Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Universe Is Trying To Tell Me Something...

It was a very wet, very hot, very crappy summer here. My whole goal this year was to paint outside once a week.

I've done it maybe three times because the weather has Not Cooperated.

Today it was gorgeous out.

Puffy white clouds, slightly hazy sky, not that humid, gentle breezes, approximately 75℉ (23,9℃)...

I had to try it. I had to go for my stupid little walk for my stupid mental health! It was now or never!

Well, the walk was pleasant enough - traffic cooperated, I managed to check the produce that gets left out for free at the library (just kale and a few random peppers, but that's on me, I should've headed out before noon), and I even felt comfy enough to shed my flannel shirt.

Main Street was the kind of bustling you get from off-season tourists who just want to see what a small New England town is like when there are no cruise ships or leaf peepers (spoilers, it's cozy but largely boring unless you're into art and relaxation). I hopped onto a bench outside one of the bigger galleries and set up my clipboard and watercolor palette, sketching out a very sloppy view. My goal was to try out some brushwork ideas I'd had, practice glazing, maybe figure out how to do impressionism with watercolor if I was very very ambitious.

A gentleman set up near me with a violin. He had an interesting song selection that he was playing with speakers. Dunno if he was legit or one of the scammers, but that was besides the point.

The point is that this is when I started to get a familiar feeling in my gut that something might go wrong today.

I ignored it, because I'm anxious, so I feel that way a lot.

I mean, sure, I'm anxious because when I feel like something is about to go wrong, it does, but that's besides the point. People aren't supposed to give in to anxiety, right? So I keep painting.

I'm adding a bunch of dabbed brushwork leaves to a tree when I realize there's an older fellow in a western-style shirt standing close to me, watching me work. Okay, that's cool, he seems to be just watching my paints, trying to see what I see. It's a first for me, but I've seen other plein aire artists have this happen.

No sooner does he start asking me questions about my art (which I was really excited about, because this is new! People don't often take an interest in what I do in the real world!), than a yellowjacket starts hovering around me. We both remark on it and laugh it off.

Then it's joined by a friend, who lands on my thigh and starts moving... oddly.

And then they're both joined by a third yellowjacket who zooms aggressively towards my eyes. I hastily packed up and headed for home. I wasn't about to run because I know that a fast-moving target with hornets, bees, or yellowjackets around it is a stung target. I apologized for my quick departure to the baffled art enthusiast and trudged home.

The weirdly persistent bugs followed me.

They followed me for almost a half a mile.

They continued to aim for my face.

I finally lost them by leading them past a bottle redemption place with a whole swarm of drunken hornets outside. My stalkers decided that the booze was far preferable to my face, so they stuck around the pallets of broken beer bottles and crushed Mtn dew cans.

I bought myself a couple of 69 cent cans of soda at a nearby shop and went home, defeated.

Some days the universe just tells you "No, you're not allowed to enjoy yourself outside." This was apparently one of those days.

It's a frigging bummer.

No one has ever talked to me about my art on Main Street without prompting from someone who knows me.

Never.

So of course the one time it does, my stupid stinging-insect-attracting powers have to activate.

Heck.

Anyway, here's the watercolor sketch I was working on:

"God Said Stop Painting"; watercolor on paper; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, LOCATION]

As you can see, I was trying to use a flat brush and fill in the foliage of the tree I was looking at...

Those five dots in the sky are pigeons. Same with the dots on the background building.

And the buildings you can see are a secondhand store, a bakery, a movie theater, and a contemporary art museum.

I've probably just doxxed myself. It's been that kind of day.

Is this the universe's way of telling me not to freaking paint outside anymore? Telling me I'm not allowed to paint at all?

I feel pretty defeated, to be honest.

Weird crap happens every time I try to do anything like this.

Nature just likes to mess with me I guess.

Last time it was a freak rainshower. The time before that, a cruise ship arrived and I felt like I had to leave so that other people could sit down.

I want to sit somewhere with shade and paint.

Apparently the only place I can do that is at home.

That sucks.

Anywho, if you want me to make some art for ya, I'm happy to do that - you can commission me via Ko-Fi, DM me on Twitter (it's Twitter, not X, Elon's a doofus), if you're an IRL person I know, you can reach me via Facebook.

If you just want a say in what I post next week, feel free to drop me a small donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you want to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll make it for next Thursday!

I'll just probably be painting or drawing it either at the local library or in my backyard.

Probably the library, to be honest, because last time my mom sat outside, she was swarmed by bees.

What the heck.

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

Buckle Up Kids, It's Been A Few Weeks

So.

A few weeks ago I stopped updating.

I can explain.

So much has happened! I mean it! A lot!

At first, I wasn't posting because I was busy busy busy prepping for King Richard's Faire and the road trip leading to it! So much crochet! Tea-staining! Planning! Packing!

Then I was on the road. That will be its own section, trust me.

Then I was at the Ren Faire! So much fun! So many exciting things!

And then I was on the way home!

And then I was home, but exhausted!

And then we had a tropical storm!

And now here we are!

So first things first - Ren Faire prep was hectic.

I had two pouches and an undershirt to crochet, tea-staining to attempt on one pouch and the undershirt, frantic packing and repacking and unpacking and repacking again (I really did try to travel light and still ended up with two bags plus a tote full of snacks), and yes, anxiety, because I cannot enjoy anything without nature's caffeine (adrenaline) making my heart squeeze and pound.

Turns out I was maybe a little right to be anxious, because it turns out RVs hate me just as much as any other electronic.

We were maybe 2/3 of the way to our campground when the skies opened up, pounding heavy and hard on the car with raindrops so frantic and oversized I was convinced they were hailstones for a hot minute. That would've been fine, honestly, if the RV didn't quickly stop working, causing us to coast to a stop along I-95, where we would not be able to move from for over 8 hours. Turns out that Good Sam's RV Insurance isn't worth the half second it took for me to type their name. They left us disabled and stranded for twenty four freaking hours. The Massachusetts State Troopers, on the other hand, got us moved in like an hour.

So yes, we missed our campsite. And my poor friends, who were in charge of all the logistics, had to spend nearly the whole 24 hours we were stranded desperately trying to get a hotel, a rental car, a tow truck, etc. And fate and crappy call centers fought them every single step of the way.

Shoutout to the exhausted, overworked AVIS/Budget guy who ended up having to rent us what we strongly suspect was the van he had been using for his own family, because that poor guy got just as shafted as we did, since the dorks at the call center rented us a vehicle that did not exist on his lot. In fact, no vehicles existed on his lot. Hence the probably-was-personal van.

That being said, while waiting for the tow truck to take the RV to get fixed, we went on a little road trip to a mall where we tried Mochinuts for the first time!

A Three-Pack of Oreo, Fruity Pebble, and Matcha mochinuts

A fried mozzarella stick with French fries

Mochinuts are, apparently, donuts made with mochi flour, which makes them delightfully crisp & chewy and just all-around tasty. The Oreo was my favorite - it was intensely chocolatey on the top, not overly sweet, and that chew was super satisfying. The Fruity Pebble mochinut was also fantastic, though the cereal was a bit dampened (big surprise, it was like 86% humidity that day and hot as hell). Unfortunately the matcha mochinut was... stale-tasting, which disappointed every one of us.

The fried mozzarella sticks were practically a religious experience, though.

See, they're called Cheesedogs, because they're the exact same size and shape as a corndog (which they also sell and are also delicious). Which means they're BIG. Yes, I was murmuring Big & Chunky in my head the whole time I was eating the one Z got for us to share. They can come with different toppings - the one shown above has French Fries and my buddy T got that one. Our friend S was the one who got the mochinuts! But Z & I had a cheesedog with crushed ramen noodles on it.

100000000/10 strongly recommend. I went from feeling exhausted, overheated, and ill to feeling deeply satisfied and happy in only 4 bites.

You know what's not satisfying?

Spending six bucks on this junk.

I like cotton candy as much as the next fatty, but these kiosks are a waste of your time (something like 7 minutes) and money. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball when it came out, screwed up several times, and tasted like chemical farts.

Minus five stars.

After the trip to the mall, we picked up J, who had taken the task of making sure the tow truck came for the RV, and we all went to a motel. It was a nice little place just outside Carver, and while there was a little nonsense with the showers, it was very very good to not be stuck on the side of I-95.

We even drove to a place for some shaved ice!

The views in Marshfield, MA were spectacular

100 flavors!!! 

If Z & I hadn't been 100% stuffed with mochinuts, cheesedogs, and Sweet Frog frozen yogurt (and pineapple Dole Whip), we'd have tried a lemon-lime ice or possibly a plum-grape ice. As it was, T got a Pretty Princess and it looked fantastic (it was pink & purple!).

We finally retired for the night in fine spirits, ready for our adventure at King Richard's Faire the next day!

The Faire....

My God, that was the Faire to start with, in my opinion. None of us had ever been to one, and among the five of us we had T in a cloak, S in a lovely black dress & cloak, J as an absolutely precious gnome (we're talking full-on, unintentional Nana cosplay from David the Gnome, 100% homemade), me in my emerald green Torvi top from Holy Clothing (plus crocheted accessories), and Z in his shockingly comfy outfit of a cream-colored cotton top and a pair of white linen pants with very thin gray stripes (plus the crocheted bag I made him!).

Of the 5 of us, I think Z was the most comfortable the whole day - it was upper 70s and 86% humidity.

None of us got heat exhaustion, however, because 1) we all hydrated obsessively (don't use the tap near the Mud Show, it's rusty, use the ones near the Privies near the Queen's Stage!), 2) most of us were wearing at least one breathable garment, and 3) the whole of King Richard's Faire is in a forest (except for the jousting field).

The temperature difference between the sun-soaked parking field and the pine-shaded Faire was nearly like air conditioning.

If you've never been to a Ren-Faire, King Richard's is... a great introduction. You enter through a portcullis after being greeted by the Royal Court, and you're immediately in dappled shade with what feels like a true medieval village! There are permanent buildings for every shop, some done in that Tudor architectural style that everyone thinks of when they think Ren-Faire, and others in adorable fantasy shapes (a kiosk shaped and painted like a mushroom was selling tails, ears, and other costuming supplies; one hut was shaped like a witch's pointed hat with the tip curled slightly and had a stained glass window with the Hylian crest on it!). 

If you're into leather, there are at least 3 shops there to cater to your needs. If you want weapons and armor there are several places, including a working blacksmith! If you like pottery I saw a few spots for it, including one that let you do your own Raku pottery! You could hatch your own dragon egg to win a prize in a little house that had a dragon shop in it! You could have the Washing Well Wenches help you find missing party members! Do you want elf ears? There's a lady who has every kind of ear known to fantasy. Do you want an ocarina? There's a very sweet lady who sells ocarinas (you'll know her by her excellent playing and the Triforce branding on her signs).

And of course let's not forget the food.

My god, the food.

So I'd heard that the turkey legs were huge.

We were undersold.

Our turkey leg probably weighed at least 2lb
And was mostly meat.

I 100% recommend the food. We didn't have anything that wasn't delicious - the turkey legs are sublime (they truly do taste somewhat hammy, but there's still that turkey undertone and they're meaty as can be!), the bloomin onion was crispy and hot, the Cobbler's Corn is a Mexican Street Corn that Z & I each had an ear of and could have easily eaten six or seven more lol. S got a caramel apple with all the fixings and it was a whole, cored & sliced apple in a bowl with hot caramel in the bottom instead of being a sheet of sticky stale caramel wrapped around a stale apple on a stick like I'm used to. We also had some candied nuts (The King's Nuts), and those were delicious - we had cashews & almonds.

The food is pricy, but... not as bad as at the Maine Lobster Festival, to be honest. You get good value for your cash, and the water taps are free, so you don't even need to pay for water if you don't want to.

Pro Tip: Don't buy your food tickets at the gate if the line is long, there are plenty of kiosks in the first few hours where you can pay your cash to get your food tickets. Each ticket is worth $1, and turkey legs were 17 tickets, so be prepared.

Still, that's a 2lb in-character meal for 17 bucks, so uh... worth it in my estimation.

After you eat, you should definitely check out the many shows in the area - Jacques Ze Whipper was at the Faire when we were (in fact, that vid was taken while I was there!!!) and his shows are always worth the while!

Yes, He's cracking a flaming whip.
Yes it was incredible.

He's got a friend named Ses Carny who runs the Torture Show on the Queen's Stage, which involves knife-throwing and fire eating, and that was a great show, too.

I had a very sore throat on Monday because of screaming "TORTURE!!!" back at him lol.

I Am A Great Photographer LOL

Now, after Ses's Torture Show was...

A dog trainer.

J really loved the dog trainer's show, because he had very cute Jack Russell Terriers.

Z & I were in awe of the guy's show for... entirely different reasons.

I'm sure he's a great guy. He went to Clown College around the same time as Penn Jillette! He's been training dogs since the 1970s!

He's the reason Z & I were paralyzed with giggles for an hour and a half that night.

I do not recommend hysterical laughter.

Sure, we both felt some catharsis from the giggle fit, but uh...

It's scary when you cannot. stop. laughing.

Anywho...

We were all excited to see the Jacques Ze Whipper/Ses Carny Secret Show but...

The sky had other plans.

We received a deluge reminiscent of the one that disabled the RV, forming ankle-deep puddles in minutes. I'm pretty sure almost everyone fled the Faire at that point, and we were soaked 100% of the way through. That night I learned that, yes, Holy Clothing does indeed bleed. Fortunately it didn't bleed onto Z's white shirt and pants.

We voyaged back to the hotel in shockingly high spirits, Z & I were overcome by the giggles, we slept, and then we went back home.

The ride home was shockingly smooth for having to drive over 220 miles (365km or more) before 4pm.

It was close, but we made it (after quickly dropping Z & I off at my house so that the van could get to the AVIS/Budget center nearest us).

And thus I was home.

And I crashed.

Boy did I crash.

I crashed so hard that I basically did nothing until recently when Lee decided it wanted to try to visit.

And boy do I not like rain now.

We overprepared for Lee, I'll confess. We bought batteries, we battened down the hatches, Z & I planned to spend the day on the internet until the strong winds inevitably killed our power and internet.

And then Lee was a delightful little wet fart for us.

It was loud, it was damp, but it was not the 70mph gusting, 3 inches of rain spilling nightmare we feared.

Sure, there was storm damage around town (and yes, someone died, unfortunately). A tree landed on a house I walk past. Another tree landed on a car. But our power never did more than flicker briefly, our internet stayed strong, and we had a long day of watching YouTube videos together.

And now here I am, staring down at some soft yarn that I'm hoping I can find another skein or two of (I think it's Red Heart Soft in a dark brown color, I legit cannot remember?). I am trying to make an autumnal hex cardigan.

I'm also trying to get up the gumption to do art tomorrow.

We'll see how well I do!

For now, though, I'm still somehow sleepy, despite it having been 9 days since the Ren Faire. And despite having dozed all day.

It's just that kind of day.

The plan for the week is:

Art for Thursday.

Something crochet-related for Monday.

Blather for Tuesday.

I... think I have pics of when I was tea-staining everything? At the very least I'll talk about that next Monday.

For now though, it's time to relax.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS: Z, I know you're reading this.

Please, Peppah, just one more jump! Please! We gotta pay off the car loan! Just one more, Peppah, please, oh god....