Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes

The Eagle Has Landed

For those who have stopped by looking for the Colorado float trip, it will be posted Tuesday. If you will e-mail me at [email protected], I will send you some photos.

In reference to a photo posted earlier this week:

I am ALWAYS so impressed with how observant you are... I didn't even see those feet at first.
Yes, that's a mechanical bull.
NO ! Those aren't my feet...either one of them.
Reason: I have ridden one of those contraptions before. It was one of the first dates I had with theHansMan. Not sure why I did it. One thing I AM sure of: Won't E.V.E.R do it again !
And no, I didn't look like Sissy in Urban Cowboy when I rode it either.

NOR, will I do this... E.V.E.R. !

Please notice. These two people are looking UP...straight UP !

Recognize those legs on the left? Neither pair of those legs belong to a witch.

Gone !

Side view.

The Eagle Has Landed !

New Best Friends

Just to give you a perspective on the situation...photos from two different vantage points.
See those two poles that are towering above the tents and the blimp? Yup. That's the ride known as Big Sling.

Wanna Ride ? 

Bee Lavender

It was with great risk and trepidation that I snapped these shots. No, I'm not allergic to lavender. In fact, it's one of my favorite fragrances. But the bee is a different story. One little sting from a bee sends me scrambling for an epi-shot. The operative word here is a.n.a.p.h.y.l.a.c.t.i.c. Just wanted to share a few scents and sights from my garden. If you concentrate, you will be able to gather the aroma of the lavender and listen to the buzzing symphony. Close your eyes and b-r-e-a-t-h-e.

Come Celebrate with Swamp Witch

It's been a busy and fun-filled week.
We sent out a few invitations to our closest friends to celebrate my birthday
with us, and ...

a few of them showed up.
We decided it was necessary to have the 'proper authorities' on hand for crowd control ...

We were just a bit concerned when the 'proper authorities' showed up in uniforms with "Beer Police" emblazoned on their backs. Once we realized that 'the "proper authorities" were consuming massive amounts of the contents of these bottles ...

and spending most of their time in the Chip and DIP bar...

it was then deemed necessary that we call in REINFORCEMENTS...

Because the temperatures lurked above the 100 degree mark, the hose brigade was summoned to cool the guests off. This gave a 'wholenother' meaning to "Wet T-Shirt Contest."

This area became a most popular venue for many of the birthday guests.

No party would be complete without nutritious food. Here, one's minimum daily requirement of grease could be devoured in one bite...

There was the traditional singing of "Happy Birthday to Swampy"...

There were many guests with these...

...and these...

And, then there were narcissistic guests with these...

We decided to call it a night, when I happened upon this couple...

The party will continue with the next post, but until then, I am leaving you with this ???
I know the picture is a bit dark, but any ideas what this is?  Look closely...

Fun Monday... for Tuesday... for Wednesday

UPDATED...UPDATED (AGAIN, AGAIN) LIST ! Please note there are more participants that have been added on Tuesday Wednesday. TheWitch is momentarily out of the building but will fly by on her broom sometime today. Thanks to ALL of you gracious blogbuds who have opened up your shelves and garages to play the game. If your name has been left off, let her know because the list will ooze into tomorrow...Fun Tuesday Wednesday !

Plato said, "I can learn more about a person from an hour of play than in a year of conversation." 

Someone else said, "I can learn a lot about a person by just looking at their bookshelves and garage."

So, Fun Monday's challenge for June 25 is to post pictures of your bookshelves or stacks of books. Hopefully, we will be able to read some of the titles. If you want, while you're at it, post pictures of ANY shelves...shelves with toys, dishes, collections, Aunt Gertrude's ashes in an urn, etc. Also, post pictures of your garage, carport, or places where you store 'stuff.'  (No fair cleaning first, but if you must, maybe this will be the motivation to do so.)

Jenni in KS Who Breathes the Prairie Air has graciously volunteered to host Fun Monday for July 2. Head over to her place sometime to find out what's she's got cookin' for the rest of us.

Here are the willing participants listed in order of their requests.  Who said I was OCD ?  First, my special thanks to my friend DubYaT (who is celebrating his First Blogiversary - go see for yourself) for once again helping with his advice.

Please check to see if your link works and let me know if it doesn't. Also, if I have left you off the list, contact me. And, lastly, if you want to join the this craziness, comment or e-mail me at [email protected]

Here goes:

1)  Nikki at Now What the Hell Do I Do ? Tales from a First Time Mom

2)  Jodi at Miller Insight

3)  MJD at Return of the White Robin

4)  Tiggerlane the Neophyte Blogger

5)  Deb the Crazy Stitcher in Her Melon Patch (I can't comment at your place but I visit regularly. I think it's because you have the 'no anonymous' comment chosen. Those who don't have Blogger accounts, can't comment. I do have a BloggerBooger account, but it doesn't recognize my user name and password anymore. Not sure that's the reason, though)

6)  Lisa Who Creates Her Own Kind of Chaos

7)   Joy and A Spot of T

8)  Devon Who Loves the Rain

9)  Julie at Abbily Ever After

10) Wolfbaby Who's Dreaming and Believing

11) Susan at A Slice of Life

12) Christine at Are We There Yet Mom

13) Robinella Who Is Not a Stepford Wife

14) Lisa the Food Snob

15) Bethany the Ice Cream Mama

16) Robin, My Trashy Friend, at Pensieve

17) DubYaT Whose Barbie is Being Eaten by a Dingo (Willowtree)

18) Terri with 4 Kids

19) Bichon Pawz at Bermuda Bleuz

20) Hannah at It's a Mum's Life  (and yes you can tidy if you must)

21) Amy at a Family Story

22) KTJRDN at Life, the Universe, and Everything

23) Karina Who is Candid with Lots of Synonyms

24) The Mrs. Who is a CPA

25) Annie Who is Red, White, and True

26) Min at Mama Drama (We know they hang from your ceiling and wreaths. Do they sit on your shelf?)

27) The Other Bear at Uncaring Bear

28) Sayre at Sayre Smiles

29) Jenny at Mama Drama (if she finds that cable-thingy for her camera)

30) Emma at A Day in the Life of a Mum to FOUR (Remember, there are no rules where I'm concerned)

31) Marnie and She is Blaming You...She Didn't Say It Was Your Fault

32) PurpleWorms at House of Purple Worms

33) Arkansas Songbird at Quarter Notes

34) Sam at Chattering On

35) Tiger Lamb Girl at Livin' Life

36) JulieBug at Another Chance Ranch (who probably doesn't have time to play Fun Monday but is building a house, so pop over and see her shelves and garage in progress) Smile McDreamy'nJulie

37) Gawilli at Back in the Day

38) Little Miss Moi at Nezalezhnosti in the Ukraine

39) Beckie at Give it a Try...One Day at a Time

40) Jenni in KS who Breathes the Prairie Air

41) Pamela, My Darling, Who Doesn't Dust Her Shelves

42) Chris B at MsCellania

43) Beccy at Peppermint Tea

44) Stephanie at Mama Drama

45) Mamarazzi

46) JennyBoo at O So Mo Love  (as soon as she organizes everything, her post will be up)

47) Debbie at a Step at a Time

48) Susan at a Slice of Life

49) Christine at Are We There Yet?

50) Slices from the Pear Lady

51) Hootin' Annie who is Red, White, and True

52) Christine at Are We There Yet

53) Candid Karina

54) Katyabug at Lady K

55) Kila at Mom to 3 Cubs

56) Let me know if you should be listed here.

My shelves and garage are posted below.  Thanks for the participation...as usual, I'm off on my broom and will visit you later this week. 

Top Shelf Fun Monday

In order to uphold my reputation as being a minimalist according to this BlogBud, here are my shelves and garage... But first...Jenni in KS who breathes the Prairie Air will be hosting the next Fun Monday...visit her for directions as to what she has in store for us.

No, no, no...we didn't kill the bear, or any of the other animals you might see in the house.  Well, except for the coyote.  Junior and Bubba killed it after it attacked them. 

June Bug just making sure the coyote is REALLY dead. 

And last but not least....

Our  GARAGE...

I didn't say we HAD to post the INSIDE of the garage...

Now DID I ?

OK, calm down. Here are pics of the inside.  It's not always like this...sometimes it's worse.

 

So as not to bore you with my words, very few captions today...I 'figgure' if you have a question, you'll ask it.

My visits to your places to peruse your shelves and garages will come later this week because I'm off on my broom again. Thanks for playing the game...until next time, keep on Bloggin'

   

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday to Me !

Happy Birthday to Me !

Happy Birthday 'ole Swampwitch !

Happy Birthday to Me !

Here's a song to myself...and if that little-pink-fairy-girl they're singing to is an older woman, then I'm an antique.

It's my party and I'll cry post if I want to
Cry Post if I want to,
Cry Post if I want to
You would cry post too if it happened to you...

Anyone who can  correctly or most creatively answer the following questions will win something. I'm not sure what, but prizes have been gift cards ranging from $5.00 to $50.00 and Colorado memorabilia.  Believe me, it will be worth your while to guess. Just visit these Bloggers and ask them:

Pamela, Karmyn R,  Little Miss Moi,  Beccy,  and even Marnie have received prizes from theWitch.

Ok, so my youngest, Swampspawn, has anwered ALL the questions, but there's still time to be creative and win... (see comments) ... (Swampspawn, your prize is in the mail.)

1) How old will I be on June 24 ?

2) Where was I born?
    a)  hospital
    b)  city  (town)
    c)  state

3) What time was I born ?

So, now you're thinking, "Who dedicates a post to herself to celebrate her own birthday?"

Answer:  I Do !!! Me !!! Kathy, Mom, Gammy, Ga-Ga, Swampwitch, Swampy,...a breast cancer survivor who is thankful for every year, every month, every day, every hour, every second of her life.  Which gives me the opportunity to remind you that Early Detection Saves Lives. Check out my October posts for more information. All the links are listed on that post.

Until the next time, I am PAR-TEE-ING...BAY-BEE.

*************************************************************************

And no, this isn't  peach cobbler, the remains of a Utah bison, an apricot torte, chocolate chip brownies, (are you kidding me ?), cherries jubliee with brandy and a sprig of mint, ( I do cook with brandy. Sometimes I even put it in the recipe.), or flan ...all great guesses, (well 1 or 3 were just a little off-base)...and the person scraping the bowl wasn't me...OCD, yes, but not me, DubYaT...

Robinella guessed correctly. Check out her answer in the comments of the Steenking Desert vs. Steenking Dessert post if you really want to know what this concoction is was. Amazing how that 'dried-up pudding' resembles peaches.

Her Indoors:  Here is some info on Peach Cobbler.  As soon as I have time, I will post my very own recipe for Peach Cobbler complete with pictures.

********************************************************************************************

Fly below to see the brave souls who are playing the game. It's not too late to join the fun. Leave me a comment if you want to join us.

Steenking Desert vs. Steenking Dessert

Remember yesterday when I showed you a picture of the Steenking Desert?

...and I mentioned to not confuse it with the Steenking Dessert in my refrigerator?

...and you thought I was just kidding?

...well, I wasn't...

...for a closer look

Care to guess what this was at one time ?

And, by the way, here is a link for a little history about the picture...of the desert, not of my dessert.

Check out the list of those playing in the next Fun Monday and for the directions to the challenge in the following post.   It's not too late to join the fun.  Just leave me a comment or e-mail me at [email protected]  If I have left you off the list, please let me know.  Also, please check to make sure your link works.

Prince Charming, Maybe?

"I'd kiss a frog even if it didn't turn into a Prince Charming. I love frogs..."

1)

2)

3)

4)

This is Ellie (also known as Eleanor Grace when she's is trouble, which is quite often) posing with Prince Charming disguised as a frog...or toad.  I've never known how to tell the difference.

A post script for yesterday's pictures of the animals in our house:  None of them were killed for sport. They were purchased from taxidermists who had them in their shops. The animals had either been killed on the highway, found dead in the mountains, or in the case of the bear...the three strikes law.  Well, the coyote was killed by Bubba and Junior because he attacked them.  Just so you know we aren't animal killers at our place. 

I am working on the list for next Monday's Fun Monday, but Typepad won't let me navigate to your places tonight.  Hopefully, I will have the list posted by Wednesday.  If you are interested in participating, see yesterday's post with the challenge and let me know with a comment or e-mail to [email protected].

For those of you who have posted something similar before, feel free to use that post again.

Any captions for today's pictures or favorite quotes about frogs, toads, or Prince Charming?

Fun Monday - What's Hangin' ?

Today's Fun Monday is being hosted by Molly at Return of the White Robin.  For a complete list of participants, be sure to click the link and find out what's hanging with them. Molly has asked us to show something that hangs on our walls that's fun, interesting, endearing, sentimental, or otherwise enticing. (I wandered from the directions just a little and included my ceiling, too...and the flag pole...and the bunkhouse...who says we have to follow the stinking directions? )  Fun Monday instructions for June 25 are at the end of this post.

A portrait of my two daughters when they were young...
The artist is John Michael Carter.

A pencil portrait of my youngest daughter and her husband at their wedding...
The artist is my cousin, Brad.

A pencil portrait of theHansMan's daughter and her husband at their wedding...
The artist is my cousin, Brad.

The next two photos were taken of "Up the Down Staircase" or "Down the Up Staircase" depending on which one you are looking at. These are watercolors and oils of everything from a cabin we stayed in north of the Artic Circle, one of our bunkhouses, the train station in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and scenery around our house and at Lake Powell.
The artist is my mother-in-law, Jimmie.

These are collages I had framed of our six childrens' high school senior pictures.  I did not take close up shots of them because I do want our children to continue to speak to me.

This is a collage of a few of the hundreds of pieces of memorabilia from my school teaching days.

This is an oil painting of my father-in-law on one of his many hikes on the Yucatan Peninsula.
The artist is my mother-in-law, Jimmie.

These two oils are of my nieces and nephew.
The artist is my mother-in-law, Jimmie.

This is our buffalo, Geronimo. I've never figured out how to effectively Feng Shui all the dead animals at our house and some snow shoes.

I tried to capture all the cobwebs and dust glittering in the sun between the ship's wheel and mountain lion, but it just wouldn't show up.  Trust me, it's there.

If you look closely, you can see the cobwebs beautifully fanning out from the whiskers. It is very artistic as far as I'm concerned.

This crest isn't actually hanging. It is a window. 

Then, there are Prowlers...

and Hornets...

 

and, Tomcats... hanging from the walls and ceiling !

Longhorns, fly fishing rods, fishing floats, and rattlesnake skins...

More planes hanging from the ceiling...

Saddles hanging on the rails...

Pirate flag hanging from the pole...

Petunias hanging from the front porch...

All kinds of crapola hanging on the bunkhouse walls...

OK, OK, OK !  So I got carried away !  What can I say ?  I had fun with this Fun Monday Challenge from Molly.

So, there you have it...a tour of our walls, ceilings, flag pole...dust and all.

But wait ! There's more...I know my friend, Min at Mama Drama, won't mind me adding this link for you to see.  No one has a more interesting collection hanging around than she does.  Her post is even entitled:  STALACTITES !  Don't believe me?  Just click on the link and find out for yourself. I t hink this was where the Testicle Sorority originated...

Does anyone remember how Fun Monday started?  If not, go visit visit VICKIE.  This was my post for the first challenge.

Then, I think ERIK hosted the next Fun Monday.  Does anyone remember what his challenge was?  Go ask him.

****************************************************************************************

Fun Monday for June 25 : The 'ole witch will be hosting next week's Fun Monday... The idea came to me because of this quote by Plato:  "I can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

"You can learn a lot about a person by looking at their bookshelves and garage."  I don't know who to give credit to for this one, but today, it's a Swampy quote.

So, here's the deal, Lucille.  Post pictures of your bookshelves or stacks of books (make sure we can read the titles of at least some of the books) and garage, carport, storage shed, i.e. any place that you store 'stuff' and lock the door to it when guests visit.  (NO FAIR CLEANING IT FIRST !) And, while you're at it, post pictures of any of your shelves...shelves with toys, shelves with collections, shelves with shoes, shelves with dishes, shelves with Aunt Gertrude's ashes in an urn...you get the picture ?  OK, so post those pictures.  Let me know if you want to play the game by commenting or e-mailing me at [email protected].

Daddy's Day

I miss you everyday...

                                               Eanon Smith
                              November 12, 1926 - January 20, 1989

This is one of the last pictures taken of Daddy with my girls one Christmas.  He spent time with them,too.

This FUN MONDAY POST tells more about my dad.

Happy Fathers' Day to all the Dads out there.

"Anyone can be a Father, it takes someone special to be a Dad."

*******************************************************************************

Answer to yesterday's question:  What is this?

ZAPPA  INFO HERE

Answer:  Ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch.

*****************************************************************************

I have neglected my blogging for over 2 months now.  Many of you have asked questions along the way that I have not answered, and I apologize.  So, sometime this week I will go back, read your questions, and try to answer them. If you have other questions, please ask them this week and I will post the answers soon.