C is for...

Time for the next entry in the now entitled Wordplay project, personal dictionary making, week by week til we're done.
Up to the letter C.

So...

C is for:
cats - Can't live without one, and only one is lonely, so at least two. There isn't anything nicer than cuddling up with a contented cat. I love their independence, quirkiness, and reluctant loyalty. Here is a list of all the cats I've owned/been owned by: Lady d' Winter, Velvet, Stinky, TC, Calvin, Hobbes, Yertle, Ticonderoga, Lucky, Zippy, Rexie, Pele. The last four are current residents, the rest are RIP. We are looking at getting another cat this spring, hopefully a Maine Coon, as we've always wanted one, I hope she has extra toes.

chocolate - Not just for that time of the month, oh no. All month long, you bet. I choose to believe that it is good for me, in moderation. Especially the good quality dark chocolate from Endangered Species.

clematis - A flower I covet and have tried to grow twice with no luck so far. Wish me luck as I try again this year.

cooking - Well it is one of life's necessities, but it is easy to enjoy the process if you get into the right frame of mind. The sacred act of feeding yourself or your family and friends can be very inspiring with that mindset. I love making up new things to eat with what is left in the fridge, especially when I hear my family's yummy noises.

camping - I love camping. Not getting ready to go camping though, finding all the stuff, dusting it off, getting organized, bleah. But it is worth it! I love being outside, sleeping cozily in a tent (as long as I have a good pad underneath), cooking outside, getting dirty and listening to all the noises of the day. We don't get to go camping enough anymore, and we actually live in a town which has the first state park in California (Big Basin), where people come from all over to camp. Ever since we moved to Boulder Creek, we've gone camping less, back when we lived in the Cupertino 'burbs we needed to ESCAPE! But now, we say to ourselves, hey we live where people come to vacation. Or we've gotten lazier? Who knows. But I do know that I am dying to go camping, maybe next week if it stops raining continuously.

clothes - I used to worry a lot about my clothes. Whether I had the right ones, or enough, or whether they said the right thing. Now it isn't

cards - I collect decks of cards, DH brings them to me from his international travels, I buy strange shaped decks when I see them. I also love postcards and greeting cards and save all of the ones that are ever sent to me.

castles - Visiting castles is fun, but I always have wondered what it would be like to live in one. Maybe we should rent one during the summer and try it out, that would be a fun adventure. Castle ruins are interesting too, Marc and I climbed around in one in the Black Forest in Germany.

cucumbers carrots celery chives canteloupe chard cherries - So many of my favorite fruits and vegies are starting with C. Chop them all up and enjoy, fresh, raw! I can't wait for Summer fruits!!

cheese - My caloric downfall. I love cheese. I can't remember a cheese I've tried that I didn't care for. The sharper the better, the bluer the better, the runnier/stinkier, yummm.

cheer - Be of good cheer! A positive attitude isn't a requirement, it is a Choice. If you choose to be cheerful, life passes in an easier flow.

crisis-Is the world in a crisis right now? Yes definitely by many measures. But, then, if you look back in history there are probably a whole lot of other times that Gaia has let us know that this is IT. Will she really mean it this time, can we notice when her voice changes? Just like that subtle change in your mother's voice so that you know you are really truly no-kidding in trouble for sure no fooling this time. Are you listening? I am.

computer - Isn't it hard to remember what your life was like before computers? They are such an important part of our lives, intertwined in so many things that we do everyday, speeding up some, slowing down others, and making some things possible (like getting to meet internet friends IRL!). Sharing photos, finding information in seconds, posting instructions on how to make stuff, making art exhibits happen, collaborating on art, reading blogs ...etc... All of it so necessary and fun and absolutely impossible without the computer. My first computer was an Atari (way back when programs came on a cassette tape), with a two color screen, boy was it ever exciting when color screens came out, and then as the memory and speed increased the new programs that were available. Looking out for my next computer, which will hopefully be a laptop so I'm not chained to the desk.

calculate - For an artist I have a pretty mathmatically inclined mind, and calculating, optimizing, organizing and predicting about concrete facts and abstract ideas is one of my strengths. Oh and it does spill over into artmaking: Calculating the Percentages of Earth is one of my favorite quilts that I've made.

clover - One of my favorite early childhood memories is picking clover flowers on our front lawn and threading them into crowns, bracelets and necklaces. And occasionally finding a four-leafed clover and running in to show my mom.

California - My place. Where I was born, where I grew up, and where I live. I feel very blessed and lucky to have had the California experience, what a great place it is to be from, I'm proud of my state and how forward thinking we usually are (just don't mention the Governator please).

chickens - I always wanted to own a chicken, out of all the typical farm animals, they were my favorite. Especially after a trip with son Alex in first grade to the UCSC Farm & Garden where they had a Polish chicken (has a topknot of feathers, very goofy) she which was so friendly and personable. So now we have four hens who are very productive and give us lovely fresh eggs which taste sooooo much better than regular store eggs. They are so fun to watch when we let them out in the backyard, they run around scratching and exploring. Each one has a funny little personality. We've decided as a family that if and when they die, we will bury them as a pet, not eat them (Pshew!). Each one is a different breed and gives us different colors of eggs, brown, light brown, white, and blue. Their names are Galadriel, Spot, Mary and Suzie Q.