Thursday

I slept in so late this morning that it is embarrasing!  I have started closing my blinds at night, because it is so bright out by 6:00 AM that it wakes me up.  And I sure as heck don't want to be up at 6:00 AM!

What a great group of signs!  definitely a senior moment.


I'm working on a pencil drawing today.  I wanted to draw my cat sleeping in the chair.  She has all four legs and her tail tangled up, and her head tucked in under her tail.

I think I'll wander down to the basement and take some kielbasa out of the freezer.  I still have half a head of cabbage left from when I made coleslaw, and kielbasa and cabbage sound good.  I might throw in some carrots too, because I think I still have some left. 

Wednesday

My horoscope today said it is a good day to tackle the small stuff.  So I finished a little 4" x 6" painting in my Moleskine book.  No, I don't really believe in horoscopes, but sometimes mine gives me a good idea.

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 A teacher in Arizona gave end-of-year awards to her students.  She gave one little girl (8 yrs old) a "Catastrophe  Award" for having the most excuses for not having her homework done.  The little girl's mother took offense.  She said she was not aware her daughter was having trouble with homework, and that she was enrolled in an after-school homework assistance program.  I'd like to be able to think of an award for that mother.  Something to do with stupidity and irresponsibility maybe? 

Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor any more? A group of students in China posed for a graduation photo in front of their school, throwing their hats in the air.  But it seems an old factory behind the school was on fire, so the photo looked like the school was burning, and the students were celebrating.  Well, I think it's funny!

Barrie moved all my canning stuff and jars from a shelf in the basement into the garage, and they went to a new home today!  Lenore took it all.  Yeah!  I see a box of contractor bags in the carport, and I think it's time to start cleaning off more shelves in the basement.

Tuesday

Here is what my horoscope says for today:

Although you will probably get a lot achieved, you might not like the quality of what you've created. Listen to your gut, and if you want to ask for a 'do-over,' then go ahead and ask for one. The standards you hold yourself to are growing higher and higher, and this is a very good thing. You are ready to challenge yourself, and you should. Expect the best from yourself, and you're sure to make yourself proud.

Does this mean that whatever I try to draw or paint today will be something I will want to do over?  Maybe I'll just read.

Sunday

 The sun comes and goes today, and there was little rain/hail/snow this morning, and it's not warm.  I saw a lady buying tomato plants at Ridley's about ten days ago.  Hope they're still in her house!

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The new Alco Store south of town is open, and many people have commented about how great it is.  Someone commented they saved more than $50 on what the same items would have cost that at Ridley's. 

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I finished this pencil drawing today.  It is from a photo Lana Faler posted from a camping trip.

I was looking through the types of paper I have, and found a pad of oil pastel paper.  This is the only painting I have done in oil pastels.  It's also the only painting I've done of the Tetons.  Now I've got the urge to get my oil pastels out again.

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Sigh.  Another sign that my granddaughter is growing up.  She now says "caterpillar" instead of "calipitter".



Saturday

I have a feeling we are going to really miss our old neighbor, Kevin.  He usually seemed to have several other guys living there, but they were quiet, didn't block the street, and weren't trashy. 

The new neighbors have moved in, and maybe we're jumping to conclusions, but they used our driveway to pull in and back this small trailer up to their back door.  Nothing wrong with that, but they ran over a bush, and the decorative rocks and bricks bordering the retaining wall.  Barrie had to put them back.

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After they cleaned all the junk out from behind the new feed store, there is nothing left to hold the old fence up, and parts of it have fallen down.

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Barriefound out Kasey's dad was picking her up from daycare in his work truck with no carseat, and having her wait by the side of the highway in the truck by herself while he's flagging. (oh ya he DOES have a job) so she called her attourney, who called family services, they told her to call the sherrif's dept, and the sherrif's dept. told her to call her attourney. What's wrong with this picture?

And she is going through the same thing trying to collect child support.

Friday

A dark, wet day today.  My house is totally silent (no music or TV).  I have a heater turned on, am reading a good  book, and listening to the sound of rain on the roof.  Life is good!

While visiting with Tracy not long ago, she talked about how much their cats enjoy their own planter  of grass in the house.  As Kat refuses to go outside, I wondered if she would like some grass, so I ordered a special planter preseeded with grass seed for  her.  She will probably ignore it.

Thursday

Bill and Alice came yesterday afternoon, and left for home (Shoshoni) after lunch today.  We had such a good visit, like we always do.  I even managed to palm off a few things from my Food Basket pile on them!

Kasey was very excited about her birthday gifts.  I guess great minds run in the same channels.  Bill and Alice brought her some petunia plants for her planters, and I gave her $20 to spend at Beau's on plants and potting soil. 

You can see from the photo that Kasey loves her flowers.

 

 Barrie is reading my card to Kasey telling her what the $20 is for. The books on the table were sent to her by my neice, Barbara (Mike's wife).  They are books I bought Braxton when he was little, and now they have been "regifted" to KC.

This is what happened to some of the flowers last fall.  After Karma and the other pups finished the flowers, they started on the overly ripe chokecherries on the ground (fermented, I think), and got drunk.  I had heard of birds doing that, but these pups definitely were tipsy.

Wednesday

No pictures today.

Had a big group for art at Rendezvous Pointe this morning for art group.  There were nine of us.

Lenore baked an apple rhubarb pie for us.  It was SO good.

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Bill and Alice will be here sometime this afternoon.  They are like me - I called Alice and when she asked Bill what time they would be here, he said, "Oh, tell her sometime between noon and 4:00.  That's the way retirees are!

I have lasagna ready to bake and yesterday I  made deviled eggs and cole slaw.  I guess we won't starve.  Barrie has instructions to  pick up some beer for me and some wine for her and Uncle Bill.

Barrie and Kasey baked cupcakes last night and she took them to school this morning for her birthday treats.  Barrie said she was so excited about them.  Barrie told Julie to not be surprised if there were a few little pieces of egg shell in them.  Kasey loves to cook!

Monday

I just finished making a big pan of lasagna, and put it in the refrigerator to bake on Wednesday.  I should have company by then (brother and sister-in-law).  Tomorrow I think I'll make deviled eggs and cole slaw.  The eggs are already hard boiled. 

I can think of things to make, but they don't seem to go together for a "menu". Oh well.

I haven't finished a drawing yet.  Maybe because I'm working on about four of them, all at the same time.

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I'm posting two more pictures of Leslie.  In the top photo, she and I are clowning around at Paul's and Tracy's wedding reception.

In the second photo, she is in charge of keeping track of the gifts Tracy got at her wedding shower.

Good bye, Leslie

Tracy called yesterday to tell me Leslie died of a heart attack.  Les is my daughter from another mother.

Leslie, you were a big part of my life for many years, and I will miss you so much.

Your "other mom" loves you.

Friday

Cold, windy, and black clouds  moving in.  Some of the raindrops hitting the bathroom window are solid. Batten down the hatches.

I didn't finish the pencil drawing last night.  Instead, I got distracted by another picture and started another drawing.  Do you think I might have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder?  Actually, at my age and place in life, I think ADD might be a nice thing to have.  I never get bored.

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They unloaded another big trailer load of feed sacks down at the CrossFire Ranch Supply this morning.  I don't know how many loads they've brought in.

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The quakie trees in my front yard are finally getting leaves.  They are the last in town to leaf out, I think.  They aren't dead, they're developmentally delayed.



Thursday

A big trailer load of feed sacks is being unloaded down at the old B&B building.  Looks like they are about ready.  Their big indoor arena out at Boulder is called "Crossfire Arena" and I think this is going to be called "Crossfire Feed".   I feel a little shock every time I look down there and see how much it's been cleaned up.

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I just can't work up much enthusiasm for painting, but I seem to have a pencil in  my hand a lot.  Here is one I started on last night.

This was a photo Lana Kopenheifer posted on Facebook from a camping trip.  I asked her if I could use it.  She even told me who the guy is, and he is an old first grade student of  mine.

I did the black background with charcoal.  Then I sprayed it with fixative.  Bad choice.  First, the fixative is reworkable, which means I can still work on the drawing.  But it seems to have changed the texture  of the paper a little.  Also, the lines of the drawing are now permanent, so I can't erase or change them.  If I do a charcoal background again, I will wait and do it last.

Wednesday

We survived our Wednesday morning art group without Vicky, who always feeds us.  We begged Beth to make some popcorn, and it hit the spot.  Also, Rollie kindly donated some of his cheese from home.

I didn't even take my watercolors with me this morning.  Took some pencils and a pad of Bristol board, and worked on a pencil drawing.

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I got a package delivered yesterday by UPS.  It was my Mother's Day present from Paul and Tracy.  I got some Jonquil bulbs, in cute little buckets.  You are supposed to remove the little planters from the buckets and put them in something like a pie place.  The bulbs are already growing. I can visualize the buckets in my art room with pencils or brushes in them!

I left my bedroom window open last night and listened to the frogs in the hayfield across the highway from me.  What a neat sound, and a welcome one.  There will probably be some sandhill cranes in to feast on the frogs soon. I hope they never develop that meadow, but I'm sure something will be built there eventually.

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The Little People have visited my house again, up to mischief as always.  On a whim, I turned on the printers downstairs, and this afternoon I sent a couple photos from my laptop computer upstairs.  And they printed perfectly.  Thank you for fixing my printer problems, Little People.  Now, leave it alone and go bother someone else.



Tuesday

Kasey had  sore throat and ear ache yesterday, so she didn't go to school.  Barrie took her with her to work in the morning, but she stayed here for a nap after lunch.  She woke up about  2:30 and came upstairs. The first thing asked was if she could paint.

I gave her a choice of using my big palette or the Cotman set.  She chose the little set.

Then she used the hair dryer to dry her painting.

It's dry!

Then she got caught up on her calendar, counting down days until her birthday.  The picture on the calendar is of her in a dance costume.

I am suddenly noticing she no longer has little round dimpled arms.  Her arms and legs are both getting long and lanky!

Monday

I hate it when people call early in the morning before I'm up.  And then want something like information on some rental property!  Wrong number!  None of my friends call that early.

Tracy called from the road on their way to Denver yesterday.  She wanted to tell me I 70 was almost as bad as it had been when we went to a Rockies game last April.  We ended up with several hundred other people, sitting on a closed highway.  Made to to Denver, but the game was cancelled.

Paul and Tracy are leaving soon for a week at their condo in Florida.

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Meanwhile, back in Wyoming, Barrie and Kasey camped a the dog lot. 

Kasey, wearing her headlamp, doing something at one of the dog boxes.

Ready  for sleep, in her sleeping bag inside the tent.  She looks cozy!

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I bought some instant coffee at the grocery store yesterday.  I've seen some of the things watercolorists have done with it, and want to try it.





Sunday

Barrie and Kasey went camping at the dog lot this weekend.  They got home this morning.  Kasey came bounding upstairs to wish me a "Happy Mothers' Day".  They had a wonerful time camping.  The dogs at the dog lot weren't sure how to react to them being there all night - along with the three town dogs.

Kasey got caught  up on her calendar (count down until her birthday).  She is so excited about being five!

They showered, and left for church, and I left for Ridley's.  Yes, I really did go shopping today!  My brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Alice, are going to be here the 23rd, and I need to figure out what to feed them.  And I don't know how long they'll be staying.

Sunday morning is definitely the time to shop at Ridley's, if you have to go at all.

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I didn't hear them, but the "little people" were making mischief in my house last night.  I was so happy to get things set up so I could print from my laptop computer through the home network printer sharing.  Well, the "little people" did something last night, and I can't print again.  Aaaarrrgh!

If you know me, you know how I feel about the National Weather Service and their predictions, which are never right. 



Saturday

I've worked on a charcoal drawing a little today, but I'm not too ambitious.  I was enthused about this drawing when I started, but I'm trying to draw realistic folds and wrinkles in a shirt, and that is SO hard.

One of the lambs in Cat's photo has his head down.  I googled images for lamb to see if I could find something that would help me change the composition a  bit.  I was so surprised.  All the photos of ewes and lambs I looked at showed the ewes unshorn.    By the time the lambs were the size of most I saw, shouldn't the ewes have been sheared?

Question:  Is it "sheared" or "shorn"?  I think probably "shorn" is correct, but it doesn't feel right to use that word. 

Also, is it "shoed" or "shod"? "Shod" is probably right, but who says that?  Don't you say "I need to get my horse shoed." 

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 I spent time this morning playing with Photoshop on my computer.  I have a collection of PS trips and tricks, and today I converted a photograph to a pencil drawing.  Kind of fun.

The photo.

Converted to a pencil drawing.

This involves duplicating layers, changing overlay mode, and applying a guassian blur.  Not for the faint hearted, and I would never be able to do it without following the step by step instructions.

Ish

Don't try to tell me my house is not inhabited by little gremlins, or something.  (The Indians call them 'Little People'.)  I have been trying to print from my laptop to the printers downstairs.  Nothing.  This morning, I turned on the desktop computer downstairs, and both printers started spitting out pages.  Those documents and pictures have been floating around somewhere out in space, and just this morning found their way home.  I printed several things after that, and printer sharing works just like it is supposed to.

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What is an "Ish"?  This is the title of a free Kindle book I downloaded a couple weeks ago.  According to the book, and "Ish" is a random, eclectic statement intended to provoke emotion.  A wanton expression or point of view. It's an entertaining little book and took only about 30 minutes to read. Here are a few:

Don't name your son 'Dick'.  That's mean.

Let your car sunroof back in the dead of winter and blast the heat on the inside.

Drink champagne with your turkey sandwich

Perfection only exists in the mind.  Be flexible.

Trim your toenails before making love.

Try everything TWICE before deciding you don't like it.

A vacuum cleaner is not a birthday gift.  It's a hint.

Artificial plants grow best in artificial light.

My friend Cat posted this photo on Facebook, and I asked her for a high resolution copy of it.  Drawing or painting?  Can't decide, but I know I want to do something with it.  Thanks, Cat.

Thursday

This is my friend Lois Herbst (left) who is running for Republican candidate for House District 34.  She is from Shoshoni and lives on a farm close to my brother and sister-in-law.  Lois has been active in politics ever since I can remember.  She is a well known rancher in the state, and as far as I know, was the first (and only) female president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

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Lazy day today. Kind of windy and cool.  I did a little writing this morning, just for the fun of it.

Yesterday I started another charcoal drawing of a cowboy.  His hat looks pretty good, but that's about all I can say about it so far.

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Food for thought.

Wednesday

Kasey is learning to text.  By this time next week, she will be texting with her toes.

Tuesday

As of last night, I still can't print from my laptop upstairs to the printers downstairs.  I don't know if Barrie can or not.  Both printers show up on my laptop as ready, but nothing printed.  Don't you just love computers?

When I started Internet Explorer on the desktop, the home page was Dell, of course.  My list of favorites wasn't even there, and I couldn't figure out how to get them.  I went to Google (of cgourse) and found that I needed to click on "Tools" on the menu bar and then have it show the Favorites.  I didn't have the menu bar.  Finally found that you press the "ALT" key to show the menu bar.  Who would have thought?

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This little watercolor sketch by Cezanne just sold for $19 million at an auction.  It's enough to make me throw away my paints.

I watched a short video of an art auction.  The auctioneer wore a tuxedo and didn't sound like a real auctioneer.  Somehow, I couldn't feature him at an auction barn, selling cattle.

And now we know what causes rain.

Monday computer time

The desktop computer is fixed, and I hooked it up today to everything I could find on the floor behind the desk - printers, scanners, keyboard, monitor, etc.  I left it hooked up to the little clickfree backup drive, restoring all the files.  Then I will have to reinstall software.

I did get it on the home network, and the printers work.

I also got Barrie's computer on the home network, and she can print now.  Also got some files on her computer that she should have - pictures and documents.

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I have some beer brats in the slow cooker with beer and onions.  I don't even know if I like brats.  The only time I have had one was on the street in Breckenridge during Oktoberfest one year when I was visiting Paul and Tracy. 

I have the fixings ready to make potato salad.

I finished this little watercolor yesterday.  It is only 6" x 9".  It has a perspective problem, the cow should appear to be more in the background.  I may try this same scene in a larger size.





Sunday

So did you like how the Derby ended yesterday?  I loved it!  A horse that didn't seem to get a lot of media attention or "picks" pulled through and won it.  The little jockey was so cute.  He looked about 15 years old.  When they started to interview him, his first words were "I don't know what to say" and then he couldn't seem to stop talking.

My pick, Hanson, was in third for much of the race.  Then he kind of just faded back.  I'm not sure where he finished.

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Did you see the "super moon?"  It was a pretty moon, but I like the moon in the fall months better.  I never see the moon rise.  It has to come up over the mountains first, then the hill behind my house, then the thick stand of cottenwood trees.  So it's pretty high in the sky by the time I get a good look at it.

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I'm listening to Jimmy Buffet sing "The Weather is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful" on my iPod.



Saturday

I lay in bed early this morning, watching the sky and the weather.  It was just beginning to get light.  I love the peach color of the sky when the sun is just beginning to come up.  The sky in the west was an inky black color, and as I watched, the snow came down and it looked like thick fog.  Then the sun came up over the mountain and hit the trees on the west side of town.  Incredible sight, but for such a short time  I didn't have time to get a camera.

The ground was white this morning, but the snow's already melted.

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Tracy sent me this picture this morning.  Daisy was "helping" her clean out an irrigation ditch.  Daisy loves mud.

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 B&B is being cleaned to the bare bones.  I don't know what it looks like on the inside, but some windows and one back door have been boarded up.  And probably two or three dumpsters full of stuff hauled off.

This is the back part, where "stuff" has been piled for at least 40 years. You can see a corner of the big dumpster on the left.  I'm on the hill above it and that is a power line across the center of the picture.  The fence has been straightened, and the old droopy overhang has been torn down.  There's a little shed in the corner, and I don't know if they'll take that out or not.  There will be water standing in this area all summer, so I don't know what they plan to use it for. 

Do you have your favorite picked for the Derby this afternoon? 

Friday

Sitting with the electic heater warming my toes and the sound of rain on my metal roof.  What a nice day!  You can almost hear the grass grow.

My drawing of a garlic bulb.  Maybe I should try an onion or a potato next.

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I just sprayed my watercolor palette to moisten the paint and plan to do do something today.  I started a new one in art group on Wednesday.  It is on a hard board, called "Aquaboard", I think.  It's supposed to be super for watercolors, but I don't like it very well. (Not yet, anyway).  I'm not flexible about changing my painting surface.  I like to stick with the "same old".

Need to find out the channel and time of the Derby tomorrow.  I suppose TV coverage will be all day, and I like to see all the horses and hear about them and their owners.  I don't keep up with horse racing all year, but I sure like to see the Derby.





Wednesday

The snowbirds are returning.  Both Judi and Nancy were at art group this morning.  Stayed for lunch with Judi, Vicky, Pat, and Dixie, Pat's daughter.  Good meatloaf lunch and good company.

I put up three new pieces in the art room today, and brought two home.  Pat finished a painting of a bear, and we talked her into putting it up.

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My horoscope for today said I would feel contented if I washed windows or cleaned the garage today.  Can I just forget I read that?  I know I'd feel more contented if I read a book!

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Yesterday I posted a picture regarding the movie "Titanic".  Today it's about "The Wizard of Oz".



Tuesday

I spent most of my morning matting three new pieces to hang in the art room at Rendezvous Pointe.  It's time to take down some old ones and put up some new.  I have two watercolors and a charloal drawing I am taking in tomorrow.

My drawing of the day was a charcoal drawing of a table.  Not worth photographing it.  At least I am drawing a little.

Paul and Tracy's old grill wore out, and they just got a new one.  Tracy was delighted because they got a floor model and didn't have to put it all together.  It will cook 28 hamburgers.  She says they need  more friends! 

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Kasey didn't go to school today.  She was up most of the night with an earache, and Barrie took her to the clinc this morning. and was so glad she doesn't have strep or an ear infection.  The doctor gave her drops for the pain.   

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I am listening to song # 49 of the 61 Chris LeDoux songs I have on my iPod. 

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Cute picture!  Remember this line from the movie "Titanic"?