There is a Chinese curse which says “May he live in interesting times.”

Yamaha GF-412SB
aka Lily Belle

Hello from lockdown in Connecticut!

"Interesting times" indeed.

It blows my mind that 2 weeks ago - March 6 - I had an amazing art reception at Galatea Fine Art. I hugged and kissed everyone. Although a few already had the forethought to do "social distancing". Afterwards a bunch of us went out to an Irish bar and shared drinks (yes!!) and plates of food. That feels like another life. Entirely.

I saw The Vix on Monday and she said I should self quarantine and that Glenn should, too. So I've been here in CT with him and Sasha since Monday night.

We are cozy in our own little world. We can both work from home. The hospital has the outpatient psychiatry staff on home-based calls and I'm doing the same with private practice. So we were both busy all week. Harvard University is asking for more therapists to help out - they have a huge need with their distance-learning students - so I'm actually taking on more work. It's fine - it's a good distraction and a way to feel helpful to the greater good. I'm also waiving co-pays for private practice. We're so lucky that we both have jobs and are getting paid.

Meanwhile out there in the world.. I just read that already NY is out of ventilators. Holy shit

We called Aunt Marty this morning who is on the Cape with my cousin. She's OK there for now but we have invited her to live w us in CT. Perfect set-up with the guest cottage.

Last Friday I bought this 12 string guitar at the local music store. Such a beauty. She's a strummer (not good for boom-chuck bluegrass style) but excellent for folk/folk rock like Neil Young and Bonnie Raitte.

We have food. Our own well. Bought a bunch of garden seeds. I think we might get chickens too.

I/we have been so torn about me moving here. This is a great test run!

We own 10 acres and abut 350 acres of preservation land So other than the ticks - and we find them on us every day - its lovely here. I'm painting, playing the guitar (and hope to practice the accordion too although that's its own universe). Cooking. Working. Hiking.

It's a cocoon. Meanwhile the sky is falling. God help us.

Working From Home

Vintage 12 String Yamaha

I write this hastily.

I'm home tonight. In the morning I have an early visit w The Vix. If my counts looks OK, presumably I'll start round 3 of chemo.  I'll pick up my medications, and high tail it out of town. My plan is to move temporarily to our house in Connecticut. Just heard that the governor of Massachusetts has ordered all restaurants to close.

This is beyond surreal.

My hospital job has given me permission to work from home, so I'll do all my therapy on the phone. Unprecedented. And I'll offer my private practice patients phone option only.

God knows where this is going. I'm really, really frightened.

My Uncle Jay is at a skilled nursing facility and they are on lockdown. My aunt has returned to the Cape and my cousin will be with her for a few days. I've offered to have her live w us in Connecticut as long as necessary. It's all so fast-moving -

but in the meantime on Friday I bought myself a beautiful vintage 12 string guitar. Isn't she lovely?

I'm flying around tonight. packing perishable food and clothing and my computer and art supplies. have asked my neighbors to water the plants. Fighting to remain calm. I restarted my formal meditation practice on Friday. God knows I need it.

God help us all. May this resolve relatively soon and with a relatively intact world.

yayoi kusama

Love Is Calling
ICA, Boston

Are you feeling like Alice in Wonderland? What rabbit hole have we collectively fallen into?

I had my art opening last Friday, a week ago. It was an amazing day - my brother Mark and his wife Jane came over early to hang out, and my sister Amy and her 3 teens. We drank tea, played music, ate together. We all went to the gallery show, my other brother John and his wife Andrea and son Zane flew up from Virginia to spend the weekend with us. The gallery reception was packed, I sold 4 pieces. After the show,  bunch of us went to an old Irish bar for drinks, burgers. I got totally tipsy - forgot to eat! Like a dumb teenager.

And it was a rolling family party the rest of the weekend.

Now a week later EVERYTHING is shut down. I'm so glad that I had my reception, spent time with the extended family including a visit with our Aunt Marty (90).

Universities, schools. I've made a few trips to Trader Joe's and it's stripped. So disturbing. Staff says they restock 8 times a day and can't keep up.

My commitment is to try to live as normal as possible, to go to local businesses. Not hoard. Of course follow the guidelines about hand washing. My hospital job is considering closing outpatient psychiatry and having the staff work from home. Yesterday I offered my private practice patients the option of in-person or phone call. About half wanted to come in. Half preferred a phone call.

Bizarre. Everything feels so unstable, unprecedented.

I'll see The Vix on Monday. I have completed two cycles of chemo. I'll ask if I'm immunocompromised. If I am, I may consider going on long term medical leave. I'd continue to get paid (presumably) and have enough sick time for about 6 months. This time I had no tiredness. I felt totally normal. But maybe things are so frayed and weird that I'm not paying attention to my body. So focused on what's happening around me.

A few weeks ago I found a used Yamaha 12 string guitar at a small shop in Connecticut. Gorgeous instrument. The former owner sold everything to go do van life. It's inexpensive - $225 - so this will be my retail therapy for the weirdest week of my life. 

The Memory Project

The Memory Project
#5

Here's an encaustic collage. 8" square. I am in an art group called New England Wax and someone proposed that all the members (around 30 of us) make 30 pieces of this size, and one 12" square. The project is due March 15. It's kind of unclear what we're doing with them other than a swap. My source material is a 1917 yearbook from University of Minnesota. It's full of black and white photos as well as some amazing illustrations.

I finished the paintings for my show which opens on Friday. So now my creative energy turns to finishing the pieces for this project.

and once this is done... I am thinking of doing some curatorial project of my own. Inviting artists whose work I admire to do a group show. I have a venue in mind, artists in mind and a title/theme for a show. So far the chemo isn't slowing me down (too much).

Glenn likes to tease me that having me on chemo slows me down enough that he can keep up with me. I always laugh when he says that. I'm now in cycle 2. So far so good, a full week in. Last time the fatigue really set in around day 12-14. Which unfortunately coincides with my show opening on Friday. But let's see. The Vix says it unpredictable, that what happens each cycle might vary.

The cumulative problems are hand/food syndrome but so far so good on that. And dangerous diarrhea. The kind that lands you in the ER. But none of that, either.

Yesterday was the VFW monthly bluegrass jam that Judy and I organize. Usually there are 5-11 players but yesterday just 3 of us. Andrew was there the first hour only and overlapped one song with Joel who thought we started an hour later. So I played one hour with each. Joel is recovering from hand surgery and had enough after about 45 minutes. so I played a song by myself for the small audience. What a rush! Glenn teases me about that. too. He says that my next vehicle should be an old van so I can go out on the road and play music. Oh I wish!