Travelin' Woman: I will be traveling to the midwest for the next twelve days, so don't expect any blogging until after the twenty-second of June. Bon Voyage to me!

Infinite Cats: This is perhaps the greatest thing I have ever seen.

Avid Biker: Like Grace, I always have wanted to be an avid biker. My passion started the day before my first broken arm. I remember the day I got the training wheels off of my bike at six years old. My aunt took my cousin and I "mountain biking." We lived in North Dakota at the time and any meager hill was a mountain. Plus, I was six with a vivid imagination. My first time down the mountain my pedals spun more quickly than my little legs could keep up. I was cruising at about seventy miles per hour (in little kid perspective) and crashed hard and gloriously. *snap* After my aunt untangled me from the mangled bike she insisted that I ride home. She dusted me off, "You are fine." I was a little dramatic as a child (well, still am!) and I would not have believed me either. Well, for a week no one believed me. When I still couldn't hold a pencil mom took me to the ER. My biking career was doomed! Persistence was my battle cry: I still rode with a cast on.

At twelve years old there was the annual Bike-a-thon. I crashed there, too. Back to the ER for me; this will have been the third time for a broken arm-there was also that dancing incident in the fifth grade. After six weeks of being in a cast and some time regaining my strength I was back on the bike! Persistence, persistence...

Then when I was fifteen I wanted a real bike. I worked all summer long to buy a really fancy 21 speed hybrid Giant bike. I was no longer a little kid biker, but a real cyclist now! Twelve years later, I am still riding that bike! Persistence, persistence...

I have always enjoyed cycling, but haven't been in a year. *sigh* Grace is inspiring me to get out there and enjoy the open road once again. Maybe I will even get that tattoo after all...

PS There are "avid biker" websites all over the internet. My personal favorite is FOGDOG.com. I won a free hat from them in 1996 and still have it.

Certain Gracious Blogger: It seems that the identity of a certain gracious gentleman is no longer a mystery; he has set up his own blog! Meet the gracious gentleman here.

Poppy dreams: I walked past the yard with all of the wonderful orange flowers in it. I tickled the petals and took a sniff here and there. I didn't even notice that the woman who had planted the flowers was sitting on her patio. "Go ahead and pick some." I grew so sheepish. "I saw you admiring them this morning, too." Thanks! Wow! I was quite ecstatic!

Heaven:

Alas, I Have found the Holy Grail! As I was walking along to work today I discovered that for which I have been searching my whole life. Prior to the 10th of May, I had never seen orange before, never truly lived.

"Monday, May 10, 2004
Today as I was walking home...I spotted the biggest, brightest, orangest flower I had ever seen. I smelled it and it spelled back divine! I picked it. Then I realized it was in someone else's yard. I felt like I had stolen the flower. All of the sudden memories of a certain youthful St. Augustine came rushing into my head, tantillus puer et tantus peccator! I couldn't exactly put it back, so I brought it home and put it in this clever little vase given to my by a certain gracious gentleman. It is all wilted now, but I realize that I have never truly seen orange before today."

The day I found that one, lone orange flower sent me on a quest for other orange flowers just like it. How could it be all alone in this world? At least it was alone in that one yard. Several days later, I saw another orange flower in the very same yard! The very following day, the grass had been cut. Orange flower no more.

My quest took me to Home Depot. "I found this orange flower..." I explained to the garden section manager. "Oriental poppy," she said matter-of-factly. A poppy? Could my whole life have been boiled down to one single poppy? Would I ever see another? I called my mother in distress. "Oh yeah, I have those all over the garden. They are SO orange." They are, in fact, the very essence of ORANGE! How could I have lived with my parents for so long and missed this flower? A month has passed and I have not seen another like it in this very yard.

Last week as I was walking home from work, destined to walk past the former home of the orange flower. The the rains came. Terrential rains! I was soaked, so I ran. Nonetheless, I stopped in front of the yard, dripping as though I had taken a bath with all of my clothes on. No flower. Continue running.

Yesterday, after an afternoon shower a rainbow appeared in the sky. It was perhaps the most vivid rainbow I had ever seen. A double one, in fact! There was that orange- hiding in this very rainbow. Indeed it was a sign. Today I walked past the yard, hopes rekindled. No flower. But, lo! The neighbors yard boasted a whole crop of these amazing orange oriental poppies! Some seed must have blown into the other yard. My quest is complete.

Nothing Good to Say: The folks over there at Countertop Chronicles miss my art stories, and yet have indulged in the blogosphere time-wasters. Today I cleaned the studio. I think that I am a little bored with the current studio happenings. How much can one talk about one Virgin Mary? St. Joseph is on his way. My passion is developing the ideas and working out the pose and composition. In my line of work, the creative part is only a small fraction of what actually goes on. Ho Hum.

Ten years is a long time: Just the other day I realized that it has been almost ten years since I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia/CFIDS. The reality of this isn't going away hit me like a mack truck. There are many, many days where I hurt so badly all that I can do is shower (or "bucket" in my case) and sit on the sofa. Or blog- he he he. I don't know why I am writing all of this. I guess in all these years I have pretended that there is nothing wrong with me and I have beat myself up for being "lazy." I just had to get it off my chest.

At least I am close: Frederick is only a short drive away.

Take the quiz: "Which American City Are You?"

Washington DC
You're rotten to the core. You're deeply agressive; street-level violence and big-time politics.

Chastity: Here are some good resources about chasity.

Blogging Addictions: It seems as though blogging is more popular than I thought! This New York Times article catches a man blogging with his pants down! I have realized, that despite how much I like blogging, I have done less and less of it since I encountered the charms of a certain gracious gentleman. It would seem that my countless hours of isolation in the studio with no one to talk to, but a cat, left me with a dire need to express myself to whomever would listen. For awhile, it was not many. Part of blogging, e-mail, chatting (all of which have been addictions of mine!) is about connecting. There is some disconnect in modern society that the internet seems to solve. And yet it doesn't. There are some days I can blog my head off with all of these ideas and other days I have nothing to say at all. What of those days? That's when I realized that my need for human interaction goes way beyond conversation. Sometimes it is nice to sit one a park bench with someone that you are particularly fond of and just sit. On this blog, I have wanted to share all of my little misadventures with chickens, orange flowers, small government, and grammar. Now I have the attentive ears of a certain gracious gentleman who listens graciously to all of my stories and observations and my need for blogging is less. (Please note: less! I have much too much to say for one set of ears!) Now I am trying to get my story-telling brother to set up a blog! His is bound to be great!

Spring Edition of "Getting to Know Your Friends:"

What time did you get up?
- I was awakened by cats jumping on my head at 7:00 AM, but didn't crawl out until after 9:00 AM

If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be?
- Grace, whom I haven't seen in some time, but also a certain gracious gentleman(AK Erik "Super Enthusiastic Man" Irani)

Gold or Silver?
- It depends on the piece. A necklace- silver, a wedding ring- red gold, a garish medieval painting- definitely gold

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
- Valentin

What is your favorite TV show?
- Conan O'Brien

What do you have for breakfast?
- Kefir

What would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
- an annoying sound and blinking lights

What/Who inspires you?
- orange flowers, small pastries, gracious gentlemen

What is your middle name?
- Michelle

Beach, city, or country?
- country

Favorite Ice Cream?
- mint chocolate ship

Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
- Butter and salt

Favorite Color?
- RED RED RED (sometimes pink- it is just diluted red, you know!)

What kind of car do you drive?
- red 1989 toyota corolla

Favorite Sandwich?
- Finger sandwiches at tea time

Favorite Flower?
- red gerber daisies, and that mysterious orange flower

If you could go anywhere in the world on a vacation, where would it be?
- Iceland

What color is your bathroom?
- lavender

Favorite brand of clothing?
- errr...

Favorite place to retire?
- a farm with chickens

Favorite day of the week?
- Sunday (brunch with a certain gracious gentleman!)

What did you do for your last birthday?
- I threw a big party and hosted an open studio

Where were you born?
- Colorado Springs, CO

Favorite sport to watch?
- baseball (only if there are hot dogs and beer available)

What fabric detergent do you use?
- Tide

Coke or Pepsi?
- yealch!

Are you a morning person or a night owl?
- Night owl, baby!

Do you have any pets?
- Ivan the Terrible and Gustav Didymus, two furry white beasts... I mean cats!

Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum


You're a creative, expressive person. Maybe it's writing, acting, music or painting but you like to express yourself. You have a reasonably broad perspective on things and that makes you a good person. However sometimes you need to float back down to earth from that artsy haze you live in...

Which character from Alice In Wonderland are you?