March 10th, Thursday

and Yes I know it is Friday morning.... stop naggin' me!  I painted it on the right date, just didn't get it PUBLISHED til now~
This is Leo, an elegant older cat with a bent ear and I really like this one.  I gotta admit I am amazed at how frustrating cats are for me, compared to dogs, but then someone (and I can't remember who, maybe Dave?) asked me how long I've been painting dog portraits, and when I realized I have been focused on dogs for the past two years it makes a bit more sense of why this is so frustrating.
Then, of course, there is the fact that I chose to attempt this at a point in our lives when I am pulled in way too many directions.  Right now we are still trying to figure out what to do with Duane's house and that whatever we do will require research and phone calls and paper work, and we have to do our taxes too, which will include my first year of actually running a small business and I don't know what that will entail, and just all the minutiae of dealing with life and work and loving people and all...

It is those small daily encounters with other humans that reconnect me to the incredible moments of life.  On the train yesterday afternoon, as it came just as I got to the top of the steps at Lake and Hiawatha, I was struck by the originality of every person sitting there, and for a second I just had this flash of love for every single one of them, and felt that if I needed any of them, they'd step up in a minute.