DAY 45: VALENTINE'S DAY

DAY 45: VALENTINE'S DAY

I suspend the "rules" of this project for a day - Valentine's Day. Lots of rules are broken on this day, after all. It's kind of even a tradition to do so! So in the spirit of this day---I break with thee, ye rules!

I am posting some wedding pictures of me and my Valentine of ten years (the broken rule for our purposes here is I did not take these pictures). I do costar, however, with Mr. Tall Dark & Handsome.

So here ya go...these are wedding pictures I was able to find on my computer tonight.

Happy Valentines Day! Love to All!

Seeing the above photo again reminds me of something that happened when we were dating. Any time we would enter a certain Louisville restaurant, they would play that theme song from Miami Vice. They must have thought TD&H resembled a tall and better looking -- and infinitely more friendly --  Don Johnson? I still wonder about that one...  

The theme of our wedding: kids everywhere! Most are becoming very grown up now.  

Gotta go, friends, but I sincerely wish you all a very Happy Valentines Day!

SPREAD THE LOVE!

DAY 44: A JAUNDICED EYE

DAY 44: A JAUNDICED EYE

A few years ago, my husband and I were riding the back roads in Marion County on a Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful day. We were just out and about with no particular place to go (as the song says).

But in St. Joe, we ran into Mr. Bobby Buckman.

A big conversation ensued between my husband and Mr. Buckman. I guess we must have sat there in the middle of the road for 15 or 20 minutes while they talked about everything under the sun. My personal reward was being able to sneak in a casual picture from real life - I don't think either Stephen or Bobby even realized their images had been captured and that moment of time between them had been memorialized.

At the time of this traffic stop I knew very little about Bobby Buckman.

I did know and like many of his children, but I'd just never had the opportunity to know the Big Daddy, so to speak.

But through the years since this photo I have gotten to know him more; I now consider him my friend.

He's a very interesting person. Was it his 80th birthday that was celebrated so recently? I tend to forget his exact age - because Mr. Bobby Buckman is sharper than so many younger people. He really is a special guy.

I think of this photo of him as "A Jaundiced Eye" because....well...I am not exactly sure why! It just feels right for the look on Bobby's face. He's taking in information and isn't trusting fully what he hears until he has rolled it around in his mind.

Once Bobby's had a chance to roll something around in his mind, though, he will tell you what he thinks. He will tell you the honest truth. And what's not to love about that?

DAY 43: PROUD MARY!

DAY 43: PROUD MARY

Do you remember how exciting it was to get your driver’s license? I do!

For most people that milestone is attained around the age of 16 or so.

But my friend Mary did not go with the flow on many things – including obtaining her license. She went for most of her life on her own time schedule – and without a license to drive.

So it truly was a milestone when Mary – at age 50-something – got her first license! She was SO excited! I can’t even begin to convey to you how excited Mary was at obtaining her ticket to this newly earned freedom, but hopefully the pictures will give you an idea of the sheer jubilance of the occasion.

She came to my house immediately and was so proud of her accomplishment. She asked me to take her picture with her new “wheels” and her new license.

Of course I was thrilled to do so.

She was the epitome of precious excitement.

Now that the “new” has worn off, though…dang it Mary! I just can’t give you any more gas money! ; )

 

 

DAY 42: NEW HOPE/NEW HAVEN

DAY  42: NEW HOPE/NEW HAVEN

    

I would love to know the origins of how our Nelson County neighboring towns of New Hope and New Haven got their names. “New Hope”! “New Haven”! How hopeful and positive those names are…

I have always felt close to both of those towns – and that whole area – mostly because that is where my mother grew up. When I was a child, our family traveled from Loretto to New Hope or New Haven nearly every Sunday for many years to visit our relatives there. Wonderful times!

The real treat for us kids, though, was when my mom would spontaneously decide to take a weekday trek into the neighboring county – always a very leisurely affair. If half of us kids were bare foot it was no big deal. If my mom decided to stop at every hickory nut or walnut tree along our route so we could all bail out to gather those treats, so much the better. And we could always count on stopping off at a certain spring between our home and our destination to get a refreshing drink of clear, cold water – that was a given!  There were no time constraints on those excursions; my mom had the precious gift of patience. She allowed - and encouraged - all her children to enjoy each moment to its fullest.  I will always be thankful for that gift from her!

With that background from my youth, it was a welcome treat in my “grown up” days just a few years ago when my mom suggested that some of us ride over to the New Hope area to take a last look at the convent/old school there. It was slated for destruction.

My sister, a parishioner there, had a key to the house. My aunt had attended school there but was not able to visit that place she so dearly loved before it was to be destroyed. So for our own curiosity and for our Aunt Norma Rose we set out to document what that old school and convent was like in its last days.

Here are just a few photos from that special day…

 This is the view of the convent/old school house from the front.

This photo helps you understand the convent building and its relationship to the Church.

This is just a photo of my sister opening the door to the wonders that awaited us all! 

It was a very gloomy place in many ways - especially, to me, this abandoned stairwell. Kind of spooky.

  This is my sister, Norine, looking out the convent window at the church. With EXTREME photoshopping by me! : )

 

 My sister and my mother in a hallway...

A window in the convent with filmy white curtains...I wondered how many nuns or students had peered out this window over the years...

Another view of the building ready for destruction...

 

 A last view of the kitchen...

A bathroom. That is me in the mirror as I was photographing that scene...

 

 The back door of the convent/school....why did we even need a key to get in?

 Here, I'm looking out a broken window glass into the yard.

 

 

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We decided to explore the church next door...

I'm looking down from the choir loft on this one...

 

 Oh! We were so brave! This is my mother just before entering the space seldom seen - above the choir loft! We decided to see how high we could climb safely in this church!

 My husband - on the way UP...

 

 What a surprise to see this scene made possible by some history minded individual! If that chair could talk!

 

We were high above the tree-tops at this point...we'd made it to the rafters.

 The bell! This is as high as we could go - but oh MAAAaaaaan!? I did not expect to find graffiti from when I was only one year old up there in that space! Is nothing sacred? ; )

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Oh well....that is the end of our tour. I'm glad you came along. Be careful on your way down!

DAY 41: SIGNS

I am taking the easy way out and attempting to nip my Day 41 challenge in the bud ASAP in the waning moments of Day 40. That way I will technically not have to produce Day 42 until almost Day 43. Or something like that.

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I ran across a few pictures in my possession that fit the description of “Signs”.

First: The Golden Arches.

We’ve seen them everywhere – but THESE Golden Arches are OURS. This sign is from our Lebanon McDonald’s restaurant. I can see it from my house!

I took this picture right after capturing a rather shocking photo of a disintegrating cat carcass on the sidewalk. That’s neither here nor there, but it’s the truth. In fact, I was only like a foot away from that disturbing scene when I took this picture.  But life goes on, and the golden arches continue to be a recognized beacon for all. I kind of like how the sign looks with all those tree limbs in front of it. Obviously, this was taken before our ICE STORM. I think this pic could possibly be appropriate in the rural McDonald’s signs Hall of Fame, if they had one.  But they don’t. 

NEXT….

Second: Cutest political supporter ever!

My step-granddaughter is posing with the sign of her chosen candidate. Disclaimer: I did not take this photo – it was forwarded to me by the little girl’s mother. But isn’t it cute!?

Third: Absolutely Worst Political Sign Placement EVER!

 I spied this unfortunate arrangement during a recent and very spirited campaign for District Judge in our district. Once I pointed out the unintended message, the sign was taken down. Good thing.

 

Lastly, Shew! What a heart breaker for me!  

After John Greenwell (a/k/a Snarepole) died, I rode by his former residence and found this scene – my political sign set out on the curb for trash pick-up! The really surprising and endearing thing is that Snarepole still had my sign after all that time – he’d held onto it for several years.  The fact remains, though, that it was relegated to the trash heap.  

Oh well…

There are signs all around us. We need to pay attention!