MISS ALMOST BEEN

Awe...I love Facebook.  It took me the longest time to get on board because my baby bo peep gave me strict orders...do NOT get on Facebook and check out what I'm up to because you will be a nerd mother.

Then, I decided to promote my online news sites with its powerful connectivity and in the meantime "friended" my children...and they friended me back...none of them are up to anything anymore.

This is what I saw a few days ago

After 8 LONG years of road trips, long distance phone calls, Skype dates, and lots of goodbyes, I could not be more happy that Cody Mac and I finally live in the same city :) Beyond excited to begin this new journey! — with Cody Mac Been.


It really tugged at my heart because I really didn't realize just how hard their love journey had been.  I have told her often in her sadness how lucky she was because  I had to actually write a letter that took a long time to send and receive, and phone calls at $2.50 per minute were a luxury--and short.  


They have dated off and on through a high school romance, going off to colleges in different states and different times, and finally discovering they had the real thing to last a lifetime.


And this is the photo I saw on Facebook today thanks to his fun sister

Coach Been

you look exactly the same

I hope you saved this vest

June 30

here we come!

From the mother of the bride

I am beyond excited

 right there with you

Miss Almost Been

MY NEIGHBOR

T is my neighbor across the street

our town is a pop-up oilfield town and you might find

the nicest homes across the street from a trailer park
(our zoning commission has changed this)

we just accept it

T lives with his mom and their house is decently nice with huge potential to be awesome

I am reminded that beauty is in the eye of the beholder 

and maybe

he thinks it is awesome

most bachelors would
most busy bachelors could care less about cute little window boxes filled with cheery geraniums

Before I lived at 822, I would drive by his house often and wish I could buy it

because I knew that whoever bought 822 would do what I'm doing and then
 this block could have 4 very nice homes on it.

It would annoy me that 

he would use his hay thrasher to mow and EDGE his front yard

park his truck (and hay thrasher) in his front yard

and that his beautiful turquoise front door was covered up by 28 huge light bulbs for

12 years

But the other day we were about to get a huge thunderstorm on a

shipment of lumber..possibly hail...

He went to his shop and came back with tarps

and helped us cover our wood

and this is what I got to thinking about him

I really like and maybe even love him

he was in the same grade as my youngest brother and they grew up together

he looks exactly like a Spanish Smokey Robinson

he takes good care of his mother

(he just bought her a new ac unit, mows her grass with a tractor, sits outside and visits with her)
he has been known to drink beer from both hands at the same time

he recently moved 28 light bulbs from his front porch

 he came to our rescue in the time of need

to cover up our wood

because he is a good neighbor

And while he and I might not have the same taste in decorating

I can live with the kind of neighbor he is 

because he's a good one!

YARD OF THE WEEK

In our little corner of the world we have those who appreciate beauty

I was the chamber of commerce exec for 8 years about 8 years ago
the guy who took my place didn't care that much about
Yard of the Week (he's a guy!)
when I did it, there were 4 signs so each week from Memorial Day through Labor Day
4 city yards would be chosen and then put in the local paper

Folks really liked it and it was a friendly competition

When he stopped doing it
I asked if he would mind if I took over again
via

HIGH PLAINS OBSERVER
I felt it was appropriate for my local internet news site to choose
and was excited about the traffic it would drive to my site.
Yay!

But...I could only find one sign...which didn't matter to me..one yard per week was all I needed

Well this year
as the editor of the HPO
(ahem)
I have given the first award of the season to
ME!

Here's why

1.  I am the chooser

2.  I am in possession of the sign

3.  I can (within reason) do what I want to because I really don't care what people say

4.  My yard...FINALLY looks DANG GOOD!

Congratulations 822!

Happy Memorial Day to all!

ANGEL FLIGHT

In honor and memory of Ray Glenn Bullskilled at 19 and buried in Francemy dad's twin
Thank you for giving your lifeUncle Rayand for serving all your lifeRoy Lynn Bullsmy dad,my precious dad
you are together now

celebrate

SANTORINI BLUE

Mattie worked very hard at SHS

she graduated with a 101+ GPA

and was Salutatorian (smart class)

So that summer we told her we'd take her on a trip

thinking she'd choose

Las Vegas?

Hollywood?

NYC?

Thank You

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

she chose Santorini

As it turns out, she entered Texas A&M that fall as a sophomore

allowing her to graduate in 3 years..

..so we figured she saved us a bundle in tuition

she invited a friend (her June 30th sister-in-law) and off we went

Athens, Mykonos, Santorini

Everything in Santorini is blue

 blue and white

and I just fell in love with that bold vivid color

MEDITERRANEAN CRISP

Never..NEVER in a million years did I dream that someday 

(actually I dreamed all my life)

we would own 822

and 

build a pool

a very BLUE one

(I am the luckiest girl alive!)

Way before that we had gone to an auction and much to hub's dismay

I purchased these pots...for $5  (x 5)

They have been in my garage for nearly ever

but today, I brought them out 

and while hubs worked on the jalopy picnic table

(the fence will be gone Tuesday, the bobcat is to dig the pool and he found that awesome hat in our garage)

I gave them a coat of

Santorini Blue

(butterflies and twirlies)

as opposed to the wonderful lavenders and purples often

seen in my Taos

822 has a very French (Euro) feel 

I have always loved the blue doors and blue shutters

and blue accents...

...maybe it's just that all around cool countries like blue stuff

and very very very

cool

hats

A PICNIC

In addition to rarely losing my cool,

when I do get mad I back off pretty quickly

except that thing that happened 28 years ago and oh yeah that one thing that happened about 6 years ago

that I'm currently forgetting

So yesterday I was all prepared to go 

"have a word" with mr. frame man 

if and when he showed up

I happened to be gone to my daily workout when he did

and then by the time... blah blah blah

well

I lost my muster

and I am so glad I did because

when I got back from having lunch with hubby, all was quiet and I assumed they had left for lunch

so I was going to go snoop to see what all had been done

when I turned the corner

there they all were

having a picnic in my backyard

They were just normal guys (with ponytails)

one was sitting on a stack of lumber eating a baloney sandwich

two had moved our jalopy picnic table under a tree

(the one we plan to renovate this weekend--the one with the beehive on it when we bought 822)

one was sitting on another pile of lumber reading what looked like a history book

man..my heart just went soft

you know...stuff happens

rain delays, water pumps, sick kids, phone service cutoff...just stuff -just life

I may not be the kind of person who leaves one hanging, but I do have my own faults

one of them is being chatty

I think at lunch today I will go sit at that picnic table with them, offer them some sweet tea

and tell them all about the huge old beehive that was living on it when we bought 822

and that after the holiday weekend and the next time they see it

it will be cedar and carrara marble leftover from other projects

and they can sit there in the shade and listen to the doves coo

and eat BBQ chips and

frame my house

GRADUATION

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

Yep...today I think I just might wear a bowl upside down on my head dangled with fruitloops

WAR PATH

It's been a very long time since I have 

lost my temper

I'm usually a pretty easy going patient person and when I do get feisty

I tend to take it out on hubs, poor guy listening to my whining

but yesterday I fired off a pretty pointed email to contractor

to which I'm sure his reaction was

woo...I'm really scared

You see...I realize we live in TimBukTu

but that is just no excuse for all the excuses

frame man has been on board since March and we have been making ready for him

We have had this quote from frame man for 

3 WEEKS

"I will be there this week"

Monday, contractor said

"he'll be here today"

Wednesday he said 

"he'll be here at noon"

Wednesday at 5 I fired framer in a surly text to contractor

wooo

Thank goodness hubs is much more rational and cool headed

he talked me down from the ledge

It's called the "who else are we going to hire ledge"

So here I sit, in front of my computer, Thursday morning, pretending I am 

NOT looking out my window waiting to introduce myself to framer

I am so glad I have a smudge stick

if he's like most framers he will be delighted

when I smudge him with what looks like a very large 

joint

It's just a smudge stick that we native Americans use to ward off

the bad mojo

but he might (MIGHT) be thinking

dang...why did I wait so long to get here!

teehee

THE ATRIUM

It is no where near selection time

but I can toy with thinking about it right?

This space is kind of odd

JUST LIKE I LIKE IT!

It will be the space that connects the original house to the 

renovated garage apartment turning master suite, and is only about

20 x 15 x 10

It will be 2 stories of glass and cedar

the art studio loft upstairs will have a turret and the office will be below the studio

there will be double doors that step out into the yard and patio and pool

I have put a drain in the center in case I want a 

Zen Garden with fountain

Butterfly Habitat

or 

Inside/Outside shower

:-)

so the floor must accommodate that 

and I do not want it to look new

tumbled marble?

I have white carpet and very dark handscraped wood 

in the other parts of the house

It's my chance for some of that blue color that I love and 

that will bring the color of the pool indoors!

My one chance to pop on this end of the house

but I love this shape and color and could have a nice blue rug

but I find myself loving

these Moroccon Mediterranean Casablanca tiles

I could polish the concrete and paint a mural

but I just keep thinking about these tiles!

I don't have a good vision for how something square is going to fit into this odd triangle

still thinking....

suggestions?

JENA LEE--NOT YET

This is the space that I am 

searching searching searching for 

just the right thing

there have been several things here

and then I decided that I wanted something 

pastoral

so I did a number on these cheap frames and planned for a holiday (Memorial Day) for

hubby to paint me some pastoral scenes..

he needs a holiday because he paints much better after some wine

nope...not working

so I got the bright idea that I would turn 

 this

into this

making them look like Charles and Jena

and THEN I got the bright idea I would just paint 

JENA

(at her shower)

This huge canvas came from an old building and the very first night we stayed at the

Bishop Cottage B&B

(we had to be our own first guests you know..to make sure everything was perfect)

We divided it in half

took the primary colors

and I painted hubby and he painted me

You can see here a pencil, a calculator, the Eiffel Tower, prime numbers

for sure a cork or two!

B's version of me...not sure if I should be flattered or not....

this hung in the Bishop until we created Zulu Art Gallery

I had to paint clothes on "me"

to cover up that one perky boob 

because my little art students were way too interested in the nude version

and I also spent alot of time explaining why I had no arms

these are my colors...we bought it in Paris along the Seine

and it hangs on the opposite wall

I might also add...I have no paints (at my sister's house in Dallas) 

which means a trip at least 45 miles away 

to get little artist paints...hmmm...

how about all that wall paint wasting away in the garage

green, white, coral, gold

yes I can make that work David Bromstad style

so I spend a good hour getting prepared

ready--set

and I could not do it

too precious and full of sweet memories to paint over

I was surprised to discover it meant so much to me

so...I skulked around the basement and came across this 

water color from a very famous area artist

DORD FITZ

it was in an auction in Beaver Oklahoma

and we paid $15 dollars for it

I had it framed true to the 1960's style which is why it's been in the basement

I may not leave it...it's not exactly what I want here

but by now

I have totally lost my 

mojo to create this space

so I think I'll 

buy a canvas to paint Jena next time I go to Amarillo

hang the dual portrait in my studio upstairs when it gets built

and go watch Eddy work

911

What's your emergency?

ok...true small town PURA VIDA story

Friend, grandsons and son in law (and new dad) spend 10 hours waxing vintage car for parade

Line-up is at 10 am at the mall--parade at 11

dad of 3 week old baby gets urgent phone call, new mom has locked the keys and baby in car

dad is in parade line and suggests mom call 911

mom calls 911

and gets a message machine

she leaves a message

but as you might be putting 2 + 2 together

all emergency vehicles and personnel are

in the parade

not to worry

the right person does get the message, leaves the parade and makes it to the car to unlock

mom and baby are just fine

after all

even 911 folks should get to enjoy the parade!

We have laughed and laughed over this moment

filled in our own comments

(You have reached 911, we cannot currently attend to your emergency as we are leading the parade, please leave a detailed message as it will be over in less than 15 minutes, at which time we will be right there)

and laughed more

but we have also said a bit of a prayer of gratitude 

that we live in such a place that this is our form of emergency 

and no matter where you are 

you're only 5 minutes from where you need to be

FOUR

 

we did it

Regalia is not that easy

it is NOT costume it is regalia

and while it's not that hard,

it's not that easy

buckskin

beads

braids

four generations of

Choctaw women

on a mustang

driven by our son

in the

2012 Heritage Days Parade

we did it

proudly

THAT KIND OF MAN

file

We need to teach our daughters to distinguish between

a man who flatters her

and a man who compliments her,

a man who spends money on her

and a man who invests in her,

a man who views her as property

and a man who views her properly,

a man who lusts after her

and man who loves her,

a man who believes he’s a gift to women

and a man who believes she’s a gift to him.

And then we need to teach our sons

to be that kind of man.

file

A POINTING ISSUE

Last night we took baby bo peep to eat pizza with family for a belated

mother day feast.

When we took her back home, mom asked how things went and she said

"I had a pointing issue"

While it is true, we asked her not to point when she pointed, it just about killed me that this is what she took home from the experience.

She is 4

She was shushed a time or two for using her outside voice

and she pointed at a new baby who came in with the parents she knew

She is 4

she was excited about coloring her page with the crayons they gave her

she was excited about seeing a newborn baby

here are the things she did NOT do

and I am about to point!

She did NOT

• turn up the tv too loud to watch basketball
• test drive a vehicle in the parking lot while waiting on our table
• fart and pretend no one heard
• blow her nose at the table and then examine it for what seemed like 5 minutes
• smack

She might have thought she had a pointing issue

but I happen think there were a few adults that could take a lesson from this 

4 year old

on how to act

MAY DAYS

Spring is a breezy blossomy season and it comes in 2nd as my favorite behind October.

Our temperatures are mild and the sun is warm with cool breezes

My top 5 favorite sounds in May

Thunder

You just can't beat a good thunderstorm rolling across the plains

Glee

822 is just around the corner of the Gus Birdwell Elementary

something about the end of school nearing--I love to hear the children at play at recess

Hammering

at my house

=

progress

google

The song of a cardinal near my house

we don't have that many

The melody 

of

windchimes

lawn mowers

and that

chch chch chch of a sprinkler on my yard

and as I was browsing my photos, I came across

Lola and Mr. Sweety Pie

I hope they are happy living in the country now

they would really like 822