I have a full, regular day of work happening here, but I am sleepy. I couldn’t fall asleep last night until nearly midnight, then woke up at 730.
See…I’m not a morning person…never have been.
Before I went back to school to become a librarian, I was a Bartender for a decade.
Now THAT was a great schedule for me!
The only thing that keeps me trying this morning shit is the fact that I LOVE my job.
One of the main things I get to do is Help People find the information they need right now.
Sometimes that’s the location of the latest Mystery, or help with research for a school assignment, often it’s assistance with printing or scanning, and most importantly, it can be directions to the restrooms.
I get to assist with these and SO MANY other informational needs every day and I LIVE for this shit!
My roomate, Angelina (age 10) created this.
So…here I am…ready for bed. Time to curl up with this lovely furbaby:
We got up early and headed south, then west…Had some WEAK SAUCE McDonald’s coffee on the way, but made up for it at Tidal coffee at the east end of Cannery Row.
Nearly everyone was wearing a mask…
…even Steinbeck.
This is very different than what we generally encounter at Lodi Lake Park.
Then we found out why:
THIS is how you do it.
There are gorgeous views of the water, and many sights to see…
I pass the JB factory on hwy 12 twice a week…my favorite flavor is pear.
We visited Kelly and Megan at Megan’s ADORABLE little place in Pacific Grove, where they fed us amazing food, and I got to meet the 4 cats:
The Count.PickleOlive
I didn’t catch a photo of Queso, unfortunately.
It has been a very nice Easter Sunday for us, but imma go to sleep now…
Emily and I are currently waiting in Shelley (my frankencar) outside the vet’s office.
BabyGirlKid jail.
We are just here for her yearly checkup & vax update. A year ago, she had her right, lower fang removed due to decay & the only slight concern I have is that she might be a li’l chubby now…but aren’t we all?
After we close at 5pm today, I’m off for a 3-day weekend (WOOT!)
With this guy:
Freshly vaccinated
I feel possibilities ahead. It’s more than just spring…um…springing. it’s the potential hiatus from *waves around* all of the past year/few years.
The great staff at Bayside Vet in Vallejo just came out and got Emily. The folks here are excellent…one of the Vet Techs works p/t at my library and I love knowing someone so well, who will watch out for my baby.
This is where I brought my Boys when it was time for them to go…It was a sad, but beautiful, experience thanks to the staff here at Bayside.
My Merry My Pippin
The weather here in Vallejo, CA is perfect…sunny with the river breeze.
It will be warmer in Woodbridge (it most always is), but we might road trip on one of my THREE days off (but I repeat myself) to the coast, perhaps.
OK! So Emily is done here and it’s time to take her home.
She has a clean bill of health, besides a little too much weight. She was 11lbs last year & she’s up to 13lbs now. I just have to feed her twice a day instead of leaving food out for her constantly.
I have not posted a thing for over 4 months and I’d say that’s not like me, but it TOTALLY is. I haven’t blogged or made any art for about that long. I’m not sure what has been holding me back, but I suspect it has to do with *waves in all directions* all of this.
Postcard from spring 2017 swap with iHanna.nu
So…I’m participating in Effy Wild’s Artfully Wild Blog Along this year to put myself back into the creative zone.
There is nobody quite like Effy to give me a “gentle” nudge towards a healthier Art Practice. I began with Effy’s teachings in Journal 52 2018. I jumped to BOD in 2019, and this is my 2nd year in Moonshine.
I have done next to nothing but lurk on the pages for this year so far, but I am a firm believer in starting where you are, so…April it is.
I received my Moderna vax last Thursday and I have to note the weight that feels lifted from my shoulders about it is NOT missed.
My coworkers have all received their first shots at least, and I feel much safer about our whole library team because of that fact.
My Love, Matt, received his shot the same day I did, but he’s team Pfizer.
My career, Librarian Supreme, is running along nicely, now that we have a new (MUCH better) Supervisor. My former BOSS* and I are like oil & water.
The services we can provide are limited compared to pre-Covid times, but we do all the things we can for folks, and we are preparing for the future-times when we can do Programs and Outreach again.
#hoodielibrarian 2021
My work weeks are spent with this character…She makes me laugh every day.
The cute…it slays me.Cuddles Forevah!!!Emily Bird Starr
Work weeks include 40hrs of Librarian goodness, not enough sleep, and good times with my little roomate family (Amy and her kids: Erik and Angelina)
Weekends include THIS Man:
He is My Heart.
Yep…I am pampered, fed, loved, listened to…It’s a rough life, but I think I’ve earned it.
So…here we are. Today is a good day. I had an eye Dr. appointment where they dilated my eyes, but I’ll get spiffy new specs in 2-3 weeks.
I live in downtown Vallejo, California, but I spend my non-workdays with Matt at his place outside of Lodi. CA. The two houses are over an hour apart so I do a fair bit of driving every week.
I drive up from sea level, over the hills through Suisun City, across multiple bridges over branches of the Sacramento river delta, and over to the central valley, where my heart waits for me in Woodbridge.
I am completely comfortable there. I just miss my stuff, and Emily. Matt’s cat, Katita, doesn’t like Emily at all (which is strange, because Emily is perfect) but we cut her some slack as she is partly blind and extremely set in her ways. It’s her house, ya know…
So, as I split my time, I’ve realized that I paint on the weekends, but all my paints/supplies (except what I carry on my Art Bag) are at my place, where I stay during the work week.
My Art Bag
Thus, I am packing 2 storage bins of supplies to take to Woodbridge tomorrow night.
I’ve made a list so I can have what I need without bringing extraneous items I don’t need to use right away.
Ex: Bringing paint/canvas/stencils but not all the stuff to make candles…
This feels a bit odd to me, moving in with him in increments, but we do what we can until I get to move in for good and all.
I have been drawing, but I’ve done little art lately otherwise, but I plan to get back into it on this upcoming 3day weekend.
I want to paint herHalloween is coming!Seeing.
Other than all of the above, I am well and healing from my bicycle wreck 2.5 weeks ago. I have a scar to talk about…
Emily is doing well…she is the queen of my bedroom, where she stays for the most part. She’s not particularly interested in my roommates, so only comes out when they are gone or sleeping.
She generally wants to be alone…
I have dear friends dealing with a myriad of issues and complexities in this crazy world right now and I’m doing my best to be there, available, for them. Meanwhile, I have been digging into some heavier traumas in my life and working through even part of them is exhausting but important to me.
I want to live my life free of the weight of these things in my past. I refuse to bury the past, as the feelings can jump out at me, appearing without warning, scaring everyone.
My mental health issues are mine, but I am able to be pretty open about it all because I generally do a superb job of keeping it all to myself. The ability to share my feelings with folks I trust is paramount to my progress.
I have a Therapist, Psychiatrist, medical team, loving friends and stellar family to talk to about all of this, and when I feel the downs, I avail myself upon them.
I am blessed and lucky.
I’ll post more art as I make it, and I’ll post my video tutorial from work as soon as it is edited.
…and it’s basically my “Friday” night. I did the just work of the library, went to the gym (why is it always arm day?) and am now sat on my queen chair with Emily on my lap, and she is insisting that I do not move from here.
My coworker/gym partner/friend and podcaster, Sabrina (of Sabrina Monet.com) and me!
I want to paint…I took out the trash because it smelled like hair color remover (worse than a perm) and I have a renowned capacity to ignore dirty dishes, so I will sit here for a while longer (for Emily, you know…) then paint in my journals, like this:
or in my Book Of Days, like this:
Or on my new canvas, like this:
OR on one of the illustrations for my friend’s book of songs:
…so the options are open…hmm….
Welp…since I’m meeting with the author tomorrow, that decides it…
I’ll eat my leftover pizza salad (you don’t know pizza salad?! Get thee to MOD Pizza) and listen to my girl’s podcast while I make the art…have a great weekend!
Although this bloggy is named for the other 2 cats, my hobbitses, my Merry & Pippin were the first I committed my care to, and this morning has just been awful.
After a quick decline in health last month, where they dropped to half their fighting weight, I decided to have my boys put down as I cannot, in good conscience, let them suffer more.
I have had my hobbitses since they were 6 weeks old…for more than 12 years now. They’ve been with me though grad school and 5 different jobs. 6 apartments.
I would be absolutely bereft were it not for my Emily, and for the knowledge that my furry family may be smaller but the love is bigger than anything.
I’ve been stuck in a self-depricating spot lately, thinking that I just ‘piddle around’, never actually creating any art…so I decided to take stock of some things.
I have said that I’ve kept a written journal, since I was 15. Yeah, 33+ years is some time…
This stack of paper actually looks small to me, but that’s probably because I know how much time and life and mojo has been applied to the pages…
Then I thought about the Art Journals & Travel Journals that I’ve finished…
THEN I collected all the journals together that I’m currently working in, and realized, I need to cut myself a serious break….
Yeah…there are 9 (nine) journals here. Most pages have SOMETHING on them, so…
…I’ll just keep putting stuff & things inside these books, and I’m also looking into starting from scratch…making my own books, from paper I choose, then doing my thing, as well as incorporating some new ideas I want to try…
Not nearly as much lace as the junk journal junkies are into, but adding more to my books…
Horatio and Emily 