Study in Black - Saturday Centus

It's Saturday....and that means Saturday Centus from Jenny Matlock, Off On My Tangent! Who is Jenny, you ask? Why, Jenny is the Head Mistress for the School of amateur (and professional) writers! Each week, she toys with our emotions by challenging us to write from a prompt, a picture, or any other whim that she may have at 3:00am! This week our prompt is a picture of black...which she lovingly calls "Study in Black." The kicker is that we can only use 25 words.


Nothingness abounds
I am cold and so afraid
Light, where have you gone?

Moving carefully
Step by step, oh so slowly
Light, I see you…aaaaggghhhhhhh!!


It could happen! The klutz that I am, it probably will happen....maybe when I go trick or treating at Jenny's house wearing nothing but black.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please go "step by step" over to Jenny Matlock's House of Horrors to read some really juicy stuff from my ghoulfriends. Just click on the logo below!



Have a wonderful weekend, and, if you celebrate it, a Happy Halloween!

Friday Fragments #169

I normally work on Fridays and don't have the time to participate in this fun meme sponsored by Mrs.4444 of Half-Past Kissin' Time. I have today off, so I would love to share with you some interesting things going on with me this week!

I live in St. Louis and have been swept up in the excitement of our baseball team. I grew up loving football, but since living here, baseball has sucked me in big time! Tonight, Friday, is the seventh and final game of the World Series. Our team, the Cardinals, had a once-in a lifetime, amazing, thrilling, unbelievable game last night, coming from behind two runs, bottom of the 9th inning with two outs, and two strikes on the last batter. It looked like the Texas Rangers had it all wrapped up! But, noooooooooooooo, not our "comeback Cards"!!! We tied the game up and took it into extra innings and then in the bottom of the 11th inning, once again behind, we scored two additional runs to tie it up, and then....our beloved, David Freese, hit a home run to take the sixth game! The crowd went wild! The Rangers had no idea what hit them! When David Freese got to home plate, he was greeted by the entire team and they ripped off his jersey (a new ritual of one of the players)! Winning tonight would be the cherry on top of the whipped cream on top of the banana split on top of the chocolate cake! But even if they don't win, this town will still continue to celebrate an incredible experience of coming from behind two months ago, winning enough to be a "wild card" team, and then beating two really, really great teams to make it to the World Series!" Am I excited or what!!!



My new hero! A hometown boy who went to the same high school as my kids. He's a little older than my kids, but not by much. Enjoy these pics of Mr. Freese especially the one of him playing on the monkey bars!







And, ladies....he is single!!!

I saw this on Facebook and just couldn't resist it. It has become my theme song (sort of).



And, can anyone tell me what is going on with the internet where every other word is double-underscored and in pink...and when you click on it, it goes to some stupid ad or someone's dissertation that has this word of mine in it? Goodness gracious (you know what I'd really like to say) who has the huevos to clutter up my hard work with a bunch of links? Okay...I feel much better now.

Well, this is my story, and I'm sticking to it! Please stop by and say hi to Mrs.4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time and enjoy the fragmented Fridays of some very interesting people! Just click on the logo below and you will be there!




Have a great weekend!

Alphabe-Thursday - Fall Break

This is my backyard in the Fall (not this Fall, but another Fall).



This is where Tootsie and I walk in the afternoons. Any other time, we just walk out to the front lawn, she does her business, and then we're back in the house!


This is Tootsie!

For a peek at some more fabulous colors of Autumn, please "fall" over to Jenny Matlock at Off On My Tangent and get ready to oooooh and aaaaaah!

Saturday Centus - Remembering

Welcome to this week's Saturday Centus, the brainchild of Jenny Matlock, Off on My Tangent! Each Saturday morning we wake up to a new adventure in writing for her pleasure, as well as ours! This week's 100-word theme is Sensory Details and she has provided us with the above picture. This is what I came up with while on my third cup of coffee!


I could not believe that we found the house! I remember stories from my grandmother about her summers at the lake. She spoke of her uncle’s house as if it were a mansion. Well, to a 10 year old, anything without common-wall neighbors was a mansion!

She spoke of the pancake breakfasts and beef stew dinners with hot bread made from scratch. She and her siblings would sleep in hammocks on the front porch so they could feel the breeze coming from the water as it cooled the humid nights.

It must have been pure heaven in its day!


Thanks so much for stopping by. Please click on Jenny's logo below and be awed by some of my fellow coffee drinkers!

Sundays in My City - Art in the Park!

Welcome to Sundays in My City, sponsored by the most beautiful... most bilingual... mother of the most curly-headed daughters, the lovely and talented Unknown Mami! Mami is always a bright spot in my Sunday mornings with her colorful and interesting photos of her city, her family, and anything or anyone else who has caught her eye.

Last Sunday, I had the incredible opportunity to help out my cousin (Yasek Design Jewelry) with her booth at the Art in the Park Show in Boulder City, Nevada! Yes, Boulder is about 20 minutes from the Vegas Strip, and I was a good girl...only losing the $20 that I brought! However, I did walk away feeling very wealthy after seeing some spectacular art exhibits and having the opportunity to meet the artists.

I'd like to share with you a few of the pieces my cousin had on exhibit (and for sale on Etsy).


Drizzle Ring

















Jellyfish









Gold, Silver and Pearl Rings









Our next door neighbors at the fair were two lovely women who spent the day presenting, informing and selling some of the most beautiful and unique clay sculptures. The pieces were fired porcelain with no two alike, yet they looked perfect when combined with other pieces. Here are a few pics! My pictures don't do justice to the beautiful pieces handmade by Teresa Testa. I highly recommend that you visit the website at: http://www.windancerstudio.com/



























The two days were hot and long, but Teresa and Lori kept us laughing most of the day with their funny stories and quick wit. I took a break and walked around to see some of the other vendors, and came across another unique booth called Rewind. The artist, Carlos Montanaro, has collected all sizes and shapes of pocket watches and their inner mechanisms from which he makes rings, bracelets and necklaces. Some of the recycled watches actually still work! Below are some pictures of his work. You can learn more by clicking here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rewind-Jewelry/133948923349844





Fall is arriving in Missouri, and the colors are breathtaking! It makes me grateful that I have my sight! I live in St. Louis! Welcome to My City!

Yadi, Yadi, Yadi!!

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday, sponsored by Jenny Matlock! This week's letter is "Y" (we are almost through the alphabet...I can't wait until Halloween Break!) Since we are fighting for a place in the MLB Playoffs, I thought I would share one of our St. Louis Cardinals with you! Say hello to Yadier Molina, Catcher for the Cards. He's hot, sassy and one heck of a ballplayer! We are currently tied with the Philadelphia Phillies, two games apiece. If we win tomorrow night (Friday) we get to move on to the next challenger. If not, well then we will still cheer on our guys when they get home!




Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Yadi joined the Cardinals in 2004. He has a home in Puerto Rico and another in Illinois during the baseball season. He is married and has two children. Yadi has two brothers, who also are catchers and play professional baseball.

He joined the Cards in 2004 and was backup catcher to Mike Matheny, who later joined the San Francisco Giants. That paved the way for Yadi to become starting catcher for the Cardinals. In addition to his success as a catcher, Molina proved to be a consistent contact hitter. During the off-season, Yadi played for a Puerto Rican team in the first World Baseball Classic.

Prior to the 2006 season, Molina changed his number from 41 to 4. In 2006, in Game 7 of the NLCS, Molina hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning off Aaron Heilman of the New York Mets, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead and helping them secure a trip to the 2006 World Series, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games.




On July 5, 2009, Molina was selected to represent St. Louis in the 2009 Major League Baseball All Star Game as the NL starting catcher. He also won his second Gold Glove award later that year. On April 5, 2010, Molina hit a grand slam home run; he is only the third Cardinals player to hit a grand slam on Opening Day.

On November 1, 2010, he won his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award as the sole catcher, becoming the first player at any position to win the award unanimously with a perfect score of 100. Days later, he won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award.

On August 2, 2011, he was ejected during a game against the Brewers for arguing a called strike, after which he appeared to spit at the umpire. Molina said his face was sweaty and he didn't intentionally spit. Molina served a five-game suspension from MLB for "making contact with umpire Rob Drake multiple times and spraying him with spittle twice while arguing." I believe Yadi.




Thanks for stopping by to read my "Y" assignment. Please grand slam your way over to Jenny's by clicking on the logo below and see what my fellow classmates have offered!




Statistical and personal information provided by Wikipedia.