November 2024

December 02, 2024

November 2024

Mike! One of the highlights of November is going to Louisiana for Thanksgiving and seeing my favorite big kitty, Mike the Tiger. What a sweet, playful, handsome stud! I wish I could explain my fascination with Mike … part of it is that I LOVE animals so much, and of course, I love cats. But there’s more to it. I’m in awe of his strength, his stripes, the L on his face, the way his paws plop and flop when he walks, his absolutely gorgeous golden eyes, his primordial pouch and the little white spots on his tiny ears. It’s amazing how different he is from Otis and JuJu but also soooooo similar. Mike sleeps a LOT and we’ve been to see him so many times when he’s conked out, but he put on a little show for me on Saturday before the LSU Oklahoma game, as you can see in the photo :)

But before I get into all of that, here’s an update on life in November:

I was very busy with docent activities this month. In addition to Animals in Art and GIANTS, the High Museum hosted the National Docent Symposium. I was originally on the planning committee for the NDS back in 2019/2020, but after Covid, things changed with plein air painting and I left the committee to focus on painting. But I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering with NDS, showing off our permanent collection and helping docents visit the botanical garden.

With my docent buddies in our docent lounge at the High Museum

Showing off the Iris Van Herpen 3-d printed shoes to docents from all over the US

I love this picture of my friend, Jane. And I’m so lucky to have her as a friend. She makes me laugh and she keeps me on my toes. Love her so much.

GIANTS tour with high schoolers

My classes at Acworth wrapped up for November. We had such a great session and my oldest student, Harriette, turned 94. I hope I get to teach her for many more years.

I spent more time at my studio and worked on several pieces, an abstract painting in acrylic as well as several oil paintings. Really pleased with this Campari / Negroni painting.

Daily drawings continue. I’m up to over 300 now. I’m trying to mix it up as much as I can - white charcoal on black paper, Procreate, Sketch n Wash, line drawings, upside down, blind contour, etc.

I turned 58 on November 19th. Scott gave me pastels and some really nice paper. So excited to dive into those.

This is also the month I think about my dad. Of course, I think about him all the time, but since he died on Thanksgiving Day, it’s hard not to mention it. 27 years later and I still miss him so much. Spending Thanksgiving with Scott, his family, his friends in such a completely different environment from the one I grew up in helps tremendously. He was 58 when he died, so you can see why this year was particularly difficult.

Onto happier news …

We usually stay at the Pontchartrain Hotel on St Charles. It’s close to so many of our favorite places and they have a rooftop bar with stunning views of NO. And we usually go to the same restaurants (Commanders, La Petite Grocery, Jacques-imo’s, Cochon, Shaya), but this year we booked some different spots. They were good and we enjoyed them, but next year I would like to go back to the usual routine.

We did manage to get a table at the Carousel Bar (the carousel was being repaired) at the Monteleone before dinner, so that was a treat. Vieux Carre!

On Wednesday we started the day with a ride on the streetcar. Scott said he hadn’t ridden on one in more than 20 years and I’d never been on one, so it was time! Thought it might be very touristy, but it wasn’t. There were plenty of people on their way to work. It’s old school, it’s classic, it’s fun and it only costs $3 to ride all day!

We rode to the Tulane campus and walked all around, enjoying the architecture, camellias and live oaks. It was so nice.

After a shower, we drove over to Domilese’s for lunch. I will never go to NO and not go to Domilese’s. They had a major computer snafu in the kitchen and we waited forever for our food, but it was so worth it. Get the roast beef fully dressed and a Barq’s root beer. That’s all you need to know.

Then we hit Magazine Street and my favorite shop in NO, Magpie.

And then we went to the New Orleans Museum of Art for some quality time with Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Louis XVI and Richard Diebenkorn. All the royals :)

For dinner we went to The Peacock Room then back to the Pontchartrain for a nightcap at Hot Tin.

On Thursday we drove to Baton Rouge to spend Thanksgiving with Scott’s parents. We stopped by to see Mike, but of course …

As I’ve mentioned before, we have our routines, and Friday is no different. It’s lunch at The Chimes (boudin balls, jambalaya and gumbo), a trip to Bengals and Bandits for LSU gear and dinner at Baton Rouge Country Club (turtle soup and ice cold martinis!).

Saturday was game day. SC beat Clemson! And then it was off to Tiger Stadium. We met up with Scott’s buddies, which was a lot of fun. And we had killer seats in one of the suites. And, best of all, the Tigers won. Perfect day!

OK, before I forget … I have to brag just a little bit.

I got invited to paint at the Wekiva Paint Out in Florida in February 2025!!!!!!!!!! I’m ecstatic.

I think that wraps it up ... unless you want to see pictures of my two sweet Siamese tigers.

Quick story: before we left for Louisiana, Scott caught Otis napping in my suitcase. When we got to the Pontchartrain Hotel and I opened up my suitcase, I found one of his woobies, a super soft green pickle. I guess he didn’t want me to forget about him … like I could ever forget about my baby Odie!