Thinking Out Loud

Yesterday Clint looked outside to our backyard and said,
"Look at that cloud!"  I grabbed my camera and snapped
some pictures within seconds.  I wish I could have captured exactly
what we saw at first.  There were some dark streaks in the brightest
part of the opening.  I really love the rays shooting down from it.

Good afternoon, friends ... hope every one's Monday is off to a good start.  Last week Clint developed a cold and now I have it.  Last night we decided on nachos, made at home of course. These simple nachos proved to be a little more labor intensive than we had expected. Next time I will make our favorite Hot Ole Dip, it is baked and has been a favorite of ours for years. It truly is more simple, delicious and very filling. We watched the Super Bowl and I have a confession to make: I am an alien.  I don't really care about sports and don't have much interest in them at all. Clint calls the sports section of the paper my "fish wrapper".  Clint also says a woman who is knowledgeable about sports is considered sexy by other men. I guess I will just keep my mouth shut in the company of other men when the topic of sports arises. ☺ To me, a man who can quote Shakespeare is considered sexy ... I don't know about other women.


Yesterday morning we watched Charles Stanley.  I did some research online on how to glue canvas on particle board or Masonite. I am preparing to paint my oil painting of the Smoky Mountains. I headed to Lowe's yesterday afternoon to buy a piece of particle board. It is so frustrating to not be able to get help at this store. The worst part was having trouble breathing with this cold and walking through the long aisles of dusty broken cement bags, exposed insulation packages and saw dust. This would have to be such an unhealthy environment for working.  I had to walk all the way up front and have someone call for help and walk all the way to the very back of the store to meet the guy. Luckily he cut the piece perfectly for me, it fits the frame. I had to buy the whole piece, there was no way I felt like carrying the huge heavy piece that was left over, it had to have been about 5' by 6'. I asked the guy if I could leave it there and he said that would be okay, that he could use it himself for remodeling his garage. That was good to hear.







The labor-intensive leftover nachos thrown together today for lunch.





Also, yesterday I received a very exciting email concerning a blog topic. It came out of the blue.  I hope it works out that I can write this blog very soon.  Those of you who know me will understand my excitement when you see what I share on this blog post.


Believe it or not, I have some blog drafts I have been working on and will have a new one posted tomorrow. We both have have been enjoying our bird watching.  Birds are so entertaining and I could watch them forever.  This morning we saw an Eastern Towhee flitting around on the ground.

Eastern Towhee

In my last few posts I realize I have been a bit of a drama queen, an undesirable trait.  Then I got all torn up about the painting I wrote about in the previous post, my painting Lonely Times, which may have perished in the Nashville flood of 2010 at the Opryland Hotel.

One more thought I could have added to the list of memories associated with that painting was on that snowy afternoon we dropped off the paintings for the competition, we made another stop in Nashville before heading for home. That afternoon was the only time my daughter ever saw her grandmother.

It has occurred to me this painting was more about memories instead of paper, wood, paint and glass.  All those memories were so tied up in that painting. Also, I was not counting my blessings.

The day of the flood, I was returning to Texas from Knoxville.  I had driven to Tennessee from Texas, the longest distance I'd ever driven alone. We had discussed and debated going through Nashville instead of the more southern route.  I chose the southern route and missed being on the roads during the Nashville flood.  It was bad enough driving in storms that day through Louisiana, I called Clint in a panic to have him look at the weather to see if I was driving near a tornado. We also missed being in the Tuscaloosa tornado while moving here by less than 24 hours. Whew!

My online friend Patti and her husband Stan lost their home and possessions in the Nashville flood. I have not forgotten their story. It's just good that I've survived this past year.

Thank you all for "listening" to me. Also, thank you Facebook friends and blogger friends for your comments on Clint's blog, messages, emails and concerns.

Stay tuned tomorrow for madonnas and monsters ... {;~D)