Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Snack Machine

Across from my desk is a snack machine, most of the time I refrain from partaking of is chocolate delights. I'm not really big on chocolate and I'm cheap. Yesterday it was calling to me, I had change in my pocket and felt the tangs of hunger. I did not give into temptation, instead I decided to do something daring, I would go up the stairs all the way to the roof. The building that I work in has a stairway that goes seven stories to the roof and I would just go up as fast as I could instead of a candy bar, what a healthy choice. Ten minutes later as I'm sitting back at my desk, gasping for air like a carp that has been flopped on a riverbank, I realized that maybe I should do this in moderation. As Tom Walker tells me all the time "we are 11 years from 60 " , I start to worry about any pains that I may be feeling , especially in the arms ( I am also a hypochondriac ) , what would I do , who would I call ? Lucky for me the feeling passed, as I couldn't answer the question.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Wrestling is over

It was a tough season for my youngest son Kaleb. First he has grown a little and had to move up to 119 pounds from last years 90. Twenty-nine pounds heavier still, built like a rail, so it is not strange that short muscle-bound kids had a slight advantage. But now there will not be any 5:00 AM alarms going of on the weekend, no all day wrestling tournaments in the huge cities of Chatham, Mohamet, Orian, Canton, or Glasford. Where all directions have the words " turn at the Casey's" in them because it is the biggest store in town. Hopefully, I am in the studio again , and the weather will break long enough for me to stretch some more canvases.

Friday, February 23, 2007

No Holiday Today
There is no holiday on the calender for today. The week started off with Presidents Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and Washington's Birthday. But today there is no special celebration, accept that it's chimnea night. Tomorrow it's off to regionals at Illini Bluffs with Kaleb, as soon wrestling is over I promise to have some more paintings finished and on the site. Last night The Woman and I met with a web designer for the new Illinois Art League web site , and then off to the monthly Bohemian meeting . Hopefully I can squeeze some studio time in this weekend.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ash Wednesday

Last night was spent on another wrestling event this time in Tremont. Hopefully tonight I can settle down in my studio and paint some. Wrestling takes a huge amount of time away from the studio, but the season is almost over, regionals are this weekend and only the top finishers move on to sectionals. I will go and cheer my youngest son on, but I must say that I won't be too terribly disappointed if he doesn't move on.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Mardi Gras Weekend

Well true to form, the weather warmed up and it started to snow, again. We went to our friends house for chimnea, as they all prepared to go to St. Louis for Mardi Gras. The Woman and I would be spending the day in Canton IL, no matter where you live be happy you don't live there. Twenty-five miles of two lane blacktop just to get to the city that time forgot. They are just a couple years from Disco there, mullets and big 80's hair rule, most of the really dressed up guys are wearing Members Only jackets. We spent the day on hard bleachers cheering our youngest son to a third place win.
Our friends got to go party in St. Louis. The things you do for children, we could have been standing outside in the 20 degree snowy weather, drinking ice cold beverages, our bladders shrunk up to the size of a pea, dancing in line to a porta-potty, wow maybe Canton wasn't so bad.

Friday, February 16, 2007

-2 degrees

This morning the bottom dropped off the thermometer, January and February in the mid-west can be a miserable time. Maybe that's why I want to start the sky series with the warm sun beaming through the clouds. It's sort of like that episode of the Twilight Zone where the artist is painting the huge sun in the sweltering heat of her apartment, only to awake from her dream to frozen wasteland. But, it is chimnea night and wrestling is almost over. Pretty soon it will be March Madness and blooming buds on trees. It could be worse , I could live in Fargo , it's got to be -20 there.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Global Warming?
I have seen all the evidence about how we have altered the climate, ice caps melting, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, and rain forest devastation. Yet, when I look out my window at the sub zero landscape or try to imagine what upstate New York is like with 9 feet of snow , it is hard perceive the problem as we are stuck in this mini ice age. The only good thing that comes from the snow is relief from sub zero temps- suddenly 20 degrees feels like spring, giving a chance to make some new canvases, even though I have to gesso inside so it doesn't freeze.

Monday, February 12, 2007

February 12th

The Woman spent the weekend with my two beautiful daughters in Des Moines, so I got to stay home and paint this weekend. I found out just who the popular one is as no one even called to talk to me all weekend. ( I'm sure The Woman's and Chelsea's phone were ringing regularly ) Spent most of the time painting seats at the "New Busch", I am down to the outfield wall so the painting is nearly finished. It has been so cold ( below 10 degrees for daytime highs ) that I can't go out and stretch the next set of canvases. Have taken lots of photos as wrestling has forced us to travel all over the state on the weekends. Hope to get some canvases for a sky series that I need to finish before mid March.

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