Most Excellent

Market Days was a bust again, but it was overcast with a breeze so it wasn't the usual scorcher. My "Rainy Day in Ga" was proudly hanging. I arranged my photo books up front on the 1st table with them open to certain shots like "Esme" and "Millie" then some of my abstracts. I had more people stop and look at them and the rest of my art. "My Feet in the Water" is still the one everyone likes best. Still I enjoy watching all the people and talking to them.
One photographer stopped and talked for awhile. He'd been to the Ga aquarium. I'd probably wear out my camera if we went there! LOL

Once we packed up everything and came home, having a hard time deciding what to eat, we finally went to try a new place that was supposed to open up this week. It is called Past Times and is located in the side of a gas station in front of Home Depot in Phenix City on 280. Rhett and I got cheeseburgers and Don got a steak sandwich. I tasted of Don's. His was really good. I'll get that next time. The fries were most excellent. When I went to pay for it, it was free!!!! A small blessing for me. It was like a trial run or something. The owner seemed a bit overwhelmed. I don't think he expected so many people. I took a few pics while there.

Last weekend, I'd taken pics of a 3 year old who's family attends our church. Emma went to the statue near where I am set up for Market Days. I took about 4-5 shots of her including her feet. We stopped at Walmart to look for a double frame. Don found a really neat one instead. It looked like it was made of old wood and had 4 places for 4x6's + one tiny pic. It was a little more than I wanted to pay for a gift, but I am so glad he saw it and I bought it now. I printed more pictures while there.

While I was printing pics at Walmart, the HP man was working on one of the new machines I hated at first. They were very frustrating to me especially when trying to crop. The arrows would all jam up together. I'd usually just quit and walk away in frustration. I am getting a bit better at it, but I decided to tell him what happened with me. I thought maybe he knew a trick to crop them better; the way I wanted them cropped, but it still doesn't crop to my satisfaction. I will have to go to Wolf camera to crop a pic I took of Rhett.

We went to the Springer so I could turn in my art work due Saturday. Don had put the wire on the back for me while I was at Market Days. We parked by the Gov't Center, but we needed to enter at Foley Hall, where we never ventured the day Rhett and I scoped out the place a few Saturdays ago. The lady who took my art, seemed to like it. I hope she wasn't just saying that. After I filled out the forms, I asked if I could look at the art that had been brought in thus far. There were some art from artists from the Columbus Art Guild (CAG). Some was just art... landscapes, etc while others did use the Springer as their theme. Some were really, really good, but I didn't feel inadequate about mine this time! The president of the CAG, had 2 pieces entered. One she had displayed in her home. The other I liked much better as it was a watercolor collage/abstract. Some of the Phenix City artists had entries as well. Cindy entered her Edgar Alan Poe one I love so much as well as a few others. Miss June, the older lady who teaches painting of the same group had several of her landscapes including the waterfall she entered in the CAG show. Rhett was really impressed with someone's painting of the chapel at Callaway Gardens. While there, we got to see different antique architecture as we were leaving. Rhett was really impressed by this also.

As we were walking back to Don waiting in the monster truck with the windows down, a lady had approached him begging for money. I scared her to death walking up slowly behind her. She claimed she only gets $150 social security a month. Later Don said he guessed if you never put any in, you don't get much out of it. So sad if this is true and some have to resort to begging. Makes you thankful you earn a living and can provide for yourself and your family.

We came home and I fixed the photos in Emma's frame. Because I couldn't crop them, nor could I turn them to fit vertically. I had no choice but to put 2 pics sideways yet it worked. I'd taken a pic of the word "Broadway" in the sidewalk. I used that as well as Emma's feet. There was one tiny place in the center of a pic. I had to cut the photo to fit. Luckily I'd made an extra one because I cut it wrong, but I fixed it! I am thankful I am always able to fix my art mistakes.

At Emma's party, I couldn't wait to show her mom the frame. She loved it & told me to show it to Matt, her hubby who really liked it also. Then I showed it to Carol, Emma's maw-maw. Carol told me to place it on the table where the food was and underneath a birthday sign. That way it wouldn't get broken. Great idea. I was so pleased with this gift.

Rhett and I stopped by Big Lots on the way home. I got some pretty ribbons for Kristina, my daughter in law to make hairbows for little girls with cancer in Salem, Indiana! This was our granddaughter Shelby's idea. One of her friends at school has cancer and has no hair but loves Shelby's bows her mom makes her. They were going to take this little girl a basket of bows. Then Kristina got the idea to take bows for girls and scarves for boys to a hospital.

Saturday was a very good day. I hope your's was too!

Last week Daddy had an acorn wart removed from his foot. Mom said he'd had them before. Monday he had a place removed from his face. It was sent off to be biopsied but the dermatologist didn't think it was anything. Certainly hope and pray not. He has a fairly large size gauze on it which had to remain on for 24 hrs. when Mom changed the dressing, she said it looked really good. He only had 3 stitches and it didn't bleed.

Then Mom told me Aunt Margreet had a skin cancer on her nose removed. It has moved to the other side of her nose. She had it removed and plastic surgery was done on it. She probably would not have had it done, but the urging of a church member led her to do it. The thing that bothers me is Uncle Frank had the same thing done and then it seemed like his cancer just spread like wildfire.



Remember the boy who told Rhett they couldn't be friends because Rhett was not cool enough? He is in a lot of Rhett's classes this year. Sunday, Rhett got a really good pamphlet in Sunday school and he wrote he was having a problem with Tyler. He is pretty good about writing or telling what problems he is having. It seems Tyler is picking on Rhett. Some of it is dumb stuff which Don told him to let it go in one ear and out the other. Rhett is sensitive and I know this bothers him. He wants to be friends with everyone. He likes making new and having friends. Tyler says stuff like Rhett is lame because he doesn't have an X box! Tyler's friend Ethan said I was old! Of course that got my dander up. I wasn't feeling old at the time! LOL This is all petty stuff & I know I can't do anything about that. But Rhett's shoes came untied yesterday so Tyler decided to step on his shoe strings trying to trip him up. Rhett sat down to tie them and Ethan kicked him! I know I can't do anything about the petty stuff, but such as this I can! I am waiting to see what happens next. I know I sound like my momma, but I will NOT tolerate another child being mean to my son! Yes, I have become my momma!

To think this boy was so cute and seemed so nice. So much for appearances. It wouldn't do for me to be the teacher!

I have been wrestling with something... Three of my friends tell me I should get over myself and my feelings of inadequacy and just go!

My church friend Nancy remembered about the Hummingbird Festival in Hogansville, Ga in October. So now I am looking forward to going there with her and her daughter Tiffany. We all need something to look forward to. We all need to just get away if only for a day.

Since trying to find the perfect frame for Jena's picture she wanted and her mom was buying for her, I had to paint it myself. One color didn't work so I had to by another which did work. I bought some inexpensive wooden frames at Walmart and have been painting them to match my photos. I painted one last night and found that different kinds of wood turn the paint different colors. Who knew? The 1st color I used on Jena's which was a Cape Cod blue and looked too gray on her frame, was just right on this one last night! Go figure. Now I need a grayer color! Otherwise I will only have two new pieces to display at Market Days this Saturday. Still I love my artful life.

If you are thankful and would like to share with us at Thankful Thursday, please go to Laurie's at the following...
http://womentakingastand.blogspot.com/