In honor of dad, I painted this velvet scarf in delicious shades of red. The perfect piece on a chilly, snowy, beautiful February day. I got my reinforcement as I drove home yesterday evening and saw not once, but twice a herd of deer feeding in fields with the sun setting low and hints of red glowing over them. The snowy fields, beautiful deer, muted red and gray sky….yes, February is a month of a rich red….a warm feeling.

“Red Velvet”…..$50

“There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself“….John Gregory Brown



Today is my dad’s Birthday!

Birthdays….special day for that special person. My mother used to tell me that she knew she loved my dad when she made him a Birthday cake the first year they were dating. She told me he looked like a small child when she presented it to him. Because of her I cannot remember a family Birthday without the “cake” being the main attraction.

I was leafing through old photos recently and came upon this picture of my dad’s Birthday back in 1997. Surrounded by his “girls”, (George-David wasn’t here yet), he was in his element! I had brought the girls their Valentine gift early, the infamous “Valentine Barbie”. The overall theme for so many of his early “Papaw” Birthdays….Barbies, hearts, the “best” movie ever playing over and over, “101 Dalmatians”, and of course, cake. As you can tell, the “girls” ruled!

The cake ritual was always the best though. After a wonderful dinner that mom would make, usually steak and potato, we rapidly cleared the table. The cake would be brought over. She always made his favorite cake, Red Velvet. Decorated with the help of the “girls”, candles would be stuck everywhere. Now the fun would begin… once lit, we would just sit back and watch! I think we would sing “Happy Birthday” at least a dozen times while each girl would try to blow out the candles!! Over and over again we would go through this ritual. Some years mom would even have two cakes….a ”child” one and a “dad” one!! Her last year to share his Birthday she had two cakes. The girls were a bit older, but George-David was the perfect age to enjoy this ritual. One cake held the “hunting scene” but the second one was adorned with a small train holding candles just for George-David. I am not sure who had more fun, the kids or dad! Even present time was fun…I truly do not think he actually opened his own gift by himself for about a ten year stretch! His grandchildren were always there ripping the paper away! I believe that was the actual gift in his eyes.

Yesterday, we gathered to celebrate his special day. The dinner was light-hearted and easy. I cheated terribly on his cake, store bought Red Velvet, but sometimes the ‘gathering’ means more than the details. Dad’s life has been a constant change, constant growth. His spirit and strength have never failed though. His grandchildren still enjoy visiting him, teasing him and hearing his stories. Today he is 72. Still hard headed, funny, stubborn, and would drop and do anything for anyone at a moment’s notice. His idea of a perfect Birthday…his family there to share it, perhaps that nice card and remembering years ago. That is my dad…

Happy Birthday Dad….I love you!