Goodbye, Grandpa

My grandpa passed away this week. I know it is a pretty generalized statement to say "I don't deal well with death," but I guess I want to think that it is somehow different for me than it is for other people - especially people in my family. They are very outwardly emotional, and I just can't do that. When in the midst of trial, I go to work - making sure everyone is taken care of, then I go home and cry. For my grandfather, I really only cried once, and that was simply because I wished that I had gotten to know this amazing man better and had more conversations with him. He was in very bad health, and his life had pretty much been miserable over the past several years. Both my grandma and grandpa have had Alzheimer's for quite a while now, and my Uncle said something at the funeral that really made me smile - "at least soon grandma and grandpa will be able to have a meaningful conversation again and really know what each other is talking about when they are in heaven." I obviously do not know what heaven will be like, but I at least know that they will recognize each other, and be able to shout praises to God together - and that is always what they did best here before they were both so sick. Below is what the family wrote about Grandpa (a very short synopsis!). They left something special out - not only did he have 5 children, 10 grandchildren (which I am a part of), and 19 great grandchildren - he also had several great-great-grandchildren. I honestly hope that I am able to experience that in my lifetime!

FAULKNOR, REVEREND AUTHER LEE JACKSBORO - Reverend Faulknor was welcomed by his Lord and Savior on Tuesday April 15, 2008. He was born in Mt. Pleasant, Texas on August 14, 1917 to Charlie and Effie Faulknor. He married his sweetheart Virgie Elizabeth Lawson on June 14, 1939. Auther surrendered to the ministry in August of 1954. His prayer to God was "Let me tell the gospel story one more time." Through his ministry he preached in 108 churches in six states. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Virgie Elizabeth Lawson Faulknor; their five children Doris Ogle of Jacksboro, Texas; Mary Ogle of New Braunfels, Texas, Margaret Myers of Rockwall, Texas; Raymond Faulknor of Kyle, Texas and Martha Locke of Dallas, Texas; ten grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimers Association, PO Box 9709, Ft. Worth, Texas 76147. Friends and family are welcome to a time of remembrance at Coker Funeral Home in Jacksboro, Texas from 4-5 pm and 6-7 pm on Wednesday April 16, 2008. Graveside services and interment will be held 2 pm Thursday April 17, 2008 at the Itasca Cemetery in Itasca, Texas. Online tributes may be made at www.cokerfuneral.com Coker Funeral Home Jacksboro, TX940-567-3778

Vacation Photos

Two weeks ago, Drew and I spent Spring break traveling in West Texas and New Mexico. Here are some photos of our journey. It was quite an interesting trip!

Day 1:
Monday. We traveled from Dallas to Fort Davis, Texas. The drive was uneventful, and there is not much to see between here and there. We stopped at Balmorhea State Park to see the natural spring fed pool and saw this kid swimming with a bunch of guppies and catfish. I must be too much of a city girl, cause there is not a chance you could get me to swim with catfish.

We arrived in Fort Davis around 7pm, and stayed at the Veranda Inn. While quiet and available, it was not as promised on the website. I was glad to make my trip home!

Day 2:
On Tuesday, we took a trip 3 hours north to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. On the way there, we drove through Guadalupe Mountains State Park, which was beautiful, other than the stupid highway patrolman who pulled me over for going 3 miles per hour over the speed limit and could not wrap his mind around the fact that my car had Missouri license plates and did not technically belong to me. He even called for back up!! That is a whole different rant though.

Once we got to Carlsbad, our fun really began. Here are some photos from our day in the caves.

This is Drew near the entrance to the cave. Once we got in the cave, photos were really difficult to take.


These are Cave Swallows. These birds live near the mouth of the cave. I thought they were bats at first, which really freaked me out, but it all ended up ok.

Day 3:
Wednesday was spent mostly on Mount Locke at the McDonald Observatory. This was truly amazing! I had a wonderful time taking their tours and going to the star party at night where I got to see Saturn and it's rings and moons in a telescope, and learn the stories behind the constellations. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good days worth of activities - even kids would like this - and it really is reasonably priced!

This is the outside of the first telescope build in McDonald Observatory. It is an 82 inch telescope used for research still.

This is the telescope you get to see on the guided tour. It is the second largest telescope that McDonald Observatory has, and I think they said one of the top 10 largest in the country. It was a really neat tour.

This is at the star party at night. My camera setting made it look like day time, but it was probably 11pm. This telescope was looking at the rings and moons of Saturn.

Day 4:
After experiencing quarter sized spiders in the cave like shower, sunburns, dirt, and driving over 1500 miles, Drew and I were very ready to be home, so, we left a day early so that we could have a "chill" day before starting back to school. On the way home, we stopped at Monahan's Sandhills State Park. This would be such a cool place to take kids! They rent disks and you can slide down these huge sand dunes. Entrance to the park was only $2 for adults (free for kids) and disk rentals were only $1 an hour. Cheaper than seeing a movie!

The drive home was nice and we truly enjoyed our vacation. I mean, who wouldn't love to see stars every night, and this view at sunset?

Once again...

Wow, it has been quite a while since I have written here... there has been so much going on, which is not a good excuse at all really, but I feel as though I have been unproductive artistically. Well, I am back on my A game, and have been doing some really neat things that I am excited to show you.

But for tonight, I need ideas -
I bought these replica keys in an antique shop in Missouri over Christmas, with high hopes of being inspired by them. But now I can not think of what to do with them! Any ideas?

Stay tuned tomorrow for the first painting I have finished since I started working. I am happy with it, for the most part, but even beyond that, it has inspired me to do more and more. Woohoo!

Oak Cliff Earth Day

This is a call for artists, musicians, and volunteers! We need you! Please send me a message if you are interested in any of these positions!

New stuff coming

So, to my devoted readers (ha!)... Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things in life have been a bit crazy lately, but I am preparing for the Oak Cliff Earth Day art show, and so, I have a lot of new projects in the works. Check back later today for some new photos!

Randomness

Over Thanksgiving Break, Drew and I took a trip to Missouri to visit his family. We had an extra day, so, Drew, his brother, Steven, and I hopped in the car and drove to St. Louis to visit the Zoo and to see the arch. It was SO much fun. Here are some photos of our trip.

Butterfly in the St. Louis Zoo.

The St. Louis Zoo has an awesome penguin house. I highly recommend it if you ever go! The zoo is free!!!

The St. Louis Arch from directly underneath.

Steven, Me and Drew at the Arch.

This crazy monkey at the zoo was trying to get into the feed bag. It was SO funny to watch!

November

So, I definitely do not want this blog to turn into the Marcie saga, because I definitely attract enough drama to keep a few readers interested. I am kind of down right now though, so, I thought I would write a little to get a little weight off my shoulders and hopefully gain some perspective about the things that are troubling me right now.

A year ago today, my aunt and friend passed away very suddenly. This was truly my first encounter with death on a personal level, and it has plagued my mind daily. Jana was a very special person. She dealt with a lot of really hard things, but she always had a smile on her face and could always make me laugh. I think the thing I remember most about her - the thing that pops into my head everytime I think about her (which is quite often) is her laugh. It was so genuine and unique. The smile that went along with it was so special, and you could tell that she wished she could make you happy and healthy and everything wonderful. She was always a person I could go to that understood me, that I could talk to and she would know what I was talking about and really understand my point of view. She was family, but she didn't think like the rest of my family does, and she never treated me as though I were her younger niece - I was a friend and a peer to her. I miss her more than I can even begin to describe, and I am trying very hard not to cry as I write this. I know that death is never easy to deal with, but because she left so suddenly, it has been something that has been so difficult for me to understand and move past. I just got a new cell phone last weekend and when I was transferring phone numbers, I realized that her number was still in my phone. I have dreams about her all the time - like she is still here. Sorry, I am not meaning to sound melodramatic - just thinking about her too much makes me sad, and that, in turn, makes me angry, because I feel like her memory should make me happy, not sad. She made a huge impact on my life, and I wish I could thank her for that.