Marilynne's World

This is from YouTube.  There had to be so much thinking to get it synchronized so well.  This guy (his name is Corey) is really good.

There’s more of Corey’s work on YouTube.

Marilynne

I woke this morning thinking about Valentine’s Day.  I used to hate it.  My hate had its roots in grade school.  When I was in grade school, Valentine’s Day could be hurtful.  We’d each decorate a shoebox and put a slot in it for valentines.  Then for a few days the valentines would go into the box anonymously.    I was fairly popular at school, but I dreaded opening my box.

This was before the rule that you gave everyone a valentine card.  In MY DAY you just gave valentines to your friends.  You didn’t have to give any at all.  These valentines meant something!  I always hoped for a lot of valentines.  I never got that many.  Maybe a few from my close friends.  Maybe one or two that said something like “Hello Valentine.  You’re the ugliest girl in class.  Stay away from me.”  There was always someone who got a fancy valentine or two instead of those little packaged valentines.  I guess you could say Valentine’s Day was a little hard on my ego.  Believe me, there were no ugly girls in my class.

So, grow me up and give me boyfriends.  Did a boyfriend ever give me a valentine or a box of candy?  Not that I can remember.  In my teens you read a lot about such things, but most of the girls I knew didn’t get gifts from their boyfriends.  But I really wanted a fancy valentine from my boyfriend.  But I didn’t get one.  At least there were no insulting cards either.

Grow me up some more and see me marrying the love of my life.  Look at those pictures I have with love in our eyes.  And I did get a huge frilly  box of chocolates for our first Valentine’s Day.  There was a catch.  My love had been in a bar the whole night playing pool and cards with the guys.  When he was leaving, the woman who sold cigarettes told him he’d better buy a valentine for his wife if he wanted to get in the door.  He woke me up with the big frilly heart-shaped box of chocolates and he was so drunk he told me how he came to buy them.  We weren’t there yet.

Skip ahead a bit.  We own a house and we’ve filled it with three daughters and lots of debt.  I finally told the love of my life how I felt about Valentine’s Day.  Everyone I knew was getting flowers and chocolates and all sorts of other things for Valentine’s Day, but not me.  How did he think that made me feel?  I hated Valentine’s Day.  It left him speechless.  After all, he worked hard to support us all.  He loved us all.  Wasn’t that enough?  Should be, I told him, but I want at least a card for Valentine’s Day.   Inspired, I told him, if you give me  a mushy (really romantic)  card I promise to believe every word of it.

I have a truly wonderful collection of mushy valentine cards he’s given me through the years.  I’ve learned to speak up about my expectations.  You see, I thought he should know these things without being told.  I guess I thought he’d learned it in his mother’s womb.  I was wrong.  Valentine’s Day has been pretty good since I told him about my hopes and expectations.

This morning when I got up there was a mushy Valentine’s Day card on my plate and a small box of chocolates underneath it.  The box is small, but the chocolates are very nice.  I asked for a small box because I shouldn’t have them, but this year I just wanted them.  I wanted chocolates and I wanted flowers.  He’s going to get the flowers tomorrow when they’re not so pricey.  Do I care?  No, I love anticipating what he’s going to buy.  We’re going out to dinner too.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all.

Marilynne

I love the mysterious actions of watercolor on paper – especially on wet paper.  At some point you just have to trust that what you painted will come out just fine.

Here’s a fun watercolor.  I painted it from a card.  The fun of painting is that it has a relationship to the card, but it is most definitely not the card.

Marilynne

I didn’t really know how to title this.  Roy and I had a great visit with our daughter Lisa and her friends Scott and Emily.  Venice Beach is a place like no other.  Kooky for sure.  Beachy for sure.  Why don’t I tell you in pictures?

I have a whole collection of characters that belong to me.

Scott, Lisa, Roy, Me

There were plenty of characters on the beach. I’ll add their pictures below.

A contortionist. I'd hate to be in that position for long, wouldn't you?

The contortionist was kind of bored and just sitting there. It was pretty warm and she was facing the sun.

Not sure who he's supposed to be, but it isn't Halloween is it?

The man on skates was entertaining. He had a smile for everyone and was willing to stop skating and just be kooky for his audience.

Wouldn't you like to look like that after a baby? But shopping?

Two ladies shopping:  I wouldn’t be caught dead dressing like that to go shopping, but this is the beach after all. I admit to wondering how she gave birth to that sweet baby and kept her figure.

The man in the foreground wanted to dance out there to the music.

Stunts with hoops and bicycles.  We watched the athletes swirl and do tricks inside the hoops for a long time. Someone had brought a boom box and the man with the bicycle just danced around them.

True character - patience getting it on just right.

Father and son. I took this photo because the father was showing great patience trying to get the bracelet onto his son’s arm. Most men would have thrown it down and stomped on it in frustration. It was taking a long time.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. I certainly enjoyed being at Venice Beach and visiting with our daughter and her friends while we took in this unusual beach scene. Turn around from the stores and there’s the beach.  Here’s one last photo to calm your eyes.

Our daughter, me and my husband. Photographer: Emily Siskin

Marilynne