May 2, 2015: Birthday STRUT!

A very happy 65th birthday for me! I marched around the Capital in my giant jaguar costume with Heather and Jim by my side.

The parade itself was the culmination of a semester with artist-in-residence Laura Anderson Barbata from Mexico City and New York City. She worked all semester with UW students, community organizations and performers, and brought in the Brooklyn Jumbies as teachers and the featured stilt walkers in the parade.

The Brooklyn Jumbies and local stilt walkers.
I was amazed at the number of circus groups in the Madison area.

After the parade I danced with the giant chicken puppet!

Costume off; meeting other STRUT participants.

Back in costume, walking to the post STRUT event at The Edgewater.
Little kids were amazed.

The Giant Jaguar Costume

I began construction two weeks before the parade. I attended a giant puppet-making workshop at the Madison Children's Museum and came with a photo of a jaguar hoping to learn how to make a giant puppet. I knew nothing about the process, but was determined to participate in the unique community performance parade on my birthday.

Laurie (head of the art room at the museum) got the ball rolling, helping to shape the head from strips of cardboard and Shikah and I continued to assemble the head and then add the paper maché. I went home with a damp white head and instructions for creating the frame and costume to complete the giant puppet.

Note the form in back of the jaguar head. That's how we constructed the form.
Then we added strips of paper and tape for a smoother surface.

This is what it looked like when I brought it home.

The final piece just before the parade with me on the left and Shikha on the right.
She helped me power through the paper maché process.

I threw myself into the project taking up every available space in my home and basement. As the head dried I worked on the frame construction using my old backpack frame, pvc tubing, bamboo polls, and zip ties.

My old backpack frame repurposed for my costume.

PVC construction inside the head to hold the bamboo poles.

What it looked like on the outside before I covered it with more paper maché.

The skeleton.
The shoulders and arms are constructed from pipe insulation and hinged with zip ties.

Testing the frame. Too high. I lowered it about 1 1/2 feet.
(Note, the head does not have it's jaw.)

Next came the costume made from an old bed sheet and a remnant of jaguar fleece. The mesh for my face is from an old laundry bag for delicate items.

Test day in the neighborhood.

Decided the sheet was too plain. Back to the paint brushes and a couple other minor adjustments.

Once the front was painted I was a little more disguised.
The red string in front of my face goes up to the head mount and makes the jaw open and close.

Meanwhile, I kept working on the head, mixing paints, finding styrafoam eyes, buying "pipe cleaners" for whiskers. Then, I needed to construct the jaw and devise a mechanism for opening and closing the mouth. It all came together . . . not easily or pretty, but pretty darn close.

The why of it all:

I've been a little surprised at the number of people who ask me why I did it? It was fun! I loved problem-solving the costume and creating my giant jaguar. But, the story does go back further for those interested in the history.

In April of 2013 Chiripa was invited to Eric and Elsa's wedding in Oaxaca, Mexico. Jim and I went and spent time doing tourist things in Oaxaca (as well as a little buying for Chiripa which was still open). We visited the Textile Museum where the featured exhibit was the costumes from Laura Anderson Barbata's community actions with The Brooklyn Jumbies. It was breathtaking! So, when I found out that Laura was coming to Madison I tuned in and attended lectures and presentations when I could. When I heard that they had picked May 2nd as the day for the big finale of the semester and that the community was invited to participate I knew my fate was sealed. What better way to spend my 65th Birthday!

Thank you Laura and the three Brooklyn Jumbies who were here.

Laura Anderson Barbata getting ready to STRUT!

The Brooklyn Jumbies pre-STRUT!

Thank you Laurie Rossbach at the Madison Children's Museum for encouraging my enthusiasm and for creating the zebra head template. Thank you Heather and Jim for being my handlers (in zebra costume, no less). And thanks to Doris, Karen, and Greg for photographing the parade and the time before and after it.

It was a very special day.

My annual birthday/newspaper/flower photo seems a bit tame compared to STRUT!

Mother's Day without Mom

There is a very big hole in this busy month of May. Mom's birthday is today, May 12th and it often has fallen on Mother's Day. That would always mean much planning and gift buying and celebrating. She died unexpectedly in September and I still struggle to accept that she isn't here. 

Ruth Harnish in 1950 with her three children (L to R): 

Tim (almost 2), me, and Skip (Harry, almost 3)

I went to La Crosse/Holmen over Mother's Day weekend and felt her presence at all of the activities. Some of the women in the family gathered to go through recipes to be included in a memory cookbook. Just discussing the times we enjoyed food with Mom and Dad brought back many wonderful and often humorous memories. 


Mom would have liked Gracie's retirement party at the new Pettibone Boat Club Saturday night. Gracie often stopped to visit Mom and Dad after her shift at Gunderson-Lutheran Hospital. Mom worried that Gracie was working too hard and not being appreciated enough. I wish she was here to enjoy more of Gracie's time (and mine) now that we're retired.

On Sunday Heather and I (along with Jim and Becca) completed our annual Mother's Day bike ride near Trempealeau this year. I know Mom would have liked that we were together. At lunch after the ride we shared a piece of pie in her honor. (My parents never had a meal without a dessert.)

Before heading back to Madison I stopped at the cemetery. Miss you Mom and Dad.

Book Group: April and May 2015

Book: Men We Reaped: A Memoir
Author: Jesmyn Ward
Group meeting: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at Jennifer S's
Dessert: lemon poppyseed cake, sorbet with raspberries

Book: Brown Girl Dreaming
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Group meeting: Monday, May 11 2015 at Jennifer H's
Dessert: lemon pound cake with lemon sorbet and raspberries








This interesting and non-intentional pairing of books provided another level of discussion in book group. Both are memoirs; both feature intelligent, independent girls; both girls have strong, loving, determined mothers. The first is more contemporary in its content coinciding with the rash of white police officer shootings of young black men. The second is more artistic in its presentation of the early years of the author's life. Woodson's memoir is written as short poems, the words beautifully chosen. The white space allows the reader to stop and reflect. Both are worth reading, Ward's more brutal in the telling.

Book Group: March 2015

Book: The Invention of Wings
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Group meeting: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at my house
Dessert: Grasshopper pie (for St. Patrick's Day!)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd was my book group pick discussed in March. Although not planned, it was the perfect selection for National Women's History Month.

I chose this book after reading an article by Marion Winic (Newsday) in the Wisconsin State Journal in February, 2014. Sue Monk Kidd wrote The Secret Life of Bees, one of my favorite books, so I was sure to want to read this one. But the real draw to The Invention of Wings was that it is a fictional account of the Grimké sisters of South Carolina in the early 19th century. They were in fact the subjects of an historical account written by Gerda Learner and published in 1967: The Grimké Sisters of South Carolina; Rebels Against Slavery. 

Gerda Learner was a professor in the Women's Studies program at the University of Wisconsin. I knew of her and sat in on some of her lectures before she retired. They were the most eye-opening and moving lectures I have ever attended. The class would on occasion applaud the presentation. It was there that I first learned of the Grimkés, their abolitionist activism AND their inadvertent shift to feminist thinking. They pre-date the Seneca Falls Convention and Susan B. Anthony.

And, how did Sue Monk Kidd come to write this book? She saw Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party in 2007 in Brooklyn and noticed the names of Sarah and Angelina Grimké, sisters from Charleston, South Carolina inscribed on tiles on the floor of the exhibit. Kidd lived in Charleston and had never heard of the Grimké sisters. How could that be? She started to do research that included Gerda Learner's primary source research.

I, too, saw The Dinner Party, but I saw it in the mid-1970s. I traveled with other UW Library School students to Chicago to see the very controversial installation. That was a long time ago and I don't remember the names inscribed on the tiles. I do remember the place settings and the incredible feeling of sisterhood and history.

What strikes me as most important and significant about The Invention of Wings and the way it came to be written is that it illustrates that our history is complex and is often pushed aside. Women have done incredible things. But how do we know it? I remember being at a concert by "Sweet Honey in the Rock" in Carnegie Hall (probably in the 80's). I was in awe and feeling a little out of place. At one point they spoke directly to the African Americans in the audience and said: "This is your history. You are not born knowing it. You have to learn it." 

In preparing for book group I gathered The Gerda Learner book on the Grimkes, a couple books on The Dinner Party, a couple African-American quilt books, an African folk tale, and various reviews and articles. I was lead to these sources in part by the author's notes at the end of the book. She very clearly explains her motivations and what is fact and what is fiction in The Invention of Wings.

I thank Sue Monk Kidd for bringing back the story of Sarah and Angelina Grimké and reminding me to keep reading and learning and sharing with others. 

Driven

Painting interior wood trim. Painting marked up walls. Filling cracks in old plaster. Sanding. Cleaning grout. Sealing grout. Emptying shelves and sorting linens. Painting closet. Adding liners. Cleaning paint brushes. Finding old paint. Buying new paint. Details. Details. Trip to hardware store. Need a new sanding tool. And the winner is the Dremel Multi-Max MM45. We'll be ready for all kinds of projects!

Is it the winter season that has pushed me to update some of the spaces in this house? Mom always had a winter project. As soon as the holiday decorations were put away she'd start on a room. Our old house had wallpaper in almost every room, so, usually the project was to strip a room and re-paper. I loved paging through those huge wallpaper books and helping to pick out the new look for a room. 

I remember the year that we got to change my room from pink to a bold blue and white. I felt grown-up at last! I think that was the year that the chifforobe was replaced with a sliding door closet that my dad built. So many memories.

My current projects don't have that feeling of satisfaction that I get from major change. I have to be content with a cleaned-up look. I suppose that is a testament to the major remodeling that we've done in the past. I still like the look and feel of the tiled bathroom. My rule of thumb is that no matter how clean you keep your house, after 10 years it will need a new paint job.

But, I feel something else driving me. I think I want the house to be ready--ready for that major upheaval that could come any time. I've talked about moving somewhere warmer. (Six months of winter is just too much.) I have no plans to do so. In fact, I'm more inclined to move west. One state west to Minnesota.

I have always been proud of the state where I live. I felt that we had a superior public education system, we were leaders in the environmental movement, we had beautiful parks, and I trusted elected officials to uphold those commitments to the people of Wisconsin. That has all changed. Our governor and both houses of the state legislature are ramming through extreme ultra-right-wing agenda items. There is no way to stop the craziness. I do not choose to live in a place where workers and women have no rights and no choice; where the needy and disadvantaged are treated with contempt rather than compassion; where public waters and lands are at risk; where public education is the enemy and corporate schools with no accountability suck the system dry. Is anyone thinking about the future?

I do have the luxury of choice. I have few ties left in Wisconsin. I could leave. It's a big decision. I'll work on getting the house ready for now. 

Book Group: Feb 2015

Book: Still Life With Bread Crumbs
Author: Anna Quindlen
Group meeting: Tuesday, Feb 17, 2015 at Jean's
Dessert: Bread pudding with whiskey sauce and pecans. Yum.

60-year-old NYC photographer retreats alone to the woods and falls in love with her roofer, a younger man. I thought I would dislike the book but actually loved it. Quick read, fun characters, and bigger themes than the first sentence suggests: personal expression/style, luxury vs. sparsity, level of caring/help for family, juggling the finances of three generations. Worked for me. Loved the dog! Quindlen is a great storyteller.

Surviving Winter

It's mid-February, 2015. My tin Mexican cactus reminds me of where I'd like be. But, this year, I'm home for the duration. Since this is a journal of how I'm spending my retirement time I will resist the temptation to remain silent in my winter hibernation. 

Tennis: Playing as much as possible. Recent locking of the left knee put me in panic mode, but it actually feels better when I play than when I'm stationery. (Note: the orthopedic surgeon recommends replacing my right knee. I'm of the opinion my left is worse than my right. Putting off any decision while I'm still mobile.)

Spanish: Attending my Monday night class with a group of 6 or 7 with our maestro Karen. Also working through the tedious Rossetta Stone. Just started Level 2. Still feels like review, but that's not bad for me. Need to plan a trip to keep motivated. . .

Food: I considered posting this photo as my profile picture on Facebook, but decided it was a bit decadent. These are the three staples of my diet. Coffee for breakfast; wine with my main meal; whiskey at bedtime. These are also my preferred drinking vessels at this time. Maintaining weight loss from last year (motivated by the Type 2 diabetes diagnosis) and enjoying the seafood from Sitka Salmon Shares.

Projects: 1) I've begun working on Pancremaniac stuff. The Minneapolis Tour de Cure is May 30 and Heather asked me to co-captain to help her coordinate the team when things heat up. I'm having fun playing with my helmet.  2) Heather gave me an online class as a Christmas present: "The Joy of Assemblage." The problem is that I don't feel very motivated to do random assemblages, but I'm not ready to commit to the significant ones that are percolating in my mind. I'm doing the assignments in hopes of learning techniques that will help me in the long run. 3) I'm nearly finished with the glass work in the kitchen. I'll photograph it and make a separate post when it's done. 4) Photos still confound me. I can't seem to manage the Oaxaca collection. But, I don't want that frustration to thwart efforts to get better.
 

Socializing: We hosted a few gatherings around the holidays. I still enjoy planning the menu, getting out the good stuff, and being with friends. But it is an effort. I wonder how long I'll want to keep doing that. (Note: the tablecloth in this photo was my mom's. I bought it in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. It's always been my favorite one from there and now it's mine. But, I feel sad when I use it because I miss her.)

Volunteering: I'm helping out at a library program for little kids. It's called "Toddlers in Motion." I find myself smiling for most of the sessions because these kids are SO CUTE! They're 0 - 3 years old and are just learning to navigate group interactions. Cindy, the leader, sings and does rhymes and dances and keeps things going for an hour. And we do two sessions on Thursday mornings at the Goodman South Madison Public Library. I herd people to the sessions, prepare the snacks, and manage the music on the iPad. Heady stuff!!!! But I get to see kids and they are rare in my life.

Snow and Cold: I stupidly monitor the weather in Oaxaca and Saddlebrook and Gulf Shores and compare ours to theirs. Maybe spring will come early. The days are getting longer, at least. My days are full but there is a sense of treading water, waiting for the next big thing. Or, maybe I'll settle into this scene a little better. We'll see.

That's my life in the winter of 2015.