it was an event packed weekend, and i’m feeling a little wilted tonight, but exhilarated at the same time. the twin cities creative community opened their hearts to lisa congdon while she was here, and sold out every one of her appearances around town. i am so proud of what our community accomplished, and of our ability to recognize talent and hard work and inspiration in such an unassuming but important form as lisa’s art. thanks everybody. and good night.

white tulip with rogue leaf-petal

just spent a weekend with my friend and inspiration, lisa congdon, who gave an AIGA talk and a Creative Mornings talk, and then delivered the commencement address for the minneapolis college of art and design (MCAD). i spent the weekend full of admiration for how hard lisa works and how talented she is, and full of girl-power pride that a hard working artist can make a success of herself in this tough market. it may have been for that reason that i noticed how much smaller the male austrian pine cones are than the female seed-bearing cones. the male cones in this photo are very cute. but there’s no way they are going to rule the world.

austrian pine flower

saint paul, minnesota

if i could pick a way to go, it would be at the same time as my husband, with one leg thrown over his thigh, for eternity.

white-throated sparows

saint paul, minnesota

these crepe paper blossoms look to me right now, as i blow my allergy-addled nose for the umpteenth time tonight, both like the tissue thin blossoms they are, and like the kleenex tissues that their pollen has made me grab too many times every day for the last week. i love spring of course. and yet i hate spring right now.

dried apple blossoms

saint paul, minnesota

i have an autoimmune disease called sjogren’s syndrome that i don’t like to spend much time talking about because it’s not that interesting, but some days i do feel as if i will dry up so completely that i will begin curling up uncontrollably and end up a parched cylinder on the floor. i don’t feel that way today, but something about this spring has triggered such violent allergies that i have found myself feeling vulnerable to any number of health related assaults on any number of fronts. so there you have it. my first public health complaints. i will soon be mentioning my arthritis, my liver, my sunspots, and the wattle under my chin. and complaining about my ungrateful kids who never call or text. don’t worry about me. i’m just sitting here in my living room. alone. in pain. watching matlock.

bleeding heart leaf

saint paul, minnesota