This is the AT&T building in downtown Nashville. Buddy Chris says they refer to it as the bat tower. I can see why.
And many thanks to the anonymous reader that identified the red sculpture. It is called "Ghost Ballet," and was done by artist Alice Aycock. Anonymous put a link to a Nashville photo blog that tells about it and has a photo from an entirely different perspective. Take a look.
Here is Aycock's official website. Definitely worth a look.
Yesterday's quest for a new comforter for our bedroom was fruitless, but I may go back today and pick up one I saw in Macy's. I kept getting stymied by the browns because I keep thinking the walls in our bedroom have a sort of rosie-ness to the brown color. But really I won't know how it works out until I bite the bullet and buy one. The thing is, I DESPISE doing returns so I'm trying very hard to get as close to what I want as possible.
Today will be doctor appointments all around and a lot of extra errands. Yuck. But then they will be out of the way!
Showing posts with label By the Side of the Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By the Side of the Road. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Red Sculpture in Nashville
I have no idea what this sculpture is. It's in downtown Nashville and I've googled around quite a bit trying to find out the name, artist, etc, all to no avail. We had a good time speculating on it.
It's going to be 100 degrees here today. But right now it's very pleasant on my patio with my smoothie and coffee. I need to leave for Jazzercise in a few minutes and I'm experiencing quite a pull to just stay here and enjoy the outside as long as I can.
Yesterday I took Taylor and Fred to my friend's pool and we hung out there for a couple of hours. It's so incredibly relaxing to just float around listening to them play and talk and catching a bit of NPR. We'll probably do that again today. After the run to the farm, of course. And I need to get on the ball with a couple of food stories. One with peaches, the other with "cheap eats."
It's going to be 100 degrees here today. But right now it's very pleasant on my patio with my smoothie and coffee. I need to leave for Jazzercise in a few minutes and I'm experiencing quite a pull to just stay here and enjoy the outside as long as I can.
Yesterday I took Taylor and Fred to my friend's pool and we hung out there for a couple of hours. It's so incredibly relaxing to just float around listening to them play and talk and catching a bit of NPR. We'll probably do that again today. After the run to the farm, of course. And I need to get on the ball with a couple of food stories. One with peaches, the other with "cheap eats."
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Car Finders
I saw this little sheep painted on the side of this used-car business while we were sitting at a traffic light in Ridgetop, Tennessee. We made a point of stopping there on the way out of town the next day and I'm glad we did, because then I saw the sign on the front door of the business. I wish I'd shot that, but for some reason I didn't think to. The sign had their business hours posted on it and then on the bottom it said, "In case of emergency call xxxxx." A phone number. I remarked to Lis that it's cool that they are thinking of people that might have an emergency need for a used car.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Get Lost
Anyone who knows me a little bit knows that I love signs. I've always been a sign reader. And package reader, too. Maybe it's because when I was growing up our television watching was limited? And of course we didn't have gameboys and movies to watch when we traveled in the car...which was how we always traveled. And we traveled a good bit. I always had a book with me and did copious amounts of reading in the car. But every trip was heavily punctuated with Mom and Dad saying, "Hey, look at that!" and pointing out the windows. When I do that with our guys they generally don't. (Look, that is.)
The sign above was on a business in downtown Nashville. I didn't even notice the name of the store.
This one is not so terribly interesting, but it caught my attention nonetheless. This high school in a suburb of Nashville (is it Hillsboro?) has a burro for its' mascot:
But I think I like this one best. It is on a closed feed store in downtown Nashville(you may have to click the photo to read the entire postscript on the bottom):
The sign above was on a business in downtown Nashville. I didn't even notice the name of the store.
This one is not so terribly interesting, but it caught my attention nonetheless. This high school in a suburb of Nashville (is it Hillsboro?) has a burro for its' mascot:
But I think I like this one best. It is on a closed feed store in downtown Nashville(you may have to click the photo to read the entire postscript on the bottom):
Monday, July 14, 2008
Truckin' Tigger
On our way to lunch at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville (an event that didn't happen because they don't open until 5 p.m.), we were sitting in traffic and noticed this truck driver had Tigger wired to his grill. Tig doesn't seem to mind too much.
We also saw this cool fish statue in front of the Boy Scout headquarters:
We also saw this cool fish statue in front of the Boy Scout headquarters:
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Writer Lis
Lis has been with Taylor and me as we've traveled to and from Minnesota. Here she is writing a letter in our hotel room the other night.
We arrived home last night around 7:30 or so and after about 90 minutes of unpacking and settling in, we chilled out (as well as you can when it's still in the 80s after dark) on the patio with some crunchy bread, rotisserie chicken and hoop cheese. A very pleasant wind-down to the journey.
Today will be church and then probably I'll have to look at this enormous stack of mail we have here, as well as assess the damage to our checkbooks. As I write this Bear is settling in too. He has a bone that was left in the garden, RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!, and is walking around with it trying to find a new hiding place. He's wearing a new harness I bought for him. It's a Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness with the leash ring on the front of his chest. I'd like to use that when walking him to keep him from pulling so much.
That's it for now. Here's a photo of the dying butterfly we saw in the grass at a gas station in Illinois:
We arrived home last night around 7:30 or so and after about 90 minutes of unpacking and settling in, we chilled out (as well as you can when it's still in the 80s after dark) on the patio with some crunchy bread, rotisserie chicken and hoop cheese. A very pleasant wind-down to the journey.
Today will be church and then probably I'll have to look at this enormous stack of mail we have here, as well as assess the damage to our checkbooks. As I write this Bear is settling in too. He has a bone that was left in the garden, RIGHT OUT IN THE OPEN WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!, and is walking around with it trying to find a new hiding place. He's wearing a new harness I bought for him. It's a Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness with the leash ring on the front of his chest. I'd like to use that when walking him to keep him from pulling so much.
That's it for now. Here's a photo of the dying butterfly we saw in the grass at a gas station in Illinois:
Friday, July 11, 2008
William Jennings Bryan: A Recurring Theme
I took this photo at Bryan Memorial Park in Selma, IL. As in William Jennings Bryan Memorial Park. Yesterday.
I took a photo of old William too. I'll probably just upload that one to flickr. (In case you are forgetting, Bryan was the prosecutor in the Scopes Trial, arguing that evolution was both "irrational and immoral." And no, he never became president, but many of us think of him as one. I suspect because he RAN for president 3 times. And is such a prominent name in American history.)
Today Chris, Lis and I went to downtown Nashville and walked around. I shot many photos and I'll post them when I get home. We had a great time just wandering around and poking in shops and taking in the architecture of the place. We stopped in at the Ryman Auditorium, but did not take the tour since it was $16 a pop. The auditorium has been called the "Mother Church of Country Music" which, I'm sure is in part due to the fact that riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman originally built the building to be the Union Gospel Tabernacle. Interestingly, William Jennings Bryan once lectured from the stage there.
I got a great shot of a the bronze statues of Minnie Pearl and long-time love interest Roy Acuff. I'll post that later too.
And now this evening it's wine, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and fried zucchini for supper. Tomorrow morning we'll head for home.
Oh! I nearly forgot! Tambri sent me a text that there's been a BIG FIRE at Erskine College. Yikes!
I took a photo of old William too. I'll probably just upload that one to flickr. (In case you are forgetting, Bryan was the prosecutor in the Scopes Trial, arguing that evolution was both "irrational and immoral." And no, he never became president, but many of us think of him as one. I suspect because he RAN for president 3 times. And is such a prominent name in American history.)
Today Chris, Lis and I went to downtown Nashville and walked around. I shot many photos and I'll post them when I get home. We had a great time just wandering around and poking in shops and taking in the architecture of the place. We stopped in at the Ryman Auditorium, but did not take the tour since it was $16 a pop. The auditorium has been called the "Mother Church of Country Music" which, I'm sure is in part due to the fact that riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman originally built the building to be the Union Gospel Tabernacle. Interestingly, William Jennings Bryan once lectured from the stage there.
I got a great shot of a the bronze statues of Minnie Pearl and long-time love interest Roy Acuff. I'll post that later too.
And now this evening it's wine, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and fried zucchini for supper. Tomorrow morning we'll head for home.
Oh! I nearly forgot! Tambri sent me a text that there's been a BIG FIRE at Erskine College. Yikes!
The End of a Long Day
We saw these guys catching a catnap in the back of a pickup yesterday. We were all hurling down the freeway at 80+mph. It was nearly 90 yesterday, so I can certainly understand how workers could be so tired that they could sleep even in an open pickup truck.
I forgot to run this through the noise reducing software, so it's a bit grainy. And in the interest of full disclosure I should admit my stupidity in taking this photo:
I was driving. Lis took photos out the front windshield, but we weren't totally happy with the angle. So naturally I pulled up to where I was nearly tailgating the truck, (did I mention 80 mph?) and took the camera, one hand on the wheel, Lis' hand also on the wheel, and I got off two shots. And yeah, we had a minor child in the car.
We got to Chris' house outside Nashville right around 6 p.m. We had to let ourselves in because Chris and Kevin had to take 5-year-old Sammy to Urgent Care to have a pebble removed from her ear.
"I fell down and the rock got in there," she told the doctor.
In actuality she was in time-out for a dust-up she had with her friend Ryan when she stuck the pebble in her ear.
After a nice supper of spaghetti, which Lis made, we sat and drank wine and chatted. Today we will wander downtown Nashville for a bit, taking in the sites.
I forgot to run this through the noise reducing software, so it's a bit grainy. And in the interest of full disclosure I should admit my stupidity in taking this photo:
I was driving. Lis took photos out the front windshield, but we weren't totally happy with the angle. So naturally I pulled up to where I was nearly tailgating the truck, (did I mention 80 mph?) and took the camera, one hand on the wheel, Lis' hand also on the wheel, and I got off two shots. And yeah, we had a minor child in the car.
We got to Chris' house outside Nashville right around 6 p.m. We had to let ourselves in because Chris and Kevin had to take 5-year-old Sammy to Urgent Care to have a pebble removed from her ear.
"I fell down and the rock got in there," she told the doctor.
In actuality she was in time-out for a dust-up she had with her friend Ryan when she stuck the pebble in her ear.
After a nice supper of spaghetti, which Lis made, we sat and drank wine and chatted. Today we will wander downtown Nashville for a bit, taking in the sites.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Beep Beep Flash Flash
The sights and sounds outside our hotel room in Bloomington, IL on Tuesday night.
Wonderful hotel. We stayed at the Baymont Inn. It's a pet-friendly hotel, which I'd never stayed in before. Rather I should say I've never stayed in a hotel with a pet before. I guess I could have stayed in a hotel that allows them, but I've never brought one with me.
Anyway. My expectations were low. My parents had tried staying in pet-friendly hotels before with mixed results. The principle concern they had was that they seemed to be given smoking rooms, even when requesting non-smoking. Dad's theory was that they must just put all the "bad stuff" in those rooms...smokers and pets.
So Lis made the reservations (she's an AARP member) and I told her, "be sure sure sure it's a nonsmoking room!"
The hotel was spotless. And smelled crisp and clean. They were changing out carpet and furniture in some parts of it, so it was being remodeled as well.
We checked in, confusing the heck out of poor Bear as we kept taking him outside every 15 minutes trying to get him to pass some solid waste. But we did settle down and have a meal of Wendy's chili and salad. And wine. Then Taylor settled in to watch the tube and Lis and I repaired to the pool deck with our other glass of wine. It was a gorgeous evening out. No bugs, perfect temp. We settled in to bed around 10:30 and dropped right off to sleep.
Around midnight we heard what sounded like a loud clock radio beeping over and over. Lis got up to investigate and saw a red SUV parked under our window (we were on the 2nd floor) with the car alarm going off. The headlights were flashing and the beeping was persistent. We figured someone would come shut it off soon, so we went back to bed. About 3 or 4 minutes later it stopped.
An hour or so later it started up again. Lasted 3 or 4 minutes, stopped.
Every 90 minutes or so it would start again. All. Night.
I did not call the front desk. I figured someone else would. I actually slept through it for the most part. I'd hear the beeping sound, identify it, drop back off to sleep. I woke pretty refreshed except for a migraine, which was unrelated. So I was good. Taylor never knew about it. Lis said she was good.
We were in the elevator with our bags the next the morning and I said to Lis, "I see someone did stick a note on the windshield of that car." And the other woman in the elevator said they had complained to the front desk a few times during the night, once running into the fellow that was staying in the room right in front of the flashing headlights. The hotel staff didn't seem to know what to do.
That kind of blows my mind. They take your vehicle information when you register. Why didn't they look up who it belonged to, call his room, and tell him about the problem? If they couldn't reach him they could have gone to his room. And if that didn't work, they should have had it towed.
So Baymont? Nice hotel. Kind of stupid staff, however. At least at that one.
Wonderful hotel. We stayed at the Baymont Inn. It's a pet-friendly hotel, which I'd never stayed in before. Rather I should say I've never stayed in a hotel with a pet before. I guess I could have stayed in a hotel that allows them, but I've never brought one with me.
Anyway. My expectations were low. My parents had tried staying in pet-friendly hotels before with mixed results. The principle concern they had was that they seemed to be given smoking rooms, even when requesting non-smoking. Dad's theory was that they must just put all the "bad stuff" in those rooms...smokers and pets.
So Lis made the reservations (she's an AARP member) and I told her, "be sure sure sure it's a nonsmoking room!"
The hotel was spotless. And smelled crisp and clean. They were changing out carpet and furniture in some parts of it, so it was being remodeled as well.
We checked in, confusing the heck out of poor Bear as we kept taking him outside every 15 minutes trying to get him to pass some solid waste. But we did settle down and have a meal of Wendy's chili and salad. And wine. Then Taylor settled in to watch the tube and Lis and I repaired to the pool deck with our other glass of wine. It was a gorgeous evening out. No bugs, perfect temp. We settled in to bed around 10:30 and dropped right off to sleep.
Around midnight we heard what sounded like a loud clock radio beeping over and over. Lis got up to investigate and saw a red SUV parked under our window (we were on the 2nd floor) with the car alarm going off. The headlights were flashing and the beeping was persistent. We figured someone would come shut it off soon, so we went back to bed. About 3 or 4 minutes later it stopped.
An hour or so later it started up again. Lasted 3 or 4 minutes, stopped.
Every 90 minutes or so it would start again. All. Night.
I did not call the front desk. I figured someone else would. I actually slept through it for the most part. I'd hear the beeping sound, identify it, drop back off to sleep. I woke pretty refreshed except for a migraine, which was unrelated. So I was good. Taylor never knew about it. Lis said she was good.
We were in the elevator with our bags the next the morning and I said to Lis, "I see someone did stick a note on the windshield of that car." And the other woman in the elevator said they had complained to the front desk a few times during the night, once running into the fellow that was staying in the room right in front of the flashing headlights. The hotel staff didn't seem to know what to do.
That kind of blows my mind. They take your vehicle information when you register. Why didn't they look up who it belonged to, call his room, and tell him about the problem? If they couldn't reach him they could have gone to his room. And if that didn't work, they should have had it towed.
So Baymont? Nice hotel. Kind of stupid staff, however. At least at that one.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Hitchhiking in Mount Vernon, IL
I am very late with this entry. No real excuses. Sorry.
Tuesday we traveled from Nashville to Bloomington, IL. Lis and I like to get out and walk and see stuff, so after a couple of hours on the road, I asked Magellan to tell me about some points of interest. As it turns out we were just an exit or so away from Mount Vernon, IL.
The AAA information built into Magellan pointed out that the Appellate courthouse was where Abraham Lincoln argued cases and also served as an emergency hospital under the guidance of Clara Barton during a tornado in 1888. Magellan also said that there was an historic village to see in the town. So we told Magellan to take us there. And she did. Right to the center of Mt. Vernon.
We looked around and didn't really see anything that looked like a replica of a village, and no real signs about the Appellate Court. So we parked and started wandering around downtown. Taylor and Lis periodically said, "There's an old building. Maybe that's it." And so we would walk to that, ultimately finding an old church and a couple of other buildings.
Finally we saw a postal worker and asked her. She directed us down a street, told us where to turn after a bit, and we set out walking.
What turned out later to be something like 2 miles, we ended up outside the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. We didn't go in there because we figured the village was on the other side, but as we walked by the center we were able to enjoy the many wonderful sculptures that dot their park.
Finally we came to a sign that sign that directed us to the village...to go down one more street. At this point Taylor said, "I want to go back to the car." I suspect we all did at that point. It was in the low 90s and we were pretty hot and thirsty and sweaty. Bear was dragging along on his leash. I told the other two that I would go to the car and bring it back. I suspected that we had come the long way to our present location and my internal compass was telling me that I could turn around and go straight down the street we were on and find downtown. I assured Lis that I would ask someone.
And so I set out and, after about 3 blocks, I saw an elderly gentleman outside a house pounding a "For Rent" sign into the ground. We had noticed a mailbox right there that had the name "T--" on it, and above the mailbox was another sign that said, "The house that Jack built." I had commented on it to the others when we walked by the first time.
"Are you Jack?" I asked the gentleman.
"Yes!" he said, with a quizzical look on his face.
I walked toward him with my hand outstretched. "I'm Karen and I'm lost," I told him.
He chuckled a bit and then I told him I was from South Carolina, traveling to Minneapolis to visit family with my friend and younger son. We had stopped here to stretch our legs and ended up walking pretty far from our car. I asked him to confirm my suspicion about where downtown was, and he immediately said, "Hop in the car. I'll run you down there."
And so we moved his extension cords out of the way and hopped into his Taurus.
"So when did you build your house?" I asked.
"Oh, my wife and I did in '67," he said.
"So you've lived here almost all my life," I said.
"Oh, I think I'm about three times as old as you are," he chuckled.
"Now Jack, I doubt that," I said. "I'm 48."
"Well I'm 86, so I guess almost twice then," he laughed.
As we drove back to the car (and here I proudly mention that I was correct about its' location...thanks to my great sense of direction), we visited for a bit about our lives. He lost his wife in 1992 and has three living children. One lives about 40 miles away and the others close to 300. He's a retired boilermaker and then did some arrangements for land leases to oil companies. "I still do a little of that," he said.
And we got back to the car. We exchanged email addresses and I got into my car to go back to the others.
The village was closed and is obviously a tourist thing...but it seems well put together. I was disturbed by the real gravestones that are just leaning up against the church in the village. My theory is that if old gravestones fall over or break, they should be left on the gravesite if they aren't going to be repaired. There is a great cemetery by the village. But we were too hot and tired to do any more walking around, so we left. We never did go back to the Appellate Courthouse to look around. That's the real attraction there, to my way of thinking. I guess you can call for a free tour. We'll have to do that some day.
So kudos to Jack, of "the house that Jack built!" Great guy!
Tuesday we traveled from Nashville to Bloomington, IL. Lis and I like to get out and walk and see stuff, so after a couple of hours on the road, I asked Magellan to tell me about some points of interest. As it turns out we were just an exit or so away from Mount Vernon, IL.
The AAA information built into Magellan pointed out that the Appellate courthouse was where Abraham Lincoln argued cases and also served as an emergency hospital under the guidance of Clara Barton during a tornado in 1888. Magellan also said that there was an historic village to see in the town. So we told Magellan to take us there. And she did. Right to the center of Mt. Vernon.
We looked around and didn't really see anything that looked like a replica of a village, and no real signs about the Appellate Court. So we parked and started wandering around downtown. Taylor and Lis periodically said, "There's an old building. Maybe that's it." And so we would walk to that, ultimately finding an old church and a couple of other buildings.
Finally we saw a postal worker and asked her. She directed us down a street, told us where to turn after a bit, and we set out walking.
What turned out later to be something like 2 miles, we ended up outside the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. We didn't go in there because we figured the village was on the other side, but as we walked by the center we were able to enjoy the many wonderful sculptures that dot their park.
Finally we came to a sign that sign that directed us to the village...to go down one more street. At this point Taylor said, "I want to go back to the car." I suspect we all did at that point. It was in the low 90s and we were pretty hot and thirsty and sweaty. Bear was dragging along on his leash. I told the other two that I would go to the car and bring it back. I suspected that we had come the long way to our present location and my internal compass was telling me that I could turn around and go straight down the street we were on and find downtown. I assured Lis that I would ask someone.
And so I set out and, after about 3 blocks, I saw an elderly gentleman outside a house pounding a "For Rent" sign into the ground. We had noticed a mailbox right there that had the name "T--" on it, and above the mailbox was another sign that said, "The house that Jack built." I had commented on it to the others when we walked by the first time.
"Are you Jack?" I asked the gentleman.
"Yes!" he said, with a quizzical look on his face.
I walked toward him with my hand outstretched. "I'm Karen and I'm lost," I told him.
He chuckled a bit and then I told him I was from South Carolina, traveling to Minneapolis to visit family with my friend and younger son. We had stopped here to stretch our legs and ended up walking pretty far from our car. I asked him to confirm my suspicion about where downtown was, and he immediately said, "Hop in the car. I'll run you down there."
And so we moved his extension cords out of the way and hopped into his Taurus.
"So when did you build your house?" I asked.
"Oh, my wife and I did in '67," he said.
"So you've lived here almost all my life," I said.
"Oh, I think I'm about three times as old as you are," he chuckled.
"Now Jack, I doubt that," I said. "I'm 48."
"Well I'm 86, so I guess almost twice then," he laughed.
As we drove back to the car (and here I proudly mention that I was correct about its' location...thanks to my great sense of direction), we visited for a bit about our lives. He lost his wife in 1992 and has three living children. One lives about 40 miles away and the others close to 300. He's a retired boilermaker and then did some arrangements for land leases to oil companies. "I still do a little of that," he said.
And we got back to the car. We exchanged email addresses and I got into my car to go back to the others.
The village was closed and is obviously a tourist thing...but it seems well put together. I was disturbed by the real gravestones that are just leaning up against the church in the village. My theory is that if old gravestones fall over or break, they should be left on the gravesite if they aren't going to be repaired. There is a great cemetery by the village. But we were too hot and tired to do any more walking around, so we left. We never did go back to the Appellate Courthouse to look around. That's the real attraction there, to my way of thinking. I guess you can call for a free tour. We'll have to do that some day.
So kudos to Jack, of "the house that Jack built!" Great guy!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
A Financial Tornado
To say these last couple of days have been "interesting" would definitely be an understatement.
On Valentine's Day this happened:
The boy is ok, but he's in mourning. And of course he's concerned about the state of his financial affairs. He'll have to help pay for the damage, that's for sure. But at this point he's really the only member of the family that has money that is not earmarked for bills or whatever. We are still waiting for estimates. We suspect the engine will be fine, but perhaps he'll need new motor mounts. Radiator, of course, and headlight.
He says there was a driver behind him that was weaving in and out of traffic and then riding his bumper. He was coming up to a light and was watching the guy behind him rather than the one in front. So he didn't stop at the light in time. Apparently the hit-ee was pretty nice. He said he didn't care. Old truck. He was one of the original construction guys on our neighborhood many years ago. He rehabs Camaros for a hobby. Has several in fact. We are glad he wasn't driving one at the time!
So Nate is without wheels for now and that means Mom's taxi service is back in business. yippee.
Friday morning I woke up to new computer problems. My desktop computer was built to my specs in 2001. It has served me very well. But for the past few years it has had a steady diet of new RAM, new hard drives, power supplies, etc. Friday morning it was just rebooting over and over. It's done that before, and probably could be fixed. But I thought it was time for a new computer. The old one just does not have the kind of power to run multiple programs. Especially that I need for processing photos. So I bought a new laptop. Cha-ching!
When I brought the new laptop home I set it up and downloaded my email. In my inbox was a notification from the SC Department of Education. They are awarding Nate $3,200 in grant money if he attends a private SC college! {{head spinning around}}
SO! That part is pretty cool!
He says there was a driver behind him that was weaving in and out of traffic and then riding his bumper. He was coming up to a light and was watching the guy behind him rather than the one in front. So he didn't stop at the light in time. Apparently the hit-ee was pretty nice. He said he didn't care. Old truck. He was one of the original construction guys on our neighborhood many years ago. He rehabs Camaros for a hobby. Has several in fact. We are glad he wasn't driving one at the time!
So Nate is without wheels for now and that means Mom's taxi service is back in business. yippee.
Friday morning I woke up to new computer problems. My desktop computer was built to my specs in 2001. It has served me very well. But for the past few years it has had a steady diet of new RAM, new hard drives, power supplies, etc. Friday morning it was just rebooting over and over. It's done that before, and probably could be fixed. But I thought it was time for a new computer. The old one just does not have the kind of power to run multiple programs. Especially that I need for processing photos. So I bought a new laptop. Cha-ching!
When I brought the new laptop home I set it up and downloaded my email. In my inbox was a notification from the SC Department of Education. They are awarding Nate $3,200 in grant money if he attends a private SC college! {{head spinning around}}
SO! That part is pretty cool!
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Luigi's
I have seen this before. I have no idea why this sign is upside down, but certainly catches the eye. This is on South Boulevard between Tyvola and 485. I had lunch with a friend at Spoon's BBQ yesterday and captured this on the way home.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Me in the Patrolman's Eyes
I know this rookie thought he'd really stumbled on to a nut job this morning when I asked if I could shoot my reflection in his sunglasses. He was pretty good-natured. In fact, considering how menopausal I am, I thought I was pretty good-natured about the fact that my neighbor backed into my beloved Dodge Caravan this morning, completely crunching the driver's side sliding door.
I was minding my own business, talking to the contractor that is doing some work in my back garden, when suddenly he exclaimed, "Oh. She just hit your car."
I looked up to see my poor neighbor pulling back into her driveway. We NEVER park our cars on the street, but I had made room for the contractor to pull his truck and trailer in.
So. She had gotten into her car with her three little boys and backed out without looking.
When this nice highway patrolman came, his patent leather shoes caught my eye. Trying not to stare down at them so as to appear like I had a shoe fetish, I glanced a few times, hesitated, and then said, "I'd really like to take a photo of my reflection in your shoes."
Taken aback but ever-friendly, he said. "Uh. Okay. But I doubt it would turn out very well. They are pretty dusty."
I explained the 365 project to him and while I was doing that I noticed how clean and unscratched his glasses were. Perfect reflections. So I asked if I could shoot that instead. After he agreed, I went into the house to get the camera.
The S3 really did not want to focus on the reflection. It really wanted to capture the lenses. I shot off about 6 in manual, program, and finally auto mode. Still felt sure I wouldn't get one.
But as we were saying goodbye, I quick whipped my camera up and just clicked the shutter. He chuckled and left.
I loaded the shots into Elements, lightened the shadows, and THERE WE WERE!
And that's all she wrote. Except that I am lamenting the fact that I could have really gotten a good one if I'd had the ability to focus manually. There is manual focus on the camera, but it's clunky and limited. I'm going to try to stop throwing off on this camera though. I need to just move on.
I was minding my own business, talking to the contractor that is doing some work in my back garden, when suddenly he exclaimed, "Oh. She just hit your car."
I looked up to see my poor neighbor pulling back into her driveway. We NEVER park our cars on the street, but I had made room for the contractor to pull his truck and trailer in.
So. She had gotten into her car with her three little boys and backed out without looking.
When this nice highway patrolman came, his patent leather shoes caught my eye. Trying not to stare down at them so as to appear like I had a shoe fetish, I glanced a few times, hesitated, and then said, "I'd really like to take a photo of my reflection in your shoes."
Taken aback but ever-friendly, he said. "Uh. Okay. But I doubt it would turn out very well. They are pretty dusty."
I explained the 365 project to him and while I was doing that I noticed how clean and unscratched his glasses were. Perfect reflections. So I asked if I could shoot that instead. After he agreed, I went into the house to get the camera.
The S3 really did not want to focus on the reflection. It really wanted to capture the lenses. I shot off about 6 in manual, program, and finally auto mode. Still felt sure I wouldn't get one.
But as we were saying goodbye, I quick whipped my camera up and just clicked the shutter. He chuckled and left.
I loaded the shots into Elements, lightened the shadows, and THERE WE WERE!
And that's all she wrote. Except that I am lamenting the fact that I could have really gotten a good one if I'd had the ability to focus manually. There is manual focus on the camera, but it's clunky and limited. I'm going to try to stop throwing off on this camera though. I need to just move on.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Our Weekend
We napped while Mensa Boy screwed down a metal strip on the family room carpet where it connects to the kitchen floor tile. Why was he doing that? Because SOMEONE found an errant thread sticking up from the carpet edge and managed to parlay it into a 2-inch wide HOLE before he was caught!
So that was our Sunday.
We worked hard to get to Sunday this weekend. We began Friday afternoon by piling into the car. Nate forgot something, so had to go back into the house to get it. I saw no reason to make it easy for him:
We stopped at a BBQ place called Westwood sometime around 6 p.m. and had a wonderful supper. And then proceeded into Darlington.
Where the transmission on my car started to act funky. Not shifting over 45 mph. Check engine light came on. After an hour in the company of a local gentleman named Charles Parker, who led us to two different auto parts stores, where we were able to hook up to a handy-dandy device that told us the engine light was on because of a "transmission control sensor," we decided it might be best to head back home rather than on to the beach. (take a breath after that long sentence. I don't plan to edit it) One of the deciding factors was when buddy Tambri said she'd be happy to come rescue us if we were stuck somewhere between Darlington and home. But there was a silence on the line when the idea of proceeding to Myrtle Beach came up. Apparently her friendship only goes so far! (wink wink)
And so we were home by 9:30, and the next day mused to our friends that we had driven to Darlington for some good 'Que the night before.
Saturday was a pretty usual day, ending with a sad farewell to buddy Chris and her family. Late at night, wine and chocolate involved. It was a bit teary, but we'll all get through it.
Oh! I finally saw some cotton up close! Every time we travel to the beach in the fall I wonder why I don't stop and shoot some. Natives don't understand the Yankee fascination with cotton, but it's there. We grow up hearing about this extremely important crop (that and tobacco) and all the prosperity and heartache involved. And marvel at how our clothes are made from a plant. To see it up close is just...cool. So before the transmission deal, I had stopped at a field to shoot some up close:
Thursday, July 26, 2007
By the Side of the Road: Firewood House
Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive two couples to Spartanburg to see a fellow in a retirement community. The drive is about two hours each way, and I enjoyed listening to the couples all talk to each other, reminiscing about old times, talking about what is happening here in our community now with old friends and grandchildren, etc.
They were indulgent of my photo-taking, and even waited while I pulled over to take a photo of this firewood house.
Cool, huh?
They were indulgent of my photo-taking, and even waited while I pulled over to take a photo of this firewood house.
Cool, huh?
Monday, June 25, 2007
Patterns and Shadows
Good morning!
For some weeks now I've been lurking in a photography group on Flickr called "D40/x Challenge." The group is exclusively Nikon D40 and now D40x users who like to play and work with their cameras. Each week a challenge is offered and the last couple of weeks I've submitted entries. Actually, I should clarify...there are challenges and then there are opportunities to just show your favorite (whatever the theme is). Last week we submitted photos of just our favorite photo of the week. Sometimes they are favorite summer photos...whatever strikes the group's fancy.
Last week the challenge was "Patterns." So I submitted this one. It was by no means even close to being one of the better entries, but I enjoyed walking around with my camera looking for patterns to shoot. This is of the end-of-day sun shining through my kitchen window onto my island cupboards. So of course it was rather low in the sky...the sun, that is... I have curtains on that window, after a fashion. They are kitchen hand towels with pictures of vegetables on them. There are 4 of them and I have them just thrown over the rod and tied with a ribbon in the middle.
So now I've spent way more time on that subject than I meant.
This weekend I saw three movies. All good, two excellent.
The first was "The Final Cut." Now, this was an excellent movie! Starring Robin Williams, the story takes place in the future, when many people (but not all), have microchips implanted in their brains that record every single moment of their life. Williams' character, Andy Hakman, is a "cutter." When a person dies, the microchip is removed from their body and Hakman uploads everything to a computer and goes through it all to make a video of their life for the family. The video is viewed during a "rememory" event.
Of course, he sees all the good and all the bad of each person's life and has to figure out what to keep and what to delete.
But Hakman has a part of his own past that he is tormented by, (a shadow, if you will indulge my attempt to tie today's entry to today's photo) and during one assignment, he sees a clue about it in the other person's life.
This was a fantastic movie! But very creepy. And an unexpected ending.
I'll have to tell about the other movies later. I've already spent half and hour on this post and there are things to DO!!!
Have a great day!
For some weeks now I've been lurking in a photography group on Flickr called "D40/x Challenge." The group is exclusively Nikon D40 and now D40x users who like to play and work with their cameras. Each week a challenge is offered and the last couple of weeks I've submitted entries. Actually, I should clarify...there are challenges and then there are opportunities to just show your favorite (whatever the theme is). Last week we submitted photos of just our favorite photo of the week. Sometimes they are favorite summer photos...whatever strikes the group's fancy.
Last week the challenge was "Patterns." So I submitted this one. It was by no means even close to being one of the better entries, but I enjoyed walking around with my camera looking for patterns to shoot. This is of the end-of-day sun shining through my kitchen window onto my island cupboards. So of course it was rather low in the sky...the sun, that is... I have curtains on that window, after a fashion. They are kitchen hand towels with pictures of vegetables on them. There are 4 of them and I have them just thrown over the rod and tied with a ribbon in the middle.
So now I've spent way more time on that subject than I meant.
This weekend I saw three movies. All good, two excellent.
The first was "The Final Cut." Now, this was an excellent movie! Starring Robin Williams, the story takes place in the future, when many people (but not all), have microchips implanted in their brains that record every single moment of their life. Williams' character, Andy Hakman, is a "cutter." When a person dies, the microchip is removed from their body and Hakman uploads everything to a computer and goes through it all to make a video of their life for the family. The video is viewed during a "rememory" event.
Of course, he sees all the good and all the bad of each person's life and has to figure out what to keep and what to delete.
But Hakman has a part of his own past that he is tormented by, (a shadow, if you will indulge my attempt to tie today's entry to today's photo) and during one assignment, he sees a clue about it in the other person's life.
This was a fantastic movie! But very creepy. And an unexpected ending.
I'll have to tell about the other movies later. I've already spent half and hour on this post and there are things to DO!!!
Have a great day!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Coming Attraction
This old, closed-up theatre in Inman, S.C. had this poster in front. I like the sense of humor.
Yesterday we drove 2.5 hours away from home and dropped Nate out in the middle of the country.
Does that sound like someone taking a batch of kittens out to the country to dump them? In a way it felt like that.
This bothered me more than his first day of kindergarten. This is the first time I've taken one of my kids to a place I've never heard of, dropped him into a situation where I don't know a soul, and I don't know what he'll be doing while he's there.
He'll be fine. But I felt bad for him, a little. Although he seemed to have a fairly good attitude about it. I sent him a text message this morning asking how he slept and he replied that he dropped off right away. He has a pretty severe sunburn from his day on the boat with his best friend's family, so I sent him with Tylenol PM for night and Naproxen Sodium for the daytime.
Yesterday we drove 2.5 hours away from home and dropped Nate out in the middle of the country.
Does that sound like someone taking a batch of kittens out to the country to dump them? In a way it felt like that.
This bothered me more than his first day of kindergarten. This is the first time I've taken one of my kids to a place I've never heard of, dropped him into a situation where I don't know a soul, and I don't know what he'll be doing while he's there.
He'll be fine. But I felt bad for him, a little. Although he seemed to have a fairly good attitude about it. I sent him a text message this morning asking how he slept and he replied that he dropped off right away. He has a pretty severe sunburn from his day on the boat with his best friend's family, so I sent him with Tylenol PM for night and Naproxen Sodium for the daytime.
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