31 Days Finally Done

I am so ready for May to be over.

This month has been dumb and long and ridiculous.

It has been April Part 2.

Today Janae and I had a painting date.

Of course there was rain and wind in the morning forecast.

I thought the afternoon would be ok to paint outside but maybe a little cold.

As it turned out, it was a perfect day to be outside and it wasn't too cold at all!

We went to Green-Wood Cemetery and painted over by the koi pond.

Overall I feel successful with practicing simplification.

I have painted lily pads before and wanted to take a different approach.

Specifically, I wanted to see the lily pads as masses, not render every single one. I kind of got to an ok point with it but I'll have to try again in another painting.

8x10 oil

There was a flappy duck who came to play with the fish:

And some good clouds and tree stumps:

I Cannot.

Right now it is after work and I was going to go out and paint until I looked at the weather.

Rockaway- FEELS LIKE 54.

54 is actually quite cold to paint in, and it is the end of May and I just can't bring myself to bring out my wool underlayers. Yes I love my subzero painting and 54 is much warmer than that but I am not in that space mentally. I was in Feb/March/April.  Not the end of May.

No. 

I just don't feel like being cold on the beach tonight.

And to add insult to injury...

Good Encounters

Today is Memorial Day, and that means a boathouse potluck.

Sometimes they are good and sometimes they aren't.

I headed out a bit late and stopped at Trader Joes on Spring Street to get some Boathouse Food.

Derek the cashier rang up my order.

I was wearing my boathouse shirt and he knows the boathouse and has been there before, but it's been a while. He wants to go back with his son and husband. 

It was one of those good-person-energy encounters that just makes you feel good all over.

Just strangers connecting for a moment in a positive way.

A reminder there are some wonderful people in the world, and right here in NYC.

Derek took a pin off his shirt and gave it to me.

It's a love button!

It is one of those small things that just had a lot of very good energy, and it really made my day.

*******

Our boathouse potluck was small this year but all the right people were there and it was a good time.

Seedy & Nutty

I didn't get any sleep last night. None. Not even a little.

But I still went to the boathouse right after the overnight to help open.

Mark always brings wonderful fresh bagels from the place in his neighborhood in Brooklyn.

They really are on another level.

It's still way too cold for memorial day weekend.

I thought I would stay at the boathouse longer, but a lot of volunteers showed up so I took off.

The no-sleep was starting to hit.

On the First Day of Kayak Season.......

4 hours on patrol with wicked wind

3 people towed (quite the workout!)

1 empty double towed (the people in it fell out, they were fine)

1 possibly intoxicated person

1 phone in the river for the river gods

It was COLD out and I got RAINED ON TWICE

Great clouds tho...

There was a small opening day celebration after.

I was COLD.

I was DAMP.

I knew I might be sore tomorrow.

So, I decided to go home and soak in a steaming hot epsom salt bath.

7:30pm: While I was waiting for the E train at Canal St, I got a phone call from the hotline.... any way I could do the overnight RIGHT NOW TONIGHT?

Well, I was just there on Thursday and shifts are always spaced out more than that, but I said yes.

Sure, why not? No reason I can't, they really need help, and I was on for the overnight on Tuesday anyhow.

Now I'm not, I get my night back which is nice.

So, no epsom salt bath for me (or sleep) but I will bring my foam roller to the hotline.

Freezing on the Beach

Finally we have one night of no rain before it starts up again.

I had to get out so I went to the beach to catch the sunset.

This is a one hour painting and it was freezing cold, even though I thought I dressed properly.

8x10 oil, Rockaway around Beach 118th

The weather isn't getting any nicer this week.

We do it for fun, we do it for free!

Today was a work day to prep for season opening.

Everton made a custom Pier 26 boathouse song...... the first version refrain says "We do it for fun, we do it for free"... if your mind isn't in the gutter, or you are 6 years old, it's innocent enough.

The second version says 'We paddle for fun, we paddle for free"... I like the first one better.

There may or may not have been a dance choreographed on the dock, and there may or may not be a rather epic dance video starring me.... this video definitely qualifies me to teach the boathouse Safe Space class.  It will end up in the end of year video.

The world is not ready for my dance video, it's too epic and I didn't even have to go to Juilliard.  

We dropped buoys and had to bring some back in because they weren't anchored enough and they were floating away!

We also have 4 new deck boats...they are good, I like them.

Bitz also doing it for fun and for free....

The Boathouse Trash Panda.  Literally.

I thought April was over.

Yesterday it rained.

Today it rains.

This whole week is rain rain rain rain and I'm tired of it!

It's MAY! I'm supposed to be out painting!!

Mothers Day Thoughts and Painting

Today is Mothers Day, I have no plans except the ones I make myself.

Since yesterday I was lazy and did nothing, I decided to go out today.

I am not in the mood for crowds.

And everyone will be out this weekend because it finally isn't raining and it's Mothers Day.

Daya texted me, which was nice.

It's always hit-or-miss if I hear from her so I'm glad she at least sent a text.

I actually haven't heard anything from Daya for almost a month before today.

And that is ok. I don't mind at all.

Actually, I discovered I need it.

That's not to say she can't contact me any time, of course she can, but if she doesn't that's fine.

I am still very much in Attempted Recovery Mode, and it hasn't been very long. Just this school year, really, since she has been living in the dorms.

I discovered I need time and space away.

She moves back home next weekend and I will lose the wonderful privacy and solitude of my home.

I LOVE being in my own space and having it to myself. It's one of my favorite things about my life, and something I haven't experienced since my first apartment in my early 20s, but life was so different back then it's just not comparable.  So it's a first for me.

I am tired; I am exhausted from the last 20 years... in a place deeper than my bones.

My self care is excellent, I do the things I want to do, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

I might just need time and space and distance.

*******

My own mother is still hanging on, apparently she's talking in sentences now.

She is essentially on her end-of-life-whenever-that-happens hospice bed, has been for a few months now, and she has not asked for or mentioned either of her children.

My job is to find her burial urn.

That's all I have to say about that.

*******

I walked to NJ today to just be quiet in the woods and move around.

I went a little further on the Long Path, up to Allison Park.

It is nice there and I'll have to go back.

The grass there is nice and it was good to paint barefoot.

I did one painting, a little 6x8 oil:

A few pictures:

The entrance from the woods to the bridge:

*********

So, this is interesting and I don't know what to make of it because after my last overnight shift on the hotline, I discovered NYC Well doesn't exist anymore. It was rolled into NYC 988.

There are NYC Well signs all over the GW Bridge.

But now nyc.gov/nycwell redirects to NYC 988.

NYC 988 - Talk. Text. Chat. 24/7

This must be a fairly recent change, the hotline wasn't aware of it and I let them know.

I personally think this is kind of a problem because people are scared of 988 and now that's where they have to go.

*********

This morning was my last time going to feed Bob and Esmeralda.

They are great cats. Maybe one day I will see them again.

100% of the $$ I got went to vet bills for Pebbles........

This is my favorite thing

 Oh my god I love the power washer!

The right side of the dock was covered in thick moss and algae.

I power washed the whole thing.

It took over 2 hours.

The power washer is my favorite thing ever, it is very zen and satisfying.

I should have taken a good before picture, but you can kind of see all the moss here:

I am so proud of this dock.

I got on the train covered in algae.

******

I have a cat sitting job in the neighborhood this week.

It was Daya's job but she bailed so I took it.

This is Bob.

Esmeralda is a longhair grey cat but she likes to hide.

Bob is a whore, just like Pebbles.

Their person left the tv on for them on a pet channel.

It is so adorable. It just shows really cute animal videos.

This guy sure loves his cats!

This sign is in my neighborhood: