Pow Wow!

Evening All!
Had a wonderful day at the McIntosh Festival in Whitesburg, GA! Connie tagged along and Sally had to work. Barry and Amy were there too! Got there at 10 (when they opened).

Started the day out in a semi-rush....Slept until 7:15 which is late for me. Got the dogs out, made a cup of coffee and some oatmeal, was about to jump in the shower when I realized that I hadn't gotten directions yet. Ran downstairs to the PC and typed in McIntosh Festival....wouldn't ya know it...not one of the first 5 sites had an address or directions. Finally found one with directions and of course the site wasn't working. Off to another one....finally got directions. YAY!
Grabbed my camera and on the way back up the stairs realized that the batteries were almost dead....one more stop to make. Got in the shower, dressed and ran out the door......
Picked up Connie and off to Wally World we went. Back to the camera department....you're out of my batteries? Of course you are..what else should I have expected. Now what? Off to one of the little kiasks...Yay, they have one. Yippee!!! Up to the front to pay and out the door (gave Sally a kiss on the way by).
Drive, drive, drive, left turn, drive, drive, damn, missed my turn. Turn around. Right turn, drive, drive.....round about (whoever came up with this idea should be smacked)....drive some more.....I see a sign. Followed the signs way down this teeny, tiny road into the reserve all the way in the back. Paid the parking and then realized that I had been here once before. Way back when my daughter was younger. One of her friends had a 'camping birthday party' here.
As we stepped out of the truck....Connie and I both looked at each other and said 'wow, I thought it would have been bigger than this'. Don't believe all the adverising promotions you hear. Lesson learned. Despite it being smaller than either of us had antisipated we had a good time. We walked up one side and down the other looking at the vendors.....10 minutes later we were done. Now what? Wait...they're making an announcement...."The entrance ceremony will begin at noon". So we continued to wander aimlessly.....
Then we hear ".....award winning flutist at 11:15". So off we went to the circle to see what we could see. Connie found us a seat on a haybale. It smelled like.....hay. Wow was it strong. Then J.J. (the flutist) began playing. He was very good and the music was very soothing ~ this would be good to play on a hectic, stressful day. He played for about 40 minutes and we really enjoyed the show.

J.J. the flutist

When J.J. was done they started gearing up for the entrance ceremony....I was excited! I haven't seen a 'Pow-wow' since we moved from Michigan (17 years ago). They started bringing the dancers in...some of the costumes were really simply and some were really elaborate. There was an older man there, had to be at least 70 maybe 80 dressed to the hilt. All I could think was 'wow, that's got to be hot'. He had two younger boys (8 years old or so) with him.....grandchildren I would think. It was quite a site with all the colors and tassles and bells. They had three drum groups. All of which were really good.

After the entrance ceremony they had a special memorial....one of the co-founders of the festival / pow wow had recently died in a horrible car accident. They brought in the family members and all of the dancers ~ men, women, children did a specail dance in his honor. And then 3 of the male dancers did a 'grass dance' to aid in the healing of the family. It was very moving.

From there they broke into the group dances.....first the men's traditional. Then they women's traditional with a bit of history.....the Indian Nation is the only one that honors the 'bringers of life'. As the MC pointed out if you are an Indian they never ask "who's your daddy?" it's always "who's your momma?". It's always the woman's side that dictates your ancestory. And it's the women's council that has the final say on important matters. Hhhhhmmmmmm, imagine that. Maybe we need to rethink politics......I am sure that a group of women could do a much better job of running things.

And then they danced! Here are some photos.....

this guy was really good ~ one of the 'grass dancers'

this young man had three kids, all of whom were dressed

they were all adorable

They danced for a while and then took a lunch break. Connie and I split a burger and fries...MISTAKE! The sodium kicked in about 30 minutes later and left me with a pounding headache, of course I had no aspirin. It was good while it lasted. LOL!
After lunch we wandered around some more and went down to the other end to see The Georgia Possums play. They seemed so out of place. They were good though. They seemed a little 'sleepy' (hungover maybe?). Shortly after this we left, I couldn't deal with the headache any more.
All in all, had a great time at the festival. I am glad we went. Looking forward to next year! Here's a few more photos....

the teepees ~ didn't get to see inside, they were closed before we got to them  :(

some of the period dress ~ can you imagine these clothes in 80 degree temps ~ Whew!

two of the young boys getting ready for their dance

In other news.....

I managed to get a photo of the full moon just over a week ago (I know, I'm such a geek). It was late and it was a perfect shot....too bad I couldn't have gotten a better shot of it. Just thought I'd share.

beautiful September Full Moon

And Friday was Kai's last day at work. He is on his way back home to Switzerland. He is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. It came as a shock, I had no idea that he was going back so soon. He had to go back to report for military duty. They have bootcamp and then 4 weeks a year until they are 36 - mandatory. I want to wish him all the best! He says he may come back to work or go to school. I hope he does.

me and Kai. Yes, I'm short (5'8) but Kai is quite tall

I guess that's all to report for now....Hope you all have a great weekend.

TTFN

p.s. Only 36 days!!

Unexpected (sortof) Guests.....

Good Evening All My Pretties!
Yesterday was a glorious day. I was so suprised to arrive home and discover not one but two large brown boxes sitting in the corner of my porch. A smile slowly crept across my face as my brain processed what could possibly be in these packages.....
I eagerly opened the door, threw down all that was in my arms (good thing it wasn't anything breakable) and quickly returned to the porch to retrieve my delivered treasure.
I took them both upstairs and gently set them on the dinning room floor.
Knife or scissors? knife or scissors? knife or sissors? KNIFE!! I cut into the box and pulled back the freshly opened wound.....Damn, another box.
Again, I sliced through the tape and peeled back the edges.....Damn, bubble wrap, lots of it.
I lifted out the air infused package, all 18 pounds of it. Gently setting it on the table I began to undo the tape holding the wrap in place.....Yeah, right. Whoever wrapped these damn things took a perverse pleasure in making sure no one would easily get to carmel center.
The hell with this....where's that knife???? I know it was just here.....there you are (sinister grin pulling at the corner of my mouth). If someone would have seen me at this moment they would have had me committed.
Now I know how Jack (the ripper) felt. The shinny, silver blade glistening in the light. The still air. The breathless antisipation (an...tis...i...pa....................tion). The knife glidding through the bubble wrap like warm butter on a hot georgia night....Yeah, Ok. The knife hung up every inch or so, which caused the package to rotate in every consivable direction but the ONE that I wanted.
After finally tearing and clawing my way into this artfully packaged contraption....I promptly dropped everything on the floor. BANG! Scared the crap out of the dogs, who were on the other side of the room after witnessing the manacle look in my eyes when I entered the house with these boxes in tow.
I cautiously picked everything up. Tightened the loose screws and attached the unattached legs......
IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE I TELL YOU!!
Bart's here. :) 
Well, Bart and his other brother Bart (feeling very Bob Newhart).

Here's Bart.

Bart and his other brother Bart (he let his hair grow out).

Counting the days now....4!!! We will putting up decorations this coming Sunday. YAY!! I can hardly wait. New Coffin and a body to go in it. ;) Bart with the long orange hair will hopefully be perched up high riding a broom. HA!

Can you believe that someone down the road (about a mile or so) from me actually put up their Halloween decorations before me?

Geez! The Nerve Of Some People. Oh well, when I get done they will understand what it means to decorate for the greatest holiday of the year!!

That's all the news that fits....talk to ya later.

TTFN

Coffin...part 2

Hey All!
Hope your weekend was great!

Just an update on my coffin....
I have gotten it put together, burnished and stained. :)
It looks good, even if I say so myself. LOL
It took longer than I thought it would....It was still only about 8 hours or so. My helper wasn't there to help me, so it was an all alone 8 hours. I'm thinking about putting some markings on the top (double headed eagle or a vampire insignia) and I still have to add handles. Not sure if I'm going to use metal handles or rope handles. I guess that's going to depend on what I do with the inside. I haven't decided whether I want to burnish it or if I'm going to put material inside. What do you think? Share your opinions with me, please.  :)
Here's the link to the 'coffin directions' that I used. That being said, I had to make some minor adjustments as things did not fit together the way the directions indicated. But I am still thrilled with the outcome.

This is the top & bottom construction.

Believe it or not...this was NOT done on purpose.

it was getting dark and I tried to get a photo and it gave me 4 for some unknown reason.

construction completed.

This is how the burnishing turned out on the side. Not too shabby...

it was done with a small butane torch. It aged it nicely.

And here it is with the varnish. I used polyurethane and tinted it with some of the

'Oxblood' leather dye I had. I think it looks great. Can't wait to see it with the blue flood lights on

it. It should look 'dark' (red and blue = purple). Got my fingers crossed.

Looks like next weekend (Sunday??) is when we will begin setting up everything. My daughter is going to help me. Unfortunately she will be flying back to California on October 1st  :(

So we have to decorate a week earlier. My neighbors already think I'm crazy...this will just add to it  :)  I had my gutter guy put hooks across the roof line the last time he was up there...now I just have to figure out how to get lights up there. Think if I stand on the ground and fling them they will just fall into place? LOL! Me neither...but hey, it can't hurt to try. :)  That will definately get photos...hopefully with nothing broken (limbs and decorations).

I've decided that after the season is over that I'm going to set up the coffin in the backyard to 'weather' until next year. That ought to push my neighbors over the edge. ;)

My wife has been telling everyone that I'm building a coffin to bury her in the backyard....hhhmmmm. And my daughter has been telling her friends that I'm building one for the 'naughty' little boys she knows. One of which replied with "that's not funny". I have no doubt what so ever that my daughter laughed (loudly and sinisterly). And then they wonder why people think I'm psychotic.?.? Who? me? never!

I guess that's all for now.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend....I'm going out to enjoy the bonfire my wife and daughter are making ~ smores!! yay!! even though I'm not supposed to have them. One won't hurt too much, right??

TTFN

Better be nice to me....

....I'm making a coffin. :)
and I have lots of wooded area in my backyard! LOL
Well, in case you hadn't guessed...we started making a coffin this afternoon (evening, technically, but who's counting?). Got all the pieces cut and numbered. Tomorrow, my daughter and I will assemble it. YAY! I need a torch. Anybody got one? I really don't want to have to buy one...I will probably never use it for anything else. ANYBODY?? I don't have the website for the coffin instructions right on hand. When I post more pics (tomorrow?) I will list the website....ya know, just in case you want to make one too. Here's a peek so far......

top and bottom laid out for inspection

And my 'insider' sent me some photos of things they had finally started stocking at Wally World. It took forever for them to start filling the shelves....I was there a couple of times and it was just empty space. It should be done now. I hope.

WalMart has blow ups again this year. They really had a crappy selection of things

last year and the year before. I heard that their customers were complaining....

imagine that.

There's supposed to be one more photo....it's a hanging skeleton / reaper. But for some unknown

reason my pc keeps deleting it. It wouldn't let me turn it upright and then it wouldn't save it and

then it just deleted the pic all together. I'll post it if I can figure out why it's not working. hhhmmmmm.

Anywho, that's all for now.....

I'm hoping to stop by and see Travis and Preston at Psycho Haunted House. Maybe on Friday on the way home. Maybe they'll let me take some sneek peek pictures to share.???.....

til then

TTFN

Saturday nights all right...

Hey Eveyone!
Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.

Saturday was a busy day. Had a blast too!
Got up and went to the Villa Rica Parade. We've been going for a while now...this years parade was 75% churchs. It's not a big deal for the most part...but theres this one group that is just annoying and down right ridiculous. They preach and scream at you (megaphones) from the top of their church bus. Yes, they stand on the top of the bus and preach. Even the hard core church goers roll their eyes. And what is with the puppets? Quite a few of the churchs were using puppets. I guess to lure the kids. It was just kinda creepy. You can tell the economy has really hit hard....usually they throw candy out by the hand fulls...this year it was a piece or two at a time. Just goes to show things are tough all over. Anyway, here's some pics from the parade....

The Shriners started the parade (always do)

the clown that scared our friend's grand daughter

it was hilarious. the look on her face was priceless.

the local high school band

the red hat society

sons of the confederates

big pink tractor (fuzzy stering wheel and all)

this was the end of the parade ~ literally. they stopped

right in front of us and dropped a load. WOW. it

smelled so bad.

After the parade we came home (after rescueing our friend. she ran out of gas) and started getting things ready for our 'picnic'. We got together with our neighbors, Barry and Amy. They have a smoker and we did a turkey. OMG! It was delicious. There was turkey, mashed potatos, sweet potatos, corn, greenbean casorole, stuffing (smoked in the bird and oven baked), cucumber salad (Shirley and Dennis always do a great job with this) and of course, cranberrie sauce. I ate entirely too much. And for desert Connie made carmel pie. It was good...not really into carmel but this was delicious. Far too sweet for me, I only had a few bites and couldn't eat any more. We were so stuffed afterwards...everyone sat around and moanded (ya know its good if no one can move afterwards).

Smoked Turkey ~ YUMMY!

When everything was cleaned up and put away we got ready to go to the 'Battle of the Bands' in downtown Villa Rica. Lots and lots of people. I forgot they were having the street faire too. Oh well, there's always next year. There were three bands performing....the first one was Come Down Denver. It was a 'younger' group. They were pretty good...except for that god awful screaming that they think is music. The second band was Drew Miller and Spirit Road. I really liked the music these guys played (even got a CD). But they were really weird to watch. The lead (Drew) looked like he was having a drug induced fit. They were good though, really tight, sounded great. Then there was The Josh Adams Band. These guys were good too. Really polished. They've obviously had some practice (bars and such, I would assume). The 'winners' of the Battle of the Bands was Come Down Denver. However, this was from blantant cheating. It was $1 a vote. They ran around after their performance selling CD's and then stuffing the money into the jug. I'm really surprised that the people putting on the show allowed it, since they were all aware of what was going on. I'm sure it had to due with the fact that half the money went to the venue. Oh well, guess that's what you get when you bring teenagers into it.

Come Down Denver

Drew Miller & Spirit Road

The Josh Adams Band (bad pic, I know)

After every thing was done and we got home....Amy asked if we wanted to come and eat some more. My stomach was like 'NO WAY!!'

Well, that was my Saturday. Hope yours was as enjoyable as mine!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Talk to ya soon.

TTFN

p.s. Only 49 Days!!

It's in the Air! I can smell it!

Hi All!
Hope you are having a good week!

Can you smell it?
It's crisp and clean and cool and so...so...so....ORANGE!
HALLOWEEN IS COMING. It's tingling in my toes and fingers. Ooooooo....I can hardly wait. Just over 3 weeks and I can decorate. YAY!! And once again the cosmonaughts will be able to see my house from space. :)
I was looking online today and came across some new ideas. Makes me want to run out and start building things right now. New creepy, slithering things that go bump in the night. My Scare~me~crows are watching over my shoulder while I'm writing this. My skeleton scarecrow has a great big grin....I think he's getting excited too!
I want to build a toe-pincher coffin for this year (looks like my graveyard fence isn't gonna get done). Hopefully I can find some wood at a reasonable price (free?) in the next week or so. Anybody know anyone that is tearing down an old barn? Or has wood stacked up that they aren't using??? Tell me, Please!!! :)
I have to do a witch's broom too. Before Bart (and his other brother Bart) show up. I have a decorator friend seeing if he can find me some broomcorn (also known as sorghum) at a good price. I'm gonna be busy in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck! OH, I'm soooooooo ready!
In my searches I came across a site called HauntTactics. They make some really cool costumes. I want one so bad. They're pretty much zombies...but the 'bodies' could be used for so many things. They have fused the 'bones' onto the costume itself. They are so cool. Go and check them out. I promise, you won't be disappointed.  :)

In a previous post I said I would put up some recipes as I came across them. Well, here's one that's really yummy. I made some chilli the other night (it's been quite cool here the last few days - after the rain) and chilli sounded really good. This is my recipe, not one I got from a book or the internet. Due to the 'low sodium' diet thingy...

The Ingredients:

Red Beans (Kidney beans) dried - small bag

Pinto Beans  dried - small bag

Lean Hamburger - 2 lbs

tomatos - 2 or 3

onion

sweet peppers - 6-8 small ones

tomato soup

chilli seasoning

Recipe:

The beans I used called for the following; Boil for 2 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain bean water and rinse beans thouroughly (check for 'extra' pieces). Add fresh water and bring to boil. Simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours or until beans are as soft as you would like them. Mine cooked for almost 3 hours.

After I boiled and rinsed the beans, while I was waiting for the 'first' hour I put the hamburger, tomatos, onions, sweet peppers and chilli seasoning in the crock pot on high. I stirred the mixture regularly (every 20 minutes or so). It took about an hour and a half for the hamburger to be completely cooked. I added the tomato soup at this point.

I continued to follow the bean directions and dumped the bean water, rinsed and got them boiling in fresh water. I cooked the beans for the specified time and continued to stir the 'chilli mix' in the crock pot.

When the beans were ready, I drained them and added the 'chilli mix' directly to the beans in my big pot.

Stir thouroughly and serve.

This makes A LOT of chilli.

Speaking of food ~

Sally made Bannana Bread from scratch today. I was just brought a piece while I was writing this......still warm from the oven. YUMMY!!

I also came across this while I was looking up Halloweenie stuff.....I so want some. And it is soooooo not on my 'can have' list. :(

Our Walmart has emptied 3 isles to start setting up for Halloween. I have spies.....watching, so they can give me a heads up on new stuff. Sneaky, Sneaky. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do to make sure you get first picks at Wally World. :)  I'll post some pics as soon as I get them.

Anyways, I guess that's all for now....

til next time ~ Be good & Be safe.

TTFN

p.s. Only 53 Days Left  ;p

I'm late, I'm late.....

Hey Everyone!
Hope you all are doing great!
I can't believe I've fallen behind on posting (again).

Let's see if I can catch up....
Two weeks ago....

Friday night. We got together with our neighbors and had a driveway party! HA! Actually it was a 'learn how to line dance' party. It was me, Sally, Karen, Connie, Amy, Barry, Shirely, Dennis and Isabel. We had a blast! I can now say I know how to line dance! Karen was a great teacher. Sally kept giving up, saying she couldn't do it. Guess who was the first one to get it down pat? Sally!

Now I just have to go out dancing so I can practice! Anyone want to go?? I have to work on my steps...apparently I take 'large' steps. Karen says I will step on somebody if I don't cut them down some. :)

Next weekend we are getting together for a cookout....Smoked Turkey!! Can't wait. I'll have to be really good with my sodium this week so I can have some!

Speaking of.....I have managed to lose 7 of the 30 pounds my doctor wants me to lose. YAY! I haven't gotten back to P90 yet because my blood pressure has been whacked out. But it seems to be leveled out now. Now I just have to get it into my head again to get back to exercising. Wish me luck!!

I have been working on my ATC's (ACEO's) as well. I have 5 completed now. I will be joining a couple of sites this next week to show them off. I think I'm going to set up an Etsy account to sell them through. Has anyone used Etsy? Any tips?? I'm really excited about this project. Here's a preview of the ones I've completed so far.....

Acrylic on various 'card stock'

I've watched two movies in the last couple weeks. Which is really a lot for me. The first one was "SuckerPunch". The effects and 'style' of this movie were really good. The plot was so-so. At the end of the movie all I could think was that it was made by a group of horny 13 year olds. That's what I came away with...'this was just an excuse for chics to run around in their underwear' (not as bad as that one with Christina Ricci and Samuel Jackson - that was a waste of film).

The second one was "Priest". It was pretty good. Not quite up to all the hype it got but not too bad either. The storyline was good (image the Church as the bad guys - who would have thought). It did take a long time to build up to the climax. Which was over very quickly. And they left it wide open for a sequel. All in all a fairly good movie.

Can you believe it's September already? Wow! We must be on that down hill slope...cause it's going fast. BUT! that means it's almost time to set up my Halloween decorations!! I CAN'T WAIT! I have a nice big porch now, lots of room to decorate. I get to use my fog machine this year too! It's brand new, still in the box. I have some new stuff to put out as well. And best of all - my daughter will be here to help me set up. She likes Halloween almost as much as I do. She's got a good eye for decorating as well. We always have a good time setting up. The last time she helped me we spent almost 5 hours putting up decorations. :) I'm excited to see how this years will turn out.

A friend of ours runs a haunted house too! They are getting ready for the 2011 season. I'm sure it will be great! The people involved are wonderful and really friendly. I can hardly wait to see the new location. I know that Travis and Preston (and all the others) have been working their arse's off! You can visit Psycho Haunted House here. Be ready, they'll scare the yell out of ya! :) Here's a couple of older photos.....

This ones from the Douglasville parade. It's Jenifer, Stephanie and Bill. I was there too but I can't find the photos. I was just carrying the sign, no make up. Had a good time though!

And here's Jenifer in action! She was in the front room. Did a really good job. This picture was taken by one of the customers. I had to look more than once to realize this was my baby girl! :)

GO SEE THEM AT PSYCHO HAUNTED HOUSE THIS YEAR! TELL THEM RON SENT YOU.

I guess that's about all for now. Have a great night and enjoy the holiday weekend. Stay out of trouble.

TTFN

p.s. What did you think of my new header and background?

Possums and a new project

Morning All!

Hope everyone is well.....

It seems another week has passed. That was fast.

Its been a busy week in my lil' corner of the woods....

My daughter got home from California on Tuesday Morning and she's been running ever since...she's in Florida now. Getting ready for their cruise that leaves on Monday. Their going to the Bahamas. I hope she has a great time.

I've decided to try my hand at ACEO's. These are artist trading cards. They are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (the size of a baseball card). There are a good bit of them out there....different style and techniques. I've come across them before but just decided I wanted to do some. I've been working on three of them that are almost complete. My first ones have a theme...Halloween (of course). I am really pleased with the way they have turned out. They should be completed some time this coming week. I think they will be posted on Etsy or Ebay. Not sure yet....got to get some more information on those two sites.

ACEO's came from ATR's (artistit trading cards). ATR's are for artists to trade with other artists. Apparently ATR's have been around for a long time...centuries. It was a way for artists to get to know one another and get familiar with each others styles and techniques. ACEO's came along when non-artist wanted to share in the fun of collecting mini pieces of art. ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. There are many sites out there now that have some amazing work. I encourage you to go and look some of these up. Who knows, maybe you'll become a collector (you can start with mine - HA).

sneek peek - ACEO's

Last night (Saturday) we went out with some friends...we went to the VFW in Carrollton, Ga to see a band that is made up of some guys that my neighbor works with. I had never been to this VFW hall. I was surprised at how well it was kept. The hall that the band played in was actually quite large. It didn't look that big from the outside.

The band is called "Georgia Possum Band". They were damn good. The first set was songs from their new CD. I was impressed with how good they sounded. The rest of the show was covers. They did really well with these too. They have a down home, country-rock sound that comes through regardless of what they are playing but it sounds great. I was glad my neighbor suggested going to see them. I was a little disappointed at the turn out of people. There weren't a lot of people that showed up...which is really a shame. These guys deserve to be heard. They will be playing at the McIntosh Festival next month. Hopefully they will get some more exposure then.

They have videos on YouTube and they are on Facebook if you want to see more about them. Here's the link for the song 'Boys From The Woods'

The Georgia Possum Band

Sally and I

Connie, Sally and Amy - having a good time

I also spoke with a woman with the band (business card exchange) who told me about booth information for the McIntosh festival in september and the Humming Bird festival in October. Who knows....maybe you'll see me there selling my art!

I have to figure out how to put my 'Etsy' or 'Ebay' into my blog. So I can show what I have for sale. I think there is a way to show them on Facebook too. I just have to find out how......any suggestions? That's an ongoing endevour.

My blood pressure has been staying level...so it looks like no more pills for me! YAY! It has been a chore trying to keep my sodium down, though. It's in everything. It's a conspiricy I tell ya!! :)  I have gotten some good advice from friends who are in the same boat. So hopefully it will get easier as time goes on.

I guess thats all that I'll bore you with this time around. Have a great day and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

TTFN

p.s. only 70 more days til Halloween!

Elvis has left the building...

Good Morning Everyone!

Hope all is well in you little corner of the world.

Getting ready for my baby to come back home from California! She should be here sometime on Tuesday! I can hardly wait. I miss her. I thought I was gonna have to put up all the Halloween decorations by myself. But not now...Jenifer will be here to help me. YAY! Even though I won't have any of my own pumpkins :(

Last night we went to The Mill to see 'Elvis'......

I was unaware that it was going to be kareoke night. HA! It started at 7, so we got there at 7 only to find people singing kareoke. Some of them weren't bad. They had a local guy that sang country and played guitar. He was pretty good. Then there was the guy that played guitar and sounded really good. When I came around the stage to see who was playing....well, it looked like he was having a severe spasm. Wow.

Then came the sirens....the police car pulled up with a black suv and out stepped Elvis. The crowd went nuts. He worked his way through everyone and down to the stage. I thought 'gee, not too bad'......then he opened his mouth. The whole crowd was shocked into silence. This guy was really bad. Couldn't sing, couldn't dance. The looks on everyone's faces was priceless. My phone was acting up so I didn't get a shot of the crowd. This went on for an hour. There were dancers from a local dance group there as well, they did a good job. Even though they were 'country' dancing to 'rock and roll' (line dance and everything).This was not the same group of people who have been putting on the shows at The Mill. And it showed. This group was so unorganized. Not from lack of trying. Then about 3/4 of the way through the (bad) Elvis show, he says 'Dmac will be on after I'm done performing'. Dmac? Who? What? Elvis got done and everyone hollered and clapped (I think they were glad it was over) and then they started setting up for the next show.....after 15-20 minutes of them tripping over wires and each other out comes this skinny white kid with a green mowhawk. ????  It was a 'christian rap group'. I made it through one song before I had to leave. If they had come out first I may have been able to handle it, but after the Elvis show, I just couldn't take any more. Oh well, at the very least we all had a good laugh! I'll think twice about going to see another impersonator again.

 I was waiting for the real Elvis to come back from the dead. This guys singing could wake the dead.

These are some of the dancers that 'saved' the show.

My mother-in-law with the man himself. Sally got him to pose with her for her birthday...she's going to be 80

my neighbor Barry with Elvis.

And it was a full moon on top of everything else.

Here's a couple of photos of Barry and Amy, my neighbors. I don't even want to know what they had been eating....

Just two of the crazy people in my life that I'm glad to call friends! It's things like this that make me realize I have some pretty amazing people in my life....I have two wonderful kids, three grandchildren and of course my wonderful wife. My friends are all great and I'm glad that I know them all!

Well, after last weekend, when everything got really, really bright and whitewashed, I am not taking my blood pressure medicine. YAY! I have changed my diet, cut the sodium way back and my blood pressure has leveled out and it appears that I don't need the pills. I've been averaging 110-120 over 65-70 without pills. Hurray!! I've lost 5 pounds to boot!! got another 25 to go (according to my doctor). Now that I've gotten my blood pressure leveled I can get back to doing my P90 workout. After last Sunday I was kinda scared to try P90. But now I should be able to go full steam! Hopefully I won't fall down and crack my head! HA!

The Halloween clocks are coming along nicely. I hope to have things ready to post sometime this coming week. Keep an eye out for them.

Have a great day! I gotta get back to moving things so my daughter's room is ready!

TTFN

New Banner & Some Rock N Roll

Good Sunday Morning to Everyone!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Where to start...Where to start........

Well, I have created a new banner for my website, you can find it at the bottom of the page. I think it looks really good. How 'bout you? If you would like to schedule a portrait just leave me an email (at the website) and say that you came to my site by way of my blog. And for that little trip, I will give you 10% off the price of a portrait. Just put in the code in the subject line of the email. The code is BLOGSEPT3011. The discount is good until September 30, 2011. Go and Look now...you won't be disappointed.

**The discount is good for portraits only. It does not apply to the printed work through Imagekind**

We went to The Mill last night to see Reason Why play. They were pretty good. Entirely too loud for the space they were in, but still a good show. It was from 8pm to 10pm. It was overcast and looked like rain the whole time but it didn't. I'm glad it was overcast....it was a comfortable 77 degrees, instead of totally miserable like it has been. About half way through the night I had to get up and move...where I was sitting the speaker was aimed at my left ear. The singer managed to hit a note, with his voice and guitar, that made my ear hurt. I don't mean a 'ringing' but an actual physical pain in the center of my ear. It throbed for 20 minutes or so and then stopped. Some of the older people there had the strangest looks on their faces when the band started playing....it was a total "What The Hell Is This" look! My mother-in-law was one of them. I think I knew every song they played, which was nice. We had a good time at the concert but we missed the market that was going on...it only went until 2pm. You would think that they would have it up until the concert starts. Oh well, they are having another one on the 3rd of September...maybe I'll go to that one. Here's a couple of pics from last night...

Reason Why @ The Mill 8062011

another shot of the band

And here we are...Sally, me, Connie and Shirley (thanks for the pic Amy)

I have also been working on some designs for clocks for Halloween. As soon as they are ready I will post them here for everyone to see (and order - HA). I have six new designs that I think everyone will like. Stay tuned for the finished product!!

I have been trying really hard to follow my doctor's orders with all this blood pressure gobbly-goop. Do you know how hard it is to cut your sodium down? Holy Cow!! I am soooo over having to flip over everything I buy. I guess next year I will have to dedicate an area for a larger garden so I can grow my own veggies. They put salt in everything. I have managed to cut it back to just under 'normal' consumption...I'm afraid to know what it was before I had to start inspecting every can, box and package. I still have to cut it back some more......anyone got an suggestions? Any recipes?? I think I will post some low or no-salt recipes when I find some good ones. If you have any send them to me...who knows, maybe your's will get posted too! On the plus side (maybe?) the calorie levels have fallen...I've been averaging between 1200 and 1600. Maybe that will help with the weight that I'm supposed to lose. I have, as of yet, failed to start my exercise back up again...trying to squeeze one more thing into my day seems to be proving difficult. And I'm trying to stop smoking and cut back (quit?) my caffine habit too. Which are two vices that don't seem to want to let go easily. Anyway, wish me luck as I try not to become a raving lunatic in the process.  :)

GOOD NEWS!! My baby will be home in about 10 days. Yes, the countdown has started. I can't wait to see her. It's been since February since I last laid eyes on her. She may be moving back to Georgia as well. She will get to help me set up all the decorations for Halloween! YAY!! She's a Halloween nut like me! I can't wait for her to come home!! Miss you Jenifer!! I am waiting patiently! I'm sure that both of children are laughing hysterically now.....If you know me, you know about how much patients I have. :)

Come Home Chic - We All Miss You A Lot!!!

I guess that's all for now. Have a great day and be good to each other.

TTFN

Silver Comets & Lil' Black Twigs

Good Evening Everyone,

Well, the weekend is winding down...I hope you all have had a great one! Just a few updates.....

This moring we decided to take our bikes, second day, mind you, to the Silver Comet Trail and try our luck there. The last time we had been to the trail was when it was first being built and in a totally different city. The trail was nice. Paved, smooth and split by a broken yellow line just like a highway. This is where the 'serious' bicyclist ride apparently, as the majority of the people there were dressed in typical bicycle uniform....the spandex shorts and tops in obnoxious, ad bearing colors, the cute(yes, i was being sarcastic) little 'airplane' helmets and the normal deep, brown leather tan (which will catch up with them in the not too distant future). And all of this was topped off with the typical "look down your nose and roll your eyes" attitude of a group of unwelcoming yuppies. That being said...we'll probably go again next weekend.  :) 

All in all, we had a good time and a good ride....we did 6 miles (3 out, 3 back). Which I don't think it too bad for someone who hasn't been a  bike in a very long time.

This afternoon we invited a friend of ours, Connie, to go shopping with us.

Shopping?

Why yes, Shopping! 

I was hunting the elusive Halloween Decoration!! I found some too!! We went to Garden Ridge in Douglasville, Ga. They had already put their stuff out (they always start early...they have begun setting up Christmas too). They had mostly cute stuff...but at least some of it was new and not just left overs from last year. I picked up a couple of things...I got two 'twirlies' that Sally and Connie liked. Ones a pumpkin and the other is a bat. I may give my 'manifer' (see earlier post - way earlier) one of them to hold. :)  I also go some black twig garland. This stuff is gonna look so cool on the rails of newly elongated, ready to be decorated front porch.  :)

As we were leaving Garden Ridge, I thought...

'I wonder if PartyCity has started putting out their Halloween goodies yet?'....

''Who wants to go to PC??"

One vote of YAY and one vote of eehhhhh, if we have to. Found a parking space right up front (wow, that was weird). As we were walking past the big glass windows, Sally says, nope, don't see any Halloween stuff. They must not be putting it out yet. So out came my boo-boo lip and I pressed my face to the window......WRONG!!! Waaayyyyyy in the back of the store I could see the boxes being opened, I could see just a hint of what appeared to be masks.....straight through the door and b-line for the back of the store. BINGO!! They were most definately preparing to put out the Halloween goodies. They had some up already....a few masks, feahter boas, make-up, etc....

So we - Me, with Connie right behind me and Sally way back mumbling to herself - wandered around and looked at what was out (and stuck my head in some of the boxes that weren't fully opened yet). I found a few neat things. A fake ax that wasn't too cheesy, the great big Frankenstien mask thats always up on the wall (it's $130...maybe that's why it's still on the wall). And something that I, for whatever reason, have become obsessed with recently.....A Plague Mask!! They call it a Carnival Creeper....perhaps that's because if most people knew the history of it they would probably freak out a little. I don't know what it is about these silly bird-beaked masks...but they have hooked me this year. Maybe it's because they conjour up visions of the Black Plague. Or because they are just creepy enough to make you wonder what's going on behind the mask. Or maybe it's because people (Doctors, highly educated people) were silly enough to believe that this simple mask would protect them from The Black Death. And  even centuries after this hard learned lesson, humanity is still naive enough to believe that they are in control of nature. HA! That'll be the day! Anyway, I have a Plague Doctor mask now! Wanna See It??

ain't it grand???

They also had full lycra body suits this year too! How cool would that be with this mask? Just a black suit with the mask....standing in the shadows to jump out at unsuspecting children (the parents are usually the ones who jump and scream). I can hardly wait!!!! YeeHaw!!!

Well, I guess that's all for now...Have a great evening and a wonderful week!!

TTFN