The Pioneer Woman

This girl is hilarious. Her name is Ree and she lives on a working cattle ranch with Marlboro Man in Oklahoma.

Every day she encounters herds of wild mustangs, mama cows and baby cows, dogs, 4 punks (kids) and cowboys. Ree confesses, cooks, photographs, remodels, homeschools, and blogs it all in a way that'll make you laugh and revive all your childhood cowgirl/farm girl dreams.

Ree loves her husband without reserve. She's not shy about loving her husband. Marlboro Man is Ree's whole world. I like a person who loves her husband.

I envy her way with a camera. And with recipes. Her pics are gorgeous and she shows every step in the recipe. I'm trying to emulate her posting style with my recipes here but so far it falls flat. How does she take a picture of her own hands cooking? I'll keep trying.

Check out the pioneer woman at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/

Oh, and emulate? It's cool word. It's perfectly fine to emulate people you admire. But please - don't ever try to immolate somebody. It sounds like it could be the same but it's not. And it'll make a mess.

Starry Night, Part Three

Personal Reflections on a Well-known Painting, and a little bit of Shakespeare.

I have seen this painting many, many times in my life. When I was a child I didn’t like it very much. I remember thinking that it looked rough and unfinished. It bothered me that the brushstrokes in Starry Night don’t blend nicely together. I had heard, of course, that Van Gogh was mentally ill. I took that to mean that he was crazy and I thought this painting’s jagged appearance was a reflection of a disordered mind. As I have grown up and contemplated this (and examined my relationships with mentally ill family members) I have realized that being “crazy” does not automatically preclude a valid point of view. I have also learned that Van Gogh was inspired by other art forms, specifically Japanese woodcuts. This could account for the way that he laid the paint down on canvas in this painting. I can see that it could easily translate to a woodcut print.

Van Gogh’s tormented life and beautiful painting Starry Night can be described in William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29:
When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon my self and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least,
Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate,
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

In line 3 of the sonnet Shakespeare says “And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries”. This is illustrated in the painting because of the techniques Van Gogh used. God would not hear Van Gogh because he, like all signs of humanity in Starry Night, was small and inconsequential. The brushed arcs of the sky in the painting are not smooth and easy - they are rough and coarse. The swiftly moving forces of the sky are not peaceful and gentle. It seems like Van Gogh loved God and greatly admired his power and glory while at the same time he feared what God’s power could do to him personally. And yet, as in the last two lines of the sonnet, God’s love for us brings us wealth that can never be compared with earthly treasures and humanity’s respect.

Because of the many times Van Gogh felt unloved and all alone in life, his unsuccessful attempts to console others through religious ministry, and the unalleviated suffering of mental anguish, I think he must have felt the sentiments expressed in Shakespeare’s sonnet. When I think of these words and look at the painting I remember the love of God and how it has comforted me in times of despair. I feel empathy for Van Gogh, and an appreciation for the works of art that he created, especially Starry Night.

The End!

Starry Night, Part Two

Personal Reflections on a Well-known Painting

I find Starry Night to be intensely spiritual. I see the power and majesty of God portrayed in Starry Night. There is something infinitely dynamic in the swirling brushstrokes that create the clouds and sky, and the glow of the stars and moon. The hills and vegetation in the painting also seem to move with power and authority. The cypress tree in the foreground of the painting has the shape of a flame – a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Cypress trees are traditionally associated with death. Van Gogh did not fear death. He said, “Looking at the stars always makes me dream. Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star”.

The cypress tree points up to the heavens as if directing to viewer to look up to God. This message is repeated in the spire of the church, but in this painting the church seems like a small and weak reflection of nature. I feel that this contrast is significant in the painting. Mankind is a smaller, weaker reflection of the omnipotence and glory of God. All evidence of humanity is portrayed in the buildings - they are small and insignificant.

I feel that Van Gogh might have felt this way because of his experiences in life. He was unsuccessful finding lasting happiness with a woman. He was unsuccessful finding satisfying work among people. He was unsuccessful finding sanity and peace in mental health facilities.

To be continued...

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Personal Reflections on a Well-known Painting, Part One.

Vincent Van Gogh painted Starry Night in June 1889. It is oil paint on canvas and measures 29” by 36.25”. It is currently located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Van Gogh created this painting at a very troubled time in his life; he was a patient in a French insane asylum overlooking the village of Saint Remy. The painting was finished just thirteen months before he committed suicide. His entire life was a miserable one; he committed himself to several mental asylums trying unsuccessfully to find a cure. He sought to find happiness in love but was devastatingly unsuccessful time after time. He studied and trained to be a minister but failed the course and was later dismissed from his position as a lay minister. Van Gogh lived in poverty in Belgium in financial and spiritual despair until he realized that he could teach and influence people through his art. Many people feel that Starry Night is a reflection of this desire. There are eleven stars in the painting, and this may correlate to Genesis 37:9 which states, “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” Van Gogh wanted to share with others his perspective on the God of nature.

Nature figures abundantly in Starry Night. The sky fills two-thirds of the space, and hills, trees, and shrubs figure dominantly in the rest. The man-made structures that Van Gogh could see from his room in the asylum - houses, barns, and a church - are tiny when contrasted to the vastness of nature. The colors are natural too – the vibrant blue of the sky and hills, the fiery gold of moon and stars, the dark grays, greens, and browns of the plants.

To be continued...

Tuesday's quote...

... by Vincent van Gogh.

"There may be a time in life when one is tired of everything and feels as if all one does is wrong, and there may be some truth in it - do you think this is a
feeling one must try to forget and to banish, or is it the 'longing for God'
which one must not fear, but cherish to see if it may bring us good? Is it the
'longing for God' which leads us to make a choice which we never regret? Let us keep courage and try to be patient and gentle. And not mind being eccentric, and make distinction between good and evil."

Here's another one from Lucy Maud Montgomery:

"I am well in body but considerably rumpled in spirit."

Today I am feeling tired of everything and that I've done it all wrong. I am therefore considerably rumpled in spirit.

Tomorrow I will post Part One of an essay that I've written about Vincent van Gogh's painting Starry Night. I hope you will enjoy it.

Now I am off to work on my patience, gentleness, and courage. And unrumpledness.

My Little Friend

This is my littlest son.


He's a beautiful boy, inside and out. Since he's the littlest one in the family, his babyhood has been artificially prolonged and he still gets his way most of the time. Everyone in the family wants to be on his good side and brings him treats, presents, and surprises on a pretty regular basis.

He is also rotten to the core. You just don't get your way all the time and not become a tyrant.

Here are some things you may not know about him:

• I call him my Little Friend. His dad calls him our Little Treasure.


• He was super sick as a baby. This solidified his place in the family as the one who gets the most TLC.


• I believe that he would have died as a baby without the blessings of modern pharmaceuticals and skilled and inspired doctors.
• I've spent many nights kneeling at his bedside giving him breathing treatments and checking to see if he's okay.


• I used to sing to him during those times.


• He's since told me that he didn't care for my singing but because he was too little then to talk he couldn't tell me that.


• Even though he's thin now he was very chubby when he was a baby. We called him the Tubby Little Cubby.


• He likes it when I, the mama, call him Cookie.


• No one else is allowed to call him Cookie. Ever.


• He doesn't take any lip from his much-older brothers. He can hold his own against them.
• He is a miniature version of his oldest brother. He looks just like him, talks just like him, and has exactly the same mannerisms. They're so similar it's a little scary sometimes.


• He likes math and science in school.


• He hates homework, especially writing homework.


• He likes to run. He takes an afternoon run nearly every day.


• He has goldfish crackers and chocolate milk every day at school for lunch.


• He is allergic to peanuts and refuses to eat eggs, cheese, or meat.
• His favorite meal is a chicken nugget Happy Meal.


• He is allergic to several kinds of fruit.


• He is a very sensitive little man. He gets very upset and emotional if he thinks he's in trouble or that we are unhappy with him for any reason.


• He is a good friend to his buddies.


• He gets along pretty well with other kids.
• He prays every day that his big sister will be safe while she's away from us.

You're a star, my Little Friend!

Survey says...

...it's time for a poll!

I got an email the other day from a friend of mine who now lives in Belgium. (Amy B., if you happen to read this, HI!!! It was so wonderful to hear from you!)

Amy B. said something once that I've never forgotten. She said that her "best friend" is always someone that lives nearby to her. What she needs is a best friend who is close at hand. She's moved around a lot in her life, and she's a great person and is likable and fun and friendly and easy to get to know. Even though she remains friends and stays in contact after she's moved away, she makes a new best friend with someone who lives near her new home.

As a person who has never felt like I've quite got a handle on how to make, maintain, and keep friends, I am curious about everything I hear from people about how they do these things. I know that friends are so important, as important as family, and I am very grateful for those friends of mine who have remained my friends in spite of my deficiencies.

So here is my question for today: Do you have the same best friend you had when you were a kid or in some stage in life other than the one you are in now? Or is your best friend someone new in your life? Or are you socially backward and blindly stumbling through trying to figure it all out as you go along, like I am?