Weekend Wanderings

Fall along the highways and byways of Virginia and North Carolina, during my weekend wandering with Bounce.

The original journey was to have been a visit to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but we all know how things happen sometimes a series of unexpected incidents caused a changed in plans. So having already mentally committed to getting out of Richmond for the weekend a new plan was hatched.  Instead of heading off to the shore without Bounce, it would be the mountains with him. He was thrilled that he was getting to go. I don't think I've ever seen him make a faster bee line to the car door than he did on Friday morning.

Bounce having fun a the lake.

On the first leg of our journey we were off to explore places along Route 360 West. We found two state parks that I had never been too before - Twin Lakes State Park and Staunton River Battlefield State Park. Bounce enjoyed getting out and exploring.  As you can see from the picture he took great pleasure in wallowing around the edge of the lake. He was so funny to watch trying to "smack" the water with his paws. Even though he's 100% bird dog, he was having a great time playing with the water. 
We also took the time to meander down the Business Loops to see those small towns that are normally passed along the way. There are some quaint shops, rail yards and parks that are tucked along those by-passes. Well worth the extra time to discover what is hiding there.

Our second leg was spent fully in North Carolina - visiting Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Jordan Lake and Durham. Special thanks to my North Carolina tour guide for spending Saturday chauffeuring me around and even lapping the block a few times so that I was able to take photos. I even learned a thing or two about the area as well from my well versed tour guide.

Canon on the front porch - wonderful way to protect your home.

The UNC campus at Chapel Hill is beautiful. One could speed days just wandering the campus and capturing the architecture and elements of campus life. . Along one of the roads along the perimeter of Jordan Lake yielded the great home shown - what an interesting home security system that they have, a canon on the front porch ready to hold off intruders. I would surely think twice before even showing up if I was a door-to-door salesman. While in Durham I was impressed with the new courts building, I could have done a lot of interesting shots there utilizing the changing light throughout the day - the churches, old and new government buildings. 

Fountain on the James River at Lynchburg

The third and final leg our return trip home, took us into Danville and Lynchburg. The architecture the historic districts, of both of these cities, was impressive. It is amazing what you miss by taking the by-pass around a city. Both city have been busy developing their river fronts and old warehouse districts.

The diversity of architectural styles in the older homes in Danville was astounding. Even on the same block you can see five or six periods represented. The warehouse and mill district are being revitalized. I didn't make it along the whole trail along the Dan River, but the portion that I was on was nicely laid out and gave the opportunity to have a nice level walk along the river.

Lynchburg was a real surprise. I have whizzed past many times on my way further West never thinking about stopping. Sunday was different and I am glad that I decided to make the journey through the historic district. They have a great river front - parking near the railroad tracks (active) the James River has a terrific fountain producing rainbows during sunny days. Definitely not something that I was expecting to see. The old churches are remarkable in their design, the steeples painting the landscape each unique in style and presence.

I'm looking forward to making another trip back with the expressed purpose of just visiting several of these unique locations.

Photos from our Wandering Weekend.

Happy 20th Birthday Sean!

Road Trip - Colonial Parkway

Starting out with a little inspiration this morning, I loaded Bounce into the car and headed off for a drive down Colonial Parkway.

We dipped into several of the plantations along the way, stopping at the Berkley Plantation was awesome! On the road into the house there was a lovely pond on the side of the drive, with this colorful goose gliding along. I couldn't pass it up.

I hopped out and the next thing that I know he has swam right over to where I was. Not only did he just swim over to the edge of the pond, he climbed right out and walked over to me. All the while honking and carrying on, basis sass mouthing. He was quite intent on getting my attention and nearly came beak to camera lens. I could not have asked for a better subject.

All the while, poor Bounce is having a fit in the car. I can hardly blame the poor thing for wanting to get out and 'play' with this new creature. Finally getting back into the car, I was the one who was surprised. My new found friend didn't want us to leave. In fact he chased the car down the road for a short way. I felt sorry for him.

After checking out the plantation house and starting back up the drive, back past the pond and our friend. We arrived to find him holding a carload of visitors hostage. The driver had pulled all the way over in the opposite lane to go around, but he had moved out into the center of the road and was right next to the passengers door.

I hopped back out of the car with camera in hand which caused him to run right over. I really do think that he liked having his picture taken. So while I was pretending to take more photos of him, the girls were released from their captivity and passed by laughing as he 'talked' with me on the side of the driveway.

Having completed my mission, back to the car I went followed closely behind by my friend. I started down the drive and he ran along side the car - I was doing 10 mph and he was keeping pace. I gunned it just a hair and he started flapping his wings. I thought for sure that he was going to take flight and follow me all the way out.

Bounce settled back and really seemed to enjoy the rest of the trip. We stopped at a little beach area along the Colonial Parkway to allow him some stretching time. He hadn't ever been near the river or on sand before. Oh my goodness! He had a blast.

You would have thought he was practicing his football moves. He had his front paws spread apart and then zig zagged from side to side, broke to the left, ran down the beach, ran up and tried to bite the wave coming to shore, jumped in the air and shot back the opposite direction.

The biting the waves part was the most amusing thing he did. He'd dive right in to the water, try to bite it and then jump sideways back out of the water. I could tell him to get the water and he'd actually repeat the process. I nearly cried from laughing so hard.

We made it all the way to Yorktown, but there were a few too many people there. Not if it had been just me but with Bounce it was better with smaller crowds. I did make a stop back to the beach area on the return trip where I was equally as entertained as the first time.

The last BIG experience on tap for Bounce was a trip on the ferry. He did great getting onto the ferry yet he was sitting in the back seat shaking until I got him out and walked him around the deck. He did so well and was quite popular with a number of the other passengers. He received loads of compliments on how handsome he is.

Once finally back home, he promptly plopped on the sofa and has been sleeping like a rock since.

Check out the pictures from our adventure.

Gunshot to the Head

Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws and, while there, went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries.

Later, her husband noticed her sitting in her car in the driveway with the windows rolled up and her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. He became concerned and walked over to the car.

He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she had been shot in the back of the head and had been holding her brains in for over an hour.

The husband called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head.

A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered.

Linda is a blonde, a Democrat, and an Obama supporter, but that could all be a coincidence.

The defective biscuit canister was analyzed and the expiration date was in 2008, so it was determined to be Bush's fault.

Political Humor

Nearly fell over laughing when I was shown this package of gum today!
Turns out that this is a real product that can be purchased from Perpetual Kid.

Judy Smith Photography

 Judy Smith Photography is now on Facebook. Be sure to like to keep posted on the latest photos.

Pre-Obama Gas Prices

This morning a local radio station, WRVA 1140 was offered gasoline to the first 150 lucky drivers at $1.84 per gallon. The average price for gasoline before Obama took office.

What an eye opener! Here we sit today with gas prices nearly double with no sign of the price coming back down in the near future.

Sure would like to see the US utilize more of our energy resources and drive the price down even further than that, maybe back to under $1.00 per gallon. We can only hope!

The line put me in mind of the gas lines of the 1970's. I still can remember the odd and even days method of gas rationing. But back then gas was under $0.50 per gallon.

More Photos of Those Waiting

Fiery Friday

It has been some kind of crazy week and threats and violence has broken out all over. One local DJ called it "The World On Fire Friday". Just looking over the headlines that are on the Drudge Report make one wonder if he isn't right.

Let’s see what do the following have in common:

• Terror scare in Kansas City 
• University of Texas - Classes Canceled by ‘Al Qaeda Threat’ 
• North Dakota State University Bomb Threat 
• Threat at Valparaiso University 
• Nuke Reactor Evacuate in Austin 

Word is that these threats are not connected. Then there is the US Embassies Under Seige, as reported on Drudge & Fox News, in....

• Casablanca, Morocco 
•  Tel Aviv, Israel 
•  Tunis, Tunisia 
•  Benghazi, Libya 
•  Khatoum, Sudan 
•  Cairo, Egypt 
•  Sana’a, Yemen 
•  Baghdad, Iraq 
•  Tehran, Iran 

Hmm.... and the official word on this that the protest are not directed at USA.

Borrowed from a Facebook posting.

Obviously something is going on and leadership is lacking. We all need to be vigilant and prayerful.

A Word from Ben Stein...

Paradoxical Quote of The Day From Ben Stein: "Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... But not everyone must prove they are a citizen." Now add this, "Many of those who refuse, or are unable, to prove they are citizens will receive free insurance paid for by those who are forced to buy insurance because they are citizens."

Remembering

National Empty Chair Day

Labor Day 2012

Remember to keep your chair out on the lawn from now until Election Day. Let's remind everyone of the lack of leadership that we have had for the last four years; and the millions of jobs that have been lost during that time.

Weekend at the Lake

The weekend started early on Friday afternoon. I hopped in the car and head out to the lake for the weekend. The further south I went the cloudier it became, by the time I had arrived at my destination, it was sprinkling rain.  No worries, it was time to relax.

We headed out to a local restaurant for dinner. It was a great evening of food and conversation. A really awesome start of the weekend together.

Saturday morning we were greeted with a downpour early in the morning. I enjoyed listening to the rain hitting the skylight. Very peaceful. With the rain came a drop in temperature. I was sure glad that I had taken jeans with me. Brr.  Of course as the skies cleared the temperature rose to a more seasonable level. We did get down to the dock for a while in the early evening, just long enough to let Borla chase a few balls in the lake and I even saw an Osprey across the lake.

The sun rose Sunday morning shining brightly. The sky was only slightly cloudy and promised us a day of sun and fun. We were able to spend a good portion of the day swimming, hanging out of the dock and riding the jet ski. Borla had a great time retrieving the tennis ball from the lake, over and over again.

I'm just a little sun kissed this evening it should be all good in the morning. The ride home was uneventful, although I don't think I ever make the trip down and back the same way. Some day I maybe able to make it using the same route. All in all it was a great weekend at the weekend with friends.

Lake Photos 

Brownie for One! Yum!!

I've been searching around on Pinterest lately and came across several different recipes for cakes, brownies, and such in a mug. There are a multitude of variations on this basic recipe theme.

I tried this one this evening and it came out pretty well. The original recipe calls for a scoop of ice cream. That might have made it a bit more "gooey" but if I had thrown in a Hershey Kiss or two and it would have been awesome!

Mug Brownie 

1 egg
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar (a little bit more would give it an extra punch)

In a mug, whisk together the egg, cocoa, and powdered sugar until a batter forms. Zap the mug full of batter in the microwave for 60 seconds (can be up to 90 seconds). The key is to watch it through the window of the microwave door, cake is done when it rises to the top of the mug and then just begins to fall.

Great Lightroom Presets

Mom passed on this link to a great set of Lightroom Presets by Matt Kloskowski. Here's a before and after using just one of them.

Before

After

Congratulations Dr. Goldberg!!

My dear friend, dentist and author, Dr. Michael Goldberg was interview by dLife about cosmetic dentistry and about the various types of cosmetic dental procedures and the potential risks they may have for a person with diabetes.

His interview is full of information for the diabetic.

Read Dr. Goldberg's Interview Here

A Hunting We Will Go

I had a wonderful morning, albeit a very early one, with Dad today. We headed out to the middle of no where for him to help judge a dog competition. I thought that it would be good opportunity to get out and get some different types of photos.

We headed out bright and early this morning, at 2 a.m.!!! The temperature was nice for a drive without AC. I never thought that we would ever get there. We twisted this way, turned that way, and a couple of times seemed to be making a circle. We even saw nine deer on the side of the road as we were on the last leg of the journey to our destination.  Thought there for a few minutes we were going to be taking home a deer with us (they were very close to the edge of the road).

It was amazing how long these dog kept at it trying to search out what they were looking for. A few of them reminded me of Bounce, with their ears flapping as they trotted along and their tongues all lolled out seeming to be four times their normal length.

At one time several came trotting along in a line when they were passed by a dog going in the opposite direction - they seemed to question why he was going that way. Then a couple popped out of the woods acting like they had found something, that was until they hit the road. There they had that look of "Where did it go?"

Although we didn't see a whole lot of activity at the corner where we were sitting. I did get some nice pictures of the flowers (aka weeds) and the sunrise.

On our trip back home, Dad spotted a turkey - he even turned around so I could take some photos of it. Finally there were some calves, who came right out to the fence for photos. One even "mooed" at me.

I really enjoyed spending the time with Dad, it is something we haven't done in years.

Outing with Dad Photos

Thank You

I would like to thank my daughter for all the love and kindness that she has shown to me over the past few years.

How much I have looked forward to sharing the grandchildren growing up and reaching those developmental milestones. First words, first steps, birthdays, school plays and the like. They are just some of the things that make being a grandparent such a joy.

Knowing just the things that will bring a sparkle to their eyes. Having them on out on little day trips or overnight. Sharing with them the things that once were shared with her. Learning about them and being able to be there for them as they grow up.

Not to mention how much she has enabled our family to draw closer to one another.

How painful would it be to be cut off and totally disassociated with. Without the love of your children and grandchildren. Being alone. What a horrible way to go through life - knowing that your child and grandchildren are there just out of reach. Knowing that others know the joy of spending time with them yet are unable to share this because of the pain and torment that it can cause.

How hard a callus must have to develop to withstand this knowledge and rejection by your own flesh and blood. Such sorrow and sadness.

Happy Birthday Alec!

Happy Birthday Alice!

Special Offer from Adobe

SCAM Alert

WARNING: I received a call this evening from a person stating that she was from Feldman Mead and Associates and that they wanted to know if someone was going to be home tomorrow because they were going to be serving papers. I inquired as to who the were looking for, so I could let them know whether they had the right address or not. They asked for "X", and I informed them that the person that they were looking for did not nor had they ever lived at our home.

I was told that my name was on the file associated with this person and that I would need to have them return their call to have my name removed. I reiterated to them that no such person lived or had lived at our home. She asked me to check with other members of the household and have them give the message to "X" so that they could return the call and have my name removed from the file associated with "X".

I told them I would take their name and number, but that we had only had this phone number for a couple of years and had no idea of who had it prior to us.

THIS IS A SCAM!

I did a quick search for Feldman Mead and Associates with the phone number of 866-378-833, and found several sites that have this company listed as a scam.

• Did you get a call from 866-378-8333
• Did you get a call from 405-233-3382
• Posts here give the company's contact info 

When you analyze this a whole lot of things about the calls in general just don't add up:

1. They do not call before serving papers. How dumb would that be?
2. They called our house line, which generally only gets calls from political committees and pollsters, or just plain old wrong numbers. We just don't use the number for anything at all if someone wants us they know how to reach us. We've only had the house phone for a couple of years - and who know who had it before we did!
3. I didn't push it, but should have found out what address they were going to try to serve. It would have been interesting to find out if they were actually going to try to serve our house.
4. They never did ask my name or tell me my name, so I don't know who's name it is that they have associated with that file number they gave me.

With the economy in the state that it is in, I can see why someone may fall for this. Who would want to have their a lawsuit filed against them for whatever the reason. From what I read on the various boards, it appears that this group is just out to scam people out of money - by pressuring them to make a settlement on some alleged past debt.

REMEMBER:

• Never volunteer any information to someone that calls you.
• Check them out.
• You can always call the local police to check if is a SCAM.

Steampunk Jewelry

Cassie and I have had a great evening of steampunk jewelry making.

We started the evening off with a trip to Michael's for supplies. So many choices, so little money. I truly believe that we could have spent a couple of hundred dollars easily. We probably should have picked up some resin, but...maybe next time.

Cassie & I are going to be keeping an eye out for interesting pieces to add to our collection of stuff.

Steampunk Jewelry Designs

Camera Malfunction

I whipped out my camera to take some shots of the whiteboards at the office and was met with an error message. WHAT?! After some 5-6000 pictures an error? I didn't even have my PowerShot in my bag to fall back on.

After a meeting I grabbed the manual and did a little trouble shooting only to discover that his particular error message was not covered in the manual. A quick call to Canon set me up with instructions to ship it back for warranty repairs.

Then while out at lunch, what did I see but a Jeep all decked out like it could have been right off the set of M.A.S.H.  I reached over to grab the camera and then proceeded to pout!

I haven't been without a camera at hand for almost eight years. And here I am at the beginning of a third 365 Year Project. I've got my fingers crossed that the backup doesn't have any problems while T2i is off at the repair shot. I know I'm sure going to miss shooting in raw.

Can I Go Home with You?

We are looking for a home.

These adorable guys and gals are looking for a home. They are an English Setter-Pointer mix. FREE! to their new family.&nbsp If you have room for a new hunting partner, playmate, or just a new friend please contact us by email.

To My Daughter

May you always be warmed by each other's smile,
Always take time to walk and talk a while,
Always know deep down you're each other's best friend,
And enjoy the kind of love that grows and knows no end.
Wishing you an 'always' kind of love!
Happy Anniversary!

Love,

Mom

Final Day of Vacation

 Today is the final day of my vacation. Tomorrow it's back to the normal routine. I've spent the day getting ready for the upcoming week and trying to point myself back into work mode.

I've really enjoyed spending the week out and about taking photographs and having an adventure or two. I think Bounce even was glad to get out with me on a couple of my expeditions.

Vacation Day Six!

This morning I went across the river to the Merkel Fields at West Creek to take some photos of the Color Me RAD 5k. As I rolled off 288 I immediately was met with a huge traffic jam! I don't know the number of runners for this event, but between runners and volunteers there were nearly five parking lots filled. The run was to benefit the Special Olympics Virginia.

There weren't nearly as man spectators at the event as I thought there would be, but everyone surely did look like they were having a fantastic time.

Some of the runners dressed up to make the run, of the more memorable were the ladies dressed in tutus. They were all so nice and white at the beginning of the race but boy were they a colorful mess at the end.

Color Me RAD 5k Photos

Vacation Day Five

Relaxation day!

I spent the morning working on photos, running an errand or two; then off to Godiva's this evening for a haircut and massage.

Vacation Day Four

The adventure for today: vineyards and mountains.

I picked up my traveling companion this morning and off we headed. Pointing the car west on route 6 and we were off and running.

There really was no specific destination in mind as we began our journey. Loosely the idea was to visit at least one winery and reach the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was a very leisurely drive. Stopping along the way at anything that caught our fancy. Columbia provided loads of pictures. We even learned a thing or two about St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. There was an old gas pump just down the road from the church that was rusty - the price per gallon on the pump read 64-cents!!! Boy had it been out of use of a long time, I'm guessing since the early to mid-70's.

Rodney the Rooster's residence is outside of Lumpkin's Restaurant & Motel. There is even a sign posted on his butt that says, "He loves having his picture taken, but please do not climb on his back." Personally I think that would have been a very tough thing to do the sign on his butt is about 5 foot off the ground, and I'd estimate he's nearly 15 foot tall.

Onward towards to find a vineyard - please bear in mind that we had no particular winery in mind. We relied on those lovely winery signs along the highway. Our first winery sign happened to be for the delfosse Vineyard & Winery.  The signage along the route to the winery was fun and reassuring that we were indeed on the right road. One other neat point, the vineyard has trails for hiking, mountain biking & even ATV rides, that are part of the Nelson County Parks & Recreation Department.

Arriving at the elegant wrought iron gate, with grape clusters and leaves incorporated into the design, it sets the stage for the entire visit. As we crested the hill the serenity and beauty of the arbors and surrounding hills gave us plenty to look at and set the tone for the day. We drove to the top of the furthest parking lot to take some photos of the valley and vineyards. The grapes were hanging on the vines - give them a few more weeks and they will be plumped uneven more.

The tasting room provided a relaxing and beautiful view of the surrounding hills. Our tasting 'guide' was very knowledgeable and informative, since this was my very first visit to a vinery it was great having someone there to explain the differences. We sampled the red wines produced here. I had a couple that I really enjoyed.

Having enjoyed our tasting and purchased a bottle for home, we were off once again. Between vineyards I stopped to shot some photos of a dear at the edge of a field. I was able to get out and walk up closer until the

Our next stop was the Mountain Cove Vineyards, Virginia's oldest winery. Having traveled down off the beaten path we found the winery's mailbox. Love it!  Now only to decide which fork in the road was the "right" road to the winery. We picked the fork that looked like the "road less traveled" which happily turned out to be the right one!!

The owner, Al Weed, chatted with us in the tasting room about the various wines that he produces and when he first came to the area to plant the vineyards. We tasted a number of fruit wines and came away with a bottle of Blackberry wine. It will be great with a piece of cheesecake or added to some Fresca for a sparkling summer drink.

Off on now a mission for Dad - freestone peaches! Mr. Weed had provided us with directions to Saunder's Brothers Farm Market. Where we were able to get just what were had been sent for! The market had a nice selection of fresh vegetables. They even had lemon cucumbers! Now of course, I had to get some of these just to try. (They didn't have a lemon taste at all but I did love the compact size. They would be great to grow if you didn't want the typical cucumber. I may have to try these one year.) Then there were all the canned vegetables, salsas (of all kinds), jellies & jams. A few of them really caught my eye: T.O.E. Jam (tangerine, orange, elderberry); F.R.O.G. Jam (fig, raspberry, orange, ginger); and then there was the Moonshine Jelly!!

The rest of the trip seemed to go by very quickly. Hopping onto the Blue Ridge Parkway we stopped at the Fork Mountain Overlook for a picnic lunch.

It was great getting out of the car for a nice long stretch. I took a few pictures of the black swallowtail butterflies on the flowers nearby. The yellow finches were flitting here and there in the meadow, too far away for a photo but they definitely did standout against the greenery. A very peaceful place for a picnic.

On to Afton via the parkway for the trip home, we stopped at a few more of the overlooks, and waited for the construction workers to waive us through (there was a lot of paving going on up there). The trip down 250 to Richmond was uneventful, although we did pass that one pond the the bear with two cubs and the scorpion mailboxes.

More Vineyards & Mountains Photos

Vacation Day Three

Had a nice visit today with Mom & Dad. The butterflies were all over the zinnias in the flowerbed. I did get a couple of nice shots. But the best thing was the fresh homegrown tomatoes that Dad had picked from the garden! Yum!

Bounce spent sometime visiting with Tip. Tip was sure excited to see him.

Tomorrow the mountains!

A Day at the Lake

I spent a fantastic day with Wayne & Livy and their kids at Lake Gaston today.

I truly enjoyed spending time with the kids. They really got into having their pictures taken while jumping off the dock into the lake.

Lauren even took the job of photographer's assistant - She even found a dragonfly that was just begging to have its picture taken.

Lake Photos

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Day 1 of Vacation

Mom went along with me for the day. Our mission this morning was a quick road trip to Norfolk to photograph the butterflies at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

We took the scenic route down (Route 10), a much better route than dealing with all the traffic on the interstate!

We took the boat tour of the lake/garden and were able to get several interesting photos. My favorite was the great blue heron that was hanging out at the entrance to the canal. Our guide noted that since the garden is next to the Norfolk Airport - when passengers are stuck in the airport for extended layovers they offer them access to the gardens at no charge. What a great way that would be to spend a long layover, instead of just hanging out inside the airport.

We then headed to the butterfly compound - there they had a large diversity of butterflies inside the butterfly house. They also had a butterfly maze.

Hoping the tram, we finished out with a tour of the remaining areas of the garden.

All in all a nice trip - next time, I think that waiting for a day that is a bit cooler will serve us well.

Photos from Norfolk Botanical Garden

Site Facelift

Well this wasn't something that I was actually looking to do, but it happened. I was looking into adding a button to the site and clicked one too many place and ended up losing my template. Grr. I even went in search of the site on the internet way back site to no avail. So here I sit with a new look, hope you like it.

Happy 25th Birthday!

Walter, have a Fantastic Birthday and a coming year that is Special as you are!

Love,
Mom

Coursework Complete!

I have FINALLY completed my course work for my Masters Certification in Graphic Design from Sessions College for Professional Design. I was beginning to think there for awhile that I'd never get it done. There had been so many obstacles to getting here I'm just tickled that I've finished.

I'm going to work on posting a link in the near future to a gallery of my course work. In looking through my past assignments I can really see the progress that I've made over the duration of my studies.

I am looking forward to continuing learning new skills and applications as they develop.

They tell me that my certificate will be here within the next couple of weeks. Can't wait!

Celebrating Our Independence!

Huguenot Bridge Day

Huguenot Memorial Bridge Farewell Celebration July 1, 2012

I had a great time yesterday celebrating, the Huguenot Memorial Bridge, with several hundred other Richmonders. VDOT opened the bridge to the public to walk, picnic, paint, cycle, etc. However you wanted to spend the day celebrating the bridge, before its removed to make way for the new construction. Demolition begins the middle of the week.

Huguenot Bridge 1950-2012

Photos from the Bridge

It was interesting to see the multitude of ways that people chose to celebrate the bridge. Plein air painters were busily working on landscapes of the James near the center of the span. Children and adult alike took time to write messages in chalk on the pavement or the bridge railings. There were loads of amateur photographers on hand to record the event for posterity. There were a few families having early morning brunch picnics, while I was there. Loads of cyclist taking advantage of the opportunity to make the ride across the river in safety.

My very favorites were the children playing in water puddles and creating chalk masterpieces. One darling little girl was pushing a carriage with her baby dolls. Too precious.

Shaking Things Up

Caught this swirl of feathers while I was out visiting with Mom & Dad this afternoon.

From My Email

It has been awhile since I've pulled out the email and gone through it for tidbits to share with everyone.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

When I was a kid, I couldn't understand why Eisenhower was so popular. Maybe this will explain why.

General Eisenhower Warned Us.

It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.

He did this because he said in words to this effect: 

'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened'

This week, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed as yet.. However, this is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic priests Who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated' while many in the world looked the other way!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets. 

This from an e-mail that was intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Centre 'NEVER HAPPENED',

Because it offends someone???

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Happy Father's Day

Happy Anniversary! Mom & Dad

Larry & Dorothy Parsons

Married June 8, 1962