Successful Event

The MHA's potato bar went well this afternoon and evening. Everything in my world - including me - smells like baked potato. Fortunately, I like baked potato, although I didn't feel like eating one by the end of the day.

We even had a potato guy walking around promoting the event.



Many thanks to people for the loan of the costume, and to the students who wore the costume and who walked around with sandwich boards on. I'm so fortunate to have a great board who will jump in and get things done and this is a prime example. Duane knew someone who had the costume, Nancy arranged for students to help us with a variety of things and Gary got students to walk around in the costume and with the boards. That's Gary putting the finishing touches on a sandwich board.



They walked around at the arena today where the NJCAA tournament is being held. The Armory, where we had the event, is across the parking lot so people could easily walk there. The National Guard folks were so helpful yesterday and today.

We served a potato with fixins, dessert and a drink for $5. As always, there are some funny moments during these sorts of things.

I was concerned that the potatoes were not cooking quickly enough today and that we weren't going to have them all done on time. So, at one point Greg brought some to my house to cook, Sheila took some to her house, and Nancy took some to the high school. Fortunately, all went well.

One of the funniest moments of the day was when Greg - who was an amazing trooper all day doing everything from bringing me lunch to picking up antibiotics for to me to baking potatoes - was asking me how he would know if the potatoes were done. I told him about the fork test. This incredible look of recognition came over his face and he said, "Oh! So, that's why they say stick a fork in it... it's done." Little did I know that at practically the same moment, Sheila was having a nearly identical conversation with her husband.

We had some potatoes left, which I took to the soup kitchen, so nothing will go to waste. This is the first time we've done it so it was a learning experience for us, but it went well.

We rely on lots of volunteers for something like this. A huge percentage of my board was there, and we had a lot of people from The Volunteer Center too. One of the people I always request when we're doing anything food related is Kathy.



This woman... oh my gosh... this woman can wash dishes like you can't imagine. She also cleans anything else that doesn't move, and some things that do, which I love. She will grab a hefty trash bag and haul it out to the dumpster before it even occurs to you that it should be done. She is a jewel. We talked about having lunch one day. I hope she calls and emails and we get to do that. She's always fun to be around.

Well, I'm tired... and I have the Food for Thought event in the morning so I should try to get a little bit of sleep. I'm incredibly thankful for my board, the volunteers, Greg (always - he remains the best ex-bf a girl can have!), National Guard folks and everyone who made this possible.

I had intended to take lots more pictures, but I'm so busy during these kind of events that I - literally - don't even have time to say hello to people sometimes, much less have anything resembling a real conversation. It's just always a big rush. Needless to say, getting out the camera and taking pix falls by the wayside.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's still St. Patrick's Day for a few more minutes. Greg and I had an unexpected, but quite lovely, experience with "the green." We headed out to dinner at Ken's Pizza but they were having some sort of plumbing issue - lots of work people and lots of lawn being dug up - and were closed. So, after much debate, we decided to go next door to Carlos O'Kelly's, where we very rarely go.

We were greeted at the door by a Leprechan. Now, even on St. Patrick's Day, this isn't exactly something one expects. And, for that very reason it was delightful. Our entire dining experience was more fun because of that brief interaction.

The Leprechan came through the restaurant occasionally, leaving gold coins and plastic beads in her wake.

This caused me to think about how little unexpected bits of fun can color our perceptions in major ways. I have no doubt that both Greg and I will be more eager to go Carlos O'Kellys in the future - just because we had a fun experience. I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned in this for businesses.

I remember reading once about a company whose call center did an employee survey and discovered that one of the things employees kept mentioning that was missing was celebration and fun. So, the company developed a plan to celebrate everything - from the traditional birthdays to more esoteric things like, "John made the 100th sale today." The call center had the lowest retention rate for employees until this went into practice, when their rate dramatically increased. Obviously, that impacted training costs.

I have to admit, that wouldn't work for me - it's too contrived. But, I can see why it works for lots of people - particularly if you're doing a job like a call center where the routine needs to be broken up. I've never had that kind of a job, so maybe it would work for me in that case, too.

Whatever the mindset of Carlos O'Kelly's tonight in deciding it was worth the cost of having an employee dressed as a Leprechan, it worked on these two customers. Maybe it was more for employees than customers, but we both left with a favorable impression, which was also only increased by the excellent service we got. Those things add up to repeat customers.

I was ready for a nice, relaxing dinner after a day of preparation for the MHA's Potato Bar tomorrow at the Armory. The NJCAA tournament starts in town tomorrow and we hope a number of people will walk over from the arena for the Potato Bar. It's a bargain - $5 for a potato with fixings, drink and dessert. I've been baking more cakes tonight. We will start in the morning and I won't get a break all day, so it's going to be a long one. We serve from 4:30 to 7, but I'll be in motion from the morning until the night. But, hopefully the MHA will make money, and I'm thankful I'm physically able to do this sort of thing and that I have board members and volunteers who will help pull it off.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Quote of the Day

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘grow, grow’.
                                           The Talmud

Window on the World

I snapped this photo in Kingman the other day. There were three of them in a row on the second floor of  a downtown building. Each had matching window boxes. The orange of the late afternoon sun was bathing the upper floor in light and I was struck by the whole scene - the box, the brickwork and the curtains.

Don't those curtains say something about what you expect to find inside? I expect this person is probably someone I would like knowing. I'm guessing they have knick knacks sitting around, maybe on top of doilies. I'm thinking they have some antiques. I'm guessing they are homebodies in the sense that they like to be home, but are always ready to go out to a gathering with friends. I'm thinking the bathroom has fluffy towels and there's some wonderful smelling soap, maybe made locally. I'm guessing there's a teapot at the ready for the evening and a coffee pot for the morning hours. I would bet they're sentimental.

Now, am I right? Who knows? This is all speculation. But, it's a great example of the assumptions we make about people and places based on very little real information. Some research indicates our assumptions are often correct - at least about these sorts of somewhat superficial things. The problem comes in when we try to apply these to more indepth personality traits, which we're not so good at predicting.
________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Website Work

It's always on my list, but I finally got around to starting work on redoing my website. The blog will be the last thing to get redone. And, frankly, I could easily put it aside and it could be many months before it gets done. Why? Because I find website work to be unbelievably dull.

It's pure drudgery to me. But, I'm thankful I can do the basics on my own because people get paid big bucks to do website design. I think because people want real money to sit at a keyboard and do the same thing over and over again until carpal tunnel or boredom overtakes them. Who could blame them? I'm not sure people could pay me enough to spend my days doing it.

Obviously, I've only started the redo and have many, many, many things to write, create, update, etc. etc. etc. I have needed to do this for a very long time. At least I got started. I'm a long way from being done. But to get done one must start.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Pie and Pi Day

It's 3/14, which is pi day because pi is 3.14. Not surprisingly, mathematicians have noted this before, which is why it's International Pi Day. Well, Greg decided the occasion should not pass without pie being involved. Always being ready to jump on any bandwagon worth my effort, I got right onboard with this. After all, I love math and I love pie - it's a holiday made for me.

I started thinking about pies I've made... and pies I've eaten... and I thought of a photo of my friend, Martha, giving a pie I made for Creative Sisterhood the old Vanna White treatment. Ladies... this is a good reason to always have your nails done... you never know when you'll be called upon to model with a pastry and one of your annoying friends will post it on the world wide web. Repeatedly. (However, you'll note Martha's nails look lovely - they always do!)

I decided in order to salute the occasion, I'd offer my favorite pie crust recipe, and the caveat that you, too, can make pie crust. Trust me. It's got only three ingredients. It's not that hard.

Pie Crust

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco or other shortening of your choice
3 tablespoons ice water

You can add a dash of salt if you wish, but I never do.

The tricks to good pie crust are simple.

1. Keep it COLD. If you don't bake the crust right away, put it in the fridge to keep it cold. Don't use your hands to mix it or you'll melt the shortening and you'll get tough pie crust, which you can also get by overmixing. (See trick number 2.)

2. Don't overmix. What makes piecrust flaky is that it's essentially layers of the flour and the shortening. If you mix it until it's truly all blended you'll just have a big doughy, tough mess.

Finally, if you want to know how to make it pretty, you'll have to ask someone else. I can either make pie crusts that taste good or look good. I have, thus far, been unable to do both simultaneously. I have seen it done, but never without lard or manufacturing being involved. But, I've never had anyone complain that the crust is ugly if it's good.

Meringe is also incredibly easy. It's just something people who make it want you to think is difficult so everyone is more impressed with them. OK, you know what I mean. See details on the blog post about the Creative Sisterhood Pie Evening.

Now... go forth and bake. Bake Pie. It's Pi Day. People need Pie. Particularly on Pi Day.

Oh... and put a birthday candle on that pie for Albert Einstein who was born on this day in 1879. (Like you didn't already know I'm kind of a geek.)

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Idiot Politicians and their Hookers

Any politician caught with a hooker should be removed from office - not because of their morals, but because they're stupid. STUPID. Way too stupid to be running anything - even a small township.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Grace Embodied

Lately I have been the recipient of much grace. I've been aware of it on multiple levels for about the last 10 days in particular. This, of course, is not to say that grace isn't plentiful all the time - if you're walking, talking and thinking tonight like you were yesterday, you've benefited from grace in the last 24 hours.

But, the last week and a half grace has manifested in my life in small ways. So much of life is about the little things - good and bad. We all know about the "straw that broke the camel's back" and how it can be the little something that pushes us over the edge. It can also be the little something that pulls us back from the edge. In the last few days I've been balanced on that edge multiple times, about to tumble into the abyss, and someone or something has pulled me back.

A prime example is a few nights ago. I was in the midst of my bedtime routine and felt this overwhelming sense of grief overtake me. The tears were starting, and the sobs weren't far behind, and I realized it was going to be a night when sleep was not to be mine. Then, there on the bedside table where I put it every night, the phone began to vibrate. Grace was reaching out to me at 1:25 a.m. in the form of a friend calling just to talk. Had it been 90 seconds later I would have been unable to talk and let it go to voicemail. Had it been 90 seconds sooner I wouldn't have known how much I needed that phone call. Grace. Right on time.

I was reminded of a bit from the book, "Eat, Pray, Love." I read a reference to this on Kether's blog recently, and it has popped up multiple times since. It seems so appropriate in this instance. Author Elizabeth Gilbert is relating a story about her sister and the differences in how they see the world.

"A family in my sister's neighborhood was recently stricken with a double tragedy, when both the young mother and her three-year-old son were diagnosed with cancer. When Catherine told me about this, I could only say, shocked, 'Dear God, that family needs grace.' She replied firmly, 'That family needs casseroles,' and then proceeded to organize the entire neighborhood into bringing that family dinner, in shifts, every single night, for an entire year. I do not know if my sister fully recognizes that this is grace."

That's how the last week and a half has been. Grace has come in the form of calls at the right times, emails, a letter from a long ago love expressing sympathy for my recent loss, invitations from friends - and even friends of friends. I'm touched. So very touched. It's a prime example that we don't know how important it can be when we reach out to people. At any moment we can be grace embodied.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Spring has Arrived

Spring has arrived. Hallelujah! Praise Be! I know spring has arrived because daffodils bloom in the spring and this photo was taken in my front flower bed. Yesterday it was a bud, today it's in bloom. Two of them are in bloom, actually. And, others are budding. Spring has arrived. Hallelujah! Praise Be! Did I already say that? Sorry... I'm a bit overly excited. So overly excited that I wore sandals today. My toes have been a little chilly all day, but I don't care. I need to do my part to encourage spring and somehow I think my painted toenails peeking out of sandals does that. I don't know... baseball players have lucky socks... what can I say?

It was warm enough yesterday and today that I went out and cleaned a bit on the flower bed in front and the veggie garden in back. I can't say they're really cleaned perfectly, but they're better. I also trimmed the rose bush in the front. Is this the right time of year to do that? I have no idea. I tried to find out online and I read that every time of year was the correct time to trim them. So, I decided I'd just do it, see how things go, and learn from my own experience.

I had lunch with Julie today at Applebees and I have now been asked the oddest question that I've ever seen on a survey. I've been asked some weird questions over the years, which would be an interesting blog post on its own, but this one takes the cake for a preprinted survey at a restaurant.

"Are you a pharmaceutical representative?"



Now, in my line of work, this is a question I can see popping up. But, it was an unexpected last question on a restaurant survey where the most probing question up to this point was what my favorite entree was. (Oriental Chicken Salad, for those of you keeping track.) I swear. I'm not making it up. There was no other question about employment - only this one. And it was certainly not an open ended one as they say in the survey biz. Wouldn't it make more sense to just ask what I do for a living? Do they want more pharmaceutical reps? Or do they not want to serve them. If you answer yes does the Soup Nazi come in and take your food saying, "No Oriental Chicken Salad for you," or do they bring you extra dessert. Maybe I should have lied to find out. But, I'm not a pharmaceutical rep. I know one. Does that count?

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Novel

I've been working on my novel tonight and I've used up all the words I have for today. OK, that's an exaggeration. But, you know what I mean. The terribly fascinating blog post I was working on about grace is going to have to wait for another day. I'm sure you understand.

I printed out the first six chapters tonight and have been editing on them again. Frankly, I need someone who's a far better editor than me to do that. I'm too close to the story to know if it's making sense anymore.

Interestingly enough, today I got a letter from someone I haven't heard from in months who asked about the novel and said they wanted to read more of it. Maybe I'll send them a few chapters and ask their input. This is an interesting process... even though it makes my brain hurt at times... and the long sections that are crossed out with big "X"s aren't encouraging either. But, I think this is just how this process goes. That's the theory I'm going with, anyway. Otherwise I just really suck at it. I'm going with process.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Author Fred Kaplan Speaking in Hutchinson Kansas

On Wednesday March 19^th, noted journalist and author Fred Kaplan will be in Hutchinson to talk about his latest book Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power. Mr. Kaplan will be speaking at the Hutchinson Art Center, 405 N. Washington St. at 7:00pm.

Concerning Daydream Believers Walter Issacson has stated, “Fred Kaplan has long been one of our most incisive thinkers about strategic issues. In this provocative book, he challenges many of our assumptions about the post 9/11world and offers a dose of realism about the way the world works after the Cold War. It is a bracing read.”

Fred Kaplan (Hutchinson native and HHS graduate, 1972) writes the “War Stories” column in Slate Magazine. The author of the classic book The Wizards of Armageddon  he has also written for the “New York Times,” the “New Yorker,” the “Washington Post,” the “Atlantic Monthly,” and other publications. He earned a Ph.D. from MIT, worked as a foreign policy aide on Capitol Hill, and spent decades as a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter in Washington and Moscow. Fred now lives in Brooklyn with his wife Brooke Gladstone, a journalist at NPR who co-hosts the weekend show “On the Media,” and their two daughters.

Copies of Daydream Believers will be available for purchase at the event. This program is free and open to the public. For more information contact Mark Rassette at the Hutchinson/Reno Arts and Humanities Council, 620/662-1280 or hrah@cox.net.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

________________
Check http://www.hutchchamber.com/community/calendar.cfm for a detailed list of events in the Hutchinson area.

Online Shopping

I'm what advertisers call an "early adopter," meaning I'll try something right away. I'll experiment. Marketers LOVE this quality. If you think about it, you'll understand why, because it's very expensive to convince people to try something new if you have to work at it repeatedly. If you get to a customer like me who sees something and says, "hmmm... ok... well... I'll give that a try." Advertisers, of course, assume I will love bacon filled cheesy poofs or whatever it is - all they have to do is get me to try it - and if I'll do that the first time I see the product, it's so much easier for them. I'm kind of the equivelant of a cheap date in this regard.

OK... all of that to say... I've been shopping online for a long time. Pretty much since I could shop online. I've bought books, jewelry, makeup, clothes, kitchen widgets and dozens of other things. In the last couple of days I've bought eyeglass frames. Well, at least I've tried to. Sunday I bought some from one place and Monday they refunded my money saying the frames weren't available. Well, duh, get them off your freaking page then. Today I ordered them from another company. I'm hoping they actually send them to me.

Why the sudden interest? Because I broke my glasses 2-3 weeks ago and while the emergency repair with crazy glue has held well, and isn't really noticeable unless you look carefully, (so it's very wise of me to mention here so everyone in my real life world who reads the blog will be looking for the repair now) I would like some new ones. These lenses are not very old so it makes sense to get the same frames - although I did order a different color. Anyway, we'll see if I can actually purchase them through this business. They are in the business of selling eyeglass frames, so you'd think I could, but history has proven there is not necessarily a connection between those two things.

This might beg the question of why I would order eyeglasses online instead of just getting them from the usual place. I always get them at my eye doctor's office. It's convenient, it's nice to try on different ones, it's just always been the way I did it. But, this time, I checked online on a lark and the frames are about $50 cheaper - the exact same frame - the company and number is printed inside the frame. However, if I can't find a place to actually get them, perhaps I'll decide it's worth the money to have the doctor's office try to track them down somewhere.

The whole episode has made me think about how our world has changed. Used to be no one had any options about where to buy things. You went to your local store and that was it. Maybe you traveled to a neighboring town, or occasionally ordered from a catalog, but you were largely dependent on the local merchant to have what you wanted, when you wanted it. Naturally, there are some obvious flaws with this system.

Now, we can order all kinds of products, but we still rely on local people to provide services to us. But, it seems few businesses have changed with the times and are still working on the outdated model where we have no idea what things really cost. The world is changing constantly.
________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake Recipe

This is the latest recipe I've added to my collection. It's a chocolate oatmeal sheet cake. I realize it's not the prettiest thing, but it tastes amazing. It's a really dense, moist cake. There's something about the oatmeal that gives it a texture I find appealing. I have eaten it with and without icing. It's so moist it doesn't really need any.

I got the recipe from allrecipes.com, one of my very favorite online resources. I've changed it a little bit, but not much.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake

2 cups quick oatmeal
2 sticks margarine
3 cups boiling water
4 eggs
1 cup cocoa
3 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 by 13 pan.

Pour boiling water over the oatmeal and margarine, let set for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add eggs to the oatmeal mixture, blending well. Mix in remaining ingredients and pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until it tests done.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

I Love Saturday

I have had such a lovely day. I tried to sleep in, but unless I'm just completely exhausted or sick I can't stay in bed once I'm awake. I slept until almost 8 this morning, and tried very hard to go back to sleep, but I just couldn't. I read for a little bit, and finally just got up and went to the studio to play for awhile.

Shortly after 11 I headed out to Roy's for my usual Saturday lunch. As often happens on Saturday, I ran into Alan. We were in Leadership class together and I really like him. He's a talented artist and is always fun to bump into. I don't know that I've ever run into him anywhere else, but every few Saturdays we'll both be at Roy's at the same time, which is fun.

After Roy's, on the spur of the moment, I decided to drive down to Quivira. It was very cold here last night - 11 degrees - and there was lots of ice in the water at Quivira. I've never seen it like that. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead. But, the Treo came to the rescue.

Where you see the stripes in the water - that's where it's frozen. The darker parts are the ice, and although you can't really tell here there were also parts that were slushy and then parts that were liquid.



It was odd the parts that were frozen and the parts that were thawed. At some of the edges, there were piles of what looked like shards of glass that was the ice that had been shoved into the shore by the waves.



It was certainly different than I had ever seen it look before.






I was back in town before 3. I've just been puttering around the house since then. I haven't been back outside. I took a nice bubble bath and read a magazine and then did a little journaling. I had planned to catch up on some correspondence, but didn't get that done yet. Maybe tomorrow.



All in all it has been a nice day. Tonight I've baked two cakes for the MHA's potato bar fundraiser we're doing on the 18th. I've also cleaned the stove up - really cleaned it. That's just not a project I really enjoy, but I sure like having it done.

Now at almost 1 a.m. I think it's time for me to head upstairs. I want to paint a little while before I go to bed.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

TGIF

I am so glad it's the weekend. I've crammed two weeks worth of work into this past week and I'm exhausted. Yesterday and today were really busy ones. I had volunteers all afternoon, and while they got a lot done and the newsletter is on its way, it was a tiring day. I had to keep going to my van to haul in things and it was frigid. It's 11 at the moment and it was freezing cold today - the temperature was low and then the wind made it horrible.

Thankfully my lungs are much improved, but it would only take a few minutes in the cold wind for it to feel like I couldn't get a deep breath. I would come in and breathe warm air and then go out for another load of stuff. But, at least I got everything that goes to the office hauled in and upstairs, so that's good. I also managed to haul home a broken chair and put it out with the garbage. I'll bet someone takes it. I don't know why people steal my trash. I think I've mentioned about six dozen times that it freaks me out for people to take my trash. But, I bet someone takes it. Why anyone would want a broken chair I don't know. Of course, I don't know why people want any of my trash.

Tonight I had a lovely, lovely start to the weekend. Martha invited me to join her for "I Love a Piano" at the Fox. There's a Salina native in the cast, so it was quite exciting with many people from Salina attending to see her. Salina is about an hour's drive from here, so it's nice lots of people were able to come. Martha took me to dinner beforehand, and it was so nice to spend some time with her. She's one of the people I don't see nearly often enough.

Among the many things we talked about was the blog. I have been thinking about the blog a lot lately. I often feel out of touch with people and I think that's partially because of the blog - people read the blog and then don't feel a need to actually interact with me in real life because they feel like they already know what's going on with me. As a result I sometimes feel really cut off, and long for real life connection.

This is something I've been wrestling with for some time. I just don't have a solution yet. The obvious one is to stop blogging. But, as hard as it is for me to believe sometimes, lots of people read the blog every day and I'm incredibly flattered by that. Who wouldn't be? And it is a fabulous way to keep in touch with people on some level. It's sort of like my own mega-facebook page. I just want everyone else to have one, too, and unfortunately, few people in my real life have an online presence.

I have to also confess that the blog gives me an "excuse" at times to not make real life connection with people on the periphery of my life. I was recently in a town where someone I used to work with now lives. Another former coworker asked if I looked this person up. It did cross my mind when I was there, but I just decided I wasn't going to bother. I sent Christmas cards the first two years after they moved and I never heard back from them. I just decided to let that relationship go. It obviously wasn't much of a relationship anyway - like most work "relationships" - we weren't anything more than coworkers and any indication otherwise was just folly.

I never understand why people bother to pretend that a relationship is anything more than it is. We're coworkers - we're pleasant - and that's it. When one of us leaves this workplace we won't be anymore. That's cool. Why pretend that it's a real friendship? Why should either of us invest any energy in something that's just what I call a "psuedo relationship" - those are "friendships" that would never exist outside of whatever has brought you together - work, church, boy scouts, committees, whatever. But when you insist on pretending it's more, and not bothering to clue me in, we just both end up wasting time.

Anyway... I've digressed... imagine that... When I was asked if I looked them up I said,  "no. I'm easy to find. If you google my name, the first twenty plus pages have a reference to me. If anyone wants to be in my life, it's pretty simple. They obviously have no desire to be in my life so why waste my time looking them up."

That may seem a little cold, but from my perspective, it's just being logical. It's a waste of time to look up people who have already made it clear they have no interest in being in your life beyond the superficial. What could we possibly have to say to each other that we haven't already said? My time was much, much better spent chatting with Jared and Brian who were spending their spring break traveling Route 66 with friends. We had a lively conversation, filled with new insights and laughter. That was a wonderful use of time and energy.

Obviously, all of this is on my mind. But, I'll think about it more at some later date. This weekend my plan is to be me. To relax. To not have much of a schedule. To try and cram two weekends worth into one weekend. Why does that never work?

Scenes of Kingman Kansas and More of the Day

I have had a very, very, very full day. I sent the newsletter to the printer last night only to wake up this morning to discover it hadn't worked as I'd hoped. So, by 10:30 this morning I had that done again, and was ready for lunch. For the second time this week I decided some Roy's was in order. Teresa and I went on Tuesday. I called her this morning and said I was going to get Roy's again. She decided to join me. Teresa and I have had lunch every day this week. That may be a record for us.

And, the Roy's was great. I even snapped a photo of the brisket because the smoke ring on it was just beautiful today. If you're not into barbecue that probably means nothing to you. But, if you're into it, this probably makes your mouth water. You don't get that out of a bottle. Kansas magazine was coming later today to do a piece about them, and the News just did a feature on them, too. Anyway, Teresa and I enjoyed our Roy's.

Yesterday wasn't technically a lunch for the two of us. It was the diversity luncheon and we were both there. It was a really good gathering. Theda was there and that's always fun. Also Cleta, Dorothy, Trish and Lovella. Unfortunately, I'm going to break our lunch streak this week because I've got volunteers tomorrow so I won't get to have lunch.

After lunch today I went to my office and worked on it more. Tomorrow is my recycling day and I wanted to make use of it by getting some things out of the office. I brought a couple of old computer boxes home the last couple of days. The oddest thing - I went ahead and put one of them out yesterday and someone took it. Why do people take my trash? It freaks me out. I put another one out this morning and by noon someone had taken it. Why do people want my empty computer boxes and other trash? Why? What is so enticing about my trash? Tonight I've got a big stack of things out there. I broke down the boxes so they would be less appealing to people. These boxes were bent and crunched and not really useful. And, of course, they had other recycling stuff in them, which I fear may have just ended up in the trash somewhere. Anyway, I'm hoping the recycling guys get to them before some passerby steals my trash. Why do I care? I don't know. It just freaks me out for people to take my trash.

This afternoon was the Horizon's board meeting in Kingman. I really didn't want to go, but I talked myself into it. It was a beautiful day and I thought the drive would do my mood some good. We didn't have a quorum at the meeting, which is very rare, but that meant we were out while it was still sunshiny, which was nice. I drove through downtown Kingman to check out the buildings. The afternoon sun was doing wonderful things for some of the buildings, including the museum.



and the courthouse...



I also couldn't resist this sign...



I occasionally hear from someone who's enthralled with getting to see bits of small town Kansas. I can understand that - particularly if you've never seen the rural midwest. It has a beauty of its own, like any place, I suppose. Most of the communities around here were formed in the 1880s or a bit later, and the buildings reflect that. There are neat details to be found if you look for them, like the fan design in the panels on the building where that sign is painted.



I headed back to the office, but remembered that tonight was a fundraiser that I would have gone to if I'd not had the meeting out of town. Anyway, I detoured to the art center to get a glimpse of the goodies. It was nice. I chatted with Debbie, Leah, Rosalie, Cyndi and Jennifer, although it was just briefly.



They had about 30 four by six pieces of art donated that they auctioned off. I didn't even have time to get a card, much less bid, but it was nice to see everything hanging. They were closing bidding just a few minutes after I arrived. Leah was managing the cash - she's good at that.



I hope it was successful for them. It's hard to come up with new fundraisers and not step on the toes of anyone else in town.

I worked at the office until about 9 and came home to a nice bubble bath. I really need to take good care of myself these days. I'm not depressed, but I'm not normal either, and I need to nudge myself back toward normalcy. It's almost midnight now and I have a really busy day tomorrow so I do need to get some sleep. But I think I'll make a cup of tea and spend a little while journaling before bed. There's something magic about putting pen to paper.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Beauty of Monet

This is called impasto. It's an Italian word that refers to part of a painting that has a build up of paint. I don't recall where I first learned the term, but no doubt from some of the art books I've read. I developed a real interest in art when I was in college - really even earlier than that but I just didn't know what to do with it until later. I eventually learned that when one is interested in something the easiest thing to do is start reading about it and learning. I often start with a children's book to "get my feet wet" when I know nothing about a topic.

It wasn't until I had done some reading that I even knew what kind of art I was interested in, much less who any of the artists were.



When I was in college at the University of Kentucky the Armand Hammer collection traveled there. It was a major art exhibition and I went. It was the first time I was exposed to Impressionists on a large scale. My exposure to art had been very, very limited. Art was not an interest of anyone I knew growing up. It wasn't something that was available to me. It was not something that anyone thought about. Literally, it just wasn't on the radar screen. That's not a slam against my family or the place where I grew up. It just wasn't part of my world.

All of life is a trade off and I had some amazing experiences growing up that people who spent their weekends in museums missed out on. So, there you go. But, being who I am, I want to have it all.



For many years now, I have sought art in every venue possible. I'm certainly no expert, but I can hold my own in a basic art discussion, particularly about the impressionists. I've traveled to some of the places they painted, including Monet's home in Giverny, and I've read and studied their personalities, thought processes and techniques. I don't study their techniques to try and duplicate them - I don't have that talent or interest. I study them because I want to understand the work.



However, all of that does nothing to prepare me for the experience of getting lost in a painting. It's as if every molecule of my body becomes devoted to only experiencing what is in front of me. Nothing holds this power over me like a Monet painting, particularly his later works. The Orangerie in Paris, where his final eight panels reside, is an all day visit for me, as is the Musee Marmottan, which has some of his unfinished works on display. Most friends don't want to go to a museum with me. Not only will they be bored and ready to leave hours before I will, but I will be completely non-communicative. I'm there to "commune with the art," not visit. I have given "the Patsy tour" of various museums to friends - and that's fun - but that's a different kind of experience.



I know many art experts look down on those of us who love impressionists. That's fine. I still love them. In particular I love Monet. I know he wasn't the most pleasant personality, at least from what I read, but when I'm looking at his brush strokes, and examining up close every square inch of the canvas his brush has touched, and the amazing beauty it has wrought, I don't care. I don't care if the art snobs think I'm a neophyte. I don't care if people who don't like art think I'm a snob. I don't care about anything except losing myself, my ego, my entire being while I immerse myself into that beauty. It's as if I'm melting into it, experiencing it on multiple levels at the same time. It's truly an other-worldly experience for me.



This would be related to why I absolutely despise bus tour groups that disgorge a huge number of tourists who have no real interest in being there, but are just there because it's stop number four of the day, and rush in, talking loudly, and generally ruining the experience for the rest of us.



And you don't even want to get me started on school groups. I want children to experience art, but could we have at least one day or morning or afternoon or sometime when we could experience museums without dozens of loud children? Or could we just have children who come to museums without screaming? That would be another option. It's amazing the difference between a school group in an art museum in France and one in the US. Kindergarten aged kids in France sit on the floor in a semi circle in front of a painting and listen patiently to their instructor explain it. There's no running, no screaming, no jostling.



This painting, Flowering Arches, is the one Monet in the Phoenix Art Museum. Generally I head straight for the Impressionists in any museum - depending on what the collection is like I may want to spend all available time there. This was painted in Giverny in 1903, so it's one of his later works. It has all the hallmarks of the things I love about Monet.




The Phoenix Museum allows photographs of some paintings, and I was thrilled this was one of them. Of course flash wasn't allowed, but Greg took these for me and I just cropped in on bits and pieces of the close ups he did. This is generally how I most love Monet paintings - in these closeup bits that show the layers, the colors, the impasto, the brush strokes, the passion of the artist. It truly feeds my soul and is a beauty unlike any other I know.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Gnarls Barkley Banned Video

I heard about the Gnarls Barkley video that was banned because of some strobing effects that can cause epileptic seizures. Naturally, I had to go seek it out. Although I don't have epilepsy, some of those black and white backgrounds moving around were causing me to have to look away. However, it's worth looking at just because Justin Timberlake is funny in it. Besides, how can you not like something that involves a guy named Danger Mouse, and his buddy Cee-lo?

Typing Speed

84 words

Speedtest

I'm often teased about typing. Comments generally cluster around the "is that keyboard smoking" variety. I contend I really don't type all that fast - it's more about how the keyboard sounds. And, of course, the corrections I automatically make sound exactly like things that don't need to be corrected.

Tonight I decided I'd just do an online typing test to see how fast I type. As I suspected, it's not spectacular. Apparently I type 84 words a minute, although I don't think this test deducted for errors. So, lop off a few points for that perhaps.

This is about double what it was when I took typing in high school. But, ergonomic computer keyboards allow much better typing speed than old manual, and even electric, typewriters. I'm also guessing that years of typing every day, sometimes for many hours a day, haven't hurt my typing speed at all either.

I write every single day - from articles to work to email to blogging to dozens of other things. I'm thinking that all helps my typing speed too.

I'm not sure what a "fast" typing speed is, but I'm guessing 84 words a minute isn't it.

Beauty

I am so eager for spring. I'm ready for the beauty of flowers blooming, and being able to bring a little bit of that indoors. I remembered this photo I took last June - I love this picture - and decided to post it again on this 27 degree night.

This photo is certainly not technically perfect and I could have turned the doily around so the little spot where the lace has a hole in it wasn't visible, but I just love the softness of the whole thing. It was taken on my desk in the downstairs sunporch, where I regularly sit to journal.

I haven't noticed any of my little plants popping up yet, but surely some of them are. Maybe tomorrow if the wind isn't blowing like it was today I'll be able to look. There's something encouraging about seeing the flowers start to grow - knowing that winter must be coming to an end.

It won't be too long before it will be time to plant the little garden out back. I've been thinking about what to plant. In addition to the herbs and tomatoes I always plant, I want to put in eggplant again. I loved having those last year. And I want to grow some squash this year. I want to be eating squash blossoms. I'm not sure what else I'll put in - it will probably boil down to what I can find in the stores.

I certainly like having things picked fresh from the garden. I start to get hungry for "real food" as winter wears on. Of course, we can buy things from the grocery, but that's not really "fresh." I start to really want something that was picked five minutes earlier. I'm guessing before we lived in this global village where we get strawberries in January that those fresh foods were all the more anticipated.

Can you imagine what it would be like to have no fresh foods for all the months of winter? Of course, people canned things and had some foods in storage, but I'm guessing those first radishes were really welcome.

I think like many people, I'm ready for spring... more importantly, I'm tired of winter.
________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Computer Catching Up

I've been doing a lot of computer catch up today. In the midst of doing that I've had opportunity to be surfing to one place or another that popped up in emails. One of the sites I've spent a few minutes with tonight is http://www.on-my-desk.blogspot.com/, where artists share their studios.

It's always interesting to see how people arrange their workspaces - be it an artist's studio or someone's desk at work. My studio space is always messy if I'm working in it. The only time it's nice and tidy is when I'm not really doing anything in there, which, of course, defeats the purpose of having a studio.

As I was looking at that site tonight I was thinking about how cool it is that I can see studios from around the world sitting in my little home office in Hutchinson, Kansas. The internet is such a part of my daily life that it's mindboggling to think it was really only in 1995 that I first surfed the net. It would be some years after that that I had a computer at home and regular access.

The thought of being on that slow computer on that slow dial up doesn't sound very appealing now, but at the time it was quite wonderful. Computers have dramatically changed our daily lives. I spend many hours a day working on the computer now - hours that people obviously used to spend doing other things.
________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

One of my favorite websites is Post Secret. I was lucky enough to get to meet Frank, the owner, a couple of years ago in DC.

Although I won't be able to attend, Frank will be in Lawrence at KU Wednesday night from 7-11 p.m. I know it will be worth a visit. You can see the facebook invite page for details.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Removing Ourselves from Real Experience

I was thinking today about how we lead lives that are geared toward experiences that are removed. For example, instead of cooking for ourselves, we watch other people cook on the Food Network.

Now, I love the Food Network as much as the next person - maybe more than some. But isn't there something odd about the fact that most of the people who watch it never cook? Not nessarily cook something they saw on the Food Network, but they just don't cook. But they like to watch other people cook.

I would wager the same is true of quilting shows, crafting shows and a host of other things.

Consider that we no longer get on bicycles and ride somewhere we need to go, or even to a park for enjoyment. Instead we go to climate controlled gyms and ride stationery bikes while watching scenery on TV. Isn't there something basic wrong with that scenario? We don't want to have the actual experience of riding a bike outdoors, we experience it in a removed fashion.

We play video games about exploring worlds, instead of just going outside our houses and actually exploring our neighborhoods. We chat with strangers online instead of going to the diner down the street and having a real conversation with a real live person. Somehow we want to remove ourselves from the actual experience.

I'm not sure what is at work, as I sit here along, blogging about these questions, instead of talking to someone about them. But, in my defense, everyone I know in real life has long ago gotten bored with my continual questions, which are always plentiful. Obviously, I should find more friends - new people who haven't yet been bored with the questions. I could even recycle some from long ago.

People are Open on the Open Road

I've been thinking a lot lately about how some people are open and some are more closed. What prompted this were the number of times on the open road that I've had impromptu conversations with people. However, I'm not sure that it's that people are open or if the situation is open.

What is it about the open road that encourages that? It's not that you're all travelling because you're often talking to a local. Is it that I'm more open? Is it that I have a question I wouldn't have at home and that opens it up? Why is it that we can have this interaction with people on the road that we don't have at home?

It's something I'm pondering these days. I know I love being on the open road and that's one of the reasons.

Travel

I was thinking this weekend as I was driving on the open road that there are a couple of things about travel that really attract me. And maybe these are part of the reason some people are travellers and some are not.

1. There's something about travel that gives me a feeling of invincibility.Not in the sense that nothing bad could ever possibly happen, but more that so much cool, wonderful, exciting stuff is going on that anything bad seems a remote possibility. Of course, I guess for that to really work you have to have a desire for the newness you experience during travel.

"Seek" is my number on rule for living. "Seek. New people, new places, new thoughts." So, naturally, travel is a great way to accomplish that.

2. The other thing about travel, which is related to number one, is that it makes me feel incredibly grateful. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to have the opportunity I'm having - even if that's eating at Classen Grill, less than four hours from hom. Nonetheless, I'm grateful.

And I think being grateful is essential to having a happy live. Science would back me up on that as well. Being grateful, having a social network, and forgiveness are the three greatest predictors of having a sense of happiness.

I'm blessed to be a very happy person. Part of the reason for that is that I seek things that make me happy - like travel.

The open road also gives you plenty of opportunity to think, which is where one comes up with things like this. OK, well, my brain works on lots of tracks at all times and so I come up with this stuff all the time, but... in general... it's in overdrive when I'm on the road. And that pun was not intended and that means it's time for me to stop.

Obesity

I'm not a militant fat person - you know, those people who think everything in their life that goes wrong is because they're fat and everyone hates fat people. Surveys tend to bear out that being fat is something our society really looks down on. However, I guess I haven't had that experience myself - that I know of, anyway. So, I'm not a militant fat person.

But, that said, there are a few things people assume about fat people that really tick me off.

1. Fat people have no energy and are lazy.
I don't think anyone who knows me would consider me lazy. And I have more energy than almost anyone else I know. So, while some people may not have energy, that is not a given. I go, go, go most of the time.

2. Fat people are horribly unhealthy.
People are individuals and actuaries don't know everything. My cholesterol is 103, with a very low amount of "bad" cholesterol.. I just took my blood pressure and it is114/70, with a pulse a 46. My sugar is normal. That's probably more heridity than anything else, although I do eat lots of fruits, vegetables and nuts and very little meat compared to the national average.

3. Losing weight is very straightforward - fewer calories, more movement - and it's just a matter of willpower
It may be easy for some people, but it's not for others of us. We all "get" the equation - less calories and more movement - but for some of us there is something that keeps us from being able to put that into practice. If I knew what it was, I'd share it with everyone, but I don't know. I know I'm driven to eat in ways that other people are not.

I know some people can't put down alcohol or drugs or their credit cards or gambling or bad relationships or whatever. I'm not sure why people can't see that food is an addiction for others of us. But, unlike alcohol or drugs, we can't simply avoid it.

Hunger is the only autonomic system we expect people to have conscious control over. Why is that? In a purely objective sense, doesn't that seem a little weird? It's like expecting people to control consciously how many times a minute they blink. When I try to diet, that's what it feels like, by the way - that I must be constantly thinking about food - what I can eat, what I cannot eat, when I can eat, etc. etc. etc. It feels much like the effort that would be required to control the blinks of your eye. I know that may seem preposterous to those of you with "normal" relationships to food, but that is seriously how it feels. Can you understand why that is exhausting? And just too much to actually accomplish?

4. Diets
Diets fail 97% of the time. If any other medical procedure failed this much we would never offer it as a solution. Can you imagine deciding to have open heart surgery knowing there was only a 3% chance it would be successful? Would your doctor suggest setting your broken arm if there were only a 3% chance it would come out healed? Yet this same doctor will suggest diets, knowing they're doomed to fail.

It's as if fat people are not worthy of anything resembling a real treatment. Oh, lots of lip service is paid to obesity, but it's all talk. There has never been a single, effective treatment offered for obesity. Ever. Not one.

Why is that? Obviously, we can create human beings in petri dishes, it would seem we could treat obesity.

I truly don't know the answer to that question, other than it's something people view as not necessary for treatment - after all, it's simple - more movement, less calories - if people aren't going to do that then they're not going to bother taking a pill. Ah, but of course, this is where they're all wrong. It seems like there would be some major money in it for drug companies, but so far no one has bothered to put serious effort into it.

5. Fat people are a drain on the health care system.
This is simply false. In reality, "healthy" people are the most costly for the health care system over a lifetime.

Following is a story from the Associated Press:

Fat people cheaper to treat, study says

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical WriterWed Feb 6, 6:25 PM ET

Preventing obesity and smoking can save lives, but it doesn't save money, researchers reported Monday. It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars.

"It was a small surprise," said Pieter van Baal, an economist at the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, who led the study. "But it also makes sense. If you live longer, then you cost the health system more."

In a paper published online Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, Dutch researchers found that the health costs of thin and healthy people in adulthood are more expensive than those of either fat people or smokers.

Van Baal and colleagues created a model to simulate lifetime health costs for three groups of 1,000 people: the "healthy-living" group (thin and non-smoking), obese people, and smokers. The model relied on "cost of illness" data and disease prevalence in the Netherlands in 2003.

The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.

On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years, and obese people lived about 80 years. Smokers and obese people tended to have more heart disease than the healthy people.

Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all three groups. Obese people had the most diabetes, and healthy people had the most strokes. Ultimately, the thin and healthy group cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on.

The cost of care for obese people was $371,000, and for smokers, about $326,000.

The results counter the common perception that preventing obesity will save health systems worldwide millions of dollars.

"This throws a bucket of cold water onto the idea that obesity is going to cost trillions of dollars," said Patrick Basham, a professor of health politics at Johns Hopkins University who was unconnected to the study. He said that government projections about obesity costs are frequently based on guesswork, political agendas, and changing science.

"If we're going to worry about the future of obesity, we should stop worrying about its financial impact," he said.

Obesity experts said that fighting the epidemic is about more than just saving money.

"The benefits of obesity prevention may not be seen immediately in terms of cost savings in tomorrow's budget, but there are long-term gains," said Neville Rigby, spokesman for the International Association for the Study of Obesity. "These are often immeasurable when it comes to people living longer and healthier lives."

Van Baal described the paper as "a book-keeping exercise," and said that governments should recognize that successful smoking and obesity prevention programs mean that people will have a higher chance of dying of something more expensive later in life.

"Lung cancer is a cheap disease to treat because people don't survive very long," van Baal said. "But if they are old enough to get Alzheimer's one day, they may survive longer and cost more."

The study, paid for by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, did not take into account other potential costs of obesity and smoking, such as lost economic productivity or social costs.

"We are not recommending that governments stop trying to prevent obesity," van Baal said. "But they should do it for the right reasons."

___

On the Net:

PLoS: http://medicine.plosjournals.org

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press

Classen Grill in Oklahoma City

The Classen Grill in Oklahoma City is a find. An absolute find. I can't take credit for it - I read about it on roadfood. But, it's well worth a stop. I was so fortunate that I was staying at the Sleep Inn, which is right across a small street. The hotel was nice, in case you're looking for one. I didn't even move the car, but just walked over to eat.

I got there at about 8:03 a.m. - they open at 8 on Saturday - and there were people already settled in with coffee and friends and newspapers and assorted other goodies.

It's a very unassuming place - inside and out - but the food is fabulous.



This is a very literate crowd - more than a couple of people walked in carrying a fat copy of the Daily Oklahoman. Seated behind me were two attorneys, discussing judges. A few booths away were a couple of younger women making plans on the cell phone to meet another one.



I was the only non-regular there. At a table with four folks at it I heard the waitress say, "I missed you last week." The patron replied, "Yes, we were gone."

And the waiter that was taking care of me and the attorneys behind me brought a plate to the older gentleman and said, "That muffin's probably not brown enough for you." He replied, "It's not as much as usual, but it's OK. It's OK."  When the waiter knows how brown you like your muffin you know you're a regular.

I ordered migas - scrambled eggs with a mix of goodies in them. Bear in mind I don't really care for eggs without something added to entice me. I finished these. They were delicious.



I heartily recommend The Classen Grill in Oklahoma City. It's well worth the trip.

Oklahoma City

I'm in Oklahoma City tonight and looking forward to breakfast at Classen's Grill. I found it on roadfood and, oddly enough, completely by accident, I can see it from my hotel. I will literally just leave the car in the parking lot here and walk across the street.

I love to try out local places when I travel. Why would I eat at a chain that I can eat at when at home? Of course, I'll report on how it is. I'm optimistic it will be wonderful. I'll be hitting the road right after breakfast, but it's worth the delay to have a great meal first.

One of these days I'm going to get the travel website I've been thinking about for years up and going. I always take pix of hotel rooms, with the idea that one day I'll post them all. So far that hasn't happened... but it could... almost any day. Really.

My doctor believed me! Yes, it's true... my doctor listened patiently today, agreed with my diagnosis that I needed some antibiotics for an extended period of time, and gave me a prescription for three weeks of them, along with a prednisone shot. I love him. I'm confident this will kill whatever bug keeps resurfacing making me sick.

I've spent the rest of the day at the computer and accomplished a number of tasks that have been hanging over my head. That always feels good.

I'm eager to be completely well again. Soon!

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

The Day

The Day is winding down and I'm ready. I'm worn out. Partially that's because I've been running around all day, doing things. And partially it's because my lungs are congested. Again. I know... this is an old story... I think I've been saying it over and over again for months. But tomorrow I go to see my own doctor, who I have faith will actually believe me and fix me.

I'm debating if I have the breath to walk upstairs or if I should just sleep on the couch.

________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.