Birthday season continues ...

Well, we messed around and are about a week and a day late on this one, but we didn't want this whole Birthday Season to go by without a hearty ...


Love,
Aunt Karen, Uncle Paul, Trixie, Annie, Henry,
Buster, Bailey & Matilda!


Hold on just one second! Isn’t Ray supposed to be in here, too?



Where the heck is he?



zzzzzzzzz .............



Hmmm? ... huh? ... what?? ... I missed it?

Hey, wait a second, happy birthday from me, too!

Boy, that took a lot out of me ...

I think I’m going to have to take a breather ...

just a minute ...



zzzzzzzzzz ..............

The Big 1-6!

Hey, Scott! Grumpy Gus and the Green Duck here have been reminding me all day long that it’s my first nephew’s 16th birthday today.

I wanted to post a photo I have of you when you were 2, standing in the hall here in the big white house, looking up at me standing on the landing. I know it’s in a box around here somewhere ... I just saw it a few weeks ago.

Oh well, you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief I can’t find it.

You are, aren’t you? Yeah, I thought so. In fact, you probably think the Grumpy Gus & Green Duck photo is lame enough, thank you very much.

You do, don’t you? Yeah, I thought so.

I know I still owe you a surreal painting of a flying green pig, but for now a Green Duck will have to do.

Meanwhile,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

from Aunt Karen, Uncle Paul, Henry, Trixie, Matilda, Buster, Ray, Annie & Bailey!

Buster, Birthday Spokesdog

HEY! It’s me, Buster! I’m here to wish Michael Nyberg a happy birthday on behalf of the whole Schmidt menagerie here in Louisiana.

Sorry I’m a day late, but I was just recently appointed to the position of Birthday Spokesdog and I couldn’t figure out how to work this blog thing yesterday -- plus I was busy hanging out inside our new back yard fence, and I kinda lost track of time. But I think I figured everything out now, so ...

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY!

from me, Trixie, Henry, Matilda, Ray, Bailey and Annie.

Oh, and Aunt Karen and Uncle Paul, too.

OK, I gotta go now. I think there’s a rawhide bone with my name on it somewhere around here.

Morning music ...

This morning while I work, I’m listening to some music by
Eden’s Bridge.

I just love these lyrics from their song I Will Change Your Name:

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid

I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one
Faithfulness, friend of God
One who seeks My face.

A new season of paintings

Summer Reflections, 16 x 20 acrylic, work in progress ...

I guess you’ve noticed that I’ve been on a painting hiatus since the work on our house started in earnest back in May. Well, I got to where I was just about to bust, creative-wise, so I’m back to painting again.

I’m going in a super-impressionistic direction with this one. A carefully planned composition, combined with a spontaneous application of paint. It’s not done yet ... I spent some time studying it last night before I hit the hay, fell asleep with a few ideas about how to move toward completion swirling around inside my head, and woke up itching to get started on it again.

I just have a few things I have to do first. I have the painting propped up in the next room where I can see it from afar while I’m doing work for my graphic design job, so on one level my mind is working on the painting all the time.

Oh, and I do have a few more photos I’ll post later on to show what’s going on with the house!