BB is an acolyte

in the Lutheran church, grade school kids act as acolytes, lighting and extinguishing the candles. At the end of the service, they relight their tapers from the last candles and symbolically carry the light out into the world.

Ordinarily there's only one acolyte, but BB is in training, so his first time is with a partner. It's a pretty big deal. He's so proud!

Fireflies

Tonight at the zoo there was a profusion of fireflies all around. BB and some other boys his age were catching them and letting them go. It made me think back to nights in Topeka as a kid, when Jay and I would do the same. I'm saddened that our boys so seldom have the chance to just play outside with no plan or structure. I want that for them so badly.

It really was a magical evening. Not just the fireflies, but everything. Good friends, the train and the carousel, baby lions and flamingoes... all wonderful. We don't get many nights like that in our lives. Cherish them.

Long Morning

It wasn't five minutes in the van after church this afternoon and TS was already zonked out. LB doesn't look all that lively, either. :-)

Three Penny Upright at Ida Red

Went to hear a local band of some renown tonight. Anytime you've got little girls dancing and a lead singer with a washboard, you know it's gonna be a good night. :-)

I has a pretty!

Today I had a great teen program with members of the Oklahoma Bead Society, teaching teens to make beaded bracelets. We had 35 in attendance! I had a chance to make a bracelet, and I gave it to TS when I got home. She loves it. :-)

Bangin' on the Bongos like a Chimpanzee

I continue to neglect my macro-blogging in favor of facebook and Twitter. I'm trying out a new service (well, new to me anyway) called Ping.fm that's supposed to make it easier to pull all these things together.

Our local Parents As Teachers hold a playgroup on Monday mornings during the school year. I've posted photos before of the littlies playing at the elementary school where it's held. It's summer now, of course, but one of the regular parents is organizing some summer outings for the group. Here are TS and LB trying out the fire truck at the Mohawk Park playground.

just accidentally Ping.fm.

My -ism

It's been awhile since I've posted. I've been focusing my online time on facebook, and I also did a Digital Detox for a week. That was an interesting experience.

I decided to post today because I discovered my -ism! I've been drawing for awhile, and I've learned that I'm attracted to subjects with a lot of straight lines, a lot of rectilinear forms, crossings, architectural elements, etc. The photo above is an example. It's a sketch I made of the beamed ceiling of the Broken Arrow library, about three years ago.

Some time ago, I learned that there's a name for this. There was an artistic movement called "precisionism" that featured the same kinds of attention to detail and fascination with industrial and architectural subjects that I seem to have.

So there it is. I'm a precisionist! I also found a kindred spirit of sorts in the blogger behind six martinis and the seventh art. I found her through a google search for "precisionism", and found that she seems to share my aesthetic, though she finds images she loves in old films. There are some gorgeous stills on her blog. Take a look!