Scavenger Hunt

Lisa is playing a scavenger hunt hosted by Nicole B I'm not invited so I'm tagging along anyway. It's Nicole's first scavenger hunt, and I hope she doesn't mind.

Because I'm leaving town until the end of the week, I don't have time to search for new ideas. Instead, I did exactly what she said not to. I went into my file archives.

Here are the 25 things for which participants are to search. I may get some pictures for the ones I missed. Her hunt is open until March 15. Go over there and check it out!!




1) local currency (If you're a pirate)

2) local flag (My mom called them that!)

3) local food (Annual Corn Roast @ Charles)

4) something rusty (Bridge over water skippers)

5) local wildlife (never seen one. Hope to- snort!)

6) local nature (love walking)

7) local stamp (Well, I "done-near stamped him good.")

8) part of your neighborhood (chitchatting)

9) traditional house (In original section of town.)

10) a local person (Sophie the neighbor girl)

11) local weather (gets ya down in the winter)

12) local transportation (Tubin' behind the V-8)

13) traditional local clothing
(not for me, for them! Gorgeous)

14) night sky (a final sunbeam)

15) sunrise (beginning the ride)

16) local product non food (Bills Gourds)

17) something furry (my friends puppy)

18) something feathery (River Grass)

19) a sign of the season (Balloon Stampede)

20) a part of you (holding hummers)

21) your main hobby

22) a local shop

23) a local restaurant ( local college kids)

24) a street sign (it's there, I swear)

25) a local mail box

Hoodie Hoo What?

I saw this sign when I went to pick up Auntie Fern last Thursday.


Do you know about Hoodie Hoo Day? I didn't.

You can google it, or just check out this link to Holiday Insights. This is what is says:

Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day

When : Always on February 20

On this winter day, people go out at noon, wave their hands over their heads and chant "Hoodie-Hoo".

It is a day to chase away winter and bring in spring. After all, everyone in the northern hemisphere are sick and tired of winter at this point and a little crazy being cooped up inside all winter and not seeing the sun.

Did you know? Hoodie Hoo Day is a copyrighted holiday. It was created and is provided, courtesy of the great folks at Wellcat.com

Well -- there you have it. We missed it. Thank goodness.

Mario spends the day with Grandma

Curlymop came to visit us last weekend with her mommy and daddy.

After they arrived home, Curlymop could not find her best loved doll - Mario. She was sad and asked her mommy about it with tears on her cheeks.

In the meantime, Grandma (me) saw Mario's feet sticking out from beneath the bed and pulled him to safety.

Then, I started doing what I enjoy doing so much. Playing with my camera.

The rest of the day, Mario and my camera tagged along.

Curlymop was a giggle box when she began receiving Emails throughout the day with the photos attached.

I've recapped Mario's day in a little slide show.

It sure is fun being a grandmother sometimes.




Mario visits Grandma from pamela on Vimeo.

Busted

When your mommy tells the neighbors that you've been grounded from television for the week, you really need to pull the drapes.

She'll be home from work very soon, so --- Yes, indeed -- you are busted!



Carmi, at Written Inc has given us the subject of Busted for this weeks Thematic Photograph #37.

There are many interesting interpretations out there. Click over there and enjoy.

The Neighborhood Sharpie

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Include Wordless Wednesday in your flight pattern today.

Little Girl in a Bracelet

When Amanda brought Curlymop to visit last weekend, she planned to search through our albums and copy some photos from her younger days. During her exploration, she became infatuated by the many old pictures that have passed down through several generations.

“How am I related to this person?”

“You mean you don’t know who these people are?”

“I love this picture, mom! I want a copy to hang on my wall.”

“I should probably write down the connection, although I doubt anyone will ask me.”

“Oh! This is an adorable little girl in a bracelet.”

She was experiencing the first symptoms of genealogy fever. It starts with a few photos or an interesting story about your grandmother. Then you find out something about Great Uncle George. Before long, you find yourself searching through old family bibles. Eventually, after a free trial, you fork out the membership fees to join an internet ancestry search.

If you don’t have a natural immunity to it, you can develop a full blown case of historical hysteria and never recover.

Her excitement nudged me, and I found myself checking out the old networks for new information.

I wasn’t disappointed. Tonight I found an ancestor named John Damon who was born in Kent, England on November 11, 1621. He and his wife Martha had children with the names Experience, Silence, Ebenezer, and Ichabod. (Amanda, you are the 13^th generation from John and Martha.)

I was also reminded that one of the reasons I started to blog was to publish some of the family history. The stories will be lost if our generation doesn’t pass them down.

And photographs will be questions for future generations if we don’t take the time to identify them.

I’m sorry that I probably will never find out who is the beautiful “Little Girl in a Bracelet.”

Fun Monday - by the foot

Gattina, the wonderful author of Writers Cramps, has chosen our feet as the topic of today's Fun Monday. To be exact, she asks: Please show us what you wear on your feet inside your home ! Do you wear slippers, flip flops, shoes or nothing ? just take a picture and show us your feet !

Lucky for you, I'm not going to show you my freaky feet.

BUT, you do get to see my orthotics. I have to wear them because I suffer from over pronation.

What is that, you ask? What? You didn't ask? Well, here is the definition from foot dot com.

Over-pronation, or flat feet, is a common biomechanical problem that occurs in the walking process when a person's arch collapses upon weight bearing. This motion can cause extreme stress or inflammation on the plantar fascia, potentially causing severe discomfort and leading to other foot problems.

I wear these expensive puppies in every shoe I own. Therefore, I have to shop for well made, but conspicuously ugly shoes into which I can insert these supports. Or not, and experience horrible pain.

Some other members of my family share this problem, so it could be genetic. It may have been exacerbated by playing competitive racket ball for years.

My dancing days are over. No more spike heels. No sandals or flip flops.

I still get to play Fun Monday, though.

Kick off your shoes and enjoy the foot frenzy - all the links will be up at Writers Cramps!

There is a place called Zimbabwe

This will be at the top of the page as a sticky note for two weeks.

One of my new friends is a little girl, a toddler, named Mozi Esmé. I mentioned her on my blog after I read her post about her daddy helping in an orphanage in Zimbabwe.
She and her mommy are having a two-week special on their blog so that more people will be aware of the things that are happening there. Please... go visit them and learn more about what is happening to the people of Zimbabwe.

Visit them by clicking on Operation Love Zimbabwe in my side bar.

PS. she's also having some give aways.

Thematic Photographic 36 - Up

The past two months have been very busy with things I had no idea would fall into my area of influence.

So, this morning when I had an opportunity to take a long walk on the creek I decided to keep my eyes lifted up. I needed lifting up - and I hoped to find something to post for Carmi's Thematic Photo meme at Written Inc.

My hope to find a mountain bluebird was not sated; But I was not disappointed. There were some other birds who availed themselves to my trusty little point and shoot.


UP on the telephone pole: Red Tailed Hawk



UP in the sky above the lake: A Bald Eagle



UP above the soggy ground where he'd been searching for lunch: A Robin.



Up in the tips of a Juniper that provides its food and shelter: A Townsend Solitaire.



It really is an UP day today.

UP your blog today, and join in the fun over at Carmi's.

Bet that caught your attention

Wild times

I can remember my mom singing a song that went something like "Where there's wild men, there must be wild women; So, where did Robinson Crusoe go, with Friday on Saturday Night."

Why I thought of that when I saw this little quiz - I can't say.

We're looking for a host for the next Fun Monday. Please --- someone step up to the plate! Thanks.

UPDATE: Gattina of Writer's Cramps will be our Fun Monday Host for February 16

YEAAAAAH !

Fun Monday - The Blues Define Us

There are many things I thought about sharing that could tell you so much about my little corner of the world. When I first moved here 38 years ago, the local growers of Italian descent were famous for their sweet onions. They still grow them, but the wineries are now the tourist draw. Perhaps people grab a bag of onions when they are in season to compliment their wine purchases. That thought makes me giggle.

The rolling wheat fields are picturesque and for many years the backbone of our agricultural economy.

There's the state penitentiary on the hill that houses many guests who would prefer to be somewhere far away.

One university and two colleges keep the town filled with energy in learning, music, and art. One can't walk down the street without being influenced by the culture of youth.

But, the one thing that stands tall above them all are the beautiful Blue Mountains. They are the arms of the seasons that wrap us in their ever changing embrace. They are the giver of streams of living water flowing through the lush valley. They roll their foothills out as a green carpet entrance to any and all who would venture up and in.

The Blues define my valley.

I present to you slide show of photos I've taken over the past few years.


The Blues from pamela on Vimeo.


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If you want to play - sign up on the post below.

And DO WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER FOR NEXT WEEK?

Invitation: Play Fun Monday on February 9

Please join me next Monday as I host this weeks Fun.

The subject: Show me in pictures or tell me in words what defines the place where you live.

I want to leave the interpretation open to include any possibility.

It could be a geographical phenomenon. For instance, when I was a child, the people who lived on our sloping hill could view the Olympic Mountain to the northwest and the majestic Mt. Rainier to the south east.

It could be a man made monstrosity. Do you come home from a trip and the shadow of a skyscraper beckons you.

Has the wind blowing from the feed lot given your small town a dusty or smelly reputation?

Is there a college or university close by that seasonally changes the way your world operates? Or maybe a winter influx of retired snowbirds?

Could it be the house at the left turn to the grocery store has turned into a junk yard?

Did a famous person put your town on the map?

Is there something about your neighborhood that makes it unique. Good or bad.

I'm looking forward to finding out more about the place you call home.

Sign up on Mr. Linky!



(someone said this is a rerun -- so please forgive me! I must have missed it, as I haven't played Fun Monday every week this past year. Please sign up anyway and find something new to excite us.)

A moment with Auntie Fern

I am troubled because Auntie Fern has been failing the past couple of weeks. How does one deal with the health of a woman preparing to celebrate her 100 birthday? The situation has given me good reason to spend more time with her and try to help her regain some strength.

Funny how things happen. I try to help her - and instead she helps me -- to smile and to laugh.

For instance, on Monday she was so ill that I called the clinic for advice. The nurse found a Tuesday afternoon cancellation and Fern agreed to see her doctor. He needed to know how weak she had become.

When I arrived to pick her up, she confessed that she had not had the energy to shower.

"I can help you do that anytime," I offered.

“That's alright,” Fern smiled and tried to focus on my face. She is legally blind in her only eye, having lost the other eye some years back to an infection.

Then she seemed amused by something.

She chuckled, “I did the PTA this morning, so I’m good to go.”

I thought 'what the heck is the PTA' and then raised my voice so she could hear my query. (She seems to have gone nearly deaf in the past few months, too.)

“Oh?” She seemed surprised that I wasn’t party to the information she was about to share.

“That’s when you are only able to wash your Pits, Tits, and A-double-s.”

(Then she blamed her late sister Jennie, our gram, for teaching her such nonsense.)

We laughed and laughed!

She surprised me when she summoned the strength to hold my arm and walk to the car. No wheelchair for Auntie Fern.

The Interview

If you've been reading blogs recently you will notice that the Interview Meme is making the rounds again.

I've never played. So I was happy to respond to the five questions presented to me by Angela, someone who I've actually met outside the blogosphere. You can read about her at Create 4 Family, where she answered her own **five questions last week. **Asked by my daughter Karmyn.

I was ready:


(1)When you wake up on a cold snowy day, what is your first thought?

“I’m so glad that this bed is so snuggly and warm. I think I’ll stay here for awhile.”
…and I do.

(2)Where did you and your husband meet?

In the middle. We‘ve been meeting in the middle for almost 33 years. Sometimes he has to cross over to make up some of the space that I’m not capable of traversing. We have those days in relationships. I hope I’ve done the same thing for him a few times, too.
No matter what – he’s the one I want there, waiting for me.

(3)If you could have any pet it would be?

…one of those dogs that stars in movies. I would be the dog’s agent. It would still sleep on my bed, let me scratch behind its ears, and play fetch in the yard. The only difference would be when we went for a walk; I could swing by the bank and drop off the latest movie royalties that arrive in the mail. Oh… and we could hire someone to vacuum the hair that accumulates under the bed and computer desk.

(4)Are regrets really 'regrets' or 'learning experiences'?

I have regrets. I have learning experiences. I have regrets that should have been learning experiences. I have learning experiences that I regret.
Oh Dear! Angela, I guess you already regret having asked me this question.

(5)Did you place any friendly bets on the superbowl?

No. But I didn’t place any unfriendly ones either.

Thanks for the questions Angela! I hope my answers didn't disappoint you.

Anyone wishing to participate must follow the directions below.

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Fun Monday - Whats cha readin?

This week, Angela of The Lurchers, asked Fun Monday participants:
What book are you reading now. What's it about? Are you enjoying it and why? If not, why not?

The question pushed me into finally picking up the book WR purchased after seeing the author on Good Morning America.

I was reluctant to read the book because I don't like sad endings - and this one begins with a sad ending.

Dana Canedy wrote "A Journal for Jordan" to her young son after his father was killed in Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated under the Humvee in which First Sergeant Charles Monroe King was riding. Jordan was only seven months old.

She'd given Charles a journal soon after the baby was born, never expecting him to write more than a few words on occasion. Instead, he wrote over two hundred pages for his son "in case" he didn't make it home from the war.

In this book Canedy highlights Charles letters within her own version of their love story and how Jordan became a part of it.

I was touched by the advice he left for his son in regards to his mother, grandmother, and aunts:

All of these women embody the reasons you should never, ever disrespect or lay your hand against a woman. Remember who taught you to speak, to walk, and to be a gentlemen. These are your first teachers, my little prince. Protect them, embrace them, and always treat them like a queen.

Canedy included these words in the chapter that chronicled the day of Jordan's birth. She was surrounded that day by these women who would play such an important part in her son's life.

Yes - this book is well written and I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would.

* * * * *

Find out what everyone else is reading over at The Lurchers.

** late amendment. I forgot to include my book to take if stranded on a desert island. Well - that is a no brainer: How to Survive in The Wilderness as You Travel.

Can we take along MacGyver?