2:45 pm: a made one small but critical tweak, to the whites in the t-shirt of the boy on the upper right. and that will do it for today.
in the mean time, greece is hanging by a thread, and all will be decided by sunday night brussels time. a grexit is not out of the question, and whereas yesterday we thought there was a 30% chance of no solution being found and greece exiting the euro, today we're up to a 70% chance of that happening. the immediate results would be that the banks will remain shut on monday morning while controls are drawn up for limiting withdrawals. things would be very chaotic for an extended period, and all but the 1% (shipowners mostly) would suffer. in the mean time, lets not go there and envision a last minute deal. even if such a deal is reached, it must then be approved by the greek parliament, which won't be easy. we, of course have a very strong concern because my son dimitri, our daughter-in-law elena and our two grandkids live there.
follow the latest on the guardian web site, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/live/2015/jun/26/greece-crisis-markets-to-open-lower-ahead-of-weekend-talks-live
2:16 pm: i was able to get to work early, as hoped, before it got too hot. parade 45 may be resolved, but as usual i'll have to wait till first glance tomorrow. there's actually something i see right now that i want to change before the paint dries. so i'll post these pics, including 3 details of the painting, and return later:
9:27 am: as i walked to the studio i stopped to photograph the latest in the progress of the cactus blossoms, which are now close to peak and will be gone in a few weeks, not to return until next year. when i entered the studio and took my first look at parade 45, here's what i saw:
8 AM: as i prepare to meditate, i sit to write this brief post in the still very cool morning air streaming through the open windows in our west facing living room, looking across the valley at mt. blanca. today we'll experience more monsoonal flow, which moves up from mexico this time of year and brings afternoon storms. before coming upstairs, i shot this photo of one of the 2 new collages (see my 6/21 post). it looks beautiful in it's little frame, and my inclination is to keep and not sell it. i'm so curious to see what i do once i complete this round of parade paintings and begin once again to make abstract collages. i understand this casals quote more every single day:
today mikela had a brand new taste; one of the 4 new beans i received yesterday from sweetmarias.com. here's a review i found online:
Kenya Kirinyaga Karimikui #1 Blind cupping event Submitted by ceschooley on Wed, 08/14/2013 - 11:55. Goodness gracious, this coffee is so incredibly juicy and bright and lovely Grape, florals, intense sweetness. Some lemon, bergamot, and currant but also passion fruit and more pleasantly pungent floral fruits. This is a ridiculous coffee, really vivid, so good.
This lot of Karimikui is one of those coffees that you just want to sit with for a while to take in all it has to offer. The fragrance is complex and sweet, with an array of tropical fruits, naturally processed sugars, and sweet spices. Hot water brings on an intense smell of brown sugar and nutmeg, as well as papaya and canned pineapple. The break is floral and carries with it a note of caramel sweetness. This is definitely a profile that is subject to roast and peak complexity is found in the City to City+ range - dark roasts will flatten acidity and tone down the fruit flavors a bit, but are still nice. There are plenty of fruits in the cup, but not so much "wild" like some other Kenyan coffees. There's a balance of well developed sugars and mild fruits that become more apparent as the cup cools. This coffee has plenty of creamy caramel sweetness, like those little square Kraft caramels. Valencia orange (juicing oranges), pink lemonade, guava, fruit punch, and green grape are some of the flavors that come to mind as this coffee cools. It's a bodied Kenya and the saturated sweetness makes for a pleasing, juice-like mouthfeel. This would make such a great Kenya single-origin espresso option.
today's watch & strap choices
so today, for her first thermos of two, rather than the intuitive blends i've been preparing for her, she got the pure bean, since it's a new taste & i didn't want it adulterated by other beans. it delivered. spectacular cup! i can't drink a lot of coffee; it upsets my intestines. so every morning i have half a cup of her second thermos, which leaves plenty for her, along with toast & cheese....a different one every day. so a different coffee taste, a different cheese and usually different watch or watch strap. i guess i just love rich blends of sensory experiences. but my watch and watch strap obsession is exactly that, and i have to keep vigilant or it can literally take over.
i really look forward to continuing work on parade 45, which thus far seems to be one of those landmark paintings. we'll see how it goes. more once i'm back to work and can share some new pics of the painting's progress.