Twofer Tuesday -- Be Our Guest

The past two weekends, the Over the Hill Gang theatrical group presented the musical Beauty and the Beast. (Originally, Over the Hill Gang members had to be at least 55, but they have lowered the age to 45. They have performed a musical annually for about twenty years.)


Oh, isn't this amazing?
It's my fav'rite part because you'll see
Here's where she meets Prince Charming
But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three


No one's slick as Gaston
No one's quick as Gaston
No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston
For there's no man in town half as manly
Perfect, a pure paragon
You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley
And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on


Be our guest
Be our guest
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we provide the rest


Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast

Jonna sponsors Two for Tuesday and you can find other posted pairs of related photos by stopping at her site.

I found the lyrics from the musical here.

The photo isn't odd...

You can participate in Odd Shots on any Monday by posting an Odd Shot and adding a comment to my current Odd Shot post--notably, this one. I keep the Odd Shots blogroll in the sidebar more or less up to date. The details can be found by clicking the Odd Shots camera over there.

...but I had to have a laugh at the name of the company.

In case it is not familiar outside North America, there is a popular truck and utility trailer rental firm called U-Haul.

Monochrome Monday--remembering summer

Visit other Monochrome offerings by checking out the Mr. Linky page that Aileni has established.

Sunday's Psalm--28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
deer resting in the meadow near Paradise, Mt. Rainier National Park
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
reflection near Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake
pathway through Ohanapecosh campground, Mt. Rainier National Park

Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
autumn hike to Owyhigh Lakes, 2006, three weeks before the flooding storm at Mt. Rainier National Park

with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
marking the trail near Paradise, Mt. Rainier National Park--taken May 2007
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
picnic area near Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
fountain in Seattle near the waterfront
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
Golden Mantle Squirrel at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
mountain and tree reflection in the Visitor Center at Sunrise, Mt. Rainier National Park
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

I had difficulty with the formatting and spacing today. It may have had to do with the order in which I added the different elements of the post. I will have to experiment with it next time. I did the descriptions of the photos next to them for two reasons. One was that it was requested. The other was that if I do it that way I won't skip any pictures like I did last week. I am ambivalent about it. Do you think it distracts? or do you like it better this way? Let me know.

.

At Mass, the psalm is read or sung as a responsorial. The R. represents the part that is repeated by the congregation as a response to the choir or reader. Because of the repetitive nature of it, I decided not to try to find a different picture for the response verse for each time it is repeated. It is hard to choose four or five pictures to illustrate the same verse.

Photo Hunt--Theme: Lazy

See TnChick for everything you ever wanted to know about Photo Hunt.

Well, this is about as lazy as I can manage. But how lazy is it when you have to pedal like crazy to get anywhere? Maybe that's it. On the lake in the summer, you don't need to get anywhere!

Sixth of Sixth

I stopped by to see if Pastormac's Ann had anything posted that I hadn't seen and found this challenge which she took up from Owlhaven . I pass it along to any who are curious about their own files. Pick the sixth photo in the sixth folder in your photo files.

This was it. It was taken in August at Dumas Bay Conference Center in Federal Way, WA. I have left it so that you can click it to make it larger. I wish it were crisper, but if you enlarge it you can see the geese flying across the bay.

.
What is number six in your sixth folder?
.
Reminds me of 7-of-9 the Borg.

Old cattle chute

out on the reservation

Watching the skies all over the world

Skywatch Friday, originated by Dot, assisted now by a noble team whom I can't keep up with, visits skies around the world each week.

I often comment about the joy of traveling the world each week seeing the skies above and what a pleasure!

I have also had the privilege of actually traveling to some far away places, and today I will share the skies of southern India from the year 2000. These were taken in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Now this next shot was taken during a cruise on Lake Periyar in the Periyar National Park and Tiger Refuge. If you look very closely in the very center of the picture at the top of the hill you will see two dots. They are elephants. Not, the larger shapes are not elephants but trees, so you can actually get an idea of how large those particular trees are next to the elephants. Sadly, you won't be able to enlarge this by clicking it as it would just dissolve into pixel. Even if you could, you would have to take my word for it--they are elephants. We didn't see any tigers, but did see lots of wild pigs.

A Quilter's ABC--L

Mrs. Nesbitt started ABC Wednesday and now it has its own Anthology Blog and its own Mr. Linky site.

I told you you would see this one again. L is for LeMoyne Star. This design was introduced as far back before the 1850s. Other names it has been called are Lemon Star, and Star of Le Moyne, (and, of course, Idaho Star.)



Another political block--and also another block we have seen before. This pattern, most commonly called Churn Dash was also known as Lincoln's Platform, originating in the mid-1850s.

Neither of the blocks below are full sized Lone Star quilts, but I call them Little Lone Stars.

Traditionally a Lone Star Quilt is a whole quilt design. A traditional Lone Star will have one large star with many more diamonds.

Finally, a 3-Day non-photo recap

Yes, there were blisters--but they were small and manageable and are now faded in my memory.

I've put this post off because--well, I was busy and it takes thinking. But before other things fade in memory, here is this rather disjointed offering.

I want to talk about two young women I met on the walk. To me, these two carry the spirit of the walk. Unfortunately, I don't know their names. I'm really bad at getting names. But they will not fade in my memory.

As a solitary walker, I connected up with Judy who was on her own the first morning, and we teamed with Jennifer who could not find her team. I walked with them through the morning, but their pace was too fast for me to keep up with all day, and at dinnertime I was looking for a place to sit in the dining tent.

I joined a young woman from Los Angeles and we talked a bit about the day. No, she was not on a team. Yes, she was participating by herself. She had flown in the night before for the walk.

With a walk in San Francisco Bay Area and the largest of the 3-Days in San Diego, why did she choose to come all this way to Seattle?

"I chose the walk that was on my birthday weekend."

She was finished with her dinner and went off to do other evening things the eve of her 30th birthday. And I sat in awe.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

Next morning, I met a young lady whose name I thought was Elizabeth. Later when I was looking for Elizabeth I couldn't find her, and I think I got her name wrong. I'll call her Elizabeth here now.

Elizabeth was wearing a "bib" (like competitors wear in a race with their number) with her team name--"Army 3-Day Walkers". But it also said "One day to 47." I asked her what that was. The next day, she said, would be her 47th birthday.

Here is her story. She had come from Maryland, and was part of a team of seven from her Army post who had planned and prepared for this walk.

Four of her team had been deployed and the other two had not made their fundraising minimum.

Although walking on her birthday weekend was part of her plan, she was there now as a solitary walker rather than with a group of friends to celebrate.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.
If either of you should see this--please contact me through the e-mail link on my profile or leave a comment. I have something for you. Finding someone among a group of 3299 people is not easy if you are as crazy as me not to get names.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

Meeting up with Kim from Seattle Daily Photo was heartwarming. This happened on Sunday morning as she met me at the cheering station along Green Lake. I did not realize how important a team is until I did this walk on my own this year. Kim and I had not met before other than through our blogs. It was like old home week with no hesitation for a big hug. We chatted for a while while I doctored my blisters before heading out again. Thank you Kim for being there for me.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

On Friday after I had sent Judy and Jennifer on their speedy way, I walked for a while with another Kathy. She, as well as quite a few others, had asked me about my backpack. I had made it with my pink ribbon quilt block as the flap. Kathy is the owner of Parkland Parish Quilt Shop in Tacoma, and was part of a team of employees and customers who were walking. I haven't been to her shop, but have many friends among my quilting connections who are frequent shoppers there.

Kathy was a reminder of the support that I have had in my 3-Day walk from my quilting friends. They are far and away the most caring and generous of people, and my biggest donors for this year's walk. I owe Kathy the pattern for the block. I will get those out to you soon. If there are any other quilters out there who would like the pattern, let me know either by e-mail or in the comments.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

Let's see, what else? For the week after the 3-Day we volunteered at the Visitor Center at Ohanapecosh. When I was out with the ranger one day, she mentioned to a visitor from some distance that I was a volunteer and had done the 3-Day the previous weekend. The tourist said she had seen us. They had been visiting in Seattle on Sunday and had seen the walkers along the waterfront, then, when they went up in the Space Needle, had had a bird's eye view of the closing ceremonies.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

Okay, so what's it all about?

This is October. I have not made my blog background pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year because it has been pink for my whole 3-Day preparation. But hey there--think about it. Breast Cancer kills! and it can be presented. Get your mammogram! Get informed! Get involved!

That's what the pink ribbon of walkers seen winding through Seattle by anyone in a small plane that day were saying.

.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.~.!.

I have a dilemma. We have made the decision to join my brother and a group of his travelling friends to do an Alaska cruisetour next year. It is the same time as the 3-Day Walk in Seattle.

So where shall I walk?