Rainy Day Notations

With rain falling down in concentric circles of all sizes, I listen to the raspy voice of Bob Dylan and fight with Starbucks free internet on a Monday afternoon. The rain is a welcome sight, despite the overall sense of gloom it seems to cast on the already grey New England landscape. It's welcome because of the way it pools in low areas, the way its warmth causes the piles of dirty snow to melt away, revealing green grass beneath. It has been awhile since we've seen green grass here, and I imagine it will be a while yet until we can trust we'll see it longer than just one wet, grey, rainy afternoon, but its there, and I appreciate it.

After two straight days of computer work, my body resists sitting again in a chair to work, yet I am so proud of the work done on two websites, (mine own website: mollymcloughlin.com, updated as well) my new-to-being published writer friend, and then work with another friend's graphic design projects (yellowhorsedesign.com). I sit here, with my Trina files by my side, stationary to correspond with old friends, and a sketchbook to plot out my next design, my goals, or just to have nearby should something require a pause to jot it down.

I feel quite sleepy these days even though I have slept well and flirt with caffeinated coffee. I have two semi-damp canvas' propped around my room from my last painting excursion, and tonight is another night at The Starving Artist so I am sure my artistic cravings will be well satisfied come my next three days of sprint work down in the south shore area. Presently, that is what I have to report. I should have more images up after tonights class.

Quick posts

Monday night at The Starving Artist. I'll write more later but I have :30 to blow dry my ridiculously thick hair, eat breakfast, find shoes and head to my other job.

Hawthorne

Continuing on our literary streak, we visited The House of Seven Gables... Hawthorne's famed house which was closed due to the weather, but we still had our pictures taken, hopping over the snow banks to capture the sign.

Salem Bookshop

Recently my friend came into town for a fun romp around New England and we stumbled upon this hilarious bookstore. Walking in the door, we heard a voice drift over the stacks of books, calling out a greeting. Looking around, we could not find the source of this voice, seeing only rows upon rows of slightly cock-eyed books stacked so high, a person would have to weave carefully between the stacks to avoid an avalanche of sorts. Yet, sure enough, there it was again,

"Hello Ladies, all the books are fifty-percent off."

Jumping just a little, I noticed a tiny gap in the books just inside the door that reveled a grey haired man peeking out from his self-designed office--a squared off section walled off in books.

Continuing into the store, JP and I looked for Trina books, always hoping for a discovery, and whispered about the unusual style of the "check-out" area where one would likely have to pass their books through the tiny gap in which the man's "office" was established. It was however, a magical little store, smack in the center of Salem, MA, land of the witches, that made us both smile as we departed the rows of books, and creaky wooden floors to venture back out into the snow.

Sunday Morning Posts

Woo hoo! It's my first day off in a long line of holiday retail hours! What a relief! I can do my laundry, tidy my room and best of all D-R-A-W!!! The other day while pumping my car full of gas I was reflecting on the path my life has lately been existing on... compared to my days in art school where my sole job was to move charcoal around paper. While I have a fantastic time at my job interacting with folks and teaching them things that make them smile, I have missed the general time I use to have drawing or more specifically painting. So I am happy to report with three days off this week, it's going to be a drawing/painting revolution... complete with completion of a much-belated Christmas present and hopefully some illustrating.

That aside, I am sitting here in 0 degree weather with my new birthday mug from the Cape, drinking coffee, snuggled in my fleece coat (it's pathetic but I'm out of long-sleeved shirts), pulling out all the books for my mum to see (books from my extended friend Christmas), and just reveling in the day ahead. With a six a.m. wake up that involved my dad and my oldest OH friend (who I discovered is in New England for the quarter) piling on their snow ski/boarding clothes and stumbling out for a day on the slopes, and my mum fixing breakfast (thrilled to pass up her ski day because I roped my pal into it), things are looking good. I am still addicted to Sookie Stackhouse, and am looking forward to, pause here now, listening to her, rather than Justin Timberlake while I clean. I know. It's a shocker. JT is being passed over for Sookie.

So with grand plans for the day, my south Boston accent well in practice, my hands itching for the exercise that is drawing, I shall be off!

Brief Update on the reading front

Sookie Stackhouse is my new Kay Scarpetta... since I have read the up-to-date Scarpetta Factor and now have to be patient... Sookie, a Louisanna Waitress, who's dating a vampire.... is entertaining enough...Charlane Harris... (the author).