full moons and coleslaw

My friend Paul sent me this photo today that he took of his Illinois evening...I have a thing about the moon. This photo takes my breath away. But I can't help it, it makes me sad, too.

Back in 2000, driving home from a wonderful first date with my sweetie, I saw there was a most spectacular full moon rising in the August night sky. I was so struck by its beauty that I grabbed my cell to call him and tell him to look up and find it. I'd known him for only a few hours, but already I had to share beautiful things with him. It felt like the right thing to do...

He found the moon. He agreed it was spectacular. And he said "I can't wait to see you again."

After 6 mostly sweet years together it ended this last summer with a shock and a moan and uglier than coleslaw thrown at a fan.

In August we met for dinner for the last time...a wrenching, bitter, painful good-bye. As we walked back to our cars in silence, we turned a corner to see, in a wedge of indigo blue sky caught between Portland's office buildings, a most spectacular full moon rising...

Photo by Paul Hadfield - http://pawleewurx.com/

lest ye think i whineth too much...

Nicer, bigger room today! And on the 3rd floor with inside entry, so I can have the drapes open and let the South Carolina sunshine in! (lost? see yesterday's post)

Get this, though...the guy at the front desk (rude little man who was also there last night!) told me all their rooms are the same size so I couldn't get a bigger room. I'd looked up the hotel online last night, so I knew that was a lie. I told him I'd seen bigger rooms online. "No. Same size." he says. "Then let's go look online right now." I replied.

He ROLLED HIS EYES, sighed and gave me a new key for a larger room. Get OUT!! Couldn't believe he actually rolled his eyes...chuckled all the way to my new room....I love it when I win.

Oh...yeah...I said I know how to do something besides whine. Here goes: I witnessed an amazingly beautiful blood red sunset from the air last night as I flew between Houston and Savannah. Never seen anything like it. What a lucky girl I am, I thought...to live in a time when you can watch, from cloud-height, the sun sink behind the earth...

Cranberry-nut muffins instead of pretzels on the Continental puddle-jumper yesterday!

And I can see palm trees from my window...nuthin' wrong with that...and I can hear a few birds outside with such sweet, sweet songs, each trying to outdo the other....an avian american idol, of sorts...

you do not want to be ann kullberg tonight

The next time you wish your art career was at the same level's as Ann Kullberg's is...STOP IT!! You should be more careful what you wish for!!

I'm writing from Hilton Head, SC. I am here for a week because I'll be teaching a 5-day workshop here starting Monday. I got in late tonight. I'll admit I'm cranky and road weary, since it took me about 13 hours, all told, to get here from Seattle, and I didn't get any dinner at all, except a week old raisin oatmeal cookie I just found in my computer case....and a diet coke.

But even in one of my sunnier moods, I wouldn't be happy tonight!!! Checked into the hotel the organization booked for me. I was a little leery, as it's a very cheap hotel chain...but honestly, I'm always ready to give a place the benefit. (In fact, the Comfort Inn I stayed in last week in Clifton Park, NY was practically elegant and completely lovely and comfortable and just super-super in every way!)

But oh man. The lobby clerk was border-line rude with no smile in sight (actually basically hung up on me when I called from my room with a question) and as unhelpful as I've run across in a way long time...I have a tiny, cramped, old (but clean...I'll give them that!) room on the ground floor - one of those old-fashioned places where the door opens directly to the outside, which always makes me feel very unsafe....my room is right across the vending machines (so close you can see the Coke red through my drapes and hear each coin dropping in whenever someone uses it!) and the air conditioning isn't working, so I've got the door propped open to get some cooler air in here, which means anyone walking by is also watching me type this post.

Will have to decide at some point which I care about more - getting pajamas on, or being cool....since I clearly won't walk around my room in my nightie with the door open. (I do have the chain across the door....)

I am not staying in this room for a week. Nooooooo way.

This is a lesson I thought I'd already learned. The lesson is that I always, always, always make my own lodging plans for workshops. Always. I had a bad experience a few years back. The room I'd been booked into was so nasty I wouldn't even roll my suitcase into it! I had a car so I just told the front desk I wouldn't need the room, hopped back in my car and drove around until I found a nice Best Western, checked in, called the workshop organizer to say that the room was unacceptable, blah, blah, blah. So that was when I made that rule about finding my own hotel. Only I up and forgot my own rule!!

No car this time.....but I'll just nicely let everyone know tomorrow morning that finding another room/hotel for me is absolutely imperative. As I age and my estrogen levels drop, I've gained nerve along with a few extra chin hairs...I think it's a great trade off, since I happen to own some really nifty tweezers....

Soooooo anyhoooooo...tonight you do not want to be ann kullberg!

(and no...that is not really my chin!)

which "last laugh" ?

A long, long time ago a woman divorced her husband of nine years. In just a second, you'll understand why she felt this was necessary.

One day, the now ex-husband came over to pick up their 2 kids for the weekend. Oh...and also to crumple up a child support check into a dense little ball and throw it across the room while rather vehemently exclaiming in front of the children, "Why don't you just get off your fat ass and quit coloring!"

Oh my.

But look!! 20 years have passed and I'm still coloring! I've written 2 books about coloring, I've taught coloring in nearly every state, I make things to help people color better and I get orders from all over the world about coloring...So I always sorta figure I got the last laugh on that one...

and that, boys and girls, is why I always sign my first book "Happy Coloring!"

oh happy (popcorn) day!

I can start the "Happy" part now! Today...a box was delivered to my home. It was big and white and square. It was from Decatur, Illinois. And as soon as the outside tape was slit open, up wafted the most dreamy smell of POPCORN!!

I got a popcorn surprise today, for no reason at all!! I've taught a couple of workshops in Decatur in the last year and have swooned over Del's Popcorn Shop, where the popcorn melts in your mouth, and the caramel corn doesn't crack your fillings open. Heavenly stuff. The coordinator of the workshops sent me the popcorn out of the blue, "just because". A hand decorated popcorn bowl, too! Awwwwww. So, so, so nice.

Thank you, Jen.

don't you hate when you jump on the bandwagon?

Like, I remember I had this sort of weird little pride that I was the only person I knew who didn't have cable TV. Like maybe that was somehow going to get me some special Tropical Banana "Welcome" Smoothie in heaven or something. And I hated when I finally capitulated just last year and waited all morning for the cable guy to show up, and then, of course, went way overboard and had him hook up practically every room in the house...rooms without a TV....rooms that have never had a TV....rooms that should never have a TV.....

Dang. Here I am again. See Ann jump. See Ann jump higher. See Ann jump allllllll the way up onto the blogging bandwagon.

What the heck is a bandwagon? and why do i keep jumping on them??!!

Welcome to my Happy Coloring blog. Which, as you have already very astutely noted, may have very little to do with "happy" or "coloring." But it might. Stick around and see...