Tulip in the Thicket

Will the happiest car please pull forward...

I've always thought that grills of cars show expression. If you've seen Pixar's Cars, you may know that cars not only have expressions, but they also have "personalities". Here are a few faces of some older cars Mike and I saw on a car lot.


Mike says, "Do you know why that Chevy and Volkswagon have no front grill?"
Me: "Huh? No. What? They don't? Oh. Yeah!" "The VW and Chevy have their engines in the back."
(Yeah, I knew that about VW.)
Me: "So I'm not really looking at the 'grills' on the VW and Chevy?"
He says, "I'd call their front ends "noses'".
And from there the conversation gets weird(er) and we wonder what our car would be called if it had a name.
Some people have names for their cars. I hadn't known about naming cars until I met a young man who called his car "Bess". Years ago our family had an old yellow short school bu…

Psalm 69:1-36

That was fun! I hope there are more to come!
If you have a difficult time of matching eyes to faces, the names are in the comments below!

See the ball.

See the ball closer.

See the mailboxes.
Two are old friends.

See the yellow bench.
Had it been a metal bed?

Main Mode
of
Independent Transportation

The D.A.V. thrift shop is one of the best near us.
It's junky and cluttery. It's full and surprising. And it's cheap.
The 4 pictures above are the entryway of the store which used to be a Ashton's Grocery Store.
See the sink beside the pink and purple bike?
I'd noticed it when in the entry of the store on Friday, then on  Saturday Mike was able to come with me to take a look and give his professional opinion. Would it work in our bathroom in making things more accessible?
He said he thought it would work, so we bought the sink for $4.49!
If someone was in the market for an overhead projector, one could be found here. Actually more like 12 could be found! The photo doesn't show well, but they were sitting around on various cabinets looking like a gathering of strange cycloptic-eyed beings!

See the lady in the 4th photo? She works at the thrift shop and seems to like her job. I asked her how they go through and organize all the donations. She told me a little …

A Bait Shop themed play shack tucked into the trees.
I'd never seen the like. It must be for boys. I think of a play house with white eyelet or red gingham curtains and no minnows for sale when I think of a girl themed play shack.
I wonder if and how it is used.

Mom loves to cook. Recently she made beef and noodles and delicious sides and brought them to us for supper. She brought a mix of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and a bit of summer squash in the Best Vinegar and Oil Dressing Ever. I've asked mom to teach me to make the dressing just like she does. She's been making it so long without a recipe, that asking for a recipe is futile! While I watch, she pours a little oil, then some vinegar, sugar and salt directly on the veggies. She doesn't measure. She just pours, sprinkles and stirs and it comes out perfect every time. I try, but it's never the same as when Mom makes it. 
The evening she and Dad came over and brought supper, she'd had chemotherapy (and all the nasty side effects) 4 times in 5 previous weeks. 
It had been a long road to even getting a diagnosis.
Mom is valiant in the fight with cancer, yet her valiancy does not lessen the fierceness of the battle.

She is a gift giver and her home cooked food is one of…

Here is an excerpt from a letter we received from a man asking for our vote:

 "I also have been privileged to serve you a State Senator for more than a decade- AND have been recognized as leading the fight for life..."

I wondered how you serve State Senator: Rare, Medium or Well Done?
And I wondered how a cannibal could lead any "fight for life"?
I'm just sayin'.

by the Beatles

I've been organizing the closet and listening to music today. When this song played on the random shuffle through our Zune mp3 player, I got sidetracked while I stopped to hear the lovely harmonies.

A trippy little music video of Because.

about the first garden.

Wild and Ripe Sandhill Plums
Luscious leaves
Mulberry, I think

Curious George in the garden awhile back

Curious George in the garden today Oh! See how the garden has grown!


Curious George reminding me of this song again:

Summer feet, sunflowers and a line of ride-on toys

I've been going through saved folders of photos in Picasa.
There's a folder named  "Random Some Old".  The title is awkward, but I know what I mean.
Mom and me We were on our way to a dance recital. I loved dancing and I loved the blue tutu, but recitals made me nervous.
Tabitha and Olivia as babies
Tab wanted Liv to laugh.
This photo was taken with a "film camera".
It wasn't a 35 mm or a digital. It was a true point and shoot. No zoom. No play with settings or light. Ya got whatcha got.
This square fuzzy photograph is what I got.
Even so, I'm glad for it.

 In my folks backyard
L to R:Chris, Mike, me, Cyndi, Marcail and Liv
Dad and Christine  Dad was installing an "ironing center" in the laundry area.

We drove through calming countryside 
on a road with dirt like cocoa powder.



The crossroad balloons signaled celebration.

Kansas Grassland
Grasses Shooting Seed

Prairie Grasses swish, rustle and shimmer
 singing out celebration and praise.


The horses were so close I wanted to touch them. Instead, I rolled down the window to listen. I heard the quick tail swish sound made as they flisk flies away and another sound. I heard chomping. There is a grass nipped sound made at the moment the grass is bitten off the stem too. What is so comforting about hearing a horse's strong jaws and teeth chomping grass?   Do you love the vibrant green of the soybean field?
I first noticed the tree roots in the sandy cut-away ditch. The roots climbed and redesigned a Cottonwood tree. With a closer look we realized the roots belonged to a busy poison ivy vine.

The Ivy Entwined Cottonwood