Janeys Journey

Gert and me

I'm definitely having a hard time getting back into blogging everyday.  This bathroom renovation has put my life in more disarray then the kitchen.  I have the April zine all printed, copied and cut but I can't color it until the renovation is done.  I need space to lay the drawings out.  But every night I have to cover everything up with sheets because of the dust.   There's going to be a break between tiling and the counter top delivery so hopefully I can get them all done then.

Here's Gertie sleeping by the keyboard.  When I look at her I wonder if she knows Zoe's not here.  Drawing cats and dogs and the odd rabbit or hamster is very relaxing and stress free.  Though I know it can be boring to everyone else, it's not to me.  There's no angst here, just lots of smiling when I draw.

 

Renovation Tales #2

The Bathroom
Me: I'll just redo the bathroom, take out the tub and shower, put in new shower and retile.
Contractor: Go to Home Expo for the shower stuff, nice stuff.  You're spending all this money on renovation, you don't want to buy the cheap stuff.
Me: Yes I do
Contractor: Believe me, you don't.  I got experience.
Me: Home Expo person how much is that large shower head and all that how beautiful set up?
Home Expo person: $4,600
Me: Huh?
HE person: $4,600
Me: How about the one without the nice big shower head?
HE person: $1650
Me: Do you have anything that I won't need a loan for?
HE person: Try the in stock items.
Me: In stock item Home Expo person how much is that nice shower head?
HEISI person: $192
Me: Well that sounds reasonable... sort of.
HEISI person: That's just the shower head.
Me: Ok, how much are the controls?
HEISI person: $250
Me: How much for the pipe thing that comes out of the wall?
HEISI person: $90
Me: How much are those nice metal baskets for the shower?
HEISI person: $100
ME: They're a set right?
HEISI person: Nope, each
Me: I give up.  Here's my credit card.  Just leave me enough credit to buy cat food.

Renovation Tales #1

The Kitchen
Me: I'll just replace the kitchen sink and faucet, they're rusting and the faucet drips.
Contractor: To replace the sink, you'll have to crack the counter
Me: Ok, I'll replace the sink and the faucet and counter
Contractor: then the counter won't match the cabinets and you're condo's 30 yrs old, the cabinets are probably rotted in the back.
Me: Ok, I'll replace the sink and the faucet and the counter and the cabinets
Contractor: You want a white counter top and cabinets?
Me: Yep
Contractor: They won't match the appliances, they're almond
Me:
Contractor: What about the lights?  You said they weren't working.
Me: OK REPLACE THE WHOLE DAMN KITCHEN TEAR EVERYTHING OUT OK ALREADY!

Still Olive

Renovation starts again on Monday and April's Olive continues.  My new printer came but haven't had time to set it up yet.  I have to print the b&w drawings for the zine so that's another reason why things are behind.  Here are 2 Olives.  No color because I'm saving that for the zines.  Sharpie fine point on off white drawing paper, 9"x12".  Monumental size for me.  I read a review of a gallery show.  Small works - 11"x17".  Perception is everything.

In a stranger's bed

The red bead

Renovation Purgatory

Hell is reserved for work.  Here's why I'm not drawing or posting or blogging or living or relaxing or whatever it is that people do.  And somewhere in this mess is a flashlight.  Why?  Because I live Florida and there was storm 2 nights ago.  No electricity.  Actually, electric every other 2 minutes.  At least I had enough thought to yank my pc otherwise no pc.  That happened a few years ago.  I didn't unplug and suddenly no monitor.  I called my mom to see if she had electricity.  Yes she said, don't you have a flashlight.  YES I'M RENOVATING.  It's somewhere in this mess.  I called  dbd.  Do you have electricity?  Yes, don't you have a flashlight?  YES I'M RENOVATING!!!!!!!!!!!  I finally found it but it was too dark to figure out where to put the batteries so out came all the candles for enough light to put the batteries in.  What a life.

And Gert again

And Gert's favorite sleeping spot.

 

Look what I have

And look what Jan did in her spare time.  Over a week ago I went to the post office and was I surprised?  Yes I was.  There was a really adorable sketchbook.  Jan, a very talented artist (and blogging buddy), rebound a school reader and added drawing paper and a little gift card envelope and created this beautiful journal for me.  Just for me which means that no one has one just like this one.  Unfortunately, I received it around the time Zoe became sick so I didn't post about it or draw in it.  But now I have. 

Gertie didn't eat on Sunday which kind of scared me since she has the same kidney disease as Zoe.  So off she went to the vet this morning.  And $500 (yes $500) later, she's home with some new medication and feeling much better.  So of course I had to inaugurate the sketchbook with drawings of my other muse - My Girl Gert.  These are in crayon and this drawing paper has a little tooth to it so the crayon has some texture.  It is sooo nice.

And you can have one too (or more) from Jan's store on Etsy. 

And here's the cover and the gift pocket.

The absentee artist

Life has been getting in the way of posting.  You may have noticed that the April zine is also missing.  Well I had meant to finish it and then get back into the flow of blogging by now. But then along came life.  First Zoe and then my printer died last week.  I wanted to get a new one anyway, a pigment printer.  But not right now.  Of course it can't wait.  Dead printer, new printer, just digging the money pit a tad bit deeper which means that April's Olive will be in May.

But I have been drawing a bit, just not blogging.  Here's Olive in Past April.  Just line drawing, no color except for the siggy.  I like the look of that.  She is 8 1/2"x11" on heavy 110lb cardstock and is in my Etsy shop.   

More monoprints

This first one is actually 1 of 3 but the other 2 were either too light or dark and not very visible on line.  I have to practice to get a better feel on how much pressure to apply before I start using good paper.  This paper is from Dick Blick and pretty thin. The prints in the previous post came out really good, just the right amount of ink picked up.  But these, well too much ink ended up on the paper.

Blueness

Trying to work myself out of this feeling of just heaviness, combination of losing Zoe and renovation and the choas that comes with that and the money pit my life has become.    So anyway, I tried some monoprinting Sunday night.  I surprised myself.  They came out pretty ok I think, only they don't scan very well.  These are 2 of 6.  More to come.

Thank you

I want to thank everyone who sent me emails about Zoe or left comments.  I really appreciate it.  I'm going to be off line for a few days.  I have to concentrate on Gertie and the bathroom renovations and just plain de-stress.

Here's a few pix of Zoe.  She was so sweet.

Sweetest Dreams

I held her for a few minutes and then the vet took her away.  No more pain.

My Zoe

Zoe is still at the vet.  She hasn't eaten in almost 3 days now.  She's on IV fluids.  The vet says that we should give her 3 full days on the fluids.  If she still hasn't eaten then I have to make a decision.  I wanted to say I don't want to make a decision, you make a decision but I didn't of course.  It's my decision and I know what it is.  I left work early to go to the vet and stay with Zoe to see if my being there would get her to eat.  When I put her on the floor she just went into a corner and lay down.  I sat on the floor with her, I held her on my lap.  Every time I moved, she cried.  She didn't eat.  The vet wants me to take her home tomorrow to see if she'll eat when she's around familiar surroundings.  I hope so too but I don't think so.

If she does eat, then she'll be ok for a little while.  She has severe kidney disease now and borderline diabetes.  It's too much for a sweet little cat whose 18yrs old.  I've been saying she's 16 but the vet look it up and she's 18.   So is Gertie and she has kidney disease too but she's eating so she's ok for now.  To end a life, even when it's the best thing, the right thing, it's just aches you know. 

The ones we love

Why can't we protect the ones we love?  You think you can but you really, really can't.  That's true for lovers and friends and 85 yr old mothers who don't believe in monsters.  And for sweet faced little cats. 

Zoe and Gertie both have kidney disease.  Gertie's ok but Zoe's hasn't really eaten for the last few days.  And of course today the contractor started on the bathroom renovation.  Getting ready for that has meant no drawing for a few days and lots of frantic activity and lots of stress.  This morning I dropped Zoe off at the vet and $300 plus later, her kidneys aren't doing so great.  When I lose these 2 girls, I don't know if I want another pet.  I don't want to go through this again.  It hurts too much.

But meanwhile there will be much drawing of my little muse.  I did about a dozen, here's 2.  Many, many more to follow.

A little behind schedule

I think I might forget how to draw by the time this is over.

Friday List.

1. Pick out counter-top for vanity (2 price quotes)
2. Ikea- Garment rack for clothing
3. Home Depot - cabinet door knobs (to match kitchen)
4. Home Depot - Painter's plastic sheets to cover the studio stuff
5. IKEA Bathroom cabinets and legs
6. Extra cabinet door for false front
7. 1 wall mirrors
8. Extension mirror
9. Home Expo Sink & faucet 
10. 1 full length wall mirror
11. 6 glass shelves and brackets
12. 2 wall vanity lights above cabinets
13. 1 ceiling light for bathroom
14. 3 ceiling lights for hallways
15. 2 bathroom garbage pails
16. 3 billy bookcase brackets for bookcases in dining room
17. Floor lamp for studio

Saturday list

1. Clean out closets
2. Pick up Gertie's meds at vet
3. Laundry
4. Water plants
5. Empty the patio storage closet so I can get to the extra floor tiles to repair the ones the contractor's going to break when the demolishes the cabinets.

New Sunday list

1. Vacuum so I can breathe
2. Collapse
3. Clean out closets
4. Water plans
5. Wash floors
6. Empty the patio storage closet so I can get to the extra floor tiles to repair the ones the contractor's going to break when the demolishes the cabinets.
7. Home Depot - cabinet door knobs (to match kitchen)
8. Home Depot - Painter's plastic sheets to cover the studio stuff
9. Collapse finally