Saturday, August 6, 2016

A trip to the Farmers Market

Or should that be Farmer's Market, with an apostrophe? This has always confused me for some reason. Apostrophe or not, we went this morning and I was only able to make one circuit before my hip told me we were through. I like to do it twice so that I can be sure I've seen it all. We did get two heirloom tomatoes for my daily tomato sandwich. Then we stopped for 3 peaches and 2 nectarines. These are fantastic in salads or just plain eating. This is a small market compared to some in the larger cities, but I'm always there, when able, to soak up the energy! Customers and sellers are all happy and it shows in their faces, their voices and their motions. In more recent years; 21st century years, we went to our first one and that was in Hilo, Hawaii. Very small and very crowded but the energy was palpable. Exotic fruits and fantastic flowers. I can still see it! My memory hasn't failed me on this one. We are very much interested in shopping at the Farmer's Market and at Trader Joe's after reading about the drought stricken farmers in Kern County (south of us by about 300 miles) that are using the wastewater from fracking operation to water their crops.

Spell Check says that I need an apostrophe...okay.

My memory may be good but not so my balance. We were leaving the market and just as I was about to step over the curb near our car my foot caught the upraised concrete surrounding a tree and over I went. I hit my knee on the curb and I caught the hood of my car with my chest. Nothing was broken, which is the biggest fear a 75.9 year old man has as he feels himself falling. But I will have a good sized bruise there in a few days. There was some abrasion to the skin and that has been cleaned and bandaged. I was lucky. Walking around downtown is dangerous and I've said so for years. I'm not afraid of muggers but I am afraid of tripping on the upraised concrete that surrounds all the trees; in a city famed for its trees. The downtown merchants would have to pay for any remedy to the situation and that will never happen. You can't do any window shopping in Chico; not if you value your body.

My digital paintings have become better and better as I practice and practice. I may need to look around for a different software as this software is missing some brushes I would love to use. I really need to find software that produces images with the same file extension (tiff) so that I can move the image from one to the other. I do have a program that does have some great brushes but it generates a file that can't be read by any other program. Unfortunately,  good software comes with a price that reflects just how good it is.

From where I sit I can see the north wall of my living room and there are about 15 paintings visible. I have been trying to replicate some of them in an 8x10 format, so that I can print them for a future show. The results are mixed but I need to remember that they are abstract and accuracy is not needed in a copy. In fact, I might be able to make a better picture, digitally.

I have 9 days to wait before I see the orthopedic surgeon and the pain seems to increase almost daily. I already have an increase for the day as my fall seemed to add to the hip pain. And I'm still waiting for my 'handicapped' tag for the car to arrive so I can avoid those long walks through the market parking lots.

The Trump campaign continues to sicken me. I have a hard time trying to find the words to describe this campaign. I wonder at times, when will 'Big Business' step in and do something. The agenda that Trump describes should be terrifying in the Board Rooms...unless they see an opportunity in his presidency. How could they?

Those great tomatoes I bought were not ripe. I hadn't considered that and so I have to postpone my sandwich till Wednesday? Patience is a virtue they say...

















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