I've gotten over a handful of emails from friends stating that driving up and down the drive way at Mom and Pop's house didn't count and they were mot really sure I drove...two words, Bite Me!!! Thanks to PB I have proof...I was going to post shots of paintings, but, that can wait.

The following are shots taken of me and the boss getting ready for a small drive...sure, she looks nervous, but, she did it...girls got nads!!!






Small neighborhood behind the center, as soon as I got a handle on the windshield wipers, all was well, trying to stay on my side of the road...huh.



Me parking and not in handicap...the shot tells me I need to do more Yoga...one of Pop's tank tops...one if the only shirts I have with no pint on it....yet.

So there you go, after two years of riding in the passenger seat, I drove my car again!!! What you don't see is my mom and the office staff in front cheering us on...well, doing something anyway, bless their hearts!!!

Today is the last day of summer, tomorrow I start my new routine of painting, exercise and house stuff...endurance is the word...will post again tomorrow and thanks Norm for the motivation and thanks Molly for the extra help with painting!!!

Tough times don't last, tough people do.



Now where are the controls again! and turn the radio up!!!

Today was my last day of PT/OT...a day I've been working for, for what seems forever, Today was also my last day of teaching art therapy class...unexpected plus, I got to drive around the block in my car with the Boss!!!

It's hard to explain, but the girls at therapy are pretty special, I didn't feel like a number, I felt like a person again...everything from bowling on a trampoline, to Charlie and her great stretches...Shitzu and breathing to watching Sandy learn how to flip off people at rehab with her challenged hand. Renee saying I don't want to or no, Tom calling me Joe, or the ugly stick.

Me giving PB a black eye (supposed), walking her then my Gracie girl, inside and out, to Angie and her stolen car...Learning Karen was late to her own wedding...laughing at times was all the therapy and it worked for me, today marks the first time I've ever been released from therapy because I was doing better, not, time had run out.

I'm putting my big boy pants on and stepping out into the real world again!!! I'm learning slow and steady wins the race...I don't think it'll really hit me till next monday at 10am when my therapy always began. Where from here! Painting, painting, painting and doing everyday things...getting a new routine going before heading back in October!!!

Lot's of pictures to share and I will in the coming days!

These are a couple of shots I took when I first bought my car





That day was great, drinking champagne at the Teddy Bear park in Dallas, sharing a moment with some buds...this day no champagne, more new friends sharing a moment and me moving on again!, Karen gave me another part of me back...thank you!!!

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

As my last week of physical therapy and occupational therapy come to a close this friday I use this thought of the day, a friend emailed to me this morning...

You are today where your thoughts have brought you; &
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you...
-- James Allen



This shot was taken by a friend Billy in Deep Ellum, Texas, or downtown Dallas, about four years ago...the paints are now shorts and that is my favorite sweatshirt...had it since college. The paint represents several shows, lot's of artcards...I remember the day I bought it on sale at the GAP , several stitches here and there and it's seen me thru alot...going to see me thru alot more I'm thinking.

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

Today in the car I was asking my parents why barns are painted red...they weren't sure, so I looked it up, because Mrs. Urinal didn't have the answer...so here's why, no joke...If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.

Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?

In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories:

* Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.
* Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.

Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.

As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.

Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used.

sooo, next question Pop would like is why is the sky blue? any ideas?

Tough times don't last, tough people do.

I've been getting emails about the last post and the woman, now a good friend who, because of her husband, bought the painting called Nautica....I never got a chance to post in none of my galleries on the web, because it sold right after I painted it...it was one of my first shows at Uptown Vision in Dallas...that was a great night, this couple had just moved to Dallas from Austin...they loved the painting because they were boaters and after I explained the painting, representing sales as well as nautical symbols. they spoke and if I remember, they got it for her husbands birthday...

I was invited to many of their parties, but, never got a chance to go...they were at my humanity showing and brought a friend...I felt that night, that everything had come full circle, promised myself to go to their next gathering, but, I got sick and had to pass...

This is Nautica, look beyond the squares and into the sail...as we watch Ike coming into Galveston and Houston, sales are down, winds are high..people are dreaming of those blue skies and they will come again.

Thinking about you tonight Billy's Blog

Tough times don't last, tough people do.