27 June 2009

Estate Sale Finds - #1 Summer 2009


I've been out of town for the last few weeks and I haven't been able to get out to many estate sales this year like I usually do in the early part of summer. This morning I woke up at 6 A.M. and split for an estate sale I read about in the newspaper. It was supposed to open at 8 and I wanted to make sure I got there early....I did...try 6:45. The good thing was that they were already open. So I didn't have to mill around, listen to my ipod, read the paper or anything like that. The guys running the sale were major collectors and had some very unique items. I found some really great things and the prices were very reasonable. I picked up some old railroad paper stuff - schedules, maps, letters, and magazines. I'm going to be using some of these in my new paintings as backgrounds. I also picked up about 50-60 old postcards from New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. One of the coolest things that I got was a bag of hundreds of old black and white photographs...some of these are from the early 1900's.....very, very cool. Finally, I snagged some old beer coasters, old travel guides, and a few Arizona Highway magazines from the 50's. Total cash money spent for the day $35. Not too shabby. This trip today has got me fired up to do some more junkin' in the upcoming weeks. The pic above is the booty from today.

26 June 2009

Cave Hike - Little Squaw Resort

View of the cave from the cabin

The cave, or as we found out...the overhang.

The view of the cabins from the cave rim.....yes, it was way up there!

My cousin Andrew and I took on a challenge while we were in Colorado. There is a cave that is at the top of a very large mesa across from our cabins. It appears to be so close and easy to get to. Wrong! The climb was very steep and there was shale all the way up which made it very tricky for finding good footing. It was absolutely exhausting...and I'm in decent shape or so I thought. It took us about 40 minutes to reach the cave and about 15 minutes to get down, using the slide technique. Above are some pictures from our mini adventure. The view from the top was worth it though.

24 June 2009

Chicago Dinner #2 - Lucky's Sandwich Company

Man vs. Food hype!

$7.00, are you kidding me?

Where is the bottom of this sandwich? Hint, you can't see it.

After the Friday afternoon Cub's game which had an hour and a half rain delay, we walked down Clark St. and slipped into Lucky's before the rain started up again. Lucky's is the home of some of the biggest sandwiches that you have ever seen. They are packed with meat and cheese along with a couple of handfuls of fresh cut french fries and cole slaw. The best thing about them is that they are only $7. They have a challenge that if you can eat 3 of them in an hour you get your picture on the wall of fame along with some other goodies I'm sure. Adam from the Travel Channel show "Man vs. Food" knocked it out with no problem on an episode earlier this season. I opted not to try the challenge but I did knock off one sandwich in about 20 minutes and it was delicious! This was a great after game meal.

23 June 2009

Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine

2009 issue
1960 issueMid June means one thing to Texans.....well maybe two. The beginning of stifling heat and the arrival of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine. This the bible to everything Texas football. It has a write up on every high school, college, and pro team in the state of Texas. I look forward to it every year. I even collect the issues. The first issue came out in 1960. I have this issue proudly displayed in my office. I have 46 of the 49 issues. I'm missing 1961, '62, '63. Here is a run down of the coverboys. I can find them on EBAY or here but I'm not quite ready to drop $300-$500 per issue. I'll keep looking for them at estate sales and see what happens. In the mean time go pick up you copy today and get schooled on your Texas football so you are ready to go in the fall.

22 June 2009

Chicago Dinner #1 - Giordano's Stuffed Pizza


When you go to Chicago, you've got to get ya some deep dish pizza. We settled on Giordano's over a couple of other recommended pizza places. It was an hour and a half wait, but well worth it! After 45 minutes of waiting you place your order. We went with the supreme of course. When you are seated, the pizza is ready. It seemed a little confusing to me, but hey had this system down. The pizza was outstanding. I could only eat two pieces.....what seemed to be about 5lbs. worth. It was even better warmed up in the hotel microwave the next morning for a pre-breakfast snack.
On a side note, check out Veronica Funk's blog. She's gonna give away a great painting to some lucky person...maybe even you.

21 June 2009

Back In The Saddle - Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Holy Cow!

Rain delay
Cub fan and a Bud man!
Fukudome 4 for 5 Saturday!
Historic marquee
Can you say extra innings? Oh yeah!

Well, I just got back in town this afternoon. I have been in Chicago since Thursday morning. I went to watch my beloved Cubbies play and of course bring some Texas mojo to Wrigley Field. I'm excited to say that I was 3-0 at Wrigley Field. Every game was a walk off win. Two of the games went into extra innings......free baseball in my book. It was the last time since 1946 that the Cubs had won 3 walk off games consecutively. It was also one of only 6 times in the last 60 years that any team had won consecutive games after trailing by 4 or more runs going into the eighth inning. Losing 5-1 in the 8th to the Sox, won 6-5. Losing 7-0 to the Indians, won 8-7 in 10. These were some of the most exciting Cubs games back to back ever and I feel lucky to have witnessed them live. Above are a few pics from the ballgames. I'll talk about the food and drinks later on this week.....needless to say I need to run tomorrow. This was probably the best sports trip I've ever taken.

17 June 2009

Snow in June

View of the snow from the cabin

View at the end of the Rio Grande Reservoir

Moose near the cabin.

Last week at this time we were enjoying some huge snow flakes along the Rio Grande in Colorado.....boy what a change in a week. We finally made it back to Dallas this afternoon. It must be like 100 degrees or something...ugh. We are now all unpacked and I'm about to pack again for my next adventure. I'm heading up to Chicago in the morning to take in 3 Cubs games at Wrigley with some friends of mine. Should be a great time! I'll share some stuff next week about the trips.

06 June 2009

Colorado Bound


I'll be in the mountains of Colorado for the next 10 days. So don't expect much from JT in the next week or so. I may share some small blurbs here and there from my mobile phone. Above is a pic of my home for the next week. It sits about 100 yards from the Rio Grande.

05 June 2009

Friday Night Concert - Eleven Hundred Springs

Friday night we met up with some friends and took the kids out to our local summer concert series. It was a blast as usual. It didn't hurt that one of my favorite bands was playing.....Eleven Hundred Springs. There was a huge turnout, there must have been like 1000 people out there. The weather was great, the music was great, and everyone had a fun time. Above is my daughter in the mosh pit.

04 June 2009

"Rolling Out" is Finished!

My new painting, Rolling Out is now complete. Today I put on the rust and banged it up a little. I'm gonna do a few sweeps through and check for any tiny detail corrections, but for the most part, I'm finished. It's acrylic on a 20" x 20"gallery wrapped canvas. I'm very pleased with how it looks. I love to use bright reds in my paintings...they really pop!

03 June 2009

Summer Break Is Here!


I put some more detail work into the "El" painting. I haven't decided on a title for this piece yet, but it will come to me soon I'm sure. I still have some wear and tear work to put on the sign....I need to make it look a little rusty and beat up. Well, tomorrow is my last day of school....so I'll be able to get some more artwork created when I'm in town this summer. Summer vacation is definitely a huge perk of the job! I must say I'm very excited about the "Summer of Jeb" Part 13 that is upon me.

02 June 2009

Texas Music Magazine



One of my favorite magazines that I've been getting for years is Texas Music. It is a comprehensive look at music throughout the state. It has great articles, interviews, reviews, and news from all your favorite Texas musicians. It even comes with a CD in each issue. The CD usually contains some up and coming Texas artists with a couple of old-timers thrown in there as well. The magazine comes out 4 times a year. I look forward to it every quarter.....it makes for a few hours of quality reading! Go grab a copy and see what you think.

Speaking of great Texas music. Ryan Bingham's new album Roadhouse Sun is out today. Listen to it here, and then go download your faves. That's what I plan on doing this afternoon. Or even better, if you are down in the Big Bend region tonight, go check him out with the awesome Flatlanders at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua....or in Lubbock on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sorry Mike, can't make it...have fun and give me the rundown!



01 June 2009

El Sign Painting - Update

I made some progress today on my El painting. I began adding the light bulbs, holes, shadows and so forth. I've still got quite a few detail stuff to work out, but overall I'm pleased with my progress today and the overall look of the painting.....it's getting there. Here's the story behind it if you missed it.

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