I painted this stool for a gift last father's day.

Journaling reads:

To My Father,
I give you a collection of memories
of some of the times we shared
and a few of the things that you taught me

I Remember-
Pliers - For all the tools you gave me both literal and spiritual.
Thank you for teaching me about tools, I grew up believing
I could do anything because I knew you could. It gave me the confidence
to tackle my world.
But most important For the tools of self-
An appreciation for hard work, respect for others, kindness, pursuit of excellence,
A sense of humor, these things I learned by observation, that satisfaction is
Not in what you get but what you do and that true happiness comes from what
you give not what you have.
Model Train Track - For the great gift of not seeing me only as a girl
but for allowing me (before it became fashionable) to experience a non-sexist
world, you gave me model trains, bats & balls, bow & arrows, microscopes,
thus teaching me to be tough and play fair, not be a sissy, figure things out
for myself and not expect others to do it for me.
Legal pad - To plan, to imagine, to create
Calculator - To figure anything out
Pen - To value knowledge especially self-taught
Money - To value money, to have some, to give some and to have
the cents to know when
Licorice & Mounds - Your favorite, and a taste we share, treat yourself nice,
allow yourself joy
Chocolate Covered Cherry - Life may be a bowl of cherries but the people
we love can make it sweeter
Belt Buckle - The Horses! Taking responsibilities. Putting a $5 under my
butt on a bareback feel it Thats the only way you will ever know it you said,
as you cheered me on faster and faster (I kept that $5 and several others)
Model Cement - The summer nights we spent working on the model of the
U.S.S. United States and talking about everything a young girl could think of and then some.
Keys - As a daughter I know, I have been both a pride and, at times, a disappointment
But I want you to know you gave me the keys to a good life.
Keys I hope I have been able to pass on to my children.

Thank you for being who you are - My Dad!


all by me