Hats Off to...

Today's heroes are crossing guards.

Now, when I went to school, I was a crossing guard. For my efforts I got a flag and a roller skating party at the end of the year with a damp McDonald's hamburger and a glass of their pseudo-orange drink thrown in. (I also got a kick in the pants but that's another story.) Of course, I also was on patrol at in intersection that had all of 4 cars pass through it on any given school week.

In my town, the crossing guards are adults. They get orange vests with yellow X's on them, a flag and/or stop sign, a whistle and a partner. They are also backed by flashing crossing lights, striped crossing zones painted on the road and a police van that regularly sets a speed trap in the school zone. (Okay, it's not really a trap because they also post a sign well before the school zone telling you they are ahead. So if you get caught, you really do deserve the ticket.)

I am eternally grateful to the crossing guards. They have phoned me when they have concerns about how my children ride their bikes on the very busy thoroughfare between our house and the school. They are out there at 7:15 every morning in rain, shine or chilly weather. They put up with the rude drivers and they still smile and have a joke for anyone willing to exchange pleasantries. They are unsung heroes for the parents like me that want to know our kids are as safe as possible getting to and from school. I owe them big time.

I have to figure out how to show that gratitude with something better than a soggy burger and a dye-loaded drink.

But for today, it's HATS OFF to crossing guards!

I found a head in my fridge

Yesterday I was seized with one of those rare (very rare) urges to clean out my fridge. I don't like to do it but sometimes a trail or a whiff or another alarming sign means its time to get out the protective gear and go in. And I really didn't think that yesterday could be so bad. When the inlaws came, we had obviously done a purge and that was only a few weeks ago, right?

So in I went.

I was cruising along until I reached (cue suspense soundtrack sequence and squeaking door audio) the vegetable drawer. You know - the climate controled area that by some weird fridge science is specifically adapted to pamper your peppers, cushion your cukes and keep your salad savory.

And in my defense, there was no funky odor, no trail of slime, no indication that something wasn't right. So I think my normally-reserved-for-suspected-snakes squeal was understandable when my hand touched something firm but slightly yielding...with black hair...about the size of a human head.

EEEEEEEKK!!!!

As I began to breath again - and to notice the bruise on my elbow from where I'd whacked it against the island when I jumped back - I realized that it was (or at least it used to be) a head of cauliflower. A moldy, black, didn't-know-it-could-ever-do-that cauliflower.

I don't mind cauliflower. In fact, I actually enjoy cauliflower. Add to that the undeniable health benefits of cauliflower and I get a little self-righteous glow every time I eat it. And my sister-in-law makes a fantastic salad that used chopped cauliflower, broccoli, cheese, bacon bits and ranch dressing. (It also makes a really great soup when she gets a little happy with the food processor.)

That must be what prompted me to buy the cauliflower in the first place. No one else in my house will eat it so I don't usually bother. I don't even remember buying this one. Do you suppose it was waiting in there to ambush my mother-in-law? Or to jump out and scare the oxidants out of my children? AAAAAH! MOM!! ZOMBIE VEGETABLES!

So I'm thinking - if you really want to scare kids tomorrow night (I'll be at a football game but you feel free to go ahead) forget the ghoul-faced pumpkins, keep the skeletons in the closet and cut back on the candy eyeballs.

You'll have better luck with the cauliflower.

I laugh every time...

Special Edition!

Since Sunday is our day of rest around here and since I spent the day w-rest-ling a bunch of dead garden plants out of the ground, I'm taking tonight to post a "special edition for writers" message...

I'm part of a fabulous group of writers called InScribe Christian Writer's Fellowship. On the listserve, we often toss around writing ideas and challenges and other prompts. So last week I issued a challenge to come up with the longest univocalic (it means using only one vowel) sentence my fellow writers could produce. And the winner is...

(Cue fanfare and confetti)

Diane Stephenson!

Here's her whopping wonder:

Let's never, ever remember pesky pests, fender benders, pens lent, cents spent, where we've never been; better we remember where we've been, letters we've been sent; better see the best, be the best, whether we've been tested, whether we've been bested, when we're rested let's remember pets we've petted, checker sets, pretty scenes we've seen; then whether we're here, whether we're there, even when needy we'll ever be blessed.

For you Type As out there, Diane honorable admitted there are two "y"s included but she also cut 10 words from this monster before submitting it. You can find out more about Diane on Facebook or on the Ryze network.

And my personal choice for an honorable mention is by another great writer, Mary Haskett. Perhaps not as long as some but beautiful nonetheless:

Meet me 'ere the glen,
Where the sleek tree bends,
Where the tree's evergreen
Never felt better.

Great job to all!! I can't even think of an appropriately univocalic accolade for you...

Don't forget to REset your clocks...

I have a new-fangled bell-and-whistles sort of clock.

Actually my husband has a new-fangled bells-and-whistles sort of clock. It has dual alarm settings, a static-prone radio and/or a beep guaranteed to skewer your cerebellum as it slumbers in REM sleep, big buttons and little buttons so you can randomly flail at it when your cerebellum convulses in primal self-preservation, huge numbers that are bright enough to guide in aircraft and even on the "dimmer" setting give the entire room an NVG-sort of hue, AND (here's where I think my husband got suckered by the marketing language on the box) it automatically adjusts in the spring and the fall for Daylight Savings Time. So no more sleeping in or wandering the house with an hour to spare when you forget to set the clock.

EXCEPT that the clock is above such things as governmental whims like changing the weekend that DST begins. Pshaw - says our clock - Fall is here, "Fall back" time it is. Kind of like the automatic house in the short story that keeps vacuuming and serving meals even after the nuclear bomb goes off, our clock disdains the changes ordained from above and sticks to its schedule.

Which means, of course, that we can't stick to ours.

Yesterday morning, I got up thinking it was 7 o'clock and thinking I had an hour to spare. I was just getting ready to hop into the shower when my husband came flying in. "It's 8:02!" he cries. "The clock got us again!"

Now my cousin has a clock. And she brags about her clock. It's reliable, she says. It hasn't let us down for over 20 years, she says. And as I frantically dressed and threw my hair into a braid, I planned the covert operation that would avoid her crazy cat, defeat the hazards of her sometimes party-littered floors and claim her clock as my DST loot.

Anyways, by 8:12 we were at our Sunday morning posts (DH, admittedly, looked much fresher than I did). It was another hour before I got to have that shower and actually start my day.

And we get to do it all again next weekend...

Lock the doors, cuz. I may be coming.

A Christmas sketch

No, no, it's not a script for a short dramatic scene. But between an art exhibit and a drama, I am caught (tangled, snarled, twisted, swamped) in Christmas. I listened to carols today while seamstresses worked their magic, framed some Christmas art, and even carried bags of fake snow around. All this on a gorgeous fall day!

So to finish the day I finally got inspired. (Took long enough.) There's a canvas that's been sitting in my studio, waiting patiently to become something fun and fabulous. I painted a border on last year sometime and then stalled there. Big time.

But I think I finally got it and tonight I drummed up a sketch of what I want.

Inspiring, isn't it?

Okay, maybe not yet but stay tuned and let's see if it becomes everything I want it to be. I'm actually irrationally excited about this candy cane.

Of course, that might have something to do with the combo of hot chocolate and Swiss chocolate that DH just brought me...

Hats off to...

As a freelance writer, I have to make a lot of phone calls. And often, the first person I talk to is a receptionist or secretary. Let's face it, we all know these are the people with the power. And they can make your day or break it.

There's one in particular, Lynn, that is my hero and angel. She's always pleasant, always helpful and just all in all a treasure trove of time and talent. Quick responses, helpful hints and all sort of visual and administrative talents. I haven't been able to stump her yet. She makes my job so much easier every time I talk to her and I'm sure she does the same for anyone that calls or comes through her office. So today it's hats off to...Lynn!!


(Okay, that's not quite what her hair looks like...and I strongly suspect she wears a halo at the office...but you get the idea.)

(Clipart courtesy of www.freeclipartnow.com)

Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of...

A song in your heart or a tune in your head

I got a song stuck in my head today. It goes "Hm-hm-hm-hmmmm. Hm, hm, hmmm, hm, hm, hum, hmmmm..."

You know the one? It a beautiful song - way better than having "Da-da-DAH, Da-da-da-DUH..." rolling around in there all day.

Or the one "Hem, hum, hammmm..."

Or even "Bow-bow-BWAA, bum bu da DAH..." - although that's a great workout song.

And then there's the theme songs that won't go away "Di di Tah Tah Tee, Di Da Tee-a-lee..."

Oh, rats! Now I have THAT song in my head...

"Di di Tah Tah Tee..."

Don't throw tomatoes

I have a fabulous group of artist friends. And today I was able to drop in on their class and spend some time with them. This is the group that got me started in art and has kept me going with my art. I love them dearly. They are a talented and encouraging bunch led by the totally gifted Karen Cain-Smith.

So today, one of the amazing artists was setting up a still life but didn't quite have the color that she wanted in the apples she'd brought along. We tossed around some ideas and in the end she put a trail of tiny tomatoes from the snack table on the window sill. Aren't they phenomenal? When Amazing Woman finishes the piece I'll ask to post her finished artwork here with her perspective but I like this shot too. And I'm extra "invested" in it because these were the last tomatoes from my garden this year.

Now I'll be able to enjoy them all winter, too.

A spin on things

This is another email forwarded to me but it's totally cool so I'm going to see if I can get it working here on the blog. Is she turning?



Ackk!

She's not turning!

Okay, I don't have a clue why - SuperGeek is away and I can't figure it out - but you can check her out here instead.

The theory is, if you see this lady turning clockwise you are using your right brain. If you see it the other way (counterclockwise), you are using your left brain. If she's not turning at all, its because you're looking at my blog.

Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way. For me, she flip flops back and forth. She does for my DH too, but at different times. How cool is that?


Left Brain

Logical
Sequential
Rational
Analytical
Objective
Looks at parts

Right Brain

Random
Intuitive
Holistic
Synthesizing
Looks at wholes

"Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of
these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more
whole-brained and equally adept at both modes.
In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of
thinking, while downplaying the right-brain activities.
Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking,
analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the
other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity."


Or maybe we just like to keep people guessing...

Starting the day off right...or not

Last night, I went to bed on time - a feat for me - and didn't set the alarm clock. I was sure I'd wake up in time to get ready for church OR I'd hear the young 'uns moving around the house in time OR - if none of those happened - I'd have had a REALLY great sleep.

But at some still-dark point, a ringing phone snapped me off my pillow. I peered at the clock by the bed.

6:00 am

As I reach for the phone, the usual range of thoughts ran through my mind:

a) It's bad news - Grandma did take a fall a few days ago and I haven't had an update lately.
b) There are other people I know that might be calling with bad news.
c) DH forgot about the time zone thing and is calling me to tell me some bad news before the first seminar starts. (He's a couple time zones away right now at a conference with a goofy name.)
d) Nope, he'd never make a mistake like that. It must be bad news and how will I let him know?

"Hello?" Well, at least I sound fairly conscious. I think.

"Hi, this is Jason. Who's this?"

Check the clock again. Still 6:00 am. I'm not telling anyone my name at 6 am.

"Um." (Perhaps not as conscious as I thought.) "Um, Jason who?"

"Is this joyful living?"

Great. Now he's not even talking English.

"I beg your pardon?" (Slightly better than "Huh?")

"Isn't this Joyful Living?"

Not at this time of day its not.

"No, I'm sorry it's not."

"Oh. Sorry to have woken you up then."

He doesn't sound sorry to me. But it's too late now anyways.

"Okay."

"Bye." Click.

6:01 am.

I guess my day just started...

It's finally fall...

Hats off to...

A friend emailed this to me. Tragic but true...

Bear Attack in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

These are pictures of an actual polar bear attack in Churchill.

These pictures were taken while people watched and could do nothing to stop the attack!

Reports from the local newspaper say that the victim will make a full recovery.

The photos are below.

WARNING: ACTUAL PHOTOS OF BEAR ATTACK!

Today, it's Hats Off to friends that forward FUNNY! (Only when its really funny though.)

No More Dead Dogs

Relax, it's a book title.

One of my bookworms brought home a book that made me wonder if I needed to start monitoring the reading lists a little more closely. The cover alone was enough to raise an eyebrow and the synopsis I was given was "like, there's this guy that always tells the truth but it gets him in trouble so he hangs out with the drama club and changes everything. And the teacher writes memos."

Isn't that enough to pique your curiosity?

So I was up way to late last night reading "No More Dead Dogs" by Gordon Korman. I didn't mean to - it was late and I needed sleep and I thought "I'll just glance through it."

Famous last words.

"I knew Old Shep was going to die before I started page one," I said.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Mr. Fogelman. "How?"

I shrugged. "Because the dog always dies. Go to the library and pick out a book with an award sticker and a dog on the cover. Trust me, that dog is going down."

What a great read! It was completely worth the dark circles under the eyes this morning. I'm only surprised that there's no award sticker on the front of this book (SPOILER ALERT!) 'cause the dog doesn't make it...but you'll have to read it to figure out why that's okay. It's actually even quite funny.


(You can click on the cover to see more reviews, etc at Amazon if you're curious now too.)

Christmas?!!?

First let me say there's a potty-mouth warning today. I don't use profanity (unless Mom was right about that whole tone-of-voice/intention thing) but sometimes someone else has said it too well. And this one hit the nail on the head. Thanks, Rick, for sharing.

As I mentioned earlier, I am involved in a Christmas musical and mostly have kept it to background matters - literally and figuratively. I agreed to paint sets and was doing the photos for the poster and am in the choir. So far so good. Besides, I'm assembling a fine art exhibit that will be happening next month (stay tuned) and have a three-week art residency starting in a couple weeks at an area school.

But then a couple key people had to back out or cut back and it just happens to be in areas that I have a great deal of experience.

Nuts.

I'm happy to help but this week it's started to feel like a race to see whether the director or I end up developing a nervous tic first. Dickens in detox, that's us.

Does anyone else have this reaction to Christmas?

A couple more hike photos...

Check out "Hiking Roxy Ann" for more photos

Happy Thanksgiving, eh?

For those of you in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving!!










For those of you still looking ahead to Thanksgiving in the US, get in shape - turkeys run faster than you think!








(Clipart courtesy of FreeClipartNow.com)

At least it's digital...

I was going through some of my hike photos and being thankful (once again) for digital cameras. It reminded me of this great video a friend had on her blog. If I can figure out how I'll post it here for you too.




Hmm - that wasn't too hard!

Hiking Roxy Ann

Today we (in-laws, DH, young 'uns and I) hiked Roxy Ann, a mountain peak that has been standing outside my front door for over 7 years. It's probably been standing there a lot longer than that but my front door hasn't.

It's an interesting climb - the trail to the summit is about 1.5 miles but you gain well over 1000 feet in elevation as you hike to the top. And if you take the trail that SAYS its the way to the summit, it's closer to 3 miles to the top. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to hike 3 miles up and 1.5 miles back (by a shorter and more scenic trail) and even on a sunny day, the temps varied depending which side of the peak you were on. Mount Shasta, Mount Ashland and Mount McLaughlin in the distance all had coverings of frost and snow and the wind blowing in from them was brisk. The last stretch to the top was steep enough I wasn't sure my legs would make it and my ears popped a few times as we reached the 3500+-feet-above-sea-level summit. Yep, I'm a wimp but it was a beautiful afternoon.

I'll post photos from the hike later but for tonight I'm really quite tired...



Added 10/14/08...

The peak (from the beginning of the trail) -

The peak (from about the middle of the trail) -
The views...

Hats Off to...

You may remember that my in-laws were coming to visit and it has been great to have them here. But apparently today they were done relaxing.

And by some coincidence, I had a number of undone projects around the house. My MIL pulled weeds and battled rosebushes for the afternoon and completely filled the yard bin. My FIL painted the bit of hallway that has been hovering in a multi-colored testimony to the before and after sections of the addition we put on our house last summer. He also replaced a light fixture, a dud light switch and lit the pilot light on my fireplace. My MIL is threatening to sort out my youngest's room - a daunting task at best. I worked alongside too (honest) and I am feeling months ahead of myself just because they were willing to pitch in for a day.

On top of their hands-on support for the projects, they are hands-on grandparents as well. They've played and joked and walked and teased and created their Miis and generally spoiled the young 'uns rotten. Aren't they great?

So today it's Hats Off to the inlaws!

Truth in advertising

I was going through some vacation photos from last summer (okay, a LOT of vacation photos - we were on the road for a month) and came across this laugh-out-loud sign that we drove past somewhere in Montana. You know, the state where casinos are as generously scattered as the Tim Horton's in Ontario. This particular one is somewhere west of Great Falls and east of the continental divide but it found a way to stand out from the rest.



I suppose no one can claim they weren't warned...

Braggin' a bit

I was hired to paint some menu boards for a coffee shop called "Daily Revival" and after some ISSUES with the board and primer, finally got them installed yesterday. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, if I do say so myself. I know the picture's not huge but let me tell you the latte I painted on the top right corner makes me wish I was a coffee drinker! I'd post a close-up but I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt in the rush to the nearest bean-o...



And I figured out how to add a bookshelf to my blog so you can see the books I've written. Cool, huh? (That's "Cool, eh?" for those of you still living in my native land.) Anyways, I'm pretty proud of the bookshelf thing. It's just a full-of-me kind of day...

Fortunately my kids get out of school early today and that brings me back to earth pretty quickly.

Like a rich cup of chocolate...

A dear friend of mine loaned me a book the other day, and I have to say this is a very special book. It's the "Emerson Birthday Book," copyright 1881. The edges are worn and the binding a bit shaky and there are signs that this was once part of a library collection although they've almost faded away.

I have never held a more beautiful book.

I had talked to her on a day I was feeling down and she had gone to this volume and marked a particular page before loaning me the book.

It was marked with her coffee punch card. (She must really trust me. Either that or she knows too well that I'm not a coffee drinker.) It's dated May 5 and reads

"Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret. The inquisitiveness of the child to hear runs to meet the eagerness of the parent to explain. The air does not rush to fill a vacuum with such speed as the mind to catch the expected fact..." -Progress of Culture

Aaahh...

A fantasy of a book tour

Last night, my kids and I attended the local Motiv8 Fantasy Fiction West Coast Tour in our area. Wow!

Now I have to say, as a writer, book signings are often a mixed bag when it comes to interest, excitement, store support, community turn out, etc. Some are really fun, some are really dreadful. Sometimes even the authors go to great lengths to avoid them. I have one colleague that says "You're not a real writer until you sat and been ignored by the public."

But this group did everything right.


Evangel Family Bookstore hosted the event and decorated the hallway of the mall with pillars, an antique podium, pillar candles (with those little battery-operated tealights inside so the mall was happy) and a chained-off circle of velvet-covered table. Each of the 8 authors was dressed in a medieval/Renaissance costume and each of them carried a sword with a cross embossed on the handle (apparently the mall wasn't happy about the swords but they were a HUGE hit).

The authors included Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Eric Reinhold, Sharon Hinck, Donita K. Paul, Christopher Hopper, LB Graham and Jonathan Rogers. Turn out was great and the authors kept the crowds fascinated until well after the lights went out in the mall. (In fairness, the mall stayed open an hour late to accommodate the event but apparently they forgot to tell the timer on the lights.) Along with the signing "circle", there were the usual short readings and then, a sword fight! Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson did a fantastic job entertaining the crowd with their funny sword antics and Jonathan Rogers brought a scene from one of his books vividly to life - almost too vividly since it involved eel slime and mashed garlic...


Authors stood for photos, signed autographs for fans young and old, and some even knighted their readers. (I'm not sure I'm going to call my son "Sir" though.) My family has 8 treasured autographs (several of each, actually) and we have a new stack of books to read and we're anticipating some great adventure!

This group is going to be in 8 cities over 8 days on the West Coast of the US so if you want to know if they're in your area or to find out more about the authors and their books, visit www.fantasyfictiontour.com. I highly recommend it.

An evening with friends is always special

Okay, sometimes procrastination pays off...

Heroes in funny hats

Bike helmets are not sexy.

Now motorcycle helmets have a certain mystique that adds to the attraction but no matter how you dress it up with that thin plastic highly colored slightly reflective shell, bike helmets still look dorky. Of course, riding without a helmet is even less attractive when you consider what that head might look like in the event of a crash but for cyclists, safety can be a blow to vanity.

Until you get into large groups of like-minded - and like-hatted - people.

My family and I signed up for the Quarter-Century (25 mile) ride as part of Ride the Rogue a couple weekends ago and weren't sure whether the younger members would make it. They were definitely among the youngest cyclists on the ride. Of course, I wasn't sure I would make it either!

It was a perfect day for a ride though (except for the forest-fire smoke that is very much a part of summer in our area) and we headed out. The roughest part of the ride was a climb at the beginning and we pedaled and panted and stopped for a rest or two and generally fell behind the pack.

And then I realized how many heroes wear dorky hats.

Every time - almost without exception - a group of riders passed us, they would cheer on my kids. "Good job!", "Way to go, tiger!", "Stick with it!", "Keep pedaling!" They pumped them up and cheered them on and stopped to make sure we were okay every time we were resting.

And it wasn't just my kids. An older and somewhat heavier woman had pulled off, obviously near her limits, and two women crossed the road to sit with her until she recovered or until Sag Support came to pick her up. Search and Rescue teams were out keeping tabs on any rider on the route in all distances. As riders thinned out, they kept a count of who was still on the ride.

Another group of riders on recumbent bikes were our own particular parade that inspired us just by the colorful flags they'd put on their bikes. Seeing those colors waving in the breeze and over field tops kept our legs turning.

The lunch stop volunteers were cheering us on and keeping us up with ride-friendly energy foods. Sag support volunteers helped replace flat tires (one of our bikes had THREE flats over the course of the ride) and relayed messages when riders got separated a little further than they (we) expected, or when cell-phone coverage died in the mountains. And the BBQ (tri-tip and salmon) and band at the finish line were absolutely worth the ride to get there.




It's Friday. What better way to end a week and get ready for a weekend than to remember someone or something special that happened during the week? I think I'll have a "Hats Off Friday" post every week to try to acknowledge the unsung heroes that we all encounter every day. It's a small way to say thanks for the big difference they make.


So today it's "Hats Off" to the heroes in dorky helmets.

Rain, rain, go away...

The sun has let me down today. I'm supposed to be doing a photo for a local Christmas drama poster. After a set of samples, I got feedback last night and a few changes were requested. One of the things they liked, though, was "the dramatic lighting." I'd gotten some great shots when a ray of sunshine blazed through my studio window at just the right angle. So I got everything set up again, ready to go this morning when the sun came out.

I'm still waiting.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm excited about today's forecast (only 71 degrees when a few days ago was 95). But I'm not set up to recreate sunlight in my studio. I put together a few options and they still work but I'm a little annoyed with the sun. Inconsiderate thing...

Today is "cool and cloudy". Tomorrow's supposed to be raining. Friday's supposed to rain. Saturday? Rain. Sunday? In-laws.And while they do bring a ray of sunshine with them, they also sleep right where the still life is set up.

So for now, here's another one of those random shots that turned out kind of cool. This is a cropped-but-otherwise-untouched photo that I took last summer. I know it's not a perfect photo but still...the sun co-operated this day!


Hmmm - does the red make you think Christmas?

What's your color IQ?

Today's topic is
Color Perception

Artistically, I need to understand how colors work together. Professionally, my color-sight (the way my eye and brain process color) will affect any art I produce. And don't get me started on the "individual monitors will vary" thing. I usually work on dual flat screens (one's in the shop right now) and even though they are identical monitors, I have a photo-favorite for color editing.

Personally, as a woman with bouts of vanity - or self-consciousness, depending on the day - I know what colors I like to wear. I know which colors are my favorites to look at (orange and deep blues). I know which colors can lift my mood (love the amber-tinted sunglasses) or make me feel slightly nauseous (did you know there are several distinct ways that people pronounce "mauve"?)

Here's a link a friend sent me to a color IQ quiz that tests your hue perception abilities. It's fun and you can compare your score to your age/gender demographic if you are a competitive sort of person:

http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

I got an 11. How did you do? (Not that I'm competitive or anything...)