Monday, June 30, 2008

New best pals


Sorry for the late post, and tomorrow's theme day! This is a Monday 'filler' post, since my Theme day photo will go up around midnight... This is my older cat BC letting the new kitty Frosty use his leg as a pillow... =)

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Morning Sky


After I finished snapping a few photos at the 'Les Belles Poupees' doll show yesterday in Grapevine, I pulled out of the parking lot and saw this amazing cloudy sky in front of the sun...

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Les Belles Poupees Doll Show - Grapevine


Today's photos are a few shots from the doll show my mother is co-hosting in the Hilton DFW Lakes Exec Conference Center in Grapevine this weekend. The show continues Sunday at 10am. The hotel is located right by Grapevine Mills mall and Bass Pro Shops. The photos were taken before the show opened this morning while everyone was still setting up. The first one shows the 'winner's table' with the dolls and entries that were awarded top ribbons in the respective categories they were submitted for - the 'best of the best!'



The next few photos show some of the various booths and items from local artisans - a lot of the works shown are one-of-a-kind dolls and pieces, that are scuplted, painted, fired, and sewn by area artists. Their work and the care and detail they put into these pieces is truly amazing and make them wonderful keepsakes and gifts... personally, I really liked the Santa Clauses - and the one with the globe most of all!




Friday, June 27, 2008

My mom's in the weekend paper!


I was surprised when thumbing through the Dallas Morning News' weekend 'Guide' and found a photo of one of my mom's dolls, and then her name listed as the artist =) The Guide is a paper insert in Friday's issue that includes a ratings and review guide of local restaurants and events going on around the Metroplex. My mom is part of the organizing of the dollshow being held this weekend at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. She is also an accomplished sculptor and will be teaching classes at the event. More information can be found at lesbellespoupees.com

For those interested, the Grapevine Hilton is right by Grapevine Mills Mall, off state highway 26. The show is open at 10am both Saturday and Sunday. You can also view my mom's website included in the links on the right-hand column.... BTW... for those of you who don't speak french (i don't) I googled 'les belles poupees' and it means 'beautiful dolls' =) happy weekend all!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Rusty Brush


'Rusty Brush' sounds like some fictional character, and is my close-up photo for the day. It's amazing how expensive paint brushes are - and thus important to keep up with and clean them for re-using... I left this one in the driveway after I cleaned it, and it got rained on and rusted a little... but still ok for using ;)
I guess I should see if I can find a paint brush made in America and do a test to see if it rusts....

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Climbing the Ladder


Today's photo is one of my ladders that I'm using to paint the house. This is an extendable ladder that is 12 feet tall as shown, and extends up to 24 feet.. I have no problems painting on the ground - and up to a point on this ladder as shown, but I get kind of scared when the ladder is extended and I get too far up on it... I mean, I'm so worried about falling when I'm up that far that I never can get the painting done... =)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Daylily


Today's photo is a daylily; a message to remind me that quitting smoking will be a daylily one day at a time objective.... and the first objective will be to go an entire day with no cigarette =) I'm normally a 2 pack a day smoker (don't have heart attacks, anyone) and I've only had 7 smokes today as opposed to 40 (2 packs worth)... I'm committed to this, don't get me wrong - I just thought at first that I could keep an emergency 'stash' - which I don't think is conducive to the whole purpose or objective. So, I decided to go ahead and finish my last few today - and I'm committed to not spending $5.00 a pack for any more. now the sadness will set in - so here's a happy picture for today... =)
p.s. btw, paint update - this wall behind the flower has been primed and is ready to paint after a little caulking! more updates to come....

Monday, June 23, 2008

Ahh... the Good Times


Sitting on the front porch and enjoying a cold brew and a smoke... too bad they must always come to an end... I've been smoking now for too long than I'd care to say, but I will admit to the fact of turning 40 next year - and I'd like to be smoke-free and on a path to being more healthy when I reach that horrific milestone. I've been on Chantix for a week now, which I've tried once before and seemed to work pretty well if I can just get over the feeling that there's something I should be doing.... strangely, this medicine also affects my taste for beer - which I've always loved.... anyway - it's a stressful beginning for a week nonetheless, and here's hoping that I can exhibit some strong will and determination to kick my habit....

Sunday, June 22, 2008

E-Tex (au)To (gl)Ass


Looks like it's time for E-Tex Auto Glass to buy a couple vowels... they've lost their AuGl and now they just say "TO ASS"....

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Downtown Dallas


Today's photo is one from the archives... this is a stairway outside the Da Vinci Select Enterprises building in downtown Dallas near the West End area of Dallas. I've always loved glass brick, so when I started remodeling my bathroom I replaced my window with glass brick =) I love the way this stairway looked against the brick building.....

Friday, June 20, 2008

Friday Night Frosty, with B.C.


One last kitty post before I start my new cat blog -- this is a photo of B.C. (black cat) my older cat of 9 years playing with my new kitten Frosty. It's been a long 5 weeks getting them to even interact - the first week that I brought Frosty home, B.C. wouldn't come out of the back bedroom and didn't want anything to do with Frosty. At first whenever Frosty would approach B.C., the older cat would just hiss and run and hide... over the last couple weeks B.C. has been going out of his way to play with the kitten, and following him around and keeping an eye on what he's doing... he's like a big brother now =)


Thursday, June 19, 2008

Koi Pond - Water Plants


Today's photo is a the surface of a koi pond located in the yard of my mom's neighbor. They have quite a few fish, and feeding time is a frenzy... I really liked the green water plants they had growing....

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Downtown Terrell


Today's photo is the front of Terrell Office products, which at one time housed a local movie theater, and also a building on the corner of Frances and Moore Streets, which has been under construction for quite some time now. Jim over at Terrell Daily Photo has posted a series of photos of the corner building from the time the work started last year...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Stormy Tuesday - Collapsed Building on 205


Construction started a little over a month ago on this metal building just north of town on highway 205. From the way it looked, it seemed like it might be a new big fireworks store -- and probably would've been done just in time for July 4th....

The metal roofing had all been completed, but the sides were still pretty open when I drove into work this morning. Maybe in this pre-construction stage it was top-heavy? Who knows - but we had a big storm roll through town today while I was at work - and on my way home, the building was collapsed...

The people in the photos are probably the owners inspecting the damage....which is sad, cause they weren't too far from having it done...

Monday, June 16, 2008

Ham's Orchards


Today's photo is Ham's Orchards located on Highway 80, about 4 miles east of Terrell. The store is open 7 days a week from 9:00a until 5:00p from May 15 thru August 15, and has some of the best peach ice cream you'll find around these parts... I took my grandma out there yesterday so she could get some peaches, but they also sell red potatoes, squash, fresh eggs, honey, berries and all sorts of canned specialties that they make themselves for public sale.

Additional information can be found at their website.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Soulman's Bar-B-Q Sunday - Happy Dad's Day



I can't tell you how much I love barbeque, and how excited I am to see Soulman's coming to Terrell. I've been driving by the store every few days to see if they'd opened yet. Finally, in the weekend paper it said they'd open in a couple weeks... so i'll patiently wait =) Here's another preview, they've added the pig water tower since I posted my last photo.

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there - and a special happy happy to my dad!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Flag Day 2008


In honor of flag day, my photo today is the American and Texas flags flying in front of Wells Fargo bank on Virginia Street in Terrell. The 'Tumbler's Gym' is also visible in the background, and also reveals that I flipped the photo horizontally - as the name appears backwards in my shot =) Happy Flag Day!!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday Night Frosty


Today's photo is an updated pic of my kitten, Frosty... he was helping me download some photos to the PC last night. I've decided to work on a new blog tonight that will be only pics of my animals, so I can keep the focus here on Terrell... but in defense, my animals are all native to Terrell, I'm just a Terrell transplant =-)

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Anderson-Clayton Bros Funeral Home


Today's photo is the front of Anderson-Clayton Bros Funeral home, located on Nash Street in downtown Terrell. This display of flags is in honor of the loss of local soldier JD Emard who was killed in Iraq. His viewing was tonight from 4p-8p at the funeral home, and the parking lot and street were lined with cars... Jim over at Terrell Daily Photo has posted some information about Spc Emard, and some additional info regarding the services can be found at the Terrell Tribune's website also.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this local hero.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Canton Gramophones


I saw these on my last trip to Canton in May and had to get a shot. It's hard to take photos with the crowds of people walking around aimlessly who get in your shot before they realize what you're doing... =) this one turned out a little blurry because I jerked when somebody bumped me from behind....

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Beer Barn & Cole Mountain Restaurant


Today's photo is the Beer Barn located on highway 80 (Moore St), with Cole Mountain Restaurant in the background across the street. The Beer Barn is a drive thru convenience store with all kinds of beer and cigarettes and other sundries... I like their little barn-style mailbox too.
The restaurant across the street, Cole Mountain, has some of the best chicken fried steak in Texas... and their steaks and barbeque ribs are pretty good too!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Downtown - everything's waiting for you


Continuing on the line of downtown buildings, my photo today are the businesses to the right of yesterday's photo... in today's photo, to the left, is the Flamingo Grill, and second is The Rock church, and finally the old Chapman building which has been renovated into loft apartments on the top, with offices on the first floor.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Gaze into my ball


Looks like we're getting another new merchant in our old downtown area - a Psychic Advisor! I have actually been to a palm reader on my one and only trip to New Orleans back in the late '80s... I can't remember what my fortune was at the time, but the 'reader' impressed me by citing a few facts about my life that were indeed true... and when you're amazed by these few morsels (guesses) you tend to overlook all the facts that were wrong... I may have to go down and check this one out when they open!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Got Grass?


Ahh summer... time to cut the grass... I've got a yard full of St. Augustine grass, and it's doing really well this year...

Friday, June 6, 2008

Friday night feeds



Today's photo is an old 'Special X Feeds' sign that I took out in Edgewood a few weeks ago, and a second one of 'Nutrina Feeds.' Bingo has a grooming appointment out in Edgewood in the morning, so I hope to find a few more photos while I'm out there.
Also, a quick update on my home painting project: I've gotten some prep work done, but not a lot of painting. I hope to have some photos by the end of the weekend...

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Terrell Bowling Center


Today's photo shows Terrell's bowling alley located on highway 80 just west of town. It's been a few years since I've been inside (or been bowling either), but it was very 'retro' looking when i was there last.... I need to go in and check it out now and see if it's changed any. They used to have 'blacklight Friday' night bowling where they turned out all the lights and lit everything but the alleys with blacklights...

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Griffith Street Reflections


Today’s photo is an old historic Victorian style home located on Griffith Street in Terrell. This photo is actually a ‘trash’ photo, because I wasn’t able to capture the house very well at all to do it justice – including the home’s cupola that is out of view behind the magnolia tree. After viewing the photo at home on the computer, I kind of liked the reflection of myself in the side car mirror that I got by accident, so decided to post this one for today…

I’ll have to go back down to Griffith to try and get a better photo of the house soon…

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

'bed Bug


Well, it’s time to call the exterminator or pest control… while out working in the flowerbed I came across this big bug in the middle of my elephant ears…
And on a personal note: here's to the final Democratic Primaries being over with tonight after Montana and South Dakota have their say at the polls! I'm a political junkie, and even I have been getting sick of the long drawn out Democratic party nominating process...

Monday, June 2, 2008

Texas Lottery - Cashword


I wanted to answer a question left in the comments from the theme day yesterday from Halcyon at Jackson Daily Photo, and also follow up on my promise for the reasoning in selecting ‘BJ’s Food and Fuel’ as my favorite corner store. The question asked was if I played the lottery – and the answer is YES, I do! And I have also been lucky enough to have been struck by lightening won the jackpot on a Texas Lottery scratch off ticket!!!

My photo for today is a picture of the $3.00 Cashword lottery ticket that I purchased from BJ’s on February 25, 2007…For those unfamiliar with the game, the object is to scratch off the letters on the bottom of the ticket, and then see how many words you can spell out in the top section of the ticket using only the letters given. The ‘grand prize’ of $35,000.00 is the top prize awarded if you’re able to spell out 10 words in the top section..

I hate to seem greedy, but I’m hoping that my next win is a lotto drawing jackpot or at least a higher prize… maybe even a ‘weekly grand’ prize that pays out a thousand dollars a week for life, or a similar one… I’m definitely not complaining about winning 35k, but it sure does go fast… and winning seems like a distant, fleeting memory now… but BJ's remains my favorite corner store!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

June Theme Day - Corner Store


The City Daily Photo Blog community theme for the first day of June 2008 is ‘corner store.’ I had a couple options to go with for this, but for reasons I’ll address in a future post I decided to feature B.J.’s Food and Fuel as my corner store.

B.J.’s is located on Moore Ave (aka hwy 80) just east of the old downtown area of Terrell, and among other things is well-known for their cheap gas. When I went to take this photo, I drove past 4 other local stations (all within one mile of BJ’s) and the cheapest gas price was $3.85 a gallon for regular unleaded – and as you can see, BJs is .03 a gallon cheaper at $3.82.

B.J.’s is also popular because you can drive-thru and pick up your beer or sodas… Please take some time to visit the other 174 CDPB sites participating in the theme day:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
Adelaide, Australia by Gordon, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey by afyonblog, Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by Digger, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Avignon, France by Nathalie, Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia by BgdPic, Belgrade, Serbia by Bibi, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Sarah, Whit, & Leyre, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis, Budapest, Hungary by agrajag, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Buenos Aires, Argentina by Karine, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cape Town, South Africa by Kerry-Anne, Cavite, Philippines by Steven Que, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Château-Gontier, France by Laurent, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chennai, India by Shantaram, Chennai, India by Ram N, Chicago (IL), USA by U R us, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Corsicana (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, Edinburgh, UK by Dido, Evry, France by Olivier, Folkestone, UK by Clare Unsworth, Forks (WA), USA by Corinne, Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA by Gigi, Gainesville (FL), USA by Leah, Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly, Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hangzhou, China by Chanin, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Hyde, UK by Gerald, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jogjakarta, Indonesia by Jogja Portrait, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Knoxville (TN), USA by Knoxville Girl, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Le Guilvinec, France by ds2944, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lodz, Poland by ritalounge, London, UK by Ham, London, UK by Mo, Los Angeles (CA), USA by Martha Perez, Mainz, Germany by JB, Manila, Philippines by Heyokity, Melbourne, Australia by John, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Misawa, Japan by misawa mama, Monroe (GA), USA by Tanya, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Montego Bay, Jamaica by Ann, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Moscow, Russia by Irina, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Nancy, France by yoshi, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Oklahoma City (OK), USA by ananda.tashie, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Oslo, Norway by Lothiane, Owasso (OK), USA by Jennifer, Paderborn, Germany by Soemchen, Paris, France by Eric, Pasadena (CA), USA by Petrea, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Perth, Australia by Elevation7, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Townsend (WA), USA by raf, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Posadas, Argentina by Lega, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea by Jules, Ramsey, Isle of Man by babooshka, Reykjavik, Iceland by Vírgíll, Riga, Latvia by Fotos. Riga Photos, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Rouen, France by Bbsato, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by Eric, San Antonio (TX), USA by Kramer, San Diego (CA), USA by Zentmrs, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, San Francisco (CA), USA by Louis la Vache, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Seoul, South Korea by Phil, Sequim (WA), USA by Norma, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Ann, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Sydney, Australia by Julie, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tacloban City, Philippines by agnesdv, Tel-Aviv, Israel by Olga, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Torino, Italy by Fabrizio, Torun, Poland by Torun Observer, Torun, Poland by Glenn, Toulouse, France by Julia, Turin, Italy by Livio, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Urayasu, Japan by Zono, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Wassenaar, Netherlands by Rich, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,