One cup of coffee

Morning on Cherrywood
acrylic on canvas
8 x 8 inches
Barbara Muir © 2009
( I sat on my front porch steps this morning
painting this. I loved how the two
little black cars looked, facing in
opposite directions. At one point
my neighbour across the street
came out with her little boy and
started painting too. This thing
could catch on! Wouldn't it be
funny and wonderful
to see a whole street of
people sitting and painting images
of their neighbours' houses.
Super!)

I really need my morning coffee. It's a holiday today in
Canada, but I imagine almost everyone is spending the day
scurrying frantically to get ready for tomorrow.

But I wanted to relax, so as I was drinking my coffee, I
reached for the magazines I keep stacked on the shelf
on my bedside table. Disappointment! Last week I spilled
a full cup of coffee one morning and thought I'd cleaned
it up. What I didn't realize is that it glued all of the
magazines I love together.

Luckily a Martha Stewart magazine with beautiful images
wasn't damaged, so despite my folly I could look at the
exceptional rooms in the issue without trying to pry
the pages apart. I am a Martha supporter. Yes. I wrote
her emails more than once when she was in prison. Why?
Because I believe in strong women, and I met a man that
year whose daughter had worked for Martha and said she was
super kind to her staff and fair. Rumours of her cranky
nature it turns out were just that -- rumours.

What she has done for my town and my street is made
people want to make their homes beautiful. She's helped
people to know how to display flowers in the garden and
around the house. Plus she's made decorating a room with
colour, and thinking about making social occasions special,
something everyday people can get a handle on. I think
that's wonderful.

I suspect she was the fall "guy" (girl) for a corrupt
administration trying to look righteous. I felt certain her
detractors just wanted to -- get the woman! But wonderful
Martha, stayed cheerful through what must have been
a horrible ordeal, and grim embarrassment. She came out
shining. Yay Martha! You don't have to agree with me,
or like her, but I do.

Time to paint. I'm working on a number of things,
all of which you'll see soon.

Have a being-yourself-you-don't-have-to-be-Martha day