A Good Day

today was a delightful day. Phil and i looked at each other and asked, when was the last time we had such a good day? we couldn't remember! isn't that awful? but then, it was so pleasant, it was a gift. Claire took an unbelievable 2 and a half hour nap. Skye played happily. it was raining outside, but we were cozy inside, drinking hot apple cider and doing puzzles, wrestling, making risotto and brownies for dinner and folding the laundry. i know, it sounds really boring, but it was such a calm and relaxing day. i don't know when we'll have such another!

yesterday was U of Wisconsin's Arts Night Out, an annual event at the university. it's an evening when the different departments in the arts at the university open themselves to the student body and to the general public. there are lots of art exhibits, concerts and workshops. most are geared for adults, but there were a couple of events that were family friendly. we ended up at the metal works studio in the art department where people/kids were allowed to carve their own designs onto cuttlefish bones and then students of metal works melted pewter, poured it into the designs and then you ended up with a pendant. Skye and i carved a star onto our cuttlefish bone. it was great fun watching them melt the pewter over a plate of hot coal and then pour it onto our design. then a student filed down our star for us, put a hole in the middle and threaded it onto a ribbon. i'm not sure what Skye thought of the whole event. to Skye, making art is painting, drawing, cutting, pasting. this was completely beyond her ideas. but i think she is fond of the star pendant. she hangs it in a special place. as for me, it was fun to be back in an environment that reminded me so much of my days at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. one of my friends asked me if it was inspiring. i think it made me wistful, more than anything. it made me itch to make stuff, to create. and that requires time. i'm still hoping there will come a day when i can go back to doing the things i love. as for now, i was happy to show Skye a glimpse of that world and perhaps it's been tucked away in her brain to resurface later in her life when she's ready for something like metal works.