Six Things

  1. The last time I went to the post office, I had a package from Rob, also known as The Smiling Bagel. I call him St. Louis’s goodwill ambassador, because his blog always makes me want to visit that city. He sent me some bottle caps for my ongoing art series. I haven’t painted in a while. Maybe this is the nudge I needed. It wasn’t until I photographed the bottle caps and uploaded the picture that I became aware of….
  2. A tiny wrapped package of pressed pennies from the St. Louis Zoo featuring a train, a hippo, a peacock, and a butterfly. See what I mean about how he promotes his home city? He remembered that I like to collect pressed pennies from tourist attractions, and now I have four new ones. Thank you so much, Rob–for the bottle caps and the pressed pennies!
  3. In going through some old pictures, I found this photo of my mother’s desk. I think Laura and Jess got that desk. The four paintings on the top are four of my One Word Art paintings that she once picked out for either her birthday or Christmas. They were the four that spoke to her, she said. Rather than reclaiming them, I believe I sent them with a box of stuff to Daniel. I’d forgotten them until I saw this photo. I believe they are, left to right, “Trust,” “Surrender,” “Plant,” and “Learn.”
  4. I’m reading Karl Soehnlein’s novel Robin and Ruby.
    I wanted to photograph one of Barnaby’s bigger-than-your-head salads to show you how enormous it is. I usually get a dinner, the next day’s lunch, and maybe a third small salad out of one of these. The salad is excellent, but their ranch dressing is THE BEST. It’s great for dipping fries in, too.
  5. When Jim was here, one afternoon we went to the Menil Collection and the Cy Twombly Gallery. I have to go back to the Menil soon. The next day, we hit up the Museum of Fine Arts, the Lawndale Art Center, and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. The last is where Jim got me into trouble when he posed for me–it was like the dozenth photo I’d taken, but only when Jim got all goofy were we told, “You can’t take photos of the art here!” Oops. I’d like to say I feel remorse, but I don’t (and I didn’t use a flash). I do recommend that particular exhibit: INTERSTITIAL SPACES: JULIA BARELLO & BEVERLY PENN. It’s there until September 1.
  6. I finally persuaded myself to download Instagram to my iPhone. That’s my first photo: Pixie and Penny all bored, watching out the window for something exciting like a squirrel to appear. I don’t know how much I’ll use Instagram–I have two other photo apps on my phone that I never use. I need to feel the heft of a camera in my hands. But at least now I can look at other people’s Instagram galleries, and some of their pictures are beautiful and creative.

I was not compensated by any businesses, artists, or products mentioned in this post other than sales of my own art work.

21 thoughts on “Six Things”

  1. Would you believe that I forgot to add the two best bottle caps to that package? And I’ve had the zoo pennies since last year’s zoo parents picnic.
    And that salad looks to die for.

    1. Yes, because there are always more bottle caps!

      I do appreciate your thoughtfulness very much. I’m sending you a virtual Barnaby’s salad (because I don’t think the real thing would taste so good when it got there!).

  2. I liked the apparent randomness of this grouping, before reading on. Before I read the details, I guessed that the dogs were dreaming about all that is around them. 🙂

    1. They very well may be dreaming of salad. Remember how I said I can make a next day’s lunch off that huge dinner salad? One of my late nephew Aaron’s favorite stories was how, on TWO different occasions, when I left my desk for a moment, Guinness was able to climb into my chair and eat the remainder of my Barnaby’s salad. One time she even knocked the plastic container to the floor and nudged it, fork, and napkin under the foot board of my desk. I came back, went back to work, and only about an hour later thought, Hey, wasn’t I eating a salad earlier?

      1. You gotta be sneaky!!!

        Alas, our late dogs (Lacey the cockerspaniel pops into mind) would climb up onto the chair and eat our cereal right out of the bowl on the table. Some have been known to sneak sips of my parents’ coffee.

        1. Guinness has a stomach of steel. Probably the only thing in it she really shouldn’t have are onions, and since she was getting the very end of my salad, probably all she got was some lettuce, a cherry tomato, and some dressing. I’d already eaten all the good stuff.

  3. As I was reading the story behind photo # 5 I suddenly recalled a similar story, about someone getting into trouble at the Menil for sitting at (or on?) a table that turned out to be an exhibit. Does that make sense? Was this a story that was told to me on my visit to Houston? Or did I witness it and am now having a senior moment?

    Was I the one sitting on the table?!

    1. Let’s just say there’s a photo of you in Menil Security.

      I don’t know–maybe Tim remembers? Or it’s a Lindsey story? Hell, maybe MY photo is up in Menil Security.

      Tom and I both know the table of which you speak, but he feels like either he or Jim got in trouble for it one time.

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