The Life and Times of the Plume — Page 221

Prettiful

January 22, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

Isn’t this beautifully shot?

I’m carrying these images in my heart pocket straight into a restful weekend, and beyond!

Saturday and Sunday plans include:

Finishing Chapter 2.

Baking.

Cleaning.
Plumbelina.

A dash of leather.

Be well birds!

Filed Under: beautiful things

Well. This is a confessional. I guess.

January 21, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

Well good grief!

Thank God tomorrow is Friday, I’m running on fumes.

This week, I have hit the tip of my middle finger on my left hand with a hammer in the exact same place three times. Exactly. It hurts. It’s ugly (and my pointer finger has been hammer struck as well, as you can see — I’ve had prettier hands). Right now, I’ve just come in from the studio and I want nothing more than to mix myself a gin and tonic (extra lime) and lay down in bed with a movie (I don’t have enough energy to read), a dog and RW for the rest of the evening before giving myself over to sleep. You’re probably all saying, “Jillian, yes. Go ahead! Retire for the evening.” But here’s the thing, I don’t have a boss. I don’t have an associate boss. I don’t have a superior officer telling me when to lay down and when to get up again. I don’t have that!

Sometimes I give in, in moments like these, and I treat myself to an early turn in and I allow myself a bit of relaxation. Other times, I’m aware of the fact that I deserve a long hard day. I deserve to be exhausted. I deserve to drive myself to the brink and a little bit beyond. It’s good, sometimes, to work to the point of breaking and to feel a bit of discomfort — not stress — but exertion! I think it’s character building. Days like today, days when I push myself harder than I need to, are healthy for my self worth and prove that my motivation is still intact.

As I type, RW is sanding sections of the sub-floor in the un-bathroom. He’s beginning to lay hardwood in that room this evening (we’ve had to go to plan B when it comes to our flooring plan in this house, we originally hoped to restore the heart pine that makes the original flooring in the entire house but some of is it terribly damaged and so we’ve had to resort to the option of new flooring in the entire house…in the form of hardwood). He too is pushing himself this evening, working hard, working longer than he usually would. We’re slaves unto ourselves here, slaves unto each other, slaves unto you. Happy slaves. Fat slaves. Slaves chained happily and doggedly, neck and foot, to our work.

I’ve done so much metal forming in the past two days that when I raise a hammer, I can feel a heinous heat spread over my shoulder and up the right side of my neck. I roll my head, I try to keep things limber, but I’m seizing up, slowly, like the Tin Man in the rain.

The weekend comes, slowly and surely.

I find myself wishing it was a dark horse sprinting for the finish line.

Now, as I type, Mister Pinkerton has made a home of my lap and his fluff and engine are keeping me warm and happy. His breath smells like tuna. His eyes are the Atlantic.

I’m in a chatty mood but only because it keeps me from the chill and isolation of the studio. I’m feeling gregarious today and there’s no one around to banter with me. Why don’t you come over. Fill this void. We’ll make stove top popcorn and exclaim about the warmth of the weather.

I’m always lonely when there’s not a soul to be had.

And now I feel a potent melancholy coming over me.

It’s best I get back to work before my effort falls out of everything and I slump into rest.

Happy Thursday-almost-Friday,

JSL (because while I AM The Plume, I’ve felt a strong urge to just be myself lately)

PS Just while signing off, I could hear RW in the un-bathroom singing, at the top of his lungs, in falsetto, “Plumbelinaaaaaaaaaaaa Plumbelinnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaa……..”

I love him.

PSS I also love my puppy. So much. She’s more than I dreamed she would be x 3.14.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Just a dab will do ya:

January 19, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

Old Souls in sterling and a dab of Sleeping Beauty turquoise.

Dan le shop, maintenant!

Filed Under: New Jewelry, old soul

Inconsolable

January 19, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

Plumbelina woke up, as usual, just before 6AM this morning. I let her outside to do her business, washed my face, shoveled the fresh snow off the walks and then took she and Penelope on a walk between the footbridges on the Portneuf River; the streets were quiet, the sky was still dark and the dogs ran wild through the snow on the foot path.

The City of Pocatello has been cleaning the Portneuf River banks which is a euphemism for murdering hundreds of beautiful cottonwood and elm trees. I’ve been in a wretched fit of depression this week any time I’ve caught a glimpse of the banks, bald and scarred in the winter light. I support manicuring and tending forests and city greenbelts in my fair Idahoan town but this, this clear cutting of the river banks really has my gitch in a knot.

What has made me truly inconsolable is the removal of an ancient, huge and beautiful cottonwood on the corner of the footbridge behind our home. The tree was easily one hundred and fifty years old (which is very old for these parts, and quite old for a cottonwood) and had a massive and lush crown to it, a crown that tangled itself in the stars. The limbs of this tree reached out over the river waters and it had a wonderful and wise countenance to it. When they felled it this week, all of our dishes rattled in the cupboards and I think this 103 year old farm house let out a sad groan.

This cottonwood tree, bless its dryad soul, was certainly here before Pocatello was settled as an actual township in 1889. This valley was formerly the wintering grounds for the Northern Shoshone tribe. I like to imagine the people of the horse burned small fires beneath the branches of this tree in the cold months and shaded their ponies beneath its leafy cool in the summer months, when they found themselves passing though. I’m sure two generations of Palmer children who grew up in this very house climbed this tree trunk and looked out over the mountains laughing at the top of their lungs in the dog days of summer.

I’m beyond sad over the removal of this tree. I’m inconsolable. I feel like a portion of Pocatello history and beauty has been uprooted and cast down without dignity or respect paid. The more I think of the empty space over on the riverbank, the bluer I feel.

I’m not a knee jerk tree hugger. I’m a thoughtful environmentalist. The state of clear cutting affairs along the Portneuf River has warranted the submission of a letter to my city council about the approach to the deforestation of our riverbanks in town and the importance of tending to the story of this valley, brick by brick and trunk by trunk. I believe in keeping history alive in this city, and that includes the presence of our most ancient and beautiful trees.

City of Pocatello, you’ll be hearing from me soon.

Inconsolably and sincerely yours,

Jillian S. Lukiwski

Filed Under: damn it, pocatello, trees

Big Beast & Baby Beast

January 19, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

I already have this image up on Flickr and Facebook and many of you have already commented on it! I love it so much that I want it here on my blog as well. Farley and Plumbelina’s expressions are utterly hilarious to me. He looks so wise and mature in this shot and she looks so bewildered and about to go berserkers — I love the contrast!

Now back to the studio!
I’m finishing up some earrings for you.
xx

Filed Under: farley and penelope, german shorthair pointers, german shorthaired pointers, Plumbelina