spending time with family

photo from ancestry.com

(not my family, but love the picture!)

I am going to visit my sister, and her fiance this weekend in Denver.  My parents, brother and nephew will be there also.  I am looking forward to spending some time with my family. I only get to see them a couple of time a year if I am lucky.
I have a very close-knit family who loves to laugh and joke around.  It will be great to all be in the same place at the same time, to recall fun memories and share dreams of our futures.

I am very blessed to have such a lovely family.  There is a saying you can pick your friends, but can't pick your family, well, I would pick MY family.  Can't wait to see everyone!

Happy Father's Day!

This is my handsome dad as a young man.   This is the man that all other's have to live up to.  My dad is very intelligent, sweet, warm, caring, never says a harm word about anyone.
He has always been my hero, a strong man that protected me from monsters under my bed as a child, protecting me when my heart got broken by a lost pet, best friend,or  relationships.  He has a way of soothing me and making me laugh.  That everything will be ok and life will go on.
When I was a small child, my dad worked at General Electric as an engineer, went to school to get his P.E. and worked other small jobs.  He would come home tired after we were suppose to be in the bed.  As soon as we heard him come thru the front door, we would run and jump on his feet and we would "ride" us on his feet.  I look back now and imagine how tired he must have been, but he always made time for us.   He still does.
I can recall  great vacations, camping across the United States in a squire station wagon pulling a pop up Nimrod camper.   We hardly ever took the interstates, we usually took the back roads so he could show us farms and ranches.  We would stop at county fairs and festivals.  I learned how maple syrup was made in Vermont,  how cheese was made in Minnesota, looked over the grand canyon and walked on the Oregon Trail, went fishing on ocean beaches and trout fishing in clear, cold creeks. But the most fun I remember having was just walking in the woods, learning about moss, trees and flowers.  I tried to soak up all the knowledge that he was teaching me.  I know the life cycle of a butterfly, the secrets of beekeeping and how to grow a great tomato!
My dad gave me the love of drafting and illustration.  He taught me how to pay attention to details, to measure twice and always, always do my best.  He has taught me how to wire my studio, change my oil, fix a leaking faucet, how to use just about any power tool and build anything I set my mind to.
My dad is a good dad, a decent, hard working, red blooded American dad who fought for his country in Korea, provides for his family and loves unconditionally.
He is and always will be my hero, someone who has set the standards high, someone who I very blessed to have as my dad.
I love you Dad!  Happy Father's Day!

wish pockets and lessons learned

Here are a few of my newest projects.  Wish pockets and a life mixed media on tin.

I really enjoy making these.  I never know what they will look like until I am done. 

When we are in a stage of learning in our lives, which we almost always
are...sometimes the very best thing we can do is to let ourselves UNLEARN
old things...old patterns, old beliefs, old myths about ourselves or how
life "should" be.

It's totally ok to delete things out of our brain that we've held onto for
a long time; it's ok to change and to adopt new beliefs and new habits and
new ways of being who we really are. When we try to just cover up old worn
out things that we once learned in one way or another, they are always still
there, nagging at us. Let yourself unlearn things that pull you further from
where you are meant to be.It is ok.   (m. ross)

Courage

"COURAGE is reclaiming your life after devastating events rob you of your confidence and self-esteem.  It is facing tomorrow with a firm resolve to reach deep within yourself to find another strength, another talent...

It is taking yourself to another level of your own existence where you are once again whole, complete and confident"   Catherin Britton

My sister

Even though she is my baby sister, I have always looked up to her.  She has a spirit that cannot be tamed, a smile that can light up the darkest room and beauty beyond compare.   Kim is a talented professional photographer that finds beauty in the ordinary. (www.kimcook.com).  She has traveled around the world bringing smiles and laughter to souls that have seen war, genocide and poverty.  She has a way of coaxing smiles and laughter from even the hardest heart.   She has touched so many people in the world with her electric personality.


She makes me laugh everyday, she says some of the funniest things.  We laugh at the most stupid things.  Sometimes I think we have our own language!

My sister is getting married!!  I am so happy and excited for her! 

She has looked a long time for her prince charming and she has fallen in love with the most remarkable man, Dan,who loves her unconditionally.  He has a gentle soul, kind eyes and a great laugh, not to mention very handsome! They both share a love for art, nature and making the world a better place to live. 

Kim and Dan are having a great time planning her vintage, outdoor wedding.  It will be original and fabulous!  Knowing them, it will be perfect.  

I am glad that Kim found a man that shares her values, dreams and aspirations.  A  man our whole family loves and embraces.


They will have a beautiful life together.

summer is here!

Tomorrow, June 5th, it is suppose to be 103 degrees here in Texas!  I wasn't quite ready for it to be this hot so fast.  What happened to the nice spring weather???


Days like this is when I really miss the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, my hometown.  I love Texas with it's wide open spaces, beautiful wildflowers and friendly people, but I do not love the hot weather!  I have been in Texas for almost 30 years, and I am still not used to it.  I will have to start planning my trip to the cool mountains very soon.


So, I will take a hint from my cows, take a dip in the stocktank and kick back on a haybale when the weather reaches over 100!