Howdy, ya’ll, from Texas – Hot Dog!

Beautiful mosaic -- San Antonio, Texas

The party’s over and now I must get back to work. I had a wonderful time in Texas with my girls and their families. I’ll share a few photos with you in this blog. I still haven’t decided which direction I want to take my writing and artwork from here, but have a few possibilities in mind.

As Dorothy said in Oz, “There’s no place like home.” It’s always good to get back to your own bed and closet. Bending over a suitcase and rummaging through your clothes each day is wearing after awhile. Getting back to your own T.V. shows and news is like putting on a familiar pair of slippers; not red glass ones, but slouchy worn ones.

Amelia playing the piano for grandma.

Not to say we didn’t have a grand time. So good to see my loved ones, and glad to renew our affection and appreciation for their husbands and dear grandchildren. I told my girls not to worry about “showing us around;” that we'd come to see them.

Sadly they all must work and so were gone most of the day. In Houston, we played games and giggled a lot. Mark is a VP at NPR and Holly is part of a Christian homeschooling team that works much like a private school does. Although teaching was winding up, there were planning and organizing meetings to attend. We did our best to either tag along or see them in between their busy lives.

Paula and Holly, my two Texas girls.

Nathan and Bella

Holly drove us to see her sister in San Antonio. Paula was still teaching classes and organizing an art show that we were fortunate to attend. Her sister helped her hang the artwork while Paula was teaching. It was a wonderful show, and I was so proud of my girls.

I met many of the art students who seemed to dearly love their teacher. Some of these students had never seen an art show, let alone participate in one. 

Most of the students in Paula's classes are Hispanic. Four of the student’s were selected to enter their artwork in a state competition. They were so proud!

We drove into San Antonio one day to experience “River Walk” and to see the “Alamo.” Well worth the trip. We ate in a fantastic restaurant and listened to a live Mariachi Band. Rainbow colored umbrellas housed tables at the many cafe's along either side of the river. Tour boats flowed in the channel and passengers waved to us as we walked.

Flowers were growing or hanging everywhere. My spirit was lifted at every turn. We did not actually go inside the Alamo, but sat on a stone wall and watched people come and go as we rested our feet.

Tyler, Nathan, me and grandpa Dick

The week went by so quickly! Since I have six children, it is usually two or three years sometimes more before I’ll see them again. We couldn’t live further apart. Their dad and I traveled and worked in many different parts of the country, and now our children do the same.

Our next trip we will be back to Atlanta in June for my son’s wedding (Chris). We stayed with them when they invited us for Thanksgiving last November. Georgia is one of our favorite places. We may even return via Savannah for its relaxing charm and good food. We will be driving up rather than flying, which gives us more time to enjoy the ambiance.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful summer. Take time to “smell the roses” and allow yourself to be inspired.

The Alamo

When we drove back, we had to change routes because of this flooding. Texas has been inundated with rain.

Matters of the Heart and Mind Dictate most of our Priorities

“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.” Tecla Barber, Park Ridge, New Jersey in May 2016 Guideposts

I loved this quote from Guideposts. After I read it, I knew I must plug it into my art blog. Because of health constraints recently, I haven’t been able to dedicate myself to either writing or artwork. I’m hoping that means once my life is on an even track, I’ll be launching into something at least better.

Robert Browning’s poem will forever reverberate in my brain: “Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?” Indeed.

I’m flying out to see my two daughters who live in Texas. I’ll be taking a break from blogging while I’m gone so don’t be alarmed that I’ve dropped out of sight. It’s only temporary.

Daughter Holly with her two children when they were "just beginning."

My daughter Holly is a voice teacher and a performer. She has one audition while I’m out there. The other daughter, Paula, is an art teacher and an artist. She is having a show for her students and for herself at her school while we’re out there.

Paula with her three boys and husband and father, James. An Army Family.

Paula joined the Army to earn enough money for college. She toughed it out through Basic Training and finished her 2.5 years. She did what she had promised herself: she got her art degree at Mary Hardin-Baylor University in addition to marrying and having three boys.

Holly completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Chico State in CA and her music degree from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins where she taught until she had children. She now teaches voice and piano at home in addition to home schooling her children. Major accomplishment for both of my girls!

One of Paula's paintings

Some of her student's work:

 

While I’m gone, I invite you to check out my other blogs:

Carol Anfinsen – The Art of Living; Musings from my Dancing Heart @ 

https://anfinsenart.co/   

A Christian blog titled: “Witness Spoken Here” @
http://www.witness-spokenhere.com

My Etsy Shop Anfinsen Art @ 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnfinsenArt?ref=hdr_shop_menu

My Art Website @ http://carol-allen-anfinsen.pixels.com/

A Small Island Packs a Huge Wallop

(Our Ferry to Key West)

On Wednesday; I left my paint brushes and canvases behind to join my husband and our friends on a one-day trip to Key West. When we arrived at Fort Myers Beach it was still bright and early. Too late we discovered that others had beaten us to the punch. There were only a few seats left on the boat as we boarded.

After four long hours of bobbing and bouncing across the water, meeting new people and watching a movie, we arrived. We decided to take a train ride around the island to orient our sea legs and find out what the island had to offer. Big mistake! After our two-hour journey, we had only 3.5 hours left to eat and get back to the ship.

We enjoyed a magnificent lunch and friendly chatter only to discover we were running out of time. We didn’t make it back to tour Earnest Hemingway's home or the Harry S. Truman domain. We learned that an overnight stay is a must if you’re going to really experience Key West. We heard the night life is unbeatable!

We learned that the island has no water supply and depends almost entirely on rainfall which is captured in huge tanks. Because of the moisture, tin roofs are being replaced with stainless steel. Most of the island is very old and has a rich history. The newer areas are located on the boardwalk that frames the harbor where new restaurants are in abundance.

Key West was once a wild life preserve. The locals had their own livestock as well. Today Chickens and roosters are protected on Key West and run wild everywhere. I tried to snap a photo, but they are also very fast!

The island is much smaller than I anticipated. Most people rent mopeds or bicycles for getting to and from work or for sightseeing. If we do get back, we definitely would stay overnight. During “Season,” however, the average rate is $279 per night and up. We were told there were two cheaper hotels, but I’m sure they were booked solid.

The weather is always temperate. The restaurant we ate in had no air conditioning, but had ceiling fans which brought the exotic air in from the open windows and doors. The food was excellent. Prices are inexpensive to moderate during the day and somewhat higher at night.

There is a large artist population and gays have put their stamp on the community. One hotel boasted “all men,” while a restaurant/museum suggested that “clothes are optional.” They may have been making reference to the bathing suit and bikini clad patrons or they may have meant what they said. Since we had no time to explore, we never found out.

What I will always remember are the tropical plants, colorful flowers, and unusual trees. Above all else, the exquisite tropical blue waters have left their imprint on my artist’s heart and soul forever.

   Molly the Fun Dog gave me this award! Copy and give to your favorite bloggers.

Just because you can’t see God, Doesn’t mean He’s not there

"Raccoons at Sunrise" (that last drink of water before sleep) 16x20 acrylic on canvas

From my bedroom window, I watched three raccoons shimmy head first down a live oak tree. Since it was barely dusk, I figured they were foraging early. At first glance, I thought they were large house cats; but three together? When their ringed tails and bandit eyes appeared in the ebbing twilight, I was blown away!

I often walk or sit under that tree. The squirrels amuse me as they chase each other’s tails. Blue jays screech from time to time, and playful goldfinches proffer a twinkling counterpoint in the bright sunlight. I’ve seen brown thrashers, loggerhead shrikes, and pileated woodpeckers in those gnarled branches. I’ve watched red-tailed hawks perch and search for prey within a hairs breadth from where I’m standing. But I never imagined there were wild raccoons sleeping in furry balls right over my head. How could I have missed them?

The world is full of hidden treasures all around us, and miracles and wonders from God. Just because we can’t see them, doesn’t mean they’re not there.

Bill Maher, a comedian and avowed atheist doesn’t believe in either religion or God. He holds tightly to his beliefs. Perhaps he’s afraid that if he lets go of his skepticism, he might find out he’s wrong?

For believers, God is real. He has answered their prayers and spoken to their hearts. To deny this reality would be to disavow their personal and private experience. This personal witness becomes a sure foundation of knowledge that cannot be denied.

Maher is like a child who sits before a plate of Brussels sprouts and declares he doesn’t like them, even though he’s never tasted them. Then he hides the evidence of their existence under his plate or under a nearby lettuce leaf and tells his mother (and everyone else) that the Brussels sprouts don’t exist because he (and you) can’t see them.

To a Christian, Maher’s position is both immature and foolish; like my story of the raccoons: “Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not up there.” This is where that invisible component called “faith” comes in. Why is it so hard to believe that God exists when evidence of his creations are all around us?  Is Evolution really a substantial explanation for our existence or is it still, after many decades, only a theory, an excuse, a crutch, for non-believers?

"Brown Thrasher" 16x20 acrylic on canvas in barnwood frame

Technology has advanced in quantum leaps over the past 30 years. Today transmitters communicate around the globe and into outer space, yet they are so small you can hold them in the palm of your hand or on a fingertip; some are even microscopic. These electronic devices may look naive and primitive fifty years from now as newer, smaller, faster, and smarter gadgets replace them. It’s simply a matter of time, degree and intelligence.

During the day, you can’t see the stars, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Conversely, on a stormy day the sun’s light is blotted out, but its radiance still exists and glows continually in spite of the weather. God’s radiance and reality are constant and eternal, in spite of our darkened imperfect minds and man-made barriers.

"Looking over the Salt Lake valley from Immigration Canyon"

How foolish we are as humans to deny the existence of God because we cannot see him, because we don’t understand his ways, or because we can’t find physical evidence or proof that he is real; even though countless miracles happen every day in the realms of nature, science, medicine and personal encounter.

“But there’s a logical, scientific explanation for everything,” some may counter. And when there isn’t, science is all too eager to supply one, or at least a theory of rhetorical possibilities. We’ve lost that childlike quality of trusting divine truth and promise. The young child who leaps off of a ledge into the waiting arms of his or her father exercises this trust through love, knowledge, and personal experience. He or she has learned that their earthly father can be trusted.

We need this kind of faith again in our world to bring back God into our hearts. It’s a “letting go” of pride, bitterness, and stubbornness; character attributes that harden our hearts and close our minds to truth.

"Looking back across the causeway that bridges the Great Salt Lake, between Antelope Island and the city."

In “Our Daily Bread,” a Christian pamphlet produced monthly by RBC Ministries, the following story was included in the October 9 reading:

“If we’re not careful, we may become like the man who prided himself on being an expert archer. The secret to his success was that after he shot his arrow at the side of a barn, he painted a bull’s-eye around the arrow.”

Many people are so eager to be right, or so hungry for success and notoriety that they paint a ring around their own favorite causes, special interests or personal agendas and then proclaim that they’ve hit the bull’s-eye of truth.

Proverbs 14:12 tells us: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

"Barn Swallows" on Antelope Island outside the Gift Shop"

God doesn’t need to prove his existence to us; it is we who need to conform to his will. He is the bull’s-eye we should aim for, not some delusional man-made target created by people who think they are smarter than God.

Lasting Friendships – my Friend Alice



(Antelope Island scene looking past the Great Sale Lake to the Wasatch mountains)

Alice was a neighbor. The kind that welcomes you into her home like family, or waves at you the minute you step outside. We became fast friends, talking about our children, the weather, the neighborhood school and the rising cost of food.

It wasn't surprising then to see her on my doorstep after I'd suffered a long illness and a traumatic experience. Others had asked, " what can we do for you? " smiled and then returned to their own little worlds. Here was Alice, standing on my porch with a shovel in one hand and a plant in the other.

" You're coming outside, " she said emphatically. " You need some sunshine and we need to plant this start I brought from my garden. " The plant was one I'd admired some weeks before.

You didn't argue with Alice. You didn't want to. She had a way about her that said, " I'm here for you. Let's work on this thing together. "

We dug, we planted, and we chatted about everything but what was troubling me. She never nosed, she never snooped. She gave me the ball, and let me carry it where I wanted to go.

 She helped me more than she will ever know. She gave me the love and support I needed to deal with some difficult circumstances. She helped heal my heart and soul just by being Alice.


 (Photo -- view of Bear Lake in Garden City, UT)

When we moved away from Phoenix, I wept like a baby as I gave her my final hug. She was one neighbor I would miss forever. We stayed in contact for over 20 years, but the distance and our lives soon became a living memory. My gratitude still remains.

Many people come in and out of our lives. The good ones stay. Other friendships are not meant to last: the brief encounters on an airplane flight, the people we chat with on vacation, the people who share in the trauma of a tragic event. Some friendships are meant to last forever, and some of them aren't. Who can measure what any of these people bring into our lives?


When my own life was in a downward spiral, I never regretted the people I met along the way who made me laugh, who taught me something I didn't know, who opened my eyes to see the possibilities that were waiting there. These people became the threads that formed the warp and the woof of my character and my life. During that time, I learned that some people are just plain evil; but that most people are basically good, warts and all.

 

 

(Photo overlooking Bear Lake)

Through acquaintances and friendships, I discovered things about myself I never knew. Antique cars, for instance; I like everything about them, the hobby, the shows, the people. And jazz; I love the earthy vibes and rhythms, but I'm also enthralled at a symphony. I like to see a good play, and I'm enchanted by Shakespeare. All of the things I discovered about myself, I learned through the people around me; my likes, my tastes, my values.

People enrich our lives and help us realize we're all human. All in need of grace and forgiveness. My favorite saying is: " there but for the grace of God go I. " Historians don't know for certain who said this, but the wisdom remains.

Friends can make us or break us. Bad friends are those people who urge us to say and do things we wouldn't say or do in better company or when we're alone. They're the people who dare: " Oh, come on, it can't hurt. Just this once? " or " Who will ever know? "

Good friends are the ones who make you want to try harder and to live better. But they accept you as you are with all of your baggage, weaknesses and flaws.

(Photos -- at St. Armonds Florida beach & resort)