Jack Keefe

The whole point of this photo was the little bright spot below the soon-to-be setting sun. It's the sun's reflection on distant Lake Erie from the tower at Niagara Falls (Canadian side). It marked the first night of a great vacation through Ontario. 

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

I liked Terry's Chihuly reflection and I have that shot also, but I decided to look through my Chihuly photos and so...see if you can see the Space Needle reflected on the orbs.

James (Jim) Rookus

Wendy ... cool Chihuly ... love it ... Yep found the needle in the glass!

Julie Hart

a couple more reflections

chengdu china

somewhere way west in china

Julie Hart

statues.  i really love my withers library statue pic.  have it as one of my wallpapers on everything.  i think maybe marv sent it to me.

mongolia

ghengis khan - 131 feet tall

have no idea how to turn this.  ulan bator, mongolia

Julie Hart

sunset - on way to antarctica

reflection - baja 

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

Wonderful pictures Julie.  My husband had several trips to Mongolia but I haven't been there.  I do have a CD of so,e music.  I remembered two more reflection pictures I took in Japan in December.

Marvin Theobald

Julie and all - I do not know why some photos post sideways but I try to check them regularly and get them rotated. It took some experimentation but I found a way to fix them using MS Paint that comes with MS Office. If you have this problem, be patient and I will gladly rotate them for you once I see the need.

Suzi - If I can be of help posting the picture of Dave's Uncle please let me know.

Julie and Wendy your pictures are gorgeous. It makes me want to pack a bag and hit the road. The Space Needle reflection is pretty cool Wendy.

Larry - It would be great to see some interior detail pictures of you organ if you have any. You mentioned that someone you know built the console. It appears to me that the cabinet and bench are custom made. I am curious if you or he fabricated the keyboard or if it was salvaged. Pretty amazing none the less.

Tomorrow is FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY. Surprise us with something special.

Jack Keefe

Reflections: Wichita, Kansas and the Arkansas (pronounced ar-KAN-sas) River. This town loked even better in my rear view mirror, sorry to say. 

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

    Since we have been talking about pianos this week, I thought I'd share pictures of my 1st and 2nd pianos. This is my 1st one.  My parents wanted to be sure I could learn to play before they bought me a newer one.  The picture says Dec 1959, but I think the pictures of the 1st and 2nd piano must have been taken in 1959.  I probably had this one for a couple of years before we got the 2nd one.    This is my 2nd piano.  Like I said, probably bought in 1959.  We bought it from Shirley Stumm's family.  She was in the class of 1963.   When we moved to Canada, Miller Music told us the piano was too old to make the move. So we bought a new one, which I've posted a picture of a couple of times.  We sold this piano to friends who had kids that grew up with my kids and when one of their boys became a minister, it was moved around quite a bit.  When he got a church in Clinton, he asked if we wanted the piano back.  David, my youngest Son, said he wanted it.  So,now the piano has a permanent home at his house and probably won't be moved again. Both pianos have real ivory keys.

David Brock

Just a couple of p

ics for today.  The first is a bit of a novelty, but it is a real sign--somebody must have had too much time on his hands.

The next photo is a sunset/reflection from Marathon, Fl.

We are leaving town for a few days, but plan to back  shortly.

James (Jim) Rookus

Free for all... Celebrate with me... yesterday I completed a 36 session cardiac rehab (which was much delayed due to Covid-19).  I lost # and increased my MET LEVEL (heart rate work out pace) by 192%.  At end of session we are awarded a certificate and heart of GOLD T-shirt and get to sign and bang the hanging cymbal or what ever it is called.  As you see by the photos... I was a bad boy afterwards by celebrating with my long awaited blueberry pancakes at Cracker Barrel !!! Yummie!!!  I rationalized it was ok since I've been cooped up eating healthy for 4 months!!!  As leaving noticed on their candy shelve the Katherine Beecher pillows.... look the same as the former Bloomington Katherine Beich ones I remember from fund raising days and saw mentioned on the forum a few weeks back.  Wonder if it is a spin off company... sure look the same. On label they are produced in Penn.

James (Jim) Rookus

Last post i typed in lost 18 # but lost the number somewhere!

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

Cute stuffed animal on the top of the spinet, Sandy?

have you ever thought about silk fabric?  Every strand of silk comes from the cocoon of a silk worm.  They eat mulberry leaves.  Here are two pictures..in the first they are chomping away on the leaves.  In the second they have been placed on a grid and are preparing to spin their cocoons.  Each worm is about two inches long.  If there are a lot of them chomping away at the same time on the leaves you can hear it.

James (Jim) Rookus

Wendy... that is facinating... never heard that before!  Where were those photos taken?  You have posted some of the most interesting and unusual photos over the months... looks like you have been blessed to have traveled the world.  Keep them coming !!!

Wendy Stephens (Cullen)

The silkworm pictures were taken in Hoi An, Vietnam.  There was a center there demonstrating lots of arts and crafts, and I was fascinated by the silkworms and the whole process.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

My vocabulary seems a bit narrow today. I only have 3 words to say about what you have all been posting: WOW, WOW and WOW. Julie Hart, the photo of the sunset near Antarctica is absolutely stunning. Wendy, your stories and photos are not only captivating, but informative. And for the 3rd WOW, Jack, I couldn't agree with you more about Wichita Falls, KS. I've only been there once and thought it represented the worst of what America has become: a commercial wasteland of malls, fast food joints, and box stores. So glad you put it in your rear view mirror. For Jim, it's a doggone gong. Congrats on the Golden Heart, but you've always had that. And for Marv, love that you posted the Niki de Saint Phalle pix, but Niki is a woman who was married to an equally amazing inventive sculptor, Jean Tinguely.

For FREE FOR ALL FRIDAY, I'm going to add a few more shots of REFLECTIONS. These are at Heritage Lake where Marv lives. And although they are not typical of my water reflection photos, they do explain why I keep going back there.

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

Marvin Theobald

Jim - Cracker Barrel pancakes are the absolute best. Yummm!!! Kathryn Beich Golden Crumbles and Katydids were sooo delicious. What great memories.

Sandy - Your first piano has a great look. I love its design. It is remarkable that you have been able to keep it in the family. I have a baby grand that I bought from Mary Selk when she sold her house. Judy used to play it some until I stopped having it tuned since it does not get played much.

Wendy - It is hard to comprehend how many cocoons those little silk worms would have spin to make a scarf or shirt. Too bad they could not be trained to weave them eliminating the cocoon step .

Here is another reflection photo taken at dusk behind a pontoon boat at Heritage Lake in 2018.

Thanks to a sailing friend I learned about a monkey fist knot and consulted Youtube for a training session. As you can see from the picture, in usual fashion I got a little carried away. The big one is about 12" in Diameter and consumed 23 feet of a very weathered old 1 1/2" diameter rope.

On what I consider one of the highlights of my life, I happened to arrive in Silverton, CO late in the day that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was celebrating their 15th anniversary. They had a tent set up and were giving large portions of fudge to passersby. As I said it was the end of the day and they were anxious to get rid of what was left. I love chocolate fudge. I felt it was my civic duty to provide as much  assistance as possible. I ate about five pounds of it over the next 3 or 4 days.

Jack Keefe

One the inside looking out. This is the cemetery at Pleasant Hill, a ghost town near Lexington, Illinois. The town once had a few hundred people, but began to die when the railroad bypassed it and went through Lexington instead.  We are shooting from the inside of a mausoleum there. Some classmates known I can't seem to stay out of pioneer cemeteries, and we just made Free-for-All Friday with no time left on the clock.  

James (Jim) Rookus

Jack... that is a very interesting view from inside a mausoleum ... thought they are locked and secured so wondering how you gained access ?

James (Jim) Rookus

Sorry Marv ... forgot to mention how much that huge block of fudge reminds me of the fudge on Mackinac Island.  Friends of ours who own a couple gift shops up there make and sell that yummie stuff and provide us with a "free for life" supply of their creamy fudge for having let their son live with us while in college in our area ... sure am a happy camper when the mailman shows up with a package with their return address on it!  I must say have never seen a block of fudge as huge as the one in you photo!

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Jim, Congratulations on your heart rehab accomplishment.  Losing 18# is not an easy thing to do, either.   I agree, Cracker Barrel pancakes are the best.  I love the crunchy rim they have on them.  I'm not a big fudge fan, but I do like the fudge from Macknac Island.  It is so creamy and smooth.   We used to have a Rocky Mountain Candy shop in Bloomington, but it left.  Never had their fudge, though.  That is one BIG chunk of fudge.

Mel, those pictures of the lake at Marvin's house are beautiful.   I can see why Marvin loves living there and you love to visit him.

Marvin, I see why those knots are called "Fist knots".   They look just like fists.   Let me clarify that the piano my Son has is the 2nd one.  I don't have the first one anymore.  My parents sold the 1st one when we got the 2nd one.  But we got the 2nd one in 1959 and Stumm's had it before me so I know it's over 65 yrs old.   I've never played a grand piano.  I'm sure Miss Selk was glad someone she knew bought her piano.

Jack, I agree, that is an interesting view looking out of the mausoleum.   What beautiful glass work on those doors.   I would never think to take a picture from inside looking out.   But it is great.   

Most of the pictures, others have put on here, I wouldn't think to take-like the reflection pictures.  But I've really enjoyed everyone's pictures.  And makes me look at things more deeply and with a different perspective.

Jack Keefe

Jim -- this mausoleum, a very small one, was unlocked for whatever reason. So a friend and I went in. We were only there for a minute or so, as I remember, and when we turned to leave the photo opp was there.

Pioneer cemeteries are great starting places for historical research. Using the date of death, you can often find an obituary if the person died after 1850. From there, it's possible to learn the highlights of a life and survivors of the deceased. There are other ways, to jump-start research but this is one of my favorites.  

Jack Keefe

This is an old clipping about classmate Randy Simmons from the Pantagraph of February 10, 1971. Thought you would like to see it.  

Julie Hart

trees (remember i'm catching up)

baobob outside of tanzeen south africa

big enough for a bar inside...