WATERBABY'S CIRCUS

OK, I know, you still can't see the famous arch. But, it's really there, trust me. The sea was so much more sparkling than I could make it look. Think I'll go read for awhile, this painting business is really exhausting.

There's a whole menagerie happening in my room. I never know what I'll find when I return after going out for awhile. Elefants, swans, peacocks . . . Actually, you can take classes here on how to fold towels, which I find no stranger than some other art forms, which I won't mention, lest I offend somebody. Like that's ever stopped me.

I know I'm not supposed to bring back even one more flamingo, but pictures don't count, do they? Besides, they were asking for you. H-O-O-O-O-NK!

I'm trying to be very conscientious about doing a sketch everyday. I did this day before yesterday morning before going out for awhile. Even though I only walked to the Puerto Paraiso mall, I was surprised how out of shape I've gotten in just a few short months of using my car for everything. So after coming back I paddled around in the water for awhile. Hugely tiring. I've got to do a little more physical activity, lifting beers and crunching nachos doesn't seem to be working.

I know you can't see any arch. That's because the hills in the front hide it. But Lovers' Beach is that little sandy spot in the middle. I should probably catch a boat ride and go over there instead of just painting it. Nah, too much work. Maybe tomorrow.

I've actually tried to be a little more self-disciplined than usual, and made myself do some sketching. The weather is wonderful (for me). 70 - 90 degrees, I'm in heaven. Since I can't get back to Brazil for awhile, this will have to do. It's amaazing how much better I feel with some sun and sand and blue, blue water. There's usually a gentle breeze coming in off the water. This is a big week in Cabo - there's a little get-together called the Bisbeee Fishing Tournament. Lots of very cool sports fishing boats and their owners in town. It's reassuring to know that our sucking economy hasn't hurt the poor suffering folks in their boats. OK, so I'm being a sarcastic bitch, and yes I'm jealous, I want a boat too with everything that goes with it. Actually, I'd probably be just as happy, maybe happier, with a little canoe in Brazil. This is looking back at part of Pueblo Bonito. It's a pretty place and I love all the tile. Just a tad on

More from the same day. OK, so this wasn't a very good day for painting. But we all had fun. Isabel & Koko will probably be back some sunny Sunday afternoon. Look at them, standing there by the Harleys. Shameless! Now I understand why they sent the kids for a walk.

OK, let's see if I can make this Mexican computer do the upload: Last Sunday, Oct. 19, we (Koko, Isabel and their girls and me) went back to Port Costa, but due to my altered state of consciousness, I didn´t get much painted. Just these demented scribblings. I blame the magic cookies.

Now it is Sunday evening, and I haven't posted my plein air I did on Thursday afternoon of the hotel at Port Costa, and I haven't said a word about Mestre Accordeon's 50th Anniversary of Capoeira celebration, or about going back to Port Costa today with "the girls" and trying to do my sketchbook under challenging circumstances. . . . It will all have to wait since it's now nearly time for beddybye and I haven't got my stuff packed to catch a plane tomorrow morning. Going to Cabo for a week! Woo Hoo! Got my boarding pass printed out, found my passport, and made my Bayporter reservation. All I need to do now is stop futzing on the computer and go throw some clothes and paints and survival food into a suitcase. Well - maybe I have time to post just the plein air of the hotel. As they say down the way . . . Hasta!

So I haven't written for awhile. Last week was muddled up, and included an unplanned tooth misbehavior that culminated with an appointment Thursday the 9th to have a tooth removed. #30 in case you're interested. I think it's cool that each of our teeth has its own number. Even after that tooth is gone, its number remains. But it was not salvageable. Kaput, had to come Out. The root's broken. How did that happen, I want to know, I did not treat it roughly. No crazy faceplants on my board, no passing out in the parking lot, no barroom brawls (lately). Well, in any case, it's history now. I need to find out the outta pockets expenses for an implant and then my dental coverage's uncovered portion of a bridge with crowns. I think there's going to be a gap in my mouth for quite a while.

A half dozen of us, some members of the El Cerrito Art Assn. and others not, spent the morning at China Camp State Park . I like to paint there. Give me a beach and some sun and I'm a happy little camper. I think I did a little better this time. My attitude has changed. Now I'm more, just get the paint down on the paper, quit screwing around. No more wimpy little bleats of watery color. You've got two hours, Just Do It! So I'm getting down a very rough pencil sketch, not dinking around like I have a tendency to do. Mix up a nice soup of colors and go for it. Well, the results. Once you get it back home, you can always find plenty to not like. I tried to think about saving some light areas, but they mostly disappeared. The overall mood is pretty subdued, except for the bright sky, which now seems incongruous. And those white ripply things in the water just don't work, if they're waves, they're heading the wrong way. The hills in back are too intense in relat