Isis has an ear infection

I really wanted to avoid taking Isis to the vet.

It's a huge major ordeal and she doesn't get over it for DAYS.

And she's aggressive afterwards and goes after Pebbles.

It also requires THREE sedatives.

Isis has lost 1/3 lb since April so I had to do bloodwork.

The bloodwork came back normal.

The vet bill was $742, $421 of that is bloodwork.

My friend's vet in Brooklyn charges 2-something for bloodwork... but they are still privately owned and I think that's the difference.

The vet is too damn expensive, really I think they markup on stuff a LOT.

The basic exam is now $95!

I know they have their costs etc but this is too much for me.

It's not sustainable and has me truly pondering if I will even have ONE cat anymore after my current three. And I have had cats my whole life and can't imagine life without them.

Open enrollment at work just opened yesterday, and we have a pet insurance benefit so I'm enrolling Isis only.  Furball is untreatable and Pebbles won't qualify because of her heart stuff.

According to the NY Times, vet prices have gone up 60% over the last decade, which seems about right to me, possibly more. I actually think more like 80%.

I definitely will never be able to afford three cats with this, and I'm not even sure ONE is sustainable anymore.  $742 for an ear infection. And that's without the $385 culture.

The basic yearly everything-is-fine now costs almost $600. 

And that is NOT covered by insurance.

And the thing is, I know the vets themselves aren't getting a lot of that money, I know a lot of it is going to investors and private equities who buy up practices as part of their portfolio of companies.

It's a racket.

And regular people and animals suffer.

Here is Isis, very stoned.

I found this book at the vet but it wasn't helpful for Isis' level of neurosis.

I love my cats, I am very attached to them.

But I also won't go into tens of thousands of debt like people do.

I also can't be one of those people who never takes their animals to the vet- there are a lot of those too.

It's not right and the animals do suffer.

Balance.

And I need to stay stable.

Everything already feels so precarious.

But I don't have to think about future cats or not right now, there will be fewer that I'll rescue for sure... I hope my three stay around for a long time.  They are a huge part of my life.

Anyhow Isis is getting her treatment and she'll be ok.

New Rosemarys & Puff the Magic Badger Goes Outside

In my egg tempera class today, I was having thoughts of new Rosemary Ivories for plein air.

My birthday is soon, and the store at the League carries a few lines of Rosemary & Co brushes, so I got six- 4 ivories and 2 evergreens.

These brushes are handmade in the UK and really are the most superior brushes out there.

Plus they are beautiful and last forever.

I also decided to add Puff the Magic Badger into my plein air brushes.

I have had him for many years; he's also a Rosemary brush.

He's a blender brush.

I do have a dedicated blender but I want to take Puff outside and see how he does.

Here is my current updated plein air brush pack.

Only 6 are new (the Rosemarys in the middle), I have kept up with being obsessive about good brush care, and it does make a huge difference.

Isis, Squared

I got a small box in the mail.

Isis tried to go in it.

I told her she would not fit in that box, and she sure showed me...

Brooklyn Bridge from Governor's Island

Today was the annual boathouse bbq on Governor's Island.

I brought paint again.

We were in a different location this year, much closer to the ferry.

The view was not great, I wouldn't have chosen this on my own but we work with what we have.

Also the sky today was super boring so I added in the cloud wisps.  It was necessary for compositional cohesion.

8x10 oil

Newport NJ Lighthouse

We aim for this lighthouse a lot during river crossings, so today I decided to take the Path train again and paint it.

8x10 oil

Since the Shush Lady is also right there, I decided to visit her, too.

It was weird being here not in a kayak!

Very different perspective!

Then I went back across the river to the boathouse for a nice sunset paddle.

Memory Lane Plein Air

I have been paddling to Jersey and it occurred to me that I should go paint there too.

There are great views.

Today I am off work, so I decided to go over to Exchange Place on the Path train and see what I could find.

This was a little bit of a Memory Lane day.

I worked here from 2001-2003ish.

I had been at 100 Wall, and we moved offices over to the brand new financial center in Harborside NJ, just across the river from the World Trade Center.

It was terrible and horrible and everyone hated it, except for the people who live in NJ.

This is where I was on 9/11.

This photo was taken exactly where I was standing on 9/11 when I watched the second tower come down.

There were no trees back then, it was a clear view.

Actually not all the buildings were there either.

The whole area was in the process of being built.

The new WTC tower is right in the center, in that sky gap.

This is the building I worked in. I was on one of those top floors.

I hated it.

Everyone hated it.

It was ugly and sterile and there was nothing around.

The commute was bad and expensive, and even worse after 9/11 because the exchange place station was one of the ones that flooded and it was closed for years. 

We had to walk from Grove Street instead.

It was bad.

I was so happy when I applied for (and got) a new position in the company that got me back in lower Manhattan.

I actually like Harborside just fine now.

Not that I wouldn't want to work there again- absolutely not, but it's nice, there is a lot around now, and the views are gorgeous.

I dont even know how this happened but here is an Unintentional Selfie.

And the painting, 8x10 oil

It was windy

Spin Cycle from The Statue of Liberty

This was a tough trip because of crazy wind and I almost didn't go!

But I'm so glad I did..... I was able to handle it, and I feel very accomplished about that.

Because of the distance plus the weather, this was considered a difficult advanced trip.

A few people did end up dropping out last minute.

The wind really was insane and on the return, we went through ferry traffic that put us in what we called the washing machine spin cycle!

It was fun.

We went to Cavens Point Beach for lunch.

There were bees.

It's about 7 miles each way.

We left about 10:45 and were back around 3:30pm.