K is for Kilt

It's ABC Wednesday ...again! This weeks letter is K.

Kilt is not the first thing that came to my mind but when I awoke this morning and realized that I had not posted yesterday (busy working and then working my second job then watching Survivor and Justified on the DVR it was midnight!).

This photo I took years ago while attending the Dublin Irish Festival with my two sisters and their families. The year before my youngest sister and I had made the trek from Lexington to Columbus on the hottest August week-end ever. She had once caught the band The Saw Doctors performing in Boston and they were the headliner at the Irish Festival that summer.

I feel in love with the Saw Doc's that week-end, a band from Ireland who can rock a house! I have seen them numerous times since. Once on St. Patrick's Day in Cleveland at the world famous Agora Ballroom, a vintage venue for concerts.

Aside from my love affair with the Saw Doc's, the men in Kilts were everywhere and the idea was conceived to get our husbands in Kilt's!

No way. But my sis managed to get her husbands male family members in Speedo's....go figure.

Check out this week at ABC Wednesday HERE.

Fact is Stranger than Fiction

A couple of weeks ago I was carrying on and writing about fads and trends and mentioned the MIA/POW bracelets that were worn in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Out of curiosity I looked on the Internet to see if one could still find those bracelets. In a nut shell, yes you can. I even found a guy selling a cache of the original bracelets from 1970. He had squirrel them away after trying to return the lot to the organization that distributed them. They did not respond to his request to return the unsold portion.

I assume everyone knows what a MIA/POW bracelet is, and if not a brief history. During the Viet Nam era some of the returning service men wore bracelets given to them by hill tribesmen as "friendship" bracelets. The idea was transformed into a way to show support of the soldiers and to demand humane treatment of those in captivity. In other words, for those men who were taken as Prisoners of War by the Viet Cong or who were Missing in Action. The group was called VIVA, a couple of college kids from LA, and they sold thousands of bracelets on simple metal stating the soldiers name, their rank and the date they disappeared.

I found some startling statistics. In WWII over 78,000 are MIA. Mind boggling! But I have heard first hand from my father, a WWII USAAF veteran, that the man next to you would be blow up in the blink of an eye. Gone from the face of the earth. Korea some 8,000 MIA and Vietnam has over 2700 MIA, POW, or KIA unaccounted for. It is a fact that every year these number go down as bodies are recovered or found and turned over to the US.

I found a web site that lists the dates that remains are identified and returned to the US. It's unbelievable to me that they can be identified let alone found! There is a military site that is dedicated to the "Recently Accounted-For". One lost September 15, 1918 found and identified on March 2, 2010. Almost 100 years waiting to come home.

So, with all this information about how there are still groups searching and negotiating for the Lost it was a simple step to purchase a POW-MIA bracelet and help a justified cause.

The bracelet was shipped on March 22nd, I received it a few days later. SFC Donald M. Shue, USSF, 11-03-69 Laos,(from)NC.

I've been wearing the bracelet ever since. Heavy and warm and way too big for my puny wrist, it slides up and down making a sharp clink against my watch and clanking on the desk. It's strange how at home it feels on my arm and I hesitate to remove even when I must.

Today I thought to look SFC Donald M. Shue, USSF from NC up on the Internet and see his story....

His remains had been found and identified on March 22nd. He is being returned to the US and will be in Hawaii until he is officially returned to Charlotte NC and to his family on April 30th. The Rolling Thunder will escort him to his final resting place, as he was a motor cycle enthusiast.

I wonder if when they choose one of the 2500 names of the Lost if they knew? Or if something else happened? Whatever it was, what ever it is, it is a hero has been lost and now found. I will continue to wear his bracelet for the other 1549 who are still waiting to come home.

13 Places Favorite Places to Kill Time

Spring is in the air and it makes me want to jump in a car and go visit some of my favorite places! Since I am attached to a desk with a ball and chain these days unlike the good old days when I could always plan a side trip whenever I wanted as I cruised the back roads of America, I must visit my favorite spots in my Minds Eye....and here at Thursday 13.

1) Lexington Cemetery - Always beautiful even in the winter. Not only a place of rest for the departed, it is also a arboretum that is constantly changing and always breathtaking. I love to just go sit at one of the lakes and watch the ducks. It's soothing. It may be odd to some, but I always find cemeteries calming and peaceful. I love to take photographs any time of the year. There is a bronze statue of a girl with her palms faced upwards and her head thrown back and it as if she were caught running for joy! I have always wanted to photograph her at night with lightening bugs dancing all around her, but the cemetery shuts its gate before dark.





2) There is an Architectural Salvage place in Louisville on Broadway that I could spend all afternoon browsing around. I can not wait to go back.

3) In Ft. Wayne there is the coolest ever indoor Farmers Market tucked in a old residential part of town called South Side Farmers Market. I love it! If the weather gets chilly they fire up a pot belly stove located in the middle of the "E" shaped building. You can find anything from flowers to hand cream made from bee's honey. The Amish are there with their baked goods. You can find vintage jewelry and potted plants. Odds and ends of everything. Oh, and fruits and veggies.

4) The best kept secret in Lexington was the Book Cellar at the Lexington Public library. I think I stumbled in when it first opened and before they discovered E-bay. I picked up some priceless first editions. It has expanded to the down stairs lobby and houses some fantastic collection of Travel Books and Cookbooks. Always something unusual for sale. You never know if you will find maps from the 1700's or a magazine from the 1950's.

5) Beale Street in Memphis. When Joe finally found out we were heading back to Memphis the first image that popped into my head was fun on Beale Street and those Big Ass Beers! woo-hoo!

6) Lynns Paradise Cafe in Louisville. Every time I spend the night in big L, I meet my friend Cathy at LPC for breakfast. A very popular place in the Highlands, the wait for a table can sometimes make your head spin. But it's worth it. Watch out because on Sunday's you can not get a Bloody Mary until after 1pm. Boo-hoo. Food is fabulous and the whimsical, fun and colorful exterior is a show stopper. Inside the decor borders on fantasy land and most asked for table is a glass covered table that houses a working miniature train. Every summer at the State Fair there is a contest for the most unusual decorated lamp and the winners end up adorning the 50 style tables at Lynn's.



7) Kentucky Horse Park. When I worked for the beverage company this park was in my territory and one of my major accounts. It was so much fun to drive up to the guard and flash my badge and be waved in. Yea baby! I would park and walk around and "check things out". Which of course meant visiting the gift shop (found the coveted Zenyatta tree ornament at the store - they can not be found any where else), the show ring and walking around the hilly beautiful bluegrass checking out the horses from all over the world. I had the best job ever.

8) The Hyde Brothers Bookstore. The moment I stumbled into this old store I felt like I had come home. Books stacked to the ceiling and worn maroon carpets, old newspaper articles and maps taped to the book shelves along with stuffed animals , comic books, and knick knacks, it was like a falling into a technicolor dream. You could enter by the back screen door and immediately descent into the basement where the mystery section and the travel section were kept. My favorite thing was to open books and find all sorts of interesting items used as book marks. I have found European paper money, 1950 Girl Scout memorabilia, flight tickets, train tickets and old newspaper pictures, business cards and holy cards. It was like treasure hunting.

9) Versailles Flea Market. This place exists no longer and it is a crying shame! The occupants were given a 30 day notice to vacate as the shopping center had been sold to a developer and he wanted them OUT. The saddest thing is the deal fell through and the old K-Mart building which at one time was a Treasure House of old stuff looks like a broken down old vehicle. I have found some of the coolest stuff ever tucked away in the many stalls at the VFM. Half of a Coheleach set of Snow Leopards (I keep searching the Internet for the second piece to complete my set), iron skillets, old photographs, scrapbooks, and lots of useful old gadgets that are practically impossible to find! Old flour sifters and wooden rolling pins. A walk through this wonderful living and breathing history store was a great way to spend an afternoon or kill an hour.

10) Christ the King Church - Whenever I was having a bad morning and needed some grounding I would go catch the noon Mass at this church. There is a retired Jesuit priest that said Mass and gave a quick sermon based on the Gospel reading that day and it was always interesting as all get out. Once he told us all about his experiences with exorcisms. I hung on his every word. The last time I slipped in for Mass he was not there. I was very disappointed.

11) Lexington Arboretum. The parking lot sits high on a hill overlooking the walking trails and the meticulously maintained acreage it was the best place to sit and do paperwork on a late afternoon! Also to get out and stretch! Lovely spot.

12) Reeds Orchard - Hidden way down these little bitty country roads, at least they called them roads, they just as well could be trails! is a fantastic orchard in Bourbon Co. I would make the last mile on the gravel rock and pray I did not pop a tire and once I crossed the little wooden bridge I knew I had made it once again. I discovered hot pepper jelly at this far off the beaten path Orchard. The apple trees are fantastic in bloom. The apples themselves are juicy and beautiful.




13) The newest addition to my list Eagles Nest Bar and Marina in Paris Landing. I was instructed to find this place and meet up with some of my college buddies that I had not seen in many a year. The tables sit on a boat dock and there is entertainment and fabulous food. What is better than the sun on your face, boats coasting lazily in to dock, cold beer, old friends and foot stomping music. Nothing. I will go back again and again. Reminded me of Key West...a lot.



So there you go! And there I go if only in my dreams!

You can kill some time by visiting Thursday 13 by going HERE.

J is for A Long time Ago

J is for JOY! Just look at her face!

I took this picture in 1997 when little B. was a wee thing. We were at the now defunct Garrett Orchard for their pumpkins. And apple cider. And apples. And stick candy. I think she hit Joe Joe in the head with that lolly pop not soon after I snapped this with my trusty Nikon Series F.

As I said, a long time ago!

Check out the other "J's" at ABC Wednesday!

Just Ewwwwwwwww!!!!!

For some odd reason I was doing that never ending search on the Internet about Fad's. And I was informed that fad's are usually started by teenagers because they are the first ones to discover something new (always looking for ways to be hip) and it if sticks it becomes a trend.

One step further I found a discussion thread about "which fad do you hate the most" and naturally it was teenagers who commented with everything that disgusted them. Some of the response were very funny. Typical teenage stuff.

Teenagers are just fun! That is unless you are raising one, then they are a pain in the keister. I know, I raised one. And before that I was one!

When I was a preteen we had quite a few fads that I remember. In other words, thank God they did not stick. We use to get these little plastic rings from the hardware store, they were called chicken rings and available in many bright colors. I never had any, though I wanted one badly. My parents never went into a feed store. Ever! I was deprived.

And there was this wild fad called collecting Fruit Loop's. It consisted of tearing the loop off the back of a guys shirt! Back in the day the back part of a shirt had a small tab in the form of a loop that people would virtually hank off each other! It made them very angry therefore great sport. It was mainly girls yanking off guys loops. From moving school buses.

God forgive me for admitting to this, but we wore saddle oxfords and bobby socks in high school! Sometimes for a break, we wore bass weejuns, referred to as penny loafers, and knee high socks. Blue. The reason being I had to wear a uniform to High School. Everybody wore the same damn thing. A blue sweater and a white short sleeved shirt with a peter pan collar and a pleated skirt. We rolled them up at the waist because wearing mini shirts was wildly fashionable at the time. The nuns made us kneel down and the hems of our skirts must touch the floor. After we were made to roll them back down we would rush to the bathroom, grab a quick smoke and roll them up.

In college bell bottom's were all the rage. Dr. Scholl sandals too, but I didn't like them very much. The wood was too hard and once I slipped and banged myself up pretty good, so I excused myself on that one. Those cute little Indian moccasins everyone had! And Indian beaded belts. Oh I would love one of those right now. Everyone wore MIA bracelets. I hung out with a very cool hippie crowd. When they let me.

Ah, the good old days when the fads were relatively cheap.

What those teenagers were saying about today's fad's.............. (too funny!)

"Guys in skinny jeans. We already know you have chicken legs that'll snap if you get kicked, no need to show us all.I just find it disturbing."

"hate short - ish tops that dont cover your butt of anything with leggings or jeggings. EWW i mean its bad enough on skinny girls but when big girls wear them!! i mean theres nothings to hold the jiggle back, it just doesnt look good"

"was gonna say those bags! They look like my Gramma would find them cute. Sorry, but those things are just... bluch."

"People that still walk around looking cheap .Wearing crap from rocawear,cooqi, ed hardy, baby phat, phat farm, & anything with baby girl on it.That was like the 90's please stop.-Fake Uggs(Fuggs)lol. Just Ew.!"

Me and the Dude Lebowski

It's Thursday 13 again and in honor of St. Paddy Day I am listing 13 of my favorite libation concoctions!

1) Blue Moon beer - I can remember the first time I had this delightful orange color wheat beer. I don't remember where, I tend to think it was in Boston, but it could have just as easily been Chicago or Cincinnati as I have bellied up to a lot of bars. But that first time, with the errant orange slice floating in the foam, it was love at first sip. Where ever I go and feel like a beer I ask for it. On tap.

2) Bahama Mama - The first time I had this most refreshing drink was with my friend Debbie in Tampa. (I even think I have a picture of me gazing at in in awe as it was served smoking!!). I immediately asked the bartender for the recipe. It was 99% alcohol with a splash of sour mix and pineapple juice. When I got home I ran to the liquor store and bought everything! I think it cost about $80 worth of booze! Let's see if I remember it all, coconut rum (my subsequent downfall), 151 proof rum, white run, creme de banana and creme de cacao, Galliano, grenadine and the pineapple juice and a splash of the sour mix. Oh baby!


3) Yellow bird - Sort of a sophisticated version of the Bahama mama with Vodka and OJ. I like mine served straight up.


4) Chocolate martini - need I say more?


5) Rattlesnake - in a shot glass. Joe and I once tried to make these and ended up on the floor. End of story. I called them a Snake Bite!


6) Margarita Cocktail- Frozen please. This one time Joe and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Frankfort (one of my all time fav's) and they had a dinner special. Two meals and a pitcher of Frozen Margarita's $14. It must have been a very special special because they never did it again!! A pitcher of Margarita's is about $16. So we basically ate for free. Anyway, I love me some frozen margarita's and the subsequent brain freeze. It's worth it.


7) A tequila sunrise - I no longer drink these. I will say no more.


8) Mary's Mayhem - my own creation! You take some coconut rum, preferably some higher alcohol content brand, and pour a good slug (I don't need no stinking shot glass!) into a cocktail glass filled with ice and add (diet) cream soda. OMG. I have hooked many a person on this vanilla soda coconut concoction! Maybe throw a cherry in there if you are trying to impress someone.


9) Crossfield Punch - Got this fabulous punch recipe from some Baptist teetotalers (and named in their honor) at a birthday party. It was so good. All it needed was a little vodka! Here is the recipe, a can of lemonade, a can of oj, a big can of pineapple juice and some ginger ale. Mis first three ingredients and freeze. Take out and pour in punch bowl and and add ginger ale. Then add vodka when no one is looking - lol! We make batches and then scoop into highball glasses and add the last two ingredients.


10) Strawberry daiquiri - Kind of boring, but when made by my BFF Gayle with fresh strawberries - oh God, I want one now!


11) Egg Nog - Once again my BFF Gayle led me down the road of sin (Lol - hi Gayle) and mixed up one killer Egg nog at her Mother-in-Laws. I had no idea I loved those things! Must have been the good bourbon. Since then I have discovered Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice Egg Nog Mix, which is only sold from Thanksgiving until New Years. And thank God for that.


12) White Russians - What does the Dude and I have in common? White milk mustaches. I have not had one of these for 30 years. I once thought I might be an alcoholic and blamed it on the White Russians. But I wasn't (I think - I guess you might wonder by this post!) but I have carefully removed the words from my vocabulary.


13) Irish Coffee - Hooray for coffee and bourbon and Irish Cream with whipped cream on top. The only way!


Happy St. Patrick's Day!!


Read some other Thursday 13's here!

I is for Ice Storm

It's hard to imagine the effect of an ice storm unless you have had the pleasure of living through one. I have endured about four of them over the past 10 years. This was a little one that allowed me to walk around my small town and capture the solitude and sereneness that an inch coating will bring.

Everything is shut down. I-75 was closed and people where taken to shelters and waited it out. Electricity went out and everything came to a stand still. It was kind of cool!

Until afterwards when some areas were not up and running for close to a month. Could you imagine living without electric for a month? No radio, no coffee pot, no heat?

My parents went for a week! I, on the other hand, lived in a very new subdivision that had all its "connections" under ground! I was living large that week. That was storm # 2.

Anyway, I have lots of photo's but this one was taken in the graveyard and I would enhance it, but my Photoshop crashed with my hard drive and I can not find the disc, so what you see is what you get anymore!

I is for ice storm and may I never see another in my lifetime!