Getting Used To Retirement

Most things about retirement are great. It’s nice to be able to make time to paint almost whenever I want. It’s nice to not worry about getting up early to go to work or to have to go to bed early for the same reason. Up until Aggie passed away last December, having enough money to live comfortably wasn’t that difficult; although we didn’t, even with Aggie, really learn to live within our means. And now, on my own, it is more difficult to spend less than is coming in because of further decreased income. Every month I still spend more than my income. October is looking especially difficult financially, and that is what prompted this post today. So far I have been lucky for the odd unexpected benefit that now and then comes along, but the financial cushion, which wasn’t that great, is now very close to being depleted. No, I don’t want to get a job. Now I want to paint . . . and that’s what I’m going to do. For me painting is not a job, it’s what I want to do, it’s what I have to do. If I’m a starving artist, so be it. I would rather be a happy starving artist than not have the time to paint; even if it means cut backs and doing with less and in some cases doing without.

Am I glad that I retired a little early? Yes, I highly recommend it to everybody. Don’t wait until you are forced to retire. Don’t even wait until you think you will have enough money to retire; unless you are very wealthy, it won’t happen. Just do it. The most difficult thing has been losing Aggie. We supported each other in everything, for more than 39 years.

Downtown Tagish Yukon

Here is  a photo of what most people consider is “Downtown Tagish”. Maybe it really is. It’s one of two businesses that are obvious to first time visitors. It is the only business many visitors see. It contains a Service Station, Grocery Store and is the Tagish Post Office.

Below is the Cafe part of “Tagish Stores, Cafe, Motel and RV Park”. It’s the only Cafe in town, and it serves excellent Italian Coffee and home made soup. Kurt is shown below making a cup of coffee. He is co-owner of the new business with his wife Jutta.

 

 

My Studio

Here are a couple of photos showing the painting corner of my studio, and my companion “Cisco”.

See. It’s Winter

Here it is. Snow. I awoke this morning to a white landscape and a temperature of -1C. It’s really winter now. I expect a lot of snow this winter. Because of global warming . . . maybe; I’ll leave that up to the experts in that field and I’ll leave the remedies, whatever that may be also to the experts, but manipulated by the politicians, I’m sure . . . and I’ll continue painting.

“Mountain Lake” Now In Aggie’s Gallery

Aggie’s pastel painting “Mountain Lake” is now in Aggie’s Gallery. You can see it here.

Framed “Birch Bay Lookout” Prints Available

Two styles of framed “Birch Bay Lookout” lithograph prints are now available, triple matted and framed (16″ x 18″),  in two mat color styles. You can see them here.

Today is the first day of Fall. But it is more like the first day of Winter. This summer has been relatively cool with Fall virtually appearing earlier than normal. Don’t get me wrong . . . I’m not complaining. I like all seasons and all types of weather. And hey, life is wonderful.

Note Cards Now Available

I have made two note cards available in the “Print Gallery” on my website. Follow Page Link on the right (Ulasovetz Prints Available), or go to my website and view the Print Gallery. One note card is from a painting I did in the Yukon of Emerald Lake. This Lake is probably the most photographed lake in the Yukon. The other note card is from a painting I did near Inuvik in the NWT.

5 Days in the Studio

It was great to give priority to my artwork for most of the last 5 days. The cost was not having done work around the house, that needed to be done. And still needs to be done. But it was definitely worth it.

Yesterday though, I had to go to Whitehorse and the whole day disappeared as I joined the rat race in the city; to visit bureaucratic government offices and big business predators. Today I’ll get caught up on necessary paperwork and tomorrow it’s back in the studio.

I don’t usually bring up politics but I am getting quite worried about the world situation caused in most part by “W”. It is really the fact that Canada, or should I say our Prime Minister is supporting “W” to a degree that I think is contrary to what most Canadians would like to see. Support of US actions basically was from two countries when the USA occupied Iraq. Now the UK has pulled back and Canada seems to be taking it’s place; in Afghanistan now, and until the Conservatives are defeated, I think other campaigns will surely follow. We are quickly losing the role of peacekeeper in the world and soon I’m afraid we will be joining the object of hatred from the rest of the world that the US receives now. I stress that this is how I feel and I really don’t know how other Canadians feel about this. Right now I can only guess.

I promise I will try not to talk politics again unless it is to respond to a comment directed to me.

Aggie’s Gallery

Most of today was spent painting. In between working sessions in the studio I added “Aggie’s Gallery” to the Blogroll. Aggie loved to write, paint and listen to opera. I’ll add some of her other stuff to the gallery later. When I’m painting I don’t have much to say here . . . what I have to say today is in my art.

Breakfast at Jake’s

This morning I had breakfast at Jake’s Corner on the Alaska Highway, with a friend (Lionel) who was passing through on his way to Inuvik. It was nice to run into a pleasant waitress with a nice sense of humor. Lionel dropped a slice of bacon on the floor and at the end of our meal when the waitress approached our table he said, “there’s something wrong with this piece of bacon”. 

The waitress with a worried look on her face said “Oh, what’s wrong?”

“I dropped it on the floor”.

Without skipping a beat she said, “Oh, that’s okay, I dropped it on the floor before I gave it to you.”

Much of the day was spent hauling water (650 gallons) to top up the house water tank, doing 2 loads of washing, and making a batch of spaghetti sauce for supper tonight. Now the chores are done and I can paint!