Sunday, July 1, 2007

Summer Vacation. Not.


Purple Tree, Surrounded, 2007, Oil on Panel, 8x10

I am so glad this last week is over. I am not one to wish time away but the last few days have been so crazy that I am very glad they are gone.

It all started with the sleepover birthday party a week ago Friday that left Doug and I totally wiped out. Preteen drama and endless cooking and cleaning for 13 guests was enough to make us want to run away from this whole parenting thing.

Then Doug left for a five day business trip to Utah. My youngest daughter had a day camp each day, while my other daughter had a field hockey clinic each morning and then they both had swim practice three afternoons. The times on all of these activities overlapped just enough so that I ended up killing at least a few hours in town each day, rather than driving home and then having to come right back. So my days were filled with a lot of stops and starts in the studio.

And naturally last week was the deadline for getting my work off to Salt Meadow Gallery. And I still had much painting to do as of Monday. But after a few late nights I managed to get a respectable number of pieces together (16, plus the batch of new work that I had delivered there last spring and the show will be pretty good, I think) shipped out on Wednesday. The next day I shipped out three paintings to the NYC gallery. And even though I still had (still have actually) a number of pieces to finish up to send off to The Harrison Gallery, by Friday I had collapsed into a puddle (in between trips to town of course) and didn't get any time in the studio at all.

Saturday was the second big birthday party event and we all spent a beautiful afternoon in a dark, noisy roller rink watching 8 year olds skate in circles, do the limbo and spend all of their money on the stupid video games conveniently located right next to the rink.

Again, puddle last night. Clearly I am too old for all of this.

But today, after a good night's sleep, I am getting my act together again, because well, I have another busy week ahead. No more birthday parties, thank god, but a new puppy, more day camps, and a quick trip to Cape Cod for my opening are on deck.

So glad it's summer vacation. Heh.

4 comments:

meno said...

You got a new puppy? Lucky!

I hate kids birthday parties. I'd rather clean the toilet than go to one.

Melody said...

Wait until your kids get to be teenagers. Mine are 13 and 14......You begin collapsing at the beginning of the party.

Tracy Helgeson said...

More on the puppy tomorrow, Meno.

You mean you have a choice?? Huh. I had to clean the toilet before the party, and then again after.

I guess I'd pick cleaning the toilet twice over the party. But not by much.

Melody, What? It gets worse?

Mary Klein said...

Love the post title - and the painting. Right away I connected the two and thought that the little tree was trying her very best to enjoy summer but was being relentlessly crowded by the other trees around her.

Good luck with your opening in Cape Cod. And I can't wait to hear more about that puppy :)