I have spent way more time on the Commonwheel Old Spokes Gallery Show than planned.

I am now at the point of getting the finalize pieces for the Artist Statement book finished, but some just keep rolling in for me to work on the photos and the Bios to make them look good.

Tomorrow my friend and founding member of Commonwheel is coming to help proof what I do have done. Will be interesting when it comes time to print them and see how many photos actually look good from so many that were sent at 72 dpi rather than a printable 300 dpi.

On Friday night, he and I spent a fun evening together going to an art opening at Fountain Valley School for a mutual friend who is retiring after teaching there for 31 years. He and his artist wife are moving to N. Carolina where they say they are closer to family. There were many of us “grey hairs” that showed up. I had some interesting conversations and the art work was fun. But made me wish I understood how to use glue and paint to create some of the found object art ideas I have had. Looking at his was inspirational and frustrating too.

At this opening,  I invited one more person to be in the Old Spokes show. Hopefully his wife will get me all the info and photos I need quickly.

I wore the sandals I had bought at Kohl’s and they were very comfortable on both of my feet. Win! Glad I bought a second pair as it has been a long time since I have found shoes that comfortable.

And a City Council woman needed me to send the info Ann had sent her before and or Press Release about the show so she could write a proclamation about honoring our 40 years in business at the next City Council meeting.

On Saturday morning there was a MERF (Manitou Springs Emergency Recovery Fund) meeting that I attended. Didn’t learn much new, but was reassuring that they had most of the funding in place. Although there is a concern that the bids could come in higher than expected. They do have funds to dredge the creek and hire a couple of extra people to help with clean-up should there be another flood.

Mostly they wanted people to sign up as volunteers and state their skills. I signed up to do photo-documentation, as that had been something lacking last year. People just started cleaning out muddy basements without taking photos of the condition is was in and what they had lost. The insurance companies wanted documentation that many did not have.

I, and other Commonwheelers, took many photos of our muddy basement and the piles of items that came out of it and were no longer usable. So we had no problem with our insurance claim.

I had remembered to bring my camera on the walk to and from Venue 515 where the meeting was held. Birds and squirrels posed for me in many places. So I was really glad I had put it in my pocket.

I wore the new sneakers and they also were very comfortable! Now I have a pair of clean sneakers and a pair I can wear on walks without worrying that I am destroying them.

Two Saturdays ago, I went on a “stroll” with the Deja Vu Singles group at Fountain Valley Nature Center. I had never been on those trails. It was delightful.

I had thought that the ponds were still enough for me to get some wonderful reflection photos that I am always looking for to use in a books some day. Though there was more movement in the water than I realized when taking the photos, they are interesting images that could be useful in the future.  Snow covered Pikes Peak in the background made for some beautiful images from many angles.

Will be so glad to be done with the Old Spokes show and get back to using my time for my own projects to makes some money in the near future.

The many water fowl and other birds, including Red-winged Blackbirds were in great abundance.

I kept thinking how my hiking friend would love to see the birds. She gets so childlike and beautifully entranced when creatures are around. She talks to them and they often seem to respond by coming closer. She brings out the child in me at those times.

The ducks and geese created interesting trails in the water. I tried to capture them and was somewhat successful.

I did think I had more images than I saw when I got home. Still learning how to use this camera each time I go out. And our hike leader showed me some things about my camera that I didn’t totally understand before. But not sure why I always think I took a picture that isn’t on the camera when I download them. Curious . . .

(And this was the day I actually went to Kohl’s for my first spending spree, not the day of my health appointment. I am a bit confused in time recently.)

When I got home, I checked the weather and discovered that Wednesday would be a good day for a hike this week. So I left a message for her to call and me and see if she was available. She was, and so we made a plan for me to pick her up after my webinar.

That didn’t work too well for me. There was no posting of the webinar by Tuesday night, so I assumed it wasn’t happening. But it was. They posted in the early am, but I didn’t open my computer in the morning and I had changed my time to pick up my friend to get an earlier start on the day hike. I guess I missed a good Q&A session that I haven’t listened to yet. My Genius Factor is lagging behind a bit . . .

And the Aine recording on Tuesday couldn’t be heard by phone, it was only available by computer playback. I listened to that as I cleaned up my office a bit, and found some bills I needed to attend to quickly. Aine is going to Brazil to see John of God with a 3 week window at the end of January next year. Wish I could afford even a 1 week stay with her, but not in my budget. Many years ago, just after the minor surgery that gave me a major complication that makes wearing shoes or tight pants difficult, I somehow connected with someone who was going there. He took my photo and a short note about the healing I desired. When he returned, he brought me a crystal blessed by John of God, and some herbs to take. I place that crystal on my leg every time I work with my MAP / Co-Creative White Brotherhood Medical Team during those meditations.

The worst thing that happened this last week was the cottage roof is leaking! A flat roof is no fun when it begins to leak. And I still owe my handyman/plumber from the water line replacement job he did last month.

When cleaning up my desk, I discovered I hadn’t paid last month’s Comcast bill and can’t get into the account. When I had dealt with an uninvited user that a tech helped get removed, I had changed my password and secret question answer. I am still in my Comcast email account, but can’t get into my billing account. And of course it is the weekend and there is no help to be had by phone until Monday morning.

Financially I am not in very good shape, but working on it as best I can. Wrote up some bills for other people that do owe me some payments for work I have done.

What I really need to do is to get more books written and figure out how to make some money from my photographs in the near future. And promote the books I have written and published to make more sales.