Pears and Crystal Day 9 & and a no good, terrible, very bad day.

I think I like it vertical better than the horizontal.





I'm pretty sure this is done. We'll see in the morning. It's been a long day.

This is from an email I sent a group of friends, just cutting and pasting so I don't have to retype it all. We artists do live the glamorous life!

Don't read this is you have a weak stomach!

I had a real coke today to help me drown my sorrows.

I woke up this morning and stepped in dog throw up. Not just any dog throw up mind you... he had eaten about a pound of grass the day before. It was slimy and it was still warm. *gag* *ugh*

I should have gone back to bed then.

I got up and did my daily stuff and realized it's the 1st, and I forgot to give the landlord a check for the studio. He's a sweetie and probably wouldn't have minded it being a day late, but I mind. So I head out to the studio, and it's pouring rain. I get there and get soaked to the bone walking from the car. I get to the rental office with my check, and he's not there. Won't be there for several days... so I run by the studio and pick up three tubes of watercolor paint I need for a painting I'm working on at home and stuff them in my pocket.

Get home and notice the bad smell in the garage has gotten worse, and start investigating. Happen to look at the plug in the wall and realize that the button has tripped. My eyes follow the yellow extension cord plugged into that outlet...down the wall.. along the floor.. behind the work bench to.... the outside freezer. I shut my eye hoping I will jump to an alternate reality when I open them again. Nope.. still in the same garage.

I slowly go over to the innocent looking freezer and open the lid. It's one of those little top-loading freezers. In it we keep frozen pizza, seafood, chicken, bread, cheese.. what ever is on sale and doesn't fit in the freezer in the kitchen.

The smell literally about knocked me over. I don't normally retch from smells...but I did this time. I slammed the lid shut and stared at it for a while. The odor had already escaped and was hanging like a cloud over me. Pushing the button on the garage door opener, I ran for the driveway and stood in the rain for a while. Then I gathered my strength and got the tools I would need: rubber gloves, paper medical mask (I have no idea why we had these..but I'm glad we did), old towels, and lots of plastic trash bags.

I opened the freezer again, and even through the mask, I almost passed out. The pizza had exploded out of the box and the plastic that was sealed around it had blown up like a pizza balloon. I won't describe the shrimp or the chicken or the wilted bread. Just remember that I am short and this is a top loading freezer. I had to stick my head in everytime I pulled something out. And there was about 4" of "liquid" in the bottom. I had to use old towels to sop it up.

I rinsed the whole thing out with pinesol, and left the bucket sitting in the freezer. All the windows are open.

Then I realize how bad I smell. So I step into the laundry room (which is connected to the garage) and strip off my clothes and immediately put them in to wash. I run upstairs and get in the shower and scrub. I can't get that smell off my hands.. I feel like Lady MacBeth.

I then have my real coke.. consider adding some rum for medicinal purposes, but decide against it. Good thing, since I haven't had that much sugar or caffeine in a while. That was probably all my body could handle.

And you see.. while I am sitting here typing this.. there is another adventure waiting for me. Remember those tubes of watercolor I stuffed in my pocket at the studio...and remember how I stripped down in the laundry room and immediately washed the clothes? That's right.. I washed three tubes of watercolor. Burnt umber...raw umber... yellow ochre.

I'm afraid to go downstairs and look in the washing machine.

I told Dev we were going out for Chinese tonight.