365

"Something Jay has never done."

This post has multiple pictures simply because I couldn't sum the trip up with one.  I took over 400 pictures that day, and these made the cut.  I really wanted more, but I figured I'd loose your interest before then.  

Mom, Jay, the kids and I drove to the Zoo in S.C. for Jay's birthday.  We were going to go last year, but the schedule he had didn't lend itself to weekend trips, or making actual long term plans.  It all worked out though, because mom got to go with us this way.

We watched the bears play fight for a long while.  They looked just like Miah and Harley playing in the front room.  So cute.

You can't see it, but Jay is so excited right then.

Lemur!

The only thing separating he and I was an inch of glass.  He kept giving me this look, and it made me feel like springing him from his prison.  At one point some small kids were smacking the glass and giving him a hard time, so he unfurled his impossibly long, hairy arm and smacked the glass with a thump.  The kids all screamed and jumped back..but I doubt they learned anything.

He sat there in the corner forever. It was scary to see him in comparison to the girls, because it occurred to me that he was powerful enough to crush them, and they seemed way too close to him at that moment.  Even with the glass.

When we walked up to him, Mom said "Ron!"  and then he looked at me.  Spooky.

Stretch Jay!

He was right in our faces!  He smells like hay and warm fur.

Miah seemed to have some sort of hold on the animals. Nearly all of them walked up to her.

This one really wanted to say hello.

An acrobatic show off, this one is!

I loved being in their building.  It was humid, and smelled heavily of eucalyptus.  It had an over all calming effect on me. 

Some kids started making roaring sounds, and so he started talking back.  Miah roared at him and had a conversation.

Miah got to feed the coy.  They were the biggest I'd ever seen.

See his number?

When we walked up, he was the one right in the front.  What are the odds?

We stayed the longest with the penguins.  One of them fell in love with Miah.

I have six or seven pictures of him coming back to her to say hello.

Waiting for Miah to be done with the penguins.

He didn't like me.  I may have shot one of his cousins once.

This was Jay's favorite bird.  He's still talking about it a week later.

Stretch!!

Bead Store!

Jay tried to block my entrance....

But nothing can keep me out! 

We took mom to Aiken,  South Carolina to shop at the antique stores there.  I got some more antique glass refrigerator boxes (no plastic BPA leaching Tupperware at our house! I'd like to point out that I was hip to the glass storage before it was cool.) We also stopped at an art gallery and bought a couple of huge coffee mugs for Jay and me.  They hold four cups of liquid, so I've been drinking my tea out of it more than coffee.  Jay's the one that drinks four or five cups of joe a day, not me!
Have you noticed Miah?  She's loving the frequent appearance of the camera.  She keeps horning in on the photos!  What a ham.

365

"Looking Down" (Jay's suggestion)

I took this picture from the top of "Rock City" January 2, 2004.  Jay had graduated BNCOC at Fort Gordon, and we drove home together, stopping at a bunch of places along the way.  This was only the second time he and I had time alone on a trip, and it was nice not having to keep an eye out for the kids and completely enjoy myself.  On this trip I bought a couple of laborite Chinese coins that I have still not made into anything. Maybe I should pull them out this week.

365

"Looking up" (Jay's suggestion)

Easily the tallest trees I've seen.  It will give you vertigo to stand at the base of them and look straight up. The entire back yard looks like this when you stand in the center and look up.  It's awe inspiring. 

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Formation (Jay's suggestion)

Privates in formation at the end of the day, Fort Gordon.
Signal AIT

Idle Wednesday

 A necklace three ways...

Long, loose, and flowing. 

The modified "original" idea.

Backwards, so that the dangles hang behind you.  Very cool if you have a low cut shirt in the back, or a boat neck.

The original idea was to have a necklace that had dangles.  I have a sketch of my idea, and I was all set to make it, until the clasp I had in mind went AWOL.  Instead I used a sterling silver ring (that used to be a clasp, but broke) and worked with what I had. Goofing off with my finished project, we (Jay and I) saw that it looked cool two other ways also.  My next project is to dig for that clasp, and do another necklace. 

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On a Stick.

Just when you think they've put everything possible on a stick...
It's a gummy bear that is "Over 100 times the size" of a regular one.  What the heck?

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Close-up.

Wild Violets are emerging.  Right there in my front yard.  They make me think of our old white house, the kids being tiny and playing amongst them in our huge yard.  Good memories.

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Back!

Is the only word in this child's mind right now!

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Childhood memory.

When I was younger, and living in the Valley (in Edmonton, Ky) I used to collect black walnuts (pictured above) I'd peel them open and toss them by the bucketfuls into an old pot my parents let me play with.  I'd add other things, like berries, clay, leaves, wild onions and such, telling my brother that all of these added ingredients ensured that the color would never wash out of anything you soaked in it.  I'd let the putrid smelling liquid "cook" in the sun for days, then soak old t-shirts in it, or draw designs with it (On my brother, that is.).  I was always making some concoction, calling it witches' brew, and threatening Jason (my brother) with it.  I even got him to sip some a time or two.  He always was forgetful when it came to things like that. 
This particular black walnut I got in a park a couple of falls ago.  The kids, remembering the story, brought it to me with the idea that I would show them how to make the "brew".  I plucked it out of Miah's hand, and brought it to my nose.  Breathing deeply, the summers of my childhood rushed back to me.   The scent, I swear, I can still smell even years later.  It's funny how a smell can do that to you.

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Surprise!

This was in 2006.  Mom and Ron were selling buildings in Gallatin, Tn  so I was able to drop the girls off at their store while I told them I was going to Goodwill. Instead, I drove to the Nashville airport and picked Jay up.  The girls were completely taken by surprise, and it was awesome. This was for his R&R, so he had to go back to Iraq two weeks later, which just happened to coincide exactly to the day with the tornado that tore through Gallatin.  We actually got stuck in the Adventure Science Theater in Nashville, and it took us three hours to get from Nashville to Mom's place, which would normally have only taken 30 minutes or so.   I can't believe that was four years ago. It seems like a whole lifetime has passed.

Spring Break!

We spent the day at the lake, and boy was it windy!  I'll post more pictures after the week is done. I hope you are enjoying my daily posts!  I'm still looking for suggestions on picture subjects.  If you suggest a theme, I'll use it that day!

365

Wet

A medium sized storm passed by the other day, no light show, just wet.

Idle Wednesday

Steampunk chic from Michael's

I've really been racking up the projects here, so much so that I'm forgetting to take pictures and keep up with the documentation!  I am so glad I started this weekly post though.  I wasn't making anything at all for a while there, housework and military stuff, and kids all having higher priority than even thinking of a new project.  Now I find myself looking at things and trying to figure out how they might fit in, or if they'd qualify for the post.  This week's project is straight from Mitchael's.  I went in to get some "lockables" storage containers, which by the way, are the best, and ended up falling in love with the home made look and feel of these ceramic beads.  This is incredibly simple, but wasn't easy to make.  I had to individually open and close those links, and that was NOT an easy task, let me tell you!  I have blisters on my palms, and my flat nose pliers are now loosing the plastic coating on the handles.  Boo!

365

Labels

I love it when I find something with my name on it, even better when it's spelled correctly, and best when it's on something really good.  These are the best pita chips ever.

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Handle

I'm not sure if I remember what I had in mind when I put "handle" on the list!  But, I have a picture anyway.  What are the odds?  This is a picture I took of a handle on a storage shed in Maine.  It was behind a light house that is still in use on Cadillac mountain, and is one of those "details" pictures I take sometimes.  It caught my eye, so I keep it as one of the reminders of the best vacation we have ever taken.  Awesome.

365

A picture of a stranger.

We were at Laurel's band concert the other day, and this little girl caught my eye.  How cute is she?  She was eating tangerine slices, and at one point dropped one into Miah's shoe.  Miah couldn't stop talking about it, it was so funny!

365

Smile!

Every single time I try to take a picture of Jay, he does this.  He smushes his face, squeezes his eyes shut, and does that "Tin Man from Wizard of Oz" smile.  He drives me nuts.  I have a million of these! Maybe this will embarrass him enough that he will quit it!  (No it won't)

365

A picture of yourself

This is me, just after flying a helicopter simulator.  I. was. awesome.
The FRG leaders of 1-32 Cav got to do a tour of Fort Campbell, to include the mock Iraqi town they use for training, the virtual shooting range (which was the second best thing) and the simulators.  You can choose where in the world you want to fly, so I chose Alaska.  Sara and her family were assigned there, so I thought I'd get a virtual bird's eye view.  I landed on an iceberg, did some maneuvers, and then had to land back on the landing pad.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.   I can easily say it was the best day I've ever had during a deployment.

365

The rules, which I have made up myself :
365 days of pictures.
They must be photos that I myself, or one of my immediate family took.
They can be old or new photos. (Only because I have some really cool photos I've never shared, and this is a great way to do so!)
Any themes suggested by someone else will be credited to them. So if you have an idea, share it!
No days will be skipped, but I reserve the right to be ahead a couple of days just in case I get sick, or something unexpected happens.
Idle Wednesday posts will not count as a submission.  Why make it easier on myself?
I will be honest.  No quick clean ups, or rearranging things to look better.

On to it then:

A picture that makes you sad.

This is Jeremiah.  You know that.  You probably see the uniform, the rank, and the camo behind him, but look at his face.  That is an expression I have never seen before.  That is the face of a man who has lost one of his battle buddies.  Not just a battle, but a friend.  Jay had the privilege to speak at Scott Metcalf's memorial in Iraq, just one month before they were to redeploy.  I have never seen or felt anything like that month.  To quote Forrest Gump..."and that's all I have to say about that..."