Oh, this was magical! Perhaps you think a day spent moving the contents of a very full art studio, mostly in the rain, cannot be so, but magic seeped in like the rainwater, and everything took on a happy, glowing kind of quality. Yes, there was lots of stuff to move, but I took breaks to enjoy wonderful things – the Dia de los Muertos altars at Casa Ramirez on 19th Street, a delicious açai bowl I ate on John’s couch while watching scary videos, an impromptu picnic with my friend at Whole Foods – and also wonderful stuff happened: my friend came to help me, rain and all, and we loaded a lot of stuff in her big SUV (though I have to say my little car fits way more than I would have thought). She gave me a homemade lotion that smells absolutely amazing! And I think it was after we’d unloaded her SUV, and had our impromptu picnic at Whole Foods, after I took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes so I could run back to the gallery to finish spackling the walls, that I realized the most magical thing of all: my new place is starting to feel like home. I’m comfortable here, happy to return. It feels good. Despite being a large place, on two levels, it’s even starting to feel cozy. And I haven’t even hung the paintings yet!
Then I returned to the Heights. It was dark and drizzling and it definitely felt like a magical night. John and Ryan were waiting for trick or treaters with a big bowl of candy. Bobby and Nancy were afraid of the thunder. I went into the Chrysalis and went to work. The lights went off and the neighbors gathered on the porch next door all screamed. It occurred to me that it was Halloween and I was alone in the dark during a thunderstorm. I remembered the time I told Lily that the Chrysalis was haunted. The lights came back on, though. I continued spackling. The pink unicorn – one of my favorite paint stains on the floor of my studio – seemed to smile. I can’t believe I’m out of the Chrysalis, the place of so many experiences and memories over the past year. I will miss it a lot. But then again, I will come back to visit.
