Monday, June 18, 2012

Melting


It was actually supposedly "only" 99 degrees out today, but when I first got in the car it said 117. Then it dropped to 107 after a while and that's when I finally thought to get a picture.

Melting here. And of course the weather decided to do this just for my move. I'm now all moved in, surrounded by millions of unpacked boxes, with narrow rabbit-warren-like trails through the boxes leading to the bathroom and kitchen, doing that thing where you decide you want some cereal and you have to dig through ten boxes to find a spoon and a bowl. It took me half an hour last night to find some clothes to wear to work today.

But it's too hot to do anything about it.

Speaking of hot, last night after my final car load of art to my new place, I just couldn't face another unload session. So I left a bunch of stuff in the car last night. (I don't intend to unload it until the sun goes down tonight and it cools off.) 

Much to my surprise and ick-factor, I discovered today that the oil-based-clay sculptures in the car that I'd worked so hard on in art school....melted.

I had to laugh, after the shock wore off.

This one used to be the full body of a woman. All those lumps of clay at the bottom used to be the rest of her body:



 And this one's even creepier. This used to be a head sculpture I was really proud of, with musculature on one side and bone on the other, and this is the front of the head. The face completely fell off:

They both totally look like something out of The X-Files, don't they?

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Another funny Fennec napping position.


I'm missing my kitties a lot right now. I had to leave them at the old house with The Ex-Husband for now, because in the condo I'm renting, I discovered upon moving in that all the window screens are broken and it's not safe for indoor kitties. Am communicating with condo owner (in CA) about what to do.


Am trying to work out a routine with Mojito, in terms of the fact that he doesn't have a yard anymore. Fortunately, the dog park is just across the street from my building, so I take him several times a day. But when we return to our rental condo, he keeps wanting to just lie on the grass in front of the building and hang out like he used to at home, which he's not allowed to do, and it makes me feel bad for him.


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I have my internet set up now at home but not wireless yet. To be online, I'm wrapped up in so many cables and wires that it looks like I'm on life support in the ICU.




More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

7 comments:

Shelley Smart said...

Yay, you're moved! Now to unpack...

Darn, but that's hot! I never thought of Boulder as THAT warm, although there were a few 85 deg days when I was there. I guess you also had the wind that SamArtDog mentioned. What crazy weather. And such sad, horrible fires.

At the (CA) beach here, it seems to always be between 65 and 68 and I've gotten used to that! We'll be moving back into "town" next week where it's warmer and I'll miss the coolness. We've been moving boxes and renovating our new place and I can sooo relate to the maze of boxes. And paint cans and brushes and tools and yikes, it's a mess!

Our cat didn't like living at the beach because hunting was his favorite thing to do (as a life-long in/outdoor cat) and there was not much to hunt here. He had turned into a bored couch cat. I was looking forward to him having an outdoor space. But he died a couple weeks ago, hit by one of those cars he never ever got near in his 11 years first as an abandoned kitty and a street savvy explorer, until now. And he'll never get to see the great yard we hoped he'd love. Sigh.

I hope you get your screens fixed soon so the kitties can be home with you.

Jala Pfaff said...

Hi Shelley,
Thank you so much for consistently being "here" for me throughout all this. It is so reassuring to me.
I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. So, so sorry. What was his name? What was he like?
I too hope the owner will get back to me soon and do something about the window screens! I miss my naughty (Rumi and Gadjo) and lazy (Fennec) kitties.
The climate, I think, has changed since you lived here. It's in the 90s pretty much from mid-June through mid-August, rarely even in the 80s. Sometimes in the low 100s. It's a bit much!
Why are you leaving the beach area?

Laurel Daniel said...

So glad you are getting through the move... hang in there and try not to melt like your sculptures! (so sad) Remember to HYDRATE while you unpack!!

Shelley Smart said...

Hi! I want to support you because I've been where you are. And I love animals, too. And art.

My CK, short for Clark Kent because he was able to jump tall fences (into my courtyard in Tennessee), was a classic black and white cat, a street-wise tough cat who had been apparently abandoned and was hanging out in my neighborhood. He was only about 1-2 years old at the time. He regularly took on the HUGE black cat down the street who always won. He found his way into my utility room through the doggie door one cold night, sick with a cold. The next night he found the guest bed. The rest is history. He never hurt a person, didn't mind the dog, didn't bother my other cats, and loved his mama. He was a talker who sometimes he didn't shut up! And hunting was his thing, unfortunately. The beach area doesn't seem to have bunnies although he may have been chasing something the night he died. Sigh.

We are leaving the beach because my husband has been diagnosed with neuropathy in his legs after he collapsed on the beach one day, and the two sets of stairs here at the condo are getting problematic. The dog who is 13 and arthritic can't do the stairs either so we built her a "doggie elevator" -- A loud doggie elevator run by a boat winch!! I want her to be able to walk outside when she needs to, as it lately is getting to be at 2am! Plus this place is small -- no room for a studio which I will have at the new place!

You don't have to post this, okay?

Hope the summer goes well for you and you get settled in! Take care!

Jan said...

So happy to read that you're finally in your own place. You can now unpack and do things at your own pace, which should be more peaceful after all the stressors you've had.

I have an 18 year old kitty named Pretzel, who used to spend almost every waking minute outdoors in the greenbelt behind my home. She now has chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism, so spends most of her time indoors, except for sunning herself on the deck.

I wish you and your beloved pets a happy time in your new home.

Sonya Johnson said...

Jala, what a relief that you are finally all moved out, even if the weather didn't cooperate (it was like that when we left CT - high heat and humidity, adding to the already unpleasant and nightmarish ordeal of moving X-country).

Hopefully, you can bring the feline units over soon. I'd be going nuts without mine, so I totally understand.

Unpacking sucks, but hopefully, this will be the last time you'll need to be doing that for a long time!

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

thinking of you esp, during these fires.
Been shirking painting and the internet. Head stuck in a book.
Glad to hear you are moving to your new place.
I'll be back.
Hugs, Jala xo