Posts
11 hours ago
Monday, March 12, 2012
Afternoon Shadows
Food for Thought
As you know, if you’ve been following along, my mother had a close encounter with death when she had her heart attack in February. As it has turned out, she is on the road to recovery and is doing fairly well.
One of the issues that came up during this “event” is the matter of how far do we go to save her life. While she was living with my sister in North Carolina, the two of them went to an attorney and had a couple of documents drawn up, a Living Will and a DNR. A Living Will is simply a document that states what your wishes are should it be necessary to take life saving measures, typically by medical personnel, in order to keep your smiling face amongst the rest of us. A DNR is a “Do Not Resuscitate” order for anybody who may need to know. Hence the initials DNR.
This would be a good place for me to say that I am in no way going to tell you what you should put into a Living Will or whether you even need one. The same goes for the DNR. That is your business. I think it is pretty important though or I wouldn’t waste your time here.
The whole idea is this. Somebody needs to know what your wishes are. How far do you want medical people to go to save your life, considering what the consequences of such measures might be. In other words, you could wind up fine or you could be hooked up to a machine for the rest of your life. Where do you draw the line?
I’m just going to provide a little food for thought in case you have one or both documents or are thinking about it. It is not as simple as it may seem or sound. It is nearly impossible to spell out all of the procedures that may be performed on your behalf much less for you to decide which ones you want or don’t.
Never-the-less, let’s say you have made an attempt at it. Now you need to be sure that everybody knows it AND has a copy of all 138 pages of your single spaced, typed wishes. It’d help too if they were indexed. By everybody, I mean family members, hospital docs and staff, EMT’s who have been called, and anyone else who needs to know. You need to have numerous copies and they need to be READILY available. A daunting task when emotions are running high and you are uncommunicative.
So, what to do? Maybe get it tattooed on your chest. I can’t really say. I’ve got a painting to finish. Let me know if I’m involved though…please. I’ll need a copy.
One of the issues that came up during this “event” is the matter of how far do we go to save her life. While she was living with my sister in North Carolina, the two of them went to an attorney and had a couple of documents drawn up, a Living Will and a DNR. A Living Will is simply a document that states what your wishes are should it be necessary to take life saving measures, typically by medical personnel, in order to keep your smiling face amongst the rest of us. A DNR is a “Do Not Resuscitate” order for anybody who may need to know. Hence the initials DNR.
This would be a good place for me to say that I am in no way going to tell you what you should put into a Living Will or whether you even need one. The same goes for the DNR. That is your business. I think it is pretty important though or I wouldn’t waste your time here.
The whole idea is this. Somebody needs to know what your wishes are. How far do you want medical people to go to save your life, considering what the consequences of such measures might be. In other words, you could wind up fine or you could be hooked up to a machine for the rest of your life. Where do you draw the line?
I’m just going to provide a little food for thought in case you have one or both documents or are thinking about it. It is not as simple as it may seem or sound. It is nearly impossible to spell out all of the procedures that may be performed on your behalf much less for you to decide which ones you want or don’t.
Never-the-less, let’s say you have made an attempt at it. Now you need to be sure that everybody knows it AND has a copy of all 138 pages of your single spaced, typed wishes. It’d help too if they were indexed. By everybody, I mean family members, hospital docs and staff, EMT’s who have been called, and anyone else who needs to know. You need to have numerous copies and they need to be READILY available. A daunting task when emotions are running high and you are uncommunicative.
So, what to do? Maybe get it tattooed on your chest. I can’t really say. I’ve got a painting to finish. Let me know if I’m involved though…please. I’ll need a copy.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Good Morning Utah
Thursday, February 23, 2012
New Work
Yes, I know. It's been awhile hasn't it? I've been working on some new oil paintings in a little larger format of 24 x 36 and 30 x 40. These are typically known as "Sofa Paintings" in that they are an ideal size to go behind the sofa. These paintings are on stretched canvas and are offered unframed and at a very reasonable price.
This is a scene from a favorite area of mine to paint, the East Dallas Road, which leads you right up close to the base of the Northern San Juan Mountains just below Mt. Sneffles, one of the Colorado "fourteeners". The fall colors in this area, and the surrounding mountainscapes typify what Colorado is all about. There is just an absolutely huge amount of material here. I have done a number of paintings on location here and taken a vast number of photographs to paint from. The fence on the right of the painting is known as a "worm" fence in that it is staggared in format, "worming" it's way along with out the need to dig post holes, thereby being self supporting. This is an oil painting on a 24 x 36 inch stretched canvas and offered unframed for $1200.
This painting depicts a scene a little farther down the East Dallas Road closer to the base of Mt. Sneffles. Don't you just want to hike on down that road to see what is there? The view is from a wonderful picnic spot that my wife Kathy and I had all to ourselves. This is an oil painting done on a 40x30 vertical stretched canvas and is offered unframed for $1500.
Here is another scene from the same area. This painting depicts Mt. Sneffles with a fresh coat of snow in September. The long afternoon shadows lend a dramatic effect of light. This a 30x40 oil painting on stretched canvas and is offered unframed for $1500.
Any of the above paintings can be removed from the stretcher bars and rolled for easier shipping.
Any of the above paintings can be removed from the stretcher bars and rolled for easier shipping.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Merry Christmas!!
In a couple days Santa will be bringing gifts to those amongst us who are believers. Everybody else will probably get something from someone else. Of course the true meaning of Christmas for us Christians is the birth of Jesus Christ…but it’s nice to get a little something under the tree too.
When I was young, my aunt and uncle would host a huge Christmas Eve gathering for the family. It was a really big deal. I remember one time someone said there was over 20 kids under the age of 6 there. They would have a dinner and everybody would dress up in their Christmas finery. They always had a big white flocked Christmas tree with lots of lights, balls and tinsel on it.
At the appointed hour, one of the adults would sneak outside and jingle sleigh bells. All of us little ones would get ushered into a bedroom to await Santa’s entrance. There were lots of shrieks of excitement and the adult chaperons stood guard by the windows to keep curious deviants like myself and my cousins from peaking out the windows.
One of the male adults, preferably one who was a bit on the portly side, would dress up in a Santa suit and do his “HO HO HO” thing with more bell jingling. Another adult would climb up on the roof and clomp around driving us kids nuts.
After what would seem like a couple of hours of torture, the door of the bedroom would open and we would rush out. Somehow they always timed it so we would catch Santa in the doorway just as he was leaving (they didn’t have a chimney). He’d turn to face us and belt out “Merry Christmas” and before anyone got too close to him he’d duck out and the door would slam shut. Our attention was quickly diverted to all the gifts piled high under that magnificent tree.
Years later when I was older I remember a star struck little guy who walked up to my Dad, tugged on his pant leg and shouted, “Uncle Glenn! Santa has shoes just like yours!” Gasp, gasp! A hush fell on the room. My Dad just winked and patted him on the head and said that Santa must shop at the same shoe store that he did. That was good enough for the little guy and he turned and joined the other kids ripping into their presents still a believer.
Yah, those are some good memories. I don’t remember when it was that I learned any different nor do I remember exactly when I realized that just maybe there really is a Santa Claus. How about you? Merry Christmas folks! Thanks for stopping by.
When I was young, my aunt and uncle would host a huge Christmas Eve gathering for the family. It was a really big deal. I remember one time someone said there was over 20 kids under the age of 6 there. They would have a dinner and everybody would dress up in their Christmas finery. They always had a big white flocked Christmas tree with lots of lights, balls and tinsel on it.
At the appointed hour, one of the adults would sneak outside and jingle sleigh bells. All of us little ones would get ushered into a bedroom to await Santa’s entrance. There were lots of shrieks of excitement and the adult chaperons stood guard by the windows to keep curious deviants like myself and my cousins from peaking out the windows.
One of the male adults, preferably one who was a bit on the portly side, would dress up in a Santa suit and do his “HO HO HO” thing with more bell jingling. Another adult would climb up on the roof and clomp around driving us kids nuts.
After what would seem like a couple of hours of torture, the door of the bedroom would open and we would rush out. Somehow they always timed it so we would catch Santa in the doorway just as he was leaving (they didn’t have a chimney). He’d turn to face us and belt out “Merry Christmas” and before anyone got too close to him he’d duck out and the door would slam shut. Our attention was quickly diverted to all the gifts piled high under that magnificent tree.
Years later when I was older I remember a star struck little guy who walked up to my Dad, tugged on his pant leg and shouted, “Uncle Glenn! Santa has shoes just like yours!” Gasp, gasp! A hush fell on the room. My Dad just winked and patted him on the head and said that Santa must shop at the same shoe store that he did. That was good enough for the little guy and he turned and joined the other kids ripping into their presents still a believer.
Yah, those are some good memories. I don’t remember when it was that I learned any different nor do I remember exactly when I realized that just maybe there really is a Santa Claus. How about you? Merry Christmas folks! Thanks for stopping by.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Art of...
This column I wrote for the Montrose Daily Press is reprinted here for Anna...hope to see you soon.
Over the years I’ve expressed my appreciation of “the art of…” a lot of different stuff. Of course we all know that art is very subjective. I’ve gotten into a bit of trouble with you folks for expressing an opinion of what I thought art is. That’s not bad though because it has opened my mind up to some really beautiful designs and ideas that I had previously ignored.
One aspect of art that I’ve only scratched the surface of with you folks is the art of cooking. While I know that a number of you are no doubt better versed on this topic than I am, I do have an appreciation of a well prepared meal whether it is served up in a high class restaurant, a diner down the street or at home. It makes no difference.
My wife is a good cook. Because we both work longer hours than we’d like to, she doesn’t get to practice this art as often as I’d like. Consequently when she does put something together, it is a real treat. She has a couple of recipes that if we were ever to open a restaurant they would need to be on the menu.
A recent creation involved Anasazi beans. Never heard of them? They are grown right over in Dove Creek. Lots of acres devoted to the little multi-colored bean. They are good, if you like beans. Ironically, we came across a bag of them at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, in Santa Fe of course, the last time we were down there. I’m told that they are available at City Market too. I would hope so.
Kathy, my wife the cook, adapted a generic recipe for beans and ham using the Anasazi bean and some ham hocks. She added another favorite that we have come to use in a lot of dishes, chopped/diced Hatch green chiles. Our daughter lives in Albuquerque so we have a somewhat direct source for them. She buys them by the gunny sack full, has them roasted and then chops them up and freezes them in quart bags, which we pick up a few of whenever we visit. Daughter Mandy’s “significant other” is a chef in ABQ so that helps too.
Southwest cooking in general is pretty good eating. I’m originally from Minnesota, land of meatloaf, tuna casserole and white gravy, but I really enjoy well prepared chile rellenos, huevous rancheros and the like, anything I can put green chile salsa on.
Here’s a little tip. If you like green chile salsa, look for Santa Fe Seasons Fire Roasted Green Chile Salsa in the market or go to www.santafeseasons.com. Highly recommended. See you downtown.
Over the years I’ve expressed my appreciation of “the art of…” a lot of different stuff. Of course we all know that art is very subjective. I’ve gotten into a bit of trouble with you folks for expressing an opinion of what I thought art is. That’s not bad though because it has opened my mind up to some really beautiful designs and ideas that I had previously ignored.
One aspect of art that I’ve only scratched the surface of with you folks is the art of cooking. While I know that a number of you are no doubt better versed on this topic than I am, I do have an appreciation of a well prepared meal whether it is served up in a high class restaurant, a diner down the street or at home. It makes no difference.
My wife is a good cook. Because we both work longer hours than we’d like to, she doesn’t get to practice this art as often as I’d like. Consequently when she does put something together, it is a real treat. She has a couple of recipes that if we were ever to open a restaurant they would need to be on the menu.
A recent creation involved Anasazi beans. Never heard of them? They are grown right over in Dove Creek. Lots of acres devoted to the little multi-colored bean. They are good, if you like beans. Ironically, we came across a bag of them at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, in Santa Fe of course, the last time we were down there. I’m told that they are available at City Market too. I would hope so.
Kathy, my wife the cook, adapted a generic recipe for beans and ham using the Anasazi bean and some ham hocks. She added another favorite that we have come to use in a lot of dishes, chopped/diced Hatch green chiles. Our daughter lives in Albuquerque so we have a somewhat direct source for them. She buys them by the gunny sack full, has them roasted and then chops them up and freezes them in quart bags, which we pick up a few of whenever we visit. Daughter Mandy’s “significant other” is a chef in ABQ so that helps too.
Southwest cooking in general is pretty good eating. I’m originally from Minnesota, land of meatloaf, tuna casserole and white gravy, but I really enjoy well prepared chile rellenos, huevous rancheros and the like, anything I can put green chile salsa on.
Here’s a little tip. If you like green chile salsa, look for Santa Fe Seasons Fire Roasted Green Chile Salsa in the market or go to www.santafeseasons.com. Highly recommended. See you downtown.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Collecting Stuff
People have collected stuff for a long time. I don’t know that for a fact but I see no reason that it should be just a current day phenomenon. It amazes me why people collect what they do. Some folks collect art, some collect dolls, some collect stamps. Collecting stamps seemed to be pretty big when I was young. I tried it for awhile. Of course collecting coins used to be big too. My grandmother used to collect buttons. That all seems to be pretty normal stuff to collect and I can see why folks would do it.
It’s the strange stuff people collect that makes me wonder. I had a friend who collected empty cans of black olives. He’d eat all the olives first then wash the cans and stack them up. Said he liked the labels. He probably had fifty or more of them in a cupboard. He also collected the cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls. I found that to be a bit weird. I once knew a guy who seemed to collect wives. Knew a gal who collected husbands too, so apparently it's not a sexist thing.
I recently stumbled upon a collectible that I think I can get into. Cigar boxes. I’ve always admired the art work in the labels. When I was in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago visiting family, I noticed an attractive cigar box on the counter in my sister’s kitchen. My first thought was that maybe she had taken up the habit. I have enjoyed cigars over the years but never have bought them by the box. Out of curiosity I asked her about it. She laughed and said she used it to store some things in. I asked where in the world she got them and she said the cigar store sells them for a couple of bucks a piece. She them gave it to me along with another. My eyes lit up.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I was in Santa Fe and came across a cigar store. Every once in awhile I’ll treat myself to what I think is a good cigar so my brother-in-law and I ducked in to see what they had. Low and behold, there were a couple of stacks of empty cigar boxes for sale. I asked about them and was told the nicer wooden boxes were five bucks and the cheaper ones were three, help yourself. I could hardly contain myself. I sorted through them all and picked out two of the five dollar ones to take home along with a couple of Macanudos (my favorite cigar) to enjoy later. Those cigar boxes will be real handy to store my gold leaf in.
Don’t forget the Merriment on Main Street Festival this Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 followed by the Parade of Lights. See you there.
I recently stumbled upon a collectible that I think I can get into. Cigar boxes. I’ve always admired the art work in the labels. When I was in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago visiting family, I noticed an attractive cigar box on the counter in my sister’s kitchen. My first thought was that maybe she had taken up the habit. I have enjoyed cigars over the years but never have bought them by the box. Out of curiosity I asked her about it. She laughed and said she used it to store some things in. I asked where in the world she got them and she said the cigar store sells them for a couple of bucks a piece. She them gave it to me along with another. My eyes lit up.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I was in Santa Fe and came across a cigar store. Every once in awhile I’ll treat myself to what I think is a good cigar so my brother-in-law and I ducked in to see what they had. Low and behold, there were a couple of stacks of empty cigar boxes for sale. I asked about them and was told the nicer wooden boxes were five bucks and the cheaper ones were three, help yourself. I could hardly contain myself. I sorted through them all and picked out two of the five dollar ones to take home along with a couple of Macanudos (my favorite cigar) to enjoy later. Those cigar boxes will be real handy to store my gold leaf in.
Don’t forget the Merriment on Main Street Festival this Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 followed by the Parade of Lights. See you there.
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