Just what the doctor ordered!

 Well, on Friday mornings the time goes to pottery class! And it is absolutely a WONDERFUL way to pass some glorious time.  I will post some of Paul's creations soon ... he is FAR more interesting than I in his pottery.  Nevertheless, this is my first attempt at something useful and clever. Thankfully there is no deadline as to the learning process!  For now I'm just enjoying the process.  Our instructor, Patti, keeps reminding me that there are no rules and regulations in creating pottery, but honestly, having been a ballerina for all of those years, and then an instructor after that, the whole concept of no boundaries is just absurd to me! I'm working on it though.  I'm having one heck of a time with the glaze on this piece, so as I struggle Patti tells me to just live with it for a week or two before I change it.  She's so much fun. :-)

 In celebration of Paul and I surviving the first quarter of this very tough start to 2011, we had a dinner with good friends.  (l to r, Mark, Janine, Patti, Dan & Paul) For all you foodies, we served Coq Au Vin (and very much missed Beth being here for it - everyone was actually saying "hi Beth!" in this picture) and a good time was had by all!  the food was a collaborative effort and it was all delicious, as was the wine!  We played a few rounds of Scattergories and laughed HARD!  The evening was absolutely delightful and pretty much JUST what the doctor ordered! It really has been a nail biting kind of year thus far. However, always the optimist, we know it's getting better and that all of the endurance has been for good.  We continue to be blessed and life is good.

**---**

In other good news, Christian continues to improve by leaps and bounds.  He and I played football together a week ago this past Saturday.  We also played Monopoly Jr. (with his daddy, too).  Christian and I took a walk, played the wii, did an art project, talked about important things (like if I thought God or the fairies came first!), and we watched a movie.  It was the sweetest visit I can ever remember and I am the most grateful Nana ever!  It is so amazing how the blessings of life work.

My brother in law, Paul, remains hospitalized while they try to figure out the inner workings of his heart.  He's really had a challenge of it with a blood clot and some out of rhythm issues and has logged some hard days.   They transferred him from the local hospital to a heart hospital in Nashville and feel he is in much better care at this point.  We continue to pray and send good thoughts to he and Cyndie, and know it is just a matter of time before they find the answers for his perfect healing and he gets to go back home.

My sweet friend Teresa is hanging in there and doing quite well under the circumstances.  She lost her  husband, Britt, just 3 short weeks ago very suddenly.  I did get to go to Atlanta and spend a little time with her and it was wonderful to get caught up and spend some time together.  Although I just cannot imagine what her little heart must be going through, I am very impressed by the manner in which she is approaching surviving it all. Teresa, we love you. God bless you. AND Teresa just passed the 4th part of the CPA exam! CONGRATULATIONS! I love knowing such smart people!

I also was able to have coffee and gossip time with Sabrina whilst in Atlanta.  Oh, so sweet!

May your tables be filled with bounty.

May your lives be filled with goodness and grace.

May your troubles be few and your joy be great.

And maybe you will be as blessed as we are and have wonderful friends to share it all with!
Paul and Cheri

They did it! 10K!

So, Nina talked her dad, PAUL, into running a 10k!  There was a little healthy competition between them and one thing lead to another ... before long they were registered for the Chasing Snakes 10K in Johnson City.  SO ... Nina landed Friday night and Saturday morning she and Paul were standing at the starting line ready to run! I am thoroughly impressed!  I, unfortunately was not able to participate as I had to take my art to the gallery ... but that's another story for another time...

So, here they are, father and daughter, numbers 503 and 502, all fresh and ready to run a 10K!

As I understand it, Nina had a great pace and just ran until she finished, which was 68 minutes after she began.  Did I mention that I am totally impressed?  Holy smokes!  (I would still be trying to finish!)  Paul did a few of those manly "go as fast as I can" and "gotta catch my breath" kind of things ... and has self professed to be "not at a steady pace" ~ but still finished at 75 minutes.  I am so very proud of both of them!  But I will point out here and now that Paul did NOT beat Nina and Nina actually won the race between the two of them!

Apparently Paul found this gentleman, Neal, who helped him set a pace and get himself in a zone.  Thanks, Neal.

THE FINISH LINE!

10k!  Good job, honey! You ROCK.

Nina, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to take your finish line shot. :-(

Next time I will BE THERE ~ probably not in running clothes tho!

So here they are, finished and smiling!

I think this was at the awards ceremony.  Look at those big ole grins! So cute!

Paul was amazed that the winner had already showered and changed to accept his award by the time they all finished the race.  HA!

Post race Paul. :-)

Life is good!

Happy Trails and many blessings,

Paul and Cheri

Now, Where was I?

First order of business, of course is our precious Christian!  Here he is on Monday, March 7th.  He took cupcakes to his regular school for sharing to say thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers the kids and their parents sent.  They all sent cards and letters, and jokes on the care pages.  They were all very concerned about Christian.  Now he is his silly little self, as you can see!!!!  Wish I could give out cupcakes to all of you for your kindness to all of us during his crazy illness.  But please know, in our hearts, we've made each of you a special cupcake filled with love and goodness.  Really! Thank you all!

This is the piece I want to center my gallery space around.  The frame is an old antique mirror frame that originally went on a buffet.  The mirror was broken out of it and Tammy (who owns the antique store) gave me the frame when she heard I wanted to mosaic inside it.  Now I tell you, when I told her that I had a big sunflower image in mind.  BUT between Tammy and Chrissie making all their bird pieces, and Jenni Horne's influence, I started thinking I should do a bird cage.  When I started babbling about it to Paul (that poor man, he must really feel like stuffing cotton in to his ears some times!) he came up with "I think you should do wire for the cage" ... and this is what has come out of all of that.  Things like this kind of create their selves, but I would be lost and sunk without Paul's input. (thanks, honey)  This piece has been great fun to work on.  I must admit, putting those teeny tiny glass pieces on the bird sort of felt like surgery at some points ... but other than that, it's been easy and lovely to work on.  Today is grout day and I am procrastinating like a pro!

Please check out the new page for my art at http://www.artsymatilda.com/.  I'd love to hear what you think!!!

It's pouring the rain and it's cold.  Will the grout dry?  I'll keep you posted!

I am feeling a little less wobbly today than I have been since Feb. 3rd.  Each day delivers more strength, more clarity and some heart healing.  Whew!  So grateful for THAT!  There is no way to prepare oneself for having the "rug yanked out from under neath you" as did happen with Christian's illness.  We have been blessed repeatedly since that day and we offer thanks and gratitude at every turn.  But the best way I can describe how I feel is:

Remember when you were a kid?  You would close your eyes and some of your friends would spin you around in gobs and gobs of circles.  Then they would let go and you were supposed to open your eyes and just continue on in a straight line.  It was a bit wobbly at first just trying to stand up, then attempts at walking were "pitiful" at best.  Then time passed and everything returned right back to normal again.

Well, I think I've almost returned to the walk a straight line phase again.

Reminding you that Hugh passed away just a week ago yesterday.  The service was lovely and well done for such a mighty fine man.  Still will miss him ike crazy.

My sister's husband, Paul (who is my brother-in-law-to make that easier) was hospitalized and taken in to ICU for cardiac troubles this Monday.  It was determined he has a blood clot in his heart.  Gadzooks!  They've medicated him and are confident in his treatment and have sent him home so Cyndie can take good care of him while he heals and gets stronger.  Please send him some good thoughts, as he is still very uncomfortable and weak.  He is very lucky to have been diagnosed quickly and having a plan of treatment is a blessing. Heal quickly Paul! We're sending all good thoughts your way. 

SO: breaking out of THAT cycle with good news:
Paul's Mum and Dad celebrated their wedding anniversary on March 7th.

Happy Wedding Anniversary to you two lovebirds!!!

Nina will be arriving this Friday (amongst the snow flakes) to run a race with her dad on Saturday in Johnson City to benefit the Women & Family shelters.  Yay for Nina coming!  It's always wonderful to see her.  I'm glad they're running and not me! Going to snow Friday ... blue legs do NOT look good on me! :-)

The gallery opens on the 15th, so we exhibitors will take our work in on Saturday ... which means I will be on my own for this trip.  Upstairs Gallery is located in High Point, NC  (http://www.upstairsgalleryhp.com/) and here I go!  G.U.L.P.!!!!!

That's the news from the home of Sir Paul in Elk Park!

Happy Trails to you!

Paul and Cheri

My friend

Last night the world lost the most incredible Ambassador it has ever known.

I had the good fortune to know this man and I count my lucky stars for it.

Hugh Fields (2nd from the left) was a great friend.  He was warm, kind and loving.  He was never too busy for anyone who dropped in to say hello. ("Well, hi Partner! How are you doing?") He was a perfect Southern Gentleman.  He was passionate about Dewars Scotch and Winstons.  He was also absolutely over the moon about his family: Eleanor his wife; Sarah, his baby girl; Lawson, his precious son; and Brian, his adored son-in-law.  Last but not least, his faithful dog, Isabel, Izzie, whom he loved dearly.  He was also crazy about his extended family and it often included people who were absolutely no blood relation at all.  Hugh was an avid golfer and I have no doubt he will be hitting the links in heaven by week's end.  He was a genius in real estate and was hugely responsible for the great success of Grandfather Golf and Country Club's membership.

Hugh, EVERYONE will miss you.  But I personally will miss our phone calls over the past year, the ones we had  when we talked about all kinds of things like solving the world's problems and horse racing, raising kids and favorite pastimes, and just leaving our own troubles out of the mix.  I will miss your advice and your jokes, your giggle and the twinkle in your eyes.  Most of all I will miss your optimism.  And all those "great meetings" you had in your life.  As Emily said, the world is just not the same without you walking around in it.  The stars are absolutely twinkling tonight in your honor.  It's your kind of night here in the High Country.

Rest in peace, Hugh Fields. 

We love you.

Paul & Cheri