Couldn't help it. :D

No reason No reason

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What are YOU doing?

We are going to burn some wood on our outdoor "fire-pit."
Grill some veggies and a little meat shish kabob style.
And sample a wide assortment of strange beers I bought at the
liquor store. Including a Monty Python Holy GrAle!
One claims 9.5% alcohol, 65 something. I asked if it was good and
all the clerks would say is people buy one (they're .99 ea) and come
back for cases of it! Good thing they're closed today, I'm not one
for hangovers.

Well, 2006 was interesting, I hope the New Year brings you all your
wishes, dreams and aspirations true!

Merry New Year!
Mitch

Well then

A busy strange week for us.
Working on "adding" to an existing mural of a saloon.
Fun!  Today Carolyn will paint people in the windows and I'll
paint a bunch of lettering on the building advertising the various
meats available.  Its a bbq joint.

Slow for us this time of year, which is a pain financially.
Ah well...good things are a coming soon!
Just have to be patient.  (and frugal!)

Its time to paint again.  I've had some wild dreams lately and
wonder how I can transfer those to canvas.  Might be a bit surreal.
All my dreams of late seem to be like a movie, involving other people,
strangers, and I'm just an observer.  Last night the dream was actually
about the making of a movie!  That's a first to be sure.
Right down to the salary of the star, and the release dates.
Weird......very.

Okay, gotta split, just killing time.

CHEERS!

I'm Alive!

Don't have time to elaborate tho. See ya!

Enjoy a nice fire!

Fireplaces aren't really necessary in Houston, except maybe for the occasional cold spell which might last a few hours. So I've had to improvise. Thought I'd share that with you! Enjoy! Don't forget to get your hot tottie!

The full screen version is here.

Howdy Do!?

Just a had grilled snapper, scallops and shrimp with fried rice and
grilled onions.
One so-so bloody mary, a beer and nachos/salsa and queso. I'm stuffed!
And happy about it!

Okay, time to make one last trip to the store......drug store!

Cheerios!

Hello then!

So. It's time to celebrate the annual holiday known as CHRISTMAS!
Being Jewish, I've never quite related to the family mayhem associated with this
religious holiday......BUT(T) I can certainly understand it....

Just remember one thing, it's not about "showing" off, it's about showing LOVE!
Unconditionally...... We all have things, so gifts I think should be
thoughtful.

The thing that gets me the most is that I love giving, and this is the
ONE time of
year that I have the least amount of cash. Sucks. So to you dear
reader I give you
my love. Yep, LOVE. That dreaded word that so few understand and much less
know how to communicate. The best part about a gift like that is you
can retain it
and still give it away to as many as you please! I want no credit.
Take it, give it,
enjoy it! Cheers, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and have a fabulous New Year!

Mitch

"I'm in the Jailhouse now........."

Size Challenged?

Ever since Michael-Ann posted her bit on penis enlargement spam,
I've taken notice of the "enormous" amount of emails that gets through
my spam filters at Gmail.  I like this one.......

Give her the gift that keeps on giving.
With our product you can man up and size up.
Expand your manhood by four inches in six months.

You see that?  4 inches!  Good Gawd are they nuts!?
(no puns here)

After that, I think I'll loan Mrs. Aba Arafi my bank account to help
out her father get his funds out that dreadful foreign bank and take
my million dollar commission, plus my new 4 inches on a road trip!

Ha!

an excerpt from Harold & Maude

Swiped from http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/5862/xhiggins.txt

ONE of my favorite scenes........

Harold knelt in the church and listened to the organ playing softly. He looked
above the altar at the large stained-glass window showing St. Thomas Aquinas
writing in a book with a feather. Thomas Aquinas never got married, thought
Harold, and glanced over at the man in the open coffin. I wonder if he ever
did. I wonder who he was, anyway.

Silver-haired Father Finnegan stepped up to the pulpit and scanned the few
isolated mourners before him. He opened his book and read as he had done
countless times before.

"And so dear brethren let us pray to the Lord, King of Glory, that He may
bless and deliver all souls of the faithful departed from the pains of hell
and the bottomless pit, deliver them from the lion's mouth and the darkness
therein, but rather bring them to the bliss of heaven, the holy light, and
eternal rest."

As Father Finnegan continued his weary prayer, Harold, kneeling near the back
of the church, quietly sat up. He looked over at the portrait of the sorrowing
Madonna.

"Psst!"

Harold listened.

"Psssst!"

Harold turned around. Across the aisle three rows back a white-haired old lady
smiled and gaily waved at him. Harold turned back. That was the woman at the
cemetery, he said to himself, the one eating watermelon. What does she want
with me?

"PSSSST!"

Harold started and turned. The old lady had moved. She now knelt right behind
him. She grinned.

"Like some licorice?" she asked sweetly, offering him a little bag. She spoke
with a slight British-European accent.

"Uh, no. Thank you," whispered Harold and knelt down.

"You're welcome," she whispered back.

Keeping his eyes on the altar, Harold listened intently. After a few minutes
he heard the old lady get up noisily from her pew, genuflect, walk into his
pew, and kneel beside him. She gave him a friendly jab.

"Did you know him?" she asked, gesturing at the deceased.

"Uh, no," whispered Harold, trying to appear involved in the service.

"Neither did I," said the old lady brightly. "I heard he was eighty years old.
I'll be eighty next week. A good time to move on, don't you think?"

"I don't know," said Harold, standing up with the rest of the congregation.
Father Finnegan blessed the coffin and the pallbearers wheeled it out.

"I mean seventy-five is too early," the old lady continued, standing beside
him, "but at eighty-five, well you're just marking time and you may as well
look over the horizon."

The few mourners filed out of the church. Harold felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Look at them," she whispered loudly to him. "I've never understood this mania
for black. I mean no one sends black flowers, do they? Black flowers are dead
flowers, and who would send dead flowers to a funeral?" She laughed. "How
absurd," she said. "It's change. It's all change."

Harold walked out of the pew and the old lady followed.

"What do you think of old fat Tom?" she asked.

"Who?" said Harold.

"St. Thomas Aquinas up there. I saw you looking at him."

"I think he's ... uh ... a great thinker."

"Oh, yes. But a little old-fashioned, don't you think? Like roast swan. Oh,
dear! Look at her."

They stopped before the dour portrait of the Madonna.

"May I borrow this?" she said, taking the felt pen from Harold's coat pocket.
With a few deft strokes she drew a cheery smile on the Virgin's mouth.

Harold looked about the empty church to see if anyone was watching.

"There. That's better," the old lady said. "They never give the poor thing a
chance to laugh. Heaven knows she has a lot to be happy about. In fact," she
added, looking at several statues at the back of the church, "they all have a
lot to be happy about. Excuse me."

Harold made a halfhearted gesture for his pen but to no avail. The old lady
was already in the back of the church, drawing smiles on St. Joseph, St.
Anthony, and St. Theresa.

"An unhappy saint is a contradiction in terms," she explained.

"Uh, yes," said Harold nervously.

"And why do they go on about that?" she asked.

Harold looked over at a crucifix.

"You'd think," she said, walking out the door, "that no one ever read the end
of the story."

Harold followed her out to the street.

"Uh, could I have my pen back now please?" he asked.

"Oh, of course," she said, giving it to him. "What is your name?"

"Harold Chasen."

"How do you do?" She smiled. "I am the Countess Mathilda Chardin, but you may
call me Maude." When she smiled, the lines around her eyes made them seem even
more sparkling and blue.

Harold politely offered his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said.

She shook his hand. "I think we shall be great friends, don't you?" She took a
large ring of keys from her purse and opened the door of the car at the curb.

"Can I drop you anywhere, Harold?" she asked.

"No," answered Harold quickly. "Thank you. I have my car."

"Well, then I must be off. We shall have to meet again."

Inside the church Father Finnegan stood dumbfounded before the beaming
statues.

Maude raced the motor and released the brake.

"Harold," she called, "do you dance?"

"What?"

"Do you sing and dance?"

"Uh, no."

"No." She smiled sadly. "I thought not." She stepped on the gas. With a great
screech of burning rubber, the car flew from the curb, tore down the street,
and spun around a distant corner. One could still hear the gears shifting in
the distance.

Father Finnegan, who was standing at the church door, had also seen it depart.
"That woman--" he said to no one in particular, "she took my car."

There I was....

...strolling into the Shiloh, and I was greeted by an army of school teachers!

All celebrating the Holiday season in style no doubt. First I saw Sherri, and chatted
with her a bit...then Karrie, Kevin, Lisa, BIG Kevin and finally met Teresa (sp).
SHE was a hoot, and when Carolyn finally stopped by she latched onto her like
flies on sugar honey!

So the words tonight are:
GTT: Gone To Texas...and....uh.....that's all we can remember!
Doh!

What a hoot, more later if you are lucky!
:D

Dang it!

My Mac crashed!  I thought they were supposed to be TOUGH!

Whatever....I'll be out for awhile....bye :(

I know.

Our friend Rex would start singing the following song...and not stop till he finished.
Very funny, thought I'd share:

    It sounds funny, I know,
    But it really is so,
    Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

    I'm my own grandpa. 
    I'm my own grandpa.
    It sounds funny, I know,
    But it really is so,
    Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

    Now many, many years ago, when I was twenty-three,
    I was married to a widow who was pretty as could be. 
    This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.
    My father fell in love with her, and soon they, too, were wed.

    This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life,
    My daughter was my mother, cause she was my father's wife. 
    To complicate the matter, even though it brought me joy,
    I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.

    My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad,
    And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad. 
    For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother
    Of the widow's grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my stepmother.

    Father's wife then had a son who kept him on the run,
    And he became my grandchild, for he was my daughter's son. 
    My wife is now my mother's mother, and it makes me blue,
    Because, although she is my wife, she's my grandmother, too.

    Now if my wife is my grandmother, then I'm her grandchild,
    And everytime I think of it, it nearly drives me wild, 
    For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw
    As husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa.

    I'm my own grandpa.
    I'm my own grandpa.
    It sounds funny, I know,
    But it really is so, 
    Oh, I'm my own grandpa.

Friends.....

For My Democrat Friends:  

 

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere .  Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.   By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated.  This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.  It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.  This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wish.

 

 For My Republican Friends:  

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Okay Then...

Monday is over finally! Woo Hoo!

Are you ready? I know that everyone who glances this blog and live within
driving distance will be at the best outdoor art festival in Houston tomorrow!
I sure will!  John M. and I had a sample of the drinks available at Wind Water
tonight and lets just say.....we were satisfied!  Rum & cokes travel well!

It's been a very surrealistic week around here.  And I'm ready to see all my
artist friends at the market tomorrow.  Sad to say that several dropped out due
to illness at the last minute......but at least they aren't spreading their wealth right?
They'll get better soon!

OY VEY!

Sweet Dreams all!  :D

It's Monday.  What else can I say?
nothing!

HO HO HO

Got any rum?

18 Hours!

.....is how long I slept yesterday!  Started feeling sick, like a cold or flu. Took some NyQuil and went to bed a 3pm
Friday.  Wow!  Mostly better now.  Just a little dazed and confused.  Congestion and runny nose are gone though.
Still feel full all the time.  Hate this!
SO in about 2 hours we are off to Ron & Claire's wedding.  Should be tons of fun.
These two know how to throw a party!

Cheers for now!

Time for a quote eh?

I'm kind of jealous of the life I'm supposedly leading.

Zach Braff

GRAVY!

Get it?

Got it?

Get some!

If you can't make any gravy, buy some cheese!

CHEESE!

Yes I said CHEESE and I meant pa lent a but I can't spell it.

NOW I'm having Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky Special Reserve on the rocks
with club soda!  YUM!!!

Waiting on Miss Charity....should be here any moment.
So hey, did you say a lot of people read this blog?
Hello everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Just had me some grits w/garlic cheese and bacon.

YUM!

DONE!

WE DID IT! WOO HOO!

Now Ms Charity is coming by. Things will get a bit more somber now.

Gobble!

Just when we thought we had it figured out...foiled!
2 '6 foot tables square for 11 people aint' workin. Dang it!

If our chairs and butts were smaller....

Back to the table squad...

Cocktails First, Questions Later...

Onion Creek Happy Hour July 30, 2005

Looky at what I found!

Harold & Maude

"A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they're not dead, really.

They're just... backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt, even!
Play as well as you can. Go team! GO!
Give me an L! Give me an I! Give me a V! Give me an E! L. I. V. E. LIVE! ...
Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."

- Maude (Ruth Gordon), Harold and Maude

An American Girl

You should only have to go through childood once. Doubly so if you're a boy and have all those 9 to 13 year old girls to deal with! Carolyn is "stage managing" the American Girl show at
the Junior Forum for HITS Theater Sunday. I just heard one of the songs she brought home.....UHG! GAG! Only good thing about it is that one of my favorite movies is Bring It On, and it sounds like them. I say that movie will be a cult classic one day...it's such a hoot!

PEE WEE!

SO, I decided that after working all day, getting home and continuing to work, tho with a beer in hand now....to take a break. Sat down in front of the TV and Big Top Pee Wee was on! That little lady from the circus caught my eye, so I looked her up. She was to small to really see who it was....anyway, it's Susan Tyrrell. A great character actress that I know everyone would recognize, in her "bigger" roles! So on IMDB, there is a great bio on her. Check it out: LINK
Sadly, Tyrrell had both of her legs amputated below the knee a few years back, I doubt that will slow her down though.

Best part was the end of the bio. I'll let you decide:
"The last thing my mother said to me was, 'SuSu, your life is a celebration of everything that is cheap and tawdry.' I've always liked that, and I've always tried to live up to it."

Hi.

Got toast?

Drāma

Seen those new mobile phone commercials yet for dropped calls? You know, the guy is joking with his girlfriend about how he's the only man for her, and just as she starts to answer his call goes dead? Leaving him to wonder....
is there another guy? Or the groom joking with his soon to be father-in-law about his name.....when the phone goes?

Happened to me today! Neither of the above two examples, but I still wondered? "What the f--k!?" He He....I'm still laughing tho!

Okay. This week the shit hit the fan, I'm going to douse the flames. Cheers!

EYE SEE YOU

So, recently my glasses broke, and since I've been wearing "corrective lenses" since I was nine I immediately set out to repair them. Not so. Something unfixable broke that early versions didn't have. Off I go to get my eyes examined and order up a new hipper pair. And I got CONTACTS! Woo!

If ever you want to feel nauseous and sick for a few hours, just slip on pair of contacts and then try doing stuff really fast! I love them now and am thinking about what type of Halloween get up I can create with my new spectacle free look.

Now, if you do see me out and I am wearing glasses they will be new ones. I ordered this pair just before I found out I could get the contacts. And I just got them! Black, rectangular without any curves. Very hip. I love 'em!

Okay. I'm off now, more soon. Or later!
Cheers!

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Check this out! AFI's 100 Years of movie quotes!
Fun, there are a few missing in my opinion, but it ain't my website. Here's 97:

My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you.

Link

Got Weather?

Carolyn and I drove thru some horrible rain storms yesterday to get to Galveston. Of course it was worth it to see all our friends and artists from Yale St. We visited longest with Mikie and Gordy. Saw John M., Joe Burnell, Mark Roland, Amy O'Malley, Courtney Marie, Mike Quinn and a half dozen others!

ARToberFest! Still on today too. I was interested in the festival itself, considering what we do. Not to impressed. Guess I expected entertainment, maybe a some activities for children...food. Drink? Most of the art was good, but a lot wasn't. Ah well. Just really makes me proud of Yale Street!

I got a couple of photos, I'll post them on flickr later. Have a busy day. Going to be more like Monday after noon!

Cheers! The New Moon is in Libra! Get social!

Patience

To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be.

Anna Louise Strong

I Tubed...

I did it, I joined the masses of teenager and other young folk and sign up with YouTube. So I can spread my evil message across the world.



Ba Ha Ha Ha Haaaa

Douglas Adams......

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See"

Just can't get away from the quotes...

Most people have seen worse things in private than they pretend to be shocked at in public.

Edgar Watson Howe
US journalist (1853 - 1937)

Parting words....

If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.

- Ludwig Wittgenstein


bon voyage

How about a quote tonight...

Virtue is its own punishment.
Aneurin Bevan

Have you seen me?

Birthday Song

powered by ODEO


THIS will keep me laughing all weekend! May give pause though to anyone else that wants to call and wish me a happy birthday by singing! Love it!

Cheers! And GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!

Will Rogers:

An ignorant person is one who doesn't know what you have just found out

Will Rogers

So it's Friday finally! Woo Hoo!
And my birthday is just around the corner! Normally I wouldn't say much about that, but once again I've used the excuse for being stuck on this patch of green and blue that is hurdling around a huge fire ball in space to mark the anniversary of the number of times I have joined the ride around...whew.

What would that be, um something like 14,000 revolutions, and 41 spins around the sun! My my. Perspective.

I think it was Mel Brooks that said something like, "No wonder the world is such a mess, we're all dizzy from the planet spinning around!" I'll have to look that up. I think it came of his 2,000 Year Old Man comedy with Carl Reiner. Really funny!

So here's my birthday invite:
http://www.artvalet.com/Main/MitchBirthday

Y'all come!
M

Quotes today

I have a Google home page that lists 4 new quotes a day.
Here are todays:

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
- Noel Coward

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
- Samuel Butler

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
- Hubert H. Humphrey

I had an epiphany a few years ago where I was out at a celebrity party and it suddenly dawned on me that I had yet to meet a celebrity who is as smart and interesting as any of my friends.
- Moby

I'm not sure about the eating part. Yuck!
My day is starting with another ache in my gut, keeping a smile on my face is getting harder every day. Well, off to the trenches! Have a good one!

M

A quote

There are only two kinds of freedom in the world; the freedom of the rich and powerful, and the freedom of the artist and the monk who renounces possessions.

Anais Nin
US (French-born) author & diarist (1903 - 1977)

Get some direction in your life!

Map to the Houston Food Bank.

We'll be starting the large, awesomely humongous signs on the side of the Houston Food Bank building this morning. Not a cloud in the sky right now despite 50% chance of rain by 9am!

We'll just see about that huh? Wonder what we'll do next?
Hmmm

Cheers!

Something is in the air.....

YO! What a day huh? Seems like all I did was drive around.
Getting this, dropping off that, painting here buying there.

Beer time! And in just 13 or so short hours, I'll be joining some friends on our first official ArtValet project! Woo Hoo!
Paint-Eat-Drink what more could an artist ask for?

Cheerios!

Name that movie...

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly 92 million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a really neat idea.

Excerpt from a journal.

In September of 2001 I began writing my daily thoughts down in a journal.
This is an excerpt from one of my last entries.

September 10, 2001- 10:06 AM

What a great day! The temp is perfect w/the breeze. It's one of those days you don't even care to look at what it is. Just Live.

C and I are sitting in Diedrich coffee discussing the downfall of America by Starbucks. Why does everyone have to drink a °150 degree beverage in a paper cup on the go? We used to sit and sip our coffee because it is so hot. Now everyone thinks its disposable and takes it to go. Maybe hoping for a lawsuit. I can't figure out if its good for me or not. Every other day I hear something different. Think I'll move to New Orleans and just throw caution to the wind. (They don't have much of that)

Incidentally, on the schedule today, we have all kinds of crazy stuff to do. We've already been to a highrise for a small touchup and we're "gettin ready" for the Children's Museum to paint a street sign, touchup and stuff. Then samples and one appt at 4:00.
Should we do something worth writing about? hmm I'll think about that.
I'm sure the weather is cooperating enough to warrant something crazy.

Next entry was on Sept 26th and was very brief.

I haven't forgotten.

Big Smile! To you this fine morning ;)

Blog Surfing

Went blog surfing and ran across this fella:
http://marctwyman.blogspot.com/ from Michael-Ann's blog.
He had a great ending sentence from one of his blogs that I must record here in part:

Fight Karaoke and all other forms of pure evil.

www.GravyBalls.com

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.

Will Rogers

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

How about this one?

Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat.

Anais Nin

I can totally relate to that tonight.
Goodnight!

Another Quote

We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.
Anais Nin

So it's Labor Day is it?

I'm thinking about laboring about the house and shop to catch up on some work. To many it's national BBQ day. Since the invitations for such celebrations of grilling discounted meats in honor of our hard work are nil, I see no reason why I shouldn't do whatever I want. So, to work I go! If only for a little while.

The few days after our market are always a let down, with nothing to look forward to in the immediate future. I love the market, after it's setup, and all the artists are busy sellin, it's like a party to me. Friends and family pop in and say hello, sit a spell and enjoy some good music. Now I'm like, now what? I'm not depressed or anything, maybe shellshocked. It's kinda early in the day to be waxing so poetic, perhaps I should lighten up on the coffee!

Whatever your plans are today, I hope you have an awesome time!

Ya know. Perhaps I'll visit one of the local Ice Houses and eavesdrop on some of the conversations. They are always entertaining!

Cheers!

Market!

Yesterday was our last evening art market till next summer. Great night! Weird, we only had a crowd from 7 to 9pm. That was great though to see so many people out for the evening.

Okay then. Time for a nap!

Cheers!

Quote Time!

Never tell anyone that you're: writing a book, going on a diet, exercising, taking a course, or quitting smoking. They'll encourage you to death.

Lynn Johnston

ARGH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AY-YAY-YAY

Hey all you alter cockers!
Wanna have some fun?
Check out this site: Yiddish Phrases
And then get back to me!

A bi gezunt!

Today Only!

As a tribute to my many fans, today only I am signing my autograph on any photo you have of me for FREE!

That's right, why pay autograph services and fan clubs when you can get a free one direct from me IN PERSON!

I will be at a Starbucks in Houston from 1pm to 1:30pm today only. So come on by!

Finding me is your problem.

Sweet Dreams!

No links here!

Ahem.

To the person (YOU) that has been looking on from time to time to see what I've been up to, I have this to say:
"Howdy!"

Okay then. :)

My Plans for the Weekend...

I'm gonna quit smoking.

Nonsmoker: You should try to quit. They say its bad for your heart, your lungs. It quickens the aging process.

Smoker: Who's done more research than the good people at the American Tobacco Industry? They say its harmless. Why would they lie? If you're dead, you can't smoke.

Bowling anyone?

"One advantage of bowling over golf is that you never lose a bowling ball."

Greetings!

Hello to all you passer-bys.....and so long! I'm running off to the Big (shrinking fast) Thicket today to paint some more. Only a one night trip thank goodness!

All this traveling is driving me nuts. There is so much to do and I can't while out of town. Ah well. I seem to forget that when I'm there at least. It's so easy to to relax when your surrounded by towering trees and so little noise that we're used to in the city.

Have a fabulous Tues/Wed!
OH....and I think I'd like to go bowling when I get back!

;)

Thanks!

.....and goodnight!

Hello World!

WHAT A FABULOUS DAY!

Hell Yeah!

Like I said, HELL YEAH!
Kick ass! Awesome.

Cheers!

Cocktails First, Questions Later...

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It seems everyone wants you to buy into what they're selling. You'll watch in amusement at the parade of characters sent to solicit you for everything from credit cards to candy bars. Keep your money in your pocket.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You harmonize with the day as if it were made of music. You're a master mixer, pulling out the warm tones that make you want to bob your head and groove your spirit.

Damn...

Don't ya hate it when you see you've just missed someone?
I sure do...the phone is ringing, you know who it is and you pick up....and all you hear is a *click*

hat that. :)*

An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
Henry Miller

Happy Feeling........

....without warning, or any sign that it's coming today. You will suddenly feel
warm and happy all over. A smile will start to creep in and take over all those
muscles in your face, that smile will radiate out into the world and everyone around
will first look at you confused...and then start smiling too! It's a freakin smile fest
and YOU started it...

If you question why all this, it's because I'm smiling and started it first!

OH yeah..

Greetings and Salutations!

Was like that when I got here.

Was like that when I got here.
Originally uploaded by Art Valet.

Martin and Christian are cool! At M2 Gallery for Mitzi Prince's showing.
See more!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artvalet/sets/72057594141019860/

Argh.

it isn't late.......yet

SO THERE I WAS,
camped out on the bench in front of M2,
with MAX, talking about everything and nothing.
What a great time.......

Thank you all!
Sweet dreams.

Coffee First, Questions Later...

Good morning my friends. I hope the day has greeted you
with inspiration and good cheer! Cancel your plans, and treat yourself to something grand. Pamper, luxuriate or just create!

We are on vacation in this life, for all eternity we learn the lessons of our folly, and long for the day to return. Enjoy, relax and smile, we are ALIVE!

Friends may come, and friends may go...

In college, my first roommate told me this toast, and we used to love saying it, getting louder each time. Fun, you know, any excuse to drink right? Take no offence now.

Here's to Adam who stuck to Eve and gave the world a fuckin,
Here's to the bee that stung the bull and gave the world a buckin,
Here's to you,
and here's to me,
friends I hope we'll always be.
But if by chance we disagree...
Fuck You!
And Here's to me!

You can probably see where the loud part comes in!
"So what the hell is your point Mitch?"
No point really.
Just thinkin about friends. You meet a lot of people in life.
You're best buds with some for awhile, and then you go your own ways. Some you see again and some not. Some, maybe once or twice a year, and we act as if we just saw each other yesterday. Then, every once in a great while, or maybe just once even, you meet that friend that takes no introductions or small talk. You've been friends all your lives, you just happened to meet in the middle of it all. Ever have a friend like that? Circumstances may not always be right, and you don't get together that often, but when you do, it's like five minutes have past and you pick up where you left off. There isn't anything like a "favor" in a friendship like that. What's that ridiculous phrase? There are friends, then there are friends that will drive you to the airport, then there are friends that will help you move a body in the middle of the night? Morbid, and I'm certainly not suggesting anything by that (hehe), just that those are the friends that make you feel most alive. You can spend an hour with a friend like that in a car, no music, no talking, and never feel uncomfortable. Now that's a friend! Of course if you ever catch me not talking in the presence of others for that long, pinch me and make sure I'm okay. Okay?

So much for the fun silly stuff I promised in my last post!
How about another drinkin toast? Credit this one to Marilyn Monroe from Some Like it Hot, I think:

There once was a man named Sydney
Who drank till he ruined a kidney
he drank and he drank
and it shrank and it shrank,
But he had fun doin it didn't he!

Cheers!

*sQuEak*

I have a long memory. Don't believe what you may hear...it is very long!
Cheers!

...and I should add that...

...sometimes, I like to live dangerously!

Such a struggle sometimes though, not listening to that constant chatter that goes on in your head about your life. YOU know what's right and wrong, and generally more than we let on to ourselves as we live our lives. Is that little voice winning?

And then I waited

Greetings! You know. I just read my previous post below the photo here, and I gotta tell you that despite the reason for posting that, I'm feeling better. There's a light at the end of this tunnel I didn't see before. There is no way in hell that I would say what I'm talking about. I am happier. I smile all the time now when I think of the "cause" of my earlier distress.

And true to form, I'll probably (if I remember too) just go back to posting the usual ho hum, happy stuff I would anyway. I never looked to a blog, something the whole world could see as a sounding board, it is fun though.
Cheers! And thanks for the good wishes!

My Favorite Movie of the moment!

The Moderns, with Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino and WALLACE SHAWN!

Heart Broken.

Who reads this anymore? I have NO way of knowing.
I don't link to it. I know that there are links from a few
other blogs, yet I'm not convinced that many folks find
their way here. So I am more comfortable saying personal
stuff.......I guess.

So to no one in particular I say that today my heart broke.
Sometimes, things happen that you don't see coming.
Nothing I can truthfully do about them.
Nothing I can say or any action to "make" myself feel better.
Or the situation. Just say, my heart ached. And probably will
for a long while. Only good I see coming out of this is art.
Art, in my case painting, has a way of creeping into my life
every few years and making me cry onto the canvas.

I'm crying.

Damn

Damn.

Damn, damn damn damn

Last one.

 

Top

 

Mahogany

Detail. To much flash. 

I painted this one.  

Faux stone

Carolyn repaired this faux stone surround. The painters thought it was really and chipped it, pealed the paint with tape and all kinds of horrible things! 

Detail of Carolyn's gilding.

 

Gilded and marbeliezed column

 

Two of 38 Painted Shutters

 

Lonely latter in front of a decorative finish

 

Blurry Mitch antiqueing over Carolyn's handywork.

 

Carolyn's hard work.....

 

Base Coat for Mahogany Fire Place Surround