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I have been doing my Dad's blog for the past few days... Drop in: www.jimfields.wordpress.com

When a Group Lesson Turns into a Photo Shoot...

What do you get when you put Mary.... and Weibke together? You don't know, you say. Well, my friend, I can help you out. Telling isn't near as fun as showing, so here goes.

You get this. Two very happy, energetic kiddos. Here's how a group lesson goes down. When they stop counting rhythms and reading notes and seemingly FORGET how to play their respective instruments we pause....take a deep breath....and I get my camera.

Why get irritated with the sweeties when I could just take their pictures for DAYS?!?!

They are just soooo fun. I'm thankful that I've met these two and am so happy that I get to be part of their lives.

I Do Yoga...

She does Doga... Yep. Those are the back legs, folks. She is comfy and happy and peacefully snoring. If I were to do that, I'd never unfold. Ever. Period - end of story.

Have a restful Saturday, y'all... and don't forget! Thanksgiving is next Thursday! I challenge you to make something new this year... peace out....

A Random Post of Randomness

I like this plate... I like this one better, though.

The flower has shoes...I don't know why, but it does. At first I liked them, then they kinda weirded me out. I'm back to liking the shoes. I have accepted them for what they are and now I'm going to move on.

Got me a couch at the local Goodwill. $30 dollars of sheer and total happines. It is delightfully tacky, I think and...

It matches my new curtains (thank you Martha and K Mart) in a strange way.

On a totally different note, my sweet Mama works at a thrift store and I love to dig through the kids books. Yesterday I found the Charlie Brown Dictionary vol. 1-8 in pretty good condition for 10 cents a piece. You just can't beat that, people. I guess now is the time to tell you that I have an unnatural addiction to children's books. Since I cannot purchase them brand spanking new, I make a game out of finding older books to take home so that they may be loved once again.

Finding Charlie Brown and the Smurfs all in the same day just about did me in, ya'll. Of course the music reference in Charlie and the Smurfs' front cover made me smile. You just don't get better than that.

Have a Smurfy day!!

Not My Couch

So, I wake up this morning intent on coffe, my comfy couch, and my sacred alone/computer/wake up time. It is sacred because I can listen to whatever music I want, hog the computer, work, blog, etc. Why would this morning be any different, you ask? Well, I stumbled into the music room this morning at 630 and this is what I found. So I say, "Come on, guys, really? I don't see room for me on that couch." Mondo looks at me like this...

and then does this...

I'm sensing some serious St. Bernard apathy, here, folks. He really cares absolutley not at ALL.-
Now fast forward about 10 minutes. I have documented Mondo's apathy and gotten comfy (not really, but settled enough not to move when he groans, stretches and gets up to lay in FRONT of the DOOR. Something is waking...something very active, hound-doggy, wiggley, waggeldy, curious, and smart.

Good morning, Penny. (Reader, please note that my loveable, adorable, sweet, beautiful, well-behaved bulldog, Maggie, has slept through all of this - snoring occaisionally in contentment - and as I sit here an hour and a half later, she is still in the same place she was when I stumbled upon this little doggy fest on what I thought was MY couch.)

I would be remiss in not mentioning little Mary J. She is such a little opportunist. She'll lay anywhere between the months of November and March just to be warm. Apperently Maggie is the best heater...

Stay warm everybody and have a good day!!

A Little Bit of Sea World...

ok, folks, first things first. If you have never touched a sting ray, you definitely should. They are slimey and soft and utterly touchable. Anndee thinks so...it just takes a minute to warm up to them. Also, if you ever try to feed one, their mouths are completely UNDER their heads. Don't dangle a slimy, smelly sardine OVER them. They'll just look at you like, "Duh, man, didn't you know that my mouth is UNDER the water?"

Feeding dolphins is not at all the same. We all know where their mouths are. Anndee and my Ma got to get up close and personal with about 20 playful and hungry dolphins. Anndee waited her whole trip to be able to do this and was absolutely thrilled to feed them and watch them play with their balls. I think she'd still be there watching them if she could.

Meanwhile... I am enthralled in the underwater viewing area. I have never had so much fun watching any other mammal play. Neat critters, dolphins... BUT...

The manatees took the cake. No, folks, this is NOT a blimp or a space alien or, well, a large, manatee shaped underwater football. My mom had to come looking for me because I stayed so long looking at these guys. They are fascinating and if you think I'm silly for thinking that, you swim around with two short arms and a big butt!

Finally, sweet Navy says, "And if none of that works for you, do what I did...eat a cookie!!"

A Peek...

I told my student Mary that I would make sure and post a couple of pics before I got home, so here they are Mary! I finally got to put my toes in the sand and play in the Atlantic today. We had so much fun and the little girlies were amazed to say the least. It is so fun to see my sweet nieces experience life.

ANYWAY... this is just a sneak peek, folks. More soon...hope everyone is havin' a good week and I'll see ya soon!

Autumn...Beauty

Fall has been so beautiful this year...and, well...long and also very colorful.

The Lovin' Husband and I live in a cedar barren. There aren't so many of those in our country...even in our lovely state of Tennessee. If you look at the picture above, you will see what I mean. See all of the cedar trees on the right side of the road? They look like Christmas trees. My lovely four-legged critters love to chase rabbits, skunks, deer, groundhogs, occaisional chickens and bobcats through those very trees. They grow like weeds and house ticks by the millions...I've just decided that I will have to discuss cedar trees at further lenght, but later...ANYWAY...


When I see these lovely and colorful deciduous trees, I am thankful that no matter the cedar barren... and emphasis on the word barren... God has put beauty in all of our lives - wherever we are - all we have to do is always look for it. Always be ready for the unexpected and to find the beauty in ANY situation because it is always there.

Have a good week...I am going to Florida!! Yay!!!! Will be sure to post the photo of my toes in the sand as soon as it happens....

What I See Every Day

Hello...

Let's go on an adventure.

We couldn't go on said adventure without BoJangles. He whines terribly when left behind and drives the Lovin' Husband a bit nutso.

Of course, we'd lose out on mucho entertainment if Penny didn't come along as well. Goodness, the energy of a hound dog. She is hell on wheels, that one...

Blue skies shinin' on me. Nothin' but blue skies do I see...ah, willie, sing it to me...

Neighbor Stan says it best.... "I love livin' in the country..."

Here, my friends, we will cross the county line back into home territory. The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, the air is cleaner, and my wonderful Neighbors Stan and Donna are not a-feared of my sweet, four-legged critters and therefore they (namely Bo) do not have to suffer the indignity of a leash as soon as we cross that line.

to be continued...

I'm Excited About the Day...

These are more pictures from Chloe's senior picture shoot. Most of them are of her, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't capture some of the fall beauty around me. My favorites are the bright red ones that shine so brightly in the sun. They almost sparkle there at the top of the mountain. Even lying on pavement, though, their beauty is just as breathtaking.

I think people are the same way, a lot. You can see the beauty in them even if they are not always in the best of life situations. You just have to realize to always keep your eyes open and be aware of more than yourself - you never know when you will have the opportunity appreciate the beauty in someone...

I *heart* you!!! Have a good beginning of the week and remember to smile today!!

Happy Day

Today is a good day. After church, I have no obligations, no appointments, no meetings - the only thing I have to do is come home and cook lunch. Now, I do have plans for my day. I'm going to clean the music studio, clean the kitchen, and gently nudge the lovin' husband in the direction of the piles of flooring that need to be laid in the front room, but that is it. I'm going to gather chicken eggs (if their are any to gather) and pull multiplier onions out of my garden so that we may eat them with supper tonight.

A Good Day....

She's So Beautiful....

Adam's little sis Chloe wanted her senior pictures to be special and different, so we loaded up and headed to Beersheba Springs for shoot number one.

I'm no professional, but we managed to get quite a few really great pictures for her to sort through and see if any strike her as "senior picture" material. Like this one with her sweetie, Evan.

We had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to a couple more of these shoots with Chloe by the time she graduates. She's so easy to take photos of... and easier to be with. Thanks for the day, Chloe and Evan!!