Art takes whatever – and as long as – it takes. (Lady Sally McGee) Tuesday, Sep 9 2008 

Thoughts Raen Tate 11:22 pm

Sometimes it is time to get things you really desire.  Other times it is not.  This is one of the Not times.

I have gone twice more to view the oil on canvas painting that caught my eye back in July.  There are three in the gallery of the same size, theme and colors.  The one they have hanging on the wall is the one I desire.  I even set them all beside each other and yes, the original one I saw which hangs on the wall is the one speaking loudest of a soft rainy night on blossoms of white. 

This painting reminds me of a line in a song which has become dear to my heart which says, “Outside the rain fell dark and slow while I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime.” 

Tipping my hat to my mother whom exposed me to art of all sorts, it is wonderful to enjoy such items.  Since the 1960’s posters have became a sort of art unto themselves, book covers with the wonderful works of men like Frazetta, album covers and sometimes a mixture of both assuaged the thirst for art of a younger generation with offerings that would fit the meager purse strings of the working class.  Then Kodak and Kodachrome gave us a new generation of art standing on the shoulders of greats like Ansel Adams from decades before. 

But art is more than pictures or paintings.  The craft of artisians from clay pots, sculputure, glass blowing, metal works or even the simple (and not so simple) homespun arts of sewing and threadwork all speak to me.

Meanwhile, back at the subject in hand, spending that kind of money is just not a smart thing to do till I can finish the things I need and assure a good amount of funds set aside to live on.  Do not get me wrong.  I have purchased an item or six since June just for the pleasure or to put in my home, but four hundred dollars for a painting, sizable as it is (to big to fit in my car) is not one of them.  The other purchases stay below one hundred and are spread out amoungst several months/paychecks.  I have not given into the ‘want’ of this one item though I risk it being purchased by another.

“‘LIFE IS A SHITSTORM – and when it is raining shit the best umbrella you can buy is art!” Pedro Carmichael in the film “Tune In Tomorrow”, written by William Boyd.

 

I can, I will, I should … Thursday, Jul 9 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 5:58 am

I can’t…
Eat liver, Yuck!
Express my feelings verbally
Cook gumbo
Resist checking daily to see how many have read this blog
Grasp sarcasm easily
Abide phony folks (just be yourself for Christ’s sake!)
Remember details

I can..
Turn off my cell phone for a day without panic
Speak in public
Tell you which way north
Remember how I felt emotionally
Iron clothing well
Read for a whole day
Be patient with people

I won’t…
Lie to you, or myself!
Be as gullible as in the past
Give up on love
Stop singing along with the musical I am watching
Try to be the center of attention
Be so critical and hard on myself (past is past.  meh.)
Have any more children
Tolerate snide remarks

I will…
Be loyal
Be respectful and polite (even if you are being a jerk)
Crave unique items
Swear when really pissed off
Choose to be happy
Reduce my debt load
Wear a skirt with style and ease

I shouldn’t…
Feel bad about not playing my game online
Send emails without using spell check
Pretend everything is alright when it isn’t
Feel guilty that I am enjoying life
Let pain get in the way of living!
Miss my daughters so much

I should…
Write more
Be proud of my accomplishments
Work out more often
Write to more people the old fashioned way
Laugh alot
Call you on thinly veiled derogatory statements
Give thanks continually

Inspired by this

 

July 4th Weekend 2009 Monday, Jul 6 2009 

Blogroll and Daily Life and Kids Raen Tate 9:22 pm

It started with my friend’s funeral on Thursday. 

Thankfully, Friday my brother-in-law had invited me to join him, my nephew and the nephew’s companion on Lake Conroe for the day leading into the evening to watch fireworks.   It was a wonderful day.  Brother-in-law was the perfect host.  His boat was the perfect chariot for the hot hot summer day.   Plenty of sun without being burned, great music, setting in at restaurant docks for lunch and dinner, then anchored on the lake to watch the fireworks display.  The company made all the difference ending in a fantastic evening.  Taking the scenic route home I was there, showered and tucked in bed before midnight.

Saturday the 4th dawned to find me lazing in bed as much as RudyDog would allow.  Still hot hot and hot during the day most times topping out at 10 degrees F between 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM.  Did some things about the house to clean up then was invited to the neighbors for bbq chicken.  After eating we played a dominoes game called Train which was uproariously fun!  I had a blast laughing and giggling while, despite the ban on fireworks in the county, the pop and boom of personal fireworks went on all around us. 

Sunday dawned hot and beautiful.  MH2 put me on the back of his bike, we ate breakfast at a nice little diner that is decorated all in train momentoes, then took a short 160 mile ride through the National Forest north of where he lives.  It was HOT.  Drink lots of water.  Thank goodness I had my new summer jacket that was mostly mesh once the liners are taken out.  Home about 2PM, MH2 had to go pack for another out of town work trip.  I took a cool shower then fell asleep. 

So the annual pilgrimage to The Hill for the Houston Symphony July 4th and Fireworks ended this year.  I will likely go again in years with milder days.

Today work started on #1’s birthday present. Refinishing a bed I traded Dl for that is the style she favors.  As the day cooled off to 97 degrees and cloudy, shorts and short sleeves found me outside with the sander. Oh my, yes, I wore a dust mask over my nose and mouth but that did little to help the sweat pouring off my face and my glasses getting covered in varnish dust.  Much of the detail and corners of the headboard will need to be finished out with a Drimel and small sanding pads.  However, the progress done today is very satisfying. 

Tomorrow I have lunch with my good friend, Karen.  Bless her soul, she is going to let me borrow her sewing machine for mine is buggered. With that sewing machine I can continue to work on the curtains I am being paid to make.  

Between the job hunt, the bed refinishing project and sewing curtains there is ample to keep busy with.  I am so glad that this last weekend, despite Dl’s funeral, was as wonderful as it was.    I’ll miss him.

 

Thought for a lifetime Saturday, Jul 4 2009 

Thoughts Raen Tate 10:47 pm

 

“There is a way to look at the past. Don’t hide from it. It will not catch you if you don’t repeat it.”

— Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (1918-1990).

 

Back roads Thursday, Jul 2 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 9:35 am

I love back roads!  This penchant usually drives my passengers crazy.  So when going on one of my discovery drives it is usually solo.

     Houston is where I call home for the 23 years with one small stint in Seattle.  It was not long after arrival the realization hit about this large city, most all of the suburban housewives and husbands knew little or nothing about getting around!  Houston is spread out with major highways, byways, etc looking like a wagon wheel with Downtown being the hub.  Not long ago when asked about Houston, an intern where I worked answered, “It is just a slab of cement.”

     But it is NOT!  Oh sure, if you stay on the major highways it seems all cement, car dealerships and malls.  Yet just a few 100 feet from all that you will alternately run into subdivisions of housing, golf courses, trailer parks, arboretums, acres of pasture with cows and/or horses next to ritzy hotels and high dollar living abodes, streams and shopping centers.   If the interstate is jammed I take back roads all about this city.  I have been called ‘daring’ but I rather think of it as ‘adventurous’!

    Then there are the trips away from the city.  If time is an issue, I take the highways.  Even then, given a few minutes of spare time will find this adventurer pulling into towns a scant 5 miles off the cement/asphalt slabs for lunch or breaks.  This has habit has had lucky finds such as festivals at churches, fund raisers serving local cooked food and once a local parade complete with red wagons decorated, children within waving flags and parent pulling!  Of course the local horse patrol came last.  Even without such lucky finds the local fooderies can be alternately fantabulous or give one sever digestive distress.  Either way, it is all in the adventure! 

    Lately the roads taken both by car or backseat on my friend’s motorcycle when traveling are back roads!  The air is not stifling as the trees line the roads, bogs hosting wildlife, sniffles from pollens, a stop to feel the soil, look at local grasses and even at time pick a few seeds from wildflowers which brings on other adventures in gardening, but that is a story for another time!  The new hobby of Geocaching helps as well.  The task of the find forces someone out of their car and to be aware of their surroundings.  Hence, my car now always has plastic bags for trash pickup, cotton gloves, a flashlight and soon will host a utility knife to assist in this hobby. 

     I encourage everyone to take the adventure of rolling down your windows, turn off the radio, use your senses to feel an area.  Adventure is not synonymous with the word danger.  Travel to enjoy the trip!  As the plaque on my headboard says:

The journey is the destination!

 

Job Search #9 Tuesday, Jun 30 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 5:22 pm

 

Jewels says:    how are you?
 
 Raen says:    Really good. Right now looking through my job search agent e-mails for jobs to apply for. 

 

Jewels says:    ooh ooh! anything interesting so far?

Raen says:    Got a reply from a job I applied to June 8th wanting to know what were my salary requirements. I’ll call that Second Base!
Let’s see if i can hit a home run!  

 Jewels says:    *takes her sport announcer voice*
And here we have player number one, Jeannette, on second base.
So far this year, she’s been known to be actively poking different employers, only to be said no , , , but we know she won’t take no for an answer and so she’ll find some place who’ll truly appreciate her skills and personality.
Second base so far, waiting for a reply from a new employer. Will she hit the ball home?  That’s what we’ll know during the next inning! 

 Raen says:  *begins singing*
^ Take me out to the ball game! Take me out to the . . .^
 
 LOL!  Litterally!

 

< So, dear readers, with friends like this keeping me smiling, how could I NOT be having fantastic days? >

 

“Where is the little girl I . . . “ Thursday, Jun 25 2009 

Kids Raen Tate 8:34 pm

In a few short days my youngest, often refered to here as #2 or Mo, will turn 21 years of age.  The age of adulthood and ability to purchase alcohol.  A right of passage.  Some folks say the time goes so swiftly.  I have not found it so.  However the time in my life with my daughters has been good. 

She, her fiance, her sister whom I call #1 and I will gather for a dinner on Friday.  If I cook or we go out will be her call.  Purchased her a small present certain she will be thrilled with it.  A very lucky find!

A very lucky mother to have two successful daughters!

 

Backseat Rider #6 – Be Careful! Wednesday, Jun 24 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 2:10 pm

 

This lady did not straddle a motorcycle for over 25 years due to a few spills and some rather nasty road burn.  The scars have healed well and recently I began to enjoy the thrill of motorcycling as a ‘backseat’ rider. 

When you become a rider of any seriousness you become a member of a club.  No colors, no special badges, your ride is your entrance and suddenly you are in a brotherhood of friends.  As you ride other riders nod or grace you with a hand sign in greeting?  acknowledgement?  the secret handshake of riders?  No matter, you know they mean you well on this Hot/Cold/Wet/Humid riding day you are sharing.  It is a wonderful feeling along with the assortment of wonderful feelings mentioned in previous posts.

I was lucky to meet a very good friend, Dl, of MH2 from High School days.  A month after his wife died in January 2009 we traveled there on bike to have lunch at his 10 acre country land.  We discussed gardening, husbandry, his fruit trees, met the neighbors, and of course, talked motorcycles.  He and his brother had been riding since High School and he was talking about riding again.  He was a gracious host, jack of all trades and made this person feel like a long lost friend the first time we met.  Can a woman and a man just be friends?  Dl was one of those rare guys that it was possible.

Subsequent visits had he and MH2 speaking the merits of several types he was looking into so for $100 MH2 sold him a 198? Yamaha that had stayed mostly idle the last few years. The transaction happened this last Sunday, he cooked us steaks on the grill, we picked cucumbers, tomatoes and habeneros out of his garden.  The guys went over the bike and discussed him taking a safety course and Dl inquired about what type of helmets were on the market these days. We had a fabulous time.

This morning, two days later, the call came from Dl’s neighbor whom we had met on our Sunday visits.  Just after 6 PM last night Dl went to pass a vehicle and hit straight on into a minivan.  The lady he hit is in the hospital.  Dl did not survive the encounter. 

Having gone on at length about safety equipment for this type of transport and in Backseat Rider #5 post even spoke about the difference between Trust, Experience and using your Brain.   The only type of safety stuff that would have helped Dl is the basic rules.  In the rush of exhilaration it is easy to forget the smarts your brain has and fill with overwhelming emotion of a moment. This is okay for roller coasters, but on a motorcycle?

Goodbye Dl.   For the rest of you, be safe!

 

Stuff Wednesday, Jun 24 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 12:14 am

George Carlin had a line about how “other folks stuff was shit and your shit was stuff.”  Here I am pairing down my life to a minimum.  The ’stuff’ I have ain’t shit and except for the car it is all paid for!  The car, by far, is the most expensive possession I have at this time.

During the trip to Grammy’s last week my step-sister was over before work on Thursday morning and in a rush to not be late backing out of Grammy’s driveway forgot my car was there.  Crash.  She hit the driver side rear quarter panel, bumper and cracked the rear light lens assembly of my 2008 Toyota Scion. 

Now do not mistake me, I am very proud of this car and there is very little about it not to like,  most of which I have fixed one way or another.  Yet it is only a car and dispite being a little over a year old has 25,000 miles on the odometer.  While being careful with it this 2 door coupe has been used it to tote wood, furniture, ladders, boxes, taken to job sites, over curbs slowly so the thought that it has been ‘babied’ just is not true.  Regardless, it has been kept in good running and looking condition.

My poor step-sister was all a-fritter with with regret and apologies.  I laughed and hugged her saying, “I ya didn’t want me to visit, just SAY so!  Ya did not need to bang up my car!”  She laughed and then cried.  In response the only reasonable thing to do was tell the truth, “Sister, it is only a car!  Are you okay?”  She was amazed!  “I HAVE INSURANCE!”  to which the only reasonable response was, “Oh, I trust you!  I know where your Momma lives!”  Still feeling badly but not quite so shaken she went on to work.

Having insurance she filed a claim that day and today the car went into the shop for repairs.  The repairs will cost around $1,500 and of course her insurance will pay.  When the Scion is returned it will be in good shape ready for the next 25,000 miles!

It is amazing how when you have things you take care of yet keep in perspective the important things such as life, limb and mental stability, the stuff does not weigh you down.

 

Backseat Rider #5 Tuesday, Jun 23 2009 

Blogroll Raen Tate 8:14 pm

A few months back at the end of a post there was a mention of riding gear. Today, as the temperature capped out at 102°F in Houston Texas I ordered the jacket that will allow the liners taken out leaving mesh and protective plates for summer riding.

My brother-in-law has purchased a Harley and will take riding classes next week. It has been at least 20 years since he has ridden! The classes are essential. I am glad for him and hope we can team up for a ride sometime in July.  I’ll not  ride two-up with him for a while.  Do I trust him?  Absolutely.  But in this case, brains overcomes trust.  He must reacquaint himself with handling the bike in all situations one-up again first. 

No, there has been no Backseat Riding with MH2 for more than a month for between my trips, his work, his trips and life in general there simply has not been time. It will prove to be a very hot summer, but overall I am looking very forward to riding Backseat again despite the heat.

Hope the roads you travel are smooth and the sights breathtaking!

 

Game On! Tuesday, Jun 23 2009 

Game Raen Tate 7:56 pm

Through the blessing of ex-Lee the gaming computer is up and running.  Though the last week I have been away, I have been in game just a few times!  Leveled up (level 19 after 5 actual playing years) and invited to The Hillcountry Texas Meet in August.  It will be hot!

Game has been grant fun!  I was going to attend an event two Saturday’s ago and let the event coordinator know it.  This was the in charcater post he placed:

* new note is appended to the bottom *

Potential performers — I’ve received a notice from the ever lovely, entirely famous Miss Raen — founder of Monday Night Madness and patron saint of bards — stating that she will also throw something in as the Grand Prize. If that doesn’t bring you out tonight, you should be clubbed over the head with a lute.

F.S..

Other than  that, the whole scheme of Avlis is amazing still.  Good times
 

 

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