I love fall. The temps here in OK have gone from upper 90’s to upper 70’s. Mornings are downright cool. I feel like I might make it. My dogs have been frisky. Zoe, the Great Dane, is almost scary with her hopping and running around like a (huge) puppy. Ranger, the Rat Terrier, was wild at the park yesterday – running as fast as he could, playing fetch with a stick, taking a swim in the pond, etc - all pretty amazing for a 25 lb. Rat Terrier. The fall air just makes us all feel better. It certainly gave me new energy. Last night, I made Kris’ sausage and tortelline soup with a few differences due to what I had in my pantry. Toby loved it! Then from the pears that I picked at my friend, JoAnn’s place, I made a pear pie. Toby helped me peel the pears, which is the part I dislike. The pie was delicious. I love fall.

Another interesting tidbit: I bought a new rug for the bathroom. It is a bit larger than the old rug, so I had to set the bathroom scales up on the rug. It now weighs me about seven pounds lighter. Dang! If I had known how easy it was to lose weight, I would have bought a new rug years ago.

Travelers Return

The world travelers are home. My mom got home from her cruise up the East Coast. Yesterday I got up early and took her little dog back to her. They were happy to see each other. We did a bit of visiting and catching up before I had to head back to OK. When Toby got home from work, we rested up before heading to OK City to pick up Jesse at the airport. Although she had left her car with Lindz’ husband and was planning on driving home herself, we knew how tired she would be. She and Lindz had flown from Nice to London to Dallas to OK City. Toby and I decided to drive up, get her car, and drive her home - and we were anxious to see her. Lindz’ mother felt the same way saying, "I know I will see her soon, but I just want to touch her." She and Aunt B met us at the airport to greet the travelers. Shay was probably the most happy to see his wife returned safely. I made a "welcome home" sign, and we all cheered as they came through the gate. Shay picked up Lindz and spun her around – several times. Since it was late and we still had the drive home ahead of us, we didn’t visit long. I’m sure there will be stories and photos coming. They were happy to be home, but they looked very worn out. Still, they were very funny – laughing at private jokes – looking at each other and bursting into laughter. Here is the little bag that Jesse carried for her ten-day trip. You can tell how small the bag is from the chest behind it. That’s my girl!

Maybe some of you remember the line from "Back to the Future" - whenever George McFly did something stupid, Biff would slap George on the head and say, "Hellooo, McFly!" Apparently Lindz and Jesse used this line, but changed it slightly to "Bonjour, McFly!" whenever they did something stupid in France. They said they had lots of "McFly" moments.

Nice Things Happen

Some very nice things happened yesterday besides getting to have lunch with my man and dropping by to see the GGs.


In the mail I received a package from Soldiers’ Angels. Earlier this week I dropped by the SA store and noticed that my watercolors had been made into cards, and I ordered a couple of packages. They came in a very cute bag, 16 cards (four of each painting) with envelopes and SA emblem stickers. About a year ago, I sent four watercolors to a SA card contest. They were looking for new cards to sell at their store – proceeds going to fund their SA organization. It was not much of a contest – more like a submission of work, and they decided that everyone was a winner. You can go here and here to see the paintings when I first posted them and where I found my subjects. I thought that I would get the originals back and send them to the people that I used in my paintings, but SA said they were keeping them and putting them in a museum of SA stuff. Although it doesn’t really matter to me, that is not exactly kosher business in the art world. But hey, it is all for a good cause. SA was also suppose to send me cards as a "prize" for the contest. I guess there has been some sort of mix up, because I never received any cards. Anyway, I bought these, and as I said before SA is a very good cause. I urge you to drop by their store or their site and get involved in supporting SA and our soldiers. Here is the link to Soldiers' Angels. Here is the link to go directly to the Angel Store.
The second nice thing was seeing my childhood friend, Dale. Dale and I grew up together. He has done some commenting on my blog in the past and has done some blogging of his own, but not lately. Dale is retired Air Force and now works for the VA in Arkansas. He and his wife were nearby to go to a school reunion. We met in Wichita Falls for supper. I have not seen Dale face to face in probably 30 years, but through the blogosphere, we have kept up with each other. Seeing him and visiting was great, but I felt like we had never been apart – thanks to computers and internet.


Toby and I finished off the evening having some good coffee and kicking around WF. We looked at cameras at Best Buy, since mine seems to be dying. Although I did manage to get a pic of Dale and his wife, my camera did not seem to be focusing right. And yes, I did ask Toby to look through my camera and see the fuzzy image so that he would know I was not being stupid, crazy or just wanting a new camera. He, too, saw the fuzzy image. I think I need a new camera.

Mystery Pumpkin

This pumpkin showed up in my yard. How did it get there? It’s not like I live in a neighborhood where someone could drop off a pumpkin. I live in the middle of a blue-stem pasture. My closest neighbor is at least a football field away. The nearest roads are even further away. Could my dogs have stolen it and brought it home? It doesn’t seem to have any serious bite marks or be mauled in anyway, and it is sort of heavy for a dog. I have heard of coyotes eating watermelons - maybe a coyote dropped off his stolen pumpkin - trying to get my dogs in trouble. It does have a price tag, but I cannot tell from what store. It is actually a perfect little pumpkin. I will take it as a sign that fall is coming. Any other thoughts?
Frankie (Fighty Bitey Bad Cat, El Diablo) checked the pumpkin out, but was stumped, too.

I took these three photos this morning and tried to put them together. Maybe it is not so well done, but there is my view every morning.

Tuesday in Town

It is time to start my young student art classes again, but I just can’t seem to get going. Last week's art workshop provided much incentive, but I still have lots of little loose ends to tie up before starting classes. I have been mulling over my classes wondering if I could pare them down to one class rather than two. With my Painted Ladies on Wed, signing class on Wed evening, Thursday paint class, Monday with JoAnna class, it is difficult to think about starting back with Tuesday classes. I just feel like something needs to stop. I am hoping we start building on our house, and I have an excuse to drop some extra-curricular activities. We will see.

Yesterday, I had a dentist appointment early in the morning. From there I ran some errands for the Art Guild. I had a little "me time" at the used bookstore before visiting with Duncan Main Street Coordinator about upcoming art shows. I squeezed in lunch with Toby before my hair appointment, which took the rest of the afternoon. I did come out looking better than I went in. After my hair appointment, I spent a couple of hours at JoAnna’s talking painting, art, and computers. I always enjoy my time with her, but time is the problem these days. We picked some pears from her backyard – Toby loves pear pie. Then it was home to slice and dice tomatoes to make more tomato sauce to freeze. It is funny that we got very few tomatoes during th summer, but now we are overloaded with tomatoes and squash. Last night was the season premier of "NCIS," my favorite show. After "NCIS," there was the premier of a new show, "NCIS Los Angels." It was based on one of last year’s "NCIS" shows with Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J. It really was not that great of a show last night, but the actors are rather hunky, so it will probably do well. I also love "The Mentalist" which has moved to Thursday night, darn it. Now I will have to watch TV two nights a week rather than just getting it out of my system one night a week.
Jesse called while I was getting my hair done. She is able to use Skype to call my phone. Amazing! Don’t ask me how that works, but it works well. She and Lindz are in Anger, France. She said that she and Lindz are not "stylin’" in France – that they look like American tourists (and she spent so much time trying to pack just the right outfits). My hairdresser said that they should buy clothes there – they will be in style here in about five years. Jesse also said that in Paris everything had "subtitles," but in Angers, no one spoke English. They like being out of the big city and crowds, but commuicating was difficult. Next they will go to Nice, which should be very nice (I had to say that). All is well, and they are having fun. They have been lost a few times, but I don’t want to know too much about that.

Well, I am off to clean house and get ready for the Painted Ladies today, but I need one more cup of coffee.

Mushroom Memory

While Toby grilled steaks outside last night, I sautéed mushrooms in the kitchen. I never cook mushrooms without thinking of my old friend, Steve Ames. I get this mental image of Steve cooking at TRs in Red River. I picture his grin as he showed me that he put butter, garlic salt, and bits of onion in with the mushrooms while cooking them over low heat. The mushrooms are just the trigger for the memory. The real pleasure comes from thinking of Steve, his pleasant attitude, his big smile, his sense of humor, his hyperactivity, his work ethic, and his friendship. I still have a t-shirt that he brought me from Alaska that said, "Once in a Blue Moose." But it is the mushrooms that always make me wonder where he is and what he is doing.

World Travelers

We have heard from the world travelers, and they are fine. All is going well, except for a few cell phone problems. Toby and I were well prepared to hear from them sporadically, but Shay expected the phone to work and if it did not, for the girls to get it fixed. I’m sure they meant to get it fixed, but the pull of Paris may have been too much. Here is an excerpt from Jesse’s email:

Lindsay and I went to Versailles, which was fantastic, but on the way there we got on the wrong metro. There was another family (from Venezuela) and two sisters (from Argentina) that had all made the same mistake so we all traveled together to Versailles - they were my favorite part about going to Versailles! Then Lindz and I went to the Orsay Museum - the incredibly famous Monet's Lilies were not showing - something about renovations, but we did get to see plenty of Van Gogh's, Montes, Degas, and get this Whistler's Mother (didn't expect to see that)... we went to Arc De Triumph and hung out till it got dark so Lindz could take some way awesome pictures ;) Then we found a nice cafe and pigged out before we showed up back here at our hotel to send emails to you!

I love and already miss you both!!!

Jesse

My favorite part of that was the salutation.

Home Again with Paintings

The Junk Diva called me a few minutes ago and reminded me that I had not posted anything about being home - it is good to have friends who worry about you (and harass you when you don't blog). She was also checking on me to see how I was handling Jesse's trip to France, which started today. Jesse text(ed) me this morning and called me this afternoon. I hope that is a sign that she will continue to communicate while she is away. The Diva's daughter returns from NY soon. In the meantime, we both may hang socks on our ears and sing a sad song.


My workshop went very well. I am pleased as punch with the teacher. I do have to tell a funny story on him. He is a very smart guy. He is well traveled and has many great stories to tell and does so often. But every now and then we all slip up while talking, and this is one of his mistakes that made me almost burst out laughing. I did refrain, but my blogger mind was clicking. I will just throw this out there and see if anyone catches the mistake:

Barb and I took our WC teacher out to eat. Barb asked Steve about his family. He mentioned his children and grandchildren. The conversation continued about his granddaughter. He said she was dating a guy who was an Iraq War Veteran, who had been wounded by an IUD.


I posted some of Steve's paintings earlier, but here are mine from the workshop. Both paintings need more work, and so do the photos that I took of them, but I'm tired and it is late. Remember that you can click on the image to enlarge.The first one is done on a full size sheet of paper (22x30). It took me several days to get this one painted. This lesson was on water reflection and that was my main focus. Later, Steve painted an Italy scene, and we learned more about painting color into the buildings. Next time I will combine my lessons and do better - hopefully.


Here is Steve's Italy painting, which is not finished, but very nice.


Today I started this little boat. Once again, my focus was on the reflection. To do a good reflection, you must start with the object so that you can paint its reflection. I was not concerned with the background, which caused the boat to look rather simple, clean, and kind of fun. The ladies in the workshop called it "the happy little boat."


Speaking of ladies in the workshop, I really enjoyed the ladies in the class. Most were Dallas women, some a bit richy, but all fun and friendly. The Artist Showplace at Coit and Araphoe was a great art gallery and a perfect place for a workshop. I would do it again in a heart beat.

Off to France

My baby leaves for France soon - before I get home from Dallas. She probably planned that so I would not be able to lecture her on those things mothers lecture about. I'm not really worried about her. She is a good egg. I want her to have a grand adventure. Yet, there is that mother thang that just needs to say, "Don't forget your underwear and money, be good, and have fun." I could probably say much more, but I've said those things before. Surely, she knows me and my thoughts. I will just add, "Be sure to take lots of photos for me to paint." And maybe I will say, "I love you," but she knows that.

Rogers Workshop Day 2

This was today's demo by Steve Rogers. We all started to paint today, but did not get far. I worked on a full sheet of watercolor paper, which is not my usual style. The biggest watercolor painting I have ever done was on a half sheet. It took me a while just to get my drawing done - then I started establishing some colors. The demo today was on water reflections - as seen in the painting. Of course, you have to get the object painted before you can paint reflections. Hopefully tomorrow will see more painting. I am enjoying the teacher and his teaching. It is also fun to watch my friend, Barb, and see the wonder in her eye - this is her first watercolor workshop.

After the workshop, we drove up Central Freeway (75) to the outlet mall. The biggest adventure there was driving in traffic. I guess after a day of watercolor, I was brain dead and did not feel like shopping. I am a bit homesick too, which is difficult to explain, but there you are.

If you are wondering where I am, I'm in Big D at a watercolor workshop. One of the Painted Ladies and me decided to do a five day workshop. We are at a gallery in Plano called Artist Showplace. The teacher is Steve Rogers, the husband of Janet Rogers - maybe you remember the workshop that I took at this time last year. This was just the first day, and we did lots of listening, but little painting today. My friend, Barb, took me to Central Market, which is a food store to die for. This little OKie was walking around with her mouth open in awe of the fresh foods - the variety - nothing like Wal-Mart. It was amazing.

I'll keep you informed of my workshop and adventures.

Farm GGS

I kept the GGs all day Friday. Toby came home at noon to give me a hand. We did all sorts of farm work like pick tomatoes, haul rocks, move hay, and ride the four-wheeler. The GGs were dirty and tired when we sent them home. So were Toby and I. Jesse took some great photos. I'm sure you will see them on her blog.

Tractor drivin' is serious business.

Several times during the day, I had to wash faces and legs and arms due to the farm dirt and playful girls. While I was bent over washing GBN2's face for the umpteenth time, I said, "How did you get dirt on your face again?"

GBN2 launched into this big story, "I was runnin' and I fell down, and dirt went all over my face."

I replied, "I don't remember all of that."

GBN2, very seriously, "Do you remember my name?"

I'm Mrs. Cellophane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqpr9dzQmM

One of the things guaranteed to make me cuss is having to deal with some company concerning bills or accounts and they refuse to talk to me, but will only talk to my husband or the person whose name is on the account. This made me mad 30 years ago when I asked American Express for a card with my name on it (although I had been using a card with Toby’s name) and was told that my husband would have to make that request. It made me mad several years ago when my dad was sick with cancer, could not hear or understand – especially on the phone - and I had to pretend to be him while dealing with hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies. It made me mad a week ago when I tried to pay a bill for Toby’s MRI they would not let me – it had to be the account holder. You would think I would be prepared and deal better with these people or maybe that I would get better at lying to them saying that I am Mr. Toby or be more understanding that they are just trying to protect our interests. But I hate it. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up every time. Our cell phone company is the worst. Toby has told them to sign me up on the account as being someone who could change the policy, but no, they continue to require Toby. I believe I once yelled, "You will take my checks, my signature, why won’t you talk to me?" They were unmoved. I once told the insurance company that I was not Mr. Toby, but that I would call back and tell the next operator that I was. So why don’t we save lots of time and effort and you just deal with me." They, too, were unmoved. I’m sure you don’t want to hear all my rants at such people – just know that I become a slobbering maniacal person capable of violence when this happens.

Today I had to call the credit card people about our account, "Please enter the last four digits of your Social Security number." Dang! I called Toby, but got his message machine. This is the message that I left. "Hi dear. I’m trying to deal with the credit card people, but I need the last four digit of your SS, your great-grandmother’s maiden name, and how many times you have peed in the last four months."

Toby returned my call with this, "I might can give you that information, but I need some ID."

Neta's Yard

The Painted Ladies met at a friend’s house to do some plein aire painting. Our friend, Neta, is a member of the Duncan Art Guild and a very good oil painter. She has this beautiful yard, which she takes care of herself. Not only did she paint with us, she made us a wonderful lunch. We had a good time painting with her and another friend from the DAG. But it was hot and humid out. We left early and headed to Barb’s house to visit and watch a video of Julia Child’s first TV show. Very funny!
Here is our latest quad-painting. It is still in progress. My quarter is the third from the left and needs lots more work.

Here is what I painted yesterday and the photo.

Out to Lunch

Jesse has a video on her blog of the bike ride through Sheppard Air Force Base in the HHH.

Funny Story:
I had lunch with Jesse and Toby yesterday. We had a big laugh, but I’m not sure I can blog this very well. It may be one of those, "Ya had to be there" thangs. You also have to know that Texas and Okie accents can be very slow – making one-syllable words in to multi-syllable words.

While we were eating a man came over to our table to say hi to Jes – apparently one of Jesse’s coworkers. This actually happens quite often. Young men and older men will often walk by and say hi to Jes. In her little voice, she will return, "Oh hi, Bob," or Fred or Tom or whomever the coworker is. Then she will say, "He works in technology," or manufacturing or testing, or whatever department. It is easy to spot Halliburton employees since they were ID tags to get in and out of the buildings. Sometimes they are wearing Halliburton overalls – a dead give away as to where they work.

This time, a man came over and asked Jesse if she were going to be in an upcoming play at the Duncan Little Theater. When the conversation ended and the man left, Jesse said, "He works in …I think his name is Wolf."
I added, "I think his ID said his name was Bill."
Then Toby said, "Maybe his name is Beo." Long pause. Then in his slow West Texas accent and just the right Texas Twang, he repeated, "Bill Wolf." But it sounded like a slow "Beowulf." We got pretty tickled.

The Rest of the Labor Day Weekend

Half of Oklahoma may have been at the lakes or barbecuing yesterday, but I am just pretty sure that the other half of OK was at the malls. Jesse and I did some major shopping in The City – mostly for her upcoming trip to France. It is very important to look stylish in Paris. If you are Jesse, you want to be comfy too, which makes choosing the right clothes difficult. Shoes are most important - comfortable and stylish and will go with all sorts of outfits. Although we shopped all day, we really did not buy much We did give it our all. Jesse is pretty picky about her clothes, and she is darn tight with her money. It is a good combination. Jesse would take about 20 items to the dressing room, but not find anything she was pleased with. Then she would say, "I guess we were just not lucky." I would give her my look that said, " ‘Lucky’ is not the right word." She had that twinkle in her eye and little smile that said she was just messing with me. Both of us were tired puppies when we got home last night. Since we were all home at the same time for a change, we decided to watch a movie. A friend had loaned us "The Fastest Indian," so it seemed like a good timed to see the movie. The motorcycle may have been fast, but the movie was rather slow. It made for a quiet evening.

We all went back to work today - Jes and Toby to their "real" jobs and me to my house cleaning and errands. This week is a week of preparations. Jesse is preparing to leave for France next week. I am preparing for a watercolor workshop in Dallas next week. My mom is leaving next week for a cruise up the East Coast. Toby has auditors coming next week. Lots to do!

Aunt Jes Strikes Again

Bo and Sara came over yesterday evening and brought 4 lbs. of skirt steak – better known as fajitas. We threw in some smoked sausage and chicken breasts cooked on the grill. Plus, I made two bowls of pico de gallo with tomatoes and peppers from our garden. We had refried beans and Spanish rice as our sides. We invited P & A, Sara’s parents, who brought two pans of brownies. We also invited Terry & Marsha, long time friends. T was once a jeep driver in Red River – back in the 70’s – we have kept in touch and now attend the same church (small world). T & M’s son (Moondoggie) and daughter-in-law came along with their three boys and baby daughter. Between my GGs and the three boys, things were fairly wild (my poor cats will never be the same). Jesse was in her element with the rowdy group, and took some great pics (link below). Without going into too much detail, several funny things happened with Jesse and Moondoggie, who are like brother and sister since they have known each other for a long time.

First: Jesse and Moondoggie were sitting at the picnic table, which happens to be a bucking-bronc table – you know – the kind where if it is not balanced properly, someone gets thrown in the dirt. Sure enough, Jesse got up from her side of the table and Moondoggie went flying and hit the ground. He came in the house to clean up and tattle on her, but I just laughed. Jesse came in and showed no remorse. In fact, she was still laughing.

Second: GBN2 (the little one) was playing with my fan man (pictured here). She thought it was great fun to turn the fan on and hold it against different things – like other kids, the dog, the cats, me, herself, etc. Aunt Jesse gave her a "great idea" and told her to hold it against her tongue (don’t worry – the fan part is made of soft foam rubber). Jesse thought it was great fun when slobber went flying. Bo, her brother and father to GBN2, did not think it was funny and got on to her, but Jesse just laughed.

Finally: Moondoggie came in the house to tattle again. This time he said that Jesse was teaching his boys to pick boogers out of the cat’s nose! He said, "Maybe that is why she is not married!"
Again, I just laughed. Maybe somewhere there is a young man who wants a beautiful wife who will occasionally throw him in the dirt and laugh, or teach their kids to hold toys fans on their tongue to send slobber flying or to pick boogers out of the cat’s nose, which can be necessary. Somewhere there is a special young man looking for such a woman. I guarantee there will never be a dull moment.

Jesse posted photos of the evening -boys and GGs on her blog and they are worth the look.

One last thought: Before Bo and Moondoggie married their beautiful wives and had their wonderful children, they were more fun and quite the pranksters themselves. Funny how things change! Maybe when they get to be grandparents, things will change again.

Loaded Plates

We loaded up our plates this weekend – in more ways than one. With Jeramie and Rebekah’s wedding this weekend things were just pretty busy. Friday morning I drove to Velma to cut Mr. John’s hair. He is an older man in our church who does not get around very well. It was important to him to look nice at the wedding, and it was important to me to help him. After the haircut, I drove to Duncan to make a Wal-Mart stop and have lunch with Jesse and Toby. When I got home, I started cooking. I made a chocolate chess pie for dessert to take to friend’s that had invited us over for dinner. I also made lasagna to take to the wedding reception. When Toby and Jes got home, I had two pies and lasagna in the fridge. We grabbed the pies and headed back to town to have dinner with friends. We drove two vehicles and left Toby’s truck in town. Our plan was to get up early Saturday morning and ride our bikes into town and have breakfast at a new restaurant called Cornerstone. The Cornerstone has a great lunch/supper menu, and we wanted to try their breakfast.

Saturday morning we got up early, but took too much time getting ready – bikes, flat tires, and all. Jesse needed to meet Lindz by 9:30 AM with an extra lens for her camera – Lindz was taking wedding pics. By the time we got to the truck and met up with Lindz and the lens, we did not have enough time to have a sit-down breakfast. We ended up driving through McDonalds for a sausage/egg biscuit – darn it. Then we hurried home put the lasagna in the oven and got cleaned up for the wedding. It was a rush to get there, turn in our portion and get seated.

The wedding was beautiful and wonderful and all the nice things you can say about such events. The GGs were there and looked quite nice all dressed up, twirling about in their dresses, but they were wired. The centerpieces on the reception tables were nice glass vases with candles (I wanted to take a picture for Mrs. Bear) and had candy strewn about, which did not help the GGs and their hyper-ness. The food was excellent - assorted pasta dishes brought by different folks – sort of an organized potluck. The cakes were delicious – both traditional wedding cake and lots of cupcakes. We ate our fill. It was fun. The couple drove off in an ambulance – Jeramie is an EMT.


Toby and I left the wedding reception and came home for a quick nap before doing yard work. I mowed while he weed-ate. My sinuses were all messed up last night due to grass and dust and more dust – things sure are dry around here. Today is church. This evening we are having the GGs and their parents over along with some other friends for fajitas – more cooking, more friends, more eating, and more fun. I love food and fellowship – our plates are full and we are blessed.

Ban Bullies

Rant for the day:
In the news today is a story of a "high school hero" who took a gun away from a 14 year old girl on a school bus. Apparently she began waving the gun and threatening others whom had been picking on her when the young 6’4" football player was able to rush the girl and take the gun. His mother is quoted as saying, "I taught him to watch out for each other and others…" Really? Where was this hero while the young girl was being picked on? Don’t get me wrong; he did well in sending kids off the bus and disarming the girl, but maybe the whole situation could have been avoided if he or the bus driver had stopped the bullying early on. Kids can be vicious. I’ve seen and felt the frustration of kids being bullied, teased, ostracized, etc by vicious kids (girls especially) at school. I’ve wanted to shoot a few myself. Parents who feel like this is just "normal behavior" or that kids should just "get used to it" or that it "toughens kids for the outside world" should wake up. I’ve heard parents say those things. I’ve been there and done that while teaching in public schools, and I’m telling you that your kids are dying – not by gun shots, but by words and actions of bullies and lack of action by school officials.

Diet Miracles

A few months ago, I was speaking with an older man (80 years young) from our church. Toby and I were visiting at his house when he offered us cookies. I declined the cookies saying that I was on my diet, although the truth was that the cookies were the cheap Wal-Mart brand. Since I am not a big cookie fan, plus I did not want to go off my diet for something so tasteless, I just said no. The older man happens to be a big fan of vitamins and all sorts of crap that comes in the mail. He told me I should try green pineapple extract – that it would make me lose weight and I would not even have to diet. Once again, I said no thanks. When he asked why I would not try it, I replied that if it truly worked, it would be all over the news, and it would be on Oprah. The rest of the story is that my old friend became heated, declaring that green pineapple extract would work, and that I should write down the address of the company in order to get some. I said, "Fantastic, give me the address." If you went to college, you know what "fantastic" really meant.

This morning I receive an email from a cousin saying I should try Acai Berry – that it was touted by Oprah to be the rage in weight loss pills. Fantastic!

Glass Vases:
While shopping in Lubbock with Mrs. Bear the other day, we found some wonderful, cheap glass vases at Ross. We decided to start collecting them in case one of our daughters eventually gets married. If we start buying them now and buy one every two months, we should have enough vases to make centerpieces at a wedding reception. Mrs. Bear’s daughter is very beautiful and about to graduate from college. She does have a boyfriend, which puts her a little closer to the marriage thang than Jes. That’s okay. I will let Mrs. Bear go first since she is the décor expert. I will set back and collect my vases and take notes. You have to understand how much we laughed and how much fun we had picking our vases. Come to think of it, she picked out a tall slim vase, and I picked out a short fat one. Is there something Freudian there? Here is my vase with some fall foliage. Can you tell that I am ready for fall?

What's for Supper

I wish I could say that the last several days since the HHH had been quiet days at home catching up on all that needs to be done around here. But no, they have been very busy days. Monday was spent in town running errands. I taught private drawing lessons to a lady in town on Monday. Then I made a big trip to Wal-Mart. I did have a pedicure while I was there, but it was a necessity and not just a luxury (yeah right, I loved every minute of my time in the chair.) By the time I got home late in the afternoon, it was time to fix supper. Tuesday, I had a doctor’s appointment and then drove to WF to take Toby’s bike tire to be fixed. I had lunch with Mom, which was a good time. Before I left town, my cousin, Ted, called wanting to talk to me about a family reunion next summer – so I spent an hour with him. I love Cousin Ted, and I want to see the rest of my cousins, but next summer is a long way away. Once again, I did not get home until late afternoon and was dead tired. For some reason Toby has been starving when he comes in from work wanting dinner on the table. It could be that I told him I was going to get back on the diet – that always seems to make him hungry – some sort of Freudian thang. I fixed fajitias Monday night and last night he wanted pasta (not on the diet, but easy to do). Here is a shot of the veggies I poured over the pasta. All but the mushrooms came from my garden.

Today is my day to paint with the Ladies and I do look forward to it even though it means I need to get going right now and won’t be home until late this afternoon. I also have another appointment with the doc – all just yearly stuff and no problemas. Here is a shot of Jesse heading off to the "Lime Light Awards." She did not win best supporting actress, but she did look lovely. She was very proud that she found that dress at Arlene’s Clothesline – vintage stuff is always fun. Jes has a similar photo at her blog.