Tenacity.

As I sit here in my sunny living room, the sound of chirping birds just outside the window reminds me that spring is technically here. Nevermind the incongruous detail that we had a snowstorm on the first day of spring and another small one two days later. It still looks like winter, but there are whispers of spring. Those tenacious birds confirm that winter will not last forever.

I probably should be working on one of the many projects I am in the middle of right now. I am getting ready to enter week four of a very busy four-week period. But I saw this article ("This is what 80 Looks Like") on Gloria Steinem and wanted to share it. So here I am.


In the last weeks I have been working on my artistic project, my citizenship application, another artistic project that is currently in an artistic residence, and my regular work hours for my day job. My work moved offices, so there has been box packing and unpacking. I went into the new space yesterday to unpack my office area and get settled a bit.

On a random note, I made my own face powder. I was about to buy more organic stuff which is expensive, and then I remembered that I had seen a recipe for face powder in Zero Waste Home. (Zero Waste Home is also a great blog.) I mixed just a touch of cocoa with cornstarch and gave it a try. I've now been using it a couple of weeks, and I have to admit that I was stunned to discover it is better than the store-bought organic, non-toxic face powder I had been buying. Apparently the main ingredient in non-toxic/organic powder is cornstarch anyways, so.....why not? And it is a HUGE savings. A box of cornstarch is a couple dollars and a small organic face powder is between $12-18 (for one that doesn't work so well for me) to $30 (one that worked well for me). So that is an amazing discovery. Plus it's fun to know I could safely eat my make-up if I wanted to.

This week a talented friend who is a musican and songwriter asked me to help with her lyrics. She's francophone but writes in English. I was honored she asked and agreed to help. She sent me the first song the other day, and I gave some feedback and brainstormed some ideas inspired by her text. It was really fun to think about the meaning and imagery of her song. That's something I never would have expected to be involved with at all!

What else? I guess that is about it. I hope to make some Norwegian cardemom rolls today to take to rehearsal tomorrow. The leak in the bathroom has not returned. Thankfully. And I am looking forward to spring and the new beginnings and opportunities on the horizon. I think interesting days are ahead.