Checking Out

We will be leaving Houston today. Toby has to do some work this morning, but we should be on our way to Austin this afternoon. We will see my brother and his wife and hopefully his kids and maybe a cousin or two. Yep, Buck, I do have family everywhere.

This morning, I will pack up and load up the car. I would like to run some errands - like hit the Home Depot and Lowes. The Lowes in Lawton is a small store and does not carry as much merchandise as larger stores - or so I've been told by a disgruntled Lowe's employee. Anyway, I need to pick out light fixtures and ceiling fans ( rubs hands together in anticipation). Most women would be going to the Galleria, but not me. I need me some tools! And then there is this art supply store...

The past couple of nights, we have been spending time, having dinner with one of Toby's coworkers, a guy named Thomas. Thomas is from the south of India, but now works in Dubai. He has been very interesting. He told us that education in India is very competitive especially in math and science. Sports takes a backseat (except for maybe cricket), because kids must study and make good grades in order to get good jobs, make a living, or get out of India. Competition, now there's a concept. We Americans tend to not want to hurt a kids feelings by telling him he did not do as well as other kids in school - lets make everyone equal, but in order to not do that we will have to lower our standards. Small rant.

Thomas also went on about the large portions of food in America vs. quantities in Dubai. "So if sports is so important to Americans, how come people are not fitter? Every other person here is overweight." according to Thomas. Good question - Toby and I did not reply to that. We just shoveled more food into our mouths and cleaned our plates.

Here is the painting that I worked on yesterday. It still needs some touching up - little things make a big difference when trying to make a person look right. I like to show my paintings to Jes, because she has a great eye for details. The background on this painting definitely needs some work. I decided to make it dark- as in the photo. Sometimes a lighter background is needed to make the subject stand out, but I wanted this to blend - as if coming out of the dark. Last night Toby came home took one look and said that my portrait looked like he was wearing a wig. It was the wrong thang to say. It was negative right off the bat. It pissed me off. Toby taught me years ago when criticizing someone to always start with something nice about the person. If you start off negative, the person will not hear another word you say. He was right.