Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Jon, Gabe, Ruth on Lake Evergreen. By Minnesota standards Lake Evergreen would barely qualify as a decent city lake, but it’s one of the few closeby. Lots of folks come out for various ways to be on the water.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Ruth’s paint your own elephant arrived on Wednesday. In this new world Ruth and I sat talking about the parade of elephants in Singapore several years ago. She looked at the peace and love elephant my sister Mary bought for me.
She clearly wanted one, so I looked them up on the internet. No longer sold in Singapore at the Botanical Garden gift shop, I found them at the company that makes them for elephants parades held around the world, a place in Denmark. A couple of clicks later the folks in Denmark had my order for a blank elephant, one Ruth could decorate in her own way. An elephant from Singapore, seen on Shadow Mountain, inspired a ten year old, so her grandpop ordered one from Denmark. And it got here 5 days later. She’ll be working on it today, I imagine. Amazing.
Superior Wolf has begun to emerge from the many notes, stops and starts I’ve had on this novel. I began writing it in 1999. Now the whole feels available to me for the first time in 17 years. No idea why. Just enjoying the ride.
That work plus the to do list that sits by my computer has gotten the cotton out of my life and replaced it with energy. The Latin will return one of these days, too, I’m sure of it.
Most of the issue seems to be with rhythm. I need unobstructed morning time to work and I’ve been giving that away for the last several months. The work I do requires everday labor, requires attentiveness and the accretion of small tasks into a larger whole. In my psyche peace is most important and peace comes in part from having large blocks of time without additional pressure.
Art continues to nag at me, but I’ve still not figured out how to include it in my life as well as I did when I was a docent at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Perhaps Jon and Ruth, both active artists, will help in some way.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
The morning sun throws reddish highlights on Black Mountain to our west while our home remains in the early dawn. It’s cool here this morning at 41 degrees and a week of cool temperatures is in the forecast. The northern European residents of this home on Black Mountain Drive are pleased.
Jon’s getting ready for his one hour commute to Montview Elementary in Aurora. He has to be there by 7:15, his third day with students. This Labor Day to Memorial Day school year guy still shudders at the thought of hitting the desk in early August. Seems to violate some unwritten compact between students and schools.
Feeling much more engaged this morning. Writing about a problem often sneaks a mood change through as I consider what I’ve written. Took Kate out last night to the Twin Forks Restaurant on North Turkey Creek Canyon Road. This was to honor her steady work on the needlepoint project, Love is Enough. Three years, but now it’s done, ready to be cleaned, blocked and framed. She’s going to add a small metal plaque, Vega: 2008-2016. We clinked glasses for Vega, one of a kind.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
A soft cotton buffer lies between me and the world right now. My edge, drive is blunted. Why? Don’t know. Might be attention to the emotional demands of the divorce. Could be too many projects in a row. Could be that THC I use at night. Could be I’m still not rejiggered from the move and prostate cancer. Could be that my circle of friends is in Minnesota and I’ve not made new friends here. Just not sure. It has been cool here the last week or so, so it might be that occasional fall melancholy sneaking in early, stimulated by the chill. Frustrating and I’m not sure what to do about it.
Life works best for me when I’m pressing into it, leaning in as Sheryl Sandberg said. Right now I’m leaning away or to the side or up against a wall. Not pushing forward, nor looking backward, sort of caught in stasis.
On the other hand I’m still exercising and the knee feels good. I’ve hit my mark on words per day on Superior Wolf. Kate and I are in a very good place, working together to help our little Colorado family as it careens through the dissolution of Jon and Jen’s marriage. The dogs are healthy.
The garage is much better organized. The garage, shed and decks have solid weather protection and the new green doors look great. The kitchen is officially finished with all the cabinets painted and Kate’s splash of green above the cabinets. Kate’s bathroom is set for a remodel that will make it safer and more beautiful. Jon’s very near finishing the loft. The walnut is planed and ready for staining. The art cart top is smooth and mostly dry.
Our finances are sound. We’re producing our own electricity and have our generator for emergencies.
Of course, there is Trump. Encouraging Second Amendment people to stop Hillary’s court picks. I. Mean. OMG!
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Quite an unproductive day so far. Ah, the golden years.
Kate’s off to the Bailey Library for the Bailey Patchworkers. She’s working on a wonderful Bat Mitzvah present for Ruth, a quilt with the squares made from counted cross-stitches sewn by her other grandma, Barb Bandel. She has three years to finish it so I think she’ll make it.
I admit reading the online news about the election is sucking up more and more of my time. The Donald Trumpette is a political car crash from which I cannot look away. Hillary, while an old pol and a centrist, doesn’t have near the I gotta see this appeal. The Donald today said, “I’m not changing my strategy or my temperament.” Whew. As the Cream said, “I’m so glad.”
We’re in a lull here between court dates, remodelers and the beginning of fall. Feels a bit sloth-like.
My knee injection seems to have helped. Lisa Gidday, our internist, agreed with me yesterday when I said it’s gotten worse. “Yep, you’re going to be thinking joint replacement at some point.” Well, I haven’t had any surgery this year so far. So, why not? Not really so cavalier about it.
However. I’ve gotten to the point where my life does have some new restrictions and I don’t like them. An example. Going to the Denver County Fair last weekend. I wandered around on the concrete floors of the Stockshow Building, the site of the Fair, for a couple of hours with Ruth, Gabe and Jon. When I got back, my leg did not like having done that. Hiking is painful, too. Point is, replacing that arthritic knee will make sense. Oh, boy.
Gertie is napping right next to the computer. Dreaming, she’s wagging her tail. Very sweet.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Quite a productive day today. Got my glasses fixed. Got my left knee injected with steroids. Went to Whistling Duck, which has had our money since May and not produced a table. Got a firm date for its start and its delivery. In the mid-afternoon over to Bear Creek Designs for a discussion of the elements for Kate’s bathroom remodel.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Murakami, the novelist, says time flows differently on Sundays. Yes. After that powerful acculturation of Sundays at church with Mom and Dad, then weekends off from work followed by weekends in which I worked on Sunday, the day has accretions of unusual moments, moments when the ambition and the struggle of the day to day evaporated for a few hours: that picnic, a moving worship service, reading the Sunday paper over breakfast, movies, ham, scalloped potatoes and spinach.
Yesterday I took advantage of that different flow to get myself past a difficult place in my work on Superior Wolf. The deep background of the story begins at the very beginning when Chaos and Chronos merge to bring some order to the new, emerging universe. I have a very specific reason for wanting the story rooted in the mythology of early Greek gods and goddesses, but I’m mindful of a critique I read about research. This novelist, I’m paraphrasing, obviously did a lot of research and she insists on using all of it. Ouch.
Even with that caveat I decided the story had to be told, so I spent Sunday finishing the section in which the key elements get laid out. This is a rough draft so I may not use much of this work, but I’m now past the somewhat didactic writing and back to the flow of the novel itself. A logjam broken up with a pike and spiked shoes.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
Ruth came up to the loft yesterday, sat in the leather chair and we talked while I worked. She’s such a sweet kid and very curious. Very bright. We talked about painted elephants, Hokusai and his famous print of the wave. Taking out a large book I have of Hokusai’s work, we paged through it and I explained the floating world of late 19th century Japan.
When I used chopsticks to eat beans and wieners for lunch, she said, “You’re weird, Grandpop.” I said, “Thanks. I take that as a compliment. Don’t you?” She nodded shyly.
Right now I’m trying to tell the story of the primordial Greek gods and the wars that occurred among the gods that followed them, the Titans and the Olympians. Tough to do without getting didactic, deadly to the flow of the narrative. Realized last night that I just have to get it down right now. This is a rough draft, not even a first draft.
Brother Mark asked about the dogs the other day. Gertie has recovered from the most recent rending of her flesh by Kepler. She bounces around, her right arthritic leg slightly splayed, not holding her back very much. Rigel continues on in her healthy, happy way. She has first rights on the couch now that Vega is dead. Kepler has gone from the still puppy like dog that he was when we got him two years ago to a mature dog with a distinct personality. He loves his life, getting excited, opening and closing his mouth, lifting himself slightly off the ground by hopping whenever food or something else that pleases him happens.
And then there’s Trump. Aaaccch. But, thank the powers of the universe for offering him to us when another candidate would have given Hillary a much more difficult time.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
County officials lifted the fire ban, a level II, which bans all fires in Jefferson County, at midnight last night. We’ve had a few cool, wet days in a row. As August continues, the fire danger tends to decrease, though doesn’t fade until sometime in September.
Jon’s back in his art room, getting ready for his students. The grandkids come up today for the day. The divorce continues to rake its nails across all our lives. How to be gracious is a challenge. But, a good one.
Kate and I went over to Bear Creek Designs in Evergreen yesterday. We made an appointment for Monday to pick out materials for the bathroom remodel. “Oh, aging in place renovation?” Molly asked, “Getting out ahead of it, eh?” Yes, the work over the next few years will take into account the fact that after February we’ll both be in our 70’s. Just part of the third phase.
Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon
This morning Black Mountain has a shroud of gray white fog slumping down its eastern slope. Rain water puddles on the driveway and the overall feel is early fall. As we prefer it here on Shadow Mountain.
Could this election get weirder? I’d have said no, but the Donald keeps surprising me, all of us. As his polls slump like the fog on Black Mountain, certain Republicans have begun raising money for Hillary, admitting openly that they will vote for her, too. This group includes members of congress and a former primary candidate for President, Meg Whitman. That’s very strange.
But, wait! There’s more. Now the Dump Trump folks have begin wondering in interviews if he can be forced to drop out. Or, perhaps he’ll just choose to drop out, some hope. So, members of his own party are campaigning against him while others are trying for an unprecedented, geez I think I’ll just quit you. This all very new stuff in American politics, like seeing a rare bird and getting to add it to your life list.
He will not drop out. His self-image is of a fighter and a winner. Fighters don’t quit and winners don’t lose. From a political hobbyists point of view this is a most excellent campaign. Not the same old boring cereal we get every morning for breakfast.
Over the next decade plus the significance of this race will become clear. The most interesting analysis I’ve found so far links Trump to the rise of voters seeking an authoritarian leader. Read this Vox.com article: The Rise of American Authoritarianism. Research into the phenomenon of authoritarian leaders has its origins in the puzzling question of how Germany pivoted to Nazism in such a short period of time. There are now several well-regarded academic works that focus on answering that question. Some of them look at American culture, probing for similarities to post-Weimar Germany.
In this understanding, with which I agree, Trump is not the cause, but the effect. Another good article on the political roots of this new American authoritarianism comes from NYT columnist, Charles Blow: Trump Reflects White Male Fragility.