Pouring My Art Out

I am so sorry…

Posted on December 29, 2023 by pouringmyartout

I know, I have just left you there, all alone.

I left your life with a big hole in it… or maybe more than one hole.

But I really haven’t been ducking you.

I haven’t been hiding. I have been going through some mental health issues, family problems, and assorted other messes.

Like a dirty Polar Bear, I have barely been able to lift my head.

But I am sorry I have been such a pain in the ass.

I know, you count on me to keep your spirits up, and you have been feeling like you lost your best friend.

I know, My selfishness stinks.

But please, don’t look at me like that.

Hold your head up high. I am back!

Let’s turn those frowns upside down.

And help each other to put smiles on our faces.

Posted in dogs and other animals | Tagged animals, art, birds, humor, monkeys, nature, photography, San Diego zoo, social-media | 4 Comments

Yeah, my kid is a nurse!

Posted on October 13, 2023 by pouringmyartout

So of course we had a nurse-themed party to celebrate.

You rock, Mollie!

All those years of schooling, and now, well, she just got her first job, and she is going to be working as an emergency room nurse. And yes, those are chocolate candies in a bedpan.

Talk about going right into the deep end of the pool.

My daughters, being who they are, threw a party with individually-wrapped, medically-themed cookies that Mollie made herself.

We had specimen cups full of lemonade, and so many other weird things.

And a table covered with things that nurses need to know about.

And we had a marguerita machine.

It was a good party. People came in from all over.

Also there was a festive assortment of bandages, including little backpacks filled with bandades. How do you spell bandades?

To finish up this long adventure, that had me driving from California to New Mexico to see Mollie graduate, I leave you with these last 3 photos. I am trying to learn Chinese painting techniques. I practiced some when I was in Albuquerque. It is harder than I thought it would be.

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but so far, I kinda suck at it.

And one last look at those sandstone formations full of little caves, worn by time and wind, that you can find way out in the desert in Arizona. Okay, back to my usual weird stuff.

Posted in Stories of my life | Tagged art, humor, nature, nurses, photography, travel | 3 Comments

I have been doing… uh… stuff… part 5… (or): America; Big, inviting, and just a little bit racist…

Posted on September 15, 2023 by pouringmyartout

The drive between San Diego and New Mexico, or, in this case, back from New Mexico to San Diego, is not all desert.

You get into lovely forests around Flagstaff, Arizona.

There are fields sprinkled with wildflowers.

That being said, it is mostly desert. A lot of desert.

And in a small town surrounded by desert… I won’t say exactly where… lies this little… uh… anachronism?

It is, sadly, very old-school Route 66 Americana.

I mean, there was a time, when I was a kid, that I would have begged my parents to stop at this place. So it is probably good that we never passed by it.

And are those wigwams, or are they teepees??? We should get our stereotypes sorted out.

I talk about deserts as if all desert is the same, which is far from being true. High desert is way different than sand dunes or chaparral or those cool giant saguaro cacti parts.

Those cliffs in the distance surround Sedona, Arizona. It is remarkably cute town in a very amazing valley of towering mountains.

But enough about deserts… for now.

Posted in My travels | Tagged america, art, current-events, humor, nature, photography, travel | 2 Comments

I have been doing… uh… stuff… part 4…

Posted on September 14, 2023 by pouringmyartout

So yeah, my younger daughter graduated nursing college in New Mexico with honors. Two degrees.

Mollie is a rock star!

I love her so much.

It seems like just the other day and a few million dollars ago, she graduated from regular college.

So I got to drive through three very hot, very dry states.

Notice how I am squinting in all these selfies.

I am not a hot weather person.

But you do what you gotta do, right?

So you enjoy the adventure. Hello, lizard.

And of course you try to make friends along the way.

Seriously, I can’t see a lonely horse standing in a field without seeing if I can pull over and meet them.

Posted in dogs and other animals, My travels, Pictures of me | Tagged america, art, current-events, desert, horses, humor, nature, photography, travel | Leave a comment

I have been doing… uh… stuff… part 3…

Posted on September 13, 2023 by pouringmyartout

My younger daughter, Mollie, and her boyfriend, Ben, by the Rio Grande River, on one of their last days in New Mexico. That is because Mollie has graduated nursing college. In fact, she is interviewing for a job in ten minutes.

But to get to this greenery amidst the scenery, I had to pass through a whole lot of desert.

And trust me, it is hotter than it looks like it might be in these river photos.

Duckies!

But getting there was a two-day drive from San Diego.

Those cliffs are huge… and smooth.

I stopped at the same rest area you have seen before, the one with the weird little caves in the cool sandstone boulder.

I spent some time on the old Route 66.

The desert can be amazing… if you like being hot.

No, that isn’t one of the little sandstone caves, it is a huge sandstone cave in a sandstone mountain.

Nature is cool

Posted in My travels | Tagged america, art, desert, humor, nature, photography, social-media, travel | Leave a comment

I have been doing… uh… stuff… part 2… special ‘all dog’ edition…

Posted on August 20, 2023 by pouringmyartout

When I travel, I meet dogs.

I go out of my way to meet dogs.

I like dogs.

I like dogs more than people. I don’t go to people parks to meet people. I go to dog parks to meet their dogs.

In the Bay Area, people take their dogs… and their dog parks… very seriously.

And because I stayed at my friend’s house for his retirement party, I got to hang out with his dogs for a while.

But I also went to New Mexico, for my daughter’s graduation from nursing college… with two bachelor degrees, just so you know. And I met this half-wild dog on a Native American reservation.

That is a reservation dog. It is not an easy life.

Life is easier for house dogs.

A lot easier.

I did take this photo at my favorite dog park, right down beside the San Francisco Bay shore. Pick up after your dog… but who cleans up after the seagulls??? Did they crap on the sign to support picking up dog poo?

Something to think about, I guess?

Posted in dogs and other animals, My travels | Tagged animals, art, dogs, humor, nature, photography, travel | 2 Comments

I have been doing… uh… stuff… part 1…

Posted on August 17, 2023 by pouringmyartout

I realize that I have been neglecting you.

Since my mom passed away, I have been a little unartistic… which is, you must admit, strange for me.

But between working and family stuff, I did manage to make it to the Bay Area for my friend’s retirement part. Yay, Chris! So jealous.

You’re a freak, you’re super freaky.

I made a new friend, and we did art together at the retirement party

And, of course, I met lots of dogs.

Doing tie dye with crayola markers is not as easy as it seems like it would be.

My new buddy’s uncle is the vice-president of the Richmond chapter of the Hell’s Angels… just so you know.

I saw many other old friends… I mean… not old… but… well…

Mmmmmmmm… Mexican food!

And dogs…

And there was another road trip, through much spectacular desert, which I will add into the mix as I share the two adventures more-or-less simultaneously, like I do.