Ruby Tuesday ---Christmas Memories

Welcome to Ruby Tuesday the day we show off our photos that contain some red.

I can't believe that it has been more than twelve weeks since I was last able to post to one of my favorite memes, Ruby Tuesday. Six weeks away on vacation and then moving and getting two homes situated. After making the new place presentable and mostly livable and getting the old place polished and staged as if the royal family would be our future buyer I am ready for some fun and relaxation. It is nice to have the holiday work behind me as well so that I can once again spend some quality time with my cameras and the old PC.

Our last holiday guest will be coming to dinner tonight and then I will be packing away our Christmas Tree for another two years. Yes, I did say two years. I have two trees with two different sets of decorations and I alternate them. This year was the year for the tree with the multicolored lights and all the old fashion, hand made and sentimental ornaments. So what better to feature for Ruby Tuesday than some of the red on this year's Christmas tree. After all, next year's tree will be more formal with white lights and crystal and silver ornaments.

I inherited this little Santa from my Father's collection. Santa is faded and some of his flocking is missing but he has been hanging around since the 1930's when he came attached to a small bag of candy beads in my father's stocking.
This little stocking was the very first stocking I filled for my then future husband back in 1965. The stocking is only three inches long but believe it or not I managed to find and stuff it with twenty-five very small items that could actually be used by him. I wish I had kept a list or at least had a photo of the contents to prove this to all the doubting Thomas's over the years.
Back in the early years when the number of gifts needed exceeded what we had to spend, we resorted to giving hand made gifts to everyone. This beaded candy cane is one of the survivors of the hundreds that I made one year for friends and family.
My sister was married on the 28th of December thirteen years ago and each place-setting at her wedding reception included one of these hearts she cut out of plywood and hand painted for the occasion.
I still have a handful of these cute flocked redbirds that I inherited from my mother-in-law. They were on her tree from the first day I came into the family. I have no idea how many years they hung on her tree.
This little decoration does not hang on my tree but it has had a place of honor decorating my bathroom since I received it from one of my bosses back in 1966. The holly is getting a bit ratty but I hope it makes it to the fifty year mark.

I hope your holiday season is full of treasured memories and I pray that this Christmas brings each of you faith renewed, joy rekindled and wonder reborn.

For more things red, or to join the fun visit Ruby Tuesday at WORK Of THE POET

Sunday Favorites # 36-The Man in the Window

Sunday Favorites is a meme that allows us to drag one of our old posts out of mothballs and into the light of a new day. After all, only so many posts can be on the first page and once they move down the stack they are seldom ever looked at again.

You can check out this Sunday meme at Happy to Design hosted by Chari. Heck, you might find some great stuff to read.

A few days ago I reposted a Christmas story I had written and posted in November of 2005 about my first husband entitled "Are you Really Him?" That story was originally posted as the second half of the story. Today I am reposting the post that was the first half of the story. If you missed it you will find the other post just two post below this one. Now here is my entry for this weeks Sunday Favorites.

The Man in the Window

Thanksgiving was fast approaching; the volunteer firefighters were out with the neon green hook n' ladder, hanging the big Christmas Wreaths with the lighted candle in the middle that would adorn every lamp post in town. The first heavy snowfall of the season had covered the ground during the night, the early morning sun was causing the tiny silver flakes among the solid sheets of white fluff to sparkle like diamonds, while a crisp wind blew feathers of icy flakes into the red cheeked faces of the children venturing out to enjoy the first snow day of the year. Snowmen wearing candy striped mufflers, with carrot noises and smoking corn cob pipes were starting to dot the front lawns as the first snowplow made its way around the circle of streets in the large apartment complex.

A gray haired woman at the wheel of a small black car was staying close in the wake of the snowplow, she was in a hurry to get home, tired and hungry after pulling another 12 hour shift at the only 24 hour Gas n Go in her small town. Her husband would be waiting for his breakfast, but she could not afford to slide off the road and get stuck in the ditch she new was hidden under the snow banks being left by the plow.

Safely in a parking space, and looking heavenward the woman said her usual prayer, thanking God for the nights work, the safe trip home, and the luck of finding a parking spot next to the already shoveled main walkway. The car clock told her it was 8:45, she was late, and he would be worrying. Grabbing the two heavy grocery sacks, she hastily gathered during a mad run through Wal-mart, she rushed down the walkway stopping to gather the mail, before climbing the nine terraced steps to the front door of building 21.

Once inside the lobby she placed her sacks on the floor, removed a half gallon jug of milk and went down the 5 steps to the lower level, rapped lightly on the first apartment door then left the bottle on the floor beside the door. Returning to the lobby she reclaimed her purchases and trudged up the stairs to her own door at the rear of the second floor. Once again placing the sacks on the floor she put her key in the lock, bowed her head in a brief prayer, took a long deep breath and turned the key in the lock.

Once inside the door she called out to her husband and once he returned her call she slowly released the breath, she did not realize she had been holding. Looking up she said "Thank you God" and the new day began.

With the groceries put away and the bacon laid out in the electric skillet, the woman poured a cup of coffee from the automatic pot, added it to a tray full of pill bottles and other medical supplies and headed down the hallway into the bedroom. Greeting her husband she placed the tray on the hospital table beside the bed, leaned over to kiss the cheek of the man that set on the side of the bed, and handed him the steaming mug. Then started the routine of dispensing that mornings 32 different pills and assembling the tubes and vials that would carry the medications that would open up her husbands airways and hopefully allow him to breathe for one more day.

Once the face mask was in place and the mist had started to rise, she began to tidy the small room, and went to open the blinds to let in the morning sun. Suddenly, she stopped and raised the blind and took another long look out the bedroom window to the yard below, were tramped in the snow in 3 foot letters, by the neighborhood children, were the words

"Hello, to the man in the window."

Wanting her husband to see the words the children had carved in the snow, before something could happen to them, the woman lead her husband to his chair by the window, as soon as his breathing treatment was finished. That day, the man ate his breakfast while looking at the greeting the children had left in the snow.......... just for him.

"Hello, to the man in the window."

Three weeks later the woman in this story walked into that same apartment to find her husbands body lying on the bedroom floor.

The date was December 4, 2003

In the complex where this story takes place, I am still referred too, by the children, as the wife of "the man in the window."

---------------------

What a difference four years makes. Since writing this story I met and married the "Old Salt" and moved away from that second floor apartment so I am no longer known in my neighborhood as the wife of the "Man in the Window."

Saturday Photo Hunt---- Twelve

It has been a long time since I have had the right photo at the right time to contribute to the Saturday Photo Hunt. But this weeks theme is the number twelve and that one is a no brainer. I have to go with a photo of my twelve siblings.

Yes, I know that there are fourteen people in this shot but if you remove me (in the brown on the front row) and our eighty-three year old mother (in pink in front) you have my 9 brothers and three sisters remaining.


There is no greater honor in my life then to be the oldest in this large family. I have the best group of siblings ever. I love you guys. Thank you each and every one for always being there for me.

To join in the fun or just enjoy all of this weeks shots visithttp://tnchick.com/

Are you really him?

I am having a hard time believing it has been so long since I have had time to spend on my blog. But, my tired and achy body tells me that it has been a long haul. Our life has been very hectic since returning from our "Last Hurrah" trip. We are finally moved and our old house has been completely painted, cleaned, and staged. We are praying that the new year will bring a buyer that is willing to pay our asking price. Paying double mortgage payments for too long will certainly drain our savings.

The main floor rooms of our new condo are now mostly presentable and certainly livable. The Christmas tree is up and all the packages are under the tree awaiting the family that will arrive in a few short hours. The pies and cookies are on the counter and the oven is full of turkey stuffing. So I feel as if I can take a few minutes to wish all my followers and faithful readers a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I hope that this Christmas season will bring each of you faith renewed, joy rekindled and wonder reborn.


My camera has not been out of the case since our vacation and all of my creativity lately has been done with a paint brush so I would like to re post a Christmas Story that I posted in November of 2005. I wrote this story about my first husband who died on December 3, 2003. The only facts I changed were the address of the building. This story is actually the second half of the story. I will reprint the first half in a few days.

What a difference four years makes. Since writing this story I met and married the "Old Salt" and moved away from that second floor apartment so I am no longer known in my neighborhood as the wife of the "Man in the Window."

ARE YOU REALLY HIM?

It was mid afternoon on Saturday, with just a little over two weeks left before Christmas. One of those cold, dark mid-west winter days that looked like the sky would open any minute and unload heaven only knew what; rain, sleet and snow had all fallen in the last ten days and the current guess was that soon all three would arrive at once. The yards were mired in mud and mounds of dirty snow mixed with decaying leaves left in the shadows of hibernating shrubbery. The melting remains of soot blackened snow banks lining streets and walkways sent small rivulets of dirty water running down embankments to the grated street drains.

Scattered around the yards lining the twisted circles of streets in the large apartment complex could still be seen the lopsided remains of melting snowmen. Sledding saucers and long vinyl toboggans were leaning beside doorways to the single family townhouses dotted between large multi family apartment buildings. Everywhere you looked there was a bustle of activity as people tried to beat the weather and prepare for the upcoming holiday; men hanging fairy lights along gutters, others unloading pine trees from the tops of automobiles, bags of groceries from SUV’s, and children running in and out fetching and toting for holiday burdened parents.

Suddenly a caravan of cars, vans and pickup trucks each loaded with furniture and packing boxes rounded the circle and pulled into the only off street parking area on the long block, there were so many vehicles that every available space was suddenly filled, leaving several to block the others in the middle of the drive. As if the sirens had suddenly blared at the fire house on the corner, the street and walkways began to fill with bystanders curious to see who was moving into the empty apartment at the rear of building 21. Children were spreading the word and soon it seemed that every child in the complex was milling in the street, the vehicle drivers began to congregate on the sidewalk; some checking their watches paced the length of the walk while others huddled in small groups, one man untied the ropes securing his overloaded truck and started to pass down ladder back dining chairs and empty dresser drawers to another man. Suddenly, someone said, " Here she comes." and everyone turned to watch a small green Ford Escort pull into the lot and enter the vacant handicap space in front of the building. A short gray haired woman climbed out from behind the wheel of the car and called to one of the men who joined her on the passenger side of the car, where he removed a large oxygen concentrator from the back seat and taking the key offered by the woman headed into the building. The woman opened the front car door and helped a very portly man with a bald pate and long white hair that reaching to his shoulders, a bushy white beard brushed the middle of his chest, and wearing an olive green jogging suit, from the car. The man waited while the woman removed a small oxygen tank on wheels from the car and taking the man’s arm began to lead him up the sidewalk where two men were waiting to help him climb the nine terraced steps into the building and then the long flight of stairs to the second floor apartment.

The moment the man stepped out of the car a small hush fell on the gathering crowd, after a few minutes children could be seen pulling on parents coat sleeves and small voices could be heard asking in awe “is that really him.” Before the couple could take a dozen steps a small boy ran up to the man and tugged on his sleeve; the man turned his cobalt blue eyes framed by round rimless glasses to the lad and politely asked “yes son, can I do something for you” when the child stammered “ are you really him?” The man leaned over propping both hands and his considerable weight on his gnarled and crooked cane with the hand carved gnome for a handle and looked the lad straight in the eye and said “Well Son, I don’t know which him you are referring to, but, I am certainly me.” Then rising he gave a loud and jolly Ho Ho Ho, before turning to continue his slow pace up the sidewalk. Suddenly, the small boy could be heard yelling he really is “Santa Claus!”

As the trucks were being unloaded several of the women in the group began to unpack the boxes while the gray haired lady directed the placement of the furniture. The first piece was a large high back rocker placed in front of the large bedroom window where the bearded man would sit for many hours each day, keeping tabs on the comings and goings of the large complex and watching for and waving to the children playing in the yard below.

For the next two weeks each time the woman opened the apartment door she would find a small pile of envelopes and folded pieces of ruled note paper lying on the floor in front of the door. Each was written in a childish hand. Some included a drawing of a jolly fat man and each began “Dear Santa”. It was only a matter of days before the children in the neighborhood began calling the man who lived on the second floor “The man in the window.”

That moving day was Dec. 8, 2001 and the next year shortly after Thanksgiving the “Santa letters” once again began to appear on the floor in front of the door of apartment 2E as they did again the following year. But, suddenly on Dec. 4, 2003 the man in the window was dead, and as the word spread notes, toys, flowers and Santa Figurines began to collect outside the door, and to this day the lady who lives there is referred to as the wife of “the man in the window” and she still gets asked if her husband was “really him” to which she always answers “Well, I don’t know which him you are referring to, but, I am certain that he was my him.”

Once the letters started to appear the woman hung a small basket beside the door filled with candy canes and a small “take one” sign. At some point a photograph of the man sitting in the window was attached to the basket, and since his death she now keeps the basket out and filled year round. The children now leave happy meal toys and other surprising items in the basket for the lady when they take the candies and each Christmas Season “Dear Santa” and even a few “Dear God” letters will still appear in the basket.

Updates and more.

It has been over two weeks since my announcement that we were in the process of purchasing a new house so I wanted to bring everyone up to date. Today is Monday; we closed on our new place this afternoon. Tomorrow two of my strong, willing and financially needy nephews were scheduled to come help us start moving, but the weather will not cooperate. The skies have been dumping raindrops the size of mason jars all day. Last weeks rains left our backyard a boggy marsh and today downpours have turned it into a stock pond.

As I sit here writing this I am covered in bruises, my nails are jagged and broken, my hands are covered in small cuts, and if you look closely traces of paint can still be seen rimming my nails. In the last two weeks every item in my house has been sorted and packed. One end of our basement contains as much plunder (awaiting an upcoming garage sale) as does the boxes stacked in the family room awaiting the movers.

The deck has a fresh coat of redwood stain; the bath has a new coat of something called “Gentle Doe” and four gallons of “Cargo Pants” and “Silver Slipper” are waiting to be applied to the bedroom walls.

The cable and Internet hook ups in the new place cannot be installed for another ten days but the computers have to be disconnected to allow for painting, so I expect to be off line very soon.

The closing on the new place was delayed for a week due to a flooded basement: courtesy of the Telephone Company. AT&T was installing new lines along the road beside the house and cut the drain hose that carried the rainwater away from the house. Since we have been in monsoon season for the last two months the water backed into the basement causing extensive damage. The phone company is footing the bill for the repairs but they are sure taking their time with the repairs.

We went for the walk through today and the place was full of painters and other workers trying to beat the closing deadline. Then the city building inspector showed up and found a list of ten major problems with the plumbing and electrical systems and would not issue the occupancy permit until they are repaired, causing more delays.

Now the move is pushed back another full week as we wait for the permit to move in. I just pray that the weather next week will be better. I do not have much time left to get this house empty. The flyers for our garage sale are posted all over town and a large ad will appear in the Thanksgiving edition of the local newspaper so I have to be ready for the sale by the 27th. Since we do not have a garage we planned to whole the sale in the basement. This time of year folks will not attend a sale that is not indoors.

I have been collecting Christmas Village pieces for thirty years and have hundreds of pieces I plan to sell. It is now or keep them another year. Frankly, I just do not have the desire it takes to do all the work it takes to set up and take down that village, anymore. I want to see it gone. Along with a lot of other collectables and do dads, that has just become dust collectors.

Well, I am falling asleep at the keyboard so time to go. I doubt I will get back until after things settle down and we are moved and this house has been staged and placed on the market to sell. Still have those bedrooms to paint and lots of scrubbing to do.

Please pray that we get a quick sale. In this economy, that has not been an easy thing for most sellers to do. We are not looking forward to having double mortgage payments indefinitely.

Have a Great Thanksgiving dear friends, family and fellow bloggers. I promise I will return to regular posting soon.

explosions and flames start our day

The Old Salt and I were awakened in the wee hours this morning to what sounded like the July 4th fireworks display that is held in the city park near our house each year. Our house was aglow with a bright orange light that was certainly surreal for that time of the morning. It only took a few minutes of investigation for the Old Salt to come back into the bedroom insisting that I get up and get dressed.

It turned out the fireworks were shotgun shells exploding and the orange glow was our neighbors house going up in flames from an early morning house fire. I am not sure who took

the following video which has already found it's way to U-Tube, but, it shows you exactly what we saw from our front door at 3:30 this morning.

Our good friend and neighbor became a real hero and local celebrity early this morning. Bob lives in the house next door to the house that burned (we live directly across the street) and was awakened by the sound of fireworks and could see the flames from his bedroom window. He quickly grabbed his shoes and wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms ran next door. Pounding on the door and yelling until someone answered. He then was able to awaken all the residents of the house and carried the children out of the house to the safety of his living room. Bob's wife contacted our volunteer fire department while Bob hooked up his garden hose. Realizing the house was past saving with the small amount of water his hose put out Bob took his garden hose and began wetting down the vehicles and other items in the area that the fire could spread too, including his own house. Bob can be seen with his hose in the above video.

Thanks to Bob the young family that lived in this house are safe, but, they lost everything they owned in the blaze including one of their beloved dogs. If like me you are a believer in the power of prayer then please say a few for this family. They certainly can use all the help that can be found at this time.

Now here are a few of the photos that I took during the course of this very emotional day.

This next photo is of the damage done by the heat of the fire to the end of Bob's house.

The Fun Stairs. A Fun Theory Project.

With a stair stepper like this I might actually loose some needed pounds. How about you?

To enjoy the pianos sounds you will need to hit the off button on my sidebar play list to stop my music, then turn up your sound.

Rain, ghost and a surprise.

We learned from our neighbors that when we left on our recent travels, we must have taken all the nice weather with us, and forgot to bring it back. Seems the skies over Missouri were so disappointed to see us go that they have been in a constant state of weeping. The rain has not gotten any better since our return either. In fact our favorite weather man announced today that of the 31 days in October we only had twelve without rain. Most of this week we have been having what many would call gully washers.

This past Wednesday the rain let up for a few hours and we grabbed the dry spell to run errands. I noticed that what is usually just a dry creek running behind some houses near us was to the point of overflowing. I also captured the football team at the high school having to resort to practicing on the parking lot because of puddles on the football field. But, I also managed to get some shots of the great fall colors in town Besides rain the wind has been gusting so much that here were leaves everywhere.

While sitting in the car waiting for the Old Salt to return from the Chinese Carry-out with dinner I amused myself by trying to photograph a drop of water dripping from the light fixture beside the car. It took about twelve shots but I finally got it.

When we returned home the fog had set in and all I could see of the neighbors Halloween decorations was this friendly ghost coming out of the mist.

Normally, we do not get many trick or treater's because of all the church and civic groups that host fantastic parties with hay rides, games and lots of free food. But, the rain did let up for the evening and we got more then I expected. Thankfully, I was prepared with large pop corn balls for all. But, I did notice that we got more family groups. Parents seem to be dressing up to escort their young ones around the neighborhood. As these shots show.

Halloween had never been one of my favorite holidays but, it signals the beginning of all the work, activities and great times that come with the holidays through the end of the year. So time to pack away the pumpkins and start sorting and untangling the boxes of Christmas lights. I just hope the weather will break and give us some warm dry days to get them up.

Now, I have some news to share. The Old Salt and I have purchased a condo and will be moving soon. We have then got to stage our current house and get it on the market. Between all that work is the upcoming holidays so I expect to be too busy to have much time for blogging. I find blogging to be very relaxing so I am sure I will not stop altogether. But, do not worry if I am absent more then usual. It will just be a sign that I am busy with moving, home repairs and the needed holiday preparations. After all, I will have two houses to decorate this year.

We know our timing is bad for selling property right now. But, we got too good a deal to pass up buying our dream house. So please pray for a quick sale of our current house. We certainly do not want to have to pay two mortgages for more then a few months if we can help it. And also pray that this old couple can maintain the energy and stamina the work will require.

color Carnival #26 --- Color New Mexico way

Color Carnival is a Sunday meme where we celebrate all the colors in God's rainbow. Today I would like to share some of my shots taken during a stroll through the booths of the sidewalk vendors in Santa Fe during our recent travels.







To join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Martha and her friends at Color Carnival.

Shadow Shot Sunday -- scallops on pebbles

Welcome one and all to this weeks edition of Shadow Shot Sunday.

This week I have a guessing game for you. Can you name what is making this shadow? If not then proceed to the second photo to get your answer. These shadow shots were taken in Albuquerque at the Balloon Fiesta. But, that is not a clue. The place or event has nothing to do with the answer.



Well, what is your guess? The correct answer is the plastic fence that was keeping Fiesta goers from wandering into the wrong places.


Have a great week everyone. For more great shadow shots click the camera badge to visit Hey Harriet and join in the fun.

We learned first hand the value of ICE

As you can tell by all the photos posted here recently we have just returned from an extended vacation to the West Coast and back. During our trip we had three separate stressful situations happen. First, the Old Salt became ill and we had to call an ambulance to take him to the ER. Second, we lost our cell phone. Third, we were driving down the street and came across an elderly man lying unconscious on the sidewalk with only a cell phone and no ID.

At the time we had not yet entered the ICE code into our cell phone. Luckily, when Frank got sick I was with him. The person who found our cell phone was very caring and scanned our phone for the ICE entry to use it to return our phone. Not finding it but finding the entry entitled Mom he called that number and got ahold of my Mother who new how to contact the person we were visiting so our phone was quickly returned.

In the third case we called 911 and with the help of another person who also stopped administered CPR. The man did not have ICE in his phone when the paramedics checked and the police began knocking on doors in the neighborhood looking for someone who knew the man. Regrettably, the old man died right there on the sidewalk from the heard attack he had while out walking. He was several blocks from home with no ID. No one in the neighborhood was outside on a hot New Mexico afternoon so he laid there until we drove by on our way to Frank"s nieces house, which was in the next block. It took quite some time for the police to be able to identify the old man.

Knowing that both the Paramedics and the police checked that old man's cell phone for the ICE code, and having just learned that the person who found our cell phone also new to look for the ICE code, we entered it into our cell phone right then.

Today I received an e-mail suggesting that you use more then one ICE entry on your cell phone incase the first can't be contacted. So we immediately added two more ICE numbers to our phone. Now if we have an emergency the authorities have three options to call and will hopefully reach one of the three.

I suggest that you read the following message written by the police chief of our neighboring town of Eureka Missouri which appears on the City of Eureka's official website and follow his advice. We have and we sure wish that old man in Albuquerque would have done the same. Put ICE in your cell phone now. It may save your life or the life of a loved one. Or it just may get your lost cell phone returned. Either way you win.

ICE - In Case of Emergency

Have you put ICE in your mobile?

WHY: You might not carry "In case of emergency, notify X" in your wallet or purse or car, but I'll bet you carry a cell phone. And what about your spouse? Your teenagers? Putting ICE in a cell phone contact list - along with a name and telephone number - enables Emergency Services (Fire, Police, EMTs, Paramedics, ER personnel) to contact the right people in the event of an emergency.

HOW: Create an entry in your cell phone directory for ICE (In Case of Emergency) where you list the number you want a paramedic to call if they find your inert body on a sidewalk. For multiple numbers, create ICE1 and ICE2 entries, and you may help ES a little more by entering them as ICE1 - Spouse and ICE2 - Mom entries.

WHERE: From CBS: A campaign to use cell phones to help in the treatment or identification of accident and disaster victims has taken off worldwide since the recent bomb attacks in London. Mobile phone users are being urged to enter a number in their phone's memory with the acronym ICE, for In Case of Emergency, with the contact person's name and number.

Paramedics or police would be able to swiftly to find the number and use it to reach a relative or friend who could help identify deceased victims and treat injured ones, by providing vital personal information, including details of any medical conditions.

ICE is the brainchild of British paramedic Bob Brotchie, who told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Tuesday the idea came to him "just from reflecting on difficulties I've had in obtaining information about patients. The vast majority of people don't carry emergency contact details or next-of-kin details, but the vast majority of people carry cell phones."

While the campaign had already been launched, it had limited impact until the first series of London blasts. Those explosions rendered many victims unidentifiable, which sparked an e-mail campaign to spread the ICE idea around the world.

Do it right away while you're thinking about it and spread the word to your family, friends and co-workers!
Chief Michael A. Wiegand
Eureka Police Department
120 City Hall Drive
Eureka, Missouri 63025
(636) 938-6600
FAX: (636) 938-6602
e-mail: mwiegand@eureka.mo.us

Pink Saturday------ pink, pink and more pink

Welcome everyone to this weeks Pink Saturday. My shots for this week are some more of the photographs taken during our recent cross country travels.

I want to start off with this photo of one of the Old Salt's granddaughter's and her teammates, who were all decked out in pink, for their big win the day we attended their soccer game.


Next we have another granddaughter returning from her evening ride on a horse with a pink bareback saddle .


This pink pig hot air balloon was captured at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.


I found this pink settee in the lobby of a small hotel in San Francisco.


My last pink capture for today is a San Francisco Victorian Row House all decked out in a coat of pink paint.


To join the fun or visit the other participates visit How Sweet the Sound click here.

Theme Thursday -- halloween

Halloween is the subject of this weeks Theme Thursday. I had to really give some thought to what I would post this week. I debated on writing about what Halloween was like back in the dark ages when I was a child. I contemplated a piece on how the holiday has changed over the course of my lifetime. Then I considered taking my camera around town so I could show all of you how a small rural town decorates for the season. In the end I decided to showcase some photos that had nothing at all to do with Halloween at the time they were taken but certainly give that sense that the little ghost and goblins will be ringing the doorbell anytime now

This first shot is of the Old Salt and his brother checking out the jack-o-lantern sculpture at Laumeire sculpure Park in St. Louis.


Next we have some very Halloween-ish looking hot air balloons what we captured recently at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.














To join the fun or visit more participants from around the world visit Theme Thursday