Barrie Handiwork

Barrie has been busy with a couple of big projects this past week, rebuilding her dog boxes and replacing our kitchen faucet.

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Here are the boxes mounted on the pickup. They look white in this photo, but are a light gray in color.

I put a stool in front of the upstairs window, and helped Kasey take her Mom's picture with my compact digital camera.

Here is the new faucet. So shiny! It makes me realize my stainless steel sinks need some serious scrubbing and polising.

The work in progress . . . . I think I heard a few bad words coming out from under the sink. It was not an easy job. The drain pipe now has a leak, so we will have to find some kind of sealant to stop that.

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I didn't even work on the new computer today. It is time to move it to the desk, hook up the speakers, and hook it up to the wireless router. I will need to install the router, two printers, and a scanner. I really need to get it done, as I am having company next week, and there is no room for us to eat at the dining room table.

I took one of my watercolor palettes outside today and sprayed it hard with the hose to get all the paint out of it. Once in a while, I guess you just need to start fresh. A lot of the paint had been used up, and some had turned kind of granulated and gritty.

Thursday

A nice cool, cloudy day today. Had a nice rain yesterday afternoon with thunder and lightning. I know Gina and Bob and the other ranchers don't appreciate this weather, and I feel guilty for saying I enjoy it.

Barrie got her dog boxes all finished and mounted on her pickup. They look nice. She will put the extra 8 boxes in her horse trailer for when she needs to haul 16 dogs. The reason she didn't put them on her pickup is that she would need a ladder to even get to the top boxes. And the dogs in the top would have quite a drop to the ground. Her old dog boxes are double deckers, but is mounted on a flat bed.

I couldn't activate Microsoft Office on my new computer, because it had already been activated on the allowed number of computers. I decided to try to find out (by telephone) if I could uninstall it from the old desktop, then reactivate it on the new one. Somehow, I got on the phone with a pleasant voiced "robot" who asked questions, which I answered. Somehow, the next thing I knew, the software had been activated! Who can figure?

Then I installed the Quicken 2009 program and got my bank account on the new computer from the backup disk. I didn't try to do much with it. I probably am at least a month behind in reconciling my bank account, but the checkbook is down in the garage in the pickup, so I didn't work on that.

Spent more time setting up playlists and organizing songs in iTunes. Even after deleting some duplicates and some songs I know I don't want, I still have 1,400 songs on there! I'm still not sure how that happened. I don't really even need to update the songs on my ipod, but might as well get it all organized in case I decide to.

Here are three of the cards I made using photos I have taken.

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Wednesday

Went to art group at Rendezvous Pointe this morning. It was great to have Pam back! Cindi brought us some fresh peaches for treats, and Vicky brought cookies.

I packed up all my supplies to work on the cat painting, forgetting that it was video day, so I didn't paint at all. I did doodle a little bit with pen and ink on a "whiskey art" of a windmill.

I made ten more cards yesterday, using photographs I have taken. I like them, but I like the ones done with my art work better. I guess I will get a bunch of cards printed, and put in packs of 10 or so, then decide what I should do with them later.



I did this stippled ink drawing of a chickadee yesterday. It is quite small, only about 5" x 7". It felt so good to use the pens again. At first my pen didn't want to keep flowing, I guess because it hasn't been used for so long. But it is working fine now. I have another small one of a mountain sheep started. I have enjoyed playing with the oils, and I love watercolor, but once in a while I just have to have a pencil or pen to play with!!

Love of Pen and Ink

I got the urge to get my Koh-i-noor pens out last night, and filled two of them with drawing ink. I had cleaned them some time ago and have not done any ink drawing lately. I have missed it. There is something very relaxing about drawing with those super-fine points, especially stippling. I didn't really start anything, just some quick marks in a little sketch book.

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This is one I started several years ago, but never finished. Now that I look at it again, I may just call it "finished". I'm not sure it needs any more.

I don't remember when I did this ink "pointillism" drawing of a bull elk. I think it is about 9" x 12". It must have sold, because I don't have it any more, but I did have a picture of it on a slide.

Well, this is exactly what I don't need to do. When I have at least a dozen unfinished projects, I get the urge to do a pen and ink.

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I finally got the file sharing set up on the new computer. With three computers on the home network, it is starting to get confusing!! It's almost time to move the new computer to the computer room and hook it up to the wireless router, and hope it will make the transition without goofing anything up. I'm hoping the little USB wireless adapter will work on the old desktop, so I can retrieve any files I am forgetting.

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I find this interesting from today in history:

1983 - It was designated that the third Monday of January would be a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wyoming does not recognize Martin Luther King Day, but we do have "Chris LeDoux day", which is in June.

Hmmmm. Looks like I have to eat my words about MLK Day. Wyoming's Legislature approved a bill honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a holiday after debating the issue for seven years. I'm not real sure when this happened, but I know Wyoming was one of the last states to recognize that day as a holiday.

My Ongoing Battle with CenturyTel

I guess I will never quit fighting with CenturyTel. Last month they disconnected my phone for non-payment of my bill. I am set up for automatic payment with them, so I couldn't figure out how that could happen. Then I remember they had made a mistake and credited someone else's payment to my account. They corrected it, but didn't put through the automatic payment. That left me with an overdue balance, and they disconnected the phone. I called them, we got it straightened out, and my phone was reconnected.

This month, I have a $18 "reconnect" charge on my bill. So I will spend more time on the phone with them to get that taken off. I feel sorry for the people I talk to on the phone. It's not their fault, but I can't help but sound irritated. I'll try to be tactful when I call on Monday.

I wonder if other people have had as many conflicts with CenturyTel as I have?

"The End"

"The Artist"

The two photos above were taken some time ago for a photo "scavenger hunt" in an online photo group I belong to. I was attempting to be creative.

Dog Boxes

Barrie and Kasey went up the Hoback yesterday morning, to pick up a dog box Frank Teasley gave her. It is an 8 dog box, and there are 8 more boxes that could be put on top. Barrie is working on it today, took off the roof, and cut off the storage compartment in front. It was too big for her truck. She is painting it now.

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Here is part of what she cut off.

She has done it all with a crow bar, jig saw, and my electric chain saw.

This wild currant bush is growing along the cinder block retaining wall by my driveway. I guess it got planted there by birds. It's not very big, and has about 8 berries on it.

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I got my music files moved to the new computer yesterday, and today I downloaded "itunes". I have about 1500 songs on here, but somehow there are a bunch of duplicates. So I need to organize them. Quite a few years ago, I was one of those law breakers who downloaded music from the Internet. Actually, a lot of what I downloaded were songs on my old 45rpm records or tapes , but had no way of getting them on my computer. I did get some tapes copied to CDs and got them on the computer, but it was a hassle. I also had quite a collection of CDs I put on the computer. So I guess I didn't really do "too much" illegal downloading.

I got all my e-mail addresses copied to the new computer this morning. It was so easy I couldn't believe it!

New Computer

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This is Leslie, my stepdaughter, with "Snickers". Leslie used to make fun of Paul and Tracy and the way they were with Bogie, their dog. Well, just look at her!! Snickers just graduated from obedience class, and was top in the class. Les and Bobby are so proud!

When the horse gets tired, there is nothing to do but pick it up and carry it.

I was trying to show Kasey the correct way to get off a horse. This is the result. I guess I won't be giving any riding lessons.

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I am blogging on the new computer this morning. I got all my photos and music files moved to the new computer, which took a long time. I have lots and lots of music and pictures. Also got my "Favorites" list copied to it. I'm not sure yet how to get my address book on this computer, but will look into it.

Lots more to be done, and I think I will install one program this morning, then quit for the day and paint! Can't overdo it, you know!

I went into the bathroom to start a load of laundry this morning, and it wasn't there. I found it on my bed - Barrie had done it! She doesn't fold it, but I feel kind of spoiled that she does my laundry once in a while. She says she has to, because the dryer door won't open if the laundry is piled too high in front of it! Boy, am I a slob!!

Thursday

The New Horse

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Here is Kasey on her new horse, from the stable at that wonderful place, the "never never land", the Food Basket!

Checking his teeth to see how old he is.

A girl needs a bubble bath after a hard ride on that horse.

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I told you and told you I'm a house cat, not an outdoor cat! Please let me back in the house!

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I installed the little USB network adapter on the new computer this morning, and it went pretty much as I expected. Windows Vista users had different instructions than other versions of Windows, and it took some doing to even read the instructions which were on the CD. Somehow, Adobe just uninstalled itself and I didn't have Acrobat Reader. So I made a copy of the CD so I could read the instructions on the old computer, and have the drivers, etc. needed on the new one. Anyway, it works, and the new computer is now on my wireless network and is on the Internet. Seems to work fine. Copying files from the old computer is working, but it is kind of slow and sometimes confusing.

It is good to hear that Lynn is doing so well and sounds like she will be home soon. I've sure been thinking about her!

Wednesday Art at Rendezvous Pointe

First, I want to say that my thoughts are with Lynn today, who is in the hospital in Jackson, and having surgery. I am presuming to remove her appendix. What a bummer, but I know she has been in a lot of pain recently, and hopefully this will relieve that.

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This nice four point buck was browsing on the ditchbank down the street. I took this out the bathroom window.

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Cards

I found some paper for cards on the Internet and ordered some pages with envelopes. I am always trying to make watercolor cards and ruin so many. This paper is designed for use in an injet printer, and is pre-scored and perforated. Each sheet makes 2 cards, 5 1/2" x 4 1/2". I found that one of the applications that comes with Microsofe Office, "Publisher" has the templates for cards of many sizes, and I resized the photos I had taken of my art work and placed it on the template and printed. I practiced with plain paper first, so I wouldn't waste the card paper. I think I got 12 cards printed last night. Once I got it figured it, they don't take long at all.

At Art Group at Rendezvous Pointe today - Vicky, Nancy, Conley, Mary Lou, Barbara and I were there. Judi is in Jackson with Lynn, Cindi was taking her son to Cheyenne to be deployed again, and Pam (we think) is in Vail.

I got started on the cat painting. It is very slow going for me. I don't know how to paint animal fur.

The USB wireless adaptor came today. If it works as easily as what the reviews say, it should be a fast and easy way to move files from the old computer to the new one. Yea, right! Computer stuff is never as easy as it should be like it shows on the TV ads.

Wet, wet, wet

I love this type of weather. It has rained off and on most of the afternoon. It is so cool and nice, and everything looks more intense and saturated with color. I know the ranchers are not wanting rain now that they are haying, and I guess I feel a little guilty for enjoying it.

Just a quick photo of raindrops on the window

I like how the colors and contrasts increase when it rains.

A picture taken last week of clouds over the mountains

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I didn't wake up until 9:00 this morning, so didn't see Kasey before she left for daycare. She had a new little pink "Tinkerbell" backpack, and sparkly polish on her fingernails and toenails, and was very excited about both. Those of you who know Barrie probably know that she never had polish on her nails in her life, and never wore pink. Well, she still doesn't, but she is having a ball doing "girly" things for Kasey. Who can figure?

I started a new oil painting today, 12x16 from a photo I took a Fremont Lake and enchanced in Photoshop. It has some strange colors in it that appealed to me.