A Castle & a Boat & a Drawbridge & Horses & KITTENS!

My friend Cathy has ten cats.  Three of them are new kittens!  They are so cute.  She said "Come up and see them!" So I said "Ok!"

And we went up this past weekend. We had a wonderful time. We went out to the farm where her horse Pharoh lived for many years. We went on the ferry.  We went to Gillette Castle. We went to Mystic. And Rhode Island, just because we could.

The last time I saw Gillette Castle, I was in fourth grade- Daya's exact same age.

 Buddy

 Cinderella

 Connecticut River

 Mystic

 Weight operated drawbridge

KITTENS!!!

Artisanal Artesian Water

I saw an ad for Artesian Water. It is probably artisanal as well.

Evamor

THIS IS DEFINITELY HIPSTER WATER.

My monthly water bill:  $0 

If you multiply that by 12, it comes out to $0.

Oh, wait.  Apparently this was done a few years ago.

I'm not a fan of bottled water in general.  That's a lot of plastic.  And it is pointless unless you live in an area that does not have a safe water supply, which, sadly is the case in many parts of the world. Also, if you bathe and cook and brush your teeth etc with regular tap water that's the same as drinking it.

Instead of hipsterifying our own good water,

 why aren't these efforts focused on people who actually NEED it?

Oh wait.  They can't pay $4.50 for a bottle of water.  Nevermind, silly me, I forgot.

Give me good old NYC tap water. We have really good water here.  And if it is the best water for making pizza dough, it's good enough for me.

If you want alkaline water 

(which is extremely good for you),

just squeeze some fresh lemon in it.  

The end.

Floating

If there is something that is the opposite of anxiety, I have it.  Aside from the things I really have to care about- Daya, work, my friends, and the general being-a-responsible-mature-adult kind of stuff- I really could not care less about much of anything else.  Great Things which are problems- real problems- over which I have no control or influence...I just have to let them be and do the best I can on the very small scale to which I have access.

The things which I care about, I care very, VERY much about. Everything else?  Whatever.

It isn't apathy. Apathy is the wrong word.  I do not lack interest or concern. I am very much engaged. It is just that, right now, there is very little that really bothers or concerns me.  The small stuff doesn't bother me. Junk at work does not bother me. The Big Stuff....I just have to let it be, I can't do anything about it aside from the small things I already do, so I just don't worry about it.

This floaty unconcerned state....I'm not sure what to call it....I am wondering if maybe I am a little too unconcerned and relaxed.  This is very odd, but I don't know if I really am just unconcerned and relaxed, or it is some kind of reaction to...... everything.  I don't know if it is a shut-down thing to having to do too much, or if I really am just floating along happy to mind my own business and do my own thing. I don't know if it is an effect, a result, of Important Thing after Important Thing falling away, over such a long time period of endurance, or if I have simply learned what is really important in life.

All the things I have to take care of are taken care of, reliably.  And beyond that, I can't worry.  Literally, I can't. Sometimes I try, just to see if I can, and I just can't. It is so strange, not knowing if this state is a good thing or not. And it is where I find myself, just floating through the days.

Yoga teaches to let go.  I find this to be very easy. Maybe too easy.

The other day I picked Daya up from dance, and it was a little late.  I got two slices  of pizza for her for dinner, and instead of rushing home we stopped to watch the sunset together. Because it was really pretty, and worth watching.  And it was nicer for her to enjoy her pizza and a sunset rather then on the train.

These were taken with my phone...I am looking forward to sunsets with my new camera.

Something Really Stupid

There is free wi-fi in the subway stations.  Only the stations, the tunnels weren't wired.

Sometimes this wi-fi is flaky.

Sometimes it doesn't work at all. But never fear, if you cannot be without wi-fi for 10 minutes, you can get help!

 You can call for help!

Nevermind that THERE IS NO CELL RECEPTION UNDERGROUND. 
And if there was, you would not need the wi-fi!

GENIUSES!!

Pretty Furball

Did I mention I also got a nice macro lens for my new camera?  I am very interested in doing some macro photography....have been for many years, actually... just never had good equipment.

I have a telephoto lens but I eventually want a better one...and I need a good wide angle lens...and more money.  I definitely need that, too.

Cats are always good to practice on.

Here is Furball being photogenic in front of my new macro lens.

(old) Lounge, Mulled

Did I mention I got a new camera?

I got a new camera.  She arrived this past Saturday, just in time for me to spend a day getting acquainted before putting her through some serious paces for the recital.

She is a Canon Rebel T5... a basic DSLR, but she does an excellent job and I love her rather madly.
I will post more about cameras another day. Perhaps over several days.

So, Urban Decay re-released Lounge.  (new) Lounge is much, MUCH better than (old) Lounge.

 old                                  new

 old                            new

See?

Anyhow, I will not wear (old) Lounge again, so there is really nothing else to do with it except mull it into oil paint. That's what everyone does, right?

This is very limited-edition oil paint.

Palette knife, linseed oil, (old) Lounge.

 Smoosh up (old) Lounge.

Dump it out

Add oil very gradually, mix to good consistency

Admire the pretty paint pile

Move it around to admire it some more

 Tube it up

Make swatches

(old) Lounge tints out to Indian Red.  Urban Decay would use a synthetic mars pigment, so it would be a PR101.  This is a VERY strong and overpowering pigment, so they must have used only a little to make it so sheer.

I thought maybe it could be duplicated...I swatched some WN Indian Red and some Vasari Caput Mortuum, which is also a mars red that tints a little more purple.  The Indian Red by itself is a little bit warmer.

I added some Williamsburg Interference Green.

It didn't mix well.  The effect is lost.  The interference green should be added over the Indian red as a separate layer. Indian red is seriously overpowering though.  I guess you could use more interference green and add a tiny amount of the Indian Red, but I admit I am a little bit stingy with my interference colors, and I used all I wanted to for these testing purposes.

Even though I made a very cute mini-tube, I changed my mind and decided it really wasn't enough to save, and there wasn't enough in the tube to make it airtight anyhow, so I toned a panel.

And that is how to make oil paint out of eye shadow.

Single Pigments- Alizarin

A lot of painters like to use single pigment paint, not mixes.  This is because mixing results can be very different. (Usually duller) Always check the pigment codes on the paint to see what's in there. That way you won't buy something with a fancy name that really is just ultramarine and titanium white, or something like that. Mix it yourself and you have more control.

I do have some mixes and I like them just fine.  They can be convenient and useful. But for my basics, I do prefer single pigments. I use single pigments more than I use mixes.

Here is a fun comparison chart with Alizarin.

Real Alizarin (PR83) is not exactly fugitive, but it has known lightfast issues.  Although I have never experienced it fading.

Vasari claims their Alizarin is lightfast.  I asked them directly about it, since I don't see how their PR83 is different than anyone else's. I got an answer about quality but I remain unconvinced.
Still, I am glad they make it.