Title: Reader's Choice

Here's your choices for today's title:

March of the Teapots

An Army of Teapots

There's One in Every Crowd

Actually the title should be, "The Downside of Collecting"

Yesterday I spent too many perfect-weather-Saturday hours washing every teapot on display (forget the ones stored away). I don't know how many it was, but estimate 30-35. I really contemplated packing all of them away, but that would have meant getting boxes, packing material & then finding storage space and hope they wouldn't get broken. So they're now sparkling proudly again on top of the cabinets, the baker's rack & fireplace mantel. I guess washing them every few months is a small price to pay for enjoying their whimsical cuteness.

Good Morning Sunshine!

Is that a stamen in your petals or are you just happy to see me?

Ok,that was bad, I know it. Forgive me. It's day 2 of my vacation and I got up early with ambitious plans to catch some sunrise pictures and get my workout out of the way.


This "vacation" is only 4 days long and the only plans are to putter around the house, play with my toys, and hopefully catch up on long-postponed, understandably procrastinated, chores. Ugh. Still procrastinating. I earned this rest, right?!

The sunrise shots? Nada. Zippity. It was a washed out breaking of day. I drove around to some spots that I know are pretty in the daybreak hours, with a bit of morning fog hovering for effect, but nothing looked good. I ended up coming home and photographing the hollyhock by my driveway!

I love this Velvet Elvis effect!! I think I'll print it for making a card later. Off to my first "chore" project now....

Delete Layer 9

The Delete Key. Such simplicity. Such power.
Made a mistake? Press "Delete"
Feeling a little messed up; need to reboot? Press "Ctrl Alt Delete Restart"
If only life worked that way.

Learning a new software and in the process, kept creating a layer 9. Which I did not want or need. I bet I deleted layer 9 at least 20 times.

More technology bennies: For this post, I wanted a picture of the delete key. However, digital pays more attention to detail than I do. Dust I can't see with my glasses on showed up in the picture. But one click of a Photoshop effects key & presto - artsy photo result.

And no layer 9.

Happy Blogiversary

It's my blogiversary! The picture that started it all:I started blogging a year ago this month. While looking for artwork of afghan hounds, I discovered an artist's blog. It was clean & simple, like her watercolors. At first I thought it was a website, but after realizing it was a blog, I thought hmmm....I wonder if I can do that for my photos? It's nice to have a cyber gallery, even if only a few family & friends drop by to browse.

btw: I've bought 3 of her afghan hound watercolors - all in blue, of course! Still follow her blog occasionally. NBC just purchased some pieces from her for their tv shows. That's kinda neat. She seems like a cool person.

Book Reviews

I might list books I'm reading, but that doesn't necessarily mean I agree with them. "A New Earth" is one such book. It was a hot topic this year because of Oprah. People were sending hysterical emails that she was pushing a new religion. I want to know what people are interested in, stay current, & think for myself. So I read the book. Have to admit, I almost felt like I should put it in a brown paper bag as I left the library in case anyone from church saw me. Sheesh.

So, about the book: my first thought was, this guy has watched The Matrix Trilogy way too many times. Like The Matrix, "A New Earth" is a mish-mash of eastern religion & philosophy. Nothing for anyone grounded in the Word to fear. But we need to know what people are thinking & talking about in our society. Then, instead of freaking out and slapping them with the Bible, be able to carry on an intelligent dialogue.

"What Happened" by Scott McClellan, is another book that rocked a few boats this past spring. It was a big deal because the Bush family values privacy to the point of fanatical secrecy & ol' Scotty here disobeyed the code. He is a former Bush staffer who became press secretary just as the hoopla over the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame started heating up. He supported going into Iraq, but it gradually dawned on him that maybe things weren't so kosher re: those pesky WMDs. He's a rather disillusioned guy now who probably feels better after his print confession (& the accompanying check). Although it gives a tiny bit of insight into the President's thinking re: Iraq, it's not enough to spend time reading the book.

There's my 2 cents worth.

Meet the Newbies

Two new teapots joined the family this summer. This whimsical cutie was purchased recently on shopping excursion to a small town nearby known for its antique stores. I knew it would look great sitting next to the Three Bears teapot. It was a Must Have.


This one was a gift from hubby, procured while on his summer mission trip to Spain.
 
Maybe it doesn't count as a gift, since I asked him to bring one back. But it's just so cool to have one from almost every country he's gone to. And I really, truly appreciate those teapots the most because I know what a sacrifice of love it is for him to shop, OCD-style, until he finds one! He never disappoints. No wonder I love him so. He's not a shopper or tourist and would rather just get home rather than take that last day of the trip to sightsee/shop with the team. Once the perfect (or sometimes, only) pot is found, there is the matter of packing it. In over 40 trips around the world, not one teapot has ever arrived to America damaged. What a guy! Never lost a team member. Never lost a teapot.

Birthday Cake

My birthday was the 17th. All I asked for was chocolate cake from Merritt's Bakery. And, boy did Joe deliver. Three round layers of chocolate decadance. Each layer separated by chocolate cream. The whole thing covered in lucious chocolate buttercream. And finally, the most beautiful sugary trimmings imaginable in sweet ruffles and roses. It must have weighed 5 lbs. Happy Birthday to me!

A Comment on "Comments"

I read recently that there is etiquette in the BlogUniverse. One of the rules of polite blog-society manners is to leave feedback if you enjoy someone's work. I confess I'm more reader than commenter and for that, I apologize. It is nice when someone leaves a note on your blog now & then; it lets you know at least one person in the cyberworld cruised by and paused for a moment at your place.

I would like to add something to the etiquette rules: if you want to leave a comment, please introduce yourself. Give your name or at least a web-name or some fun little code name. Comments from 'Anonymous' really just don't mean anything. Sometimes people ask a question about something I wrote. I don't mind answering if I know the person. But when someone anonymously asks a question, I see no reason to answer and, thus, delete the comment.
Here's how I have the comments feature set up on this blog: Click on - you guessed it - "comments" at the end of the post. Another screen pops up & you write your thoughts in the little box. Choose your options for signing your name & submit. Your comment will go to an email address. I then have the option to publish the comment or delete it before it ever sees the light of day.

I'm so glad when you stop by, sit a spell and read my blog. Just take a moment now & than to say hi. Groovy?

Full Moon Monday

Did anyone else have a crazy Monday? Or was it just me? Because I had trouble sleeping last night and when I finally did, it was deep. I mean to tell you - when hubby woke me up, I didn't even know what planet I was on. And the day went from there. Assorted little weirdnessess, the weirdest being a computer problem. Which is better than a weird people problem.

Sister-friends: you can be mad at me all you want, but I do declare all y'all who drive vans, big-a$$ Suburbans, or anything bigger than my Mazda Tribute should either have your licenses revoked or be sentenced to driving a Mini-Cooper the rest of your natural lives. You seem to get a testosterone-hit when you get behind the wheel of one of those things. Put a cell phone in your hand & you become a menace to society. I'm just sayin'.

Did I mention I was cut off TWICE today by women drivers in plus-size vehicles?

The Ohio Chronicles: Last Chapter of Book One

I call it "Book One" because all my family is still there and I'll be making another pilgramage within a year to see them; Ohio Chronicles is an ongoing story. It's about my life & theirs, places we shared, and all the memories & events in family life and growing up that intertwine and interweave to create our personal tapestry. I'll wrap up Book One with a few odds & ends and some pictures that I just kinda liked.

BITS & PIECES OF MY LIFE

These lilies used to cover the bank of hill in front of our house. It was very steep & difficult to mow, so someone planted a mass of flowers. At the time, I thought they were ugly. Now there's only a few left.

Grandpap's favorite cigar, or stogie. There was a tree behind his house that grew some kind of long string-bean-looking thing. I saw one just like it in Kansas City & snapped this picture.They called it a stogie tree. I thought Gramps plucked his right off the tree. I suppose that ranks up there with the dog on the bridge story.

The building on the left used to be the dance studio where I spent many, many happy hours learning modern jazz - real dance, Bob Fosse stuff - not the gymnastic-aerobic-hiphop hybrid choreography done today. (Granted, the contemporary style takes great talent & athletic ability. But, it's just not .... jazzy)The mini-park fountain the town council had built when Uncle Bud was a councilman. I called him Uncle "Fudgie" because I loved fudge and he was my favorite uncle - as good as fudge. But something happened along the way and sadly, he died a lonely, crotchety man.

The church Joe's entire family attended, where he was an altar boy, where we were married, where our baby son was christened. It was a classic village parish. But time took it's toll. The village aged and died off, the young families moved away, and the diocese shut the doors a couple years ago. A non-denominational congregation bought the building.

CLOSING SHOTS

We've come to the close of this particular journey. I hope you enjoyed our little trip back in time. Thank you for coming along.