Slumberland ?

Today we are going to Muse about dreams. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

While I Slept

I was dreaming. It was a long frustrating dream about my car. I thought it was a Mercedes sedan but it looked more like the 1950 Ford that was my first car. As you may know, I am a story teller and, in the dream, I struggled to get attention so I could tell about the car. This went on for what seemed like a long time . . . and then I woke up. Instantly the dream faded and receded . . . lost.

You have had a similar experience I am sure.

A dream so vivid and present slips away when we try to bring it back. That happens to me with nearly every dream.

Troubled Times

I can recall a few exceptions, two when I was five years old.

At the time, we lived in Flagstaff, Arizona. One of the roads that connects Sedona to Flagstaff is in Oak Creek Canyon and is very winding with narrow shoulders and dramatic drop offs. The family would take weekend drives through the canyon.

I dreamt that our car went over the edge and tumbled down the side of the mountain. I had this dream several times, always waking before we hit bottom.

The second dream I remember from this time was more frightening . I must have seen a movie which had long-horn steers in it. And, at this time, my mother, who worked, left me with a family during the day. Their house had a closet that joined two bedrooms. You could walk through the closet into either room. This was something I had never seen and it must have impressed me.

In the dream, there was a menacing “something” in the hall. I got out of bed and locked the door and hopped back in bed pleased with myself. I was safe. Just then, bursting into the room through the closet door, was an angry black steer with red eyes.

My screams brought my brother, mother and father flying into my room.

When I was 5 my parents were having marital problems which ended in divorce shortly thereafter.

Reason Unknown

The other dream I remember was equally vivid but I don’t know what it was telling me.

When I was 20, I spent the summer working for the Forestry Service as a fire fighter in the Prescott National Forest adjacent to Prescott, Arizona.

It was a great experience for a kid. Working outdoors with a bunch of guys maintaining the park sites. We had only one small fire fortunately. I had access to a car. Hormones were raging. It was a great time.

From out of ether I dreamt that I wrote a book of the Bible. If you know me, you know I am not much of a biblical scholar. Where did that come from? It was very real to me. The next morning I was looking around my bedroom for the manuscript until . . . I realized it was a dream.

But the vast majority of my dreams are not remembered. From what I read, that is the norm. Science says that people dream on the average two hours a night with a number of short dreams. Unless they awake in the midst of the dream, the dream is most often not recalled.

Artificial Intelligence

Last Musing I mentioned artificial intelligence. Here is another example. It was sent to me by my friend Maggie K. It is fun. Hope you enjoy it.

History of 100+ Years of Fashion

More to come

MOST RECENT WORK

Red Head

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I have a great Web-site: www.ttribby.com

Friends

Chaos

www.ttribby.com is now offering Fine Art Reproductions, Fine Art Originals, puzzels, phone covers, coffee cups, pillows, totebags, hoodies, men’s tee shirts, women’s tee shirts and more with reproductions of my artwork.  They make for some very personalized gifts.

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available
Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:

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Where Did The Time Go?

Today we are going to Muse about busyness. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Busy Busy

It is that time of year where a lot is going on. I sat down just now to my Musing and I realized it has been a month since my last pontificating. Did you miss me?

Probably not. If you get my Musing, you likely have been receiving my on-line business promotions. I just started the marketing effort seriously in November. It is fun, challenging and time consuming. 

While this has been unfolding, the social world has been in high gear. It is “season” in Palm Beach and a lot is crammed into three or four months. I am chair of our club Croquet Committee and in the past two months we have hosted two invitational tournaments that drew entrants from around the country and we have participated in 5 inter-club matches. These are on top of the normal acitivities.

The Courts are Active

Croquet at The Beach Club

BIG DEVELOPMENT

We have also added a member to our household: Miley

We have been considering getting a second dog for some time, to give Teddy a companion while we are away during the day. Miley was advertised on Neighbor Next Door by a woman seeking a good family to put her dog with. Several people responded, ourselves being one. We made the grade and now we have this three pound ball of energy. Our guess is she will grow to about 10 pounds in time.

She is feisty! And Skittish! Poor Teddy. He is like a 60 year old taking care of a 3 year old. At the moment he is not her biggest fan . . . but they do alright.

We are at the house breaking stage. It has been a long time since I have had to deal with that. She has not yet made the connection that the outside is OK and the inside is not.

On a different note:

Artificial Intelligence

What next?

More to come

MOST RECENT WORK

Lady Fauve

If you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

***********************************************************************************

I have a great Web-site: www.ttribby.com

Friends

Chaos

www.ttribby.com is now offering Fine Art Reproductions, Fine Art Originals, puzzels, phone covers, coffee cups, pillows, totebags, hoodies, men’s tee shirts, women’s tee shirts and more with reproductions of my artwork.  They make for some very personalized gifts.

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available
Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:

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The Magic of Technology

Today we are going to Muse about Adventures with Technology. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

What has Innovation Brought us?

I remember a time when I didn’t need a password. Who had a password? Maybe the guys who man the nuclear war missiles . . . but who else? I remember seeing a guy wearing a beeper while he watched a movie so he could be “on call”. I thought at the time “Never! I am never going to be on call, tethered to some device.”

These and other predictions have proven to be wrong. Hmmmm!

I’ll tell you about our latest adventure.

A month ago Jeanette and I traded in our old phones for new I-Phone 15s. We really like them. They do so much now its hard to think of being without them. They make life easier, less stressful . . . until they don’t.

chaos

The other morning we were having coffee when Jeanette said ” I can’t get into my phone. It is asking for my password but it doesn’t work”. 

I looked at my phone and it was asking for a six number password. My password is four numbers. I couldn’t get into the phone.

Jeaneatte couldn’t get into her phone. 

Both affected at the same time. ”It has to be a system issue “, I said. I went to my computer from which I can make calls and called AppleCare. They are pretty good.

After I went through the recorded menu, the automated system asked me if I wanted to speak with a technician. I said I did and the system said I would be connected shortly. Time dragged on.

In the other room I heard Jeanette exclaim ”I don’t know how but I just got connected with AppleCare”. So I went in to her with the thought we both could talk with the representative. As I approached them, the phone connection started to break up and we could not understand the fellow. The broadcast was coming into my hearing aids.

In normal times, my phone is set to play through the hearing aids, but this was interfering. I took the aids out and put them back in my office.

The representative, Erick was his name, tried several things, none of which worked. He finally put us on hold to confer with another technician.

When he came back on line he told us he did not know what the problem was. There was no system issue. He asked if our phones were “backed up”. Backed up?!? I had no idea.

“If we can’t activate the phones”, he said “we may have to reset them. You will lose all your data, but if it is backed up it can be reinstalled.”

Now, can you imagine that nightmare? 

I was fit to be tied. My morning was shot. This had consumed a couple of hours and we were still dead in the water. It was going to take even more time to get the blankity blank things fixed. 

My stress was through the roof.

Sort of in passing Erick asked, “You are not using each others phone by any chance?”

Like I said, AppleCare is pretty good.

.

More to come

MOST RECENT WORK

Morning Symphony

If you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

***********************************************************************************

I have a great Web-site: www.ttribby.com

Friends

www.ttribby.com is now offering Fine Art Reproductions, Fine Art Originals, puzzels, phone covers, coffee cups, pillows, totebags, hoodies, men’s tee shirts, women’s tee shirts and more with reproductions of my artwork.  They make for some very personalized gifts.

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available
Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:

Name(required)

Email(required)

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Adios 2023

Today we are going to Muse about THE NEW YEAR. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Time to Celebrate

2023 is drawing to a close. Looking forward to 2024 with optimism and trepidation, I wish it a speedy passage.

This has been a mixed year. Next door, our neighbor gave birth to a handsome baby boy and across town a friend is in hospice. Ying and Yang. It has always been such.

Moving On

Last year, a woman I know, who has a gallery, came to my studio and when she saw the stacks of work she exclaimed. “You don’t need to make more art. You need to sell art!”

That struck a chord. 

Like many artists I have shown in galleries and shows with some degree of success. I have been published, awarded and even had work in a television series, the Good Wife. The activity was essentially passive depending on someone promote my work and hoping that it was seen. Over time most of the galleries I have worked with have closed. Some retired. Others were not successful.

I have promoted my work with my Musings. As a result I have group of followers and supporters such as yourself. But, it is a small group and not large enough to stand on its own.

So, this year I decided to become more focused and I have partnered with a marketing promotion and consulting company Art Store Fronts. You likely have been recieving my e-mail and sales promotions.

My task at the present is to grow my audience. I love you but I need more like you. So, I am learning Instagram and posting reels and stories. It has been fun. Challenging, but fun.

I have used Facebook occasionally but never Instagram. But the pundits say it is the most effective means of building an audience of followers. So I am in a steep learning curve — good for this old mind.

If you want to check out my store the link is www.ttribby.com. The site has a number of bells and whistles so you can play around with options. I even have a feature that, using your I-Phone, allows you to see what something looks like in your own room.

As the year comes to a close I wish you good health, sound mind, financial well being and charity for those less fortunate.

More to come

MOST RECENT WORK

Morning Symphony

If you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

***********************************************************************************

I have a great Web-site: www.ttribby.com

Friends

www.ttribby.com is now offering Fine Art Reproductions, Fine Art Originals, puzzels, phone covers, coffee cups, pillows, totebags, hoodies, men’s tee shirts, women’s tee shirts and more with reproductions of my artwork.  They make for some very personalized gifts.

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available
Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Telephone(required)

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Your Move

Today we are going to Muse about designs that should be left alone. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Check Mate

About the age of 10, I was introduced to the game of Chess. I don’t remember why or by whom. I do remember when my folks asked me what I wanted for Christmas, a book on chess was among my wishes. My grandmother came through with a book of chessmasters’ games, presenting them move by move.

At an age when I did not read anything without pictures in it, I spent hours glued to the book going through the games move by move.

At about that time, maybe a year later, my father took me, my step sister Joan and his second wife, Skip, down to Guaymus, Mexico for a week. We drove. It was magical.

This was before automobiles were air conditioned and My father lived in Arizona.. Because of the heat, we left on our drive at 4 AM. All the way down to Guaymus on the Sea of Cortez it was desolate and arid. But, for a kid this was an adventure. The drive took the better part of a day as I remember.

When we reached our destination there was a sprawling hotel with a large pool and the beach nearby. I loved it.

One afternoon we went into town, if you can call it that. I remember one dusty street with a saloon that had a block long bar, the biggest bar I have seen. We were the only people in it except for the bartender.

There was also a store selling tourist items, carved onyx ashtrays, brightly colored Maracas, Mexican puppets, etc and . . . a chess set!

Oh boy, I wanted that. I kept badgering my father. He was not thrilled. In today’s dollars the set would be about $95. I suspect he thought it was just a plaything that would soon be discarded.

I still have it.

One summer, during my college years, I decided to design my own pieces and make a set. My dad had a pretty substantial workshop “out back”. He also gave me some woodworking tips.

So first I made the board. That was the easiest task.

The pieces were a different challenge. I wanted them to be variations of a design theme. To be a work of art . . . I mean, after all, I was a Fine Arts major at the university!

I decided rectangles and straight lines. Each piece would be designed using rectangles as a building block. The Bishops would have a cross as the theme; the castle would have a parapet; the Knight would have a plane extending forward suggesting horse’s face and so on.

Here you see them.

This is game set on the board, ready to play.

Compare the two.

My set is interesting as an intellectual exercise and successful as a wood working project but not as a successful design. It is difficult to play. The pieces are too similar and they occupy too much of the square on which they sit,

With my childhood set, the pieces are easy to identify and they do not fill as much of the space , which allows the player to more easily recognize available moves.

So, I am pleased with my wood work and with the intellect driving the design, but the life lesson learned is somethings have endured the ages for a reason and should not be tinkered with.

New Art Work

Most recent work:

Morning Symphony

If you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

***********************************************************************************

I have a great Web-site: www.ttribby.com

Friends

www.ttribby.com is now offering Fine Art Reproductions, Fine Art Originals, puzzels, phone covers, coffee cups, pillows, totebags, hoodies, men’s tee shirts, women’s tee shirts and more with reproductions of my artwork.  They make for some very personalized gifts.

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available
Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:

Name(required)

Email(required)

Telephone(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

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