Weekend with Bean
Stacks of Wood Glued Styrofoam (a.k.a. Bean's Rotting Ear Burger in Progress)
Warning. Here come a lot of cell phone photos!
The wonderful thing about parenting my kiddo now that she’s in college is that we are kind of having an Early Childhood Revival except that kiddo is old enough to be self-reflexive, enjoying the experiences now while reflecting on her memories of the past. She comes home on the weekends, and we do lots of stuff, the same kind of stuff we did when she was little except now we understand that we are creating new memories together. Ones that will last forever and ever.
This weekend we went hiking, bead shopping, gyming (of course), and I helped her with her art project. She is making a giant oversized rotting ear burger sculpture (a tribute to Blue Velvet). She’s been bringing the project home to work on it. My role has been wide ranging, from sitting on stacks of Styrofoam glued together with wood glue to ensure they hold to helping calculate the depth of the deepest ear hole. As we work on it, we remember ALL the ZILLIONS of projects I have helped her with since she was a Wee Bean. Like the portable Kitty Condo. OMG.
That kid has always loved building things. She has always had elaborate plans and concepts for constructions and conceptual art, and she could always rely on her mom to help her execute her ideas. I think taking her to see the Andy Goldsworthy documentary when she was in preschool really stoked the flames. She came home and decided she was going to construct a boat out of spare sticks in the backyard.
Here I offer you a glimpse of the giant ear in progress. It got much more real and better as Bean trusted her artist intuition and let her gut guide her hand into shaping the ear.
Marlowe liked using the ear as a launching pad to attack the other Fur Sharks.
Punka the Magnificent would have none of it. She is too damn regal for Ear Leaping.
Marlowe also discovered his “office” - the pot cabinet, while I cooked Bean one of her favorite Mom Dinners - chicken and mushrooms (more trips down nostalgia lane). Marlowe is perpetually cute. What an adorable purr ball. Bean really knows how to pick a kitten. This is another way in which we relive her childhood, by adopting a rescue kitten. Marlowe isn’t just any rescue kitten. He was feral and raised in the hardcore hood. Therefore every single thing makes him happy. And I do mean every single thing. He’s like, “Pots! Great! These are awesome!”
Today Bean and I went on a 14 mile hike during which we talked about all sorts of things. Her experiences at Outward Bound. College and how much she loves art school and how she is working on overcoming her anxieties. Memories from childhood. The wonder and magic of our surroundings.
She took a little film of a butterfly. There were so many butterflies. Zillions. One really gorgeous one was black and midnight blue with little bright orange highlights. Spectacular.
Here is Bean’s video. After the video, I offer you loads of cell phone photos from our hike. Now I have to get busy working.
Click to viewI am, above all else, a working mom. I’ve done the momming. Now it’s time to do the working. Cheers.
There's Tucson down there.
Cattails and Saguaros
Wild Berry Bough
Glowing grass, boulders and mountains, oh and saguaros of course.
Dr. Seuss grass.
Tootsie Pops give us that extra Super Sugar Umph.
Plus they are still totally classic and still come wrapped in paper (not plastic!)
BIG leaves in the desert are full of awesome!
Our favorite log. Log for Girls.
We loves a treescape.
Cactus flowers. No color adjustment. That's their natural color!
Nice gnarly tree.