When the going gets tough ....

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

We've heard that saying all of our lives. But it is important to remind ourselves of what it means to each of us.

Today, I feel tired and a little bit discouraged. Part of that is because I have been traveling for work the past couple of days and I have come home to a house that needs cleaned, and a big To Do List to accomplish this weekend.

Another reason I feel this way, perhaps, is that I have certain goals I want to accomplish. They are quiet goals, personal ones, I am keeping to myself. But right now, the ball to accomplishing those goals are now with other people. And I am waiting. I don't like to wait.

But to harken back to another tried and true saying:

"Good things come to those who wait."

So I wait, and clean my house, and drink more coffee and look for the sun to come back.

And create my own future, one day at a time.

Random Thoughts - Art, City, Architecture

Last Thursday I went to the quarterly Pecha Kucha event here in Columbus. PK is an awesome event where anybody can do a presentation using PowerPoint, but the catch is you are limited to 20 slides and you talk for 20 seconds on each slide. Then you are done. www.pecha-kucha.org/night/columbus

Anyway, it was held at the Columbus Museum of Art - a beautiful place - truely one of the gems of Columbus. www.columbusmuseum.org
If you haven't been there before, or if it's been a while since your last visit, I suggest you take an afternoon and browse their galleries.

I got home from work on Thursday, fed my pack of dogs and let them run through the back yard and then I set off to the Art Museum on foot. It's only 4 city blocks from my house. Reason #29 why I love living Downtown. I can walk to the beautiful art museum.

I arrived at the museum, ran into a few friends, and caught the first presentation given by my friend Brad Feinknopf. www.feinknopf.com
He is an architectural photographer - so I know him through my job at the State Architect's Office, and he was one of my commercial tenants when I worked at the Wood Companies. He is a super nice guy and a kick ass photographer.

Brad's presentation combined two subjects that I just love - buildings and twilight. Twilight as in that magical time of the day about 10 - 15 minutes after sunset, when the sky takes on an indescribable shade of translucent blue - not those vampire movies. Wow! Does that guy capture the spirit of buildings at a beautiful fleeting time of transition and makes the structure as well as the sky work together to create a remarkable scene. He even took a cookie cutter Barnes and Noble building, washed the exterior in flood lights and brought out all of the archiectural details of the building. The detailing at the top of the facade shined in the flood lights against the rapidly darkening sky. The next time you are at B&N, take a look at the exterior. Look at the top and pick out all the details. Nice.

So Brad's 20/20 presentation came to an end and the next person took the stage. I didn't find his subject very interesting and I was starting to get really hot in the crowd, so I considered going home.

They I thought, hey! I'm in the beautiful art museum. So I wondered through the galleries. I visited my favorite paintings - works by George Bellows, Robert Henri and John Sloan, and other artists from the Ashcan School of painting. Their works consisted of scenes of urban life mostly in New York City's poorest neighborhoods, which were not very popular at the time during the early twentieth century. Even while I was in college, studying art history, I always was drawn to the artists who depicted scenes of real life - from Rembrandt to Henri Cartier Bresson. Maybe that is why I love living in an urban setting?

Then I found the Sirak collection - a beautiful group of impressionist and post impressionist works donated by Dr. and Mrs. Sirak. Can you imagine having real works by Claude Monet, Paul Klee and Egdar Degas throughout your house? The collection is called Monet to Matisse: Celebrating 20 years of the Sirak Collection and is on display until May 13, 2012.

Feeling very fortunate to have spent time with my favorite paintings, and fighting off a head cold, I felt it was time to head home, although the Pecha Kucha event was still in full swing.

So I walked home, past the lovely highrise buildings of my fine city, in the twilight. I looked up at these modern monuments built to house two different insurance agencies, The Motorist Building and State Auto Building. Then I looked up at the trees, naked in their winter season, as their bare branches crossed the rapidly darkening sky. I felt all alone, but yet part of a large city filled with people, just like those Ashcan School paintings.

And I walked home, in the noisy quietness of my Downtown neighborhood, past the freeway, and into the shadow of the steeple of the big beautiful stone-clad Broad Street Presbyterian Church, my next door neighbor. It, too, was washed in artificial light, exaggerating the shadows of the rough stone on its exterior walls. It is a beautiful church, day and night.

All in all, it was a good day. I am fortunate and happy to have such beautiful things and events in my life.

Lean On Me

"Lean on me, when you're not strong, I'll be your friend. I'll help you carry on."

Remember that Bill Withers tune? It's always been one of my favorite songs. Such a wonderful, powerful message he conveys.

You know what? It's even more meaningful when you are going through a rough time, and your friends all band together to help you out.

I typically am the one helping out - I like to help people. I help my family, I like to help my friends, I like to volunteer and help those less fortunate than me.

Because of my separation, I have taken a huge cut in income. I have cut back on a lot of things, and have started painting houses for my friends.

And word has gotten out, and I have a lot of painting work lined up. Yeah! Thank you friends.

A friend last week filled my car tank up with gas just for giving her a ride home from work. Thank you Friend!

Friends give me things I need - like food, dog food, cat food. I don't mind cutting back on expenses, but I can't do that for my pets. Thank you Cousin!

And thank you to all of those who believe in me, and tell me so. Your kind words of encouragement have brightened my days, helped me see through the dark clouds that cloud my thoughts and remind me that this trying time is only temporary.

And thank you for reassuring me that I am doing the right thing, that I need to build a bridge from my old life into my new one, and cross the bridge and leave all of the hurt behind me. Even blow that bridge up once I am over it. Thank you Friend for that bit of advice.

Soon, I will be caught up, back on my feet, going out, and have my skip in my step restored once again.

All work and no play does make Christina a somewhat dull gal. But I know that it is only temporary, plus I do love the work I am doing, and I am becoming one heck of a house painter.

So, thank you to all my friends and family who are so supportive. You know who you are ... and I love you all.

What I am Thinking About the Most

Sitting here, drinking my coffee on this second day of 2012, there is one thought that keeps swirling around my head. It is aways there, and makes me really excited about this year.

The thought is: My Big House.

I have this house that is under renovation. And I love this Big House. I also have a Carriage House, and I currently live in the apartment on the second floor of the Carriage House. It, in the day of horses and carriages, used to be the hay mow for the stable that was on the ground floor.

But I long to live in the Big House. I think it longs for somebody to live in it too.

In November 2011, I hosted a neighborhood party in the Big House - even in it's unfinished slpendor. It has no functioning bathroom, and the only sink that works is a utility sink in my rather creepy basement (think 1865 era house basement. Yes - that is creepy).

At any rate, I was the third stop on a progressive dinner tour, so I provided coffee and desserts to about 35 guests. I spiffed up the house as much as possible, set up chairs and makeshift tables on the first floor, blocked off the steps so that guests did not go upstairs, set up a fire pit and chairs in the backyard, invited some friends before hand to help set up the desserts in a nice presentation.

Then the guests came.

My house did something neat. It took on the aroma of those desserts and coffee. That sweet smell of desserts filled the entire house as the voices and laughter of my guests filled the house too. Even in its unfinished state, people raved about what a great house it was, and how it had so much potential and how lucky I was to have such a great house.

Me, lucky, to have this house.

I am lucky to have such a nice house. I think the Big House enjoyed having a party in it too, after so many years of being empty. I think houses get lonely, because they are built to house people, and fun occasions, and create beautiful memories.

A couple weeks went by and it still had the aroma of sweets and coffee in it.

This year will be the year that I finish the house, move into it permanently and create fun times and memories for the house, for my family and friends and for me.

As my good friend always tells me:

"Onward and upward, Christina."

He is right.

Let's do this.