SEASON'S GREETINGS, CANINE CAPERS AND CHEERS!

Season's Greetings and Cheers!!

I have been having fun this holiday season with a friend who has a dog named Baxter. We are without pets at this stage of our lives as we travel a lot and it is difficult to find house sitters to come and take care of the animals. We did that when we had our Miss Abigail but decided when she was no longer with us that we would wait until our traveling days were over before we settled down and got another cat or dog or both.

In the meantime we have started to keep our son's dog, Harry, from time to time now that he is better behaved. He is a registered Pomapoo but we all think that someone possibly might have gotten into the back yard whose identity will remain anonymous. Even our nephew who is a veterinarian said that he had never seen a breed that looked like Harry. Even though he might not be a purebred Pomapoo, he has a very uppity name ... Harold McDuff Salazar. Now how's THAT for a combination of ethnicticity! Harry's new pen pal's name is Baxter. They have become great friends through Email and I thought I might share some of the correspondence they exchanged over the holidays with you. It's been great fun for me even though the dogs don't read too well yet. They're still very young.

Below are a couple of letters that Harry sent to his friend, Baxter with a little help from GrandmaMama. Thought you animal lovers might get a kick out of them. They have been "corresponding" for over a month now.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year and Go Cowboys!!!

XOXO, Pcasso

Dear Baxter,
Yesterday was my second birthday. I had a wonderful time with my family. They made me this beautiful crown and told me that I was a prince of a fellow. In order to prove that to me, the even made me this lovely cupcake with purple frosting which is the royal color and a very special surprise.

I'm sorry that you were not invited to the celebration, but maybe next year when I'm a little older they'll let me have my friends and not just family. They're still not too sure that I'll behave myself at a party.
I'm behaving more and more as time goes on. I spent the night at GrandmaMama and Boompa's house last week and I was such a good boy that they invited me back to stay overnight next week. Maybe I'll get to sleep at the foot of their bed this time!
I wish that you had known Boompa's kitty, Miss Abigale. In fact I wish that I had known her too! I understand that she was a very nice cat and loved do dress up at Christmas time, pose with her favorite stuffed Christmas Moose,

and she even liked to hide under the tree.
Her friend Puffy, your deceased kitty brother, liked to dress up as well. Now they're together in Kitty heaven, probably opening their presents and playing with catnip toys.
Unfortunately Miss Abby was a bit of a snob. She always drank her milk out of a Waterford stem during the holidays while wearing her Santa hat, so what does THAT tell you about her personality!
I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with lots of new toys and treats.
Your friend, Harry Salazar

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday 2 years old. That is wonderful. I am 7 since October. Maybe next year I can come to your birthday party. Your crown is beautiful. My stocking is hanging over the mantle. My stocking is bigger than anybodys. I hope it is full of toys and treats. Do you think I am spoiled? I am sure you are to. Again Happy Birthday and you are so handsome in your pictures. Harry Merry Christmas.. Fondly Baxter

Good morning, Baxter!
I spent the night at Boompa and GrandmaMama's house last night along with Ian and Connor while our parents went to a party . This was a first for me. They took these photographs of me so you can see how I've grown and how handsome I'm becoming.
I am having a lot of fun at their house and have become a very good boy since my surgery last month. My bark is a little higher now, but I behave myself much better, don't run around the house like a crazy dog anymore and I now ask to go outside when I need to tend to nature. My "Grandparents" now say that I am welcome to come and stay at their house any time since I behave myself like a little gentleman.
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. I have asked for some toys, treats and a steak dinner every once in a while. What do you want to find in your stocking???
Your friend,
Harry Salazar

Dear Harry-
Merry Christmas to you too!!! As always, I ran the show at my mommy's house and ran around with tissue paper in my mouth. I kept trying to steal the shower thingys that Auntie Lisa gave everyone and could not understand why she would not let me keep it. I got a great new toy that I discovered yesterday and have already torn it apart.
I sent you a picture with my favorite golf ball.

I understand it was Bailey's that he would play with, so that makes it very special.
Merry Christmas
Love,
Baxter

Dear Baxter,
I have had a wonderful past 24 hours at my GrandmaMama and Boompa's house. They let me have steak for dinner and this morning I had some bacon for breakfast. They aren't supposed to feed me at the table, so they put it in a special bowl so I could enjoy my treats. I don't get things like that very often at home ... just dry dog food and water. What a bore!
We watched 2 movies together last night before I had to go to bed. Early this morning Boompa left for San Antonio and the Alamo Bowl. I think A&M is playing and that is one of his favorite college teams since he is a New Mexico Aggie. He is going to the game with his good friend and football buddy, Robert. GrandmaMama stayed here to take care of me and my brothers, Ian and Connor.
Even though she is watching her weight and eating habits, we all had a Krispy Kreme donut along with our bacon and hot chocolate. That was a real treat for her. Of course, I can't have chocolate because it will make me sick, but it smelled very delicious and wonderful. I spent most of my time while they were eating looking out the windows in the kitchen and watching the birds and squirrels. That was really fun. I got to bark a lot and didn't even get in trouble. Boompa will be back tomorrow in time for the Cowboy game. He's a real football fan. Maybe he'll take us one day when the new stadium is completed in Arlington. If he can get tickets for us, will your Mom let you come to a game with me?
GrandmaMama didn't take any photographs of the boys this time but she took some of me with my very favorite new Christmas toy. I'm such a lucky boy to have so many people who love me. We must get together sometime so you can meet them all.
Your friend,
Harold McDuff Salazar
P.S. When she tried to take my toy away from me, I gave her "The Look". I learned that from her when I was very small. I heard her say that when she would give her children, Connor and Ian and even Boompa "the Look", they would behave themselves or they would know they were going to be in real trouble. She said that it works every time, so when I gave her my "Look", she left my toy alone. It is a good thing to know!

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS!

Christmas Greetings! This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! We have had a wonderful past 24 hours ... maybe it was the best Christmas yet. We all gathered at the church a little after 5:00 p.m. yesterday.The service didn't start until 5:30 but the church was nearly full. Rachel and Ethan had been there since a little after 4:30. She said that they thought there would be more traffic than there was, so they allowed for that when they left Rowlett where they live. Franklin and Beth arrived right after we did so we were able to sit together. It's difficult to save seats at a service such as this, so it was decided that we would all be on our own and hopefully be together and as luck would have it, it worked out!
It was a beautiful family service. All of our church family for many years past were there with their entire families ... children, grandchildren .. it was wonderful to see so many familiar happy faces gathered in God's house on this very Holy night. All the children were dressed to the nines. I love to see the little girls in their Christmas frocks. They were adorable and of course the young men looked so handsome in their good Christmas clothes. The children's choir provided some of the music and the bell choir also played. As usual, after the Eucharist, they lowered the lights in the church and we sang Silent Night by candlelight. I always cry when this happens and always have. It is very moving and really touches my heart. Fortunately, Rachel had an extra tissue for me. You'd think after all these years I'd remember to bring a handkerchief.
Nicholas had to work, so he and Dayna didn't join the rest of us at the service but managed to arrive at the house the same time we did.
When we arrived home, we changed into something more comfortable. The girls always look cute no matter what they have on.Rachel said that she couldn't stand being in heels any longer and I don't blame her. No sense in being all dressed up when you don't have to be. That's the joy of Christmas at home .... comfy clothes!The big kids brought their gifts into the house that they had for other family members and Nicholas was our bartender with some help from "Mrs. Claus". Dayna looked so cute in her Santa hat and Nick always looks cute, especially as an Elf!We all had a cup or two of Christmas cheer and then we had our tree. The boys were ready to get started! Ian was the Christmas Elf this year and got to hand out the presents and wear Uncle Nick's Jester hat. We always try to open the gifts one by one so everyone can see what the other person got. As I've said before, we draw names among the adults so we each usually have only one gift to open at our house. I broke the rule and got some "Kinky" T-shirts for Papa as an added attraction so he would look cute when we exercise at the hospital fitness center. They should be good topics for conversation!We had several surprise gifts this year. I'll start with what was done for the boys.
Uncle Nick always does something special, so he had 3 large gift wrapped boxes for them. They were the next to last thing they opened. The boxes had been sealed with electric tape so they were very hard to open. Ethan, our great grandson, really got into this but finally had to get help with a Swiss Army knife.Once they finally got them open, there was a clue in each box and they had to figure out the riddle to find their gift. Nick had hidden money for each one of them all over the house. It was a great game and such a clever way to keep them busy. They always LOVE to get money!
The little ones each gave us a wish list, so we decided to get them 3 things on their list this year. All of the boys wanted Rip Sticks, so that was their big gift from us. Connor is the youngest, so he wanted a skateboard instead which was really a pretty good idea as Rip Sticks are very difficult to ride. They only have 2 small wheels, one in front and one in back, so you have to have a very good sense of balance. It's like snowboarding on cement and is quite a challenge until you get the hang of it. We kept these hidden in the trunk of the car for nearly a month. They are really big and would have been difficult to wrap, so I took photographs of the Rip Sticks and Skateboard, cut the photos out and put each photo in an envelope.

I then put the envelope in a gift-wrapped box. Once I did that, I put all four boxes into one large box and put their photographs on the outside of the box. (Tyler, Rachel's step-son was not able to be here so we saved his gifts for him). We made them wait to open the big box last, so up to that point, they were a little disappointed with their gifts, but were nice enough not to let it show too much.

After all the other gifts had been distributed, Boompa said it was time to open the big box. They were really surprised that there was only a picture of what they really wanted inside, but were more than excited when he took them into the garage and they got their gifts. It was great fun. There were also two big adult surprises. I managed to keep my mouth shut for once and really surprised Frank this year. No one knew about this so it was great fun for everyone. I drew his name and got him a lamp like the one that was in the movie, "A Christmas Story". It was announced this year that this is the #1 Christmas movie. It even surpassed "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart!He was completely surprised, and since we had just been to the stage play a couple of weeks ago and the boys had seen the movie AGAIN last week, everyone knew what it was when he opened the box. Now I have to figure out where to put it!

Dayna got a sequined stocking filled with goodies that matched her Santa hat. She always likes to be color-coordinated. We always give the big kids some sort of monetary gift each year and this year was no different. Frank usually comes up with a clever way to do this and this year was no exception. He got Aggie T-shirts for each of them and stuffed them full of $2 bills and rolled them up in a shape that looked like a tube.He even did this for the little guys, so they were happy with yet another money gift. I thought we were through with the gifts, but Frank said for me to wait a minute as he had one more thing for me. He drew my name in the family draw and gave me a Shiatsu massaging pillow for my back and neck which I had opened earlier so I wasn't expecting anything else.

He had written a poem and put it in an Aggie T-shirt for me. The poem said:
" A Toilet you profess
Would change your life at best
Well, I agree, you see
If "tinkling" is for thee
Then rejoice!
A Potty it will be."
He then brought in a garbage sack with a big bow and there was a Porta-Potty inside the sack for my studio. As some of you know, there is no plumbing in my studio, a very pricey oversight to fix, so I have to come into the house when I need the use of the "facility". This will be a very welcomed addition to my already wonderful studio where I spend a lot of time. It was a complete surprise and I am more than pleased! My family is so good about helping me keep things picked up. As each gift is opened, they put the trash in a sack, so the room is nice and uncluttered as soon as we finish opening the gifts. It makes life much easier.
We then enjoyed a New Mexico style enchilada dinner with Bananas Foster for dessert. After our meal, the whole family helped with the clean up and I got to celebrate time out. that's always one of the the best gifts I can imagine!Everyone stayed until nearly midnight, so that tells me that a good time was had by all. They decided when Boompa fell asleep on the couch that it was time to go home. I was sorry to see them leave but tomorrow morning will come way to soon I'm sure! I woke up this morning with a Cocktail Virus, but managed to get dressed in my new Aggie T-shirt and slacks and we went over to Frank and Beth's to see what the boys had gotten from Santa. Their big gift was a trampoline and Ian got a new amp for his guitars which he loves. He's scheduled to play at Gilligan's again on St. Patrick's Day.I'm sure that Franklin will spend the afternoon assembling the trampoline. It has a protective thing for the sides so that makes it much safer. Connor got a bass guitar and a new Ipod plus games for his Wii so he disappeared into his room and we didn't see him anymore. Franklin is helping Ian get things set up with his new amp so he can try it out. It will be a noisy household from now on. They also play piano and drums, so there's music all around! Maybe we should call their home Salazar's House of Music!

As you can see, they aren't able to keep things picked up as well with two active little boys around scrambling to see what was left under the tree last night. Looks like a room full of fun to me! I'm just thankful I don't have to clean it up! Harry found a new assortment of toys and chew sticks in his stocking. That made him very happy.We then joined them for Mimosa's and coffee cake, stayed about 2 hours and came home to take a nap.
This has been one of the best Christmases that I can remember. It's always good when the family is together enjoying each other.
I would like to wish each of you a Happy and Healthy New Year and a blessed 2008.
With love, Pcasso

SIX DOWN, NINE TO GO --- TIS THE SEASON!

With Christmas just around the corner, it's a busy time of year. It's a time for celebration, meditation and thanksgiving and parties, parties and more parties! Our family has so much to be thankful for. We all have our health, our friends, our Lord and each other. We are truly blessed.

In years past, I used to do so much decorating for this festive time of year, but I now realize that the real point of the Advent season is getting yourself ready for the coming of Christ.

Traditionally, Christmas trees were not brought into the home and decorated until Christmas Eve , and then removed the day after twelfth night, i.e. Epiphany, which is celebrated on the 6th of January. It was thought to have a tree up before or after these dates was considered bad luck. Unfortunately, modern commercialisation of Christmas has resulted in trees being put up much earlier, sometimes as early as late October in department stores. This to me is such a shame since that's not really what Christmas is all about.

I used to do lots of decorating as you can see in the photograph above, but as I get older and hopefully wiser, I'm doing less and less and will not put our tree up until the morning of Christmas Eve this year. Our little Ian asked me if I was going to "hang" a little tree or a big one this year. I told him that to my knowledge, I had never hung a tree in my house, but if I did, it would be a little one.

Our calendar has been filled with friends and parties this past week. We either were out being entertained or entertaining friends at dinner in our home every night this past week. I managed to sneak in a nap or two during the day so that helped as I'm not really a night person and don't do late evenings very well!

I am including some photographs of the new owners of some of my personal artwork as well as the artwork of my painting group.

My dear friends from Dallas bought the Papa Bear that they commissioned. Here you can see the Wine Connoisseurs and the Bar Bill in their Dallas home with Ray and Maria. They really look great in their bar. They invited us over for dinner and we had a lovely evening with them and another couple. It was a lovely evening. The lighthouse watercolor that they bought is now at their lake house in Oklahoma and Papa Bear is on his way to his new home in Crested Butte, Colorado, their other home as we speak.

The cross that I designed for Canvas by Canvas has by far been our best seller. I have personally sold 4 of these crosses and another member of the group has just sold one as well. Even though they look a lot alike, each one is original and also different since different artists paint each square on the 6 squares of the cross. We will do commissions of this cross for anyone who is interested. All we need is a little advance notice and we will start to paint. They make a unique and very special gift that you can't find just anywhere, so keep us in mind for something for that special someone.

The first cross that I sold is hanging in a ranch home of a client and the second one is in the Narthax at our parish, St. Alban's in Arlington. It was purchased to be hung in memory of Bailey Cawthron, a good friend of ours, who we lost several years ago. He and Frank were very good friends and played golf together with what they called the "Doctor's Group" 2-3 times a week for over 30 years. There were 24 in the group which was made up of local physicians and dentists and they played at our club here in Arlington as well as all over Texas. Several in the group would also take golf trips which included the wives and we traveled all over the US and Canada. We played cards while they played golf a week at a time. Those were wonderful times. Bailey will always be missed but has a special place in our hearts. The photograph below is of his widow and children the day the cross was dedicated at our church.

Most of my painting group attended the Holy Eucharist and dedication service for the cross which was very special. Father Kresowaty did an excellent job. Here are the members of our group who attended the service. The fact that they were there meant so much to the Cawthron family. Wish they could have all been there to celebrate this most memorable occasion.

A couple of nights ago we went to some long time friend's home to have dinner. We were in Santa Fe when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, so we had the privilege of a "Private" showing of the video that their daughter had put together for the Anniversary celebration. While we were there I photographed them with the cross that her husband bought from us for her birthday. It looks wonderful in their living room. I sold yet another cross last week as a surprise Christmas gift and was paid in cash! You can see that this will help with the purchase of Christmas gifts. The only thing green around here this season will not the Christmas tree. The girls will be happy.

We will be attending an open house for the church today to celebrate Christmas and I also will be attending a celebration of the life of another friend that we lost t0 cancer last week. He had a long hard battle and fought the good fight. He will also be missed by all of the may people whose lives he touched.

We were in a Gourmet Supper Club together for many years and had some great times together. Good food, good wine and lots of silliness. We're all hams at heart when the paparazzi is around ;-) He was always surrounded by the ladies. As a true gentleman, he loved to be in the company of women.Gatherings won't quite be the same without him.

Last night we attended a party that was given by the bank of which Frank is a Board member. It was held in a private home and it was a lovely affair as well. Their home was decorated beautifully for the holiday season and there was an elaborate table set with all kinds of good food. I'd better keep working out at the fitness center at the hospital or I'll look more like Santa than I already do. Hopefully I won't start to grow a beard ;-)

The time has come for me to get dressed, run errands and see old friends at both the church open house as well as and at Jack's memorial celebration. I hope that you have a lovely weekend and I'll be back in touch soon.

With love and good cheer! Pcasso

HOLIDAY MAGIC, KINKY AND ADVENT SUNDAY ... WHAT A COMBINATION!

I spent all day yesterday at the Arlington Convention Center serving my turn at our Canvas by Canvas booth for Holiday Magic. We were very disappointed as business was not very good, but something exciting fell into our laps. We have a painting entitled "Save a Seat for Kinky", and as were were "working the crowd", a friend from our church was there and saw this painting and said told us that Kinky Friedman was in Arlington today and was making a guest appearance at a cigar store appropriately called "Tobacco Road" (he seems to always have a cigar in his hand ;-)The three of us who were working decided that it would be nice to take him a poster of the painting and then I suggest that they take the painting as well. Why not?? So Margie, Phil (Margie's husband) and Elaine took the poster and painting to the man of the hour, Kinky Friedman himself. He loved the poster and told his business manager he wanted it framed. Elaine got the manager to display our painting next to Kinky's table where he was signing autographs. He was very happy to do that and seemed very excited about it. There was a long line of people in line to get his autograph. The owner was impressed with the painting and got suggested that we might be doing some work for him. They said that the smoke and smell of cigars was very pungent in the shop, but then, it IS a cigar store! He thought there was a good possibility of selling there for us and the owner also showed them some photos of famous tobacco/cigar owners on his digital camera. He took pictures of them with Kinky and said that he would email them to us. Kinky was in town promoting a line of cigars under his own label. For those of you unfamiliar with Kinky, Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly who styles himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Rogers and Mark Twain. He was one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. Receiving 12.6% of the vote, Friedman placed fourth in the five-party race. When some of the girls who are big Willie Nelson fans (which I am not) were in Abbott Texas photographing things pertaining to Willie, they ran across these old chairs on a porch with a campaign poster of Kinky on the wall. that was the inspiration for the painting. Check out his web site. Handmade in Honduras for Texans Everywhere! - Home

I have, along with two other painters from CbC been working on a commission that I received from a dear friend in Arkansas. She mailed me 3 of the flies that her husband had hand tied for me to photograph and then paint them for her husband as a Christmas surprise gift. They were tiny little things, but I love a challenge. The one below is the fly that I painted for the piece. Each canvas is 6x6 and is encased in a custom made triple frame.She commissioned me to do all three flies, but since this was done in the style of CbC, I said that it had to be collaboratively painted and she was all right with that. She and I have been friends through the Church for quite a few years. We've never met since she lives in Arkansas, but Frank has had the pleasure of meeting her at a National church meeting. She and I have become very close "E-friends".

As I was working on this commission, it brought something to mind that I did many moons ago to surprise Frank. Our youngest, Franklin, who is now in his 40's, was in the 2nd or 3rd grade, he wrote a paper about what he wanted to do with his life at the young age of 9 or 1o. It was absolutely wonderful. He was going to be quarterback with the Cowboys, a pitcher for the Albuquerque Dukes baseball team, conduct the Cincinnati "Cinfony" orchestra. He said that he would be the lead. He also wanted to practice orthodontics like his dad. It was precious. Well ... I talked his teacher into loaning me that particular paper and after much research, I commissioned a woman in Dallas named Odette de Brunière. She was a very talented artist and she could transfer anything from it's original form onto porcelain. I wanted a porcelain plaque for Frank's office with this important list of our baby son's ambitions. I decided that would be the perfect gift for Frank and something he couldn't buy. He's always been hard to shop for. To make a long story even longer, she had several mess-ups while she was doing this and it entailed me making MANY trips to Dallas with no excuse. I think maybe Frank was beginning to think that I was having an affair since I had to come up with so many lame excuses for those trips. After all, you can shop at Neiman's only so many times and still balance the budget!

Well, when Odette finally got it right ... it was wonderful, a huge success and also a huge surprise. It was well worth all the effort. She's gone on to become very well known. Check out her bio!I had no idea at the time that I was dealing with semi-royalty! Baby Frames by Odette

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, so we will be going to church this evening for Lessons and Carols and then a meal with our family in Christ. This is a special part of the holidays. Frank and I served this morning and as acolyte, he lighted the first candle on the Advent wreath. The wreath, a circle, came to represent the eternal victory over death through Jesus Christ. The evergreens were a sign of the faithfulness of God to God’s people, even in death, and the lighted candles were a reminder of the light of Christ brought into the world. There were some wonderful lessons today both in scripture as well as in Father Kresowaty's sermon. This is a time of preparation as we wait for the coming of our Lord. Advent (from the Latin word advenio, meaning "to come", "the coming of Christ our saviour") is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known outside the Church as the season of Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western Christian year and commences on Advent Sunday. The progression of Advent may be marked with an Advent calendar reckoning Advent to start on December 1st.
Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Jesus.

This is a charcoal sketch that I did of our parish, St. Alban's, some time back.

Guess I'd better get ready to go to the service. My friends in Christ will all be there. I'll write more later. Have a blessed Advent season. XOXO, Pcasso