Painting of the Week

My computer kicked me off several times this morning while trying to download pictures - very frustrating or as my mother would say, flustrated me. While waiting on the computer, I got three phone calls on my cell phone. I was trying to get to town to have lunch with Toby and then do a trip to Wal-Mart. I finally gave up and rushed out the door only to have the Schwan's man pull up at the same time. It has been a wild morning.

I thought I would do sunflowers since they are so abundant right now. One painting is watercolor and the other is pastel. Neither turned out like I saw them in my mind, but that happens. Maybe I will try again later.

The Expert

Jesse came home last night from work telling us exciting stories of being in "the lab". The lab is actually a huge building where Halliburton does all sorts of things including testing parts that are made by Halliburton. Since Jesse gets to work on the design of the parts, she will sometimes get to check out the way things are used and the testing of the parts. She had to buy steel-toed boots and safety glasses to go out into the field. She also has to wear a hard hat. Her coworker, Heather, went with her to the lab. Heather is similar to Jesse in size and looks. Both are cute, young, single women. Jesse was amazed at how friendly all of the men were. She said the men were all very informative telling how things worked, telling past stories of tests, and showing the girls around. The men even shared their lunch with the girls. The girls went out to "the rig" where tests are done on an actually drilling rig. More men – more attention – more info. Jes had a great time.

During conversation last night, Toby mentioned that our stand-up fan had quit working. I asked Jesse if she had dropped it or knew why it was not working. Her response was negative to both questions. Then she said, "Did you plug it in?" When Toby and I gave her the "do you think we are stupid" look, she got tickled. In her typical facetious way she said, "Go ahead, ask me anything. I am an expert now on parts and how they work."

Accents

Taco Mayo has a commercial that makes me laugh. TM is a fast-food chain similar to Taco Bell. The commercial displays three of their new, Mexican food products. What is funny is that the voiceover is done with an Irish accent. Why Irish? It reminded me of a joke that Toby told several years ago when my kids were still teen-agers and we lived in NM. I was also reminded of this joke when Laurie mentioned "talk like a pirate day" in one of her comments.

Here is Toby’s story:
Toby came home from work and said he had a joke for us. He then proceeded to tell the joke about Sven, a Swedish Olympian, using a Swedish accent. As Jesse, Bo, and I listened to his joke, we got tickled before he got to the punch line because Toby was telling it with a Spanish accent. I interrupted to ask, "Was this by any chance a Mexican/Swede?" The kids and I were laughing hard by this time. Toby gave us the exasperated look and tried the accented joke again. This time, Bo interrupted and asked, "So, it was a pirate/Swede?" At this point Toby said, "Look, I only know two accents – Spanish and Pirate. Which do you want?" We were rolling on the floor laughing, and he had not even gotten to the punch line. The joke, itself, is cute, but not nearly as funny as Toby telling it in his Pirate or Spanish accents.

Here is the joke:
Sven, an Olympian swimmer, was working out in the weight room. Another Olympian trainer came in to work out, and struck up a conversation. "So are you a pole vaulter?" asked the Olympian. Sven answered, "No, I am not a Pole, and my name is not Vaulter."

Maybe the person doing the voiceover for Taco Mayo did not have a good Spanish accent; so he did his Irish accent. I think the commercial would have worked better with Pirate talk.

Adjustments

Toby is off today. When Toby takes off work to work around the house, it is much like a weekend, and it is confusing. My allergies are keeping me from doing much outside, although I go out and check on Toby now and then – hand him tools, take him a coke (I’m from Texas; we call it a coke even if it is a Sprite), and act like I am helping. I read on SpouseBUZZ, a new military wife blog, about the difficulties in adjusting to the coming and going of their military husbands. Just adjusting to Toby being home during the week can throw my routine. But like the military spouses, I don’t really mind having him around – I can adjust.

Speaking of adjusting, Jesse had two softball games last night. I knew up front that I might have to play if they did not have enough girls. Because it is a coed team, they play by some pretty odd rules having to have so many girls on the field and every other batter must be a girl. It is a friendlier league than the city league that Jesse played for during the summer, which was much more stressful and competitive. Not only did I have to play last night; Toby had to play too because they were short of guys. My prayer was to just not embarrass myself or hurt myself. I think I did okay. The coach did not know his own team very well, much less two new people. He seemed to be a very nice young man. Fortunately, he was not expecting to win – just play the game. Yet, he probably thought, "Great, two old folks playing with us." It was a good thing that he was not expecting much from us. It sort of took the pressure off. We played in the outfield and batted at the end of the lineup. When I got up to bat, the coach said, "Just try to hit it easy." I told him that he did not understand how slow I was. The truth is that I am amazingly strong and very coordinated. I am just slower than molasses when it comes to running. The coach was pleasantly surprised when I hit the ball into outfield, but then I only made it to first base. By the time I made it to third, I was puffing like a locomotive. The third baseman said, "Nice hit." I could only nod at him, because I needed all my energy to breathe.

We did not have to play the second game – Thank God! More young people showed up and took our positions. Toby and I watched from the bench, relaxed, and caught our breaths. This morning we are a bit sore, but not too bad. I love competitive sports. They just beat the heck out of dancing around the room with a bunch of ladies at aerobics. I just wish I could still compete. How is it that your mind can stay so young, but your body starts wearing out? Another adjusment to make!

The morning:
Toby took today off. I have been running errands with him this morning – man errands. We have been to McNair’s Tire Shop, which is always an interesting place. McNair does a booming tire business. With cars and trucks parked amidst the old tires and junk, the mass-murder types working on the vehicles, and the odd assortment of Okies milling about, it is a hopping little juke joint. Every once in a while Toby sends me there by myself on some tire errand. I cringe at the thought. Where do you park? Who do you talk to? How do men know these things? Once when I waited inside the building for my tire to be repaired, I accidentally dropped my magazine on the floor. When I reached down to pick it up, I decided it was better left on the floor. It was probably stuck to the goo anyway. Being there with Toby is much better. I just watch from the safety of the truck wishing I had my sketch pad.

We made a run to Wal-Mart to have the oil changed in the truck. Toby bought me breakfast at McDonalds (whoohoo). After an hour of milling about the store, his truck was still sitting there, so we canceled the oil change and moved on. Next stop was Autozone, and then a quick stop at the welder shop. I like the welder shop; they know me by name and ask me about my family. Our last stop was the nuts and bolts business to buy bolts to hold down the barn(or something like that). I fell asleep in the truck for this one. We got home around noon. Now my fun date is out working on the welder.

Cartoons:
The Art Guild had a local comic book cartoonist to speak to our meeting at last Thursday evening. As you know, I don’t like to attend the Guild meetings, but with the art show coming up, it was something I had to do. I was glad I went. This cartoonist, Richard Jenkins draws a cartoon called Sky Ape. There are other guys who write the stories along with Richard, but he alone draws the cartoon. I was impressed. I have always been interested in cartooning - along with other illustration type careers. The art schools that I attended never seemed to be knowledgeable about such things. I think it is a more technical trade. Richard said he had an art degree from OU, but learned about cartooning and illustration after college. He showed us the basic technique he uses to do his drawings and how he inks them. Most of the time computers are used for the wording within the cartoon. It was all fascinating to me. It could be useful info for my art students too. Maybe I will try a cartoon sometime.

Thoughts:
With Toby home this morning, I watched Good Morning America which played a video of President Clinton getting pretty upset with Fox News. I thought it was a bit ironic especially when he accused them of putting their conservative twist to things. It was really interesting that he seemed to be saying if he were president now, he would be sending more troops to the Mid.East. It seems like the next question in the interview should have been, "Oh really, why didn’t you do it when you had the chance? What about Somalia?" Of course, I did not see the whole interview – only the part that GMA showed. I think I will go look it up and see what really went on.

Quote of the Day

Weekends are busy around here, but I wanted to share this with you. As I have mentioned before, my parents, especially my dad, have always been Demorcats. We just did not discuss politics with him - a true yellow dog Democrat.

Yesterday, while visiting with my mom, I mentioned the Hugo Chavez speech. Before I could say much else, my mom broke in with, "I don't like the Democrats much lately; they are acting like a bunch of asses!"

Art Interview/Painting of the Week 7

The last two weeks have been spring like weather her in OK. The bad news is that my allergies have gone haywire. I can go from a fairly normal person one minute to a sneezing, honking, itchy-eyed maniac the next. I have been taking Sudafed by day and Drixoral by night. Sudafed is a non-drowsy drug. The good news is that it is also an appetite suppressant (as if I could eat with all the sneezing). The bad news is that after taking drugs, my mouth is so dry that I lick my lips until they are chapped. The Drixoral usually knocks me out at night so that at least I can sleep, although I cannot breathe. It is the weird dreams that make the sleep not so restful. There’s a Kleenex box on every tabletop in my home. The really, really bad news is that Jesse has the same allergies and problems. The two of us are almost comical with our sneezing attacks. Between the two of us, I need to buy more Kleenex, Sudafed, and Drixoral. That means another police-like scrutiny by the pharmacist. Pray for me.

While cleaning my house for the Duncan Banner reporter, I stirred up plenty of dust. My allergies were not too bad – maybe because it was raining and the wind was calm. After getting the house looking pretty good, I went to work on myself. I usually wear jeans and an old T-shirt during art. I have messed up many a nice shirt with stray paint blobs. I did put on some make-up to cover my red nose. I tried to find some eye make up that would not bring out the red of my eyes. I stuck my hair up in a twisted knot trying to look a little more professional, but this interview was not suppose to be about me – only my students is what I was told. As my students and I sat down to art, my eye started itching. I absently rubbed at it – big mistake. It just got worse. It swelled almost shut. What eyeball you could see was a nice Alizarin red. About that time, the reporter and a lady from the art guild showed up.

The reporter was introduced as Jane. I am not sure what I expected in a reporter, but she was not it. "Plane Jane" would have fit her perfectly. She was a large woman dressed in unfashionable clothes. Her hair was rather thin and simple. I think it was dyed an odd color or maybe it needed to be dyed an odd color. Her shoes were those simple black pumps that old ladies wear. It was her feet that held my attention. She had "Minnie Mouse" feet – you know – where the foot is large and squished into a shoe that looks too small, yet the overall effect is that of big feet. I could not really tell you what her face looked like - I am a shoe person. "Plane Jane" also fit her personality. She was dull, and dry. Her interview questions were made in a non-interested monotone. The questions themselves were dull as dirt. In fact, they were so dull, that I kept interjecting more interesting information about the students. She asked one student quite a few questions scribbling notes as she went. She hardly asked Ashley, the other student, anything at all. Not to be left out, Ashely asked Jane, "Don’t you want to know the names of my paintings, too?" This was not going well. Sarah, one of my older girls, tried to keep the conversation flowing. Sarah is bubbly, beautiful, and an excellent artist – Jane ignored her completely.

After a few questions toward the girls, she turned to me and started asking questions. Wait a minute! This is not supposed to be about me. Both ladies said they had discussed it, and thought they would go ahead and interview me for a later "artist of the month" story. Why didn’t I see that coming? After the usual name, rank, and serial number type questions, she asked what else I like to do. I said, "Well, I blog." No response. I added, "I have a blogsite where I write." I got the blank look, and she said, "What else?" Okay, maybe she doesn’t get blogging. I moved on and told her about Soldiers Angels. She liked that. I showed her my pastel of Michael Yon that I had done because some blogger buddies had asked me to draw him. She liked Michael (who wouldn’t?). I even mentioned my Painting of the Week, but she was not interested or had no idea what I was talking about.

Next, she pulled out the camera and took pictures of everyone, except for Sarah. The girls were cute as always. My hair was coming out of the knot, I had rubbed all of the eye-makeup off of one eye, it was swollen shut, my nose was red and puffy, I had a red mustache from licking my lips (Frito Bandito style), and I was wearing a faded T-shirt, but Jane said I looked very "artsy." She took pictures of my artwork and the girl’s artwork. At Sarah’s suggestion Jane went into Jesse’s room to see her artwork. She liked that and said that maybe she would interview Jesse sometime.

When the two ladies finally left, my art girls and I burst out laughing. We teased Ashley about not getting very many questions. We teased Sarah about being ignored all together. We teased Natalie because she asked to be left out, but was included in a picture anyway. We laughed because the lady wanted to interview Jesse, who wasn’t even there. They teased me because Jane had ignored my blogging hobby. We were still laughing when Toby came home.

A final note: As Jane was leaving she noticed how the girls were laughing, teasing, and encouraging each other. Jane said, "They seem to be having so much fun, I think I want to stay." I have that kind of fun every Thursday although Jane brought us some extra laughs this week.

Rainy Thursday

Today a lady from the "Duncan Banner" is coming to my house to interview two of my art students for an article in the local paper. Apparently, the DB does a regular monthly article on some member of the Duncan Art Guild. Although I am a member of the DAG, I do not read the DB, so I really have no idea how this will go. I assume they will take pictures of the girls and their art. All of this is to advertise for the upcoming art show (money is the bottom line). I did think it funny when a fellow memeber of the DAG (who coordinates the articles) said, "...and we will do one on you sometime, too." Like I care. Artist can be such a touchy group - jealousies abound. The DAG is a good group, basically . They put on art shows and bring in guest artists for workshops. I have my art buddies who are also members, but then there are the egos to deal with...I am just not willing to do it. Several times I have considered quitting the Guild because they are such an anal group of people. They make up rules just to break them for "special friends". Then they will stick to some other stupid rule as if it were from the Bible. I have to remind myself that they are really not SO bad, that they mean well, and that my students love to participate in the fall show. Does that mean I am using them for my own benefit? Maybe so. Do they use me? Of course.

All of this means I must clean my house - no wonder I am so gripy. This really will be a good thing for my students. They will get a kick out of it as will their parents. I really do not mind, and I don't mind the upcoming art show. I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I will put on my smiling face and work up my dog and pony show.

Thoughts on Authority

I am late in blogging today. I have had some scattered thoughts, and I have been trying to round them up and make sense of them. This may be a little different today.

Today I have been thinking about the authorities and powers that be. We may live in a free country, but there are definitely powers and authorities that rule over us – some that we place ourselves under and others that we have no choice in. Without these authorities, chaos would abound.

One authority that we have no choice in is our parents. Like it or not, parents have certain rights to rule the lives of their children. As Christians we are to honor our parents and obey them. As far as I can tell, there is no timeline on that in the Bible other than when you marry, you are to leave and cleave to your spouse. That brings us to another authority – a husband is the head of the family and the wife (yep, I believe that). Fortunately, women have a choice in whom they give that authority to - choose wisely. Also as Christians we give our lives to Christ and abide by His rules. This usually means we place ourselves under the authority of a pastor or elders. As Christians we are directed to obey the laws of the land – the government. Unless we are self-employed, we usually place ourselves under the authority of a boss. When you join the military, you put yourself under rules and laws and obey the higher-ups. If we send our children to school, we are placing them under authority of a teacher, principal, and school board. These are a few of the authority and powers that I thought of right now. It seems in this world that someone has to lead and someone has to follow. Someone has to be the Border collie and others the sheep.

So, what if you don’t like what the authority over you is doing? What if you don’t like taking orders? What if the rules are not fair? What if the authority over you abuses his/her power? Can we change things if we are not happy with the authorities? Of course you can change things (well, the parent thing is a little difficult to get out of). Isn’t that what makes this country great? We have a freedom of speech to voice our opinions. We can make things happen. We can make things right. But, I think there is right way to go about change. Once again, there are rules that govern even the way we change the rules.

Grumbling and complaining about the authority is never a good idea. It does not cause peace, but unrest. It undermines the authority and makes for unhappy marriages. It does not make for a happy work place. I would think in the military, where orders are given and followed with lives depending on this, grumbling and complaining about the higher-ups could be disastrous. Clear communication is important, as is respect for each other’s positions. If this fails, you have choices. You can quit your job. You can find a new church. You can leave the military (sort of). You can change schools or systems. But, badmouthing the authorities is just low. Follow the rules, change them orderly, or get out.

Often authorities and powers cross each other. The rules become a little more difficult to follow – the lines become blurred. Who has the higher power – husband or employer, government or God, parent or teacher, personal freedoms or the good of society, etc? Our forefathers were not happy with King George and his laws. Unfortunately, they had no representation and little choice the matters. Yet, those men believed they had God-given rights – power – above what King George had over them. Those men came together and wrote the Declaration of Independence. I find that so amazing – so awesome. They made changes in their lives that changed the world.

Abigail served David against her husband’s wishes and was blessed for it. Her husband, who did not serve David, was struck with a sickness and died. Even after David became God’s anointed one, he never attempted to kill Saul knowing that Saul was crazy and wanted to kill him. God, in His own time, took care of that for David. Maybe that is the lesson here. Serve God first and He will take care of the rest.

Doubts

I read military blogs because I want to know first hand what is going on in the Middle East. I want to feel that I am a part of the war effort and not so detached, as other Americans seem to be. I feel like our country is at war and that men and women are sacrificing their lives for an important cause and keeping us safe. I think that if more people showed their support for our military, things would be much better for our soldiers. By reading personal accounts of the war, I feel like I know some of the soldiers and their real problems. By being a Soldier’s Angel, I feel like I am doing something to help and support our military. I feel like I do very little, but at least I do something. This is an important time in American history. People need to realize how important our military is and how important the job they are doing is to our everyday life. People need to understand this is a war. I want my Marine cousin, Jim, to understand how important blogs can be to the American people. They are a voice of truth and reality.

Although I have talked to Jim about blogging twice now (once before his first deployment and now before his second deployment) he is not interested for two reasons. First, he does not like the idea of hate-mongers being able to comment on his thoughts – not so much for himself, but he does not want his family and friends to have to see those kind of comments. Second, he said that he had been told that lots of military guys had gotten in trouble over blogs, "shooting their mouths off and such". I could have argued with Jim on both of these points as could all of you bloggers out there, but I chose to not be pushy (really difficult for me). If Jim does not want to blog, he does not have to. Jim knows that his emails home will be passed around by all of his friends and family and find their way into lots of stranger’s homes. He has given me permission to blog his mass emails and take any heat that comes my way. Still, I want to show him some great blogs.

Yesterday while reading some of my favorite military blogs, I ran across this on TF Boggs site. Tim said, "I believe that milbloggers in theater have a unique opportunity to share real time updates and give readers an on the ground insight into the fight. I liken milblogs to the letters soldiers have written in past wars and believe they will have an historical significance in the future for anyone wanting to learn about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would and do encourage soldiers with half a brain to write about their time here in country and value what they have to say more than most of what the media does."

I thought that Tim said that pretty well, and I copied it thinking to send it to Jim. Then I went over to American Citizen Soldier. I read through Buck Sargents’s latest post. It was really great – very informative, very interesting. But as I read, I thought hmm, maybe it is not such a good idea to send Jim to this blogsite. Jim might consider Buck S as one of those "guys shooting his mouth off." I was worried that I could possibly get Buck S in trouble. Personally, I think that Buck S is a warrior and a patriot. He wants to win the war. Right now, he is feeling the frustration of politics and bureaucracy. He is like a dog on a leash that wants to be let loose. His latest post was a bit critical, yet I know he just wants to do his job and do it well. As I read his post, I could not help but think that some "higher ups" might not see Buck S as so patriotic, but who am I to question military rules and regs. Then I read through the comments and found that someone else had the same thoughts that I had had. Someone called Jarhead had questioned Buck S’ wisdom in being so critical in a public way. At that point, things got ugly. Everyone turned on Jarhead for his comments including Buck S and TF Boggs. I thought it was quite uncalled for and inappropriate, but who am I to say? I am a middle-aged grandma with no military background at all, yet I had been worried about Buck S getting in trouble, as did Jarhead.

The whole thing gave me kind of a sick feeling. It reminded me of being attacked on a Christian chat site years ago because my beliefs were different. I wanted to stand up for Jarhead, but I did not want to be attacked as he was (been there – done that). I have made friends with some of the same bloggers that read American Citizen Soldier, and they might turn on me too. But I want to support Jarhead. Am I wrong here? Was Buck’s response appropriate? Was Jarhead wrong to question Buck S? Is this just some sort of Army/Marine macho argument?

None of this made me want to show my cousin any blogs. None of this would encourage him to blog his thoughts. Maybe my cousin is right.

The Weekend

It got rather warm here in OK on Friday and Saturday. Since our air-conditioner is out, it got miserable by Saturday afternoon. Our weekend plans had been to pick up Mom in WF on Sunday morning to take her with us to a family gathering in the Dallas area. We decided to head down to WF a little early and spend the night with Mom in her air-conditioned home. It worked out well. We did some shopping and had dinner with Mom and my brother and his family at a funky Mexican food place near Sheppard AFB. Great food and great company!

Sunday morning we woke up to booms of thunder and lots of rain, which we were expecting on Monday, but not Sunday. It made the drive through traffic in Dallas very interesting. Thank God it was Sunday and traffic was light. Being from Duncan, OK, it was more traffic than we normally see in a month. We made it to the northeast side of Dallas with no mishaps, but my hair was wild (was it the traffic or the rain?). We gathered at my cousin’s home to see his son and his son’s new wife. This is my Marine cousin, Jim and his new wife, Ariel. Jim will be deploying for a year to Iraq near the first of October. It was a good gathering. I tried to talk to Jim about blogging, but he seems to have doubts. He did give me permission to post his emails. He is quite a wonderful guy – a bit of a Dudley Doright type. Keep them in your prayers.

Today, I am taking my cow-dog to the vet. Yeha. There could be a story in this. Rita (named for Rita Baloo in the Guy Clark song) does not normally ride in a car. It could be worse. At least I am not hauling a cow to the vet. Last week it was a horse, but horses load in a trailer usually fairly easily (but not when you are in a hurry). My trailer backing abilities are lacking, but the vet gets a kick out of it. The stories I could tell…hmm, maybe another time.

Update

According to my Mom, Oliver kicked off perfectly five times in last night’s football game against Stephenville. Although Rider lost, Oliver did great. Throughout the game, my brother got calls on his cell phone wanting to know if that was his "Oliver Barker" that was being broadcast on the radio. I should probably explain that my dad was Oliver Morgan Barker and my nephew is Oliver Ray Barker. Both known as Oliver Barker. Last night, Oliver Barker was on the football field again – pretty cool.

By the way, I got some comments on my "Friday Night Lights" post via email and added them to my comment section. They are worth the read.

Picture of the Week 6

I painted this from a photo that someone took and posted on the internet. I would like to give them credit for the wonderful picture, but I cannot remember where I found it. The Marine smelling a letter from home was just an awesome photo, and I wanted to try painting it. If someone knows where I found the photo, please help me out. Jesse ran off with the camera (it is great to have someone to blame things on) this morning. At first, I thought I would not be able to post my picture. Then I remembered the scanner - duh. Although the printer/scanner is hooked up to her computer which is not hooked up to mine, it worked pretty well. It just took some disk work to move it around. Yesterday was a busy art day. On a normal Thursday art, I have anywhere from two girls to five. Yesterday, I had seven girls. It was difficult for me to sit and paint too, but I got 'er done.

This One Is For You, Buck

Here is a picture of Captain Jeff Donnithorne on the far left taken in Kuwait several years ago. The Donnithornes have been friends of ours for a long time. We got to know Jeff when he came to see his uncle in New Mexico. He went to Duke University and joined the USAF. Later when Jeff was stationed in Kuwait flying the No Fly Zone in Iraq, he and Jesse began emailing occasionally. Mostly we got his mass emails to family and friends. Those emails were awesome. Jeff came home and did some time in Idaho before being sent back to the Middle East. He was one of the USAF planes dropping bombs on Baghdad at the beginning of the war. Once again his emails were awesome describing his feelings as he flew his missions and the importance of what he was doing. When Jeff returned to the USA, he was sent to DC and the Pentagon while he completed a leadership program and his Masters at George Washington U. We visited Jeff in DC in Nov. of his first year there. He escorted us around the Capitol and acted as tour guide. We took Jeff to the Ia Drang Vietnam Veteran’s reunion banquet. Jeff had read the book, "We Were Soldiers" and was excited to attend – he said it was a life changing experience. While at the banquet wearing his dress blues and medals, he was impressive. Actually, Jeff is just pretty impressive anytime. My Uncle Bob, whom I have blogged about many times, took Jeff around to meet his friends. You should have seen the Vets swarming Jeff asking about the war and his service. My uncle introduced Jeff to General Peterson who was so impressed that he told Jeff that he wanted Jeff working for him. And so it was. Jeff went to work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The next year, Jeff sent us word that he would be on CSPAN sitting behind General Myers during the 911 Hearings because he was on the team that did the research. We also have a picture of Jeff sitting next to the Cheneys at a Washington function. Jeff is now stationed in Alaska and will be getting married in December. Enjoy the picture. If you want, I will post a picture of Jeff in his dress blues, but I may have done that before - can't remember.

Friday Night Lights

My Dad loved sports. He played high school football and was a walk on player for Texas A&M back in the Forties. Like his father before him, he was also a boxer. In his teaching career, he coached football and track. You should know that Dad was only 5’8". He probably only weighed about 160 – 170 at his heaviest. He was one tough guy. Dad felt sports were important to the development of a young person’s mind. He believed with the right coaching anyone could do anything. He loved working with young people, and he gave many a sense of accomplishment with his personal coaching. He loved going to all high school sports events, but football was his love. He kept up with all of the players. He loved seeing his old students at the games and keeping up with their lives.

Both my brothers were amazing athletes. They could play any sport from football to tennis and play it well. Unlike me, they were incredibly fast. I can remember Dad working with my older brother in the back yard teaching him the finer points of football setting up an old tire in a tree to throw the ball at. He also made hurdles for Craig to practice track. In high school, neither brother was any bigger than Dad had been, and sports had changed. Coaches were only interested in guys who were large. Wichita Falls High School had a football team that had been to the state play-offs. They played teams like Odessa Permian. The coaches were not interested in my brothers. The older brother gave up sports for the debate team. He did stay on the track team. The younger brother opted for other sports like soccer and tennis where size was not so important. At first, it was hard on my dad who thought every young man should play football, but Dad had other students to mentor. I think Dad came to understand that just because you wanted to play football and be on the team didn’t make it so. Times had changed.

This morning I got an email from my little brother who has three sons of his own. Once again, his sons are incredible athletes, but not very big. They play baseball, tennis, soccer and basketball (basketball will not last long due to their height). Soccer is the big sport for each boy. Like their dad, they are fast and agile. Last year, Oliver’s high school soccer team made it to the state play-off game (lost). In the email, my brother informed me that the football coach for Rider High School came to Oliver and asked him to be the kick-off man for the football team. Oliver has practiced this week and will be kicking off Friday night’s game against Stephenville. Go Oliver!

Dad loved going to see his grandson’s play sports, but soccer was not his game. He would go to the games, but he just did not "get" soccer. The truth is, I think my brothers felt they had lost a connection with Dad when they quit football. I know my younger brother was hurt by Dad’s lack of interest in soccer. I know my older brother felt like he had let Dad down. Who knows the depth of feelings between fathers and sons? I know Dad would have absolutely loved seeing Oliver play football. He would have been at that game Friday night come hell or high water. One of his grandsons is playing football on a varsity team, and Dad will not be there. How ironic!

Simple Life

I am late in blogging today. My computer bumped me off several times this morning making me fairly frustrated. Finally, I gave up and went shopping. Hobby Lobby was having a sale on frames and art paper – it was calling my name. I made it to Lawton and back by lunch, picked up some subs, and met Toby and Jesse at the park. We made a round on the walking path at the park before T and J went back to work and I went to Wal-Mart. Yeha! I also went to the bank (someone has to pay for those art supplies) and to the post office to mail a package to my soldier. Sending packages to my soldier always makes me feel like I accomplished something important. I also stopped by the art gallery where Jesse used to work. I took several of Jesse’s paintings in to Janice (the owner) and had her help me decide if Jesse should put them in the up-coming art show. I think everything Jesse does is pretty good, but I am her mother. Jesse does not seem to think her paintings are good enough. They may not be what the judge will like and win prizes, but they are what the people will like and could possible sell. I just think it is important to participate and make your name known in the community. It is just fun to have artwork at the show when they have the opening night – wine and cheese event. Janice and I decided to put in four of her paintings – don’t tell Jesse.

Lately, it seems that I have done more writing on other people’s blogs than I have my own. It could mean my life is rather dull right now, or it could mean I have other irons in the fire. I like to think it is the latter. I missed the first episode of "Dancing with the Stars" (now you know my life is dull) because I went to another Pampered Chef party. I wanted the deluxe cheese grater – priorities. Tomorrow night is another Premier Jewelry party, but "Survivor" may be starting – decisions. It would probably be best if I did not get started on reality TV. Although I truly do not watch a lot of TV, I am easily hooked. Maybe I should think more about my blog and what I want to write. Any suggestions?

Buck asked about our memories of 911, and then asked where we were when JFK was killed (I was a baby of course). You can read my answers on his blog comments. Mike Fay posted a picture of his muse - a cat. Being a tough Marine, he probably would not seem the type to have a cat. Personally, I cannot imagine life without a cat or dog. I have always been know to bring home critters. It was critical for me to marry a man who would love cats, dogs, goats...I often tell my art girls not to marry a man who does not let you have a cat or will not eat Mexican food (long story). You got to marry a man who will buy your chairs (from the movie "Phenomenon"). Anyone else needing advice on who to marry may write me :)

Mom to the Rescue

Last week Jesse announced that she was going to play softball with her fellow workers at Halliburton. Keep in mind that Jesse is a mountain girl. She learned to ski at an early age. She did not grow up playing sports like most Texas/Okie girls, or like me who grew up between two brothers and had a father who coached football and track. After the first softball practice, she came home saying that no one on the team was very good. It seemed to be a fun team and not a serious team, which Jesse was glad to know. Last night she went to their second practice, or so she thought. At 8:15 she called and said they had a game, did I want to come watch, and they were short one female player – bring a glove in case they need you. Toby and I jumped in the car and headed to town for the softball game along with my glove that is older than my child. As Toby drove, I worked on my game psyche telling my self, "I can do this. I won’t be the worst player there. I can do this. How long has it been since I played a real game of softball? Maybe they won’t need me." We got there in plenty of time in spite of Jesse's urging us to hurry. She was sitting in the stands with friends from church. In fact one of the older men watching the game is in the Softball Hall of Fame. Wait a minute! You mean I might have to play in front of people who know me? That is a whole other ball of wax. It turns out, that they found some other female to play. I was relieved and disappointed – go figure. Toby and I got to relax and watch the game. There were a few good players that carried the team. Jesse played right field and hind catcher. Several of her good friends were on the opposing team. Both teams were fun loving and it was an enjoyable time. Jesse was right, her team was not very good. I could have done it :)

911

Once again, Mike Fay says it best. He has some good art work posted also.

Celebration

We celebrated this weekend by cooking steaks on the grill. We boiled shrimp, potatoes and corn. For dessert, I cooked brownies to have with our ice cream. My son’s in-laws (our good friends) came and added to the celebration. We celebrated two things. First, my son got a promotion and a raise. He works for the OK Dept. of Environmental Quality. And what does a cowboy geek with a Masters in Ag Economics do for the DEQ? I am not sure, but it was a great excuse for a party. The promotion and raise were timely since my son and his wife are expecting my second grandbaby. This leads us to the second reason to celebrate. We found out that the second GB will be (drum roll)… a Girl! So the Grand Baby will have a baby sister in January. Life should get even more exciting, because things are never dull around GBN1.

It rained a little on Sunday after church. The sun came out late in the afternoon so that I could take GBN1 outside to see the kittens, dogs, horses, and whatever else she wanted to do. She likes to walk out to the cement slab where the barn will eventually be. There were several puddles of rainwater (about a half an inch deep) on the slab. If you have ever been around kids, you know what happened next. GBN1 splatted her way through all of the puddles. It seemed harmless enough to me, but then she laid down in the puddles before I could stop her. I did manage to stop her when she imitated the dog getting a drink from the puddles. I ended up taking her clothes off (except for the diaper and tennis shoes) and letting her have her way in the puddles. Toby eventually joined us in our splashing and fun. I was a little worried that her parents would not be pleased with us, but it was just too much fun. Her mom came out with the camera and took a couple of pictures. If she was displeased with us, she hid it well. I would like to post a picture of GBN1 in her soggy diaper playing in the puddles, but maybe that is not a good idea in this day and age. I will post one picture of GBN1 with her clothes still on.

It was a good celebration with friends and family. It was a Grand weekend.

TGIF

Yesterday was a great day for art. Starting at 1:30, I had art students here. The last one left at 5:00. I got dinner on the table, and by 6:00 the second wave of art students showed up. Since my first small painting of the week did not work out, I had plenty of time to work on another small painting with the second wave. The downside of being so busy with art is that I did not get to play on the computer and kick back, but it was still a good day. Thursday art is just my favorite.

Somewhere in my busy day yesteday, I spoke with my mom. I am headed over to WF to spend some time with her today. She has some things for me to do - errands and such. Last week she came to Duncan, had lunch with me and the Grand Baby. Oh yeah, the rest of the family was there too, but it is the Grand Baby that lights up life and keeps us entertained. Speaking of grandbaby, my son and daughter-in-law had a sonogram on Tuesday. They now know what the next Grand Baby will be, but they aren't saying yet. They want to keep their secret for a little while. I plan on working them over if they don't fess up soon enough.

While downloading the picture of my painting from the camera, I was able to look at pictures of Jesse's weekend at Grand Lake. I stole one to post. Here is Jess in her kayak with a friend's poodle (notice the lifejacket). We don't have a poodle, although I would like to have a pink one. Toby says that poodles are not farm dogs, so he got me a rat terrier. I do love my rat. Enjoy the picture and the weekend.

Painting of the Week 5

This is the second painting I tried this week. It was a busy week. I did not get any painting done until today. I tried something new, but it did not work out well. My art girls kept me hopping. At the last minute I did this small painting from an art book. I am still having trouble taking a decent picture of the painting,but I will keep working at it. Jesse said, "You know that you could crop the picture." Duh! Why didn't I think of that?

History Detectives

This summer we discovered a TV show on our PBS channel called “History Detectives”. The show has been very interesting and entertaining. A team of history detectives interviews some person with a family heirloom. Then they set about solving the mystery or answering questions concerning the heirloom. In one episode, a man had found a baseball ticket with a handwritten date, July 4, 1949, and an autograph of Lou Gehrig in his mother’s yearbook. The man wanted to know if both the ticket and the signature were authentic. It was determined that the ticket was from the infamous last game of Lou Gehrig, but that the signature was that of Lou Gehrig’s wife who often signed autographs for her ailing husband. I thought that was pretty cool.

On Tuesday night, there was an episode on the “History Detectives” about the original Superman comics. A Lady in Ohio had found a drawing, belonging to her father, of Superman with the signature of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegal, the creator and artist, dated in 1941. The person wanted to know if it was authentic and how the father could possibly have come by the drawing and autograph. The History Detectives did some digging and discovered that the father had worked at a movie theater where war bonds were being sold. Shuster and Siegal, who created Superman, often helped the war effort by appearing at war bond rallies to help sell bonds – after all, Superman supported the war effort. The History Detectives went on to show many comic books where Superman, along with Batman and Robin, sold war bonds. It also showed several comics with the Man of Steel fighting the Nazis and the Japanese. The show also mentioned how involved the media was in selling war bonds. I thought all of this was really cooland was amazed at the support for WWII.

Then the show went on to tell how the media was censored during WWII with the government keeping them from reporting certain things (Fat Man and Little Boy). According to the HD, that changed during the Vietnam War with reporters having free rein. But the government learned their lesson and now keeps close reins on the media and how they report war. What?

As I watched this episode showing Superman supporting the troops, I had been thinking, Wow, wouldn’t it be neat if the media supported the Iraq War the way they supported WWII? Why do the media liken it to Vietnam instead? Things would certainly be different if the media supported our military and government rather than undermining them. Then I was totally disappointed with the last part of the show about how our government keeps a close rein on reporters now. I just don't see it.

A Little Whine with My Cheese

I live in the middle of a hay pasture – bluestem grass to be exact with a little clover mixed in making it great for feeding animals. I have a septic tank buried in the front yard with miles of septic lines coming from the tank - thanks to our Oklahoma soil, which is tight clay. Last summer when we put the tank in, Toby said it needed to "settle" before we could even out the ground and start a yard. Well, it has settled, but it has more dirt on the top of the tank than the ground around it making a big hump in the yard, plus there are low spots here and there from the septic lines and general construction of our house. We are slowly filling those in. The back yard has several low areas due to the gas line, water line, and electric coming to the house. The dirt has settled leaving small trenches that need to be filled in. On the eastside of the house, we have several large piles of sand. Some of the sand will be used for making the stucco (we need another layer on the house). The other piles have to do with making a patio. In other words the ground around my house is very uneven. We have a nice rock driveway leading up to our house and making a parking area. For some reason, people drive past the rock and park in what is suppose to be my front yard. Jesse planted a flowerbed hoping people would not drive on into the yard and onto the septic tank and lines. So far, it has not been successful.

The truth is, I loathe yard work. I want a nice yard, but I don’t want to do it. A small yard for my grandbabies to play in and look nice is all that I need. I don’t want to spend hours on a lawn mower. Grass is food for horses and cows. I just want a small area to call my yard and a patio area to call my kitchen. Last evening, Toby and I worked in the yard. Due to the rain, the bluestem had grown past my knees. It would have been easier to bale it than mow it. Our riding lawnmower died last summer, and we have to use the push mower. The weed-eater would make Tim the Tool Man proud, if you can get it running and keep it running. By the time we got the yard things running properly and did a little yard work, I was worn out and crazed. I was tired of trying to mow down the deep grass, and falling into holes that I could not see. Can’t we just bring in the bulldozer and scrape the grass off and start fresh?

Need a little help

I have been having problems posting comments on Becky and Buck's blogs. I was able to post on TFBoggs site. I have been able to post on Becky's until today even though she switched to Beta a few days ago. Help me out here if you have knowledge or ideas.

Rainy Days and Mondays

The good news is that it rained all weekend; the bad news is that we could not mow the lawn. Is that bad news? It was a very lazy Labor Day Weekend just perfect for napping and watching football. I started a new Baldacci book called "The Camel Club". During football season, I usually have several projects going like crocheting or reading or crossword puzzles. That way, my hands and mind are occupied during the games, but when Toby hollers, "Did you see that play?" I can look up and watch the replay.

The weekend was also full of the Grand Baby. We sat together during church where she was particularly squirmy. At one point, in my stern teacher voice, I said, "Do you want me to take you outside?" She said. "Yes" and started out the door. I had to drag her back and hold her down. She was leaving. What a mistake in my choice of words! After church, our usual pattern is to go outside and play in the churchyard while the grown-ups visit which explains why the word "outside" caused such problems. After church we did go outside, and she was able to run and play. I was worn out and needed a nap soon after lunch. She came to the house later in the afternoon, but with the rain, we were not able to chase the kittens or go see the horses. It was like trying to hold down a wave on the beach – so we "wrastled" on the bed with the dog.

It was raining Monday morning – we were lazy. Toby took me out to breakfast and to see the Grand Baby again. The rest of the day was more napping, reading, and football. It stopped raining late in the afternoon, so we were able to go to the park for a walk and a little exercise. Jesse got home from her weekend at the lake. Her hair was wild and curly from the humidity and the lake. She was worn out from jet skiing and too much fun. She had blisters from rowing the kayak. Lindsay was limping from some fall off the jet ski. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Ah, to be young again…

The Weekend - So Far

We slept with the windows open last night rather than the roar of the air-conditioner. I love it when we are able to do that. It reminds me of the mountains where we did not even have an air-conditioner. I could just open up windows and doors and let the breeze flow through the house. By this time of year in the mountains, you can smell fall in the air. The mornings are cool and crisp with the days heating up to perfection. It is times like this when I really miss my house in Questa. I had large 5’x6’ windows on the east, south, and west sides of my large living-room/kitchen with satillo tile floor. I could sit and drink my coffee and look out at the mountains and watch the hummingbirds fight over the feeder by the kitchen window. The honey-bees would be swarming the golden rod and the sage. The view to the west was looking out over the Rio Grande Valley with San Antonio and Ute Mountains across from where our house set in the pinon trees on the Sangre de Cristo side of the mountain. Some mornings this time of year, we would need to start a fire in the wood-stove, but usually the sun streaming in the large windows heated the satillo soon enough. Now, I have made myself homesick.

Painting of the Week 4

I started this painting earilier this week. It is much larger than the others at 22"x14". It is basically finished, although I might do some tweaking. With watercolor the paint drys lighter than you think. You can always darken the painting, but it is difficult to lighten once the paint is dry. I bought these large sheets of watercolor paper several years ago, and they have been a problem. The watercolor is absorbed too quickly and does not wash out like it is suppose to - drives me crazy. There seems to be some chemical problem within the paper. It really is a paper problem and not an artist problem. At a workshop recently, other artist were aghast at how bad my paper was. I need to break down and buy new sheets of paper. It tends to work well enough in the end - so I keep using it.

Jesse is leaving this afternoon with Lindsay to go to Grand Lake, OK, for the weekend. She is taking her kayak and all sorts of food. Last night she was packing and baking cookies. She wanted to pack the camera causing me to have to hurry on the painting in order to get it done today and posted. We also had company last night so that I could not paint. Today, I need to clean the kitchen from all the baking. Mom is coming over to have lunch because the Grand Baby will be here too. I feel a bit rushed this morning. The good news is that Toby and I will have a weekend to ourselves. We always miss The Girl, but we like our time together too. I may or may not post this weekend, but I wish everyone a good Labor Day Weekend. Be safe.