We Got a Pool!

A wading pool, that is. Here are some shots of Jace enjoying it in our backyard. Sandy and I bought the pool for only a couple of dollars at a Kidstuff sale, and decided it wasn't much of a loss if it had a leak. No leak! Hubs said it was the best $2 I ever spent.

Most kids don't like water in their faces, do they? The first thing Jace did was dunk his face for his daddy. (Isn't this a yoga position?)

Here's a shot of Jace and Pappy in the pool.

Here's Jace doing a bit of construction work. He is not yet 15 months old and weighs less than 20 pounds. This landscape stone was large and heavy!

More construction. Now Jace looks like a plumber.

Since everything goes into the mouth, it's understandable that when he got the waterhose, he took a drink!

I think Jace looks a lot like his Mommy in this photo.

He knew I was taking his picture and mugged for me.

Look at that physique! And the trunks that droop to the ankle. Right in style. (No, he didn't spray us, but I know that day will come.)

We did get way more than $2 worth of fun out of it in yesterday's extreme late May heat. (94F, I think.) Now everyone is clamoring for a 'real' pool!

Aunt Chris's 100th Birthday Party

We celebrated my Aunt Chris's 100th birthday party with a big bash yesterday. Here are a few photos.

The envelopes:

The invitation:

The banner:

Bryan Jackson of State Farm Insurance with Aunt Chris, his oldest client:

The Birthday Cake:

Ready to blow out the candles:

Jace and Aunt Chris - the oldest with the youngest family member:

Aunt Chris with friends Dave Gibbs and Marilyn Rodgers:

Jim, Angie and Celeste Beatty:

Roger and Charlotte - his soon to be granddaughter:

The party was fun and Aunt Chris had a good time. Some of her oldest friends showed up, and many family members, including some from out of town.

For Sale and Not For Sale

One day when I was keeping my sweet Jace Face we strolled past this house in the neighborhood. I saw a handmade "For Sale" sign and my heart sunk. Not another home up for sale! It sometimes seems that there's another one everyday.

The next day I realized that the house was not for sale. They were selling all the lovely baskets of petunias that lined the driveway! What a great idea to use them as landscaping in the meantime.

And here's Jace the Face chillin in the backyard.

Here are two photos I took to perhaps use as backgrounds in some digital art. The first is wood shoring up a railroad crossing near our first apartment.

This is a white wall (fingerprints included) outside a fastfood restaurant.

My Butterfly Garden

My butterfly garden is chock full of wildness. I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what to prune out. What I think are weeds turn into magnificent primroses and other specimens. If anyone can tell by looking, let me know and I'll pull out the offending stalks. All winter it looks awful, but finally I am rewarded with color. I do know the tall brown stalk needs to go, but how about all that other unidentified stuff? Is it supposed to be that way? Is it safe to tug it out? I get some yellow flowers soon, I know.

Here are some samples.

Coral honeysuckle - identified by some Facebook/art friends.

Clematis and primrose.

Automobile Quarterly Story Published!

The story I wrote (with intern Jen Harrington) about Oregon photographer and digital artist Robert Michaels has now been published by Automobile Heritage Publishing. It is in Automobile Quarterly Volume 50-4, which is the current issue. Automobile Quarterly (AQ) is a prestigious subscription-based hard-bound automotive publication. AQ features an automotive artist in each issue, among many other stories. This was a big issue for me, as I also did some behind-the-scenes editorial work on the Santa Fe story and the Porsche Museum story for this one.
Here is a link to Automobile Quarterly.
I'm excited to have this published. Due to copyright, I can't share it with you, but in lieu of that, here is a link to some of Robert Michaels' car art.