Thoughts in the USA

So, after the initial delay of our flight, came Tuesday night, and we are on a plane to the East Coast.
A red eye flight.

The plane is over heated. Way overheated. Like, way Way WAAAAAAAAY overheated.

And because we were transferred from a flight that got cancelled 2 days before, I find myself stuck in the middle of the 3-seat row, between two strangers. (The JohnnyB is stuck in the row in front of me, between two other strangers, only his strangers are nicer). . .

(to continue reading, click here)

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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Culture, Damn Technology, Holidays, People, Venting, WTF?

# posted by Nava @ 11:11 PM 0 comments

The East Coast is snowed in.

Luckily, Jet Blue is not letting its passengers go through the packing frenzy and drive to the airport just to discover that fact. They sent this email 7.5 hours before the flight, which gave plenty of time to rebook.

And so, no snow for us yet - we're still here, waiting for the snow to ease up a bit. Sitting in the rain. In the cold. Uphill. Both ways.


In the meantime, this is a painting I did at warmer times. A small study of a scene that's captured me.

I like this quirky color scheme that lends itself to a very different mood.

What's the story behind this one?

Well - that's for you to create your own.

Right now, it looks like this guy is wondering about the weather with a grain of concern.

Labels: Art, ArtPact, Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 4:04 PM 5 comments

Sent by Myrna (thank you!!!) and had to be shared with the world.

So - what are you getting for the holidays?

Labels: Creativity of Others, Damn Technology, Family, Faux Pas, Holidays, Meta Bloggin', Ouch, People

# posted by Nava @ 5:56 PM 5 comments

It seems that everyone is running around in frenzy these days. The parking lots are full of killer drivers, stores are packed people on gift quests, family visits are in the horizon - and there's an edginess in the air, a higher susception to cranky sprees, and - needless to say - this cheery spirit is getting to us all.

So, I figured that as a service to the public, I'd remind y'all (and us'all) of these simple rules of survival.

The first one was sent to me by David (thanks!). I found the second one and added it for balance, harmony, contrast - name your favorite design relationship...

Labels: Creativity of Others, Culture, Damn Technology, Family, Holidays, Meta Bloggin', People, Profoundness

# posted by Nava @ 12:42 PM 5 comments

See the tiny white spot sorrounded by a red circle in the photo below? (this red circle is my ArtPact for the day...). That's a white tour bus that had the courtesy to climb up the road and serve as a nice perspective reference so y'all can appreciate the size we're talkin' about.

We took the shuttle back, and went for the Riverside Walk - a nice stroll (can't really call it a hike, as it's on a paved trail) that takes you down the Virgin River. A very popular route, so it seems, as it attracted quite a few fellow visitors.

We heard a lot about The Narrows and the fun walk in the water that takes you to the cliff called Wall Street - TexieD told me that was one of the best parts of Zion - but that trail was closed for the day. Too much water flowing too fast in too low a temperature. Bummer.

Still - The JohnnyB would never give up the opportunity to dip his feet in water. A true Minnesotan is not afraid of the cold. So, as we arrived at the river, he took his dusty hiking shoes off, and dipped - - -

And, after an obligatory orange sunset (oh yes, that's what it looks like. Really. Flaming rocks against the cobalt blue skies, and so much silence!), we hit the sack. A long day - and Bryce Canyon - were awaiting us.

More to come.

Labels: Holidays, Nature, Time Out, Vacation

# posted by Nava @ 7:29 PM 8 comments

This is quite addictive, I have to say. Humbling, too.

Thanks, JimmyB, for sharing!

Labels: Damn Technology, Holidays, Meta Bloggin', Vacation

# posted by Nava @ 5:21 PM 4 comments

Welcomed the New Year in Sonoma.

Nice B&B.

Great food.

Fun olive oil tasting, wonderful cheese tasting, wine shopping, soothing drives in rural areas, and some incredible art.

Beautiful (cold!) weather.

Tired.

Happy 2008!!!



previous 1000 Words... ...next 1000 words

Labels: Holidays, Photohgraphy, Time Out

# posted by Nava @ 4:41 PM 6 comments

Labels: Holidays, Joke

# posted by Nava @ 12:16 PM 2 comments

WebbieM sent this to me, in the spirit of the season.

I can sooooooo relate it's scary! (Oh, and we do have a Christmas, uhm, Holiday, oopps, Annual Party coming up...).

Enjoy, rejoice and - happy Political Correctness y'all!

The Company Christmas Party

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: December 11, 2007

RE: Christmas Party

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00pm. Exchange of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees! Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Patty

- - -

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: December 12, 2007

RE: Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Chanukah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians or those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree present. No Christmas carols sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment.

Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Patty

- - -

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees

DATE: December 13, 2007

RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table ... you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, "AA Only"; you wouldn't be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this?Somebody? Forget about the gifts exchange, no gifts exchange are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.

NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

- - -

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

To: All Employees

DATE: December 14, 2007

RE: Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20 begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party - or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work? Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms. Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table. To the person asking permission to cross dress, no cross-dressing allowed though. We will have booster seats for short people. Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet. We cannot control the salt used in the food we suggest for those people with high blood pressure to taste first. There will be fresh fruits as dessert for Diabetics, the restaurant cannot supply "No Sugar" desserts. Sorry!

Did I miss anything?!?!?

Patty

- - -

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All F*ing Employees

DATE: December 15, 2007

RE: The F*ing Holiday Party

Vegetarian pr*cks I've had it with you people!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "grill of death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW! I hope you all have a rotten holiday!

Drive drunk and die,

The Bi*tch from HELL!!!!!!!!

- - -

FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director

DATE: December 16, 2007

RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I'll continue to forward your cards to her. In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.

Happy Holidays!

Labels: Desecration, Holidays, Joke, Meta Bloggin', People

# posted by Nava @ 11:44 AM 7 comments

Been down lately. The past week has been really bad.

I plead guilty of letting people get to me, enabling stupid things nibble (with giant bites) at my sleep, and allowing small stuff pile into a huge heap that sits heavily on my chest, making everything seem bleak.

Not quite sure why exactly. Nothing really major happened, just a bunch of unnerving incidents, that individually are insignificant, but when they come in threes or fours (or dozens...), they just become too many. To add to the joy, I suspect all of that is combined with one of those acculturation cycles, that pop for a visit from time to time (apparently even after 5.5 years!), and make me wonder what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here. Might be disillusionment from too many things at once. Might be accented with the upcoming anniversary of the biggest loss in my life, on January 10th - hard to tell.

Happens.

It sucks.

And yet, by now I know that it will go away, and that I need to hit the bottom in order to rise and shine again.

"It all happens for a reason", says my sister over the phone. "These are all lessons, and you will come out of it strengthened and wiser".

I know, I know - but sometimes, I'm a bit tired of paying the tuition fee.

At times like that, it's hard to look up and see the good things. All of a sudden, it feels as if nobody likes you, everything seems to be against you. Hey, even the original version of this post has disappeared as the damned laptop suddenly crashed for no reason other than taking part in the festivities of "let's screw up Nava's week".

And yet, in the midst of it all, yesterday afternoon, a knock on the door. I thought it was the plumber, who was working all day in the freezing air to dig out and replace our main water pipe that was turning part of our front lawn into a luscious swamp.

But - lo and behold, there stood Val, like a Santa Claus who could not find the chimney, bearing a plate with English mince pie (my well-earned tip for bringing her some paper from WackieM).

"So, how is your Christmas season going so far?", she asked The JohnnyB and me, after she got out of my bone-crushing hug. (I was soooooooooo happy to see her!)

"Well, y'know I have a waiver from it all", I replied, trying to fake a faint smile.

"Ahhh - in that case, I have to send you the words of a wonderful song I heard yesterday!", she cheered.

She did (and - THANK YOU, VAL!!!).

Apparently, it was originally performed on South Park, but I found a much more creative video version of it on YouTube:

So, listening to it makes me think: can it be that this is part of the reason for my lopsided (more like upside-down) smile recently?

'cause I admit: I do feel like an outsider these days.

previous little lunch... ...next little lunch

Labels: Holidays, Little Lunch for Thought, Meta Bloggin', Venting

# posted by Nava @ 9:43 AM 11 comments

This is not quite a fine art piece, nor is it original.

And yet, it is somewhat special to me, and I did take part in painting it.

On Monday evening last week, we met for a little holiday party of the second art organization to which I belong. The main activity was painting holiday scenes on posters, for a convalescent hospital in town. It was combined with a potluck, and each of the participating artists brought a small gift for a resident of the hospital, to help make their holiday merrier. A nice little way to give to the community.

Most of us copied holiday cards, and since this is my very first year of doing it, I joined LimaB and we shared a poster.

I have never painted with someone else on the same sheet of paper. On a normal day, it's almost unthinkable, as art is such a personal and individual thing, with each painter having their own way of laying paint with their brush strokes. Add to that the fact that I am right-handed and LimaB is left-handed, with me sitting on her left - that was quite an interesting experience.

It was very much like painting by numbers - which was such a fun thing to do, as this whole event kinda gave us permission to do it! LimaB has prepared the drawing beforehand, and at the beginning I was very cautious, as it was her drawing (even if she copied it from the holiday card). But we soon got into the fun mode, with the guy next to us adding to the joy by mumbling sarcastic comments about our work, which was very purplish in nature (we both kinda like purple, as you can tell). He, as opposed to us, was painting a "real" painting, a Yosemite scene in watercolor, while we were thoroughly enjoying our cheery snowmen. We took extreme artistic license with the colors and re-designed their scarves and hats. We did agree on the color scheme and stopped frequently to have lengthy discussions on how to paint what, and we did a good job coordinating our very different styles and techniques. Painting like that with someone else shows you two really get along! Still, at the end of the day, I took a tooth brush loaded with white gesso, and sprayed snow all over the whole painting, to unify it and conceal the very different brush strokes. Oh, and we used acrylic, which I haven't used in at least 3 years!

It really was a great evening. Not just the activity itself, but also the complete selflessness of it: painting for the sheer purpose of making someone happy.

LimaB went to the hospital today, to deliver all the paintings and gifts.

Holiday season can sometimes intensify loneliness and being away from your loved ones, which gets worse when you are unwell. I do hope our little effort will help brighten the walls of the hospital, and the hearts of its residents.

Labels: Art, Holidays, Making a Difference, People

# posted by Nava @ 8:50 PM 5 comments

...and I continue skipping between Sam and MistyN.

WackieM has come up with a new challenge for this month: paint any subject, using only 3 colors. Interesting - but wait! you don't get to choose the colors, but actually let fate make the decision. As she put it, "Any subject, any style but you are limited to 3 colors plus black and white. The way you select the three colors is the fun part. On separate slips of paper, write down each of your watercolor tubes of paint and put them in a jar. Shake it all up and then pull out 3 slips of paper. Those are your colors to work with."

Now... I shamefully admit that I have over 100 watercolor tubes (and that is without the 50 crappy ones I got when I just started painting and a smart store owner managed to sell them to me, promising "They are second to none". Yeah, right...). So, with the suggested method, I would never get to the actual painting!

The JohnnyB heard my outcry, and suggested to use dice. Apparently, the man has a 12-sided dice and an 8-sided one, which makes it easier. Since my paints are kinda sorted by hue (the blues live together in one drawer, the reds reside in a another - and so on), I went through some complicated mathematical calculations, throwing one dice to choose the drawer, and then another toss to select the color. Took some left-brain thinking - and these muscles are now sore.

This challenge came just in time, as I was trying to figure out which colors to use for painting MistyN.

Voila - no need to think anymore. The dice has spoken: Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Violet and Organic Vermilion (which is an orangey red, highly toxic; I shall not lick my brush this time).

I went for the first attempt, using these three colors, plus black to create some darks. Both Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Violet are wimpy when it comes to getting dark values, and the black helped create some very cool darks for the background and shadows.

Thing is - there was nothing really exciting about the colors, as these are colors I may have normally used for a portrait anyway! WackieM kept getting wacky colors for her challenges, as did LimaB, which forced them to push the envelope - and all I had was this usual combo.

Which made the painting a bit too ordinary. Yes, nice light pattern, almost a candle-lit mood, but - I wasn't thrilled about it.

I almost decided to give up on the subject. Painting young beautiful women is always a challenge - their faces are too precious to mess up with. Plus, I usually go for lines or texture in my paintings - and young faces do not have either. I was about to sadly depart from the gorgeous photo I took at the Thankgiving dinner and move on to another subject.

But then, The JohnnyB came to the rescue, and got a lot of credit points!

"What do you expect?", he asked, "This is your first attempt at painting her! Of course you are being cautious and just trying to copy what you see".

With this alibi in mind, and with WackieM's encouragement to explore this further and maybe try different surfaces to work on, I suddenly remembered the gold gesso I bought a couple of years ago, and used it only once, with disastrous results.

I decided to give it another go. I smeared the gesso over watercolor paper, created some texture with the brush and with some stamping, and let it dry.

"I'll paint on it tomorrow", I promised myself.

"Maybe", sneered my procrastinating self.

Then I went to look for Hanukka candles, as we only have 4 left from last years. Couldn't find any, anywhere!!

Later that evening, The JohnnyB lit the candles (improvised ones, that actually look quite cool!!) in his charming desecrating manner. I went into my studio, looked at the gessoed paper - - -

- - - and 4 hours later, I was gazing at an almost finished painting. I just could not resist the urge.

Ahhh, what fun! Not only did the gesso create a very forgiving surface that enabled lifting and correcting, it also lent itself to creating wonderful textures.

I tried to stick with the challenge colors, but then figured that by using gold gesso, I am already introducing a fourth color, and thus am not sticking to the rules anyway. So I changed the red to a different one, and later used more intense blue and violet to add some darks.

And so, with no further ado, here is my second attempt:

"Thankgiving", Watercolor and Gold Gesso on W/N HP Paper, 14" x 10"

It's looking very good next to the Hanukka candles - almost as if they are the source of light!

.

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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 4:37 PM 6 comments

The best photo was of MistyN. She was leaning her head on her hands ever so gracefully, listening to the others, and looking both pensive and amused. The light on her face and hands was perfect, her hands were just in the right pose - an irresistible sight.

I used to wait with new photos, thinking I am obliged to paint from ones taken earlier. However, WackieM told me that when she takes a photo she's really excited about, she goes for it right away, while it's still fresh in her mind. Makes much more sense, and I decided to follow the master's advice.

Here are the first two attempts -

Labels: Art, ArtPact, Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 11:05 PM 3 comments

Labels: Food, Holidays, People, Photohgraphy

# posted by Nava @ 11:48 AM 5 comments

Labels: Holidays, Wonders of The JohnnyB

# posted by Nava @ 10:06 PM 5 comments

HAPPY HOLIDAY!!

!!!חג סוכות שמח

Labels: Culture, Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 11:24 PM 4 comments

Labels: Family, Holidays, Sentence of The Month, Wonders of The JohnnyB

# posted by Nava @ 3:19 PM 12 comments

Starting tonight, we (as in Jewish peoples) are supposed to eat Matzot for seven days, and get all bloated and constipated.

Why?

'cause Moses did not bother to plan ahead, and rushed the people of Israel to leave Egypt before the dough could leaven. Moses, mind you, being a typical man, never bothered asking for directions, and then they all got lost in the desert for 40 years before arriving at the promised land.

And that is why we eat Matzot.

Well, kinda.

If you want the more formal interpretation of Passover, you can read about it here.

Now, being the chosen People is not easy, Eh... as a matter of fact, it's quite a burden, but that is another matter. Much more fun to be Pastafarians, if you ask me; but then again, pasta is not kosher for Passover.

Anyway, a Matza is actually quite tasty, but can be challenging to handle. Since we are not allowed to eat bread, we have to use this treacherous surface for sandwiches and stuff. And so, here's a spoof about those creative Japanese movies, that reveals how to break a Matza in two.

Now, that is what I call a true miracle of Passover, if you ask me!!

!!!חג אביב שמח

Labels: Food, Holidays, Joke, Meta Bloggin'

# posted by Nava @ 1:15 AM 2 comments

(* Learned this word today - had to use it!)

Advice: don't ever use confetti for decorating the table!
Ever.
These little thingies make the table look very nice and festive and cheery.
And yet... after the third time of finding confetti on my plate, I told TexieD it's not cute, but then everyone started to find them on their plates and in their food, as if those shiny creatures have developed a life of their own.
Took us a while to solve the mystery: the little dearies got stuck to everything, and whenever we would raise a glass to drink, they would parachute right onto our plates, mimicking the gracefulness fall of snowflakes.

After dinner, we waddled to the living room, for the real purpose of Christmas: Da Gifts!!!

We did keep our promise: no gift-opening until our Christmas tree has a proper name.

Nimay wanted to name it Bob ('coz it's cool!), and Romir came up with Scrappy Doo ('coz it's scrappy!).

And then, we could get to business.


The gifts were quite a success, for everyone.

Nimay and Romir were thrilled with the Knights Kingdom Lego and the irreverent book & calendar we got for them (those kids have an incredible sense of humor - it was quite challenging to keep up with them in real-time!), TexieD got some cool kitchen-stuff, and his better 95% got a nice silky scarf (very nice, if I might humbly add... I almost bought it for myself).

Then, TexieD became a hero for a long moment, which lasted from the second I opened my gift, until The JohnnyB opened his...
I was stunned by how TexieD managed to get one of the most incredible books I've been drooling over for a while (Anatomy for The Artist), causing me to temporarily become speechless, lose my eloquent vocabulary and reduce it to one single syllable: "Wow".

Labels: Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 11:20 PM 5 comments

Labels: Holidays

# posted by Nava @ 8:32 PM 0 comments