West Texas Weekend

 With all my CTAC meetings at the end of March and my gallery hanging and show at the beginning of April, things got really busy. Then add my MIL's memorial service and Jesse's art show reception to make things super busy. But we got 'er done. 

The CTAC reception went okay, but not great. Neither artist is from Duncan, although one of them had lived here years ago. That meant fewer locals attending. Covid fear is still apparently a problem too. In my last post I mentioned that one of the artist did not give us many paintings and they didn't seem to be her best work.  Well, two hours before the reception, she called to say that it was too far for her to drive. It is about an hour and a half down the turnpike. She told us that "Dallas forgives her all the time." Never mind that we advertised "meet the artist" and promoted her work. I guess her work is not important enough to promote herself. It was disappointing. When the artist does not show nor does she invite her people, our receptions do not go well. Fortunately, the other artist had several people show up, as well as our regular members. Still, it could have been better. Later, we saw on FB that the Behnaz artist had another show in OKC the next week where she had lots of paintings, and she showed up for the reception. That explains why we did not get her best work or very many pieces of her work. Oh well.

My MIL's memorial service went well. It was good to see her family. It has been a few years since we were all together. My MIL was the oldest of six kids. The first four of which were all girls and less than two years apart. That means that the next to the oldest turns 90 this month and so on down the line. Chances are, this visit with the aunts could be our last, unless we attend a funeral in the next few years.

 Bo and family, as well as Jesse, came out to the memorial service, which was on Thursday. We stayed around and visited family all afternoon, but Jesse drove home to get ready for her show on Friday in Seymore. On Friday, we had a big family gathering for a Mexican breakfast in Levelland at a place called Guadalajara Cafe. It was good stuff! Then we went to the Ranch Heritage Museum in Lubbock to kill time before arriving in Seymore for the art reception. The Ranch Heritage is a very cool place with old buildings, homes, barns, etc. from ranches all over west Texas. The day was warm and windy and it was wearing, which was a good thing for the grandboys who needed to run off a little energy.

Then we all drove to Seymore where we met up with Lindz and babies and a couple of Jesse's friends for supper before the show. One of Lindz' babies threw up several times - first on himself and then on Lindz - so much for dressing up. Toby and I got splashes too. Poor baby! Lindz, the baby, and Toby all changed clothes before the art show. I just wiped my jeans and carried on. Funny how people did not get too close to me - ha!

The art show and the Whiteside Natural History Museum were perfect for each other. With Jesse's whimsical animals and wildlife paintings, her art was great for a museum full of dinosaur bones and taxidermy animals. It was one of the best museums I have ever been in. It was amazing. Jesse's art sold like hotcakes. A really great reception! Her art will be up for three months, if you get a chance to drive through Seymore.