Ok...well here goes...1st blah blah blah BLOG!!! This one may be a little long so will tell you the story in quick blips...whew...what a marathon of a last 6 weeks. Promise, all will not be this nutzo...and I already know I can't write every detail. But...hope you can hear my humor and enthusiasm in the words.

Highlights/ low lights...call it what you wish and it's not about chemically processing hair...(even though we all do that)...it's about getting a gallery up and running in record time. Only accomplished because of a team of 4 fearless women (Amy, Kirklyn, Linda & Kelly) learning how to use one of those darn ladders that advertise use in 18 ways...well...ok...whatever THAT means...but by golly we put our sweet little blondish/brownish heads together and managed to figure it out...all right...maybe we had a little help from our contractor friend. Had to pay him off in cold beer. That always works. Men and beer. If only it were just that simple. But we have 4 fearless women who have great laughter...thank goodness.

Ripped up carpet that must not have been cleaned...EVER! I coughed for a week afterwards. Yuck! Reward under the carpet was hardwood floors. Not in great shape but wood, none the less and we have painted them with porch paint. That way when we get out of control with OUR paint, we can touch up easily.

Every wall was painted, exterior and interior. Two of us on the 18 ways ladder outside trying to paint under the VERY tall overhang was, well, interesting...not to mention the bitching about muffin tops in jeans and a whole host of other things we women yap about...daily. Monkeys on a ladder? I've been called worse.

In the midst of the many moving parts of getting a new business started, redoing the website, organizing a mailing list that was partly still on cocktail napkins (kirklyn will attest to that) I learned a dear friend had died and off I flew to New Orleans for a funeral (and was there when the Saints won the Super Bowl...WHO DAT!?) Linda's house sold and she had to move out in 3 weeks...lots of chaos...my son wrecked my car on Vail pass (not really his fault) but that meant no vehicle for 6 weeks. Trying to move art in a borrowed Audi Quattro convertible is not easy...but the the chocolate lab liked riding in the front seat. Obstacles? DUH...but keep on going! Boulders in the road don't scare these fearless 4. Oh, and don't forget that somewhere in this mix of time, you have to PAINT!

The day I landed downtown to get all of my licenses happened to be the last day for medical marijuana deals...unbeknownst to me. So, there I sat with a room full of people wanting to sell pot to the public and they ranged from banker/lawyer types to tattoo artists. Seriously, what a sea of humanity...and me, the artist. Great people watching!

Valentine's Sunday, while trying to get the tailgate of the suburban down, I hyperextended my thumb. Ouch! Waited 2 weeks to go to the doctor. Stubborn and had too much to do. The "doctor week" landed me in a cast on my right/painting hand for 3 weeks. Top that with a cortizone shot in my knee had been swollen for weeks from a tweek while running...am I getting old? I hope not! I don't feel it, but the physical blunders made me a little grumpy. Painting in a cast is not the easiest, but I had no choice. Buck up, baby, bitch a little...ok. Well, maybe a lot... and paint! Now in a splint and I have to go to thumb therapy. Who ever heard of that?

I could ramble on and on and to say the days blur into nights blur into days is the dead level truth! Lists a mile long every day and with this fifty year old forgetful brain, a list is absolutely necessary. Scary the details we do remember and the elephants in the room we don't remember. What was your name again? Geez oh man...one has to laugh. If you relate to this, you are laughing and shaking your noggin too.

Many nights of burning the midnight oil to paint after scurrying about town doing start up gallery errands...drum roll please for the work hanging on the wall, signs up, lighting finished, wine purchased, food made, invites mailed, fresh flowers and time for the...GRAND AFFAIR.

Grand opening day...after days upon days of perfect Colorado weather...sunny and mild...we get 10 inches of snow and a blizzard. At 4pm you couldn't see across the street. "White out"... it's called. Go figure. Thank you Mother nature. Amazingly though, we had a packed house. Flattered and humbled by how many people made the effort to brave the snow and come to our grand affair. Kuddos to all!

My kids have been rockstars throughout it all. They survive on quesadillas and PB&J AND have offered their help in many many ways. Craig is one hellava handyman and Chris and Kaki, along with my 5th child, Matt, cleaned the entire gallery...spotless...after the opening...while responsible adults were celebrating next door at the Wash Park Grille. Kuddos to these kids!!! And...Brother John, Brother John...he, too is one hellava handy man and tarbender...but he didn't help clean up after the affair. He was next door with the responsible adults...toasting!

Is she ever going to shut up? Not, but for now I will end. Just so ya know...I was instructed to write as I talk and not to edit at all. The ADD (amy Dixon Dixon) revealed! Now you know why I paint big loose, drippy florals, then tight bar scenes and such. For those who know me, I hope you can hear my voice and my energy and know that I am grateful that you even read to the end. Auvoir! Ciao! Cheers! And as my tall skinny girlfriend says, Chow Mein!