Ok, here is a happier post mostly

The Winter Dance Showcase at LaGuardia last night was great. They are so so so good...!!

There is something relaxing about watching a performance that your kid is not in.

There is no stress involved.... having a good seat, the stress and prep leading up to the show, dealing with your kid being in a pit of despair after the show because they thought they were horrible....

It's nice to come and go and just relax.

And I was so happy Grace came in from NJ to join me.

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I still feel like crap, I really do, January is a slog.

My friend's husband just lost his job and that is a problem.

My company just cut people and I am told more cuts are coming in 2025. 

Layoffs weigh heavily on me as well, they always have. 

It's nothing new but it never gets easier.

The anxiety and stress of it gets worse with time, as I get older and as the world changes.

Everything feels unstable.

*******

But here is something nicer...paint!  When I forgot my white paint at Trinity Church I told myself I was going to prevent that from happening again by having duplicates as needed for my studio, instead of raiding my plein air pack.

I do have a LOT of paint in-studio from over the years but the colors aren't my standard palette, or it is very fancy paint that I won't use for practice studio studies. Or it is special-use only paint.

Over my years of being on WetCanvas (I am nostalgic about those days and miss it) I learned a lot and was in full-on experiment mode, and I collected and tried everything. It's why I know so much about materials. 

But for a while now I have been working with a pretty standard classical palette (plus turquoise).

I know how it mixes and how it works and it does everything I need it to do.
I'll switch some stuff now and then when I'm trying something new, but my palette has become standard. 

I got a couple refills for studio and plein air, and some duplicates so I will never leave a color at home again!