Storage Units Make Great Neighborhoods

Photos by Christina Storozkova

I found this interesting article on www.handsonbuildergrower.blogspot.com :

Color Matching by the Color Blind

Color matching is an important aspect of the printing industry and something I got pretty good at after 8 years in the industry. Generally, when a color is not right it needs one of five colors to make it right - red, blue, yellow, black, or white/clear. 15 years later, I still describe colors as having more of one primary color and less of another (I have never been good at naming all the crayon colors).

Sometimes when we were stumped, we would ask our color-blind associate to help us. He could only see color as gray, but he could tell if one gray was darker (denser) than another and that would help us make the adjustments that to color that the rest of us couldn't see.

This was a surprise to me, that a color blind person could help match colors. When I asked around about it, I was told that color blind people were used to look at aerial photos during World War II. They did not see the camoflage. They could pick out hidden artillery or tanks that others wouldn't see.

Think about that the next time you are picking out numbers from the colored dots at the eye doctors office.

With the warmer weather comes the inevitable days spent at the creek. There is a place nearby where two branches meet. The water is clear, and there's ample shade and a sandy beach on which to have a picnic. There is an old rail road trestle whose stone walls are still standing strong. The kids enjoy a safe place to climb and descend. The other day we found some charcoal from a small fire pit, and promptly set out to decorate the larger stones nearby. These afternoons are well spent with friends and their young ones.

I've been sick this week, hiding underneath my sleeping bag, laying on the couch for days. The kids have gotten used to fending for themselves. Sure, I've gotten up to make a few meals, wash the dishes and cook up a strong pot of soup. Because of sheer exhaustion, coupled by a paradoxical case of insomnia, I feel as if I have reached some new threshold of mothering. Yesterday afternoon I had to get out of the house. My husband and the kids lit a small fire outside. I laid down on the grass to watch the clouds roll by and listen to the twilight bird songs. I wish I had a week off from mothering, in full health!

With this incredible amount of 'free time' to get better, I've been rereading piles of favorite books: anything written or illustrated by Barbara Cooney, David Wiesner's visual journey's and
Charlotte and David Yue's series on various Native American tribes. I set up a short playlist of favorite Ray Charles songs: "Busted", "It's Not Easy Being Green", and "Ring of Fire". This too shall pass, and soon I will be back in good health.