The Constant Chameleon

Me-The Chameleon

I finally know who I am.

It has been a year of introspection and self discovery. That is saying a lot for someone such as me that has spent her entire life looking deep within her own heart seeking to understand.

There are aspects of my personality that I like. There are many more that I do not. I am my own harshest critic. This is how it should be.

One of the aspects of my personality that I did not like is that I have always seemed significantly fickle. I love one thing one day just to find that I strongly dislike it on the next day. I hated that about myself…before I understood it.

When I find something I like, I have a tendency to go somewhat overboard and head long into it. That is when I am on the highest peak of Mount Ardor. Then as a result of being at the highest point of my passion, I seek to discover more and more and more about this subject or topic of my affection. But lo, the worm turns. Often, the more information I scratch out, the more I learn that this thing is not worthy of my affection or even my attention. This is an enlightening. This is a reckoning. Rather than throw in the towel on this discovery, I often choose to delve even deeper just to see what else shakes out. Sometimes the findings are brutally ugly. This is when my passion descends into hatred. At other times, I get past the ugliness just to learn enough that deems this thing worthy of redemption.

So you see I am not fickle at all. I am just a work in progress wanting to score up all of the facts.

I am a chameleon. I so wanted to be feline but lizards are cool too.

This is not the only thing I have learned this year. I have been busy. Perhaps, I will share more of my findings at a later time. Perhaps not. But stay tuned anyway.

My Stint As a Painter

Remember a long time back (can't remember when exactly, maybe beginning of the summer), I started a project of furniture painting? I had pie in the sky dreams of painting the old kitchen table to make it look somewhat shabby chic not because that is my style but because that was only look I could coax out of it. I never posted a follow up to that project. Here it is now.

I learned a lot about myself during this project. I learned:

1. I do not like furniture painting.
2. I do not plan to do it ever again especially during a Texas summer.
3. Just like every other thing though, I am a perfectionist when I attempt it. (Refer back to item 2. This is reason I will not do it again. Too much margin for errors and flaws in these painting scenarios. Bugs fly into to the paint. Sand blows into the paint. Cats jump on wet paint. I could go on and on and on....
4. I am slightly crafty not a professional painter.

Here is how the old table looked before project began.

Nice bed for Jakey, no?

Long story short. During the hot Texas summer, I had this baby out in the backyard painting away. Oh how I loathe the heat! I sweated off about 15 pounds! Shoog and I bonded quite a lot while I would be recovering in the shade with an ice cold glass of lemonade. Plus, I got bitten by so many mosquitos that it is a wonder I did not catch West Nile. Maybe I did but didn't get a really bad case of it. It takes a lot to side line me especially when I have set my jaw to whipping a table into submission. My sister kept trying to convince me to ditch the project and just buy a new table set, something modern but oh no, my jaw was set. Even if I ditched this set, I wanted it to look nice for its new owner.

Here is the end result. Originally, it was going to be white. I changed my mind perhaps in a heat induced delirium and painted it candlelight to create more contrast. The candlelight voided the shabby concept. Now it has more of an elegant feeling about it or maybe I am still in that state of delirium.

Don't look for bugs because you will find them.

I still see a new kitchen set in my future. ;)

And now, how about some astronomy? Ready for the moon and stars? Here he is.

Using my hand for a pillow now. He might be spoiled. I am lucky he lets me live with him.

And now for something completely different

I really have been tremendously busy lately but no pictures to prove it. I still do not have much to say either. I am mute. I have been discovering things about myself that are not so "L.A.". Everyone in L.A. has a little dog. Do you think I could put a little dog costume on Jakey and disguise him as one? Probably not, right? Plus, lots of people in L.A. drive really, really old cars like 25-30 years old. I have never seen so many old cars but not shabby! Nice, completely restored and probably very pricey. I love to drive an old car but usually far from being an antique. I like the paid for kind. ;) Not so L.A. again. Oh well, I do have to keep somethings about myself true. Again, not so L.A. :)

I love music. This song makes me smile. It is a great karaoke song too! Get past the advertisement at first and it is so much fun.

Neon Trees

Oh and how could I forget! This is not so different. Meet my new nephew, Bow. He is a cutie! He could give my Jakey a run for his money.