A day off/Catching up/Paintings by Aunt Florrie and Mom

*sigh* Joey McIntyre was voted off "Dancing With The Stars" last night. Damn that Kelly Monaco!

So I have a day off today. Of course Gaspar has to work a double so won't be seeing him but what else is new! :o( At least he is off tomorrow so I'll get to see him then. But that gives me the day to have a little downtime.

The apartment is now at the point where it's almost livable and we'll be able to have people over soon. Already had our first guest. Tony came over on Monday and we hung out in what has become known as "The Fun Room." Our place has a bedroom with a walk-in closet, living room, big eat-in kitchen, and another bedroom. This other bedroom is where the video games, VCR, computer, and stereo are. My childhood bed is doubling as a couch and the recliner (Joey/Chandler chair) is in here, too. So we watched "Hitch" in there and it finally started feeling like home. We still have a long way to go, though!

Mom is coming over this morning and we're gonna have breakfast before embarking on the city for her knee doctor appointment. Just a check-up after her recent knee surgery. Haven't spent the day with Mom in a couple weeks so that will be nice. Plus I'm just happy the kitchen is finally in a state where we can have people over to eat in it!

Curtains curtains curtains. A week or so ago, Gaspar and I made a major purchase in the form of curtains for our apartment. All of our furniture has pretty much been inherited from friends and family so the curtains were a big deal. It really makes the apartment ours, something we did to make it homey and pretty. Expensive but worth it. (If any Queens locals are reading this, we got most of them at The Fair on Myrtle Avenue - great!)

And the kitchen is finally our kitchen and I know this because I was finally able to hang Aunt Florrie's painting, "Culinistic Primary." My aunt is a very talented artist and as a teenager, visiting FL, this was my favorite of her work. It's hard to explain but it's in primary colors and portrays the shapes of a fork, knife and spoon. And it's framed with a white matte and red frame. It's just beautiful and I love it. It used to hang in my aunt's kitchen. In 2000, as I made plans to move out of my parents' home for the first time, my grandparents came up to NY from FL on a visit and said they had a gift from Aunt Florrie for me. And it was "Culinistic Primary"!!! I was so overcome. It is one of my very dearest, most treasured possessions. It has hung in each of my kitchens - even the basement apartment! - and no place is home until it's up. And now it is! We even chose the curtains for our kitchen based on the painting.

Another painting that goes with me from apartment to apartment is one painted by my mother. My mother is also a very gifted artist. When she was going through college (which was pretty much all through my life) she took an art course and did a year-long independent study on Georgia O'Keeffe. There came a point where O'Keeffe was following the advice of others and she found she wasn't painting for herself and went her own way and followed her own vision. While my mom's art has always been truly hers, at least in my eyes, while she studied O'Keeffe it seemed she too came to a similar understanding. And that was epitomized for me in a certain painting of hers. It doesn't have a name but it's abstract in nature, minimalist, and to me looks like a road. It has always symbolized a journey or departure to me. And it's beautiful. It even once hung on the walls of Sotheby's as part of an NYC teacher and student exhibit. And now it hangs in every apartment I live in. When I first moved out Mom asked me to pick one of her paintings and there was no debate for me which one I wanted.

Mom is on her way over and I still have to jump in the shower. She's supposed to be bringing her digital camera so we'll take some photos and I'll post them later.

Oh - Vinny - if you are reading this, I got your email and will reply when I get back from the city with Mom!