TBT: 5 YEARS AGO

TBT: 5 years ago I moved back to where I grew up and started moving into my new house that I would have to make into my home. The AC went out that during the 3rd day of unpacking.  August, my friends, is not a chilly time of the year in Arkansas.

This is what my hallway cabinets looked like as I began unpacking and 

they would morph into La Leyenda de la Vida de  Karen. 

Schatzkes of yours truly as EVERYTHING has a story.

Each shelf has a different theme of places I have lived/visited. 

But the truth is as this t-shirt attests...

 The fact is even 5 years uner my belt , I am as the tshirt proclaims just a Wisconsin girl living in an Arkansas world.

MIDWEEK MUSINGS: SUMMER BLUES

 MIDWEEK MUSING: SUMMER BLUES comes today as it's my last day of summer LifeQuest classes. The Thursday Cine Noir  movie class was only 4 weeks so that's been done a couple weeks now.  

Today I will bid my thought-provoking classes on Viet Nam farewell as well as the class called Friedman's Fables. The latter had very interesting discussions on moral/ ethical issues. I  admit failure for not surviving the AI class. Way too many questions from the large class, not allowing the teacher to get through the lesson.

One thing is for sure - I won't mind leaving the summer heat behind as my garden weeds can attest. I have plants that usually make it but didn't this summer due to the extreme heat waves. Instead of early morning weeding, I substituted my early water aerobics class, a welcome cooling relief followed by a sauna, and this terrific hydromassage chair at the Athletic club that gave my body muscles an extra workout. 

I did enjoy the convertible ride out to listen to music at BoBrooks Farms with Matt & Aimee while enjoying a couple wine slushies and a charcuterie on Sunday...  Yes, the porch is bustling again .

Fingers crossed for a cooler day for the 37th Hot Springs Art Gallery Walk on Friday. I am looking forward to seeing what area artists are doing and hearing some good music to boot... Stay tuned ,

tUESDAY tUNES: ALL FOR NOTHING

 I love listening to new artist's work... Here's Aruna 's ALL FOR NOTHING. I like it, how about you? Kind of catchy, right?

MONDAY MUSINGS: SCHOOL 'DAZE'

MONDAY MUSINGS: Remember when we, and then our kids, went back to school after Labor Day? 

Well, my Atlanta grands' first day is today! So much for August family vacations. You know thar last summer getaway.

(BTW if you enlarge the pic
you can see their school boards...)

I don't understand the earlier starting date. Financially, it must cost the schools much more to have the buildings air-conditioned and with lights on this early. It also means teachers had to return in July to set up their rooms. Eegads, when summer already wasn't long enough to recuperate as a teacher. Yeah, I realize parents are otherwise ready.

Do you think it's also about working parents needing more daycare???Any guesses?

FOTO FRIDAY: MAKE A WISH

 

FOTO FRIDAY: Making a wish was especially sweet this week ending it with this yummy from Ciao Baci. I would definitely recommend it.  The wind almost blew out my candle before I finished my wish... Made it.

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was ECHO

TBT: LEARNING CURVE ON PERSONALITY

 TBT:  My learning curve re: ECHO, my most recent foster dog, who has been with me a good week now, has been revealing a unique personality.  Each day has brought me a steep learning curve.

Things I've  learned about Echo:

 *He's an interior decorator with good taste :

     

Moving kitchen mat to the dining room,

                                                                                                                        

the front door mat to the living room more than once...

     and the bathroom mat to the hallway...

His last decorating shenanigans was helping himself to 2 different pillows off the living room sofas. I scoured the entire house looking for them. Finally, I found them on my bed with his kennel blanket.

 I guess where he thought his afternoon snooze would be if I hadn't come home …  I scolded him as I was taking the pillows back to the living room and Echo put himself in timeout in his kennel. His idea, not mine.

* Food snarfer

   No matter if I've just finished filling his food bowl, it's gone in 40       seconds!

 * Shoe aficcionado: he likes shoes/is it where they are placed?

  Took all the shoes lined up by front door,

  placing them all over the house and not together in pairs...

  ( they're now all back in closets, guess I needed a nudge)

* Relieving himself 

    Holds in #1forever even after we've gone for a walk,

   then relieves himself in one spot ( great yellow stained backyard)   

   #2 -backyard dumps on carport driveway so it has to be moved               in order for me to leave...

*Sleeping preference

   Left his nice doggy cushion bedside, 

   but he decided I should have a man in my bed.

Imagine my face seeing him sprawled on his backside on my bed...

If you know me, you know I don't think dogs belong in a human's bed. I tried to stifle my laughter at the sight before yelling, "GET OFF!"

No wonder Echo's exhausted at the end of the day!

He is just the sweetest guy...

                                    It's a dog's world, isn't it?

MIDWEEK MUSING: TAKING A CHANCE

Sometimes one just has to take a chance on an unknown.  Last weekend  I took a chance with an Austin, Texas musical group called Big Love Car Wash.  Last year they performed a house concert and 80 folks showed up. So this year their sponsors got a bigger space at Second Presbyterian Church and we filled it!

Big Love Car Wash is touted as a blend of bluegrass, folk, jazz, Celtic music, and rock. You just never know where they're going, but it works.  They pulled us in with their musicality; their strings worked overtime. "Lyrics from the band’s three songwriters touch on themes of empathy, environmentalism, and community building. Even the band’s name is a verbal reference to something like a group hug."

Here are the Big Love Car Wash members with a sample clip of their skills following-

 

During the concert, the band introduced their sound technician who hailed from Ireland. At intermission, I sought him out to find out where he was from in Ireland. (Remember I had taken that Irish musical tour) Alas, he was from Dublin, not the southern part where I had been. But he told me he had met the band in Germany, where Big Love Car Wash had been performing. I shared my couchsurfing story of a German couple who had stayed with us in the End of the Rainbow Valley. You see, the husband was an Air Force Captain in the States teaching our Air Force boys, but he was in an Irish band in Germany.  He grinned ear to ear. "Oh yes, the Germans love Irish music." We had a lovely convo!

In addition to this exchange, I met the gal sitting next to me, and it turns out once we started visiting she has had a home in Costa Rica for the last 20 years not far from where I lived last January. She is the only expat living there. I knew we were kindred sisters.

So the $20 entrance fee was certainly worth taking a chance: great music, lovely conversations, and a new bud to boot!