Ode to Gunther….

Its Stake Conference which means only two hours of church today and no meetings! So I thought I would take some of my free time and catch up on the blog.

When I moved down here almost five years ago, I hated it. Today, we have adjusted, but its still not home. A few years ago my sister in law Britt (who now also lives in the urban jungle of Houston), and I were joking around that I needed something in my kitchen to remind me of home.

If you know Jared at all, he is not much of an art lover and so half joking, half serious we talked about needed a painting of a rooster for my kitchen. One reason was to ease the homesickness and the other was just to drive Jared nuts. I dug up an old photo of our family’s rooster and told her to make it a conversational piece.

His name was Gunther and he was one heck of a mean old fart. In actuality I hated him, he use to jump up and dig his talons into your back. H lived close to a decade (which is a long life for a chicken) and he was incredible cocky and territorial. He use to strut around the yard and would take on animals several times his size, including steers. But in such a small town he provided good entertainment on a summer night.

So much to my surprise, Brittany gave me a square present at my baby shower a few weeks ago. I had forgotten about the painting idea. When I opened it, everyone was like “Wow Em, ummm, that will look great in your nursery!??” "Don't you think it might scare the baby?" It was hilarious! She did an excellent job painting him; she even captured that crazy look in his eye. I just need a frame and he will go up on the wall (and Jared can’t even get rid of it since Brittany lives a few miles away and visits often :) Job well done Britt!