From Ashes to Art Shows

Whenever you miss a turn, your GPS doesn’t call you stupid. It doesn’t spend the rest of the trip regretting not taking that other road. It simple pauses, displays “rerouting” and goes about figuring out how to get THERE from the NEW HERE. All that matters is getting there. That’s what really ties my life six months ago, in London, to my life this weekend, in Beverly Hills. All trains from London to Edinburgh were cancelled. There was nothing anyone could do about it. If you wanted to get to Edinburgh, you’d have to find another way. There were a...

Sometimes we become entangled with someone who’s entangled with someone we’re entangled with. Oh, what an entangled web we weave! Six months ago, I instantly hit it off with a friend of a friend. We just goofed around all day and had such a delightful time at the art gallery. Over lunch, we talked about our “mutual” and it was fascinating to see how much history we each had separately, yet neither of us knew each other until that moment. It’s a reminder of just how connected to one another we really are. People, places, and things are the dots...

“So, what’s the highlight of your day so far?” the Trader Joe’s cashier asked cheerfully. I had just picked up my Dog Desk Calendars at nearby Walgreen’s, so I started talking about that, which lead to me boasting talking about the Beverly Hills Show. Turns out that she’s also an artist, so we talked about the Artists Guild and she promised to connect on Instagram as she stuffed my business card in her pocket. Every time I do a 30-second summary of my art career, it’s such a deep reminder of how far I’ve come. While I don’t consider myself...

She stood in silence, mourning an old friend. It wasn’t a person… or a beloved pet… but rather a tree. It wasn’t just any tree. It was the Hardy Tree, planted by Thomas Hardy in the 1860’s who then surrounded it with gravestones. The tree and the stones eventually grew together as one. She was so excited to show me the tree, as it was a place of frequent visits for her. Sadly, illness had fallen it the winter before. It was heartbreaking to see it lying on the ground behind a chain-link fence. It was more than just a...

Little goals can bring big wins too. Once the planning for London was underway, I started to watch all these Instagram Reels on “Things to Do in London”. One that kept popping up was the Yorkshire Burrito, meat, potato, and gravy wrapped in a burrito made from Yorkshire Pudding. I just knew I had to have it. I wanted it so much that I actually booked a flat in Camden Market, just to be close by. Halfway through the UK trip, we headed over to Camden Market, and it turned out to be my son’s favorite place. The fact that...