Harry made a really nice painting easel when my mom watched the painter on channel 25 so she could paint as a hobby. She ordered his books and bought some oil paint and enjoyed just copying the pictures from the book. Harry would set it up for her right in the living room! I too began to paint some of the pictures and found it to be fun. Harry made wood frames for many of the pictures mom and I painted and we put them around the house. Here are some of the pictures done by mom:
The books gave clear step by step instructions as to how to do it and what colors to use. Although both mom and I tried following these instructions to a tee, our paintings resembled the pictures in the book, but never exactly, which is okay. We had a lot of fun trying! 
When I had to clear out everything, I found these paint books and the easel in the basement. I kept the books and the palette dad made with the thought that I could probably sell them on eBay or if not, I may want to paint again one day. The easel though was kind of big and Gerard was already worried our house would soon be crammed with junk like dad's was because every time I went over there, I'd bring things back home with me and have to find a place for them--usually the eBay room in the basement. This though, I just couldn't think of where to put it so unfortunately, it got thrown out. Watch the video I made of me using the easel and dad making an appearance at the end in his suspenders that I hated. I thought they made him look like an old man. He was always supportive of everything I did.I regret now that I didn't put it in the garage at least and hang on to it. My advice to those who have the task of cleaning out a house and getting rid of things, when you get to the place where you just want it to end, take a break. That's when I made some bad decisions and ended up tossing out things that now I wish I hadn't. It's hard to know what to keep and what to let go, especially since a lot of it is just stuff that may just have sentimental value. Don't discount that. My advice based solely on my experience is that if in doubt, keep it "for now" and after the grieving process, you can decide then if you will ever use it or if you should throw it out. You can always throw away things later, but once you throw it out, you can't get it back!
(You can order My Funny Dad, Harry by clicking on the "buy book" tab at the top of this blog.)
16 comments:
Nice arts.........
Great blog ....
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I liked that clip. It was sweet. I'll bet you're glad you have it, too.
When my FIL died, we filled three dumpsters. I don't miss any of it, but we did keep a bunch of stuff, too. It's still sitting in the basement, six years later, never touched. But you never know.... :)
Rajesh: Thanks for stopping by.
Mrs4444: Yes, I always enjoy waatching any videos I have of my dad. I did get some of them on a DVD that turned out very nice. I just wish sometimes I could see what I'll need in the future so I would not throw things out that I'll want later. Six years though is a pretty long time not to use something. You might want to try selling some of that stuff on eBay. I sold a lot of my dad's stuff on there and got around $1,000 for it all.
My MIL threw out the farm. Boy was that a shock to us. Esp. since we would have helped her farm and she could have still had the income. She sold it for pennies, because it seemed like a lot of money to her. Today, 6 years later she wants it back. Sigh!
Nice post!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
I think the art is beautiful as is the time and fun you spent doing it together.
It's the hardest thing to do..decide what to keep and what to toss--especially if you have limited storage space.
just stopping by from SITS to say hi; hope you'll do the same.
You're so right that during the grieving process is not the time to be making decisions about what to keep or not. It's too bad you don't have that easel anymore but you do have a wonderful video showing you using it plus with your dad in it. Those are great memories!
Day Photo: That's sad she let the farm go for such a low price. Sometimes we just don't think clearly while we're grieving and things just seem overwhelming.
Karen: These pictures my mom did I let my foster sister have. I have lots that I did and will post about my painting on my Karen & Gerard Zemek blog one day soon.
Eva: Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I agree with you! I'm on my way to visit your blog.
Beaded Tail: I'm glad I at least have the video of me using the easel. It was a real sturdy wood one with a tray for the paint brushes too. Unfortunately, It took up a lot of space.
I agree. It's best to wait a while and make the decisions once you're not in the middle of grief.
I think it's pretty cool that you all shared in the hobby of painting.
Blue Violet: I wish I had more storage room. I was just anxious to stop paying for two phone bills, the utilities, the insurance and making trips over there very day. The painting was fun--my mom and I got a lot of laughs from doing it and my dad was always very supportive!
I loved watching that painter on PBS and always wished I could paint like he did. I agree that decisions on what to keep are better left go for a while. It's wonderful that you have your dad on dvds that you can watch and relive those memories. My mom and dad put all of their old slides from our vacations out west and family photos onto dvds and we all have our own copy - And Grandma is narrating explaining who some of the people in the pictures are that died before we were born - it's priceless and we'll have them forever.
Thanks for coming by my SITS Featured blog today!
Stopping in from SITS!
Have a great day.
Chris: That's so nice you have DVD's of all those slides. I didn't even begin to go through the slides yet that my dad had. I looked at a few but didn't do anything with them yet. I did keep them all though. I love looking at the VHS tapes and the DVD of my parents. It's like I still have them with me when I hear their voices.
Meg & Christina: Thanks for stopping by from SITS.
Nice paintings, when I was a teen I used to paint Bob Ross style landscapes, had a kit and watched his shows while I painted happy trees. Only did 3 paintings.
Sometimes if you just set it aside for a while it is easier to make the decision one way or the other.
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