didn't pick up the phone but I would still record it. Usually the sound of owls mating. The barred owls sounded like howler monkeys I remembered from Woodland Park Zoo.
Tibetan Monks came a month after I moved in for a week to create a sand mandala which they then poured into the tragic waters of grief following an oil pipeline explosion that had occurred less than one month before moving here. It was to heal the waters who had seen loss, death, not only to three boys but all wildlife...residents thought the volcano had erupted but it was a man-made tragedy.
Instead of cutting down the burnt trees, we planted more and restored the park, leaving what remained in honor of the two little boys and fishing teenager who perished in the pipeline explosion.
Mostly, I felt peace here until falling on the unmaintained wooden, plank boardwalk...slippery, slimy moss had accumulated on it for thirty years, October leaves had just dropped on it during a pouring windstorm, there was a ramp downwards and slippery, I was just walking Chai: Badda-Bing! Badda-Boom! I woke up to find
people around asking if I was all right but all I cared about was Chai the Bengal cat who sat and kept watch over me, terror in his eyes. How long I had not moved was anybody's guess. Six weeks later, a seizure at my Seattle doctor's office, I fell on exactly the same place on my head - on concrete, possibly covered with a thin layer of carpet, not sure: just that that was that! The owner from whom I rented put the unitmup for sale, this new building was beautiful and for handicapped, disabled, and healthy people, a mixed-use building...and we adjusted by watching Molly the Barn Owl and making new friends as I was bereft to be without my
animal and bird friends, Chai had to move back to Seattle
where Edwin could walk him so I had my owl through my
laptop and it was a perfect first clutch. As abilities narrow, life becomes simpler and, in many ways, that really isn't such a bad thing after all. A resident bald eagle circles downtown with a number of other raptors, including a merlin, because we are on the
water...and the merchants are so friendly they do all the thinking for me, we here are an odd lot and not only know it but are proud to be so. We are friendly, kind, it's easy to sit down in a favorite cafe, meet someone you have never seen before in your life,
know you will never see again, and have a meaningful,
thought-provoking conversation for three hours over
lattes and gluten-free, vegan muffins.
I love life.
The guinea pigs do, too.
It has changed a lot since Jan. 1, 2012.
But it's beautiful for all the friends who make it so.
Thank you, friends.
love,
Chana, YumYum, Vinny-Guinea, and Bhindi
Why so many blog posts? Double-shot too late in the day.
Life is simple.
Don't drink a double-shot later than noon.
OOPS!
MISSING YUM-YUM
Bhindi got big but I'm still just a little Piglet
missing my best friend who shared a sleep-sack
with me, kept me warm, took care of me, and
assured me everything was gonna be O.K.
Until it wasn't.
Then he wanted to be alone again.
I don't understand why he doesn't still want
to be with me, though. I don't like being alone.
YumYum, will you come over to rub noses?
Why do so many think we have no feelings?
missing my best friend who shared a sleep-sack
with me, kept me warm, took care of me, and
assured me everything was gonna be O.K.
Until it wasn't.
Then he wanted to be alone again.
I don't understand why he doesn't still want
to be with me, though. I don't like being alone.
YumYum, will you come over to rub noses?
Why do so many think we have no feelings?
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