My take on the State of the Union Address

I took it as a Constitutional requirement gone awry...teach our children how to add and subtract, nukes are bad in the hands of a bunch of wackos, those folks who cross our borders are bad, bless the folks who serve our country, thanks to Mrs. King. I'm sure I haven't covered all the high points, but Ms. Jackson-Lee's red suit sure was looking nice. Mr. President, if you aren't going to make, wide ranging, innovative proposals, just send me an email about the state of the union. You have my address.

Ideas are good. I'd love it if people stopped reading the news and started throwing out wild and crazy ideas that could be edited, and edited again. This might be the Shiner talking, but it would be great to have the unwashed masses calling the shots!

Physucks!

Bless my nephew's heart, he has a high center of gravity! Trust me though, when he is able to hold that big dome up and smile for the camera...I'll post more!

What does one do on a frosty winter day in Houston?

You play hooky from church and go for a little swim of course! The rain yesterday made for extra mud to roll around in. Sometimes I wonder what cat people do for fun.

They came!

Last week I made my first ever campaign donation-and it was to someone I can't even vote for. This evening I checked the mail and there were two shiny new bumper stickers waiting. I dropped what I was doing and went straight out and put it on my car.

Like many conservatives, I'm frustrated with the direction our local, state and national governments are taking. There was a time when political convictions meant something. Now it seems like those "convictions" only come out during campaign season. I've always had a general frustration with the divide between the party platform and what actually gets accomplished. But now that frustration has become something that makes me want to smack every politician "Three Stooges" style.

I've been listening to Dan Patrick on the radio for quite some time. His message is clear. His goals transcend the good ole boy network in Austin. I'm willing to give him any support I can in his bid to get to Austin.

If you are reading this and are in Texas Senate district 7, I encourage you to at least do some of your own investigative work into the race at hand. Senate 7 will go Republican, so your only opportunity to choose will be in the primary election...so get out there and VOTE!

Tommy and Rob, I hope you are reading this! Some of us are tired of lip service.

Pam v. KFC

Apparently Pam Anderson is mad at KFC and Colonel Sanders. The voice of reason prevailed against her attempt to use her fame against an American tradition.

I hereby revoke her status as pet owner fit to own a Golden. They are bred to bring back dead birds for cying out loud.

Please include your favorite "breast" recipes in the comments!

Blame it on Mexico

314 pencil on Strathmore 400 series, 1.5 hours. This was the draft before the final one that I framed as a gift for a friend.

Ahhh, good ole Ma Crosby's in Acuna, Mexico. I dug this out this afternoon and had to post it. It reminds me of those times in high school that the boys and I would tell our parents we were going "camping" and head south to Del Rio, check into a hotel and spend a weekend drinking beer and and enjoying a couple nights without a curfew. Good times, good times.

When I'd return on Sunday, I'd wash all my camping cookware, air out the tent in the back yard and wash that fictional campfire smoke off my clothes. Did my parents ever know it was all for show?

The first good one of the year

I said I'd post more as the project progressed. So here it is. The guys finished with the clearing part of the project today. Forms for the drive also went in. Sometimes there is a lack of communication on projects like this, but we have a good guy in the field who has shown his enthusiasm on this one. Its shaping up just as planned. Rain this weekend might hold things up...but give us another 4-5 weeks and this place will be the talk of the town.

Happy birthday Butthead

When I got you, little did you know that I was going to get another when you turned 3. Happy 3rd birthday...are you ready to share Queen Bee duties?

Recent sketch

Black Micron on full sheet of Canson, 4 hours. I did this one for free to try to get a design contract. It turned out to be an investment that didn't pan out. Oh well, on to the next one! I really just wanted to post this to see how it would look on screen.

Birthdays, birthdays

I'm writing this as a way to remember to call my mom on Saturday to wish her a happy 56th. I'd pick up a card if I thought it would get there by her birthday, but I think I dropped the ball on that one.

This Friday is also Molly's 3rd. That's the big 21 in human years. Does that mean that we have to go out on Thursday night and start pounding shots when the clock strikes midnight?

Updated: I thought I remembered hearing something about this...the "Hour of Power" is no more. Thanks to my elected representative in Austin, I don't have to take Molly out for shots on Thursday. We can wait for the Friday crowd at the local bar. Which reminds me, I need to get her a service dog bib...or get some dark glasses and a cane.

Hotmail no more

I took the leap tonight-getting rid of my hotmail account. I'll still keep it around for an online trash account, but I won't be using it as my personal email anymore. I wonder how long it will take to completely phase out that account? Just think...no more reminders of my impending baldness, my physical inadequacies or my subconscious desires to meet new and exciting singles online!

Painting party

Its been a busy weekend. I finished all the neutral color painting earlier tonight. In the morning I'll go in search of a great color for the entryway and that random wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. I'm thinking it will be in the greens.

Those good projects

About once, maybe twice, each year, a residential project comes along that really gets my wheels turning. I'm working on one of those projects right now. You see, most residential clients could care less about the landscaping at their home. All they want is just some "bushes" and maybe a tree or two...as long as they are both Crape Myrtles (I'll save my feelings on the over-used Crapes for another post when I'm in a terrible mood and can fully capture my dislike.) I'm working on a project now that is one of those special ones.

Our clients on this one have a clear vision of what they want and are able to communicate that to me. Its nice to be able to work for someone who can say why or why they don't like some of my design decisions. As we go forward with revisions, that input helps immensely with future decisions.

This project has it all. Grading and drainage, preservation, reforestation, micro-climates, lighting and a plant list a mile long. Its rare that I feel the need to get up in the middle of the night to jot something down pertaining to the project so I don't forget in the morning. I've sent myself at least 10 emails in the past week and even done a few thumbnail sketches in the wee hours of the morning.

The really great thing about this project is that landscape construction begins tomorrow morning...before the drawings are complete. The client began looking at their closing date and we gave them a rough estimate on construction time and we came to the mutual conclusion that we had to get started a.s.a.p. or they would likely not meet the deadline. So, in the morning, our guys will begin taming the forest that surrounds the home, opening views pruning and removing dead material, ect. This will let us see what we truly have to work with before signing off on the documents for approval from the almighty Woodlands Association (like the Crape Myrtles, I wait until I'm in the right mood to post about the Association!)

This is a high profile location and we are going the extra mile at our own expense as an investment in the company's future. We should get some great pictures for our portfolio and website out of this one. I'm sure I'll post much more about this project in the coming weeks.

Just a post

I don't really have anything too Earth shattering to post tonight. I just wanted to post a little something so I get in the habit of writing so when I do have something important to relate, I'm not stricken with writer's block.

Tonight I'm going to take measurements of all my unframed prints so I can go buy some frames and mat boards tomorrow and get some of them up on my walls.

How many licks...

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? I haven't a clue...but I do know how long it takes to get to the center of a duck dummy. Three years. For some reason Molly thought that her duck's legs were evil and chewed them up, so I had to get a dummy with less offensive legs. Merry Christmas dog!

The weekend after

This was the first weekend without any holiday related obligations. Seems like I've been going non-stop since Thanksgiving. It was great to have nothing at all on the agenda. I had every intention of doing nothing but watching the football playoffs and maybe a doing a little reading out in the beautiful weather, but for some reason, I got a burst of energy after having my coffee on Saturday morning.

First on my unplanned list was cleaning up the yard. We've had a couple of windy days around here in the past few weeks and all my neighbor's leaves somehow ended up piled in my yard. So, I raked like a maniac (in lieu of a workout) for a couple hours. Then followed it up with a mow. The place looked great...but then I was sitting inside staring at the white walls and I guess a bee crawled up in my bonnet. Time for some color. A tone at least.

So, I went to Lowes. picked up a couple of gallons of paint and went to town. With the playoffs on in the background, I started rolling. I kept doing "just one more wall" until I ran out of paint. Here is a before picture of my bedroom:

The white had to go! And the after. Nothing fancy, just a little tone that's easier on the eyes:


This week I'll be cutting and matting my collection of prints of The Good General. After all, there needs to be something hanging on the newly refreshed walls.

O.K.

I think I have the template the way I want it, at least for the time being. Now I've got time to write about my wild and wacky exploits over this past weekend! I'll do that tonight when I get home. I'll also begin uploading photos that have just been rotting inside my computer.

The moderator

This is Molly. We are currently looking for a running buddy for her. Suggestions for names for the new puppy are encouraged! I'm leaning towards Tess.

The first new post

O.K. it was a slow day at work today and over lunch I decided to get back into blogging with a new look and with new intentions. This is my second attempt at blogging. My first was more of just a personal journal that I could type some mundane details of my life. Things like grocery lists were on my first blog. Needless to say, that got boring and posts became few and far between, to the point that I deleted it. Who would want to go back and watch the proverbial grass grow?

A little background on the title...I have a book called Just Goldens. I look at it from time to time. Its got some great pictures of golden retrievers and their owners doing what they do. That typically involves being care free and enjoying the spice that life has to offer. That's what my new blog will be about. The spice.

Just Golden is going to be a site where I share my perspective and ideas...something I hope will become interactive at some point. The goal is to have something fun to read, for myself and for others. I hope to explore a wide range of topics, photos, drawings and ideas. Hope you and I enjoy!