You know all those things that never ever get done because you are working, on the run, out having fun or just don't feel like doing? Well, today is mostly indoor house day. All things will get caught up on, many things will get accomplished and many CD's will be listened to. So far we have listened to:

Junkyard – Self Titled

Junkyard – Sixes, Sevens and Nines

The Hangmen – Self titled

Motley Crue – Saints of Los Angeles

Saigon Kick - Devil in the Details

King's X – Tape Head

Jobs that are getting done:

Both cars got washed – Five dollars for each car, all proceeds go to getting a new field for the HS field hockey team.

Cleaned and straightened up the entire kitchen

Switched out the silverware ( nice and new, a gift from The Aunt)

Tightened up the cabinet doors

swept and moped the living room

sept and moped the kitchen

scrubbed down my bathroom

scrubbed down slave barb's bathroom

cleaned the grill

swept the patio

cleaned the patio sliding glass doors

repaired my dresser

bundled the recycling – twice

did three loads of laundry

repaired my night table (no more drawer falling on slave barb's head in the middle of the night!)

sanded and spackled areas in the living room

sanded spackled and painted areas in the bedroom

repaired bedroom door which included gluing, painting and painting and another coat of paint

Put away some jackets. No need to see them again until around October.

Took a trip to Home Depot ( Of course) – While out at Home Depot we also stopped at Pathmark and got to witness a kid get caught stealing. He was tackled and and pushed into the Pathmark holding pen. Oh, the humiliation. Especially since he was caught stealing protein bars.

All the tasks are pretty much done. I only need to put another coat of paint on the door and then hang the curtains back up.

Dinner – I will be grillin, of course. Tonight I'm cooking Master Larry's masterful chicken burgers.

They are seasoned with:

onion powder

garlic powder

bacon hickory salt

bread crumbs

egg

Italian seasoning

Worcestershire sauce

No, I didn't give all the secrets.

Drool, I say drool! We will also be cooking corn on the cob on the grill too!

Well outdoor cooking can be a challenge. Half way through cooking the skies opened up out of nowhere. Big rain shower hit hard. This had me grillin' in the rain big time. Once the meal was done cooking I was soaked but the food was fantastic. Half way through the meal the rain stopped and as soon as slave barb was bringing things back to the kitchen the sun came out. Funny how Mother Nature moves sometimes.

Challenges and barriers:

Well, we all got em, no doubt.

One of my issues is art. Looking at art in it's entirety I have my piece of the pie. I can say I'm an artist because of the way I think and live, I can say I'm an artist because I can play a few musical instruments, I can say I'm an artist because I have written pretty good songs in my day. So yes, I'm an artist. Yet even though I have listed a few artistic talents I make no bones that I can't draw not at all. I have no eye for how to put a series of lines, circles and angels together to create an image. I'm lost, I don't get it and quite frankly I think a part of my mental structure is missing. That's how dense I am drawing concrete images. Slave barb on the other hand is an artist. She can draw, she can paint, she can do metal work, she can sing, she can go computer graphics, she is artistically inclined to the tenth power.

One of the things that slave barb does very well ( and I must say it's a great service) is challenge me and dare me to tap into myself and try different things. She wants me to create art, maybe on canvas, or metal or whatever. So she challenges me and I ignore her and this dance goes on and on until I finally get the balls to try something new and different. So tonight be it good, bad or indifferent I'm going to paint. I'm not going to try to paint anything fancy. No landscapes, puppies, flowers or skylines. I'm going to try my hand at abstract painting. It's probably safer for the world this way. So, what can I say? Dare to challenge yourself and break new ground. As humans we are all artists. The art of thinking, the art of being, the art of making a difference in the world, the art of being good too ones self, the art of being good to others, the art of invention, the art of sound, the art light, the art of the spirit, the art of music, the art of art.

Bring it on!