The Gratitude Campaign

I've been entirely too busy lately, but with a daughter in the service now, couldn't miss the opportunity on Veteran's Day to pass along this video by The Gratitude Campaign.

I try to thank soldiers for their service whenever I can - either by a verbal thanks or by buying a meal when I can get to the cashier before they do - but if you find it difficult to make an overt thank you, and really want to express your gratitude, this is a nice option.

A thing that makes me cranky

We had a pretty fun weekend. Saw a movie on Friday (Sandra Bullock is adorable as always in "The Proposal"), volunteered at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival on Saturday ("The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was delightful) and nearly lost our hearing at the Heart/Journey concert on Sunday (the lead singer Journey found on You-Tube really does sound just like Steve Perry - I kid you not. Only with 100% more manic. Which is not a bad thing, just a thing that makes you wonder if he gets paid by the gallon of sweat he produces or something.).

Then last night I went with a friend to see the Indigo Girls perform at an outdoor venue. They were wonderful (I truly adore their harmonies).

The audience was another story. It seemed that my friend and I were just about the only folks there who came to see the concert. The vast majority of the audience acted as though the folks performing on the stage were merely background noise at a gathering in their back yards.

Here's a hint: If you actually have to shout to make yourself heard by the guy sitting in a lawn chair 2 feet from you? Shut the *%@& up. The folks you actually PAID to listen to are performing. And although you may enjoy throwing your money down a toilet, somebody else might actually have intended to listen to the concert they paid to hear.

I know, novel thought.

Just because there haven't been enough links on my blog lately, here's another one (and since I'm not going to yap, yap, yap AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS while you watch it, you can hear the lovely harmonies of the Indigo Girls - lucky you!):

I'm baaaaack!

No, I didn't disappear. I've just been incredibly busy. Had a change of attorneys at my office so now I support two REALLY BUSY partners and one associate instead of one REALLY BUSY partner, one partner who didn't utilize me as much and one associate. Has kept me hoppin'. Then, my amazingly fabulous daughter sent me to Europe to visit all of our former exchange students (except the one currently residing in Australia - a little too out of the way!). So, travelogues and photos to follow. But I saw this today and wanted to share with whoever might have missed it (although with over 3 million views, that may not be too many!):



I think it's better than the original '80s version by Toto (and, I will admit it, I was a Toto fan way back then).

Enjoy!

Wordless (NOT) Wednesday

Took my new (well, a couple months old) camera to one of our local parks to try some digital portraiture. I have a wonderful medium format camera that I used for years to shoot weddings, family portraits and senior portraits - but no one wants to hire someone who is still so old fashioned as to use *gasp* film. So, I upgraded in February when we were getting ready to fly to Chicago to see our sailor girl graduate.

When I'm shooting senior portraits, I typically start out at Kathryn Albertson Park - a lovely natural park with lots of wetlands for nesting water fowl. And since the weather is getting nicer every day, the park was full of Canada geese guarding little flocks of goslings.



You have never seen anyone - human or animal - who can give a better stink eye than a Canada goose with little ones who thinks you are getting entirely too close for comfort. What do you mean, you don't know what stink eye is?

Take a gander (ha! goose joke!):


Give that goose a wiiiiide berth. Or else.

E-mail hijinks

Sometimes folks get a little wacky in the e-mail exchanges around our office. Behold:

So, a few of us were discussing the idea of creating a summer celebration of the 13 weeks of wings. For the 13 weeks of June through August we will select a restaurant to sample and rate their wings each Wednesday at noon. We are currently seeking the level of interest to have a general idea for planning purposes, understanding this is not a 13-week commitment; attendees will vary from week to week depending on one’s availability. Takers?

Wings? You eat the wings of little birds?

Whenever we can. We're cruel - it's how we roll.

Yep! And sometimes their little beaks too!! A little ranch dressing....yummy!

No, big birds. And we should figure out how to incorporate the consumption of that certain liquid refreshment commonly known as "Beer"!

So, we should keep you far, far away from the World Center for Birds of Prey?

Yes, unless there is a Beer Garden in the vicinity.

Does keep things interesting, though.