§ That's EntertainmentStarring Isaiah the Cat...

If my blog post came up on your reader, I pre-scheduled on the wrong date! I apologize!!
It was supposed to be published on the 29th instead of the 28th.





From my previous post, I challenged you to find the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker "hidden" in the tree. Well, outlined in bright green you can see it now if you never found it! ---

§ Isaiah Overload....

I started cleaning out the entertainment center of DVDs.  Our collection is over 100 easily,  The other side is CD's and even cassettes and vinyls with a few knick-knacks here and there.  But, when I was removing the sack-loads of the stuff from the room, I came back and Isaiah had taken over one of the shelves and was making himself silly!  I pulled out my cellphone and snapped away until he got tired of the whole "newness" of his adventure...

§ I Haven't A Clue for a Title...

...'cause it's all eclectic today!

For New Year's I made homemade Chewy Pecan Cookies. I didn't have time for making them for Christmas, so I opted to start  2023 with a sugar high!!! When I took the first batch of two cookie sheets out of the oven to cool before removing them with a spatula, I found this one! Of course, me being the searcher of hearts anywhere I can find them, I called DIBS!! In other words, Bud must keep his mits off of it. He said "You should save it". Ummmm, and not taste the yumminess of the pecans? "I'm eatin' it!" In fact, while still warm, both of us had two cookies each. And me? I had a large cup of ice-cold milk to wash 'em down. The recipe made 4 1/2 dozen; I froze most of 'em. The secret to keeping cookies soft and chewy is to undercook by about 3 minutes....otherwise they get crunchy. I like soft, chewy-centered, cookies best of all. No store-bought cookies for me.

Now that I bored you with that I'll move on to something else that may bore the heck out of ya'. Ever see the movie "The Lone Ranger" starring Johnny Depp? When I was standing at the work bench in the garage the other day, I turned the over-head light on and I have a tortise shell windchime hanging near by to clean off the dust to get it back indoors to put back up near one of the AC/Heat outlets on the ceiling. Well, the windchime cast a shadow! Instantly I saw Johnny Depp [Tonto] with his crow on the top of his head and all of the reshaped Native American profile of his make-up. Yes? Well, maybe you have never seen the movie, that's your loss. It was considered a 'flop', but I really enjoyed it.  So many parts made me laugh.  One of my favorite lines in the movie is when the Lone Ranger asks Tonto why he keeps calling him Kemosabe and then "what does it mean"?  Tonto's answer is "wrong brother".  LOL  And of course the music!!!!

Then last but not least...Isaiah

He's probably just as bored with the whole thing as you all are!

A few asked in my recent comment section to share a photo of the new kitchen faucet. Why? I dunno. But since inquiring minds wanna know, here it is...

The brand is a Mohen [is that how it's spelled?]

I took a short drive to Packery Channel to see what the traffic was like. Not bad. Saw a very pretty sunrise over the causeway. But, I didn't stay away from home long as I had a promise to keep at home...

Then, I was out helping Bud trim all the crepe myrtle bushes in our front yard to get rid of the seed pods from last Fall. So, I took my cellphone and snapped a couple of photos of some bushes that are blooming now in our yard. So many [mainly the hibiscus] got frozen again this winter...two years in a row. And they were just coming out of the shock this past autumn, froze again, and I don't know if they'll come back. My hybrid hibiscus [the mini blossom, varigated leaves] has a lot of new spring growth. For which I am very happy. And the Tombstone Rose [Lady Banks] is beginning to bloom profusely...I'll get a photo of that too in a bit. For now, two I share...the gardenia's first blossom for the season, and the plant called "Mexican Fire Bush"...

My newest book to read is a twist on the assassination of the Lincoln conspiracy; a subject that has held my interest for decades. The author claims to be a distant relative of JWB, and he is proposing that perhaps John Wilkes Booth was NOT the one captured outside of Washington D C, but an accomplice. And that Booth lived under an assumed name. I am interested in how this comes about, the author's facts, the perhaps new evidence that could possibly be feasible. I doubt it, but I guess anything is possible. Especially if you consider today's times and how our government "covers up" many events to appease the American people. I will tell you want I think when I finish the book. Truth or "Fake News"?

To make a long story, short, for weeks I've been looking for Isaiah's favorite toy. The "tail" has long been chewed off and thrown away, but the ears still remain. He has played with this from day one when we brought him home after adopting him. But it disappeared. For good, I thought. Then, dusting the venitian blinds behind the entertainment center...there it was!! Trust me it's as small as it looks! Perhaps an inch and a half...two inches tops. I was pleased to find it, but not as much as El Diablo [aka Isaiah].

After quite a bit of yard work and picking up around the house, indoors, I was ready for a nice hot shower and a quiet evening with TV on and watching a new FBI on CBS. But first, hot BBQ pork sandwiches, home made potato salad, tossed salad and carrot cake for desert. By now, all clean and spiffy and ready for an hour or two of reading after watching TV, I will don my sleep shirt...

I don't give a rat's A$$
It's just how I feel these days.

§ All About Isaiah...

...just a few minutes of his shenanigans! No need to put all that many words to the music! It wasn't turned on, thank goodness, or there may be a shambles of him tearing off and it all came crashing down on him. What a devil. Just look at those innocent eyes.

We'll begin with the day of delivery. By the time he was done with it, it was pretty well shredded...

Then...the rest is history:

§ A Day in the Life...

To begin the week, it was a chilly morning upon my wake-up hour. But the sky was clear; cloudless. I really had no special plans to do much of anything...I was playing lazy. I even went back to take a nap, only a couple hours after I got up for the day!! And I slept! Now, I tellya, that respite  really ruined my mojo. I couldn't get going afterward. Okay, so for the slow start, I had an old power line, ceramic, very large, insulator that I picked up, that had fallen from the pole, on a deserted county road when I was out looking for hawks, etc. several days ago.

§ He's Got a List...and Checking It Twice!!

At sunrise, I was getting prepared to go to town along the seawall; a car trip over Ocean Drive, parallel to the coastline.  The Rotary Club and several other institutions recognize veterans in a special way. It's quite impressive to see. The first time, years past, I went to view the tribute, there were maybe 50-75 flags in one park only, unfurled with each flag dedicated to a certain veteran of wars/peace time. I try to go each year. This year, a couple days ago, I drove there with intentions of taking photos as I walked. But, to my surprise, the flags display started at ONE park and continued through 4 more seaside parks....my estimation is 1000s of flags! Each separate flag dedicated to an individual. The flags are purchased for $50 to raise money and help those who served our country. I was in awe. I took a few photos, but this is just a minimal effort....

At the first park I pulled off and didn't park, I just sat in my car and viewed a bit. I was a bit speechless. I knew there'd be more further down the street, closer to town. I left shortly and followed the traffic flow to another...surprised at how many I'm seeing! Then, another park! Still more flags. The scene was a spectacle and humbling! Finally I stopped at the 'main' coastline park and got out and walked along the trail.

Leaving from my morning walk, it was becoming overcast, and I had other stops to make before heading home. Before I reached the car the sky was painted gray yet the sun persisted...

I stopped at the nearest Dollar Tree, but didn't find much. Across the street, there is a Walmart. I still had to get some bananas for lunch [my potassium supplement]. Once in the parking lot I noticed a LOT of police vehicles up front. My first thought was a shoplifter caught. Then, what with things going on these days I thought "Should I go in or stop somewhere else". There was no commotion or lights flashing. Nothing roped off, no stand off scene, and other shoppers were coming out and going in. Okay. Safe! I bagged my bananas and then, just 'cause I'm a fanatic, I headed to the holiday shopping area. As I walked through the aisles, I notice the cops!!!! They were everywhere. Each had a cart and a list. Their carts were filled. Aha! This too is a tradition here in Corpus. The police department play holiday angels to those in need....children [poor, orphans, foster homes]. I stopped and asked the one in my aisle if I could take his photo for my blog. He permitted me to snap a photo. I asked how many he is shopping for and he said three. "All girls". Later as I walked further, I spied another officer...she was talking to herself. I had to laugh inwardly. Then I saw some holiday leggins and first blogger I thought of was Sandra. She shops frequently at Walmart and wears those comfortable leggins with ease and style. I thought these would be perfect with a long plain red top. With her complexion and fun demeanor, these would be great. Even if she wouldn't wear them anywhere, they'd make a wonderful set of lounging pjs or part of Christmas Eve wardrobe!! She'd look mahvelous, don't you think?!

When I got back home, Isaiah was happy to see me.

§ This and That....

For a few days I've stayed home and got some menial jobs done around the house. One was nothing earth shattering, but it took most of the morning. And since I go walking in the morning only, I didn't that day. The job of work was to clean, wax, dust, and arrange the entertainment center. One side of the shelving unit has our collection of DVD [and even some old VHS!!]. When using them, they never get put back in the original slot. So, I wanted to take them all out [100s] and dust the shelves, then arrange them alphabetically. By the way, you may wonder why we still have VHS in our collection...we have a DVD/VHS player, and some of our favorite movies have never made it to DVD. So, they stay here with us. Then, on the other side of the unit are four more shelves. There I have cassettes, CDs, and even vinyls -33 rpm and 45s-. Yep we have a record player, CD, and cassette player all in one. The collection of vinyls go back to the history of JAZZ, Elvis, Righteous Bros, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Herb Alpert, and many classical compositions. I even have a collection of Winston Churchill speeches in several volumes on 33rpm.

Now that you know the background of this post somewhat, the reason there is nothing much, I am sharing a few eclectic photos with you 'cause I have nothing better to share at the moment. I haven't gone walking 'cause the heat index has been hitting the 110° mark.  If I do go anywhere, it's all in the Air Conditioned Car...

Just outside our house, "x" marks the spot!

Finally, the frozen pitiful looking palm trees are coming back...

Power Line Repair work...on island highway!

 

Gift Shop Exterior on NORTH Padre Island [not South Padre Island...that's Brownsville, Texas]

 

I brought my lens-ball in from the car to clean and took a couple photos of a couple of my glass dolphins.

And Isaiah being somewhat of a mechanic. He thought the tire was a bit low and tried showing me that they needed inflating a bit so he could crawl under the chassis and check out the drive train for me.

 

 

...and to continue showcasing my Trolls...

↓ My 27th Troll Share ↓

TROLL DOLL COLLECTION Holiday Themed SMALLEST IN MY COLLECTION Thanksgiving Pilgrim circa: 80s

§ Photos to Watercolor...

I haven't used the filter app for my photos in ages. And, since it was rainy and gloomy one morning this past week, I played. Really, just to break the boredom. I started off in my software program, Paintshop Pro, making and designing a new picture frame shown here. I added effects, took them off, tried another effect, didn't like it, and did others...finally got the texture [and faint bubbles] to look half way decent and saved it for later use along with framing what I planned to do afterward.After it got light enough to see better while driving, I did go to the grocery store, debating beforehand if I should go out birding and hope to not get too wet. Well, I'm glad I decided against it. The rain started about 11 pm the night before and it came down heavily for quite some time; into the morning hours. Leaving lakes and ponds in the fields. There wouldn't have been too many birds out. Once I got home and put the stuff away in cupboards and refrigerator, I got back on the watercolor filter site and played some more! Here's what I did. Well, I didn't do much but upload the photo I chose and then set the numbers I wanted for the effects and voilá!

These are all my photos from archives...
...first, the bald eagle. Once the watercolor effect was to my liking, I got back into Paintshop Pro and opened my new gold frame just made and framed the eagle; changing the gold to a soft, warm brown.

This one of the snowy egret was taken when the pond was full of duck weed...making it look very Louisiana swamp-like [bayou]. Because of that, I chose to change my gold frame export to a swampy green color after setting the watercolor effect the way I wanted...

I took one of my pencil sketches to the site and manipulated the watercolor effect on it...changed my gold frame to a silver-blue one since it's black and white and the result...

I did several while trying to pass some time during the intermittent storm fronts passing through, but I will share one more. I will post the last of them at a later date...

I put the groceries away, left the cupboard door open [long ago, when he was a kitten] and Isaiah jumped up in it. Very proud of himself. With the framing this time, I chose to use a blue 'wood stain' to offset the cherry wood cupboard with a contrasting color...