#61 - March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb

Well, after that last post last Friday, it seems the pot of gold DID show up.

Pleased to report that funemployment has come to an end;  I landed a real job with a real company actually listed on the NYSE.  Great challenge, great rewards are in store.

Of course, there's loads of rain and rain and rain.  Hey, it could be worse.  If I lived on the east coast, I'd be settled inside as another "Noreaster" hits.

I have managed to fit some gardening in during fits and spurts and breaks in the weather.  Can't wait to see what the warm weather will bring after this rain.

Perhaps it's only when I'm busy and full up that Vault spelunking will happen.  Or, maybe I have to wait until the Vault goddess' birthday next month.  In any case, looking forward to what tomorrow (figuratively as well as literally) will bring.

#60 - Where's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

We've been getting a tremendous amount of rain this week (thankfully! as we need it), and my garden is one happy place to be.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's day, and yes, they still dye the Chicago river green in my home town.

Yesterday, as I was working away on a project at my desk, it was pouring out and yet the sun was shining brightly.  I recall that Irish myth of finding a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow, standing next to a pot of gold.

So much transitioning around me;  I'm waiting for that pot of gold to emerge.  Or is it right under my nose?

I'll keep you posted.

#59 - Art is where the inspirational and living heart is

I love art and horticulture and when you put them together - wow.  I realize how much of a core part of my being that combination truly is, and how it resonates with me in a way nothing else does (well, except live theatre).

Just had a lovely day yesterday in SF at the Bouquets of Art at the deYoung Museum - my 4th time.  Glad my friend the horsewoman was able to join me and my other friend, the delightful gardener photographer I adore as well.

So many amazing awe inspiring things we saw.  One of the most powerful for me was this painting:

Which inspired an artist to create this flower arrangement:

I wished I could have gotten a better picture of the floral arrangement, but there were too many people at the exhibit.

What is so striking to me about this is the large stone on the right hand side of the flower arrangement, representing the "slave maid."  it's a rock that anchors the flower arrangement of the children with their playthings, but it's encased in steel.  It's the only thing (aside from the vase itself) that is not living, but is key to keeping the arrangement balanced.

I was deeply moved by this.

My heart is filled with ART.

#58 - Here's mud in your eye (literally)

Well, the best laid plans often end unpredictably.

I was minding my own business in my own garden (which is shaping up beautifully, I might add), and WHAM!  What should have been a simple shaking the dirt off the weeds being pulled ended up with an errant piece of something flying into my eye.

Unsuccessful attempts to remove said foreign object resulted in a trip to urgent care this morning.  They performed something called a "Morgan Lens Flush" which is a very, VERY odd procedure (even the Doctor said so).  They numb your eye, place a suction cup on your eye attached to a saline IV, and flush your eye out.  It was very strange and painful - well, maybe just pressure painful - and then the Doctor put some solution in my eye and looked at it under the blacklight.  Yup.  2 corneal scratches.  Now I have to go get that antibiotic ointment prescription and check with an eye doctor in a few days to make sure it's healing properly.

So, of course, I'll be wearing either glasses or protective eyewear when I continue working out there.

On another note, the weather is rainy; that means the time is right (and ripe) for Vault spelunking.

I need to go do that.

Let's just hope I don't get any flying dust in my eye.

#57 - Find a goal and fill it

Been a busy weekend.

Our local nursery had a bare root rose giveaway on Saturday.  They wanted to do something to energize the community after the wildfires in the Fall, and so they gave away one rosebush (from a choice of 4) to the first 1,000 people who showed up.  I got there promptly as they opened and was probably #110 in line, but I did get my rose (along with some fennel and strawberries, and oh, another primrose for the front).

Once I got home, I read the instructions and discovered the bare root needed to be planted that same day.  I've worked tirelessly on weeding and sheet mulching our pathways over the last month, (I'm about 1/2 way done by now), and so I needed to weed a new space for this rose.  I did manage to clear out enough weeds and crabgrass (thank you, recent rains), and dug a sizeable hole and got it planted.

It's a PEACE rose;  a hybrid tea with a classic light fragrance.

Oh, mine is all empty canes with some good potential buds on them, and I'll be excited to see if we get blooms on it this year.

I was reminded by this exercise that just as it was key to dig a hole to plant the rose, it's also important at this time in my life, for me to find a GOAL and fill it.

That's my target for this week.

#56 - Reflections

Well, everyday is a new one, isn't it?

I'm getting lots accomplished.  But doing a lot of reflecting on things.

Trying to remember why I started this blog in the first place, and why I was so happy to be released from my last job.  Reminiscing about my art and my life and my house and my move to California and all the jobs I've had and my family, lost and gone and those still here.  Wanting to learn from my past mistakes and not repeat them.  Reflecting on the choices made and the roads not taken. Doing my best to release all that no longer holds meaning or value to me. 

I'm reflecting on moving on.

Because that lesson about the longest journey beginning with a single step?  It's the hardest one to come to terms with.

And tomorrow is another day, isn't it?

#55 - The end of Funemployment

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

I've reached the end of the pinnacle of all that money I paid into just in case I ended up in a situation like this.

After 42 jobs applied for, and 12+ interviews over the last 7 months, I currently await a decision on the last of the interviews held over the last few weeks with the 2nd largest employer in the county.

If this one is a no-go, I'll be "que sera sera-ing" and seeking something, perhaps anything, to boost the cash flow.

"Got jobs?"

It might just be time to go vault spelunking again...