Happy Birthday, Larry!

It's Larry's birthday again.  Seems like only yesterday we were off in the limo to celebrate last year.  http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/limo-dinner-and-music.html 

He will be here for my show today and we will celebrate his birthday another day.  It seems we never get to celebrate on his actual birthday.  That is odd, because no holiday is involved.  Joanna's is on the fourth of July and Jennie's is November 24 which can be near Thanksgiving so those days are hard to get together just for the birthday.  David is far away in Kentucky.  We never had many actual birthday parties.  It is usually dinner at home or a favorite restaurant and gifts.  He is thinking a morning and lunch at "Top Golf" this year.

Larry is the professional photographer in the family.  http://larrycastillophotography.com/ He has a great sense of humor and is pretty quiet around us. He was supposedly the person that entertained his school classmates!  He is very entertaining and we all love to be with him.  He runs on Bolivian time, never wearing a watch.  No excuse anymore as he carries an iPhone.  Well, when he carries his iPhone. 

Larry in La Paz, Bolivia

 

Larry in Lubbock, stretching his limits.  He liked biking the mountain trails in Bolivia, skateboarding down the narrow roads in La Paz, climbing on the rocks in Machu Picchu, etc.

Larry and Gene getting ready to try his newest adventure, taking photos with a drone.

Check out his photos on his page and celebrate with us.  You can put "Larry Birthday" or just Larry in the search box top left and see past birthdays and more.

Happy Birthday, Larry!!

Congratulations, Larry!

Lots of good news, including that son Larry is graduating on Saturday, May 12, at Texas State. It has been a long pull for him, but well worth it, I am sure. Congratulations, Larry!

Larry
Oil Painting, 11 x 14 inches

Some folks have decided to have a day of silence in the blogosphere to honor Virginia Tech. You can read about it and links, etc. on Katherine Tyrrell's blog.

Others have gone toward doing good deeds and supporting the unsung daily heroes. That suits my style better as I believe we can all do a small thing to make the world a better place.

Coincidentally, son Larry, sent a link to this article about the oldest graduate at 95. Wow. I copied it and am mailing to my mother-in-law, Frances, who is 90 now. She needs a smile now and again. She has moved from living alone for more than 40 years to assisted living and is now living and eating with a bunch of folks on their schedule. Ouch!

So, call your Mom, Dad, friends, etc., and put a smile on someone's face.

**Note
It is Papi Jim's birthday today. Yeah! Happy Birthday! He is in Canada, well, after all he is Canadian! Wish we could be there today. Lots of great memories, even Larry's name, Larry James. And, because of him we have Larry and Jennie. Another long story. Hugs, Jim, we miss you.

Photographs by Larry Castillo

I haven't mentioned Larry's photograph website, Larry Castillo Photography, in a while. He has some beautiful work there. He has included photos from the Balloon Festival now in the slideshow section so if you want to see more balloons drop by Larry's site and have a peek. If you need photos for an event, keep him in mind.

My photo of Larry at a UT Baseball game. He was working.

He has been shooting sports, weddings, scenery, company photos, etc. He has a great eye and great equipment to preserve your event in pictures!

The Boys aka The Grand-dogs
Photo by Larry Castillo
Copyright Larry Castillo

Larry was taking care of the "boys" for Jennie and took them on a photo shoot. This is one of the many I liked!

Happy Left Handers Day!

Larry, Oil 11 x 14
He is a lefty!

August 13, Monday, is International Left Handers Day. We know a few left handed people, but the one nearest and dearest to our hearts is son, Larry. Happy Left Handers Day, Larry!

Papi Jim is left handed, too. Larry is named after him, so perhaps that is why he is left handed. :) Roger, my brother-in-law, is ambidextrous, so we will count him, too.

You righties may never think about the difficulties encountered when you are left handed. The most obvious to me is writing. I wondered why lefties hold a pencil so strangely. Duh, it is to be able to see what they are writing, their hand covers it up otherwise. Using scissors is difficult and many, many more things.

Cameras are right handed, too. Check out Larry's great photos!

When Larry started playing golf in Bolivia, we didn't have any left handed clubs. The pro said that when you play right handed it helps to have strength in your left arm, so if Larry didn't feel awkward, he should go ahead and try playing right handed. He still does, and plays very, very well.

Way back when, we bought him some spiral notebooks that were bound on the opposite side of the page, it helped out when doing schoolwork that had to be turned in in the notebooks.

Larry, we hope you have a good Left Handers Day! And, also the rest of the Lefties out there!

Plein Air at the Ranch Watercolor

Yesterday was the plein air group day and my watercolor class day.  The plein air bunch met up at 9E Ranch with Joan Bohls hosting.  We were four artists so got a bit of visiting in.  I was there from about 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. or so.

I sat inside the fence and painted the back deck and view.  There wasn't much sun and then it got windy.   There are many more trees and some pretty good fall color.  I only worked on it for two hours and added the ink at home.  I should have tried the ink on plastic over the painting before I added it.  I liked it better before adding the ink.  The small version looks better than the original.  The original is in a watercolor sketchbook, 9 x 12 inches.

For Scavenger Hunt 566  http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1457483
Number 6, something you are wishing for - painting watercolor better without working at it!  I'm such a procrastinator.

The background yellow is too warm so not pushed back.  I will see if I can add some more lemon yellow and see what happens.  Usually though, once finished I never go back.  I painted with the watercolor brushes that hold water so I wouldn't have to have water in a container.  Good for sketching but not really for a big painting, you don't get the watery feeling.

I returned to Bastrop and stopped at Sonic for a burger.  I hadn't had one of those in so long.  It was great with a diet cherry limeade.   They make those with diet 7-up  I hear, but making them at home isn't the same.  Maybe it is the Styrofoam cups, eh?

I arrived at the Art Center for class.  Oops, no yellow Volkswagon beetle outside.  Pomona is never late.  Polly wasn't their either.  Someone was confused.  I had the art center put it on the calendar so it wasn't us.  Needless to say the class didn't happen.  Good thing I worked with watercolor earlier.

I did get to visit with Lester Sensat which is always good for me.  Visited a bit with some of the other artists.

I called Pomona, she thought our class was over .. so.  She and I are going to go to Smithville with the Plein Air group next Wednesday if things work out.  Maybe I will get out my pastels for that day.

*** ** *** ** *** ** ***

Bag Blog, Lou, posted about her grandson knocking a front tooth loose and then it got abscessed and he lost two teeth.  It reminded me of Larry when we were in Chile.  He was a young toddler.  Gene was on the porch watching Larry and Jennie play.  I looked out and Larry was standing on a tricycle trying to use the brace bar on the swing set like monkey bars.  I told Gene he was going to fall.  "Oh, quit being such a mom, he will be fine!" was the answer.

In about 15 minutes, here they come with Larry crying and Gene had one of Larry's front teeth in his hand.  We called the dentist and he said he would look to see if anything else was broken.  We went in, must have been on the weekend because Gene was home, and the dentist looked him over.  Nothing else going on and the tooth was probably just out and his permanent tooth would grow in when it was supposed to.  But .... (the big but) ... "I have been doing research on some glue and would like to try to glue it in and see if the root would grow again since it hadn't been very long," the dentist said.  He would not charge us for the visit and would very much like to try his experiment.  It would not bother his other teeth.  Well, not bad to have the charges waived.  He glued it in with his special technique.  Larry was not to bite anything hard, etc.  I took him back weekly for a check on the tooth.

Larry has always liked apples and fruit and salad.  A few weeks after the accident he really wanted to eat an apple with Jennie and not have it cut up for him.  I became Gene then and couldn't see him not enjoying an apple like any other kid.  Well, it pulled the tooth out.  It had not grown back.  The dentist was very unhappy with me, but Larry was happy!  He was toothless for a long time but had plenty of apples!

Professional Photos a la Larry

We always  think, "Oh I could take a photo of that!"  And, we probably could but someone that is a professional will get the perfect look or the perfect light on a person, scene or animal.

I strive to have my art business as professional as possible.  At this late stage in my career I try to keep current and improve my "brand" as much as possible.  I have been looking at websites and those that have great photos, catch my eye.

I decided to go for it and have my photo taken by a professional.  Lucky for me, I have a great photographer in my own small world, Larry, our son!  He came to Bastrop yesterday and we went for it.  Larry took my photos inside as it was drizzling and cold outside.  Plein air panting shots are in the future.

Larry is putting his magic touch to my wrinkled mug. I am anxious to see the results.   Updating my website, blog and other social media will quickly follow.  The money is well spent.  Quality results are in my future!

Larry takes corporate photos, sports, weddings and everything in between.  Make an appointment soon. His business is in San Marcos, Texas. 

Larry Castillo
http://larrycastillophotography.com

A quick sketch I did of Larry at work at a baseball game.  Not very accurate but a great memory all the same.

Happy Birthday, Larry! (2010)

Happy Birthday Larry!

I hope his day is fantastic and this new year as well.

He is working this morning at a photography shoot. He takes beautiful photos and will be happy to work taking photos for you, too, information on his website. So, no golf today, we are hoping for Monday but the forecast is not good, perhaps tomorrow.

Larry sitting at the top of Huayna Picchu at Machu Picchu in 1984. Larry walked the Inca Trail for three days and two nights to get to Machu Picchu. Pretty cool!

And here he is at golf in Bastrop on January 2, this year.

And just before that shot with Gene.


You can see his post from last year here, and see how cute he was in a Texas shirt.

Well, another year has gone by already. Wow. We rarely get to see Larry even though he lives in San Marcos. Today will be special, the sun is shining and we will have dinner with Larry, Joanna and Jennie in Austin. Yay! I imagine Larry and Jennie will eat milanesa as we are eating at a Brazilian restaurant, Sao Paulo's. I look forward to some fried yuca and the bread made with yuca flour and stuffed with cheese. In Bolivia this bread is called cuñapés.

Happy Birthday, Larry! 2016

Happy Birthday, Larry!  His birthday always sneaks up on me.  Not sure why.  Maybe I am trying to keep from getting old.  He is the youngest, the caboose,  of our kiddos and I want him (and me) to stay young.  Ha.

You can put "Larry Birthday" in the search box in the upper left and see many photos of our photographer.  He is so easy going, generous and accommodating to all of us.  We will celebrate his birthday on Monday because he is working today.  Sunday he gives to Jennie so she can watch the Super Bowl and her favorite team the Denver Broncos. 

He will pick a restaurant.  It will be something different.  We have had some interesting lunches and dinners.  He usually finds a new restaurant from South America.  Monday is a Peruvian restaurant.  We are hoping for some good ceviche for Gene and I and salchi papas for Jennie.  Milanesa for Larry and maybe Joanna.  It will be something new for Brandon.  Should be fun.

 Larry at work.

 Our house and lakes, photo by Larry.

You can see more of Larry's work on his website http://www.larrycastillophotography.com/ and follow him on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/larrycastillophotography/

Happy Birhday, Larry!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LARRY!

Today February 6, is Larry's birthday. We are going to play a little golf which he loves to do. He is left handed, but learned to play in Bolivia with right handed clubs. The pro thought it wouldn't matter as he would be leading with his strong left hand. It has proven to be true, he can sure hit a ball a long ways. We will then have dinner with Joanna and Jennie in Austin.

My Dad called Larry the caboose.
This is Larry a few years ago. We lived in Luuubbbbock at the time. Isn't he cute?

Larry now, or a few months ago.

Somehow it happened more times than naught, that we haven't celebrated his birthday on his birthday. Someone has been working, traveling, sick or whatever. This year is a little different. Amazing!

Hope the day is great and you have a great year, Larry. Happy Birthday!

Catch Up - River Rafting, New Mexico Photos and more

This doesn't have art related info except to remind you of the Challenge on the sidebar where you can win Maggie Price's new book and a copy of the Pastel Journal.  Check it out.

We had family here just about the whole time we have been in Angel Fire.  It has been a great time, but I haven't had time to post very much.  The last visitors were the "kids" from Texas.  Jennie, Larry and Gene went river rafting on the Rio Grande between Española and Taos, New Mexico.  They had fun and Joanna and I had fun being the photographers.  They used Cottom's Rio Grande River Trips for their fun day.  Matt was the guide, with eight years expierence.  That made the day extra special.  We recommend Cottom's highly.

The trip was shared with two other riders and a good time was had by all as they say.  The ride was about 1 1/2 hours long.  Joanna and I drove along and stopped at the pull overs to take photos.  Here are a few of the many, many we took.

Gene, Larry and Jennie getting ready.

Instructions (when I heard all the safety instructions I was doubly sure I didn't want to go!

Getting a few instructions in paddling.

Waving good-by!

Moving down the river.

Nearing the rapids.

A calm spot on the way down.

Nearing another rapids area.

We went to dinner at the Chinese restaurant, Yu Garden, here in Angel Fire the other night.  It was our "last supper" there as they are moving the restaurant to Taos.  The restaurant run by Amanda and her family will be greatly missed here because they were always open and the food was/is outstanding.  People from here will be driving to Taos for dinner!

I can't eat fortune cookies as they are not gluten free.  I always open one, though, and then Gene eats it for me.

My fortune was very good news for the Longhorn Baseball Team, don't you think?  The Horns should have no problem going to the College World Series and winning it all!

Here in Angel Fire the extreme bikers or crazy bikers, whichever way you look at it, take their bikes to the top of the ski lift and ride down.  We had breakfast at the Sunset Grill and I took these photos:

Loading a bike.

The bikes arriving and some going up.

The bottom of the lift and loading.

Bikes riding up.

Kid climbing the rock wall, something for all here.

I took photos of the riders, even some going up on the slope, but the angle doesn't show how steep it is.

We also went to the Vietnam Memorial.  It is so impressive, beautiful, calming and interesting.  There were some old cars there, I imagine some of the drivers were vets.

Gene, Larry and Jennie

Larry determined to get out of my photo.  :)

The flags on the beautiful morning.

The chapel at the Vietnam Memorial.

We went to Albuquerque to visit family and on Sunday went to Magdalena to visit more relatives.

Joanna and Larry taking photos.  Larry was trying to capture the  heat from the highway sort of like a mirage.

A fallen rock along the highway between Socorro and Magdalena.  I painted it once, long ago.

Another fallen rock across the highway that I hadn't seen.

Welcome to Magdalena, Trails End

Magdalena was at the end of a spur of the railroad.  The train took out ore from the mines and cattle.  Cattle were driven over 100 miles along the driveway to Magdalena for the train at trails end.  Later, trucking took over and the cattle were loaded at the ranches.  Mining became non-profitable, so the train stopped coming to Magdalena.

Along the Rio Grande where the river rafting is, the highway department has erected big fences to catch the falling rocks.  I was looking for a photo of one where the rock is trapped in the fence, but couldn't find it.  The fence would not hold one of the rocks that is in the river.  They call it Baby Huey and it weighs an estimated thirty tons or so.  I got a photo, but it is on Larry's camera, not mine.  :(

We drove back one day via Si Pa Pu ski area.  Disk golf is popular there.  That is a beautiful drive from Chimayo to Angel Fire.  You can click on my slide show on the sidebar and go to my photos and see photos from this New Mexico area at your leisure.

Si Pa Pu Ski Lift

Angel Fire Ski Lift as we come back here.

Rain near Angel Fire, Black Lake for those of you that don't remember rain.

We saw the herd of elk again, but my photos didn't come out well.  You can't tell they are elk.  Maybe this week we will see them again.

Happy Birthday to the Caboose

It is Larry's Birthday today.  He is the youngest or our family, hence the caboose title.  He is a super photographer and son.  We couldn't do without him.

He is in the middle left with the big camera at the Alamobowl.

We will have a small gathering with just Larry, Joanna, Gene and I.  Taco salad and the works.  Hope it is a good day.  It is cooler and cloudy today.

You can see more photos and read about Larry here on my blog:

https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=larry

 

Check out some of Larry's work on his page and Instagram.  Have camera will travel to take your photos.

Larry Castillo Photography

https://www.larrycastillophotography.com/

https://www.instagram.com/larrycastillophotography/

Golf with Larry, Shadow Glen

Larry, Gene and I went golfing for Father's Day to Shadow Glen in Manor, Texas. A nice surprise. I expected flat and uninteresting. From the highway you see #16 and it is pretty much a links looking hole, long, bumpy, flat and tall grass.


This is the Clubhouse, you drop off your clubs out front. No carts in the parking lot. It was inexpensive as golf goes so that was nice.


We should have known from the putting green that we were in for sloping greens and trouble. This is Larry putting with the ball coming back to him after almost going in the hole. Automatic ball return!!

Larry's swing as we get down the course a few holes.

Larry in the rough. Can you see him swinging or at least his head and club?

Gene in his cart ahead of us. Look at all the bunkers, slope, narrow fairway, etc. This course is not easy. I quit keeping score on about hole #3.

A very interesting course. We had a great day. Larry won of course. We will have to try it again sometime. We were talking yesterday about how hard the Oakmont Course in Pennsylvania was for the U.S. Open. Gene said we should try to play it sometime. It is said to be the hardest course in the U.S. Joanna laughed and said we would be putting back and forth across the greens four or five times if we ever got to the greens. I felt that way today. Sigh.

Limo, Dinner and Music

We have been supporters and volunteers at the Family Crisis Center since we moved here in 1997.  One of the big fundraisers has been the Festival of Trees in November.  I have posted about it here and the fun we have had.  Gene loves the live auction and we became the owners of many of the trees and other items over the years.

This past November Gene wasn't feeling great so I went with my friend and artist, T Stewart-Young.  The Festival of Trees has become The Gala.   As we came in, we were greeted by Sherry Murphy, director of the Crisis Center.  She was very disappointed that Gene wasn't with us as they had prepared a special auction item for Gene to bid on.  It was a dinner for six at Murphy's Steakhouse in Winchester, Texas, six VIP tickets to The Bugle Boy in La Grange, Texas,  and a limousine  to take the guests from the house to Winchester, La Grange and back home.  Sherry knows how much we like eating at Murphy's going to The Bugle Boy so this was perfect.

I called Gene and we discussed how much to bid on the package.  The Gala was in the big auditorium at the Bastrop Convention Center and I couldn't see who was bidding against me off on the side.  Do you think it might have been Mr. Murphy?   At any rate after the vigorous bidding I/we ended up with the trip.  It is known as winning the auction item, I wonder why as you are actually buying the item, anyway......

We have been waiting for the right time to use the trip and we picked a date that coincided with Larry's, our son's, birthday week.  Gene and I had never been in a limo and it was a great evening.  Gene has been buying more lottery tickets as he thoroughly enjoyed  riding in a limo and thinks it would be a great way to travel all the time!  He did win the 1965 Thunderbird at The Bugle Boy, so I guess there is hope of winning the lottery!

I would like to thank Murphy's Steakhouse for the great dinner and limo ride.  They are super for supporting the Crisis Center.  Donations from businesses  help our whole community.  If you haven't been to the restaurant,  you need to go.  All the food is great, but the steaks are the best anywhere.  Be sure and make reservations.  Winchester is a small town of 50 or so people, but the restaurant serves double that at every meal it seems.  Please check it out!

We thank The Bugle Boy as well.  They are a non profit, too,  and were generous in helping the Crisis Center.  Our evening there was special with Doug Moreland, musician and chain saw artist.  We usually have to get to The Bugle Boy early to get our seats, but with VIP tickets we were dropped off at the door just before 8:00 p.m. with just enough time to get some drinks and be seated in the front row!  Thank you, Lane Gosnay, founder and Executive Director,  and crew for a fantastic musical time.  The Bugle Boy is a listening room with no smoking or talking during the performances.  Perfect to hear many artists and a variety of music.  You should go!  We will probably see you there.

My photos are not great, but we did have such a good time!

Larry, into the limo!

Gene and I

Larry and I

Joanna, Esther, Jennie and Larry

Joanna, Larry, Jennie and Esther

Gene, Jennie and Larry at Murphy's