Glass Mosaic Table Top

It's been quite a while since this project began.....a year and a half plus some. That's a while, right? After not much success with glass cutters, and over thinking the design, I decided on free form table top. This is the basic idea of what it will be. Looking at this photo, I see that a few colors need to be moved around, but for the most part, this is it....or at least the general idea of it.

Now to find the adhesive and/or grout I bought a while ago to keep all of these tiles in place. And then decide whether or not to use a ruler to get the lines straight or let it stay a bit organic like it is now. Honestly, I could go either way.

Homemade Furniture Polish AKA Salad Dressing

I don't remember where I saw this on the internet and therefore am not in a position to give credit where credit is due, but as you can see from the before/after photos, it works.  The basic recipe for this furniture polish is a simple salad dressing - two parts oil/ one part vinegar. I used canola oil and apple cider vinegar.

Before

After

The very observant observer will notice that these are two different chair legs on account of me forgetting to take a before photo before working on the first leg. However, the effect is the same. Before - both legs looked crappy. After - both legs looked good.

Tilly the wonder dog was extremely interested in "helping" with this project by sneaking licks of the chair legs when I wasn't looking. I mean, who can blame her? It was salad dressing! The only thing that would have made this project more fun for Tilly would have been if I had used butter in place of the oil and vinegar. Has anyone ever tried butter for furniture polish? It might work.....?

As good as the chair legs look now, on the down side, multiple washings and hours later, my hands still smell like vinegar. At least Tilly likes the way I smell. 

Texas Landscape

This is what my part of Texas looks like - somewhere along highway 71 between Houston and Austin.

It doesn't take much looking to find it, either. I'll bet there's somewhere within two miles of my house that looks just like this. Take away all the buildings, houses, and roads in Houston and this is what you'd have left. Yep. That about sums it up. Seeing this makes me fall in love with Texas all over again.

Texas Landscape is 24" x 36" oil on linen.

Hilary's Big Adventure or How Hilary Spent her Summer Vacation

Watching daughter Hilary ride her bike out of sight last Saturday turned me into an emotional puddle. My heart was full and empty at the same time - filled with love and loss. That's when Hilary's first day of an epic adventure 4000+ mile bicycle journey started. Yes, you read that right -- 4000+ miles. She and a group of fellow University of Texas students are riding their bicycles from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska in the name of fighting cancer while sharing hope, knowledge, and charity along the way and giving support to those who battle cancer and support for their loved ones. The Texas 4000 is billed as the longest charity ride in the world. I don't know if that's actually true, but I tell you what -- Texans sure do know how to do it big.

The Amazing Reese, Tilly the wonder dog, and I went to Austin to cheer Hilary on at the beginning of her big adventure. Soon-to-be-son-in-law James joined Hilary for the first 50 miles.

At the start of the ride, 69 teammates paused to remember loved ones affected by cancer and  listen to the national anthem. Hundreds of bikers joined the ride for the first day.

Each rider raised at least a dollar for every mile they ride. Hilary's group is riding the Sierra Route and amazingly will be out of Texas in three more days, in and out of New Mexico in two days, in Arizona for a day total, and in Utah by Sunday!!! Y'all can follow the route here, and if anyone still wishes to contribute, Hilary's fund raising page is here.

Friends and family were invited to join the riders for a day one celebration lunch at Lagato Winery in Lampasas, Texas. We poured Texas wine in little plastic cups, toasted, and shared one last Texas BBQ meal under a big tent in a big Texas field. Well, our last meal for a while anyway....until she reaches Anchorage, Alaska in 70 days.

After our meal, it was time to say our good byes. It sure was hard. May God bless you and the people you (and your teammates) touch on your journey. May God bring you safely home at journey's end.

Here's a little something in her own words.

The Vitex

8" x 8" oil on canvas

This is a vitex that was planted in my gardening phase years ago. Now it's at least twenty feet tall and blooming profusely in the back yard. I'm going to plant another one soon. Reese promised me I could. He promised because his heart was full. His heart was full because I was his passenger on the back of his "new" 1994 Honda v-twin 1100 motorcycle for a trip to the country. He couldn't have been any happier. We were driving past a mimosa tree in bloom on the road somewhere between 290 at the Mueschke exit and White Hall, Texas. White Hall is really just a run down corner store with a very pleasant, nice lady who works the register and a dirty filthy restroom. As we were riding, I saw the mimosa tree blooming in the forest. I leaned forward to yell in Reese's ear that that's what I wanted to plant in the front yard, a mimosa tree, and wasn't it pretty? "You could ask me for anything right now and I'd give it to you," he hollered back.

On the road 

Here we were on the open road, driving past donkeys, horses, llamas, goats, emus, great danes, chickens, farm houses, ranch land and forest, and all I could think to ask for spur of the moment was a tree. He extended the offer a few hours and still all I could think of was trees. So I'm getting a mimosa tree, another vitex, and a gardenia, and a hydrangea, and maybe a pine tree. I love pine trees.

If there's ever a next time, maybe I'll remember to ask for something a little more romantic, like a trip to Paris.

Musical Studio

Back in March, I moved the art studio into the big bedroom upstairs. Now, I've moved it again from the big bedroom to the small one.

The light in the small bedroom upstairs is the best light in the house, besides our bedroom, and now that there's not a bed in it, it should be ready to go. The bed that was in it is now in the cozy bedroom downstairs, which used to be the art studio, and before that the study, and before that the screened in side porch. The trick with all of this rearranging is that if all of your stuff more or less matches, it doesn't matter which room it ends up in because everything goes together....more or less.

Things should settle down for a while, and about time, because I've got work to do. Hurray for commissions!

Splatter Physics and Gravity

The waterlilies in the backyard pond refresh my soul. This is the most that have bloomed at the same time - six! Have I mentioned that yellow is my favorite color? I love the flowers in the backyard, especially when I need a break from what might be going on inside.....

.....like this. After an exhausting day of painting, this is what happened - gravity and therefore, splatter physics.

But this is the result of all that painting and cleaning and hauling furniture - the side porch and former art studio is now a cozy guest bedroom!

Three Self Inflicted Messes

Lately I've been catching up on some chores around the house. Still am. I've made a mess of several things.

1. Over the years, the sun faded the soft butter yellow curtains of our bedroom to almost white. So, I decided to dye them yellow again. The Rit Dye directions said one bottle for every two pounds of fabric. I'm sure the curtains were more than two pounds, right? So use two bottles? Well, maybe that was a bit ambitious because now the curtains are nuclear yellow and our bedroom literally glows. Not even kidding. The Amazing Reese thinks we should get a disco ball installed in the bedroom - it's that bad.

2. In the process of rearranging rooms again, and in the spirit of turning the side porch into a cozy bedroom, I'm finally painting the bead board ceiling in there. Let me put it this way, gravity does funny things to paint. And my neck hurts from looking at the ceiling so much.

3. Moving some of my plants to sweep out a mess, I accidentally broke the "put a bird on it" plant container that my daughter Anna gave me for mother's day last year and made a bigger mess of broken pot, dirt, and plant. At least the broom was handy.

The Webelos

Last night, I gave an artist talk to an adorable group of young men on their way to earning an artist badge as Cub Scout Webelos. Usually, when scout type groups want to earn their artist badges, they come tour the studio here, at the house. It's easy to talk when so may visual aids are at my fingertips. We tour the studio, talk about different paintings, see the mural, the mosaics, and on and on. This was my first time to actually go to a scout club house, so naturally, I brought props along for visual impact and stimulation.

Of my own work, I brought a still life, a landscape, and a portrait for show and tell. Here I am talking about painting portraits. I figured they would be interested in a portrait of a boy about their same age.

They were eager to participate. Here we are discussing  primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.

Aren't they cute? Here they are sweetly paying attention.

Afterwards, several parents mentioned how attentive and well behaved the boys were during my talk. Apparently, that doesn't happen very often. (?) Come to think of it, they did seem mesmerized. They were really sweet.

As well as the evening went, my favorite part of the whole night was at the very end. One of the little boys came up to personally thank me and in his innocent enthusiasm, gave me a heartfelt big hug. That was pretty great.

Before and After - The Quest Continues....

Yep. The Amazing Reese and I are still on a quest to find the best fried chicken in town. Here are some things we've found on our search.

Wabash Feed Store - this is what chickens look like before they are fried. Don't they look tasty?  They are available for purchase to cook and eat in all their yummy fried goodness....or raise them as pets.

Max's Wine Dive - - fried chicken served with champagne, mustard greens, other stuff I don't remember, and spicy honey dipping sauce - really good spicy honey dipping sauce.

Saint Arnold Brewing Company's new lunch service - fried chicken served with Elissa IPA (or beer of your choice on tap), mashed sweet potatoes, succotash, and an iceberg wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing and delicious bacon crumbs. Two thumbs up!

Haven - fried chicken-to-go paired with a zinfandel eaten in the comfort of home. Let's not talk about the side dishes. Apparently I'm picky about sides. I didn't know this about myself.

Richey's Country Cookin' in Pasadena - chicken fried chicken served with sweet tea, fried okra, black eyed peas, and cornbread muffins. It was confusing ordering chicken fried chicken. I honestly thought the waitress was loopy, but sure enough, it was flat, de-boned chicken breasts that were fried. It was weird.....just like it's weird that my eyes are closed in this picture. It was a very sunny day.

We've got a few more restaurants to try. It's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it.

Grandmother Oak

The last few weeks have been all wobbly. I hired a high school neighbor to help move the art studio upstairs which involved moving a lot of other stuff downstairs. And what I thought was right, wasn't, and so I've spent several days reconfiguring furniture placement to get the best light scenario for painting in this new upstairs studio space. Hopefully, everything is in its right place and creating can begin in earnest.

This painting is called Grandmother Oak. It's a tree in the back yard of one of my favorite childhood friends. She lives in Louisiana now, but for a very few sweet years, we were neighbors in the small town of Centreville, Mississippi together. We were the kind of friends where our mothers took pictures of us naked in the bathtub together.....the kind of friends where we had matching Batman t-shirts....the kind of friends where everything we did together was magical. We told secrets under the magnolia tree in the front yard. We laughed. We made promises to each other that we couldn't possibly keep. We didn't know it at the time, we were children, but we were kindred spirits. Still are. Thank you, Margaret. Maybe we're not the same silly girls we once were, giggling under the dining room table while our mothers had coffee.....but, maybe we are.

Grandmother Oak is 24" x 30" oil on linen.

Nonsense Limerick....but aren't all limericks nonsense?

I sit here and my mind goes blank
..........................yep, still blank
for what does one say
on a day like today
"Oh, look! There goes a dog who's named Hank!"

I realize that this is ridiculous
for who will read something so frivolous
remember it's spring
that must be the thing
something something something meticulous

I'm waiting for thoughts with a clue
but so far it's gobble-de-goo
what happens a lot
when my mind has not thought
is I hope for a thought residue

A thought residue gives one hope
just like Frances will be a good pope
but really it's clear
that I just want to hear
a rhyme with the word cantaloupe

I promise that this is the end
such nonsense does sometimes offend
that's not my objective
to be ineffective
I'd rather be everyones friend

Blind Drawing

My friend, Michelle has started an online creative group called Off the Shelf - a somewhat fortnightly (every two weeks) e-mail to prompt creative action. (You can join, too!) The first assignment was "blind drawing". Blind drawing is when one looks at the something to be drawn without looking at your hand or paper as you draw the object. Since there was leftover paint and dirty brushes from the Sweetheart Roses painting, and the still life was still set up, that's what I drew. Below was the five-ish minute result of only looking at the object and not looking at my right hand while drawing.

And below is what happens when I want to use up all the paint on my palette. I figured it couldn't hurt to "finish" the drawing (while looking this time).

Back in 2008, I challenged myself to paint for 21 days straight, hoping to develop a positive habit of painting on a regular basis. All sorts of things happened during those 21 days but no habits were formed, good or bad. I did paint a lot (duh) and toward the end of it, one of the paintings was given away to a happy reader of this blog by yours truly. I'd like to do that again - not the non habit forming 21 days of painting, but the giving away part. Whoever wants this painting can have it. Free. Leave a comment here, message, tweet @THEsarahhazel, e-mail (sarah at sarah hazel dot com), or tell me to my face to let me know that you want me to add your name to the hat (or something). In one week, all the names of the people who want it will go into a hat (or something) and I'll blindly draw the winning name.

This is another version of the sweetheart roses that was painted the other day and is 11"x 14" oil on cardboard. Remember, it's free!

Sweetheart Roses

All of our daughters have moved out of the house, for now at least. And lately I've been feeling cramped and slightly irritable in the art studio. So I'm searching the house for a new space, but instead of moving furniture around immediately, I will be setting up temporary space in several rooms in the house to get a feel for the natural light before moving furniture all over the place. This sweetheart rose painting is from trying out a north facing upstairs bedroom. So far, I like the room better than I thought I would. It's a large room with haint blue walls, very soothing. It looks out to the front yard and sidewalk, and in the afternoon I can watch the foot traffic going to and from the elementary school at the end of the block. It's nice to not feel so isolated. Painting is such a solitary pursuit that oft times I get lonesome. At least if the studio is in this room, I can feel more connected to the outside world, just from watching living and breathing human beings walk past. Another huge plus, this room has windows that open and have screens -- very helpful in airing out all of these oil paint and turpentine fumes.

The painting is 14" x 18" oil on linen.

Hydrangeas Times Two

The painting on the left is from last week, is painted with my usual paints, and is 9"x 12" oil on canvas. (I mainly use Old Holland, Williamsburg, and Holbein brands.) The painting on the right is from today and is 8" x 10" oil on linen with some sample paints that a sales rep gave me last Friday at an Art Expo at Art Supply on Main Street. The paint samples are a brand that Vikki (the store owner) at Art Supply has been encouraging me to buy, but art supplies are expensive, and it's hard to justify buying a new brand of something when I'm not sure that I'll like it or what the outcome will be on canvas. So it was wonderful to have the opportunity to try these Michael Harding's artist oil colors in the starter set and try one M. Graham & Co. azo yellow. The Michael Harding's starter set comes with ultramarine blue, scarlet lake, yellow lake, yellow ochre deep, burnt umber, and titanium white-2. I really like the way the paint glides on the canvas - it felt like the painting was painting itself. From day one of painting, from ease of use alone, I'd say the painting was a huge success.

Now, my usual palette wasn't necessarily represented in the color choices of the paints in the starter set, so as far as I can tell, that's the major discrepancy in the colors of the two paintings. It will be fun in the not too distant future to try the same colors side by side in two different paint brands. I'm really looking forward to that experiment. Who knows? Maybe, thanks to the kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity of a sales representative, and thanks to Vikki for hosting the Art Expo, I've just discovered my new favorite paints?

Art Stuff

Here's a list of art related stuff I've done lately but haven't blogged about:

1.  Going to the Prado Exhibit at the MFAH - twice. And I cried both times. The first painting in the exhibit was Vulcan Forging the Thunderbolt of Jupiter by Peter Paul Reubens. Peter Paul Reubens!!! It was my very first time to see a Reubens in person and I burst into tears -- both times I saw the painting. It was also my first time to see Velesquez, El Greco, Goya, and Sorolla paintings. To say that I was moved is an understatement. I'd love to go one or two more times while the exhibit is in town if anyone wants to go with me. It's on view through March 31st.

2.  After the Prado exhibit I bought a book called Sorolla: The Masterworks by his great-granddaughter, Blanca Pons-Sorolla that I've been reading....and to be honest, looking at the pictures. That's probably the best part about art books as a grown-up -- looking at pictures. Another great thing about this book is that it's written in English. The other book on Sorolla that I have is in Spanish, and even though I understand some of it, the book in English is so much easier to read.

3.  Going to see the movie "Bert" at the Menil, a documentary about the life of artist Bert Long, who recently passed away. The movie talked at length about Bert's continual financial woes. My favorite line in the movie was when Bert said that if he was given $2 million for an art project that it would take him $3 million to complete it. He also talked about his file boxes of rejection letters....that's pretty common in the art world but we artists don't talk about it very often.

4.  Going to a volunteer party at Lawndale where I participated in and won a cake in the cake walk. So fun.

5.  Going to the MFAH for the Picasso Black and White opening night extravaganza. I really appreciate Picasso's early work and later work -- it's all the stuff in between that I find hard to like. What was interesting about this, though, was seeing how he applied paint and used ink and chalk all in the same paintings (on some things). And seeing works that I had only seen in books that are flat in books, but in real life are quite alive. I enjoyed that part of the exhibit. Opening night was PACKED.

6.  Going to an exhibit of Bert Long's paintings at Houston Baptist University. This was my favorite painting, oddly enough called Road Kill. It's quite large, 72" x 96" x 4" and is acrylic on canvas with a frame of acrylic, metallic gold and silver paint, tire, reflectors and mirrors on white pine. Why does it never occur to me to use tires and reflectors in my paintings? The show came with a catalog that I'm slowly reading, too.

 

7.  Going to Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for the Misfit Cup Liberation project, where people bring an unused cup of their own and trade it for a newly crafted one. Each participant writes a story of why their cup was discarded. It really was a liberating experience.

8.   And finally, going to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for "Touch in Real Time" where artist Holly Hanessian takes a small piece of clay and puts it in a handshake. It forms to the shape of both participants hands and a (hopefully) human emotional connection is formed as well. It was a plus that the artist was so engaging and easy to like.

The Dancing Tulips

Winter gives me brain freeze. Really. Cold weather and I don't mix well. All of my energy is spent trying to concentrate on keeping warm that there isn't much room for anything else in my frozen brain. That is to say that it's hard enough to figure out what to paint on a regular basis....forget it on any day below 75 degrees. (Yes, that seems to be my threshold.) 

Because of the difficulty in figuring out what to paint (lots of muddled thinking), I went to the florist. It's always a good back up plan to go to the florist when one can't think of what to paint. Except that I forget (because of the brain freeze) that flowers are not the easiest subject matter, especially tulips. Tulips are highly susceptible to light and heat -- a very wiggly flower, opening and closing and moving with the sun --  not still at all. They dance.

This painting is 9" x 12" oil on linen. 

Paperwhites and Tulips

Here is where I start saying something about painting.....*crickets*

And here is where I finish saying things about the artistic process and what not. (I'm going to go take a nap.)

These paintings are 8" x 8" oil on canvas.

More Fried Chicken

My quest to find the best fried chicken in town has led me to two more places -- Hay Merchant and Barbeque Inn - yes, fried chicken at Barbeque Inn. From what I've tasted so far, it might be hard to beat Barbeque Inn's fried chicken. Ah, it was boiling lava hot fresh but served with a bland iceberg salad and some other forgettable side. Truly, I've forgotten what the other side was.

Barbeque Inn - hot, crispy, tasty

But the Hay Merchant - oh my goodness - the fried chicken was crispy and under seasoned EXCEPT that it was served over the most amazing macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted in my life....and I don't even like macaroni and cheese! That macaroni and cheese has an addictive chemical in it that makes me crave it fortnightly.

Hay Merchant - best macaroni and cheese EVER!

The waiter also recommended a lovely sour cherry flavored Belgian beer that matched perfectly with the buttery, creamy, cheesy macaroni. I can't stop thinking about that macaroni and cheese. mmmm. Hay Merchant's fried chicken might be under seasoned on purpose just so that it doesn't overpower the macaroni and cheese. Who knows? I'm definitely going back to both places but am still on the lookout for other restaurants to try. Any more suggestions?

Final thought - if these two restaurants would combine talents, Barbeque Inn's fried chicken and Hay Merchant's macaroni and cheese, it would be a winning combination.

So Long, Bert

This blog entry is a repost of one I did on July 11, 2011.  One of the highlights of my life was not only having my art selected for an exhibit by artist Bert Long, but actually meeting and visiting with him briefly. Sadly, he passed away yesterday.

Here are some links reporting his passing:
Houston Chronicle
Culture Map
Glasstire
Robert Boyd

The following is my blog post:

This past weekend was the opening reception for Archway Gallery's 3rd Annual Juried Competition. It was SO much fun.


The Amazing Reese and I got there relatively on time, which gave us time to take the requisite photo of the painting and me posing in a gallery setting. Expecting a crowd, the gallery very wisely had fans positioned throughout the space in order to facilitate air flow, which lent itself to more than one Marilyn Monroe moment with my full skirt.

The juror for the show was Bert Long, a Houstonian and internationally acclaimed artist. As stated before, I've long been an admirer of his. When Archway Gallery sent out the artist call for this show, the main reason I entered was so that Bert Long would see my work. Then when "Cottonwood" was selected, I was beside myself because here, finally, was my opportunity to meet Bert Long.


(Can you tell how excited I am? That's Bert Long!) Devotedly, I followed him around like a puppy dog waiting for the opportunity to introduce myself and thank him for selecting my work for the show. Had I been an actual puppy, it would have looked like my tail was wagging, but that was just the gallery wind blowing up my skirt.


I'd like to think that we became fast friends the moment we met, but the grown up in me knows better. He very graciously spent some quality time with me talking about the painting, the technique, the brush strokes, etc., and how he selected "Cottonwood" not only because it's worthy on its own today, but because he sees promise in my artistic future. (!) The critique was very humbling and affirming at the same time.


The gallery had the right idea about the fans. The opening reception was absolutely packed. Several groups of our friends came out in support. It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the art -- not just "Cottonwood", but the whole show. Bert Long did a fantastic job of selecting the pieces in the exhibit, showcasing artistic skill, heart, soul, messages, and variety -- lots of variety.


It just so happens that Bert Long and I have mutual friends, he's a neighbor of some of our long time friends, and I'm a neighbor of one of his long time friends. Of course, as this was pointed out to him, he briefly and silently studied me, peering over his glasses, like he couldn't decide if I was crazy or not. (I'm not -- really.) Bert Long didn't know it, but we've been one degree of separation for years.


The delightful evening wouldn't have been possible without the Amazing Reese. Not only is he adorable arm candy, without his supportive enthusiasm, it wouldn't have occurred to me to consider being an artist as a "career". It's incredible to think that all of this has happened in the last six years. (And that Bert Long talked about my FUTURE as an artist! So cool.) Thanks, Amazing husband Reese.


At the end of the evening, the very approachable Bert Long, with a little nudge from his lovely companion, Joan Batson, agreed to pose with me in front of "Cottonwood". I couldn't have been happier.

Human Hamster Wheel

Not just for hamsters anymore, local artist and new friend James Ciosek created a human sized hamster wheel as part of a series of his called Icons and Symbology, which will include ten or so total pieces when the series is complete. It's on display at Lawndale Art Center until March 2nd.

I was there last Friday as an enthusiastic volunteer for opening night and heard James tell people about this hamster wheel all night long but darned if I can remember exactly what he said. The gist of it is that he plans to super size everyday objects so that our perception of their use and purpose is challenged (or something like that.) What I can say about it is that this is a FUN interactive art piece and if you get the chance, by all means sign the waiver, jump in, and channel your inner hamster.

Little Boy Blue

As adorable as this little boy is on the outside, he's just a sweet on the inside. He's curious, thoughtful, considerate, playful, and warmly engaging. It's been a delight to get to know him.

This is a 16" x 20" oil on linen commissioned work. Typically what happens for commissions is that we get together for a photo session, and those photos are used as reference for the portrait. While I thoroughly enjoy painting portraits from sittings, to get a child to sit still long enough to paint would be a chore for all involved, so in these cases, reference photos save the day.

If you have an adorable little person in your life who you'd like to see immortalized in paint, give me a shout. I'd be happy to work with you.

Goldilocks

Often before starting work on commissions, I paint something, anything to calm my nerves and if I'm honest, assure myself that yes, I remember how to paint. This is one of those paintings. It's a 14" x 18" oil on linen.

Can't you just imagine this sweet little girl skipping through the woods, finding a 1920's bungalow, walking in as if she owned the place, raiding the refrigerator, leaving ice cream melting on the counter, changing computer passwords, and jumping on the furniture after swinging on the curtains? And can't you then imagine Baby Bear being surprised to find her still asleep in his bed after all of her shenanigans?

The good news is that I have a portrait commission - yay! I've already begun sketching it and will start painting soon. 

Zen Driving

Some people drive for the journey, not the destination.

This is a 20" x 30" oil on linen.

Civic Lesson

Yesterday, I had the privilege of driving our German neighbor to the Department of Homeland Security for her final interview before becoming a citizen of the United States. While waiting with her, she quizzed me on civics. I guess it was fun for her to see me struggle to answer a few of the questions. After living here my entire life, you'd think answering these questions would be easy.

It was such a thrill to get a first hand look as these people from all over the globe, old and young, black, white, and every shade in between. The interviewers opened a door calling out names they struggled to pronounce - - not a single Bob or Sue in the whole bunch. At each name a completely unique person stood tall, if not slightly nervous, each hoping to legally join Team USA and forever celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was completely inspiring.