One of my favorite paintings . . . . .

This is one of my favorite paintings.  And no, I didn’t paint it.  It was painted by, if I recall correctly, Susan Pfaff (sp??).  The painting was finished, but the mother and children had different colored hair.  My mother asked the artist if she could change the hair color to blonde.  The artist obliged and my mother bought the painting and gave it to us.  It represents my wife, Holly, and our daughter Libby and son Aaron.  Very representative.  It will always hang in our home.  Right now it’s above out fireplace in the family room.  ■  Taught, or rather sat in and played bass for the Wednesday night blues/rock band.  It was enjoyable and brought back memories when I was a part of that.  ■  Got a “Donate” button via paypal put up on our Kalo Foundation website.  Hopefully the donations will start flowing in.  ■  I’m going to give a short presentation on our Kalo website next Tuesday.  I’ve got to make it short.  ■  Time, yes, once again for bed.  ‘Night.

Weather website . . . I like it . . . . .

The above is a partial screen shot of a weather website that I’ve been using lately.  Check it out for your own village – www.weatherspark.com.  It’s really a great way of delivering weather info and I haven’t even begun to explore it yet.  ■  Time for bed.  ‘Night.  ■

Done.

I’m done with this drawing of a home in Bull Valley.  It’s a nice large home and was a pleasure to draw.  I tried to have it done by last Friday, but had less time available for drawing than I had thought.  ■  Now I’m still juggling a number of balls – putting a paypal donate button on our Kalo Foundation website.  I think the site needs an SSL certificate, but I’m waiting on an answer to that one.  I can’t seem to find that answer on the net.  ■   Off to work in a few minutes.  More later???

Abby . . . . . what a sweet dog . . . . . .

Just look at that face.  Those imploring eyes – just wanting to please you and love you.  She’s a sweetie.  Right now she’s in bed with Holly snuggled as close to her as you could get.  ■  Pretty much done with the drawing I’ve been working on.  I’ll post a scan of it tomorrow.  ■  My boss is gone on vacation this week, so I’ll have to work a few more hours to cover some of his lessons.  ■  Had ribs tonight.  They were delicious and they’re gone!  ■  The band practiced this afternoon.  The only one missing was our bass player.  He was in Indiana and couldn’t make it.  Got to get out and start booking some gigs.  ■ 

And the light shines in . . . . . .

Listening to the song Watchtower while writing this blog.  ■  The picture in this post was taken with my iphone looking out our front door.  It’s almost 6:00 pm and the sun is still well above the horizon.  ■  Going to do steaks on the grill tonight.  I hope these ones are good.  The last few have been pretty tasteless.  I remember the steaks I had when I was a kid – they had flavor.  ■  Have been asked to be a judge in Lombard’s Lilac Parade again this year.  It’s always a fun time at Murphy’s.  ■  Working on finishing a drawing for a relator.  I tried to have it done by Friday, but didn’t have enough time to do it.  I’ll post a scan of it when I’m done.  ■  Back to the drawing . . . . .

Quick post …

It’s already early Wednesday morning.  I should have been in bed at least 2 hours ago.  I’ve got to get up early and be at my weekly Chamber of Commerce meeting at 8:00 am.  ■  Tomorrow/actually today I’ve got a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist.  I need to write some questions down so I can remember to ask them.  ■

Bacon toffee!

Yup, we finally made some – twice!  While I’m unable to eat it due to the sugar content, a lot of people did and went back for 2nds, 3rds, . . .  The first batch wasn’t dark enough for toffee although that didn’t stop anyone from eating it.  The 2nd batch was made for our old bass player who retired from the Fox River Grove Police Department as a going away gift.  I told his wife to dab a little behind her ears . . . . . . ■  Now I’m searching for a recipe that uses splenda instead of sugar.  ■

Busy weekend . . . ending with ribs!

Had a busy weekend.  Friday was quiet, but Saturday we had a engagement party that we attended and then Sunday a retirement party – and then slow cooked ribs at home.  All events and ribs were delicious.  ■  This week I have a cardiologist appointment.  I hope everything is ok.  I’ve had a couple of minor “pangs” in my heart.  Just little “ouches”, so I assume I’m still ok.  ■  Time for bed.

Bo . . . I can see you!

Libby and their new dog, Bo came for a visit this weekend.  That’s Bo in the chair covered up with a blanket.  ■   Weekend was quiet; a little get-together on Friday night at our house; Saturday Holly, Libby, and I stayed in and watched a couple of movies on our DVD player.  It always takes us a good 10 or 15 minutes just to figure out how to get the movie going.  Doesn’t seem to me that you should need more than 1 remote to run everything connected to the TV.  ■  Well on my way to finishing a drawing.  Should take another few hours.  ■  Got to get ready for work. 

No report tonight . . . .. . .

No report tonight.  Maybe tomorrow. 

Thanks,

Steve

Ah . . . . Abby . . . . .

It appears that Abby has gnawed a bit on our bed.  We’ve had the bed since 1973, but until now, none of our other dogs have gnawed on it.  ■  Off to work in a few minutes.  ■  Libby and their new dog, Beau – a golden retriever, will be driving up tomorrow to visit.  We’re looking forward to seeing her and the new dog.  ■ 

A fun day being a judge . . . . . .

Had a fun day being a judge in a local talent contest.  All of the kids were good.  Congratulations to not only the winners, but to every child that participated.  ■  The talent contest was held in conjunction with our Chamber of Commerce’s annual business faire.  I helped man our networking group’s booth.  Maybe next year I’ll get a booth for my pen & ink business.  That might be fun.  ■  In a few minutes we’ll be on our way to a 60th birthday celebration.  Happy birthday Dave S.!  ■  Tomorrow band practice and then out to a benefit in the afternoon. 

Sometimes no picture . . . . .

Some posts just don’t have a picture.  I usually try and include one to try and make the post somewhat visually interesting.  ■  Did a quick pen and ink of one of the store’s customer’s home.  They’ve listed their house and are getting ready to move sometime this spring.  It’s always nice to have a pen and ink of your home.  Especially if you’re going to move.  ■ ■ I still have this “ringing”, or more like a “soft cricket noise” in my ears.  I don’t notice it if there’s other noise like music, or the TV, but when things are quiet – like now on the pc, then I can “hear” it.  ■■  Went to the dentist today and it ended up they couldn’t work on me ‘cause I’m on warfarin – a blood thinner.  I won’t be able to have any dental work done until I’m off of the blood thinner.   ■■    The weekend is coming up and I’m a judge at the local talent show.  That should be fun.  ■  Time fer bed.  ■