New Substack

Apparently, finally, I am angry. So far, I’ve been too stunned and exhausted by politics but the Musk thing has nudged me over the edge. I was thinking about Cassandra as I was painting this new bird, but I’ve used that name as a title before and needed to come up with something with fear and reverence involved. Pythia, who as the Oracle of Delphi, channeled prophecies from the god Apollo, felt right. The name even goes with her gauzy shroud. And I bet nobody blew her off as a hysterical worrywart. In other news, since Americans are now going to need an ETA visa to visit England, I took care of that online this week. A bit frustrating with all the nit picky details and time limit but I’m good at this point for two years. Still can’t stay more than six months, however I’m free to come and go as I please. I planned to go again in January, but the potential government shutdown and its impact on the TSA nightmare that is Logan airport made me rethink my agenda. And although the government situation has been resolved, Newcastle is coping with Metro infrastructure issues which keep shutting the system down, so I’m sticking with February for my next visit. I was back at The Crown and Anchor craft fair this weekend. Had my old spot from last year on Saturday but moved to the other side of the room where there was more heat yesterday. More, yes, but still not enough to counteract it being 6 degrees outside. Again, it’s been all about the greeting cards and mugs but the originals I took with me got lots of attention. And speaking of originals, Auggie, my painting at the AMZehnder Gallery in Wellfleet here on Cape Cod sold during the Salon show. Yay! Auggie, the little owl below, is an angry bird too. Interesting.