Adjusting

The view from my apartment on the third floor. You can just start to see the first blush of fall colors.
This is the view though most mornings when I wake up....
The other morning I thought my windows were steamed up, but it was literally the fog, the house was just engulfed in fog.....you could'nt even see the trees that you see in the photo above.
There are deer everywhere and chipmunks are as common as the lizards in Florida. Trying to sleep with the windows open is a challenge......the woods do not go quiet at night, the sounds of insects and who knows what else permeates the air. I did notice though on cold nights its very quiet......wonder where they go?....or do they just go quiet?
This is the old panel up in the hall of the 'servants quarters' (where I stay) that was used to call the help......
I'm settling into the job and feeling less anxious. The first couple of weeks here I was a bit of a mess, feeling the loss of my independence and missing my friends. There's plenty to keep me busy in a house this size though which is a good thing. I'm concerned that I haven't been able yet to work painting into my daily routine, but I think that it will be possible. The couple I'm working for will be leaving Oct. 22nd for their island home in St Vincent, not to return until Dec. 4th. They'll stay a month and then go back to the islands. I'm still undecided about my future here, whether I'll stay or not. I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Leaving for NY tomorrow morning.

Whew-Who!.....sunshine.....finally. Poor Philly has been inundated with rain and floods and at last there are peeks of sun.
I've been busying myself with creating the Etsy shop for my friend while I wait to go to NY. I also took down my old Etsy shop and started a new one that will be just for paintings (no thrift shop finds).....my 2"x 3" birds, the 5" x 7" canvas board paintings and the larger ones, the Beach Chair and the Pelican.
Today we'll make the rounds of the local thrift shops, but no buying for me. I've got extremely limited funds and its going to be awhile before I get a pay check, bills are going to be due before that happens so I've got to be very careful. Lets hope for some buyers at my Etsy shop!
Still haven't gotten the final moving date, but I'm still hoping for Sunday.

So the new date for possible move to new job may be Sunday.

Got to Philly around noon yesterday.....only got lost twice on the way here......once was in DC, I don't need to say more than that about that.
I heard from the new job again and learned that the previous employee has found a new home but there is a possibility that all of her things may not be moved by Friday, and although I was asked to come anyway (if I didn't mind) I needed to let them know that I wasn't comfortable with that.
Making a move like this is such a big deal for me. I admit to still having some fears about such a drastic change, I've been 'come and go as I please' and 'do as I wish' for a very long time. So being able to arrive there and create a space/home for myself right away is really important.......staying in another room until the space is clear feels very awkward. Living out of bags and boxes gets very old very quickly. And I don't like feeling homeless and disconnected or ungrounded..........on my, I am getting old lol.
So I'm waiting for a response to my request that I arrive after she has moved her things and hopefully that response will be that its done. Pushing doubts aside, I am anxious to get there and settled in so I can focus strictly on the job.
While I'm here in Philly I'm going to help my friend that I'm staying with start an Etsy shop :-) I'll post the address here when its up and running cause she has some pretty cool things she'll be selling.

Quick update.....I did end up leaving yesterday, the funds cleared a few moments after I posted yesterday.
After a 10 hr drive though the deep south with no AC, I arrived at my sons house around 6pm greeted by delicious hugs from the grand kids :-)
I'll leave here today around noon to get some drive time in and then arrive in Philly tomorrow afternoon.
I finally heard when the new job will start...and it will be Friday....can't wait to get there.

Well, for the first time ever a Paypal money transfer did not clear into my bank account in the two days that it has always taken in the past. So, although I'm out of my apartment (now officially homeless) I'll be staying at a friends until 'business' days resume.....meaning I'm stuck in Florida until Tuesday at the earliest.
Mind you, I couldn't be 'stuck' in a better place, Linda's home is beautiful...... I've posted a picture of her backyard before.......

All my things getting donated today :-( I really wanted to take that black drop leaf table apart and put it in my car, but its heavy and I think I'm already pushing the load limit on my car. I just love her legs.
If anyone's interested, in an attempt to rustle up some more bucks I've listed the beach chair painting and the pelican painting on ebay......just for one day at a 'buy it now' price of $100 each + shipping. (Note to Janet....I know its way too low, but I need the money:-)

Everything is right on schedule. All but the very last minute things are packed. I got packages shipped out yesterday. The cost was a bit of a shocker, but everything to go was chosen carefully so no regrets.
I placed a few last minute things on craigslist but if there are no takers my favorite thrift shop will be here tomorrow to pick up everything for donation.
Today I'll pick up things from my Drs. office and then have lunch with my old friend Wanda. After that I'm going go look at a restaurant in a town just south of me (a new franchise). I was contacted about possibly doing some artwork on canvas for someone who's considering opening two or three of them.......work I can do from NY and ship.
Most of the heavy cleaning (stove/oven, frig, tub etc) is done, today I'll spackle holes I made hanging all my pictures and canvases.......its only fair, the walls look as though they were used as a pin cushion.
Leaving for Atlanta on Saturday morning for a quick visit with my son/family and then on to Philly before landing in NY.
Here's a closer look at the home I'll be working and living in.....

Time To Regroup and Boxes, I Need Boxes

How things can change in just a couple of weeks. RV dream put on indefinite hold. On July 17th I placed an ad on BedandBeakfast.com . I had finally realized that I had taken my 'want' to be a successful artist as far as I could, and I'm defining successful here as having the ability to support myself with my work. I took it all the way to the point where I had pretty much nothing left, including the ability to pay for a roof over my head.
Oddly enough I don't feel defeated. I see now that I had to take it as far as I could, not as far as friends thought I should take it, as far as I had to take it.......and that makes moving on feel right.
So, back to the bed and breakfast ad......I needed work, and I needed a place to live. I started writing a resume.
From age 16 until I began painting 15 yrs ago all of my work experiences had been service related. And for those wondering..... my not having any formal art training/education (right or wrong) keeps me from feeling confident or qualified (right or wrong) to pursue any sort of position in the art world....and feeling confident is going to make all the difference in finding a job......concentrating on my prior work experiences is what I decided to focus on and finding a live-in position would take care of both of my needs, work and a place to live.
For BedandBreakfast.com rather than posting a formal resume I summarized my work experience and what I was looking for and posted the ad on 7/17. I received a response on 8/21.
The response however was not from a B&B, it was from a private homeowner with a 10,000 sq ft home on 70 acres in NY state. WOW!
I sent her my phone #, we spoke and did a skype interview and a day later I was offered the position of live-in housekeeper, cook, and property manager with accommodations and salary. I accepted the offer.

MY NEXT ADVENTURE.
This is one photo of the home sent to me by the owners......
This position could not be more tailor made. The owner and I got along right away on the phone and during the skype interview. And when she initially wrote me she mentioned my having time to do painting and that maybe some of her friends would even be interested in my artwork. I felt very good about her being supportive of my art.
And can you believe it, the homeowners are away for six months of the year which is where wearing the hat of 'property manager' and having time to paint kicks in. This is an amazing opportunity.

This next week will be my last days in Florida. My 'favorite thrift shop' will be picking up the last of my furniture on Thursday and I will start heading north making a stop or two along the way.
I still have lots to do to get ready and of course that includes packing......so I'd better get back to it.

OK........I forgot there is no such thing as perfect. I spoke to the owner of the RV I mentioned in the previous post and it turned out that the RV needed work that wasn't mentioned in the ad, and I wouldn't have been able to afford to fix.....so that one is off the list.
I re-listed my ad this morning and have gotten one response so far, but alas, this person is 3 and 1/2 hours away on the west coast of Florida and apparently unable to email pictures of his RV or willing to email further information about the RV (preferring (actually insisting)to speak on the phone). A conversation won't help me because I won't drive 3 and 1/2 hours if I can't see it in advance or even be told if its the size I'm looking for.......so that one's off the list as well.
I got an email about a potential job (yah!) and I'm waiting to hear if my bid was accepted.....fingers crossed.

I found a listing on Craigslist this morning that would be perfect! An RV very similar to Gladys but a couple of years older, Gladys was a '91 and this is an '89....still, it looks in good shape and only has 55,000 miles on it. Price?.....$3000. I've written inquiring about a possible trade using my car and/or also offering to sell the car to purchase the RV. I'm guessing at that price though he'll find a cash buyer before I'm able to sell the car........and I'd need a promise he'd hold it while I tried.....don't want to end up with no wheels at all. I've put an ad up to test the waters...see if I can even get $3000 for the car..........so far?.........no takers.

I forgot to take a finished photo of the bathroom wall below, but I'll probably be going back sometime in the next couple of weeks cause they have to remove a large mirror and old light fixture so I can paint behind them....I'll take a pic then (if I remember).
Today I decided with no new work in my future to go big, what the hell.....I listed the large 55"x 60" beach chair painting on ebay at $750. and the pelican painting 36"x 29" at $450. You all remember the pelican painting yes?
Tomorrow I will start on a dog portrait for a friend of mine.
I've been spending my day online looking at and dreaming about RV's. Most of you may remember that I had one a few years ago and though things didn't go the way I hoped, I really loved that RV......you all remember Gladys..........
When I had that one it was for the dream of being able to travel and paint my way across the country......well, that didn't work out very well......I was totally unprepared and had only lined up work as far as Georgia, plus I was relying solely on my experience as a mural painter to secure jobs along the way, and going through little tiny towns that were struggling to survive.....well, there weren't many people interested in fancy, schmancy murals I can tell you!
This time though the interest in a RV is for different reasons. I did learn while out on the road before that its pretty darn cheap to stay in some camp grounds on a monthly basis....way less than apartment rent plus utilities....and the people you meet are so real and grounded. Every month I worry about rent and bills and that's all I think about all the time and I've had enough.....I can't do this anymore, its literally making me sick.
This time I hope to be better prepared, there are lots of options out there. There are several sites that list jobs at campgrounds for RV owners, workamper is one of them....and there's caretakerjobs and BedandBreakfast , coolworks ........lots of stuff. And.......there are tons of websites for craft show/fair listings all around the country making it possible to plot a course and do some craft shows.
I've written to a guy who had an ad on craigslist looking to barter his small rv for other means of transportation, included in that was 'small car'.....I've asked him a few questions and am hoping for a response.

Yesterday and today I'm working off the advance I got to do this bathroom that paid my last (way too late) rent. I had to darken the picture so the design would show up, its actually very subtle. This is an apple (maybe more lime) green wall with just a paler shade of it used for this first layer of tropical foliage.
Over this will go more foliage (different types) in two shades of turquoise........the turquoise is used on the guest room walls that this bathroom is attached to. The client was inspired by a print seen on a wall covering.

Yesterday was a successful craigslist day. I had a podium/lectern that I used to use to hold my portfolio listed on craigslist along with a few other things and someone finally called about it.......a teacher who will use it in her classroom. While she was here she was admiring my large drop leaf dining table and I mentioned as she was about to leave that if she knew anyone.......it was also on craigslist...........she bought it too :-) Last night someone texted me about a chest of drawers I have listed and they're coming tomorrow to look at it. Since there's still is no new work in the future I'm squirreling this away to help cover the next rent coming up in just two weeks....ugh.
Tomorrow I'm going to start working on some new paintings :-)

My son thinks my work needs to be more edgy to sell. How's this?......lol