you're the top, you're the Colesium

Yeah, we are just the luckiest. Today the UPS man handed me a precious package, containing two more original paintings from my oh-so-talented father-in-law! When Mom and Dad were here in the summer, on July 4th we headed to the Antietam battlefield in nearby MD, the sight of the deadliest one-day battle of the Civil War. As we drove through the different areas, we took some time to get out and walk around by the Burnside Bridge. Dave was instantly taken, and after shooting a few pictures he mentioned to his Dad how awesome it would be to have a painting of the bridge (of course this was not coercion, but merely an offhand remark. I was there. I know, ok?). Now, another time during their visit, I was admiring the work of Dad's already on our wall, the painting of Mt. Hood and the other of Multnomah Falls. And I thought, here we have representation of Dave's childhood environment...wouldn't it be way cool if we had something to contrast it from my childhood?? Granted, I grew up "everywhere" and don't have the same attachment as Dave, that stems from spending 18 years in one place. But Texas is still home (or at least has always been "home base"), and if I could have one thing on my wall to reflect my roots, I choose bluebonnets. Fortunately Dad was receptive and immediately started looking for inspiration, searching the internet for pictures of the flower. Wow! I wasn't ready for what I saw this morning, and blinked back tears as I soaked it in, recognizing the love that went in to creating this perfect painting. **sigh** I love it, and now am trying to tackle the problem of where to hang our new additions in this tiny house. But that's a pretty good problem to have, in my opinion. And of course I have other ideas tucked back in my mind of potential works of art that I can see added to my collection, but I figure that I'll give Dad a respite of sorts and allow him a few months (I mean a week) to rest before I drop the bomb. Thank you Dad...you're AMA-ZA-ZING!!