Getting Inspiration From Your Surroundings

     I've gone through a rather stagnant period lately. A series of medical set-backs has made me anything but creative. At the same time though,  I noticed I became more and more irritable and it just wasn't being ill either. The pity party began when my partner left in early January, then one body system after another failed and my time, a quarter of each day, I realized, was spent on the phone with medical issues (that's a topic for another day).

     The studio, my second bedroom, became filled with stuff as I brought in more new birdhouses from my storeroom. We looked at each other and I closed the door. The desert air sucked water from my brush basins and more dust accumulated.

KLM Delft Freebie collection

     One day my daughter sent me a photo of someone's KLM's Dutch delft collection. Once upon a time flying was MUCH classier than today. No brawls, drunks slept and meals were served with china and silverware. Today that sounds like a fantasy in huge crowded flights to anywhere. You were often given kitschy mementos of your flight.

     When I left for Peace Corps Liberia in 1967 our PanAm flight from NYC to Amsterdam had only about 20 of us on a Boeing 707. The stewardesses served us first class food with bottles of champayne. My last flight to China the only seats open were in the restroom and not often at that!

     I looked at that photo on my phone as I walked into the studio. Sitting there were one, three and four hole birdhouses. And you know what? I could see how easily you could recreate Delft and Amsterdam houses on an actual birdhouse. It was time consuming and the single birdhouse became a running disaster as all the ink ran when I tried to set the ink with too much spray. I cried but rather than throwing it away put it down and left the room for another day.

    The next day, I stared at the running mess and wondered if I could save it. Carefully using blue and white Sharpie pens I was able to recreate the birdhouse so that it mirrored many small Delft pieces I had seen at tourist traps in Amsterdam over the years.

It started with a shirt!

     I tried a four-holed Delft version but looking at pictures of actual street scenes I realized the many canal houses were far more interesting and colorful. This led to three-hole and four holed versions.

     They were fun but very time consuming. More importantly, I noticed my mood was better and things I'd put off for months were getting done.

      My journey wasn't over however. Palm Springs is probably the Mid-Century Architectural capital of the world. The Annual Mid-Century Modern week, held here every year brings thousands from around the world. Besides many famous movie stars from the past coming here, Palm Springs was the place to go from the 1930's through the 60's. $10,000 to say $20,000 winter cabins built then sell for millions today and are everywhere  A fantastic gas station has become a tourist info attraction and many hotels keep themselves looking as new as when they were built.

     Going to a party recently I wore a 50's themed shirt everyone commented on. Looking through my unfinished birdhouses I discovered one that looked mid-century enough and another adventure began.

     I am also finally watching MAD MEN and the era it portrays was a great time for breaking old rules and creating new ones. Rather than bland designs and bland color, LOTS of color was used everywhere. What fun!

     I began to realize how important the things you see around you influence you whether it's something to paint, an event you write about if you're observant enough, how music is inspired by the sounds of nature.

     But another adventure awaited me as again at a party I saw a paper napkin that intrigued me. Years ago, I became intrigued with a new kind of art called Zentangle that was created with intricate lines using black ink pens of various thicknesses. These designs were fantastic. It seemed new patterns and designs were being created every day. At first it was 2D art and the occasional coaster and pin was created. I was involved with birdhouses and never really got into it much.

A paper 2D napkin.

    However, the napkin this time made me wonder, could you use it 3D? I couldn't see a reason why not. Since I paint all sides of my birdhouse, all sides plus tops and bottoms, carrying a pattern could be a real challenge.

     The challenge was first tested on a small mini $1.00 birdhouse. I painted the sides teal, the roof and base black and used a black Sharpie of several thicknesses to fill the design on the sides. The design was then picked up on the roof with white ink. I was surprised at how attractive it was. Surely there weren't any other products

First attempt!

like this. I was amazed. As small as it was it took a great deal of time. You couldn't watch TV for sure so I went through about half of an audio book instead. It's a great way to catch up on your reading, surely!

     I did another in rust and black then tried a small box. When I felt I had learned to deal with paint and pens, I painted a much larger birdhouse white, leaving the roof black and sketched the pattern with pencil on the white sides and white pencil for the roof. I added a perch and painted it red for contrast.

     Once the design is on all sides, including top, botton and back the inking is done. I am learning the wood needs to be sanded to a paper like surface. Shading is harder but that's a challenge I will address. Setting the ink before a varnish is extremely

The first large completed piece!

important before you can varnish the piece. Several light coats one side at a time are crucial or all your work and time risks a big heartbreaking run destroying all your time and effort. Finished correctly though brings great satisfaction!

     My recommendation for those starting a project like this is to start small and simple. Learn from mistakes before going large. The reward is a beautiful and unique object!

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

WHEN Did Car Cars Get So Boring?

For awhile now, I've noticed that cars today in general are boring, inside AND out. I mean look inside a Tesla EV and there is little more to look at than a Model T. You pick an interior of stark white or black that are quite firm. Sure, I'll be told that the center mounted tablet controls the car. It can do all kinds of wiz bang things so appearances aren't everything. I prefer buttons not numerous screens to make it move.

BYD Seal Sedan, one of their best sellers

Clearly after riding in about 12 Chinese EV's last year in China, YOU can have it both ways ... a center
mounted tablet that is truly amazing and information shown in front of you as cars have done for a 100 years. Their insides are roomier, quieter with every accessory you would ever need front and back. The Tesla we rode it truly felt like a Model T in comparison. Only Buick makes a nice EV station wagon they don't sell here. There's a reason we ban Chinese EV's, they would wipe out the American car industry!

1934 Auburn

I've gone to several McCormick Auctions held in Palm Springs in February and November since moving here. A three day event, people bring their old and recent cars to be auctioned. Fridays are free to the public while Saturday and Sunday are reserved for auctioning. There's something for everyone, believe me. I relive growing up in the 50's amidst cars, sedans, convertibles grandma drove that were  bigger than my 2003 GMC extended cab pickup. I stand in awe looking at cars family and friends drove while looking at British and Italian cars sold at the same time. They'd fit in the bed of the truck.

The bigger surprise is color, inside and out! Yellow, turquoise, pink and blue and white Buicks, Chevy's, Fords, Mercury's and even Cadillacs in pink! Or pink, white and black Dodge Coronets. Who can ever forget Vermillion and white Oldsmobile's with matching interiors?

1959 Ford Thunderbird

Today all you see are white, silver, battleship grey ( I guess that's the compromise between black and white) and black. In fact the most popular car colors of 2024 were: 1. White; 2. Black, 3. Grey, 4. Silver with equally boring black, grey or beige interiors.

There are arguments that Gray, Silver and Tan/Beige hide dust and dirt. I can agree with that. I could go a long time before needing to wash my tan 1971 BMW 1600. It came with a saddle interior that contrasted nicely. But when my forest green pickup with a dead grey flesh color fabric was stolen shortly after moving to Palm Springs I bought a Soul Red Mazda CX-5 that glitters in the sun. However, that doesn't seem to deter seniors from trying to hit me. It has a black interior that hid the black hair of my Lab when she was alive. I really wanted the dove gray, the only other option but I had to be reasonable.

Corvette Interior. Maybe not as safe but
what color and function!

Ironically the colors that show dirt the most are black, charcoal gray dark blue, burgundy, dark green and WHITE. Since this is the desert white is by far the favorite color. But, gray is catching up with a plethora of grays that range from pleasant to ugly. If I didn't love Mazda's reds, tans would be best here. Windy just about all the time, tan hides the ever present dust.

From the Mid-Century capital of the world however, these colors are a cop out. I'm finally in the 7th season of MAD MEN and am constantly amazed at how colorful we once were. They depict Palm Springs, Los Angeles and NYC from the late 50's to mid 70's and it
was certainly a lot more colorful than it is now. So, the question remains, "when did we become so boring about color?"

A plethoraof white, black and grey

Anyone familiar with my ETSY store knows I am not shy about color!!!

 Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed!    

Be sure to visit my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

Getting Old Is Not For Sissies: But You'll Get OLD Faster With HealthNet!

 If there was ever a designed road to hell, look no farther than dealing with Wellcare by HealthNet and probably any other healthcare insurers.

Today, after the fourth refusal, I spent over two hours trying to get a medication prescribed by my doctor. This time my urologist. If you don't think this stalling isn't designed to frustrate us think again. All I wanted was, if they were refusing one medicine, to find out what WAS covered?

I know we've all been there. Profit takes precedence over health.  

On March 7th I saw my urologist after a urinary track infection {UTI} gripped me and wouldn't let go. This has been a recurrent problem since 2014 when my cancerous prostrate was removed. It returned 18 months later and was treated with 8 weeks of radiation. I later found out this can kill nerves to the bladder in between five to ten years. It did seven years later and after a hellish year of self catheterizing I had a Superpubic catheter tube and external bag placed in and on me. The bladder nerves had died and after 13 UTI's in a row this new procedure ended some worries. Because you have an object coming out of your abdomen you are still subject to UTI's.

Now my urologist felt additional surgery was counter-productive and prescribed medicine for pain management. I didn't care as long as it worked. It did but only for 10 days. I was only given 15 pills and was running out.

The infamous "formulary."

I received a letter from HealthNet on March 20, 2025 dated March 10, 2025 (I guess sent by Pony Express) denying coverage of this medicine. They would only give me 15 pills until I found a substitute. Me, I should find a substitute? Isn't that their job? I'm no pharmacist. So I called the number to find out what WAS covered. This started the seven levels of hell.

The "formulary" is a list of medications Wellcare covers.  Unless you know the name there is no cross reference to help you.  There certainly is no cross-reference to find similar alternatives. I did find the name, listing of available milligrams, the pricing tier they charge for and under requirements, you need a PA. This I discovered meant prior authorization but no explanation what it meant or done by whom. I had never dealt with this before and you would think a doctors prescription was enough. Apparently not.

I talked to 6 people for over 2 hours and still was not able to get my medication. I was put on hold trying to talk to people whose English was clearly not their first language, who kept shifting me from one department to another. I hung up after 2 hours and 20 minutes when I was told I now had to go to the Commercial Department and were going to put me on hold yet again. I just couldn't bare the thought. I hung up.

I then called my urologist and, as usual could only leave a message. Seriously, I don't know why we have phones anymore. NO ONE ever answers or returns a call unless it's a bill collector.

So, here I sit with no medicine, yet again, on the threshold of excruciating pain that I can't get medicine for. When I go to Immediate Care, yet again, it will cost them far more to pay for that visit than authorizing my prescription.

Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, tried in 1904 to give Americans universal healthcare, like Europe. We're still waiting 121 years later. And Congress, Medicare is NOT an entitlement, we've paid into it our whole working careers! So, let's find a solution, everyone would appreciate it!

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to visit my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

A California Scam Designed For You!

 If you live in California, or for the matter ANY state that's passed a Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, like California's SB 350, BEWARE!

A week ago I got a call from a company that was offering seniors free quotes on remodeling areas of your home, in my case changing a bath tub to a walk in shower, for a "free" estimate with final costs rebated partially by our Senate Bill 350 that I found out was passed in 2015.

At 79 and never able to use a bath tub again I had been thinking of doing this anyway and agreed to have someone come by and give me a quote. 

A young man indeed came on the selected date, quite late and after a discussion and viewing my bath tub area quoted me a remodel price of $30,000.00. This was just to remove tub and tiles and put in a walk-in shower. No measurements were taken, just a quote he made at the time. He didn't even ask what I wanted ... doors, tile, a seat. Nothing.

As a point of reference, I had water damage from a pin hole in the copper pipe that brought water into my condo. This was in my walk-in closet wall and may have been going on for a long time. Insurance covered $25,000.00 of the damage which was extensive. Dry wall in the left side of the bathroom had to be totally removed and all the built-in cabinets which we discovered had black mold. Dry wall 4 ft. up was removed in the walk-in closet, the hallway and half of the living room behind the kitchen and the entire floor of the master bedroom and walk-in closet.  All of this had black mold and I was forced to live in a few hundred feet of my condo for eleven l o o o n g weeks. I made some extra changes since it was ripped up anyway. I figured I paid an additional $5, 000 on top of insurance to get at least half of the bathroom I wanted.

Talking to friends and a retired contractor, they all agreed this was way too costly. The contractor said he'd do it for $30,000 smiling and licking his lips. So the more I thought about it I cancelled my appointment. For that I had hell to pay!

The new appointment, after several calls encouraging me for another "try," was for Wednesday, January 22, 2025. On the follow-up call, the day before, I told the caller I was cancelling. Asked why, I explained I was put off my the first visit and wasn't't ready for any work to be done. 

Within 30 minutes I received four phone calls from differing numbers Reminding me of the visit the next day. I told each of them I was cancelling.

As you can see, they all came from La Puente from three different numbers. I spoke to a Julie at California Upgrades, a John again at the same place. There was even a 310-713-8819 call from the Rebate program twice. I thought I was done.  Then at 7:30 while at dinner with friends, yet another call I ignored. 

Then, this morning it started all over again:

Five more times from La Puente, CA; five times from four different numbers. After I blocked them, I got three more calls at 9:48, 9:56 and 11:43 from Blocked I.D. numbers.

I told the last caller I would report them to the State of California and he hung up on me. In fact nearly everyone hung on me when I said I didn't want them to call me. Reporting them on my blog is a better way I think. It won't be lost in the state bureaucracy.

Here is short rendering of SB 350 which is 36 pages long:

It is very convoluted, as most bills are, and it takes a stretch to figure out how I or any senior would benefit from this program. It is essentially about increasing energy efficiency, think solar panels, not walk-in showers.

Here is the potential victim. The space measures 4'9" W x 7' H x 29" D.
Not a big project and the plumbing is already there.

I think the tub is original to the space. Tile work was added when the bath was remodeled with new cabinets that had to be torn out due to black mold and wet dry wall on the other side which is completely new and 21st century modern.

Do I know what a new walk-in shower will cost? No, but surely it can't cost as much as the estimate I was given. He had no business card or references, he left doodling on a sheet of paper and nothing that qualified him or me for this benefit program. The rebate "might" happen after I paid the full amount. With the terrible fires a county away and new ones today south of us, I can't imagine any construction will be timely or reasonably priced. I have decided to just wait.

This afternoon I received more calls I ignored. I guess their game is to wear me down. I'm half German and Teutonic will is something I learned early on. After this is published I'm hoping further calls will cease. DON'T let this happen to you!!!

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!

Entertainment By Design?

 

Over the past week I was able to see nine movies out of several hundred available at the 36th Palm Springs Film Festival. There was NOT one prequel OR sequel shown to my knowledge. Each film was unique, individual and most were from around the world! There were many unique stories to tell not the endless pap we get from Hollywood which seems to have run out of ideas.

To give you an idea of the variety I will give a short synopsis of the nine I saw. I encourage you to see many of them though the MAGA crowd may not be happy that several feature Gay relationships.

FOUR MOTHERS: an Irish entry, tells of a successful Gay author who tries to balance his career and care of his stroke victim mother. She is a handful and while trying to figure out care for her so he can go on a book tour in America finds his Gay friends dump their mothers on him as well. They don't like each other and make impossible demands on him. There is a solution but, as they say, the journey there is funny, touching and poignant. Highly recommended!

I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU: A Gay couple is waiting to adopt a child. They have finally been chosen and decide to celebrate the adoption and their 10th anniversary in Italy before their lives change. Friends arrange the visit, hotel, car rental and dinner with a fabulous cook. Somehow, four murders later they return to the hotel and home in time to get their baby. It is funny, shocking and amazing and had the audience not sure if it should laugh or cry! It got a hardy applause!

LOVE ME: A live action-animation story of love between two entities in the distant future where the earth is just water and all life is gone. It questions what life and love are. Sobering look at our future if we don't become better caretakers of Earth.

MISTRESS DISPELLER: From China, this tells of how a wife can hire a woman to get rid of her husband's mistress. Certainly a new story line. The wife finds proof of her suspicions and hires the dispeller who meets the mistress, brings wife and mistress together, confronts the husband and after this is done helps the mistress find a man of her own. I have never seen anything like this but apparently it IS done in China.

OLD FOX: A Taiwanese movie of a widowed father and son trying to improve their lives. The son befriends a powerful landlord and the two become friends as the "Fox" recognizes himself in the boy and decides to help.

GROUP THERAPY: Hosted by Neal Patrick Harris he queries a collection of comedians about their lives and struggles. I realize some of our best comedians come from a world of pain and hurt. Their act is a kind of working through this pain. While interesting I can think of several Billy Crystal movies that did it better. It does make you wonder how society functions after listening to them.

DRIVE BACK HOME: Alan Cummings stars as a Gay brother whose straight brother is called to bail him out of jail. Their journey from Toronto to New Brunswick finally gives them time to adjust and learn to care for each other. Wear a sweater. Canada in winter is COLD!

A NICE INDIAN BOY: A huge crowd pleaser (packed house and huge standby crowd) an about a young, Gay East Indian doctor looking for a partner. From an Indian play, the American Indie cast creates a beginning and end with a sister marrying first and her Gay brother in the end. It truly explores love both arranged and through romance in a truly captivating way. It will have a general release in April. Highly recommended!

THE MOUNTAIN: Three kids befriend each other in New Zealand as a girl with cancer is convinced that if she can climb Mt. Taranaki she will be healed. All three kids have lost parents and becomes the tie that binds. It looks at parents, love and the struggle to move on. 

These were all original plots that address the human condition as many good films do. Hollywood has lost its way and needs to look farther away just as the best films do. As I saw last week, there are still many good stories to tell. You just have to have the courage to tell them.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!