Porch Time

2009-05-11T23:06:00.001-05:00

I read a quote in the latest issue of New Mexico magazine that said something like "what I like best about New Mexico is that the pictures are all there - all you have to do is show up with a camera." I'm discovering that to be very true.

My favorite room in my house is the dining room because there's a huge picture window that looks out onto a horse pasture (above). It's sometimes action packed as there are about 15 horses out there and someone has to be the boss; ever-changing as the seasons bring on different portrayals of the same view and ever beautiful because - well, there's really no way a pasture of horses can NOT be easy on the eyes. Consequently, we have some great photos of these guys in all sorts of weather - sunshine, fresh grass, fresh snow and mist. It's like having a huge painting that changes with the seasons. Very nice.

Today was a long busy day. Mike is working non-stop to finish his latest assignments from Leanin' Tree - and they're turning out so nice! He's got two more paintings to start when these are done - then he'll have to devote some serious time to finishing the fence in the yard and getting a storage unit built for the shop tools that are now filling his studio area.

Thanks to Obama's stimulus money, I've had to cancel our looong planned vacation to Washington state in order to write the capital improvement grant for our health clinic. This is a tremendous opportunity for our facility to get some very much needed equipment but the grant is due on June 2nd. So, our vacation will have to wait a few weeks!

It's all good though - they say keeping the mind busy keeps it healthy and we know physical activity keeps the body healthy. Between writing these grants and putting up a pretty huge fence project, we should be in fighting style by the first of June!

The Semi-Deceased Artists circa 1982

2008-01-28T23:48:00.002-06:00

We've established a rather aggressive deadline for getting our book outline done which means we've had to spend every spare minute going through old photos, notes, quotes, articles, etc. I came across this old photo from 1982 and a flood of memories came rushing back to me.

That's Mike loading some artwork into the 1962 Hearse we drove from Sandpoint, Idaho, to Houston, Texas for an art show. The young girl behind him is our daughter, Christi, who is now 34. Across the back of the rig was a huge sign, made by fellow artist, Boots Reynolds, that read SEMI-DECEASED ARTISTS.

At the time, Boots, another artist, Bonnie Shields, and Mike, all lived in the hills of northern Idaho. They were all full time, starving artists and often did art shows together.

This photo was taken in front of the offices for Western Horseman magazine in Colorado Springs, one of several stops we made on the way down to Texas. The show we were going to was arranged by a Texas oil man and coincided with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

That was a wacky year, a wacky trip and a way rickety old car. We made it to Houston okay and got the show all set up. Then, three days later, when we arrived to take down the show, we discovered two large paintings had been stolen (we later learned the guy who put the show on took them).

On the way home, the old hearse broke down in Parks, Arizona, where a very friendly though insanely stoned shade-tree-type mechanic methodically disassembled the car and ordered parts that took two weeks to arrive.

Meanwhile, we stayed overnight in the goat barn he claimed he was converting into living quarters. Mike and I and our two young daughters slept on the floor of the front room while Mr. Marywanna Mechanic drank beer with two hitchhikers he'd brought home for the evening. Actually, the girls slept but Mike and I were pretty much awake all night.

The next morning, we convinced our host to drive us to Flagstaff where we got a motel room and he checked on parts for the hearse, something they had to order from Heaven apparently. Fortunately, Mike's cousin, Chuck, drove over from Las Vegas and picked us up a couple of days later and we stayed with him until the hearse was ready. (There's more to this story but there's not room here to tell it - so you'll have to wait for the book.)

So goes the life of an artist, I suppose. You get a break for a big show; someone cons you into driving a really old, gas guzzling novelty vehicle clear across the country to get to the show where you make a little money but have two of your best paintings stolen. Then on your way home, the novelty vehicle breaks down and you get to spend the night in a goat barn with a friendly, shade tree, pot smoking mechanic and finally, manage to spend what little profit you managed to get in your pocket on a motel room.

Writing this book is going to be more fun than I originally thought.

A Different Spirit but a Grand Lady

2008-01-26T23:40:00.001-06:00

I spent the day unpacking my aunt's things and arranging her furniture in her new room at Crestview Nursing Home in Waco. It's hard to believe that just two years ago, she was getting around every bit as good as I do and probably had more energy.

That's her - in the photo - with her beloved Santa Gertruda herd in the background. Aunt Mary is one of the most remarkable people I've ever known. She spent most of her life teaching school and her students truly loved her, many of them keeping in touch with her decades after she entered their lives. All the while, she also ran a successful cow/calf operation on her ranch near Crawford, Texas.

Two years ago, shortly after this photo was taken, she suffered a minor stroke. In the last 20 months, she's had repeated strokes that have left her weak and frail, crippled and bent in body - but her spirit soars with the eagles. She has absolutely no bitterness about her declining physical abilities and seems to have no fear about what the future might hold in that regard. She has mastered every walker she's had to graduate to and is getting the hang of the scooter chair pretty fast.

Aunt Mary's room at the nursing home is complete with her big screen LCD flat screen TV, her complete computer set up with high speed internet connection, a fax machine and shredder. She had me decorate the room just like her assisted living apartment had been before she had to move because she was quickly becoming non-ambulatory. Dave Ramsey would love Aunt Mary. She writes down every penny she spends every single day. She pays cash for everything and has for many years. She's had the same financial manager all her adult life and she pays attention to what he does with her investments.

She's everything I ever hope to be one day - financially responsible, fiercly independent, outrageously optimistic and spiritually brave about what the future holds for me. Do I think I'll ever be there? Not really. I'm far too emotional, take too many risks and live a little more on the edge than Aunt Mary ever has.

I don't think I'll ever change that much because my spirit is different than hers. But I have to admit that I have unbelievable admiration for her. So, at least for today, Aunt Mary is my hero.

My own style of Leap Year

2008-01-06T20:58:00.001-06:00

Every year, Mike and I seriously collaborate on a new calendar design to take to the Cowboy Christmas show in Las Vegas. It's our biggest show of the year and we try to take several new products or at least, updated products for it.

The calendar has become fairly popular. In fact, we get a lot of repeat orders every year so we work hard to create something truly usable and special.

Well, this year we outdid ourselves. The calendar was designed after an old 1944 Meeteetse Mercantile calendar from Meeteetse, Wyoming. We've had the old calendar for years and have always loved the richness of it's yellowed pages and the large old fashioned lettering. So we used it as a guide for making our new "old looking" 2008 calendar PLUS we added some favorite recipes and put all kinds of funny stories and photos in it. It took over 70 hour to layout and design but it was well worth it. The calendar was a big hit in Vegas and we sold out before the show ended. In fact, we're about to place a small reorder because we still have orders to fill.

Then yesterday, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was Doc Rhoads, Mike's good friend from Afton, Wyoming. Now, Doc is a dentist, chuckwagon cook and champion BBQ'er so naturally, I asked him for a recipe to go in the calendar and he graciously obliged (he's Mister June). He asked me if I had a calendar handy - and I did. Then he asked me to check out January 27th.

My calendar has no January 27th. I leaped all the way from the 26th to the 28th . . . seamlessly. And, I managed to have February start on exactly the right day so basically, what we have is a totally free, non-assigned Thursday at the end of January. It's not on my calendar so you could say, I'm pretty open for anything that day.

I wish I could say I was horrified - or mortified - at my mistake. But, I wasn't. I've learned to embrace and even adore the quirky imperfections old comfortable things in my life - so what better way to start this year than with an slightly incorrect but still usable recipe calendar.

And one more thing . . . apparently Tillie Jane's Fish Chowder recipe in May is missing a key ingredient - FISH! I reckon Tillie Jane figured most folks would just know to add fish to fish chowder. You would, wouldn't you?

Just a little bit of Grace

2007-11-05T21:32:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure I'll ever understand why he loved her so much - but he did. Even as a child, I saw the way he looked at her and knew he was hopelessly smitten by this tiny lady who fussed at him but never over him. In fact, it never crossed my mind that she loved him at all but I'm sure she must have, in her own way.

I don't know when he realized something wasn't altogether right about her but I've heard stories that make me think her bizarre behavior began when her daughters were very young. Perhaps it was an extended, unchecked case of postpartum depression following the birth of four babies in eight years. I don't suppose we'll ever know what triggered the breakdown but we do know she had one.

He took her to doctors, got her treatment - including shock treatment at one facility (something he always regretted) - and brought her home where she would have periods of normalcy sprinkled with episodes of wacky behavior that become more frequent and eventually more wacky as the years passed.

Her girls grew up and left home, each taking their own emotional baggage to deal with in the coming years, as we all do. Then it was just the two of them again, Graham and Grace. He, a dawn til dusk, no nonsense, hard working farmer who worked his land and his brother's land, a cross he almost let break him. She stayed home, a confused and anxious housewife whose mind was slowly being seized by schizophrenia.

Her signature stunt was her "trip to Fort Worth." Every so often, he would come home from the cotton fields to find a note on the fridge that said simply, "Gone to Fort Worth to visit Lucille", her sister. But she wasn't gone at all. She was upstairs in the attic room. And the only access to that room was via the very narrow pull down staircase in the hallway. It was so narrow in fact that he couldn't maneuver his 6'2" 275 lb. frame up them.

He was rarely surprised to find the note because on his way home, he had passed her car parked several blocks away, usually in front of the same abandoned house he passed everyday on his way home. They'd lived in this small Texas town for over forty years so even if she chose a different house to "hide" her car in front of, it would take no more than five minutes to discover it. She would stay upstairs for days at a time, watching soaps during the day, sewing on the portable machine in the closet and cooking her food on a hot plate. She used a bucket for a toilet and according to him, would sneak down to clean it during the day when he was gone.

She was odd. She loved dolls. I had a few but she kept most of them put away so I wouldn't ruin them. She spent hours happily humming while she sewed the tiniest little dresses for my Barbie doll, dresses with perfect collars complete with intricate tatting - yet she never hugged me once that I can remember. In fact, she didn't like me much and I always knew it. He knew it too and protected me when he could. She pulled my hair a few times and made me wear clothes that embarrassed me at school. She hid my ironing in the freezer and told Daddy Graham I did it - but he knew better so I really didn't get in trouble for it.

She put padlocks on the cabinets so Daddy Graham couldn't get food from the cupboards because she claimed he was too fat - but spent hours baking individual coffee cakes and crocheting lap blankets for every single resident of the local nursing home.

The disease ravaged her mind over the years and eventually they had to take her car keys away. She forgot about Fort Worth and became much more concerned with the fireflies who were dying and having funerals in her sweet pea bed. They were dragging their little coffins over her sweet pea vines and that made her very angry. She would stand at the back window and peak out at the garden, watching closely hoping to catch them in the act.

We all told him it was time to find a place where she would be safer but he wasn't ready. He was retired and convinced he could stay home and care for her himself. Then one Thanksgiving, we were all home and out she came to serve Thanksgiving dinner - in the short, pink baby doll pajamas she'd made for herself some time before. In her 80's now, the outfit looked hysterical on her, pantie style bloomer bottoms and a loose fitting top that was almost too big. Her ever present hairnet sat like a rat's nest on top of her head with the knot threatening to fall onto her forehead Ruth Buzzi style. It was funny, memorable and sad.

Within a few years, my grandmother was moved to a nursing home and eventually, he joined her there. She still talked to fireflies and forgot who most of us were - but she always knew who he was. To the end he was her protector. It broke his heart to see her deteriorate but he stayed right there with her.

They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the nursing home. When my cousin stood back to snap a picture of them, my grandfather reached across their wheelchairs and tenderly laid his large hand over hers, now drawn up and useless.

H was clearly still just as smitten as he'd ever been.

The Blank Blog

2007-10-30T22:17:00.001-05:00

It seems that topics to write about occur to me all day long - good, thought provoking topics that make me want to sit down and expound on them right then. But, I have other work to do so the writing gets pushed off til later.

Well, it's later and here I sit - blank as a white wall - again. I could say I'm just tired. I mean, it was a long, busy day. I spent about 4 hours tweaking the final brochure layout for a Phoenix client and finally got it submitted to a new online printer I've found. Their prices are better than my old printer and the product is just as good. The proofing process was a little frustrating but I'm hoping it goes smoother next time. Then I went over a huge mailing list checking it for errors until I was nearly cross-eyed, answered emails and phone calls about Mike's stuff and spent about 30 minutes chatting with a sales rep from OnLetterhead.com about their services.

So maybe I'm not all that tired. Its just that my head is too full of the nitty gritty graphic-admin-secretary-shipping department stuff to write anything remotely interesting. Or maybe its that article I read tonight in MORE magazine by Molly O'Neill. I'm feeling intimidated because the article was awesome. Molly's a food writer and though I've never read anything by her before, this article was touching, funny and eloquent. I may read it again. I mean . . . really! I should have plenty of topics to choose from. We had our Open Studio/Housewarming party on Saturday and it went very well.

Several area artists rsvp'ed that they were attending but none of them actually showed up. Too bad. We were looking forward to meeting some kindred spirits. Our friends from Austin, one from Burnet and several other local friends and neighbors did show up and we had a grand time. What a diverse group they all are! I've not seen that much food in my kitchen in years

Now that the party is over, Mike and I are kicking into overdrive. We have one month exactly until we leave for the Cowboy Christmas Show in Vegas. We have a recipe calendar to finish, several new images to print, posters to frame and inventory to order. Plus we both have other obligations to other entities that must be done in the next couple of weeks.

So, why can't I write about that? The incredible pressure to get it all done - while looking as if it's perfectly natural to keep so many balls in the air. *yawn** I suppose everyone has down days - artists have days when they can't create, writers have days when they can't write. I wonder if plumbers have days when they can't face another toilet. **yawn** I better quit while I'm ahead.

Me? Stressed? Oh Heavens no, I'm just fine.

2007-10-23T23:37:00.001-05:00

Really, I'm going to be just fine . . . maybe.

We're having our annual fall Open Studio show this Saturday afternoon and that evening we're having a house warming party and southern style BBQ.

I love entertaining and in my book, the more the merrier. And that's where it gets tricky. I do dearly love the entertaining part - eating, drinking and visiting with new friends and comfortable old ones. But all the tasks involved in preparing - which for me is always up to the last minute - now that part just flat stinks.

The menu planning isn't too bad and Mike will cook most of the meat, which really helps. And he may even do the grocery shopping if he has wet paint on his canvases and can't work on them.

In the meantime, I have toilets to scrub, baseboards to clean, windows to wash and the porch to sweep. I'll need to give the dogs a bath, give myself a manicure and a pedicure because there's no way in hell I'm going to make it to a salon between now and then. The palm plant on the front porch has to be re-potted because the wind keeps blowing it into one of the areas where guests will be sitting. I still need to get all the new products and new paintings out to display and put together party favor grab bags. All the while, I have a list of assignments from my favorite client - tasks that will take several hours a day to complete. Nah, I'm not really stressed - just a teeny bit anxious maybe.

In all honesty, I've decided that worrying about trying to make everything look perfect is just plain silly. I have great friends who are bringing great side dishes and one friend who is sending yeast rolls even though she can't be here. Now, that's a real friend!

Ya know . . . our friends and family will enjoy the food and company regardless of how clean the baseboards are and they certainly can prop up the palm if it blows in their lap. Its supposed to be a beatiful, cool fall day and we'll probably spend most of our time outside anyway. Oh yeah, I think its going to be just fine.

Life as we know it...

2007-10-12T21:56:00.001-05:00

It's been a hectic week around here. I can't remember when Mike has done so many paintings - one right after the other! A couple were paintings Leanin' Tree asked for but all the rest were just inspirations he had and they're all terrific!

While he was on a roll, I asked him to make me a tiny painting of our new house that I could use on the Open House invitations. It turned out better than I hoped for.

I've spent the better part of three days working on note card designs for Healing Reigns and finishing a story assignment for Living Cowboy Ethics, a new magazine being published by the Paragon Foundation. The story deadline was today so I've been getting by on very little sleep. Writing in the middle of the night is always better than trying to do it during the day. There are too many distractions - like the carpet layers who turned absolutely everything upside down yesterday! I worked at the laptop in Mike's studio but it just wasn't the same.

The weekend will be dedicated to finishing our taxes - argh! It's a chore I loathe so much it makes my stomach ache. Once they're done and mailed, I'll be a much happier person!

This has been one of those ordinary, back to the grindstone working weeks. It's been grueling but productive but I'm definitely ready for a Saturday break!

Ranching, writing and painting the town

2007-09-26T22:14:00.001-05:00

I'll be traveling to New Mexico next week to take photos and interview the Steele family on their working cattle ranch just outside Fort Sumner. It's fall work time at the ranch and everyone pitches in to help with moving and shipping the cattle.

The ranch has been run by the same family for several generations and they're doing a great job of it. The interview is for a story I'm working on for the winter issue of Range Magazine, (http://www.rangemagazine.com/ -You can visit their site to see what they're all about.)

There aren't that many big, functioning family ranches left these days so getting to be a fly on the fence post during this fast paced annual event will be priceless for me.

Speaking of writing assignments, I got a call from the associate publisher of one of the major western magazines last week. He's recently taken on the editorship of a new publication for the Paragon Foundation, also out of New Mexico, and asked me to take on one of their regular features. How cool is that?

Mike finished a long overdue painting this week for our framer friend in Snyder. It's a painting of Danny's favorite cow, the Queen Bee. She's half Brahma and half something else - I can't remember what - and Danny has wanted a painting of her for years. It turned out really nice - for a painting of a cow standing next to a pond in a west Texas pasture.

The next painting Mike has going is one he's doing because he wants to. He has a couple to do for Leanin' Tree but he's still waiting for the go ahead on the sketches. In the meantime he's working on a darling painting of Bea Dunbar, an longtime family friend. Bea is in her 80's and has the most infectious laugh in the world. She lives in Clinton, Mississippi and is still as fiesty and funny as ever. She spent a week with us a couple of years ago and we took a slew of photos of her having a glass of wine on the porch. I think she's going to like the painting a lot.

Seems like suddenly we both have a ton on our plates! But then it's that time of year again. I'm working on a new calendar for Healing Reigns (http://www.healingreigns.com/) and will start on our calendar in the next day or so. We have an Open Studio and a house warming party planned for October 20th that we're really looking forward to but the invitations have to get out this week.

Mike is doing a special historical painting of downtown Bastrop to be printed into holiday cards to benefit the local Crisis Center and I've volunteered to help with their annual gala, the Festival of Trees. That event is in mid November, just about the time we have to wrap up all the doings for the Vegas show before it opens on December 6th. There's inventory to put together, posters to print, and all kinds of last minute details to cover regarding the booth.

Christi and Tina, our daughter and her partner in Austin, are ramping up their services as their business, the Lavaca Street Deli, in downtown. Since they're on a budget, Mike is helping with their remodeling project and I'm doing their holiday marketing collateral (probably at midnight!).

Kevin is thinking about moving back home for a spell while he switches from young-man-with-no-purpose to young-man-with-one. He's 25 and it's time. One thing is for sure. He can never look back and say he didn't have a chance to live wild and free after high school - because he did it and did it well. Now, it's time to get down to reality of life. It's either back to college or stepping up his profession from waiter/bartender to something with a more solid future.

As usual, fall is out of the gate at full speed and we're running to catch up. It can be overwhelming at times but we love it. Our butts may be dragging but we're draggin' them double time.

Please listen carefully, our options have changed...

2007-09-24T22:49:00.001-05:00

What has happened to plain old competency in this world? And how in the world do folks find the time in their workday to straighten out all the gi-normous problems some of these companies stir up? It's a full time job!

This is how my day went. The IRS mistakenly thought we got to keep all the proceeds from our house sale back in 2004 (instead of having to pay off a lien) and sent the Veterans Administration a form saying so. The VA then re-evaluated Mike's medical benefits and informed us we would be billed for co-pays for his medical care from 2005 until now. We already have a co-pay but apparantly they think we should be paying more.

First I called the VA and waited on hold for about 10 minutes; then explained the situation and was told to call the IRS. Okay. I call the IRS and am on hold for another 15 minutes and was told to call the company that generated the 1099B. Okay . . . but I never got a copy of that form so I need the IRS to fax it to me. As luck would have it, our fax line is not working. I go online and file a repair report with Verizon - for the 4th time in two months - same line.

I call the mortgage/insurance company and they tell me I need to have the account number off the 1099B that I don't have. Okay. Another call to another agent at the IRS (you have to give them your life history each time) yields the account number. A second call to the mortgage/insurance company where I'm put on hold for 25 minutes (thank the good Lord for speaker phones) and finally after four calls to four departments, get a person who can find our account. She explains that we benefited from the sale of the property so the 1099B is correct and with that, she's gone. I dig around and pull out the actual documents from the mortgage/insurance company that clearly state that 95% of the funds dispersed were sent to someone else - not us. By this time, its too late to call her back so I get to start this whole thing over in the morning.

The whole process took me over 3 hours. What a pain in the patooty. Most of it would have been so much easier if a person had answered the phone to begin with rather than an automated woman who demands that you listen to all the options because they've changed. Ever notice that everyone's options have recently changed? It takes valuable time to navigate all the options and I have yet to hear my option actually listed. If only a human had answered, I could explained the issue and been transferred to the right department the first time.

I know automation is here to stay and I understand that in many cases it saves money and time. But most of the time, it's just frustrating.

My favorite one is when the internet is down and you call your internet provider to get to tech support. First thing out of the gate is a recording telling you the website to visit to get more immediate help. Call me crazy but if I'm calling tech support for my internet provider, chances are good I don't have INTERNET!

Stepping out of the Boat

2007-09-20T21:47:00.001-05:00

te
That's Peter and Jesus over there to my left. The other Apostles are in the boat, flabbergasted to see Peter step out of the boat and into the turbulent waters of a raging storm to prove a point. I can't even imagine doing such a thing.

A few years ago, a friend took us out on his very large, very fast cigarette boat at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. As the speed of the boat picked up, I sunk down further and further in my seat and pulled my jacket up over my head. I was so scared! Finally, another friend graciously led me to the cabin below thinking I might feel safer. It was a nice gesture but I didn't feel much better down there.

Life is a little like that. The older we get. . . the faster we get older. The faster we get older, the more critical it becomes to step out of the boat and do those things we've always wanted to do; go scuba diving, visit a foreign country, go back to school, start a new career, just spend time with your grandchildren - join the Peace Corps! There are millions of people with all kinds of dreams. If we can just resist the urge to sink down into our seats or pull our jackets up over our heads - we can experience all kinds of new things.

I want to do it all - get my real estate license, write books, articles and columns, design new products for Mike's paintings, open a neat little store front with all our products and a quaint coffee and wine bar nestled in the back where folks can stop by any time of the day. I may not get to do it all but I'm definitely ready to get out of the boat and go for it.

If I just stay focused on God, whatever happens between the boat and Him will be perfectly fine!

Getting Down to Business

2007-09-19T22:17:00.001-05:00

We finally have most of our boxes unpacked and both our work spaces set up.

I have to admit I was a little more than worried about the space Mike was going to convert to his studio. It's a nice big room the previous owners used for a game room. The deal is, for a painting studio, Mike likes tiny, claustrophobic cubicle places to paint in. It's weird.

When we lived in Indiana, he pitched a tent behind the garage and painted in there for about two months while the studio was being built. He absolutely loved it. I couldn't stand to be in it longer than fifteen minutes - it was simply too small and cramped.

His initial idea was to close off a small area toward the back wall of this great big room and make that a painting studio. However, with new assignments from Leanin' Tree and an already strained budget from the kitchen remodel, he decided to wing it in this big room. His solution? He set up his easel in the very back of the room and when he's working, he turns off all the lights except for those right at the easel. Since his back is to the door, he can't see the expanse of room behind him so he feels comfortably confined.

If he went to a shrink, I'll bet they'd tell him this strange need to burrow in to get creative has something to do with trauma while he was in the womb. He likes low slung roof lines on tiny cabins and compact recreational vehicles. I like tall, tall ceilings in big rooms and nice spacious motel rooms. Somehow, we manage to compromise and work it out though.

For now, my office is in one corner of our guest bedroom - at least until next spring when we'll build another room out in the garage or down at the barn. For now, this is just fine. The ceilings are high, there's a wonderful window right next to my desk that looks out on one of the ponds so I have a nice view.

The guest room/office also has an over-sized walk in closet that was perfect for my filing cabinets and sewing machine. It's tiny and darkish with no windows or air circulation. The dark green carpet make it seem smaller than it actually is.

I think secretly Mike covets my walk in closet.

Living in the moment . . . and loving every minute

2007-08-28T21:05:00.001-05:00

The older I get, the more beauty I see in everyday scenes. Last Friday, I left the lush green hills of Bastrop county and headed west to Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Staci had surgery on Tuesday and needed some help with the kids while she recovered so I siezed the chance to be that extra hand. I was due for a break from kitchen remodeling (and I think Mike was ready to tackle some creative construction without my valuable input) so the timing was perfect.

The weather was ideal for traveling and the audio book I was listening to (the Memory Keeper's Daughter) was great. The fields and hills between Lampasas and Brownwood still held their green from the summer rains. The windmill farms on the west side of Abilene, up around Sweetwater, looked like a majestic, kinetic sculpture garden that went on and on until they disappeared into the horizon. They have a sort of mechanical awesome look I like. The fact that they generate energy is a bonus.

The long desolate drive from Clovis to Fort Sumner was even pretty with an arid display of browns, lavenders and pinks that I found particularly pleasing. My friend, Sue, who lives near Austin is from Clovis and says she misses the wide open spaces of her hometown. I couldn't imagine missing the flat, sparse, desolate plains when you live in the gorgeous green hills of Texas - but I have to admit, the area is growing on me.

Saturday afternoon, I watched from the window in Staci's family room as the ranch horses lazily trailed in from the pasture to get food and water - cottontail rabbits scampering from sage brush to sage brush at the invasion. The cloud formations at sunset were too spectacular to photograph. The colors were amazing and moved like a giant kaleidoscope of brilliant yellows and pinks against steel gray, silver lined clouds. It was impossible for this amateur photographer (not to mention complete clutz) to get the right settings on the camera in time to catch the grandeur . . . so I just enjoyed it.

I did manage to capture a shot of the moon ascending over the livestock pens late yesterday afternoon though it still doesn't do the moment justice. All in all, it was a lovely trip. Staci is recovering very well, the twins were a delight to be around and the older kids broke my heart with their rapid maturity.

I'm so glad I took the time to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Choosing the Country

2007-08-24T20:46:00.001-05:00

Fifteen miles from town and almost a mile down a gravel road, you'll find a tree lined, grassy lane that leads to our new front porch in the country. The house is smaller than the one we sold in Burnet, but comfortably so.

There's a large pond in the front yard that spills over into another pond on the side of the house. Calin and Codi Ann have already caught countless sun perch (that they dutifully threw back) in both ponds. A rather large community of turtles inhabit both ponds.

At night, the frogs provide wide range of unusual songs. At times they sound like an auditorium full of cuckoo clocks out of control and other times it sounds like hundreds of tech devices on the blink. We enjoy sitting on the porch with a glass of wine and listening to them while fireflies flit here and there on the warm summer night. It's simply wonderful.

This house and this place are just exactly what we were hoping for. The postmaster in the Red Rock post office knows my name. That's nice. On our first night in the house, we had nothing to cook so I ran into the little Red Rock grocery store to pick up something and found one of Mike's Leanin' Tree posters tacked above one of the doors.

Yes, we must drive 16 miles to do big grocery or hardware shopping but it's okay. We're learning to shop better. We had to tear out the kitchen and are in the middle of putting in a whole new one and yes, it's back breaking work. But when I stand back and look at the transformation, it brings me great joy. Joy to see our vision slowly coming to life and pride in knowing we did it ourselves. There will be more remodeling down the road as time and funds allow but for now, we're thrilled with our new home.

It's amazing what can come about when we let go and let God lead the way.

Another porch . . . another chapter

2007-07-08T19:48:00.001-05:00

When I opened the email from realtor Linda Beber last Monday, I expected to see the standard automated display of new listings in the Bastrop area. This one, however, was different. There was a note from Linda that said, "We need to schedule an appointment to see this one ASAP!" And she was right.

What I saw was a lovely, southern style home with a wraparound porch perfectly situated to view the large pond in the front yard over a glass of sweet tea or dry merlot. There's another pond along one side of the house, just outside the guest room window.

The whole peaceful setting is at the far end of a long, tree lined country lane and sits on 5.5 acres of wooded land. The inside of the home is as charming as the outside plus there's an extra large bonus room in the garage that's been finished out into a rec room. It will make an ideal studio for Mike! The oversized garage is plenty big enough for us to enclose another separate office for me. It is almost scary perfect.

Only once have we looked at a place one time and gone straight to the office to write an offer and that was the ranch in Indiana. This was the second time. And it's a good thing we did. Our offer went in on July 3rd and was accepted late on the 4th. By Friday morning, there were 5 back up offers - all at full price. God is good and we feel incredibly blessed!

We've been so happy in this house. The act of packing it up has been so depressing to me because I haven't found anything that warmed my heart like this one does. Now I have, so packing will be a joy.

Knowing the family that bought our home is equally enchanted with it makes that transition even better. They have four children who will enjoy the pool, the chickens, the playscape and the big clawfoot tub. The house will develop that rich patina that comes from laughing, loving children as they grow up. And we'll move on to another porch and another chapter.

Sometimes I wonder if we really pick houses . . . or if they pick us? I'm inclined to go with the latter.

Wrinkles in my elbows?

2007-06-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

That's Calin, one of our seven grandsons. Calin spent a few days with us last week because he had a week between getting out of school and the start up of camp.

It was a great opportunity for some one on one conversation with this seven year old wonder, who like most kids his age, holds nothing back.

One morning he was passing through the kitchen and came across some hand cream I keep on the counter. "Sugar," he asked, "do you put cream on your face to make the wrinkles go away?" Thinking I must be looking too young to be his grandmother, I said, "yes, I do and I think it's working, don't you?" "Yep, I think it is . . . but I think you need to put some on your elbows cause you're gettin' lots of wrinkles there!"

Later that night, I wondered into the living room to put him to bed and found him watching a murder/detective show. As he reluctantly left to go brush his teeth, he announced, "I've never been murdered in my whole life!" "Well, as a matter of fact, you haven't," I said. "Because if you had, we wouldn't be having this conversation." "No, I'm not kidding," he insisted. "In my whole life, I've never been murdered!" Rather than scare him with the realities of murder, I just agreed, kissed him goodnight and thanked the good Lord I am alive and able to enjoy conversations with a 7 year old.

The realities of renovation - crunching the numbers

2007-06-20T09:31:00.001-05:00

And so . . . we made the trek over to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where our oldest daughter and her family live to take a look at the grand old house she'd sent us photos of. And believe me, she was a grand lady in her day. A big Spanish style home with a red tile roof and a lovely litle courtyard out front (where the chimney was falling away from the house). Years of neglect have taken their toll and while she's still very much redeemable, the purchase price doesn't support the redeeming.

In the beginning, we made up our minds to forge in, rip and snort and bring everything up to date. It's what we do, what we've done for years and what we love. It's easy to get caught up in the fever of breathing new life into a place until you start looking at the numbers. When the cost to make a house merely inhabitable combined with the purchase price equals an amount greater than the overall value of the property - well, you have to draw the line.

We had to draw the line. As most renovators know, older architecture quite often translates into huge expense when it comes to modernizing an older home; like putting in a central heating and air conditioning unit. Because of the partial flat roof, the cost to add CH/A to this place was nearly $15,000. All new wiring and all new plumbing were another $15,000. Then and only then could we start the new floors, paint, new kitchen, etc. You get the point. We'd be in so far over the value of the property that it just wasn't a good financial decision.

We were so bummed. The owners live out of state and purchased the property as an investment - they're not motivated to sell and since they can't see the deteriorating condition of the home, they're not willing to budge a dollar on their asking price. While we could afford it - it wouldn't be smart so we had to decline.

So with our house sold and scheduled to close on July 30th, we're on the hunt again. We've got our eye on a couple of nice places around here and will take a look at them tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning.

We would have loved to have moved closer to Staci and her family but at the same time, we would have been sad to leave the lush beauty of the hill country. We were deflated for about fifteen minutes; we got a glass of elderberry wine, sat on the big old porch and drank in the beauty that surrounds us here. Then, we were over it and ready to move on.

The Renovation of Us - a clear new day

2007-06-03T13:27:00.000-05:00

I picked up a book a few weeks ago called "Gringos in Paradise" by Barry Golson. Golson wrote an enchanting article for AARP about the many boomers who are moving to Mexico where their retirement dollars handily provide for a much richer lifestyle in a laid back, climate friendly area. Golson and his wife fell in love with a little village on the Pacific coast of Mexico while doing the research and ended up moving there in their own journey of reinvention.

The book appealed to me because I'd read Golson's AARP article and was intrigued that so many fellow boomers, now in their fifties, were on a quest for a simpler lifestyle, re-inventing themselves, so to speak. It's a topic Mike and I have discussed repeatedly over the last few months.

We've really struggled with finding a new home; one with ample space and at least some character. We're hopelessly addicted to home renovation so if it needed work and the price was right, all the better! However, in our part of Texas, everything in our price range needed a fair amount of work and the price was never all that great. The payments and reno costs were manageable on our income but only if we kept up our current workload so we could afford it long term.

One morning a few weeks ago, our discussion came down to the bottom line. What, exactly, did we each want in a lifestyle. After a contemplative silence, our unrehearsed and candid answers surprised us both. It was an epiphany, of sorts.

We admitted that we wanted a nice home with room for visiting friends and grandchildren sleepovers and one with ample space for each of us to work. But the prospect of taking on another long term mortgage, not to mention the ever escalating Texas property taxes, was daunting. Stifling and stagnating, actually. The more we talked, the more we realized we needed to make a major change in our home search.

We both longed for more time to stretch ourselves creatively and tackle projects we'd stuffed away, shoved to the back burner for lack of time. For instance, Mike has some awesome outdoor sculpture designs that live in his sketch book for lack of time to do them. He's also been dreaming of painting a few oversized, really large paintings and has great ideas for some innovative home decor lines he'd like to develop.

I have all kinds of articles and book ideas shoved to the back of my brain like a squeezed shut accordion just waiting to be released. So many that it would take me a week of frantic pondering to figure out where to start if I actually had a week to ponder.

Mike has written a wonderful children's book, "Gimli," about a young Canadian goose with a broken wing who is cared for by a multitude of delightful farm animals over the winter. It sits waiting for me to edit and for Mike to illustrate - for several years now.

The reality is, right now we must commit to a certain amount of commissioned work in order to pay the mortgage, the utilities and property taxes, which leaves no time for the heartfelt creative work we long to do. Make no mistake - we're both enormously grateful we have the long standing, active contracts that do pay the bulk of the bills. However, what time is left from those commitments ends up dedicated to other jobs, both large and small, to supplement our income.

Suddenly, it seemed so clear to us; we're actively selling ou r house so moving on is a given. But, we don't have to jump right back into the same situation we're in now -a big mortgage and high maintenance house. We started rethinking our strategy and ended up with a major overhaul. A reinventing of us with new priorities . First, we would look for a place with lower property taxes, lower monthly maintenance (payments, insurance and utilities) and something reasonably near family. Because I was raised in a children's home, having a home, not a mansion or a castle, but a nice home is important to me. A fixer upper is fine as long as it can honestly be fixed up!

So okay . . . I think we found it. Or actually, it found us. It's a lovely old Spanish house (which was secretly what I had been hoping for), complete with a red tile roof, a large courtyard, an extra building for a studio and a detached garage. It's been vacant for a few years so it's in dire need of serious fixin' up but that's okay. It's so affordable, we should have enough left over from the sale of our current house to totally gut and renovate this place with very good quality materials. It's 2200 sq. ft with an additional 918 sq. ft. basement (wine cellar) AND even with our modified, conservative housing budget, we can pay it off entirely in 7 years.

We're headed out Tuesday to take a look see in person - and no, it's not in Mexico, but this photo of it sure makes it look that way. We also have photos of the ceiling falling in, the wood floors buckling and a ton of peeling plaster - but I'll save those for a renovation blog post, should this all work out. It's bad but believe it or not, we've renovated much worse.

We're excited - every bit as excited as we were about the Mullin place. And that feels so good.

A new idea for finding Shangri-la

2007-05-07T17:17:00.001-05:00

The hut in this painting is looking pretty darned good about now.

After two months of house hunting, we sometimes find ourselves fantasizing about selling everything and moving to a remote little hide-away somewhere. A simple, little cabin in the hills or a hut on a private beach is sounding better every day. I mean, why the heck do we need all this stuff anyway?

Honestly, I think house hunting is about to get the best of us. We keep hoping to stumble onto another Mullin house (the one we lost to another bidder) and frankly, that's going to be hard to do.

In the last two weeks we've looked at two houses we like. One in Wimberley, a wonderful, laid back community with an artsy fartsy energy that we both really like. That place is at the top of our price range and will still need some work to make a studio in the garage, update the kitchen and tone down some of the teal paint. It's also on a smaller lot than we have now but the entire backyard is enclosed with a tall privacy fence. We lived in Wimberley for seven months before we bought this place and we really liked it.

The other house is a little less money and has almost the same square footage but it's on a bigger lot than we have now. It's out in an older, well maintained country neighborhood near Marble Falls, just 10 miles from here. The house reeks of smoke and cat litter boxes but is still quite nice. It would take some new paint and carpet and the studio building there would also have to be insulated and air conditioned. It's an older ranch style home, rock and wood, with nice patios and gardens and very tall pine trees on two sides.

Its a hard call. We love the Wimberley area but we also like the country environment.

I'm seriously thinking of just putting everything in storage for the summer and renting a cabin on a lake or in the trees somewhere - no remodeling, no nesting in, just flitting around from one place to another every month until we find our own Shangri-la. We could stay on a lake in Texas in June, maybe something in the mountains of New Mexico in July and Wyoming in August. Then come back here in September. Of course, with gas prices continuing to skyrocket, it would take all our down payment money to do that much traveling but it would sure be fun.

Maybe we'll realign our priorities and decide all we really need is a little cabin with high speed Internet, a few things to make it look homey and the plasma TV.

Freedom.

House hunting is for the birds

2007-05-02T19:39:00.001-05:00

How cool is this? We forgot to bring this hat in off the porch and a passing swallow or wren decided it looked like a good place to start a family. This picture is from a couple of years ago but it still makes me smile.

In a way, it reminds me of our own hunt for a new home. On Monday, we got a contract on this house; a fine young couple with four little ones from Cedar Park. It's contingient on them selling their home so we probably have a good two months before we have to move. It's a good thing too since A) I just had pretty major surgery and can't lift anything over ten pounds for another four weeks and B) we haven't found a new home yet.

We've looked at quite a few, fromWimberley to Bandera to Brownwood and back to Marble Falls. The one in Marble Falls is in the lead at the moment. It's only about 20 years old - which is young compared to what we usually look at - and has been somewhat abused. It's the product of a divorce settlement and once the split took place, it was left to fin for itself. There are broken windows, curling laminate floors, funky stuff on the ceilings, some brutal black and blue paint and zero landscaping. The reason it's in the lead is because there's a wonderful fishing pond in the front field plus it's just around the corner from a good friend of mine. Did I mention that it needs a LOT of work!

We're still lurking around the real estate sites hoping the perfect place leaps off the page at us soon. We've seen several that were just perfect - but either not in our price range or not in the right location. Oh well, something will come along just in the knick of time - or we'll get warmer on the Marble Falls place.

It's raining again today. We've had one wonderful rainy spring and the vegetation (including our yard) is lush and green and beautiful. I can't remember when the wildflowers were this beautiful. The lakes and ponds and streams and creeks are filling up again and it's glorious.

I just love spring.

Aba Ca Dabra Dabra Do!

2007-04-16T06:32:00.000-05:00

Isn't modern medicine a marvel? In less than an hour, I'll leave for the hospital to have a new fangled surgery done that will, in essence, give my insides the equivalent of a face lift.

Seems that no matter how gracefully we approach middle age on the outside, our insides tend to take their own route. And, for women who have borne children . . . well, let's just say that time and gravity pulls stuff down where it needn't be.

But never fear, modern medicine has found a way to open you up, lift everything back where it belongs and tack it up using a new kind of mesh. My doctor assures me that as an active woman, this is the best solution for me. They will simply open me up, pull all my stuff back up where it belongs and tack it to my sacral muscle using this revolutionary, new kind of mesh (that hardly anyone has had a reaction to so far).

I know, it's not a pretty picture, is it? I keep having visions of Mike digging through his tackle box for fishing line and a vinyl patch kit to repair a drooping awning. Of course, Mike uses a lot more gorilla glue for stuff these days so the vision is only fleeting.

Seriously though, wouldn't it be nice if we all had fairy godmother who could just wave her wand over us and everything would leap back into place? And even better would be a virtual PhotoShop fairy godmother who could run her wand around our waists and erase what we didn't want, add a little here, take a bunch away there, fix the bump in our nose and clone in some extra hair on our heads? No scalpels, no stitches - no catheters!

Oh yeah, that would be awesome!

Farewell to a faithful friend...

2007-04-04T16:42:00.001-05:00

Today was a tough day for us. We said goodbye to Fester, our beloved cocker spaniel.

It's true what they say, you know. Dogs really are man's best friend, in the truest sense of the word. In the last 14 years, we've had many friends but I'm certain they all saw every flaw we have. Fester never did. He thought we were just great - all the time, everyday. He liked hanging out with us no matter where we were and was always there to greet us when we came home. I know he adored my cooking because except for spinach and brussel sprouts, he'd eat anything I gave him.

Fester was there to toast every grandchild's birth. He watched patiently while we changed diapers, burped babies and put them back in their cribs. Then he climbed up on the nearest high point so he could see inside the crib to watch the baby sleeping. Later, as they grew up, he ate cocoa puffs with them as they watched Saturday morning cartoons and then went fishing with them in the afternoons. At night, he slept soundly (and I mean soundly like in snoring) at the foot of their beds. They crawled on him, pulled his ears, rode him like a pony and dressed him up in funny clothes and he loved every minute of it.

I can't count the number of times people asked us if he and Murphi could have more puppies because they all wanted a dog with just that kind of temperament. For years, Mike and I traveled with Fester and his cohort, Murphi, all over the country. He loved to travel and saw more of this country than most humans do.

Time marches on, however, and it finally took it's toll on Fester. It was one of the hardest decisions we ever had to make. He was dying and we knew it but we kept hoping we could make him more comfortable and everything would be okay. Down deep, however,we knew that wasn't true. We said we'd never let him suffer and today, he was suffering. It was time.

Having one daughter who is a nurse and another in the veterinary industry was a life saver. They both took him to the vet and Christi held him, wrapped in his blanket while he went peacefully to sleep.

I comfort myself with images of Fester - running and playing with children somewhere in Heaven. And I hope the angels have an endless supply of gooey pastries (Fester's favorite!)that they freely hand out to fat, sassy, happy dogs.

Fester touched our lives with absolute unconditional love and forgiving grace and we're infinitely better people as a result.

Someday, we may get another cocker spaniel but we'll never find another Fester. He was one special little buddy.

A Porch side seat to the Marshall Tucker Band

2007-03-29T08:51:00.001-05:00

It figures. We had been so sure (and so ready to make an offer) on the neat old house in Bandera. It had most of the things we were looking for and what it didn't have, we could add. So away we went yesterday with every intention of sealing the deal.

We're not home inspectors but after all the money we've invested in them, we're pretty danged close. As we walked through the house one last time, Mike ran water in the bathtub - which took a very long time to drain. Not a big deal - that can be fixed. He ran water in the kitchen sink to check that drain and discovered it drains fine - right outside the kitchen window. A new pipe had been routed through the cinder block wall so it runs along the side of the house at about waist level, wraps around the corner of the house and deposits itself on the ground just by the driveway. Weird, especially since there's a septic tank right there. Still, that too could be dealt with.

Next, we ran down the the breaker box. We found it. Not good. Not good at all. In fact, if it is indeed, the main box for the entire house, it would take almost half our remodeling budget to rewire the place, which would pretty much eliminate either the kitchen or the master bath project.

As we stood out in the front yard discussing the issues, we realized we were raising our voices to be heard over the noise traveling up the creek canyon from Highway 16. We could hear motorcycles and 18 wheelers speeding up as they headed out of town. It was pretty loud.

The backside of the house has a beautiful pastoral view of horses grazing near an old barn and just beyond that, the lights of downtown Bandera. We asked the realtor if she thought the noise from the community's many cowboy festivals and parades would echo as much as the traffic did. Her reply was, "I'm not sure but this would be a good weekend to find out. We have a huge bike rally coming to town because the Marshall Tucker band is playing at the new outdoor amphitheatre downtown."

No offense to Marshall Tucker (I was a huge fan back in the day) or to the 11th Street Cowboy Bar. In fact, if we move to Bandera, I'm sure we'll shuffle across the dance floor a few times since they have some of our favorite entertainers booked there. However, when it's time to go home, it's time to go home and if the concert is in your backyard, that could be a problem.

It's all about porches

2007-03-27T17:42:00.001-05:00

The first thing that captured us about the house we live in now was the porch. It's a lovely lazy wraparound porch that spans the full length of the house and is deep enough to hold all kinds of porch seating. Two dirty white ceiling fans with blades gracefully bent from Texas humidity provide the ambiance of a summer breeze when the air is thick and hot and vintage light fixtures cast a sultry romantic glow in the night hours.

It will come as no surprise then that as we search for our next home, finding one with the right porch was imperative. After months of looking and having survived a serious letdown with what we thought was the perfect property, we came across just the right porch.

The porch is in Bandera, and is attached to an old Mediterranean style home with lots of vintage windows, wood floors and a view that looks out over a creek and the town of Bandera. It sorta reminds me of something you would find in the south of France or in San Miguel, Mexico. You might not be able to see it from this photo but it's there.

Moving to Bandera would be a little like going home. I "grew up" not far from there, at Medina Children's Home which is about 16 miles away and I graduated from the Medina High School (I was even Homecoming Queen!). Mike has always loved Bandera and when his Wyoming buddies come to visit, that's the one place they always want to visit. It must be something about the Cowboy feeling the town exudes.

Since moving back to Texas in 1999, we've looked many times for a home in Bandera but have never found anything that suited us . . . until now. The possibility of moving back seems almost natural to me.

I've been to a couple of high school reunions and discovered that several of my old classmates and roommates have also moved back to the area, too. What fun it would be to have the Bakers over for dinner some 40 years after we all lived together at the children's home. I wonder if Della remembers the night we helped hoist a girl we didn't like over the fence so she could run away. She was caught about 14 minutes later and we all got in deep doo.

Or those late nights just before Christmas when we put Della, who was really tiny, in the laundry bin. Then we'd sneak the gifts from our sponsors out from under the tree and slip them to her to carefully open. If there was money inside, we took it out because if we found it on Christmas morning, we had to turn it over to the houseparents. Della was a real pro at re-wrapping.

This particular house is going to need a lot of work. We will rearrange rooms, create a modern kitchen in the center of the house and bring the laundry room inside to where the kitchen is now; turn the small 3rd bedroom into a master bath and build a pergola along the entire backside of the house to take advantage of the view. The front of the property will become a small, personal vineyard and a privacy fence will define the front yard. Yep, it will be tons of work but that's the part that excites us the most.

And everyday, when we've finished with our work, we'll meet on this fabulous porch and plan our tomorrows . . . and maybe share a glass of wine with our neighbors, one of whom, I understand, is a budding author. Or maybe we'll just sit and share stories with the Bakers, our Wyoming friends or whoever else ambles in.

Meet Scribble Boy

2007-03-23T08:51:00.001-05:00

One of Staci's four year old twins, Creed, came home from preschool a little downhearted last night. When Staci asked them how school was, Creed replied, "Not so good." He explained. "My teacher told us to color but we had to color in the lines and I just like to scribble."

Amused, Staci tried convincing the little guy that sometimes it's more important to follow instructions than to do what we want to do. Of course, the four year old couldn't let it lie. "But I just like to scribble and it's my picture!" he demanded. "But, your teacher is trying to teach you, Creed -, so stay in the lines on the picture you're doing for her and then scribble all you want on your own stuff at home."

I had to laugh when Staci told me the story. Scribble boy and I have a lot in common. If I was going to have to stay in the lines, I was going to make new lines. Even subtle new lines would make my picture different enough to satisfy my own creative need. I can't say that approach really worked all that well for me in school because back then, defying authority in school would get your butt whipped, sometimes both at school and again at home. And I lived in a children's home where the lines were embedded in stone and nothing outside of them was ever, ever tolerated.

Once out on my own, I discovered that just as often as not, coloring outside the lines, even drawing new lines served me well. With time, I learned to better calculate the risks, deal with the results and learn from the experiences. It took me half a lifetime to embrace that particular quality about myself and realize it was a very important part of who I am. Only then did I find my true creative core and learn to enjoy it.

I'm sure scribble boy will do fine because he's a strong minded little dude and schools are so much better these days about nurturing the creative child. I reckon as I grow into my golden years and my vision begins to fade, I'll be very happy. I may not be able to see where the lines are anymore so I can just scribble away!

Our perfect plan vs. His perfect plan

2007-03-20T18:29:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a stressful day around here. Our friend and realtor called to say another offer had been presented and accepted on the property we so wanted in Mullin. We knew it was a possibility because our contract had a contingency attached - that we must first sell our existing home before we could close on the new place. That's certainly not an uncommon practice, especially these days. But it does create a problem when another offer comes in that doesn't have a contingency.

It was sad news. In the last few months, we've redesigned that house a hundred times and a hundred ways. Moved the staircase, rebuilt the kitchen, shopped for ceiling fans - all that fun stuff that makes your heart swell with excitement.

We've walked the land in person but mostly in our dreams, planting grape vines, taking grandsons fishing and relaxing on the porch at the end of a busy day. We were so sure it was where we'd spend the next many years.

It broke my heart when Bev called with the news but I had to admit that if I were the seller, I'd have made the same decision. They are going through their own pain and heartache with a family member who is dying from cancer and they desperately need to get this sale done and out of the way. How selfish I felt for thinking my heartache even remotely compared to theirs.

Last night, before I went to sleep, I read this (with a small edit of my own) in a Guideposts Daily Devotion book:

"Father, may I not doubt Your ability to answer my deepest prayers in Your way, in Your time and for Your purposes." (My insertion:"in Your time.") His plan, whatever it is or wherever it takes us - is always perfect.

By the way - the cloud formation in the photo today is one we took in 2003 when we went on a cruise up the Mississippi on the Mississippi Queen. Is that awesome or what?? Proof positive that God is the master artist.

The second round - Chasing a Dream

2007-03-15T09:58:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here' s the deal. Mike wants to grow grapes so he can try his hand at making some "estate" wine and that requires more land than we have here. Plus it needs to have some type of water nearby, like a creek or a pond.

Last year, we started scouting around for a suitable piece of property in the hill country; something within an hour or so from where we are now. After looking at dozens of properties in Wimberley, Bandera and Lampasas areas, we saw an ad for a place in Mullin, near Brownwood. A few phone calls later, we had an appointment to see it plus a couple of others in that area. But, when our realtor (and now good friend), Beverly, pulled up to the gate, we knew this was it - even though we couldn't see the house from the road.

At the end of the winding driveway sat a very large barn style log and brick house that had been painted white. The house was vacant except for scads of house spiders and a swarm of gigantic bee looking things that weren't too thrilled to see us. Blanket Creek runs on the far side of the yard - just within eyeshot of the porch.

The place needed lots and lots of work but we didn't care. We thought it was perfect. Long story short - we made an offer, had a contract - then had an inspection. After much discussion, we decided the place needed too much work so we withdrew our offer and resumed our search. The problem was, nothing we've looked at since could compare to the house on Blanket Creek. We were always going back to our photos of this place and wondering why we walked away.

So, some eight months later, we were elated to find the place still available and this time, we're going for it. The owner has done a few major repairs, based on our inspection, which is good. However, just as we were preparing to make an offer, several other potential buyers found our little piece of paradise so there were other offers on the table. So, we made our offer more attractive by agreeing to take the place "as is" and do the majority of the work ourselves. After several anxious days, we finally got word that our offer was accepted. We know what we're up against - pretty much - and we're as ready as we'll ever be to tackle this thing.

Our kids think we're just bored and don't realize how much work we're getting into and the truth is, they're probably right. But they also know we're not happy without a challenge to keep us inspired and physically busy. This place has a host of challenges that will have us using muscles we haven't heard from in years.

We think it will be grand fun.

Designed to sell - almost!

2007-03-13T08:40:00.000-05:00

Getting your house ready to put on the market is pretty much a full time job, for crying out loud. I need a maid, a gardner, a house painter and oh, a cook would be nice too. Fortunately for us, we only work a few feet away from the house so we're sort of blending our daily work and fixup schedule.

I can' believe we've done this so many times before and often with me working away from home plus managing kids, dogs and sometimes horses, all at the same time. How in Heaven's name did we do that? And this house is in pristine shape compared to most of the other homes we've sold.

We've lived in this wonderful home for over three years, quite happily, I might add. I love it and have taken great pride in the care and outdoor dressing we've given it. In fact, the latest "improvement" is rather unusual.

When the giant elm tree in our side yard was struck by lightening, it started falling toward the driveway, almost exactly where everyone visiting us parks their cars. The tree had a large rock flower bed around the base. When the tree was gone, Mike and his friend/partner in crime, Tracy, decided it would make a nice fountain. Three months, a load of rocks, and many porchtime wine-sipping design sessions later, we had an 18' round limestone fountain that would do any federal building proud. I'm serious. It even has lights in it at night. It's awesome - a teeny bit out of place perhaps - but oh what fine craftsmanship! Now the challenge is to bring in enough landscaping to make it look like it's part of the overall theme. I put seven koi in there that will eventually be as long as one of Kevin's size 13 shoes. The birds are ecstatic. They think they've died and gone to the Washington DC.

We are very excited about our new adventure (more on that later) so we're forging ahead to get this house ready to sell, a task that has evolved into an obsessive compulsion for both of us. There's the little paint touch up here that leads to even more touch up there which means multiple trips to the hardware store for matching paint (an experience I loathe and so do most of the clerks mixing the paint, I've noticed). Scrubbing baseboards, teetering on stepstools to swish the cobwebs off the vaulted ceilings, (bobbing all the time to avoid falling spiders which is a cartoon it itself) and renting what looks like an iron lung to clean the carpets.

AND, cleaning the carpets worked so well in the house, maybe we should drag the machine out to the studio and clean the rugs in our offices. How insane is that? Mike's rugs are in a working studio! He CUTS WOOD in there so there's sawdust in those rugs. Think about it. A mere vacuuming would be just fine but the urge to clean a corner to see just how dirty they are is too great. Damn. The corner looks good. Have to do the whole rug.

Then there's the whole spring thing. The huge trees that gracefully embrace this home are naked right now. So, we're thinking a few annual flowers might dress it up some. Oh, if only we could go to the nursery at Home Depot and just grab a few petunias - not going to happen in this lifetime. By the time we get to the checkout counter, we've got three nice flats of petunias, a few creeping junipers, a couple of shrubs to replace the pine trees we moved and several brightly colored geraniums we were sure we could find a good place for.

I'm thinking around the federal building fountain might be good.

Just in case a potential buyer is lurking in here . . . I've posted a page about our house. You can read more about it here: http://mikescovel.com/FSBOBurnet.html

Laughing horses, peach blossoms and big old dreams!

2007-03-07T20:36:00.000-06:00

Good grief, I’m terrible at keeping this blog current! Let me see . . . what’s been going on around here. . . besides spring trying to pop out everywhere! The peach trees and red buds are days away from being in full bloom. Yippee!

Mike just finished producing twelve illustrations for a wonderful project in Phoenix called "Reflections" for a great company called Healing Reigns. Meloney Nunez is a equine assisted therapist who founded and owns the company and she came up with the idea to create a feelings chart featuring a lovable stable horse she named Dakota. We met with Meloney on our way home from Vegas last December and once we heard her plan, we were in with both feet!

Meloney and her young son, Skyler, have started a non-profit called Chance’s Fund which will be usedto pay for rescuing abandoned and neglected horses and to provide scholarships for troubled teens whose families can’t afford equine therapy. Part of the Reflections poster sales will be go to the fund. It was a project right down our alley so Mike did the illustrations for free and they are absolutely adorable! Check out the new Reflections poster (a feelings chart as seen through the eyes of a horse) at http://www.healingreigns.com/. Go there and buy one. The poster is way cool and you’ll be helping a very good cause!

Along with the twelve illustrations, Mike also finished six new paintings for Leanin’ Tree and we’re working on a new veteran’s memorial sculpture proposal that’s due next month. Never a dull moment around here.

And Happy Birthday to Mike! He turned 58 yesterday though he's always looked younger than he is. It wouldn't matter to me as I still see the same tall, gorgeous cowboy I met over 30 years ago in Houston’s Winchester Club. He and his redheaded friend, Lee Mack, were holding up the jukebox and flirting with all the girls that walked by. They thought they were pretty cool – and they were.

As you may have guessed, we nixed the whole coffee shop/store idea after many long nights with the calculator and the advice of several friends. The idea was good – the location was not and there was simply no getting around that. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t chasing other dreams because we are. They’re big, wonderful fun dreams that we have no business even considering at this stage in our lives but if not now – then when??

And even if they don’t come to fruition, the joy we’ve had planning and dreaming them will have been well worth the journey. Stay tuned . . .

Happy Snow Day!

2007-01-26T07:44:00.000-06:00

Well, winter finally found us. It was a brutal attack of ice and snow that closed roads, schools and businesses for three days. The ice is what really kept us at home. The snow was just a bonus treat for the kids.

There was plenty of warning about the approaching storm so we were prepared. You know, with things like chili meat, popcorn and hot cocoa mix. Oh yeah, and a few extra batteries for the flashlight, just in case. It was a perfect time to flip through gardening magazines, watch some HGTV or read a good book.

We spent one whole day in our sleep shirts, sweat pants and sock feet. With a fine blaze in the fireplace (it’s gas so it was painless), a yummy pot of Chicken Tortilla soup and popcorn backup, we snuggled on the sofa and had our own little movie marathon.

I know what you’re thinking. But you WORK AT HOME! You’re right, but one of the advantages of working for yourself is being able to look outside and marvel at God’s grand handiwork and declare it "Snow Day." Everyone needs at least one Snow Day to stop and do absolutely nothing, even work at home artists and writers.

We toyed with working but took one look at the icy path to our studios and decided nah, why risk our lives crossing the icy driveway - it's definitely a bonified, qualified Snow Day.

It was awesome - almost as nice as Christmas.

Dieting stinks

2007-01-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

So, here it is, the middle of January already and I haven't managed to lose a single pound. What's up with that?

I cut out the daily gi-normous cookie with the milk chocolate coating on the bottom as soon as the holidays were officially over. I've only had one order of french fries and it was a small order. No more buttered rolls or pumpkin pie. hmmmm.... Maybe it's the chips and salsa I still indulge in every now and then or maybe that extra glass of wine with dinner.

Of course, it could be the exercise program I'm not on that's the culprit. Or the gym membership I paid for three weeks ago and have yet to use. It's time to get serious though because next month, we're expecting several visits from out of state friends - and they're all disgustingly thin.

I reckon it's time to hunker down and get serious about getting in shape. Does anyone know if they make a patch for chips and salsa addiction? It would make losing weight a whole lot easier for me!

Ah, another chapter begins. . .

2007-01-05T21:09:00.000-06:00

Good grief, what has it been . . . almost two months since I updated this blog?? Okay, for one of my 2007 resolutions, I vow to try to update our blog at least twice a week. And I thought I could write a regular column! hmmmm....

Spending nearly three weeks in Vegas for the Cowboy Christmas show took a huge chunk out of our lives. Then we got home and hit the ground running getting ready for Christmas with all the kids coming in. We had a steady stream of people from the 23rd to the 31st and while it was absolutely fabulous, I have to say getting back into the mainstream has been something of a relief!

The Vegas show was really great this year - better than ever, in fact. It's success is largely because of a rather tasteless painting Mike did of a drunk cowboy standing at the urinal and missing it completely. We sold more of that one poster than all the others combined by about 5 times! I have to admit - it's pretty funny. PLUS, that painting took the People's Choice Award and the CCI Peer Award so there you go. As humans, we can find humor in self humiliation.

Mike has new wine making, new paintings on the easel and some surprising new sculpture projects going. I'm working with two new marketing clients and will be introducing a new website this month along with a fresh look for Mike's site -so stay posted. 2007 is going to be one heck of a year!

Okay, so I missed some days . . .

2006-11-10T21:47:00.000-06:00

Hmmmm....maybe a month. Geez, where does the time go? Seriously, we’ve had some major stuff going on and consequently, a few things fell through the cracks!

Our dining room looks like a warehouse with Y-ME Ranch Hand figurines, t-shirts and mugs covering the table, sitting in the chairs and stacked on the floor. Tucked nicely in there somewhere is a box of brochures and price sheets for a marketing client who wants a sales letter generated, printed, stuffed, addressed and mailed sometime in the next 3 weeks!

My office is a shambles with Y-ME Christmas catalog pages marked with corrections strewn hither and yon, waiting for the final touches before going off to the printer. Framed prints line the walls while a stack of recently printed posters wait to be matched with foam core backing and slipped slickly into plastic sleeves before going into the print bin. We do this every year when we get ready for the annual Cowboy Christmas show (held during the National Finals Rodeo) in Las Vegas.

It’s the only show we do but we think about it all year long. We leave shortly after Thanksgiving and don’t get home until mid December – long show – but well worth it.

This year, we’ve added even more excitement to our chaos because we've decided to open a storefront shop. As soon as we return from Vegas, we’ll begin work on a downtown shop that will carry all Mike's art, licensed products and design pieces, a few antiques and collectibles and most importantly will feature a gourmet coffee bar. Unless something miraculous happens before the first of January, we will be the only coffee bar in town.

Yep, that’s right. In this town of, oh maybe 7,000 people, there is no place to buy a latte or cappuccino – except a couple of convenience stores that sell automatic machine produced cups of scorched mocha. So we’re pretty excited about that new adventure. I go back and forth between being excited as hell and worried as hell. It’s a big investment financially. But, we’ve always taken risks and in the end, always felt the risks were worth it.

I've spent hours “running the numbers” and trying to formulate a reasonable business plan based purely on speculation and Mike just keeps telling me we need to do it. Through all the chaos, Mike keeps his sense of humor in tact; tipping his hat and grinning all the way. He is the sunshine that keeps my world turning around!

Day Five - Brown County, Indiana, my heart's desire

2006-10-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

We met the folks at ProLogic around 9:30 a.m. at their office in Uniontown, PA. It's funny to think that it took Mike 4 months to sculpt this piece, four days to drive it to Uniontown and all of 45 minutes to install it. But that's the way it is.

Everyone was thrilled with the way it looks in their lobby. The patina is a perfect contrast to the light colored wall and the size of the piece was just right. They toook photos and I'm waiting to receive copies so I can post some here.

We took off around eleven and headed toward Indiana, hoping to make it there in one day. The weather was beautiful all the way through Pennsylvania, highlighting the fall colors on the rolling hills. I'd never seen that part of the state - every other time we've been there, it's been rainy or foggy or gloomy - so that's been my recollection. It was nice to see it in the sunlight.

We rolled into Nashville, Indiana, around 9 p.m., cleverly outrunning a serious thunderstorm right at the Indiana border. Some of our fondest memories were made in this quaint little community and definitely some of our closest friends are here.

First stop of the night was at George and Jack Slaybuagh's, two of the best human beings God ever put on this earth. Jack is a retired lawman who has enough undercover stories to fill a very fascinating book though he claims a lot of folks would have to die before he could actually write it! It's his wife, Georgianna, who is the real jewel of the family and Jack knows it. Single handedly, Georgianna, recently organized a reunion of the 83rd Airborne unit from WWII. It was a huge event with people flying in from all over the world including diplomats from several countries. She also received letters of honor from several former presidents as well as GW himself. There was a parade, interviews, school visits and a multitude of events honoring these men. It was really something special and the men who were honored made memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

It's been over ten years since we moved from Nashville but even in the dark of night, it felt like we'd never really left. There's just something about that place that makes me feel good about being there.

Day four - Falling Water

2006-10-04T05:18:00.000-05:00

Anyone with the slightest appreciation for classic architecture, fine art, mother nature, genius design or unusual living spaces really should see this house. We're both Frank Lloyd Wright fans, maybe not so much of his home designs - the ceilings are too low and the hallways too dark for my taste - but his quest to quietly, almost stealthily, blend his architecture into nature changed everything about design.

It's amazing how ahead of his time this man was. I've always heard how this house makes you feel as if you're one with the water and figured it for a clever description - but it's actually true. When they were building the place, if they ran into a boulder, they incorporated the rock into the house design. Consequently, one of the fireplaces is built into the rock that lived there for centuries before the house and another room is home to a natural spring fed pool, also native.

Many have tried to write about the house, and done a fine job, but nothing beats standing in it, daydreaming about living in this masterpiece - or maybe to have just been a dinner party guest. I kept forgetting that the house was actually owned by the Kaufman family because to most of the world, the house always belonged to Wright. It was his nemesis.

The countryside surrounding the area is breathtakingly beautiful. No one could walk through the vibrantly colored maple forests, inhale the sweet smell of moist pine needles and listen to the roar of the water falls and not thank our loving God for this magnificent creation.

It was an awesome day.

Day three - Elkview, West Virginia

2006-10-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad we routed ourselves through West Virginia. Driving through the heavily treed mountains, I can only imagine how spectacular the colors are going to be in the next couple of weeks. There are hints of electric oranges and soft pinks on the sugar maple trees but they're just the precurser for the impending fall color show.

We're only about 3 and a half hours from Uniontown so we have time to stop today and go through some antique shops and act like tourists. Once we get checked in to our room there, we'll drive over to the actual office where the sculpture is to be installed, so we'll know where we're going in the morning. It's always interesting to show up to install a major piece of art in a place you've only seen in photographs! There are so many factors that have to be considered like wall construction, color and material, etc.

Then there's that awkward moment when we haul power tools into a strange place in front of the office staff and start drilling into the wall. The interesting part is when the two of us unload a 6' tall sculpture that looks like it's solid bronze - but is actually fiberglass based - and start lifting it into place. I can only imagine what the staff says about us after we leave, especially since this commission was initiated from their home office in Manasses - so most of them probably have no idea we're coming. I have to admit that most of the time - I love our life.

After the install, we're hoping to head down to Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters house - something I've always wanted to see. Actually, Mike (who is a closet architect/landscape designer) has always wanted to see it too. Then we'll start heading toward Indianapolis to see Mike's sister, Bobbi, before heading down to Nashville, our old stomping grounds, where we have a bunch of friends to see.

Hopefully, this perfect weather will hold out for that leg of the trip.

Day two - Benton, Kentucky

2006-10-02T06:02:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful drive! We crossed the Tennessee border into Kentucky about 4 yesterday afternoon and the beauty of the land got even more majestic. We drove as far as Benton - a sleepy little town just inside the state lines.

The weather has been perfect, the Holiday Inn Express here is very nice - clean and comfortable - and filled right now with fisherman. Today, we travel through an area called "land between the lakes," an island recreation area this looks like it sits literally in the middle of a gigantic lake. We're guessing they must be having a fishing tournament going on soon or something since the parking lot here looks more like a marina than a motel.

We finished our James Lee Burke book yesterday morning and started a new one by James Patterson, "Lifeguard" which is terrific. It sure makes traveling this far more enjoyable to have a good suspense thriller to listen to along the way.

It's nice not having to rush on this trip . . .

On the road again . . .

2006-09-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

Gosh, it's been a while since I posted here. What can I say? It's been busy around the ranch!

Mike finished the sculpture for ProLogic - "Forces of Mercy" and we're on our way to Uniontown, PA, to deliver it. Thankfully, it's only about 6 feet tall so, with the back seat folded down, we were able to put it in the Avalanche - no trailer required! This is an awesome vehicle for artists. Anyway, we finally got everything packed and hit the road about noon.

Because ProLogic decided they wanted this piece in early fall, we had to cancel our summer travel plans so Mike would have the time he needed to finish the piece. To compensate for vacation time forfeited, we decided to take some extra time during this trip to relax and do some sight seeing. I've always wanted to see Nacogdoches, Texas, because it's the oldest town in Texas, so the first leg of our trip was routed through this historic community. What a treat!Downtown has wonderful brick paved streets - rich red bricks. Full grown trees grace the outside of many of the nostalgic looking buildings and the whole downtown is framed with the majestic tall pines East Texas is so known for. It was even more than I expected it to be.

We're listening to a great book - Pegusus Rising by James Lee Burke -this is the third book of his we've listened to - and we wanted to finishthe chapter so we drove on to Marshall. Got a room at the LaQuinta and had a glass of wine and the taco salad dinner we'd brought from home. We have no idea how far we'll make it tomorrow but that's the beauty of this trip - just taking our time to enjoy the scenery along the way.

more tomorrow. . .

A mountain cabin and hairy legged chickens

2006-08-29T19:47:00.000-05:00

We've always been mavericks to some degree. If our kids ever told us they were about to do some of the things we did when we were their age, I'd be mortified! We took risks we weren't even smart enough to know were risks and just forged ahead. Whether elated with triumph or miserable in failure, we always felt alive and if we ever got in a rut, we just climbed out and took off.

We moved from state to state, experienced different cultures, met new people, bought, remodeled or restored some very interesting pieces of property. Some worked out great - others not so great. Either way, we moved on to the next dream.

One of my personal dreams was to move to a cabin in the mountains, raise hairy legged chickens (feather footed bantams), tend to a small garden and write whatever my heart told me to write. Mike would continue to do the artwork he's so genius at and life would be quiet and good.

Well, times have changed and our dreams have too. I've shoveled all the snow I care to in our thirty years together and having to drive more than 20 miles to get groceries or go to Wal*Mart is out of the question, especially with gas prices where they are. As long as someone is bringing organic veggies to the local farmer's market, neither of us feels compelled to bend over to weed a garden, fight the insects or run up our water bill.

I have the hairy legged chickens and love watching them take off in that hysterical chicken dance, legs splaying out from side to side as their fat little bodies run across the yard trying to catch a bug out of mid-air. And the grandkids love collecting the eggs, at least one of which always ends up on the driveway on its way to the fridge.

We're both dedicated and loyal to our artform because without it, we would shrivel, but we're finding there's so much more we want to do. Our new line of products, featuring the Y-ME Ranch Hands are being released this month and we have two small gift books and two calendars to finish in the next few months. All of which is very exciting - but we're ready to expand the dream.

So, we've been looking for just the right place to open a storefront - an actual physical Y-ME Ranch Company Store. The store would have all the Y-ME products along with some very cool western and cowboy decor PLUS a funky cowboy wine and gourmet coffee bar. It may take us a few months to find the right place and another month or so to get it ready - but that's okay - it will all come together.

Perhaps it's because we're both in our 50's and we want to make this second half of life full of everything meaningful. We're anxious to learn, eager to experiment and willing to listen. We're much more aware of what we love, what we loathe and what we can and can't live without. We ask more questions now, run the numbers and determine how it will impact our quality of life.

But when it comes right down to it, we still get a rush out of standing on the edge of a dream, holding hands and jumping in.

Everything's a buzzzzz....

2006-08-28T21:50:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, I was right about change being on the horizon. We're discussing a couple of different adventures - but we have to do our homework and decide which direction to go.

We've never been very good at just standin' still and even though we have lots of "stuff" going on, it just feels like we need more to keep our blood pumping.

We've got several little "field trips" planned over the next couple of weeks to do the necessary research and when we have a better idea about what this next adventure will be, I'll let you know.

The Cowboy Cartoonists are having a show and sale at Southwest Galleries in Dallas on September 27th through October 1st. The reception is the evening of the 27th and you're all invited. We'll be there as will our favorite funny man, Ted Foulkes (a.k.a. ToJo O'Malley) and friend, Madge Reid, Ace's widow from Kerrville. There will be lots of great art to see and from the sounds of it, some great entertainment so if you're in the area, do plan to come by!

Mike's sculpture for Pro-Logic is coming along nicely. I do believe it's one of the best pieces he's ever done. The detail is amazing! It's taking longer to complete than he expected but it's going to be well worth the wait. We'll leave the 28th of September headed to Pennsylvania to deliver it on October 2nd.

Could it be the rain?

2006-08-23T22:59:00.000-05:00

It finally rained today! Okay, it was only for about 7 and 1/2 minutes but we'll take every ounce we can get! It smelled glorious and the coolness afterwards was delightful. We so need about a week's worth of good rain!

It feels very much like change around here - which is particularly wierd since we were going to move, then we decided to wait a while - so everything that was changing is slowly shifting back to normal again.

I can't exactly put my finger on it but something is in the air. . . something different.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2006-08-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

Isn't it wierd how things work out? The couple who had the offer in on our house ran into a snag with their lender and couldn't get the necessary financing to go through with the purchase so (dangit!) they had to go with their second choice!

I can hardly stand the joy I feel in replacing the kitchen decor and putting my dining room back together. Even Mike is relieved at not having to tackle physically moving from this place. We had two back-up offers waiting but we decided against calling either potential buyer. It just feels like God isn't ready for us to move yet. And boy, am I glad. I got just as excited about "moving" back in today as I did when we first moved in almost three years ago. For now, at least, this is just home to me and I'm damn glad to be here.

Tomorrow, I turn 56. They say you're only as old as you feel and to be honest, I feel about 40. I've managed to take off about 11 lbs. through diligent dieting and exercise but will take a break tomorrow since my grandchildren will be here to help me celebrate another wonderful year of life. We just must have cake! And maybe chicken enchiladas and chips and salsa and maybe even a margarita. Yep, it's a day for celebrating!

I'm havin' a party and everyone is invited to my new old home!

. . . and another chapter begins

2006-08-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

Whew! I can finally say we've found a house and I'm genuinely excited about it. It's about 5 miles outside of Wimberley and sits on a little over 4 acres. The front yard is full of live oaks and the views from the long front porch are awesome! We have a lovely pasture that will make a great home to something - not sure yet what.

The house needs some work but that's what makes it so enticing. When we first started looking around, we hoped to find a place with a big open great room, a nice fireplace, good work space for both of us and of course, a nice porch. This place has all of that.

We've got all our painting, remodeling, kitchen/bath design books together and we're ready to get this place whipped into a showplace. There are some minor repairs that will need to be done immediately but after that, it's mostly all cosmetic and updating stuff. A new kitchen - new floors - removing a few walls and lots of painting. The bathrooms need updating and the big old porch will get a quick fix-up - all projects we just love to do.

So now, the serious packing has started. Mike will focus all his attention on finishing the sculpture for Pro-Logic while I pack our lives up around him. Everything goes into storage for a few weeks while we get the preliminary stuff done at the new place in early September with plans to move in around the second or third week.

Oddly, several family members are moving or thinking about moving. Daughter Staci and her family are moving to Fort Sumner, NM, from Gardner, KS - Christi and her partner, Tina, just moved into their new house a few weeks ago - daughter Hillary is preparing to move back to Northwest Arkansas from Missouri and both my sisters are contemplating a move as their husbands switch careers.

I'm glad these new beginnings are still fun and adventurous to me. It would be plain awful if it wasn't!

Decisions...decisions

2006-08-01T21:10:00.000-05:00

The clock is really counting down now. Our closing on this house is set for August 30th and we still don't have a definite place to go. I'm sure we should be more concerned than we are but for some reason, I'm not, though Mike has his moments. . I just have a feeling the right deal is going to happen and everything will work out fine.

We made an offer on another Wimberley house - the one we both liked despite all the repairs it needs. The owner lives out of state and hasn't responded to our offer yet. Maybe tomorrow.

In the meantime, Mike is applying the clay to the sculpture for Pro-Logic and it's looking really good. I've got one client project to finish this week along with coordinating with licensors to get the t-shirt line going and two other product lines to complete.

Packing for the upcoming move is going painfully slow. It sure is tempting to sell the house with all the stuff in it. We've got some BIG stuff.

Funny thing - as much as we like this house and Wimberley and hope the deal works out, we still think about the Brownwood place and wonder if we made the right choice not to go ahead with it. hmmmmm.....

"I will lead them in paths that they have not known. . ." Isaiah 42:16

2006-07-29T20:33:00.000-05:00

I spent a fitful night tossing and turning, reviewing real estate we'd looked at, bouncing back and forth between fantasies and troubles. Fantasies about staying in this house and not having to orchestrate the monumental task of moving or on the other hand, finding that perfect country place and transforming it, albeit slowly into our dream home and staying there forever. Real estate contracts, inspection reports and mortgage broker details kept the wheels turning long after midnight.

Add to that, the typical worries about children sprinkled here and there and . . . well, sound sleep is not going to happen.

Weeks ago, I told God I was taking my hands off this deal. It was up to him – whether or not our current home sold; where and what we’d find to move onto and how the whole bundle would fall together. I also prayed for strength to resist the urge to take over the process (my tendency) and wisdom to recognize his directives.

Before I went to bed last night, I read from the Guideposts Devotional book, just like I do every night. The scripture was Isaiah 42:16, “I will lead them in paths that they have not known . . .” It felt like reinforcement to me that God was leading and I just need to follow. This morning before we headed out to Wimberley to look at one more house, I opened the book to re-read last night’s passage, to bolster my confidence before we struck out again - except the book fell open to a different passage: “That they may dwell in a place of their own . . . II Samuel 7:10.

Sure enough, the last place we looked at was great. It’s on about 4-1/2 acres, has a beautiful view, plenty of room – all on one level – a separate studio/workshop – beautiful rock fireplace, real wood accents and a long shaded porch.

It also has major electrical problems, a long list of plumbing issues, a metal roof that leaks and to the best of my memory, no real dining area AND it’s priced far too high. But for some reason, we still like it. Of course, if we can’t get the price down far enough to compensate for the repairs, we’ll have to pass and I’m okay with that. I know now that we’re on a journey but we’re not on it alone.

Tonight, I plan to sleep like a baby.

. . . and the deal unravels

2006-07-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Today seems surreal. The inspection on the Wimberley house revealed even more serious issues than the Brownwood house had so that deal went out the window, sending us each to our computer to do more home searches.

The inspectors for this house were here this afternoon, along with the realtor and the buyers, so the place was buzzing with folks. Our house passed with flying colors - wouldn't you know it. Then our mortgage broker came over with papers for us to sign for the next house, which looked like a catalog it was so thick. By the time he left and we closed the door, we were drained.

Tomorrow we head out again to look at several more homes. I can hardly wait.

It's a done deal . . . :(

2006-07-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

It's been less than two weeks since we put our house on the market and gosh dangit - it sold. I thought I was ready to leave it and maybe part of me is but the part that weeps obviously isn't.

I cried when we signed the contract; cried every time we looked at another house and had to leave the realtor's office when we signed the offer on the new place (pictured above) so I wouldn't embarrass us all by leaving tears on the paperwork.

It’s a weird feeling for me. This is what we do and what we've always done. We buy homes, improve them and sell them when the market is right, a process that has afforded us the opportunity to live all over the country. Changing surroundings has been a huge part of what feeds our total creativity and keeps us motivated. We enjoy the joint collaboration of transforming a new place. Truth is, I don't want to lose that sense of adventure because that, it itself, is revitalizing for both of us.

There have been other special places, like Indiana and Reagan Wells but I don't remember feeling this way about leaving those. Mike tends to look at our homes as new canvases, fresh fields to plant with color and stone and stagnant spaces to breathe new life and light into. For me, it's another chapter in a book already filled with adventure and heartfelt memories.

I know it's time to sell this house for a lot of reasons but I am certainly going to miss it. The door frame inside my dressing room has eight of my ten grandchildren’s growth chart penciled on it. They love backing up to the wall, standing tall, tall, then jumping away to see how much they’ve grown (and who they’re catching up to).

The saving grace for me is that I just adore the couple who are buying the place. They have twin 3 year old girls and a 3 month old baby boy and they're going to make some wonderful memories here. (I must confess, however, that secretly I've imagined that for some bizarre reason, their loan falls through and we decide to take the house off the market for another year or so). I don't wish it on them, I just imagine what I would do if that happened. They're way too nice and I like them too much for that.

So, after spending a small fortune in fuel driving around the hill country looking for that perfect "next" house, we've made an offer on one in Wimberley. We rented a place in Wimberley a few years back for about seven months while we were house hunting. Wimberley is a wonderful little bustling art community with Cypress Creek and the Blanco River running through it. It is almost always alive with an atmosphere static with creative enegery fueled by a steady stream of tourists and a variety of cultural and festive activities.

An added bonus for me is the church in Wimberley. I missed going to it after we moved and never found one here that was comparable.

The house we're buying is a diamond in the ruff - typical for us. It's large and has an attached workshop that will become a sculpting studio, a wonderful north facing painting studio and a large office. It sits on cliff overlooking Cypress Creek and has sweeping views of the hill country. Our plan is to take the first six weeks off after we move to gut and remodel what will become the kitchen/great room. Tracy, our contractor, will be there part of the time but Mike and I will do a good portion of the work, which is something we truly enjoy and haven’t had time for in the last two years. I’m sure by the time Vegas rolls around, we’ll be very ready for a break!

I'm starting to feel some excitement about the move but it's going to take some time to get over this place and grow affection for the new one.

At least the house hunting part is over. While it's normally fun, this time it was a chore! The upside was we made a great new friend in Beverly Hohertz in Brownwood, who is hands down the best realtor on the planet!

Faith, Trust and a U-Haul Truck

2006-07-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

We finally did it. We put our beautiful home up for sale. The truth is, if it doesn't sell, I won't be heartbroken - even though I'm completely ready to go on to the next chapter, take on the next home improvement challenge and bring new life to a house that's fading into the shadows. I guess its the creative nature in both of us that makes those projects so inviting and so much fun.

If God is ready for us to move on, the pieces will fall into place just as they should. It's always been that way for us and this time will be no different.

Twenty seven years ago, we lived in a crowded stuffy subdivision in Houston. More than anything, Mike wanted to move back to the mountains of Idaho but times were hard. Supporting a family on a secretary's salary and the income from the art we sold was a challenge, to say the least.

One day I came home from work to find Mike working on a HUGE painting. It was 5' x 8' and took up the entire loft wall where he had his studio. We had an art show coming up and he decided if he could sell this huge painting, we'd have the money we needed to move.

He also decided, after working in acrylics for 3 years, to try his hand at oils - on this big painting! For those of you not familiar with the difference, you can basically blow on acrylics and it dries while oils must be mixed precisely right if you want them to dry in less than a week.

The painting was awesome but after 3 weeks, the oils were still not drying which meant we wouldn't be able to take it to the show. It would get destroyed in transport.

Two days before the show, one of Mike's customers came over to preview the art and lo and behold - fell in love with the huge painting. Mike told him the price was $8,900 - and he said SOLD! The look on Mike's face was priceless. As the customer was leaving, he picked out two more paintings bringing the grand total of his purchase to $13,500.

Two weeks later, we delivered all the paintings to the customer's business and collected our check. We stopped on our way home and cashed it, pulled in and reserved a big U-Haul truck and within a week, were on our way to Sandpoint, Idaho, where yet another adventure awaited. Not only did we get the money we needed to move, we had enough to tide us over until we got re-established.

Not in a million years could we have predicted the way God would get us out of Houston . . . and not in a million more could we have known the kind of adventures we were about to have.

Their first place - and ours

2006-07-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

Our daughter, Christi and her partner, Tina, signed the papers on their first home last week. They're just thrilled and we're thrilled for them. It's a nice home in a quiet neighborhood in Austin - which is saying a lot because you almost have to be a gazillionaire to afford to buy a house of any kind in Austin these days.

They looked at many homes - oh, thirty or so - and made offers on at least ten but the real estate market in Austin is hotter than ever so each time they made an offer, theirs was just one of many other offers the sellers were considering. Inevetibably they would lose out to a buyer who was willing to pay significantly more than the asking price. It was a long, hard battle but thanks to an innovative real estate agent, they finally "won" one!

Going with them to Home Depot and ReStore, the scrap building supply store run by Habitat, was a toot. They were like kids in a candy store, scrounging through cabinet door knobs, pedasal sinks and light fixtures. They're on a mission to update the place as much as they can afford to in the next couple of weeks while their kids are gone. Something tells me their weekend golfing trips may be replaced with weekend warrior home improvement projects.

I remember the first house Mike and I bought when Christi was about 6 and Staci was 8. It was a very old farm house in the northern most part of Idaho, near Sandpoint. It came with 5 acres and had a barn and a "guesthouse" that was really a travel trailer that was permanently planted about 75' from a railroad track. The weeds were about to take it over when we got there but Mike cleared them out, aired out the old musty tin can and turned it into his first official "studio." He thought he was in high cotton.

The first night we were there, Staci went in to take a bath and when she turned on the tub faucet, mud came out. It seemed there was something seriously wrong with the well casing. After several days and some help from one of our friends who knew a little something about wells, we started getting clearer water but it always came with a little sand.

Later that first night, as Mike and I were just drifting off to sleep, the activity in house picked up. There were mice living in the wall behind our bed and they were apparantly having a hoe-down! I never heard so much racket, running back and forth, even knibbling sounds. I was mortified. Mike had moved me from a nice apartment in Houston to what might as well have been the other side of the earth and there were RODENTS living in the my house! At least in Houston, we only had to deal with cockroaches (though they were almost as big as the Idaho mice).

The next day, Mike went down to the Colburn Store and bought 5 mouse traps. He set them up in the basement and within 3 minutes, they all went off. We spent the next several hours setting the traps, coming upstairs and literally waiting by the basement stairs for a few minutes - Whap, Whap, Whap, until all five had gone off. Mike would trek back down, empty the traps and start over. That went on for several hours. It was gruesome. Eventually, the mice population dwindled but not enough to stop the activity in the wall, just enough to slow it down a little.

At somewhere around 2:00 a.m.every single morning, an Amtrak train came blaring through the intersection on the track in front of our house - the same track the realtor said wasn't in use anymore - and scared Staci out of her bed. She would leap up and run through the house, still unfamiliar to her, screaming for one of us. We took turns catching her as she ran through the dining room.

We were pretty poor but we did decide to do a little remodeling of our own. I'd like to say there were lovely wood floors in the house but the truth is, there were just damaged wood floors under the old, ragged, stinky carpet. We pulled up the carpet and I decided to sand the floors of the dining room so I rented a big, heavy duty, upright sander. It was winter and very dark outside the night we cleared the room to tackle the task. I turned the monster machine on and it immediately threw one of the two electric breakers and there we were in total darkness. Mike fumbled around and found a small flashlight and went to the basement to flip the breaker back on. Suddenly, the lights came on and the heavy sanding monster took off across the floor, dipping and weaving in every direction as I tried to grab it. It was so powerful that when I grabbed the handle, it just took off sideways, dragging me with it, screaming and stumbling. Like a determined bull rider, I hung on, while it veered from one side of the room to the other, dragging me with it all the while. Staci and Christi screamed and ran to another room afraid for their lives. Finally, Mike ran in and pulled the plug from the wall and it was over. We stood there looking at each other for about 10 seconds before we collapsed on the floor, laughing so hard we cried.

It wasn't a perfect place but it was our place and looking back, it made for some wonderfully funny memories. As Christi and Tina relace faucets, paint walls and lay a wood floor in their new place, I do hope they have at least a few of those magical moments that make first places so special.

Days gone by...and Days yet to come

2006-07-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

It's the first day of July and I have no idea where June went! Gracious me, time sure flies by these days. Deadlines, road trips, grandbabies and property hunting must have consumed it.

The last few days have been interesting. I got a call from one of my oldest and dearest friends from college. He's struggling with the aftermath of divorce with children and I've spent several hours on the phone with him. Regardless of how bad a marriage is, the finality of divorce is still a foreign feeling and requires a lot of adjusting. It takes a lot of prayer and good portion of time before the road gets smoother.

We're headed back to Brownwood tomorrow - this time with Tracy, our contractor. Before we totally walk away from this place, we decided to get a professional opinion about what kind of potential this place really has. We see the potential thankfully, Tracy can usually see what we see. The difference is, he sees it in real dollars and real time. We're dreamers and always have been. We see a grand old lodge of a house, plenty of room for all our kid and grandkids, space for our artist friends to come stay for a spell and let Mike mentor them as they start their careers and a place where we can sit on the porch in the evenings and listen to the sweet sounds of nature. We also see the perfect place to have an annual Chuckwagon cook-off and cowboy cartoonist show one day. The setting is perfect and it would be great fun for us and the community. I suppose we see another Y-ME Ranch Guest Lodge or Retreat kind of place - provided it doesn't drain us financially, that is.

Sometimes I wonder where we would be without dreams. I could probably live without my hearing and though it would be awfully hard, I could live without my sight. I could even live if I couldn't walk - but if I lost the ability to dream about the future and all the wonderful things to come - well, I just don't know if I could survive that.

Ah . . . the glories of being self employed

2006-06-27T21:32:00.000-05:00

When I tell people we both work at home, they often say, "how wonderful for you!" or "well, it must be nice!” My gosh ,if they only knew!
Years ago I read a quote that said, "The only thing more overrated than being self employed is natural childbirth." How true, how true!

Here it is after 9:00 p.m. and I'm still sitting at this computer, working - and waiting for information from a client so I can finish their business proposal. They informed me this afternoon - LATE this afternoon - that their CFO is coming in tomorrow morning and wants to take a look at the first draft.

This situation isn't all that unusual. A couple of weeks ago I worked late into the night getting artwork ready for a t-shirt company and a few months ago, we spent many hours designing dinnerware for a presentation in Atlanta.

The life of a freelance writer is never dull, that's for sure. The upside is that you really can work in your pajamas and every day is different with new challenges and Heaven knows - all kinds of different topics! Interior designers one day, high tech medical software the next and property rights advocates on a different day - all with a little cowboy humor sprinkled around the edges.

However, I'm making an executive decision today. Whenever possible, I'm going to work a 4 day work week. Yep, I'm taking Fridays off. I'll work Monday through Thursday for as many hours as it takes to get the tasks done and (try to!) take Fridays and the weekends off. I worked a good part of last Saturday evening, all of Sunday and have been steadily at this proposal project for the last two days. It’s a nice thought but I won’t hold my breath.

Besides, I need more time to write the stories I want to write. The stories that feed my soul and crowd my mind - the stories that get backed up in my head until they start to tumble out, like hot popcorn gushing over the kettle at the movie theatre. I have to write them when they present themselves or they'll just drop over the edge and get buried amongst all the other popcorn . . . until I simply can't find them anymore.

New babies and old friends

2006-06-26T04:56:00.000-05:00

The miracle of birth never ceases to amaze and thrill me. Kevin and his girlfriend (no they're not married and I can't say they're going to get married but that seems to be the way of the world these days) had a beautiful and perfect little boy last Tuesday. They named him Talon Douglas - the middle name after Mike - and he's just precious. I spent several days with them after the birth, thinking I would jump in there and do the grandmother thing but truthfully, they didn't need me. Mandy is breast feeding so I was no help with midnight feedings and Kevin was waiting anxiously to take Talon afterwards, for his own bonding time. I managed to elbow in and spend a little quality grandmother time in with the new little guy and then headed home on Friday.

I spent Friday night with my sister, Cindy, in Abilene which is always fun. She's a real riot - we always laugh a lot which is a great stress reliever. She's been on weight watchers for about 3 months and is losing down to toothpick size - actually, she looks really good.

On my way home, Saturday morning, I had the good fortune to lunch with Beverly, our realtor in Brownwood, and got to meet her brand new granddaughter, Henslie, cute as a button!

After lunch, I told Beverly that even though we chose not to respond with a counter offer on the Blanket Creek house, we still find ourselves remodeling parts of it in our heads all the time. Our evening Porchtime always seems to drift back to the "what ifs" about that place. We've continued to look for something else but so far, nothing has had the potential and charm of that one. It's funny how a particular piece of property seems to just get a hold on you and won't go away. The damp basement issue . . . is an issue though. I can't help but think that a remedy is out there for that without taking out a second mortgage!

Just because I was gone didn't mean things slowed down here, for sure. Mike's new sculpture is taking shape nicely. It sounds like the installation date might loosen up by a few days which would be nice since there was a real push to have it completed by the third week of August. In the meantime, Leanin' Tree found one more painting they want by the 10th of July and luckily, it's one Mike has really wanted to do anyway so that canvas is prepared and ready to go.

Our contractor friend, Tracy, is using the rest of the rocks we had left from our patio to rock up part of the back side of the house. Our house has a small turret shaped room off the den that gets a lot of high exposure from the sun, which bleaches out the paint. Tracy is rocking over it and it is really looking sharp!

We got a glimpse of the first line of T-shirts being released by Wyoming West Designs and I have to say, they look pretty darned good. The shirts actually come out in the fall so we'll have some at the Cowboy Christmas show in Vegas this year.
The Mountain is also putting out a line of shirts - a larger line - but I'm not sure exactly what their release date is.

Had friends in from Arizona this morning - Kathleen and Ray Schott. She is a firecracker and has some great ideas for turning some of Mike's work into quilted throw pillows so she left armed and ready to tackle that project. I can't quite envision it yet but she's all fired up and plans to bring some samples to the Vegas show so we'll see. They were property shopping down here - looking for a cowboy town. We sent them straight to Bandera!

Lazy summer days

2006-06-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for summer cool fronts! We woke this morning to the sweet melody of rain blended with gentle rolls of thunder that were far enough away to be soothing but not threatening. It was great and Heaven knows we needed the moisture! It was in the high 80's almost all day and the summer breeze quickly cleared up the humidity. All in all, it was just a beautiful day in Texas and we spent every minute enjoying it.

Mike wondered out and took a photo of his table grape arbor. They're ripe early this year but it really doesn't matter. They make the arbor look pretty but the birds enjoy the grapes more than we do. The new vines won't produce any usable fruit for another year or so. It's quite the process but one Mike loves.

The Farmer's Market opened a little late, which was fine. We got what we needed, then went baby shopping for the new grandson we fully expect to be born this week. By the time I leave for Amarillo, I'm going to need a u-haul to take all this stuff up there! We're on the final stretch and very excited about his arrival.

The rest of the day we were basically lazy, lounging on the porch reading, talking to people on the computer and having occasional useless conversations about life in general. It's not something we do very often so it was really nice.

It was an absolutely perfect do nothing day -

Daddys and daughters . . . Jesus and Guitars

2006-06-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

My dad's been gone five years now but I still find myself wanting to call him. Sometimes, I can hear him laughing and often feel his spirit around when I hear a Kris Kristopherson song.

My daddy was special to me but but not in the way most little girls feel about their daddys. He was a musician at heart and a traveling salesman by trade. My parents divorced when I was 12 but they were apart for most of my life so my time with him as a child was very limited.

By the time I was grown, Daddy had developed into a full blown alcoholic and lived with me off and on for over 10 years. When Mike and I moved to Paradise, Montana in the late 80's, Daddy went with us. Once there, he bought a travel trailer and proceeded to make a home for himself in the mountains. In record time, Daddy became one of the tiny town's most colorful and beloved characters. He was a fixture at the Pair-a-Dice Bar where he cooked almost every piece of BBQ they served for the next 12 years.

The folks in Paradise were so fond of him that two years after he died, they held fund raisers to buy him a headstone, something we hadn't been able to afford when he died but always planned to get one day. They got it too. - a huge gray granite headstone with the drawing Mike did of him engraved on it and his favorite saying, "Hello, Darlin'" right underneath it. He would have gotten such a kick out of that!

One of my friends lost her Dad last week. He was a great man too - but much different than mine. He was practically a national icon; a powerful, politically involved man who owned a huge ranch in the Nevada mountains. His memorial service was attended by many well known people and took a week to plan.

We couldn't afford to have my Dad embalmed so his funeral was held within 24 hours after he died. We always laughed about it saying he practically embalmed himself with beer. Besides, there's something icky about the whole embalming process so I don't think he minded.

My friend's heart is hurting now - and I feel sad for her. I've been where she is and it's hard. Little things bring on crying spells, in the grocery store, reading a magazine, cooking dinner, holding the phone realizing you can't call him anymore - all kinds of sneaky situations that catch you by surprise. It's hard but it gets better with time. I miss singing with my dad, nagging him about his drinking and discussing religion with him - but I miss laughing with him the most. Sometimes, we'd laugh so hard we couldn't catch our breath! It was splendid fun.

My daddy died a pauper - no land, no money, no nothing really - just me and my sisters and all his friends in Paradise - but I believe the last fifteen years of his life were by far and away his happiest. We buried him there, in the little Paradise cemetery, in a peaceful plot with a perfect view of the mountains he grew to love so much.

I miss him still but I know he's good now. Just think - in Heaven, Daddy can spend time with Jesus ( and that man loved Jesus!) and won't ever have to hock his guitar again!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy. . .

Following your gut...

2006-06-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

The Brown County property was great and we loved the area. The land was beautiful and the house had great potential - but in the end, we decided that investing the time and money it would take to fix and update the place might not be worth it in the end. That's unusual for us because we usually have great vision, even when faced with water and mildew problems. In this case, however, there were simply too many issues to deal with so we decided not to answer the seller's counter offer but to keep looking. How does one ever know if they made the right decision? Gut feeling, I suppose and for the moment, our guts are okay. We may feel different next week but for now, we're good.

Mike started his sculpture today. At this point it's a flat piece of plywood with pink foam leaning up against it. Tomorrow, the plywood will start to wear the foam board as he builds the armature that will become the second in the Never Alone series. This one is called Forces of Mercy and the central figure is a female soldier coming out of a jungle carrying an injured child. Behind her are all kinds of rescue vehicles and aircraft. It is truly going to be a dynamic piece.

We're both working on major projects at the moment so our days are long but we do manage to steal away for a few hours on the weekends to spend some quality time together and we both look forward to that. Today, Saturday seems far away...

Where did the weekend go?

2006-06-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

What a weekend! Saturday was a bust after running errands, finishing the porch painting project and spending a couple of hours getting more images sized and emailed to one of Mike's agent in Virginia - another of those last minute issues that makes me crazy! The day ended well though when a long time family friend who was in the area for a family reunion, came over for a visit. We hadn't seen Barbara in over 25 years though we'd kept in touch via other family members. It was a great visit. She looked great and was just as much fun as we remembered. The visit was just too short.

Today was an eventful day. We went to Brownwood one more time to look at the "house", this time taking Christi and her partner, Tina, with us to get their opinion. Of course, their opinion is weighted by the fact that they don't want us to move that far away. It is so convenient to be only an hour apart now and putting another hour and a half between us does seem a bit much.

They agreed the property was beautiful, though Tina thought the dirt roads bordered on barbaric (remember though, she grew up in Vegas!). They've looked at enough properties with us to see the potential in the house but also recognized the scary things like moisture in the basement and a curious water system that could present problems down the road (that's what home inspectors are for). And then there's the cost of actually updating the house, which is also a concern. BUT, after all was said and done, we made an offer with contingencies. So, we wait and see. If it was meant to be - it will be. If not, we'll keep looking.

Tomorrow, I expect Mike will delve into the sculpture project that will dominate his life for the next 80 days. I've seen him do this before. He will build, research, sculpt, eat, sleep, sculpt. It's a process that engulfs him. If I'm lucky and things move along nicely, he might take a Saturday off here and there but I won't count on it. It's okay, because I have writing projects to finish, a Dallas workshop to plan and several press releases to get out in the next three weeks.

AND, I need to get ahead with my workload because we have another grandbaby due anyday and I want to be able to spend some time with him too. Life is so grand!

Work, Tshirts, patio rocks and loin cloths

2006-06-06T20:33:00.000-05:00

Phew, it's been a day. I'm writing a business proposal for a new software company in Austin and this morning I interviewed one of their key executives. Sometimes these interviews can be dull and boring . . . but not this one! It was lively, enthusiastic and full of good information. It was a great, productive two hours.

Bev, the Brown County realtor we're working with, called with answers to many of our questions about the house and most of what she found out was good. We'll go back over tomorrow to take a second look, this time at the critical areas that will determine our decision about going further.

Mike' agents have been busy and have two t-shirt deals working which is a good thing, but one of them wants to move forward at high speed for a third quarter release. That means we have two weeks to finalize twelve designs! Nothing like a little (more) pressure.

We got our patio rocks delivered this afternoon and they're really nice. After over $500 of grass seed in the last two years, we've decided the one area is just a dead zone for grass. We plant it, feed it, water it and it grows just high and green enough to tease us about what a beautiful grassy yard would look like . . . then it dies deader than a door knob. So we finally threw in the towel and decided to lay down slate pavers for a nice patio area in that spot. Looking at that pallet of rocks gives me a wierd feeling of vindicated reward - like we're gonna show that stupid grass seed that costs $35 a bag! Just see what $200 worth of slate feels like. Just try and grow up and die on us now!

Our 6 year old grandson, Calin, is with us for a few days and that's been fun. He's been watching George of the Jungle and Tarzan and tonight he asked me if I could make him a pair of those short things that Tarzan wears. Last year I made him a Batman cape and this year it's a loin cloth. I can hardly wait to see what he wants next summer!

Ghosts and goblins ... I'll miss those

2006-06-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

Boy, it's obvious we've both got "selling the house" on the brain. We spent the day mowing the grass and painting the fence and the porch - the two latter projects have been on the to-do list for ages but suddenly, we were merrily painting away, visions of moving to the Brown County House spurring us on.

There are still many questions to be answered about that place - like how high was the highest electric bill and have the wells every run out of water, etc. And we still need to make that second trip through to look with a more discerning eye - and not eyes that are totally awestruck. We've learned the hard way that it's always better to make that second trip and play the devil's advocate, asking all the question you hate to ask but know you must and weighing everything equally. We've jumped into home purchases too quickly and ended up with an albatross that made us miserable. It's not a mistake we want to make again.

We'll see what answers we get this week and decide which way to move from there. THEN, comes the big challenge - selling this place. This wonderful old home that has been lovingly restored, to perfection, I might add. Rarely, and I do mean rarely, does anyone come into this home for the first time and not say "Wow, this place is beautiful!" That's something we all hope for when we buy a house - that and finding one that suits us well. We found it here and I've loved it, absolutely loved it.

It's the most beautiful home I've ever owned or lived in and I've been so very proud of it. Even the trick or treaters at Halloween tell me how pretty my house is. Ah, but, it's in the middle of town. Fine for most folks, and actually okay with me, but Mike longs for the quiet and solitude of the countryside.

If we do move, I'll be fine. We can make the Brown County house a showplace, something very special. But it's 15 miles from town. Funny, I'll miss a lot of things but probaby I'll miss the trick or treaters the most. We went through 60 lbs. of candy last year and had a ball. I started buying it in August. Yes, I think I will miss that the most. I just love seeing all those happy, shy, funny little children in their cute costumes. Something tells me Halloween at the Brown County house is very quiet and boring.

Falling in love with the land

2006-06-03T22:01:00.000-05:00

As soon as we started down the winding driveway, I could tell we were going to love the house. Our realtor in Brown County Texas was a delightful lady named Bev who has a radiating smile and infectious laugh. She had shown us two houses prior to this one that were nice but just didn't have that zing we were looking for. This one, however, did.

The big old log and brick house sits on 10 very secluded acres of rolling hills and has a year round creek running through it, right next to the house in fact. There are tons of huge mature trees and huge boulders scattered willy nilly around the entrance and in the front yard. And up on one of the hills where the views go on forever, there's a huge in-ground pool with diving boards and a slide that's just begging to be cleaned up and used for summer fun.

The house needs serious updating - all the flooring has to be replaced. The current array of patterned vinyl is pretty unsightly. The kitchen cabinets need to be overhauled and all the walls need to be painted. The ceiling in the kitchen has some wierd figure 8 pattern that will have to go along with the crystal chandelier looking light fixtures. There's a basement that appears to have had a water leak at one time and a rather sloping floor in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Most everything can be fixed okay I think. The most immediate project would be transforming the barn/storage building out back into a sculpting studio for Mike. All it will take is $$$ and there lies the potential problem. Will just have to put a pencil to it I suppose and see where we come out.

It is a most wonderful, quiet, peaceful setting but it is also 20 miles from a grocery store (we'll have to change our buying habits) and that many miles from medical facilities (we'll have to be very careful too). It's also an extra 2 hours from our dear grandchildren in Austin, which is a concern because they're the two closest grandchildren to us and provide us with the "fix" every grandparent needs on a regular basis.

The home we're in now is simply perfect - just the right amount of space, beautifully decorated and updated, charming and comfortable. Its only fault is that it sits right in the middle of town and we really miss living in the country.

We have many questions about the Brown County house, like can we get high speed internet service way out in the boonies. So I suppose we'll pursue the answers and decide whether or not to go for it. It's sort of a scary proposition.

Moving - the very thought of packing up this house makes my stomach hurt - until I look at the wonderful photos we took of the Brown County house. Hmmmm.....have to see how I feel in the morning. I think Mike would have written them a check on the spot if he could have. He loved it!

Brown County - reclaiming the magic . . .

2006-06-02T19:59:00.000-05:00

I just know we must be Gypsies. We've lived in so many places in our 30 years together - 8 states and many cities - but we've met some of the most wonderful and interesting people along the way. I wouldn't have missed a single place.

Almost everywhere we went, Mike found new inspiration for paintings or sculpture and often, I found opportunities to fine tune my writing or marketing skills. One of our favorite places on earth is Brown County Indiana. We lived in Nashville, Indiana, for several years and have always cherished those days. We made many lifelong friends there that are still very dear to our hearts.

When we were in Nashville, we opened and ran a small western themed guest lodge. It was the most fun ever! Lots of work but also lots of fun. I think we've been looking to recreate that atmosphere in every place we've moved to since.

It was a wonderous enchanting place with stables, a summer house and three ponds. You know what I mean - the sort of place you read about but never really get to live in. It was truly divine intervention that landed us there and I'm not sure I'll ever understand how we pulled it off because it was way out of our price range. But thanks to a lucky house sale and a creative financing genius, we did.

We boarded horses, had lots of get togethers and even held a huge chuck wagon cookout to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was 30 acres of lush green pastures, big red barns and miles of white fences. Simply awesome. Even now, some ten years and five moves later, when we speak of the "ranch," we all know which place we're talking about.

And so tomorrow, we're traveling to another Brown County - this one in Texas - to look at a couple of places we think might have the same potential our old Y-ME Ranch Guest Lodge had. Who knows, maybe we'll find it there or maybe we'll realize we have to just keep looking. I guess as long as we have those magical memories to inspire us, we can enjoy the journey.

I'll take pictures.

This man killed my fish!

2006-06-01T22:18:00.000-05:00

This is my sweet and talented husband, Mike. He's the kindest man alive but yesterday, he filled my koi pond to overflowing and this morning, three of my beautiful fish were floating amongst the lily pads - the victims of over clorination. The other two are missing in action. Oh well, I have to go to Austin tomorrow so I'll pick up five more.

Today was busy - even after discovering the dead bodies in the pond. We've been working on a design concept for a large sculpture commission for over a week now and finally got the go ahead from the Sr. Vice President today. While it will be a fun project for Mike, the timeline is critically short. In order to make the delivery date, he'll have to work overtime all summer. After 30 years together, I can tell you he works better under pressure so I'm really not that worried. The sculpture is a relief piece, out of mixed media, that is going to be awesome. It will depict our soldiers doing humanitarian work. We're both pretty pumped about it. Now I have to get in gear and get some press out about it.

We also finished the POP (point of sale) display design for the new line of figurines scheduled for release in a few weeks. We are very excited about this new line since it's the first new product release since we signed with the licensing agents last year. We've seen the prototypes and they are adorable.

The line is called the Y-ME Ranch Hand series and there's been a helluva lot of work put into getting them ready for market. Neither of us realized what it takes to take a new product from concept to completion - it's a lot! BUT, we had an enormous amount of creative control and that was great! The folks at Westland Giftware have been fabulous to work with. Shortly after the figurines are released, a new line of cowboy mugs is scheduled for release by the same company.

Next on the agenda is nailing down some t-shirt licenses (two in the works) and finishing the writing part of the Y-ME Ranch Handbook in time to get it published before Christmas.

In between those projects, I have two writing projects for clients that will have to be done in the next 30 days. It sounds much more overwhelming than it is.

Sometimes, when I look at our project list I'm amazed at the breadth of topics we cover. I might be writing ranch humor in the morning, heralding an awesome new software later in the day and advising an interior designer about marketing in the afternoon. Talk about different hats!

A typical day for Mike includes tending to his wine making, a hobby he's absolutely passionate about, researching military dress for the new sculpture and touching up a painting of a toothless, laughing woman for the greeting card company.

So when we get together at night for Porch Time, we have lots to discuss!

Living the Creative Life

2006-05-31T22:01:00.000-05:00

I am a writer married to an artist, so to say we have an unconventional lifestyle is an understatement. My husband, Mike, has been a full time artist for nearly 30 years. Mike produces humorous paintings for a greeting card company part of the year and life size and larger sculpture for Veteran's groups, private foundations and coporations the rest of the year.

Mike and I are a team. Along with writing and designing Mike's marketing collateral, I also collaborate with him on product designs for his licensing agents, which is frustrating but fun. I have several other clients, mainly creative professionals who can't afford a big ad agency but desperately want to promote their work, who keep my work week diverse. And, when I can squeeze it in, I present half day and full day workshops specifically for my creative friends who, bless their souls, are fantastic at their craft but lousy at selling themselves.

This blog is about our very unconventional, sometimes frustrating but often fascinating daily life as two creative professionals who happen to work together, live together and love together.