Wild Sofas

Years ago, Cora and I lived in California.  We lived in a not so pretty part.  Some of our neighbors in the area littered.  Usually bottles, paper, and small trash.  One day, as we drove off for the day, we saw a toilet.  My memory is a bit foggy, but somehow the conversation came around to the fact that the toilet had not been DUMPED, but rather, it had been hit crossing the road.  Our logic continued that it was probably an old toilet, and could not keep up with the herd.  It wasn't but a few days later we saw another, different, toilet, not far from the other.  This strengthened our argument for the rare toilet herd of Yuba County.  It was this reinforcement of the toilet losses/car accidents that caused our conversations to stick in my mind.

I was out the other day taking a few pictures when I saw something related.  It was a wild sofa.  "What's that?" you say?  "No, No! It can't be!"

Well, yes, it can be.  This sofa is proof that there are furniture herds out there all around the US.  It is only through the work of stealthy "furniture makers" that we have what we sit on right now!  These "furniture makers" ACTUALLY go around the US searching for the wild herds of furniture, which they obviously trap, gut and dry. It is the dried husks of these secretive, shy creatures that we rest our heads and bottoms on.  "Furniture makers" go back hundreds of years and are much more secretive than even the tightest-lipped members of the Temple of the Shrine!

No one dumps furniture on the side of the road, these are the poor individuals that could not keep up with the herd.  Here is the proof.  This sofa obviously froze when it spotted me and simply looks abandoned.  I'm pretty sure it had been grazing when I surprised it.

As you can see, this one is shedding, probably dropping it's summer colors in preparation for winter.

The truth is out there, you just have to look for it and believe!

Simply Barns

Have a look at the other wonderful barns at Barn Charms!! at the Bluff Area Daily!!

17 Years, a Doctor, and the Lucky Man!

 Years ago, I bought Cora a Battlestar Galactica Mug.  It said FRAK(Frak being a epitaph in that science fiction series, and Cora's general feelings about getting up before...anyone else.) .  It does not still say Frak, but she still uses it.  Today, I gave her another mug, though, I doubt drinking from it would be possible without spilling whatever you're drinking.  It is from BBC America.  It is a TARDIS.  (Time And Relative Dimension In Space)  If you STILL don't know what that is, I suggest you look up Dr. Who.  We are both big fans!  Now all I need is a Sonic Screw Driver!

We are celebrating 17 years since our first date.  Tomorrow is 12 years since our wedding.

This morning we fed the Chloe.  She ate well!

 She ate spaghetti...and she is fond of pasta.

Did I mention she loves pasta?

 Then, just before we dropped Chloe off at her grandparents so Cora and I could go to a movie, I took pictures of Chloe outside.  I think she was cute!  You?

 We went to a movie and then to dinner.  We saw Cowboys and Aliens.  Honestly, I liked it.  I saw some mixed reviews about it and had my doubts, but obviously I am not as picky about my movies as many critics. We then went to dinner after stopping and shopping for a little while.  Dinner was at Outback Steakhouse.  My favorite is the Ahi Tuna...the rest was ok, but the tuna is my favorite.

We picked up Chloe only to find her grandparents had gotten her a giant pumpkin!  Almost as big as she is!  Obviously, SOMEONE got spoiled!  :)

It has been a good day, and I really cannot believe I have spent 17 years with the world's most wonderful woman!  Further, I cannot believe I have been granted the chance to be married to the worlds' most wonderful woman!  FOR TWELVE SHORT YEARS!  Seems like yesterday we went to a movie for the first time.  I am a truly lucky man.  Thank you Cora for sharing your life with me.  Add to that, the fact that I get to be dad to the worlds cutest daughter...well, I am the lucky man.

Friday Art Rendering Of The Photo Kind

 Thank goodness we've reached the end of the week!  This weekend is our anniversary!  Saturday is seventeen years since our first date.  Sunday will be 12 years since we were married!  Seems like such a long time when you consider years, but if I consider the amount of time I have spent with my wife, well, it is a horribly short amount of time.  A lifetime is short, if you consider it that way.  I have a wonderful wife and friend, and I am a very lucky man.  I just want to be around her all the time.  That's all.

This first photo seems to be a little "What Dreams May Come" colors, but it is a neat photo nevertheless!  I took two photos and blended them.  The geese I had chased across the local pass.  They switched direction once they were out of my sight and when I caught up, doing 55mph, they were in an entirely different place than I expected.  They even changed formation to something a little more "starling" and confused me.  I never did see them again, but at least I managed to get the one photo of them as they flew over the hill and I waited for a school bus.  Then, once I made it to the other side, I took the sunrise shot.  Neither was good alone, but when I put them together, wow! they POP!

I hope you'll hop on over to PIXEL DUST and have a look at everyone's entries for Photo Art Friday!  Everyone is very talented and, well, it's fun seeing what everyone else is doing!

I took this one on Tuesday.  I've been looking at these trucks for awhile, and finally took the time to shoot them, which actually turned out to be about a minute-and-a-half.  I think the editing works!

I hope you all have a good weekend!

Weekend Shots

It was a great weekend.  Here are a few shots.

 Chloe has enough hair for a pony tail now.  It's pretty stinking cute!  She continues to have the energy of two horses, seven motorcycles, five freight trains, and a nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

 So after a day of being 105% cute, 100% mischievous, and 1000% SPICY, what does a girl do?

CRASH.

There are hundreds of things to do and I am sure to finish none of them this week.  I finally got the codes for the gradebook at my class, which means I'll be catching up all week.  Parent teacher conferences are in the next two weeks, so I just can't wait for that (right up there with getting a tooth removed without painkillers).  I had a kid steal some referral forms yesterday.  After the lock on Friday, I was about ready to threaten hangings, but that isn't allowed.  So, I called the vice principal and we got the security officer to search all of their bags...it was in the last bag he searched.  It happened to be hiding in a crevice between two cabinets, the "perp" had fled without his bag.  still...I know who it was and he will be spoken to.  The security officer was planning to speak to him, too.  I gave them a week of me getting my bearings and now I am ready to get on with the party.

I also seem to have caught a lovely head cold...which is one of my favorite things in the world.  It's an invisible monster, and only I can feel it.  YUCK!

Barn Style

 The barn above is on a road called Nightengale.

While the one below is amongst apple orchards.  It may not be a "Barn" in the horsey sense, but it is an interesting building, nonetheless!  Please click on over and see the other Barn Charm Barns at the Bluff Area Daily!

I had a good weekend.  We got to relax a little.  We got to read a little.  We got to play games with Chloe.  I got to take a few photos of her first pony tail, and we got to eat some good food!  This is the life.  Except for the early morning this morning, life can't be beat.

Some Memories of China

 I was going through some photos from China today and I found these, which I am fairly certain I have not shared before.  They might raise a smile.  They did for me.  It's important to POOL!

This is the sign Cora is standing next to.

 Our trip on the bullet train was smooth and fun.

We are having a nice relaxing day today.  We'd intended to visit the fair, but decided we would just be spending money that we shouldn't.  So, we stayed home, played with the daughter and cleaned the house a bit.  I wish weekends like this lasted longer.