"K" is for Kaleidoscope!

Helloooooo, and welcome once again to Alphabe-Thursday, where anything can happen and anything can be written, as long as it is PG. Jenny Matlock of Off On My Tangent, sponsors this weekly homework assignment allowing us to get creative each week with a letter of the alphabet! This week’s letter is “K” and I would like to report on a hobby of mine, which is collecting Kaleidoscopes. It’s a small collection, and my pictures are far, far, far from professional, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.

(This is a professional picture!)

The word kaleidoscope derives from the Greek word Kalos (Beautiful) and Eidos (Shape). It was invented by Sir David Brewster in 1816. A kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose beads, pebbles or other small colored objects. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors to create unique and spectacular images. The multi-colored murals created within the kaleidoscope can be enjoyed by all ages for years to come

Modern kaleidoscopes are made of brass tubes, stained glass, wood, steel, gourds and almost any other material an artist can sculpt or manipulate. The part of the kaleidoscope containing objects to be viewed is the 'object chamber' or 'object cell'. Object cells may contain almost any material. Sometimes the object cell is filled with liquid so the items float and move through the object cell with slight movement from the person viewing.

Cozy Baker (d. October 19, 2010)—founder of The Brewster Kaleidoscope Society—collected kaleidoscopes and wrote books about a few of the artists making them in the 1970s through 2000. Baker is credited with energizing a renaissance in kaleidoscope-making in America. Craft galleries often carry a few kaleidoscopes, while other enterprises specialize in them, carrying dozens of different types from different artists and craftspeople.

I hope you enjoyed my project, especially the picture of giant outdoor kaleidoscope in San Diego.



Please click on Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday logo below and check out what others have written about the Letter "K".



Have a great Thursday!

Centus 60th Week Celebration - Oh John!

Welcome to last Saturday's Centus, which I am finally posting. Jenny from Off On My Tangent sponsors a great writing challenge every Saturday morning. This week's challenge is to write something that is 60 words or less using the prompt Dear John.

Belatedly, here is my offering with the prompt in bold. If you have trouble reading this, ask a teenager to interpret, as I have written my story in text message format.


Me: sup, dude?


Him: nothin, just chillin at home.


Me: want to hang out?


Him: can’t.


Me: y not?


Him: sort of want to be alone.


Me: kk. how bout tomrow?


Him: idk if I can.


Me: hey, is somethin goin on here?


Him: no, yeah, kinda.


Me: like what?


Him: we need to take a break. It’s me, not u. I just don’t want to be with anyone right now.


Me: r u textin me a Dear John ltr?


Him: yeah, I guess so.


Oops! I sort of went over the word limit. If you don't count the "me" and "him", I'm only one word over. Anyway, please stop over at Jenny's by clicking above or on the logo below.



Hope u r havin a gr8 week!

H is for Hayworth - The Love Goddess

Hello from alphabetland! It's Alphabe-Thursday and this week we are studying the letter H. Headmaster, Jenny Matlock, Off On My Tangent, sponsors this weekly meme, where she gets out her yardstick, shakes it at everyone, and then challenges us to write about a subject beginning with the Letter of the Week! I chose Rita Hayworth for two reasons: 1) My bff from preschool assistant days shares the same first name, and 2) Rita Hayworth is one of the movie actresses who worked and survived the "Golden Years" of Hollywood.

I used to be a teacher assistant at a preschool where I worked with some extraordinary ladies. We loved coming to work each day. The suggestion was made that we all take on famous movie stars who shared the same first name, just as a get-to-know-you type of exercise. We had such stars as Elizabeth Taylor, Susan Lucci, Jennifer Lopez, Lisa Marie Presley, and of course, Rita Hayworth. Over the years, Rita and I have become good friends. I no longer work at the preschool, but Rita and I still keep in touch. Rita is a little under the weather right now, so I thought I would dedicate this post to her.

My friend, Rita, and I are about the same age. She has been blessed with a very youthful appearance, great skin, and gorgeous fat hair. After all these years, she still looks like she could be in her 30's or 40's, depending on what she is wearing. We joke about her being "well preserved."



Her counterpart, the movie star, managed to stay well-preserved for most of her career. Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Dolores Cansino on October 17,1918. Her parents were Volga Hayworth, of Irish and English descent, and Eduardo Cansino, who came from Seville, Spain. Her dad, who was a professional dancer, began teaching Rita traditional Spanish dances as soon as she was on her feet, and she turned out to be a natural. It must have been in the blood, as Volga had been a showgirl as well. She absolutely loved dancing and continued learning from her father, eventually appearing on stage with him. She spent most of her day performing or taking dance lessons. School took a back seat to her new career, and in later years she realized she had not had a chance to "just be a kid" and she resented it.



Her very first movie was Dante's Inferno. She had been signed to a contract with Fox. It led to other roles and the one that confirmed her as a star was Blood and Sand which she made while under contract with Columbia. But the movie that is synonymous with her name is Gilda which was made in 1945. By this time, she had become a redhead, was on her second husband, Orson Welles, and had just returned from giving birth to her first child, Rebecca. During the filming, she and Orson separated and were later divorced.



After a few more movies were made, and a new contract made, Rita formed her own production company in which she involved her family with some of the movies. She loved having this company and continued making movies for the next couple of years. In 1948, she met Prince Aly Khan. She became a princess when they were married in May of 1949. In December of the same year, she gave birth to Princess Yasmin, the second daughter for Rita. (Hmmmmm....timing is everything) She loved just being a mom and not a movie star. Unfortunately, Rita could not get accustomed to life as a royal, so in 1951, she returned to the US with her two daughters. The marriage was finally over in 1953. She came back to the movie business and made Affair in Trinidad, which went on to become a bigger hit than Gilda.



She married for the fourth time to Dick Haymes, which lasted only two disastrous years. After getting out of that marriage, she took a break before jumping back in to Hollywood. Although she was in her late 30's, she still had it all going for her. She started taking on dramatic roles and was recognized for her work as an artist rather than a glamour queen. She was very happy with the new roles. She married writer, James Hill, in 1958, but the marriage did not last very long. She divorced in 1961.



Rita Hayworth's last movie was Wrath of God in 1972. Her appearances became less frequent and in the early 80's, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. From the onset of her diagnosis to her final moments, Rita was very involved with fundraising for Alzheimer research and awareness. This legacy still continues with her daughter, Jasmin, and her dedication to finding a cure for the disease. Yasmin cared for her mother until she passed away in 1987 in Manhattan, New York.

Rita Hayworth has become a symbol of eternal youth, beauty and glamour. Her legend lives on thanks to the impact she continues to have on fans throughout the world. Her dream may have been for a simple life with kids and a husband, but it was not to be. A simple life was apparently never in the cards for Rita. But, what a colorful life she lived!

Thank you for stopping by for my Letter "H" report. Please visit Jenny by clicking on the logo below and see what my classmates have offered.



Enjoy the rest of your week!

Saturday Centus - A Tale of My End

Welcome to Saturday Centus, a weekly writing challenge hosted by the glorious Jenny Matlock, Off On My Tangent. Normally, we are given a topic to write about, using no more than 100 words (plus the words of the topic). Today, our challenge has been cut in half - we must write using only 25 words, plus the topic "the end," which I have typed in bold. Thanks for making my day, Jenny!

I fear, the end is near
I know it's near, I can feel it.
I sit on it every day
And feel it hang over the chair.

Please know that this was written on only one cup of coffee! You should see what I can do after finishing the whole pot!

Please click on Jenny's logo below and see how some of my friends have stood up to this challenge!




Have a great weekend!

Writer's Workshop - Six Word Memoir

Welcome to Writer's Workshop sponsored by the ever-exciting Mama Kat of "Mama's Losin' It". One of this weeks prompts is to write about a special event in life by using only six words. I consider the birth of each of my four children to be monumental events in my life. My six words are offered as follows:



THEY TOLD ME CHILDBIRTH WOULDN'T HURT!



Please click on the Writer's Workshop logo below to see how some other awesome writers have responded to this weeks challenges!

Letter "G" - Hunka George

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, to Alphabe-Thursday, sponsored by Teacher of the Year, Jenny Matlock! This week we are studying the letter "G". I would like to share some photos of some gentlemen with the name "George" who also just happen to be a hunka somethin!

Our first George has had a very colorful, interesting and busy career! He is also a smooth sounding singer of whom I will never tire. May I present, GEORGE MICHAEL.




I feel like I know the next George simply because he was in a movie filmed in St. Louis (Up and Away). I almost feel like I could call him up and ask him out to lunch, but I know he is a busy guy! Put your hands together for GEORGE CLOONEY.




An oldie but a goodie...one of four members of just about the most famous band of all time - THE BEATLES - Here is GEORGE HARRISON.




Our next Hunka, and one of my favorites, is an actor who played a guy called GEORGE and soooo richly deserved the part. I give you Mr. Brendan Fraser as GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE.




For all of you Country Western music lovers, here's a guy that turns knees to jelly. A big whoop for GEORGE STRAIT.




I have many wonderful childhood memories watching our next actor every Saturday morning. He did have a wife and a family, but I still like to watch him, anyway. My friends, say hello to GEORGE JETSON!




I hope you enjoyed my "G" homework for this week. Please hop on over to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday to see some very fascinating homework by my fellow students! Just click on the logo below!