Friday, August 4, 2023

Last day in steamy Florida! But I feel we got what we wanted accomplished. I like the final furniture arrangement so we can work off of that. We just did errands yesterday (no beach) but one of the things we found is a great picture for over the mantle by a local artist. It depicts the older, artistic, downtown area of our town and has lots of color and interesting details. We are going to work on acquiring it later today.

In addition to getting a good arrangement of the furniture I was able to disable the alarm system which isn't in use but was periodically thinking it was. We have all kinds of security people and neighbors around so don't feel the need to have it (the people we bought from didn't either). However, the AC wouldn't drop the temperature low enough last night. I hope it is just the filter but it is a 10 year old unit.

Today is definitely a beach day at least for part of it. Time to get walking before it gets too hot. I slept an extra half hour because I was in the middle of a deep dream. Need to get motivated! Have a finishing up Friday!

ETA: Diane S questions: We are thinking of purchasing a painting we saw at a coop Artist Gallery. Can we offer an amount less than asking and if so what % would be reasonable and not insulting? If the artist isn't there are the other artists minding the gallery usually authorized to negotiate on the artist's behalf?

Liz, first, I have to compliment you on knowing that negotiating with an artist might be offensive to the artist! Kudos to you for that. Some people would be clueless.

I have a question regarding the art: Why do you want a lower price than what is being asked? Is it that you want a deal or do you not think the painting is worth the price at which the artist has valued it? Clearly the piece intrigues you, so it has some intangible, intrinsic value to you already.

I also wonder if you would ask an attorney to negotiate a lower billable rate for you? Do you negotiate price with the person who colors your hair? How about the plumber or electrician? As you can see, negotiating with crafts or trade people's set value is a "sticky wicket" issue for me. I'm generally not a fan. Perhaps having been on the receiving end of having my skills devalued makes me sensitive to this issue.

It is so confusing because sometimes one is almost expected to negotiate for certain things? I don't want to seem like a neophyte. But if one usually pays the stated value I'm okay with that. I figured Diane S would know what the expectation is (I have never previously paid more than $200-$300 for a piece).

Shirl, sorry your director is being a dick! Doesn't matter the reason, an arsehole is what he is!

Learned how to cook a beef shoulder roast yesterday. DAMN! It was tasty and so, so easy. Just had to cook for 9 hours in the slow cooker. I made "street" tacos with the shredded meat. Dinner was absolutely yummy. I made a light and super tasty "Mexican" Coleslaw to accompany the tacos. Dressing was easy - lime juice, olive oil, cumin, fresh garlic, salt.... really very light and refreshing.

Got on the scale this morning to see a new low weight. Just a little more than a pound to go to get into that new 'decade'. It is gratifying to see my choices are slowly but surely having a positive impact on my weight.

My brother and I were in debate of how to dress my dad. It was kind of amusing really. My brother wanted to replace Dad's old and faded too small tee shirts with more tee shirts. I wanted to replace them with polo shirts. The assisted living place is really very nice and the residents seem to dress for dinner. I want my pop to have more presentable options. I'm not a fan of old men in tee shirts. Perhaps it is my gay sensibility, but I just think old men can still be and should be presentable. It's clear the ladies still find my dad quite attractive, so why not play that up? My brother finally agreed and we are purchasing both types.

Not much else going on here. The weather is really nice. We have been having below average temps this week - upper 70s to low 80s with a pleasant breeze on and off all day. It's been glorious.

Fun and Festive Friday to all.

With deceased DH I still wanted him to look good but found that certain items were easier for him to manage. So I bought items like that in a good quality so they looked good after washing. Pull-on pants are an example - he used to wear jeans but really couldn't manage them anymore. I also got him slip-on shoes. And quite a few quarter zip pullovers because he was always cold and they still looked good even if he couldn't manage the zip some days (he couldn't handle buttons).

Greetings all

Computer and keyboard are back in place and while I still am a poor typist, it's easier than iPad. It's amazing how computers have become an integral part of our personal lives. I grew up pre computer and I think I got one on my desk when I was 30 something. Even later before I had one at home (enter DH with his computer geekiness). Now being without one is like having no electricity.

Peps polo shirts sound like a good option for your dad and are as easy as t shirts. My mom's nurses always dressed her up nicely and I made sure she had cute stuff. It was nice for her to receive complements. Her retirement home was pretty swanky and some people really dressed up. There was one woman who was always beautifully turned out - I used to think of her as Betty Ford due to hairdo. So I think it's important for your dad to have decent things if he can afford it. A sport coat can go over a polo but not a T shirt. I vote with you.

Liz in an artist cooperative each artist sets their own prices. The person on duty generally has no adjustment authority. I have dealt with this more than once and I have called the artist with offers though all of us in the coop generally don't like to do this. I personally won't discount anything as I feel my stuff is reasonably priced. Painting pricing is a personal thing. No rule of thumb on % or amount. Remember that the gallery takes a percentage of each sale and it can be as much as 50%. I would not expect much of a discount to be accepted. I am sure these customs vary greatly in each area.

Shirl hope you are moving forward and not enduring too much BS. Onward!!

CC hope the big stink is going away.

DD yay Mexico. A good friend used to live in Taxco. She has the puppy bat girl. Always described all these wonderful craft places. She longs for homemade tortillas. Enjoy the trip!

Whew this moving of furniture sure has kicked up dust. Peps you had dust bunnies; we have dust elephants! We are wiping things down and cleaning all the surfaces that have been uncovered after years. Much more to go.

DH is at lunch and will likely bring home mexican food. I need to stop at the store for a few things. And then to the studio to make more stuff to sell to tourists!

Diane S

Thank you so much for that information! We stopped in the gallery again last night and found out that the artist whose picture we are interested in will be there later this morning. We are going to go so we can meet her - kind of interested because her recent paintings are frequently of our area, but previously she lived in Massachusetts so has paintings of the Northeast as well. We don't plan to try to negotiate - wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway.