"I bought a brand new French easel!"

My sketchbook drawing in gray markers a few days ago! Might even have a buyer...

 Well, I think I left my coffee mug hanging on one of the many fence boards that surround this huge estate. So, I may have to return to the scene of the crime, today.

Three days later, my coffee mug was "sittin' on a fence!"

For the second week, Giddy Up's First Monday sketch day turned into a Monday En Plein Air painting session.

I bought a brand new French easel, but haven't taken it out of the box, so I decided to just sketch a scene totally in gray markers. Turned out pretty well for the time spent, I think.

The subject matter from which I sketched.

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen IIII

"AND, Babbah bah booooo, BRING IT RIGHT HERE!"

Contrary Mary...

 Well, Good "Tidings to You!"Thursday Morning, all bodies.

The news on NPR was talking the Ukraine, and Tee was staring off in the distance contemplating the day's activity as we make our way to Giddy Up. I was in my own world giggling with my own sense of humor.

I had a Bing Crosby Christmas tune in my head and was laughing at the prospect of doing something with it...

Mary, the don't call me a barista, barista, is gonna be my prime suspect. But, is she off today? She wasn't. Now, I just have to find a way to single her out from the other, always attentive, ladies behind the counter. Maddie was creating some kind of creamy latte filled with some kind of Christmas goodies and Danielle caught my eye as if to say that I was next to be served, but I winked at her and pointed towards Mary.

Luckily, there's was no one behind me awaiting to be served.

"Hey Mary," I called out in a rather demanding way, which so unlike me, "I need some coffee!"

"Hey Ben... Your regular?" Mary asks in her matter of fact, ho-hum way.

Yes, I said, the French dark roast, AND...

"We won't go until we get some,

"We WONT go until we get some,

"We won't GO until we get some,"

Pointing to the counter, I completed the end of the song with a bit of Bing...

"AND, Babbah bah booooo, BRING IT RIGHT HERE!"

"Okay, Mr. Ben, (she seldom calls me mister!) In the Christmas spirit already, I see."

"Yeh, Mary, Bing Crosby style... Babbah bah booooo,!

She mumbles, as she turns to pour me my coffee, something like, "You beddah change your tune if you want anything!" She then, hands me my cup.

Trying to be as unimpressed as she can muster up, she asks, " You need anything else?"

"What? No Bing styled Christmas today," I asked.

Danielle, sensing maybe some tension in the air, and still working up some kind of frothy concoction, smiles to me and says, "I love Bing Crosby especially at Christmas time. My mom used to play his records all the time!"

"Yeh, I found on YouTube, he had quite a bit of Christmas songs over the years. I guess "I Wish You A Merry Christmas" is gonna be my earworm for today."

"I thought I'd share it with someone I love," I said, as I nodded towards Mary, who, by now, is working the drive up window.

Maddie rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders and giggled. Danielle nodded.

I sat down with some friends feeling satisfied that I got a bit of a smile from "Contrary Mary!"

Time to crank up the Christmas music as long as it isn't another Mariah Carey interpretation!

Second cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"Up 'til Now, I''ve Never Been In A CarThat Did 120mph.!"

"we don't need no stinkin' badges!"

 Good "we don't need no stinkin' badges!"Sunday Morning, all bodies.

In between a Southshore birthday party, grocery shopping and other silly running around, I was able to resketch this Chevy badge from the Sixties. I started a sketch, months ago, of the badge as our mechanic was working on the van's brakes knowing full well that I probably wasn't gonna finish it. So, I took a photo of it and until just the other day, found both. I decided to clean up the original sketch. James, the mechanic, told me it was from a 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS.

I never could afford even the insurance on a car like that, but I sure did lust after it.

As it turns out, in my first semester in college, I hitched a ride after the weekends with a friend of a friend. This was in 1968/69 way before the Interstate was put in elevated over the swamp land from LaPlace through Pontchatoula and into Hammond.

Naturally, kids attending school with no parental guidance, know no rules. On one early Monday morning jaunt to school, driving the deadly swamp on one side of the road and even more swamp on the other, on LA#51, took about an hour or so.

I'd never been in a car, up until that point, that did 120mph.

At the time, I was in the passenger front seat when my high school football buddy decided he wanted to drive the owner's car and see just how much muscle it really had. I should have traded seats with someone in the back.

Raul Chavez got himself, along with other football players from that graduating class, a scholarship to play for SLC as a linebacker. Raul was really good with his intensity and mobility at that position. It gave me, the right side linebacker, full reign to go after the football basically disregarding all defensive strategies.

But, Raul was crazy... REALLY, especially if he had one too many at a bar... ANY bar.

We survived the speedy adventure. I don't think Raul was ever allowed back in that black two door beauty, but, in time, it really didn't matter. In our second semester of college, as I recall, Raul tried to walk, in the night, across the "expressway" at the Carrollton overpass. He never made it.

His funeral was the first I ever attended from my own generation... In time, there would be more, but the black Super Sport beauty was now always something special to me... even the badge!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"Sokrat Bozo... Just Glad To An American!"

 Good "60 Minute Man!"Monday Morning, all bodies!

Well, the Saints are an embarrassment and that's all I choose to say. I wonder what Bobby Hebert had to say on his radio program after the game...

We went for a walk after the game to check out the Arch and the Drury Hotel. It's not fun for me to walk too far, but this worked out OK.

In the evening, we went to St. Clement Rest Home to take Fr. Gerard LaPorte to dinner. We were concerned about his getting in and out of the Camry, but he did quite well. The food was Cajun style and quite good... Gerard seemed to like it.

The sketch I created was done at the breakfast buffet of a greeter who escorts folks to their table. I enjoyed his enjoyment of the job and decided to try to capture it. It is from a photo I took of him.

I made the mistake of showing him the sketch, but more on that later. We've got a 10am flight to catch in "The Arch."

No cups, yet!

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III

"Just Doodling Away!"

A couple of phone doodles!

 Good "DoddlingAway" Wednesday Morning, all bodies.

Well, yesterday one of two doc appts. for Therese had me off and running to blow an hour or more. My options for a mid afternoon snack were "Cilantros" or the "Tap Room" but I tired of waiting for the traffic light to change and took off in another direction...

I ended up at PJ's coffee where the most delightful young barista persuaded me into buying a mocha granita... or something like that. She had the greatest smile I seen in a long time and I told her so which widened her smile even more.

I had a bunch of phone calls to make, to make the best use of the time before I had to pick up 'da Babe. I talked and talked...

And, doodled.

No cups yet!

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III

"Four Time World Series Winner... Congrats"

Congrats on Number Four!

 Good "Bye Baseball 2023" Thursday Morning, y'all.

Congrats to the Texas Rangers for securing their place in World Series history with their first Title ever. Stats will abound for the next month or so as MLB attempts to compete with football... ANY football.

As is often the case, the playoffs are, most times, the most competitive, and this year wasn't any different, which explains MLB selling out to the major cable networks for almost all of the playoff games. The Rangers pretty much swept through everyone and made the Series a lopsided affair.

But, proper respects go to manager Bruce Bochy for winning his fourth World Series ring, which makes him tied with Joe Torre and Walter Alston, having won three with the San Francisco Giants (2010, 2012, 2014) and this most recent one with Texas.

Love it... First warm and inviting Giddy Up cup!

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III

"Disheartened That I Sketched A Used Muffin Liner"

 

A kid's hand grenade!

Good "Gateway to the West" Friday Morning, y'all.

Trying to decide what we want to do today, I decided to post a sketch I did about a week or so ago. Therese decided to try her hand at the sketching the magnolia cone that I brought to the Giddy Up sketch get together and did an admirable job. She hasn't signed it, so I figure it's not finished.

Therese's unfinished symphony!

A few days later, the red green cone turned brown, opened up its pod leaves and started spitting out bright red seeds. I figured that I'd better sketch the cone before the entire pod explodes.

Talk about explosions, I told the friend who gave me the spikey projectile how, as kids, we use the cone as hand grenades. At one time, we had a large magnolia in the front yard that would drop lots of cones around the early fall. The stem of the cone was the pin that one would pull on a real grenade before throwing it. Kid's imagination, ya know.

Phil told me that he gave me the cone to use as subject matter since he read that another friend of mine found it rather disheartening that I sketched a used muffin liner on a saucer.

So, I present for one's perusal and approval my exploded magnolia tree cone and my wife's unfinished symphony!

First Starbucks cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

Every Now And Then, I Gotta "Ride, Ride, Ride The Wild Surf"

 

Good "Muffin'" Monday Morning, all bodies.

We should be getting an appreciable amount of rain today from that storm headed for Florida. Even the badass azaleas are feeling the heat.

Well, Adam and Eve might have been satisfied with an apple for breakfast, but feeling a twinge of deprivation and knowing I shouldn't, I bought myself a "Morning Glory Muffin" at the coffeehouse.

It is not gluten free!

But, every now and then, I gotta "Ride, Ride, Ride The Wild Surf" ya know? It was delicious and to celebrate the event I decided to sketch what was left of the temptation. I think it turned out quite nicely.

First very early home brewed cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"I'll Take The Plane With The Teeth!"

Beechcraft Model 18

 Good "kinda freaked out" Friday Morning, y'all.

I received a call about a month or so from a woman representing the Sonoma Valley Airport looking to use one of my Beechcraft on-site drawings from the Van Nuys Days circa 1986. It threw me for a loop.

The Vintage Aircraft Company has recently completed a rebuild of a 1946 Beechcraft Model 18 with plans to roll it out at the airport's Chili Cookout Car and Aircraft Show in mid-October. They wanted permission to use one of my drawings for a tee-shirt fundraiser. But, just yesterday morning, I told Therese that I didn't think it whole idea was gonna happen since I called many times attempting to negotiate terms and never got a return call.

A bit disappointed, I decided to forget about the whole thing.

While sitting at a local Wendy's still trying to decide what Wendy's Frosty flavor I was gonna get while Therese went shopping, I got a call from Sheryl.

After apologizing for responding, we talked about the project, the fundraiser and the price for the usage of my illustration. When she mentioned a possible ride in a WWII Warhawk or Mustang, I got the feeling the museum board didn't wanna pay what I was asking for the design.

So funny. When I mentioned to my wife about the option to fly in a WWII fighter, she was, amazingly, all for it. I mean, SAY WHAT? My demure, shy, Miss Prim and Proper companion of 51 years wants to go air combat over the skies of Sonoma!

"I'll take the plane with the teeth," she said.

"Whoa!"

BTW, the check's in the mail!

First cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

" Procrastination Has Its Cost"...

Cool...

 Good "frosty" Friday Morning, all bodies!

Oh, about a year ago, something in the studio smelled musty and kinda mildewed. After a month or so of investigating every corner of the place, I surmised it wasn't the window AC. I believe it was a throw rug near the back door. Problem was I practically took apart the window unit to check it out and never reassembled the damn thing because I just don't bend and twist like I did when I bought and placed it in the window years ago.

Well, in late summer of last year, some industrious wasps decided since I wasn't using the damn thing that THEY would. I wrongly assumed that the buzzing sound the bugs were making

were nothing but another flying insect desperately trying to extricate itself from a spider web.

Good riddance, I'd say.

But it kept getting louder and louder and more frequent. I decided it was time to create my own "RAID riddance" on the gang, and put back the air conditioner into service . I actually thought about calling a repairman to put the unit back together again, but figured having one come out to "service it" would probably cost as much as the unit did years ago.

Well, you know procrastination has its cost. it took me the entire year to think about it, until yesterday! Ah yes. The added expense to our electric bill never sounded so sweet as when I plugged in that beauty.

First Giddy Up cup, y'all.

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"I Never Look A Gift Chicken In The Beak!"

It didn't turn out like I planned.
My approach was rather vague to begin with.

 Well, good "Mayhem Monday Morning," y'all...

It's Back To School Monday. Back to dodging school buses, sitting in 3pm traffic, and school zone tickets. Gotta leave yourself plenty of time to get anywhere on time!

Yesterday, I mellowed outside on the patio deck at Giddy Up to finish a value sketch of more broken down fences from the back paddock. Later, as the morning got a bit more uncomfortable, I left the markers behind and did a few touchups indoors with a second cup.

Paula Alario came by to drop off a dozen or more fresh eggs. She apologized for the size of the eggs blaming it on the recent heat wave. I thanked her and told her that I never look a gift chicken in the mouth... I mean, beak!

First cup... at home!

Copyright 2023/ Ben Bensen III

"The Insurance Company Never Admitted That It Was A Tornado!"

 Good "a bit sketchie" Sunday Morning, y'all.

Decided to spend some time sketching today. Too hot to do much more than that. So, while Tee took off, in the cool of the early morning for her Jazzercise class, I decided to take the lawn tractor, a cup of coffee and my sketchbook over to the running shed in the back paddock to sit and render the destruction.

The insurance company never admitted that it was a tornado that, three years ago, skipped across the back paddock, but they found enough damage to our roof to replace it. I also got reimbursed to fix the shed, but life got in the way. So, the next best thing to do is to sketch it...

First cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"A Marker Sketch.. On site!"

Not as plentiful as when I started!

 Good "no news is good news!" Saturday Morning, all bodies.

But then, there's no such thing, right?

Spent a good portion of the afternoon, yesterday, at the service dept of Honda in Slidell. It's so bad they lent me an Accord for five days, and after 2.5 hours waiting at a local restaurant, I found that as I was calling them in the traditional way... by phone, they were trying to get a hold of me with the prognosis through text messaging.

Oh bruther... The onion rings were good but not as plentiful as when I started sketching them... Ha!

Second cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben BensenIII

"She's Such A "Good Egg!"

Paula's Dozen Plus...

 Good "you're such a good egg" Thursday Morning, all bodies.

When I walked into the coffeehouse, Mimi was having an egg fritata with a friend. She waved and said hello in between bites.

I promised Mary (Giddy Up's "don't call me a barista", barista!) a half dozen or so from the two dozen or so of fresh eggs a friend had bestowed upon me. I didn't have an egg carton, so I placed the eggs, nice and snug, in a small square box stuffed with plastic grocery bags and delivered it to Maddie who was working the counter.

Maddie's a "good egg" and can be completely trusted with delivering the goods.

Badass was sitting all alone, so I decided to spend some time with him, but soon the two sofas were filled with friends chewing the fat. Phil brought a dolphin skull for Frank to put on the community shelf and Big Al had to get up to further inspect the alien being.

Someone said the skull and Al had much in common.

Dennis, who has relatives from Australia, got to talking about aborigines and boomerangs with Erich, while I tried to talk to Jeanie about her days in college at USL. MaryJane and Maureen waved hello having arrived late from the local gym.

About twenty minutes later, Paula Alario, who provides me, on occasion, all the eggs I need, dropped by to return a baking tray that I used to make her a ham and cheese quiche earlier in the week.

It was my way out, having already spent so much time. As it always happens, when one person decides to leave, EVERYONE decides to leave too!

Having temporarily solved all of the world's problems, I grabbed my baker's tray and split.

First decaf cup this morning...

Copyright 2023/Ben BensenIII

"Mary, Can You Change The Music, Please"....

 Good "I hate the f%@*king Eagles, man!" Saturday Morning, y'all.

Well, ya know, it's one of those pre-programmed stations whose playlist just overplays certain songs and certain groups.

Big Al and I arrived at the counter to the mellow sounds of "Take It To The Limit" to order some coffee. Al always gets a small expresso cappucino. He normally stays only long enough to finish his morning jolt, but today was a bit different.

"Mary, can you change the music. I hate the damn Eagles," I said rather irritably since I hadn't had my first cup yet.

"Dude, exclaimed Big Al, The Big Lebowsky!"

"Hey you mean like the Dude, his Dudeness, Duder, um, the effin El Duderino?"

"Yeh, man, Al said, that line is from the movie,"The Big Lebowsky!"

"Oh man, Mary jumps in and says, I love that movie!"

Next thing you know, we three are recreating our favorite scenes like bowling alley confrontations, the sweater, the rug, the Dude's penchant for a white Russians... stuff like that.

Al and I got our coffees, sat down and for another twenty minutes or so, we're mixing the movie with other subjects like the finer points of welding (Big Al's a metal sculptor) and my Air Force paintings in the Pentagon.(I had just received my new copy of ASAA's "Aero Brush" magazine and brought it along to read.)

His cappucino finished, Al gingerly extracts himself from the leather sofa and as he heads for the door, Al turns and stops, smiles and points to the heavens and says, "I hate the f%@**king Eagles"... Ha!

"Take It Easy" was playing on the radio.

No cups, yet...

 Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"A Friend Liked The Photo Better"...

A friend liked the photo better, so I sold it to him...

 

Good "on the road" Wednesday Morning, all bodies!

A couple days ago, first thing in the morning at Giddy Up, with a first cup I decided to draw this rusted stirrup that I found behind one of the western saddles outside.

It took a bit longer than I anticipated, but I got it done to my satisfaction before the gang showed up...

 

So, I sketched it as is on one of the Giddy Up coffee tables and posted it. David, who earlier had bought a saddle painiting I did, saw this post and loved it. He thought that the real rusted spur sitting on the table in front of the Giddy Up branded logo was gonna be a nice edition to his collection. 

 

So, he asked to purchase just the photo... How could I refuse him.

 

Check's in the mail, man...

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

"The Kingbird Returns!"

The Kingbird is known for the red gold crown he flashes!

 Good "westfull wetreet!"Wednesday Morning, all bodies.

A warm, humid breeze had been gently wafting its way throughout the soft fragrant new leaves of our cypress trees. I turned to the east along side of our long gravel laden driveway to check on our neighbor's very tall pine tree that is slowly dying. So sad.

A horsefly buzzes by my head as I get closer to our next door
neighbor’s property. They have three horses in the pasture and the flies aggravate them as well as all horse lovers. I’ve not been bitten yet this year, but just the other day, two of them zoomed into the opened car door to bounce around the interior and the windshield.

The annual aggravating "Gadfly!"

                                                                        

 We used to get annual visits from the Eastern Kingbirds that would sit along the fences to intercept the flies midair. Their aerobatics are fun to watch and their presence certainly make a difference, but I hadn't seen them this year.... Until now, yeah!

It's gonna be another air "Battle Roya!" to "decrease the surplus gadfly population!"

First Hampton Inn cup!

Copyright2023/Ben Bensen III

 

 

"I like EX-CA-VA-TORS," he said..

Tonka Toys... Sorta!

 

Good "late morning TBT" Day, y'all.

Well, there's a new kid in town. One of them, named,"Ben" is four years old and his little brother, who's name I've forgotten, is three.

 

Just about every morning for the last month or so, they drop by with their mother, a wedding photographer, named Whitney, to entertain and terrorize the coffeehouse. Two days ago, the boys were wearing their plastic, red, firehouse helmet as they colored with their brand new set of crayons given to them at the firehouse.

 

I was told about a week ago, by Ben, that he likes construction machines. And, he knows the names of many of those thunderous, ground shaking instruments of destruction and... construction. Backhoe loaders, bulldozers, steam rollers, EXCAVATORS, he knows them all.

 

"He likes to draw them all, Mr. Ben," Whitney said.

 

"I like EX-CA-VA-TORS," Ben said. So, I made a deal with the little Ben.

 

"Hey, Ben, I said, " I like drawing machines and I'll bring my drawings and share them you if you promise to show me how you draw an EX-CA-VA-TOR!"

 

Well, a small crowd gathered around to see my sketchbook of about a dozen construction scenes... and to see Ben's own artistic interpretation, but it was not to be. He was not into performing for the crowd today. Impressed, Whitney inquired about purchasing prints for the walls of the new house they're building in Franklinton and that's pretty cool.

 

But, later, he and I did analyze the work and name all the of those magnificent, mechanical earth movers."

Fun to be a kid again... with another kid!

 

Second cup!

"Making The Best Use Of My Time"...

Thirst quenching for the Soul...

 Good "expecting two phone calls" Wednesday Morning, y'all.

Not that I'm gonna get either one... Just sayin'...

Had a fun morning on Monday with some of the LAG pals at Giddy Up. It was fun to sketch with a cup of coffee and "chew the fat" with the pals till the sun came out full force and practically blinded everyone at their sketchpads. My effort was rather half hearted, I think. 

Hated to do it, but I left everyone to get to my doctor's appointment early only to spend over an hour "Waitin'". I wasn't sure I could stand another home renovating program on TV in the medical center's lobby.

So, I snuggled up to this incredible thirst quenching machine with my sketchbook. I was sure they'd come and get me before I finished the rendering... Thirty or so minutes well spent, me thinks!

First cobweb clearing cup, y'all.

"MORTICIAN?"

Momentarily stunned...

Good "talk about a throwback" Thursday Morning, all bodies.

A couple of days ago, Tee and I went to the small town of Franklinton, LA where we now employ the services of a CPA. Occasionally, we stop at a Mexican restaurant called "Don Juan."

The woman who took us to our seat and offered us something to drink looked vaguely familiar. When I asked her, as I normally do, what her name was, she told us it was Lynn.

That should have been our first clue.

I inquired about the new bar renovation they were adding to the restaurant, to which she said, "I don't know what their plans are. It got pretty crowded having the bar behind the cash register."

"I really don't know". Today's my last day here at Don Juan's."

"Oh wow, I said. Where you moving to?

Albuquerque was all she said like she was tired of being teased about it.

"No kidding, Albuquerque, huh... that's wild," I replied.

"There was a waitress here about a year ago who told me that originally, she was from Albuquerque, but moved from Houston, where she met her husband to be. They eventually married and moved to Franklinton to care for his mom," I said.

While placing my fajitas order, I rambled on about this woman with plans to return to her home town. I remember her saying that in the next six months, they hoped to complete construction on some property belonging her husband's family, sell it and move back to Albuquerque.

”I noticed her pause mid order with pen and pad in hand and a stunned, distant stare.

"And you know what," I asked, "This woman was returning home to continue the business she left behind."

"You'll never guess what she does for a living," I said.

"A mortician?" she supposed.

"Yes!"

"Wait... WHAT? How did you know! Is that you?"

"You mean, you're the person I'm talking about? You mean that you've never left after all this time?

"So, you're the mortician I wrote about in Facebook last year."

https://sketchiethoughts.blogspot.com/.../albuquerque-and...

"Yeh, she said. You wrote about me in your Facebook?"

"Yeh, I replied, this is incredible!" I wrote about you for one of my Facebook posts." I felt our conversation about a year ago to be quite fascinating!"

"I remember that your hair was a lot longer and you ending our conversation by saying, "And, it's cool 'cuz I can take my “Don Juan’s” uniform (which was all black at that time!) home with me when I leave!”

Finishing our lunch, I wished her all the best and as we headed for the door, she said, "This time, for sure!"

First cup..

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III

All rea