Heat Wave Cats

Temps are up in the 90s this weekend which is disgusting.

Isis is miserable.

Daya's friend is staying over as well.
We all met on the train and went out to lunch.
I got bored waiting for their train and made this wonderful cat drawing..

The Parent Puzzle

Daya is having a friend over tomorrow to spend the night.

She has been at dance in rehearsals until late almost every night.
When she is home she is exhausted.

But her room is a disaster.
She tried to start cleaning it Weds evening, her only night off from dance.

She needed help.
So I asked her permission to clean her room.
The last time I cleaned Daya's room was the end of 5th grade.
It's her space and i leave it alone.

But having a guest over is another matter.

So Daya let me clean her room.

100% of non-parents who have seen this picture are shocked at the chaos and cannot find the cat.

100% of the parents who have seen this picture think the room is pretty normal for a kid and can find the cat pretty easily.

I had some helpers.

2 hours later......

In the afternoon, I went to ballet class parent observation.
It's still over Zoom.

All the Stairs

There was a dance PA meting in person at school today, and I went.
It was good to be back in-person.

I liked this poem on the train:

I went up alllll the stairs.  All of them.
They are nevrending.

Dance is on the 8th floor but there is the mezzanine which is a full set of flights up so it' like 9 floors.

Phew!

Mr Sinacori and Ms Mathesius asked me to paint at the senior dance concert! How fun is that?
The painting I did... well, it is a print actually- of parent observation when Daya was a Freshman is hanging in the dance office. It's the little yellowish one in the middle.

I'm going to do all three shows, I have no idea how yet but I will get a special seat and no one can bug me because Ms Mathesius said so!

Terrible Painting Outing

This morning I knew there would be good fog again so I woke up at stupid o'clock (like 6am) to go out and paint it.  Daya has a dr appt at 11 am so I decided to walk over to Flushing Meadows and stay close to home.

This is proof that there really was a Dense Fog Advisory:

.... except that there was no fog.

Since I took all the effort to get up and out, I decided to go paint anyhow.
It was terrible.

Lessons learned....

1. The overpass into the park is at 64th rd. not 67th ave/st/dr whatever.  It's 64th-something.  Not higher.
So I got a little lost on the way over because I went too far east and came out onto the Grand Central at.... 65th -something.  (Dr, Ave, St,  dont know, doesnt matter.  The streets here are insane.)

If you know Queens you know what I mean.

2. Don't paint next to a playground.  Just don't.  Even when there are no kids there, because other people are there with their entire herd of dogs. This lady in the park had a WHOLE HERD of like 5 or 6 dogs, none of them on a leash or properly trained and they were all running around out of control and not listening to her.

I love dogs, I do.  But I DO NOT want them in my way while I am painting, and I do not want them nosing through all my gear because their owner can't and won't control them.  Also, I have solvent and I splash around sometimes. Its not the dogs' fault they are annoying, it is the owner's.

I must have told her 5 or six times to keep her dogs away from me.  The park guy also had to tell her.  It didn't work.  I called 311 and made a complaint... that won't work either.

There is a leash law.  All dogs in public have to be on a leash of no greater than 6 feet.  So this lady was absolutely in violation of the law.  I wouldn't care if they left me alone, especially after asking repeatedly. If you have a dog you MUST respect other people.

There was a very good painting waiting to happen at my spot, I had the whole thing before I started which is generally a good sign but I couldn't get into my groove.  The interruptions from the dogs really pissed me off and interrupted me.  Also I wasn't properly caffeinated and maybe also tired from waking up early 2 mornings in a row....... um and also last night I swam laps for 100 minutes so that was pretty tiring! I think I over-did it.

Over an hour in and the painting wasn't coming together at all and I was pissed off and grumpy- and I wanted to get home and have more tea before leaving again- so I called it done. It's a wipe.

***********
I was very exhausted today but too caffeinated to take a nap so I went to Chinatown.
And I got a new friend, which has been on my mind for a while now.
I love my new bamboo plant!

Fog on the Brookyn Bridge

Today I woke up early just so I could paint fog on the Brooklyn Bridge.
I went down to Elevated Acre again.
The fog changed about every 5 minutes or so.

I had to work really fast and this painting took about an hour.
There is something I really want to do with it that I did not do on-loacation and I actually might do it as a studio painting..... maybe more to come on that.

8x10 oil

Then I went to the Greenarket at Unton Square and there were turkey eggs!
I got a dozen.

I have never had turkey eggs before or even seen them! I LOVE eggs so really needed to get them.  In a week or 2 they will have pheasant eggs!

Turkey eggs are a little larger than chicken eggs but smaller than duck eggs. The yolk is larger but the white/yolk ratio is more like chicken than duck (which has a much larger yolk). The shell is much harder than a chicken egg. The yolk is a little paler and they taste more like chicken egg than duck egg does.

I like them a lot.

The Church in the Gardens

 I have been out painting after work for the last three evenings.
This painting took a bit over 4 hours over 3 days.  There are things I would change next time but for the difficulty level and end result I am pleased with it. I know where I messed up, no need to point it out.

Many people came by to say hi and say nice things, kids too which is always really special.

When I finished an Asian couple (I think Chinese?) was walking by, they said nothing but smiled and started clapping.  The positive energy people give me is always humbling and astounding, it is such a gift and keeps me going, often when I need it most.

8x10 oil

finished:

Progress and location shots

How I Saved $1300

Remember how Isis needed a trachea wash to figure out why she has been coughing?

I might have figured it out.

She went for her annual exam.  Trachea wash scheduled.   Then I was at Cathy's and Sharon's and when I was home from those places the cat was not coughing.

Wow, weird.

So I postponed the procedure for observation.

No coughing.
So, SO weird.

Then on Mothers Day weekend, annoyingly the building heat came on and Isis started coughing.  So did Pebbles but not as bad.
I think it is the building heat, and I'm not putting my wallet or cat thru this procedure.  I was ready to do it, I was very concerned.
The heat bothers me too so I really get it.

I think the Universe was really watching out for me, what timing!!!

Cat pictures:

Mothers Day

This is always a hard day for me.

At least this year Daya acknowledged it.  First thing in the morning she said Happy Mothers Day kind of as a token  gesture, that's how it came across anyhow, then disappeared in her room and I didn't see her at all for the rest of the day.

Maybe in the future this will be a better day.

Thor Paints Under a Bridge

I woke up early.

Then early this morning Thor texted me asking if I knew any covered areas in Central Park around
W 86th St.  Because he knew I would know, which is completely true.  Also because he didnt have his car and his daughter was in Hebrew school until noon.

I said maybe under a bridge?? which might be cool???  and I could look it up if he wanted.
We both came up with Winterdale Arch at the same time.
He said wanna join?

Duh, of course... my NJ painting plans got rained out and I had zero idea what to do with myself today but I wanted it to involve painting.

Also, painting with Thor is always wonderful.

Grace texted me asking what I was doing today, and I got to say "I'm painting under a bridge with a guy named Thor."

This is not something everyone gets to say.

Thor is a better painter than I am and I suck up his vibes. Also if your name is Thor you are automatically amazing. (I met a kid named Odin once.  His life is set.)

It was miserable-cold-raily and miserable but there were horses. Thor had to leave before me o get his daughter.
I stayed as long as I could but really went too fast to the finish due to sheer physical misery.
And when  say misery I really mean MISERY.

This was the first time either of us ever painted under a bridge... like the plein air bums we are.

Thor:

About 60% of this was done from memory in misery.

The Horse Patrol ( I have seen them before) spent a while under the bridge hiding from the rain.

Thor took these pics of me painting. I look ridiculous.

Afterwards I had to go to Blick to get a few thigs.
Blick is a fun place but also spendy.

I had an umbrella with me and it was broken and I accidentally left it at the uptown 23rd street station.  I did go back to see if it was still there after 1 stop but it wasn't.
That's the universe telling me to get a new dang umbrella already.

Spring in Riverside Park

Here's a painting that was fun to do, Riverside Park in the 70s, like 74th or 76th maybe.
I haven't painted here since before my cataract surgery.
This is a good way to start the month of May.

8x10 oil