Friday, April 25, 2008

Mehlville Night



Last evening was Mehlville School Districts Recognition Night, where Educators, and all personnel are honored for years of service, and each of the many schools awards their, "Teacher of the Year" award. Jessica Riddle, a Mehlville High School art teacher, and my co-worker for years, and well as a former student of mine, was given that honor by her colleagues. I wanted to attend to give her my support and praise....
I felt like I had never left, and enjoyed the company of my very best buddies. We always had such fun together, and it was good to be a part of the group.
Mehlville has Six full time art teachers, with an outstanding teaching staff. The work that their students produce is fabulous. I always felt priviledged to be part of that elite teaching staff....
Here we are, with Vince Viviano, the head principal after the festivities...

Congratulations, Jessica ! We're all proud of you !

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Book Club



We had so much fun this week, at Sylvia's house ( striped shirt in picture) discussing our book club book, "Captains and the Kings" by Taylor Caldwell. It's a hefty one, at about 800 pages, filled with great characters, well developed and multi-leveled, and a story line which has been compared to the Kennedy family, although it is in fact, fiction...
I had read the book long ago after my dear Aunt Nita recommended it to me, and it has been my favorite book for a long time. One reason she had recommended it was because of the references to a world-wide Secret Banking organization, which supposedly controls lots of the politics, wars, and affairs of countries around the world. It is based on facts, and still is in existence today. It is "eye-opening " to read and think about. In fact, Sylvia mentioned during our discussion that Taylor Caldwell has been on the F.B.I. list of people investigated for many years. They have "kept their eye on her"
Since we are officially "Wine, Women, and Prose" I thought I would show us before the discussion in our "wine mode" tee hee. We always have a lively discussion, Barb keeps us all on track, and we enjoy hearing and sharing our ideas. !!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Debbie and Lacey


Here's Debbie, one of the secretaries at my old school. She's holding the picture of Lacey, her daughter, that she bought. Debbie works for Angelo, one of the 5 principles and Lacey was my art student 7 or 8 years ago in Drawing class. At that time Lacey had white blonde hair. Lacey now works at a wonderful salon in Webster called Naturally Pure, and she cuts my hair. She is an absolute doll, and talented..

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sisters "workin' together" and havin' fun, too






This week my sister, Lin, and I worked a bit on our booth at the Antique Mall in Eureka. Lin is so good with rearranging, and Heaven Knows, we NEEDED to re arrange !! Anyway, we took some stuff home, and brought new things to sell, and both of us gave lots of the afghans away to the nursing home in Eureka, and they were happy about that... The folks there would have an understanding of afghans, we figured, and would know what went into making them.
We always have to go to lunch afterwards, and this time we tried a cute little cafe in downtown Eureka called, "Michelle's" and had a wonderful little lunch! Right on Main Street, worth a try !!

Here's Lin, with the cute convertible high chair I found, that converts to a desk when you flip it over. -- How unique and clever !!

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Fun with Gracie


Gracie is so inquisitive... The last time I stayed with her, I had my usual tote bag full of stuff, my book, my projects, my camera, and other goodies, and she was so interested in it. I watched, as she took each item out, and had the most fun exploring !! It's so fun that they are always learning new things !!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Art, Art, and more Art !!






Yesterday, the portrait show came down, and there to help me was a former student, Godiva, who wanted to "shadow" me for the day for a school assignment. She is a very talented young lady, with wonderful artistic ability, and she wants to pursue a career in art. She will be attending either Washington Univ. or USC next fall, and is trying to decided between the two. ! - Not a bad choice to make, I'd say, either would be excellent !
We spent the day taking down the art, and then chatting over tea about the countless possibilities in the field of art. She is not interested in teaching, but rather combining her art with Medicine in some way, or possibly business. Lots of "food for thought" that can seem daunting when you are finishing High School and looking ahead to all the choices !!
We were joined by my daughter, Tracey, who echoed lots of my thoughts about getting started as an artist in the community, and then we took off for lunch !- Well, eating always goes so well with visiting !!! Anyway, we all had a fun time, and hopefully were a bit of help to Godiva....
Good luck to you, looking to the future ! Such a darling girl, and such an exellent student, you will surely be a success at whatever you choose !

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

St. Louis Symphony


On Sunday, my daughter and I went to the St. Louis Symphony to enjoy Beethoven's only Opera, "Fidelio". It was wonderful, with full orchestra, and many strong voices in the cast. All was in German, I think, but was translated on the big screen into English for the audience. It has been a long time since I had been in the magnificent Powell Symphony Hall, and it still is gorgeous !!
Upon seeing the grand staircase, I remember coming there as a 5th or 6th grader, and being utterly amazed at the sight. They still bring students from the area to the Hall for performances, which is a great tradition !!
If interested, you can show up 90 minutes before some of the performances for FREE tickets. They give away as many as 50 per performance, and you get a punch card good for up to 10 events per year. A great deal, and a wonderful afternoon of elegance and entertainment !! Parking was 8. on the secure lot, but there is plenty of parking on the street free of charge, also.
The Beethoven was wonderful, and since we were there early, someone very knowledgeable came out before the performance and thoroughly explained the story of the Opera to the audience. This was very helpful as a synopsis, and made the listening more enjoyable for both of us. What a fun afternoon with my daughter, and Beethoven !! Quite Nice !!