Sunday Five: Flowers and Bees

1: What is the first flower to bloom in spring where you live? 

2: Is there a flower that reminds you of funerals?

3: What is your favorite flower? 

4: When was the last time you had fresh flowers in your home? 

5:  What is blooming where you are today? 

My Answers: 

1: What is the first flower to bloom in spring where you live?  Crocuses, I missed bulb flowers when I lived in Florida, there is not enough of a cold season for them to bloom a second year. 

2: Is there a flower that reminds you of funerals? Red Roses, what my grandmother ordered for my grandfather's funeral. 

3: What is your favorite flower? Dandelion, my father kept bees, and the Dandelion bloom was the first honey flow of spring for the bees. 

4: When was the last time you had fresh flowers in your home? Today, we almost always do. 

5:  What is blooming where you are today? Trees, bulb flowers, 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Magic Moments in Creating

 I remember vividly the first time I got into the zone, the creative flow, the magic moment when the creative process just simply works.  

As a teenager I spent hundreds of hours printing thousands of black and white photographs - the old fashioned way on light sensitive silver gelatin papers. Photographic printing is an art form. From selecting the negative, cleaning it, putting it in the enlarger (a special projector device), setting up the chemistry, selecting the paper, focusing, setting aperture and exposure time. Variations in all of these and changes in temperature or humidity, all impact the work. Sometimes no matter what I did, nothing turned out well. Most of the time, the work was acceptable, but a struggle. Then there was the first time everything worked, every print was good, and if I made adjustments and made a second print it was even better.  I pulled out negatives that I had struggled with in the past and nailed a perfect print on the first try. It was a magic feeling, I didn't want it to end. I worked late into the evening, until my father came knocking on the door telling me it was past time I washed things up and went to bed. 

Maybe half a dozen times, in as many years, I hit that zone, the flow, the magic moment in printing photographs. 

I have hit the same zone a handful to times when painting with acrylics, when everything just flowed. A couple of my best paintings were done in a single session. 

It also happens sometimes when I am writing. I write half a dozen short articles a year for the American Bar Association Senior Lawyers Division Voice of Experience Journal. Some of them are written in a flurry, a single setting when the thoughts and words seem to just magically flow. 

Those are wonderful moments in creativity. I have not found a formula for creating the conditions that cause them to happen, the moments just happen. But they only happen when I am creating, often sitting down to just grind it out. Not expecting anything special, and then the magic happens. And it feels absolutely wonderful. 

Seek your magic moments. 

Funky Friday: Wearing Our Feelings

 So how do I really feel about HeWhoShallNotBeNamed. 

The Thursday Ramble: Small Town Craftsmen I Once Knew

My grandfather's grew up farming with horses and mules. My mother's father farmed that way into the 1940's, and only reluctantly started using mechanical tractors. Horses as transportation disappeared from rural America in the 1920's into the 1930's. 100 years ago. 

When I was growing up in Michigan in the 1960's there were still remnants of horse drawn transportation around the area. Most barns or garages had remnants of collars and harnesses. The town livery stable, where horses visiting town would have been boarded and cared for was still there, a large barn painted a light green. Horses were bought and sold there probably into World War II. By my time the horses were but a memory, but the building stood for another few decades.

The part of the business that remained was the blacksmith shop. While the primary business was no longer shoeing horses, if you trailered them into town the craftsmen who worked where glad to do so, it was primarily as a place to have iron tools made or repaired. Ancient plows that cracked, would be repaired by experienced and expert hands. The coal fired forge was kept hot and working for decades beyond the horse days. They could make just about anything out of metal, replacements for one of a kind barn door hinges, or rollers for sliding barn doors were something they made every week. I remember going there a few times with my father or grandfather, with something from around the farm that needed repair. A garden tool, a mower blade that had hit a rock and was in need to straightening and sharpening. If you needed it now, they would stop what they were doing and attend to it, if not it would be ready sometime later tomorrow, and the cost would be next to nothing.  Even then you wondered how they made a living. And it is possible that, they didn't, that they did it because it was what they did. 

Around the corner from there, was Mr. Baldwin's leather repair shop. He was a master saddler, for the first half of his adult life he made and repaired harness and saddles. For the second half of his life, well on into his 8th decade, he repaired shoes. He stocked and sold work boots, but repairing shoes was the day to day way he kept himself busy. As an elementary school student I would walk to his shop during lunch, and he would do a minor repair and charge less than a dollar.  Even then I would say, are you sure that is all?  He was sure. It wasn't about making money, it was about being of service and practicing the craft that he learned as a teenager. He worked until the day his shop fell down. A delivery driver backed into the side of it, and literally the building collapsed around him. Luckily no one was hurt, but the building was shattered. His family convinced him to retire. A sad end to a long chapter in the life of a small town. He was the grandfather of one my high school friends.  

My World of Wonders: April 8th edition 2026

 

Where have I been this week? Mt Vernon for a nice spring walk, the updated museum exhibit is partially open.  The grocery store and Trader Joe's. The gym, the pool, the community center. The farmers market on King Street. Into DC for a nice walk, I walked to the subway station, took the train into the city, wandered through the National Gallery of Art, across the Mall to the subway, and home. A long walk with a stop at the Post Office to buy stamps before the price goes up this summer to 97-cents. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? Pork chops cooked in cheesy scalloped potatoes. Pizza  - a couple of varieties. Meatloaf, broccoli and cornbread.  Roast beef and potato salad - a strange combination but it is what I felt like making. Roast chicken and veggies.

Who have a talked with? Oh my, Tom, Cathy, Jeffery, Warren, Mrs. Warren, Paul, Michelle, Jon, Ruth, Anna, Susan, Rafael, Mathew, Marcell, Victoria, Renne, Mike, Pastry Boy, David, Giuseppe. 

What have I been thinking about? Life is short, live it while you can. 

What is on the easel? A portrait of George Washington. The theme for our June-July show is Americana. I have challenged myself to create something new and different.  

Travel Tuesday: Spin the wheel, where do we land this week? Glasgow.

 So many wonderful memories of places we have been. Looking back the photos takes me back to the place and time. 

Moody Monday: Be Kind

I strive to be kind. 

My English Grandmother instilled in me, that if I didn't have anything nice to say, to not say anything. 

My favorite You Tubers are increasingly being bothered by unpleasant comments. Foxes afloat last week said "please don't post any comments that start with "you must" or "you have to" or "you should have." Glen of Glen and Friends Cooking tries to head off nasty comments, I love his cooking style, I can't imagine why anyone would be critical or nasty. 

I enjoy reading and responding to most comments.  I leave comments on many of the blogs that I read, some I leave comments on almost everyday. Occasionally I read a post, and I just can't think of anything nice to say. Sometimes my first thought for a comment is critical or unkind. I stop myself. I sometimes delete what I have started to type as a comment. I try - sometimes really hard - to come up with something positive or reinforcing to say. At times, and it may be because of my mood at the moment, I just can't think of anything. If I can't be kind, I skip commenting that day.  I wish I could say something nice, but if I can't think of anything nice to say, I remain silent. 

I also realize that despite the fact that my posts and comments are nearly all in English, humor often gets lost in cultural translation. Attempts at humor risk being rude in other English speaking countries.  In my mode of being kind, I often avoid attempts at humor across cultures in the same language. 

Be kind. 

Be careful. 

Follow grandma's advice. 

The Sunday Five:

1: When you travel, where do you prefer to stay? 

2: Do you have a "go-to" hotel brand or group? 

3: What is the nicest hotel you have ever stayed? 

4: Have you ever traveled in a recreational vehicle? 

5: Would you spend the night in one of these tents? 

My answers: 

1: When you travel, where do you prefer to stay?  Hotels, even when I visit family I almost always stay in a nearby hotel. 

2: Do you have a "go-to" hotel brand or group? Hilton and their other brands. A second choice is Holiday Inn. 

3: What is the nicest hotel you have ever stayed? The Langham Hotel in Chicago, the conference arranged and paid the bill. 

4: Have you ever traveled in a recreational vehicle?  Only once, my parents owned a motor home for a few years - I went to Key West with them on long weekend. 

5: Would you spend the night in one of these tents? No, I don't sleep outside on the ground. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Interpreting the Story is Up to the Viewer

The experts are always urging us to tell a story with our art. I think back to my language arts course my first year of high school, in sending a message there is the sender creating and encoding the message, transmitting the message, and the receiver decoding the message. The same message may have different meanings to different decoders. 

The painting above, to the gentleman's family, is a family portrait, an older man with his grandson (yes - grandson.) In the family home, it is a reminder of loved one's. Moved to the man's office, it sends a message of a devoted and happy family man, the kind of man you could trust. A connection between the generations of a family business. 

To those who know the rest of the story, the grandson was added to the painting four years after the portrait of his grandfather, after the death of the grandfather. These two people would have never been alive at the same time. A connection between generations, created in the mind of the artist. 

And yes, it is a grandson.  Babies and young children wearing diapers, were dressed in androgynous gowns until the early to mid 1900's. My father was born in 1927, and the earliest photos of him, were in gowns. The baby photos of my great uncles were all dressed this way. It was very practical way to dress a baby.  

Funky Friday: Playing with Dolls

 

Part of the work of the arts council is curating exhibits in a glass showcase in the community center. It is a place for 3-D art. We change it out every 6 weeks or so. The current theme is mixed-media and recycled materials. The next show is Dolls as Art. Believe it or not we have a committee to decide on themes and it took 2 or 3 meetings over the course a month to come up with them. 

When I first thought about this, I figured the childhood, now atique Barbie dolls and maybe a Ken doll would show up. I doubt there are any GI Joes left among the residents (and Militaria is the theme later in the year.) 

Then I thought about Richard. I may be the only person who has held onto a Richard Nixon action figure.  A gift from my Sweet Bear. I have had him for years. I pulled him from my cabinet of curiosities, dusted him off, and he was the first item to be loaned for the next showcase. If I took his trousers off, and changed his batteries, he talks. "I Am Not A Crook!" And yes, I have taken his trousers off a couple of times. It is kind of creepy.  

I mentioned this entry for the next showcase at last Saturday's show opening, to a round of laughter. A good response, we want them laughing and thinking creatively. 

So the answer to my April Fools Day conundrum, is I was never able to wrangle an invitation to the White House for a bill signing. My dearly departed colleague Lori was invited when President Obama signed the Elder Justice Act, she declined saying that she didn't want to be bothered, when asked if anyone from our office could attend, she said she "didn't think anyone would be interested." By the time I expressed my interest, it was too late to add names to the guest list. That is the closest I ever came. I could have strangled Lori, but I didn't.  

Thursday Ramble: On the Political Campaign Trail

The fall of 1976 was the first Presidential Election I was eligible to vote in. Gerald Ford was president, taking over from Richard Nixon, when Nixon resigned. Jimmy Carter was the Democratic nominee, and in the end won the election. 

Early in the year, there was competition for the Republican nomination, George Wallace the racist, segregationist former governor of Alabama ran. Racism is nothing new in the Republican party, especially in the south. Ronald Reagan, the former governor of California, and long ago actor who once co-starred with a chimpanzee, also ran for the nomination that year. Ultimately the party nominated Gerald Ford, it is hard to unseat a sitting president who is eligible for reelection. Ultimately, his decision to pardon Richard Nixon to bring political peace to the country, likely cost him the election.  

My family was spending winters in Florida. Both Wallace and Reagan campaigned heavily in the primaries in Florida that spring, including stops in Brevard County, landing at what was then known as TICO airport about 3 miles south of the home my parents had bought to retire and die in. Wallace visited on a weekday, and his comings and goings overlapped with me being in school. Reagan visited on a weekend and went to a fund raiser at Fox Lake Park. 

I was there, standing along the waist high chain link fence when his campaign jet landed and taxied up. He worked the fence like the politician he was, shaking hands and exchanging words with the gathered crowd.  I was there with a my camera and a 135mm short telephoto lens. In the archive is a single print of a photograph of him, standing not five feet away. Deeper in the archive is all of the film I use that day. I remarked, "President Reagan has a nice ring to it" he replied, "I hadn't thought of it, but yes it does."(I am sure he had thought of it, Nancy probably had it embroidered on his underwear.) 

Little did I know that when he was elected four years later, he would try to destroy much of the social safety net in the country, and gut mental health care in ways that have never been restored - evil bastard.  

Thinking about this, motivated me to search in my archive of negatives from the 1970s, I have about 3,000 mostly black and white negatives in a three ring binder, in archival storage pages most from the mid 1970s. I was buying film in 100 foot rolls, and rolling my own (bulk loading as it was known.) I processed all of my black and white film and color positive film for several years. I knew this was late spring of 1976, and most of the pages are dated, I was able to locate the two pages from that day in just a few minutes. I have a film scanner (actually two of them) I scanned what appeared to be the best of the negatives. 

The Thursday Ramble: Along the Waterfront

For my gentle readers (and the rest of you too) who are looking for clues to my April Fools question. Sometimes I am the fool. I thought I had moved this post to next week, I hadn't, the post about one of the two true answers will post at Noon, New York time today. The other clue will post tonight at midnight New York time.  

The western property line of the farm I grew up was the east water line of Gravel Creek. We learned this after my Grandmother sold the front half of the farm to my father, he owned it for a few short years, and the neighboring farmer stopped on day and made him an offer he couldn't refuse to buy the land. He agreed to let my parents use the house, the pond, the farm buildings for as long as they wanted - they were a few years away from retirement. After the ownership had transferred, the farmer had the land re-surveyed and set the property line along the edge of a field, leaving the entire creek on the adjoining property - his property. Why, the creek had moved over the 200 years since the original survey, leaving my father's farm with about 10 acres of what had originally been a part of the adjoining farm. A gain of land by the movement of a water course is accretion, a loss is disacreation. 

In addition the creek along one side of the farm, there was a five acre spring fed man-made pond, and a couple of acres of wetlands that had enough water in it to have fish in it. Hence I grew up around a lot of water. Minnesota may known as the land of 10,000 lakes, but Michigan is not far behind with thousands of lakes carved out by the glaciers of the last ice age. 

Less than a month after I moved to the DC area area, I stepped outside one morning and realized I could smell the nearby water. Not in a foul way, but in a pleasant there is a lot of water here way. I realized then, that Lexington Kentucky did not have that smell. There are a few shallow creeks that pass through Lexington, but no major rivers and certainly no lakes. Kentucky has some massive reservoirs, dammed up rivers, but no natural lakes.  And we didn't live near any of them. 

I do enjoy getting out along the water here.  We are close enough to smell the water, and the walks along the waterfront never fail to bring calm to me.  The building we live in is also about 150 feet higher than the river level, living on top of a hill I don't worry about flooding. In fact with global warming and rising sea levels, we could end up with waterfront property in 100 years. 
 

My World of Wonders: April 1, 2026

 

Where have I been this week?  Thursday we went over to the outlet mall across the bridge in Maryland and I bought two pairs of shoes and some casual shirts, then we stopped by for early voting on a ballot initiative. Friday I spent four hours hanging the new gallery show. Saturday I was off the farmers market - it was cold - but the pastry shop is back for the summer. The gym, the pool. The community center. Into Washington DC, a walk around the Washington Monument, up past the Old Executive Office building to have lunch with a friend, then across town to Gallery Place to catch the subway home. 

Who have a talked to this week? Rachel, Ruth, Mary, Amy, Michelle, Warren, Marcell, Zack, Joan, Pratibha, Jon, Kevin, Jane-Ann, my sweet bear, Anna, Julia, Mike, Linda, my social contacts runneth over. Erica, Amy. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? A saffron rice and chicken casserole. Sauteed chicken, cheddar mashed potatoes and coleslaw. A beef and white bean chilli. 

What have I been watching on YouTube? In addition to the usuals, The "Volta a Catalunya 2026" a bike race in Spain, NBC sports had a daily highlights show of the race. The last stage started in Barcelona started a couple of blocks from the hotel we stayed in. 

How is the weather? Bipolar, hot for a day or two, cold for a day or two, with intermittent high winds. 

What am I doing for April Fools Day? Two Truths and Lie, you get to guess which is which.

1. I have a Richard Nixon Action figure.
2. I photographed Ronald Reagan when he was running for President.
3. I was once invited to the Oval Office for a bill signing.

Edit late in the day

Watch the next couple of days to find the ultimate answer. This has been fun and sent me deep into my past.  

Travel Tuesday: Arts in Montebello New and First Works

Spring Colors, in the Restaunt - my work

There are 55 works on this one long wall 

Lots of diverse talent 

Fluid and Abstract Works, we have a resident to who teaches fluid art.

I have two paintings and a photograph in the restaurant. 

Spectacular, colorful and large, yours for only $850 plus shipping.

The long wall from one end to the other

The last piece to be added. 

It takes a few minutes to see them all.

The Show Poster

A photo from 1976, shown for the first time in 1977 at the Titusville Art League in Florida. 
One of my all time favorite images. The night I printed this, everything just worked like magic. 

There are three portraits in the Restaurant taken in Belarus in the 1990s by a now retired state department official. 

The third of Dian's portraits

Water color, calligraphy, photographs, painting, collage. 

A cluster of black and white photos, all inkjet prints from scanned negatives. 

Monday Mood: Immortality is Being Remembered

A great loss for the blogging world, Catalyst aka Franklin Bruce Taylor of Oddball Observations died last week.  I must have found his blog through a comment on one of your blogs, he has been on my daily read list for several years, he most often posted on Fridays. He was a retired journalist, who had lived a long and interesting creative life.  His darling wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) died in her sleep a couple of months ago, and Bruce had written of his own failing health - as his posting became less frequent. 

I never met him, yet somehow I feel that I knew him.  We knew him through his writing, his sense of humor, his wonder at the creativity of his wife and his brilliant daughter. He was modest, but occasionally his accomplishments as a journalist showed in his postings over the years. 

I wish I had met him. As bloggers, who regularly read and comment on one another's blogs, we really should meet one another. We have this very superficial connection, friends who have never met - modern day penpals in a public forum.  

Over a decade ago, a dozen or so of us gathered for dinner and conversation. I met several bloggers, a couple of whom I consider friends, a couple of whom sadly have died. Our lives are richer for having met and known one another. 

I will long remember Bruce and his work, immortality is being remembered. 

The Sunday Five: Light at the End of the Tunnel

1: What are you looking forward to this year? 

2: Where would you like to be in 5 years? 

3: Do you think things are going to get better or worse? 

4: What do you look forward to each day? 

5: Is there a tunnel near you that you can walk or ride a bike through? 

My answers: 

1: What are you looking forward to this year? The grand adventure, a month of travel. 

2: Where would you like to be in 5 years? Still moving around under my own power. 

3: Do you think things are going to get better or worse? It is going to be a tough year, then it will get better. 

4: What do you look forward to each day? Reading blogs and trading texts with a few special people. 

5: Is there a tunnel near you that you can walk or ride a bike through? This is the Wilkes Street tunnel in old town Alexandria, it was built for trains when the waterfront was industrial, and converted to a pedestrian passage after the waterfront become million-dollar residential. It is about 1.5 miles from where we live. Wilkes, as in John Wilkes Booth the assassin of President Lincoln, his family lived in the area. 

Please share your answers in the comments.

The Saturday Morning: Shopping for Creativity

Sometimes, we need to go shopping to get creative. There is always shopping for creative supplies, believe me I have enough paint, brushes, canvass, cameras, lenses, reference works, pens, pencils, do-dads and glitter to keep me busy for a decade.  But sometimes, I just need to wander around the arts supply store, the fabric store, the book store, to shop for ideas, without buying. 

Shop in new, different or weird stores.  I am unlikely to buy Camel Milk, but running across it while exploring a relatively local specialty market did make me think.  People from varying cultures see food, drink, and the world differently. Thinking differently allows my mind to be creative. What would I use this for? I wonder if it makes a rich custard. Maybe I should experiment with different custards - custard tart anyone? 

Take a different path through the same store. If you always go right when you come into the store, go left, view the store in a different direction, you will see things you normally walk past. Go shopping without a list - look and figure out what you need when you see it. 

Take a different route to places you always go. So what if it takes an extra ten minutes, the novelty will feed your beast. 

Get out of town, and see something new.  Find new places to travel to. Try different ways of getting there. I have three conferences over the next 20 months in Chicago, I have promised myself to take the train at least once. It will cover the same route, it will take longer and probably cost more, but I will see things I never see when I fly or drive the same route.  Onward! 

 
 

Funky Connections to History: George's House

George Washington had dinner with the Fairfax family, on the hill top that we live on - in view of our windows, about a week before he died. For those not familiar with United States history, he was a General in the American Revolutionary War, and first President of the United States.  Mount Vernon, his home is about 8 miles south of us, overlooking the Potomac River. He was often in Alexandria, he built a small home there to stay in, when meetings in the city kept him late. He built rental property in the city. The founding fathers regularly met at Gadsby's Tavern (we hosted our wedding reception at Gadsby's) and other taverns nearby. His townhouse was closer to the taverns than it was to Christ Church Episcopal, where the family box still holds bears name. He most likely bought slaves at the markets in Alexandria. 

There is something almost spooky at times, in knowing that we walk the streets, well known to George and his colleagues, the people who drafted, debated, and approved the foundational documents of the country. 

A dozen or so times a year, I walk the grounds and gardens at Mount Vernon. Once or twice a year, I take the "mansion" tour. Standing in the places that he lived, worked, received guests, and the room that he died in. Martha, his widow, never slept in that room again after his death. 

Mount Vernon is a spectacular story of preservation. After Martha's death the estate passed through several owners and fell into disrepair. It was bought by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association just before the Civil War, with representatives from each of the states, it is owned and managed by the Association today. It is privately owned, and receives no government funding.  The house is completing a massive restoration and stabilization project that included major repairs to the foundations. All privately funded.  

Come by for a visit, feel the funky connections to history.  I have guest passes for Mount Vernon. 

The Thursday Ramble: Community Arts

This week will be dominated by the local arts group. I was recruited or voluntold to co-chair the arts council for the condo for 2026. We change shows every 6 or 7 weeks. This is a change out week. Wednesday the prior show was removed. The painters and decorators who are on staff of the condo, will repair and repaint the walls, and on Friday morning we will hang the next show. 

Two weeks ago, I was worried. At that time, I only had about 25 pieces and I really need about 45 to fill the gallery spaces. 

We generally fill the shows by asking anyone who lives here to submit their work around a theme for the show. In this case the theme is New Works, and First Works. New Works are anything created in the last year, First Works can be your oldest piece, your first in a new media, or your first time showing here at the condo.  

The numbers slowly creeped up, and I extended the deadline a week. And then the floodgates opened, I went from about 40 pieces to over 60, with late entries coming in after the extended deadline. We have works from 24 artists, half a dozen of those being first timers (first time showing here.) My cup runneth over with great art. 

Friday morning, I need to sort out what goes where, how to get all of them on the walls, and then work with Kevin to get them all hung. It is the largest collection since I have been involved in the arts group, it may be the largest ever. 

Are they all great works of art? I think so. They are something that the person who created them, is willing to share with their neighbors. Would an art professor give them all top grades, heavens no. But this is not a class, it is not a professional gallery, it is not a juried show, it is not a show that an art critic will write about. 

It is a show that will brighten the walls of the community center for a few weeks. It will encourage our neighbors to be creative, and fearless, and willing to share.  And that is what this is all about. 

Saturday afternoon, we will gather in the Lounge in the community center, the bar opens 15 minutes before the program starts if people want to buy themselves a drink, and we will introduce all 24 artists, and invite them to speak for a minute or two about the work they are sharing with the community.  Based on past experience, most of them will speak, some with nerves, some with passion about their work, and about being an artist. I have the pleasure of hosting the opening reception, it is my show and I do enjoy it. 

I have two recent paintings, and a photograph from 49 years ago in the show. 

My World of Wonders March 25, 2026

Where have I been this week? I started off with my annual visit to my doctor, then the pharmacy. I drove down to Woodbridge to see a camera buyer, and a long walk in the outlet Mall. The Farmers Market in Alexandria early on Saturday. The pool, the treadmill. A long walk around the Wilkes Street tunnel area in Old Town Alexandria. Balducci's a local high end supermarket. National Harbor across the bridge into Maryland for a long walk. Along the River in Old Town for lunch and a nice walk. The bank, and a nice walk in the north end. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? Cheeseburgers, coleslaw and potato salad, poached eggs on toast, a risotto with chicken and shrimp, a ham and cheese omelet.  Roast pork, spinach, and French bread. 

Who have I talked with this week? David the new morning lifeguard, Warren, Paul, Renee, Mike, Veronica, Marcel, my Doctor, the vampire at the doctor's office - she has a wonderful sense of humor as she sticks needles in my hand, Jonathan the weekend housekeeping staff here in the building, Christine who is new in the community, Lynn who is always smiling. Rebecca, Linda, Paul, David, and of course my sweet bear. 

What is coming up this week? A change out in the art gallery and the showcase.  The incoming gallery show is the largest we have ever hosted, I get to figure out how to hang it all.

What made me sad this week? A couple of dear neighbors who are unwell. One has a kidney stone the size of a golf ball - that is good news at first glance it looked like a tumor - but still treatment will not be a walk in the park. And a neighbor who has diagnosed with a terminal cancer. Both are men in their 70's with adoring spouses. 

What is happening over on YouTube? Billy Petherick finally posted an update. After a couple of years of posting five or more times a week, he suddenly stopped posting in late December. He is the one that was restoring a convent in a small town in France. His disappearance drew of lots of speculation, and dredged up some skeletons from his past. Bottom line, he has split up from the mother of his two sons, and is moving on. He is a brilliant content producer. I do hope that he gets his feet back under him and returns to YouTube. 

What is on the easel this week? A 12 by 12, primed in a metallic melon color. I don't know what will happen next. I need to figure out what to paint for our 250th Anniversary of the USA show. 

What blog post moved me this week? House Dust and Wanderlust.

What did my Doctor say? I am still alive, my lab work was much the same as last year. I am fat - I should lose 25 pounds - I knew that. Nothing new.