Saturday I spent some time disassembling a very old TV so my in-laws could use the cabinet for general purpose storage.
Of course, I had to get some pictures first
It was soon followed by much disassembly, resulting in TV guts in a box
and an empty cabinet.
Click on any of the images for more.
or "Look what I found in Dad's garage!"
If you live long enough, especially in recent decades, the world moves out from under your feet and a new one slips into place. My grandmother knew how to make fried chicken, starting by catching a hen in the back yard and wringing its neck. Mother played with little droplets of mercury brought home by Grandaddy the chemist. Did you know you can turn a gold ring silver by putting mercury on it? Cool! The color lasts until the mercury rubs off, on your skin of course. I remember adding freon to a '74 Mustang by hooking up hoses and setting the can in a pan of hot water out in the driveway where the gas could fly away to widen the nearest hole in the ozone layer. What? It was fun to feel how cold the can got.
Nowadays folks buy boxes of ladybugs to eat aphids in their gardens, rather than seasoning the leaves with Sevin Dust. Maybe you, dear reader, wouldn't dream of using chemicals in your yard, but recent generations were happy to use the little gem below -- the best thing ever for killing termites. Take a gander at this bottle of sure-fire pest control.
Chlordane by Green Light
Directions for Use [excerpts]
Regular Mixture: 8 ounces per 25 gallons of water or 1 tablespoon per 1½ gallons of water.
LAWN PESTS: For ants, sod webworms, fall armyworms, crickets, mole crickets, tarantulas, scorpions, fleas, chiggers, wood ticks, sow bugs, spray regular mixture at the rate of 1 gallon per 100 square feet. Do not water lawn for several days afterwards.
SARCOPTIC MANGE MITES and LICE ON DOGS: Wet animal thoroughly with regular mixture. Do not spray dog if suckling young, nor on cats.
WARNING: Do not use on humans or cats. Contact with skin can cause toxic symptoms. Avoid breathing spray mist and skin contact. In case of spillage on skin, wash immediately with soap and water. Avoid contamination of feed and foodstuffs. Harmful if swallowed. Keep out of reach of children. [etc, etc..]
Here's the good bit...
This product will kill fish and wildlife. Birds feeding on treated areas may be harmed. Keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams. This product is toxic to bees and should not be applied when bees are actively visiting the area.
So it kills bugs but - oopsie - it also kills wildlife? It's OK to apply it all over the dog, but don't get it on the cat? Is the warning not to water the lawn for several days supposed to "keep out of lakes, ponds, and streams"?
As startling as these statements printed on the label are, the effects we now know about are downright chilling. "Documented health problems can include child cancers, neuroblastoma, leukemia, chronic infections, bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, infertility, neurological disorders, aggression and depression." Holy crap!
Uh, now I have a nearly full bottle of this on my desk. Which I'm afraid to touch. At least it's no longer in the hands of someone who might see it as "just the thing" for that recurring termite problem.
I took my scope out into the front yard to look at the Moon, Venus, Saturn and Mars as well as wait for an ISS passover.
Soon after dark I was able to get a good shot of the Moon and Venus together. Click through for larger versions.
A through the eyepiece shot of the Moon.
And finally, a shot of the ISS passing beyond the house. I got several shots but they all show a bit of movement at the beginning even though I thought I'd set a shutter delay.
Fun, fun, fun.
Another morning, another chance to get interesting pictures.
First up was a critter seen swimming toward the shore of the pond. After waiting next to the water I was rewarded by a sighting of him swimming back out to sea.
And then of course a beautiful sunrise.
Now that's a happy dog. Off-leash in a big open field.
What's really great about him is that he's constantly looking back to see where I am, if I say his name he stops and if I tell him to come to me, he does.
OK, so this won't be original any more than the umpteenth "LOL Cat" video, but it has to be written to show my love for this little dog.
Two years ago Chip the Miniature Schnauzer became part of our pack. Here are a few things I absolutely love about this remarkable dog, in no particular order. These behaviors are part of his nature; we have not taught him any of this.
Chip spent his first three years of life in a dreadful puppy mill before it was turned in to the authorities, the dogs seized, and this boy sent to the Miniature Schnauzer Rescue of North Texas. They cured him of a severe case of heartworms plus other parasites and injuries. Now Chip is strong and healthy, runs and walks with his humans, even 3 mile walks, which keeps him in fine form at 15½ pounds. If you have room in your home and time to devote to a fabulous family member, consider adopting a Mini Schnauzer from MSRNT. They're great!
Went for another evening walk with the boy and was rewarded by a pretty sunset.
Yet another ralk with Chip, early in the morning.
I didn't have my camera with me which guaranteed I'd see something interesting.
A cloud that looked like a duck. By the time we got back home and I grabbed the camera it wasn't as strongly duck shaped but here it is anyway.
That evening we took just a walk - too bloody hot for anything else.
After completing a circuit around the pond we headed off across the field where I stopped and attempted to take a picture of my favorite puppy.
Little did I know he'd pick that moment do do his business.
"Really? You're going to take a picture of me now?"
It was time to dance again!
Susan and I went out to Sherman to teach a set dance workshop where we taught the Antrim Square to an enthusiastic bunch of fun dancers.
It was a nice large group and they all did well and had fun.
We're definitely looking forward to the next workshop.
Now, THATS a Redbull!
While ralking (it's a run-walk but not a jog) with Chip I ran across these little guys.
Hadn't been to Blue Mesa in a while and we needed some lunch, so off we went.
Nice relaxing 4th.
With a visit by aliens.
Went for a ralk with the boy and was rewarded with a great view of the Moon.
Today my local knitting group In Stitches in McKinney took a field trip to Fancy Fibers Farm near, fittingly, Farmersville, TX. Mary Berry, a fiber enthusiast gone wild, gave our group of kids and adults a guided tour of the pastures and their fuzzy inhabitants, a collection of sheep, goats, alpaca, guard dogs, and (token non-fuzzies) chickens.
Mary must have deep stores of patience, as her talk was punctuated by correcting errant quadruped and little-kid behavior. It's a pity kids don't come with horn handles like the goats do, hee hee.
On the other hand kids don't leap as high, hooves flying.
If only we had touch cameras, I could share the soft cuddlyness of this baby Nigora named Han Solo. Only five weeks old...aww.
Somehow the alpaca had been a major draw for me, never having met an alpaca, but the goats and sheep were friendlier and more pettable. These guys were skittish and reputed to spit - no thanks! They sure are interesting to look at, though.
Hmm, does this shot remind anyone else of the final scene in Close Encounters? 
After the field tour, the humans and other animals moseyed back toward the fiber processing building, where we saw angora rabbits, English bunnies, some German ones I think, plus two mouser cats and oh yes, wool, roving, devices for getting pasture pieces out of wool, a spinning wheel, dyes, a weaving loom, and more. Mary does it all, from lanolin-greasy wool to gorgeous yarns. Once a month she invites people in to dye yarn or roving too, with her instruction. The experience gave us knitters a new appreciation for expensive, hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn. Wow, so much work, but it's surely Mary's passion. Thanks to Mary for the tour and to Sarah Dedman for organizing this fun day!
P.S. I even bought farm fresh eggs! Who wants a blue/green omelette? 
For knitters who want a more consolidated toe-up rewrite of the Jaywalker socks pattern, originally by Grumperina, here ya go. Someone else adapted the pattern for knitting from the toe up, but it involved more flipping back and forth than I cared to do, hence this copy/paste/reformatting job. If you use this and like your results, I'd love to hear about it! If you see something that could be written more clearly, let me know that too.
Since making these socks, I've received Wendy Johnson's wonderful Socks from the Toe Up book, which has become my sock construction bible. Check it out!
Another morning ralk with Chip, the perfect dog. There were some great crespucular rays in the East.
And the Moon in the West
It was another fun afternoon at Trinity Hall where we danced to great music played by Ken, Daniel, Gordon and Jeff.
We had a full set and a half this time an even a great fan in the corner helping to keep us cooler.
The next session will be August 1st, come on out and join us!
Click on any of the pictures to go to the full gallery.
I was in the attic recently, decided to poke through a couple of boxes I hadn't poked through in a while and ran across my Rocky Horror scrapbook. The pictures were fading and the printouts were starting to stick to the plastic covers so it was clear the contents needed scanning in.
First up is the results of my makeup job on April 29, 1986. Cats was a fairly new show and I decided early on that I'd take on a cat-like look for my transy character.
My niece made the mistake of posing with me. She'll now be immortalized forever with a RH person.
One of the shots my sister took while I was on stage.
As well as the newspaper clipping that got me in trouble for skipping class and promoting an upcoming show. Hey! I'm an "actor!" It says so right there!
Click on any of the pictures for more as well as an flier autographed by most of the cast members who were in the final show at the Highland Park Theater.
On our morning ralk (combination run and walk as we alternate between the whole time) we ran across a pretty flower.
Of course, the point of the ralk is to make a little dog very happy. Well, and get a bit of exercise of course.
There was a strange rocket launch last night. It happened quite late and I'm sure it was aliens headed back home.
I wonder if she was on the phone when she got into the fender-bender that resulting in the fender bending?
A few stops later and she's trading the phone for a cigarette.
(All the pictures I've taken while behind the wheel have all been while I'm stopped at a normal traffic stop. Once I come up with a way to mount the camera on the car and take remote shots I'll be able to immortalize many many more people driving dangerously.)
It was a good night to watch the ISS pass by the Moon.
Another morning of rain. It was was gray but the rain sounded nice.
We took a walk along the beach. What's that?
Saw a few Iguanas.
and discovered that the camera flash actually works pretty well under water.
We took several ig pictures and a whole load under water.
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the last day.
It was another morning beginning with stargazing. Took several long-exposure shots of Cygnus and followed by by shots of St. John in the dark.
It was another fine day of beach-lounging and skorkeling.
There were some great underwater critter sightings such as a nice pale urchin and squid!
Susan later found an occupied conch shell and we ended the night with dinner in Red Hook
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the seventh day.
Another light picture day. It was a bit gray and rainy to start with.
Eventually we went out and were accosted by critters looking for food
We did a bit of snorkeling, some kite flying and a whole lot of being lazy.
At the end of the evening we were rewarded with a great sunset.
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the sixth day.
Today was a quiet day as far as picture taking goes. We went on the ferry over to St. John and did some shopping.
On the way over we saw Rumbaba taking a group out.
Stopped near the marina
for lunch
Eventually heading back to the condo for a light dinner
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the fifth day.
We started off the day going in to Red Hook to join up with Captain Bobby for a day sail.
Before meeting up with him we spent some time in a marina cafe having a couple of coffee drinks and watching the people and dogs go by.
We headed over to St. John for some wonderful snorkeling at Hawk's Nest Bay
Followed by a tasty lunch of grilled Mahi and Tuna prepared while we sat and enjoyed the view.
We then headed over to Henley Cay for some more great snorkeling
and then back to Red Hook for drinks and pizza.
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the fourth day.
A wonderful view in the morning. This time it was at 4am and I was looking up at the Milky Way near Cassiopea. If you look carefully at the right you'll see M31.
Some great snorkeling
Rum punches galore
There was also a handsome iguana, great clouds and a view through the sea grape branches, wonderful sunrise, turtles, etc. You get the idea.
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the third day.
A wonderful view in the morning.
Iguana fight!
and some wonderful fish
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the second day.
A man who thinks he's a rock star. May be is.
A lovely lady knitting in public on Knit in Public day.
Once at the beach we had a light snack/dinner
With the right liquid.
Followed by a walk on the beach
Click on any of the pictures for the full gallery for the first day.
This is what I've been working so much overtime for the last 10 days. I don't blog work details so this is all you're getting. :-)
Flower on its way out, cause all things must pass.
Meanwhile the baby bunnies are getting bigger. Even with Chip around the yard.
It's always a good time to take a picture of our sweet puppy.
Seems like it's a little early for zombies. What am I saying? It's never too early for zombies!
Don't touch!
The Sun rising over the ball field.
Baseball in the morning, anyone?
Chip asks "play what?"
and later gets to talk to Bentley the Bouvier for a few minutes.
Sun rising over the park.
The Moon and Jupiter rising over the ball field
It was a fun (but hot!) afternoon at Trinity Hall where we danced to the wonderful tunes played by Allison, Toar, Candy and Rick.
The next session will be June 27, come on out and join us!
Scary knitted monster claws
Followed by Chip going after some bunnies in the yard
Susan and I met a friend (hi Grady) at SF on Sunday for a day of wandering around, drinking beers and bellinis, seeing shows, looking at goodies and saying hi to people we haven't seen in a while.
One of those was Bill, who unfortunately we didn't get to say hi to, marching in the parade.
A few wandering tarts...
as well as many others. Fun day. Click on either photo to check out the other pictures in the gallery.
A fitting end to a long day at Scarborough (Faire) Renaissance Festival. Some Zombie Juice.
It will either keep the zombies away or turn me into one. If you see me shambling toward you, run.
Hmm. The thought of eating brains isn't so revolting anymore.
Kids heading off to what we guess is their prom. Hereafter referred to as "prommies."
Some of the prommies stopped and posed for pictures a bit farther on.
and later on we listened to a bit of Caribbean music coming from the band nearby.
Stopped in to Mi Cocina for cocktails and people-watching but none of the photos I took conveyed the truly interesting and eye-popping reality so they aren't being posted.
Friday night found us heading out to Grayson country again for a set workshop.
There was only a single sets worth of people but they were fun and enthusiastic dancers. We spent the evening teaching footwork and movements for the Antrim Square set.
Yet more dinner. This time with more 'ritas
I started off with the "World's Freshest Margarita"
Susan has nothing to worry about, at all. They claim they use Patron but they also use some orange liqueur that is way too sweet.
Next some fajitas and a tall Blue Moon. Oink. yum.
Followed by a brownie sundae. Double-oink.
Sorry, more dinner. This time with 'ritas
It's been rainy and gray in CT so the best I can do is show you what I'm having for dinner.
We went off to Watters Creek again.
Chip and Susan relaxing in what should be the Allen version of Cafe del Mar.
I next captured a picture of duck butt.
Followed by the Tree That Will Soon Fall Over.
Once home we were treated to some pretty thunderheads
and the Moon and Venus (look at the large version)
We finally got off our butts and out of the house to take the boy for a walk and ran across...
A pretty thistle.
A series of trees that had been knocked over by a storm on the previous day.
A family of ducks swimming around the pond.
And several turtles.
