I haven't written here in a long time.  I haven't written in my paper journal, either.  Me, of flowing text and 1000's of tiny drawings...there's nothing but silence here.  It's OK.  Sometimes being quiet is what should happen.  People aren't quiet enough, I think.   Or slow enough.  When was the last time you read a book?

I'm uncomfortable with the way my town is growing.  I moved here in the mid-90's when this place was still a haven for idealists and religious freaks; there was something about the floweriness of the 60's that had lingered in this place.  It was green.  People rode unicycles (yes, really) and drove crazy-painted cars.  People believed in alternative ways of living.  There were cob structures, hand-painted neighborhood intersections, tiny "libraries" in people's front yards where a passerby could trade one book for another.  Most of that is gone now.  

We are adding 111 people to this town every DAY.  And they are coming with all their habits and ideas.  Our old Portland homes are being torn down en masse, replaced by multi-family complexes.  I wonder how many bodies we can actually cram into this town.    this article in the Oregonian ranks neighborhoods, showing how many single family homes have been destroyed.  I live in the Woodstock neighborhood where 2.24% of our homes have been demolished.   

I guess I'm thinking about this now because I received my second solicitation of the week from a company that wants to buy my house.  "THIRD ATTEMPT" (you'd think they would get the message, no?)  and that I should call their phone number to listen to a recording they made especially for my house.  Like, NO.  Go away...this is my HOME.

I have a bunch of projects to do this summer...still working on my studio.  Man, talk about slow-growing.  It's OK.  One step at a time!  Esteban put doors in my garage summer before last, and I am finally getting around to painting them.  So far I've got this done:

Sculpture studio in progress

I still need to do the caulking, and finish painting...then I have to do the west side of the house.  I would also like to finish the ground in front of this studio.  I would like to put in a mosaic made of recycled ceramic bits.  We'll see...