Blast from the Past

Some of you may have seen the comment from Alice and Tyrone Borelli yesterday. Wow! You could have knocked me over with a feather. Alice and Tyrone were good friends of ours in the married housing back in San Marcos (SWTSU). I mentioned them in a post back in May. They lived in the same cellblock with us, and we spent lots of time with them. We have not seen Alice and Ty since December of 1979 when Toby graduated, and we moved off to Dallas. As I said before, Alice was Texas born, but raised in South Africa. She went to school in Holland where she met Tyrone. Tyrone was American born and raised, but from German/Italian parents. They lived and worked in Germany at a military base where they had military passes and privileges without being in the military. They traveled all over Europe back in the 70’s before moving to Texas and attending SWTSU. Tyrone was working on his Masters. They were always lots of fun and very informative. They taught us what to look for in choosing good wine. Tyrone taught Toby how to make wonderful Italian food. Tyrone told very interesting stories about being in protests back in the day. We drank a few beers together. When Bo was born, Alice was very helpful. They were just good friends. I have always wondered what happened with Alice and Tyrone. Maybe I will find out soon!

Jesse has a chili cookoff today at work. She had me make her a batch of my award winning chili. Her coworkers chose her and her friend Heather to make the chili and sell it at lunch today. The chili that makes the most money (for charity) will win. Jesse and Heather are just pretty cute. Their theme for the cookoff is "Bahama Mamas". They are wearing Hawaiian shirts. I think they will do well with their chili.

Here is another picture from camp. More volleyball with Jesse and Lindsay – they look very serious, but they were anything but serious in the VB games. They do like to win while they are having fun.

Tents

Many of the campers had arrived on Thursday and set up their tents. By Friday afternoon, it was getting difficult to find just the right spot to place our tent. There were so many dome-like tents, it looked like some Star Wars village. Toby wanted to be far away from the lodge, center of the camp. I kind of like being closer to the bathrooms, but I did not argue. When it came to finding the actual spot to place the tent, I was a little more vocal. I wanted to find just the right spot – flat, without too many lumps and bumps. Toby mumbled something about looking for Christmas trees, which was his subtle way of saying there were no perfect spots for placing the tent. We used to have some "serious discussions" while Christmas tree hunting. I was always seeing another tree that was more perfect than the one we were looking at. Then I would rush to it only to find that it was not perfect either. Toby and I never agreed on which tree to get – tall and thin or short and fat or some where in between. Keep in mind we were not looking in a Christmas tree lot, but were on the side of a mountain. So, I let him pick the tent site although I thought it sloped a little too much, but I figured we could sleep with our feet going down hill. I was wrong again, Toby thought we should sleep across the slope. I argued that I would probably roll down on top of him all night. He said that was the point. Okay, I let him win again.

We got the tent set up without too many more "discussions". It actually went up pretty easily once I laid out all of the different sizes of poles. It is a nice tent – heavy as the dickens, but a good tent. Jesse came over to get the air-mattress-blower-upper. She stood in our tent and said, "Wow, this really brings back old memories." We have had that tent since she was about eight years old, "Some really good memories," she said. After placing all of our stuff in the tent and making our bed, we went off to play some serious volleyball before the big fish fry.

Camp Pictures

Camp was great. The wind died down Friday afternoon just in time for us to set our tent up. Jesse and her tent-mates already had their tent set up. Each year they make a sign for their tent - some new theme. I have other pictures to share of tents, people, and fun. I will post pictures each day this week for your viewing pleasure. We also have camp T-shirts. The C Y stands for Camp Y'shua. Jesse is wearing a "Carpe Manana" shirt.

Painting of the Week

This a painting of the Arno in Florence. I had been wanting to paint this picture for a while now. It is 15"x22". It really did take me all week to complete. Now, I will let it set for several days and take another look at it to see if it needs some tweaking.

We woke up to howling wind this morning. The weatherman predicted that it would blow yesterday, but he was wrong. It is today. It reminded me of another camping trip when a cold front blew in during the night. Our tent went from side to side and up and down. The wind howled and the tent flapped. It made for a rough night of sleeping. Toby and I snuggled under our Eddie Bauer goosedown comforter in our tent. We were plenty warm, but the sound was scary. The next morning Toby looked at me and said, "I dreamed I was a flag."

This morning we made a pact. If the wind is howling this evening, we will head to the Motel 6. Some campers we are!

Wichita Mountians

Here is a picture of some kids playing at Camp Y'shua in the Wichita Mountains last year at camp. You can see the lodge in the background. Obviously, the mountains are not anything like the Rockies, but for OK, they are certainly interesting. The mountain pictured is part of the Wildlife Reserve which has buffalo, elk, and longhorns among the usual animals. The Wichitas are also home to Ft. Sill training grounds. I live over an hour away and can hear the big guns booming in war games. During the summer we often go to Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Center, which is on Ft. Sill, to kayak or swim. There is the cobblestone town of Medicine Park on a little river - it is quite funky. My art girls took me there on my birthday last year for lunch and plein aire painting. Mount Scott is the tallest mountain in the Wichitas. You can actually drive to the top. It is not Pike's Peak, but hey, this is OK. There is also a little town of Meers which is basically one restaurant that serves longhorn burgers and is even more funky that Medicine Park. When you pull into their parking lot, you will find cars with license plates from all over the country. In the ten years that we have lived in OK, this area has really boomed (pun intended). As Ft. Sill grows, I think this area will continue to grow too. Last spring, I blogged about Jesse visiting Quartz Mountain Resort. Although this resort is closer to Altus, it is also part of the Wichitas and is quite beautiful.

We are looking forward to our weekend at camp with the fall colors and cool weather. It is also nice that we only live an hour away and can make it home if the weather turns bad. It is suppose to be a good weather weekend, and for that, I am thankful. I have lots to do today to get ready. I better get in gear and go.

Camping

Last night we did a test run on the air mattress for this weekend’s camping trip. I have been worried that the air mattress would not hold air, and nothing is worse than waking up on the cold hard ground. So, I had Toby air up the mattress and lay it out in the living room floor. We watched the third game of the Series reclining on the mattress, which did hold air. The dog was particularly thrilled that we were in the floor. Something about being in the floor instigates tickling and wrestling and fighting over the pillows. Jesse joined us. Toby and I ganged up to tickle her causing her to squeal just like she did when she was a little girl. Just the anticipation of being tickled was too much for her. A good time was had by all.

I still have lots to do to get ready for camp. I need to gather sleeping bags, flashlights, etc. We found the tent in storage. I hate this tent. It is a huge two-room tent with pieces and parts that never come together the first try. Part A1 fits into part B1 which connects to D2…Then one side of the tent is taller than the other side and you have to start over. It was not so bad when the kids were little. It was quite funny to have us all trying to put it together. In fact, we often drew an audience with our silliness. Now, it is just Toby and I - not nearly so much fun. Jesse shares a tent with her friends (who wants to sleep with your parents?) I have been wanting a smaller tent – one that just snaps together and is up in minutes. Unfortunately, Toby and I have two different ideas of what camping is. He wants another huge tent that will hold the whole fam damly. My idea is several small tents and everyone is on their own. Several years ago, we thought about buying a camper – fifth wheel type thing. We never did agree on that. Toby wanted something nice and fancy. I just wanted a place to have shelter if it rained and a roof over my head to sleep in – something to store all of the camping equipment in and be ready to just hook up and go. I don’t want to live in it; just camp for a few days. This whole tent thing could cause a squabble and then we have to sleep together on a mushy air mattress in a small space :)

Our whole church will turn out for this camping trip to the Wichita Mountains. The camp has a huge lodge with a large kitchen and eating area. There are bunkhouses and dorm rooms and shower houses so it is not exactly roughing it. Many families camp out in tents. There will be lots of sports during the day. I will stick to volleyball and maybe a little softball. The soccer and flag football are just way out of my league. The last time I played soccer, I made myself sick and was sore for a week. The Wichita Mts have some great hiking, and a wildlife reserve that is pretty awesome. At night there will be food, games, and music. Of course, just the visiting is great. It is an amazing thing that all of these families come together to have such a great time. It is what church is all about – love for one another. I think I can survive the tent thing and still be in love when the weekend is over.

Blonde Moment

A couple of weeks ago, I was having lunch with my mom, sister, and little brother, Pete. During lunch, my brother received a text message from his son, who is a senior in high school. It was the typical, "I need money for this" message. Pete text messaged him back with the usual, "Ask you mother" or something along those lines. I was very impressed with the text messaging and said so. Pete asked me if I ever use my text message. Nope, never have. He said, "Try it. Send Toby a message." Okay; I like learning new things. Then being very silly, we sent Toby a funny message, "Aarrgh!" Later at home with Toby, I asked him, "Did you get my text message?" As soon as the words left my mouth and before Toby gave me "are you a moron" look, I realized my mistake.

This last week while having lunch again with my mom, sister, and little brother, I had to fess up. I reminded Pete of our text message conversation and lesson. Then I told him that the message did not work. He asked why. "Because," I said, "Toby does not have a cell phone."

My family got a BIG laugh out of my blonde moment. They insisted that I blog it. Pete also asked me, "What did Toby say when you asked him if he had gotten the message. Toby only said, "Nope, didn’t get it." He did not laugh too much. Sometimes he has that worried look like, "Gosh, you get more like your mother every day." Besides, he has to live with me.

Republicans?

Jesse, Lindsay and Reagan went to a costume party. You may think they went as Bush, Nixon and Reagan, but actually they went as bank robbers.

Painting of the Week

Jesse took this picture while we were in DC a few years ago in November for the Ia Drang Veterans reunion. My longtime student, Sarah Ann, also chose to paint this picture with me. We kept the other students entertained while we "raced" to be the first one finished and fought over the photograph while we painted. I showed my girls the new artist blogsites that I had found. While showing them the Painters Daily site, I thought, "I could never do a painting a day." Then I realized that if I did not spend so much time on the computer, I could probably paint every day...hmm.

Jesse had a softball game last night. They may be a losing team, but they have a lot of fun. Toby got home from Houston - we both were home in time to see the St. Louis Cardinals win. Yeha! I am looking forward to cheering for Detroit in the Series. Today, I am headed to The Falls. My sister will be there again - more shopping, more eating, more fun!

Treasure-trove

Yesterday I was a bit melancholy. I can’t really explain why, but it was probably several things. I didn’t let the feelings overly affect me other than I chose not to post yesterday. Toby left for Houston yesterday morning for a meeting and will be back tonight. Maybe knowing that he was not going to be home for dinner put me into an "I can do what I want today" mode. I chose to be lazy. After a private art lesson with a new student, I spent the day, which was overcast and cold, curled up with a cheap novel. I finished the book before Jesse got home and did do some house cleaning – it was necessary. Jesse called and said she was tired and just wanted to stay home and have a "girl’s night". That was good for me. We watched a movie and ate pasta. Jes had a wine cooler while I had chocolate coffee. You know how I like spending time with my girl, and it was good time.

Before I went to bed last night, I checked my email and favorite blogsites for anything new. You know how I love Michael Fay’s paintings and I like his written words too. I constantly go to his site hoping to see more of his work. This time, there was a comment by another artist on his site. So, I went to the artist’s blogsite. What a treasure I found! This part I may not be able to explain either, but I will try. This VH McKenzie had watercolors that just made me want to squeal with delight. Her colors, style, characters, and comments just made me smile – made me want to touch them – made me want to paint. I recently had a discussion about what is "good art". There are lots of paintings that I like, but that doesn’t mean I would want that art hanging on my wall. Most people who buy art do so for different reasons. Maybe they really like the art. Sometimes they only like the name of the artist. Most of the time, people around here buy art because it will fit the color scheme in their home or the painting is just the right size for that blank spot on the wall in the bathroom. For me, I can’t afford lots of original artwork. I have a few things from good friends – other artist buddies. I have bought some numbered and signed prints in the past. For me to buy art, the art has to move me. It has to evoke some inner feeling.

I do lots of artwork. My art girls do lots of work. Sometimes, I stand back and say, "hmm, that’s nice". Sometimes, I stand back and say, "Yes! Then I do the victory dance. I have seen this same response in my students when they knock out a painting, and it is "right on". It is a great feeling.

This morning I went back to VH McKenzie’s site. I was wanting my computer to move faster so that I could see all of her work. Not all of it would come up on my screen – aauggh! Then I went to her links – wow! They were all artists. Then I clicked on the "painting a day" box – another wow! I was just thrilled to find these other art blogs. Inspiration comes in odd ways. I needed that inspiration like the Oklahoma land needed that rain we got last week, which filled our pond and made it beautiful again.

Conversation

If you read yesterday's post, you know that Toby likes to try to push my buttons, yank my string, and that sort of thing. Sometimes he and Jesse gang up on me to get a rise from me. My goal in life is to stay peaceful, but sometimes they get me. If Bo is around, I am done for.

We were all watching the St. Louis Cards and the Mets the other night. Toby and I have been rooting for the Cards. Jesse is rooting for the Mets because the Mets have better looking guys. It really does not matter who wins this part of the playoffs. When it comes down to it, I will root for Detroit in the World Series. So there we were lounging around the TV watching the Mets kick the Cards. The Cards were going through a string of pitchers, and we were making comments on each one. Here's the conversation:

Jesse: Who does that guy remind you of?
Me: A bullfrog.
Jesse: No, he looks like someone I know.
Me: Maybe he was a child moviestar.
Jesse: No, it is someone we know.
Me: A bullfrog.
Toby: Maybe he is a Mongoloid.
Me: You can't say that anymore. No one says that.
Toby: What are you suppose to say?
Me: Downs Syndrome.
Toby: You can't say Mongoloid?
Me: No!
Jesse: Hey, isn't that a country?
Me: That is Mongolia.
Jesse: Don't they call them Mongoloids?
Me: No, they are called Mongols or Mongolians, but not Mongoloids.
Toby (to Jesse): Yeah, mo-ron!
Jesse: Hey, isn't that a country too?
At this point, my eyes are rolled back in my head while Toby and Jes snicker. They got me.

Ever Practical

Some of my blogger buddies have been talking about marriage. It s a subject that I have been recently thinking about, too. After fifty-one years of marriage my mom is now single, and it has not been an easy transition. While dealing with things in her life, I wondered how I would do if I were single again. Could I make it on my own? Would I want to marry again? Buck pointed out some interesting statistics that showed that married people are now in the minority. Society makes it easier today to not be married. More and more people live together or wait until they are older to marry. Buck said he would never marry again; Becky said she would. Both have different reasoning and thoughts – different experiences.

It seems that there is something in human beings that wants to permanently pair off with the opposite sex (I am not going to talk about those who want to pair off with the same sex. – whole nother ball game) I don’t know if it is a cultural thing or a "born in you" thing, but most people marry sooner or later. As young people, it just seems to be one of the things to do in life – a given. Society may be changing that, but I still think that marriage is something most people want. Maybe later in life, after failed marriages or death of a spouse, people may choose not to marry. But there is something in us that yearn to be partnered and committed with someone who loves us.

Toby and I married when I was nineteen, and he was twenty. We have been married almost thirty years. I have been a Baggett much longer than I was a Barker. It is what I know. I know that it takes both people to want to be married. It takes both people to make it work. How did I know that Toby was the one? I am not sure because at nineteen, I was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I have always been practical, though. I knew I liked Toby – liked being with him. He made me laugh, and he laughed at me. We had the same basic West Texas, Bible Belt values. Both our parents were still married. We had both been taught that marriage was forever. I think those things made a difference for us. Since then, I have learned that it takes dying to your flesh, giving 100% not 50%, and being merciful and forgiving. I am just very blessed to have a partner who wants the same things. Love is a verb – not a noun.

Could I make it on my own and not be married? I could. Would I marry again if I did not have Toby? I have no idea. Yesterday morning Toby and I were working on breakfast together. I was frying bacon while he was getting out biscuits. He said that there were only two biscuits. I said, "Good! I don’t want one." (What part of diet does he not understand?) He sprayed the pan with oil, placed the biscuits on the pan, and put them in the oven. After a few minutes, I said, "You did not turn the oven on." He said, "I thought you would do it." Hmm, if you know me, you know that them was fightin words. Later at church, he leaned over and whispered, "Where is the highlighter?" I whispered back, "You have it." I got the raised eyebrow and the look that said, "Do not!" I told him to look in his Bible bag. He did, and he did not find it. I motioned for him to give me the bag, and I looked through it. When I handed him the highlighter which was indeed in the bag, he burst out laughing (yep, in church). I was able to give him the "I told you so" smirk, but I was laughing too. He said, "I know you had that up your sleeve." Life with Toby is never dull. I am indeed a lucky girl. And he finished our taxes this weekend. I think I will keep him around. He better keep me too, cause he would not be able to find anything if I were not there to look for him.

Jesse went to a coworkers party on Friday night. She said that the women were sitting in the living room talking and the men were either playing poker or at the Ping-Pong table playing a beer game. She said they had cups of beer on one side of the Ping-Pong table and would bounce the ball trying to make it land in a cup. If the bounce were successful, they would get to drink the beer. Jesse thought the entire game was stupid. She said, "The beer was getting hot – why not drink the beer and play Ping-Pong?" That’s my girl – ever practical! She left the party after a few minutes – disgusted. I think she will marry – someday – when a really smart man comes along.

Painting of the Week

Here is my painting of the week. I started a large watercolor earlier in the week and planned on working on it yesterday during my art class, but ten girls showed up. There was just no room to keep my stuff out on the table. I love having that many girls here, but it was a bit crowded for me to work too. As some of the girls left around 4:00, I got out my little watercolor cards and painted this little picture which is about 4"x6". Unless I have something larger going, most of my Paintings of the Week have been this size. You are probably wondering what I am going to do with these little paintings. Well, I could paper the bathroom with them. Maybe I could start a mini-gallery, but I think I will send them out as Christmas cards. If anyone wants one for Christmas, send me your snail/mail address. If you want a particular one, let me know.

I am headed to WF today. My baby sister is there today, and we should have a big time. I am hoping to do some shopping and have lunch with her. She always brings lots of joy with her. I have not seen Mom in a few weeks since she has been traveling about the West. We have lots to catch up on.

Yesterday, I posted a little blurb about Ret. Gen. Hal Moore. Today, I happened to come across a post at OPFOR which had a link to an article written by Joe Galloway. Joe is an excellent writer and always interesting. You might want to read his article which I think comes through Michel Yon's blog. Link, link, link - I love blogging.

Pirate Books

I had lunch with Toby yesterday. He said he had been needing a good pirate book - maybe he would finish "Captain from Castile". I said that I had been needing a cheap romance. Toby grinned and said he would be my pirate. Does that make me a cheap romance?

On a different note, this morning I received an email from my Uncle Bob. His email was a forward from my cousin (his niece). I thought it worth sharing with you since it had to do with Ret. Gen. Hal Moore. Many of you know how much I admire Gen. Moore and my Uncle Bob. Here it is:

Dear Family,
This e-mail is an from Barbara who met General Moore when he spoke to her students at Granbury High School. Most of you know I worked for General Moore in Vietnam and when we were training at Ft. Benning. He was a lieutenant colonel and colonel back in those days some 42+ years ago.
___________________________________________________________________
In a message dated 10/10/2006 2:10:55 PM Central Standard Time,

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of meeting Gen. Moore when he spoke to the Granbury HS student body. At 84 he was an amazing speaker who kept the attention of 1300 students for approximately 70 minutes. I have never seen high school students behave so well as he shared his stories and philosophies about life, etc. The history department had been trying to get him to speak here for the last two years and since he does very little public speaking now, everyone was very excited - including his grandson who is a senior and had never heard him speak publicly before!When I introduced myself, I told him I had heard a lot about him from my uncle. He asked who my uncle was. When I told him, he smiled from ear to ear and said, "one of my favorite people." The school secretary was sitting with him and asked him why, he grinned again and of course said, "he was one of my artillery men-the best."It was a tremendous time at GHS and another moment in history for us all as we later learned this could have very well been one of his last public speeches if not the last for his grandson.Hope this email finds everyone well. Love to all, Barbara

Old Times

One of the best things about blogging is that you can go back to last year's blogs and see what you were doing and where you were in your life. I did that this morning. There were lots of things that I had forgotten. It was this time last year that we were stuccoing the house. Dad was still going to coffee every day although he was getting very weak and falling more. My friend Barbara C. died last October as did another lady from our church, Debra F. Many of the same things that we were doing last year at this time, we are doing again this year. We are getting excited and starting to plan our fall camping trip to the Wichita Mountains which our church does every year. Yesterday, my cousin called to start planning a big Thanksgiving which we do every year - my family likes to have big parties. Last year I blogged about the art show, but I was much busier last year with working on the house and helping with Dad. The Grand Baby was beginning to really entertain us at this time last year - she just gets better at it every day. Some things are very much the same, but times do change. I thought I would share one of last year's blogs. It just so happens that one year ago today I wrote about Jesse - imagine that! Here is one of my favorite Jesse stories:

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Boys
Jesse says that some day when she is married, she wants to have all boys. They just seem more fun to her than girls. I tell her that although I think boys are easier, girls can be fun too. After all, I had her didn’t I? Her friend, Lila, has three boys, and her friend, Cene, has two boys. She enjoys being around them and helping out with them. She likes spending time with her male cousins too. She likes the way boys dress and the way they act. Of course, she likes her niece just pretty well. Lizzie is cool. Jesse has taught her to bump fist rather than high-fives. When Lizzie holds her little fist out to be bumped, it is just pretty great. Jesse enjoys making Lizzie clothes too. This summer she made them matching skirts and has a plan to make some fall clothes. But still, it is boys that Jesse wants. She says she will name them Gustavo, Gaston, Gunner, and some other G name that I can’t recall. She will call them Gus, Gas, Gun, and Goose. I told her that would be great; I could just holler, "GGGGGet over here" and they would all come running.Last week while shopping at Wal Mart, I found some rubber boots (farm boots) for Lizzie. They look just like Jesse’s mud boots. Because they were ten dollars, I was unsure of spending that much money on shoes for her to wear around the farm. I called Toby at work to get his opinion. I told him that the boots would last through all the grandchildren. He said to buy them, "Gosh, Golly, and Good Grief would all use them someday."Lizzie wore them all day Sunday under her little dress. She looked really cute – like a little Dutch girl. She played in the dirt and rocks and had a big time wearing her new boots. When they got ready to go home, we took the boots off, and her little feet were stinky. Who needs boys when girls can get just as dirty?

Just Sayin

The articles written by "Plane Jane" have appeared in our local Duncan Banner. They turned out amazingly well written. The photo of my students was very nice. The photo of myself was (as I suspected) not so nice. As dull as Jane seemed, she turned out to be a good listener and writer. There were a few things in the articles that I thought, "Where the heck did that come from?" But for the most part, I was pleased. I worked at the art show yesterday and got some nice compliments, although people admitted it was not my best photo. With my squinty eye, I look like I am about to draw down on someone (pun intended).

The picture is of Jason, one of my newer students. He is not very confident in his art yet, but winning two ribbons is a help. Both paintings in the photo are his watercolors.

Yesterday, Good Morning America had an interview with Robbin Williams about his new movie. Diane Sawyer asked RW, "If you could be any woman in the world for one day, who would you be?" In all seriousness, he answered, "Ann Richards." How very interesting – not whom I would have chosen – but interesting.

Speaking of movies, we went to see "Flyboys" at the cheap theater. I liked it. There was not one thing in the movie that was "bad". The flying scenes could be considered a little tense and maybe a little violent, but by today’s standards, it was a very mild movie. It is a good family movie. I would like to see "The Departed" just because sometimes I want to see a "grown-up" movie with an exciting, twisted plot, and I am a Jack Nicholson fan. I rented "Crash" and watched it yesterday wanting to know what all of the hoopla was over in this movie. It was definitely a "grown up" movie. The language was pretty rough and the plot was for adults, but I really liked the movie. It was thought provoking.

Jesse played two softball games last night in the drizzle and cold. I enjoyed watching, but the weather was more like football weather. Baseball should be played in the warm seasons. It seems strange to me to see professional ball players blowing in their hands to warm themselves and breathing little clouds of fog due to the cold. That ain’t right. I am looking forward to the World Series – one of my favorite playoffs, but it should not be with football season. Just sayin.

More on Art

The art show was very nice this year. Harvard, the head hancho, was well behaved and did not freak out when kids came to the show. Of course, I had warned my students to get their punch and step away from the punch bowl so Harv would not have a heart attack. This year, Harv even printed out name tags for my student artists - at my request. It made the kids feel important. Harv told me that he saw one of the youth artists and shook hands with him congratulating the young artist on his fine work. It really was a nice show.

Here are pictures of the B. family. Michael, the next to the youngest, won the grand prize for the elementary artists. He drew the rooster. All who know Michael, know that this was not one of his best drawings. At seven years old he normally draws Darth Vader or Spiderman, and he does an outstanding job. He is too young to be one of my students, but someday...The other picture is of his older sister, Amy, who is one of my students. Amy painted the two paintings within the picture and won a ribbon on each. Amy is third to the oldest in the B family. Did I mention that there are eight kids in the B family - and all are very talented. They are an amazing family. Just look at the smiles on those faces!

The Art Show

Who would have thunk it, but I won a first place and second place with my watercolors. My pastels did not do anything. My students did great. Jesse did not win anything, but had lots of compliments. She was definitely the best looking artist there. The Parrot is her painting. The Tuscany scene is my second place watercolor. First place was the Grand Canal scene that I posted several weeks ago.

Painting of the Week

Because I have been preparing for the art show, I have not painted this week, but I did a pencil sketch with my youngest art class. The class has five boys this year, and I have been trying to find subjects that would appeal to more to them. They loved drawing this soldier which I found on the internet.

Last night I worked at the art show until 8:00 pm. Today the artwork will be judged and tonight is the reception. I think it will be a good show. With all of the work done, I can concentrate on my house and laundry today. I may have time to paint today, but I still wanted to get one piece of art work done and on my blog - even if it just a sketch.

Busy Time

It has been a busy week, and it is about to get busier. In the last few days, I have matted and framed about 13 pieces of artwork for my students. I have put hangers on the back of twice that many frames. The rules for the art show say that a painting must be framed and ready to hang. That "ready to hang" is what throws people. At the art show, paintings must hang from what looks like a chain-link fence – "ready to hang" takes on a whole new meaning. I have had an extra table set up in my kitchen all week with my Logan mat cutter laid out and all sorts of tools everywhere. I have paintings all over the living room making it difficult to sit anywhere. At one point, the bed was covered in mat boards so that I could lay out the paintings and see how the mats looked with each painting. My house looks a bit like a studio rather than a home right now. Maybe I need a bigger home (hint, hint). Yesterday, when I realized that all of the paintings were framed, had hangers, and met all of the requirements, I did a calf roper salute throwing my hands in the air to signal that I was done. Yeha!

Today, I will load all of the paintings into my car and haul them to the art show where I will help set up the chain-link fence for showing the art. Then I will stay until 8:00 tonight to take in other art from the various artists. Technically, I am "in charge" of the youth gallery at the show. That means that since I like kids and the other art guild members are too anal to deal well with children, I am the one for the job. I do enjoy it, although the week leading up to the show is rather stressful.

Tomorrow night is the big reception with wine and cheese and "meet the artist" time. When the kids come into the show and see their work hanging in a real gallery with real artists, they just light up. I make their artwork look every bit as professional as the adult artist’s work. Ribbons will be placed on the paintings for prizes having been judged by the same judge who judges the adult show. The kids love seeing who won. This is a big to-do for them. And that is the reason I do this. I will take pictures to post and share the joy of children with you.

I have been drug free (allergy medication) for two days now - another yeha! A doctor friend looked at my eyes last night, which still look pretty sad - red and swollen. He made some suggestions to help the situation. I am just glad my nose is better. My voice still sounds rather nasal. Oh wait! That is my Texas accent.

Scandal

The news has been full of the Foley scandal. I did not watch much of it yesterday due to art, but Monday I got a belly full of scandal news when I was trying to find out more on the Amish school shooting. Toby said he listened to some radio talk show that listed all sorts of sex scandals and money scandals over a period of time in DC. He said it was amazing, but the bottom line was that power corrupts. I, too, had been thinking of past scandals in DC, thinking why is this big news; lets deal with it and move on to more important matters. Because this is an election year, the press and the Dems are making this scandal more important and fishing to take out politicians in higher places. It reminded me of another scandal.

As a little girl, I remember hearing my parents talk about Walter Jenkins who was an aide to LBJ. It seems that Walter was involved in handling money between lobbyists and Johnson. He became involved in a money/kickback scandal, but the Dems were not able to pin anything on Jenkins although they tried. They wanted Jenkins because he was very close to LBJ. Then in October of 1964, an election year, Jenkins was involved in a sex scandal. He was arrested for having homosexual relations with a man in a YMCA restroom. LBJ sent Jenkins back to Austin literally distancing himself from Jenkins.

Several years ago I was watching the news when they reported that taped phone conversations between LadyBird and LBJ had been found. One of the conversations was LadyBird discussing the Jenkins sex scandal with her husband. On the tape, in her sweet Southern accent, she tells her husband that she wants him to take good care of Walter – that she did not believe he was guilty – that he was a good husband and father, a good Catholic with six children. She asks LBJ to give him a job in Austin, but LBJ was reluctant to have any ties with Jenkins. LadyBird says that people will think more highly of LBJ for standing with Jenkins than for abandoning him. Although LBJ was not convinced, LadyBird did give Jenkins a job in Austin.

There was always talk about this being a "set up" - that the Dems had purposefully lured Jenkins to the YMCA and set him up. After reading about Walter Jenkins, I think he was probably guilty. He may have been a good husband and father to six, but he was apparently a closet gay. He was guilty of being stupid and thinking he could get away with something that was against the law (my how times have changed). Of course, if we dug very deep, we would have found all sorts of scandals in the LBJ machine. My point in this entire story is that no matter whom the scandal involves, during an election year the scandal will be used to destroy or hurt the political party involved. This sort of thing is not new – it is a tool used by both the Dems and the Reps, and it is getting old.

On a different note, I think Lady Bird rocks! And why do I know about Walter Jenkins? He was my dad’s first cousin although we never knew him personally. Now you know the rest of the story.

Just a Joke

While Jesse spending time this past summer at the Grand Lake, OK, she met a couple also staying at the lake with the friends she was mooching off of, I mean visiting. This couple mentioned several times that they had a friend that Jesse should meet – the perfect guy for her. The young man, Mathew, had gone to college at OSU, was a statistics major, lived on a ranch in Waurika, and his father worked for Halliburton. From what the couple said, Mathew sounded interesting. Eventually, he was given Jesse’s email, and he recently wrote to her. They decided to meet for lunch. Jesse’s friends Lindsay and Alan would be there to chaperone and make it a party – not a date. We have some "different" views on dating which I may explain later or never. Anyway, the plan was set in motion and the time and place picked out. Jesse told us that Lindsay and Alan had been teasing her that they were going to do "wild things" during the lunch meeting. Knowing Lindsay and Alan, just being themselves would be wild enough and probably pretty intimidating for someone who has never met them. Toby and I teased Jesse that we might show up wearing disguises – just to check this guy out. Poor Jes!

Of course we were just teasing her, but then the joke was just too good to pass up. So, I bought some cheap Groucho Marx glasses with the big nose and bushy eyebrows. We got to the restaurant early and started eating. We hoped Jesse and Lindsay would show up, and we would put on our disguises – just for them – figuring Lindsay would probably pee her pants when she saw us. We did not really care about checking out Mathew (although that would be okay too). The joke was more for Lindsay and Jesse. Toby and I had a good laugh at each other wearing the silly glasses. We could hardly eat our lunch. But our plan was spoiled. They chose to eat at different restaurant and did not tell us (I wonder why?). I think Jesse might have been on to our ways. Oh well, it would have been a good joke, and we got a good laugh.

If you are like me, you want to know how the lunch meeting went. Jesse said Mathew was very nice, tall and thin, and fun to be with. They had a good time - but "he was not the one" for her. They invited him to join their group of unmarried friends and do things with them from time to time – that was it.

Stucco Time

I don’t really believe in reincarnation, but if I did, I would think that in a prior life I was probably a construction worker. I love swinging a hammer. I love seeing things come together and a house being built. I like tools and the smell of lumber. I like the physical, hands-on labor. And I like working on my house with my family.

When we bought the 75 acres that we now live on, there was no house or building on the property. We closed on the land around the first of March. The lease on our farm was up on June 1st. We wanted a place to live on our property in four months. Our plan was to move a 30’x15’ store house (that my father and I built) onto the property and then add on to it. It would be a small house that we could live in until we could build the "dream house". When the dream house gets built, the small house will serve as a studio/guest house or Jesse’s house. Part of the plan was to have a storage area on the north side of the carport and a huge barn east of the house. Neither of the things has been completed making storage a problem. The studio itself is not complete. We still lack trim work around the windows and doors. We need closet doors, and kitchen cabinets. The cabinets will have to wait until the barn, because Toby really needs work space to build cabinets. Hindsight is 20/20 and our plan definitely had flaws. Still, it was not a bad plan. The studio that we now live in is small, but comfy.

We chose stucco for the exterior of the studio. Last fall, we managed to get the scratch coat completed and the brown coat (not to be confused with the color coat) on two sides of the studio. We stopped at that point due to being busy and the weather being colder. We covered the cement and left the pile of sand waiting until we could get back to it. After several months of building our little home, we were just pooped. This weekend, we completed the brown coat of stucco on the house. It was like old times.

Most of my first blogs had to do with working on the house. They were very funny stories of Bo, Jes, Toby and I working together. Bo and Jes have the usual brother/sister sparing going on and the smart aleck comments that accompany such sparing. Toby, being about half deaf, makes for some pretty funny stories. This last Saturday morning was much of the same while we started the stucco.

In typical Baggett fashion, we did not make much of a plan. We just decided it was a good day to stucco. Jes went to town to pick up Bo while Toby and I got the cement mixer, the scaffold, the trowels, and other tools ready. We were mixing the first batch of cement when Bo/Jes pulled up (Jesse let Bo drive her hot little car – what a good sister). We all knew our positions. Toby mixes the cement. Bo shoots it onto the wall with Jes and I troweling. The stucco gun (great tool!) looks like a bucket with an air-hose attached. The bucket has four holes that blow the stucco onto the wall. Right off the bat, we had some problems. The gun was not blowing as it should. It was more like spitting rather than blowing. Bo stuck his hand into the bucket to find whatever was clogging the holes. It was at this moment that Jes said, "It is probably cat dodo." (Pile of sand, barn cats – you do the math) The look on Bo’s face was priceless. It turns out that the cement was no good and the stucco gun had a spider and web up its nozzle. When we got these kinks worked out (with a trip to town to buy more cement), the rest of the stucco went smoothly (pun intended).

By the end of the day, which turned out to be pretty warm, we were hot, sunburned, tired, and covered in cement. Toby and I were putting things away on one side of the house while Bo/Jes were washing up the tools with the water hose on the other side of the house. That is when we heard the screaming and the sinister laughing. I told Toby that the kids were probably getting each other. Toby went to see – big mistake. He came back around the house soaking wet. I knew better than to go near the kids and a water hose. Because I was the only one not wet, I knew what was coming. Toby came at me with the hose. I picked up the hose on my side of the house and went at him. Bo, being the good son, grabbed Toby’s hose and kinked it, stopping his water and letting me soak Toby – again. It was all great fun. There we were all standing in the yard – wet muddy messes – wondering how we were going to get to the shower with out making a mess in the house. Toby said, "Boys on one side of the house; girls on the other. We will shuck our clothes and meet inside." Me, "What is the point in dividing up if we are going to meet inside?"
We sent Toby for beer while we took turns in the shower – and yes, we made a mess in the house, too. We finished off the evening in town eating Mexican food with Sara and the Grand Baby. It was a good weekend.

Bo,Toby, and Jesse in the picture. Notice the stucco gun on the wheelbarrow.