§ Can't Help Myself...Gutter Mind at Work!!! [aka: If you have a gutter mind too, don't be drinking while opening this!]

§ In the NEWS...

*First off, we've been watching the remnants of Tropical Depression Harvey as he moves over land into the Gulf of Mexico. There is a threat of tropical storm, maybe hurricane, and heavy flooding where I live. So, Bud and I will be keeping an eye on the track and probably not be online much, preparing our home for flooding and/or storms. From the Weather Channel online: "Harvey to Redevelop over the Gulf of Mexico, Then Threaten Texas as Tropical Storm or Hurricane with Dangerous Flooding Rains". And I borrowed a couple of graphic maps, courtesy of the Weather Channel, for my record for now...

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A couple weeks ago, when I was on a blog break, I mentioned I was busy with typing out over 200 pages of stuff...well, it's now come to being published in book form [also kindle/tablet version] on Amazon this past week. I am quite proud of my work, taking nearly a decade in photographing and then recently, framing each photo with filter effect from software, adding a name plate I designed myself for each individual bird! My family was the first to know about my project and have supported me throughout! Erik said "This is really good, Mom!" Irene texted me after viewing the product online with "Wow, this is cool, I'm going to promote it on my FB. Good luck with it!" Bud said: "I'm the hubby of an author now. Good job!"  One of my nephews said "I just got to have one!  Congratulations!  It looks like a lot of work."  I'm MORE than happy this long piece of work, taking years to conclude...is done!!!

As I added on my blog, above, this is my latest--- 

NEWS FLASH:
I NOW HAVE A BOOK PUBLISHED




Titled Wings Over My Texas
Description excerpt: A non-scientific photographic study of over 200 birds, common, rare, and vagrant birds, along the Coastal Bend of South Texas. Areas include Corpus Christi, Port A...
check out the book details on this linked site!!

...it's finally online.

PS...for those with passion for birds, this may be something you're interested in. Or if you know someone who is an avid birder, it could be a great gift.

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Horned Lark

Oil Paint Filter


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Got your ticket for Saturday's drawing? Powerball** is now up to $700 million as of August 22nd. Good luck!!!

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All that money for one simple ticket. It reminds me of one of my favorite cartoon characters, Daffy Duck! Happy Miser on Daily Motion ..."Consequences Schmonsequences as long as I'm rich"

clip courtesy of You Tube
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Lastly today, I have bought three 'new' books the last time I went to Half Price Bookstore. I am reading Ravensbruck right now [non fiction]. The Holocaust has always been a subject of curiosity and interest for me, and tho I'm only into the very first few pages, this promises to be a great book!!

*If I am not here for a while, Harvey is to blame!!!

** Or I won the powerball, and no one has picked me up off the floor yet.

§ Days of Yesteryear....

Remember the cartoons of yesteryear? With the likes of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Heckle and Jekyl, Mighty Mouse, etc. etc.? What went wrong with cartoons of today? They're all either too wishy-washy sweet, or too violent with crime, not to mention the evil computer games with so many that has the game played to the death!!   No comedy any more, what-so-ever.  Even stand up comedy has an evil side [Kathy Griffin comes to mind].  I miss Saturday Morning cartoons. Laughter is good medicine. Anyway, the purpose of my opening line is, ... yes, the cartoons of yesteryear! How many times were there airplanes in the cartoons depicted with faces such as this one. Which brings me to the photo I took while out on the beach, walking. I've been terribly influenced from Mel Blanc, Chuck Jones, and Walt Disney....I saw the Coast Guard plane, and immediately saw the smiling face!!!!


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Then an old movie. Oftentimes when Bud and I witness a huge amount of vehicles leaving the same area at one time, like when a concert if over, or a ball game and the cars are vying for a space near the exit gates we think of IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD movie with a cast of 1000s with the likes of Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Edie Adams, Ethel Merman and more...A short synopsis of the flick is: When Jimmy Durante has an accident on a California Highway, he's dying after going over a cliff and confesses where he hid money from an unsolved robbery. The witnesses hear the confession and then, all head to where the money is hidden....near a "BIG W"!! It's hilarious. [circa 1963 - from wikipedia claims of attempts to produce a remake of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World have circulated, but no film producers have officially confirmed a contract despite attempts] Anyway, when I see something that resembles a "W",  the hidden treasure of yesteryear comes to mind. I saw one the other day. In our own back yard...

photo of the big W from the movie set

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Thinking of days gone by, I remember as a child, when we'd head along the interstate highway 80 [it wasn't interstate when I was young] to Lincoln, Nebraska from our Colorado home, where my father's sister lived. Getting closer and closer to Lincoln, in the vast farmland off the roads, we'd see an old red one room school building. My aunt taught classes there, just like Ms. Beadle on the TV series, Little House on the Prairie. The photo of the school you see is the actual school taken long long long ago. I haven't been along I-80 in decades, so I don't know if it [the school]  is still in existence. But, when I was looking for one of my photos of that mountain along the front range to sketch it, I came across the picture of the school and reminisced of yesteryear, when I was a youngster traveling to visit Aunt Mary. Oh, and unlike now-a-days, when teachers need a college degree, my aunt only had a high school education and taught grades 1-8 when most farm children stopped their education to work the family's farmland and carry on with tradition.

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One more thought on the term of yesteryear and school...

This past week I received a letter in the mailbox. On the envelope, it had my high school logo on the return address. I hadn't even thought of it for so, so many years now. After getting the house chores done, I sat down and opened the letter. Holy Cow....it's my high school 50 year class reunion!! Good lord, has it been that long ago? Yep, it has. In fact 50 years ago on May 31st I was free for the summer to travel. 50 years ago, I got a gift to fly to our nation's capital and spend a little over a month there, hanging out on "D" Street, just a few blocks from the capitol. I took off work in June and returned in August....after many days living and learning of our nation's politics, government, visiting sites with the likes of Iwo Jima, climbing to the top of Washington Monument, spending 3 days at the Smithsonian Institute, privileged to witness the Senate via the underground subway to the Chambers, the Pentagon, the FBI. Not to mention a trip down the Potomac River on a riverboat excursion. Custis Lee Mansion, etc. etc.. Oh so many good times, so many good memories. Anyway, the letter had a list of activities planned in August ... nothing worth making a special trip to attend. Golf? Dancing? Heck, I can do that HERE!! Sure, I'd be able to see some classmates, but really....I'm sure it would be "You haven't changed a bit?" "You have HOW MANY grandkids?" "I've been divorced, married three times." That sorta thing. I'm just not into that kinda stuff.  The photo is a conglomerate of the letter received, my 1967 class photo album and the page cut where I am [outlined photo on the insert].