I'd give it all gladly

Over in Longmont

KC sure has alot goin' on over at her studio. Check it out...
I hear you'll have a smashing time...

In sacred memory - Jean Burns Fishburn 1932-2007

Miko, at work

Remember when we had Miko in Pasticcio Palais? You're right! It was our very first Holiday issue - #2 - wow! Seems like only yesterday! Remember when Joan Baez sang it (written by Bob Dylan?) (And yes, I am skipping from subject to subject with no rhyme nor reason today. Maybe because it's Winter Solstice...)

Seems like only yesterday
I left my mind behind,
down in a Gypsy Café,
with a friend of a friend of mine,
who sat with baby heavy on her knee,
and spoke of life most free from slavery,
with eyes that showed no trace of misery.
A phrase in connection that I heard her say that love is just a four-letter word.

Outside a rattling storefront window
cats meowed at break of day.
Me, I kept my mouth shut, knew I had no words to say.
My experience was limited and underfed.
You talking while I hid
to the one who was the father of your kid.
You probably didn't think I did, but I heard you say that love is just a four-letter word.

Though I never knew just what you meant
when you were speaking to your man,
I could only think in terms of me
and now I understand.
After waking enough times to think I see
the Holy Kiss that's s'posed to last eternity
blow up in smoke, it's destiny,
it falls on strangers, travels free.
Yet I know now traps are only set by me.
And I do not really need to be assured that love is just a four-letter word.

Wish *I* had a mango tree...

Make mine Celery Juice

Adelle is hosting a resin bangle giveaway HERE...
I think they're swell, don't you?

I have a whole new (tall!) stack of ultra cool books
beside my bed - you can check them out
over on the sidebar... just scroll down...there ya go...

Save the Urban Anglos

When September and Corina were small, and we still lived in
our adobe house on Cedar Street, we used to say we could
probably send their photos out, ala Save the Children,
and people would surely contribute to help get them a decent life...
This image is part of a page from one of our family scrapbooks,
of which exactly none are finished...yeah yeah some day soon...

A little thing we Italians like to call Coraggio

(painting by Nicholas Basil Haritonoff)

Of course, I'm not really Italian.....though I'm pretty sure we had family from Lombardy.....

Last night I spent (another) sleepless series of minutes turning into hours. I have been - actually Colin has as well, been - wondering what our future holds, and if new ventures on the horizon will be brilliant success stories, or miserable failures. God knows these aren't particularly easy times for anyone. Yet. Colin reminded me of something that, in the light of day when at least some of the demons are at bay, I realize is that thing - a verity, an attitude, a - well, something - important about myself that got lost, or at least slightly misplaced in the shuffle of our lives, that is actually my Saving Grace. He said "You are the woman who moved to Oregon with three babies, $1000, and me. We knew no one and had no jobs." Oh yeah. I was a little freaking then too, but totally willing to take the risk, to revel in the adventure, misguided though it may have been, to show some %#*! courage. Good God! I hitchhiked, traveled places, and even spent time with, men I met on ride boards, didn't think I HAD to be married to have a kid. And that wasn't the half...I may have often worried about things, but I ALMOST always just plunged in anyway. So in this cold, dark season, here's to my personal rededication to Faith, Hope, and most important of all, Courage.

A little will suffice...

We didn't buy a tree this year - a quick discussion between Colin and me settled that the little vintage aluminum tree would be just fine. This was our second year to make that decision. If it were up to me, as much as I love the piney woods fragrance, I would forego the cost every year, though I would totally always miss those quiet evening hours when we all sat together with only the tree lights sparkling.

Anyway, here's a pic of our "tree" and a couple of vignettes of some of the little items I put out so we would still have the fun, without losing sight of the real meaning of the season. Click on any of the snaps to see them bigger.

The wicker basket holds a small collection of Carnegie and Schleich
animals the little kids love to play with. The trés cool mushroom bag
is my Hanukkah "basket" from Lisa for this year.

On top of the living room bookshelf is a sweet little Scots "Santa"
I got several years ago from my cousin David.

In the window are some of our Italian Fontanini creche figures.
They're fondly known in our house as "The Village People."

The little red dressed doll was my mum's. When she was sharing out
her things with us, my brother Joseph said he wanted it,
but he was gracious enough to let me take her.

Oh those crazy nuances of modulations...

Thank God, I'll never worry about writing another d*&^ Artist Statement again - with the help of The Market-O-Matic (1.0) [fine arts version], I am SO covered:

http://www.sarahfishburn.com

Work of Post-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction

The flux creates, the chaos reproduces. In the material reality, art objects are resurrections of the imaginations of the flux -- a flux that uses the chaos as a parallax to deconstruct ideas, patterns, and emotions. With the evolution of the electronic environment, the flux is approaching a point where it will be free from the chaos to realize immersions into the parameters of the delphic reality. Work of Post-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction contains 10 minimal flash engines (also refered to as "soundtoys") that enable the user to make prophetic audio/visual compositions.

measuring chains, constructing realities

putting into place forms

a matrix of illusion and disillusion

a strange attracting force

so that a seduced reality will be able to spontaneously feed on it

---

sarah fishburn's work investigates the nuances of modulations through the use of jumpcut motion and close-ups which emphasize the Symbiotic nature of digital media. fishburn explores abstract and scarlet scenery as motifs to describe the idea of hyper-real reality. Using aggressive loops, non-linear narratives, and allegorical images as patterns, fishburn creates meditative environments which suggest the expansion of art...

<-- Obligatory ascii sig. Repeat until desired cyborg effect is achieved. -->

/u[0]{)]|]]-] -------------/u/u!@#$%^~!@#$%^&*()) __++_)(*&^%$--------/u/u!@#$%^~!@#$ %^&*())__++_)(*&^%$--------/u/u!@#$ %^~!@#$%^&*())__+, etc., etc.

<-- End obligatory ascii sig. -->

But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured...

The woman pictured here is not me.

Maybe it's the season, maybe it's the stress, but I have been screwing up big time lately. Losing things, losing my mind. In 2010 I WILL carry a little calendar, no matter what, and write EVERYthing down. And keep the effin' house totally clean and picked up so I never lose anything, too.

Saturday night, December 5, was our holiday party. I was late letting everyone know, partly because Colin and I were gone for a week, partly because I procrastinate anyway. By the time I told everyone, even though our party is almost always the first weekend in December, most of them had other committments. Then on Friday, September reminded me that weeks before, I had promised I would be the responsible adult on Saturday while the four kids were at their chess tournament, until mid-afternoon.

Crap! Because I procrastinate, I had done virtually nothing to prepare for the party yet. So Friday night I did what I could, figuring I could go shopping, get the biscochitos baked, etc. in the 4-5 hours I had after the chess tournament before our (relatively) few guests would arrive. I hadn't eaten, but as soon as the kids and chess were no longer my responsibility, I ran to the bank to desposit a few checks, then ran to the market - all this was literally running by the way - then ran home to bake. And then, finally eat something. What I didn't realize until this morning is that in my procrastinator's moment of low blood sugar, the amount I was depositing in the bank was NOT the amount I added up - I included in the deposit a $100 more than I accounted for on the deposit slip. If the bank doesn't catch my mistake, I just basically donated several weeks worth of our groceries to said bank. The last thing I need, right? I'm thinking of giving myself the boot right about now.

What else? Can't find my HUGE hard back copy of The Time Traveler's Wife ANYwhere; was going to lend to September for her book club. Can't find a certain ring, haven't even THOUGHT about holiday cards...Basically I'm a wreck, a lost cause. (Although as you can see from that last comment, I still have a vestige of my sense of humor...) And it isn't helping that every day flashes by faster than a speeding bullet. Help!