Saturday, June 30, 2012

Caturday (182/366)

2012 06 30 IMG_4848w
“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.”

Joseph Wood Krutch (American Naturalist and Writer, 1893-1970)

TIME:  3:14 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Jack

He was sleeping on a garbage bag full of StellaDella’s old stuffed animals.  What else is there to do on an extremely hot Saturday?

Friday, June 29, 2012

Floam (181/366)

2012 06 29 IMG_4836w
“Mold anything!
Mold everything”

Floam slogan

TIME:  9:46 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  “Purple Power” Floam

SD and I went out to eat (her favorite place – Fazolis) and then stopped by the bookstore to look around.  She spied her current heart’s desire – Floam (an “as seen on TV” modeling compound marketed by Nickelodeon).  Her just given allowance was itching to be spent.  I did talk her into going to a couple of other stores to see if it could be purchased any cheaper, but where where we went, no one carried it.  So back to the bookstore we went.  Since I have missed passing out a couple of allowances (shhhhhh, don’t let her know), I went ahead and bought it for her.  It made her day.
~*~*~
I have since found a website that give a recipe to make your own “Floam” – probably a better thing to do.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Yes, I Watered Today (180/366)

2012 06 28 IMG_4823w
“If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?”

Stephen Wright (American Actor and Writer, b.1955)

TIME:  8:12 PM
PLACE:  Front sidewalk
SUBJECT:  Planter

I watered the flowers in the front planters this evening. 

IMG_20120628_160636

TIME:  4:04 PM
PLACE:  The Jeep
SUBJECT:  The temp

It was a little toasty today….the same is expected for tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Salad aka Tomorrow’s Lunch (179/366)

2012 06 27 IMG_4802w
“Two… sal-ads. Never heard of it. I got to stay hip. I don’t want to end up like silly old Squidward. But what in the name of Davy Jones’ locker is a sal-lad?

—SpongeBob in Bossy Boots

TIME:  8:31 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Salad

I made this salad to take to work for lunch tomorrow.  I know that the cheese and pepperoni add calories, but it still has to be better for me than eating a fast-food burger and fries.  Right?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Feather (178/366)

2012 06 26 IMG_2293w
“my love was a feather, a flat sleeping thing.”

Robert Creeley (b. 1926), U.S. poet. The Whip (l. 2-3). . . The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley, 1945-1975 (1982) University of California Press.

TIME:  8:29 PM
PLACE:  Ball field
SUBJECT:  Feather

MB had his last baseball game of the season this evening.  They lost.  19-12.  They played ok, except for the inning that almost every boy made an error and they gave up 7 un-earned runs.  *shakes head*  On the bright side, I was able to take this close-up of a feather that was by my chair.  I think those two light pill-shaped objects on the top middle are some sort of bug larvae.  Lovely.

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Art of The Self-Portrait (177/366)

2012 06 25 IMG_20120624_115216w
“I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”

Frida Kahlo (born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, Mexican painter, 1907–1954)

TIME:  6 PM-ish
PLACE:  Inside the Jeep
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen
(taken by DQ with her cell phone)

Teens (and many adults) these days have mastered the art of taking a self-portrait.  I know my oldest daughter has.  I haven’t.  She likes this one because it shows her newly colored & trimmed hair.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Stair Photos (176/366)

2012 06 24 IMG_4750a2012 06 24 IMG_4781w
“There’s nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more . . . secure.”

Jim Butcher, Vignette

TIME: 7:53 & 8:04 PM
PLACE:  Front porch of Dad’s house
SUBJECT:  Family

My 2nd oldest brother and his family were in town – it’s been about a year since we’ve all gotten together again.  We had to take a stair picture of the cousins, but had to move outside to the front porch as the stairway inside was couldn’t hold them all.  Then my brothers, sister and dad had a photo taken too.

e653331cbe6111e1b2fe1231380205bf_7
15205152be6211e19894123138140d8c_7
We all got silly as well.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Rollin’ On The River (175/366)

2012 06 23 IMG_20120623_202816w
"The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable.”

- Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, Ch. 1

TIME:  7:54 PM
PLACE:  Mississippi River
SUBJECT:  Side of Ste. Genevieve - Modoc Ferry

This ferry normally runs between Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and Modoc, Illinois, but this evening HH & I were invited to cruise up the Mississippi and back this evening on it.  We were fed and there were beverages to be had as well.  It was a nice time.

2012 06 23 IMG_2255w

And the sunset was beautiful.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Peeking Pigeon (174/366)

2012 06 22 IMG_2248w
“Kill no more pigeons than you can eat.”

Benjamin Franklin (American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Printer, Writer and Inventor. 1706-1790)

TIME:  6:47 PM
PLACE:  Downtown
SUBJECT:  Pigeon

My youngest and I went to the movies with my dad tonight.  But first, the three of us went downtown for dinner…sushi again for me and SD, while dad decided on crab cakes.  It was a beautiful evening so we ate outside at the sidewalk tables.  After we finished eating, we had some time to kill before the show started.  We walked a bit around Main street and I took some photos.  The move we saw?  “Brave” – SD loved it of course…and why wouldn’t she?  The heroine has crazy, red hair just like she does.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Forest (173/366)

2012 06 21 IMG_4529w
“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”

Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish Essayist, Poet and Author of fiction and travel books, 1850-1894)

TIME:  5:57 PM
PLACE:  Boy Scout Camp
SUBJECT:  Woods

MB has been at Boy Scout camp this week.  Tonight was Parent Night.  HH had a ball game to coach so it was just me.  I left straight from work in  the Miata.  When I arrived I found out that earlier in the day, while MB was chopping wood, he had suffered heat exhaustion.  They cooled him down and replenish his fluids and he recovered just fine.  In fact, if they didn’t tell me about it I wouldn’t have guessed that he had issues earlier.

 2012 06 21 IMG_2236w
TIME:  7:56 PM
PLACE:  The road
SUBJECT:  View from the car

I left and enjoyed my drive home with the top down.  I head back on Saturday to pick up him and his gear – I’m going to have to use the Jeep for that, so I have to take “top-down” time while I can.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

After Hour Depository (172/366)

2012-06-20 19-33-09_985w
“If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.”

Woody Allen (American Actor, Author, Screenwriter and Film Director, b.1935)

TIME:  7:33 PM
PLACE:  Downtown
SUBJECT:  Night Depository

I don’t know how it happened, but the HH and I managed to be without all of the kids for supper this evening (MB is at camp and the girls went home with a friend after swimming today).  So naturally, we went out to eat without them. Sushi at the new restaurant downtown.  This old night depository is on the front of an old bank building in the same block as the sushi bar.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Caught By The Train (171/366)

2012-06-19_19-50-44_437aw
“The only way of catching a train I have ever discovered is to miss the train before.”

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

TIME:  8:50 PM
PLACE:  Main Street
SUBJECT:  Train
(taken with my cell phone)

Due to an unexpected departure from our accounting department, we are short-handed the remainder of this week.  That means we all have to work 8 hour days and not our 4-10 hour days with the one day off.  That messes up the plans I had with the girls tomorrow.  As a (very) small consolation prize, I took them to the library tonight.  On the way home - after picking up chocolate at the drug store and getting gas - we were stopped by a train.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Rollin’ (170/366)


2012 06 14 IMG_20120613_121946w
“They see me rollin
They hatin”

"Ridin” (feat. Krayzie Bone), Chamillionaire, The Sound of Revenge, Universal/Chamillitary, 2006

TIME:  12:30 PM
PLACE:  Downtown
SUBJECT:  Vintage wallpaper printing rollers

I’m completely grumpy, out-of-sorts, tired, crabby, etc. etc. today.  I didn’t take a picture.  And you can’t make me either!  *crossed arms and stops foot*  Here, enjoy this photo from last Wednesday (June 13th).  Good gravy, you people are so demanding.  Geesh.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father’s Day (169/366)

Caponi Slides090 copy

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”

Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents

TIME:  September 1964
PLACE:  My parent’s living room
SUBJECT:  Dad and my oldest brother
(I believe this was taken by my mother)

Happy Father’s Day Pop…Love you!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Tent & Lights (168/366)

2012 06 16 IMG_2224w
“It's always something”

Gilda Radner (American Actress and Comedian, 1946-1989)

TIME:  8:58 PM
PLACE:  Wine tasting
SUBJECT:  Tent & lights

Tonight I went with my old college roommate and a friend from high school to a wine tasting/fundraising event.  I needed it after taking MB to a friends house for a birthday party.  I was not paying attention when I was pulling up to his friend’s house.  I clipped the curb with my front passenger wheel and immediately heard a laud “hisssssssssssss” as the tire quickly deflated due to a gash I inflicted on the side of the tire. Crap.  The father of MB’s friend and another dad were super sweet and helped me by putting the spare on while I was waiting for HH.  We ended up buying four new tires for said Miata.  The tread was getting low and we were planning on purchasing new tires in the fall anyway – but still….that wasn’t in the plans for today

Friday, June 15, 2012

Be The Ball (167/366)

2012 06 15 IMG_2219w
Ty Webb
: Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You're not being the ball Danny.
Danny Noonan: It's hard when you're talking like that

Caddyshack, Harold Ramis dir, Orion Pictures Corporation, 1980

TIME:  7:35 PM
PLACE:  Par 3 golf course
SUBJECT:  Nitro 2 golf ball

So my cousin talked me into playing in a fundraiser for her boy’s grade school.  Can I tell you the number of times that I have played “real” golf in my life?  Counting tonight it is [drumroll]….4!  All I can say is thank god it was best ball.  I did make a couple of putts and once? We even ended up using my drive. <= that’s sad.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Ballpark Issues (166/366)

2012 06 14 IMG_2216w
"Most ball games are lost, not won."

Casey Stengel (American,
Major League Baseball outfielder and manager, 1890-1975)

TIME:  7:47 PM
PLACE:  Little League Fields
SUBJECT: Chain link fence

The boys probably felt a lot like this fence after tonight’s game.  They lost 28 to 8.  Ouch.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

20 Years Ago… (165/366)

2012 06 13 IMG_4527
Car designers are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments.

Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

TIME:  6:53 PM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  My Miata

…I fell in love with an inanimate object.  It has definitely outlasted it’s payments and still makes me extremely happy whenever I drive it. 
Zoom Zoom.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Last Hurrah (164/366)

2012 06 12 IMG_2182w
The most beautiful thing in the world is a ballpark filled with people.

Bill Veeck (American Baseball Player, 1914-1986)

TIME:  8:28 PM
PLACE:  Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT:  The view from our seats

We had the privilege of using the season tickets owned by Dad’s former place of work tonight for one last time.  As you can see, they are rather close to the field.  I had some nice views of David Freese (#23) all night.  I don’t even care that they lost to the White Sox 6-1.  Did I mention that I had nice views of David Freese all night?  Unfortunately, he didn’t leave the playing field by our seats.

Monday, June 11, 2012

My Newest Teenager (163/366)

2012 06 11 IMG_4504w
”When the boy is growing he has a wolf in his belly.”

~German Proverb

TIME:  8:51 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  MB

There he is - my second born - my boy – my very own Forrest Gump.  Today he is officially a teenager.  My grocery bill has been steadily increasing for the past 18 months.  I’m sure it still hasn’t reached it’s peak.   I’ve been thinking of opening a “Feed the Hungry MB” fund.  Anyone want to contribute?  It would sure help out with the costs.  Ha!  Happy Birthday MB!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Birthday Cake (162/366)

2012 06 10 IMG_4483w
“Birthday Soup is good to eat, but not as good as Birthday Cake.”

Else Holmelund Minarik,
Little Bear

TIME:  7:40 PM
PLACE:  Dining room
SUBJECT:  MB’s Birthday cake

MB’s 13th birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated tonight with family and his friends.  I made this cake with icing for the official “blowing-out-of-the-candles.”   The cake he really wanted – and I did make, just for him to eat – was a non-frosted, 9”x13” version.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Bunny (161/366)

2012 06 09 IMG_4454w
All beaded with dew dawn grass runway Open-eyed rabbits hang dangle, loose feet in tall grass From alder snares.”

Gary Snyder (b. 1930), U.S. poet. Hunting (l. 1-5). . . No Nature; New and Selected Poems [Gary Snyder]. (1992) Pantheon Books.

TIME:  8:07 PM
PLACE:  The pool
SUBJCT:  Small rabbit

Although I did see a small rabbit in my backyard this afternoon, this photo doesn’t depict it.  This was actually taken last night at the pool.  I’m a little lax lately with my pictures.  Hopefully the drought will not last long.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Patio Umbrellas (160/366)

2012 06 08 IMG_4450w
I wouldn't touch a superlative again with an umbrella.

Dorothy Parker (American short-story Writer and Poet, 1893-1967)

TIME:  7:15 PM
PLACE:  The pool
SUBJECT:  Umbrellas
(photo suggested by Dad)

The pool we joined had it’s first “Taco Night” of the season.  3 tacos for $2, and $1.00 drafts (the catch on that It was Stag beer).  Of course we went.  Dad, my sister and her kids went too.  The pool was open until 11pm but we left a little after 10…it was a little chilly.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Paper Product (159/366)

2012 06 07 IMG_4419w
“The law requires a paper towel ad to be scrupulously honest, but allows political candidates to lie without reproach. What's wrong with this picture?”

Jef I. Richards (US advertising professor)

TIME:  8:49 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Paper towels

Some days (yesterday) you have so many photos you can’t choose just one to post.

Some days (today) you have no freaking clue what you are going to take a photo of for the day.

Hence…a paper towels picture.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Firemen (158/366)

2012 06 06 IMG_4377w2012 06 06 IMG_4379w
“The difference between a man and a boy is, a boy wants to grow up to be a fireman, but a man wants to grow up to be a giant monster fireman.

Jack Handy (American Writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1991-2003. Famous for his Deep Thoughts comedy sketches.)

TIME:  12:23 PM
PLACE:  Missouri History Museum
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen, StellaDella & MonkeyBoy

I told the kids not to eat any breakfast this morning and at 10:30 we arrived at Crown Candy Kitchen to partake in a Heart Stopping BLT. 

2012 06 06 IMG_2144w

StellaDella enjoyed it.

2012 06 06 IMG_2151w

My son uttered these immortal words - ”I can now die without any regrets.”

We then went to the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.

2012 06 06 IMG_2162w

One of the current exhibits was “Fire! Friend and Foe”  That is where they stuck their heads in the photo prop and MB tried on a much-too-small fireman’s costume.  They also sat around a (pretend) campfire and (pretended) to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and play a ukulele.

2012 06 06 IMG_4389w

A successful summer field trip!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Hot Tots (157/366)

2012 06 05 IMG_4369w
“I put that x*$% on everything.”

Frank’s RedHot slogan.  © 2012
Reckitt Benckiser LLC.

TIME:  10:32 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Frank’s bottle and tater tots

MonkeyBoy’s tater tots were hot both temperature & taste-wise.  Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for his baseball team this evening.  They lost.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Bug (156/366)

2012 06 04 IMG_4338w
Red and black bug on yellow
Waving in the breeze
I should have used my tripod.

Haiku by Sujomi

TIME:  7:29 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Milkweed bug

A quick post this evening – I liked the contrast of the red and black milkweed bug on the yellow flower.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Raspberries (155/366)

2012 06 03 IMG_4351w
Raspberry Facts:
* The raspberry is a member of the rose family and a bramble fruit like the blackberry
* Raspberries have a hollow core.
* Raspberries are known as "aggregate fruits"  - they are composed of smaller seed-containing fruits, called drupelets, that are arranged around a hollow central cavity
.

TIME:  7:35 PM
PLACE:  Back yard
SUBJECT:  Raspberries

I had pruned the raspberry bush all the way down to the ground last fall as it had grown out of control.  That thing came back with a vengeance.  I was thinking that we wouldn’t have any berries this year because I cut it all back.  I was wrong.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Graduation Guest (154/366)

2012 06 02 IMG_4313w
“The good guest is almost invisible, enjoying him or herself, communing with fellow guests, and, most of all, enjoying the generous hospitality of the hosts”

Emily Post (American authority on social behaviour, 1872-1960)

TIME:  9:30 PM
PLACE:  My brother’s kitchen
SUBJECT:  Bug

We were at my nephew Michael’s high school graduation party this evening.  This bug flew in and landed on the ceiling fan pull-chain.  I was lucky to get a steady shot…my niece Shayne Marie kept poking me while I was trying to take the picture.  That’s ok – I got her back.  The bug fell on the counter and as she was leaning in to take a closer look, I goosed her on the back of the neck and made her jump a mile high.  I’m a mean Aunt like that.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Everybody Loves A Parade (153/366)

2012 06 01 DSCF9578w
Nigel: Temper, temper. Now come along, my dear. We're going to a parade. And everybody loves a parade!

Rio, Twentieth Century Fox Animation, 2011.

TIME:  8:13 PM
PLACE: Main Street
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen & friends
(taken by HandsomeHusband as he went by)

The big annual Shriner’s parade went down this evening.  HH drove his Corvette and MB rode shotgun along the route.  DQ was stuck with babysat SD and my nephew and niece as my sister and I decided we would rather go out to eat and have a few beers together.  Around 10 o’clock, we made our way to where they were sitting and caught the end of the parade.  It’s always a long one.