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#AtoZChallenge and #CTST: Yard sailing
#CTST: garage sale finds and also interacting with interesting people while shopping in neighborhoods! Here are a few tips I’ve picked up during my yard sale exploits. Do you care to share any of yours? 1. Choose to yard sale in an area that is more upscale that your own. However, there are exceptions. I found a Canon camera lens at a garage sale on the side of a highway. You never know. 2. Selection is better earlier in the morning. However, you may get a lower price if you go mid-day or later, as people want to get rid of items. 3. Go to multi-family garage sales first,…
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#AtoZChallenge: X-cellent, furry alarm clock
Throwback Thursday post from 2016: The alarm clock feature on the iPhone is quite dependable. Unless you are a consistent “snoozer” like I am. I like to wake up and hit the snooze button a few more times before doing my leg exercises and getting out of bed. My orange, 12-year-old Manx cat, Oliver, (aka Ollie), has other ideas. He enjoys snuggling in bed in the mornings but once the alarm goes off, he’s ready for breakfast. At first, he patiently waits for me to wake up and turn the alarm off (or “snooze it,” as I usually do). He quickly learns that if I go back to sleep, that…
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#AtoZChallenge: Wild-life in Indiana
Photo © Diane Weidenbenner I went to Rural King recently in Terre Haute, Ind., and there was a “Fish” truck on the premises, selling young fish to people who have lakes, ponds, etc. They were stocking their bodies of water with crappies, blue gill, bass and a few other types of fish that I can’t remember. In Colorado, where I’m from, it’s not uncommon for the mountain lakes, ponds and streams to be stocked for the season. I have just never seen a local truck, in town, selling bags of various kinds of fish to residents. My friend and I were so astonished to see it that we had to…
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#AtoZChallenge: Vintage appeal
Isn’t this old building unique? I’ve never seen anything like it. I love the colorful tiles/bricks that make up the exterior. And, the tiles were even used on what looks like a chimney. My friend, Sandy, loves things that are colorful like this and she and I came across this old building on one of our weekend drives. Are these what are known as subway tiles? They have made a comeback and people are using them again to line back splashes in kitchen and bathroom remodels. Again, not sure if these are the same thing, but I love them. I’m fairly certain they are made of glass or ceramic/clay and…
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#AtoZChallenge: Up movie by Disney
2009 Walt Disney Picture’s Pixar Productions’ publicity photo. I recently rented the 2009 animated adventure “Up” and was incredibly moved by it (no pun intended). You see, the plot of the movie involves a 78-year-old widower named Carl Frederickson who ties thousands of helium-inflated balloons to his house in order to lift it and transport it and himself to the wilds of South America. He is (or was) a balloon salesman, so he’s uniquely qualified for the task. While there were parts of the movie that moved a bit slowly, the story line was so ingenious that it kept me focused. For a computer-animated comedy, it was for me a…
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#AtoZChallenge: Tractor
Photo © Diane Weidenbenner Have you seen the “American Pickers” show that “follows expert antiquers as they scour the country’s junkyards, basements and barns for hidded gems?” (according to History.com) Well, my friend Sandy and I are the Indiana/Illinois Pickers. We go for country drives and we never quite know what we’ll find. We have followed highways, byways, side roads and back roads in search of the unappreciated or forgotten treasures. One time we followed a dirt road right into the middle of a corn field. No, really! Thus far, one of my favorite discoveries has been this Ford tractor. First, my dad loved the Ford brand. He always bought…
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#AtoZChallenge: Sycamore tree (in celebration of Earth Day)
Sycamore tree in winter. Photo by Diane Weidenbenner. Happy Earth Day 2017! This winter, while walking beside Big Raccoon Creek near the Bridgeton Grist Mill in Bridgeton, Indiana, my friend and I noticed this beautiful, notty white-barked tree. It’s leaves were long gone but hanging from the tree were one-inch woody balls attached by small branches. Upon research with Google, we discovered this beautiful tree was a Sycamore, and the balls were actually the fruit of the tree that ripened in October and broke up into many small seeds throughout season. Sycamore “fruit”. Photo by Diane Weidenbenner. There were still very large leaves gathered at the bottom of the tree,…
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#AtoZChallenge: Paestum, Italy
The Poseidon Temple, built around 450 BC, boasts 36 fluted columns. Photo © Diane Weidenbenner On my trip to Italy, with a close friend, we visited the must-see places in Rome, Florence, Pisa and Tuscany. We rented a car while we were there and drove down the Amalfi Coast one day, on our way to Paestum, in the Campania region. The guide book mentioned that at one time, Greek ruins second only to Greece could be found in the small coastal town at the end of the peninsula. The guide book cautioned us that the three great Doric temples were mostly rubble, but it was worth the trip if you…
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#AtoZChallenge: Owls
Owl from a bird rescue at the Scottish Festival in 2012, Columbus, Ind. Photo © Diane Weidenbenner I’m not quite sure how it happened but for some reason, I got it in my head that my friend liked owls. Collected owls. Okay, loved owls! We were at a country store and she bought a card with a picture of a barn owl. She also has a solar-powered owl on the dash of her car. Are you seeing a theme here? I was. We attended a Scottish Festival in Columbus, Ind., last year and it was wonderful. We got to see sheepdogs herd sheep with just the swell of a whistle!…
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#AtoZChallenge: Nature
Mama fox and one of her kits. A fallen tree is their habitat so we can’t clear it away. Photo by Diane Weidenbenner. My husband and I have .7 of an acre on the north side of a small town in Indiana. It’s an older neighborhood and one that isn’t “hip” anymore. All the chain restaurants, the Walmart, and the mall with Macy’s and Carson’s is located on the south side. We enjoy less traffic up north, and an Applebee’s was built shortly before we arrived. People would ask where we moved to and the follow-up comment was “They just built an Applebee’s up there, ya know!” Yes, we’ve heard!…
