Halloween Pasts

Last night we saw some little kids dressed up in costume looking just pretty cute. With Halloween on the weekend this year, I guess there are lots of parties going on. Jesse had one party with her coworkers last night and one tonight with some other friends. It all reminded me of the great times we used to have in Red River when my kids were little. Trick-or-treating was not easy in RR even when I was a kid. Maybe it was the snow and cold, or maybe it was the fact that people don't really live in neighborhoods. The town is small, but spread out. People live in and manage hotels and restaurants. Some people live up the side of the mountain. I do remember Mom driving us around to a few house when I was little. But when my kids lived in RR, we did not do the usual t-o-t stuff. We had a carnival of sorts at the Community House, and the whole town turned out for it - and even the adults dressed up. The PTA sponsored the carnival. They set up booths of games and gave out prizes rather than candy. Usually there was a theme - one year that I was responsible for the carnival, we did a "circus" theme. Several of us dressed as circus animals and performed a skit. I was an elephant with big floppy ears and a long, sock nose. I don't have a single photo of that. But I do have some photos of other years. In this one, the Gill family showed up everyone with their great children's' costumes. Then there was the year that Bo and I made a mask - Jesse and I dressed in easy witch costumes and Toby was great as a humpback. Here is Bo as a football player, and Mrs. Bear's daughter who is now 21 years old. Mrs. B made some great costumes in her day. Also in this photo is Ilsa as Picasso and my friend Lynda not dressed up, but beautiful.

Those years at the Community House and the fall carnival were lots of fun. It was such a community event although it was especially done for the kids. When the kids got older, we quit doing Halloween. But there is just something about choosing a costume and dressing up. Last night Jesse dressed as Charlie Chaplin - maybe she will post a pic of her costume.

More Lazy Posting

Here are some more photos from France. Yesterday's video was taken from the Arc de Triomphe. The girls took some great photos during the day, but also took some shots at night. I thought you might be interested in the night photos - which amaze me. My little camera takes terrible night shots, but Lindz fancy camera did very well.
Also here is a street scene - could be paintable. Here is another fancy boat photo.

I'm going to attempt a video today. As I mentioned before, Jes and Lindz took several videos- making a video diary of their trip. This one shows lots of Paris - just for you, Buck.

More France Photos

Yesterday was a busy art day with my young girls. One of the girls came early to work on an art project - something for her grandmother. Right now, I am giving them projects to paint rather than letting them choose. Most of the time, they choose poorly. Just because you see a pretty picture, doesn't mean you should paint it. Teaching-wise, it is easier to keep them all doing the same project. Yesterday the girls were finishing one project and starting another - it kept me hopping. I thought it went well and was very productive.

I don't have much new to write, but Jesse still has lots of France photos. Nice Nice.

Fast cars in Monaco.

And boats.

Hmm, nice name.

I've been trying to upload a video, but I may have to change computers to do it.

The "Posed Pretty Girl" Photos

I just spent a large part of the morning looking through some of Jesse's photos of France. They took lots of photos and most are great. She has posted some herself, but here are a few that I liked. Most of the early shots are posed nicely for the camera. Here are some of my favorites, that show that they were getting sillier and more at ease as the trip went on. Know that I only chose five photos today.

I call these "The Pretty Girl Photos" And of course, there were some serious map study photos. There were lots of self portraits. I chose this one because they were tanned and looking more European.

But my absoulte favorite photos were the ones where Jesse is just Jesse. They also did a series of videos, which are hilarious - I will get permission (or not) to post one later.

Weekend Report - camp

Every morning T0by and I drink a cup of coffee and watch the local weather. Of course, we hear some local news too. This morning we got a good laugh as the KSWO anchor reported that a Texas woman, Ernestina Mondragon, was ticketed for being a non English speaking driver - later she got an apology from the Dallas police. The funny part was the anchor pronounced her name, "mon-dragon" as in the mythical creature.


Camp was good this year. Friday, the wind was a bit chilly, but the sunshine was nice. Saturday was very nice. We played with the GGs most of the time, but did manage to get in a game or two of volleyball. You know how I love that. The volleyball court is sand - so we set the GGs to play in the sand while we play. I did not take very many photos, since my camera is having some problems. Jesse may have taken more - I'll let you know if she posts them. In the meantime, here is a few of mine. You can see how the kids play in the sand around the court. Crewcraw enjoying the GGs and sand. GBN2 liked hiding behind the trees -not so fun for her mother. The Piper's tent.

I read back over my last post and thought, "Gee, I bet people think I fight all the time." For those of you who snorted just then, you should know I don't fight all of the time, but I will stand my ground. And I do wade into fight now and then, if I think it is important. Sometimes, though, it is better to back off and see what happens. As for my recent bouts, they are both over. The FaceBook bout turned out like I thought it would - my "friend" told me that I was no longer her friend. Sounds childish - doesn't it? Just know that my friend is a liberal, new age sort of person who wants the world to all come together in love and tolerance. But when I questioned her views, she became angry, called me names, and then blocked me - how very intolerant of her. And yet, very typical of her type - probably because the peace and love she has "inside" her is just for people who agree with her. Oh well.

The weather here is cloudy and cold, but the real killer is the wind. Whipping is the word that comes to mind.

The Gambler/Fighter

Oh my gosh! I've been arguing on FaceBook. It's bad enough that I wade into fights on the blogosphere, but now I have taken it to Facebook.

Last week I told you how GBN2 had to have some discipline before church, but when she came back in, she was not "over it" yet. I could see it in her. She still wanted to fight. I know the feeling well. I also know that it is probably not so good to "fight it out to the end." But sometimes I think it would really feel good. Dying to my flesh is so difficult. I saw the struggle on GBN2, and I am struggling as we speak. The fight on FaceBook is nothing - it is just a carry over from the real problem. On FaceBook I stated my opinion and I plan on sticking with it. The other fight I'm in is not so easily dealt with. Kenny Rogers' song "The Gambler" comes to mind - you got to know when to hold them...know when to fold them...know when to walk away...know when to run...

Signs of the Time

Jesse was preparing for Camp Yshua last night – baking cookies, packing her sleeping bag, and making her sign. You may remember her tent signs from the past, but I will tell you about them again. Each year since she was 15 years old, she and her buddies have shared a tent together at camp. At some point, they started making a sign for their tent. The first tent sign said, "No Boys Allowed." The next year the sign said, "No Trespassing." One year they used the popular term "Snap" for their sign. A few years ago, the called their tent "The Ritz." Then there was her Navy flag sign, which Jesse made up – something about needing a pilot. Last year they made a sign calling themselves "The Three Amigas." This year things will be a bit different. Since Lindz got married, she will, of course, be sharing a tent with her new husband – leaving Jes and Kat to share a different tent. So we painted last night two signs last night (the things I do for that girl!). One sign will be hung on Jes and Kat’s tent. The other will be on Lindz and Shay’s tent. We did not write on Lindz sign, but we thought about writing "And then they were one."

It makes me wonder what next year’s tent sign will be.

Country Girl Artitsts

When Toby got home from work on Tuesday evening, he announced that Alex was bringing a load of crusher fines (pea size gravel) for the driveway. But before Alex delivered the crusher fines, Toby needed to blade the driveway (the middle often gets raised with us driving in ruts). As soon as he changed into work clothes, he jumped in the tractor and was off to blade. Also in a tractor was our friend, Randy, who was cutting and baling our hay. With rain predicted for Wednesday, Randy was rushing around the pasture with his rake and then his baler trying to get the hay baled before the rain. Soon, Alex showed up with his semi-truck and a belly loader full of crusher fines. When I walked outside, the pasture was alive with Toby’s tractor working on the driveway, Randy's tractor and bailer (his rake was off to the side) in the pasture, and Alex in his big truck dumping rock on the driveway. Then I noticed another truck with long gooseneck trailer and another tractor with a front-end loader loading hay as fast as Randy could bale it. It looked like an anthill with the ants busy getting ready for winter. The new guy turned out to be some coworker of Jesse’s who wanted to buy the hay. Still, it was lots of equipment working in a small amount of space. All of this took place after 5 PM and before dark. The rain started in the wee morning hours Wednesday and rained all day and into last night. The pond is full and going over the spillway. Alex delivered another load of crusher fines Thursday morning, but Toby was not been able to spread them with his tractor due to rain. Now we get to try to avoid the big hump down the middle of the driveway and not get stuck in the muck of the pasture. Such is country life. Notice the fall colors in the background and full pond.

On Tuesday’s young art class, I had a new student, Katy. She was enthusiastic and excited about doing art. I think I’m gonna like this kid.

Yesterday I painted with the Ladies here at my house. They all managed to get up the driveway without getting stuck. Of course, they all drive small SUV type vehicles (country girl wanna-be's). It was a good day of painting and chatting. Today I have another paint day with my regular girls, but I do have a new girl coming. I have never met this girl, but she called and wanted to learn some pastel techniques. It should be fun – the more the merrier. I warned her about the driveway. We will see what kind of artist she is and what kind of country girl…

Not Much

Today my beginner's art class is starting. This class always takes some planning. Hopefully, all will go well. Since I have nothing new to post, try Jesse's blog today - she has some new photos posted of her trip to France.

Weekend Report - Bikes and Bloggers

Although Toby was home Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we did not get much done around the Lazy B. That may have accounted for his weird mood last night (he values weekends by how much work we do - I value weekends by how much fun we have). I don’t know for sure. I bailed on him and went to a get-together with my good friends, The Diva and Janice – to name a few. Actually Jesse’s crowd of church friends met for some volleyball and wiener roast. I tagged along knowing that other mothers would be there. We sat around like a bunch of hens and cackled. What fun! Then it got cold outside and I was ready to come home. Next week is camp and I am trying to save my strength for some non-stop volleyball, lots of fellowship and time with the GGs. Every Oct our whole church goes camping in the Wichita Mountains - look back at past October blogs for photos.


Saturday, we went to The City to do some bike shopping for Jesse. She decided that she needed a better bicycle to get more serious in her bike rides - never mind that she rides circles around me while I am on my road bike and she is on her dad’s old, mountain bike. She bought herself a new Specialized road bike (red) and will now be able to circle me twice! Maybe I need to get more serious too.



After bike shopping, we dropped Jes off at the rock-climbing place – old grain elevator converted to rock climbing area. Jesse met up with her coworker crowd to do some rock climbing, eating out, and a movie. We watched some climbers scurry up the outside of the silos – not my cup of tea. Jesse seems to really like that sort of thing. Maybe she will post some photos.



On Sunday after church, we met up with blogger buddy, Guyk and his wife, who are visiting relatives in the area. Guy and his wife were great. I really enjoyed visiting with them and hope to do more so before they head back East. Not only is Guy from this Okie area, he is originally from Archer City (Last Picture Show) which is where lots of my relatives originated. Lordy, we are probably related. I really thought we might be related when he took off his hat and was bald, and he had blue eyes – kind of reminded me of this guy. Toby teased me - saying I was getting more like my dad and that I was part of the Old Farts Blogging Group. Dad did love his OFGs.


Speaking of being like someone. Most people think that GBN1 is just like me. She isn't. We do have some things in common - like laughing and being silly. But people think she is like me because she is a bit of a "strong willed" child, getting into trouble lots. That really is not me. GBN2, on the other hand, is a bit more like me. Yesterday as we walked into church, Bo was carrying GBN2 out of church for some discipline (didn't even make it through church). When they came back in, I could tell that GBN2 was not "over it" yet and still wanted to fight. It was like looking in a mirror. Toby saw it too. He knows how long it takes for me to get over something and how bad I want to fight sometimes. The trick is to make her laugh - I know this.


This week could be busy. I’m down to less than a month for the DAG art show. I have paintings to do, pictures to frame, and the show to coordinate. Blogging may be light unless something exciting happens.

Early Weekend

The weekend started early. Yesterday, Toby had an out-patient procedure done and was home the rest of the day. And he is home today. The good news is that we get to spend some time together, maybe drive over to Lawton and kick around. The bad news is that I may not get much computer time. You know, I have to look like I really work around the house.

Jesse has some nice photos of the Sheppard Air Show at her blog.

da Vinci Dream

A new da Vinci painting! How cool is that? According to the Fox News article a Swiss collector bought a painting from the Ganz Gallery in NY for $19,000 knowing that it might be a da Vinci. After some research and finding da Vinci’s fingerprint on the painting, it most likely is one of his paintings and is worth maybe 150 million dollars! I kid you not! This from the article: "I would say it is priceless. There aren't that many Leonardo's in existence," Biro said. He said he had heard that one London dealer felt it could be worth more than $150 million.


Jesse was only 19 years old when we were in Italy. She was a big Leonardo fan and wanted to see some of his work, but the truth is that there is not that much of his work in Italy – or at least not where we were. We saw all sorts of famous paintings, sculptures, and buildings, but not much da Vinci. While we were in Venice there was suppose to be some sort of da Vinci show going on, but we had little time and could not see it. It was at that point that Jesse broke down and cried. It was so unlike her. I knew she was just worn out from traveling and sightseeing and I said as much. Still, I wish I could have granted her wish to see lots of da Vinci works. On her recent trip to France, I believe she did get to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris. She was probably worn out from her travels then, too. Maybe some day she will get to see more of his drawings and such. You know she is a drafter and likes that sort of thing.


For me, it was Michelangelo’s Pieta and his David - I just stood in awe – staring – thinking, "Wow, here I am up close and personal with a Michelangelo." I did not have the same feeling seeing the Sistine Chapel due to being herded through the place like a bunch of cattle. But I can say that I saw it.


Never let your little dreams die.

Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day here is a pic from a couple of years ago about this time of year when we were in Corpus Christi. This is suppose to be a replica of the Pinta (if my memory is correct). Pretty darn small to be floating across the ocean. Be sure and double click to see the images closer. Don't ya love these two nerds!

The Weekend and Air Show

I’m loving the cool temps here in OK. While Jesse went off to an air show at Sheppard Air Force Base (more on that below), Toby and I did some work around the Lazy B. I switched out the summer clothes for the winter clothes, which were needed. I know we will still have some warm days – this Oklahoma and the weather does change often – so I kept out the favorite T-shirts. Toby worked out in the barn – mostly on the tractor, which waited until it was out in the cold before it died and would not start back up. Toby said that we might have to drag it back into the barn so he can work on it. Yep, the dread of such a task hit me like it always does, but I said, "Sure thang, honey." This task requires a cleaning out of the barn so that I can drive through the barn in the truck pulling his tractor. He will be in the tractor, while I’m in the truck. He will use hand signals that are confusing to women (other than the one that says "you did it wrong") and I will have that dumb blonde look on my face. You would think after 32 years of marriage that I would know his signals, and maybe I am better than I was earlier in our marriage. Still, I dread the task. Sometimes it is not the missed signals; it is his lack of signals – times when I am suppose to be able to read his mind. You would think that after 32 years of marriage I could read his mind. And maybe I am better at reading his mind. After 32 years of marriage, he does know that if I am in the truck and he is in the dead tractor, I am the one in power. He also knows that my help (as poor as it is) is better (and cheaper) than anyone else’s help. I’m still praying that miraculously the tractor will start, and he can drive it back into the barn.

Saturday evening we went to Painted Lady, Glenna’s house, for supper. Although it was cool, we spent a large part of the evening out on her patio overlooking Waurika Lake. Her husband had a fire going in the chim-whatever pot. It was very nice. We ate steaks and stuffed-onions cooked on the grill. I took a pear pie and a peach pie for dessert. All was good. It was fun getting together with our men-folk along. Glenna’s house is just so beautiful, and she is a great hostess.

In the meantime, Jesse and her friends went to the air show. As good a time as we had at Glenna’s, I was jealous that Jesse got to go to the air show. The F-15E Strike Eagle, which was featured at the show, was probably her favorite plane. The Canadian Snowbirds did a demo and showed off their planes. She said that it was a very good time at Sheppard.

Her friend, Jan (Yon) who is from the Netherlands via Canada, enjoyed the planes, too. He visited with the Canadian Snowbirds. When Jesse offered to take his photo with one of the Canadian pilots and planes, Jan declined, but said that he would take a pic of Jesse and the Canadian pilot. The Canadian was more than willing to have his photograph made with Jesse. In fact, he pulled his camera out so that he could get a photo of her – "to show the boys back home what they missed." Then he put his arm around her pulling her in for the photo. Jesse said that he was fun, but was not impressed and said that he was a big goof. She had the thought, "If this guy is a pilot, I could have been a pilot." Jesse and her friend, Emily, did meet a "handsome" pilot from NY who is stationed at Sheppard. Although he visited with the girls, he did not seem impressed, but talked about how he did not like being in Texas – yadda, yadda - at Sheppard – yadda, yadda. I can see Jesse’s eyebrow raised while she visited with this young man – wanting to say to him, "Only boring people get bored." Instead, she just moved on, proving once again that you don’t have to be all that smart to be a pilot or that Canadian pilots are smarter than American pilots.

Fun at the Bank

In typical Okie fashion the weather has been mighty strange. Yesterday I had the windows open, but it got so hot and muggy that I found myself sweating like a fat girl. While I cleaned house, sweat was running down my face and my hair was kinky/frizzy. Before my art students showed up, I decided to shut the windows and turn on the AC. I don't ever remember OK being quite so humid. It was like a sauna. That afternoon it started to rain. It rained all evening with some severe weather around us - lots of lightning and thunder and threat of hail. It was still raining this morning right up until the cold front hit. The temps dropped, and it got cold. I'm glad I shut the windows. It barely got up to 60 today, and the wind blew.

Toby and I went to lunch today - just the two of us - a date. As I was driving him back to work, I pulled into the drive-thru at the bank to cash a $10.00 check from one of my students. With the cooler weather, I had Ranger, the Rat Terrier, with us. He is a smart dog. He knows the tellers at the bank often give dog treats. He knows to stand in my lap and look at the tellers with his dog eyes - like a deserving dog. With the window down and the dog hanging out, Toby and I were talking while waiting on the teller to return the carrier with my money and dog treat. About that time, the teller said, "I need his birth date." I paused in thought, but Toby leaned across me and said, "1,7,57," and the teller sent the carrier. I started laughing. It was a good thing Toby answered the teller, because I was thinking she meant the dog. I almost said, "We don't know his birthday. We think he was born around October, but we don't have papers on him." Toby thought this was very funny, too. Then I opened the returned carrier, took out the ten, and handed it to Toby, but there was no dog treat. Toby said, "Sorry Ranger, she didn't know your birthday."

Public School Rant - Beware

My posts have been fairly mellow for a while now. I have been keeping a fairly low profile and have not been in any fights for a long time. That doesn’t mean I won’t fight. Old habits are hard to break. I have waded in (put my 2 cents in) on someone else’s battle on another blog – something that always makes me go into battle mode – the public school system. I wonder if anyone will come here to check out who made the comments. If anyone does show up, I just want you to know that when we gave up the public school system (and I fought that battle for a long time), we gained peace in our life and our kids got a superb education.


My son finished college with a Masters in Economics. He graduated with honors paying for much of his education with scholarship money received for his hard work. And he did it all in five years. He has passed two parts of the CPA exam and just took a third test last Tuesday. He has married a beautiful woman, who was also homeschooled and is now homeschooling my GGs. GBN1 is five and she is reading up a storm. Both she and her two-year-old sister know more ASL than I do.


My daughter has an associate’s degree plus many hours towards her bachelor’s and has a 4.0 GPA. She has often expressed a desire to get her bachelor’s degree, but she makes plenty of money and has a great job with Halliburton. She does occasionally take a class in that direction, but if she went for an Bachelor’s, she would have to take all sorts of crap classes that take up time and money (that’s how The System works). Since her other desire is to be a wife and mother (she would like a house full of sons), we encourage her to wait patiently for the Lord to bring her a godly husband who wants a strong wife and maybe a few boys (girls are good too).


If you wonder about "socialization" I will say you should worry. Public school kids are definitely taught to be socialists. In fact, your kids will be taught that mediocrity is acceptable and actually better than excelling. Although they will learn to read, they will not be expected to do so on their own, and this will cause lots of problems if they go onto college. They are more likely to be taught that disobedience toward their parents is normal. Fighting, bullying, teen pregnancy, and drugs are all just part of the norm. Your kids will be subjected to these things in elementary school. Hopefully, you will have provided them with the tools to deal with such issues, because public school teachers will not provide those tools – they don’t have time. Each of the three ladies I paint with have children who went through public school. Some of their children have eventually had "success" in life, but all three ladies have children who have had to do time with counselors and psychiatrists and some are still struggling. Is that the fault of public school "socialization"- I don't know - I'm just sayin'.


If you have any questions about homeschooling, feel free to ask. It was not always easy. It is not for everyone. All school systems have their failures – homeshoolers have their share. For us, homeschooling was joy and peace in our lives.

The Age Old Problem

Yesterday was a very busy day. Shopping with the GGs was (as Toby's dad used to say) like shopping with raccoons. Eventually I took the GGs to Mom's house where we enjoyed the beautiful day playing in her backyard. We got back to Duncan about 6 PM, where I met up with Toby and Jes to attend a dinner for a local politician. I haven't been to that many political fund raisers, but this one was okay. The food was less than wonderful, but there was some good desserts. While standing in line to get our dry burger and chips, Jesse saw someone she knew - a young man whom she had recently met while playing soccer (her coworkers and a few locals play every Monday after work). He joined us in the burger line and visited with Jesse. Then he joined us at our table. He seemed like a really nice kid. He teased her about her cheating at soccer and how the guys all let her get away with it. Then he said he was a senior in high school and asked Jesse if she were in college. Toby and I both turned to Jesse to see how she handled this one. With her very charming smile, she said she was working. The conversation continued. He eventually went to set with his family and friends.

Although Jesse said that the young man was just being "friendly," it was clear that he was a bit smitten. Toby just shook his head and said, "Poor kid! He has no idea that Jesse is ten years older than he is."

Quiet Cloudy Day

It was a quiet day yesterday with heavy cloud cover and drizzle all day long. I stayed home and did housework and snuggled in. At one point, I heard the dog bark in an odd way and looked out to see the neighbor's blue heeler and my red heeler ganging up on Fighty Bitey Bad Cat - Frankie. I scattered the dogs and rescued the cat, but Frankie was a bit worse for wear. There were no major gashes or tears, but he was not walking well. I carried him to the storeroom and put him on the dog-bed. I put water and food near him and blocked the dogs from bothering him anymore. He is a cat. He will either get better or not. By late afternoon, he came out walking a little better. I think he will make it. It was the excitement for the day.

Since I had time to kill, I looked through Jesse's France photos. She only carried her little point-and-shoot camera. Lindz took most of the photos with her fancy-smanchy camera, and I have yet to see those. Still, Jesse took some fun photos and some videos. It seems that she and Lindz were part of a scavenger hunt in Nice. Some French teenagers needed a blond for their hunt and they chose Lindz. Jesse videoed the craziness - looked like lots of fun. Jes also videoed some of their bike riding, which looked fun, but not so exciting. Jesse has said that the best part of the trip was meeting people from all over the world. I'm sure when she gets Lindz' photos, we will have some interesting pics. In the meantime here is Jesse doing her usual self portraits. How does she do those so well? The "Baracuda" is an old joke between Lindz and Jes reminding them of their first scuba experience.

The rain, thunder and lightning started in the night hours and is continuing even now. Heavy rain! The thunder and lightning bounced me out of bed this morning, and I am not easily bothered by such stuff. The dog, on the other hand, is still hiding.

I'm off to WF with the GGs today.

Good Day and Good Wine

Saturday was absolutely beautiful. It was a perfect day for Wine on the Chisholm Trail. The Duncan Art Guild had a booth to show artists’ work. I was there early Saturday morning to help set up the booth. Jesse arrived shortly to take photos and be charming. Toby had to work (end of the month closing), but he came by periodically to check on us, bring us lunch and visit. The turnout was not great, but it was only the second year for the event. Jesse and I did manage to sell a piece of artwork each. Speaking of artwork, take a look at this tiger that GBN1 drew. Is there some talent there or what?!
My brother and his daughter happened to be in WF visiting my mom and decided to drive to Duncan to see my family. As I said, the wine festival was not very exciting with few booths and few attendees, but having my family there made things much more fun. We played with the GGs, who were highly entertaining, but eventually had to go home for a nap. As the afternoon wore on, we sat under a nice arbor shade and drank wine and just visited. Later we all went to supper at a local restaurant. It was good to see my big brother and my niece – a really nice day.
Years ago when we spent some time in Italy, I got very lonely for my family. I figure Catherine is missing her family about now and would enjoy some photos. So here is Craig amidst the wineglasses. Craig playing with GBN1 GBN2, Jes and Nina Grandma and Nina.

It started raining Saturday evening and rained all night and most of Sunday. The temperature was about 62. Toby decided it was a day to make gumbo, which turned out to be an all day affair. It was well worth the time. While sitting around eating gumbo, Jesse suggested a game of Trivial Pursuit. Some of you may be thinking, "How boring!" but we are pretty silly. We give each other a hard time for missed questions or for poor reading of the questions. Toby got this question: What was the last name of the Italian tractor magnate who decided to build his own cars when he became frustrated with his Ferrari?

Toby's answer: Fiat. (he had sound reasoning)

The correct answer: Lamborghini. (a Lamborghini tractor?)

Jesse's response: What person would want to drive a Fiat after having a Ferrari?

It may have been one of those "you had to be there" things, but we were pretty tired and thought it was very funny.

Dictator

The weather was warm yesterday with a strong south wind whipping over the Oklahoma prairie. It gave me a sinus headache. Later in the day the wind shifted from the north and was much more pleasant cooling things off for a perfect afternoon.

The Duncan Art Guild had a board meeting (why do they spell it "board" when it should be "bored") yesterday evening. Because I am the "art show coordinator", I had to attend. We have the upcoming fall show in November, and things have hit a big snag. Last year I reserved the room, where we have the art show, for the next year. A few days ago, I happened to discover that the room is no longer available. The hospital sold the building - yadda, yadda, yadda. I have to say that the hospital has been very good to us and has tried to relocate us somewhere on their campus, but the available space is not adequate for our show. You can’t be mad at someone when they have provided free space. Anyway, I have been all over town looking for a space that is big enough, and cheap enough. I have several irons in the fire, but we will see which one works out. I don’t mind all of the hassle, but I did dread dealing with the board members last night. Dealing with the board is like working on a committee. Everyone has to talk it to death. After all the talk, I’m still where I was – looking for a space. Now I just have all sorts of opinions as to what everyone thinks about the spaces I have looked at. One board member actually said, "I move that Lou look for a new place." Duh! When I mentioned that we did not need to vote on that, someone said, "Well go ahead and look around and then come back to us and we will decide…" I told them that we didn’t have time for all that crap; they would just have to trust my decision. Actually, I will search for new places and I will check with the president of our group before making a decision. But there is no way, I’m going to try and get all the board member’s approval. If you put me in charge, then let me do my job and trust me.

What is that old line – it is easier to get forgiveness than to get permission? I would have been a great dictator.

Jesse has posted a few photos from France.

Little Lighthouse Painting

My day with the Painted Ladies went well yesterday. We did more talking than painting - that happens sometimes. Barb out did herself with a wonderful lunch, since it was Glenna's birthday. Because I am the fastest painter in the West, I did finish what I started painting. Mom brought me some postcards from her cruise up the East Coast. Glenna had also recently taken a trip to Cape Cod and had some lighthouse pictures. So we painted lighthouses. It is rather simple, but here it is.

Today I hope to paint again - and maybe have a "me" day.