"Make new friends, but keep the old..."

I said goodbye to my dear friend Sally Vaughan on August 9 as she prepared to return to her home country of England. After living in Amarillo during the 2005-06 school year teaching Kindergarten, she returned home for 10 months. In late May of this year, she traveled back to Amarillo for an extended visit. She inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and pursue my dream of writing. In June, we attended a writing conference and were introduced to Britta Coleman through our dear friend Jodi Thomas. Sally and I were smitten with Britta-her talent, intelligence, and passion.

The time came for Sally to book a return flight home and chose to leave from DFW. This enabled us to visit Britta and her precious family in Ft Worth. What a time we had! First of all, she has a husband who is an ex educator-right up my alley. I am sure we bored Sally and Britta to death talking shop. Then, as an added bonus she has two BRILLIANT children. I don't mean strange and awkward children. I mean smart, witty, worldly children. I could not have asked for a more perfect visit to the DFW area by more perfect hosts.

We ventured out to The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to see an amazing exhibit by an Australian hyper realist sculptor, Ron Mueck. I think my favorite piece is Two Women Grim (2005). The piece's dimensions are (approx) 33" x 18" x 15". I believe the reason I like this piece so much is because I can relate. In fact, the following evening after seeing this exhibit just the girls ventured out to Pete's Dueling Pianist Bar in downtown Fort Worth. I felt as though we were the alumni chaperon's at a frat/sorority social. I found myself talking to Sally, Britta, and Karla just as the Two Women Grim. The college crowd probably looked at us in the same way! HILARIOUS! Visit The Modern's website to see some of the other pieces in the exhibit. If you get a chance to see the exhibition in person, do it. You won't be disappointed! http://www.themodern.org/onview.html

After The Modern, and a great BBQ lunch, we went to The Kimbell conveniently across the street. Another exhibit I recommend visiting, if you get the chance, is The Mirror and the Mask: Portraiture in the Age of Picasso. The amount of Picasso paintings and sculptures in one room is almost overwhelming. The paintings follow the changes in his style in relation to trends in portraiture throughout Europe. The exhibition focuses on European paintings and sculptures of the period roughly from 1890 to 1980. The stories behind the paintings could possibly be more interesting than the actual pieces of art. The most thrilling part for me was seeing my favorite Van Gogh painting: Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin.

Visiting Fort Worth with my dear friend Sally was the perfect way to wrap up my summer vacation. It was hard to say goodbye to my old friend Sally and to my new friends the Coleman's (and not just b/c they are Methodist)! I look forward to another great visit again.