Preparing for Lent

Shamelessly reproduced here from one of my favorite bloggers:

British Library - Arundel 108 fol-10v Detail The Empty Tomb - The Resurrection

Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were afraid. And he saith unto them, Be not afraid: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is arisen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. (Mark Chapter 16)

A previously published pen and ink drawing (icon) of the Beggar Christ and Vincent de Paul by Meltem Aktas caught my attention. A copy of her work is displayed in the meditation room at St. Mary’s Hospital Pavilion (oncology clinic) in Grand Junction, CO. It certainly gave me pause after studying this icon and reading the poem associated with the drawing.

On the back of this framed illustration is a poem written by Jennifer Gordon for the 10th anniversary of Colorado Vincentian Volunteers that explains Aktas' rationale for creating this piece of art:

In unfamiliar streets I wander laden 

With a loaf so full

That surely there will be enough for all. 

In the same streets we meet. 

I see your clothes, Your eyes, and think, “Aha!  

Here is one who needs me.” 

With a smile I hope is warm 

I offer you bread 

Only to know that the piece you give me 

Is exactly what I did not know I needed.

(my rendition in watercolor: 5" x 7")

Yesteday: A Rainbow and Brush & Palette Meeting

A rainbow seen from the patio:

 And Brush and Palette met:

Gary Hauschulz, talented and determined artist, provided B&P its February meeting demonstration.  Interspersed with some of his favorite cartoons, Hauschulz emphasized a quirky sense of himself as a maker of art.

Speaking of quirkiness and nonconformity, Hauschulz took home the Colorado Wine Fest 2012 poster prize, one he painted with Colorado wine.

He urged everyone to pursue passion with passion.  There’s a time to scribble, a time for perspective, a time to get real, and a time to become yourself.  He says there is then a “time to move on.” Gary used the hours of a clock to lead participants through the natural stages of artistic development, including the tough times when most people quit, but artists continue on.



Participants were led through the face of the clock, crayons in hand, symbolizing personal growth at each stage from babyhood (one o'clock on the face of the clock) into adulthood (eleven o'clock), with guided imagery at each hour.  Participants were challenged to go beyond their perceived limits in art:slides of Pollack and others' abstract art were displayed.  They pushed through their limits.  So can YOU!

Linda won the Mini Show and pocketed ten dollars for her score.

Ollie Again and Scrabble Update

For a month Ollie has been away.  Then this morning an owl appeared in the house, spotted around 8:15 am.  I had checked at dawn, but the owl house was vacated.  So some owl appeared later after sunrise.  Gene thinks it may be a different owl.

Owl seen on Janurary 10, 2016:

Owl seen on February 16, 2016:

We think it may not be Ollie, but Ollie II.  This owl is lighter in color and the area to the left of his closed eye is a bit more heart shaped. What do you think?

Scrabble and Julie Update:

The 32nd annual Scrabble tournament was held at the Hilton Doubletree in Tempe.  Warm weather and a fun time was had by most all.  We used the updated dictionary, including over 5,000 new words.  I challenged "ZEDA", one of the newly included words in the TWL, losing the challenge, of course.  

Although I had a bit of a time worrying about Julie while in Arizona, it was nice to be away from Colorado in warmer weather, playing my favorite game. 

Juliet had and has an upper respiratory infection (aka as a "cold"), but Gene held down the fort.  He finished reading aloud to Julie the third book in the liturgical mysteries series by Mark Schweizer and started on the fourth.  She had a chest x-ray over the weekend that showed no pneumonia. The manor has been giving her breathing treatments as her nebulizer has not been of help with this particular bug.  They also have her wear an oxygen mask at night as her H2O sats are low.  

The wound vac suctioning sound and the loud alarms on the machine are pretty much constant during the night, disturbing her sleep, but the nurses are taking good care of her.  She hopes the wound vac will have done its job healing up her belly incision, and that she can have it removed on Thursday of this week.