Thanks! and Happy Friday

Thank you to the many people who discussed aspects of fan fiction in yesterday's blog. What a spirited discussion with so much wonderful information. My fan fiction horizons were broadened and I hope that each of you participating or merely reading felt it was time well worth spending. I was thrilled with the response and can't wait to go back, respond to the last few comments, and read the entire discussion once more.

It was a spirited discussion and I loved every bit of it. Thanks to
each one of you who participated and broadened my horizons. 

It occurred to me that I drain my phone battery often, so I'm always plugging my phone into my various rechargers. I suppose I lose power because I'm always reading on my phone, or sending texts, or taking photos, or searching the web for information. My poor phone gets used a lot. But I'll be at the State Fair next week for three days of glorious Fairing with Sharon, and it hit me that I might need additional power while out there. So I decided to quickly order a portable power thingie - (LOL brain fart!) - you know ... a portable battery recharger that I can easily carry along with me. I found one online for around $15. The reviews were quite positive, the price was right, and it will be in my hands by mid-week. Perfect!

A portable phone charger should recharge a phone from
two to four times. I wanted to get one in time to have it
fully charged and ready to go by Friday morning. 

I remember wandering through the Field Museum last year while visiting Chicago. I adored the various exhibits, but deplored the fact that my phone desperately needed power. I ended up scouting out several electrical outlets and perching at several of them for 30 minute spans just to get my power back into the green. Sheesh! I don't want to run into that problem again.

What I really want in a Messenger Bag is similar to this. This particular
one is a J Crew Bowery Bag and it's a bit more than I wanted to
spend - coming in close to $100. But it's the size and material I wanted and
I'm discovering that there are a lot of really icky bags out there.
A new bag for the Fair may not be in my stars.

I've been hunting for the perfect messenger bag to take to the Fair with me, but haven't found one I like yet. I had ordered one from Amazon, but when I received it I knew immediately that it wasn't what I wanted. I sent it back the next day and had my account credited within two days after that. All things considered, the return worked pretty smoothly, for Amazon which isn't famed for its ease of returns.

I'll be researching the new foods as well as reading the reviews
on Heavy Table before I go out there with Sharon. No sense in
wasting money on icky food - only the best food on a stick for me
and my friends. 

Today is Chickie's first full day at the Fair. She's taking a vacation day and meeting her Mom over there for a bit of mother/daughter bonding. Chickie Mom is working a few hours at the AARP booth. She doesn't really like the Fair, so Chickie is determined to show her that the Fair can be a wonderful and fun experience. I hope she succeeds, but who knows. At least we're not starting today out with the thunderstorms and torrential rains that yesterday's sun arose with. It does mean, however, that I'm on my own at work today. My manager will be downstairs working on our new display. We hope to have it up and functional by tomorrow. So I'll be fending off the teeming hoards of rabid beaders solo for much of the day. *sigh*

I'll be manning the barricade on my own today...

Have a truly wonderful Friday.

I'm Running SO Late!

First of all, thanks to all who chimed in and posted responses to my post of yesterday. The discussion and points of view were amazing, awesome, varied and thoughtful, and I loved the interchange. I'm still horribly upset at the lack of action by our young people, but hope that they will find their voice to protest actions taken by others without their consent before it is too late.

Dialog between people can be a wonderful and invigorating
thing. I loved yesterday's discussion. 

But, since I'm running super late (like I have a bit more than 15 minutes to pull today's post from the aether), I'm letting my mind roam free. Warning - this can be a dangerous thing.

I'm a child of the west and the open spaces and vast vistas of
my youth still color my love of nature to this day. 

There are some photos that I just hate having to resize, and
this was one of them. The Mittens in Arizona are so spectacular,
so beautiful, and so very iconic of the Wild West. 

A different view of Monument Valley, the backside of The Mittens. This
is Navajo indian land and it's hot, there isn't a lot of water, and it's some
of the most beautiful land on earth. 

So, with that taste of roaming, I am catching up a little bit. I wish I could share more, but the clock is ticking. So ... Today is Day 13 of Le Tour and we're finally into the big mountains. The Alps for the weekend  - how totally, amazingly and wonderfully lovely, and the peloton will be fractured by the end of the weekend.

Stage 13 brings us into the alps and finishes on a HC climb
at the top! Ouch! I hope the sprinters can hold on. We've
already lost several in the past few days. 

Here's the profile for the day. It's a lot of nasty climbs for the boys and their bikes. Have a great Friday and my apologies for such a short post today.

Thanks for Sharing & A Photo Blog for the Weekend

First of all, thanks to all of you who participated in yesterday's discussion of obesity and perception. It was a wonderful discussion with lots of very valid viewpoints and statements and I learned a lot from all of the comments. I hope each of you who chose to take the time to comment have had a chance to revisit the post and read through the various comments. It was a wonderful dialog.

We had a great dialogue and I was pleased to read so many well-reasoned
and beautifully expressed opinions on the topic. 

It's the weekend and tomorrow is both Mother's Day as well as my own 60th birthday *sigh*. Suddenly I feel old and that sucks. So I'm going to try and ignore all of that and focus on beautiful things for a photo blog to end my week. I hope you have a totally fabulous weekend and come back on Monday with a smile on your face. So here we go...

I'd like to think I keep getting better, but today I'm just
not feeling it. I promise this will be the last silly thing I
say about this birthday. I promise! 

Mother's Day is celebrated this Sunday here in the US, so I'm
taking this opportunity to wish all of my f-list a very Happy
Mother's Day. Whether you are a mother or not, or whether your mother
is still living or not, or even if you dislike your mother and have no
intention of visiting or phoning her, spare a small thought for
her on her special day. Because good or bad, she's still your mother. 

Seeing the flowers above made me think about some of my favorite
flowers and that list has to be headed by the blue Columbine. This state
flower of Colorado is one of my absolute favorite flowers. Although I've
tried to have Columbines here in Minnesota, they tend more often to be
the red colored variety. It's the blue,  almost purple color of the
high mountain meadows that are my true love. 

Seeing the Columbine above made me think about other flowers I love. One
that I'm looking forward to are the lilac blossoms that will line my
backyard as well as the freeway exits throughout the city. I love looking
at their colorful blooms, and their scent is one of my favorite natural perfumes. 

As my last flower for today's photo blog, I'm posting red and white carnations
in honor of my mother. Carnations were her favorite flower and she always
wanted red and white. My father bought her red and white carnations
several times a year until the day he died. 

Have a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day. I'll be back on Monday.