Two Questions for 9-30-10

I am joining Blessing Reflections' Meme Thursday Two Questions today. Here are my two questions for this week:

1.  If female middle school students are required to have their skirt or shorts lengths no higher than the tip of their fingers when their arms are held flat at their sides, shouldn’t teachers be held to the same standard?

2. Does driving with your windows open really use up more gas than when they are closed?

Alphabe Thursday - B Is for BUT!

Surely in your lifetime you have heard the word “but” and used the word “but.”  It’s a pretty darn handy-dandy word for parents, teachers, and children alike.

~Mother to Eugenia: "Eugenia, it upsets me as much as it upsets you, BUT I still have to ground you this weekend for not picking up your clothes as you were told.”
~Eugenia to Mother - “BUT, Mother......Come on...you don’t understand...I was really in a big hurry and just didn’t have time."

~John to Ms. R.:  "Can I go to my locker before the bell rings?"
~Mrs. R. to John: "I would love to let you go to your locker, BUT Mr. Morris will not let you. He’s the boss around here."
~John to Ms. R.: "BUT, Ms. R....I will miss my bus if I go after the bell."
~Ms. R. to John: "Sorry about that...just HURRY!"

~Eugenia to Eugenia:  "I need to get out of this bed, get dressed, and start cleaning up this messy house.......BUT, I think I will stay here a little while longer...I’ll still have enough time to get it done before the kids get here for the weekend..."

~Sister Ann Catherine to Eugenia and Jeanne: “Girls, you need to listen to me and listen closely....you and your class are going to graduate to the music the sisters have chosen and NOT to Pomp and Circumstance. If you continue to insist on doing it your way, you won’t walk down the chapel isle at all, BUT, rather, you will be handed your diplomas privately. Do you understand?"
~ Eugenia to Sister: BUT, Sister, we really, really want to march in with Pomp and Circumstance. All high school seniors process to Pomp and Circumstance. Please....you just don’t understand. Why do we have to do it differently?”
~Sister to Eugenia and Jeanne: “No, it is you girls who don’t understand. There are going to be no if’s, and’s, or BUT’S....It is going to be our way or no way...end of discussion. Now be gone with the both of you and keep those mouths shut if you know what’s good for you!”

~Ms. R. to Billy: “Billy, you need to get a sheet of paper out of the drawer and write down the who, what, where, when, why, and how of what happened in the cafeteria.”
~Billy to Ms. R.: “BUT, Ms. R., I ain’t done nutin'...it was Chris. He hit me and made me to fall into Paul. It ain’t my fault, and I ain’t gonna do it!” 
~ Ms. R. to Billy: “Fine, Billy, just sit there and do can nothing for now, BUT sooner or later you are going to have to write the paper if you want to talk to Mr. M. about ever getting out of this suspension room. I’d love it if I could bend the rule for you, BUT I just can’t. Rules are rules like it or not!”

~Eugenia to Eugenia about 8:30 A.M. at work: “I really want some of these potato chips, BUT it’s way too early for junk food....they are going to up my cholesterol...BUT I’ll only have 6....that’ll be OK...BUT I’d better not because if I start eating them I won’t stop... Oh, heck...I don’t care. Here goes!”   CRUNCH,CRUNCH,CRUNCH!

~Eugenia to Buddy: “O.K., Bud, I’ll make the supreme sacrifice and go to your office picnic, BUT you are going to owe me big time!”

~Baga to 5 year old Eloise: “ I will let you watch TV for 30 minutes, BUT then you are going to have to go to bed. Here, I’ll set the alarm and when it goes off, it’s off to bed for you, young lady. I have to do what your mommy tells me to do. She and your daddy will be home soon, and you’d better be in bed. Your Baga doesn’t want them to put her in the “naughty chair."

30 minutes later.....alarm goes off...

Baga to Eloise: “O.K., it’s off to bed for you.”
Eloise to Baga: “BUT, Baga, the show isn’t over yet. Please.....just a little while longer...”
Baga to Eloise: “Sweetie Pie, I would love to let you stay up, BUT I just can’t. Let’s go, now."

The sobbing starts......

THE END

I am linking to Jenny Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday

Vintage Thingy Thursday

One of my FAVORITE pieces of jewelry is a necklace I had a silversmith friend of mine make for me from my daddy’s family’s love tokens.  During the 1800’s,  people would deface one side of a coin - mine happen to be dimes - and engrave initials, dates, and pictures on the that side. They also placed engravings on rounded pieces of silver.  I have been struggling for years trying to identify the initials and have been successful in some cases.  All of them come from my father’s side of the family. The Hornot’s were French and lived in New Orleans.  Several years ago I spent a week in the genealogy section of the NOLA Pubic Library researching family history, and that is where I was finally able to identify some of the dates and initials. This necklace is one of my “treasures.”

 The following are the pieces that “responded positively” to be photographed!  In other words, I couldn’t get the other shots to come out clearly enough to post. At least these will give you an idea of why this necklace is do full of meaning and sentimentality for me.

I am linking up with Suzanne’s Vintage Thingy Thursday.

Rednesday with Thomas

Here we are at Rednesday again sponsored by Sue over at It’s a Very Cherry World. When I last checked there were 44 great entries so take time and pay her a visit.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

I almost missed it because my day yesterday was so grim I didn’t have the strength to get on my computer when I got home. All I could do once through the front door was crawl into bed. I had planned all along to use my grandchild with his red hair, so here he is, a bit late, in all of his RED HAIR glory.

I ALWAYS WANTED A RED HEADED CHILD.....

Here we go!

1. 1st Child - Blond haired daughter

2. 2nd Child - Brown haired son

3. 3rd Child - Brown haired son

4. 1st Grandchild - Blond haired grandson

5. 2nd Grandchild - Brown haired grandson

6. 3rd Grandchild - Blondish-brown haired grandson

7. 4th Grandchild - Brown haired grandson

8. 5th Grandchild - REDHEADED GRANDSON

9. 6th Grandchild - Brown haired granddaughter

WE FINALLY DID IT!

(I must give credit for the first picture to my photographer daughter.  It is amazing what she can so with a camera! I took the others.) 

M.E. Monday

Here we are on Sunday night, and it is time to join in with Vicki over at Cherry Chick and post our Mary Engelbreit goodies for the week. If you have never stopped by, be sure to do it because you will not be disappointed.

A while back I read about this M.E. scrapbooking paper kit and immediately ordered if off of Amazon for $13.00.  The papers are precious and the collection is made up of her most favorite prints, sayings, and all kinds of other odds and ends of paper....even some ric rac.  I have been using it for all sorts of little projects and am so glad I went ahead and bought it.  I stopped scrapbooking about 5 years ago because I had a total “burn out” after many years of doing is constantly. All of my collection of unused Creative Memories scrapbooks are packed away in a huge brown box sitting out in one or our old outbuildings. I’ve retired from the scrapbooking, but I can surely use her papers for other fun things.

Here are some of my favorites.

  

Mosaic Monday

As with each and every Monday, Mary over at her Little Red House is sponsoring our Mosaic Monday.  Be sure to stop by, pay her a visit, and check out all of the mosaics her friends have posted for this week.  You will not be disappointed.

And The Rains Came

After weeks without any moisture in our part of the Blue Ridge Mountains - other than sweat - the rains came but not with a vengeance. The rain came down in a beautiful beautiful, stead, andy gentle flow of water all night and most of the day.  Not being able to resist the raindrops sliding across the petals of what flower blooms we have left, I dragged out my Mr. Rebel with his telephoto lens and got these close ups.  For some reason the daisy did not have any drops on it petals...I am assuming they either rolled off or were soaked up immediately. It is my only daisy left in the garden.

As always, a Happy Mosaic Monday to all of you.

Trials and Tribulations with Black and White

I’ve not shot in black and white since “real” film disappeared from the shelves, but after looking at the photographs on “The Weekend in Black and White,” I decided to give it a try. Monochromatic pictures have always been my favorites, but with our filmless cameras I never thought I could do it. Geeze,  I am getting old.  It was so simple...all I had to do was go into the menu on my Canon Rebel and change the settings to Monochrome. Don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that one! I’m just a little bit slow on the draw. Having a creek on our property gives me ample opportunity to see if I can capture the light bouncing off of the water in this medium like I can do when I’m shooting in color.  The creek is low,  but still I was able to catch those magical light bubbles dancing on the surface. 

“There is no black - and - white situation.  It’s all part of life. Highs, lows, and middles.

~Van Morrison 

Pink Saturday at the Quiltery

Once again I am hooking up with  Beverly’s Pink Saturday.  All week long I have been thinking about what pink I wanted to post so here it is...fabric from my favorite quilting shop. Everyone taking part in this meme is asked to visit the blog of someone on the list has never visited before.  I chose Betty at She’s Sew Pretty. Her blog is whimsical and fun to read.  Pay her a visit.  I know you will have a great time.

Since school started I have not had the time to quilt, and now I am finding that I’m going through some serious withdrawal.  Yesterday was the turning point...I just couln’t stand it any longer.  On my way home from work, I stopped at our precious little quilting shop called “The Quiltery.”  It is manned by  the sweetest lady, Maureen, and the members of the quilting guild take turns helping her out. Going in there is so therapeutic after a day with the kids no one wants in their classes because they are so disruptive.  It is quiet, happy, small, and cozy, and I am surrounded by color, texture, and beautiful quilts and other quilted items on the walls. Yesterday I left with a bag filled with Halloween fabrics and a magazine entitled Quilting Arts Gifts. It was so filled with wonderful ideas I  had to return today for MORE fabric....NOT GOOD for the old pocket book!  After that I headed to our local wine shop to look for cigar boxes.  For a donation to the SPCA which I was more than me happy to make, I went home with 3 beautiful boxes in perfect condition. I’ve gotta have the cigar boxes for Debbie’s box swap though you do have the choice of using a jar.  If you are interested in participating, here is the link to her page and all of the information:

  Cozy Blanket...http://cozyblanket.blogspot.com/2010/09/some-fall-decorating-and-christmas.html. 

The fabrics on the right are just miscelaneous ones Maureen had on her shelves, but the ones on the left are mostly Amy Butler ones...some of my favorites.

As always, I hope all of you have a happy Pink Saturday and a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

Skywatch Friday

If you enjoy photographs of skies from around the world, go  over and visit

Skywatch Friday.   So far today there are already 119 entries, and they are absolutely beautiful.

Cloud Craters atop Sky Mountain

Alphabe Thursday - A Is for Allergy

Today I am joining in on the fun over at Jenny Matlocks blog.  She is quite the writer and so talented, fun, and creative. We are starting over with the alphabet this week so today’s letter is A.

My “A” word is ALLERGy!  First, let us look at it as a “negative” thing. What is an allergy in my book?  Well, it is a big itchin’ I get in my nose, inside my ears, all over the roof of my big mouth, under my toenails, on top of my eyeballs, and crawling up and down my wrinkled old epidermis.  As you can imagine, it is one BIG ITCHY PAIN!!! This time of year it is a bigger ITCHY PAIN than usual.....I love fall colors, but I despise the fall yuck that comes flying on a direct path to my poor old body. If I ever win the lottery, I promise mankind I will donate some of my winnings to allergy research for the elderly.  That old story I was told growing up....that I’d outgrow the darn things when I was older.  Well, that was ONE BIG LIE!!!  They have only gotten worse. Trust me, I’m not fooling you. I wouldn’t do a thing like that.

Now, on the other side of the coin let’s look at it as if it is a “positive” thing.
-“Oh, honey, I can’t vacuum today because my allergies are really bothering me.”
-“Sweetheart, would you please make the garbage run to the dumpsters...stirring up all of that dirt around those nasty green containers will make me itch and sneeze even more.”
-“Buddy, PLEASE get Jack and Trouble out of here right now....you know all they do is share their dander with me and make me claw at myself even more.”
-O.K., dear, I have had it for one day.  I am going to bed.  Will you please clean up the kitchen.  All of this itching and sneezing has worn me to a frazzle.”
All of these are good things in my book....gotta spread that old housework around a bit.

That’s it is a nutshell....allergies are just allergies.  They live with me and I live with them. They ain’t gonna kill me though they can make me feel pretty miserable and out of sorts at certain times of the year.  There are a lot worse “A” things I could have wrong with me: amnesia, anxiety disorder, alter personalities, acne, AIS - anger irritation syndrome, Alzheimer’s...and the list goes on and on.  I think I am pretty darn lucky.  Hey, when I wake up itching I know I am alive.  That is a good thing!

A happy Alphabe Thursday to all of you. I am so thrilled to be on board for the coming 26 weeks.

Vintage Thingie Thursday

I have been collecting old perfume bottles and other silver dresser items for years.  This one is what I call one of my “little treasures” because it is so small and dainty.  Heaven only knows where the top went after all of these years, but it doesn’t bother me.  I still love it and love looking at it. Old things have always even beautiful to me....even before I got to be old!

If you have never been to see the posts for this ongoing and fun Thursday event, hop on over to Suzanne’s The Colorado Lady and look at all the entries. I am amazed every week at the beautiful things I see.

The Pumpkins of Rockbridge County

           

WELCOME TO THE PUMPKINS OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY

Each morning on my way to work and then again on my way home, I pass the Swisher  farm.  All summer long they sell potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and all sorts of homegrown veggies, but come September they begin  putting out their humongous stash of pumpkins.

This is my exit off of I-81. Pretend I am in the car just about to go under the interstate overpass.

About a quarter of a mile down the road this is what I see....the Swisher farm and the pumpkins. It is only a hop and a skip from our school.

Shortly after the bell rang on Tuesday,  I asked my principal if I could run down down there for just a few minutes to take some photos of all the pumpkins, and he was kind enough to let me do it.  He knows what a nut I am about taking pictures of rural landscapes. 

They were quite the sight to behold. The closer I got to the piles the bigger they seemed to get. They were amazing! If this these photos don’t get you all in the mood for fall and Halloween, I don’t know what will do it.  They certainly did it to me ASAP!!! If you want to see my concept of an Andy Warhol painting of these pumpkins, hop over to my new photography blog  - "Climbing the Digital Mountain One Step at a Time”-  and look at what I created with the help of Adobe Photoshop CS.  I think it’s pretty funky!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL 2010!

Genie Joins the Watery Wednesday Following

Since I absolutely love the water, it is only fitting that I would find another theme day called Watery Wednesdays. Since becoming so enamored with my Canon Rebel camera, I have been searching out photography themed blogs, and that is how I came across this wonderful one.  Stop by and look at the entries. They are really impressive.

This picture was taken at Sandbridge Beach, VA, three weeks ago at our family reunion.  I was tickled to death when I saw how I’d captured the movement of the waves with the clouds floating close behind.  We had the most beautiful 7 days you could imagine...the week before the hurricane came up the east coast. PErfect timing!

I was amazed when I visited the blog for the first time today and saw how many talented photographers were taking part in the postings.  I am really exciting about joining in with them though I feel like I have a long longs ways to go to be able to show pictures as beautifully composed as theirs.  I am truly a novice.

So to all of you who are a part of this group, a Happy Watery Wednesday to all of you.

Genie

Rednesday Is Here Again!

I think this is the cutest little Valentine’s sectional dish.  I found it at our local “antique-junk” mall and paid $9.00 for it.  The price was great because I would have bought it anyway even if the owner had not come when I started haggling with him.  I just love it and am using it to hold different odds and ends I need in my upstairs office/crafting room...thank you Vicki for that suggestion.

I.  have assigned a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place award for the little sections. For some reason this section is my favorite because it reminds me of my tricycle - mine was the normal size - with its little red basket handing from the handle bars and it bell.  That trike was my favorite toy. Our little girl in her yellow came in 1st.

This sweetie pie in her blue gingham received the 2nd place award. I really love the little saying...”I will always stand up for you my Valentine.”

Our little Valentine’s cook with her precious little apron got the yellow ribbon - 3rd place.   Her rosy red cheeks are just too cute.

If you have never visited Sue Loves Cherries, click on this link and pay our great sponsor  a visit.  It is such fun each week to see all of the red the gals are posting.  There certainly are a lot of us who really love our red...and I am definitely at the top of the list.

Happy Rednesday to all of you.

Genie

Goldfish Macro Monday

This week I am joining  Macro Monday over at Lisa’s Chaos.  I just found her blog this evening and wanted to start participating.  This is Geoffrey the Goldfish and he lives in what used to be our hot tub....we turned it into a goldfish pond years ago.  We really love our fish and think of them as our dear friends.  When I took this photo, it seemed like he was trying to look up at me and smile!

An Afternoon Visit to Bubbling Springs

This afternoon after work Buddy and I took a little trip out to Pad’s Creek and Bubbling Springs for me to have some quality time with my camera.  It is a 30 minute drive from the house over a horrible washboard rutted out dirt road, but once you survive the ride you find yourself in a magical and isolated spot out in the middle of the woods.  The water bubbles up from underground springs, and you can stand there in the middle of it with little bubbles popping and dancing all around your feet.  It is such fun and has been one of our favorite spots for 39 years. 

Buddy snapped this shot of me balancing on a little rock with his little Canon Point and Shoot camera...it is very shallow, thank goodness.

.

This is how the entire little area looks....lots of bubbling waters and lots of pebbles and rocks.

There is an abundance of watercress which we pick sandwiches in spring and fall.  It is much better on a BLT and lettuce in my book.

Whatever falls stays where it falls, and the moss and lichens grow and flourish.

The most fascinating part of our visit to the springs is always the water forming what I would call concentric circles as it is bubbling away amidst the fallen leaves and pebbles.  Neither one of us fell in which was a very good thing...no falls meant going home with a dry, working camera!

M.E.Monday Is Here Again

Once again, I came upon a little M.E. treasure when I was working upstairs in my office today.  The only problem was what was supposed to be inside of it was not. I guess it is just another Senior Citizen Brain Freeze. This is my treasured lunchbox in which I kept all of the M.E. paper dolls I had cut from her magazines all the years I subscribed to them. It was hidden back behind some books on one of our library shelves.  When I discovered it, I about flipped out I was so happy.  But when I opened it a BIG surprise was there awaiting me. NO PAPER DOLLS......

SURPRISE, SURPRISE as Gomer would say. I found Eloise’s little china antique tea set I got for her a few years back.  I’m assuming I took the paper dollsout and put them somewhere where they would be safe until she grew into them.  Sadly, I do not have a clue where that could be.  I searched all the many bookshelves to no avail. There is no sense fretting about it....they will turn up sooner or later, and then maybe they won’t. Either way I have the lunchbox and that makes me very happy.

Now here is my MOST SPECIAL part of this post.  Vicki from Cherry Chick sent me one of her resin M.E. pins.  When I got the mail on Saturday I almost flipped out I was so excited.  Am now in the process of trying to decide what to wear to work tomorrow so everyone at school will see it.  Look at her pin, but look at the back of it, too.  The way she mounted the clasp is so neat and clean.  When I do it with the glue gun, it always looks a mess.  Oh, to be so talented.  Thank you, Vicki, my dear Floridian pal and friend. I love my present.  Hope you had a great trip to Lake George, and we will see your posts again VERY soon.

And now for all you out there who have not participated in Vicki’s M.E. Mondays, here is the link to her Cherry Chick blog.  Be sure to stop by and see all the goodies posted by those of us who continue to love and adore the work of M.E.  I think you could call us her “tried and true, devoted and faithful” followers.