Photos

Tuesday May 13 2008

These photos are from yesterday when we went to Pinedale and the Acquatic Center and then up to Fremont Lake. I showed the landscape photos of the Fremont Lake drive yesterday. I'm getting behind with photos and daily events it seems.

Today we were a little more laid back and hung out at home until after lunch. Then we drove down to Buckskin Crossing and up the Road to Big Sandy for a ways to look at the peaks. The high country is sure still snowy. Not many drifts there through the sagebrush, but still some on all the ridges. Maybe I'll download those pictures and just do an extra photo essay entry if any turn out nice.

Nancy is cooking again, game hens, yam casserole, long grain and wild rice with artichokes tonight. She made them breakfast again this morning. They are insisting that I just stay in bed in the mornings, so I said "o.k.". Joe is happy to have breakfast made for him. He has also looked forward to the gals coming. They pay a lot of attention to him, so he sits and has coffee with them and visits too.

Monday May 12 2008

Halfmoon Lake beginning to thaw

Small Creek at Half Moon Lake

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Fremont Lake Panorama From Upper Overlook

Looking West to Wyoming Range

Still Frozen - The barrel I told you about still

hasn't come to shore.

It's pretty late. Just to catch you up on what's been happening the last few days. Betty and Nancy got here fine yesterday about 2 p.m. I fixed the worst meal I've made in years, a casserole which has always been foolproof. We had a great time visiting.

First thing this morning the dentist's office called and said I could come in to get my broken tooth fixed at 11:20. When I got sick one thing that occurred to me was that I wouldn't have to go to the dentist again, but then isn't there always something that has to prove you wrong.

So we hopped to it getting ready and went to town. We were early enough that we drove around town showing Nancy and Betty different things, including the new acquatic center. Were able to have lunch at Rendezvous Pointe in between the exam and the filling. Introduced the friends to other friends. Had to go back after the initial 11:20 exam, and at 12:30 the tooth was fixed in no time. No numbing shot was needed. Between the intital discussion of the prices of different options, with a quote for a filling instead of a cap, and the payment desk the price went up $100. We took a sightseeing drive to Fremont Lake and up toward Elkheart Park in the Wind Rivers. The lakes are still frozen. We went to Halfmoon Lake Lodge, White Pine Ski Area, and the Fremont Lake Overlook. That was just about as far as the road had cleared off from the snow pack so we didn't go any higher. Then back down to Lakeside Lodge and to Faler's/Ridley's for groceries and got Joe some 30 weight Pennzoil at Napa.

Back home by 5 p.m. and Nancy made us a delicious meatball vegetable soup for dinner with garlic cheese toast. Betty noticed that there were animals up on the hill, and there were perhaps 30 elk grazing there that we were able to watch while we ate dinner. That was wonderful. Tonight we went through the old high school yearbooks, wondering what had happened to all the old schoolmates.

Today was mostly overcast with some sunny spots and windy - a cold miserable wind. Tomorrow I'll put on a few pictures of the gals.

Sunday May 11 2008

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Beverly and Debbie both sent me the nicest cards and gifts for mothers day that any Mom ever got got before. Wish you could see them. As usual I'm sorry not to be together with my family. Hope all the Mother's have a special day.

On Saturday I taked to Sheral and Dick for a while. Then Beverly called later too. They are having a big family get together which sounds like a lot of fun - taco pot luck for all the moms with special tributes from all their kids. Betty and Nancy should be here about mid afternoon or so. I'll keep you posted about our get together.

Saturday May 10 2008

Ranch Friday May 9

Ascending Mists - String Lake Study

11x15 Gouache

by Lynn Thomas

Today's photo is of a painting that has a long history. I started it as a plein aire pencil sketch while I sat on the lake shore. It was kind of difficult for some reason and sat in a drawer unfinished for ten or fifteen years before I finally worked to make a painting of it - mainly because it was on watercolor paper and I've never considered myself much of a water colorist. It's totally different looking than it was there the day I sketched it - lots of artist's license. It sold quickly after it was done.

The darn pump they took off Wednesday keeps beeping - sitting on the counter. I think I'll have to figure out how to get the battery out, but don't want to mess with the thing.

Yesterday it snowed all day long, but was warm enough that it melted in between the squalls. It was a gloomy day. It snowed more in the night. So we got some good moisture out of the storm.

Charm is seeing trumpeter swans on Boulder Lake. Perhaps they will nest there and raise some babies. There have been up to ten or so jack rabbits "playing" in and around the yard at the same time lately. They are so cute and fascinating to watch. Most of the time they are just eating, but they have all kinds of antics. They make me laugh just to watch them. We have more antelope coming back into our fields too, so have been able to see them nearby. Yesterday a couple of bucks were just outside the gate in the snow. The meadow larks are sure singing loud enough to hear them inside the house. They must like the rain. Saw some of the cats playing too.

Betty and Nancy will be on their way here, starting this morning and getting to Nephi UT and come the rest of the way tomorrow. Betty has rented a van and will pick Nancy up in Caliente where her sister lives. They are friends I've known since high school. Nancy and Bud live in Oregon, Betty in Mesquite. I'm eager to see them. Today and tomorrow I'll be spiffing things up to the degree I feel like doing it. As always, a good thing to have company once in a while to get things cleaned up. Most of the clutter has been downsized in the studio so far.

Today I'm recording all three of the Indiana Jones movies, not sure how much I'll watch now so can look at them later. Have a manicure and pedicure nearly finished, working in stages on that too. That always feels great. My pointy canine tooth on the right side just broke off in half yesterday, the bad side out - inside smooth, so at least not rough against my tongue. No dentist there on Friday or the weekend.

Friday May 10 2008

(Thanks to Sally.... Here is the text and photos of the article written by Helena Linn that was in the paper last week. Sally was able to copy and email it to me because she gets the paper online. Nothing happening here today to write about except we're having rain and snow. So its a good day to have something else to put in the blog. Thank you very much Sally.)

May 1, 2008 Pinedale Roundup Page 11A


Artist Lynn Thomas looks at the world
with a keen eye for detail, color, shadow and
dimension and she has a real appreciation for
the gifts of nature.

Becoming an artist started when Lynn was
old enough to hold a pencil and would ask
her mother to show her how to draw. She
was encouraged by her parents to draw and
paint. Her father bought two brushes, canvas
paper and several colors for her and she still
has some of her first drawings and paintings.
She would draw on butcher paper, paper
sacks and whatever was available. She
painted on the back of old oilcloth tablecloths.
She took art classes in high school
and then attended workshops and studied oil
painting on her own.

Lynn’s family lived in Watts, Calif., when
she was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 20,
1939. Her father, Eugene Leonard Pfeiffer,
was a CPA for a trucking company. He married
Genevie Juanita Hupp who had a daughter,
Barbara Hays, from a previous marriage.
Lynn was Eugene and Genevie Pfeiffer’s
first born. Later, her sisters Diana and Gloria
joined the family. Barbara passed away a
few years ago. Diana lives in Henderson,
Nev., and Gloria lives in Green Valley, Ariz.,
near Tucson.

Lynn started school in Los Angeles, but
by her fourth grade, they had moved to Paradise
Valley, Nev., where her father was put
in charge of the trucking terminal for the
company. It was a sparsely settled area with
a small two-room school. After Lynn spent
one year at St. Joseph Catholic School, she
and her sister attended the small rustic
school and soon a new school was built in
Paradise Valley. Lynn attended the six-room
school there. The fifth and sixth grades were
in one room and the seventh and eighth
grades were in another. It was there in seventh
grade that her teacher who had majored
in art gave her some oil painting lessons.
Mr. Pfeiffer left the trucking company,
bought a house in Henderson and began his
own accounting firm. Lynn graduated from
Basic High School there and married Mike
Hahn soon afterward. The couple had daughters
Beverly and Debbie. Their baby,
Michelle, passed away as an infant.
After seven years, the couple divorced.
Lynn worked at Sears, at first in the toy department,
but soon was moved into doing the
advertising and decorations. She enjoyed
dressing the manikins, creating newspaper
ads and arranging the display windows. She
made all the signs for the store on a vintage
printing press. Later, she went to work at Titanian
Metals as a secretary.

Life was not easy, trying to support her
two girls and herself, but she worked hard
and continued to upgrade their living conditions,
going from small apartments to a
house in Desert Hills, between Las Vegas
and Henderson. Then they lived in Boulder
City for several years. Lynn stayed at Titanian
about seven years. Their main recreation
was to go camping and exploring.
All this time, Lynn continued to draw and
paint. A friend of hers worked at the Nevada
Test Site for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
of California with Joe Thomas, a mechanical
engineer whose family owned the
Big Sandy Lodge in Wyoming. Their mutual
friend introduced Joe and Lynn. Joe wanted
Lynn to paint two large paintings of the
Wind Rivers for the lodge.

Joe and Lynn dated and she visited the
Lodge in 1968. Joe asked Lynn to run the
Lodge the next summer. He worked in Nevada
but would come to Wyoming periodically.
In 1969 she came to Big Sandy Lodge
with her two girls, a dog and a rabbit. Beverly
and Debbie helped with cooking,
cleaned cabins, helped with the horses and
did whatever needed to be done. Joe and
Lynn were married on Dec. 2, 1969, and
from then on she spent summers at the
Lodge and winters working at various jobs
in Nevada. She worked as secretary for a
psychiatrist for a time and later worked at a
ski shop. She showed her artwork in shows
and galleries and in 1976, she was accepted
into the Women Artists of the American West
organization. She served in various offices
and was part of the close-knit group of 35
members.

Lynn at Big Sandy

At first Clem was the cook at Big Sandy
Lodge and she taught Lynn a lot about cooking
on the big wood stove that had come
from a CCC camp. Clem had to leave the
second year because of her health. Lynn had
a cook for half of that year, but then she became
the cook for the eight or so people who
lived and worked there and the 30 or more
guests they had all the time. They took out
pack trips in the summer and hunters in the
fall. Lynn did this for almost 25 years. Living
in the mountains and meeting people
from all over gave Lynn a lot of good times,
even with all the adventures and escapades.
She loves horses and enjoyed working with
them on their pack trips. Horses are one of
her favorite subjects in her art.

Joe retired from the test site in 1983 and
by that time they had bought the place where
they live now from Joe’s dad. They sold the
Lodge about that time. Joe built a studio onto
their house for Lynn and she has continued
her artwork during the years. She has taken
her artwork to shows and has received many
awards. Now she mostly shows her work in
their barn – each summer she hangs pictures
for her very popular Art in the Barn season.
Lynn belongs to Mixed Media, a local art
group; Sublette County Artists’ Guild;
Women Artists of the West, the Wyoming
Artists Association and served as president
of that organization; she was chosen Grand
Wyoming Artist in 2000. She also belongs to
Equine Artists Association (artists using
horses as subjects) and The Pastel Society of
the Northern Rockies. Through the years she
built her art career and has been in prestigious
shows and galleries all over the country.
Lynn has many interests. She and Joe love
their two dogs, Sparky and Raven. They
have always had horses, but don’t have any
at present. Lynn knows birds and flowers
like few people do. She identifies birds,
pressed flowers and identified them until she
knows them well. Photography has been another
passion for this industrious lady. She
has about 70,000 slides that will be put onto
disks soon.

Writing is another special interest. Her
written prose and poetry have been published
in Sublette County Artists’ Guild
books. Lynn began to write as a young girl
and she still writes. Lynn moved right into
the world of computers and through a blog
that she established a little over a year ago,
she shares her stories and photos of her
everyday life.

Throughout our interview, it was obvious
that with all the special interests Lynn
Thomas has, her family means the most to
her. She and Joe enjoy their comfortable
home in the country and have many friends.
Beverly has a son, Shane, from a first
marriage and is married now to Brent
Roberts. They have 14-year-old, Clayton.
Shane is married to Andrea.
Justin is Debbie’s son from her first marriage.
Debbie and her husband, Curtis Cummings,
have a daughter, Tayler, who will go
to the University of Reno in August.
All of Lynn’s children and grandchildren
live in Las Vegas. Lynn goes to visit her family
whenever she can. She and her daughters
have traveled quite a lot. They enjoyed a trip
to Alaska and travel around the western
states as often as possible.

Lynn is writing her memoirs, the fascinating
account of life as an artist experiencing
many varied occupations and interests.
Last October, Lynn was diagnosed with
cancer and has had 16 chemo treatments in
the past months. She has received extraordinary
support and love from her family and
friends while those people have watched
Lynn’s extraordinary journey through her
treatments. Her courage has been amazing
and inspirational to those who know her.
Lynn Thomas still looks at the world as an
artist; she appreciates the wonders of nature
and she loves her family, friends, and life.

Thursday May 8 2008

Moonlight Magic

12x12 Oil on Canvas

by Lynn Thomas

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Yesterday afternoon shortly before we left to drive in to Pinedale to get the chemo pump taken off at the clinic, it started a regular blizzard. All we had before that was a few misty sprinkles. Thankfully, after we got a ways down the road, all that quit and it got brighter and the temperature went up about 15 degrees by the time we got to town. They had much more moisture through the day than we did, puddles everywhere. Got the pump off and was good to go. We gassed up the SUV, bought a few groceries, and walked the dogs. We went over to Gina and Bob's for dinner and sure enjoyed both the food and the good company. It was great to be with them again, and also to see Garfield. Thank you guys for a nice evening out.

Today Joe has gone in to Pinedale to get his hair cut and probably lunch. I just want to go back to bed, but am not giving in yet. Sylvia called me from New York this morning and we had such a nice visit. They have a place here and come out to Sublette Co. in the summer. It will be good to see them again in August.

Not even sure I should write about this..... Have hardly talked about it to many people yet, although have been aware for some time that my illness is eventually going to affect our dogs. So when Joe brought up his thoughts about this the other day and asked me if we should or could find Raven a new home when that time comes, we needed to make those decisions. So now she has been offered a home with Betty or Beverly. It is comforting to know she will have a good and loving place, although she has never known anything but the ranch and being free. Since Sparky is almost 13, takes several medicines and is getting quite elderly and arthritic now, it would probably be more kind to have him put to sleep when the time comes than to make him go through such a big change. So ..... the other day I told Judi that Sparky and I are going to heaven together. She thought I meant I wanted him to be cremated with me. I instantly liked the idea although I had never thought of that possibility. It took us a few minutes to get on the same page with our thoughts. When I finally figured out what she was talking about we had another boistrous laugh. I still laugh thinking about getting Sparky and me cremated together so our ashes can be sprinkled together. With my twisted sense of humor, I want to ask the funeral director (as a joke) if that is possible.

At KMart Monday I bought a new drawer organizer for the knife drawer, which has always been SUCH a mess. It's much better now that like things are confined together. A nice knife block is on my list for when I go to a kitchen store.

The article Helena wrote about me came out in last weeks Pinedale Roundup. Sorry that this one isn't on line so you could see it. It's one of the nicest things ever written about me. She was so good to send me extra articles and 5x7 pictures enough to send to the girls, a special note, and the recipe of the wonderful chocolate ice box dessert she brought that day. I'll make it soon. The crust is divine.

Here's a little more information for those, including me, who have continued to be confused about my tumor marker reading being so great, yet the liver carcinoma so bad. The Tumor Marker is a protein, and in some people it will show high. If the tumor marker is high, it's definitely cancer. But in some people it will be normal or low and they still have cancer. So for some people the "tumor marker" doesn't tell anything. And it seems I'm one of those.

"The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through him." Carl Jung