Category: planning

Planning Works Wonders

Now for more color..

Hip hopping on the process, baby! Just coasting on this latest watercolor and having such a good time I hope I keep going. Better not crash land, or it will be a bad thing.

Friday was a lovely day here in New York, for February. When do you get 52F in February? If the weather stays like this (which it probably won’t) I will be happy. Last year this time we were over our heads in snow with no where to put a shovel full.

Plan in hand, I went over my to-do list. At #1 was Painting. I drew a line underneath that and wrote out the rest of my list. As I finished each one I crossed it off. House neat? Done. Read emails all dressed and ready, instead of in pajamas? Done. Online class? Done. Out the door!

Errands checked off as I continued with painting in my head. Made it home before noon. Set up my iPad, got my lunch, read my snail mail and email, then off to the studio.

I will mention one item on my gratitude list for today: I can see the sunny day out my basement studio window. That helps.

With the painting ready and waiting I got to work, adding more color, defining other areas, trying out how to work all those berries. Now I need another tube of paint I ran out of so I marked it on my list.

Honestly, I don’t know how long I worked on this. Before I knew it the day was gone and it was late in the afternoon.

Heaven is a quiet day of work. Process!

To Go or Not To Go, That’s The Question

To Chora, watercolor 9×10, (c)2000

Did you ever really want to do something or go somewhere, but when you think about it you really don’t want to do that thing after all? 

I’m in such a dilemma.  The Mr. needs a vacation.  When I suggested going somewhere close by a few weeks ago he said no.  He doesn’t want to leave his business.  But he really needs to get away and change his outlook, environment, you know, all the things that a vacation, or even a day off, can do for a person.  I could get away from the house stuff and maybe get some painting in.  For me it could be a short car ride away or a couple hours flying time.

Mind you, I’m not that innately adventurous, but I push myself.  Sometimes I dream of flying away if I see an airplane overhead.  I imagine going to a different place and having some cool experience where ever.  Then I think of how I need to plan and shop and do, and then I’m done with it. 

The Mr. was born on Patmos, an island in the Dodecanese in Greece and it’s beautiful there.  He emigrated here with his family when he was a kid.  He would love to go, I could too.  On some summer days he’ll talk about how it was on the island, what he could be doing if he was there, but he’s here and he has a business to run.  I get that. 

Things in the world are such that it would be pricey to go so last minute.  Business is at it’s busy time right now.  The euro and the dollar are an issue.  August is the vacation season in Europe.  Travel to Patmos is a pain because there isn’t an airport there.  You need to fly out of Athens to another island and take a dolphin, or get on a ferry in Pireas for six hours.  It’s alot of traveling for fifteen days of vacation.  Not to mention that Greece is not stable right now, every day another entity is on strike, there have been riots in Athens, and everything has become more expensive.

Our indecision only makes things more difficult.  All the whats, whens, whys, wheres and hows are thrown around during our discussions.  First we think we’d like to go and then we think of the reasons not to go.  Then we think it’d be good to go.  Next discussion we say forget it.  My family all say just go and don’t think too much.  We talk about it later and say Yeah let’s do it.  The next day we’re not into it anymore.  Neither of us can decide.  Both of us are wishy washy.

Planning is not my forte.  This vacation stuff is such hard work I could just stay home.