Birthdays and More

March 24, 2023

It has been awhile since I posted. We had a houseful of company for about a week that I had to care for.

Let's go back to March 14th when it was my big 6-3 birthday. It was a wonderful day with greetings and messages from friends and family, dinner at my favorite Irish pub and then a concert.

Tanya Tucker was in town for my birthday so we ventured over to the Pikes Peak Center. I've been a fan of hers probably as long as she's been in the business (50 years). I credit my brother with our family liking her. I believe he introduced us to her music when he spent summers working in the oil fields of West Texas. We've seen her in concert several times over the years and I'm thrilled to see her making a bit of a comeback.

Tanya was extremely personable with the audience which I really appreciate. She even brought her dog Stella on stage. In 2020 she won Best Country Song at the Grammys with Brandi Carlile. It's a beautiful song with touching lyrics that I hadn't really paid attention to until the night of the concert. When she finished singing it the audience gave her a five minute standing ovation. Check it out when you have a change. It's one of my new favorite songs. Here are the lyrics:

So I said, "Listen, I got..." And I said, uh, uh, somethin' about, uh

Goin' to somebody's funeral or something, she, I said, "Man, " I said

I said, "Bring my flowers now, while I'm living"

Bring my flowers now, while I'm livin'

I won't need your love when I'm gone

Don't spend time, tears, or money on my old breathless body

If your heart is in them flowers, bring 'em on

All the miles cast a long shadow

I'd take a couple back if I could

I'd've learned to play guitar

Told my daddy more I loved him

But I believe, for the most part, I done good

There's always sunrise and rainbows and babies

And the little things I cherish on my way

Even though one day

They'll bury me and Jessie Mae

I just know we're gonna ride again someday

Bring my flowers now, while I'm livin'

I won't need your love when I'm gone

Don't spend time, tears, or money on my old breathless body

Well, if your heart is in them flowers, bring 'em on

The days are long but the years are lightning

They're bright and they will never strike again

I wish I'd been a better friend, a better daughter to my mother

There's no goin' back when your back's against the wind

So if you got love, then you're sittin' on a gold mine

And you can't take it with you when you go

So don't wait to help your sister

Forgive your brother and your neighbor

We all think we got the time until we don't

Bring my flowers now, while I'm livin'

I won't need your love when I'm gone

Don't spend time, tears, or money on my old breathless body

If your heart is in them flowers, bring 'em on

Of course she finished off the night with her biggest hit, Delta Dawn, which she recorded when she was 13.

We've had some beautiful sunrises lately. I've been trying to take the early morning shifts with the new puppy to let Irv sleep in since he takes the middle of the night potty breaks. I don't have a picture of it, but early one morning I was out with both dogs when a huge barn owl swooped over me in an attempt to get Maisy. I went into panic mode trying to get the dogs inside quickly then I grabbed my phone to get a picture, but it was gone by the time I got back outside.

I started a new painting and above is the underpainting with my sketch. I'll be doing a wipeout technique which is why it's colored so strangely.

Here it is after the first painting session. I think I'm going to love it with the spotlight on that lone blue butterfly. My teacher says I've developed a real good eye for color mixing. I guess if you've been taking lessons for nearly 10 years that at some point color mixing starts to make sense.

Yesterday I took my hummingbird and bison up to Monument, Colorado to get professional scans of them so I can start building a portfolio, I also visited a gallery up there that might be willing to display some of my pieces one I build an inventory. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be able to start trying to sell. My teacher says I'm ready.

You know what I'd really like to paint next? My brother posted a picture recently of a bison on a golden background which I really loved and thought it would fit the type of work I like to do. I haven't asked him if he'd like to share the photo with me. He's an outstanding photographer and my teacher even asked if he has a portfolio she could look at because she might be interested in purchasing some of his photos for future work after I showed her the bison. Check out his blog here: Yogis Den