Progression on Lady and her Love.
Commission Painting of a Woman and her Horse.
24 x 30 inches
Oil on Canvas
I had to reverse the drawing... Diane wanted this side of Zappa's face in the painting.
© Diane Holt 2011
24 x 30 inches
Oil on Canvas
I had to reverse the drawing... Diane wanted this side of Zappa's face in the painting.
This is Zappa... What a beauty!!
Hospitality
When we were driving home from Fayetteville AR yesterday, we were driving through the Winding Stair Mts in the Ouchita National Forest area in Oklahoma. Winding Stairs is not for the faint of heart. Click this picture to find out more online. I literally could not shoot with my Iphone as it would blur. We were doing S curves that were 180 degrees each way or more. One on top of another one. And that was not on flat territory...that was on climbing and descending. When we first hit this area on Friday... the first speed reduction with arrows was 45... and I said, "Honey try and keep it at least at 55." We were doing 70. The Passat handles really really well. It is a TDI turbo.
The signs kept getting bolder and reducing from 35 mph to 25mph and finally to 20 mph. It truly meant ONLY those speeds. When you are winding so drastically at 180 degree turns right on top of one another in opposite directions and descending at fast shot, you cannot go fast. So when we came home today I thought I was prepared... but it caught me off guard again.
I put in our cd's on the New Testament and we listened to Hebrews. I almost fell asleep on the first chapter but soon got into a groove focusing on the words and not on the curves around me.
What stuck with me was HOSPITALITY from the last chapter in Hebrews. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
Our trip was fabulous. When I think of all the 'hospitality' occurring this weekend you would understand why my mind went this direction. We had family coming in from four different states to Arkansas. We could have hit some of those S-curves in Fayetteville. You know what I mean, the best laid plans... Most of us stayed at a Best Western near the Razorback campus. It was chosen by the grooms family that lives not too far from Fayetteville. This small Best Western left me dubious by it pictures on the internet, but once we were there and settled in, it was wonderful. The staff was professional. It was an outside door motel... but it was every bit as nice as the Jackson Hole Best Western..which is REALLY nice. We had a Jacuzzi tub and a king bed and a large dressing closet area and a sitting area... all for $71. Yep, big screen TV, refrig and all that stuff too. Great Hospitality.
My cousin, her husband and her dad all drove up from Dallas. Martha is about 9 years younger than me. She graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She lived there for many years... and she showed us the best of the best. Saturday we toured Farmers Market on the square and spent two hours wandering and buying bits and pieces here and there. I watched a woman on her looming, several plein aire painters, many singers, bands, guitars, violins and children... dogs with the Rescue adopt group and LOTS of artists showing their work among the farmers with their produce, fresh eggs and fresh picked vegetables and fruits. MORE hospitality. We found a wonderful tour of the underground...of artists. And yes, I picked up something for Justin and Tara for their first anniversary.
After a campus tour and drive around, Martha took us to AQ Chicken House for lunch.This restaurant opened in 1947... and can they make chicken. It was again the "faint of heart" and had a salad with grilled chicken on it. My dear Uncle shared a fried wing with me and it was good. More Hospitality.
The wedding was that night at the Pratt Barn. This was a magical place to be married.. and the bride arrived in a Cinderella carriage, and after the wedding they departed in it as well. The dinner and dancing was phenomenal and my brother and sister-in-law outdid themselves. It was truly a wonderful weekend. Not often can you say that when you trek somewhere unknown and make your way among strangers in a town you have never been too. My brother and his wife live in Dallas. They too, were new as they arrived to put on this wedding for their daughter. Hospitality ruled the weekend and it was warm, welcoming and embracing with family and love.
We know there were angels among us and a miracle included. Fifteen minutes before the ceremony it was 103 degrees outside. The Ceremony was outside and the reception was inside. Clouds began to gather and the trees were really blowing. The tent lost a pole and the potted plants tipped over. The crowd huddled beneath the tent expecting a deluge of rain... but it never came. Before my niece walked down the aisle the temps had dropped to the mid seventies... and the wind blew but the clouds only rumbled a few times. I do believe Angels were there surrounding the newly weds, the guests, the minister and the harpist. Storms like that usually rip things apart... and what God provided was absolutely perfect...cool, windy, cloudy and after we were all safely tucked inside for the reception, the sun broke out and the cooler air settled in the low eighties.
I will always think of this verse with this weekend and the new family that has bonded with ours through this marriage.. the wonderful care of my dear cousin who knew the area and served as the best tourist guide we could find, and the joyful reception put on by my brother and his wife celebrating the marriage of their daughter.
Hospitality of the heart, the home and the family....
God Bless the newlyweds!
Laurie
"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:1-2
POST NOTE; I forgot today is the Fourth of July. Prayers for our troops past, present and future. God Bless them and keep them safe in His care as they remain the defenders of freedom.
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