Happy New Year

Just a little bit from now, we can say good bye to 2008 and welcome in 2009. Happy New Year, world, and to all those who celebrate this time as the beginning of a new year.

Watery Wednesday: More Window Dressing

Had a storm blow through the area a few nights ago. Lots of wind and rain and the opportunity to take another photo of water pushing up against some vertical surface. Hope everybody participating in Watery Wednesday has a great New Year's Eve and an even better New Year. Happy New Year!

Bloomington at Night

Photos taken on the Square in Bloomington a couple of nights ago.

The NFL Playoffs - just for fun, of course...

My picks for the NFL playoffs all the way to the big one here. Tks to Marty for sending me his prognostications and getting me started on the very easy interactive picking page at the NYTimes - here. And, yes, it is Eli vs Payton in the Super Bowl.

Update: Note Marty's comment which lists the links to picks from himself, Eric and me.

More Bloomington Photos

Surprise! La Dolce Vita is in Bloomington! I, for one, am glad of that. Didn't know it was there. (Should have known though.)

Empty benches and a quiet place on the IU campus. Students off on the holiday break.

Posting from home since I'm down to open the golf course with all the good weather.

Monday evening movie and photo post

Did go down to Kroger; did get a call from Miki (just before I was going to call Marty); did have Kevin talk me through the dvd operation; did watch a movie (Distant); and have successfully posted a photo over at Picture Social: Monday Street Scene (be sure and look for the little white guy...). Have used that photo as entry in the Monday Monochrome Maniacs post.

It was a beautiful day here; made me wonder if anybody played golf down in Loogootee. Tomorrow's supposed to be another lovely day.

Note: I've taken lots of photos but am limited in accessing them with this little laptop of Miki's. Will get to them when I return to my home computer.

Monday stuff

Lots of walking this morning - and picture taking, including visits to Miki's house which is remodeled and looking very spiffy (photos later!). Then through town and on up to the IU campus where I repeated some trekking that I did for most of the '90's when I worked here on the IU campus. Lunch with my old boss, Sharon Pugh, at the Siam House, an old favorite. Then back to Miki and Kevin's haunt for a nap and then, after trying to get a dvd started - couldn't figure it out - I watched the majority of Stealing America, the Movie, something which was being shown on Free Speech tv. Had to do with all the anomilies of our voting system between 1996 and 2006. Theme: take back America by taking back our voting system . Got me all exercised (again) but this time with a difference: it's a message of hope and not only a reporting of the suspected malfeasance of the Republicans in rigging the voting system for ten years.

Heading down to Kroger for some salad fixings. Then maybe I'll call Marty about switching from tv to dvd...

More B-town photos at Picture Social

I've posted a few more photos from my walking tour of the Bloomington streets over at Picture Social. These are from yesterday afternoon on my stoll which followed the Colt-Titan game - which I thoroughly enjoyed even though it had no bearing on the standings.

Living in a fish bowl

Miki and Kevin don't have curtains or drapes on their windows, nor do their neighbors. I'm wondering if this is some kind of extra witnessing of one's life - remember that movie with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez, Shall we Dance? It was Susan Sarandon, the wife, who commments near the end of the movie that marriage is kind of a witnessing, and I half remember the 'if nothing else' after thought. Come to think of it, this blogging rage as well as the more immediate and hour by hour notations on Twitter (I think that is what Marty is part of and that he explained to me yesterday) - isn't this all a way of letting our lives be witnessed? by someone? anyone? Or maybe it's just a way of staying connected. Or thinking out loud. In any case, Miki has since informed me that she and Kevin haven't decided on a cat proof window covering but that they will one of these days. In the meantime, enjoy all this extra and unusual exposure.

Heading out for my first walk of the day. Did post a second photo over at Picture Social - Bloomington Bench Party.

Big city...

In Bloomington for awhile, catsitting for Miki. Already been for one walk into town - which is just down the road a piece, and expect I'll get another one in before the day is out. Using Miki's laptop, something I'll have to get used to. Don't expect it will take me all that much time. Hmmm, Blogger is having a little hissy fit; won't let me upload a photo, isn't saving my work. This is not good. Arg. Saving now but it won't let me add a photo. Dang. Maybe later.

Update: Got the photo that I tried to upload published here at my Picture Social blog.

SkyWatch Friday: The day before Christmas

T'was the day before Christmas and all o'er the skies
not a creature was stirring...

...and the clouds tumbled and roiled and were such a sight
that we stood in our tracks and...

Well, you get the idea. It's SkyWatch Friday and more skies from around the world can be found here. Hope everybody is full of the joy of Christmas and the holiday season. Note: The photo was taken on the 24th when the skies were much more interesting than the slate gray they are today.

December 25th in Odon

The older boys...

The girls...

One of the younger boys...

And the other younger boy.

Spent the middle part of this Christmas Day at Eric and Colleen's breaking bread, sharing stories and enjoying each other's company.

Blogging at Picture Social, etc.

Posted my first blog entry at Picture Social just now. One advantage to Picture Social is that it has unlimited photo upload. Google has limits though they are generous - and I do take advantage of that and have posted a bunch of pictures. Been out for a walk this morning and there certainly were a lot of people driving off to grandma's house - had to keep getting off of the road to ensure that I did not get side swipped. Off to Eric's directly. Have a good Christmas Day, you all!

p.s. did you catch any of the Notre Dame football win last night? In a bowl game even. Figure they finally got down to the level of competition where they belong. Or maybe it was having Charlie W. up in the coach's box rather than on the field.

Christmas Eve 2008

Happy Holidays to each of you.

And may peace and joy be with you throughout the New Year.

Watery Wednesday: Iced Entry

From our door to your door, Seasons Greetings to all the Watery Wednesday crowd. We had a little rain come down on us yesterday afternoon and evening. With temperatures right at 32 degrees, it hit and froze, giving us iced walkways and doors. Fortunately, the temperatures rose over the course of the evening and night (to 48 degrees at get up time!) and the additional rains wiped away any remnant of our frozen interlude. More Watery Wednesday photos here.

Digby's video acceptance

Video of the Paul Wellstone Awards ceremony way back in 2007 where digby of hullabaloo accepted the award for the net roots blogosphere and also revealed to the world that she was a she. Worth watching because it is all about taking back America.

The First Noel

A chorus of unlikely critters giving us their rendition of The First Noel.

Three little snow people
Two singing geese
And a sitting snowman on a piano.

Don't forget the bright eyed raindeer!

More More Monochrome Monday: Boys in Motion

Photo part of the group taken at the Homecoming last Saturday evening.

More Monochrome Monday: Painted Posts

Just up the road a piece, these white washed fence posts surround a garden area that is part of a larger piece of ground that is also used to raise Belgian horses. Photo taken a few hours ago on my morning walk. The walk: bracing, with temperatures almost at the ten degree mark and a little wind that made it feel five to ten degrees colder.

Untitled - Monochrome Monday Photo

Note the framed picture (woodprint) in the background and the similarity of the poses. The woodprint is Jun-ichiro Sekino's My Daughter. This is Monochrome Monday and more photos from the Monochrom Maniacs can be found here, courtesy of Aileni.

More Homecoming 2008

Loogootee Homecoming 2008

Our Family Restaurant

8:45 on a Friday morning at the junction of US231 and US50. Take 231 for Jasper and points south; take 50 for Washington and points west. Or you could go east into downtown Loogootee and finish your Christmas shopping, or head on out to the golf course and get a surprise nine in on a mild, windy day. Diane, Jim and Wilma went home; I went to the golf course.

SkyWatch Friday: From the Eatery to the Gospel House

When we left home to head out to breakfast down at the Loogootee Family Restaurant (recently Uncle Buck's), the skies were mostly cloudy. But in the middle of our eating, the sun started peeking through so that by the time we were done and heading on home, they were mostly blue as seen here above the Gospel House in beautiful downtown Loogootee.

This is SkyWatch Friday and you can see skies from around the world by going here.

Scatter...

They were watching me approach and then, as a group, decided that that was close enough. Looks like a ring-billed gull.

Feeding the hungry

Colleen, another dark haired beauty, taking some hay to the horse though she also has some goats and a few sheep that will be looking for dinner. Photo taken yesterday when I stopped at Eric and Colleen's on my way back from Bloomington.

Dark haired beauty spotted

That would be Sheryl Flasch, Eric and Colleen's daughter, college student, and once princess extraordinaire of the clubhouse. Home for the holidays and helping Mom bring in the feed for some of the critters out at their place north of Odon.

Lest we forget -guys who fish with geese

As we get swallowed up by the latest burst of winter, lets not forget that it wasn't all that long ago that summer was full upon us with fishermen and geese around every corner. The above photo was taken last July out at Boggs Lake from the vantage point of the golf course. This is a Watery Wednesday entry. Go here for more themed photos from around the world.