Janis-is-Awesome-and-Famous Weekend

This week we got to spend some time with "Aunt Janis" and "Grandma." My older sister, Janis, is a world-renowned ceramic artist and was featured in a documentary about balancing art and motherhood. The filmmaker invited the featured artists and a few of their moms to spend a weekend with her at her house on Cape Cod. My sister and mom flew in on Thursday and we spent a few hours chatting and making really awesome vegan food. On Friday, Bruce and I drove down and spent a few hours on Cape Cod and we got to sit in on a private screening of the film, called "Who Does She Think She Is?" It was an excellent documentary following the everyday lives of five artists who had to overcome familial and sexist obstacles. Janis definitely fit the bill for this movie: she has five kids and only escapes to her studio when her kids are at soccer or napping.
The filmmaker's house has a bay in the backyard with a dock, boat, and the works. Bruce loved fishing mussel shells and sludge off the bottom of the bay.
Aunt Janis even found a couple crabs.
This is the neighbor's place. Wow.
Bruce got lots of quality Grandma time, jumping on the trampoline for a loooong time. He gave Grandma a hard workout.
This place is kid heaven. A trampoline, bugs, fishing, swimming, and a gigantic ball.

While Grandma played with Bruce, I relaxed and chatted with the artists. We got home late last night and finally met up with Scott, who is up to his eyeballs in work and MCAT studying. The next morning he made me a fancy breakfast: egg-white omelet with tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, and peppers. Whole-grain toast too.
Yum. Thanks Scott.
On our way down to the Cape, we stopped at IKEA and picked up some art supplies. After all that talk of art on Friday, we had to take some action. Bruce is not a big fan of crayons, but he happens to love painting.
One of the things my sister said that stuck with me is that art helps her to have something "that records her time," as she put it. As moms, we clean houses that get messed and make food that gets eaten and wash clothes that get dirty. Sometimes it seems that everything we do gets undone! For Janis, making ceramic sculptures is something that she does that lasts a bit more permanently than clean laundry and satisfies her craving to create. What do I think she is? AWESOME.