The damage you did to my mom's car makes the mysterious crack in the windshield of my car seem really insignificant. So now I don't have to be upset about it anymore. But just so you know, my mom doesn't like the crappy rap CD you left in her car stereo. She wants her Roy Orbison back. She would also like back the educational games she uses for her work with autistic children. But maybe you need the games more than they do. The old cardboard cat carrier, you can keep. You can also come and get that roach you left in the cup holder any time you want. We think the stink of BO you left behind might be in the car to stay. Thank you for reminding me that bad things do happen to good people. And that bad people smell bad. I hope you had fun ghost riding the whip. 

Dear freegan wearing the gray animal suit,

Thanks for introducing me to freeganism yesterday at the spring training party in the park. I had never heard the term before, but as I understand it, you were actually in a documentary on the subject. I became a little incredulous upon eating the "espresso covered chocolate" you offered me #1 because right afterwards I was told that all the food you were handing out was found in a dumpster, and #2 there was nothing even remotely espresso-flavored about that chocolate which leads me to believe you didn't even try it first. I know several of my friends ate the chocolate too, so thank you for not singling me out alone. Thank you for the dumpster chocolate itself - the situation would be a lot worse if it was acid-infused chocolate or something (which I wouldn't put past you, you little rascal). And thank you for reminding me of the important lesson I was taught as a child: Do not take food from strangers. Even if the stranger is wearing an adorable gray animal (squirrel?) suit and seems harmless if a bit confused.

danielle

Thank you to MoreCreativeLife.com for making me laugh my ass off with this post and the following comment made by Kevin. I really needed that. Maybe it's because I often find myself putting extraordinary amounts of work into projects that end up being total disasters. I can only hope that one day someone will find my handicraftwork hideous enough to poke this kind of fun at. That's what I call making lemons into lemonade. And I know that's really cliche and yes I am too tired to care. :)

Thank you Margareta for getting me the Barefoot Contessa cookbook for Christmas. There are so many recipes in it that I want to try, so it has been inspiring me to make a nice meal almost every weekend. I made Spring Green Risotto for dinner last night and it turned out beautifully. I am excited to be having it again today for lunch. I don't understand how anyone can cut a lb. of asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths, blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente, and then drain and cool immediately in ice water all in under 15 minutes while adding chicken stock to and stirring another pot on the stove "almost constantly", but it made me laugh, so thanks for that.

...for the song "1980". That song has these magical powers that turn morning traffic into a good time. Day after day after day. I think it's because you light-heartedly make fun of yourself in that song in a way that's executed so perfectly that it's cool. I love it when people can't help but genuinely laugh at themselves. The song is the perfect length and I just love it's construction, beat, lyrics, and how it sounds at every single moment it's playing. By the way, you sound like a black man in that song. For some reason I was disappointed when I found out you are white. Still can't put my finger on the exact reason for that. I was afraid I wouldn't like the song as much after I found that out. But I like it just as much - don't know why I thought I wouldn't. The reason I initially liked the song was because I was born in 1980! Thanks Dirt Nasty!  You can listen to 1980 on his MySpace page.

Thank you to my mom for showing me such a good time on mother's day. Thank you to Annie's Annuals in Richmond for all the fine festivities and to the people who participated in their musical chairs game/ competition. I never suspected so many people would be so game in the rain, much less that the competition would so closely resemble a mud- wrestling match at times. Totally hilarious! And thank you to the winner of the musical chairs game for your remarkable acceptance speech which went something like:

" it was five years ago on this day that I was a part of a group who set the guiness world record for the most people breast-feeding at the same place at the same time..."

I never expected to laugh that hard. It was a fabulous reminder of how embarrassing moms can be without meaning to (not that her children seemed embarrassed in the least - they seemed aloof actually). It was a sweet reminder of that time in my life when my mom used to embarrass me alot.

Xoxo

Danielle Dews

Sent from my iPhone

And why shouldn't I? My mom always made me write thank you notes to everyone as well. All I hope to gain from it is some happiness.  What she does on her blog is PERFECT for me. If I follow her style, I will be able to vent about everything that irritates me in a totally polite and positive way.  Find the silver lining!  That's what I'll be forced to do..  Can't wait to get started.  OK, here is my first thank you note:

Dear BBQ grill

Thank you so much for your work today and for being the only thing that motivates Erik to perform any action that is slightly domestic. Thank you for making "cooking dinner" seem fun and cool and artful, even when the menu consists of pre-cooked pesto chicken sausage with mustard in a roll. I love summertime! (even tho its not here yet I am getting teh feeling of it again).  :)

I think I will be able to meet my goal of posting 5 times a week if I do "art sighting of the day" posts. So, here we go with Art Sighting of the Day #1...

I didn't actually see this art myself, but I was alerted to it via Facebook. My good friend Chelsea (an artist in her own right, particularly with her Domo photos - I will get to that later in another post) posted this photo and comment on Facebook:

Somebody left a link to this Street Pianos site in the comments. I don't know the piano man's name or story, but I live near MacArthur BART so I might just have to swing by and find out.

Some days at work I feel burnt out. These days are few and far between but I've had enough of them over the years to figure out the best way to approach a day that is looking like a bunch of repetitive "same old" from the get go. What I do is not-work for awhile. Actually I can't really call it not-work, because performing "not-work" is really the only way to get back to "work" for me. "Not-work" is more like a mental field trip. I basically sit back and read the stuff that comes to me from a bunch of different places on the internet.

For instance, I read my twitter feed, and the twitter feed for C&T Publishing (I tweet for C&T). I follow links my friends post on Facebook. I look at the feeds on my iGoogle, I read some of what's in my Google Reader, and I check out Digg. But I usually don't get very far with all this before unanswered emails and a hefty to-do list start nagging at my consciousness. Often it takes me a few of these sessions spent "browsing" or "connecting" to the outside (internet) world, punctuated by answering a few emails here and there, to get my fill and be able to return to my work with some energy for it. It usually takes until I read something that gives me a fresh perspective on something, to be able to put my attention back on my work, to find my projects interesting again.

Today at work, while I should have been finalizing checklists for NAMTA and gathering the items for the pallet that is due to depart on Monday, I found the following inspiring links:

George Lois and his favorite Esquire Covers (via kottke.org)

What Should I Eat Flow Chart for Candy Lovers (via Angela Daniels)

*****INTERMISSION i.e. I took a trip to the vending machine and bought some skittles

We Like it Wild Shamrock Badges - I can never think of anything St Patricks-y to wear or decorate with and this SOLVED that!

and this post is one of those. Basically, I've been trying to think of one thing I can mention that I have done today that can be considered art. I worked all day but was uninspired and consumed with busy work. I have to get the pallet for the NAMTA trade show packed and sent out by Monday at the latest and I haven't even put the supplies list/ checklist together yet.

I've been so busy creating project blog posts because someone (me) had the bright idea that we should post a project on the blog every day in March in celebration of National Craft Month. It is a good idea. I just wish I had the time I need to make an art out of it. I've done some great posts I think, but others have been short and could have been better.

Just admitting that in writing makes me want to go back in and make them better before they post, but OMG the NAMTA pallet! I am totally insane for not getting my checklists together for this show yet. I just don't like doing it. I want to make art.

So back to what I was saying. I have been sitting here trying to figure out what to say, and not being able to come up with one gift I have given anyone that has changed them or made much of a difference today. As I write this, I look up and I see my dog staring at me over my laptop. She wants her walk. She's a two walk a day-er and so far today she has only had one. Yesterday she only had one as well. Oh wait, she's giving up and going to the ottoman she sleeps on.

But it looks like I have an opportunity here. To give a gift and make a difference. To her I am sure my taking her for a walk is "art" as much as anything could be. I must take what I can get on this quest to become a linchpin. Looks like its walkies time!