A Joke to Start the Week

The Pope was visiting America, and was assigned a chauffeur to drive him while here. He got to know the chauffeur a bit and asked him if he could drive.He explained that no one would ever let him drive and he really missed it. At first, the chauffeur said no, that was his job and he had to abide by the rules. But the Pope persuaded the chauffeur to let him drive after saying no one would ever know he let the Pope drive.

The Pope told the chauffeur to get in the back seat and the Pope got comfortable in the front seat before taking off. He put the pedal to the metal, and was going 125 mph when a cop pulled him over.

The cop got out of the car, went to the driver of the car and saw the man in white. He looked at the man in the back seat, then went back to his car and called in what he saw. He told the dispatcher that he could not give the ticket because there was someone very important in the car.

The dispatcher asked who was so important.

The cop said, God.

Amusingly, the dispatcher questioned, God? Why do you say that?

The cop answered, because he has the Pope chauffeuring him around......


Until tomorrow...have a great day!

Bottled Time/the ending

That was just a bit much for me. "You guys make yourself sound like you came from the Stone Age. You are not that old."

Dad continued, "When I was a boy, we wore knickers, not long pants."

Marge broke in, "My wedding dress cost $25.00 and it was beautiful. I still have it in the attic."

"My brother's first car had a rumble seat, do you remember those? We thought we were hot stuff riding around in that rumble seat." Mom loved her siblings and carried their stories with her into everyday life.

"Okay, young'un," Marge focused her attention on me. "since we come from the Stone Age, I have question for you. What was your favorite car?"

"Oh, by far, my baby blue Cougar convertible?"

"And, young'un, how much did you pay for that car?"

"You know, Marge, I just came across the sales receipt and it was around $3800. I made a mental note of that price for future reference. It was a '72."

"And that Celica out there, how much was that?"

"Well, it's a '90 and I think I paid around 13-15,000 new. I don't remember the exact amount. Okay, Marge, I get your point. So, in another 20-30 years when I catch up to your age, I guess I can expect to pay $38,000 for a Cougar." I conceded that they were not from the Stone Age.

"Or more."

It was dad who changed the subject. "I remember when our now mayor came to town. I was working at the filling station and a man and a woman with two small boys in the back seat was moving into town. Gas was a nickel a gallon then. Now one of those boys is our mayor and gas is more than $1.00 a gallon."

"Dad, when I went to Colorado in '70, I remember getting gas for a quarter a gallon, and a pack of cigarettes for a quarter."

Mom wasn't a smoker, and whenever cigarettes were mentioned the subject was changed. "You know I volunteer with Mrs. Dimitri, whose husband owns the supermarket on River Street. She's talking about buying a new house. They have that real nice stone ranch on the west side and they want to get a modern home. Here, I thought she already had the newest of everything in her house, but she said they'd do real good price-wise. She said they had their house built in '62 for $12,000, and now they could make enough money from the sale of the house to not owe much on a brand new house."

"And it will probably have central air," Marge expounded.

"Yeah, and she even said she wanted central vac. Can you imagine that? A vac in every room! Now you don't even need to push that vacuum all over."

"Anyone want more lemonade? I'll made a new pitcher." I needed to go inside to see what time it was.

Mom loved her lemonade, and was quick to answer, "Sounds good."

Once inside, I found it was nearly time for me to go to class.

"It's about time for me to go." I refilled the glasses and placed the pitcher on the small table by the glider. "You know, now that I think of all the prices rising in my lifetime, when I went to the university for my bachelor's degree, a quarter term cost me $168.00 for a full load and that included books. Now with my master's, a book alone could cost $168.00. If it keeps going up, no one will be able to afford college.

"Wait another 30 years," Marge kept with the reminder that life and money continually flow.

I left that afternoon knowing that maybe prices would change in the course of my life, but Marge, mom and dad on the patio in some kind of conversation on a hot, summer day would never change.

                                                                             ***


Did you like the story?
Or not?
I would love to hear your responses to this story.

Until Monday...have a great weekend.

Bottled Time/continued

"No, I don't remember any Ida Kelly. I thought I knew everyone on Third." Mother sounded puzzled by the new name.

"Well, I heard she went before the judge, and he sentenced her to five days in the county jail."

"You're kidding." We were all hooked on the story and stunned that something like that could happen.

"Yeah, she got five days because the judge said there were five pieces of pears and he was going to give her a day for each piece. Then her husband got up and told the judge she didn't steal a can of pears, it was a can of peas." Marge's sober face cracked a smile and our curiosity switched to knowing we had just been had. That was Marge, always ready with a joke and a clever way of delivery.

"Marge, you really had me going there for a minute," Mom responded. "Let's go outside."

The four of us headed to the patio, each with lemonade and a hand fan. "Sure is still today," Marge would start. "The fan is working overtime, and the only thing I feel is hot air."

"It'll be better outside. Thank God for that river breeze cooling us off. Sometimes at night it gets down right cold, and we have to pull a cover up to sleep."

"Maybe Les and I should come over here to sleep," Marge continued to banter mom with her idle threats. "We know it'll be expensive, but we're putting in central air.

Mom didn't like spending any unnecessary money. "Well, we don't need central air. We have the river," she did like boasting about that river breeze.

Once outside, we settled in our respective spots. Mom and dad would sit on the yellow steel glider with their back to the orange day lilies, catching the light breeze the river promised on a still, hot summer day. Marge and I would move the webbed chairs to conversation style while searching for that same breeze.

"Marge, how much does central air cost?" You'll have to put the entire system in. It'll cost a fortune." Mom wasn't cheap, but she was frugal. She knew if they needed it, they would get it, too; it's just that they didn't need it except for maybe a few days in August. And they could live through that for the amount of money they'd have to pay for central air.

Marge believed in having the conveniences of modern technology. "It'll be a few thousand to have the entire system put in. The man from Johnson's Appliance is coming over Monday to give us an estimate. I'll know more after that."

"My God, Marge, a couple of thousand," Mom was exasperated at the cost. "That's nearly as much as we paid for our house back in '57. We paid $7000 for this house, and now central air will cost a good fourth of a house. Unbelievable."

"We only paid $5000 for ours in '52, but we don't have that river breeze you always talk about. I guess you gotta pay for air, and ours is gonna be man-made. You know everything is more expensive today than what it was."

"Tell me about it. When I was a young girl we made our own bread. Actually, my sister made the bread and if it turned out bad, she would bury the bread in the yard so dad wouldn't get mad for wasting the flour."

Marge was raised as a city girl rather than as a country girl like my mom. "Then, can you remember when bread was a nickel?"

"I sure do. Now, it's nearly a dollar. And it's not as good as the homemade bread." Mom did admit, though, that it was nice to go to the store and pick up a loaf of bread.

Dad was waiting for his in -- that lull in conversation when he could put in his opinion. "Do you remember our first refrigerator? Before that we had an ice box, where a block of ice was delivered and food items were kept cold in the box on ice. I was so proud of our first refrigerator. Do you remember how we paid for it, Rosie?"

Mom put her arm around dad and said, "Sure do. You had to have it before we could save the money to out right pay for it. Johnson's Appliance delivered that refrigerator and they delivered that little box that went right next to your chair. You were to put a quarter a day in that box and once a week they came by to pick up the money until it was paid off."




Until tomorrow...have a great day.
(The end of the story will appear tomorrow.)

One of My Short Stories

I have wanted to post one of my short stories, but wanted to take it from my documents and post here. Have not figured out how to do that yet. So...I decided to retype it in three sections starting today and ending on Friday. I hope you enjoy the story. I would really enjoy any comments you might have as this is one that is going into the book of shorts I am nearly finished creating. Enjoy...

Bottled Time
by
Mary Bulliner

I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in the Midwest. The town was in the middle of the state, and the house was in the middle of the town. The houses were the same, mostly two-storied frames in colors of white, yellow, and blue with a few brick homes scattered throughout. In the summer, lawns were manicured when kids pushed mowers as a weekly chore; in the winter, snow was piled high when kids shoveled the snow to make a lane from the street to the house's steps. Most houses did not have a garage, and if they did, it was located in the back of and away from the house. Our home was one of those white two-storied frames with black shutters. We did not have one of those detached garages, but we did have a carport that jutted to the front city sidewalk and we enjoyed a river beyond our long, sloping backyard.

It was that river that I loved in the summertime. It was not the boating side of the river with its cruisers and pontoon boats; it was the canoe side where those more adventurous maneuvered the river's constant flow. And it was in the backyard where I wanted to be in the summertime, watching the river and the people rowing the canoes; listening to the fishermen cast their line and talk among themselves; and watching the trains travel north and south on the railroad tracks above the river's dam, beckoning travelers to ride the rails with its horn blowing as it entered the town's city limits and depot.

Our house was a magnet for people to come and visit on a hot, humid, summer day. Mother always had lemonade and a cookie for anyone who stopped by, and dad always had a story to tell. It was a feel-good house even when the air did not circulate. Then, there were no whole-house air conditioners and when the central air did arrive, my parents would not hear of such an extravagant expense: fans and room air conditioners were enough for them. Usually, the fans were in the kitchen and the living area, the room air conditioners were in the bedrooms. Living on the river, we did not really need central air conditioning; there was always a breeze that went through my parent's bedroom and filtered into the kitchen. With the overhead fan roaring in the over sized kitchen, we were comfortable most days. On a few days, not many, the heat did over come us while we sat around the round oak table with clawed feet talking about the day, playing cards or throwing dice in a game of "1000".

Then, when the humidity was unbearable, we would go outside and sit under the umbrella on the patio. My parents had a yellow steel glider and multi-colored webbed lawn furniture on the poured concrete patio. Flowers were everywhere -- orange day lilies hid the chained link fence on one side of the property in the front of the backyard with an old garage with a tin roof turned shed --hostas lined the chained link in back of the day lilies -- rose bushes and lilac trees lined the other side of the lawn -- morning glories climbed the clothes line next to the poured concrete -- rhubarb grew in back of the shed. On the patio. mother placed her planted geraniums and inpatients in old, painted milk vats. Trees' branches hung over the patio and gave the area a welcomed, shaded spot to escape from  the day's heat while enjoying the river's breeze and each other's company.

Marge, my parents' neighbor, would come over every day after lunch and stay until it was time to go have a cocktail with her husband. She lived directly across the street in a yellow house with a wide porch and white shutters. She lived on the alley, and her home was hot in the afternoon when the temperatures rose to near 100. She always came over to enjoy the river's breeze and to join in the storytelling. I couldn't tell you who enjoyed each other's company more, my parents or Marge. It was always a lively afternoon.

Marge had retired as a bank teller, and when she retired, she also retired those nice dresses. Her clothes post-retirement consisted of what was called mu-mus. Her favorites were colors of red and violet with pink, white and bright yellow flowers shouting for everyone to see. They flowed easily with a broad, gathered neck and stopped at her knees. Her locks were plentiful and salt was thrown into her pepper hair. Her laugh, ready and robust, was throaty from smoking unfiltered Camels. She would always come with a joke to tell and an opinion or comment about one of my father's many stories.

"Anyone here?" Marge would yell as she opened the back door and came inside.

"Come on in," my mother would respond while getting up to go to the refrigerator. "Lemonade?"

"Sounds good. It sure is hot today." Marge made herself at home and joined us around the kitchen table. If we were finishing a game of cards or dice, we would continue to talk while playing. If we were beginning the game, we would fold and enjoy the camaraderie.

"Hey, did you hear that Ida Kelly over on Third got arrested for shoplifting a can of pears?" Marge started our afternoon of stories.



Until tomorrow...have a great day
(The story continues tomorrow)

Writing Club

The writing club meets every Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. The group is anywhere between 10 and 25 members who show up to read or to listen and give comments. These people are very interesting and have lived very interesting lives. Alvin has had a number of occupations, including producer for Broadway plays, notably The Folies Bergere. I wrote about his book Loss of Innocents previously, which deals with white slavery in England in the late 19th century. I have read the book, and it is fascinating considering it is factual.

Today, he was reading about the production of the Folies and how the showgirls were brought from Europe. Going into much detail about the extent of the production side of the show, he brought up how the European girls became lonely because they had no male suitors. Supposedly, no American male would make a date with these girls.

Now, another member of the group pipes in that the reason is because the Americans had been given the word that white slavery was very much a concern, and no one would touch the European girls for fear of being arrested. Alvin said no, no, that was not it. And he continued to read.

Fast forward to the end of the meeting when the other member (she is new so I haven't caught her name yet) goes to Alvin and said, yes, yes. I overheard her telling him she was working with the FBI at that time, and they had made arrests for that exact thing. Oh, what webs we weave. What tales we tell.

My head is screaming, story line, story line.....I can work this in somewhere in one of my stories some time.

Then there is Charlotte. We are awaiting her return from Cambodia. She has been there for the past four months helping out. She is another fascinating person. She has spent the most of her career working for the World Health Organization as a nurse. Previously, she read a lot about her experiences in Papua New Guinea. Ah, isn't that were cannibalism is practiced? So, her friends working in Cambodia wanted to take a vacation, and they called on her to step into their role for them to have a vacation. I believe she extended her stay, because I am told she loves that part of the world.

Then, there is another member who has a son who is an Anglican priest living in England, married to a Muslim. Now, that is different. And another new lady who is giving us an account of a group of friends on a houseboat in southern France when the country experienced the greatest storm in 20 years! Oh my, what an experience, and she has just started the journey with soggy mattress and all. Then there is another man who is writing about experiences with angels. His experiences with angels.

And, as one lady said, I come to get inspired. So do I, so do I.

Until tomorrow...have a great day!

Writing

I've been writing all weekend; rather, rewriting. So, I'm in that mode. Thinking about stories, story lines, characters, sceneries, the gamut. Then there is the title, book cover, ISBN number, how in the world do I self publish. (I will take you on this journey as I start to learn how to self publish). I have already met with a man from my writer's group who has given my pointers on marketing. It will be a full time job to get the book out.

What amazes me is that I can sit down to work on a scene or a rewrite and when I look up, five, six or seven hours have gone by.

The book of shorts is nearly complete. I have some stories to my editor, who is amazing. She has taught me so much. One of my flaws is that I start to tell the story, then switch voice. That's what rewriting is all about. I have gotten to know my flaws, then work through them. Besides the editor, I have stories to a reader. This person is a ferocious reader, and I trust that she will spot when the work does not flow. One thing I do not want to happen in this book is for someone to be reading it, then there is an error and the flow stops. They are little things like calling a street a road. The reader saw this and said the connotation for a road is country and a street is city. It's those little things. I am going to call another person I know who is a reader and ask her if she would like to take a look at my stories.

As I am always talking about writing, people ask me where I get my ideas. They just come. Maybe I remember a scene from childhood or my younger years and that works into my writing somewhere. Or, maybe there is a person I have met or have known in my life and that person with his/her characteristics work into my writings somewhere.

I already have ideas to make one of my shorts into a novel. Did you know that a novel should be approximately 100,000 words. Oh my! But I think I can do it if I look at it in small steps. Chapters instead of the entire 100,000 words.

I do know that as this Chapter 14 of my life develops, writing will take an integral part of it. I am so tickled that I have lived long enough and am in good health to follow my dreams. I am a very lucky girl.

Until tomorrow....have a great day!

Cody, Wyoming

Named after William Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, this small town reminded me of a hippie town where people came and did not go home. It is small, so a one or two day trip is all I needed to see its sights. While there, we lunched at the Irma Hotel and could have dined on a buffalo burger. Irma was Buffalo Bill's daughter and he built it for her to run. I don't think they have done any remodeling since it was first built -- it was dark and dank, but the history was worth the stop. The food was good, but the best part was watching a dog wearing a bandanna fetch a Frisbee. Everyone watching knew he was a regular at the outside porch eatery.

Since I do not live "out west", my friend thought I should go to a "real" rodeo. People were dressed as cowboys and cowgirls with their boots with spurs and hats and western garb. These people are really into the rodeo, really into it. It was different to watch, but definitely not a show I would see a second or third time. It started with men on horses riding in carrying the American flag.

This Cody Stampede was the eliminations
readying for the national rodeo in Las Vegas that was going to be held in a few weeks from then.

Basically, the rodeo simply has men and women on horseback rounding up cows or calfs, and then having so many minutes to get the rope around the animal and then jump off their horse and tie the legs of the animal. Then, of course, they let the animal go, and the animal is led back to its stall. Different from what I am used to.






Where we were sitting, we could see a cowboy ready his horse to compete in a bucking horse competition (that is probably not the right term, but he was to get on the horse and try to stay on for as long as possible,) He went to a lot of trouble making sure that his saddle was prepared correctly and the horse was ready. I could tell that the horse did not like the idea of anyone fooling around with him, and when the time came for him to compete, he did not even make it out of the stall. The cowboy attempted to get on the horse, and before he was on, the horse threw him, and the cowboy was hurt. Needless to say, he was not able to try for the nationals.

 The other part of visiting Cody was going to the Buffalo Bill Museum. That was more my style.  Really enjoyed the time there and we stayed the major part of the day.

These show three of the bronzes on the museum's grounds. There were many people sitting over the grounds sketching these bronzes as well as the other art pieces that were displayed outside. The weather was perfect, so it was a great day to spend all day. Also, on the inside in the art gallery, there were spots where artists could sit and sketch the first bronze pictured above. It was fun to watch an artist at work.

Inside there was a gun collection borrowed from the Smithsonian where guns across time were displayed. Along with the gun collection, Indian jewelry was encased and for art lovers, many of Remington's paintings as well as other Western artists were displayed.

They had a section devoted to animals but we did not have time to go through this section. We spent a lot of time looking at the guns and reading which type of gun was used for what time period. Interesting. We have come a long way with these destruction devices.

All in all, this was another memorable stop along the road. We were going to go to Jackson, Wyoming, but time ran out, and we had to drive back to Montana for me to catch my plane.

Thanks for sharing these memories with me. And if you like animals and nature, Yellowstone is one of the places to go. Shoot, you just might as well stop by Cody, too, and have a buffalo burger at Irma's. 

Until next week...have a couple of great days!

Yellowstone National Park

This past summer I went to visit a friend in Montana, when we traveled in his travel trailer to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The trip to Montana was fascinating because it was when the forest fires were burning the landscape in Montana, so I was able to see the devastation caused from fire. I had seen it once before when Al and I visited Texas years ago. We were able to go on grounds at Ft. Hood and there we saw what burned trees look like 20 years after the fire. Believe me, it is not pretty.

While on the plane, I sat next to a lady who was in contact with her husband. Their home was in the direct line of the fire and, at that time, was a short distance from their house. He had the truck loaded with personals, and they were ready to leave once the plane landed. She told me that prior to leaving her home, she had packed and moved many of her most precious memories to a safe location, and while she was away, she kept calling her husband with other mementos she wanted to save. She had to leave her home and fly to Michigan because her father had died. Why is it that loss comes in multiples? Her father, her possessions. I wonder if she lost her home.

When I landed, I could smell and see the smoke in the air. Actually, you could smell it half way through the state while we were traveling to Wyoming.

Wyoming. I never had a clue what a wonderful sight Yellowstone National Park would be. I just knew that it was home to many geysers and to many different wild animals, namely buffalo. Was I in for a surprise! It's a place where I could go back over and over because each part of the park is different. We only saw two parts of the park.

There are creeks, trees, trails, and breathtaking landscapes everywhere you turn. At some of the watering holes, you would see men fly fishing. I can imagine that rafting was also a water sport that takes place in a part of the park, although we never saw the rafters.










I had no idea that the grand canyon went through the park.







Geysers were everywhere, but Old Faithful (shown at left) is the most famous, as it goes off every 35 to 90 minutes. So if you miss it the first time, it will erupt again. Patience.


For me, the most spectacular were the buffalo. Everyone stops their car to watch a buffalo cross the road, or even to get a glimpse of one. And there are lots to see.


What I found amazing is when the cars are stopped like this, everyone, every one, respects the animals and we all take a breath to watch the Bison, the Buffalo wander his land.

The biggest thrill I had was when we were the lone car, and we saw a buffalo start to cross the road. We just waited and soon he headed onto the road, then he headed toward the car, then he headed to my side of the car and my window was up, but if my window would have been down, I could have reached out and touched him. He was that close to me! The following photos are of the buffalo coming toward the car.

Definitely, up front and personal!

We were only in the park a few days before we went to Cody, Wyoming, which I will show you tomorrow. On the way back to Montana, we rode through the park  (another part) one last time, and I am so glad because this time we saw a bear and herds of buffalo.

And then my time was over, so I said good bye to this vast park we have in this land of ours.

We traveled back to Montana, and I left the next morning to fly back to Florida with memories of a trip I will never forget.

I hope you enjoyed this part of the trip with me. Tomorrow, Cody, Wyoming.

Until then....have a good day.

A Break from the Animals

Went to a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meeting today, and there were Vietnam vets there talking about a few of the programs where veterans are making a difference. One of the programs is in our legal system. When vets get in trouble with the law, Hillsborough County has set up a system where there is one judge who hears cases on these men and women. There are programs and rules these people have to adhere to and when they go through the program, they do not have to go to prison. When these people graduate this program, so far, there are no repeats. In other words, they have been helped. And from what the vets said, the  mentoring does not stop after they have been successful. Other vets are always there to lend a helping hand through this life.

The other thing I learned today (which I find staggering) is that one third of the homeless people are veterans. We, as Americans, should be ashamed that first we have so many homeless, but secondly we have men and women serve our country and we can not even give them a job and help when they are on their own soil. That statement is very broad and does not even touch on the real topic, but if we were to scan it, that is what we see.

During the course of talking to people about our ancestors coming to this land, I spoke with someone who had a great analogy. As she was tracing her genealogy, she found that one of her ancestors came from Europe on a boat where the people were so squished together that they could not even lie down. They had little to no food and very little water. One woman gave birth in these conditions while it took them 2 months to cross the ocean. Of course, many people died on the journey, but those who made it are the ones who formed this great nation of ours.

This story makes me think of history that has occurred in my life time. I remember when the Cubans came across the water to Florida, and many were lost at sea due to unsafe boats, but those who made it survived to become Americans. And today, many people will be visiting Cuba as the regulations are lifting. The same held true to the Haitians some years ago, and today the same scenario is occurring with the Syrian people crossing the Mediterranean or crossing the barren land to get to European countries. As it was in Vietnam, the land was destroyed; too many people died, and today it is a destination spot for everyone to visit. I can assume with time we will once again be able to visit the history of some of the earliest traces of man, those known in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. History repeats itself over and over. I am old enough and well read enough that I know that today is little different from 2-3000 years ago. But, maybe in the process of living this life, there are some who can better their conditions to live in a safe environment.

So, I leave you tonight with these thoughts.

Until tomorrow...have a great day.

Bearizona

It has been a couple of years since I visited this drive-through animal park in Williams, Arizona, outside of Flagstaff. My nephew was driving cross-country to Arizona and California with his kids and asked if I wanted to come along. Al and my mother had recently died so I said yes, but that I would meet them in Arizona. From Illinois to Arizona is about a 33 hour drive. I did that once, and once is enough for me, so I took a train ride.

I was on the train for one night and four meals. It was quite a ride! I purchased a sleeper, and so glad I was alone because I have no clue how anyone else could fit in the tiny space. For lounging, yes; for sleeping, no. The porter prepared the seats for the bed, which was okay for a night's sleep, but the second person would have to sleep in the upper bunk, and to this day, I have no clue how any adult would get in the upper berth. Someone said there were places where you could put your foot on the wall, but how in the world, once you got up there, would you get down in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom down the hall! My room was on the lower level.

The action took place on the second level. That is where the dining car is and the observation car. Great, great time, and met some really interesting people. One evening, I sat with two ladies from London, who said they taught at a university there. I knew they wanted a heated political discussion about socialism vs. democracy. I was not in a mood for a debate, so as soon as the meal was over, I left. The other dinner where I shared a table with guests was much better. We were from different parts of the country and we talked about travel, things to see and share. No one was looking for a heavy discussion.

In the observation lounge, when we were in New Mexico, a man entered the car and started giving us history about the area. We learned about Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. But what I observed was how desolate and sometimes poor our land is "Out West". We would go for miles and miles of nothing but tumbleweed and dirt. It was not at all what I expected.

Then, the second evening (really 11 pm) I was dropped off in the middle of no where in Williams, Arizona. We were about 4 hours late, so I could not see where we were, I just knew there was not a depot and if no one was there to pick me up, I would be waiting with the coyotes. My nephew was there.

We went to the Grand Canyon (took the train to the lodge) and an art festival outside of Flagstaff. But the highlight for me after the art festival was Bearizona.

We bought the drive through package, which meant we stayed in our car and spotted the animals as we drove through the park.

 These two pictures show buffalo roaming free. The top picture shows white buffalo, and the bottom buffaloes are the brown ones we are used to seeing in the westerns.

These are mountain goats just hanging out.

Here you see why we could not get out of the car. The bears walked where we drove. Sometimes they would stop and look at us, but basically they roamed the land, thinking they owned it! They do.






After the drive through, there was an area where we could walk around and watch the bears.

Here the cubs are eating lunch and, of course, napping after their food.

And there was a lot of bear climbing in this part of the park. When I looked high in the trees, bears were everywhere. It was fun to watch them climb, and then get down.












A great couple of hours to spend with nature and animals. Would do it again. I have also learned since our trip west, that not far from there, in Verde, Arizona, there is an Out of Africa Wildlife Park. I imagine it is similar to Busch Gardens.

Looking back at the pictures, the year was 2012. Nearly four years ago, and I remember parts of it like it was yesterday. That is how I know the time was good. Memories never go away, like I remember my second trip to London in the 1980s as if it was yesterday.

For me, I think I am doing this living thing right.

Until tomorrow...have a great day!

Africa

I would love to go on a photo safari to Africa. Besides having Victoria Falls and Mt. Kilimanjaro on my bucket list, I would love to see how the animals really live in the bush. When we go to the zoos here, animals are clean and well fed. I really doubt the animals look so healthy and clean in the bush. So, I would like to go. And if I save my money, I can go.....someday.....

So, the next best thing is to see the animals here in the US of A, and not the ones at the zoos, although I do want to go to the San Diego Zoo, which I have planned to see in the very near future.

I am thinking of animals where they roam free. And I have found spots. There is an animal park outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, which is awesome (more on that at a later day this week); there is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, which is beyond words (more on that at a later day also); and there is Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.

I have seen the advertisements for Busch Gardens for years, but never went. Boy, was I missing out. I am so enamored with the park that the next time I go, I am going to get an annual pass and then for one year I can go as many times as I want. The current prices are $79 for a single visit, and $168 for a year. If I go more than twice a year, it will pay for itself. And I will go.

When you first enter the park, the crocodiles at the left are your first encounter with animals. Note, there are no cages. These animals have exactly what they need (water, sun, and food), so they are not a threat. Unless if you go inside the fence! But, who would do such a stupid act.

You could walk around all day without paying for extra side trips, but they advertised a safari. Well, I had to go on a safari. We boarded an open-air truck and went for a short ride.

We saw antelopes (right) just running around. What I imagine I would see on an African safari, but these animals don't have to worry about prey. They are Americanized.....

And Lions. Hard to see, but the lion with the mane is sitting down, watching us humans ooh and ah over his beauty.

One of the highlights was getting up close and personal with the giraffes. Here, the guide is letting the giraffe eat the lettuce from his shoulder. We all had a chance to feed the lettuce by hand. It was so much fun! and we could feel the giraffe's fur. Soft.







But there was more to do besides the safari. There was music played at different venues, and there was an obstacle course for those who like to climb and fall.

Here the boys are feeding wallabies and kangaroos. Wallabies are smaller than kangaroos.

And my all time favorites are penguins. I could post 100 pictures of penguins, but I won't bore you with all the different poses I took. Here are a couple of my favorites

What an attitude!

There is something about animals, any kind of animal, that makes my heart go soft. I do not own a dog or a cat, but I do like animals. They all have a distinct personality like humans. Shoot, we are an animal. We just have a brain. But, I bet some of those animals have brains, too, they just can not communicate with us. Or maybe, we can't communicate with them!

Love the park, and the boys said they liked Busch Gardens better than Universal and Disney. Now, that is something to be said....

Until tomorrow...have a great day.

Wrapping Up the Ceramic Week

Didn't do what was on my list today. I was going to go to the other ceramic group I joined and start another project there, but I was lazy, and took my time this morning. I took a friend to lunch for her birthday. She wanted to go to a German restaurant, so that is where we went. It is nice to meet someone new and share life secrets. And that is what happened as she reminisced her past years. We concluded that we are all screwed up, and we all are dysfunctional, so we are pretty happy that we are in this life together and everyone in this world is screwed up and dysfunctional together. We are not alone!

I am just happy that I have lived long enough to see dreams come true. I am living in Florida again! I lived in Florida once before when I was young, fresh out of college, but the pay was exceptionally low ($2.15/hour) and I did not last long. I am back. So, I am happy. And I am doing exactly what I want -- crafts, writing, and traveling.

Thought I would end the week showing the ceramic project I have started

This is the first painting for this tea pot. It will be a gift when all is finished.

And here I have added the brown branches. Next week, more browns, then I will add the colored flowers.





This weekend is writing; rather, rewriting. And, I need to make the stain glass pattern for the car. I really need to start that so it will be finished by Christmas.

I leave you with a Florida sunset

Until Monday...have a great weekend

The Talk in Ceramics Today

The ladies today were busy cleaning, painting, and selecting their next piece of ceramics to paint.

Here, a lady is starting to clean the deer she purchased.











Three of the most common tools we use to clean the greenware are shown below. Shown to the left, the lady is using the lower tool to scrape the rough edges from the greenware deer. We use the filing tool to smooth the scraped edges. The brush-like tool is used to file away spots in hard to reach places. You can also use your finger and water to smooth rough edges, but when you do this, you can not work the greenware until after it dries. The lady below has a cup of water handy for this technique.

This piece is molded as a harvest wreath. Believe me, when this piece is finished, it will be beautiful. The lady who has started this is really a master, and her pieces are absolutely gorgeous.

These are the three most common tools when cleaning greenware. Notice we also clean the greenware on foam to give the piece cushion, and also to contain the dust.








During lunch today we were talking about the size and cost of food. What we have noticed through the years is the size of food products shrinking. Previously to today, product size shrunk, but the prices remained about the same. What we are noticing now is that prices are rising and products are shrinking more. I told them that the first item I quit buying was the candy bar when they started to shrink and the price started rising. The last I remembered was the candy bar selling for 79 cents. Mary Ann said that today some places sell those candy bars for $1.09. I guess I am behind times.

I am horrified when I go to the grocery story and see a dozen eggs for over $4. Before I left Illinois
 ( about 18 months ago) I could find a dozen eggs for 99 cents to $1.29.  Someone else has noticed that 1/2 gallon of ice cream is no longer 1/2 gallon. It is (I think she said) 2 1/2 pints. Bread is ridiculous at being over $3 or $4 a loaf. And yesterday when I went into the grocery store, one apple was $2.

At least I am not the only person who has noticed the way food products are being shifted. I have also noted while going into grocery stores that shelves are bare. Maybe I am going at the wrong time, but last time I went, there were many bare shelves. Many.

I know with the product shrinkage and the price increase, they have made me rethink how I buy food. The junk food is a rarity because I know it is empty calories and you get so little for so much. I would rather make my own treats. Bread is going by the way side. Haven't bought a loaf in a while, and won't unless if I have company who spends the night. Ice cream is bought on sale, and eggs, well, I need my eggs. So, there are products I will spend the money for even though the price is way to high.

I guess I can say times are changin'...

Until tomorrow...have a great day.

The Trip to Seagulls

Had to wake early today to be ready to leave by 8:30 to drive/ride to Clearwater to Seagulls Ceramic Shop. All together there were 24 ladies who drove cars to this greenware shop.

The ceramic mixture is poured into molds of various designs. Then, once the mold is set, the person who owns the molds pulls the molds from the formed ceramic mixture and the molds set to dry. That is one time when we ceramic painters come to buy the molded ceramics.

This is what greenware that has not been cleaned or fired looks like.









If you notice the greenware below, this is what an uncleaned mold looks like. It is up to the ceramic painter to clean the mold well enough that no lines are shown and it looks like one clean piece.

If you are interested in buying a piece that has been cleaned and fired the first time, you can find these pieces at many ceramic shops as well as hobby stores. Usually, the cost of cleaned bisque is at least double the cost of a greenware piece because most of the work has been completed. 

The photo to the right is cleaned greenware, or what is called bisque. If you notice, the color is white compared to the grey of the uncleaned greenware. Here, if you are not going to use the piece of ceramic for food, you can simply paint a piece with acrylic paint, and the piece is complete. It does not have to be fired again. Looking closely at the picture to the left, you can see pieces that have been painted. So, if you do not want to go to all the trouble of cleaning and having the piece of greenware fired the first time, buy a piece of bisque and some acrylic paint, and have fun. Create your individual piece for you to display. But remember that food can not be used for pieces that have been painted with acrylics or that have been stained.

I am about to start painting dishes with eggplants, garlic, and other food items on the bowls. I heard that you can paint the patterns directly on greenware before the piece is fired for the first time, which is true, but after talking to the instructors about this method, I think I will stick to the painting after the greenware becomes bisque from the first firing. I was told that although this works well, it is very delicate work because the greenware without being fired is easily broken. I think I need stronger pieces, so I will clean the bowls, have them fired, then paint. Darn...

Until tomorrow...have a great day.

Working with Foundation

Foundation is simply another form of glaze in ceramics, so you can also serve food from a piece that has been covered with foundation. This paint's effect is slightly different from clear glazing as it is not as shiny, and I really like the final fired piece once the it has been coated (3 coats) with the foundation. So far, I know foundation comes in satin or matte, not the high gloss clear glaze that ceramic pieces are usually fired in. I have made three pieces with the foundation.

The first was a plate I made in a class to learn the technique.

When you work with foundation, you paint the foundation first.Then, you paint a design, as shown here as a spider and its web. Then, the piece gets fired.

With clear glaze, you paint before you glaze and then you fire the piece in the kiln.

My second piece was this small vase. I first painted on the foundation. Then traced a bamboo design (not real good with this yet) before painting the design with colors. Then, the piece gets fired. I am going to look for bamboo to place inside this vase which is placed on a shelf in the guest bathroom.

My final piece was made for a Christmas present for my niece. We were at IKEA and she saw a simple pitcher and bowl and commented that she liked it. I thought, "Christmas present to make" and this is the final product.

This was super easy to make. Both pieces were coated with the foundation (3 coats) then I used crystalites oriental carmel over the foundation which changed the color at the top of the pitcher. This picture has been taken looking down, but when you look head on, you see the cream, then the carmel.

She loved it.


Tomorrow, we ladies are taking a road trip to a ceramic shop in Clearwater. This is where you buy the greenware or bisque. Greenware is very fragile and must be cleaned. Bisque has been cleaned and fired the first time, so it is not as fragile. I will report on what I find tomorrow.

Until then....have a great day!