Month: November 2015

The Irresistible Urge to Be a Badass

Had to reblog this. I had an awfully difficult time telling the truth when I was younger. Low self-esteem coupled with a vivid imagination led to some fairly wild stories when the truth just felt too bland. Maybe Dr. Carson will come to realize that he’s badass enough without the falsehoods. Read the original at redswrap.wordpress.com.

Jan Wilberg's avatarRed's Wrap

I get Ben Carson’s deal. He wants to be a badass in the worst way.

And when his actual life story didn’t score enough badass points, he gave it a little more juice, moving himself from spectator to perpetrator, wisher to doer. For most people, being a world class brain surgeon would probably be badass enough but not for Dr. Carson. He had to have come from a really rugged, dangerous place, overcome a lot more than the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and 24-hour shifts as a resident. That would be plenty badass for me, working around the clock, saving lives, drinking black coffee, sleeping on a cot in the supply closet like Dr. Kildare. And then there was the separating of the conjoined twins. Super badass in my book.

But I have to admit, it would be even more badass if Dr. Carson had really tried to stab…

View original post 508 more words

Playing the Pogo Stick in Perry

Studly Doright took today (Friday) off so he could spend time with his mom before she has to head home on Monday. Studly excels at finding fun locations for lunch, and he outdid himself today.

  
Just outside of Perry, Florida, is Deal’s Famous Oyster House. People drive for many miles to experience the cafe’s oysters on the half shell along with just about any other kind of seafood one might desire.

Now, Studly doesn’t eat seafood, so we knew there must be some additional reason he chose Deal’s as our lunch destination. It didn’t take long for that reason to be exposed:

   
 
This, my friends, is a one-woman percussion instrument. We believe her name is Zodie and her instrument is called the pogo stick. One plays the pogo stick by dragging it along the floor and tapping it in time to a recorded melody, while simultaneously spinning an attached tambourine and drawing a bow across a string. Simply put, my mind was boggled!

 

 
Studly was pretty proud of himself for introducing us to the pogo stick. I hope the video plays for you!

Oh, and the seafood was incredible. Saint Helen and I had fried shrimp and hush puppies. The breading was light and didn’t overwhelm the shrimp. Perfection. Studly had chicken. Silly boy.

   
 Peace, people!

Colquitt Silos

Yesterday I posted photos of the murals in downtown Colquitt, Georgia. Those murals pale in comparison to the silo murals in this small Georgia town.

Neither Saint Helen nor I claim to be professional photographers, and our only cameras are on our iPhones. Hopefully, though, our photos will convey at least an idea of the scope and beauty of these larger than life works of art:

   
    
   
Every crop grown in the area surrounding Colquitt is depicted on the silos.

We stopped in at the Colquitt Chamber of Commerce before heading downtown, and the women there were full of lively conversation and helpful information. In a future post I’ll share the town’s Cotton Hall Theatre schedule. I’m hoping that Studly Doright and I can attend one of their Swamp Gravy performances in the near future.

Peace, people!

Thanks Spanx

My attention span’s grown shorter
With time’s relentless trudge.
Predictably, my waist has widened
As have my hips and stately bust.

With no hesitation have I turned
To undergarments stout and bold
For Spanx has kept my jigglies firm
While years have turned my assets old.

  

Colquitt, GA

Saint Helen and I visited the quaint community of Colquitt, Georgia, today. We had a scrumptious lunch at the Tarrer Inn, and then wandered around the scenic town square. 

At one shop we purchased some lotion that’s purported to help alleviate the pain of arthritis. After one use Saint Helen was pleased to report that she had no pain in her hands. Of course she then had to sheepishly confess that she hadn’t actually had any pain in her hands to begin with. See why I adore her?

Colquitt is known for its murals, and for good reason.

 

Saint Helen

   

  

 Each corner building has its own mural depicting periods from the town’s history. 

Once Saint Helen shares her photos of the town’s beautifully painted silos with me I’ll post them, as well. Of course, if her hands are giving her trouble she might not be able to hit SEND on her iPhone.

Peace, people!

The Land of Magic

Friends, you really need to take a moment and savor these glorious photographs by my friend Inesa at inesemjphotography.com.

inese's avatarMaking memories

Workshop

This time I will share some of my pictures that I have taken during  Elena Shumilova’s workshop and edited for this blog. To those who haven’t read my previous posts about the workshop, there are two links:  http://inesemjphotography.com/2015/10/23/back-to-the-north-inishowen/ and  http://inesemjphotography.com/2015/10/30/elena-shumilovas-dream/

To start with, I want to make it clear that I have never had any intention to copy Elena’s style, but I did wonder how she makes all her images to look so warm and alive, and how she brings every single detail of her composition to perfection.  I wanted my photographs to be perfect too :). I did learn some of Elena’s techniques, I came home enriched and joyous,  but I know that it is just a beginning of a magic journey, where hard work and inspiration walk side by side.

Elena’s workshop encouraged me to use my painting skills in my photography – something that I do very seldom, and only…

View original post 484 more words

All in a Day’s Work

cinderella danced
sleeping beauty slept for months
snow white cared for dwarves.

  
all in a day’s work
for princesses fair of face
haters gonna hate.

Kitten Cuddling

I missed my last two sessions of kitten cuddling at Tallahassee Animal Services due to our Texas vacation. I was a little concerned that I’d lost my ability to cuddle kittens, but my fears were ungrounded. Kitten cuddling might be my true calling. Studly Doright wishes it was a more lucrative calling; I maintain that happy kittens are reward enough.

This past weekend there was a big adoption event at the shelter, so there were only ten or so kittens available. Once I changed out all the litter boxes and made sure all the felines had fresh food there was plenty of time to play with cats.

This kitten is approximately 4 months old. Her hobbies are purring and snuggling with available humans. The shelter staff named her Sasha Fierce, but I think she should be ‘Stache:

  
Summer, pictured below, is a demure little lady. She is extremely gentle and has a classy attitude.  
Franco, is fond of being petted. One might say he is addicted to love. 

  
Go check out the online kennel at http://www.talgov.com. And remember, don’t shop, ADOPT!

Peace, people!

It’s a Jungle Out There

  
Saint Helen (my mother-in-law) and I were enjoying our morning coffee out on our newly completed screened-in porch when this magnificent bird made an appearance. 

Saint Helen grabbed her iPhone and quickly snapped this photo as the bird flew away to handle some noisy business just around the bend in the lake. Our imaginations have run amok:

  • The bird is fending off an alligator
  • The bird is protecting a nest
  • The bird is attempting to establish its dominance over another male
  • The bird is trying to impress a female
  • The bird is auditioning for an episode of Swamp People.

Heck, we aren’t even sure what kind of bird this is. Maybe an egret? A heron? An ostrich? If any of my readers can identify it I’d be grateful.

Almost Haiku

counting syllables
five, seven, then five again
sometimes those aren’t e-
(nough.)

  
mathematicians
find pleasure in haiku
where numbers still count.

 
Einstein, the poet?
relativity in words
theoretically.