Sidetracked Charley

The economy has derailed a lot of plans. We chatted about several examples just last night at the monthly gallery reception. It is always good to have a plan. And an alternate plan. And an escape route or evacuation strategy. Never burn those bridges behind you because you don't know when you might want to cross back over them in hasty retreat. My plan had been to furnish my rental unit so it could be a vacation rental instead of a long term one. Art sales have been down and stuff at the fall garage sales up so that is not quite accomplished. To generate some income I figured I might rent it furnished over the winter to seasonal employees of the neighboring resort. Then it looked like my sister and her husband might rent it. Then last week I was stopped at the grocery store by a long term sometimes friend asking if I was looking to rent it out long term. Told her frankly I was rather soured on that but would think about it. I thought. E-mailed her the particulars on rent, etc. Maki...

Yesterday I was working away at a couple of the items on my Before-the-snow-flies list. Admittedly last night we did get a trace of snow but realistically we have to the end of October to get these things done. And without thinking I have already gotten a few done like neatening the woodshed for the new cords to be delivered in October, stocking up on canned and dry goods, and replacement of the flaps on the through the wall fur kid door. But the list is always longer than the days to accomplish it. But it was a blog I follow, KathyintheOzarks , that reminded me obliquely of the truly important list: Snowed in. As an artist what to do when snowed in is hardly a problem. There are always more paintings to paint. But as a Gemini I like variety. And there are those things I put off this summer because the weather was too nice - the indoors tasks like painting walls, and organizing the sewing room, and finishing the resurfacing of the walls in my bedroom. And the I would certainly like to ...

I was a reluctant participant in Facebook. I actually opened my profile there more than a year before I did anything with it. It was the final gasp of Y!360 that more or less pushed me into looking for alternate social networks. It's a jungle out there. And Profiles, the Y!360 replacement, was not keeping its promise to be better. Blogger was being better; in fact best for blogging. But it just didn't give that sense of close connection 360 had with quick comments. Tried Twitter. I don't like to reduce my life to 140 characters. And frankly the people that began following me (even months after I stopped tweeting) scare me. One of my first forays into Facebook resulted in a major malware infection. (Near as my computer nerd can figure it came through the download of Javascript used to upload images.) Facebook does not vet all its cute little applications so for months I followed the 5 second rule. Check in for action, check out, touch nothing. Now I am on Facebook more and m...

I was practicing the theory of washing hands to avoid illness. Frankly I was feeling very obsessive compulsive with my pocket full of anti-bacteria wipes. And a bit high. The major ingredient is after all alcohol in those things. I thrashed them and decided to use soap in the lavatories. I must admit this cramps my style just a bit. Not everywhere you are in contact with people has public restrooms. I changed to moist towelettes for diaper changing. They don't come in tidy and convenient packages so I had zip lock bags in my pockets. Now I have a cold and very red and raw hands. And I have made all my friends feel like Typhoid Mary. Seems I am not alone. I was listening to NPR this morning about the flu and religious practices. Everything from Holy water to shalom has been condemned. Never mind sitting (or kneeling) close to your fellow worshipers in a pew or on a prayer rug. I am reminded of the time I gave up all food from the sea because of the mercury level. Then all vegetable...

Everyone raves about Amazon.com but I have had nothing but grief from that site. Even my good experiences seem to be peppered with headache. I always have to reset my password even though my computer remembers it. And they always split my orders even when I click that little box that tells them not to so I can save on shipping charges. Last time when I ordered a DVD that they had to back order they kept billing my account even though they said they wouldn't until they shipped. We argued on that over the telephone three times. Then when I got the DVD it was flawed and would not play. I will never go through the return process gauntlet again! Or the calls to get them to take the charge off my account after I returned it. But all I figured I just wanted four books. Total cost of books $33 and change. I will be paying $54 because of the multiples of shipping charges at $3.99 a time. I went looking for the Contact Us option on their website. They hide that. My sister finally found it fo...

A year ago this summer when the contractor from hell showed he was not going to go away I fell back on old beliefs and created a voodoo doll of him. Every time I would get another missive from his lawyer I would stick in another pin. And finally I took him out of my studio which was the source of our dispute and nailed him literally to an old railroad tie which was once the corner post to the old fence on my property. I told him (through the doll) I would release him from his bondage when he released me. And all winter he suffered through the snows quietly. Spring I heard from his lawyer again and the voodoo doll got more nails. This summer I heard he was ill. But not so ill it seems that he was willing to drop the law suit. He and his lawyer are going ahead with their suit to foreclose on my house for the disputed debt (a fraction of what my house and property are worth but far more than I feel justified in paying him or can afford). My attention in this last week has been drawn again...

Every spring the cattle arrive. Brought in large cattle trailers behind semi-tractors they get dropped off at lower gates of properties owned by ranchers and National Forest leases. They roam up the mountain grazing as they go until they reach the high meadows to spend the summer. One of the first signs of fall are the same cattle moving down the mountain to their pick up points. Yesterday as my sister, her husband and I drove the national forest roads along the mountain ridge cows, this year's calves, and fattening steers like the one above were on the road or beside it working their way down. Early frosts had touched the forest flower and turned once green leaves to orange and gold; their color replacing the wildflowers of just a couple weeks ago. And in the trees vines were suddenly visible with their fall dress of red and orange. We wound our way to the top of the mountain to meadows where just recently cattle and elk had grazed to find them empty and the tall grass turned to g...

At one time I worked in contracts for a major construction firm - at the time one of the five biggest in the nation. Every contractor we hired had to sign a contract that exceeded 100 pages at a minimum. General Conditions (that section which generally says it is our football and our field and we get it our way) ran 64 pages all by itself. The most important think I learned dealing with contracts was that the last piece of paper was the right piece of paper. So every dispute with a contractor required a letter beginning with the per-our-conversation-of epistle. Whatever a contractor claimed we had to counter with our version and within a few days. Our hope was that they would not counter what we claimed. That made us right, because to not refute our last letter made that letter law. I try to follow that bit of wisdom in my personal life. But when you are dealing with issues you are personally involved in it can become a bit more difficult. Still I write letters. All the time I write le...