“Using this image (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before the end of the week. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.”
Today, we are visiting an exhibition of Needle paintings by Lakeway artist Carol Williard van Ginkel. Needle painting is a process using needles, thread, and multicolored string to produce a work of art.
Carol learned to embroider from her grandmother, who taught her to cross-stitch. She became interested in Needle painting and fell in love with it. The exhibit shows her progress over the last seven years.
We are catered by Bouldin Creek Cafe in Austin. Our entertainment is Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton
Menu
Predictable Breakfast – Eggs or tofu served with a scratch-made herbed potato hash cake & choice of toast | Sub hash for sm. granola or spring greens w/citrus vinaigrette
El Tipico – Scrambled eggs or tofu, scratch-made herbed potato hash cake (GF), diced local tomatoes, shredded lettuce, house salsa & choice of tortillas
El Maximo – Same as above, served with beans, avocado & cheddar-jack, or vegan cheddar
Oven Cake Breakfast – Grilled house-made vegan blueberry cornbread served with two eggs or tofu & real maple syrup, dairy or vegan butter | Contains flour
Garden Breakfast – Eggs or tofu, with sliced local tomatoes & steamed baby spinach & lemon |
Zucchini Migas Plate – Eggs or tofu scrambled with a pepper purée, tortilla chips, zucchini, onion, spices & cheddar-jack, or vegan cheddar. served with house salsa, choice of tortillas & choice of beans or fruit
The Renedict – Tofu bacon, organic baby spinach, sliced local tomatoes, topped with over-medium eggs or tofu scramble on an open-faced grilled ciabatta with vegan hollandaise sauce (contains flour) & scallions | Served until 4 pm
Breakfast Scramwich – Organic spinach & chili flake folded in eggs or tofu scramble. topped with basil aioli, local tomato & cheddar-jack or vegan cheddar on sourdough toast
Let’s go.
The lights and locations of the art make photos very difficult. I have tried to avoid glare, and so some may appear distorted. Also I have cropped the photos to focus on the art and not the frames.
Sparrow
Proud Rooster
Bluebird on a nest
Fat Bird
Buddha 3
Sitting Buddha
Two Worlds
Hokusai Landscape
My Pet Alligator
Two Fishs
Painted Pony
Rainbow Pony
Dimensions
Iris 1
Hibiscus
Falling Off The Edge
Poppies
I hope you enjoyed the exhibit. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the music. I hope you have a great week.
A move to the coffee machine is necessary to find out what is taking so long. An investigation turns up the cause. The communication screen clearly asks if a regular cup or something special is required. Neglecting to make a choice sends the machine into hibernation. The original settings called for a regular 10 oz delivery. The machine must have taken some advice from the WordPress Happiness Engineers and decided to do something different. So the question is answered, and in a happy moment, the cup is delivered.
The clock is at hand, and after a sip of soothing syrup, the setting is May 24, 1924. The time is two hours, and the location is the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. The plunger is pulled, and we arrive just in time to witness Calvin Coolidge signing the Immigration Act of 1924.
The act limited immigration in response to public and political anxiety about the country’s rapid social and demographic changes. The 1924 act supplanted earlier legislation by vastly reducing immigration from countries outside the Western Hemisphere: Immigrants from Asia were banned, and the total annual immigration quota for the rest of the world was capped at 165,000—an 80% reduction of the yearly average before 1914.
The law was passed in both houses of Congress with very few dissenting votes. A strong West Coast lobby effort designed to limit Asian immigration proved successful in the final passage of the law. The 1924 act would define U.S. immigration policy for nearly three decades, until being substantially revised by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and ultimately replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The 1924 act also made provision for the founding of the US Border Patrol.
The act incensed the government of Japan, and some believe it laid the groundwork for the attack on the US in 1941.
It is a lovely day in Washington, and the signing ceremony on the South Lawn is brief. Our alarm goes off, and the couch becomes the new destination. A text notification comes through. It’s from Linda Hill and reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “move.” Use it as a verb or a noun; write the first thing that comes to mind. Have fun!
The French postal service has released a scratch-and-sniff stamp that will fill your letter room or office with the aroma of freshly baked bread as it honors the classic baguette.
The best thing since sliced bread, the baguette, was recently honored by UNESCO with the status of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage. ‘ In other words, it is a standout element in humanity’s story that can’t be pinned down to the words on a page, the outcome of a battle, or the bricks making up a monument.
La Poste unveiled The Stamp last Thursday on the occasion of Sant-Honore’s feast day—the patron saint of bakers.
“The baguette, the bread of our daily lives, the symbol of our gastronomy, the jewel of our culture,” La Poste says on its website.
It will cost €1.96 ($2.12 US) and run for a limited time. Just under 600,000 copies are set for printing. The image depicts a baguette wrapped in blue and white ribbons.
The stamp’s ink is coated in microcapsules that burst when the customer scratches it, releasing the scent. La Poste purchases the special ink pre-made, and the smell is derived from a collection of bakeries.
“And the difficulty for us is to apply this ink without breaking the capsules, so that the smell can then be released by the customer rubbing on the stamp,” Damien Lavaud, printer at Philaposte, was quoted as saying by France Bleu, according to France24.
UNESCO attempts to summarize the value and uniqueness of baguettes over other breads with the following description.
Baguettes require specific knowledge and techniques. They are baked in small batches throughout the day, and the outcomes vary according to temperature and humidity.
They also generate modes of consumption and social practices that differentiate them from other types of bread, such as daily visits to bakeries to purchase the loaves and specific display racks to match their long shape.
In this turbulent world, the good news in this article is that normal can be refreshing. Today’s JohnKu talks about normal I hope you have a lovely weekend.
In Keith’s words. “Using this image (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before the end of the week. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.”
I am back from my break and want to say I accomplished plenty. I was able to complete my manuscript and got a long way into the first edit. I also had a scare on Thursday. I fired up my Mac, and my Word app was missing, along with a whole week of edits. (No, I didn’t save it in several places like I usually do.) Panic was replaced by research by The Producer, and by reinstalling Word, all was recovered. (Whew)
It is good to be back. I missed you all, and I’ll be around to see you as usual.
This post ran on April 23, 2018. I think it still might be helpful.
Top Ten Things to Never Throw Away When Organizing
The inspiration for this list is wondering why we hang onto things in case they may come in useful someday. This list tries to understand the motivation for holding onto items that may be past their point of usefulness.
10 When organizing, do not throw away that eight-track cassette player. If you do, at best, you’ll hate yourself in the morning. At worst, you’ll see that very same model for sale on eBay, and the last bid is $10,000. (Well, that will teach you to be impetuous after twenty-five years of storage, huh, Eric?)
9 When organizing, do not throw away that autographed photo of Tiny, the WWF champ. If you do, at best, it will be well hidden in a black plastic bag. At worst, Tiny just started as your garbologist after being released from self-esteem therapy and discovers the photo at the bottom of your trash can. (I’ll bet you can guess why he is pounding on your front door, can’t you, Emmanuel? Here is a hint. Grab those running shoes and head out the back door. Your house and belongings can be replaced.)
8 When organizing, do not throw away that hand-knit Christmas turtleneck sweater Aunt Helen gave you when you were thirteen. If you do, at best, no one will know. At worst, you realize your mistake at the reading of Aunt Helen’s will where she leaves you her entire fortune if you wear the sweater once a week for a year. (Looks like she suspected you didn’t like it, Edward. Too bad you tossed it last week.)
7 When organizing, do not throw away those naked pictures of you at the beach. If you do, at best, you shredded them first. At worst, you suddenly discover them on Tumblr on a site called “Naked and Crazy.” (Better think of a good story, Elias, since HR wants to talk to you about a “morals clause” violation in your employment contract.)
6 When organizing, do not throw away old tax records. If you do, at best, your town’s dump is very secure. At worst, you realize when you are shopping at the food store, and your card is denied that you no longer are the only person with your social security number. (It looks like those stocks, bonds, and bank accounts are gone, too, Eugene. It looks like you need to call the police.)
5 When organizing, do not throw away all your children’s school drawings and report cards. If you do, at best, they won’t care. At worst, your children will want those items to relive their experiences with their kids. (Now, what are you going to do, Erik? I suppose you could try to recreate the drawings from memory. Better yet, ask the neighbor if you can borrow theirs.)
4 When organizing, do not throw away that old portable TV. If you do, at best, you’ll never miss it. At worst, you’ll need it to see the last half of the Final Four Championship game since your internet and cell service went down. (Now, aren’t you sorry you relied on twenty-first-century technology, Enzo? Just think, you could have seen the game finish on that twentieth-century set with the rabbit ears. Now you have to wait to read the news.)
3 When organizing, do not throw away that almost new tire that you had to take off your 1978 Chevrolet to replace the front two. If you do, at best, your current car will have bigger wheels. At worst, you will have a blowout on your new vehicle, which has no spare. (See, you could have at least used that tire as a temporary solution, Earl. Well, maybe not.)
2 When organizing, do not throw away that power tool that quit working twelve years ago. If you do, at best, your new device will keep working. At worst, your new gadget will need a small clip that broke, which is unavailable at the parts store but was intact on the one you threw away. (Come on, Emiliano, this would never happen in a million years.)
1 When organizing, do not throw away those worn-out shoes. If you do, at best you’ll enjoy the closet space. At worst, once they are gone, you realize you have nothing to wear to mow the lawn and work in the garden. (Well, now, Elvin, you have a triage problem on your remaining shoes. I know there are some favorites in there, but you gotta make a choice.)
Hi Friends. This is a reminder that I will be on a break at least until next Sunday. I announced it yesterday, but in case you missed it, I’m repeating it here again. I will be off all social media and taking an offline break.
I look forward to visiting you again when I return. I have disabled the comments.
“Hey, Twiggy. What you got there?”
A move to the coffee machine is necessary to find out what is taking so long. An investigation turns up the cause. The communication screen clearly asks if a regular cup or something special is required. Neglecting to make a choice sends the machine into hibernation. The original settings called for a regular 10 oz delivery. The machine must have taken some advice from the WordPress Happiness Engineers and decided to do something different. So the question is answered, and in a happy moment, the cup is delivered.
