Stupid People...You Gotta Love 'Em

A couple of days ago the guy across the street knocked on the door.

Neighbor:  Do you have a wheelbarrow? 

E:  Yes

Neighbor:  Can I borrow it?

E:  It doesn't have any air in the tire and I don't have a way to pump it up. You'll have to put some air in the tire if you want to use it.

Neighbor:  Ok.

Short time passes and the guy comes back over.

E:  Yeah?

Neighbor:  There's something wrong with that tire. 

E:  Yep...I told you it was flat.

Neighbor:  You got an air pump?

E:  Nope...that's why the tire is flat. 

Neighbor:  Oh, ok. Nevermind then.

True Story.

LMAO!

Watercolor Dianthus

Watercolor rendering of the dianthus in the flower bed at 45 Pines.

Warped Candle

All the trapped heat on the patio when the windows are closed has caused this candle to become misshapen. I think it's an interesting shape now, but I was going to toss it in the trash anyway and was told not to.  So ok, I won't. ;)

Memorial Day

 

Remembering your sacrifice.



George Takei Is Pretty OK In My Book

These Homophobic Signs Just Got Pretty Gay

(taken from upworthy.com)

 

 

 

Garden Iris

Photo taken with my Samsung Galaxy S4

45 Pines: Honey Locust Trees In Bloom

Baby Blackbird And Some Lilacs

Heard this baby bird squawking when I went out to the enclosed patio and decided to take a picture.

After several attempts, I was finally able to capture it with it's mouth open.

My uncle took this picture in his backyard and shared it with me.  I love the contrast of the colors.

Foulke Ave. Findlay, OH

Family Weekend

Just wanted to give a shout out to my fabulous family that made the weekend really special.  Even though some of you were here for more than just the fun visit, it was still a really fun weekend.  I love all of you and really enjoy your company!  Y'all are the bestest family a girl could ask for!

Reflections and Rememberances:  A day filled with

Joy.

Sadness.

Laughter. 

Tears.

Friendship.

Beauty.
Inspiration.
Life.

Love.

Celebration.

 

Eugene "Budd" Gauger

Beauty Everlasting.
 

INVENTOR OF ADHD'S DEATHBED CONFESSION: "ADHD IS A FICTITIOUS DISEASE"

 

This sums up quite nicely what I have already believed for years. Quite an interesting read.

 

 Inventor of ADHD'S Deathbed Confession

Cruisin'

Cruisin' at 9:30 on a warm night with your very bestest BFF and soul sister - windows down, music playing full blast and singing along with all the songs...that's the best...love you always!!

"The Monkey Orchid"

I first saw this flower on one of my friend's facebook page and thought it was astounding at how much it does look like a monkey.  I almost thought they couldn't possibly be real so I did some checking and here's what I found out.  The flowers really do exist and it's actual species name is Dracula Gigas (dracula meaning "dragon" and gigas meaning "giant") and despite it's appearance, the common name of "Monkey Orchid" is not really what this type of orchid is called.  Monkey Orchid is the common name for the species Orchis Simia whose purple flowers resemble the torso of a monkey.

Interesting fact: The Monkey Orchid is known for it's pungent odor which is similar to the smell of feces.

Yeah, It's Like That...

I can't believe it was Declan.

45 Pines: Sunset

May 11, 2013

 45 Pines

Sunset through the pines.

Sunset through the pines.

Reflection of sun on the locusts and pines.

Reflection of sun on the lilac bush.

Reflection of sun setting on the pine makes it look a rusty color.


 

Fire Hydrant Catches Dogs By Surprise

 

Too cute...

 

Doggy Prank: Peeing Fire Hydrant

 



Acid Pro

ACID Pro, a digital audio workstation that combines multitrack recording and mixing, MIDI sequencing and looping functionality is my program of choice for music creation.  I am by no means a professional, but I have fun trying new things.  All of the horror music I have uploaded to this blog (last October) was created using ACID Pro.  The following song is one that I remixed and that I feel is decent enough to share.  With ACID Pro, this...

becomes this...

Quozio

 

Made at Quozio. Turns quotes or text into images in seconds.

 

Never be afraid to stand out. It's better to be remembered for standing out in a crowd than to be forgotten for blending in.

-Ash Sweeney



True Beauty Never Dies

One of the most genuine and beautiful men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Rest In Peace

Eugene "Budd" Gauger (1930-2013)

I will always remember your beauty.



(Picture from ourgrandfathersgrainelevators.com)

 From the Toledo Blade -

 A Blade editor and writer for more than 30 years known for encouraging colleagues in their craft and a gardener who brought artistry to his pastime, Eugene "Budd" Gauger died Thursday in St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ypsilanti, Mich. He was 82.

He had dementia and was in ill health recently, his son, DeVeaux, said. Mr. Gauger left his longtime Lambertville home and garden about 18 months ago, first to assisted living at Oakleaf Village of Toledo and most recently at Hillside Terrace in Ann Arbor.

Mr. Gauger was a copy editor in the newsroom when he retired from The Blade in early 1995. He was hired in 1963 as the newspaper's religion editor, but much of his career was behind the scenes as editor of the Behind The News section in The Blade on Sunday. Week after week, he selected articles that offered readers insights into world affairs from far-flung correspondents - and into the workings of city hall or the statehouse from Blade staff writers. He was in charge too of editing and laying out the section.

The rest of the newspaper didn't escape his attention. A reporter might get a note from Mr. Gauger that called a turn of phrase "symphonic" or otherwise lavished an article with praise.

"He was one of those rare people who was truly pure of heart," his son said, "and was always going to put someone else first. If more people were like him, the world would be a better place. I aspire to that."

From the late 1980s into the 1990s, he was the newspaper's garden writer. His weekly column, "Greenspace," featured profiles of gardeners and their gardens and listed garden tours, and seed and plant exchanges. For the Toledo Museum of Art's Age of Rubens exhibition, Mr. Gauger offered a guide to creating a Rubenesque garden.

He covered the horticulture extravaganza, AmeriFlora 92, in Columbus. He traveled to Rio de Janeiro and wrote about the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, also in 1992.

"He was a wordsmith," said Louise Bankey, a longtime friend.

A gardening primer began with typical modesty.

"For the novice, here are a few general pointers [ignore them and you will do just fine]," Mr. Gauger wrote.

As he concluded the comprehensive guide, he wrote, "The most important thing is to relish the touch of soil and seed and to delight in scents and sights.

"Have pen and paper ready to compose your first poem, and listen with a whole new bliss to Cho-Cho-san and Suzuki singing 'Tutti i fior' [duet of the flowers] in Puccini's Madama Butterfly," Mr. Gauger wrote.

Mr. Gauger lived in a small home on a large parcel made larger when he bought the vacant house next door and knocked it down.

He created a garden that, in various years, included a hardy variety of bamboo or alfalfa from his native Nebraska or the red fluffly flower of the Andean quinoa. On select Sundays, he opened his garden and brought together friends from First Unitarian Church of Toledo, where he was a member, and from work and from other interests.

"It was completely different. It wasn't an English garden," Mrs. Bankey said. "It was a Budd garden."

Plants, mundane and exotic, were arranged around found objects. Chickens with tall plumage strutted about, if spared by neighborhood varmints.

"He had every unusual thing you can think of, and he had ponds for frogs and fish, vistas of grasses or a mass of flowers"" Mrs. Bankey said. "It was wonderful, to say the least."

He was in charge of decorating his church for Christmas; he gave workshops in flower arranging, and for many years he brought an arrangement to church each Sunday.

"He could take the most unlikely plants and sticks and create this amazingly, hauntingly beautiful arrangement out of them," said Robert Rudolph, chaplain of First Unitarian.

He also wrote and self-published books and pamphlets with such titles as "Floral Concerts and Choral Arrangements." He was a longtime member of the church choir.

He was born Sept. 6, 1930, in Omaha and was adopted by Louise and Samuel Gauger. He grew up on a farm near Wauneta, Neb., and was a graduate of Wauneta High School. He received a bachelor's degree from Fort Wayne, Ind., Bible College, where he was a forward on the basketball team. He took classes for several years afterward at the University of Nebraska while he worked as a reporter at the Lincoln Journal. He was an ardent fan of Nebraska Cornhuskers football.

He was a pacifist and was a conscientious objector to military service.

His alternative service was as a writer and editor with the Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pa.

He was formerly married to Elle Gauger.

Surviving are his sons, DeVeaux and Derek Gauger, and two grandchildren.

Memorial services next month in Toledo are pending.

My friend's nineteen-year-old son is trying to finish his high school senior year by doing an at-home program. It's different from an actual home schooling program in that he does his work on computer modules and submits them to the teacher at the high school for evaluation. Once the teacher does what he needs, he resets the system so that the next module can be accessed.  Unfortunately for my friend's son, the work is self-guided and he has waited entirely too long to try and get through the required modules to graduate this year.  He requested (sort of) help on his facebook page for the English class modules since he says he is not very good with that subject. I offered to help him and he, surprisingly, took me up on my offer.  I agreed to meet him yesterday at is house to get started not really knowing what to expect. I was shocked at how easy the work actually is. Even though it was a really long time ago, I remember my senior English class consisting of essay writing based on classic literature we had to read or classroom discussions on Shakespeare or Austen books.  The module we worked with yesterday seemed more vocabulary oriented.  It listed 4 or 5 words and their definitions.  It then gave a short excerpt from a book to read.  The next step was to correctly match up the meaning of the vocabulary word with some part of the excerpt.  I was also shocked at how little knowledge my friend's son actually has on some of the definitions of those words.  Words such as dialect, foible and irony were completely lost on him.  It made me feel bad that he struggles so much, but it also made me wonder if this is the norm among the kids of that generation.  Kinda scary.  I will continue to help him if he asks me to.  I just hope it makes a difference.

(Some) Places I've Lived

Some skyline/aerial shots of (some of) the places I've lived.  There's a toss up on my favorite, but I can tell you it's sadly, not where I currently live.
 

Toledo, OH

Zweibruecken, Germany

Munich, Germany

Seattle, WA

Findlay, OH







Erector Set

When I was four years old my father would get me for his weekend visitiation time and I would spend much of my time playing with an Erector Set (trademark "ERECTOR").  I loved using the little wrench to tighten the nuts and bolts to the metal plates and beams.  In retrospect, I think the set must have belonged to my father when he was a kid and he just had it around for me to mess around with.  Of course I never "built" anything with it or used the motor or pulleys that came in the set, but I had a blast with what I did use and that little red box contained hours of fun for me.  

I found this ad for Erector Set from circa 1922.  It seems so typical for that era, but how sexist it seems today. 

Side note:  I think tinkering with that Erector Set is what gave me my fascination with power substations and electrical towers.  (One extremely weird fact about me: I secretly want to climb an electrical tower, even with my great fear of heights).