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	Happy 4th of July (7/3):         We never plan to go back to Vegas - it's a total waste of time. It's good to be home for a while. My Cuz and her hubby were here for a couple of days on their way to the 115+ heat in Phoenix. They live in Colorado Springs, where Eric climbs mountains and Margaret writes novels. My cousin writes Historical Novels. She is on her fourth book now. Check out her books at MJBrett.com. I built the website for her. Now she maintains it all by herself.         According to local fashion we took our guests to visit Albuquerque's Old Town and then drove to the top of the Sandia. From Sandia Crest you can see all of Albuquerque. At 10,600 foot altitude, it's a bit cooler up there this time of the year. The route is off the Turquoise Trail which runs through the mountains to Santa Fe. This road runs through Madrid, where Wild Hogs was filmed. Find out more about the movie here.		Woody's Blog Index Below
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Grandma Layton	Supreme Court and Student Expression (7/4):         Last week's Supreme Court decision to hear the (so-called "Bong hits for Jesus") case will have a chilling impact on freedom of expression for art students. I'm not talking about the freedom to promote drug use (Bong Hits) nor restricting Religion - I'm talking about even more censorship of student art expression. Art teachers are suppose to encourage students to explore controversy and express it in their art. But school districts already try to control content like the quality high school art kept out of exhibitions in Colorado Springs.         Not all art is "Pretty Pictures" like I paint. Important art points out the problems in society. We teach the history of art where students learn about art like Picasso's Guernica or Géricault's "Raft of the Medusa". Then we have to walk a tight rope when the produce quality art that might offend a few. This issue alone is worth creating protest art about. Elizabeth Layton is for sure laughing in her grave.		About Me March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007
Kuan-Yin	Poop (7/4):         Keep in mind that some people take offense at the most minor of things in images or sculpture. Recently someone took offense at the "mechanical poop" behind my metal guard dog by my front door.         I could understand the issue if I had built a crucifix out of crap or filled a Muslim turban with excrement, but my dog is cute. It's not even a protest - unless I'm trying to send a message to Mayor Marty about Albuquerque's new pet laws. Poor Kuan-Yin (our shih-tzu) has to get a chip embedded in her - Ouch !! The art of offense is an great American Tradition. The best at this tradition is Steven Colbert as when he "Roasted President Bush".		August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007
Josh Hanna	Trouble in Duke City (7/6):         Computer trouble and car trouble at the same time does not make me a happy camper. With the "Old Oldsmobile" I just get out the credit card and they fix it. It is a must to have good brakes with the triplets riding along. I called Apple Care and they walked me through a fix on my e-mail but other things on this machine are still acting funny.         I dropped off two watercolors for an exhibit at the Around the Corner Gallery. The exhibit runs from July 9th through August 31st. I still have a dozen paintings at the Unitarian Church on the West side. Today I picked up matt board and plexiglass to frame the new work from Taos. Tomorrow morning I'll deliver Josh Hanna's portrait to him. He plays and sings at the Painted Horse Coffee Shop every Saturday. If you want Josh to play for your event - contact him at joshhanna@basictruthmusic.com you will love his music. Josh was very gracious to play and sing at the opening reception of the NMWS Spring Exhibit. In turn I painted his portrait. Portraits are not my forte, but it came out well - so perhaps I'll try some more portraits this year.
Should Have Backed it Up	Address Book Lost (7/7):        Seven - Seven - Seven is not my lucky day. With my e-mail program problem - It appears that I've lost my address book with all my e-mail addresses. Apple Care was of little help in solving this one. I did have a backup address book from last August - but I'll be doing a lot of reconstruction before I send out much mail. That should teach me to back things up more often.
All Barbers  Should  Look This Good	Tiffanie's New Job - Giving Daddy a Haircut
Happy Grandma	Triplets Fly In (7/10):         Nothing makes a grandmother happier than to see her grandkids. After unpacking, we made a trip to the local library. Each of the kids got a library card and checked out a few books. Tim got books on reptiles. Tess got stories about girls and Tiffanie got one book about Sponge Bob and another about a princess. I convinced Tiffanie to put back one book. It was Charles Darwin's "Origin of the Species" - a bit heavy for an eight year old. She liked the bird on the cover. The triplets loved the idea that they could scan and check out their own books. Tomorrow morning we plan to check out Albuquerque's Zoo before it get's too hot.
Artist Tiffanie	Exploring Albuquerque (7/11):         This morning, after we ate Poppies delicious French Toast, we went to Explora. It's a hands on learning center just for kids. Poppie says, you can't get to much learning. The photo shows us trying to multiply triplets by many, many more. Tomorrow we get to sleep late before we go swimming. They have big water slides were Grandma takes us.         To the right is a pic of Tiffanie drawing a hot air balloon. They have a lot of them in Albuquerque. The drawing was done using a pen on a pendulum. It a kind of automatic drawing. Tiffanie decided to turn it into a hot air balloon.		Tiffanie's Drawing
	Spanish Saber (7/12):          Two years ago, we were told it was a Spanish Saber. It has extreamly sharp leaves, so sharp you don't dare get too near it. I did not expect it to bloom, but it did like most other Yuccas. It think it must be a Yucca. It loves the dry climate and doubles in size each year. The snow did some damage but I did not wish to get cut up so I let it be.         I got reservations for our trip to Carsbad Caverns. We plan to take the triplets into the caverns and to see the thousands of bats fly out of the cave entrance at dusk. Tim wants to see the Mexican Free-tailed Bats take flight. The triplets hope to go swimming while in Carsbad. We have heard about the Riverwalk and hope to check it out. But of course no trip in that direction would be complete without a stop in Roswell. We will be sure to report any UFO sightings.		For Poppie
	Ratatouille (7/15):         One of the many benefits of having three eight year olds in the house is going to great movies. Pixars Ratatouille brings the true flavor of Paris, France home to Albuquerque. This delightful movie should not be missed if you have not already seen it. I wonder if Disney will come after me for lifting the image of their star the rat/chef shown on the left.         My address book showed up empty again. Apple walked me through a fix of the underlying problem (I hope) but I'm again in the process of rebuilding my address book. But, this time I'll back it up every day in case it dissapears again.         Tonight is new members showing at the NM Watercolor Society meeting. Every new member is asked to bring a sample of their work and tell something about how they started painting. We do not have a meeting in August. Summer time is for travel and relaxation. One exception: the deadline to enter the NMWS Fall exhibit, juried by Gerald Brommer is August 10th. Want to enter ? - download a propestus. Not a member: then join - download a membership application.
	Swimming in Albuquerque (7/16):         The triplets got Grandma to go down the water slide several times so Poppie could get this pic. Poppie got to swim 12 laps while Timothy went off the high dive. A fun afternoon was had by all. The West Mesa Aquatic Center we went to has three pools. Two are indoors and one has a floor that moves to change the depth of the water.
Janice Addy	NMWS Meeting (7/16):         Tonights meeting of the Watercolor Society was fun. 13 new members brought samples of their art and told about themselves. Several members obtained signature status recently and received their certificates tonight - including yours truly. This was my second meeting as president and no one threw any eggs at me so I guess I'm doing OK.         We had one very special guest tonight - Janice Addy (President of the Southern Chapter of NMWS) paid us a welcome visit. New Mexico is a very large state with population centers wide apart. I hope to drive South and attend a Southern Chapter Meeting in Las Cruces this September to repay the favor. Watercolor in New Mexico is growing and needs to be strong state wide.         If you work in watercolor - be sure to enter our Fall juried show. You can download a propestus from our web site. The entry deadline is August 10th.
Watch Out Carlsbad Triplets Are Coming	Layerists (7/17):         Today at the Albuquerque Museum I toured an impressive exhibit: "Exploring Multiple Dimensions". It is a juried show of what I use to call Mixed Media. The newer term is called "Layerists Art". The Society of Layerists in Multi–Media (SLMM) held it's 2007 National Conference here in Albuquerque. The exhibit runs through Oct. 7th.        Mixed Media has really changed as this exhibition shows. If you plan to be in Albuquerque - don't miss an opportunity to see it. The jurors made sure there was a lot of diversity in this exhibit.
Walking on White Sand Dunes	White Sands (7/20):         We started in Roswell to see the evidence of aliens landing on July 2nd 1947. Then we drove to Carlsbad and visited the Wildlife Zoo where we got to see an Elk poop. Then we explored deep under ground in Carlsbad Caverns. There we walked and walked and walked some more. Poppie used his "Old People's Pass" to get us in everywhere.         On the drive home we stopped at White Sands National Monument to walk on the white sand. It was "Cool" - really cool, not hot because it reflects the sun's rays away rather than absorb them. We also stopped to see ancient rock art at Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site. Tiffanie saw a bunny hiding under the rocks. Tiffanie
	Gathering At Marys (7/22):         Mary invited the Saturday Painters over to her house in the East Mountains. Everyone brought a painting to critique and of course lots of food to share. This group does love to eat. A wonderful time was had by all. Hopefully everyone will enter thier watercolors in the NMWS Fall Exhibition. We start painting on Saturdays again on September 8th. Jan Hart plans to be there for our final workshop with her.
Ice Cream in Santa Fe	Shopping in Santa Fe (7/24):         The triplets went shopping in Santa Fe. Tim only wants to look at Kachina's and the girls want to shop for jewelry. Tiffanie got a great deal on an Amethyst necklace and a Mexican doll. After we got back to Albuquerque she Googled "Amethyst" to learn where it is mined. Tess bought two necklaces and a pair of earrings. Tim spent his last dollar on a new book on Hopi Kachina's.         It was raining in Santa Fe, so it's good we put off driving to Sandia Crest. The top of the mountain was in the clouds. Tiffanie was dissapointed because she wanted to capture some New Mexico clouds in a jar to take back to Kansas.         Sunday night we took in an Isotopes double header. Albuquerque lost both games to New Orleans. The kids want me to buy cheaper seats next time because the baseballs didn't land in our section.
	Tess Phone Home I do believe our grandkids talk more to their parents when they are here - than when they are at home. Cell phones and all this tech stuff is great but sometimes it's over kill. But who am I to speak - typing away on my Blog. Tiffanie
	Watercolor Entries (7/26):         I decided to enter three of the watercolors I did in Taos back in June into the NMWS Fall Exhibition.  Gerald Brommer will be our juror so it's bound to be a great show. You can see the paintings I decided to enter on my website. One of course is a new beach painting of those fantastic triplets titled "Playing on the Beach". The other two are done from things in our backyard. I painted one titled "Backyard Poppies" and the other one called "Backyard Shadows". That last one needs to be credited to what I learned from Lynn McLain. At a recent NMWS meeting he did a demo where he showed us how to paint concrete. Gerald Brommer is also doing a five day workshop for us in early October. I believe there are still spaces left. For $250 it's a real bargain, another benefit of the NMWS. You can download the registration form from the NMWS website.
	Back to Kansas (7/26):         Our first stop heading back to Kansas will be Springer, New Mexico for breakfast. The historic Brown Hotel has a wonderful little cafe. Check out the food reviews or better yet taste the breakfast burittos next time you are in the area. Our next stop will be at Bent's Fort near La Junta, Colorado. We want to give the triplets a small view of life on the frontier. It's also an opportunity to shoot some pics to paint from later. We will spend the night in Garden City where the motel has a heated indoor pool.         When the triplets get back to Kansas - they get to pick out the animals they will raise as part of their 4H projects. Also, they will get to see all the new chicks which hatched while they were in New Mexico.
	Bents Fort (7/26):         We stopped at Bent's Fort on the way back to Kansas. The triplets were not much into history but they did find animals to interest them. Besides Oxen and mules, they also have peacocks at the old fort. And there were cats, they come in very handy keeping the rodent population under control.         Last year I read Susan Magoffin's diary of her trip on the Santa Fe trail. You can pick up the book (used for $2.73) on Amazon. She was the first Anglo woman to travel the trail. She spent time at the fort recuperating in the doctors quarters. The room is set up the way it would have been for her. The fort, near La Junta, is a true national treasure.
New Ducks Swimming	Check Out Nelson (7/31):         Lots of changes at the Nelson Gallery in Kansas City. The new additions are open now and the contemporary art from the collection is showcased wonderfylly there. There is lots of space and the interior is beautiful. I still don't like the exterior but after you are inside it's a whole different world. Of course - I have not seen the exterior lit up at night.
Welcome Home	New Chicks and Ducks Too:         When we returned to Kansas, we were greeted by lots of new chicks and two newly hatched duckies. They would not hold still for a decent photo.         I'll post pics as they get older. I'll also post pics of the triplets 4H projects. Tess wants a goat and Tiffanie wants a pig.
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