It May Choke Artie........

....but it ain't gonna' choke me! 

Steamed artichokes in the Crock Pot! They cook twice as fast as boiling them on the stove. 

I'm more in love with this appliance every day! 

Throwback Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

What I’m Reading

I just finished reading Playing with Sketches

From the blurb on Amazon, it says in part: “Playing with Sketches is a hands-on, fun approach to exploring drawing principles. Beginning with an introduction to the philosophy of learning through the process of play, this book brings you through a series of basic warm-up exercises that can be combined with later projects.”

It is filled with exercises that bring you back to basics. 

At first I wasn’t impressed but the more I got into it the more it ignited my imagination! You read the exercises, you try the exercises and the next thing you know your imagination is taking flight and you can’t work fast enough to keep up with yourself!

I’m not saying that every exercise will be to your liking, or will get your muse in gear, but there are enough that something will appeal to you and set your brain racing! 

Just my humble opinion.........

Punny Monday

A garage sale is actually a Garbage sale but the "b" is silent.

Flash Fiction Friday

Avery Gotlieb

Avery wasn’t what you’d call your typical guy. He was a person out of his time and place.

He liked to dress in neatly pressed slacks, penny loafers and button down shirts. With a paisley cravat neatly tucked into his collar which, on the surface, doesn’t sound odd except he lived in a rural farming community in the heartland of Florida.

Sugar country.

He didn’t really fit in with the 'overall' set is what I'm saying.

Neither did his house. Amid the small concrete bungalows built to shelter the migrant workers, Avery built a palatial compound that included: the main house of seventeen rooms, an Olympic sized swimming pool replete with a bath house containing three bedrooms, a five car garage (although he only owned two cars) and a sprawling English garden that would rival the palaces of any European country.  

                He wasn’t a sugar plantation owner. He wasn’t the son of a sugar plantation owner. As a matter of fact, no one knew where Avery came by his apparent money.

                And yet, the people in his small community didn’t resent him. On the contrary, they liked him quite a bit.            

He was pleasant and gregarious, always willing to help a neighbor. But the thing they all agreed they liked most about Avery was his sense of humor.

                His sense of humor was, at its best, unusual. At its worst still incredibly funny. And he had the means to exhibit his humor when it suited him.

                In the summer of ’01 it suited him. He decided to open an establishment. He had noticed the residents of his small town had limited occasions or places to socialize. So he took it upon himself to give them somewhere to go and have a good time.

                Why not open a café, he thought.

                But not just ANY café. Why not provide somewhere to go where you could have a good time and still be productive. And that’s when the brilliant idea hit him. Why not have a café where you could sit and relax and chat with friends while doing your laundry? It was the PERFECT idea! You had to sit around and wait in a regular Laundromat anyway. Why not make it a pleasant experience? And why not, he thought, have it be a place where you could get a nice meal and a drink?

                And so it came to pass, in the summer of ’01, Avery Gotlieb opened the first and only (to anyone’s knowledge)

 COIN WASH AND SEAFOOD CAFÉ

               

(ed.’s note: In the state of Florida, in a small inland town, there stands an unobtrusive white washed concrete building with a hand painted (in red) sign that reads: COIN WASH AND SEAFOOD CAFÉ. I saw it with my own eyes. We didn’t stop to investigate and I’ve wondered ever since what it would have been like if we had gone in.)

Throwback Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

Sketching 101....?

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice....to draw the damn lanai furniture....

I paraphrase, of course......but the sentiment is there! LOL

Maybe someday I'll attempt to diagram all those legs and explain which ones go with which chair.

Or not.

Punny Monday

What was Forrest Gump's email password? "1forrest1"

The Summer of Salsa

I was remembering the other day about all the people we’ve known as neighbors. We’ve been very lucky in that department. We’ve had wonderful neighbors some of whom have become lifelong friends.

Then there were the ones who came and went fairly quickly.

I was recalling the family who didn’t really live in the neighborhood, per se. They kept their boat in the neighborhood. On the empty lot across the canal from us. A large cabin cruiser with no engines and in need of a total overhaul.

At least that’s what we thought they were going to do with it. It’s not uncommon for people to buy boats in rather disheveled condition to fix up. Sometimes it’s the only way for it to be affordable. One day it appeared on the empty lot across the canal. It was an older, wooden cabin cruiser. Nice lines. Looked to be about 40’.

The first weekend several cars pulled up on the lot and a handful of people tumbled out of their cars and boarded the boat. We expected to hear scraping and pounding, your basic working noises. What we heard was music and laughter.

I understand music while working helps to pass the tedium. But there were no ‘working’ noises.

And then more cars pulled onto the lot. And more people got out and boarded the boat.

The next weekend the same thing. And every weekend there were more and more cars and more and more people.

The sound system got more sophisticated and picnic tables were added to the landscape of the lot. Along with a BBQ and garbage cans.

For an entire summer they came and partied all weekend. Lively music and wonderful cooking smells.

And then one day the boat kind of ‘sank’ into the lot. We woke up one morning and there it sat leaning menacingly to the side.

That weekend the picnic tables disappeared along with the BBQ and trash cans. We never saw them again.

The boat sat there for quite a long time until the town declared it a hazard and hauled it away.

I thoroughly enjoyed that ‘Summer of Salsa‘, even if I didn’t get to taste the food!

Arriba! 

Throwback Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

Because I’m an Idiot

Back in the ‘good ole’ days Amazon used to tell me when I had already purchased a book so I wouldn’t keep buying the same one over and over……apparently they don’t do that anymore. Or I’m stupid and I don’t know where to set that particular preference. Either way, I’ve ended up with two copies of these books. (click the pink link to bring you to Amazon and you can 'look inside'.)

The Creative License by Danny Gregory

The Art of Urban Sketching by Gabriel Campanario

So, if anyone out there would like either (or both) of these books I’ll be glad to send them to you. I’ll ship anywhere if you’re willing to pay the postage. I’ll try and do it media mail. I think that’s the cheapest from here in the states. Just leave a comment. First come, first served. I’ll e-mail you and we can work out the details…..

I hope someone out there can give them a good home!

Punny Monday

Why is Donald Trump always seen with Melania? Because all his other wives support Hillary. 

Flash Fiction Friday

He was older by several years and made a point of it by showing her how much more ‘worldly’ he thought he was than she. He explained things to her that she didn’t need explanations for. He told her what to order in restaurants. When they went to museums he explained the art and how to view it properly.

As she got to know him better she realized he was really quite a pompous ass.

After a while the novelty of dating an ‘older man’ began to wear off. She tried putting a little distance between them. Not being available when he called. Busy when he asked her out. So when he asked to meet her parents she was surprised. He hadn’t wanted to meet her parents when they first started dating. He said it was because they wouldn’t approve of their age difference. She knew it was because it showed intent, and he had no intention of getting serious.

When he showed up at her house wearing a sports jacket she was floored. It didn’t fit with his shoulder length hair and torn jeans.  And that was just the tip of the iceberg!  He was overly solicitous to her parents and they noticed it.

Out of the blue he told them he was a Methodist and about how he used to sing in the choir as a boy. The more he talked the more uncomfortable she got. Just as she was about to say it was time for them to leave he said the most amazing thing she had ever heard him utter, “Mr & Mrs, the reason I asked to meet you today was for the purpose of asking for the hand of your daughter in marriage.”

She blinked.

“Are you out of your mind?” she said.

And that was their last date.

Throwback Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

I Need to be Re-Plumbed

Not really (and apologies to anyone reading this who has had a colostomy or similar surgery. I know it’s not easy or pleasant.)

But if there were a way to reline my innards I would totally sign up! 

Sometimes I feel like all I am is intestines.....broken intestines......

Punny Monday

A friend of mine tried to annoy me with bird puns, but I soon realized that toucan play at that game.

29 Faces

I will no longer be participating in this challenge.
This is why: Denthe 
I am so disappointed in the host of the challenge I no longer wish to take part.

I only made it to 20. 

Throwback Thursday

Wordless Wednesday