when life gives you lemons, make a painting. thought i’d show you the setup on my dining room table this morning. i just started teaching private painting classes and i had forgotten how much i love it. that moment when i get to be a part in introducing an entire new world to someone…a whole new way of thinking, seeing, and of course, living! hello right brain, nice to meet you! the best flutter of excitement is in knowing that you aren’t really giving them the ability, just revealing it. i’ve always been so fascinated by this process. the mind is such a mystery to me. it was refreshing to see my student’s big brown eyes widen at the idea that she had a little mode, what i call a “switch” that she can flip on anytime she wants to, not just in front of the canvas. and suddenly she can walk home and not just look at the trees along the streets of the city, but also; shadows, negative space, depth, color…that whole new world.
so i have been busy in my new studio…i’ve been so tempted to show you what i’ve been working on…i’ve been finishing some work on a new collection that i started a couple months ago. i brought a few pieces that were interrupted by the move and i’ve been trying to take my time. get a focus, quality over quantity. i’m so happy with how it’s coming along and i can’t stop thinking about jewelry design…day or night, it’s consuming me in the best way possible.
about the car! we haven’t made a decision yet, but we did take a little test drive. fitito is defintely the *cutest* vehicle to choose from. we want a car not just to cruise around montevideo in, but also for taking long road trips & exploring as much as we can in the short time that we will be here. so we may need a bigger engine! (yes! marcus did fit though!) which reminds me. this marks my one month mark of being here and i haven’t looked back in regret once. the change of scenery has definitely had its creative rewards.
ps. you have to see this little fiat that kathleen took a photo of on her trip to italy some years ago, too cute!
another ps. are you curious about uruguay? what are some things that you would like to know? i think i feel so overwhelmed with all the things to describe here that i don’t know where to begin…so help me out & ask!
the sun is different here. it’s not yet hot enough to tell how the summer will be, but when i wake up, i find myself outside before anywhere else. i feel drawn to the fresh air. sometimes, when i am more in tune to the creating side of myself, i find that energy carrying over into other realms of life. like laundry.
it’s an art, hanging your clothes out dry in the sun. which shirt goes next to which? what was once an easy push of a dryer button, the mundane chore without human touch becomes meaningful. i mix a rich palette of our family’s wardrobe to flutter in the breeze, pajama legs dancing, cuffs tickling undergarments. no sooner have i hung them up are they dry again, a miracle showing the power of light and nature’s absolute ability to provide everything.
the little trace of a clothespin that clipped a blouse’s shoulder is folded into a neat stack and into my walking and talking baby’s arms that are outstretched like forklifts. i watch him shuffle away happily in his santa slippers on the tiles from the backyard onto the tiles in the house. he feels overtures of importance, helping mommy in this big task of carrying the stacks to the right bedroom that stores the right clothes. someday all too soon he will be eager about other things. i smile as he waves from his window at me, showing me the perfect pile of socks, lined up like soldiers on his little bed. four year olds are so eager to please…
that scooped damp armful of clothing in a heap right underneath my nose? if you can bottle that, please gift it to me. i purposefully carry them close so i can breath in the cleansing scent of freshness and light perfumed detergent. up they go, in the sun cycle. and then i am lost again sprawled out on the grass reading a novel underneath their billowing wave, like a pointy banner of flags; declaring my fierce curiosity to see the far away firsthand.
ps. fiat news very soon…are you dying from the suspense?
after we turned in our rental car here over a week ago, we have been walking to the tienda inglesa and devoto for groceries. we’ve been catching a bus here and there. i found a stroller to push max when he can’t make it those last four blocks home. and while i love walking everywhere in the sunshine, but we do miss our car for when we are feeling spontaneous and don’t want to study the bus routes. after all, we are here to explore!
enter in this autito. you know my weakness for the classic herbie bug. but did you know that i loved fiat 600s even more? tonight we’re checking mercadolibre.com.uy and getting excited at how affordable they are here in montevideo. and how ADORABLE they are! i think i will just collapse in cute attacks every time i get in it to go somewhere. hee! (the only thing hinging our decision is if my tall dark and handsome will fit inside one.) wish us luck!
us ——>
every hour that passes i feel that i could write a story in all that i am thinking. i find myself asking why? why exactly did i come here? and every time i hear an older me, looking back with a perfect reason that only she knows. i’m living outside of myself. as if i were watching on the outside and loving what i saw. someday this will benefit something so significant enough to reach beyond myself that i just can’t doubt it. in the meantime, i will just let myself be here.
the past few days have been a happy blur of getting my bearings, that initial excitement of being somewhere foreign has morphed into adjusting. i can’t describe it, because i’ve never known it. i’ve been processing things that sometimes are so different that when i pass by the roses in our yard with a scent of something familiar, i feel surprised with their comfort. their bright color is the first thing i see when i wake up, just out my bedroom window curling all over the fence. and their velvety petals are the last thing i glance at, before turning off the lights at night, in a snug arrangement on the table.
it’s been so nice to be out of suitcase living. i’m finally returning to be la madrugador (the early bird) who loves to see the sun rise and revels in the quiet stillness before the day comes. the sublime comes in the early mornings, when i am in that shadow of dreaming and coming awake. that disoriented state where i realize how very far away i am from home and how surreal it is to see outside of my own country and all my ideas of how life should be. and i know i will be here just long enough to always be enchanted by this place. encantada.
thanks friends, for being here along the way, it means so much that you are all coming along in this adventure, even in a small way!
sunny scene from the hotel cottage, where i’ve been this past week.
thank you everyone for the lovely travel wishes! we arrived safely, completely content under a blue blue sky. as a little side note, i have to recommend flying through chile if you are coming to visit us while we’re here (hint hint) because there was way less hassle than the BsAs airport.
the weather here is perfect. the breeze from the rio de la plata and fresh air tickles the palm trees (and my skin) and bright green parrots fly in little herds together like crows. halloween night we found out that some children here go out trick or treating and we found a last minute makeshift zorro/outlaw costume for max, but we missed the memo about when…before dusk, not after. in their generous spirit we are finding everyday here, some little kids finishing their route unloaded several handfuls into max’s bag. have i mentioned that uruguayans are the friendliest people on earth yet?
so…meeting with over ten realtors in just a few days has really introduced us to the neighborhoods fast. i haven’t stopped grinning since we arrived. i kept waiting for some nerves to creep up on me or something to let me down, but so far i love our experience here. today was wonderful because we decided on a real cozy place to live while we are here! pictures coming soon! this afternoon i peeked in at a beautiful rose show that illuminated the whole lobby with a glorious smell, every color and shape and size of rose you could imagine was on display. (see some more from the show here, sigh!)
i couldn’t resist a nearby pet shop i walked into and just fell in love with the sweetest little fluff of a baby bunny which i imagine hopping around in our new backyard. lunch was polished off with chocolate menta helados from las delicias, enjoyed in the sunshine. the rest of the day was spent poolside studying spanish and getting freckles.
only a few more days till we actually get into our new house, so until then we are off to find some basic things to make it a home. which means shopping! this truly is the sweet life.
