Sketching in the Big Book - Photos New Mexico March Madness and More

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!", quote from my mom.  She used that expression and "I have an ache in my sacroiliac!"  Today I sound just like my mom.  Who would have thought??

I decided to make a little use of my idle sicky time and sketch in the big book again.  I put it on my footstool and went from there.  I used a Micron 03 and some colored pencil.  Yellow was one of the items.  I can never find anything yellow in my house but we did have bananas.  Boring I know, hence the colored pencil so the "yellow" would show.

Number 6, Old Fashioned - an old cast iron Dutch oven, appropriately for this sketchbook, from Jennie.
Number 7, yellow - bananas

Yesterday we ventured out for a short, slow paced walk about .9 of a mile according to Gene's app on his phone.  It was very nice out and is again today and should reach the mid 80s.  Yikes!

 A lone duck on the easterly lake.

The easterly lake is full and the water is flowing to the westerly lake.  We didn't walk down to the far end to see if it is still flowing out, but bet it is.  Pretty sight to see.

From our New Mexico trip:

 I missed posting this one at the beginning.  Near the airport a Southwest Airlines plane was landing.

 Tatum is the first town in New Mexico the way we drive in.  A bit like west Texas, eh?

There is an iron works shop and they evidently make all the signs in Tatum.  Even the street signs are iron.   I have shown them before.  http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/road-photos-new-mexico-back-to-texas.html  Along with many  variations of the same scenes.  We have been that way a few times, ha!

Vaughn, New Mexico, is a pretty bleak town.  It is on the high desert, flat, dry and windy.  Hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  It was a crossroads for the trains and has stayed alive somehow.  Never a favorite of mine.

My brother, Skinny, and wife, Kay, lived there.  I'm pretty sure Carolyn was born when they were in Vaughn, but not sure if she was born there.  I will have to ask about that.  This is a pretty typical house in New Mexico and something like the house they lived in ... I think.  I was just a whipper snapper of about 12.  Gene and I drove around and took several photos, but I just couldn't remember.

This type house had the four sided, peaked roof to help keep the wind from blowing them off.  Makes sense to me.  Our house in Magdalena was like that, too.

There are some fun things on facebook about March Madness in New Mexico being wind and tumbleweeds.  That is one reason I was glad to leave our home town -- wind and dirt, allergies.  Lovely in the spring ... or not!!

We always had Easter egg hunts in school.  We had real eggs in those days.  Students had to bring hard boiled, decorated eggs and the school (teachers and caretakers??) would hide them down by the rodeo grounds near the cemetary or up by tank hill (the city's water tank).  The dust would blow, eggs found, cracked and tossed by the rowdy bunch, then we all had to eat the eggs and our lunch.  I tried not to find any but the teachers would "make" us eat one.  By lunch time they would be full of sand and busted up.  I still cannot eat hard boiled eggs unless they are cut up in salad or made into sandwiches .... disguised in some manner.  Deviled eggs don't count as disguised, I won't eat one.  My teeth are gritty just thinking about how much dirt I ate!!  You youngsters have it so easy with chocolate eggs! 

By the way, Gene loves hard boiled eggs.  Do you suppose he held some back so they wouldn't be cracked and yucky??  Hmmmm.  He did get away with a lot in school.

Thursday is the reception for the Austin Pastel Show, it is a good show.  Here is the schedule for viewing.  The reception will be fun...

Free parking for the reception in the parking garage attached.