Happy Snow Day!

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

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. . .

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 . . .

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

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

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

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

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 . . .

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

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....

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?

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!

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

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

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

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

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 . . . :(

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

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

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.