Back Light

Just so you know, it's virtually impossible to keep up with a blog with the chaos that is my life right now.

This is a picture I took a few weeks ago for a camera class.

It's kind of weird but kind of nice to live so close to the winery.

Blue Barn

One good thing about living in Ste. Genevieve is that I'm a sucker for a picture of a barn.  I prefer old barns, but sometimes new ones can be photogenic too.  My favorite are the ones that you can see all the way through the gangway.  Since I don't drive past my Dreaming Tree anymore, I might substitute barn pictures instead.

This barn is in Coffman, almost directly across from one of the wineries out there.  I noticed it for the first time yesterday.  Guess I was always too busy looking at the winery to notice the blue barn and blue sky compliment.  Seems peaceful.

Paris Street in Rainy Weather

Rainy cold days like today make me think of this painting.  We were at this intersection in 2005 when we went to Paris, and it was memorable.  I'm not quite sure why this painting appeals to me, but it does.  It's owned by the Art Institute of Chicago, and I've been there before, so maybe I saw it and saved it in my memory?  I do believe that I'll have to make a trip back to see the painting in person.  I'd like to have a framed print.  Maybe I'll put it on my Christmas list.

New Bruce

One of my favorites- caution, not for the faint of heart, or easily offended.

Just saw Harry Potter 7

Can't believe I've sat through 7 of those movies. Yawn. At least I stayed awake through this one.

Guest bloggers welcome. Anyone, Anyone? Bueller?

I got nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Than A Day

As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we're poor,
Feel like bums, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.

We have friends and family we love;
We have guidance from heaven above.
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We're wealthy, when push comes to shove.

So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you've got;
Realize it's a lot,
And you'll make all your cares go away.

By Karl Fuchs

I'm tired, work is stressing me out. Here's a couple of my favorites to make me smile. Tomorrow = TGIF. Oh, wait, I have to work on Saturday. =(

Is this nablopomo thing over yet?

Summer Morning

Same Tree, Different Angle

Haggard No More

I am happy to tell you I'm getting a schedule change. I'm going to be working from home one day a week and hanging out with the girls one day a week. I'm so excited I can't hardly see straight. The past 8 months have been the busiest 8 months of my life, and I kept thinking that I could survive if I had a little bit of time in the winter to catch my breath, and now I do. I'll only have this extra time until John finishes the school year, but still, that's months! I'll still be going to the winery 3 days a week, and I have a feeling the working from home part is going to be much harder than I anticipate, but I'm ready to find out. And, in all my new free time (feeling a little delusional) I should be able to blog more. Yay for me and yay for you.

On that note I leave you with this picture from our trip to the Christmas tree farm over a month ago. Only in 2010 (I guess officially it was 2009) do you see lumberjacks on their phones. What I wouldn't do for that kids' amount of free time. ;)

A Picture of Something Other Than My Kids

O.k., so you caught me.

I didn't post Friday or Saturday. I blew the NaBloPoMo. Blah. I tried to make a quick post Friday morning from the farm, but every once in awhile down there my computer doesn't like blogger.com, so after that didn't work, I didn't post on Saturday either. We were at the winery all weekend, doing the Wine Diva thing and had B&B guests both nights. They had a gift certificate, and had been patient through all my pregnancies to finally use it. They were actually the owners of the Dirt Cheap stores, and we had a nice talk about successive planning. Wish my Dad could have been there.

It was nice not having the internet around though, so I'm really not that sad that I didn't post. John's phone was dead too, and although I bought him that phone, and it comes in handy at times, I will have to admit that I don't mind it when it dies also. It's too distracting.

I need you all to do me a favor. I need you to say some prayers for my brother in law, Brant, who is having surgery tomorrow in New York City. I know they are all worried, and hopeful at the same time. There are days when I can hardly think of anything else than Brant, and Melissa and Will, and I'm sure tomorrow will be one of them. I can only pray that the Good Lord will be by his side and that the worst is behind them.

I Saw in Louisiana a Live Oak Growing

I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing,
All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches,
Without any companion it stood there uttering joyous leaves of dark green,
And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself,
But I wondered how it could utter joyous leaves standing alone there
without its friend near, for I knew I could not,
And I broke off a twig with a certain number of leaves upon it,
and twined around it a little moss,
And brought it away, and I have placed it in sight in my room,
It is not needed to remind me as of my own dear friends,
(For I believe lately I think of little else than of them,)
Yet it remains to me a curious token, it makes me think of manly love;
For all that, and though the live-oak glistens there in Louisiana
solitary in a wide flat space,
Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend or lover near,
I know very well I could not.
-- Walt Whitman

This will probably be the last picture for awhile of my favorite tree because it is getting brighter earlier in the morning, and by the time I pass this tree on my way to work in the morning, the sun is much higher in the sky.

Good, me neither.

Anybody sick of these sunrise pictures of my favorite tree?

This Morning

Same Tree, Different Day

Another sunrise picture of my favorite tree. (There's two different links there.)

A Few Walnuts Still Hanging On

Super busy over here. Relatively annoying to be so busy. NaBloPoMo is out the window. Movie of the little one coming soon, along with pictures of my mullet.

Morning Nap

In the time she takes her morning nap I bathed Tony Danza, separated and started a load of laundry, folded a load of laundry that goes back to the farm, looked up and printed out a map to the Potosi band competition, cleaned the inside of my car, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, took a 7 minute shower, and now have a couple seconds to blog.

Pretty proud of myself this morning.

Great Minds Think Alike

On the way home from the beach we stopped in Gatlinburg to get the baby out of the car seat for an hour or two, stretch our legs and have dinner. I really like Gatlinburg, it's cozy, down by this little stream that runs through town in the middle of the Smokey Mountains. While we were there, we went in a photo gallery by photographer Ken Jenkins. I had never heard of him before, but his pictures were stunning, and there were so many of them. He is native to Gatlinburg, and most of his pictures are either of wildlife or landscapes. I was surprised to see this picture of his because it looks so similar to this picture of mine.

It inspired me to get more pictures developed and try to sell a few more at the winery. Wish me luck.

I don't care what anyone says...

Coyote Ugly is a darn good movie.