My most favourite thing about my break from the-job-that-pays is that I have an extended period of putter time. Puttering is bliss in my books, and nothing pleases me more than doing several things while the tools are out.

Yesterday I made a base for the cat condos – a remarkable, remotely-maintained corner of my property which affords me the luxury of having cats without looking after them. The accumulated stack of pallets was holding moisture against the building where I plan to store my belongings while I travel the world, and so it became my mission to design – with the help of the cat ladies – a skunk and winter storm proof base for the shelter.

As is often the case, it was while looking the other way that a solution to an unrelated problem became manifest: I am now almost 92.7% sure that the cat condo base will be part of my Art in the Open installation. This will please the skunk no end as it means unfettered access to kitty kibble until my hangover clears well after the 24th of August.

I have struggled for so long to establish a comfort level with the seeming banality of my domestic materials. Perhaps, in the end, puttering is my practice.

Painting Cat Condos. Canada Day, 2010