Hidden Art

What is art, exactly, and where do you find it? Sometimes it is something that surrounds us on a daily basis and we might not recognize it as art, or even notice it at all.

I have known about this unusual bit of artwork for many years, but took it very much for granted, since it was simply decoration for a place where us teens and twenty-somethings hung out. This basement mural was painted by a friend of Arthur and his brothers sometime in the 1970's, and is a true sign of the times from back in the days of teenage lounging pits with black lights and quadraphonic stereos.

The old house in Detroit where Arthur and his siblings grew up is soon to be sold, and when Arthur and I accompanied his sister downstairs to move some stuff I saw the mural through new eyes. It is a true piece of art. However, it may need to be painted over in order to sell the house, or perhaps it will be covered up by new owners. I decided to take some detailed photos to preserve this work done so many years ago by a long deceased friend named Girard Zalno.

Introducing to the public for the very first time: "The Dungeon".





















His work now is forever preserved in cyberspace.

Film Clip Friday: Twins

This is a clip from one of Arthur's old videos. My recent post about the Boston Marathon, and his twin sons Matt and Greg gave me the idea for this weeks entry.

This was about 25 years ago at Uncle Lorin's wedding. Matt and Greg were supposed to roll out the aisle runner with the help of Arthur and Allen, but it didn't quite work out. (Gregory, who will be married in June, is the little one who had the meltdown.)

Old commercial, new tradition

Jewelry is the gift to give,

'Cause it's the gift that'll live and live!

So give the gift you know can't fail,

at BC Clark's anniversary sale.


Most sales are after Christmas,

But Clark's is just before.

Most everything is marked way down.

Savings you can't ignore,


At Oklahoma's oldest jeweler,

( Since 1892 )

So, give the gift you know can't fail,

at BC Clark's anniversary sale!

This little jingle is as much a part of the Christmas season in Oklahoma as Chestnuts, Rudolph and Frosty. By the end of my first season in OKC 26 years ago, I was humming it along with all the other songs on the radio.

When Arthur and I chose our wedding bands, I suggested BC Clark. I owned nary a piece of their jewelry despite my love for the commercial, thus I had no emotional tie to the store. I knew that every time we heard the jingle it would make us consider our rings and each other, so now it brings an extra bit of warmth to our holidays.

Merry 5th Christmas to us!

Fixing Arthur's Eyes

Our lives are blending into a blur of painting, rearranging, and waiting for workmen to show up… which sometimes happens when it’s supposed to, and sometimes doesn’t. No wonder the experts say to add at least a month to the estimated time it takes to remodel. I have come to believe that those shows like “Flip this House” are pure fantasy, or there is actually a crew of 200 doing all the work!

Tomorrow we are getting a break, but this one isn’t much fun. Bright and early in the morning, Arthur is having the first of two cataracts removed. Naturally, he is a bit apprehensive about anybody messing with his vision, and I am concerned too, but not just about his eyesight.

Hidden behind his glasses, Arthur has a pair of the prettiest eyes that I have ever seen. He has long black lashes, and his eyes are dark rimmed so he almost looks like he is wearing eyeliner. But the most unique thing is that his left eye is blue and his right eye is green. I haven’t yet decided which one is prettier! It’s hard to see in photos, but in person it is unmistakable.

Yesterday, with great seriousness I informed him that the surgeon would fix his eyes so he can see better, and also would make them both the same color. The panic on Arthur’s face was priceless! He likes his unusual eyes because they set him apart, even from his identical twin brother. (Allen has the cataracts too, but for some reason both of his eyes are green.)

At any rate, I am pretty sure that Arthur’s eyes will remain beautiful, but the better to see me with!

(Hmmm… I hope he likes what he sees!) :)

Joy Comes in the Morning ...

…is the title of the post made by Marsha over at Breathings of the Heart the day after she and Kent were married. Her post so hit home with me, because that is the best description of how I felt the morning after our wedding. Today we are celebrating our "morning after" anniversary. (Arthur and I find any excuse to celebrate something, but I'll save that for another post!)

We have one picture from “the morning after,” and like most of my photos there is a story behind it.

When Art and I left the reception to head to a “romantic getaway,” it didn’t occur to us to pack an overnight bag. In the morning, after the joyful fog lifted for a moment, we found ourselves with no clothes other than our wedding attire. He donned his tux bottoms just long enough to go search his car. Fortunately, there was the outfit I had worn to the chapel before I changed into my wedding dress. The only clothing for Arthur was a pair of scrub bottoms and an old paint shirt!

We had to return to my place to relieve Aunt Paula from babysitting. (The kids were due to be delivered at camp later in the day, and then we scheduled to leave on our honeymoon.)

Paula took this shot of us, and even in the unusual outfit you can see from our expressions that joy truly does come in the morning! :)

Happy 4th Anniversary to us! :)

Today is our the actual date of our 4th anniversary. Annie and Rob are also celebrating their anniversary today, so happy anniversary to them!

Today we are not only celebrating 4 years of marriage, but also 37 years of friendship. My biggest fear when our romance began was that we might ruin our friendship in the process, but I'm glad we took the risk!

Back in 1972 Arthur introduced me to the writings of Kahlil Gibran. In fact, I still remember him reading passages from "The Prophet" to me on lazy afternoons when we would hang out at his place! For this reason, we chose a bit of Gibran for one of the readings we used at our wedding. Although the subject of marriage is addressed in The Prophet, we selected the essay about Friendship for our wedding. Here are some photo memories from over the years along with the essay:

On Friendship
Kahlil Gibran

And a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship.

Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.


When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain
to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.



Happy anniversary to my love, my friend.




*Photos: 1972, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1994, 2004

Wedding memories: Click here

Anniversary Month

Our 4th wedding anniversary is rapidly approaching. Our church has a little blessing and renewal of marriage vows once a month so, along with the other June couples, this month was our turn.


It’s a bit different for us than the first time we made our vows to each other, though. Back then we headed for a big celebration, then on to a romantic getaway. Today we are renting a van to pick up a tub and two toilets! Does that mean our love is in the toilet? (groan!)

In reality, the wedding, the reception, and honeymoon were wonderful. But this is where the real love is, in enjoying the mundane, everyday things together. I am still so grateful to have this man with me for better or for worse, through painting and plumbing….!

It's Father's Day...

…and here is a memory of a wonderful husband and father.



An interesting thing happened this morning. The phone rang at 8:00. Arthur answered and it was my stepdaughter Frances, Andy’s oldest daughter.

“Happy Father’s Day, Arthur!” she said. “You are the only dad I have now, and you’re stuck with me I guess. So I had to call you!”

This crazy blended family of mine never ceases to amaze me!

It's a twin thing!

Happy Birthday to Arthur and his twin brother Allen!

Those two crack me up. They both always forget each others’ birthday. It sounds like a corny joke, forgetting ones’ twin on his birthday! But they do it every year, except last year when Allen flew down to surprise Art. I secretly believe the only reason Allen remembered then was because we planned it so far in advance.

I reminded my husband to call Allen today.

He said, “Oh no! I forgot to send him a card!”

Arthur dialed up Allen and wished him a happy birthday.

Allen said, “Oh no! I forgot to send you a card!”

Yup, it’s a twin thing.

























I have one thing to say. Twins are cute, and I love my brother-in-law Allen.

But there is only ONE Arthur!!!! I love you sweetie! :)

A dance for Arthur and Stella

I have mentioned in previous entries that Arthur and I first met at a square dance club way back when. The club was called the "Teen Wheelers," to give you a good idea how long ago it was!

This past fall we decided to return to the wonderful world of square dancing and we found a wonderful club full of nice people not more than three miles from us. This photo was taken Friday before our square dance club's monthly dance. The club is called the 'Swinging Rebels', and this is our "uniform."



I know, I know...

"Square dancing is for squares," or "Square dancing is for old people."

Not so!!! The club we belong to now is made up of members from the 20's on up, and there are lots of members in their 30's, 40's and 50's. The Swinging Rebels have great time and we are NOT squares! :) Not only is square dancing fun and good exercise, it is also a great place to meet people whether you are a couple or single. We have made several good friends already.

It's GOOD to be back!

Wow!!!! Arthur is a WINNER!

Whoo Hooo!!!

Arthur won a prize package on the radio today! Actually, he and I have both won a total of 8 times now. It just so happens that our alarm is set to go off 5 minutes before a prize game comes on our favorite radio station.

The name of the game is “TriBond,” where you are given three words and have to give one word that ties them together. The three words were:

1. Suit
2. Bean
3. Top

Answer: Counter. Isn’t he a genius??? Ha ha! Well, I still think it’s pretty good thinking for 6:30 in the morning.

There are supposed to be a whole bunch of neat goodies in the package, the best of which are…

…(drumroll!)

Two tickets to the Sheryl Crow/ James Blunt Concert coming up in August!

He is supposed to pick up the package tomorrow, so I will post again to show everybody the prizes. It’s the little stuff like this that adds so much fun to life!

Another grey hair for Mom

It’s always scary when you pick up the phone and your child is sobbing on the other end of the line. It’s even scarier when the child is out with the car.

“Momma!!!” (sob, sob.)

“What is it Shelby???”

“Oh Momma, I need to talk to Arthur!” (sob, sob.)

Now the situation is reaching truly frightening levels. Shelby was out with Arthur’s vehicle. I had visions of a battered child calling from the side of the road with a wrecked van surrounded by police.

“He’s in the shower. What’s the matter, Sweetie?”

“I was (sob, sob) washing the van and the wand slipped out of my hand and (sob, sob) broke the window! And I’m scared Arthur (sob, sob) is going to be mad at me…!”

Deep exhale from Mom!

No, Arthur is not mad. I am not mad. We are just thankful for small every day problems that a little bit of money can fix.

A broken window is incredibly small in the great scheme of things.

Christmas has come and gone.

Christmas was calm and traditional this year. Midnight Mass was beautiful as usual, and I so love being in a choir again.

Shelby had to work Christmas morning. (She works at a vet clinic, and had to feed, change, walk and water the animals that had to say over.) So we waited until she came home from work to open presents. As a matter of fact, I was a MEAN mom, and made everybody eat brunch first!



We then went to Kathy and Terry's for Christmas dinner. As usual, lots of good food, and conversation consisting of laughter and shouting across the room. Plus we hooked up the computer and watched my Grandtwins on big screen TV via webcam! It was very strange... so much traditional holiday mixed with High-tech entertainment! :)





Lesley, Billy and the kids were here. We haven't seen them since 2004, and it was great to have them back in town for the holiday.

Man and Wife, and Christmas Ornaments

“…and the two shall become as one.” -Genesis 2:24

When Arthur and I were married, we chose a reading from Genesis chapter two, not so much for the two-becoming-as-one part, but for the preceding sentence:

“A man shall leave his father and his mother.”

Our selection was a tiny bit tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that Arthur was moving 1100 miles away from his parents. However, the becoming as one part isn’t so much about the being in close proximity, but that our entire lives become increasingly entwined.

Things are blending together more and more. Perhaps the best example of this is our personal sets of Christmas decorations. Or, should I say our “former” personal sets? After the first year they became all mixed in together. I mentioned briefly in my confessions post that there is something very intimate about mixing ornaments. Our ornaments represent so many facets of our lives, but at the same time the memories represented are often hazy at best.

Some of the ornaments are unmistakably mine, such as the little primitive ones, hand made out of spools. My grandmother and I put them together when I was four years old. Likewise, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the Hallmark collectable Elvis decoration belonged to Sue.

But this being our 4th Christmas together, some things are starting to blur into a sparkly green-and-red haze. The generic ornaments, the cute grinning snowmen, the little fuzzy-bearded Santas are all starting to look the same. Because of this, we have had the following conversation more than once:

“That’s a cute ornament! Where did you get it?”

(Blank look.)

“I thought it was yours!”



***************

The end of vacation

I am one of the rare people that still thinks that road trips are awesome! Here are a few snapshots from the end of our trip.



We drove along Lake Huron in Canada for several miles.


Here is the Blue Water Bridge from Canada into the USA. We were lucky to get across that day... they closed the bridge and evacuated the US Customs office and the Border Patrol office due to a chemical spill... just as we reached the US side of the bridge!


Here is the exact border between the US and Canada. Arthur and I were in the US while John and Shelby were in the back seat in Canada!


Here we are back in Michigan, visiting with Arthur's sons.

Guessing game: Which one is which????

Wow, our whole family really pulled off a surprise! This has been in the works for over three months.

Arthur and his twin brother Allen are having birthdays tomorrow. We decided to surprise Arthur by having Allen fly into OKC, and show up at the party we had last night at the Texas Roadhouse.

Kathy and Terry picked Allen up at the airport, and when he arrived, Allen borrowed the waitress' order pad and walked up to Arthur and asked him if he could take his order!! Arthur flushed bright red and his jaw almost hit the table. It was great.

This is a photo of them climbing up into the Roadhouse Birthday Saddle. Now, before I post the rest of the photos, anybody want to venture a guess as to which one is Allen and which one is Arthur? (hint: Arthur is the good looking one.)

Easter Photos

What better way to celebrate Easter than fun, food and family? Here is Shelby and Arthur turning "Easter" into "Feaster."


As every year with this Polish gang, we had the traditional fare of Golumbki, Pierogi, Kielbasa and Kapusta in addition to the ham, Easter eggs, cake, pie....etc...etc...
We had most of the usual cast of characters for Easter dinner, but we MISSED YOU Terry, Jimmy and Tiff, Chris, Lesley and crew! (and anybody else who wishes they were here!)

I like to think we've brought a little bit of Poland to Oklahoma! :)

A Haze between Then and Now

Wednesday, Mar 28, 2007


The other morning I woke up, and was laying in the quiet stillness of the house. Arthur was sleeping gently beside me, and the room was starting to show signs of the outside dawn. I turned toward the window and tried to go back in my mind to "the old days." I just couldn't find the details. I said in my mind, "Oh Andy, you're so far away..." and like some sappy TV show, the words and music to an old Carole King song started playing in my head:

"You're so far away, doesn't anybody stay in one place any more,

It would be so fine to see your face at my door.

Doesn't help to know that you're just time away,

Long ago I reached for you and there you stood.

Holding you again could only do me good.

How I wish I could,

But you're so far away..."

A moment of longing, a moment of sadness that lingered for a heartbeat or two. He will always be part of me, but human as I am, the details are becoming fuzzy...

Then I turned back to see the sleepy, loving eyes of the present...

and felt the joy of now.