🎈🎈🎈2015 ~ Saturday May 23, Hot Air Balloon Festival Point Mallard Decatur

I got up early this morning and drove to Decatur for the Hot Air Balloon & Tractor Festival.

I was greeted by this beautiful sunrise!

I arrived around 6:45-7:00 and was trying to find a park when the balloons started to ascend into the air, so I pulled alongside a curb got out, and started taking pictures.
Someone pulled out of a parking spot right in front of me so I pulled into it and continued taking pictures a total of 157 just on my big camera.

This one almost did not make it. They had to land and try again right before the grove of trees behind them.

Lots of Hot Air Balloons 

I took a couple of videos on my cell phone.
After all the balloons disappeared into oblivion I walked over to the park and started taking pictures of the crowd, the vendors, and tractors.

People standing in line for breakfast at the Little Red Lunch Box 

Maggie Moos is not open but as the day wears on she will be flooded with people!

I started my trip home and realized that I had not eaten breakfast, so I started thinking about what would be good.
I decided I-Hop!
I pulled into I-Hop and was seated all by myself but that was ok.
I ordered a Belgian Waffle with fresh cream, blueberries, and strawberries.
It was delicious but I could not finish it.

Belgian Waffle with creamy strawberries and blueberries 

They have four different types of syrup Original, Butter Pecan, Blueberry, and strawberry.
I did not use any syrup because my waffle was delicious without it.

Next, I stopped at Office Depot to have a book bound. The employee had a hard time pulling out the staples and getting the paper straight for the book but he did it! I had put the book together with three staples each and four books went into this one.

Next, I went in search of Mt Dews that might be on sale, but the only sodas that were on sale were cokes.
My first stop was Publix, bought several items but no Mt Dew.

Next, I went to Kroger's to buy chicken legs to make chicken stew for Memorial Day but, again no MT Dews.

Should have brought this Mt Dew home with me!

And this Pepsi would have been enough for everyone on Memorial Day!

Even Jammin Jeff was enjoying a Mt Dew and Pepsi (see sitting on his table)

The crowd was enjoying the view of a large Mt Dew and Pepsi.

Called hubby and he said they had Mt Dews on sale at the Dollar General Store, all that was on sale was cokes, two twelve packs for $5.00 so I bought two.

I drove home, I was so sleepy that I almost did not make it, almost hit a big dog, and had to put on my brakes. I cannot stand running over any animal.

Went home and unloaded the groceries that were perishable from my van.
I stretched out on the futon went to sleep and was awakened by a pounding on the door.
It was on the television it was loud so, I got up drank some Pepsi uploaded my pictures to the computer, and started supper.

I cooked corn and corn fritters with fresh vegetables for a salad.
It had been a very trying day trying to find Mt. Dews on sale!

Living and Moving from the family estate with my Brave Little Taylor

At age one year six months my Brave Little Taylor walked four blocks to a friend's house by himself when my parents lived on Main Street.
He walked to the end of the street that we lived on, turned left onto Central Avenue, walked two blocks, turned onto South Spur Street for about half block to where my friend lived.
We had walked to this address many times, my Brave Little Taylor remembered the way.

When my Brave Little Taylor was ten months old we moved to Killen, into a three-room house that had no indoor plumbing.
There was an outhouse, that was within walking distance, we had to walk through tall grass to get to.
Our drinking and bathing water came from a sweet spring behind our house. A shed was built over the spring to protect the clean fresh water.

The house we lived in was built of wooden planks, with a tin roof, wood floors, and sheetrock walls.
We had a coal heater we used during the cold months and a window fan we use in the summer months.
We only lived at that location a little over a year.

While we lived in that house, my Brave Little Taylor went for a joy ride.
I had left my Brave Little Taylor sitting in the car to run inside to brush my teeth. A big mistake!
While I was brushing my teeth I heard a click. Then I saw the car rolling down the hill. Our house was built on the side of a small hill.
I started running toward the car, there was a fence between me and the car, I jumped the fence, grabbed the handle of the car, jumped inside the car just in time, for it was headed for the big oak tree in the field near our home.

I never thought much about leaving my Brave Little Taylor inside the car because I knew he could not drive or crank it.
It had a floor shift which had been taken from off the column and moved to the floor, my brave Little Taylor was playing in the floorboard of the car he had bumped the floor gear shift, he knocked it out of gear and it started rolling down the hill.

We bought a long wire cage, with wooden legs, that had a tin roof for the black rabbit that we had bought for my Brave Little Taylor.
One morning I went outside to feed the rabbit,  I opened the top of his cage and out flew a swarm of wasps, they chased me all the way to the house.
I felt so sorry for the rabbit, I guess he was ok because I never saw him again after that.

The three-room house was build on hubby's great grandfather's old home place.
The old home place was still standing but just barely.
My father-in-law said he thought his friend was going to buy the home place so he did not bid on it when it was auctioned off, some stranger bought it.

My father-in-law’s grandmother, Sally, was sick for a very long time and was taken care of by a woman named Martha.
In 1935 Sally, died and her husband Charley married the woman that had been carry for her and they lived together until his death in 1941.
After his death, Martha sold the land, from what I remember hearing she was taken advantage by a local lawyer and the land actioned off.

At one time that area was owned by their family
My father-in-law was just a small boy when his grandfather died.
My father-in-law's parents had purchased eighty acres from his grandfather.

The old home place was later torn down by hubby and brother-in-law.
My sister and her husband later lived in this same three-room house for a little over a year after we moved out.

We moved about half a mile from our present home to the new brick, three bedrooms, with indoor plumbing.
Our new home was built by hubby's Uncle Doc.
About a year later Doc was killed, when a very large horse got loose, he ran out into the highway in front of Doc’s truck.
When Doc's truck hit the horse the steering wheel in his truck lodged into Doc's stomach, he was killed instantly.

The land where we built our new home was once a pigpen, which made the land very fertile and had been cleared for the pig houses it was given to us by my in-laws.

I no longer had to walk to the spring house for drinking water.
I was always afraid that I would find a snake or spider waiting for me when I went for that fresh, sweet drinking water.

We had fresh water from a well that was drilled over ninety feet deep until it hit a rock.
our pump was placed under our brick home which later we would share with family.

Hubby'sgrandmother bought our first air conditioner we no longer used window fans.
She bought our first automatic washing machine so I would no longer have to  fill my Brave Little Taylors big red wagon full of dirty clothes and walk to my in-law's house to washcloths on her
 wringer washing machine.
I did not have a dryer so I had to hang my clothes on a close line, you could see diapers blowing in the wind just about every day.

Times were still hard but they were a lot easier than when we first began in that three-room house on Hubby's great-grandfathers former home estate

My Brave Little Taylor

My brave little Taylor, I depended on him for everything.

When my second was born, my brave little Taylor was the one who helped.

When I needed diapers my brave little Taylor would run and get me one.

I had gone Christmas shopping Christmas Eve in Muscle Shoals with my husband and in-laws when I started having labor pains, we were on Veterans drive near Holiday Inn where now is Hampton Inn when I had my first labor pain.

That night we gave my brave little Taylor his Christmas a big red wagon.

Early the next morning we went to the hospital where my second son was born at 7:27 AM.

We lived with my in-laws after my second son was born until we moved into our house in February of the following years.

We slept on the fold-out sofa, the living room and kitchen have connected no walls between them.

My mother-in-law worked at Genesco and so did my husband. 

Every morning my mother-in-law would cook biscuits and gravy and put on a pot of coffee, I hated the taste of coffee and the smell made me sick.

My mother-in-law always cooked a large meal for Sunday dinner, she always cooked a pot of white beans, sometimes peas, always some kind of meat, most of her cooking was done on Saturday so all she had to do was warm up the food.

My in-laws only had two children, my husband, and his sister.

Every Sunday everyone would gather at my in-laws for Sunday dinner after church, which ended at 11AM.

This ritual went on for many years until she got Alzheimer's disease.

While we were sitting at one of those Sunday dinners, my husband and I got into an argument.
We were still arguing as we got into the car and left, as we approached the pine thicket hill, I became so enraged that I said I was getting out of the car, my sister was visiting with us, she was sitting in the middle of the car seat between me and my husband. 

I opened the car door and started to get out when he speeds up, I was hanging onto the car door being dragged. My dress was ripped off, with gravel in my arm which left a scar and I was a few months pregnant with the second son.

In later years my mother-in-law cooked breakfast and sometimes supper for my middle son when he moved his trailer alongside the creek bank which was across the road from her house.

His dog Pat Mae stayed at her house every day after my son went to work and my mother-in-law would feed her.

In the afternoons Pat Mae waited patiently on her porch until she heard my son's car coming down the road, it was like she knew how to tell time.

Pat Mae would take out running to greet my son as he drove into his driveway.

Pat Mae was born before April 2002 she lived over thirteen years.

My father-in-law died on April 2005 and his wife lived several years in their home alone.

My mother-in-law was taken to Lauderdale Christian Nursing Home where she lived many years until her death in 2012.

1992 ~ Edvard Munch The Scream Art

College Art
Munch takes the viewer into depths of emotion. The viewer can see the pain and anguish through the horror in his face, the shape of the head, and the placement of the hands-on the face.

Munch used closed-form and gives the viewer the feeling that the figure doesn't want any connections with the outside world.
In the content of the isolated central figure that viewers may see themselves alone, in-depth, the emotional grief, the loneliness, the fear, love, sensual passion, jealousy or death.

Despair, carried by continuous linear rhythms reverberates thought the picture.

Edvard Munch & The Girl on the Beach 

His use of the different lines gives stability yet gives the viewer a sense of trust. The diagonal lines give movement and action.
The sky and clouds are horizontal and curved which seems stable yet gives the feeling of instability.
The small lake seems restful, yet the repletion of continuous lines seems to give the feeling of the world closing in on the subject. He also uses implied lines that suggest movement by its form and by relation to the other lines.

Implied motion is linked with the action of lines and the repletion of shape or other rhythmic elements.
The shape of the mouth implies the scream, the placement of the hands implies the pain and grief the figure is feeling.


Objects appear to grow small as they recede into the distance by use of the parallel fence.
They appear to converge toward a common point, which is the vantage point. The two figures seem smaller and the boat in the lake gives depth to the picture. The print in black seems to symbolize pain, grief, death, etc.

Why I like this picture of art!
Munch use of lines to give a feeling of pain, despair, and it connects with every individual on this planet.
At some point in time was can we can all connect with this piece of art.
It portrays depth in emotion also loneliness in a very big world.
This has always been my favorite piece of art, it shows life as it really is. At some point in time, we all feel this pain!
The girl on the beach was another of Munch art pieces that show darkness, loneliness, and despair.

2015 ~ Friday, May 15, Feeding birds not squirrels and raccoons!

Bought two new bird feeders and filled them fully and for several days the birds ate well. This morning I looked outside and both feeders were completely empty. I saw a frog in the swimming pool so I went to rescue it.
I found footprints all over the floor of the deck and a pile of pooh.
I guess the Raccoon has found the new feeders and he ate so much that he could not hold it.
Raccoons are worse than squirrels.

Before we removed the cover from our swimming pool, we had two squirrels chew a couple of small holes in the top of the swimming pool cover. After chewing the holes in the cover they would jump up and down making the water come through the wholes so they could get a drink.

All winter the water level was too low for them to do that but we had been filling the pool up with water getting ready to open the pool for the summer. 

We had already had problems with the raccoon he got under the belly of our RV. Hubby had left the propane tank cover off and the raccoon had crawled inside the belly of our RV. 

Well, Hubby fixed the problem with the raccoon and we thought he had gone until I bought the first bird feeder.
One night I looked out the window there was the raccoon standing on his hind legs eating the bird food.
I moved the feeder under the motion sensor light hoping that would scare the raccoon off.
Well, I had not seen the raccoon until last night when he left me proof of a pile of pooh and muddy footprints all over the deck floor. 

I love critters but I wish he would stay off my deck.
Last year we had to fish out a baby raccoon from our swimming pool.
I guess I will have to move the bird feeders off the deck.

I have a pair of red birds, a pair of bluebirds, a pair of finch and many other small birds I love to feed.

Raccoons and squirrels eat too much they can go through a bag of bird feed in just a few days. They need to get out and hunt for their food not be severed like a king and leave a present behind for me to clean up.

Caught the raccoon with his hands in the bird feeder 

Caught the raccoon with his hands in the bird feeder

2015~ Friday & Saturday, May 15-16, UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival Florence, Alabama

Had a wonderful time at the UNA UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival 

from 8:30 AM until 9PM last night.

Friday, May 15, 2015
9:00-9:25 AM Listen to Spencer Bohren sing and play Ring them bells
9:30-9:55 AM Listen to Rev Robert B. Jone talk about his grandmother.

Rev Robert B Jones

10:00-10:25 AM Listen to Bil Lepp talk about the toilet, the inflatable Santa and the Easter Bunny.
10:30-10:55 AM Listen to Donald Davis talk about his grade school teach Mrs. Ledbetter.

11:05-11:30 AM Listen to Kelvin Kling talk about his wife getting her foot caught in a fly trap.

11:35-12:00 PM Listen to Geraldine an English Vicar talk about her time in prison.

Geraldine Buckley

12:00-1:30 PM
Lunch
We ate at Einstein Bros Bagels

Einstein Bros Bagels UNA 

Einstein Bros Bagels UNA 

Where I ordered a Veggie bagel (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce) with cream cheese, chips, and coke

1:30-1:55 PM Listen to Donal Davis talk about His Thanksgiving Christmas Play and getting more exposure than he wanted.

2:00-2:25 PM Listen to Kelvin talk about Playing baseball.

2:30-2:55 PMListen to Bill Lepp talk about the real baby Jesus.

3:00-3:25 PM Listened to Spencer Bohren talk about his experience with the Hurricane in New Orleans.

3:35- 4:00PMListen to Geraldine Buckley talk about living in Spain with her parents and serving nuns liquor.

4:05-4:30 PM Listened to Rev Robert B. Jones singing and playing Amazing grace in many different ways.

4:25-5:00 PM Listen to Walt Aldridge sing and playing It's a long way to Richmond.
5:00-6:00 PM Dinner Break we rode to Subway for a sandwich, chips, drink

6:00-7:15 PM Dolores Hydock /PanHarmonium reading from a 12-year-old Sally Foster journal and up to her death at age 49.
Sally grew in Rogers Hall now part of UNA.

7:20-7:55 PM We had a recap of all the storytellers.

8:00-8:10 PM Six students were in a storyteller contest they had to tell a true story about DARE.

There were three students from the middle school and there were three from high school.
The first runner won $150, the second runner up won $250, and the winner won $500 from each category.

The first one winner from the middle school told about her trip to New York and a bomb threat.

The next winner told about the abuse of her boyfriend for over a year.

8:10-9:00 PM The show ended with three on a String a wonder, funny, talented group of men playing, singing and acting.

Three on a String

After over 12 hours of fun, I was ready to go home.

I will be back today for another day of fun.

Another day of pure fun!

Saturday, May 16, 20159-9:25 AM Listened to Spencer Bohren tell about his visit to East Germany to perform.

9:30-9:55 AM Listened to Rev Robert B Jones singing Dark was the night.

10-10:25 AM Listened to Bill Lepp talk about him and Skeeter making bottle rockets.

10:55-11:05 AM Listened to Donald Davis talk about his two-car family.
11:05-11:30AM Listened to Kelvin Kline talk about reaching for the stars.

Kelvin Kline

11:35-12 PM Listened to Gerldine Buckley talk about her secret hate with roach bugs.

Lunch from 12-1:30PM
We ate at A& W where I ordered a hamburger, fries and water.

A&W at UNA 

1:30-1:55 Listened to Donald Davis talk about his brother getting his arm broken twice.

Donald Davis

2:00-2:25 PM listened to Kevin Kling talk about tickle pink
2:30-2:55 PM listened to Bil Lepp talk about his WWII service.
3:00-3:25PM listened to Spencer Bohren sing and play Billy Joe who jumped off the Tallahassee bridge.

Spencer Bohren

3:35-4:00 listened to Geraldine Buckley talk about disbursing her daddy's ashes, the wind changing and how she was covered in her daddy ashes, went back to where she was staying, took a shower and watched her daddy wash down the drain.

4:05-4:30 listened to Rev Robert B Jones sing We shall over come someday.

4:35-5:00PM listed to Walt Aldridge talk about his great grandfather Richard Key and how Walt was 1/16 of a murder.

Walt Aldridge

6-7:15 Dolores Hydock became an old woman telling the love story of Eglamore and Cristobal. 

Delores Hydock

http://www.storypower.org/silenceonstage.html
7:30-8:05PM recap of all story tellers
8:05-9:00 Listening to three on a string doing songs, and skits.

2015 May 14-17 Events including UNA Front Porch Storytelling Festival

May 16 & 17 - Arts Alive Festival
Stroll through beautiful Wilson Park and enjoy this juried fine arts and crafts festival featuring artists from across the country.
Location: Wilson Park and Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence
Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Admission: Free
Contact: 256-766-1445
May 16- June 19 - Arts Alive Gallery Exhibition
Part of the Arts Alive Festival, this juried gallery exhibit features works in a variety of media. Location: Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., also open same hours as Arts Alive Festival
Admission: Free
Contact: 256-760-6379

May 14, 15 &16 2015 Harvey Robbins RODEO
Longhorn Rodeo
Arena Tuscumbia 
Rodeo Events 
fireworks May 14 after Rodeo 
Gates open at 4PM-6:30 each night little buckaroo
cost Adults $15.00
9-18 cost $12.00

Parade May 16th, 11AM downtown Tuscumbia 

Thursday, May 14, 2015  Storytelling events not at UNA

10:00am at Tennessee Valley Museum of Art

511 N. Water Street Tuscumbia, AL 35674

Dolores Hydock

"Fools For Love: A Closer Look into Lover's Eyes"

11:30am
Greater St. Paul AME Church

129 S. Cherokee Street

Florence, AL 35630

Rev. Robert B. Jones

1:00pm
Florence/ Lauderdale Public Library

350 N. Wood Avenue

Florence, AL 35630

Dolores Hydock

"Putting Down New Roots"

1:30pm
Alabama Music Hall of Fame

617 Highway 72 W.

Tuscumbia, AL 35674

Walt Aldridge

3:00pm
Muscle Shoals Public Library

1918 Avalon Avenue

Muscle Shoals, AL 35661

Dolores Hydock

"Footprint on the Sky: Memories of a Chandler Mountain Spring"

UNA STORYTELLING SCHEDULE (each day $10 or $15 for 2 days

Friday, May 15, 2015

8:45am - 9:00am Welcome- Melissa Foster
9:00am - 9:25am Spencer Bohren
9:30am - 9:55am Rev. Robert B. Jones
10:00am - 10:25am Bil Lepp
10:30am - 10:55am Donald Davis
10:55am - 11:05am Break
11:05am - 11:30am Kevin Kling
11:35am - 12:00pm Geraldine Buckley
12:00pm - 1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30pm- 1:55pm Donald Davis
2:00pm - 2:25pm Kevin Kling
2:30pm - 2:55pm Bil Lepp
3:00pm - 3:25pm Spencer Bohren
3:25pm - 3:35pm Break
3:35pm - 4:00pm Geraldine Buckley
4:05pm - 4:30pm Rev. Robert B. Jones
4:35pm - 5:00pm Walt Aldridge
5:00pm - 6:00pm Dinner Break (Boxed lunches will be available in the GUC Atrium for those who purchase meal tickets on site)
6:00pm - 7:15pm Dolores Hydock accompanied by Bobby Horton
7:20pm - 7:55pm OLIO (Featuring: Donald Davis, Kevin Kling, Bil Lepp, Spencer Bohren, Geraldine Buckley, Rev. Robert B. Jones, & Walt Aldridge)
8:00pm - 8:10pm Story Slam Student Competition winners announced
8:10pm - 9:00pm Three on a String

Saturday, May 16, 2015
8:45am - 9:00am Welcome - Melissa Foster
9:00am - 9:25am Spencer Bohren
9:30am - 9:55am Rev. Robert B. Jones
10:00am - 10:25am Bil Lepp
10:30am - 10:55am Donald Davis
10:55am - 11:05am Break
11:05am - 11:30am Kevin Kling
11:35am - 12:00pm Geraldine Buckley
12:00pm- 1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30pm - 1:55pm Donald Davis
2:00pm - 2:25pm Kevin Kling
2:30pm - 2:55pm Bil Lepp
3:00pm - 3:25pm Spencer Bohren
3:25pm - 3:35pm Break
3:35pm - 4:00pm Geraldine Buckley
4:05pm - 4:30pm Rev. Robert B. Jones
4:35pm - 5:00pm Walt Aldridge
5:00pm - 6:00pm Dinner Break (Boxed lunches will be available in the GUC Atrium for those who purchase meal tickets on site)
6:00pm - 7:15pm Dolores Hydock accompanied by PanHarmonium
7:15pm - 7:30pm Break
7:30pm - 8:05pm OLIO (Featuring: Donald Davis, Kevin Kling, Bil Lepp, Spencer Bohren, Geraldine Buckley, Rev. Robert B. Jones, & Walt Aldridge)
8:05pm - 9:00pm Three on a String

Sunday, May 17, 2015
Time Venue Speaker
10:30am
First Baptist Church of Florence

Sanctuary at the corner of Wood Avenue & Tombigbee Street

Florence, Al 35630

Bil Lepp
10:45am
Greater St. Paul AME Church

129 S. Cherokee Street

Florence, AL 35630

Rev. Robert B. Jones
11:00am
Grace Episcopal Church

103 Darby Avenue

Sheffield, AL 35660

Geraldine Buckley
11:00am
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Shoals

1332 N. Pine Street

Florence, AL 35630

Dolores Hydock
2:00pm
Books A Million

318 Cox Creek Pkwy

Florence, AL 35630

Bil Lepp
*All community events on Thursday and Sunday are free and open to the public.

Music in the Pak Wilson Park Wednesdays -11:30 -1:30PM

May 6 Joseph Balwind country various hits

May 13 Shannon Knight Gospel pop rock

May 20 The Cadillacs 50s, 60s, country

May 27 The Browns various hits

June 3 Mike Curtis & Garrett Miles country, gospel 70s

June 10, The Nutone's country

June 17 Jeff Hornbuckle pop rock

June 24 Gary Nichols country southern rock

June 26 Dorthy Cole aka Tina Turner-McFarland Park 6-8PM

Friday, May 15, 2015

The KGB will be playing at FloBama Music Hall in downtown Florence this Friday, from 6:30-9:30pm. Reservations recommended. 

Saturday, May 16 Zoey Belles 

The 5th Annual Sheffield Street Party May 16, 2015, Featuring Earl Thomas Conley, Shenandoah, KGB

General Admission $25.00 

Vip $75.00

Gates open 5:pm