Lisa's Day

J. Pieces from June

6/12/09 8:00 ish am [These are some notes on Hydrangea flowers, made on my walk up 13th one morning.] like a bouquet/few brown stems/ Indigo/ purple/ lavender/ pink/ leaves/ flowers/ Leaves sprout in pairs. Switching directions. Larger toward bottom.

I made a few sketches related to the art content I've been contemplating, but I don't want to show them.

6/22/09 At Dupont Circle, there was a young guy playing a guitar (electric) and singing - not bad. He was flanked by two guys on bongos. This blonde woman in a black dress and black boots was sitting on the brick wall at the escalator entrance. She was smoking a cigarette and the frilly skirt of her 80s black dress kept getting ruffled in the wind. And as I walked past her, I couldn't help but notice the cleavage.

6/23/09 On Green train in a.m. A male deer was standing on top of a hill, next to the Metro rails. I saw his antlers. The big accident occurred last night.

 6/26/09 6:21 am Sipping down SBs coffee. 6:58 am Wild Turkey next to 95! [Some notes on the vacation drive to Georgia.]

6/26/09 NC: Tuxedo Cat in Grass next to 85.

6/29/09 9:00ish pm Drinking Coronas in the nude on a stranger's bed. [We were cooling off/drying off after our shower at the Cottage.]

A J. Piece From the End of May

5/27/09 5:36 pm Sitting in train at Ft. T. because there are some schoolchildren in the tunnel betw. Ft. T and W. Htts. And the guy in front of me just called his S.O. and signed off with kissy noises. Darla laughs when I do that with Steve. : * (kissy face emoticon)

Dog With Squirrel

5/22/09 2:56 pm I wanted to make a quick note Friday, because during my walk to work from U Street, I saw this dog get carried away by a taunting squirrel. He was a big Old Yeller dog, but very pale, almost white fur. His owner was just walking him along the sidewalk when this squirrel darted out in front of the dog, then darted back. Barking, lunging ensued. What is it with dogs and squirrels?

A Few Drawings...before the End?

5/16/09 9:28 pm Steve and I were cuddling this morning. But that's a messy drg. And I don't like the orientation.

5/16/09 Speaking of which - I'm tired and I gotta go to bed.

5/17/09 [May 17th was our Anniversary - 13 years together, 3 years married.]

5/18/09 [An odd messy drawing.]

Having Trouble With the Notion of Quitting

5/10/09 [Another one using the white marker]

5/11/09 Bah. Been making a list today of my bad art habits. And I found this terrific drawing online. See http://bmoreart.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyone-artist-best-drawing-at-towson.html#links

Look for the large charcoal drawing of the girl on the bed. When I see drawings like this, I think: WHY CAN'T I DO THAT? Why can't my drawings be so loose and expressive, vs. rigid and ICK. I'll get to my list of bad art habits next post. I was also trying to find this article from this drawing magazine, but I didn't keep it and couldn't find the artist online (don't remember her name). She makes these huge landscape drawings in charcoal (couldn't find her even with extensive search online! - Oh, well.).

5/12/09 6:39 pm On 32:

5/12/09 Huge Eagle flew right across the road, then landed in a tree by the road, close to the ground. Steve said he was trying to snatch something that was in the road.

5/13/09 [I decided to stop on my walk to work and sketch an Iris. Lots of flowers are blooming in people's yards on my walk from U Street.]

5/14/09 8:05 pm Steve says I need to give up the journaling. Cold turkey. I'm having trouble letting go.

5/15/09 Peonie? [Stopped to sketch some puffy flowers I think are Peonies.]

Into May - and Old Bad Art Habits

5/1/09 12:26 pm Bright red Cardinal this morning. This weekend: -Draw on another big ppr + 2 canvases. Also big stretched canvas. / 7:55 pm This morning I saw a bright red Cardinal by the dumpsters. Such a vibrant splash of color. I just love Cardinals.

I needed to draw on another big paper because I screwed up the one I was working on. This is what I did to it: reverting back to old habits it seems, like sliding back into a comfortable groove. Ugh. Like just some crap I did as an undergraduate. Ugh. I tried reworking this and just made a mess, so it didn't look like this anymore and I ruined it, so I just folded it up and put it in the trash. Bah.

This is pastel and charcoal over some paint washes. Bah. I also have a painting I like on a scrap of paper, but the picture I took was blurry, so I need to get out the tripod and retake it.

5/1/09 I'm a bit buzzed. I'm on my second Mint Julep. Not that I care about the Kentucky Derby. I just like Mint Juleps. Steve got me fresh mint yesterday and I made mint simple syrup. I've altered my Mint Julep recipe. Equal amounts bourbon, mint syrup and water. 2 Tbsp each - and the second one was shaken. That way no syrup at the bottom of the glass. Yeah! [Later in the week, I increased the measurement to a 1/4 Cup each ingredient.]

 Lisa with a Julep.

5/2/09

5/3/09 6:12 pm Fuck! I got SICK! Yesterday my sinuses were running like a faucet. Today: Ugh! Last night I took a 12-hour Chlor-Trimeton. I slept in till 10:00. After lunch I took a nap. Ugh. Achy. No fever, so it's not Swine Flu!

5/4/09 6:48 pm I stayed home today. I emailed my Boss last evening to ask if I could stay home, and he replied yes. I also texted Darla. So, I took another 12-hour Chlor-Trimeton and slept a really long time. To bed at 9:00. Although it took awhile to fall asleep. Up at 7:00. Had half a cup of coffee and went back to bed. Slept till 11:30. At 2:30 went back to bed. Slept till 4:00. Going to bed early, of course. Better not push it staying home again.

5/4/09

5/5/09 7:38 pm Back to work today. Blah.

5/6/09 8:21 pm

5/7/09 5:17 am It's too early! Bored Mtgs today.

5/8/09 6:48 pm Man, I'm wiped. Wiped.

5/9/09 7:12 pm I am so wiped. We went to see STAR TREK today: WOW! Mike & Corey already saw it. Mike emailed: See it, then we'll talk. Steve said we were broke till payday, but he had the $20 in his wallet to pay Mike for the Heavy Gear book. Mike said to go see the movie on him. So we did! Wow, we loved it. Great. Now I'm wiped - still wiped from last week. Not sure why. Sinus Infection plus Bored Meetings. Ugh. I'm tired.

5/9/09 [This is my regular journaling pen plus a white ink marker.]

Finishing out April

BTW, the recruiting agency said that job was probably going to the other person with more advanced tech skills. Never heard back. Figure I didn't get it. Oh, well.

4/26/09 This weekend SUCKED.

4/27/09 8:54 pm We had a 90 [degree] weekend with no A.C. Last night we slept with the window open. The AC came on today. Yay. Bah.

4/28/09 12:37 pm Still having our 90 [degree] Heat Wave. Pollen is CRAZY. Yellow dust coating everything: Ahchoo! Working on a new method for my art. But it's Tuesday, so we're going to Mike's. Hopefully I'll have something to show soon.

4/28/09 Did I ever mention Steve's Gir text messages? He figured out how to do two Gir faces:  0_0   ^_^           - messy scribble -

4/29/09 8:07 am Gray & White cat in a window on 13th.

4/30/09 8:22 pm I'm tired. And I ran out of room.

Anxiety April

4/20/09 8:03 pm Rainy Day. I got soaked on the walk from Dupont this morning. SOAKED. Steve texted me *Warm Hugs* WARM HUGS

4/21/09 6:17 pm Feeling kinda Bitchy today. Not sure why.

4/22/09 7:50 am I'm at the Dupont Starbucks. Nursing a Misto (au lait). I have a job interview - they finally got off their asses. Today I meet with the H.R. Director. Friday, with the guy I'd be working for. Kind of disappointed it's another old white guy. Oh, well. Something different. I took Friday off. Boss B Gone. Steve is at an event at CSIS. He had to be there by 8:00, so we left early. We left Mike's early last night, after another big space battle. My Hammerhead Ship got blown up. I have to pee, and apparently someone has moved into the bathroom. And it's raining. Fantastic. 7:45 pm My interview was a bust. The H.R. Director said the salary was low 50s and it was a typical E.A. position. Was Mr. Roche at Tangent pissed. So I may not have an interview this Friday. But I'm still taking the day off.

4/22/09 I'm tired.

4/23/09 7:34 am 3 Heron flying together! Had to drive myself today. Our other rolling chair broke yesterday, landing Steve on his tailbone. He didn't sleep well.

4/23/09 5:36 pm [This was just a quick scribble, but I really like it.]

4/24/09 2:22 pm At a Starbucks downtown. Killing time before my interview. Even though the interview with HR appeared to be a Bust. She said it was just a traditional E.A. position (no "other stuff") and salary was low 50s. The Boss Guy said no, she got it wrong. -?? So, I'll meet the Guy. If I don't like him, I don't have to take the job. I had a hormonal surge or something yesterday. Was feeling very down and blue over the prospective interview. Had to take Pamprin. Steve made the Porterhouse Pork Chops for dinner last night. With Peach Preserves. Pesto and Blue Cheese Dressing. (like the Lamb Burgers.) Was that good. I went to bed early. Slept in (today off). Painted some. Panted some - ha! No, not working out. (heart heart heart heart)

4/24/09

4/25/09 5:36 pm Having anxiety problems. Had to cry on Steve's shoulder this morning. I just couldn't stop the tears. And I got a cramp in a back muscle. From nothing. I just sat down and turned my head, and there was this knot in my shoulder blade. Stress. From what, I'm not sure. Unless it's the continual FAILURE. Going nowhere with my art. Yesterday's interviews (with the Boss Guy and an Admin) went well. But do I really want another crap office job? Even at $65K. That's only a $13K raise. I'd rather be over at HHMI with Sharon!

Stumbling Through April

4/12/09 7:21 pm We made meatballs today. Served over Egg Noodles. With the Mushroom Gravy, made yesterday. I made the Oatmeal Flax cookies again. They came out more chewy this time. Maybe the humidity. We played a game of Starcraft. Steve won. And I've done some painting.

4/12/09 Ptg Notes. *No dirty colors *No muddy colors *Work on drawn lines

4/13/09 6:52 pm It's my Period Week. Which means I am retaining water. Which means two sips of Steve's Cranberry Gin and I am BUZZED.

4/13/09 So - bit of background first: Marilynn [sister] got this huge stash of photos from Mags [Dad's wife]. She's been scanning them and got them all posted to Shutterfly last week. Like 800 plus photos. From when my siblings were kids to present. So, today, bored at work, I continued paging through the photos. So, a few of the photos here and there looked like interesting images to me. But I already have too many images! I need to get out of Image-Gathering Mode or Information-Gathering Mode and work on what to do with the images - on paper or canvas.

4/14/09 9:02 pm I gotta go to bed. Been mixing paint colors all evening.

4/15/09 Testing a new pen. Don't like it. New pen, NO. Usual pen.

4/16/09 7:41 pm I am so tired. For some reason, I'm not getting a very restful sleep. Going to take Pamprin soon. And go to bed early. Didn't watch Daily Show or Colbert. Steve did and said they weren't as good as Olbermann. Olbermann was a riot last night with the Teabagging story. Today, on my way out, I saw two women in the Library with Michelle, taking a tour of the building, probably going to rent for a wedding. But their hemlines were SO freaking short. Like: Whoa, Ladies! I had to run back to tell Darla. She was on her way out to brush her teeth (working late for a lecture in the building). Re: the hemlines, she said, "Oh, my!" Re: my telling her, she said, "Reeer!" (cat meow) What can I say?

4/16/09 Skinny Black Dress and Daisy Duke Denim Shorts with Boots. Meow.

4/17/09 7:50 pm Still tired. Darla told me that: a. The two mini-skirts got everyone's attention. (We had a lecture last night so people were setting up.) and b. Michelle said they were from L.A. Darla said, "Did no one tell them the temperature?!"

4/18/09 10:06 pm My painting is giving me fits.

4/19/09 7:15 pm Had to get up out of bed last night to take Pamprin. I had a sudden - hormone surge? - OMIGOD MY LIFE IS GOING NOWHERE!!! Panic attack.

More April

4/6/09 7:18 pm I'm watching Running in Heels (on tape.). "This is a competition!" DRINK! I had to run over to the computer and take a sip of Steve's red wine. Steve got annoyed because he was in the middle of a Guild Wars battle.

4/6/09 It's been gray and rainy today. It made me tired. And blah. I just want to crawl into bed.

4/7/09 *Sketchy *Shadows First Groundhog of the year!

4/8/09 7:18 pm Tired. Anxious. Pamprin tonight. Having those "OMIGOD MY LIFE IS PASSING ME BY!!!" feelings. For later...

4/9/09 5:26 pm *I have been sleepwalking thru Life. *I have missed the boat. *That feeling when everything suddenly goes quiet and you realize you have been left behind alone.

4/10/09 8:58 pm

4/10/09 10:28 pm "I need a Mah-tini!" [Corbin Dallas' mother in Fifth Element.] I got free Gin at work. Open bottles languishing in the Wine Closet. I made a Gin Martini. It needed something. Cranberry Juice. Now, that's good. And no Dry Vermouth.

4/11/09 9:09 pm We had the best roast lamb dinner today. And great dinner rolls. The lamb wasn't done, so we had to put it back in the oven and have the rice with mushroom gravy and asparagus cooked on the cast iron grill. Yum. When the lamb was done, we didn't want gravy on it. It was perfect just plain. It went in the oven with salt, pepper, olive oil (seared), fresh oregano and onion slices laid on top. So good. Had more cranberry-martinis tonight.

4/11/09