Market

Today is one of those interesting days you have from time to time on Tybee Island. It is Labor Day weekend so it is the last big weekend of the summer season. The island is crowded with tourists who have come for a bit of time on the beach, some live music this evening and some fireworks after sunset. It is also the last Sunday of the month so that means it is Market day.

Market is a craft show and sale held on the grounds of the Tybee Lighthouse on the last Sunday of each month. There is a bit of everything. Homemade dog treats, jewelry, spices, cocktail mixers, paintings, photographs, pottery and just unique stuff and people.

 Could you ask for a better setting for a craft show?

 Once again my photographic skills show need for improvement. The lighthouse is not leaning it is just my failure to get the camera straight. Please note there are some folks who made the trek to the top. Today it was a tough thing to do. The temperature when we were at Market was 86 with a relative humidity level of 71% resulting in a heat index of exactly 100. Throw in the UV index of 8 which is very high and it is a brutal day here in Southlandia.

 The booth pictured here is one of our favorites. We have purchased three items from them over the months. The most recent is the mirror at the right hand corner of their table. I get a lot of enjoyment out of talking to them. Just a couple of old hippies living a good life. Note the long hair and beard on him.

 Here is a closeup of the mirror. It is broken dishware and pottery glued to a mirror frame. Every piece they sell has the letters "a" and "r" somewhere in a piece of pottery on the artwork.

This is a view of it hanging on the wall near our back door. If you look closely at the lower left portion of the mirror you will see a reflection of Carol. She hates having her picture taken and didn't realize as I was snapping this one that she would be in the photograph.

If you ever come to Tybee Island and Market is going on be sure to take a few minutes to go over for a look. No admission charge and you just might find something to take home.

Reality Sets In

As you read yesterday I was quite proud of myself for being able to connect several devices to my laptop and get them all to work. Oh how things can change in a few hours. All the computer stuff still works but life gave me a little reminder that maybe I'm not as smart as I thought.

I did something a few days ago that it pains me to admit. I went to Sams Club. It basically is WalMart with bulk stuff. The same people shop there they just buy bigger packages of crap. We went to get kcups for coffee. The 80 count boxes are a good buy and we drink lots of coffee. While we were they, of course, we picked up a few more items. Wine (can't have too much of that), hot dogs (for Lily), and some ankle socks. I didn't want to be the old man walking around with sandals and shorts with the black knee high socks on. I'll wait and do that when the kids and granddaughters are here on vacation. Anyway, we bought an 8 pack of Champion brand ankle socks. I was laying on the couch last night when I happened to look down at my socks. Here is what I saw.

Note on the sock the L and R which indicate to the wearer which foot the sock goes on. When I noticed that I felt like something less than a champion. The good news, I guess, is that I had the socks on the correct feet according to the directions. Are we really that stupid? Do we need directions on the tops of our socks so we get them on the correct foot? Well that is all for now. I have to go mark my shoes with a sharpie so they get put on correctly. I hope Carol will help me.

I'm a Geek!?!

We bought a new laptop a year ago and hadn't used it too much because it ran Windows 8. Our old laptop, which I am using now, runs on Windows Vista. At least that's what I think. Whatever the hell it runs on is no longer supported by Microsoft so change was forced on me by Bill Gates and his minions. John did that magic he does with computers and made the new laptop look like it was running Windows 7. It made us more comfortable because it looked and acted like what we were familiar using. As you get older you hate change more and more. You understand the inevitability of it but you still hate and resist change. That brings us to today. I have spent time the last few days attempting to make our computers hook up to our cable internet wifi network. I had reached my maximum frustration level and gave up. It seemed to make sense to use  the mobile hotspot from Verizon since I'm paying for those GB I might as well use them.

Not willing to allow my defeat to define my battle with technology today I decided to load the software and connect the printer, scanner and Neat Desk scanner to the new laptop. I started with the HP printer. The CD containing the software wouldn't load because the computer was on an incompatible operating system. I went to the HP website, found the correct software and drivers for the printer and downloaded them to the laptop. After installation the real test. Would it print? YES!!!! The two scanners went smoothly and everything works. Ok, the truth is it took all morning. The good news is that I'm retired and all morning isn't a big deal. What was I missing? Kelly and Michael, The View, Katie Couric, the computer work probably saved some of my brain cells from certain death.

If you are having computer problems rested assured that you should NEVER call me for help. Today was all luck. I have virtually no computer skills. If you have questions about that refer back to my failures in paragraph one.

Anger

We all struggle from time to time with people or things or situations that make up angry. It seems to be such an unproductive emotion but one that is turned to all too often. What makes the most since is to start where anger usually begins. In many cases we get angry because of things other people do. We fail to considered their motivations.

The first step in avoiding anger is to considered the other persons position. They aren't necessarily out to screw you over they are looking out for their interests. They, unlike you, have not considered the interests of anyone but themselves. Isn't that one of the biggest problems in society today? Everyone wants to get theirs and fuck everyone else. We have glamorized the idea that the person who dies with the most toys wins. Doesn't make any since to think you are a winner when you are dead but the idea has gotten some traction in current culture.

This is another thing that can often prevent anger. We all wander around doing the best we can. Some folks best isn't very good but in very few cases is their intent evil. Certainly you could point to folks like Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacey but those kind of folks are exceptions. Chances of you ever dealing with someone like that are close to zero. In all the years working in prison there were only two who crossed my path. It speaks once again to the issue of putting your feet in the other person's shoes. Empathy goes a long ways in understanding where others are coming from and where they are going.

It would be great if we could all skip ahead to 60. All too often we get caught up in thinking what other people think has anything to do with us. Someone looks at you on the street and all of a sudden you wonder if there is a booger hanging from your nose. Do I have some of my lunch on my shirt? Are my pants unzipped? What is the other person thinking? They may have just looked at you to determine if they knew you. Most likely they aren't thinking anything about you. If they are what difference does it make. We see people every day on the street that we may never see again. Does it matter what they think of us?

In the end isn't this the end result of anger. It ends up punishing us. The person we are angry at or the situation that has caused our anger will most likely not be changed by our anger. We will be changed by our anger. It will not be a change for the better.

So Chuck has it right to a certain extent. Don't be happy and think it is revenge toward others. Just be happy. Determine every day that you will be happy to the best of your ability. Everyday won't be on top ot the world but every day will be better than it would have been had you decided to be angry. So that is the advice you get today. Be happy. Be happy always.

Coloring Fun

I found these on Tumblr this morning courtesy of the Huffington Post. If you have an iPad or iPhone there is an app that allows you to download the coloring book. Here are some examples of things you can color. Please feel free to do some coloring and share the results.

Unquestionably Stupid

There have been a couple of recent items in the news that deserve some attention. Once again they point out how uncivil our society has become. We seem willing to do really stupid things when some simple good manners would go a long ways to prevent issues.

United Airlines flight 1462 from Newark to Denver was diverted on Sunday due to the poor behavior of two passengers. They were seated in what United calls "Economy Plus" which allows passengers 4 inches of additional legroom over a seat in coach. If you have ever flown and sat in coach then you know it allows you about enough leg room for an average 10 year old child. The man in this case used a device called the Knee Defender which prevents the person in front of them from reclining their seat. He had his tray table down and was working on his laptop. I'm sure it was something very important. The female passenger in front of him tried to recline her seat. Never saw the point in it since it only moves back about two inches. When she couldn't recline she complained to the flight attendant who directed the man to remove the Knee Defender since they are not permitted to be used on United flights. He refused. The woman in front stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water on him. The pilot was notified and diverted the plane to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and the two misbehaving passengers were removed. The flight then continued on to Denver. So, what do we have here? Two apparently childish adults fighting over four inches of legroom. The man was doing something he thought was important. The woman wanted her way. Perhaps some conversation before the flight attendant got involved would have been helpful. So, 4 inches of legroon caused the diversion of a flight and inconvience to every other passenger. Usually a woman's disappointment over 4 inches is another issue altogether.

The other day ESPN spent several minutes talking about Michael Sam. He is the first openly gay professional football player. What was the topic of ESPN's concern? Michael Sams shower habits. I'm not real good at math but I think there are 32 NFL teams and at this point in the roster process each team has 75 players. So right now their are 3,200 men on the NFL roster not counting those players who are physically unable to perform or on injured reserve. ESPN has chosen to discuss on national television the shower conduct of one player. He's gay, get over it. The other men he is in the locker room with are professional athletes. They must be able to take care of themselves. It seems impossible that he is in the shower soliciting for sex acts. ESPN seemed to be making air time for a nonissue. No one other than some ignorant homophobes cares what Michael Sam does in an NFL locker room shower.

We continue to become a more unquestionably stupid society that lacks common decency and manners.

Spider Sex????

Yesterday I shared some photographs and told you about the banana spider near our back door. She is still there and a male banana spider has showed up in her web. Sounds kind of typical doesn't it? A male caught in a female's web.

 If you look closely at the picture above the small spider directly above the large female is the male banana spider. As stated yesterday there is a big difference in the size of the two sexes. What about spider sex?

Banana spiders go through several molting stages. The final stage is the most interesting. About four days before the final molt the female stops eating and repairing the web. Yesterday must not have been part of that four day period as our lady was eating a dragonfly last evening. Around the time of this final molt a mature dominate male will move into the web and spend a few days getting to know the female. Doesn't that sound nice. He goes over to her place and hangs out for a few days before he tries to have sex with her. Probably wandering around the web eating whatever she has caught and is not now willing to eat. Wonder if there is any conversation during those days. Does he try to impress her with tricks or just waves his junk at her from a safe distance.

When the male approaches the female for copulation he stimulates her by vibrating his abdomen with a plucking motion. his attempts to arouse her in this matter prevents him from becoming her meal. So, it goes like this, he plays with himself and if she doesn't find this stimulating well he's dead. If inseminated the female spins at least two egg sacks about one inch in diameter. The male then guards the female. The mature female will live about a month after the final molt while the male will live about 2 or 3 weeks.

So there you have it. Spend some time hanging around the female's place, do a good job with foreplay, guard her after she has the little ones and maybe she won't kill you. Seems like banana spiders aren't that much different than us.

Things Change

I shared the other day that we had to take Teddi to the animal shelter in Galesburg due to her ongoing mistreatment of Lily Lu. She was placed in the shelter on Thursday morning and on Saturday afternoon was placed with a new family. She will be their only pet and she should get along just fine. Here are some pictures of her with her new family.

We hope Teddi has a long and happy life with her new family.

We are back on Tybee Island and learning that when you are gone for a long time things happen in your absence. Carol noticed this outside our back door and I had to do some research to figure out what it was. As a frame of reference it is about 3 inches in length.

This beauty is Nephila clavipes commonly known as the Banana Spider. The two sexes are highly sexually dimorphic with the females significantly larger than the males. Females are one to three inches in length and the males are about one half inch in length.The females build orb webs that average 2+ feet in diameter and may range from three to six feet in daimeter. The silk of a mature female has a yellow tint and shows as a rich gold in sunshine. The silk is very strong and surpasses the strength of Kevlar fiber used in bulletproof vests. It is six times stronger than steel. Because of its size many assume this spider is dangerous to people. It is considered medically harmless to humans. It will only bite if held or pinched and the bite causes localized pain which is less severe than a bee sting. The web and spider shown above are just to the side of our back door.

The sticks in the lower left portion of the picture above are suspended in the spider web. This gives you an idea of the size of the web and its strength. The Banana spider is one of the largest non-trantula-like spiders in North America. To make the size clearer to my northern friends, it is similiar in size to the yellow and black garden spider.

Traveling

We have safely arrived back on beautiful Tybee Island. The car is unpacked and most of what we hauled down here is put away. Driving gives you time to think about things. Here are a few things that crossed my mind on the road.

Why are strip clubs and nudie bars called "Gentlemen's Clubs? It would seem to me that a true "gentleman" would not go to a club to see titties. I don't picture a group of well dressed men with monacoles saying: "My dear fellow Ashton, looking at the perky nipples there on Miss Brandi's ample bosoms. She is a fine example of all that is right with America. I believe I will tuck a dollar in her g string. I didn't get wealthy by just throwing money around." I doubt it works that way. Never been to one so I don't know. They had a sign up trying to hire dancers. Thought about applying but not sure I want to shave my chest, or beard for that matter.

We saw a sign for a doctor who was advertising his hair transplant business. His name was Dr. Fingers. Seemed to me he missed his true calling as a doctor. Wouldn't this advertisement be a natural for our dear Dr. Fingers?

Teddi

In a sad turn of events Teddi left our home on Thursday. It became clear that Lily would not do what was necessary to defend herself and Teddi was becoming increasingly aggressive toward her. In the last couple of weeks Lily had suffered a laceration to one of her ears and has a puncture mark on her side where Teddi bit her. We are not quick to give up on dogs and had probably let this go on longer than we should have. It was a difficult decision to make but we could not in good conscience allow Lily to go on being injured. Since the local shelter is no kill and Teddi is housebroken she shouldn't be too difficult. She does need to be in a home where there are no other pets. She is always going to want to be the alpha animal in the house and will do whatever she has to in order to bend other critters to her will. Corgi's are known for their stubborn nature and the fact that she is half blue heeler does not help her instinctual behavior.

Farewell Northlandia

My dear friend and loyal blog writer and reader Mike refers to Illinois as Northlandia. Tomorrow Carol and I will get in the car and head south toward our beloved Tybee Island. It has been over two months. We miss the salt air, the fresh seafood, the sound of the waves, and a hundred other things. We have accomplished most of what we came north to do. What is left undone may be accomplished by mail, email and telephone over the coming weeks. It is reasonable to ask us this question. Why Tybee Island? The answer is partially in the following.

Business insider named the 10 best small towns in America. Coming in at number 10 is Tybee Island, Georgia. Why? It is known for its relaxing, laid back atmosphere, great seafood and breathtaking views. It has old historic monuments like Battery Garland of Fort Screven and the Tybee Island Lighthouse. The population is listed as 2,990 which makes it large enough to have some business and small enough to have that small town friendliness. So, with thousands of small towns in America we managed to make a place for ourselves in one of the top 10. We aren't that smart, we just got lucky. If you are looking for somewhere to go here are the rest of the top 10.

9. Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, population 4,781
8. Cloudcroft, New Mexico, population 674
7. Burnsville, Minnesota, population 60,306
6. Sedona, Arizona, population 10,031
5. Lewiston, New York, population 2,701
4. Murray, Kentucky, population 17,471
3. Bardstown, Kentucky, population 11,700
2. Danville, Kentucky, population 16,218
1. Denton, Texas, population 113,383

I found a few things interesting in the list. Three of the top 5 are in Kentucky. I have been to one of them. Bardstown is in Kentucky bourbon country and home to Maker's Mark and Jim Beam. The scenery is beautiful in that area and the people are friendly. The only other town on the list I have been to is Sedona, Arizona. It is one of the most beautiful and spiritual places I have ever been. The biggest objection I have on the list is Denton, Texas. Small towns don't have populations over 100,000. Burnsville, Minnesota was pushing the limits for me since it was over 50,000. If you haven't visited any of these places based on the three I have been to a trip to any one of them would be worth your time. As for us, tomorrow we are on the road to number 10.

Believe This

 

 

 

It is not often that I choose to walk into the minefield of religion. Today apparently I'm willing to throw caution to the wind. The first quote basically covers my current beliefs. I don't know if there is a god or gods. I can't determine who is right among all the Christian groups who seem to be willing from time to time to condemn each other to hell based on their failure to agree on some nuance of Christianity. Are Buddhists right? How about Hindus? What about Islam? The various Native American belief systems? Who, if any, are right?

 

Here is where my trouble originates. If, as mentioned in the quote above, I live a life of virtue and kindness among my fellow man; many religious groups would condemn me to an eternity of punishment and torment because I failed to participate in some dogmatic rituals. The same group will allow me to live a lifetime of depravity and hate while expressing that if I participate in these rituals and repent, even on my deathbed, all is forgiven and I live an eternity in heavenly bliss. So I could, in their belief system, live a life where I abused my fellow humans mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually and in any other way imaginable. Having done all that as long as I have, for instance, been baptized and accepted Jesus as my personal savior, even on my deathbed, all is forgiven. Eternal bliss is mine. Pay no attention to the carnage I have created behind me. The lives destroyed and happiness denied by my actions. Those people might recover and lead exemplary lives despite my actions and be condemned to eternal torment because they did not do the things I mentioned above.

 

I included the second quote because many will state that the Bible says, "Judge not". We all judge all the time. The Bible does not admonish believers not to judge. Believers are admonished "Judge not that ye be not judged". It is an admonishment about being a hypocrite. You cannot judge me negatively for my actions and do the same thing and claim it is virtuous behavior.

 

My beliefs lead me to do the best I can to treat my fellow man with kindness and respect. Doing good as I am able and treating everyone as I would want to be treated. Am I unfailingly successful in this endeavor? Of course not. I remain a fundamentally flawed human being. Prone to errors in thought and deed. The one thing I have learned I close with below. Choose kindness and love even in the face of disappointment and unkindness from others.

 



 

More Quilt Show

This will be the final set of pictures from the quilt show.

We again visit the quilts that are black, white and red only to find my camera skills lacking. The colors are not crisp and the red shows as pink. My photographic abilities need to be honed.

The quilt pictured above is recent construction using vintage fabrics from the 1930's. It seems quilters are either fabric hoarders or excellent recyclers.

This quilt is a double wedding ring quilt with feathers. It is absolutely stunning, very well done and technically very difficult. The skill required to take something flexible, like fabric, put it together in a complicated pattern and have all the points and lines match shows tremendous technical ability.

This is another quilt that demonstrates great technical ability in the piecing and in the quilting.

This quilt was not part of the show but was brought by my mother and several other ladies from the Wataga Congregational Church. It belongs to the church now and it was brought in to be appraised. The quilt was constructed in 1900 most likely as a fundraiser. You would pay a certain amount and your name would be embroidered on the quilt and you would have an opportunity to win the quilt when it was finished. The quilt has almost 360 names. One of the ladies who was present is the granddaughter to one of the ladies named on the quilt. At quick glance I recognized a couple of family names of folks who still live in Wataga. The ladies are going to try to research the names and figure out as many as they can.

More Quilt Show Pictures

Off we go again to see my limited photographic skills applied to some folks beautiful quilts.

This is one of Carol's favorite quilt patterns. It is called a four patch posies. If you look at the red, white and blue boarder fabic (the inner boarder not the outer blue boarder) the squares are all made of that fabric. The difference in the squares is how the fabric is cut and sewed back together. As you can see the possibilities are virtually endless.

This is a close up view of a couple of the squares and the boarder fabric that was used to create the blocks.

I indicated in my prior post that I liked quilts that are red, white and black. This quilt fits that criteria but not in this picture. Sometimes automatic settings do things you don't intend. In this case, what was a vibrant red fabric is a variety of colors from red to orange. It is photography gone wrong.

Carol did not have a quilt in the show. This is however one of two in the show that she quilted. For those who do not understand the process she did not piece the top or the back. She did the decorative stitching that binds the top and back together.

What do the two quilts above have in common? They are the same quilt pattern done in different fabrics. Variations on a theme. Carol and I found them interesting because the first done in browns and darker tones would fit well in our log home. The second done in brighter colors would be a natural fit for our beach house.

This quilt is the second one in the show that was quilted by Carol. I would be an idiot if I didn't say it was my favorite quilt in the entire show. As bit of blog honesty, the quilt was constructed by my mother Anna Sutor. Given the problems I have had with photographs taken at this show I am pleased to report that this one is about as true to life as I got. The blues are that blue, the yellows are that bright. The quilt is wonderfully done and I know Mom is very pleased with her work.

Mom was at the show and graciously agree to pose with her art work. She is also a loyal reader of this blog and may disagree with my statement that it is a work of art. There really is no other word that describes what she has done here. Mom, it is a great work of fabric art.

There are more pictures to share but for now we close with Mom's quilt.

Quilt Show

Yesterday Carol and I attended the Piecemakers Quilt Guild show at Carl Sandburg College. Today I want to share some pictures I took of quilts at the show. There is a very impressive group of talented quilters in the Galesburg area. There were about 250 quilts in the show. The other reason for sharing these pictures is to see how I did with the camera I used. My wonderful daughter in law Mandie is letting me try out her Nikon D5000. Yesterday's pictures were all taken on the automatic setting so basically I was a point and shoot monkey. As time allows me to get more familiar with the camera and the photographic magic it will perform you will see some different results posted here. None of today's pictures have been altered in any way from the way this monkey took them. I feel very skilled as I can stand, point a camera and push a button. Those of you who are wondering, this is about as much multitasking as a man can handle. Please don't ask me to (OMFG) manually focus.

This beautiful quilt is the one that greeted you as you entered the show. I'm not sure my picture does justice to the vibrant colors. As you can see to the right side the washed out light from the outside affected the quality of the photograph.

This quilt is a former best of show winner. There are some quilts that always draw my attention. Quilts that are red, white and blue are one of them. Another is the combination of black, white and red. Finally I also enjoy the use of yellow and blue.

This wall hanging done by Carol Ulm is included because I like dogs. I thought she did a great job capturing the look of a very happy puppy.

This is another small wall hanging measuring perhaps 16" square. It was one of the most commented on by viewers. They really seemed to enjoy the humorous view of the "apple bottom ladies".

This wall hanging or lap quilt was one of my favorites in the show. The use of colors in the flowers is not done justice by my amateur photographic skill. It was bright and wonderfully constructed.

This is a close up view of one of the panels in the quilt. It more accurately shows the bright colors and patterns in the flowers.

This small quilt was stunning. Each square contains a machine embroidered component. The next picture is a close up view of one of the squares.

This is a truly special work of art. Carol has done some machine embroidery and even done by computerized machine this level of quality is difficult to achieve. Each square was perfectly done and beautifully quilted.

There are many more pictures to share and there will be additional posts today if time allows.