Dad Angels

Tuesday was such a nice day that when Toby got home we decided to do some gardening, and no Mrs. Obama had no influence on our choice to plant a garden, but I would like a fancy dress like her gardening dress. We still had some tomato and pepper plants to plant. Toby wanted to ride bikes, but we really needed to do the gardening (and I was sore from riding bikes on Monday). When Jesse got home from work and her workout, she wanted to ride motorcycles. I knew there was no holding them back, and gave in graciously. While I fixed supper, they got on their gear and rode off. Toby roared passed the house leaving Jesse in the dirt and me not able to get a photo of them riding together. Jesse went much slower down the driveway. I guess Toby thought he would roar ahead of her and maybe she would catch up. Maybe he thought he could ride fast and then circle back to check on her. Who knows what men really think!

Jesse had mentioned that she was low on gas, but I had told her that she and her dad could stop and get some gas at the truck stop. Since Toby roared off, he was not privileged to this conversation. Sure enough, Jes ran out of gas, and Toby had to come back for her. Next, her brakes locked up, and she was stuck in the middle of the road until Toby came back again. Eventually they made it home safely, but Toby’s eyes were still rolling at her, and she was still explaining herself.

It reminded me of a scene I saw one Saturday morning while I was waiting for Toby to come out of AutoZone. A man with a very little girl was walking across the parking lot into AutoZone. The little girl’s hair was sticking out in all directions, her clothes were a mess, and she trotted happily along beside her dad, but was not holding his hand. The dad seemed oblivious to her and was intent on AutoZone. It made me think of the times that my dad got my brother and me up on Saturday morning to run errands with him and to give Mom some quiet time to sleep in. The difference was that Dad always insisted on my hair being pulled back in a ponytail before he would take me with him. This other Dad was not so thoughtful. I bet his wife appreciated his taking the daughter off with him. I bet the daughter loved it (like I used to). But I bet the mother had no idea how bad her daughter looked and would have been horrified to see that the dad was not holding her hand in the parking lot. All went fine, though. Mothers just worry about such things- dads not so much. Dads seem to have some sort of angel watching over them.

Difficutlites

Hmm, I am experiencing different computer problems this morning. I'd like to blame it on the rain, but it is mostly me. My desktop is sick with a virus. I have a call into the computer doctor, but he has yet to get back to me. I got tired of waiting on the doctor and decided to use Jesse's computer. My laptop is also out of commission. Jesse's laptop is working fine - hope I don't jinx it. As I started to post, I had the thought, "Gee why don't you go to eBay and check out the Coach Purses?" Sometimes you have to act on a thought or lose it totally. After shopping on eBay for a while, I came back to my blog only to find that some how I had posted a blog, but not posted a blog. Who knows how I managed that!

In the meantime, it has been pouring rain all morning. The pond is filling up nicely. The garden seems a bit underwater too. My art buddies canceled today, which puts way too much time on my hands. I need to do some ironing, but yuck. Maybe I will paint on my own and finish my pastel portrait. Maybe I will finish reading my book. Maybe the computer doc will call soon. You know Procrastination is my middle name. A rainy day does not help.

Jack the Red Heeler

Last night we had a bit of excitement. Jack, our new puppy, woke me up with his barking. It was a scared bark with a few little high-pitched yelps. Coming out of dead sleep, I thought a coyote was attacking him. I jumped out of the bed yelling for him, opened the door, and called to him. He came running and dove into the house. I checked to see if he was hurt, but he was not. I turned on the outside light to scare off any coyotes or critters. Zoe, the Great Dane, sleepily came out of storeroom without barking or growling. I figured whatever danger had been there was gone, and I put Jack back out. Rather than going back to bed like Zoe, Jack took off around the corner of the house barking again. This time his bark was more serious and braver. I took off after him. He had something cornered against the front of the house, but I could not see what. I was afraid it was a snake. If it were a skunk, Jack would already have been in trouble. I ran back inside for the spotlight (every good redneck has one). By this time Toby was up and already had the spotlight and was headed out the other door with me following him (kind of a Tom and Jerry running around the house). When Toby hit the light, Jack had an armadillo cornered. It was as if Jack needed our approval or maybe our support, but now he was ferocious. Toby praised Jack for his watchdog ability and bravery. Jack chased the armadillo almost to the pond - nipping at its heels as he went. I didn’t like Jack going that far out in the pasture at night, because a coyote really could get him. I called him back to the house and let him in. As we got back into bed Toby said, “Is that dog in the house?” I replied that Jack was in the house, but not in our bed. Even in the dark, I knew Toby was rolling his eyes. He and Jesse accuse me of spoiling our dogs. Maybe I do, but I just could not stand to think of him out there chasing armadillos and getting eaten by coyotes.

Where was Jesse in all of this? She came out of her room, stood in the living room looking around, but then went back to bed. This morning she said, “What was going on last night?” It reminded me of the time about ten years ago when our puppy, a Great Pyrenees, was barking at night. Toby shot off a gun (over her head) to shut her up. Jesse heard the gunshot. Not knowing what was going on, but thinking she didn’t want to get shot, she got in the floor and went back to sleep. I really don’t think she was ever quite awake.

Another funny thing that happened yesterday evening was the wind. When Toby got home from work, there was very little wind. We decided to take advantage of the nice evening and go for a bike ride. We did about a ten mile ride with a southwesterly breeze that did not bother us. As we neared the end of our ride, we turned north on the road to our house. There are two big hills and gullies to ride through to get to our driveway. I was doing great. It was the second big hill that the wind shifted and suddenly blew from the north. I barely made it up the hill with the wind hitting me hard. My bike was almost at a standstill , and the peddles getting me nowhere. As Toby slowly peddled past me, I asked, "Am I going backwards?" No where but OK can the weather change so abruptly.

Weekend Report - Noises Off

Everyone who has a daughter knows that they are all drama princesses. When Jesse was little, we were amazed at her ability to show her every emotion by the expressions on her face. She was not a big talker like my GGs, but she was very communicative with her eyes and face. Jesse had killer eyes. She let you know when she was not pleased. The brows would draw together in a way that might have been scary if it were a larger person and not a little girl. With her dancing eyes, she let you know when she was happy. She also had a haughty look that made us think of her as not a princess, but a queen. This weekend she was the queen of expressions once again.

This weekend Jesse played Poppy in “Noises Off.” Her character had few lines and a very quiet voice. She had to show her emotions with her facial expressions. She did great – a role she was born to play. The first act of the play set up the characters and the plot. The second act was chaos with lots of impromptu running around the stage. The third act was still lots of impromptu, but not so much as Act 2. Jesse’s big scenes were in Act 2. I watched all three performances (isn’t that what a mother does?) and each performance was different. Friday night Act 2 was very funny and seemed well choreographed. Saturday night Act 2 was wild. Jesse did a flying tackle that was similar to her kayak day on the Rio Grande. She also went running across the stage, lost a shoe and went a$$ over head with one shoe flying off not to be found. She finished the scene with one shoe. It was one of those moments when I sucked in my breath and thought, “OH MY GOSH!” Then she got up and I knew she was all right and I laughed till I was sick. The rolling fall actually fit in perfect. The one shoe was very funny. Only the other actors and her parents knew it was not planned. The bruises and skinned knees and elbows tell the real story.

Sunday’s matinée was still different. Jesse did not get hurt, but was still very funny. In Act 3 she is suppose to sneak on stage and replace the receiver of the phone, which the other characters misplaced earlier. This time, Jesse replaced the receiver with a banana. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but it surprised the other actors when they picked up the banana to make a phone call. All was funny!

I have to mention another person in the play, Sarah Ann. Sarah is one of my art girls - she has taken from me longer than anyone. The other girls think she is my favorite - 'cause she is. She is very artistically talented. And she can sing like an angel. She and her brothers grew up watching old movies - especially musicals, and they have an uncanny ability to mimic what they hear. She has often regaled us with song while at art. Sarah can sound just like the mice in "Cinderella," but my favorite is when she does whole scenes from "Pink Panther." This weekend she was the emcee for "Noises Off" while her husband played the part of Tim in the play. Not only did she emcee, but she sang a few songs during each of the breaks. She did an imitation of Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that sent shivers all over me. The crowd loved her. The actors gave her the MVP award for being such a great emcee, helping with the play, reading parts when someone was absent, bringing snacks, etc. Like I said, she is a favorite.

Jesse will probably have photos later. I forgot my camera, which would not have taken good photos in the dark anyway. Lindz did get some photos, and I will try to steal some for my blog, too. I’m glad the play is over. Maybe now I will see more of Jes.

Actually on Saturday, I did spend some quality time with her. We put together a dresser that she had bought in Austin. It came in two boxes and was totally broken down into pieces of wood and hardware. We had a blast reading the instructions, piecing things together, re-doing our mistakes, and seeing a dresser emerge. I think she may have photos of that too. It turned out very nice – all pine. It was the time spent with her that was the best, though. You know how I love my girls.

Classless

I can tell things are winding down and summer is on its way. I’m not talking about the weather, I’m talking about my classes. My art students have been few and far between lately. It could be that things are busy for everyone, but I tend to think that they are just tired of "going to class." Even my ASL class has had very few people lately. I try to make it to ASL even when I don’t want to go. I just feel that the teachers travel to Velma and give of their time – and I should do the same. We have two more ASL classes, and then we will break for the summer. I will do something similar with my art classes. I usually stop the younger classes for the summer and only keep the Thursday class going. It is a good break for both my students and me. Since my Thursday class has dwindled, I may include the older ladies in the Thursday class. My Wednesday art buddies are planning on continuing through the summer. I am looking forward to dropping a few classes for more time with my new art buddies.
Here is a few more paintings that I have done with them.
I also started a pastel – here is the pastel after one sitting. Today I will do some more work on it – ‘cause it needs lots of work to look like the Diva’s Daughter. But I thought I would show you what I was up to.

Tonight Toby and I are planning on going out to eat and then to opening night of Jesse’s play, "Noises Off." Jes seems to be doing well – knows her part well and shows little worry. I know better – she is ready for this to be over with and will probably not do any more plays or at least not for a long time. We will see – maybe the glory of being a star will take over – not. In the meantime, I will take photos and report back on the play tomorrow.


Email conversation:
My friends Anny and Bear were supposed to meet up with us in Austin where they were attending a different wedding last weekend. We were both so busy that we did not meet. Anny emailed to tell me about her weekend. The rehearsal dinner was held on a party barge on Town Lake (Lake Lady Bird). Anny said that as they were leaving the barge, they saw a truck backing a boat into the lake. The truck just kept rolling right on into the lake. It turns out that the driver was not in the truck and it was rolling on its own. She said that they shouted and shouted, but the man did not pay attention to them. His truck went underwater. When Bear and Anny went to try and help the man, it turns out that he was deaf. Anny wrote: We drove the Tahoe partway down into the water with me hanging my head out my window yelling "I know some sign language!!!" The guy never looked at me...he couldn't hear me LOL.

I wrote back to Anny telling her I should have been there to help, because I could have signed, "Friend, you are screwed." I happen to know that sign.

New Internet and Painting Buddies

This morning the windows are open and the breeze is cool. Yesterday started out very similar and got pretty warm (91). It was my day to host our weekly watercolor get-together. My painting buddies said they loved having the windows open and that it was just right. I knew it would not stay that way. With several people in the house and the temps going up, I knew it would get too hot. Sure enough after lunch, with sweat pouring off her face, one of my art buddies said she was ready for the air conditioner. I was ready too. The wind had picked up and was blowing art paper and things in the house, but the wind was hot and not cooling us off at all. I cranked up the canned air for the first time this year. Toby mentioned my turning on the air (just giving me a hard time), but after he fed the chickens and did some outside work, he was grateful for the cool air inside.

Yesterday, Toby had Rhino Communications come out to see if they could provide Internet service to us. The guy was so much better than the last guy who came out was. And yes, he could get great signal from the Velma tower. I had him install new Internet – Yeha! So far, so good! It is faster and cheaper than Hughes (half the price) – Yeha! My emailed changed, and that is always a hassle, but I can live with that. Now to upload a photo from my Easy Share program.Not bad! I did not re-size this at all, although maybe I should. Still, it worked! These tomatoes were painted with my painting buddies. We all painted the same tomatoes, and all had very different paintings. The differences in our paintings is always interesting and fun. I have to say that when I started out with these ladies, I had my doubts as to continuing meeting with them, but I really enjoy our time together. Not only are our paintings so different, so are our personalities. My ASL class should end soon and I will stop younger art classes for the summer - freeing me up for time with my new art buddies. I will post more painting pics soon.

A Little Disappointed

I love visiting with family, as we were able to do at C&C’s wedding. Meeting new people is always fun, and Catherine’s family was as wonderful and easy to talk to as she is. But the one thing I was hoping for and was a bit disappointed in at the wedding was the lack of "old" friends – the ones from RR. Why would I think that there would be lots of old friends from RR? The wedding was actually for family and close friends – a small party to celebrate C&C’s union. It was a perfect celebration. My expectations are what let me down. I did enjoy seeing John and Susie Whatley and getting to visit (in person rather than my blog) with them. Whatley has always been sentimental and a sucker for a reunion. He is great to take time from his busy life and see old friends – it is what I love about him. It was also good to see Mike Hearne and Carmen Acciaioli, one of his long time band members. Mike was a bit sentimental as he dedicated his songs to old friends. I did think he was hitting on Jesse, but who wouldn’t hit on her? Bill Hearne was suppose to be at the wedding and sing a few songs, but he got waylaid by the weather. Bill’s wife, Bonnie, was there, and she played the piano and sang with the band. I was disappointed that she did not do any solos – she has always been one of my favorites. When I am feeling a bit nostalgic, I put on one of her CD’s and listen to songs like "Wild Geese." Bear and Anny did not make it to the wedding as we had planned, but I will see them sometime soon. Nope, that was about it for RR folk. I guess it was quite a ways to expect people to travel. I did get to see family members that I had not seen in years and that was great. I got to meet Catherine’s family, and they were wonderful. I can foresee many enjoyable times with them.

On Sunday morning before we left Austin, we went by Threadgill’s for brunch. It was a much quieter atmosphere than some of the meeting places that we attended during the wedding weekend. We were able to do some serious getting-to-know-each-other with C&C’s friends and family. It was there that Bill Hearne showed up. It was so good to see him. He seemed glad to see Toby and me too – lots of hugs! The real surprise was that it was Kent Black who brought Bill to the brunch. I had not seen Kent in about 30 years (back in the days we went to SWTSU). It has been even longer than that since he was a jeep driver in RR. I remember having a bit of a crush on Kent – he was tall, blonde, and handsome back then. He was also very quiet and well mannered for a jeep driver. He was one of the young men mentioned here. He has now retired as a lawyer in Austin and has gone back to running the family business – Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, TX - a very famous eating establishment. It was great seeing Kent.

Some day there needs to be a jeep driver reunion – maybe a kidnap breakfast. Hmm, have I never blogged about the famous Kidnap Breakfasts in RR?

Another Photo

Jesse posted photos of Craig and Catherine's wedding, and she takes much better photos than I do. Plus, she is able to upload photos of larger size. I thought I would throw out another photo from the weekend, but increase the size just a little to see what it would do. It did upload, and that is a good sign. I chose this photo because Jesse and Lindz are just so stunning.

This morning while I was reading through my favorite blogs, the electricity blipped off. It was off for about an hour. Now I need to get on with my day since I have art students coming.

The Perfect Austin Wedding

The big wedding weekend in Austin was interesting to say the least, but that is Austin for you. The wedding itself was beautiful and fun. It was some of the surrounding events that made for an "interesting" weekend.
On Friday morning we met with Lindsay and Shay to caravan to Austin. We picked up Mom in WF. It rained all day. Thinking that we had lots of time, we stopped in Mineral Wells to view the old Baker Hotel. Shay was very taken with the old building. Our next stop was Stephensville where we had a very nice lunch at a Mexican food restaurant. The stops we made on the trip to Austin should not have caused us to run late, but the rain and the traffic added to things, and we were a bit rushed to get to the hotel and then to the wedding. It turned out fine, and we got to the wedding at the appointed time to take family photos. The wedding took place at the Zilker Park Clubhouse overlooking Austin. The rain let up just in time for the photos and the wedding – perfect timing.

The ceremony itself was a bit different, but very nice. Craig and Catherine wrote and planned the entire ceremony including many Celtic blessings learned during their recent trip to Ireland. They placed their rings in a bowl that was passed around to the crowd for blessings. By the time the bowl came to me, we had been told to hurry it up. I thought of what my blessing should be, but felt rushed. Then I thought of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where the Greeks spit on the wedding couple as a blessing. I did not spit in to the bowl, but I did get tickled. I was caught of guard by my dad’s OFG jacket placed on the chair as a memorial to him. Catherine placed her father’s USAF flight jacket on a chair as a memorial to her father. C&C also included vows to each other’s grown children and to Catherine’s grandchildren to always be there for them. As Craig was making vows to love and support Catherine’s family, Catherine’s granddaughter, Emma who was in her father’s arms, reached out and went into Craig’s arms – perfect timing again.
My GGs were also very entertaining at the wedding. As the ceremony started I was holding GBN2. In typical toddler fashion, she grabbed the neckline of my shirt and started pulling it down with me fighting her off and pulling my shirt back up. When I told her to stop pulling on my shirt, in her little baby voice she said, "Booboo, I like your milks." Toby leaned over and said, "Me too!" Giggles erupted around us for those close enough to hear the exchange. Then as the ceremony drew to an end, GBN1 announced, "I smell poop!" which caused more giggles. Rather than serving cake, huge luscious cupcakes were served. The GGs as well as all the little children at the wedding loved these. They also loved the dancing. The grown-ups loved the dancing too.

Because of the rain, several people who were flying into Austin got delayed and missed the ceremony. My Uncle Danny, his wife and son, Buck, whom I have not seen in years, showed up late. It made for a nice surprise when they arrived. It was really great to see them. Buck joined his cousins and the family fun as if he had been around us all his life. Here they are down on SoCo doing some shopping and listening to a street band. That is Buck sitting next to Jes.

The rest of the weekend was filled with seeing family and friends. We ate lots of good food and did some serious dancing – all of which was great. The ladies did some shopping while the men played a little golf at the chip and putt.

There were some down moments. Austin was having some sort of car show. It was fun to see all of the different cars up and down the drag. There were all sorts of interesting old cars including some old hotrods – Many of these people were staying at the same hotel where we stayed. They were nice people, but their cars took up all of the parking spaces and were quite loud when started up at all hours of the night. Then there was the yelling and a fight outside of our room at about 3 AM. The hotel itself was not great. The breakfast was skimpy at best, the Internet was down, and the room was stinky. So, we went out to breakfast and had some great migas at Magnolia’s. All in all it was a good weekend, but I am glad to be home.

Dancing photos:Mike and the girlsBo and Jes Jes and GBN1Adam and his friend, Sarah

Art Guild Meeting

We had an Art Guild meeting tonight. I was in charge of the program. We did figure drawing. I provided a model and taught a quick, basic lesson on drawing people. The model was the Junk Diva's daughter, Kara. Not only is she beautiful, but she is very talented. She posed for the guild like a real model and joked and laughed charming my friends. Then I had her pose with her guitar and sing. I'm tellin' you when she started singing, the guild members fell out of their seats. Kara wowed them - she is really, really good. Everyone had a great time. I got lots of great comments on how beautiful, charming and talented Kara was. I knew it already. Thanks Kara; you are a sweetheart.

I'm off to Austin in the morning - have a great weekend.

Big Weekend Coming

Today is one busy day. We are getting ready for our trip to Austin for my brother’s wedding. Toby took the day off in order to get some things done before we go. The wedding is going to be one big party – lots of friends and family. South by Southwest (this is a great video of Mike Hearne’s band and sights from Northern NM) will be playing for the dance after the ceremony. The whole weekend will be filled with food and dancing, etc. I’m hoping for some nice weather. These Okie winds are driving me crazy.

I will take the laptop and maybe post while we are in Austin. In the meantime, I will leave you with another photo from Scotland. This one is in Edinburgh at the castle. I have no idea who the guy is, but I did not crop him out, because he looks very interesting and European behind Jesse, and she looks very Scottish with her windblown, slightly red hair. See ya when I see ya!

Scotland and Pizza

Yesterday I looked through my Scotland photos to find something paintable. I did print out a couple of things, but mostly I just oohed and aahed over Scotland. It was difficult to concentrate on paintable photos when I was busy reminiscing. Then I decided to post a photo so that my readers could enjoy Scotland again, but the photos were way to large. This gave me incentive to try an download Picasa - again. Because of the movies in my files, it took forever. Each time Picasa came to video, it stopped. Eventually I waded through the whole shebang and got 'er done. I was able to make the photo smaller and upload it. Ooh - Aah!

Although I had an art class, I did not get much painting done yesterday.

Toby and I have been on a pizza kick. We are looking for a good crust recipe. We got a recipe off of the Internet - it was okay, but nothing to write home about. Toby kneaded the dough and tried to spread it out on the pizza board. He shaped the pizza into something like a map of the USA, but he called it a "Sicily pizza." After he spread it so thin that it had several holes in it and patches, I couldn't stand it any more. I tried to let him do his thang (he has certain ideas of how he wants his pizza), but it made me crazy - patience was never one of my strong points. As he stretched and patched the dough, I finally had to say, "Stop it. Roll it into a ball. Now give it to me." I proceeded to show him how to work the dough - years of pottery making gives me an advantage. Then I gave the dough back to him and let him stretch it out way to thin again. Next we tried pre-made dough bought in the store. It was tasty, but not great. It was much easier and faster - I'm all about fast, easy, and cheap. We each took one small pre-made pizza dough and put our own toppings on it. We both used cilantro pesto that I made, but different toppings. I do have to admit that Toby's was the best.

Yesterday was actually a nice day - a bit breezy, but not howling winds as we have had. We got out the bikes and did a little eight mile ride. I was huffing and puffing up those Oklahoma hills. It was a good ride - something to balance all that pizza.

Posters

This picture was posted on Lt. Nixon's blog,

while this picture was posted on his blog friend, The Sniper. I liked both posts.

Weekend Report

We got some much-needed rain over the weekend putting out any lingering fires. Thanks for all your care and concern. Friday I did some cleaning at Janice's house in Velma. It was filled with soot and smoke from the fires, which came right up to her house. After renting that house for 16 years, on Friday afternoon Janice signed the papers and bought it. Congrats Janice! This was in the plans, but when the fire almost took her house the day before she signed the papers, it left Janice wondering just what God was trying to tell her. We all decided that since the house did not burn, it was meant to be hers. It always seems odd to see the scorched land with green treetops. Spring can be so beautiful here in OK, but it can be deadly.

Toby’s family celebrated his mother’s 79th birthday on Saturday. Toby and I took the GGs to WF giving their mother a chance to do some shopping before we all met for the birthday party. The girls were great – as usual.

We had a rather quiet Easter Sunday. The weather was a bit rainy in the morning, but the sun did come out towards the afternoon. Here is my Easter message in a nutshell. Christ is not on the cross. He is not in the grave, but He is risen and seated in the heavenly as a great high priest once and for all. The old has past away. He made all things new. There is power in the resurrection now.

I watched the news this morning that Capt. Phillips was safe and several pirates were dead – thanks to Navy Seals. I know that Obama will receive praise for his part, but I think that Navy Seals and our military are the heroes.

It is shaping up to be a busy week – must head to town for supplies.

Tis the Season

Oklahoma and Texas had wildfires last night. One of those fires hit the town of Velma. There were homes and business destroyed. Three firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and one injured critically. We live between Duncan and Velma, but closer to Velma. It is where we attend church. Men from our church were among the firefighters, but I have not heard who the injured firefighters were. At this time, I do know a family who lost their home, but I have not heard any other news there.

The winds yesterday were just horrific, causing power lines to snap and set the dry grass on fire. Another fire was in the area of Loco, down Pinto Road and Santa Fe area. More homes were destroyed here. When we first moved to OK, this is the area where we lived. Loco is south of Velma – both towns are not far from where we live now, but we were in no danger as the winds blew from the south west and we live east of these areas.

There was also a fire in Ratliff City, which is on the east side of Velma. The fire burned 81 square miles including the fire station. Firefighters were helping in Velma. Both areas still have fires this morning, but it they seem to be under control. There was another fire in the Meridian area (a suburb of Dunan) which was hit heavy with fires just a few years ago. There were also fires around OK City to the north of us and St. Jo to the south – not to mention other parts of Texas.
When we went to bed last night, we could see the orange glow toward Velma and Loco and a beautiful cornbread moon shining above the glow. I tried to take some photos, but they did not work out well (try clicking for larger view). Sometime in the night the wind switched to a north wind and thing and gave the firefighters a break. It is amazing how bad these fires can be and how much damage they can do.

Thirty years ago today was the Terrible Tuesday in the Texhoma area. Several tornadoes touched down in Vernon, Wichita Falls, Lawton and areas in between. Fifty-four people died. Toby and I were living in San Marcos at that time. My parents just happened to be visiting us because it was spring break, but they headed home as soon as they heard about the tornadoes. Their home was fine, but the tornado was devastating to other parts of WF. About a week after the tornadoes, a friend of mine from WF showed up on our doorstep in San Marcos to stay with us for a while. She said she had gotten out of her lease early.

The good news this morning is the winds have died down and are out of the north. Moisture is moving in and rain is in the forecast for the weekend. Normally tornadoes are the big news this time of year, but due to the drought and wind, fires have been the big news.

Update:

I have heard this morning that fires zig-zagged through Velma burning differnt homes and businesses. Leaves outside of Janice's (Lindz' mom) home caught fire, but a neighbor put them out. Shay and Johnny got to the house to wet the yard and roof down keeping it safe. Out in Loco, Bubba and Courtney (one of my art students) had to fight the fires from their house several times, but saved it. The fires burned right up to the Wilson's (another member of our church and an art student) house, but they managed to keep the fire from their home. No one in our church lost their home and all are safe and well.

Blast from the Past

This is a real blast from the past. These pictures came from an old friend, Lori, who was visiting RR the summer of 1977 (Lori found me on FaceBook recently). Toby and I had married that June. I was 19. Lori was actually a friend of a friend, but she hung out with all of us and was at my wedding. In fact, we had my bachelorette party at her house. We were all so young that we did not really know what to do at a bachelorette party - so we watched Audrey Hepburn in "Funny Face" for a while and rode around on Lori's motorcycle. These two photos were taken in front of our little duplex apartment. That is Jill, my neighbor whom I wrote about here. Lori is included in this second photo, and that is my cat, Lizzie. On the Fourth of July the town of RR had lots of old fashioned events including a tug-o-war across a small creek. This was our team. That is me in the silly socks. By the way, we were winning the tug-o-war and had one of the other team in the water, but the judges said that was not enough. Eventually, the other team, which was older and bigger than our team, pulled everyone of us into the creek. The Fourth of July parade in RR was (and still is) the biggest event - we were Texas Red's peanuts that year (that is me tipping my peanut hat). I designed the costumes. One of the other girls wrote a song about peanuts which was sung to "Yankee Doodle." What fun!

Am I Stupid or What?

My plans for the week were very simple. Monday I would run to town and do some Wal-Mart shopping. Tuesday I would pick up Mom. Wed is art with my ladies. Thursday is art with my girls. Friday is free. But as I prepared to head to Wal-Mart, things changed. Mom called. They had landed in LAX and would be flying out to arrive at DFW at 3 PM. What? Then it dawned on me what I had done. I had misunderstood the itinerary that Mom’s friend had sent me. It had said Departing Cairns April 6…arriving Brisbane 8:00 AM…Departing Brisbane 11:05 AM…Arriving LAX 7:00 AM…For whatever reason, I assumed that when you left one morning and arrived at an earlier time, it must be the next morning – April 7th, but I was wrong. You fly for 20 hours, but get back the same day you left. As soon as I heard Mom’s voice, I knew that my thinking had been wrong – time zone dyslexia. No problem! I just changed directions and headed to pick her up. My timing was perfect without any hurrying or scurrying. All went smoothly, and I got Mom and her friends home yesterday evening. They were tired of traveling, but had some great stories. I’m sure I will hear more when they are rested and perky. When I tried explained to Mom my backwards thinking and how I almost did not pick her up on the right day, I did not really need a lesson on time zones, which I got from her and her two friends. I already knew my mistake, and the three of them explaining it again made me short with them. For that, I am sorry and want to apologize. I am glad Mom is home. She seemed excited to be back and to get her puppy.

Whipping Winds Weakend

This is another small 4x6 painting I did last week with my art friends. The Art Guild is setting up a booth at a local event in two weeks. My art friends and I decided to paint some small cards, which we think will sell easier than large paintings.


The weekend was not very exciting. Toby and I ran over to Lawton to do some errands and had lunch at Los Tres Amigos. Saturday was actually fairly warm, but the wind has been terrible - whipping over the plains. You can go to Jesse's blog and see photos of the Renaissance Fair. Notice that she and her friends are wearing short sleeves. Toby and I started off in sweatshirts, but soon went to T-shirts. After kicking around Lawton, Toby had to do some end of the month closing stuff at H, but he dropped me at home first. Me and the dogs took a big dog nap. Sunday a cold front blew in and was miserable. Not only was the wind howling, the temps dropped to freezing overnight. This morning is cold and windy. I am so ready for warmer weather.

Tomorrow I pick up Mom and her friends at DFW. They are returning from their month long trip to Australia. I can't wait to hear their stories and see what all they bought - not to mention their photos. One of mom's friends emailed that they were going to have to leave their old clothes in Australia to have room for their new purchases. I doubt that is far from the truth.

Also, I have to take Buddy, the toy Fox Terrier, to Mom. He is supposed to be her dog, but we have been keeping him this last month. I have grown rather attached to him - he is a sweet little dog. He and Jack, the Red Healer, are great entertainment romping through the house. Outside, they are even more fun. Jack heals (bites the butt) all the dogs. Buddy takes it all in stride and tries to keep up with the herd, but Zoe, the Great Dane, gets a bit tired of a puppy biting her heals. Ranger, the spoiled Rat Terrier, can't wait to get rid of the competition. I think Jack will miss Buddy.

Lunch with the GGs

Jesse and I took the GGs to lunch yesterday. Crewcraw couldn’t make it; so it was just us girls. That fact did not escape GBN1. Not much gets by that girl! Lots of funny things happened while eating with the girls – as always. Jesse and GBN2 set across from GBN1 and me. Both girls were pretty good, but GBN2 kept getting out of her seat, which was a big no-no. At one point in my best teacher voice I said, "Ma’am you better get back over here!" The lady at the next table jumped and looked a little surprised. Then she started laughing when she realized that I was not talking to her, but to my granddaughter. We all got a big kick out of the lady when she said, "I thought you were talking to me and I was going obey." Yep, the teacher voice does it every time. The lady was also very impressed with my GGS and their signing (ASL) ability, but then children are great with languages (and my GGs are just exceptional anyway). When I asked GBN1 how to sign "skunk," she pointed her little bum at me and said, "Psssst." I was horrified, "That is not how you sign skunk!" She just laughed and did it again. Jesse was ROFLOL. "Who told you that was how to sign skunk?" GBN1 replied, "A skunk."

GBN2 was not eating her chicken, but instead she was licking her ketchup out of the little plastic container getting it all over her face. She didn’t seem too afraid of me across the table, and the teacher voice was not having much impact. Jesse seemed oblivious until I got after Jesse to get after GBN2 (delegating authority). Jesse got her to eat her chicken by pretending to be the mamma bird feeding the baby bird. GBN2 loved this game. GBN2 would open her mouth while Jesse dropped in bits of chicken. GBN2 would blink her big eyes. She was quite the ham. Or should I say baby bird?

Jesse is off in The City today at a Renaissance Fair. I’m sure she will have some great photos – maybe even better than last year.

Another test

I painted this yesterday on a 4x6 card.

This is only a test

Last year while in Scotland, I downloaded Picasa on my laptop in order to manage the photos taken on our trip. Since I already had Picasa, I thought I would mess with the photo image size. This is a photo taken of Crathes Castle. I resized it and uploaded it - so far so good. Now I will publish this and see how well it works.

Layoffs

All last year as gas prices skyrocketed and people complained, I had the thought that prices might be high, but Duncan, OK was booming. People had jobs and were spending money. Toby and I counted six new banks built here in Duncan. I’m not sure why a town this small needs that many banks, but they sure seemed to be doing well. Housing had been doing great – partly due to the boom of Ft Sill. But with the fall of oil prices and as the recession became big news people began to worry. There were a few layoffs early on this year, but on Monday there were more. It was inevitable. It is the way of things in the oilfield. It has happened before and will happen again, but it is still unpleasant to watch. Oil and gas are a big industry here – and not just Halliburton. Halliburton is just the big dog in the game and therefore in the spotlight. Other companies like BakerHughes and Schlumberger have laid off people too, not to mention how hard hit the small companies have been. The above link has a good video.

With the first few layoffs, I sensed that Halliburton was trying to trim down – maybe get rid of the less productive people, but not layoff too many people – maybe each department was told to trim back excess. This week’s layoffs have taken a different turn. Sure, the weakest links were being laid off, but for some reason many of the big dogs went too. Retirement or near retirement people were laid off. On the one hand I can see H’s thought process. By firing someone whom has been working for you for over 20-30 years and making the big bucks, maybe it will save several lower paid employees. On the other hand it seems a bit disloyal. Here someone has poured his heart and soul into a company for over 20 years, and is expecting and planning on working ten more years – then bam – he is out. Rather than a 20-30 year old person out of work, it is a 50-60 year old person. Hopefully the older person has been wiser.

Toby and Jesse were not in the layoffs, but we have many friends who were. It is hurtful. So far, they seem in good spirits. As I said, layoffs were inevitable – some people were expecting it. Some were not. For me, I would rather pay higher gas prices and have all my friends employed and doing well.

Totally Off Topic
Not too long ago while friends and I were watching TV, an advertisement for Fast and Furious came on. I oohed and aahed over Vin Diesel. My friend Janice was horrified. She thought he was an awful actor and did not like him at all. She even remarked that she liked Dwayne Johnson much better. Give me a break! How can anyone prefer Dwayne to Vin? Vin is a hunk and I love the F&F series. I just watched a GMA interview with Vin and I have to say he is way better than Dwayne in body and acting and coolness. I am hoping Toby will take me to F&F so I can see it on the big screen!

Shooting

Bo was always a responsible kid. We often called him the "little professor" or sometimes simply "Mr. Baggett, because he was so adult-like. When he was eight, we bought him a BB gun. I remember setting up cans on the fence in the backyard for instruction and target practice. Bo, Toby, and I all shot at the cans several times without hitting any. Jesse was five at that time. She wanted to try the new BB gun too. Toby gave her a little instruction. She swung that gun up and pointed at the cans and "PING" hit one on her first try. We all looked stunned that she hit the can when none of us could do it. She put the gun down and shrugged as if there was nothing to it and moved on.

We used to shoot quite often in NM. The kids were both in 4H shooting sports (as well as other projects like Horse, Rockets, Photography, Sheep, Pig, etc.). We were very lucky to have a shooting facility like the NRA Whittington Center right in Colfax County. Both kids participated in target shooting contests so we practiced often. Since that time, we have not really done much shooting and are sorely out of practice. Yesterday this became very apparent when a coyote walked across the yard, down to the pond, over the dam and just hung out waiting on me to take a shot at him. It was probably that same pesky coyote that woke us up the night before with his barking. He wanted my little puppies, and I wanted to shoot him. Now he was standing right in range, but I did not have a gun ready and was not sure that I could even remember how to use one if I had one. When Toby came home from work, he got out Jesse’s 22, and we had target practice and instruction. He set up some liter bottles full of water (wind was blowing) out in the pasture. I shot several times from a standing position and did not even come close to the bottles. Toby told me to try kneeling so that I could brace my arm on my knee – worked like a charm. I nailed that bottle dead on – yeha! Toby tried shooting with the pistol. He reminded me of Billy Ray in "El Diablo" when he was learning to shoot so that he could go after the bad guy. After missing and moving closer, and missing again and again, his friend says, "You need bigger bottles." That is what I told Toby while he was shooting yesterday. Then Jesse came out and wanted to try her hand at shooting. She swung that gun up, aimed, and nailed that bottle. I can’t decide if she is really good or just really lucky.

Bo called while we were shooting. I could tell he would love to have been out here shooting with us. It really brought back some great memories.