NOT SURE I LIKE THIS SET UP HERE

| it is what it is.

Too busy perhaps, I’m talking about this new web design I put here. Isn’t that the way it goes, you plan something new and find you like the old better than the new but can’t reverse at this point. A good project for a rainy day always a challenge figuring out how to work this out on my computer and I’ve been a bit lazy here lately.

We had one day of beautiful winter snow in Caballo yesterday, today it’s almost gone, I think that is the best way to have snow, one day of beauty to appreciate and then gone without a lot of messy mud to deal with. Poor Charley didn’t know what to do when I told him to go out to pee, he needed a gentle shove to get him going, then he liked the snow and was eager to go but we didn’t go far, too cold. The big wet flakes of snow would have been great to build a snow man and snow balls. the tree outside my window was covered, felt like Minnesota for a day. ( and only a day)

taken through the window

I am now a resident of New Mexico, my new drivers license photo is just as bad as my Texas photo. But not worse.

A neighbor stopped by my studio the other day to tell me I should take my paintings to Las Cruces. He thinks my paintings on canvas paper will be something new and that I have enough of them to make a good showing at the Saturday fairs in Las Cruces. He says the fair is weekly and runs down several city blocks and is always well attended. Las Cruces is about 60 miles south. I’ll take a ride done there to see what it looks like, he says it a free market place.

I love free.

So I painted 3 more paintings of similar colors and now I’m out of canvas paper. Need to order more today, thanks to amazon delivery I’ll get it quickly so I can paint some more. This canvas I’m painting on is not what artists use to sell their paintings on but I like painting on it because I can fold them up or even cut them up to use for some project. Easy to send in the mail if I have a sale that’s not local. And hanging them in a frame they look just as good as when painted on canvas or board.

You should have seen the mess it was trying to paint in my RV on snow day. I’d been to Walmart to shop for food as the cold was expected and I didn’t want to go out if I didn’t need to. I’d collected some paints and all the other stuff i’d need while I painted sitting on my bed with Charley beside me, he taking up too much space, It gets complicated but I finished one painting and painted two more, I haven’t taken pictures yet but will. I’ll need to take those paintings out of the frames and sign and varnish them, I hate that part, always afraid I’ll mess up putting the varnish on them. they do look good in these cheap Walmart frames, bright outrageous colors of red orange and pink.

This is my red period! Exuberance needed, these three latest paintings shout joy at you, you need to be ready for them, you will love them or hate them.

My finger tips hurt. People would say that is what you must accept when learning to play guitar, but I think it is from having too much paint on my fingers, acrylic paint is very drying and together with dry skin it makes them feel like paper cuts. Yes I did play around trying to learn cords on the guitar but not enough to cut my skin! Something, maybe a combination of events has disrupted the integrity of my finger tips. So far the only advancement I’ve made on the guitar is that I’ve broken 2 strings, small e stings both times. I should have ordered plenty of strings,maybe I will when I order the canvas paper.

Well I’ve babbled on here while eating thin latte oreo cookies and just drinking grape juice…….. the wine box is in the studio where I don’t have to keep it in the refridge it’s cold enough, and makes me go out to get a glass full, cuts down on usage and stimulates my imagination when painting in the studio and welcomes anyone passing by for a glass and conversation.

Charley is Jealous of my Guitar

| it is what it is.

I thought I’d get an inexpensive learner guitar and hopefully learn a new brain saving technique.

Whenever I start messing around with the guitar Charley begs for attention, attention and a belly rub. He throws himself in my lap, really it’s like he does a back flip bottoms up.

He doesn’t like it when I’m busy on my computer or reading either.

He’s spoiled and has doubled his arrival wight from 12 pounds to 24 pounds! He’s beautiful and generally well behaved.

He is happy to stay home alone because he hates going in the car, he shakes from the time we go til the time we get back. So now I leave him home with a treat.

He knows when I get my keys and put on my shoes I’m going in the car. He does very well home alone now, I don’t need to use that supersonic noise thing to keep him from barking, neighbors report he has not been barking, it’s because he’s happy not to go with me in the car.

Charley and friend.

Learning the guitar is not so easy, not easy at all! It looks easy and cool just strumming and humming but so far I can’t even remember the g string. Memory, that is the challenge I’m working on, it’s a bitch!

It’s been cold in Caballo but the afternoons are briskly pleasant. I am now a resident of New Mexico. I like it here. I should get my new drivers license and plates soon. It’s only taken me 2 visits to the DMV so far needing birth certifcate, marriage license translated insurance info and more but it was in the nicest DMV I’ve ever been in, no waiting efficient and a clean organized process. A far cry from my experience in TX. Small towns are great and almost no traffic!

I planted a few perennials today, hopeful for a splendid ‘Spring. I lost a few plants to frost even though they were in my studio, very sad and sorry my beautiful succulents collection froze.

Fine Art America

| it is what it is.

Today I’ve been working inside my RV cuz it’s really cold outside! I’ve done quite a lot today, I worked on my Fine Art America web site and finished it, it looks pretty nice, that’s the web address down there and it works!

I made new business cards .

I

I changed this site to give it some red.

A good days work!

kathleen-othon.pixels.com

A Great Response! Thank You Karen!

| it is what it is.

This is a great response I got after my last post about the problems of aging, just what I needed to hear from an old friend even older than I! A good kick in the pants” I needed! I just have to share it here.

Hi Kathy,
I consider aging as a struggle that you must fight daily. Do NOT go quietly in the night saying “well I am old so I fall down.” Bull Shit. Say “Dumb Ass-look where you are going.” Oh yes, it helps tremendously to swear. Furthermore-part of the fight is to try to look good-makeup for the wrinkles, short flirty skirts for the confidence and every now and then have false eyelashes glued on.(They stay on for 3-4 weeks.) for good cheer. You must think POSITIVELY! I just started guitar lessons-they say it takes ten years to learn to really play-SO-I am looking at starting a rock band when I am 90.
It sounds to me as though you are a little down considering your recent incidents. Think positive-you were able to find your rv, you are independent, doing a great lifestyle and u r probably the envy of many dependent women.
YES!
Merry Christmas Kathy,

Karen

I love this!

Okay I didn’t go out to buy eyelashes but I did get some purple eye shadow! She is right. I don’t mind getting old … how silly to mind! I can make some improvements, just the other day a woman told me ‘it’s easy to let yourself go here, I looked around and saw I was the only person wearing slippers to the happy hour! I doubt she meant me, but she looked very put together. I’ll take all this into consideration and stop complaining but you know, it gives me something to write about!

Yeah, purple eye shadow! And age control daily cream by equate (Walmart brand cuz when we get old we are often poor)

I think I’ll get a guitar and start learning so I can join the band!

I’m getting a little Worried about Myself

| it is what it is.

I’m doing really dumb things

Showing a lack of attention

for instance,

I bought a new light for the studio at Walmart but it didn’t get home with me, probably left it in the cart.

Left clothes in the dryer at the laundry completely did not miss them until I got a text asking me if I’d forgotten them.

But the worst thing I did

I dropped my ipad in the washing machine

together with the clothes, how could I have not noticed that? I take my ipad with me to do laundry (and I’d stuck it in the laundry bag) so I can play a game while waiting. But I spent the time talking to some people so I didn’t miss the ipad and didn’t know until I took the clothes out and found it, of course destroyed, If I’d spent the time sitting and waiting I would have noticed but I wasn’t in the room while it was washed.

I almost cried! Not so much for the lost ipad but for the circumstances of its demise.

I’m almost too embarrassed to write about it here but this is my life now.

So three things in 3 days

Dumb things that had I been paying attention would not have happened. I told my daughter to be prepared, I have aged quite a bit since I’ve last seen her. Not only mentally, I have some great smile wrinkles that are new, and fragile skin. But my bones are great, they must be because I took a nasty fall getting out of the RV last week and thought I’d done damage to my knee. It hurt like hell for awhile but is getting better everyday, no broken bones and a friend added a more stable step to my door that should avoid any more falls.

Falls are one thing that can really be a danger for old ladies.

My son bought me a new Ipad!

Ropa Vieja con Platanos Maduros

| it is what it is.

Christmas dinner in the Park is going to feature Mexican food. But I’m adding a little taste of Panamá, the recipe I’m using is Cuban but it’s the same and another person is bringing rice. I only have two platano that should be the right ripeness, maybe I can get more tomorrow. I’m going to make it in my hot pot and let it cook for about 5 hours. I’ll let you know how it turns out….I bought cookies to take if it doesn’t turn out good!.

Thanksgiving was a bust for me. I got all weepy and it lasted for two days. As I’d planned, and changed my mind about going to VA for Thanksgiving plus I’m messing with my meds so that could have been part of it. But I’m fine for Christmas, no plans made to frustrate me.

It’s been cold in Caballo, freezing at night, water lines freeze then, no water in the morning til things thaw up a bit in my RV. Got another heater for the studio so we can spend time there, I’ve been playing in paint, I have a few new things, I sent a few home to VA, hope they can use them. I bought a cheap $15 Walmart frame to see how these canvas papers fit into a 16 x 20 frame. Looks good, perfect for them at a low cost perfect for a kids bedroom or basement rooms tho of course they can be more expensively framed as well. I think i’ll paint some more like this and maybe sell them, What do you think? What I do is mostly abstract because I love combining colors and lines but to sell them I’ll need to paint trees. So do you paint what you want or paint to sell? I know my answer, I need the money for paint so I’ll be painting some trees! Take this for instance, doesn’t look like much but when you put it in a nice frame it’s elegant! I’m going to add a page here with new available work soon…. for sale!

IC UPDATE

| it is what it is.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Greetings

A couple of notes….. because i said I’d let you know how it goes…….

I’ve been able to decrease my amitriptyline 100mg to 50mg at bedtime pretty well, I’ve gone slowly over 3 weeks with only some pain in the mornings that don’t need to be medicated. So now I’ll try 25mg plus the PEAORA POLY 500 2-4 TABS Daily to see how that goes.

I read an article in ‘pocket’ last week about studies being done on green lights used with success for migraines and it said studies were started for their use in interstitial cystitis. (IC) Seems pretty simple, just look into the lights for a period of time daily, I just sent for green holiday lights to hang up here to give it a try. Nothing to lose.

I would like to get medical pot but am not a NM resident so don’t think I can unless I become a resident which I would but I have to get my marriage license translated to English to get a drivers license, worth the time and bother? Maybe.

Another thing I learned this week while doing the laundry ( I have a really sad story about that but if I tell you you will think I’m demented already) I met a couple, Eric and Robin Lines, who stay at the RV park close by (where I do laundry). They have formed a company called Silver Solutions. They have a website here, silver@silvermtnsolutions.com that looks very interesting, not sure how it might help IC concerns but I bought a small bottle because silver is used in wound care and it has many other possible uses. In their pamphlet they note that Dr. R Becker discovered that silver ions not only healed wounds quicker, it also caused bone, muscle, and nerve tissues regenerate!! I’d read of Dr Becker when he was using acupuncture and electric therapies in wound care so I have an idea of his work.

Thought I’d pass that along here.

Ciao