On the Palette
Labor Day Edition

The Inbox: I really should be painting right now but I've been too busy blog-hopping and playing sudoku this morning. A the moment there are 5 canvases in various stages of completion (okay, nowhere close to being finished) that need my attention and I probably need about 4 more small works on paper for this weekend's show. So why am I procrastinating in the Blogosphere? You fellow bloggers and lurkers are just way too interesting.

Coffee Break: We've really had a great weekend here. Youngest brother's family came for a visit and brought four of my nieces along including the newest edition. 3-week-old Evie is absolutely gorgeous! Jessie has been in Heaven since she's gotten to play with her cousins for three days and was able to babysit a real baby Saturday night.

I don't know what it is about me but I find myself having a difficult time enjoying my brother's visits because the farewells are so hard. Jessie was almost in tears last night when we left my mom's house because she was already missing the extended family. God bless that child because she is way too much like me.

Lunch Break: As already alluded to Dad went solo to the Furman game Saturday night. Well not completely solo. Nurse Lisa and her younger sister visiting from Ohio came out for the tailgate and southern football experience. It was too bad I didn't take Ben along because there was just a hint of autumn in the air because of some drier air in the area. Joan assures me that Ben thoroughly enjoyed watching Mom and Me-Ma try to entertain 4 little girls under the age of 10, one having a freshly broken wrist, and one three-week-old for 5 hours while Dad sat on his butt watching a football game. For the record Joan slept past noon yesterday.

Fax Machine Jam: Still blogging with one of the busiest weeks of the year ahead of me. I leave for Aiken, SC on Thursday for what has been my best and busiest art shows the past three years. We have to set up on Thursday night and be open Friday morning at 8:30. Saturday after closing is tear-down. Sunday I pack the camper up and come home. A week from today I drive to Camden, SC (another 3 hour drive) to address the local art guild early that evening. After a late night return trip home Ben & I head to Columbia the next day for our first appearance at EdVenture Museum as resident artists.

I think I already need a nap...

5:00 Somewhere: I offer a toast to the memory of the sweltering Summer of 2007 with my traditional Labor Day Bloody Mary. I admit I got a head start Saturday but the sentiment still remains. One jigger of lime-flavored vodka, 2 cups Zing-Zang Bloody Mary mix, and one cup Hunt's tomato sauce over ice (shaken).

Everyone have a great day barbecuing, tossing the football, and having that one last trip to the pool!