Last weekend was the Fall Fest at Emmaus Catholic Parish. The fest is a major fundraiser for the Parish. I stopped by and was amazed at everything that was going on. I thought you would enjoy seeing it as well. This post has way too many photos, but this is a fraction of those I took. I hope you enjoy it.
A nod to the fact that fall is approaching
Vendor booths. (Should have set up my book stand.)
Games required tickets to play.
The Wine wheel was popular, as was the cake wheel.
A Pot of gold is like a bean bag toss.
Putting contest.
The street of games and vendors and a nun.
The Bookmobile. (YAY)
Some games weren’t too popular like the broom race.
and the Flamingo toss.
The burger truck.
I thought it was pretty funny to have no parking signs except for Sunday. I’m wondering about who would want to park there the rest of the week.
A fun Tejano band.
Yeah, I’ll have a double-double chocolate shake with whipped cream on top and hurry please. (The producer is somewhere else)
Shave ice.
Hot dog truck.
Train ride.
Slide.
Bouncy Castle.
And a petting zoo. There were all kinds of animals, but I thought this calf was very cute.
It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again. Here is the prompt, as explained by Linda Hill. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ground.” Use it as a noun or a verb in any tense (i.e., grind). Have fun!” Okay, so there you have it. If you would like to join in on this fun, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.
“Well, aren’t you twisted around the axle trying to come up with a Stream of Consciousness post?”
“No, I have already finished it.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Want to hear part?”
“Do I get anything for listening?”
“Sure, the joy of new knowledge.”
“I was thinking more about the joy of freshly brewed barley and hops.”
“Yeah, of course, you were. so here goes. ‘There I was standing on the ground when all to sudden—'”
“Hold it.”
“What?”
“All to sudden?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It should be ‘all of a sudden.”‘
“This is a country story. People talk differently.”
“Yeah, okay. Proceed.”
“Okay. ‘All to sudden, a giant bar comes out of the woods and sits down. I grabs my trusty musket and shimmies up a tree. From up there, I could safely stand my ground should that bar decide to attack.’ How’s it sound so far?”
“You want to really know?”
“Yeah. That’s why I asked.”
“Where is this story going?”
“Well, the guy up the tree decides that the bear means him no harm, so he comes down and offers the bear a cup of coffee. The bear happens to be a Starbucks regular and asks the man, “I would like a cup if you have a Sumatra Bold regular grind.” The guy is dumbfounded since all he has is a French Roast fine grind. He tells the bear about the ground coffee, and the bear takes a swipe and knocks him to the ground. The guy looks up at the bear and asks, ‘Why’d you do that?’ The bear tells him that if he is going to offer coffee, at least he should be prepared to provide what the customer wants. The bear roars and then says, ‘Fine grind is not what the customer wants.’ The man offers to go to Starbucks and get the bear his order. The bear agrees and asks for a blueberry scone as well. It ends with the bear and guy enjoying their coffee.”
“So the guy escapes and goes to Starbucks and then comes back?”
“Well, yeah. How else could I finish the story?”
“I think it was finished at the phrase, ‘All to sudden.”‘
“Lucy. Time to get up.” “Ummm What?” “It’s Friday. Time to celebrate the weekend.” “Last time I looked Little One every day is the weekend.”
What a week. It seemed to go pretty fast. I don’t want anyone wishing their life away, but I hope it moved quickly for you as well.
I started editing my WIP on Monday and was pleasantly surprised that the story still looked good to me. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I go back to things I’ve written, and they look like something that requires some starter and a match. I’m glad this one has salvageable parts.
I was delighted to get an excellent Circumstances of Childhood review on Thursday from Kevin Cooper. If you missed it, you could go HERE
I was also a guest of Teri Polen’s Bad Moon Rising. She asks some outstanding questions, and it is always a fun time. You could go HERE as well if you missed it.
I certainly want to thank Kevin and Teri and all of you who visited the posts. Thank you.
Today’s John Ku talks about encouragement from others. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. We are looking for temperatures in the 70s Whoo-Whoo.
“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.” “Yes, Little One?” “Is it Friday yet?” “Ten more naps till Friday.” “My naps or yours?” “Mine, of course.” “Poo.”
Sorry, this post is a little late. I had a scheduling problem this morning.
It is Wednesday Story Day time again, and last week we witnessed the arrival of a couple of Nevada State troopers who are operating on the direction of the Reno District Attorney. Yeah, this was the same DA who seemed to believe Larry and Andrew shot some citizens for no reason. I see the troopers have delivered our heroes to the DA’s office, so I think we better get there.
“Please have a seat, gentlemen. Mr. Taggett will be with you in a moment.”
“Thank you, officers. We appreciate the ride and the security.”
“Just doing our job, detective. We’ll be right outside.”
“Wait until they are gone, Andrew.”
“Why are you always saying that?”
“I just don’t want you making a slip in front of people is all.”
“He who walks on ice is talking about a slip. Okay, they are gone. Can I speak?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“We have a warrant burning a hole in our pocket. By my watch, we have less than twelve hours to use it.”
“I know, but as you can see, we now have friends in high places.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m as sure as I can be. Hold on here’s a call from the Chief.”
“Our chief?”
“Yes. Sush. Hi Chief. Yes, we are fine. Right now? We are sitting in the waiting room of ADA Spenser Taggert. No, we haven’t talked to him yet. A couple of State Troopers brought us here. Yes, sir, I understand you and the DA had a conversation with Taggert. Huh? The troopers told me. Okay, I understand. Yes, sir, we will. Goodbye, sir.”
“What the heck?”
“The chief says Taggert will give us full cooperation.”
“Why don’t I think that is a good thing?”
“Yeah, I have the same feeling about Taggert. I still think someone has him under their thumb. Well, worst-case scenario, I get my gun back, and we are no better or worse off than when we arrived.”
“A lot of crap has gone on for a zero-sum gain.”
“I think a lot of folks would agree with you.”
“Folks? What folks?”
“Just a manner of speaking. Once we are through here, we need to get to the Hyatt and finally determine if we can nail Mrs. Rafferty with lying.”
“Did the chief offer any other words of advice.”
“Yeah, he said to keep a low profile and to be polite to Taggert.”
“Handy advice, huh?”
“Someone is coming. Later on, my comments.”
“Hello, Gentlemen. Please come in.”
“Thank you, Mr. Taggert.”
“Oh, call me Spencer. After all, we are on the same team.”
“Okay, Spencer.”
“Can I get you a coffee?”
“No, I think we are good. I’m guessing you have talked to the Chief of police in Boston.”
“Oh, yes. Charming man. He actually called my boss, and we all had a nice conversation about a path forward through this mess. I do want to apologize for treating you like persons of interest, but I needed to be careful.”
“Oh, I understand. Believe me, having a couple of guys come into your area of jurisdiction would be a cause of concern.”
“Guys who killed a couple of men, I might add.”
“No hard feelings, Spencer.”
“Nice to hear you say that. I, of course, had a lot of explaining to do.”
“I can imagine. No hare feelings on your part then?”
“Let’s say that my office has been directed to help as much as possible. Let’s start by giving you back your weapon. “
“Thank you.”
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have a full agenda today. Please let me know how I can help.”
“We will.”
“One more thing.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Please keep me in the loop on what you find out.”
“You can count on that. We will be going now.”
“Good day, then.”
“Yes, good day. Get up Andrew, we are leaving.”
“Need to ask.”
“Wait until we are outside, Andrew.”
“Slip sliding away. The nearer your destination, the more it keeps slip-sliding away.”
“Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). 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.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”
This week marks the anniversary of the first live radio broadcast of a football game in 1921. The game was played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The announcer was Harold W. Arlin of radio station KDKA. The University of Pittsburgh Panthers beat the West Virginia University Mountaineers by a score of 21 to 13. (Not much has changed there. This rivalry began in 1895, and so far, the University of Pittsburgh has won the meeting more times than West Virginia University. It is called the Back Yard Brawl since the two schools are only 70 miles from each other.) I think we ought to go to the game rater than listen on the radio. Well, bring the radio along too. It might be fun to see how close the announcer describes the real action. As usual, there are rules to follow, so we don’t create a tear in the time continuum. Take this list with you.
Top Ten Things Not to Do at the First Live Radio Broadcast of a Football Game.
10 If you are at the game, do not think you can listen to the broadcast on streaming audio via iHeart Radio. If you do, at best those around you will be too interested in the game to notice your cell phone. At worst, the usher will spot your phone and ask you to follow him. (For heaven sakes, Jacquez don’t go. You really want to explain that you are from the year 2019? There will be a padded room reserved for you.)
9 If you are at the game, do not tell Tiny the WWF Champ and hot dog vendor that his hot dogs are old. If you do, at best he will think you said cold and will laugh at the joke. At worst, Tiny who just left his self-esteem support group will think you are criticizing him. (No matter what you say, Jad you are in for an overhead pinwheel and body toss just as if you were in the ring. The landing on the bleachers, however, is not going to be as soft as the ring.)
8 If you are at the game, do not wear your Mountaineer coon-skin cap while sitting in the Pitt section. If you do, at best a kindly person behind you will ask you to remove it. At worst a not so kindly person behind you will remove it. (There you have it, Jadrein. Your hat is back and filled with who knows what liquid. No, don’t drink out of your hat you idiot. You have no idea what that is even though it looks like beer.)
7 If you are at the game, do not suggest to the fans to burn a sofa when they get home to Morgantown. If you do, at best WVU is ahead at the time. At worst, the fan will think you are a Pitt fan. (You see, Jael WVU fans only burn sofas when they win. That big guy with the red eyes and WVU shirt thinks you are mocking him.)
6 If you are at the game, do not suggest to the Pitt fans that the game be played next year in Morgantown. If you do, at best they will laugh at your joke. At worst, they will think you are a WVU fan. (The first game of the rivalry was not played in Morgantown until 1963. Is it any wonder these Pitt fans are now crowd surfing you to the exit, Jafari?)
5 If you are at the game, do not bring your Mountaineer musket into the stands. If you do, at best most of the fans will clear out. At worst, you will come face to face with several Pitt fans all dressed as panthers. (What are you going to do now, Jagmeet. The way they are growling they seem to be serious.)
4 If you are at the game, do not tease Roc the panther. If you do, at best Roc will be used to it. At worst, Roc has made up his mind to bite the twelveth person who teases him. (Not so good news, Jahi. The eleventh just left.)
3 If you are at the game, do not sing the WVU fight song if you don’t know the words. If you do, at best the noise will drown you out. At worst, your fellow WVU fans will come to the realization you are different. ( Lucky for you, Jahnu you now get to see the game from the parking lot.)
2 If you are at the game, do not try to find a plug for that old Philco radio. If you do, at best you burn a lot of calories. At worst, someone will eventually come to believe you sole the radio. (Hauling it up and down the stadium stairs made you look very much out of place, Jair. Maybe you should just park it in the clubhouse. Wait, there’s a plug.)
1 If you are at the game, do not start quoting stats of the various players. If you do, at best people will move away from you. At worst, they will think you are from a different planet. (In the 20’s hardly anyone paid attention to the stats, Jaison. It was a matter of win or lose. All those yards gained rushing and passing as well as turnovers were blurred by actually watching the game instead of a talking head.)
Water is vital to all of us. In Lakeway, we have had very little rain for the last two months. This week’s View of the Neighborhood is focused on our Water supply
Here is a photo that was taken in May of the kayak launch site on Lake Travis.
Here it was yesterday. Notice the water is twenty feet away.
A photo of the lake in May
A shot of the lake from yesterday. A lot of lawn. Lake Travis is the source of Lakeway’s water.
The Lakeway Municipal Utility District (LMUD for short)
The District office. LMUD is a nonprofit organization providing water to the Lakeway community. In 2009 LMUD won the best tasting water in Texas competition. LMUD also developed water reuse systems for irrigation of the golf courses, airpark, and city property.
In the fall of 1987, the first elevated storage tank was installed in Lakeway to enhance water pressure.. It had a golfball design reflecting the resort nature of the community. The ball was hand-painted by a crew suspended by ropes 487 feet above the ground.
The second elevated storage tank.
The latest tank put into service in 2019 to meet the increasing demands of a growing city.
We are all very conscious of the need to conserve water.
“Look Lucy. Friday is here.” “I see it Little One. Thank goodness.”
It is Friday and it came just in time.
As you may know I’m helping C.S.Boyack with his launch of Viral Blues his new book. If you haven’t visited yet here is thelink. I’m reading it now and am enjoying it.
I’m happy to say the first draft of my new book is done. I now need to let it rest for a few and then go back for the second run through. It is amazing to me what can be done when you make a committment. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement during the process. Today’s JohnKu talks about a journey. I hope you all have a great weekend.
