The Return of Bailey

September 11, 2004, saw the return of Bailey to my home in Lancaster. A loving three-year-old Goffin's cockatoo, Bailey had spent the first two years of her life in my home, but had moved with her primary caretaker to Maine the summer of 2003. Due to the needs of hospice patients living in the Maine hospice house, CEDARS, Bailey has returned to her first home and we are so glad to have her back!

So, on Sept. 9, my son, Bryce, and I made a nice, though long, drive to Nashua, New Hampshire for the custody transfer. On the way, we stopped in Niagara Falls; Bryce's first time there. It was gorgeous weather, and both little dogs (Tyler and Jackie) along for the ride enjoyed the park. We stayed overnight in Albany at Red Roof Inn (all hotels in this line take dogs!) and had a great scenic drive Saturday morning through Vermont. Wish I'd had time to stop and paint! After a quick, hello, bird and assorted toys/food/carriers were loaded up and off we went back to Ohio. A whirlwind trip, but I hesitate to book an airline flight for myself, let alone a sensitive bird.

I will only briefly mention the e-bay fiasco with buying her a new cage (if you are in the market for a new cage, query the Yahoo.com african grey parrot group for recommendations and follow their advice, which I unfortunately did not do).

Bailey's best friend, Tyler the Pekingese is happy to have her home and they have resumed their trans-species relationship and the language only they can understand.

Ohio Plein Air Society

This past weekend found me in heaven! High on a hillside, overlooking rolling meadows, a sweet little pond, and a wealth of plant life in gorgeous colors: lavender, deep violet, burgundy, greens of all sort, gold, white... I was in Nelsonville,Ohio, painting with the Ohio Plein Air Society's (OPAS) 1st Annual Competition.

A month previous, I was walking around "downtown" Nelsonville... had lunch at a great little deli called Fullbrooks, and saw a couple working on a retail space, painting, etc. Asked them what was on the way and soon discovered Gallery 4, owned by Gayla Parks of Athens, OH, and a member of OPAS. She told me about the competition and once I visited their website, saw the quality of members' work, and that they would take the prodigal painter, moi, had to join. I haven't painted outdoors for about 15 years! What fun it was.

And, I was a lucky winner. On the Saturday, they had a wine and cheese party for the artists and sponsors. I picked the winning raffle ticket and came home with a larger than life-size book on Andrew Wyeth, 1968 version now out of print.

On Sunday, the 53 participants gathered in the town square on a beautiful sunny day, and with work on easels waited expectantly for the juror, David Mueller. If you have time, visit his site, DavidMuellerfinart.com and see his extraordinary work. I had a great talk with David and his wife, Lori, on Saturday night and it was inspiring to hear his story of artistic growth. Congratulations to David as he has recently added a NYC gallery to his resume and they will be showing his work in the coming year.

Finally, anyone interested in beautiful Ohio, might want to check out the work of the OPAS artists in The Land We Call Ohio painting project. Also, OPAS artists' work is online at the gallery page.

I spent Saturday and part of Sunday painting the beautiful rolling hills and pond of Fullbrooks Lodge. Check out their website for photographs and info on having a stay there.

My Mid-Summer Night's Dream

This past Saturday night found me walking across a green hillside...a long row of trees, good friend at my side, in the midst of other footsteps. We all gathered at this wide open space, surrounded by hills, hedged against a stream, far from the main road. The pavillion, a wonderful half-shell of fabric and steel, flanked by the two largest video screens I'd seen, was soon lit from within, while musicians from all over the country, and a few beyond, donned white jackets lifted arms and instruments and the magic began!

What a great concert to start off the week-long Lancaster Music Festival. The two main female performers were stunning. The men, less so; but nevermind. Yeah! for beaded sequin spaghetti-strap dresses, beautiful arms that opened wide to circle pure voices. Let's hear it for "On the Street Where You Live," sung under Midwestern stars, a coolness in the air and stars twinkling next to a half-moon. My friend could tell me all about the real Broadway shows, the famous original cast members... but I was content with this.

The last song accompanied by fabulous fireworks...I'm running out of adjectives. You get the drift. It was great! A great time in a small town with exceptionally talented folk who graced Ohio University-Lancaster's lawn for one special night. A dreamy night to me...

ISBN-Agency Deafness

Dear ISBN:
The week of July 5th, I called and requested a form to obtain additional ISBNs. They did not come. I phone again. They did not come. I phoned again and was told they would be faxed. They were not faxed. I phoned again. They were not faxed. I e-mailed and was told to apply for ISBN numbers online. I responded by saying I want ADDITIONAL NUMBERS and online it says NOT TO fill out the online form for ADDITIONAL numbers. I called again. They said they would fax. The fax has not come. It has now been THREE WEEKS.

This morning I asked how long after applying would it be to receive the add'l ISBNs. I was told I could pay for Express processing. Yeah, right.

Let's start a new publishing world where there are no returns, no distributors, no reserves held, and no ISBN agency that charges $325.00 and takes 10 days. Shouldn't you be able to get ISBN numbers with the ease one obtains URLs? What's with that?

Contrasting History

I am no student of history — when drawn to a particular book, I'm always a bit surprised at just how interesting learning about the past can be. Last night, unable to sleep, I picked up Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History by Kati Marton. It was amazing how much I learned just in the first 50 pages. What I found most interesting, in that short section, was comparing Marton's description of Woodrow Wilson's efforts for peace during WWI with current events. (My father was named after Wilson and my son carries his name as well. So, I admit to some partiality.)

Here's what I found so interesting:

"From their Paris-bound train the Wilsons glimpsed men, women and small children solemnly saluting as the train sped by. Two million Parisians thronged the streets of the capital to hail the president. Deafening cheers of 'Vive Vil-son' and bouquets of violets rained on Woodrow and Edith's open carriage. ...

"The British repeated this ecstatic welcome. . . . In Rome, the Wilsons' reception had an almost religious ferver. Woodrow was hailed as 'the god of peace,' bells rang out and people lit candles next to his photograph in churches and in shops.

"All Wilson wanted from the conference was a 'just peace' and a world organization to maintain it.

"An ocean away, the political currents were shifting. When Wilson returned [three months later] he found a changed capital. The war was over, and the Republicans were on the attack. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge . . . declared the League of Nations unacceptable. ... The battle between Lodge and Wilson turned intensely personal, polarizing Congress and, soon, the country. ...

"'If Wilson gets his League," [Lodge said] "the Republican Party will be done for fifty years.'

"Wilson's unyielding position on the League pushed his supporters on the Hill into a corner. The choice was between democracy and imperialism, Wilson insisted.

"On March 19, 1920, the treaty meant to end the war that would end all future wars was rejected by the Senate. . .

"America retreated into isolationism. One by one, the vanquished and the victorious mocked Wilson's vision of a just peace. Without the support of the most powerful country, the League of Nations was powerless to stop Germany, Italy and Japan as they moved toward another world war."

I hope Ms. Marton will forgive me for quoting so extensively from her book, Hidden Power. Please buy it, if this subject interests you. She so expertly informs and draws the reader into various periods in our history... and for me this was very eye-opening. What will the future say about the 2001 - 2004 period of history and the American president's place in world affairs?

Little "Pip"

Update on our new Fisher's Lovebird.
Pip (short for Pip-sqweek, yes I know it's spelled wrong) is doing great! Thank you to Heather's Feathers (hthrsfeathers@yahoo.com) for raising such a healthy, happy creature. Pip exhibits wonderful personality traits: brave, independent, curious, friendly, and acrobatic. He has fallen in love with Gracie, our Pionus, and longs to end the 30-day quarantine and get a bit closer to her, with supervision of course.
How can one bird, who probably weighs all of an ounce or two, pack so much life under those feathers?

That Time of Year -- Hooray!

(Poster above created by Keith Sklar for "The Lancaster Festival 2004" See www.lanfest.org for info.)

It's that wonderful time of year again! Time for the Lancaster Festival. This year, I am committed to enjoying even more of this wonderful festival . . . after all, my residence is located smack downtown in the center of one of the countries best music festivals . . . and I've got time, a front porch, a summer-music sort of spirit and I'm ready to tap my feet. Highlights I'm looking forward to? Well, The ArtWalk tomorrow night (hope it doesn't rain), A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Salute to Broadway with Tony Roberts (and fireworks) and the season finale with Kathy Mattea (and more fireworks). There will also be Arnett Howard's Diva night!

Hooray for small town life with big town talent! If you are anywhere near Southeastern Ohio over the next week, stop in. You'll probably hear me humming away...out of tune but happy.