I brought tonight's wood in early and will have to paint tonight with the ventilation that's blowing under the door, it's too much to crack a window, things scatter throughout the studio.

I found out today that a small painting I donated to a fundraiser for a humane society sold. I'm quite pleased, although I liked it and would not have been sad if it did not. But saving stray and surrendered kitties is important!

I'm getting started in on some ideas for the Española Valley Arts Festival poster contest. I can enter as many as I like so I think I'll come up with at least 2 or 3 ideas. Just because the first idea is always the most cliché and they generally get better the further one goes. 

Since the wind is so strong today I opened a back window for the kitties. It's away from the road and the wind always seems to come from the east so it's much nicer for them. Plus the woodpile on the outside is up to the sill so it's a small jump for them to get out. Even Wizzy went out on his own for quite awhile. 

Stopped in at Tafoya's store today to check it out. It's like a ghost town store. It's huge, dim, and a bit musty inside with well worn wooden floors. It's also quite empty. Way over against one wall is an ice-cream bar freezer. Then waaaaay over empty space on the other side are three beer coolers, well apart from each other with about 4 six packs in each. Sort of in the center is a pathetic little aisle with Comet and the like, shelves on the wall by the ice-cream freezer have a few canned things, including Spam. It was too weird. The place could be so cool! It's got so much potential, it's a shame to see it in such a state of decay and emptiness. My footsteps echoed when I walked in. I introduced myself to Chris, the store minder. He welcomed me and we shook hands. I noticed a sign about a Land Grant meeting coming up (This entire town and a huge chunk of land all around is an old land grant from the King of Spain in 1763 or 64). I asked what that was all about and Chris said, "The land. You know this is a land grant." So I mumbled something about it must pertain to property owners, bought some beer (they actually had Sam Adams) and called it an adventure.