Photos, because I'm too lazy to write..

Although I say I am too lazy to write, I think I often write as much or more when I post photos... SO, here I go. These photos are all mixed up as far as timeline is concerned because I always forget that it ends up posting them in reverse order...
These top two photos are at the State fair today. I love Indiana's version of "Eat your fruits and vegetables." FRIED FRUIT AND FRIED VEGETABLES!!! No wonder we are all so stinking fat. On the way to the Fair Debbie and I were talking about the President's Physical Fitness Awards program. I recall that while I was in school one year everybody had to do chin-ups. The next year girls only had to hang for a certain length of time to pass. I joked that now all a child has to do is be under two hundred pounds and be able to sit up unassisted... I do love fried mushrooms and fried zucchini and fried sweet potatoes and... yeah.
The roach is riding a cicada. I was really feeling emotional about the summer cicada song of Indiana a few days ago. I bet there are no cicadas in the dusty southwest. I guess that will be one joy I will only experience when I return to the Midwest to visit my children.
LOVE the audience. The line is the edge of the plexiglass that encloses the track.
John Deere model D360 with pull-behind mower with 42" cut. Yep, I've learned a lot selling Classified Advertising!
This is Arwin Provonsha. He is an entomologist AND incredible artist, also a long-time family friend from church. Here is some of his work: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/f-g/firefly_Purdue.jpg Fireflies are another thing I won't get in the southwest. Hmmm... I have seen some of his paintings up close and they are absolutely beautiful. It can really make one appreciate the beauty of insects! Arwin has such a distinctive voice that I could tell it was him racing roaches today over the loudspeaker in a large and echo-y exhibition hall.
This is made completely of cheese.
This is my new pet. Eric bought "Piggy" for me from the gift shop at Cracker Barrel. I saw it a couple of weeks ago when we went to dinner and that's where we went again last Friday and Eric bought it because I really wanted it and couldn't let myself spend ten dollars when I had already spent money eating out. I always buy my own dinner when we go out because Eric and I are only friends, therefore he cannot pay for my dinner. Silly. Boy.
This is because I forgot to rotate the picture and I don't know how to delete it. The cage, by the way, I purchased accidentally from a silent auction at a fund raiser. I hoped if I wrote down a bid someone would outbid me and it would make more money, instead I bought a birdcage.
This is me today. I liked my hair today so I took my picture! It certainly shows how gray I have become!
This is Michael this morning. He has been cleaning his room. He decided to get rid of his Legos. We took them to the Boy's and Girl's Club. I had taken an employment ad from the Director and asked him if the club could use them. Of course the answer was an enthusiastic yes! The guys who were there were SO HAPPY. I am proud of Michael for making this decision. I am proud of ME for not saying I would keep them. I seriously thought about it and then realized even I should become a grandmother tomorrow (I won't) it would be eight years before a child would be old enough to play with these. No hoarding. No hoarding. No hoarding.
These are record clocks made by Adam Nunez (that second N should have a tilde, but I don't know how.) His record clocks are more artistic than the one I made, but I kind of like the appearance of mine more. I really do like the idea or re-purposing objects into clocks. So far I have done the record clock and the Scrabble clock. I have ideas for more of them, but the clockworks end up costing so much that unless I really have a market for them, it is not worth making them. I may look into how much it costs to set up an Etsy store... I already have some tax issues I need to work out first however, because I now realize that in Indiana baked goods are not taxable, CHOCOLATES and TOFFEE, however, are CANDY and are therefore, taxable. I have to fill out a Form B-1 or something and agree with the state how often I will remit sales tax on any candy I sell. Sigh.. Baking is great. Business hurts.
This is Rachael Jones. She owns a cafe - Rachael's Cafe. A few years ago when we first met Rachael was Eric. Since then Rachael became and the cafe was opened. Rachael lives in Bloomington, well actually, she lives in Nashville, Indiana, but the cafe is in Bloomington. Bloomington has an artistic, academic community, including an MFA program in Creative Writing. A grad student wrote a play about Rachel's Becoming. The play was accepted to be produced at the Edinbergh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Rachael's friends want her to be able to go see the play about her. Rachael Himsel-Nunez (where the second N has a tilde, but I don't know how to do it) organized a fund raiser. Rachael Jones is going to Scotland! Woot! I love Bloomington.
Steven and the Savvy (Michael is part of the Savvy) performed at the fund raiser.
Debby Ochs (Debby with a "Y", known in our house as the "Other Debby") came to the fund raiser. We have been friends for twenty-six years, when I first moved to Bloomington.
Hope made over 100 mini cheesecakes for the fund raiser. I think they actually looked better than in this photo and they TASTED fabulous. Some were topped with ganache (Spellcheck doesn't recognize "ganache"), some with raspberry preserves.
The last two times I purchased "Cleaner with Bleach" at Dollar General the pumper on the bottle broke. I purchased a spray bottle to use. Did you know that bleach oxidizes aluminum? Yep. I actually could tell as soon as I put it in so I internetted and learned about it. My curiosity overcame me and I left it in the bottle. I was nervous that I would hear a pop overnight and walk out to aluminum shrapnel. It didn't pop. It took several days and ate through the bottle like this. It was two dollars plus the price of the "Cleaner with Bleach" to see it. I'm kind of embarrassed that I posted it on Facebook without posting that I really did realize this would happen....

This is the monkey that Michael made in sewing class in middle school. I think it's called "Life Skills" or some such thing these days. Monkey is now in the "donate" basket. No hoarding. No hoarding. No hoarding. Memorialized in photo allowed.
Michael - he plays cello. This is Alexander's cello instead of the mellow yellow cello. Alexander did not continue to play in college. Michael wants to be a professional musician. Rebecca Berteloni-Meli and Nico Berteloni-Meli have extremely generously allowed Michael to use the cello for almost a year. Michael told me tonight the carbon fiber cello he wants to buy is six THOUSAND dollars. It is acoustically the equivalent of a TWENTY THOUSAND dollar cello. Michael gets enough scholarship to pay for all of his fees and books. He will probably take out a loan to buy a carbon fiber cello. I couldn't believe when the words were coming out of my mouth encouraging him to do it. If he plans to be a professional musician he needs to have the proper tools. I would also like him to get a semester abroad with a luthier (Oh my God. Spellcheck does not recognize "luthier" or "Spellcheck" for that matter!). Really he needs to intern with the best electric instrument luthier he can find, even if it is in the United States. It really sounds like a good excuse to go to Europe (Italy) to me! Michael is taking eighteen credit hours this semester. Nine are physics and math, nine are jazz improvisation (with David Baker! the best jazz cellist in the world - Google him - also recognized as one of the world's best music educators. Have I said recently that I love Bloomington? If only it were in the desert....)
Steven and the Savvy played at "The Switchyard." It's actually a private house where a house concert and potluck dinner are hosted weekly. Lots of (musical genius) hippies play. It's a good place to be on Sunday night.
This is Debbie (with an "IE" NOT the "Other Debby" with a "Y") We have been friends for seventeen or eighteen years, since we worked at Monroe County Bank together and our children, Michael and Leandra. went to preschool together. We took her to hear the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (heretofore known as BSO) play at the park. Debbie HAD NEVER BEEN TO AN ORCHESTRA CONCERT in her life. Can you tell I was scandalized? I was so pleased to introduce her to live orchestral music. Debbie (with an "IE" NOT the "Other Debby" with a "Y") is also the person (along with Leandra) with whom I attended the Indiana State Fair today.
This is a fairly bad picture of Michael. He's usually very handsome, but tends to look stupid in pictures. He is growing the Luscious Locks again. They are finally long enough to put in a pony tail.

The beginning. Or maybe The middle. I don't know.