Don't adjust your screen...

Today's blog is going to be picture free...

Yesterday I had my cable turned off. The reason was, of course, to save money. Last night I felt so lost - I had said goodbye to my Dolly and didn't have the distraction of mindless television. Which brought to mind the questions...how & when did I become so dependent on television? I used to be an avid reader but lately I've been sitting there soaking in brain-draining programming instead of reading.

My original plan was to purchase some kind of antenna or box to allow me to get local channels but have decided to see if I can do without television for at least 30 days. If I can, I may not get the antenna. If I can't, I may have to find a 12-step program.

This will be an opportunity to see how I can better use my time. People lived for centuries without 24/7 television. Surely I can too. I figure I will use this blog to not only ramble about the stuff I've rambled about since the beginning but also to track my progress on this challenge.

Stay tuned for the results.

RIP Dolly 10-27-2010

RIP Dolly 10-27-2010

I don't know when Dolly was born but she came to me on June 3, 2008.

I'll never forget the day I met Dolly. It was a fluke that I was at the shelter when she was being surrendered. B/C she wasn't a kitten I feared she would be unadoptable so I convinced the people to meet me @ my vets to give her to me. She was my angel & now forever will be. She peacefully flew away today. I know she will be waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge when I arrive. Until then, I'm going to miss her sweet face but am glad that she is no longer in pain.

The things you'll see....

Hi again,

A few weeks ago I had a Saturday off and really didn't know what I wanted to do with my time. I considered going to a festival but figured that would end up with me bringing more "stuff" into the house because I frequently get caught in the moment and think I want the crafts being sold there. When I get home I always wondered why I spent the money for more stuff to sit around my house. But I digress...

The day was too beautiful to waste so I decided to set off on an exploration with my camera in hand. It turned out to be such a fantastic day. I intended to blog about it before but the time got away from me. Luckily, the day was so memorable I'm still able to recall it. Hope you enjoy the journey...

Do you ever take a road just to see where it leads? If you do you might find...

The Bush Bean Museum and Family Cafe - Chestnut Hill, Tennessee

(Don't scoff - it was actually quite an interesting stop along the way)

I took a tour of the museum created about the Bush Bean family's start in canning and learned about different bean recipes. You can even get your picture made with Duke (he's not really there but they photoshop him into your photo). Now, I admit that my wee crush on Sugarland's, Christian Bush, might have something to do with the interest I had in the museum. Turns out he wasn't there either. The nice gentleman at the museum explained that Christian's branch of the family had a "fallin' out" with the bean side so Christian's not involved. Sigh.

You can also have lunch at the Family Cafe next door and try the Pinto Bean Pecan pie. Let me know how it is - I didn't have the nerve to try it, though I might have if Christian had been there.

An old-time soda fountain at Tinsdale-Bible Pharmacy in Dandridge, Tennessee.

I found out that Dandridge is the 2nd oldest town in Tennessee. I guess I should try to find out what the oldest is but I was really more interested in knowing why the soda fountain was closed on weekends.

A beautiful flower that was enjoying the gorgeous day.

I was thinking of my friend Bonnie when I took this picture. I know she loves flowers and thought I would snap this. I didn't alter or edit it except to crop out the background. The glow was all its own. I guess it appreciates the sun in a way we humans just don't get.

A porch decoration that made use of three strong autumn elements...

What's more seasonal than a pumpkin, mums, and a black cat? Throw in some autumn leaves and it would have been perfect.

Beautiful scenery

or even...

Live entertainment & the truest form of Southern Hospitality ever...

On my way to Dandridge, driving down this little curvy road, I noticed a sign Pizza Sampling & Live Music from 12-2 on Saturday.

There was a woman standing outside the RV, singing. With no one around. I thought to myself, 'now here's a woman who really LOVES to sing.' I decided if she was still out there singing when I went back, I'd stop and listen. Anyone who loves to sing that much certainly sparks my interest. I mean, I love to sing but I'm so bad at it that I won't even roll down the windows in my car if I'm singing. This lady has a karoke machine and is standing outside the RV singing. Just because.... So on my way back, I pulled into the driveway at Scrappy's. I was trying to turn around and find a place to park where my car would be out of the way when a lady came out of the building behind Scrappy's. I thought maybe she was going to ask where I was going or something. Nope.

She asked me if I wanted pizza. I thanked her but declined. She said 'it's FREE.' Well, now, how can you turn down free pizza? So I asked if she had any cheese pizza. She offered to check. Came back out and informed me that she had put it in the oven and it would take 7 minutes. I went into Scrappy's to get a soda and she introduced herself as Ann. Introduced me to the store-keeper. And the other people sitting there listening to the singer (there was an audience of five by that time). They were all quite friendly and Ann thanked me for stopping. We had a nice, albeit brief, discussion about the singer (whose name I've forgotten) and how she sings in Pigeon Forge.

When I was telling my sister about this encounter, she said 'that's Americana.' My friend Mavis stated it sounded like Mayberry - in a good way. It was both. But let me just say that it was a VERY charming encounter. This group of people was welcoming and friendly. The pizza wasn't the best, nor was the music. But when it comes to hospitality, Ann & Scrappy's really knocked it out of the park.

So...if you find yourself with a day to spare where you have time to go exploring, try it. You just never know what you might find. And if you have a wonderful day like mine, let me know. Better yet, call me before you leave. I might want to go with you :)

Ahhhh-tumn

Hello Again,

If there is anything prettier than autumn, I don't know what it is. If there's anything better than time with special friends, I've never experienced it. Today I was lucky enough to enjoy both. My friend Bonnie & I had set up a "play-date" for our cameras. We met in Lexington & wandered around the University of Kentucky's Arborteum, snapping to our little hearts' content. It was the PERFECT weather and we discovered lots of roses still in bloom.

But because I got my first taste of autumn for the year (the leaves are just beginning to change in K'ville) I wanted to start by sharing my pictures of autumn. The gardner at the Arborteum probably thought I was nuts because I just kept shooting pictures of this one tree :)

Since Bonnie got over 400 pictures during our day together, she's going to have some fabulous pictures on her photo-blog (http://bonniegunkel.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/day-133-painted-rose/) and over the next few days I'll post some more of my pictures both here and on my photoblog (http://ebeth420.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/falling-up/) if you want to see what we found.

I hope that whatever you are doing, you are finding time for things you love & doing things that make you happy - in other words, live like you were a cat :)

(Dandy is the KING of enjoying life and finding ways to make each day fun)

I especially hope that you are making memories you want to keep forever!

As different as day and night...

Hello again,

For those of you who know how terrified I am of mountain roads, you may find it a bit surprising that I went to the mountains last night. A new friend from the photography class offered to driv and I was happy to join her. (If you're reading this Sharon, thank you again!)

Here are a few of the images I captured.

I consider these to be baseline photographs, something to measure my progress against.

The two areas near the top of the picture that look like smoke or clouds are actually lakes!

I liked the different shades of green and blue in this picture, and the way the sun hit parts of the mountain, like a spotlight.

Just as the sun was setting the batteries in my camera decided they had had enough. I was scrambling to get them changed. I'm glad I finished in time to get this shot.

Love the golden glow of sunset. In the forefront of this picture there are two trees. Many of the trees in the Smokies were damaged by beetles and as a result look skeletal.

With only a 20 minute wait from sunset to moonrise, the power photographers (you know the ones who sport the telescopic lenses that are approximately the size of a rocket launcher) lined their tripods up on the far eastern edge of the overlook. I'm glad because it left me farther back. Through the viewfinder I couldn't really see the trees so I was very pleasantly surprised when processing this image.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. I certainly enjoyed taking them.

I see you and you and you and....

Hello everyone. I'm very happy that autumn is here. The temps haven't received notice but at least I know we're moving towards those beautiful crisp fall days.

In the meantime, I enjoyed some quality time outside tonight with one of my best friends - my camera. I recently purchase a tripod and it was very nice to be able to use it tonight to catch shots of the gorgeous full moon.

When I was a little girl there was a show on television (maybe Romper Room?) where this lady would hold up a looking glass and say "I see" and would say names. I'm sure every child with that name thought as I did..."she can see ME" :)

Tonight as I stood looking at the moon I imagined her (the moon surely must be a goddess, yes?) saying... I can see Elizabeth, I can see Barb, I can see Journey, I can see Bonnie, I can see Mindy, I can see Lorin, I can see.... and naming all of the people I know who are probably looking up at the Goddess Moon and admiring her beauty.

It's a very unifying feeling. I hope wherever you are tonight, the Goddess is smiling down on you and that you can feel all of the people around you sharing that same "ahhhhh" moment as they gaze upwards!

"Crossing the Miles" (as the Greeting Cards say)

Hello Again...

As you all know I'm celebrating a very special person's birthday today. Since I couldn't actually be with Journey on her birthday, I wanted to do something else.

So...here's my version of a Flat Stanley Birthday Party....

I hope you enjoy it, Journey (and other readers too)

Krispy Kreme donuts are one of the things I missed when I lived away. This chocolate-iced custard filled donut is one of the BEST of the Best. I didn't sing (people have a hard enough time facing morning without me adding torture to their lives) but I did make a wish when I blew out the candle. Journey, I wish for you a year of knowing how very special you are and hope that each day you'll feel loved and cherished!

I wish for you a year filled with peace and tranquility...
and I wish for you
a year

of fun...

My manager, Cory, staffed the table full of sweets to celebrate Journey's birthday! (It was one of the bake sales raising money for The American Heart Association).

Just like on Facebook, sometimes it's nice to get Birthday Wishes from people we don't know. This is my friend Adrienne. We went through training together and she's one of those people that is so outgoing you feel like you've known her forever!

Zack was also in my initial training class. Because we work the same shift, we've had a chance to get to know one another well and have become good friends. Good enough friends that I recruited him to create the birthday sign - a real gift since I recruited him at 8 a.m. and he's definitely NOT a morning person! LOL. Thanks for being a good sport, Zack.

Sometimes the things that we can do for one another aren't fun. For example, I feel like giving blood is one of the most important things I can do. Since they were having a blood drive at work today it seemed a good way to honor Journey too!

It didn't go as well as I would have liked - for the first time ever I had a negative reaction to giving blood. My BP dropped and I spent an hour in the clinic. I'm really tired now.
Even so, I'm really glad I did it!

And besides...even little party animals crash sometimes!Dandy & Daisy (along with Toby and Dolly) wanted to wish their "Aunt" Journey
a
Happy Birthday before heading off to bed!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've enjoyed the Journey celebration.

And a very Happy Birthday to you - Old Same.