Blade's Random Thoughts

Big Pink Fratangos

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:09:56 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

On Saturdays, Girl2 and I walk to breakfast at a local cafe. When you walk and hold hands with a child, you are the biggest, strongest, smartest, handsomest, and coolest guy in the world. Today, she was criss-crossing her legs as she walked and declared she was a big pink “fratango”. If you don’t know, fratangos are those pink birds in Florida that stand on one leg all the time (flamingos). Today, I was the coolest fratango ever.

The Snake Artist

Blade — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:02:28 +0000

Oasis Studios and Gallery and The Chickasha Area Arts Council are proud to present:

Tasmanian artist Bill Flowers will be visiting the weekend of the 27th-30th. He will be present at the Chickasha Area Arts Council booth at the Grady County Fair on Saturday, August 28th, from 9-11am. He will be back in Chickasha Monday, August 30th, for a presentation at the Chickasha Public Library from 6-9pm.

Bill Flowers, otherwise known as “The Snake Artist” has been seen on numerous programs such as Discovery’s Animal Planet and National Geographic Wildlife. Mr. Flowers unique technique of field sketching the world’s meanest and sometimes deadliest animals for use in his finished art pieces puts him in some very dangerous positions to say the least. He uses his art to promote wildlife conservation around the globe.

Mr. Flowers is being sponsored in Chickasha by Oasis Studios & Gallery, which will open in Chickasha in October, by The Chickasha Area Arts Council, and by The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

The Chickasha Area Arts Council strives to support, encourage, coordinate, and promote high-quality activities and programs in the arts and humanities for the Chickasha community. For more information or if you are considering membership, you can find them at www.chickashaarts.org,

Oasis Studios and Gallery is working to make Chickasha THE hub for the arts in South Central Oklahoma. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oasis-Studios-Gallery

The rest of her life…

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

This is pretty much the view I will have of her for the rest of our time together. Her dirty face stained with laughter, her wild hair flying behind her as she runs off into some new adventure. She is spending more and more time away from me and becoming more headstrong and independent every day. That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

There’s that moment every parent goes through when you realize the days of your baby following you are numbered. Soon, you start following her and spend the rest of your life just trying to keep up. You just have to keep in mind that she is not running away from you, she is just rushing out to greet the world.

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 91.07 kb
The rest of her life…

El Perro Estupido

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:37:24 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

This morning, bright and early, I had to take the family mini van in for service. 4:30 in the morning finds me moving all of the baby car seats, strollers, tucked away Mcnuggets, and other paraphernalia from our vehicle into my work truck. I’m going to have to drive the van to the shop and walk back. I decided to take the big dog so he wouldn’t miss out on our daily walk.

The auto shop has a night drop box for paperwork and keys. That way, if you’re like me and need to drop off your car way early, or way late, you can simply fill out the form and leave your locked car.

The big dog was excited, to say the least, about being someplace new! When I wouldn’t let him out at the dealership, I thought he might break the glass trying to get out. Finally, I was able to drop the envelope into the box, lock the van and start walking back. I reach in for the dog only to find he has chewed his leash in two! “Ya big, dumb dog!”, I snarked, “How are we supposed to get home like this?”

For a split second he looked at me like he could understand sarcasm.

I pulled the remainder of the leash through his collar and through the hand loop. So we made it home legally, but now I have to go get him a new leash. Probably a collar too since they were a matching set. And a reflective vest since he’s a black dog and we’re walking before sunrise. Ooh! And those treats he loves ’cause him’s Daddy’s perro estupido, yes him is…

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 657.43 kb
El Perro Estupido

Waiting on the Coffee

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:34:19 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

It’s a morning ritual of mine, like many around the world, to get a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Lately, my days have been starting earlier and earlier and I find that I am ready to go before the coffee is. The coffee maker has a timer, and you would think we would be smart enough to set that in advance. Maybe someday I’ll be that organized. I’ll wake up to a fresh cup of coffee, read my morning Internets, and have my morning toast. Then I’ll pat my cheerful loved ones on the head and trot off to work singing, “Just a spoon full of sugar…”

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 395.57 kb
Waiting on the Coffee

Thanksgiving Carbfest

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

The U.S. has just celebrated another Thanksgiving Day. The fourth Thursday of every November is set aside so that we may gather and remember what we’re thankful for. Most families celebrate with a HUGE feast of some kind. Even the some of the poorest families will somehow manage to cook enough food to feed a small country. For the ones that can’t, many churches and civic groups will put out a feast that any are welcome to attend.

Reflecting on what I’m thankful for, this year I seem to be a little more sensitive to my mortality. We have attended too many funerals of friends and family. Since I am the only child of an only child, my family is very small to begin with. I know that too soon there will be no one left who remembers the time the kitten ran up Granny’s pant leg. Others will know the stories, but no one will have been there with me. Like many others, I am thankful for all the time I get to spend with my loved ones. I’m also thankful for all of the leftovers. Since we are such a small family, there’s not many to divide up all that food! I’ve been eating turkey and ham for a solid week now.

Maybe this is why so many people have what is known as a mid-life crisis. You notice suddenly that your future years are not as great in number as your years past, and you still haven’t made out with a redhead in a corvette.

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 863.28 kb
Thanksgiving Carbfest

On The Edge Of Tomorrow

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:19:14 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

You know how sometimes you will sit and plan for the future? Sometimes you think about the next few minutes, days, or even years? I have been known to fill entire legal pads with plans and schedules. Most of them deal with ways to organize or better my life, but many of them are ways I intend to spend more time with my family. How ironic that I would tell my kids I don’t have time to play right now because I’m trying to work out a schedule that will let me play with them.

Then one day you wake up and find they’re grown. All of their toy cars and dollies are in boxes as the kids drive off to work or school. Yesterday they were afraid to get out of your arms. Today, they’ve cast aside their “floaties” and they’re running for the deep end of the pool.

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 1,236.99 kb
On The Edge Of Tomorrow

Getting high

admin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:26:14 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

WARNING: There are some things a mother just doesn’t need to know. Continue at your own risk.

I was talking with some friends from work a few days ago about our different teenage antics. At some point, the topic turned to substance abuse and “getting high.”

Both of them, from very different areas of the country and separated by thirty years, had story after story of their indulgences. I didn’t have anything to join in with. My experimentation was extremely limited. In the 80′s when I was in high school, drugs were everywhere. I even remember seeing people do lines of cocaine at the skating rink. I don’t know if we were too scared or too poor, but my friends and I just did not make these lifestyle choices.

We did our fair share of other stupid things, though. All of my group got married either in high school or just after graduation. We would score some liquor and have drunken campfires in the countryside. When we wanted to get high, we would grab some beers and climb the local grain eleVator. You can’t get much higher than a good beer buz five stories in the air.

File info:
Type: application jpg
Size: 930.02 kb
Getting high

Stop, Drop, and Roll

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:14:15 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

Between vacation schedules, sick leave, and a scary economy, we have had a labor shortage at my day job. I have been asked to help out in the shop. My first day out there, I forgot one of the most fundamental rules of working in a weld shop: Don’t set yourself on fire.

It was a beautiful day. It wasn’t too hot, there was a pleasant breeze, and the radio just KEPT playing my favorite songs. I was feeling pretty good talking with my coworkers and singing while fitting up the steel for welding. Working in the shop once in a while can be quite theraputic (SP). That is until you notice something very warm in an awkward way. Looking down to discover your pants are on fire can be disconcerting, to say the least. There was much taunting and laughter the rest of the day such as “Liar, liar pants on fire.” “Is it hot in here, or is that just me?” And my personal favorite, “Stop, drop, and roll doesn’t work in Hell.”

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 1,073.75 kb
Stop, Drop, and Roll

Nap Time

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:16:00 +0000

Posted by mobile phone:

It’s a terrible shame. Here we are hundreds of miles away from home on vacation when a sudden down pour forced us in from the pool and the lake and the miniature golf. All of the outside activities were curtailed as we watched the lake rise two inches. It’s a darn shame. Now I guess all there is to do is take a nap until we are ready to go into town. Darn.

File info:
Type: image jpg
Size: 140.65 kb
Nap Time