February 12, 2008
It is funny how over the years, it is the same thing from day to day, year to year, and I am not unhappy with this. I have work, though money is tight. I have returned to painting, and have developed a way to prepare surfaces for egg-tempera painting. I make the primer out of chalk, linseed oil, and venetian turpentine (gum of Larch trees), with enough chalk so the surface will be flat and not glossy. It is better by far than the traditional gesso for egg-tempera painting made with rabbit-skin glue. As in 2003, I had to get rid of some mice, and resorted successfully to the same method. A large pail. Six inches of water in the bottom, covered completely by minute styrofoam crumbs. Peanut butter smeared on the insides, just out of reach. I had two mice in the first five minutes. In twelve hours, I had all the mice in the house. Earlier, I got rid of racoons in the attic. Some specialists placed a one-way door so they could leave and not get back in. The first one was gone the same night. The second was gone in about a week.