We are so Thankful

What a beautiful morning, God sent us a special Thanksgiving treat. As we walked down to sit in our swing a flock of snowy white Egrets settled on “Duck Island”. I went back up and grabbed the camera. We were afraid our movement would disturb them but they seemed to accept our presence.

I was able to slip down to the water’s edge to get a closer shot. That Slinky isn’t the only one in the family who can slink around! Just click on the picture to see an enlargement. Joining Jack in the swing, we drank in the wonder of the moment. Then Jack laughed, “There go the rest of our fish. They’ve come for Thanksgiving dinner.”

Back at the studio Slinky wanted to be part of the holiday too. He is so funny. He’ll sit on the window sill and paw at your fingers if you rattle them against the glass. But come out the door, he is gone. The closest he will come then is at feeding time. We can sit in our rockers about 5 feet away from him while he eats. But any attempt to get closer and he disappears!

With Thanksgiving on our hearts we want to say how much we appreciate all of you who read this blog. We feel so fortunate to be with each other, live in this great country and have such wonderful collectors and friends. You allow us to make a living doing what we love. Thank you. Or, as we say in Texas, Much Obliged. Happy Thanksgiving. Mikki and Jack

An Evening in the Sky

Last week Grant Teaff called, inviting us to come watch the Baylor Bears play the Oklahoma Sooners in Waco. Grant and Donell are very dear friends and collectors of our paintings. Jack has known them since 1972, the year Grant was hired to be the head football coach at Baylor. Grant wanted a new, proud image for the Bears. He contacted Jack, challenging him with the task. The finished piece is above, can you believe it’s 38 years old? Grant and Jack are on the left. Damon, Jack’s son, and I are on the right.

Grant was the Bears head coach for 20 years, compiling a winning record and directing the team to two Southwest Conference championships. He is now Executive Director for the American Football Coaches Association. After visiting a while we went to the stadium to watch the game from their skybox. Damon and Jack are with Donell in the picture above.

The view is wonderful as you can see. This was during pregame warmup, by game time the stands were filled.

The Baylor band put on an outstanding show.

Bill Lane, coach of defensive ends in 1974 and a member of the Baylor staff from 1972-1992, is cutting up with Jack and Damon in the picture above. We were very disappointed the Bears lost but we had a super time visiting with old friends and meeting new ones. We are back in the studio today. I’m finishing up a surprise commission so I should be able to post a painting for you to watch in the next few days. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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My Christmas Present Arrived Early!

The weather has just been so gorgeous we had to sit in our swing a while and enjoy the beauty of our little lake. The Least Grebes were cavorting in the warmth of the sun.

Turtles were sunning themselves as well, ready to “Plunk” into the water if we decided to venture near the edge of the pond.

Harry the Heron is steadily working on depleting the fish population that we stocked. Just remember Harry, we’re keeping track of all the stocked fish you eat and putting it on your tab!

And…. I know you’ve been wondering what I got for Christmas. Look closely, it’s hard to spot in the picture above. It may take you a moment to see. Look again. I’ll give you a hint, the black stuff. Behind the arbor. See it now? I’m thrilled, it’s just what every Texas gardening girl wants. Six yards of Living Mulch! That Jack is such a Sweetie, don’t you think?

I’m still working on commissions for surprise Christmas Gifts. Hopefully in a few days I’ll be working on a piece I can post. Thank you for your patience and remember, if you’d like to be on our mailing list please click on the box below. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

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What’s up at the WHITE HOUSE?

I’m working on a few more of those “TOP SECRET” Christmas commissions so I’ll just fill you in on what’s up at the White House. (For those of you who don’t know I paint under my maiden name, Senkarik.) It has been a while since the fountain in our front patio has been working. We thought the pump had gone out so off to Home Depot we went. Put it in but still no bubbling or splashing. ERRRRRRR! So we figured the outdoor electrical outlet must have gone bad. Now that is WAAYYY out of our league. We hated to call an electrician for such a minor repair so we just put up with no welcoming fountain. Then yesterday, out of the blue, Jack said, “Flip it!”

I whipped around, looked at him and said, “WHAT?”

“The breaker, flip it!”

You know what? That man is a genius. Our fountain is happily bubbling away.

Now that we’ve got it working we decided to give it an update. We saw the coolest Caribbean Blue Tumbled Glass at our favorite nursery, Cooper’s Garden Place. We thought it would be perfect in the fountain. What do you think? It is really pretty when we look out the window of our office, so cool and inviting. Miss Mockingbird, our permanent resident, has been hopping around checking the blue glass out. She likes to stand on top of the fountain and peer in the window. I guess she wants to make sure we are working!

We had some of the glass left over so we decided to dress up one of our cactus pots. The tall cactus was given to us by one of our blog readers who shares our love of cactus. It’s a night bloomer and has the most beautiful white flowers. Next time it blooms I’ll be sure to let you see.

After all that hard work it was time for a little snack. Guess who came slinking around the corner to join us? If you would like to be on our mailing list just click on the box below. Have a great day. Hugs from Texas, Mikki Senkarik

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