For the Birds (212/365)

TIME: 8:25 PM
PLACE: Chesterfield, MO
SUBJECT: Birds on wires

The girls and I went to the Premium Outlet mall in West County to look for some outfits for Claudia’s senior pictures.
On the way out of the parking lot, we could see thousands of birds sitting atop the electrical wires.
I bet all the bird poop was in a row on the ground too.

Throwback Thursday (211/365)

TIME: Early 1950’s
PLACE: Apartment above Great-Grandpa Tedesco’s Fruit, West Main St., Belleville, IL
SUBJECT: Relatives

Here’s a groups shot from the past. They are my:
Paternal Great-Grandparents: Saverio Tedesco and Mary Tedesco, nee Mercurio.
Paternal Grandparents: Michael Caponi Sr. and Edna Caponi, nee Tedesco.
Great-Aunt: Marie Mank, nee Tedesco.
Great-Uncle: Saverio “Ted’' Tedesco and wife Doris Tedesco.
Paternal Aunt: Phyllis Smith, nee Caponi.
Cousins: Steven Smith, & Saverio Caponi.
1st Cousins, once removed: Christie Mank, Jackie Mank.
Wives of Great-Uncles: Dorothy Tedesco and Lillian Tedesco.
And, last but not least, my Dad: Michael Caponi Jr. - You can barely see him…half of his face is hidden behind his father.

There is a lot of coffee on that table.

Wayback Wednesday (210/365)

TIME: 29 Jul 2006, 9:00 AM
PLACE: Jefferson Barracks Park
SUBJECT: Mud Mania before and after

Every year, there used to be a mud obstacle course held at Jefferson Barracks Park in St. Louis County.
Claudia and James, along with their cousins, Michael and Brandi, went to what ended being the last Mud Mania in 2006.

 

Some kids came down with rashes due to an infection of hair follicles caused by a bacterium that is commonly found in dirt.
It was hot and that combined with the water, set off the rash.
My kiddos were okay, but my niece and nephew were affected.
It went away after a couple of days without any lasting effects.

Nevertheless, likely due to today’s litigious society, they cancelled the event the next year and it hasn’t been back since.



Stella was too young to do the mud course.
She settled for inflatables.


After cleaning off the mud, her cousin Michael joined her.

A Colorful New Idea…It’s Easy to DYE! (209/365)

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor, best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy, AD 121-180)

TIME: 9:30 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Putnam Dye Storage Cabinet front

I picked this up at the local flea market last year?
Or maybe the year before?
Now I’m not sure.
It’s the front door from a dye storage cabinet.
It’s rusty, incomplete.
and not in good condition.
But…


This girl has got some sass.
I like it.

Stripes (208/365)

Homer: What could be greater than eating and drinking for hours in a drizzling parking lot.
Lisa: Anything.
Bart: No, everything is better.
The Simpsons, “Any Given Sundance” #418, 4 May 2008.

TIME: 5:24 PM
PLACE: Parking lot
SUBJECT: Lines

There is something about a newly asphalted parking lot with fresh stripes.
It’s so orderly.

Sleeping Beast (207/365)

Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many different ailments, but I have never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.
Joseph Wood Krutch

TIME: 1:50 PM
PLACE: Couch
SUBJECT: Jack

He has
the.
worst.
life.
ever.

Sunflower Talent (206/365)

TIME: 6:41 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: Sunflower

This sunflower is very talented.
It can do an impression of a sunset.


…or a showerhead.

What a versatile flower.

One Bee (205/365)

Better have one bee than a host of flies.
Italian Saying

TIME: 6:33 PM
PLACE: Pool
SUBJECT: Sweat Bee

It’s bratwurst night at the pool.
There are a lot of sweat bees here as well.
I didn’t know they liked people who liked bratwurst.

Reasons My Children Are Crying (204/365)

TIME: October 12, 2000, 2:54 PM
PLACE: Eckerts Orchard
SUBJECT: DramaQueen & MonkeyBoy

They wanted to be the only one “riding” the tractor.

Stella McBoing-Boing (203/365)

This is the story of Gerald McCloy, and the strange thing that happened to that little boy. They say it all started when Gerald was two. That's the age kids start talking, least most of them do. Well, when he started talking, you know what he said? He didn't talk words, he went...
[boing, boing]
... instead.
Narrator, Gerald McBoing-Boing, Animation, Short, Comedy, 1950

TIME: 7:23 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: Stella on Trampoline

There's been a lot of bouncing going on these past couple of weeks.
That’s good.

Playing Soccer In A Volleyball Shirt(202/365)

TIME: 5:51 PM
PLACE: BTHS East Soccer Practice Field
SUBJECT: James

James had a soccer match against BTHS East at their practice field.
The bugs were out in force.
My legs are a mosquito-bitten mess.
On the bright side?
The Maroons won.

Volunteer (201/365)

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.
~Thomas Fuller,Gnomologia, 1732

TIME:  7:26 PM
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Tomato

We have yet to dismantle the planter that surrounded the Capital Pear tree we had to remove last August.
Now, we have a volunteer tomato plant growing quite nicely there.
Probably the result of a squirrel who stole tomatoes from last year’s garden.

Stone (200/365)

“Sense how
Even the smooth stones ache
With stories of their own
In the shuddering light of day.”
― Scott Hastie (Scot, author, b1954)

TIME: 6:33 PM
PLACE: Back yard
SUBJECT: Fence shadow on rock

It was overcast most of the day.
But a tiny bit of sun peeped out just long enough to cast this shadow.
Now it is storming.

Crescent Moon (199/365)

"When hope is fleeting, stop for a moment and visualize, in a sky of silver, the crescent of a lavender moon. Imagine it -- delicate, slim, precise, like a paper-thin slice from a cabochon jewel.It may not be very useful, but it is beautiful.And sometimes it is enough."
Author: Vera Nazarian

TIME: 8:55 PM
PLACE: Around town
SUBJECT: Moon & Venus?

The girls and I saw the Minons movie tonight.
On the way home we saw the crescent moon and Venus.
At least I think that’s Venus…Would the internet lie?

Reflection (198/365)

TIME: 5:23 PM
PLACE: Scottish Rite Cathedral
SUBJECT: Reflection in fountain

James, Stella and I met my dad for some fish at the Scottish Rite.
We ended up sitting with my Uncle Al and Aunt Ann who were there as well.
The husband was supposed to be cooking in the back, frying fish.
He was called into work instead.
Overtime – woot…woot!

Throwback Thursday (197/365)

TIME:  September 1911
PLACE: Belleville, IL
SUBJECT: William (sitting) & George (standing) Stammer


Postmark: Belleville, ILL
9:30am
Sep 20
1911

To: Miss Pearl Deedle
Centralia
Illinois

”We are all well
& hope you are
the same.
Mrs. Wm Stammer
Belleville Ill.
This is a picture
of the boys.”

The “boys’' being the husband’s grandfather, William and great-uncle, George.

Fair House (196/365)

TIME:  7:39 PM
PLACE: N 11th Street
SUBJECT: Flag in front of row house

HH and I ate supper at 10th Street Bakery with some friends.
When we left, the setting sun was throwing some nice light on the buildings.
Supposedly, this row house was originally located at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis as housing for the workers.
After the fair was over, it was dismantled and re-built here in town.

Wildflower (195/365)

TIME: 7:05 PM
PLACE: Backyard
SUBJECT: Flower

Earlier in the spring, I bought a shade loving wildflower mix from the dollar store.
We sowed it under the pecan tree.
This is one of the flowers that grew.

Trampoline (194/365)

Marge: I don't know if this is a good idea.
Homer: Marge, it's the perfect exercise!  It'll double the value of our
       house, and it was free!  Free!
-- Why trampolines are good, The Simpsons,  "Bart's Inner Child", 11-Nov-1993

TIME: 6:32 PM
PLACE: Back yard
SUBJECT: Trampoline

I caved.

Timmy at the Auction (193/365)

"At sales every other toy looks simply worn, dilapidated, grubby. A bear looks lost and abandoned and desperately in need of a loving home."
-Helen Thomson

TIME: 10:48 AM
PLACE: Auction
SUBJECT: Teddy Bear

The husband and I went to the local  monthly auction today to check out a car they had up for bid.
We decided to give it a go.
After what seemed like forever, they finally made it over to the car and started the bidding – It quickly went way over my self-appointed maximum and we dropped out.
Oh well.
I did see this teddy bear on one of the wagons.
It was an exact duplicate of my childhood bear, “Timmy”.
Only this one had a lot more fur.

Horse Selfie (192/365)

TIME: 1:06 PM
PLACE:  Highway 3
SUBJECT: Claudia & Dreamer

Claudia and I wandered around looking for used cars this morning.
On our travels, we passed a field that had miniature horses in it.
We then noticed the “Yard Sale” sign in the driveway and decided to check it out.
There was a 2-week old colt running around the sale.
Her name was “Dreamer”
Dreamer licked my toes and the back of Claudia’s knees.


Her mama whinnied for her and she went over nursed

~*~*~
Later that evening, we went to watch some fireworks.
I gave Stella my little camera and showed her how to use the “Fireworks” button.

She took this:


Pretty good.

Tour de Belleville 2015 (191/365)

”Hoo doggies!”
Jed Clampett, The Beverly Hillbillies

TIME: 8:13 PM
PLACE: Downtown
SUBJECT: Start of the Tour de Belleville

It’s the 2nd Friday in July.
That means it’s time for the annual bike ride through the city streets.
The theme this year was the “Belle Villey Hillbillies”. (Clever, no?)
This year, we (the 5 of us, along with my Dad, Brother and nephew) made sure we were at the head of the crowd.
We finished the 15 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes.
Then it was time for a beverage.


The streetlight caused shadows to be cast by the metal outdoor table.
It looked like I was wearing fishnet knee socks.

Downtown Art (190/365)

Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it.
Robert Motherwell (American painter, printmaker, and editor.1915 – 1991)

TIME: 7:03 PM
PLACE:  Downtown
SUBJECT: Building art

This was known as the “Hole” for a number of years. 
The building had burnt, was torn down by the city and the remaining clean-up responsibility was the subject of a lawsuit between the city and the building’s former owner.
Finally, a settlement was reached and the “hole” (former basement of the building) was filled in.
Green space is there for now.
The side of the building was decoratively plastered by the former owner of the destroyed building and periodically, the four squares are changed out with different artwork.
Right now, we have bovines.


A view of the entire area.
(The Beatles and the woman’s head are located to the left, out of the frame.)

Way Back Wednesday (189/365)

TIME: July 8, 2008
PLACE: Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis MO
SUBJECT:  James and Stella

Seven years ago, I dragged these guys to the cemetery to search for graves as part of my genealogy research.
James was 9 and Stella was 4.
I don’t remember where Claudia was that day…probably she had spent the night at a friend’s house.
Stella had broken her thumb about a month earlier when she tripped over the Wii Fit box one of them left in the middle of the floor.
I’m pretty sure I had asked one of them to “Pick up the box before someone trips over it and hurts themselves.”
5 minutes later, Stella did just that.
I am psychic.

I Swear, Their Hair Is The Same Color(188/365)

Guinea pigs are quite difficult to draw, I think, because they're so furry.
Quentin Blake (English cartoonist, illustrator and children's writer, b1932)

TIME: 7:29 PM
PLACE: Living room
SUBJECT: Stella and Albert

While his cage was being cleaned, Stella held him on the couch.
I even held him for a little bit.
For a rodent, he’s pretty cute.

Dust Looks Better in Black & White (187/365)

Dust is a protective coating for fine furniture.
—Mario Buatta

TIME:  12:57
PLACE: Living room
SUBJECT: Tessa (& a dusty TV armoire)

Tessa made one of her rare appearances downstairs.
As you can see, I’ve better things to do than dust.
Like sleep.

Pool of Memories(186/365)

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone…
Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”, Album: Ladies of the Canyon, 1970

TIME: 7:01 PM
PLACE: Around town
SUBJECT:  Site of the former city pool

This is where our city swimming pool used to be.
This is where I learned to swim.
This is where I worked in the bathhouse the summer I was 15.
This is where the basket I now have in my pantry was used.
Now it’s gone.

Sparkly (185/365)

”It’s the Fourth of July and you know what that means….
Christmas will be here before you know it.”
Michael C. Jr. (aka “Dad”)

TIME: 6:38 PM
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Sparkler

Happy Independence Day!

Sparrow on a Speaker (184/365)

“Whenever I hear the sparrow chirping, watch the woodpecker chirp, catch a chirping trout, or listen to the sad howl of the chirp rat, I think: Oh boy! I'm going insane again.”
Jack Handy (American Writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1991-2003. Famous for his Deep Thoughts comedy sketches.)

TIME:  1:49 PM
PLACE:  Gas Station
SUBJECT:  Sparrow

It seems like everyone else is off today but me.
(and my co-workers)
I hate it when a holiday falls on a Saturday.
Plus, I forgot my lunch and had to go to the nearby gas station to get something to eat.
I ended up with just a bag of chips.