August Weekend

Yesterday morning, I got out in the yard and did a bit of setting up for Walter's water diversion project. I strung a line along the property line on the side of the house. Wow, the neighbor's black top almost comes up to it and kisses it in one place.

I took out the iPad and listed to the Glenn Beck - Restoring Honor Rally (on the C-SPAN app) while Walter & I pulled up rotting landscape timbers. I made it into the house in time to watch Glenn Beck's speech on C-SPAN.

Later on in the afternoon one of the neighbor's cats was cautiously following something in our yard, turned out to be a Black Snake about three foot long. We left to take care of any moles or voles that it could come across.

This morning Bounce took an absolute fit to get outside, turned out that he was on a mission to meet the neighbor's (across the street's) two new Labradoodle puppies. We walked over to let all the dogs get acquainted - which turned out very well. He was able to come home much calmer and I am sure that as the wee ones across the street get bigger, they'll will probably have a 'play date' in the the future.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:


Thought For the Day: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 KJV

Reason For Speeding
A senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left. "Amazing," he thought as he flew down I-75, pushing the pedal even more.

Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, "What am I doing? I'm too old for this!" and pulled over to await the trooper's arrival.

Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding--a reason I've never before heard--I'll let you go."

The old gentleman paused then said: "Three years ago, my wife ran off with a State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back."

"Have a good day, Sir," replied the trooper.

“One Man Can Change The World”

Glenn Beck’s Rallying Cry To America: “One Man Can Change The World”

Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally today (8/28/2010), on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech had some grandiose goals: bringing America back to God; restoring the honor, faith, and charity of the nation; and awakening America as to the impending political storm in our future.

Read the story and watch videos of the speech here.

Restoring Honor Rally Article - with photos

Rascal 1994-2010

Rascal
August 1994 -August 23, 2010

Rascal passed away this evening due to advanced kidney disease. He will be surely missed.

Sunset Reflection

Sunset Reflections

It has been a relatively calm day, I've been keeping the dogs quiet while Walter has slept. The poor thing was called in last night for a 12 hour shift, came home to sleep for about 6 hours only to turn around and go back in for another 12 hour shift. Hopefully he will get a sold 8 hours of sleep tomorrow before heading back in to work again.

I ran down to take him a few thing for the evening and caught this great reflection of the sunset in the building.

Here are a few other pictures from the evening.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Advanced Visual Production Studio Tour

I spent a about an hour today touring the the Advanced Visual Production's studio. It was amazing the equipment and logistics involved in producing just a short music video. I was truly impressed.

They are equipped to be the one source for all of your event needs. Whether you are looking for equipment rental or for turn-key production services, they have an extensive inventory backed by a creative staff of professionals experienced in every medium.

Gary Gauldin, in front of the CYC wall

The studio is outfitted for pre- and post-production work in sound and video. Their live production staff can merge these elements with lighting and stagging design to produce a seamless event.


AVP Studio Photos

This is one of the videos that I saw in post-production during my tour. Fantastic!

Where has the month gone?

The month is already half gone, just where has the time flown off to? It seems like we were all complaining about the record temperature of June, just yesterday. Now here we are at mid-August, with college students getting ready to make their way to campus and Labor Day just a couple of weeks away.

I have not gotten nearly as much done during the summer months as I had planned on.  I do believe that those 'Dog Days' of August slipped up on me and sucked me in.  Instead of doing what I had planned on over the past couple of weeks, I curled up with the iPad and read, and read, and read...way too many books.  Oh well, at least they were enjoyable.

Oh well, Fall is just around the corner and I can get myself into the rhythm of the season.

Odd Texting

This evening during one of the storm surges, Walter got a weird text message from a number in the 434 area code asking for the name of a heating & air conditioning company. He texted them back with a name and number of a local company. The funny thing was they texted him back a thanks!

Custom Pandora Bead

I received the best surprise in today's mail. This gorgeous custom bead carved by one of the doctor in our group from New Jersey. He uses a dental tool to do the carving. Absolutely amazing. I've already added to my bracelet - I'm using it as the center bead.

This is a 360-degree view of the bead that Dr. Paul Grussenmeyer carved from stag antler. Visit his website to see some of the awesome carved pieces.

Happy Birthday Alice!

Hodgpodge of This & That

I had a really busy few days off. Friday I was up and at it around 4:30 a.m. Mom showed up at the house shortly after 5:15 a.m. While we were getting ready to go I (gracefully mind you) tripped up our sidewalk and almost did a face plant. Ouch!!!

Instead of sitting out the morning, we went ahead and went off to the river to shoot the sunrise over Richmond from the footbridge to Belle Island. We both went slow, but had a grand time. Hundreds of pictures, sore bodies later we trudged back to the car four hours later.

We've both questioned the wisdom in continuing the trip, but...the company and photos were worth it!

Photos from my weekend off.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:


Thoughts for the Day: "A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.” ~ Mitch Ratliffe

“The reason they called golf "golf" was all the other 4-letter words were taken.”

A New Dr. Seuss

I do not like this Uncle Sam,

I do not like his health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks,

or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like this speaker Nan,

I do not like this 'YES, WE CAN'.

I do not like this spending spree---

I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.

I do not like your smug replies,

when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it. nope, nope, nope!

Army Nurse Training

During basic training for the Army Nurse Corps, we were required to spend one week in the field roughing it. It rained the entire week. We arose daily in our swampy tent, took a cold-water beauty bath from our helmets, donned our pistol belts and ponchos, and trudged through the mud to set up field hospitals. Obviously, our personal appearance frequently left much to be desired.

The final blow to our feminine pride occurred while we waited in the mess line in the mud and rain. A young private came by with a camera and asked to take our picture. "It will prove to my girl," he said, "that she has NO reason to be jealous!"

Caught on the Job!

"The new army recruit was given guard duty at 2 A.M. He did his best for a while, but at about 4 A.M. he went to sleep. He awakened to find the officer of the day standing before him.!"

Remembering the heavy penalty for being asleep on guard duty, this smart young man kept his head bowed for another moment and looked upward and reverently said, "A-a-a-men!"!"

Cooking for Tom

It's fun to cook for Tom. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls.

Tom wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Tom brought a friend home for supper.

A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed kind of silly, but I took a bath anyway. I can't say it improved the rice any.

Today Tom asked for salad. I tried a new recipe. It said prepare ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Tom asked me why I was rolling around in the garden.

I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put the ingredients in a bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I left.

Tom did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I don't have any clothes that fit it, and for some reason Tom keeps counting to ten.

Tom's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast, but all I had was hamburger. Suddenly I had a flash of genius. I put the hamburger in the oven and set the controls for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my disappointment.

GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY. This has been a very exciting week! I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Tom. If I can talk Tom into buying a bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with a chocolate moose.

Suspicion

One of my students could not take my college seminar final exam because of a funeral. "No problem," I told him. "Make it up the following week."

That week came, and again he couldn't take the test due to another funeral. "You'll have to take the test early next week," I insisted; "I can't keep postponing it."

"I'll take the test next week if no one dies," he told me.

By now I was suspicious. "How can you have so many people you know pass away in three weeks?" I asked.

"I don't know any of these people," he said. "I'm the only gravedigger in town."

Thursday Fun

I headed out early this morning to visit with Mom & Dad. I got the greatest picture of Bounce peeking out the window at us as we left out. He looked so forlorn.

We had a great time visiting. I even got a picture of a Hummingbird while I was there. I don't think I've been able to even get one before that was worth saving. They are definitely usually too shaky.

Mom & Dad even brought me home this morning. On the way out to the car I spotted this Swallowtail butterfly on a decaying mushroom at the edge of the woods. It totally ignored me. I do believe that it was much too involved eating to even 'care' that anyone or thing was around. It did make for a great photo though.

Photos from my visit at Mom & Dad's

I was even able to take some time out this afternoon to have my nails done and to get a pedicure. It was nice to have a little bit of pampering.

A big storm rolled into town this evening around 6 p.m. I got a couple of pictures as it was coming toward the house. After this photo, it let loose and pour buckets. We watched as the runoff from our neighbor's yard rolled across the backyard on the way to the back corner of our yard. There were little 'rivers' running at breakneck speed. A chunk of wood got caught in the current and was carried through the yard like a small boat.

Carla is still somewhere in the house hiding out under a bed - we can still hear thunder. Bounce is busy trying to find something to entertain himself with, so far the has been attacking his Crazy Critter. I'm not sure it will survive the weekend.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Take Down the Bird Feeders

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, as I filled it lovingly with seed.

Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table .. Everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the Bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be .... quiet, serene....and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see.

Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care and free Education, and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegal's came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's second grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

My Early "Friday"

The week has surely flown by. Monday we had a RAUG meeting at ArtWorks. Great meeting too. Edwin Huertas of Shockoe gave a presentation Dreamweaver and WordPress, very enlightening.

I've been busy completing the next issue of the Smiles of Richmond magazine and adding to the website, adding lots of new before and after pictures of Dr. Martin's patients.

This afternoon we had a power outage at the office.  Just as a couple of us were sitting down to a late lunch, out went the lights.  Not once, not twice, but four times.  It was lovely watching the power flick on and off that many times.  It was out for a little over an hour.  No AC, computers, lights, or phones.  Thank goodness for everyone's cell phones.  Turned out that the outage was caused by a downed power line near St. Edward's Catholic School.

This evening, I took Bounce out for a walk to the school.  He did very well for his first major excursion.  I'll probably get him out early in the morning for a quick walk before I head out for the morning.

On fun note, I've got a four day weekend!  Yeah!  Going to visit with Mom & Dad some, do some class work, watch some instructional videos, 'clean' house and maybe even find some time to do something fun.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

OH I LOVE PAYBACK!

Jennifer's wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her excitement - not even her parent's nasty divorce.

Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear, and would be the best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever!

A week later, Jennifer was horrified to learn that her father's new, young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother!

Jennifer asked her father's new young wife to exchange it, but she refused. "Absolutely not! I look like a million bucks in this dress, and I'm wearing it," she replied.

Jennifer told her mother who graciously said, "Never mind sweetheart. I'll get another dress. After all, it's your special day."

A few days later, they went shopping, and did find another gorgeous dress for her mother.

When they stopped for lunch, Jennifer asked her mother, "Aren't you going to return the other dress? You really don't have another occasion where you could wear it."

Her mother just smiled and replied, "Of course I do, dear. I'm wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding."

Rings as Clear as the "Liberty Bell"

The owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, Robert Sarver, opposes AZ's new immigration laws. Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer, released the following statement in response to Sarver's criticism of the new law:

"What if the owners of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into games without paying?

What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are, but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs, thus non-paying attendees couldn't be ejected.

Furthermore, what if Suns' ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drink?

And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?" ~ Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

Chap Stick

We had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died.

Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on the mat in our bathroom. We have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old.

The middle one is Eli. Eli really loved chap stick. LOVED it. He kept asking to use my chap stick and then losing it. I’d get another...Eli would use it and lose it.

This went on for months and finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom that I kept my chap stick and explained he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer after he finished.

That year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around to try to get ready for church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box.

I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car, and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally go into the bathroom.

There was Eli. He was applying my chap stick very carefully to Jack's rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped..."

Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right - their little bottoms do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth!?!

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever, because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize... they've been using your chap stick on the cat's butt.