Cashjocky and "The Old Salt"

Many Serve Who Were Never Called

2011-11-11T09:43:00.005-06:00

I know that I have been really scarce of late. But, my creative juices have not had much inspiration for a while. Yesterday was the first day I felt reasonably well since my chemo last week, but I had a rough night last night. Sleep would not replace all my wayward thoughts. Not sure if Veterans Day or my own mortality was the catalyst, but I’ve spent the wee hours of this morning trying to

Puzzling Signs

2011-07-07T01:13:00.005-05:00

Its Thursday. That means it is time to share our sign shots. This week I have a couple that made me scratch my head in wonder. Passed this horse trailer on the highway a few weeks ago. Made no sense until I googled the phrase. Now I may understand the meaning but still have to question why anyone would want to paint it on their trailer.Found this sign hanging over the side door of a coffee

Labor Monument under Water

2011-07-06T14:04:00.011-05:00

Sorry for the long absence. I have been out of town and away from a computer. While I enjoyed all our travels this summer I must admit that I am sick of weather related problems. We have made three long trip this summer to different parts of the country and have encountered flood waters, tornado damage or both everywhere we've been. In May when we traveled to Alabama we went through all

Going Down the Yellow Brick Road

2011-06-20T21:04:00.007-05:00

About a mile from my house is a street I pass occasionally which has an interesting name.Last Saturday the Old Salt and I were out doing one of our favorite pastimes, taking a drive and following any road that might lead to an interesting photo opt. So we decided to see what the Yellow Brick Road had to offer. A short distance down the road we came to the entrance into a subdivision. No

Mad About Madeline

2011-06-20T19:29:00.013-05:00

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines,lived twelve little girls in two straight linesThey left the house, at half past nine ...The smallest one was Madeline."So starts the Ludwig Bemelmans's story about Madeline and her friends. Children since 1939 have been reading about and falling in love with Madeline. During a recent visit with the Old Salt's niece and her family, I

Signs from Texas

2011-06-15T23:53:00.004-05:00

You have gotta love Lesley's meme devoted to signs each Thursday. It is one of the few that I never seem to run out of material to post. My entries this week were both taken during our recent visit to the Gaylord Texan Hotel. This is a first for me. I have never seen a sign marking the way to the celebrities entrance of a hotel before. I noticed this tag on the car parked in front of

Birthdays and Babies

2011-06-15T18:07:00.012-05:00

A few days ago I saw a new doctor. He asked questions like “when did you have this done” and “how long since that happened?” I realized all my answers centered on what age my child was at the time. For example, my gall bladder surgery happened when my daughter was eight and that required having to do the math to get the year 1978. Later that same day I had another flash of insight when I

mellow yellow Monday

2011-06-13T01:19:00.000-05:00

One of the first meme I participated in on a regular bases was Mellow Yellow Monday. Yellow is one of my favorite colors for everything except clothing, so usually it is an easy subject to photograph. For several months now the color seemed to be alluding me, then suddenly I managed to capture several shots in a couple of days. I snapped this at a local antique shot last winter. I thought

Cows and Chikin

2011-06-09T12:40:00.003-05:00

During our recent trip to Alabama I photographed this billboard located in the busy downtown area of Nashville. I had to snap the shot from the moving car during rush hour so it is not the best photography. But, it was the first time I had seen this sign and it tickled me to see the cows painting a sign for a chicken restaurant. I kept hoping to see another one on our trip so I could get a

Words not Required

2011-06-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the week when we share out photos of signs. Today I selected a few that do not require any words to be understood. Living in a rural area we see a lot of these signs. Even the youngest members of the family understand what is available at this sign. While this sign is self explanatory I find quite a few folks ignore it, leaving their carts all over the parking lot to roll

Surprise Family Reunion

2011-06-08T17:47:00.007-05:00

It has been a while since I posted here. I left a note explaining that I would be MIA without much notice this summer. This spell was one of those occasions.The Old Salt has a son who works out of the country. He has one of those mysterious jobs that requires a lot of travel and keeps him on the move so it is hard to keep up with him. Last Thursday he called and informed us he would be

Tape Talent

2011-05-31T22:11:00.013-05:00

I'm not a fan of junk mail. I also consider spam to be a worst form of junk mail. I'm sure you would agree with me that life would be better without it. At least you can throw the junk mail in the trash unopened, but, spam requires a cursory look-see and several clicks of the mouse to get rid of it. But, by the same token you do on rare occasions fine something interesting in that pile of

Dothan Peanuts

2011-05-30T14:49:00.002-05:00

I posted stories and photo's in the past about the giant letter O's in Omaha, the horse statues in Louisville, Kentucky and the butterfly statues in St. Louis. During my recent visit to Dothan, Alabama I stumbled on a couple of giant peanut statues there. I have been visiting the circle city, as Dothan is also called, since my aunt moved there thirty years ago. I photographed the giant gold

Pepsi country

2011-05-30T02:00:00.000-05:00

I've discovered a new meme. That is probably the last thing the Old Salt wants to hear. He already thinks I neglect him by spending to much time on line. But, I can't resist posting to this one, at least once. The meme is called Odd Shots on Monday. My photos today may not seem odd, but, I'm fairly certain they are something you will not see very often.There is a Pepsi bottling plant in the

Where Memory Lane Crosses the Birthday Path

2011-05-28T13:26:00.004-05:00

Ever get the feeling that the universe is conspiring against you. That no matter what actions you take some other force seems to lead you down paths you would rather not have to travel.In my case, I am not one for walks down memory lane. I have no idea what is lurking there that I do not want to be forced to recall. A dread comes over me and warning bells start pinging in my head each time I am

A Face to Love

2011-05-27T23:42:00.008-05:00

I was walking down the street today in the historic district of St. Charles, Missouri when I passed a low slung sports car pulled into a off street space at a rakish angle. It had a rear antenna leaning at a odd angle sporting this colorful fish that was right at eye level just as if it was yelling "Take my picture" so I did. Now I am sharing it with you. I am linking this post to the meme

Disrespecting the American FLAG

2011-05-26T01:19:00.007-05:00

This week the teacher at Alphabe Thursday has assigned us the letter "F." I new at once what I wanted to post. I snapped this picture of the American FLAG being used as a boat cover on a recent trip to my doctor. Does anyone else have the same problem with this picture as I do?I am linking this post to Alphabe Thursday.To check out the other participants take on the letter of the week visit

Signs that convey thoughts

2011-05-25T23:30:00.004-05:00

My old high school Webster tells me that a sign is any object, action, event, pattern, etc., that conveys a meaning. So, today I would like to share a few signs that some would consider art or home decor. But, they are really just a decorative way of conveying a meaning. I found this sign hanging beside the cash register in a restaurant. This needlework and the one below were both snapped in

Pink pony meets the Dothan Pig

2011-05-20T22:14:00.008-05:00

There will not be much stripping or anything else, for that matter, going on in the building where I found this pink pony. This building was located in a part of southern Illinois we traveled through recently that was under about four feet of flood water. I heard it said on the local news that it will be after the first of the year before the ground in this area dries out enough to start

Too Many

2011-05-20T20:54:00.016-05:00

As I stated in a previous post the Old Salt and I have just returned from a whirlwind trip through the South. We escorted my mother around the land of her birth where we visited with the southern half of my extended family. While I have many pictures to share and some great tales to tell I first must show you what we encountered on our drive south.We left St. Louis and traveled through southern

Billboards and the Wind

2011-05-19T20:17:00.006-05:00

I'm sure you have heard about the terrible tornados in the south. I snapped these two views of the same sign, from the car window, as we traveled through Fort Payne, Alabama on Monday.This damage is minor compared to the devastation inflicted on homes, businesses, forests and especially the lives of those who lived in the tornado's path. Two weeks after the tornado and so little of the damage

Southern Reds

2011-05-17T23:57:00.005-05:00

The Old Salt and I have just returned from a whirlwind trip through the South. We escorted my mother around the land of her birth where we visited with the southern half of my extended family. While I have many pictures to share and some great tales to tell I first want to share these selections with those who love visiting the memes devoted to the color red. These red asiatic lilies were

Alabama here we come

2011-05-10T06:47:00.004-05:00

I am sitting in a hotel room somewhere outside Nashville, Tenn. Yesterday we left St. Louis and traveled through southeast Missouri across southern Illinois, Kentucky and part of Tenn. We made our way across about a hundred miles of farmland flooded when the Core of Engineers breached several levees to save the neighboring towns. I feel so sorry for all those folks whose homes happened to be

If wishes were horses......

2011-05-07T01:22:00.005-05:00

If I could turn wishes into dollars I would have purchased two colorful items I spotted in a resale shop this week. Actually, it wasn't that I couldn't afford the cost of these two pretties, it was that I wanted to give them to a little girl I know who would be in hog heaven over them. But, alas, she has two sisters and I can't give a gift to one without giving an equal gift to the other two,

How did they do that?

2011-05-06T10:20:00.003-05:00

Have you ever been driving along some highway or country road and seen something that has you wondering "How did they do that? Well it happens to me rather often, but, then I always have my camera in my lap and eyes peeled for anything that would make a unique blog post. Following are some shots that fit into the sign category that had me scratching my head in amazement over all the work

Dollars from Heaven

2011-05-04T20:06:00.007-05:00

Last week the Old Salt and I had some business that took us to the historic town of Herman, Missouri. Herman sits on the Missouri River just like our town. If we could go by boat it would be a short distance but by road is a different story.While there we stopped into a small restaurant called Lyndee's for lunch. It was the first time we had been in this restaurant so I was surprised to find

The Gift of Life.

2011-05-03T02:02:00.005-05:00

My freshman year in high school the cistern that provided water to the small rural parochial school I attended became contaminated by raw sewage. The health department was called in to investigate and it is a long story on the how and why's. The outcome was an outbreak of hepatitis in our community. There were so many people from our area sick that the hospital ran out of beds and were having to

Blue Roofs

2011-05-02T22:03:00.001-05:00

The end of February we had the first of our big spring storms. It left damage all over town. Trees down, gutters hanging, roofing shingles lying in the streets and yards, even a few cars and houses crushed under fallen trees. You will find one post I did at the time by clicking here. Since then we have had record breaking amounts of rain mixed with high winds and even a few tornadoes. The

Denim and Daisies

2011-04-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

Two things that are synonymous with my family are kids and day care. I'm sure many families would think the same thing. It is a little different in my family. First, my Mother raised thirteen children then; when most mothers would be thankful for having an empty nest, she started a day care center for thirty children not her own. When Mom was well past normal retirement age she finally sold

Have a Seat

2011-04-27T17:22:00.004-05:00

I was not raised in a house that used a time-out bench. In my youth parents still punished our misbehaving by sending us out to cut a switch or resort to the old stand by of the razor strap to wallop our behind. By the time my child came along, schools were teaching their students to call family services if a parent resorted to that type of punishment so the time-out corner was born. This

What a difference a day makes.

2011-04-26T00:42:00.003-05:00

Outside of town on Highway 94 sits a small old barn that I pass rather offen. This barn sits close to the road at the edge of a large soybean field. I have tried to take a photo of this building dozens of times, but, my shots have always needed to be snapped through the windshield of the moving car. Road conditions prevent stopping to take the shot. Of the many shots I have snapped, I only

Potpourri of Reds

2011-04-25T17:26:00.007-05:00

The weather here in Missouri's wine country has been stormy with high winds, some tornadoes, and lots of rain for several weeks now. So photo opts have been scarce. As a result, I am dipping into the archives this week to share a potpourri of red shots taken over the last year. This shot was taken through the front window of my sisters house on our visit last spring. The red SUV parked in

Spring and Easter

2011-04-22T23:03:00.001-05:00

Beverly, at Pink Saturday has given us the leeway this week to deviate from the tradional pink post and do anything:Spring, Easter or Passover related.I am going to start with why spring is my favorite time of year. I love the look of new growth. All the many shades of green that show up in the grass, trees and shrubs. The photo above was taken just his afternoon a few yards from the home of

Good Friday

2011-04-22T17:30:00.005-05:00

I posted the above photo on my photo blog Cashjocky's Photo's and was ask to provide some history of the Crosses. Since the story is so fascinating and rather lengthy I decided to post it here. As the header on my photo blog states this blog is about the stories that go with the photos and on the photo blog the picture is its own story. I live in a small rural town in the Ozark Mountain Region

Automobiles is my "A" word of the week.

2011-04-21T00:10:00.016-05:00

Alphabe Thursday has come full circle. The last post completed the twenty-sixth letter of the Alphabet so this week we start over with the letter "A". I really didn't want to go for the obvious and rejected airplanes, apples and automobiles, but, after a long search of my photos realized that I just couldn't resist doing automobiles. I have several shots of cars I have been wanting to share

Just in the Right Spot at the Right Time

2011-04-19T03:09:00.005-05:00

I never leave home without my camera. You never know what you will find when out and about. Following are a couple of shots containing red that were totally unexpected. The neighboring town of Herman, Missouri has quite a few wineries and the city just got a new red tour bus to transport the patrons between the sites. We just happen to catch it parked outside the old city opera house (

Carpet of Yellow

2011-04-13T15:37:00.010-05:00

Yesterday while out running errands I came across this lovely expanse of yellow.Imagine the next two photos side by side to get the panoramic view of where these yellow posies came from.This is our post office, located on the main highway though town.Now one more quick shot. This is a close up of what is creating that carpet of yellow above. Yep, dandelions. Thousands of dandelions. Guess

Grocery Mural

2011-04-10T22:07:00.007-05:00

During our last trip to California to visit the Old Salts grandkids we planned a side trip so that I could see San Francisco. While there we pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store near the embarcadero and the side of the building was covered with this mural. It was getting dark but I could not resist taking the following photos.Following are close ups of the four panels. Thankfully,

Friends of Wings

2011-04-07T00:53:00.004-05:00

Recently, we visited a large shopping mall and found these butterflies decorating the courtyard. I thought they were lovely and made a nice spring statement. When I got home, I visited the website I found attached to one of the butterflies and learned they were more than decorations. The butterflies were part of a fundraising event for a local children's charity called "Wings". The "Friends

Here a Sign, There a Sign

2011-04-06T23:45:00.014-05:00

I am sure you know the verse to Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Those words could be easily changed to reflect how some folks feel about signs, on occasion. With a sign hereAnd a sign thereHere a sign, there a signEverywhere a sign, sign Heck, signs are everywhere. There is almost no limit to where you will find a sign and what it will tell you. I found this sign on the wall in the snack bar of a

Sunday Dinner Perks

2011-04-05T17:38:00.010-05:00

You just never know where your next idea or photo for a post will come from. Sometimes its as simple as sitting down to Sunday dinner. That is what happened to me this weekend. We went to visit my first cousin on Sunday and I came home with enough photos and stories for at least a dozen posts. In fact, I have already put my cousin's Fire-King china in a post on Blue Monday and several

Fire King China

2011-04-04T17:17:00.005-05:00

I was visiting with a cousin yesterday, and I noticed she had a china cabinet full of dishes that took me back to my childhood. Marge had recently inherited a collection of azur-ite (pale blue) fire-king dinnerware. I had not seen this many of these dishes since I was a kid. Back then Fire-King kitchen ware was everywhere. You found the bakeware, casseroles and dinnerware in almost every

Install Failed

2011-03-30T08:22:00.002-05:00

‎INSTALLING SPRING...████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░33% Complete. Install delayed....please wait....Installation failed. Please try again.Yesterday was beautiful, so I thought it would be safe to try to reinstall Spring. But, I was mistaken. The install failed. Our local weatherman is predicting one last dose of Winter, with another light dusting of snow due before tax day. Hopefully spring can

Old Red Barn

2011-03-28T23:10:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday we visited with some dear friends who recently rented a house in the country. I snapped the following shots while standing beside their garage. This pastorial scene is part of the property owned by their landlord and just a short distance across the yard. It is located in Warren County just outside the small town of Treloar, Missouri. The Katy trail runs just a short distance

Not again

2011-03-26T13:23:00.007-05:00

The above photos could easily be from the group I posted last week, or the week before or even last month. But, they were taken out my front window just a few minutes ago. Yes, it is March 26th and it has been snowing for several hours with a prediction of three to five inches by nightfall. Will this winter never end? Will my blooming daffodils survive all this snow and ice?I hope the

Drowning in Paper

2011-03-24T15:36:00.006-05:00

It’s Thursday. One of the best days of the week, for those of us who like to contribute to a meme. But, it is always tough deciding which to pick from the many that call Thursday home. One of the first memes I discovered in my early days of blogging was “Theme Thursday.” I loved the themes chosen each week and met some great folks. But, over time, I began to feel

Xanthic Photos

2011-03-24T00:13:00.010-05:00

Jenny over at Alphabe Thursday has set a very difficult task for us today. Her letter for this week is "X". Not the easiest letter to work with. Of course, those easy X words that always show up in children's books on the ABC's are the first to come to mind. You know the ones I mean, X-ray and Xylophone. But, I'm afraid I have not been photographing many of those lately. So I had to do

Sisters in Red

2011-03-23T01:02:00.007-05:00

Yesterday turned out to be one of those days that is full of surprises. A doctors appointment took the Old Salt and me into the city. Anytime we have to make that long trip we try to complete as many other errands as possible while we are there, it saves both gas money and travel time. First, the weather was beautiful so we had a lovely lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Then during a stop at the

Leave it to Mother Nature

2011-03-21T19:08:00.005-05:00

It seems the older I get the less I'm surprised by what happens in my world. But, this year's weather has certainly been an exception to that rule.One week ago I posted the following photo, just minutes out of my camera, on a post that can be found here.Less than twenty-four hours later, I stepped outside my door to the sound of melting snow dripping in rain gutters and pouring through the

Signs, Windows and the letter W

2011-03-16T15:51:00.013-05:00

I may be reaching here, and a stretch of the imagination may be necessary but I am going to go for a triple header this week. I hope to connect Jenny's letter "W" theme at Alphbe Thursday with Lesley's meme on signs and Mary's meme on Window Views. You will have to be the judge of whether I succeed.Lets start with a couple of "W" words. Window and Wayne. We were putting groceries in our car

Fresh Paint

2011-03-15T12:13:00.011-05:00

Every time the Old Salt and I visit our doctor we try to avoid the highway traffic by going the back way. Just down the street from the doctor's building is a large field with an old barn. It was old and weathered with the door hanging on one hinge. The building listed to one side. On a recent trip we discovered someone had done some repairs to the old structure and given it a bright new

daffodils in the snow

2011-03-14T02:38:00.001-05:00

I can't begin to explain how fed up I am with the weather this winter. I have been praying for an early spring for a month now. Today, I thought my prayers had been answered. It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperature was so nice I only needed a light sweater to take my camera for a walk around the yard. I was delighted to find I had daffodils sprouting with some ready to bud, and

Victuals, Viand or Vittles.

2011-03-10T14:10:00.001-06:00

Occasionally, the differences in our upbringing have the Old Salt and me at odds over some point of etiquette; but, the difference in our education and practical experience have us at odds far more often. Our most recent disagreement occured over the use of a word. In fact it was over a word for this weeks "V" word for Alphabe Thursday.I asked the Old Salt to suggest some words starting with

Signs, Signs

2011-03-10T07:36:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it is Thursday again. Where does my time go. So, what is so special about Thursday. Many things. First, I have been looking forward to this particular Thursday because today I am meeting up with several of my cousins from Eugene Oregon (who are in town for a family wedding this weekend) for a nice lunch and a long visit. Second, Thursday is the day of several of my favorite

Little America, Wyoming

2011-03-08T00:59:00.001-06:00

Back in the fall of 2009 on what has become known as our "Last Hurrah" trip we we passed several resorts named "Little America" while driving in Arizona, Utah and Wyoming. These resorts were certainly not hard to spot. Sitting in the middle of a landscape that for many miles in all directions consisted of your typical southwestern hot, dry and barren dessert, these resorts were very green and

Life and times of an old retired couple....

2011-03-06T00:23:00.003-06:00

The Old Salt and I will be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary later this month. I can't begin to tell you what a change has been made in my life and especially in me as a person since meeting this wonderful man. He has not only put joy into my life, he has helped me become a more well rounded and caring person as well. For those of you who have not been lurking here all this time here

Cranberry Glass

2011-03-05T07:42:00.000-06:00

I shot the following photo at a local museum. They had a great exhibit of Cranberry Glass. All the antique books I have read call this a red glass. But, the pieces I have seen always look pink to me. So I hope you will agree with me, at least for the purpose of this post. I have posted other photos and the history of this glass in a past post that can be found here.While Victorian cranberry

Matters in Hand

2011-03-05T05:04:00.004-06:00

I lead a very sheltered life before I met the Old Salt. He has introduced me to many movies, songs, authors and news events that I missed over the years. One of them is Mike Royko, a syndicated correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Royko was one of my husbands favorites and during his deployments at sea he had someone save him all the columns he would miss. He still has a small stack of

Ugly? Uglier?

2011-03-03T13:14:00.001-06:00

I have been racking my brain for days trying to come up with a subject that starts with the letter "U" to post to Alphabe Thursday. Going through my archives, all I could find was a lot of pictures of umbrellas. Now that is certainly a "U" word but I was afraid that particular would would be well represented and wanted something different. Last night I asked the Old Salt if he had any

Biker Signs

2011-03-03T03:33:00.006-06:00

Last fall our street was descended on by bikers who came to attend the funeral of one of their own at the church next door. You will find one of those posts by clicking here and another one here. I was amazed at the number of things that could be classified as a sign that could be found on something as small as a motorcycle or a biker's vest or helmet. The following pictures of signs are

WPA bricks

2011-03-01T02:57:00.000-06:00

The WPA is something that I have heard a lot about during my lifetime. But, those of you who are a generation or two removed from family members who lived during the "Great Depression" of the 1930's and the following war years may be unfamiliar with the work of the WPA, so here is the Wikipedia cliff notes. Created by order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Works Progress

Touches of Blue

2011-02-28T23:07:00.002-06:00

It was truly a Blue Monday here in my little corner of the world. About one this morning we had some scary excitement when a severe storm came through our area. I have lived in this area all my life and this is the first time I felt threatened enough by the weather to actually follow that sound advice to seek shelter in the basement. We had winds that reached seventy-five to one hundred

Pounds of Soda Pop Cans

2011-02-27T00:05:00.001-06:00

Beverage cans in our area are selling for twenty-eight cents per pound. Wonder how many pounds were in this bin at the city recycling center yesterday?I am linking this post to the meme Color Carnival.To join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Maria and her friends at Color Carnival.

The Gathering Place

2011-02-24T01:25:00.005-06:00

How fast time flies sometimes. We are once again back to that day of the week when my blogging buddy Lesley ask us to share any interesting signs we have found. I have selected several that I think you may enjoy.This first sign is posted over the window in my sister's kitchen. Nancy's house is truly the gathering place for our family. Almost every family holiday and celebration is held in

Tractors Git Her Done

2011-02-23T18:15:00.011-06:00

Jenny over at Alphabe Thursday is featuring the letter "T" This week. Now as a country girl that is letter I know something about. What do we have more of in a rural area than TRACTORS------- of course. It is almost impossible to take a drive a few miles out of town on a summer day without having to spend sometime at a slow crawl behind a tractor. And, you will find that our tractors come in

Rants and Tangents

2011-02-23T16:00:00.011-06:00

I know some of us are bad about reading the fine print on things and occasionally it comes back to bite us. Well, if you pop up and read the fine print under the title of my blog you will see that I promise to throw in a few rants, tangents and some rambling’s on occasion. Well this is going to be one of those days. But, don’t worry; my fine print doesn’t bite back. So, grab your drink and

Tricycle Time

2011-02-22T02:16:00.004-06:00

It is that time of week again when we celebrate all things RED. Thanks to all the white stuff we've had the last month I'm having to delve into the archives for todays shots. I can't recall if I used these pictures before, so forgive me if you have already seen them. Last summer we went into St. Louis to attend the first birthday party of my nephew. On the way home we passed a city park that

A 3-Cent Nickel

2011-02-20T20:24:00.008-06:00

If you are a regular visitor here then you know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia. And, let me tell you it has been kicking my butt since all the bad weather started. This last week it took all I could do to stay awake long enough to complete the basic daily task, so my blog has suffered ---------AGAIN!I'm way late in posting to my new blogging buddy Lesley's meme on signs for this week but could

Tin's Galore

2011-02-19T04:06:00.008-06:00

A few weeks ago the Old Salt and I had some business in a small town about an hours drive from home. It was getting into mid afternoon so we decided to shop for lunch. A drive through the downtown area led us to this restaurant with a "now open" sign in the window. As the owner of my own restaurant, in one of the many chapters of my life, I am always a sucker for trying a new place. So in we

Abby, Gigi and Valentines Pink

2011-02-12T00:15:00.005-06:00

I live in a small town where all the shops in the downtown area are family owned. The kind of businesses that are still warm and friendly, and they try to remember your name. I can't count very many of them that don't have a shop pet. When you walk down Main Street you will see a cat or a dog lying in the sunshine of the front window. You will notice pet doors that allow the animals to

Scrambled Sky

2011-02-11T15:16:00.008-06:00

When I was a child the sight of a airplane contrail was rare enough for us to run outside to see it. Today, you can look up anytime and see not one, but several contrails. Is our sky that crowded? Maybe planes are flying at higher altitudes than they once did. Contrails only occur above 26,000 feet where modern jets tend to cruise. Last night during a drive in the country I took this shot

Snow as high as............

2011-02-10T15:47:00.006-06:00

Our new camper has been installed on our pickup for several weeks now and, due the all the snow and ice, the Old Salt has not wanted me to drive it. But an overloaded schedule and the need to be in two places at once, forced me to venture out alone today with a much reduced ability to see to the rear. So Folks, while the Old Salt stayed home with the plumber, who is making his fourth attempt

Signs, signs and more signs.

2011-02-09T23:44:00.002-06:00

Signs, Signs and more signs. It is impossible to live life without them. But, sometimes they can also add a smile or a giggle to our life. Then there are some that will have you laughing. These have done all of the above for me. I hope they add some mirth to your day as well. Last fall the firehouse across the street had an open house. It included an exhibit of restored antique fire

Last Caboose Standing

2011-02-08T13:26:00.018-06:00

In a previous post (click here) I explained how a misdirection from our GPS system, had the Old Salt and me standing in front of a vacant lot on Main Street in the little town of Newburg, Missouri. Today I want to share more of the red items I photographed that day, along with a little history of that old town. As towns go Newburg is not much to look at. It is one of those small towns carved

Vesuvio Mural

2011-02-06T19:43:00.001-06:00

While taking a bus tour of San Francisco in the fall of 2009 we disembarked at several spots and went on a short walking tour. One was in Chinatown that I featured in my post last tuesday. Another excursion took us down some narrow alleyways where the walls were all painted in murals and stones containing some innocuous verse were embedded in the sidewalks. I stopped to take the following

Wind Shapes on Water

2011-02-06T15:39:00.007-06:00

If you are a regular visitor here then you are aware that the Old Salt and I make regular visits to Omaha to visit my sister and her family. While I am not fond of Nebraska winters, I love being there in summer. They get about 30 minutes more daylight than we do and the High Plains wind seems to make the Nebraska summer heat more comfortable. But, what I like most about Omaha is that it has

Join me in wishing a Happy Anniversary to Maxine

2011-02-05T16:05:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that our favorite "Queen of Attitude"; that bunny slipper wearing, crabby old lady who is never without a irreverent opinion..........MAXINE, is celebrating her twenty-fifth anniversary this month. I just happen to come across one of her baby pictures and thought this would be the perfect occasion to share it with all her fans. Heres to you Maxine, the lady we

Fighting the Winter Blahs

2011-02-04T22:40:00.002-06:00

I hope that I am not the only one having to go back into the archives for photos to post this week. All the snow and ice here in the heart of Missouri's wine country has made it difficult to get out with my camera. I do have two great finds to share though. This first shot was taken in the waiting room of our doctor a few months ago. I'm sure you have seen this lady on your television screen

Everywhere Signs

2011-02-03T15:03:00.015-06:00

I went to see what was new with my blogging buddy Sallie at Full Time-Life and discovered a new meme. Yep, just what all of us need, a new meme. This one is a newborn, just five weeks old, and devoted to signs. Now, that is a subject I can really get my teeth into. I have probably had more disagreements over signs than any other subject.I once worked for a restaurant manager who loved to post

Chinatown to the Embarcadero

2011-01-31T16:18:00.008-06:00

Weather conditions here had us going straight to and from our appointments without any photo hunting detours. As a result my stash of recent shots suitable for the weekly memes has dried up.So today I decided to take you on a red trip to San Francisco by way of my archives. These shots are from the fall of 2009. This was my first trip to the city by the bay and I was a tad disappointed.

Yellow snow and sky

2011-01-31T12:39:00.015-06:00

The Old Salt left on Friday to go spend the weekend with his brother, and I stayed home to keep up the syringe feedings of our sick kitty. That turned out to be a good thing because I woke up Saturday morning with a killer head cold. Yesterday, I decided to get a head start on this weeks memes by scheduling a few entries to auto post. But, I quickly found that was going to be no easy task.

Pink beats out Green Bay Gold

2011-01-28T16:19:00.001-06:00

Apparently, the colors of the Green Bay Packers are not the only colors popular in Nebraska. On our recent trip to Omaha I noticed that many of the car tags were displaying a word liked by the followers of a very popular Saturday meme. So, lets congratulate all those Nebraskans who are honoring the color pink. Okay, you have to add a vowel but as far as I am concerned the only one that

Snow, Snow go away

2011-01-28T14:09:00.005-06:00

From what I have been reading, and the pictures so many bloggers have been posting, we are not the only ones who have been living in a winter wonderland of ice and snow. For about ten days now a cousin in Atlanta has been posting daily photos of his patios changing snow scene on Facebook. My niece in Minnesota has also been posting lots of snow shots to let the family here know just how lucky

Kids and a snow day

2011-01-27T19:41:00.004-06:00

What better yard art is there than what children produce on a snow day. I am linking this post to Yard Art Thursday.Mary T. at the Work of the Poet hosts Yard Art Thursday. To join the fun or just check out the yard art discovered by others visit Mary and her friends at Work of the Poet.

2011-01-27T13:56:00.000-06:00

And that is all I have to say about this AM.

Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday --- Red Rocker

2011-01-24T18:30:00.002-06:00

I captured this red rocker in its snow filled flower bed in a yard on highway 47 near Warrenton Missouri last week. Couldn't wait to share it with all of you that love everything red.I am linking this post to Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday.Mary at "Work of the Poet" hosts Ruby Tuesday. Rednesday is a Wednesday meme hosted by Sue at "It's a Very Cherry World." Both memes are dedicated to the color

Can You Do It?

2011-01-23T21:00:00.000-06:00

Last week during our drive to Omaha we needed a pit stop and pulled into the first gas station we saw after exiting the interstate. After filling the tank the Old Salt pulled into a parking place so we could go inside for dinner. As I was getting out of our truck I looked up and discovered this sign right above my head. Needless to say, we did not order the ultimate nine pound overload. How

color carnival #74 --- wall decor

2011-01-23T19:18:00.000-06:00

A visit to a new doctors office recently had me leaving with this photo of the artwork hanging in the lobby of the building.I am linking this post to the meme Color Carnival.To join the fun or to check out all the colorful entries of other players, visit Maria and her friends at Color Carnival.

Today is a day of Rest

2011-01-23T15:40:00.003-06:00

We awoke this morning to more snow. As the above collage shows it was coming down heavy. The top photo on the right is the parking lot of the Baptist Church behind us. As you can see they did not have many in attendance at the morning service and those that did attend came out to find their cars buried. Forecast is for 4-6 inches by night fall. Between the new snow and the Packers/Bears

Promised Update

2011-01-22T15:58:00.008-06:00

Since I have been so scarce in blogland, I promised to catch everyone up on what has been happening in my world. But, since my time is still limited, This will be the cliff notes version of the last eight weeks.We are now into week eight of caring for our sick kitty. The time and effort needed to keep her alive is becoming more than needed to care for a toddler. Please pray she recovers soon.

Where has the time gone?

2011-01-12T23:54:00.003-06:00

I Can't believe how long its been since my last post. Just a note to let all my friends in blogland know we are very busy at the moment and will return to posting as soon as things slow down. Hang, with me and I will catch everyone up to date soon. I promise.

Red Collection Boxes

2011-01-05T13:09:00.016-06:00

I have been meaning to do this post for some time but let more interesting topics get in my way. I noticed these red drop boxes in different locations around my town two years ago. Knowing Goodwill Industries, used red boxes for decades in the St. Louis area, I assumed they were Goodwill boxes. I always take my donations to the local Goodwill Outlet so I had never stopped at a drop box.

Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday --- Christmas Red part 2

2010-12-28T00:49:00.007-06:00

We made the ninety minute drive to visit the Old Salt's brother for Christmas. We spent the night and traveled home late the next afternoon. With the cruse control set at seventy, we were making good time on Interstate 70 when I saw sometime odd on the side of the highway. It went by so quickly I didn't have time to take a photo even though the camera was in my lap. I ask the Old Salt to

Barn Charm #13--- Snow Barn

2010-12-28T00:01:00.005-06:00

This year we spent a Christmas overnight with the Old Salt's brother and his family. Traveling home the next day we decided to take a little detour off the interstate to get some photos of what a white Christmas in the country looked like. The following shot of this lovely old barn is one of those photos. It was late afternoon, and a pale pink was starting to creep into the sky, creating such

Merry White Christmas

2010-12-24T09:48:00.003-06:00

Like most people in the world, I am a creature of habit. My morning routine may seem silly to some but the first thing I do after setting my feet on the floor (beside running to the bathroom) is go to the computer and check my e-mail. The following photo is what greeted me today outside our office window.Our first white Christmas in recent memory. By the time I got up we already had two

Ruby Tuesday and Rednesday --- Christmas Red

2010-12-20T22:07:00.005-06:00

Earlier this month I wrote a blog post about our family tradition of celebrating a "Secret Pal" event between Thanksgiving and the reveal party on the Saturday before Christmas. That party took place last Saturday. We had two family members who live out of state flying home for the party and I had agreed to pick them up at the airport. Their flights were scheduled to arrive about one hour

Pink Saturday --- Pink Bacon

2010-12-18T00:25:00.000-06:00

Even though I live in a rural town it is not often you see a live hog on the street, much less twice in the same 24 hour period. A few weeks ago I was taking a short cut through one of the neighborhoods, just before dark, and noticed a pickup towing a trailer parked on the side of the street. Nothing odd about that, we have many citizens who haul lawn equipment and off road vehicles. But,

color Carnival #64 --- stained glass

2010-12-17T18:45:00.000-06:00

I photographed these stained glass windows a few weeks ago while visiting the church of a cousin in Belleville Illinois. This is a new church built to replace the hundred year old one the parish had outgrown. But, the windows are old and were salvaged from the old church which is being rehabbed to become the churches community center.I am linking this post to the meme Color Carnival.To

How Many of you are there?

2010-12-15T23:54:00.005-06:00

A few days ago the Old Salt had an appointment in the city. When we walked into the office we were greeted by these stockings hanging on the front of one of the desks. I walked over and commented that they must have known I was coming that day because they hung a stocking for me. Actually, it is still a surprise anytime I see my name in print or meet someone with the same name. I don't

Yard Art Thursday -----Fish Sculpture

2010-12-15T23:30:00.002-06:00

If you have been visiting here over the last month or so you already know about my cousins husband who has started making junk yard sculptures. Today I am going to feature the largest of the sculptures that I found in his yard during my last visit. This giant silver and blue fish is about twenty feet long and stood about five or six feet tall. This is the only sculpture I photographed that I