The Fly Cult

This post is disgusting; I am well aware of that.

I get flies in my kitchen.

It's a thing with where I am in the building- second floor, facing the back where the garbage is.  There is a fly light outside but they still come in. They are in the laundry room too, which is right below me.

Over the years I have tried many things to get rid of the flies.

The most fun was the electric flyswatter.

The most effective is the old-school fly swatter and fly traps.

I had a fly trap over my kitchen entrance for months with no visitors.  And then this week, suddenly, the flies started congregating in a circle on this particular trap.

It's REALLY weird...!!

I kept it up longer than I normally would because they all just kept getting stuck in a circle.  I wanted to see how long that would last until it just got too gross.

And when I went to finally dispose of this trap, yet another one appeared!!

Yeah I know it's gross.
Rest assured it's gone.

When the best pillow.....

 ... is your BFF's butt!

Printer Insanity

My Medieval Bees painting sold.
I put it in a floater frame and went to print out the paperwork... which is always a war with my awful stupid terrible printer.

My printer is a stupid HP inkjet that is about 12 years old and throws a fit every time I want to print.
And yet, I never replaced it because I don't use it all that often.  But when I need it, I need it!!

Well, I finally just lost my shit with my stupid printer and got a new one.

Apparently, Ecotanks are far superior to Inkjets (what isn't?) and the ink will actually... last for more than 2 prints.

I am very hopeful this printer won't break my sanity.

Strand Therapy

Today at the office I texted Kedrin on a last-minute whim to see if she maybe would want to meet after work and go to The Strand.

I knew she would say yes and she did.

Look at these wonderful plant plushies!

Of course I went to the illuminated manuscript section.

This looked really familiar.

Meaning I thought I did, in fact, already have it.

I did not get this book but loved this image.

I think I had one of these plants in college.

This book was, unfortunately, plastic-wrapped.

I would have LOVED to flip through it!

Pebbles helped confirm that I do, in fact, already have The Hours of Etienne Chevalier!

Back to the Boathouse

 I have been asked to be  keyholder at the boathouse.

Today there was a short info session on what I need to do, which is basically everything I'm already doing. And I'll get a key so I can open and close and not have to wait for anyone- very convenient!

It was good to be back.

Someone made Hector his very own sign.

I really like this tree and think it would be a good painting spot.

The Adulting List

I have been taking care of some pretty intense Adult Stuff over the last several weeks, and I'm still in the middle of it.

It will likely go into next month.

I have to do it a little at a time, it's overwhelming.

But I'm getting there!

DONE:

*The FAFSA

*CSS Profile

I hate doing these but I have to for Daya to keep her financial aid.

It's not as bad as it was the first year because we already know our aid number and there are no surprises.

*Taxes

*All Beneficiary Updates on Everything

*Fireproof safe... I got one!

*Moving my managed brokerage accounts

So... I have had a couple of accounts under management for many years.  When I first set them up there were no fees and the corporate structure of the managing company was completely different.  And my advisor met with me quarterly.

Then he left and the company went through a bunch of corporate actions.

They switched over to a monthly fee structure.

A team manages everything and I never hear from them unless I reach out.

I have been thinking about changing for a while but have not had the mental bandwidth to deal with it, and so I left it alone.

But my tax guy pointed out I have capital losses- AGAIN- for at least the second year n a row- and it's even more than I can write off on my taxes.

AND I'm paying fees.

Well, I can lose my own money all on my own for free, 

thank you very much.

So I contacted my finance person and let them know I'm initiating an account transfer.

They weren't very nice.

They were a bit snarky, actually.

Said they did losses as a tax strategy to offset gains and I won't get that advantage by moving.

Yes I have heard of that but I think it's BULLSHIT.

They are constantly trading ETFs and I'm paying fees.

I don't have enough money to make capital losses worthwhile.

And if they weren't trading constantly, I wouldn't have to worry about capital gains!!!

So I did that.

IN-PROGRESS

*lawyer/estate planning

I am updating my will and doing the POA and healthcare proxies, for me and also the same for Daya.

It's all a lot and puts a person in a weird mindset but it needs to be done.

OMG it really has been a lot and very overwhelming, but when it is all done I will feel a lot better, knowing all my affairs are in order. 

Well, Daya wanted to be an adult so badly... and now a few months after 18 she's an adult with an IRA and a will. 

Waiting for the Train

Here is a fellow New Yorker waiting for the train.

Pigment Boxes

I may have reached the same point with egg tempera pigments that I am at with pastels... I'm not allowed to buy anymore.

I keep thinking I'm done, I have everything I need..... and then........

And my travel kit (which I bring to class every week) keeps expanding!

So I'm trying to reduce the things I need to schlep.

A while back Sid sent me two painting-hacked cigar boxes.

I pulled them both out and decided on the first one to use in class for small tempera work, instead f my larger pochade boxes.

Here are both boxes.  I have not used the second one Sid sent yet.

The first one I have used many times, mostly for very small on-location gouache, even though it is an oils setup.  (The same one Abby Ryan uses.)

I got this nice box (and yet more glass bottles) at Kremer.

This plus a large Titanium White jar is all I need.

__PRESENT

Number!

It's a small thing, but I finally got my permanent volunteer number on the hotline today.

I guess I'm.... official...? Graduated? Accepted as staying? No Longer a Newbie?

It takes several months before they figure out of you're going to stay or not.

A lot of people leave.

I had no idea beforehand- I just showed up for my shift and suddenly I had my number.

For the most part I like the hotline and I don't mind going there and the time commitment.

It gets me out of my own head in a way that I really need sometimes.  Other things get me out of my head too, but the hotline does it in a particular kind of way that is hard to describe, on a different level, and I didn't even realize that until recently. Its a balance I need somehow.

Anyhow, I have my official number and have made it through the Newbie Months.

Being new on the hotline is very, very difficult and extremely weird and scary but it did get a lot better.

It's the kind of thing you have to get used to and then it's fine.  But it does take a while.

I'm glad I stuck it out.

Apples, Trees, or Something........

Anyone who knows me for 5 minutes knows I have tea in my veins instead of blood.

Black, green, herbal... I am constantly drinking tea.

Daya also drinks tea.

Mostly herbal.

We do have an astounding amount of tea in this household, and we also go through an astounding amount of it.

Daya might be worse than I am... this is an example of her nightly tea brewing...

Yes all these are hers, brewed at the same time.

She will drink all of it.

I am likely to go through 3-4 large cups a night as well, but I use one cup at a time.....

I can't tell her she might be a little bit like me......

Egg Tempera Show!

Tonight was the opening of my egg tempera class show at The Art Students League!

Several of my friends came, more than I thought would actually show up...!  and one co-worker.  It was SO NICE to feel so supported... and the evening really was wonderful.

I haven't had paintings in a show since probably college.

Daya let me take her picture next to her portrait.

I took a picture of my teacher, Doug, taking a picture.

Everyone thinks egg tempera is "egg tempura".
I have never seen "egg tempura" on any Japanese menu, have you?

Oh, even the Art Students League email announcing the show said TEMPURA.

It's Tempera.

Italian.

Ancient.

TEMPERA.

__PRESENT

Back to Yoga

Today I went back to yoga for the first time since......... March 2020.........

I do not know how 4 years passed.

I have been meaning to get back for the last 2 years or so, and .... I don't know, even though I knew I needed to go back, and also wanted to, there was something about it that I must have been avoiding.

A sadness, maybe.

A recollection of lockdown.

There has been a lot of change there.

In order to stay afloat, Lavender and Lotus on the second floor have been rented out.

The pictures that were hanging for literally decades on the second floor are gone.

It may sound strange but Integral Yoga Institute connects the dots in my life.

I don't know how else to put it.

It's very strange and weird but there you have it.

There is something about the building itself.

I have gone there since prenatal yoga in 2005.

Tonight I went back.

My old teacher is not there anymore and.... I really miss her.

Her class was amazing. It went beyond a typical yoga class.

I have emailed her to see if she is ok post-pandemic but haven't heard back.

I hope she is ok.

Class was ok, I am a little rusty but muscle memory does kick in.

It felt good.

I did a fairly advanced yoga class regularly for YEARS and even after the long hiatus, I still did just fine.

The teacher tonight isn't my favorite though, so I need to find a different class/teacher I like.

It was sad and strange to be back.

So much change layered with things that have been the same for decades.

I will go back, and it will be easier now after being back this first time.

I do feel sad and strange and melancholy, but I also needed to go back and reconnect a dot post-pandemic.

I have to say this somewhere........

 ....... in some ways, my kid is just like me...........

Of course I can never tell her that.

Anyone who knows me knows I drink a stupid amount of tea.

Black and herbal.

After my morning black tea I just switch right over to many various herbal teas and drink that all day every day.

When Daya was younger she wanted nothing to do with my teas.

These days, however, she's as hooked as I am.

When she gets home at night, she makes tea:

Yes, those are 2 large cups each with  3-4 tea bags in them.

I don't even do that......

She's worse than I am!

We go through massive amounts of tea in this household.

Gansevoort Geese

Today was a good day to go out and pain, even if it was a bit chilly.

I am definitely prepared for chilly.

Today I decided to check out painting spots at the new Gansevoort Beach.
I have only been here once on a kayak trip.

There were geese.

They honked a lot.

I had to paint them.

8x10 oil

Today was one of those lighting situations where everything looked one way when I started but was completely different about halfway in.

When this happens (it almost always does) I usually go with how everything started, unless there is a good reason to change it.

This is the dreadful log flume kayak landing.

It's actually kind of fun to be able to view it from that perspective and experience.

Geese

Medieval Bees

Here is the last painting in my medieval animals series (for now)... the show hanging is soon and I really had to finish tonight.

5x7 egg tempera and metal leaf

Pebbles..... hindered.

Pigment palette

Oh Pebbles!

On Tuesday Pebbles had her 6 month checkup.

It's not a big deal, just something I have to do for her Atenolol refill.

She's fine except she lost 1/4 lb since August, which was bad news.
She's a very little cat and despite my efforts, will not gain weight.

Every time she goes to the vet she has lost a little more.

I have been very intentionally trying to bulk her up but I guess it isn't working.

So............... bloodwork.

I was not planning on bloodwork, and it has gotten stupid-expensive.

Everything about the vet has skyrocketed.

It's really bad.

As it turns out, aside from kidney levels in the high range of normal- and they are still in normal range--- she's fine. The vet says try rx food and that's expensive too.

So, once again Pebbles did what she does best gives me a fright that is VERY expensive and turns out to be nothing wrong.

I have dropped an unexpected $700 on the cat.

The vet recommended the renal diet dry food (Royal Canin) and it's very high calorie so hopefully she won't lose more weight. She does like it so that's good.

Pebbles got over the vet visit pretty fast.

Here she is at her favorite past time, sitting on the paper shredder yelling at me.