FIRES, FANTASY FIGURES, FRIED CHICKEN AND FUNERAL

The past week has been a very busy one. Our microwave bit the dust and by God's grace, our house didn't burn down! There was a short and when they came to install the new one, we found that the plug had literally melted where the old one had been plugged in. Once again, we have been blessed!

The new one is harder to program but it's so fast that I can't believe that we have been living with the old one for so long! Once we get used to this new technology we can eat twice as much in half the time!
On Friday some of my artist friends came over and the three of us spent most of the day painting together in my studio.

I have always been an admirer of Robert Burridge's style of painting and one of the girls gave us a "mini course" showing us his technique.

I was signed up for one of his workshops a couple of years ago but canceled as something else came up at the same time. At last I now have a general idea of how to paint like he does. I have purchased all of his video tapes as well as books, so with these guidelines I will hopefully get the general idea of how he paints and can adapt it to my own style.

We had a great time painting, took a break for lunch and then came back to finished what we started in the morning. We learned a lot as she is an excellent teacher and also lots of fun.

Here a two of the three small paintings that I finished.

The other 4 of mine that I started are still works in progress. They were very interesting to work on and I had a great time. In my mind ... that's what painting is all about, at least for me. When I stop having fun and enjoying what I'm doing, I'll stop painting.
Margie had to get back home as her family was coming and she was going to get to baby sit her precious grandchildren while the rest of the family went to the baseball ballgame.

After I cleaned up my studio, I hurried into the house and cleaned the paint off of myself so I could bet ready to go over to dear friends home for their annual Chicken Cook-out.
We had a great time at Dick and Betty's. They are certainly the "Host and Hostess with the Mostess". They have a lovely home and you couldn't ask for a better place to have a chicken cook-out. We were sitting in their gazebo by the pool, overlooking the golf course and watching the sunset which was spectacular as we had our appetizers and cocktails. What more could you ask for?

I have posted more photos in a slide show from the evening's events that follows this entry. We have all been good friends for many, many years and we always know that we will have a wonderful time when we get together. At this stage of our life, we all left to go home by 10:30. Times have changed over the years. We used to party all night and end up having breakfast together. Are we wiser now or just older???
This morning we went to Fort Worth to a funeral to celebrate the life of a dear friend and fellow Episcopalian, Harry Haagen. He was a wonderful man and this service was one of the most glorious ones that I have attended in a long long time. Harry would have loved it.

Most of the congregation have been active in Cursillo , which is a movement of the church. Its purpose is to help those in the church members understand their individual callings to be Christian Leaders. The leadership may be exercised in work situations, in the family and social life, in leisure activities, and within the Church environment. Leadership, in Cursillo, does not mean power over others, but influence on others; all of us need to be aware that we can exert a positive influence on those around us. The goal of Cursillo is the goal of the Church: to bring all to Christ. This is done when informed, trained leaders set out with the support of others having a similar commitment. It helps to renew and deepen Christian commitment.
We found ourselves surrounded by many old friends, glorious music and a true celebration of this wonderful man's life. We were very active in the movement for over 20 years.
Harry and his wife, Pat, would have been married 64 years tomorrow. They were and still are a beautiful couple and very dedicated Christians. The world would be a much better place if each of us patterned our lives after the witness that Harry and Pat had. I'm very thankful that I had the privilege of knowing him and working beside the two of them on many very special weekends. I even discovered today that we shared a birthday ... we were both born on the 13th of July!
Tomorrow will be another wonderful Sunday (probably my favorite day of the week). We will go to church, then out to breakfast with friends in our Sunday morning tradition. I plan on spending the rest of the day in my studio painting.
I wish each of you a happy and fun-filled week. I have a very busy week coming up and will check in later.
XOXO, Pcasso