Getting Things in Order

Things are going well. I’m sorry that I have not posted. It’s not because I don’t have anything to say. It is more that our internet woes are still with us. We are still using our phones as mobile hotspots, which is not such a bad thing. The bad thing is watching our data usage. If we just use our phones, there is no problem. If we start using our tablets or my laptop, the data goes much faster. The good news is that we found out that if we use all our data, we do not get charged more, but our internet speed goes way down. We have done that once, and it is no fun.

I started my little girls art classes earlier in September. This year I divided them up into two groups – younger and older. I had 12 girls taking art. That is just too many for me to get around to when teaching. Six girls in a class works much better. Everyone gets more attention that way, but it will keep me busier this year. Plus, I still have my older ladies group on Thursdays.  My buddy Robin Egg comes to that class, and her husband has been coming over to use my pottery wheel out in the barn. His pottery is pretty amazing, and his enthusiasm is rubbing off on me. I have been doing a little more pottery.  I found a good deal on another wheel and bought it so that he might teach some too. I don’t really think that I am a very good potter, although I love it. But teaching pottery is more than I can do right now. I’ll leave that to Frank for now. We fired our first pieces. Now we need to glaze and fire again. I really need to get my life in order, my artwork in order, and not be so scattered.

We have Toby’s mom settled into a very nice nursing home. It is a new home in Burkburnett. You should see the artwork on the walls! They are cowboy/oilfield paintings and photos. Burkburnett was a boomtown at one time, and of course, it is ranch country.  The owner of the nursing home is from St. Jo, TX, and has many Donna Howel-Sickles prints. There are also lots of Kenneth Wyatt prints. Wyatt is from Tulia, TX, and has a gallery in Red River, NM. I love his work. I love Donna’s work more. It is fun to walk around the building to see all the art. And there is the ice-cream machine. It’s a big hit with Toby’s mom.

Toby and I have still been working on the fence – a yearlong project it seems.  We have been stringing wire and pounding posts. Toby has this handy-dandy post-pounder that makes the work go much easier, but it is still work.  I have small cuts on my arms where the barbed wire has bitten me. I look like I’ve been in a catfight. Fortunately, it is getting cooler, and the heat is not such a problem. My allergies are another problem. Still, I think we are on a roll. We may beat our yearlong deadline.

Church camp is coming up. They moved it from the end of October to the end of September. I plan on camping one night with Jesse.

This afternoon I put on a small pot of beans to cook. I had the thought that Mom and Dad used to make small pots of beans for just the two of them after we kids all moved away. And then I cried. Funny what sets me off!