Seeing Russia

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Vanniversary

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  Three years ago, on June 18th 2019, I moved into my current home, the van I call “Ivy” aka Intrepid Voyager, formerly known as Circe. (Photo at left: the beginning; photo upper right: side door today; photo lower right: interior today.) When I pulled away from my last fixed abode, I had a bare metal cargo van, with a bed platform, a kayak, and some plastic bins full of stuff. Today, I have a snug little cabin on wheels (solar powered, water-efficient) that I love to live in. I’ve made constant improvements to the place, as do most people with their homes, and I guess that’ll continue. My next project is making the front seats convert into a guest bed. My current challenge is how to deal with this heat wave. My favorite part of living in Ivy, is being able to visit friends and still be in my home. When I’m parked in someone’s driveway, I’m bringing a mobile guest room.  My second favorite part of my new life has less to do with van-living and more to do with being a widow and...
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Break On Through to the Other Side

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Yesterday I got another email request from a student, asking for permission to use one of my images in a "critique of an art form for Professional Growth Class." I get these requests two or three times a year, and it's always the same image: I painted that image in 1996, shortly after leaving a career in Critical Care Nursing, to pursue Art full-time. Sixteen years after making that decision, I still know it was the right choice. I am happier with myself and my place in the world than at anytime before that watershed moment. But it wasn't an easy decision and the transition had some scary moments. The biggest stumbling block in making that decision was fear of not having a regular, adequate income. And it was a weakened (unused) imagination that kept me from seeing the ways around that block. The pain and unhappiness of living an inauthentic life finally drove me to plunge down that path anyway. I did stumble, but I kept going, figuring it out along the way. The best ...
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Temporary Respite

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Coming to you from my internet cafe. Only open from 4am-7am. I’ve been in Redwood City, CA for the last few weeks. My brother is a full-time RVer and he’s agreed to help me finish the van buildout. Since I got here the van buildout has gotten more expansive, involving a lot of electrical substructure, maximum insulation, a big air conditioner, solar panels, a rooftop passive solar water heater, a shower, and so forth. I’m realizing this phase of the van buildout is going to take longer than I had anticipated, and the plans going forward are in flux. I have a feeling I won’t make it to the East Coast this Fall. I’d like to spend the Winter in LA, but I’m not making any plans until I get a better handle on this current process. This process is challenging. But then, Life has been challenging for the last several years. Living in a van under construction is different in the specifics but not in the physical, mental, emotional requirements. The good news is that I’m still up...
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