In light of the recent circumstances, I'm on a mission to create positive memories for the kids during this time of worry. We borrowed a tent from the ex-husband --thinking that perhaps some nature time at night in the backyard might be fun. Eve took it upon herself to set up the tent all by herself. I was rather impressed. She also ran a string of extension cords that snaked through the yard to the tent so that there could be a power source (for a fan and a light). Their first night was a complete washout, literally. At 1:30am, the sprinklers began to douse the tent with water and flooded them. They woke us up, of course, unhappy with the puddles of water that had completely soaked all of their blankets, books, and mattresses. Then, the two kids spent the next few hours cleaning up the mess and doing laundry. It was an unfortunate, but hilarious mess.
On the second night, things went smoothly. M turned off the sprinkler system to avert any further crisis. We made it through the entire night without any wake-up calls.
I've started on a new art project. I've had a few requests and one is for work that focuses on trees. I scoured eBay, Thriftbooks, and Amazon for books that had tree photography. In addition, I ordered a book about Africa and one that focuses on the black and white photography of Ansel Adams. It's a strange feeling to rip the bound pages, much like the satisfaction one gets from rehabbing a room by first destroying the walls. I'm tearing through the interior of these books searching for an adequate amount of material to make my circles. For the landscape work I'm using the 2 inch circle punch instead of the 1.5 inch. I've ordered two new black canvases and awaiting their arrival. The postman's daily drop off is way more exciting these days. Yesterday The Forest came, which photographically chronicles different types of trees. Consequently, I was up until 11 last night cutting over 450 circles from the pages.
Landon's hair has gotten a little lengthy for his taste so he trusted me enough to let him cut his hair. I stuck him out on the porch chair and used the clippers around the sides and snipped a little bit of the top. He was pretty impressed. "You're pretty good at this, Mommy," he said. I reminded him that I used to cut his hair and his dad's at the old house. When I look back at photos, I am not entirely thrilled with my skills, but today's cut was pretty effortless.
The kids are supposed to be picked up by their dad today. I'm not sure what exactly we'll do in regards to containing them going forward. There's some discord between M and me about whether or not the kids should stay with one parent until this whole virus pandemic passes. I don't think it would go over well with the ex to say that he can't have them for his half of the time. There's a good chance they'll be back over here tomorrow, since I don't think it's a good idea for them to go to work with P. His family owns a manufactured home community for seniors. Considering the mortality rate of the coronavirus, having children who could be carriers around isn't the best scenario.
During this season of containment, I've been posting pictures from a recent photoshoot with my friend Luciane. I am happy with some of the photos, of course (otherwise I wouldn't post them). But, I also don't want to seem like I'm self-absorbed. It's a delicate balance. I've chosen motivational-ish quotes to go with each photo -- like little reminders to stay calm and keep moving forward. It's probably more motivating for me than anyone else.
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