Giving Back (a year in review) - 10/2 and 12/10

Looking back on 2011, it's clear that Jim and I had some good times. He bounced back from his disappointment at the move to Scranton, and we ended up having a great year - traveling, being out in nature, meeting new friends.

We also had opportunities to give back to the community through volunteering. Jim was reluctant at my first mention of volunteering, but we ended up having a lot of fun. In October, he and I worked with some friends on a large painting for The Wright Center, and helped neighborhood kids to decorate it during their fall festival.

He and I also helped to sort donated toys and to help children choose toys for EOTC's annual Toyland Workshop. During this event, children aided by EOTC are invited to "shop" for their siblings and parents for Christmas. Volunteers help them choose and wrap their gifts, and Santa even came for a photo op. Instead of Santa, Jim wanted to be photographed among his new, cleaned, stuffed friends.

12/29/11 - Dinosaur

Jim enjoyed his Dinosaur Barbeque experience so much that he requested to go again to celebrate New Year's. How could I refuse? He once again requested to be photographed with the sauce. He really is a big fan. He asked me if I thought he would make a great spokesalien for the franchise, but I told him that he didn't look enough like a dinosaur to make sense to the general public. Jim - "But, I'm green." Me -  "Yes, Jim, you are definitely green. But you aren't a dinosaur. Being green doesn't make you a dinosaur." Jim - ... "Maybe they could change the name to Alien Barbeque?!"

12/2/11 - Friends for sale

MUSATA, the Marywood University Art Therapy Association, had a show for members at CityLights Church in downtown Scranton for December's First Friday. I showed some work I'd done during the past semesters of which I was very proud, and others showed other work that was meaningful to them. It was a fairly eclectic show, and it was interesting to view everyone's unique artistic expression.

The show also provided an opportunity for me to try to sell some of Jim's friendsandrelations. Even though he wasn't for sale, he asked to have his picture taken on one of the hand forms because he thought it would be funny. He is pictured below with several of his friendsandrelations - L to R: Winnie, Jim, Ophelia, Penny, Gus, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Violet. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Jim's friendsandrelations was going to go toward providing art supplies to people through World Vision's gift catalog, but I ended up only selling one. Jim was actually happy to still have all of his friends around. I think he may have actually sabotaged sales by whispering to people not to buy them, thus freaking out potential customers. Jim is pretty good at freaking people out.

11/30/11 - studio two-eighteen

Near the end of my Studio class, my classmates and I had an art show of work we'd created while in the class. As this represented the culmination of a semester's worth of work, it was a good feeling to share this with the greater community. A lot of parents and significant others showed up to the opening, which was really sweet. Jim enjoyed meeting everyone and viewing the art. He especially liked the hanging sculpture a friend of mine made with tissue paper, glue, and paint. My artwork, he couldn't have cared less about. So, he asked to have his picture taken nestled in the colorful discs. Super!

9/26/11 - Nay Aug

Scranton has many hidden gems, and the gorge at Nay Aug Park is one of them. I'd been to the park a bunch of times before this, and had never seen or heard mention of the gorge. It's beautiful! I want to pitch a tent on one of the rock outcroppings and stay there forever, surrounded by beauty. But, alas. Jim can't be left alone in the apartment, and he refuses to live without electricity.

From this lookout here, you can see the tree house. And from the tree house, you can see the lookout, but not the water, nor the awesome rocks.

Jim liked it too. He said it was super-duper, and asked to have his picture taken. I think he liked all the green, too.

9/17/11 - SUPER!

OKTOBERFEST! One question - Why is it that Oktoberfest is held in September?

Regardless of when it was held, definitely a good time. Delicious German food and lots and lots of beer. Oh man. Lest you think the writer of this blog is a lush (after reading my last post about my birthday), I will assert that I am not, and that Jim is my witness. Not such a good witness, but there you go.

Anyway, back to the beer and the food. This pic is from our tasting class, with a guy (the one on the left) who has actually been to Oktoberfest in Germany and was wearing what looked like authentic lederhosen. Not sure if those things qualify him as an expert, but he did seem to know a lot about beer, and it was pretty interesting. Not sure I remember much, other than that Spaten is the authentic beer for Oktoberfest, and it is delicious. Jim liked the tasting experience so much, that, of course, he wanted his picture taken with the guy. He also wanted me to be sure to include our tall skinny "waiter" with the baggy lederhosen (the guy on the right).

Oktoberfest also provided much in the way of entertainment. There were wiener dog races, authentic German music, and lots of drunken dancing. One of the ladies who sang and, yes, yodeled, kept saying "Super!" I think Jim felt a kinship to this funny German lady because of the word, so he threw a major tantrum when we were leaving. He's also taken to saying "Super!" instead of "super-duper," which seems like it would be fine, except that he yells it at the top of his lungs, which is surprising loud for such a small, green creature. And he's taken to yelling it at inopportune times. Like 2 AM. Thankfully he's gotten out of the habit, and is not in the room, looking over my shoulder as I write this, so he won't be reminded and start up again.

9/4/11 - Ole!

Happy birthday to me! Jim accompanied my friends and I to a local Mexican restaurant for my birthday celebration.

Jim was on his best behavior that night. He seemed to like the margarita I got and reluctantly shared with him, as well as the fried ice cream. He even wanted to wear the silly sombrero, but I was afraid of it crushing him.