I Love you to Death! My Halloween Wish for you....

Don actually unbeknowinglycreated this photo. The skeleton was from last year's Halloween party. He was lying on our table and we brought him home with us. He hang up over the stove for a long awhile until Don put him behind my heart magnet on the fridge. When I first got my digi camera, I took this picture back in August. The title immediately came to me "I love you to death!". I knew it would be our Halloween card this year. Since I got into postcards during the summer, I saw it as a postcard. All this week I felt like there was something I was supposed to be doing... besides finishing up my Autumn postcards swap. It was making this picture into a postcard or a card. I saw it lying on the Rhett's desk (that Tiffany and Nancy gave him) this morning. Oh NO! So I sent it out as an email to all our friends and family. I saved on postage. LOL. I also submitted it to zazzle.com as a postage stamp. Zazzle has made some changes so it has been frustrating getting my stuff to upload lately.

Today I was going thru old emails and saw one I sent out that was sent back to me which gave me great inspiration today... it was cartoons and one of them was about cups of faith. After reading it, I drew simple cups of faith and grace on a 3x5 postcard. I will color it in with colored pencils later. Then from that I came up with the following poem:

My Halloween Wish for You

If I had my way,
EVERY day would be Halloween!
Then we could be a different character each day.
This is my Halloween wish for you...

Today I wish you...
warm cups of faith overflowing with love
as they grace your table as well as your life.
May you have oodles of hope in your sugar jar.
May your sweet tooth lead you to a forgotten treasure
or to new found ones.
May peace be underneth your pillow tonight
and bring you pleasant dreams
that come true upon the morrow.

Happy Halloween!

love,
Becky (aka theRAV), Don & Rhett

P. S. I am very proud of myself today for getting the email out instead of a late Halloween card; for my submissions to zazzle.com; for this post; for the poem. I am most thankful for it all.

What Fall Looks like

While Rhett was painting Don's shooting house, I was looking for more photos to shoot. Then I saw these leaves on the deck. I love the texture of the deck that Don built when I was pregnant with Rhett. My friend Bob said the deck really makes it look like fall. This would be great for my Autumn postcard swap. It would make a great postcard on zazzle. I am very proud of it.

theRAV

The Painter

This is Rhett helping paint his Daddy's shooting house.He is wearing Austin's old shoes he gave him when we were in Indy for Shelby's birthday. Rhett got brown paint on the front of them.

One Cool Kid

I have always felt like Rhett is an old soul from the moment he was born. We went to Walmart to get him some more pants because he is outgrowing his old ones. Don saw this hat and told him to put it on. He told me to take a picture of him. Like I wouldn't! I took two but I like this pose best. He is one cool kid and I am so proud he is mine.

The Orange County Skull Biker Winner (Updated)

This was taken right after Rhett won the Halloween contest for the third straight year. He was an Orange County Skull Biker. The girl beside him looked like something from "Children of the Corn" We still can't believe he won again! He is the luckiest little boy I know.

We left after 8 pm after I won a pumpkin pie in the pie walk. Of course Rhett had to have a piece of it before going to bed that night.

I worked on my Autumn postcards for the swap. All I have to do is the written part on the back and mail them. I need more copies of the photo I'm using to send to my friends also. Plus fix my Halloween cards for this year.

From the scraps of the picture I used, I made 2 more concepts - thus two more new ideas. 2 views. 2 more abstracts. What is in the background of your photos you crop? Can you use them in some other way?

Hope you had as great a weekend as we did!

This is the label on one of my skirts...
b.i.y.a.yc.d.a.
Believe in yourself and you can do anything.

Rhettman, Unmasked

I applied gray eyeshadow around Rhett's eyes so it would look more realistic underneath his mask of an Orange County Skull biker. The mask along with the pleather jacket was too hot for him so he removed the mask. He got this thing he is holding as a treat for going to the "fishing pond". It was sort of neat. When you squeezed it, the brains puffed up yellow instead of red through the mesh surrounding it. The next morning he went to sqeeze it and the brain fluid poured out on the rug. Don got it up with a spoon and it didn't even leave a spot on the rug! I wanted to take a picture of the yellow ooze being the sick person that I am. I was joking around about it while Rhett was about to cry over spilt brain goo! I asked him if he lost his brains? He did not like that too much. Not appreciating his momma's humor at that moment in time.

Our Annual Halloween Party

We went to our annual Halloween party. I went as a vamp natch. I don't like this picture of me because I think I look too much like my Aunt VA. It is a good pic of Don, the Hunter. DUH. That was a real stretch of his imagination. Rhett won the costume contest for his age group for the 3rd year in a row!!! He won $25.00. His picture will be in the newspaper which we always forget to get copies of each year.

The Bow

This is the bow I used on Jenny's baby shower gift. I knew it would be picture-worthy as well as another submission to zazzle.com. I had three different pics of it. I asked my friend Mike E which one he liked best. His choice was the darkest one but I like this one.

the RAV

Rhett's Latest Creation

Friday, Oct. 26, 2007. I opened a box of Puffs. The cardboard piece I removed looked almost like an egg. I used it as a template to create the image repeatedly on my doodle pad. It took less than an hour to complete the outline not that I was actually timing myself.

I submitted another photo of a "peach rose" to zazzle.com for a postcard and it was accepted. Genie liked this one, but she is not in the market for postcards. I did not think peach was her color.

Luckily we got off early so I could do my banking errands. I had two bills to pay also. I ran into my friend Jim. I bought a blouse I'd tried on to wear for our Halloween party. I justified it by telling myself I would wear it again to the Christmas party providing it is not freezing. I suppose I could wear my black turtleneck underneath it.

I still had to stop and get the rest of Jenny's shower gifts, a gift bag and a bow for one of the boxes. When I reached my folk's house to pick up Rhett, Daddy was handing me a thank you card for the church thanking him for all the cards and prayers they send during his eye surgery. Mom was trying to tell me about Aunt Pearl who's nose was bleeding again after her nasal surgery. Then Rhett was trying to tall to me ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I was a bit overwhelmed. I don't recall anything Rhett said during all this mass confusion. He did show me a paper plane he made. I took a picture of it but will post it here later...

I got pizza and hot wings for supper. I love Domino's thin crust pizza! We watched the last 30 mins of "Ghost Whisperer" and the new vampire show "Moonlight". I started getting a sinus headache. I know this because I could feel it moving. I watched "Vegas" which now has Tom Selleck on it. He had his old Magnum buddies on the show. Wonder if Genie saw it or knows about it? I took a hay fever pill & two Alleve and went to bed. I did not wake up til almost 12 pm and I had a baby shower to go to!!!

THE Perfect Quote of the day

God sent each person into the world with a special message to deliver, a special song to sing and a special act of love to bestow. No one else can speak my message or sing my song or offer my love... those are entrusted to me.
-unknown-

I sent these out to all my email buddies especially the quote collectors like myself. My friend Darryl from high school emailed me back to thank me for sending that one to him. He was doing a retirement persentation and was at a loss for a quote. So that as my good deed for the day. What good deed did you do today?

I am a Friend's Ear

Today I am... my friend Cheryl's ear. I like that. I take it as a great compliment. It made me feel good. I have never been someone's ear before. What made you feel good today?

I received two really good, upbeat emails from my friend Bob today. Stephanie sent the "Roon Sirbees" email to me which is one of my all time favorites. I sent it out again. My good deed and laugh for the day combined

I fixed our new electric pencil sharpener this morning. I am good! The can opener worked last night so Don doesn't have to buy me a new one. He said he wasn't going to anyway! I just laughed at him. He knew I was in a better mood.

Rhett's poster is almost complete. Just have to finish it up tonight. He was coloring the sky with a indigo blue colored pencil. I realized we could add a cloud from the shape he'd shaded so we added not one but two. It floored me where that idea came from out of the blue. LOL We make a great artistic team.

I have to pay my JCP bill today. Hope to see my friend Jim. Then we have to go to the funeral home. We may arrive about the same time Don gets there from work.

I am so thankful for this day. For this good mood I am in. May it continue....

I forgot I submitted a button idea to zazzle.com and it was accepted! It was pretty simple... orange background with the word "VAMP" on it in a funky black font. It cost less than $2. I could afford one of them! LOL

Today I submitted another idea similar to the one above to zazzle. It said:
"VAMP That I AM"

Then I submitted a second one to the contest section that was a hot pink background with this saying:

"I'd rather be creating something to sell on zazzle.com"

My friend Genie said, "You are going to town with creative ideas lately." In case you don't know it or are not from the south, "going to town" is a southern expression. My friend Jimmy uses it a lot too.

Frustrating Day

As if my day yesterday wasn't bad enough, Rhett informed me the lunch lady said he owed $2.50. My anger returned because I KNOW I have given him money every day. I always make sure he has the correct change even if I have none. NOW he tells me a friend stole his money one day. Some friend! I asked him why he didn't tell me before today? He says he can't remember everything. He also forgot his math homework so he has to go to school early to finish it. I will go see the lunch lady when I drop him off.

There is supposed to be a way of paying for his lunches on line. It looks like I will have to do that now.

So I started fixing supper consisting of sausage, real french fries and biscuits. I'd asked mom to make me up a pan of biscuits since my head was still hurting so bad which she did. I bought her some sausage in return for the favor.

I told Don about the cracker incident. He took the warden's side which increased my anger another degree or three. I told him I should have known he would do that.

Don called his dad since it was his birthday. By then I was ready to cook the fries and sausage. We found out our friend Dallas in Indy had the laproscopy gall bladder surgery and was fine. Then his mule drug him down the road. He is pretty stove up from it. Need to send him a card.

I'd cut my fries in thin slices but used the wrong pan. I probably didn't have the grease hot enough so they stuck to the pan. I am going to throw that one away and get a new one. I dropped two pieces of sausage on the floor. Don just had to have a can of baked beans. The lid got stuck on my new can opener. I was not a happy cook at this point. Even kissing the cook wouldn't have helped. The can opener is one of those new fangled ones you sit on top of the can & it cuts around the sides by itself. I love it! Don finally got the lid out of it. Now I am not sure if it will work again until I try to open another can. I told him if it doesn't work, he could buy me a new one! Next I dropped the biscuits on the floor. I'm really surprised I didn't burst into tears. I guess I am made of stronger stuff. I am woman, hear me roar. It made me think of Genie when everything was falling apart with her. Also I thought of one of Rhett's first baby books Grover's Bad, Awful Day. Grover had a really bad day much like I had today. The moral of it is it has to be better the next day.

Too tired to work on Rhett's poster.We went to bed early.

This morning I was determined I would have a better day than yesterday.I was not going to let anything I was not get to me.

After yesterday I will never be able to look at a box of Club crackers the same again. Now they will always be a reminder of the cracker incident.

It seems that the warden in on a "Let's clean up Becky's area kick" even though he says he is not picking on me. Yeah right. Why is it always me? I have an enclosed shelf that opens out on my back wall. On top of it is an old color printer I no longer use. It was too frustrating to switch back and forth between two printers. I love my HP laser printer I use now. I have a pack of unused printer paper for the current said printer, my office supply catalog I order from several times during the month, and a phone book. Stuff I use on a daily basis. How can a man be so bothered by computer paper, supply catalogs and a phone book that are used daily? At least I look like I work in my area!

When I first began working here, my cubicle had two areas or a partion between making one tiny cubicle and an open area. I used to perform one task on one side in the morning and another on the other side in the afternoon. I even had two phones; one on each side. A few years ago, I don't know if he thought I was hiding in the back which I was not. I even sat out front if I had nothing more to do. Or he could not view EVERYTHING I was doing. Now the warden paid a local office supply company to dismantle the partion of the cubicle so it was one big open area which cost us money. He loves spending money on unnecesary things like this as well as banners. That took away some of my storage space. I could have stock piled in the back area and no one would have been able to see it unless they went into our breakroom and few folks did walk back there. Most of the officers couldn't care less.

The warden says the first thing you see when you walk into the room is the stuff on the top of my shelf. A few years ago I'd had a self stick matt I used to keep notes on, stuck to the outside of the shelf. He made me take that down because it was the first thing people saw. I thought it was cute myself. I placed it over anther shelf that can't be seen unless you look for it. I feel like he stifles my personality coming out in my work area.


We are having big wigs coming through the prison next month who will just probably say hello, shake our hand and leave, never giving us a second thought. So he is moving the printer to the break room behind my desk, getting me some sort of storeage boxes to put the stuff on top of the shelf inside. I'd asked for a filing cabinet because I really do need one. I share just two drawers out of another with the secretary and I have far more paperwork. I have three plastic storage boxes underneath a corner of my desk now. There is room for one more. Any more and I will have no place to put my legs.

He has pulled crap like this before, but I am not letting him get to me today. A stress free day is indeed a rarity. Still we can only hope for them....

The deputy warden was supposed to pick up some sort of storage boxes for me, but he returned empty handed after lunch. So I ordered another storage box from the catlog over the shelf he wants removed. I will just dig in it daily, but won't find any valuable hidden treasures there. Just the same old paperwork that was in a folder on the top of my desk.

I attempted to go on line to pay for Rhett's lunches. There was nothing at his school's site. I had to call the school who connected me with the lunchroom. I was supposed to go to another site which looked like it had nothing to do with his school. I had to register. Then I needed his student number which is his social security number which I don't know off the top of my head. Don does. So it made me feel like a terrible mom for not knowing my child's social security number. The lady also gave me an 866 number to call. It would not accept his social and said he was not a student in his current school system! Well, I should have called the lunchroom manger to begin with and could just hear Don saying, "Yeah. That's what you should have done." She told me to try the last 5 numbers of his social. Five? Didn't work. She said someone else must be using some of the numbers in his last four. She gave me another number to try which I did. Didn't work. Didn't work adding 00 to either numbers. Then it hit me, could someone else be using his ss# and that is why he owed $2.50? She said not but I gotta wonder... Before this I had called the 866 number and it said he was in a -$2.50 balance which may not have been credited for today. Or did he really owe anything? So I asked her if I could just send a check? I can so I will do that tomorrow when I go in the school yet again to make sure no one is using his social security number. Talk about frustrating!

I can remember when going to school was simple, easy and fun. Those days are gone.

Crackers! Monday Morning Headache

I got to work. The carpet had been cleaned over the weekend. I KNEW the plastic matt underneath mine was NOT mine. I KNEW I was not going crazy.The Deputy warden laughed at me and said it was mine, but I KNEW it was not!

Then the warden called me into his office to ask for the over time figures. He told me I'd "left a food product on my desk." "Food product?" I questioned him. Then he proceeded to tell me I left a box of crackers on my desk and Pepsi cans beneath it. I'd forgotten to take my empty cans home in my sleepy dramamined induced stupor on Friday. Now I rinse my empties out daily and take them home once I have a bagful at the end of the week for my Daddy to recycle so he will have something to do. The crackers in question had not been opened so they were sealed and there were no bugs in them! He came around the corner of my cubicle and I not only told him, but showed him the unopened crackers. He told me to put them in the cabnet in the breakroom like he's done other things before. I was really mad. I'd walked out of his office because I thought it was so ridiculous. It is not the 1st time he'd done something like this so I should be used to it by now and not let it get to me like I did. Maybe I should just laugh in his old, red face. By now my head is pounding. A migraine was coming on.

I told the supervisor who held up a box she has on her desk, but he doesn't say anything to her. I am sure he heard me telling her and I did use the word damn a few times. That was when I showed him the box of unopened crackers. I had his twitchy eye twitching like the man over Inspector Clueseau in "The Pink Panther" movies. Then he tried to be nice to me. That doesn't cut it with me.

I was working on the report he requested. I updated more than the over time so he couldn't come back and tell me to give him the complete report. He came to get the one figure because he probably thought I should have finished by then. As he looked over my shoulder (which is one of my pet peeves!) I told him I was doing it all. Then sugar wouldn't melt in his mouth fast enough!

He is worse than a woman. I should not have let him get to me like I did but I did. Taking Alleve helped, but it returned along with a bad case of indigestion. It just was not worth all that.

I told you about Wall Words at art.com in an earlier post. Today I learned of another similar site at http://uppercaseliving.com/. They had a cute example of a little boy in his room reading a book on his bed. Above him are these words:

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it.
(That would great for scrapbooking.)

Another one said:
Life is a journey and only you hold the map. (?)

imagine...
living simply. loving generously.
caring deeply. speaking kindly.

go out and feel everything
step into your dream
live and laugh
have your ever after...
s.w.

Received some good emails today as well as those quotes... Hope you had a better Monday than I did. But I got my pictures to upload so today was not a totally bad day. I know that I am not alone. Others work with crazy people too.

I Love Ewe for Wesley Rose

I awoke Saturday morning with an idea for Wesley Rose's birthday present.... but did not work on it til later that night. These two are the best out of all the shots I took of it. Sorry they are sideways. It is entitled "I Love Ewe". Wesley's room is done in lambs like Rhett's was. Of course it will look even better once it is framed.

Lesson learned:

If you try to draw clouds and mess up, you can always add cotton balls. Sort of like when life hands you lemons and you make lemonade.

10/20/07 The night before I cooked fried shrimp, my homemade mac-n-cheese and hush puppies on a Friday night at that. I am sure Don was quite shocked. Probably thought he was in the wrong house! I used half of a small package of Martha White's hush puppy mix. They were the best puppies I made in a while. Rhett ate almost all of the macaroni.

The next morning I did a load of dishes, warmed Rhett up the rest of the mac and hush puppies. Don came in from the woods. He and I had sausage and toast. Later he took Rhett to get a haircut. I watched a continual 30 min special about haunted places and hotels while playing Bookworm. That way I wasn't totally watching the scarey parts. The show made me nervous but it was interesting.

The 3 of us went to the new mall. Don to Sears while Rhett & I went to Walmart so I could get stuff to make meatloaf for supper. I had a grocery list with me now. I printed out a few pictures like the balloons I submitted to zazzle.com. I let Rhett play video games while I printed the pics. I had to wait to get service at the camera counterbecause the woman was on the phone. Don had called me and said he was coming inside. I started heading to the crafting section when I remembered Rhett. I almost forgot my child! I am not used to him being with me whenever I go there to print pictures. I saw Don. We went to get Rhett. They headed to sporting goods while I went to check out where I saw I had not hamburger meat in my cart! I'd forgotten Don's popcorn too even with my list! So they had to still wait on me.

I put in another load of dishes and good another good supper since the new stove is now working. After supper I made Wesley Rose's birthday picture in about two hours. I also made two postcards for my postcard swap. Then I took many pictures of Wesley's drawing. I was really nervous again for some unknown reason and my hands were shaking. I guess I need to use Don's tripod.

10/21/07 We went to the chinese place near the house to eat after church. Rhett ate with chopsticks and ate a lot more than usual for him. Maybe he should eat with them ALL the time!

After we got home, I felt sort of yucky so I laid down and read some of a new book Primal Heat by Susan Sizemore. I read over a hundred pages so I read about half of it. I checked on emails and blogs since I didn't even get on the computer yesterday. I could not get the pictures I'd taken of Wesley's gift and Rhett to upload. So I was not thrilled.

We went back to church. Afterwards we talked with friends of Brother Elmer who had a bad stroke on Friday. Carol, his neice by marriage brought tears to my eyes when she said she talks to him and sang to him in his coma like state. What a blessing she is! She said she hopes someone would do that to her if she were in that condition.

Back at home we began working on Rhett's poster which is due on Thursday, the 25th. I used a cowboy hat magnet to trace for a hat on the farmers' heads. Because the poster board is slick, we couldn't use colored pencils which are my forte. So the colors are not what I envisioned. Markers seemed to work much better. There were too many small details to attempt paint. It is about halfway finished now. Hopefully we will finish it up tomorrow night. We have to do it on the floor which kills my back and hips. Stayed up til midnight working on it.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

I snapped these cuties at Winn Dixie when I was looking for shrimp to fry Friday nite. I couldn't resist them. If I didn't have my Autumn postcard swap idea already, I'd probably use this one for it. These are like the picture of Esmie I took when I first got my digi camera... you can't do anything but smile at them. I had to move a sign in order to take this. I don't think the produce guy liked it because he was going to move it until he saw I was taking a picture.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

theRAV

Dual Leaf

Rhett was supposed to have a field trip today to an Indian festival in a nearby town. I failed to ask off in time in order to go with him so I called in dead to work. The weather chose to pour this morning. I called his school to see if they were still going and was told they were as planned. I couldn't believe it! So I grabbed jackets for us. I took 2 Dramamine because I was going to ride the bus to save gas and I got extremely bus sick when I went on his Kindergarten field trips. I dropped him off, parked the car and went to sign myself in. His teacher was in the office and told me they had called the placed and it had been cancelled. Here I am all dressed in jeans with many pockets (sounds almost like an Indian name, doesn't it?) as if I were going to a craft show. I almost had a wreck on the way back to the house to change clothes. I honestly felt like the hand of God was across my front bumper to keep me from hitting a car I didn't see. I went home to change so I could go on into work. The Dramamine had me feeling loopy and made me want to just stay in bed.

I stopped to got crackers on the way to work. The convience store clerk said she'd order some Mrs. Freshley's snowballs and caffeine free Pepsi for me which made my morning. I stopped at another gas station to see if they had any snowballs, but they didn't. I'd left my big bag at home with one inside of it and I felt naked without the bag like I do when I forgot to put on my rings. Upon getting out of my car, I saw the above dual colored leaf so naturally I took a picture of it. I thought it was neat with the rain on the road. It would be good in my Autumn postcard swap also which I need to make this weekend and mail.

The dual colored leaf is a lot like me.... Some times I am one color. Sometimes I am another but I like to think my colors compliment each other. One side is Becky. The other is Rebecca.

I fought off the effects of the Dramamine most of the morning. Nothing really held my interest for very long. I didn't even feel like drawing. Just wanted to sleep. Next time I'll wait to take the Dramamine and if I do that, I may still get bus sick. I am glad Rhett has a strong stomach like his Daddy.

Today marks the beginning of hunting season. Don says he is not prepared for it yet. It rained this morning so he couldn't go. Maybe someone is trying to tell him something... I found it funny it rained and he couldn't go. Sick sense of humor that I have.

May the things you find today have a dual purpose for you.

The Balloons

Ralph Dream, The Balloons

Saturday night into Sunday morning, I had a dream about Ralph, the singer Penney and I used to go see faithfully every night when his band was in town. We even traveled out of town to watch them perform. It was fun being a groupie and actually saying "I am with the band." Ralph was one The most gorgeous men I have ever laid eyes upon much less met and actually got to know. He was Puerto Rican. He looked a lot like Paul Stanley of Kiss with the long dark curly hair. I wonder if he was a website since he does still sing the last we heard.

I have had two negative dreams about Ralph. One years ago where he was so cold and ugly to me. I could not shake that dream. I remember going to see a Richard Pryor film about his latest stand up after he'd been burned. The dream bled over into my mood the entire day. I couldn't get into the movie because I kept remembering how awful Ralph treated me in the dream. I did not find the show funny at all. It was a waste of my money.

In this recent dream, I saw him at my local library. He was with 3 or 4 other strange looking guys leaning towards the homo look. He was not very friendly towards me at all which really hurt my feelings especially after the way we supported him. He and his friends were playing some sort of game on paper. The paper was left in the corner of the card catalog. When they left, I went over to get it. I left my purse. When I came back ALL my credit cards had been stolen! Of course I woke up immediately relieved it was only a dream. I am sure my reunion last night had something to do with it. I am seeing being accepted in my dreams as well as my art work. I had not thought about Ralph in ages. No one at the bash reminded me of him. Not even the music they played. Now Gary was a different story because they played "You'll Never Find a Love Like Mine" which was our song.

I wondered what the library part meant, but I haven't a clue where my dream dictionary is located. Am I spending too much time at the library? This is the 2nd one I have had about him where he is not his friendly self as he is in reality. Who knows? Rhett would tell me it is only a dream.


Well, I had trouble with some of the pictures going on the blog as you can see for yourself... Then I thought maybe the pictures were not meant to be on here. I kept playing with it until I at least go the photo of the two of us on it in the right hand corner of the blog so I am somewhat content.



This week has been a blur of emails of snapshots of last weekend's bash sent back and forth among classmates. Most have thanked me for sending them. My fellow classmate Darryl took 3 of Don and I which he sent along with 12 other pics! He got one of me doing what I typically do now... look over the rim of glasses at close up objects which shows I am getting old, but not old enough to need bifocals yet! I couldn't believe he took so many of us. I would love to be able to upload them and print them, but not sure exactly how to do that yet. Darryl helped some and I am sure he would instruct me more if I asked him.



I have not done much artistically this week except finish the Bird Abstract Sunday night which took about an hour to do. Rhett was "supervising" the pieces I added to it. I took it to have a color copy made yesterday, but the black bird in the bottom did not turn out well due to the foil wrapping paper I used for the wing. So I learned something.... I should have already known - not to use shiney objects. I remember that from my art teacher in college.

I did take one photo this week. Once again Rhett inspired me. He left a pile of colorful water balloons on his table. I took that with the flash and really liked the way the colors turned out on it. I submitted it today to zazzle.com as a postcard and a stamp. They accepted it immediately. Zazzle had created my submissions as a slide show which really made my day. I have the link below... hope it works. If not just go to zazzle.com. In the search box, type in theRAV and it should bring it up for you.



< embedwmode="transparent">

sRc="htttp://www.zazzle.com/assesets/swf/zp/ap.swf?cn23859484159891386&st=date_created&t1=My+zazzletPanel&skn=default&ch=theRAV"

While watching the slide show of my submissions, I saw where someone had voted 5 times for my blue star lights. I was so excited to see that.

Now blogger is not letting me upload the picture of the balloons. Hopefully I can do it later....

I did try to call my "friend" Bonnie on her birthday on the 15th. I called from my cell as I was leaving work. It just rang & rang and rang. No answering machine picked up, but I did wonder if she was looking at the caller id. My cell would have come up unknown. I tried again the next day on the 16th which is a special memory day for me. Bonnie answered and was so shocked it was me. She can't believe I remembered her birthday. It is the same day as one of my cousins. Then there is the day after which I am not likely to ever forget in several lifetimes. How could you forget the day you met someone you loved?

Of course it was not possible to meet with Bonnie. I should have know this. She said she'd already made plans while I knew she probably had no plans whatsoever. She was just saying that. Being her usual Bonnie self. I know her too well. I had wanted her to see all my art work which I have in the form of photgraphs. I carry them with me in my large quilted bag now. I told her I might mail some of them to her, but I don't think I shall. I wanted to explain my photos. Plus it would cost to mail them to her. Not that I am a cheap skate. I suppose I still do not feel she is worth the stamp. Now if it were any of my other friends, it would be a different story entirely.

I probably won't hear from her for months now. She will call while I am cooking supper or I am about to dash out the door. She will get mad because I don't have the time to talk to her and probably make some snide comment that will make me mad. Our history will repeat yet itself again. Why did I even bother? I just felt this really strong urge to try to reach out to her. Once again she pushed me away. Oh, well, her loss.

There was also an email about how well you know your friends. My friend MikeE's answers were the funniest. He made me realize we have been friends for over 33 years which is a really long time. Almost a lifetime. I have always had really long friendships and am so thankful for them. David knew me best and only missed one question which was the color of my eyes. It made me feel good. I got all of his right except for his favorite color. I know my friends and my friends know me. I am very lucky to have them. I was really glad I did this email.

Quotes of the Day:

Take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every 60 seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

-Unknown-

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth,

-Benjamin Disraeli-

Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.

-Bulgarian proverb-

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.

~Lucille Ball~

She is a friend of my mind.... The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.

~Toni Morrison~

I sent these to my friend Kevin in our computer dept. He called me the next day to thank me for his "package". Package? What package? Then he reminded me. I told him I thought I was in the beginning stages of Alzheimers because I forget too much. He told me I was too young for that. He put the Bulgarian proverb on the bulletin board for all workers to read.

As for the Alzheimers, my mom thinks I just have so much on my mind that it is hard to remember everything. Like my Aunt Pearl's nasal operation on Wednesday. I completely forgot about it until mom called me to tell me she went through it fine. I felt bad. They kept her in the hospital since my uncle was in a wheelchair. It was a good thing because her nose started bleeding again later but luckily they got it under control.

I think I have been doing well in the mornings remembering everything I am supposed to do in order to get Rhett off to school.

Today was a good day. Hope your's was as good as mine.

I totally give up on this blog. Now its not spacing correctly. What's a blogger to do?

Just

Just

Just be

Just because

Just breath

Just Becky.

Bird Abstract

I did not realize these were blurry until I went to print them. I will reshoot them again later.

50th Birthday Bash

After weeks of deciding what to wear, a few days beforehand, I decided on this peach colored outfit to wear to my class's 50th birthday bash. As I was in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on my my make up, Don was standing in the doorway looking at me. "What?" I asked him. "Are you sure you are 50?" he asked me. So it was worth it all right there.

We dropped Rhett off at mom's, arrived a few minutes after 7 but I really did not see anyone I knew on the porch of the house the bash was being held in so we waited in the truck. A few minutes later a car pulled up behind us. It was my friend Iris and her husband George getting out of their car so we got out and I hollered, "Hey!" to her so we went up the steps together after saying our hellos. Iris looked really good. We said hello to the people on the porch. One guy I did not recognize until he told me his name nor he me until I did the same but we hugged each other. He went on to play pro ball.

Iris and George were standing on one side of the porch and we were on the other. She told me I need to be on her side so I could tell her who everyone was. If I had done that, I would have felt like that person who stands besides the Queen and whispers who is approaching next! Believe it or not there were some folks I did not know. I did see one guy I'd forgotten I'd known since elementary school. I wouldn't have known who he was if I had not read his name tag. He wouldn't have known me if he had not heard me say my name. Have I changed THAT much? Not everyone has my elephant's memory.

Penny's friend Debra was there with her husband Kenny. Debra was not in our class and is younger than us. Later on a free drinks later, she still kept telling everyone she was not 50 and the youngest one there. If I had been around her, I know she would have gotten on my last nerve. They let Kenny lead the prayer for our meal. Maybe because he was the oldest one there.

This one guy who is in the 3rd picture kept saying, I am Cathy's date. Okay. He told me that to my face. Then he told me his name and he was the guy I went to my senior prom with. I screamed his name, grabbed him and hugged him. I told him he looked just like his father now. He and Don seemed to hit it off. Tommy and his sister Cathy were the life of the party and kept us laughing all night.

Cathy is a jv cop. She just got her tazer. In order to carry a tazer, you have to be tazed. Everyone asked her what that was like. She said and I quote, "It lit my ta-ta's up." We all just shock our heads. That is Cathy.

We had steaks that were good but full of gristles. If I had put all the gristles in my napkin, I would have run out of napkins. That was my only embarrassment. But what do you do when you have a gristle?

Iris and I were able to talk about some things. When it got to the point where I couldn't hear what she was saying, I made Don change seats with me. Iris left rather early and I probably felt ackward after they departed. It is better to have somewhat close friends there.

I did have one lady get a little too close for comfort in my face. I was wondering if she was checking for wrinkles! Another said I didn't color my hair. Duh. I told her, " No, that I had seen Walkie recently and decided against it."

It was fun listening to stories about crazy classmates. It was great seeing everyone again. Still not sure if it was worth $50.

Happy Halloween Early

I'd seen a fellow classmate earlier in the week and asked if he got the email about our class's 50th birthday bash to be held on Saturday. William had not received anything so I told him I'd send him the info and did. I called him from work on my cell since it was long distance to call him. My phone was beeping it had a low battery so I turned it off after verifying he'd received my emails. As I was charging the phone in the car, I'd had a call from William. He was downtown searching to the house. If it was not wheel chair accessible, he would not be able to attend. He gave me directions to it so I headed on over to check it out for myself. I felt bad that William could not come now.

We went to Country's on Broad for supper which is an old remodeled bus station complete with an old Greyhound bus attached on the outside. There was an elderly lady who was rather loud as if she were deaf as a doornail. I knew I'd seen her before.... It finally came to me that I'd seen her at another restaurant when I was working downtown. She was trying to eat chicken salad while her son was preaching about something that day. She told him to "Shut up!" It was kind of hard to forget. That night she was the loud one. She also had to go the restroom which is located up about three flights of stairs. Her son had to help her up the stairs.

I looked at Don and said, "This place is not wheel chair accessible." If William came here, he might could find a seat, but he would not be able to go to the bathroom. It really got me to thinking.... Later I emailed this account to William. I volunteered my help in making the public aware of this problem. After all, the next time our class has a gathering, more of us might be in Williams's shoes as well as a wheel chair but I hope not!

Rhett wanted to go to the bus as usual. There were skulls decorating the place. He walked slowly up the steps leading to the bus as if he were approaching the guillotine. When he got to the top step, he turned around and came back. I jokingly told Don, "There must be a skelleton up there." Sure enough there was! This is him complete with driver's cap but no torso. So I had to take a picture of it. I also sent it as an email & everyone thinks its scarey but I find it funny sick person that I am.

We went home to watch the new vampire show "Moonlight".

The Dr's Visit

Yesterday I ordered a dinner from the Food Nazi at the Royal Cafe again. We placed our order at 11 am. The two ladies left in plenty of time for it be ready for pick up. Rhett had a dr's appointment at 3. Nowdays you have to check your child out of school before 2 pm. The ladies were not back by 1 or 1:15 so I was in a state. I knew I had to leave by 1:30 in order to get to Rhett's school by 2. They arrived at 1:20 so I had 10 minutes to eat and I am a slow eater. I ate what I could and took the rest of it with me. I saved my sweet iced tea for Rhett who is a tea-totaler from way back.

When I arrived at his school, I had to ring the doorbell in order to be allowed entrance. The Vice principal told me I'd made it in the nick of time. I was nice, but they were going to give me my child!

On the way to the car, Rhett wanted to know why he was going to the dr. I told him he was not up to date on his shots which I shouldn't have said. He didn't want a shot. He remembered how that felt and didn't like it because it hurt. I told him I was sorry about that. He hardly drank any of the tea so I knew he was upset. There had been an outbreak of chicken pox at the school. he had that when he was a baby. I figured I would have to provide a current shot record next and if his were not up-to-date, they might let him attend school. I tried to explain this to him.

We get to the Dr's office. I had to stand in line to sign him in. I was told as I was writing his name that there was no doctors present today. The husband and wife team had an emergency. Now I am mad because no one called me. They told me they did call me, but they called the home phone. DUH. I was not at home. I was at work. I was not a nice person. I raised my voice and I told them they needed to put in his file to call me at my work number. They asked for my cell phone number also which I rarely have turned on. So next time they will call me on my cell first and it won't be on! I told them I'd gotten off work, pulled him out of school and they apologized again. The lady tried to placate me by telling me I could come back whenever it was better for me. I told them I was not pulling him out of school again in order to be there by 3:00.

When she asked the lady at the computer to give me the next appointment after 3, I could tell she didn't like it one bit, but at that point I did not care. So they gave me one at 3:30 on Monday, Oct. 15th. (My friend Bonnie's birthday.) In my angry state, I left my book I was reading on the counter. I didn't discover this until we got to mom's. I called them to see if I left it there and I did indeed. Luckily the dr's office is close to mom's so I went back to get it. The title of the book is California Demon by Julie Kenner. I am sure when they read the title, they thought, "No, she is an Alabama Demon!"

The air wasn't working in the car again. I had a letter to mail, a bank deposit to make. The air started working so I didn't take it to an air place. I caught up on my blog. I learned how to remove unwanted pictures off of my blog. I feel sort of dumb for not figuring it out before now.

I saw an old classmate who is in a wheelchair and told him about the birthday bash.

Don thinks the air problems with the car are electrical and going to the air place would have been a waste of time and money so he thought it was good I didn't go there.

The heat wouldn't come on in the car this morning. The temperture dropped into the 50's. I guess if I tell Don I will have to start driving his monster truck, he will get it fixed.

There IS Such a Thing as a Free Lunch

On Tuesday 10/9/07, upon returning back to work after having Columbus Day off and catching Don's virus, I went to Wendy's for lunch. Last week they had sabotaged my chicken sandwich by putting mustard on it! Horrors! I called to complain about it knowing I would get a free one. They told me I could come get a free sandwich the next day. I did not return until the next week. When I walked in, one of the young girls that works behind the counter asked, "Are you Becky?" I said I was. I felt like Norm in "Cheers" again. I love it when that happens. She told me I needed to get my free sandwich today! So three ladies are rushing around, one is telling me how I like my sandwich, the other is getting me free fries and a drink. I figured I'd have to pay for the latter but lucky for me I did not. So it was a very good day. There is such a thing as a free lunch.

Where Does Happiness Come From? & Quotes of the Day

Dare to leave a mark, leave a legacy in life, be at the apex, the zenith level where actualizers and achievers are celebrated.
-Sheunopa Vushemakota-


Whatever beauty here on earth is seen,
To meet the longing and perceptive eye.
Is semblance of that source divine,
From whence we all are come.
In this alone we catch a glimpse of Heaven.
-Michaelangelo

My friend Anne wanted to know my interpretation of this question...

Where does happiness come from?

At first I said I thought I may have to ponder this for awhile... but my very first thought was "Happiness comes from within." So that is MY quote of the day and you may quote me on it. To me, it is doing something you really love to do like I am doing with my art now. Its the little things that mean a lot to me and make me the most happiest. It is finding lost keys or something you couldn't find for a long time. It is not a bouquet of roses. It is the one flower Don picks for me from our yard and brings to me with a kiss. It is my child making us laugh. It is the sound of my child's laughter.

Wall Words

On 10/10, I was given a new source of inspiration... my supervisor handed me a new catalog I'd never seen before. It is called Wall Words. You can use words and quotes to decorate the walls of your home or business. Even put a recipe on your kitchen wall if you so desire to do so. They have a website wallwords.com. If you would like to order their catalog, the # is: 888-422-6685. (I should be in advertising. I was once told by a speech teacher in college that I would make a good copy writer. She told me I should have applied at a local news channel because of a term paper I wrote on Robert Redford. But I never applied for it. At that time I did not feel qualified for it.)

Since I am trying to watch my pennies, I would probably take the word "Create" and it paint it somewhere I'd see it every day. Not that I really need it with all the creating I have been doing lately! Just another idea I thought I'd pass along....

So I will leave you with a quote of the day from their catalog:

"The ecstasy is so short
but the forgetting is so long."
-Walt Whitman-

What would your wall word or words be?

Our Holy Tree

I love unusual trees if you haven't noticed that by now. I am always looking for The most unusual one I can find to photograph. We have a double dogwood in our front yard which I have been told is rare or hard to grow by friend David, the plant guy. We always seem to take pictures with this tree in the background which has now become a family tradition. While we were outside with the flying saucer and the eyeball frisbee, I discovered the hole in the tree on the other side; the side we never photograph. So you never know what you will find on the other side... There is a spiderweb inside the hole. Holy spiders, Batman!

Got my Eyes on You

Just couldn't resist this one!

theRAV

Rhett's House of Card

The first one was Rhett's idea and he wanted me to take a pic of it so I did. A lot of our friends thought it was cool so I submitted it to Zazzle with that title. They accepted it. After uploading it and submitting it, it looks sort of blurry so I will probably reshoot it. When I told Rhett it had been accepted, he wasn't the least bit concerned. He was asking how much it cost to change your name. He wants to change his to Drake from "Drake & Josh". I told him NO!. He was Rhett now and always would be.

I got Rhett this frisbee like disc. Its cool. We broke it in on Columbus Day since we were both off from school and work. He also tried to take my head off with his remote control flying saucer Stephanie gave him! The bugs were eating me up so I went inside. Later we went to Applebees's for steaks.

Holy Moley II

1st Blue Abstract

This was my 1st blue abstract that I made the day or the day after Amanda asked me me to make them a large abstract for their Christmas present. I thought of giving this one to Steph and Amanda but I am still unsure about doing that. As I tell Rhett all the time, "We'll see..." which doesn't mean it will happen.

theRAV

Holy Moley

This is yet another abstract I submitted to Zazzle.com this week. They questioned these and they are ones I created with my own two hands. I was a bit offended by it. Maybe they look like someone else's art. I defended myself in an email by stating I had not signed them because I was not sure if I was finished with them. I explained how I made them with a white plastic artist's palatte in my kitchen drawer. The only thing I did not say is I had family and friend who could verify I created it. My husband and son watched me as I drew it and then painted it. They were accepted the next day. So I over-reacted for nothing as always.

theRAV

Postcard collage

The Watch Lady

Just call me "The Watch Lady". I love watches! I am the Emelda Marcos of them. I haven't actually counted how many I own, but I do have a lot. My friend Anne says its because I am a Capricorn. I am the keeper of time. The 1st one is the blue velvet one I got for 50 cents. The 2nd was only $2 and came with another scarf. Its sort of hard to tie them on your own hand so I may give them as a gift.

My New Bag

A lady was selling these huge patchwork bags for $5.00 at the Cotton Pickin' Fair. I ransacked through her stash until I found this one I really liked. I figured it was well worth the price. It does have some pink in it. They are the stripes or long strips in between the squares. I really like the colors in it. It reminds me of something I would do and have done. Mom didn't like it nor did Don. I have begun using it instead of toting plastic bags to carry my stuff back and forth to work. That way I am helping to save the enviroment.

I had not ordered anything in awhile. I have three new pencil holders which look more like eye glass holders for my markers and colored pencils I ordered. One is hot pink. The other is turquoise. I haven't filled up the purple one yet. Colors. What would I do without them?

The Red Fish

I bought this fish comb at the first yard sale; the one at Penny's church for 25 cents. I knew I wanted to take a pic of it as soon as I saw it lying there. I've thought of altering the photo with a blue glittery marker by drawing waves and bubbles coming from the fishes mouth. I'm sure my friend Abby would agree with me on this.

theRAV

The Latest Abstract

I took this pic of this whirly-gig in Warms Springs, GA. With a digi camera, it stops the movement so you get no blurred effects as when you actually watch it spinning. I printed out several copies of this on paper. I cropped by cutting some of the background out of it. I thought of using this as the abstract for Stephanie and Amanda's Christmas gift, but I am not exactly thrilled with it. I'd need bigger size poster to glue them onto than what I have on hand at home. I attempted to draw it freehand, but it has turned into something else entirely as my work tends to do. I do like my free form. It may take me until Christmas to finish it with all of the tiny details. It has all sort of things in it like a fox and wolf, some eyes which I haven't put pupils in yet and I may not. We'll see... I am just having fun being creative. It is good to be using my colored pencils again. Its nice to know I haven't lost my touch with them.

I went through some old matted drawings from my art class days years ago and I can see how far I have come; how much I have improved my style and skills. I need to work on an old one I did of woman's eye.

the RAV

Can you tell it is almost Halloween?

And more of the Cotton Pickin' Fair....

By the time we arrived at the fair, the sun came out. We whizzed by most of the usual stuff we have seen over and over and over each year. I did find something new... A man had thin wooden matts for 5x7 frames he'd made. It had Rhett's name carved in the bottom of it. It was $14.95. I started to walk away, but his name is hard to find so I bought it. I also got a magnet which will have to be mailed to me in two weeks. Don cannot believe I trust these vendors as I do, but I have never had a problem in the past. Now I regret that I didn't buy more of them. One for my folks and Don's folks for Christmas presents. Don thought the price was too high. If he'd buy the right saw, he could make them for me. Yeah, right. But alas hunting season is upon us now so I can forget that noise!

I thought about going back up there the next day, but Don was agains the idea. He had a virus. I suppose I could order more from the vendor once he does send me the magnet. Of course I'd have to pay shipping and handling. Would that be less than a tank of gas these days? LOL Who knows... maybe tht vendor will be at Christmas Made in the South at the end of this month... I can only hope.

We only made it through one side of the fair and the free side on the outside of it. Rhett was ready to go by then. Next time I'll leave him at his Grandma's. He was less complaining last time we came here. I spend less money when he does not go with me. He acted as if I walked him to death. Sort of like I did Elisa when she was pregnant, but we went through both sides.

I did get three Christmas gifts. I got something I think is neat for my daughter-in-law, Kristina. Just hope my oldest step-daughter, Elisa didn't buy the same thing, but I found out she was out of town & did not go there. So I don't have to worry abuout Kristina getting duplicates.

I did get a little sun on my neck but not too much. Does that make me a redneck? Naw, just a southern lady.

There were these ducks out front of where you enter the town of Warm Springs. There is another pic of Rhett petting them which didn't upload.. They are not real by the way.

The blue lights were from a Christmas tree in a shop that will be going out of business soon. I'd purchased a lot of gifts and Christmas ornaments from there. So it is sad. Maybe someone else will take it over. Next weekend they are having a hoe down in this little town. But alas I will be spending ALL day getting ready for a 5oth birthday bash with some of classmates. Not that it will make me look any younger, make my wrinkles vanish into thin air or darken my gray hair.

Still more of the Cotton Pickin' Fair....

Well, these are not in the order I took them - not that it really matters to anyone but me being the stickler for details that I am. I don't know how to turn the top one of Rhett (without Picasa's help).

Rhett, the southern Rebel. The good thing about having kids is you can tell them, "Stand right here while I take your picture..." and he does it! He's a ham and a half.

The magnolia evoked old childhood memories for me. We used to have two magnolia trees in our yard. One in the front and one in the back. My mom hated them due to the leaves she had to rake and all the bugs that swarmed around them, often coming inside the house. I carried on about the bugs like a girl. The one in the back yard was lower to the ground. We would hear noises underneath it at night. My mom always felt like there could be someone standing underneath it at night so she had it cut down, but blamed it on the leaves and bugs.

I loved playing with this part of the tree that I took photographed. I would pull out these red seeds and pretend they were berries or food. I loved the white piece of silk like string that formed a tail when you removed it. One day, the boy down the street and I picked almost every form of berry we could find. We put them in one of my tiny pots I pretended to cook with. He put some water in it. He had a Creepy Crawler machine so we used the heating unit to cook them on. They were made out of sturdy metal unlike the plastic ones today because Rhett has one of the new versions. We went on to play other things or swing or something, forgetting we were "cooking". When we did remember, the water had boiled out and it was a hardened mess in my pan. Instead of trying to get it out of my pan, I felt it was hopeless so I told him to just throw the pan away. I had more of them anyway. We never told our parents what we did. Its a wonder his play house didn't catch on fire!

Those red berries in the magnolia would serve as another memory for me. When I would grow up to wear red nail polish, my ring finger nails would look similar to one of the red seeds. Of course my ring finger now is a lot different from your's because I have rings on nearly every finger; sometime 3 on one!

I sent this out as an email. It brought back wonderful childhood memories for my friend Bob. He thanked me for letting him remember a good memory from his past. Glad I could help, Bob.

And last but not least, I couldn't resist snapping the Chocolate O'Hara sign in honor of Rhett's name.

More of the Cotton Pickin' Fair...

Rhett just had to have his picture made on this....

Cotton Pickin' Fair Continued....

Rhett just had to ride this little train which I told him he was too big for this type of thing. It cost $1 a person and we just went thru a small part of the town. Afterwards he complained with his back hurting from when we went over a speed bump. I was afraid it was his kidneys.

I took the picture of this water tower with the Cotton Pickin' Fair sign because we have been going to this craft show for well over 13 years now. I have never photographed it so I thought it was long over due. Of course some may thinl I over did it as I do tend to do with everything. Oh, well.

I took the pic of the tree because the bark reminded me of an elephant's skin and if you look closely enough, you will see an eye... By then Rhett was telling me to come on. I heard a lady laughing at us.

The Cotton Pickin' Fair 2007

The first picture Rhett took in the bathroom of the Paradise Cafe. Because I had on brown and the wallpaper was done in tiki, I thought it would look better than it does. I don't like my expression in the picture. Ever the critic. The second is a picture Rhett took of the table cloth at the Paradise Cafe where we ate lunch. His was better than mine so we deleted mine and kept his.

Rhett and I planned to go to the Cotton Pickin' Fair Saturday. It was overcast, but not so hot when departed. We had to go a different direction due to the Tuskeegee/Morehouse parade downtown. We stopped at Penny's old church because they always have a yard sale that day. I got a watch like one I'd seen at Bella's place for 50 cents! It has a blue velvet band. See picture in the "The Watch Lady" post.

I spoke with Penny's minister before we left the church parking lot. I told him about seeing her and her family during the summer and what a great visit we had. There was an elderly black lady who walked up and said she "could feel the spirit" as she came upon the church. I'm sure that would make Penny smile.

We stopped at a couple of yard sales along the way. By the time we got to Waverly Hall, Rhett told me NOT to stop ANYMORE! I told him oh yes we were! They always have a big one in that town. I saw an old friend we used to sit with when we country line danced when Don and I first met. I had not seen Helen in awhile. Once again she saw me before I saw her. We talked awhile and caught up with each other. She asked about my folks as well as Aunt Pearl and Uncle Bert. I told her how Uncle Bert has to use a wheelchair now if they are out for long periods of time. All they talk about is when they die, what they'll be buried in, etc. So sad. Now I am standing there with my digi camera around my neck. I should have taken her picture. She looks so much better now with her strawberry blonde colored hair and her make up is different; more flattering. She does her lips so well. I was wearing a brown oufit. Helen couldn't believe I didn't have on pink. I only bought a bottle of glitter nail polish from her. I hated not to buy at least something. I plan to use the glitter on some of my artwork and did.

Then I ran into my friend David's step mom who I had not seen in years. Teresa told me her daughter Kelly was supposed to be around somewhere. I spied Kelly with her daughter Gracie who is the cutest muchkin. Gracie's father is Spanish. Gracie reminds of Boo in "Monster Inc." Kelly and I talked a long time; to the point of Rhett interrupting to say, "Can we go now?" more than once! He wanted to go buy a game he'd seen earlier.

I regret that I didn't take pictures of Kelly's family and I was showing Kelly my artwork on the camera which was hard to see in the direct sunlight. I am kicking myself now. Note to self:

Seize every Kodak Moment.

Once we got to Warm Spring we stopped to eat at the Paradise Cafe where I like to stop and eat . They have very good burgers. Rhett got chicken & dumplings with cornbread, but he said it wasn't very good and I was not going to get a doggie bag for it. We all took these pictures. They are out of sequence. He kept taking the top one and would zoom in to his nostrils, thinking that was just the funniest thing. Boys!