Where I Stand Sunday

Yesterday, while talking to my bro on the phone, I looked out the bedroom window and watched a farm cat laying low to the ground, only to pounce on fat little grey critters and eat them. During that time, I saw two of those critters get completely devoured. Today, I went to that area to investigate. There were either mole or vole holes/tunnels all over the ground around the laterals to our septic system. Some of the little tunnels were exposed. I would imagine that at one time they were made just beneath the snow, into the surface of the ground. There is a large network of them. All that cat had to do was sit and watch whoever came out of the "door" and he had breakfast! After he was done, he took a nice long nap in the sunshine very satisfied.

Kids left this morning. It was foggy and frozen but the sun has come out and was melting the ice from the trees. I am surprised the trees live at all, the way they get frozen, then thaw, then freeze again, over and over. I guess they are tough.


This is a photo of two of my friends, Bailey (the big dog) and Chaco (like the canyon in New Mexico). They often share each other as pillows. Bunch 'o lazy dogs, once again.


Lots of scrapbooking yesterday, gotta get out to the studio and reorganize. Trying to keep up with the messes that get made out there. It's easy to just walk away and not worry about putting anything away, but then, you can go no further, until you take care of it! BTW, the 'rogue' mouse in the studio was found splailed (sp?) out on the top of the bookcase - DOA. Beware to the brave and valiant others!!

"Where I Stand Sunday" is posted weekly. It helps chronicle the "journey". Too often we take for granted where we stand and what we are involved in. Used as a "vehicle" for journaling and a glance at "human geography", I; along with several others; note this day, in this way. I invite you to check "them" out, their blog addresses are in the sidebar to the right, to compare and contrast the human events of Sunday in different parts of the country and maybe the globe! If you would like to join in (and I encourage you as it is a great writing "prompt"), please leave a comment below with your blog address and we will note it in our sidebar! Thanks for looking!

Cattle Watching and Dead Mice

Our kids are visiting from Denver. We are having a good time. Teaching them how to play a card game, "99". Dining out for steaks at Duffy's in town. Katie and I scrapbooked for awhile yesterday. Ryan and his dad did some power shoppin at the 75% off Duckwall's sale (yep, Alco's will be open soon - probably the biggest news around here in a while). Ryan was real proud of a utensil set he bought for his camping trailer for $3.00. Ha, hubster stocked up on lots of mice poison, wasp and mosquito yard spray, gadgets and wheel cleaners!
Unbeknownst to me, there have been mice in my studio, one ran across the floor while croppin yesterday. Darned varmints! Well, he has lots of little pellets to eat tonight, plus he had already sampled some over the night before (after art club meeting). I put some in a little dish and count them. One dish was empty! I didn't even have to count!
The photo above is all of them (including the weimaraner, of course, doesn't he look like a person?) looking out the window at the neighbor feeding his cattle across the road. The little calves are so cute. They jump and buck and kick up their heels. They remind me of Bambi or little cartoon lambs.
What' on the agenda today? More of the same probably.

Solomon Valley Palette Club Meeting

Above are photos from last nights art club meeting at my studio. You know, the photographer is never in the picture, but you can see the activity we enjoy when we meet which is open critiquing and eating, of course. The feedback is always helpful, especially living where we live. Several couldn't attend because of the flu and cold bug. Hoping they get well soon!

Aw the Good Ole Days!

Got this in an email from my sister in law, Teresa, so don't know who to give credit to. The more I think about it, the more incredible it seems. Some of you may remember hearing or feeling these scenarios.

MEMORIES OF THE TIMES WHEN $40 PER WEEK WAS Big Bucks!!
Comments made in the year 1955!
That's only 52 years ago!
"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be
impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00."

"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before
$2, 000.00 will only buy a used one."

"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous. "

"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a
letter? "

"If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside
help at the store."

"When I started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost
29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage."

"Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible
to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the
girls."

"I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let
Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it
seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it."

"I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on
the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts
preparing for it down in Texas."

"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year
just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President."

"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.
They are even making electric typewriters now."

"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married
women are having to work to make ends meet."

"It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to
watch their kids so they can both work."

"Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more, those Hollywood stars seem to be
getting divorced at the drop of a hat."

"I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of
foreign business."

"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our
income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to
congress."

"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously
doubt they will ever catch on."

"There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha any more for a weekend,
it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel."

"No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too
rich for my blood."

"If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it."

and I gripe about a little tiny tube of watercolor costing $12.60!!! Geesh!
One must sit, for a minute, and ponder the speed at which our technological advances move us. Last night I spent an hour + trying to figure out why my wireless high speed internet connection wasn't working. Finally got it reconnected without calling the help desk, and most often, I couldn't tell you how it happened. I am a hack, at best.
Tried to see the lunar eclipse (thanks for calling to remind me, mom, I would have forgot completely), and the clouds pretty much covered it up. Saw it for a little bit, before the complete cover of it, then it was gone. Too cold out anyway. Brrrr. I guess those are the events in life I appreciate the most. "Eclipses" - they are always predictable. One views the same thing today as one did in ancient times.
As I prepare for guests tonight, I will go through my day, trying to think of other things that are constant and predictable in this world today. Somedays it's the only way to stay "grounded".

Why Do YOU Blog??

Yesterday, my blog's traffic report showed 80 visits. Now friends, that is a massive amount of traffic, for my little blog. In trying to analyze it (which I suppose is impossible) I considered several items that never cease to amaze me.

I get lots of comments about how much others enjoy reading my blog, surprised there are only a few comments made on the blog entries. When I 'invite' comments, I never get one. When I do get comments, it is from usually from other bloggers, I love them. Am I fishing for comments and feedback, is that why I blog?
No.

I don't rely on traffic numbers to measure the success of my blog. Honestly, I have never had the time to keep an ongoing 'journal' about a subject my entire life. As an educator, I taught 'writing' to kids, never practiced it much as an adult. I have a 'voice', and I want to continue to try it. Often, I received encouraging 'complements' on college papers - "well written" or "well stated". I feel I have something to say and I CAN say it 'well'.

I enjoy sharing thoughts on my living in the Kansas countryside, of being the person I am and being an artist and how those three things sometimes 'collide' and sometimes I enjoy the benefits of the combination. Blogging is very personal. It's a true reflection of your life experiences, your views, attitudes, and opinions, it's kind of like I left my diary open on the desk for others to read, therefore, I thought it would be scary to share openly and push that PUBLISH button each time I wrote (esp. to 80 others in one days time), but it has become a source of what gives me more purpose. We all have something to say. I want to practice saying it as creatively and clearly as I can. It's saving paper, it's on my computer and others have read my thoughts, they know me better. That would be success!

Truthfully, I look at everyday life and think, "What about 'this', would make for interesting writing or reading for that matter?" If you go back, I started my blog with the desire to share my art as I was beginning to rev up my practice and within a few days the "Peepers" incident happened. I was hooked on telling the saga of Peepers. And what a saga it was! One never knows when that kind of stimulus for writing and sharing will occur! Another part of my blog that is very important to me is "Where I Stand Sunday". It has given me a comaraderie with the others who use this vehicle for writing.

I don't advertise for others on my blog, except for Robert Genn (see sidebar), and that helps artists, it doesn't necessarily sell something. I don't get paid to do that, it just promotes art and artists. And that's one of my main missions. That subject will be in other blogs, from time to time. Self promotion and promotion of what I think is important to the human existence - ART. So here goes the issue for today...

On the Nebraska TV News the other night, I heard that they were thinking about eliminating instrumental music from the 4th grade and how that would give the older kids more 'class' time in music class. I guess you can look at it anyway you want, but ultimately, to 'hook' kids - some of whom I have known just "busting" in 2nd grade to someday soon "play" with the band or orchestra - you need to catch them while you can! One year less on the beginning side, makes for one less year of proficiency on the graduating side, too. In some arenas, people shouldn't mess with "rights of passage" with kids. I am sure they are doing this for budget cut reasons. WE - our civilization - needs to protect what goes on in the 'arts' in schools! I get so afraid that if changes like the one I just wrote about occur, we have started to lose the battle. Remember? ART SAVES LIVES (that includes P.E., Music and Fine art!) (Just like some parents think that 'SPORTS saves lives', and I will go along with that, too!) Some kids are athletes and some kids are artists! So hopefully, I planted a seed for thought, if you haven't ever considered it. And now, as lots of little kids do in the early writings - THE END!

P.S. - So why do you blog? Leave a short comment if you would - ha, just think, yesterday I could have had around 70 - 80 comments!

Take a Good look...This is as Clean as it Gets!

We have been so busy in the studio and shop these past few days. The studio is uber organized and very clean as you can see, maybe. Hopefully it will stay that way for awhile, although with the creation of the storage closet (see NW corner) I now have to think hard about where I put something that maybe I used to know where it lived. With organization comes disruption of chaos, which in my case is where I operate best!
Northeast corner...

Northwest corner...with storage closet to the left.

Southeast corner...probably my favorite new corner because of the new georgette valance I found in a box that I never used in Golden.

and southwest corner, where the adjoining door to the shop is located.

This summer we will add the outside entry door.
So now you see where I spend all my time. I love it and I will be there again, soon. Getting ready for visit from hubster's son and son's wife.

Where I Stand Sunday

Today I stand in the studio, that I am trying to get cleaned up. It was a disaster after the storage closet building. Hubster would tell you it was a disaster way before that. Ha! You'll notice I have new tennis shoes, only they were bought over a year ago, they have been in the RV closet. I hate new shoes. They take so long to break in. They never feel like the old ones. But the old ones, are going to turn into the "work" shoes, like outside, in the mud, in the dirt, painting shoes. So, new shoes? You better break in and quick!

Hubster unloaded the NEW (used) kitchen yesterday. It has been in the enclosed trailer for a couple of months. Thanks again Gary and June, for giving us your nice kitchen! Can't wait to see their new one! We have been needing the two wheeler and the furniture dolly, so time to unload that stuff. He had to get the VW running to move it out of the shop and back the trailer in, to unload it. Now all that stuff takes up the shop space and it will haunt us, until we get it figured out and start the project. Probably begin that after we return from Texas, next month. As you can see, there is more than enough great cabinets for the small kitchen we have. Configuring it to the best use is what will be our challenge.



Next, get a load of the skies this morning.

They are looking more like spring skies. It is extremely windy today. Think I will get "to it" or is that "tuit"? Oh, one more thing.


I never thought about it until I ran across the subject while perusing eBay. There is an article here about "fake watercolors". I have used Photoshop with the 'watercolor' feature on several occasions. It makes for interesting wallpaper on a computer screen. I've never thought to use it the way the article claims it to be used. So, read it and beware people! Sometimes I use Photoshop to turn up or tweak the values on a photo I am using on a painting, especially on a low contrast subject, so I can see the darker darks or vice versa.

I can't wait for things to green up a little, the wind to quit being a blaster and the air to become a little warmer so I can do some "plein air" painting (and it better happen soon!) I need some "real" stuff to paint from.
"Where I Stand Sunday" is posted weekly. It helps chronicle the "journey". Too often we take for granted where we stand and what we are involved in. Used as a "vehicle" for journaling and a glance at "human geography", I; along with several others; note this day, in this way. I invite you to check "them" out, their blog addresses are in the sidebar to the right, to compare and contrast the human events of Sunday in different parts of the country and maybe the globe! If you would like to join in (and I encourage you as it is a great writing "prompt"), please leave a comment below with your blog address and we will note it in our sidebar! Thanks for looking!

Friday Fifteen

Fifteen things that inspire me:
1. The way the sunlight and shadows do "a dance at sunset".
2. Looking at a good composition in a photograph.
3. Seeing a color(s) choice in a model home or Parade of Homes venue.
4. Watching a TV program about the "creative process" or seeing someone else's art and wondering how they did that.
5. My own photos and/or my collection of "source" material.
6. Reading a good book that encourages me to use my imagination.
7. Listening to "new age" music.
8. Watching a dog or horse (or any animal, for that matter) win "Best in Show".
9. The smell of sweet, clean air after a rain.
10.The sound of a train whistle or a thunderstorm in the distance.
11.Making a trip to the Southwest, particularly the Taos and Sante Fe area.
12.Getting new art materials/supplies.
13.Going to a Natural History Museum and viewing art from ancient cultures.
14.The way the gentle breeze rustles the crops or the trees.
15.Watching the return of "migrating" birds in the springtime.

A Valentine To My Friends

May our friendship last forever;
May I sail upon your sea.
May we go through life together;
May there always be a "we."

May I be your endless sky;
May you breathe my gentle air.
May you never wonder why
Each time you look for me, I'm there.

May we be for each a smile
Like the warm, life-giving sun;
Yet when we're in pain awhile,
May our suffering be one.

May we share our special days,
The happiness of one for two;
And if we must go separate ways,
Let my love remain with you.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Welcome to Hump Day!

For those of you who work, and I am not rubbing it in, it's Hump Day, and I used to love looking forward the end of the week. I loved my profession, teaching. With that position came lots of deadlines, record keeping, goal setting and planning - not to mention watching the minds of little kids explode with learning; a very gratifying experience. The weekend gave way to get those things done that needed to be attended to in your personal existence. When I retired, a good friend gave me a "Day Clock". I thought it was a cute idea, I hung it in my kitchen.

As time goes by, I find myself using it more and more. It's key. Some days, I don't know what day of the week it is. I don't live around anything that would remind me, due to the activity (or lack of) going on there. "What day is it?", we often ask each other. Don't get me wrong, I have goals and plans, it's just nice to do them when I choose to get them done.

I can see now, how retired people get into a routine and don't like it "upset". You look forward to each and every day, with no interruptions, no scheduled appointments, no itinerary. I think the only thing that slaps me upside the face, about what day it is, are 'bills'. The other thing I've noticed is that when you work - you spend money and acquire "stuff". When you are retired you don't spend money and you get rid of "stuff".

Why did I retire? Ya, I'm kinda young to retire...but I had soooo many friends and acquaintances who would retire one year, only to face severe illness or death, or their spouses would have this happen. I (we) thought, hey, we have some things we want to do, before that happens, let's do it while we can. And we are. That's also why we are living, where we are. It's been an adjustment. We both agree. But we have adjusted. We are very settled and doing what we want to do!

It takes awhile to get used to not being around those in the grind, but - they are in the grind - and you are not. It sort of separates you from them, that was hard. I found that those who really care, stay in touch, or read my blog and let me know they do - or leave a comment, or a hello in an email. The days of pining the loss of my previous life, are all but vanished. It is an adjustment, never-the-less (sorry to overuse this word, even that's an adjustment, I guess "change" would also be a word to use - a BIG change!). I met a man who was administrating the storage units we were using to store all our "stuff" before we moved. He was definitely retirement age. We were talking about his life 'before storage units', you could tell he was from the corporate world. He said he tried retirement for about a year and a half, and then for lack of better words - he freaked out and had to be doing something, like "employment". I have felt that way - for about a second.

I did have a short-lived part time job last year. It didn't work out. I realized I didn't have to take crap from those in charge and I didn't. I love being an artist, again! That's where I should have always been...in the meantime, I got a great education and hopefully helped 'shape' the lives of hundreds of children, parents and colleagues.

There are those where hubster worked (in the freight industry) that could retire years prior to now and haven't. We often wonder, what is going through their heads?? I think they are afraid of what will happen when they do, like they might 'kick' or get ill, or perhaps they have no outside interests or "things" they want to do. It's always strange when I meet a person, who obviously doesn't do anything but work. Don't ever get that way people. Life is short. You gotta get it all when you can.

Read a saying recently, "Life is far too precious for half-ways, maybes, and decaf."
There are many obstacles along life's path. I enjoy thinking to myself, like Scarlett says at the end of the movie "Oh I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow." and that my friends is exactly what I do.

And now I think I will get back out to the studio, gotta paint the wall that was created with the building of the storage closet. Woohoo! I get to experiment with my rendition of 'faux' painting, something that I really love doing, but that technique wouldn't work on these ultra textured walls in this house. Looking forward to installing a "new and improved" media center, that beats all media centers! Satellite TV, XM radio and hooking up all the speakers that go with that! I may never come back to the house! Ha!

Happy Hump Day! If that's what day it is...

Take 5 Tuesday

Before we get back out to the studio today and building the storage closet from heaven!!, I wanted to get a post done for today. It's called Take 5 Tuesday, I got it from here

1. 5 of your favorite candies, (they can be candy bars, or anything else.)
Let's see, that would be Russell Stover, chocolate covered caramels; Milky Way; Werther's Chewy Caramels; $100,000. Dollar Bar; and Ghirardelli milk chocolate with caramel squares - see a pattern here?

2. 5 of your hobbies.
knitting, crocheting, sewing, scrapbooking and stamping (the rest I do, I consider more than a passing hobby, like painting, drawing, stained glass, printmaking, pastels, and the list is just too long).

3. 5 things you want to do sometime in your life.
gain recognition in a National Pastel Exhibit; get back to Lake Powell for a week on a houseboat; travel by RV to Alaska in the warm season; go to Paris and paint and photograph the French countryside with my daughter and granddaughter when she gets older (all in one trip); and purchase some farmland and farm it while we are still young enough to do so.

4. 5 things you hope to accomplish this year, (yes we are 1 1/2 months into this year already)
finish painting the inside of the house we live in; remodel the kitchen with the cabinets we got as hand-me-downs; do some minor renovation on our house in town; travel to NYC to see my daughter and her family; lose some weight and get my core strength back in gear; and DO LOTS of ART!

5. 5 of your least favorite foods/drinks.
This one's hard, cause I like almost all food and drink! fish with bones; grapefruit; eggnog; fried chicken livers and Japanese dishes like squid and raw fish.

Now - you can use this list in your blog or website. If you do, leave me a note, so that I can read your answers!

Where I Stand Sunday and A Painting Today

With my best "studio" helper (Chaco) in tow, here I stand getting the heater going. Ran out of propane last night (thanks so much Midway - for showing up so soon after we called!). We had to hook up to a small propane bottle from an extra in the RV. Have two more, so I hope that propane guy shows up tomorrow. It's cold today.
Today I finished the pastel, below. It is done on Pastelboard, which is absolutely wonderful stuff! Wish my benefactor would buy me a case of the largest size they make and ship it to me! Ha!

La nina timida - The Shy Girl - pastel on Pastelboard, 11" x 14"
SOLD - collection in Wyoming

The Busy-ness Crescendo

It has started. This morning we drove 19 miles to Nebraska to buy wood for a storage closet in the studio. Got to the P.O. to mail off Valentimes (as my brother used to call them when he was little). Hubster got some new toys at the farmstore for outside, and a big woodstove (on sale of course) with blower to install in the shop that will heat the shop and studio next cold season.
The crescendo is beginning - now we are outside more. Looking around at what needs tweaking. Erosion and run off is a happenin' thing today. The run-off is happening again from the acreage to the south. We have a "river running through it"! Will have to contact 'Mr. Conservation Farmer' to remind him he is losing farmland - to us. We thought about letting it go and letting it be an extension of our already pond. Less mowing. But more bugs, I suppose.
We graveled the muddy driveway last year, but the mud is pushing through the gravel. It's not as yucky as last year, though when we literally had pieces of cardboard to walk on from the house to the studio. I felt like I was jumping on lilypads. Ribbit - ribbit.
I have discovered a new surface to do pastels on called "Pastelboard" by Ampersand. Wowee! It is expensive but very great! I started a new pastel just this afternoon. It says you can do acrylic painting on it too. I will have to let you know on that one. I did buy two pieces in Denver - a big one and a little one. Guess which piece I am using right now?
So, I think I will get back to the studio and do a little more. Later! Hope you are painting today too!

The Friday Fiver

"Moon Over the Quonset Hut" in the early summer.


I occasionally run out of things to say. In checking here I can find lots of ideas. Today I am including a "Friday Fiver". You can read my responses, copy the questions to your blog and have something to write about on a Friday.
It's called "hush your mouth"

1. Do you like the thrill of a chase?
I guess I do, although I haven't had that occur in quite some time. I think Britney thrives on this one! tsk

2. What winds you up?
When I make a plane reservation, I get pretty excited. Also, when we make plans of what we will do when we go traveling in the RV. So, I guess the planning, hoping, wishing and orchestrating is what winds me up. I get wound up about "animal rights" issues. Being a children's advocate, I get wound up about children in dysfunctional settings. I get wound up when "the game" is being played unfairly.

3. Are you a loud talker?
Depends on if I have had a drink or not. The more drinks, the louder I get. When I get excited about something, "quiet" is not a forte.

4. What comes easy to you?
Speaking in front of a crowd or group, learning something new, drawing or painting a likeness of a person or an animal.

5. What did you dream about recently?
Last night I dreamt that the "propane" truck showed up to fill our propane tank at the house. We called them on Monday. They haven't shown up yet. Wishful dreaming? Hubster said if they DO show up, then maybe I can dream about us winning a million dollars tonight. HA!
If I don't confirm what I dreamt when I first wake up, I don't remember what I dreamed. Writing down my dreams is probably one way to remember. I used to do that, and I can remember what I wrote about, even after years. So committing it to writing, is one of the best ways- like journaling. I am so glad that I have these pages and pages of blogging! It's amazing to see other blogs that have gone on for years!

A Painting for Today

"Algo pasó en el camino hacia el mercado" (Something Happened on the Way to the Market) - oil painting on canvas board, 8" x 10"
This painting is a little out of character for me. I have been working on it for the last three days. Lots of detail in the folk art pieces, which have fascinated me (done from a picture I saved many years ago) for a long time. As I said in my last blog, it has had an unusual pull on my "dreamscapes" at night. I get excited when a painting moves me that much. It must be part of my current psyche or something. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think. Upon researching it more, I guess the little pink figures represent "las damas de la noche" - ladies of the night.
Still snowing here tonight. The giant flakes are snowing "up" as well as "down", guess that's cause it's a blizzard.

Another Day of Snow

I was going to attach a video, for lack of better words but it is too large and Blogger won't download it. Go figure.
It's snowing hard and hubster wants to know when I am going out to shovel. Ha! Anyway, it's out to the studio to paint til my little heart's content. I am working on a painting that is messing with my "dreamscape" at night right now. Does that ever happen to you? You will see it soon.
Poor dogs are so bored. Nothing to do. Such is a dog's life these days. It's like they are tired from being tired!
Hubster is trying to get a guy in Denver to call him on a Craigslist VW van for sale, saw it in Denver about a year ago, it is back on Craigslist and the guy won't answer emails. We have gone back through cell phone records, to find out that our company quit billing us with the numbers we called about that time. Thought that maybe this guy's phone number was on a piece of paper from a trash can that only gets dumped from the office maybe once every 6 months, but it's not even in the dumped trash. So my 'pet peeve' today is why do people use Craigslist, if they really have no intention of selling their goods because this guy has had three emails since the 2nd and hasn't answered any of them? Happens a lot!! Grrrr.

Painting for Today and Super Bowl

Finished this one today. Started it before going to Denver. I like the fact that it had time to dry because it was so full of paint the day before I left. Sometimes, it's nice to let it dry a little, then it's a more workable surface. Done from my own photo.

"Geranium" - oil on canvas, 6" x 6"
SOLD
Listening to the game, but running into the living room when the commercials come on. So far, I have liked the Sobe Life Water with the lizards, the Budweiser Clydesdale trained by the Dalmatian, the Fed Ex giant pigeons and the Justin Timberlake Pepsi one. So, not too thrilling yet. But LOVED Tom Petty! Saw him at Fiddler's Green, long time ago. What a show! So, ready for some more fun commercials, half time is over!
Addition: Game's over...way to goooooo Giants! Woohoo!

Where I Stood...

Sorry, it's been so long, but we have been without internet (due to where we stayed) for 5 days. That is good and bad...

This week was spent in the big D. This is where I stood (off and on) all week, in and out the door of our RV. Here is a photo of "the rig". We were hoping to find a used VW van to bring back with the trailer, but no 'banana' this time.

The RV bucked the wind all the way there on Monday. Whew, thought we were gonna blow away! Sad thing is, several birds lost their lives as they left the road as we approached, only to be blown back into us, whack!

My stepson got married. We were here for the ceremony.


Spent some time just enjoying the beauty of the Rockies to the west of our campsite in Chatfield State Park.

On Tuesday morning we saw coyotes (too quick to get a good photo) that live in the park one morning only about 50 yards away, and scad-zoodles of Canadian geese. Dogs really like to take walks and scoop up the goose doo doo, quicker than you can pull their little heads back from doing it. Yuck!!!! It was cold and snowed on Wednesday night.
Here is a photo of the morning sun, reaching through the pine tree outside our door.
This area is a great place to go ice fishing, if you are so inclined.

Dogs stayed at a very nice kennel/veterinarian for a few days in Littleton. It was the first time that the weimaraner has ever been returned to us without bloodshot eyes from stress. Here it is 3 days later and they are still recovering by sleeping all the time. I liken it to the same as we felt when we went to slumber parties. Remember the next day, how you went home and just slept???

Got some much needed shopping done of items (especially art supplies!) you can't find in these parts. Had dinner with old friends, which was entirely great, as well, at a Italian restaurant called 'Vita Bella'. Yummy! We haven't laughed that hard about old(as well as new) stories in quite some time! Thanks guys!

Due to the fact that I usually get carsick, I have a hard time reading or doing anything in the car when traveling, but since the road is straight and long and I can keep an eye on the road from the front seat, I tried some easy crocheting on the way home and was able to knock out some 'dishcloths'. So act surprised if you get one for Valentines Day, family and friends! (Notice my "helper" in the background. He is ready for some more sleep!)

"Where I Stand Sunday" is posted weekly. It helps chronicle the "journey". Too often we take for granted where we stand and what we are involved in. Used as a "vehicle" for journaling and a glance at "human geography", I; along with several others; note this day, in this way. I invite you to check "them" out, to compare and contrast the human events of Sunday in different parts of the country. If you would like to join in, please leave a comment below with your blog address and we will note it in our sidebar! Thanks for looking!