A Flyover Blog

Happy Blog Day 2007

Welcome to my blog picks for Blog Day 2007.  I was introduced to this celebration by Michelle over at White Trash Mom, so go check out her fun blog while you're blog-hopping today. (That's my bonus recommendation.) The purpose of this day is to discover blogs that are new to you, NOT your old favorites. (To see my list of favorites, check my right sidebar.) And now, here are my Blog Day picks:

Aunt Sabine of Germany is an engrossing blog written by a wise old soul in a beautiful young body. Sabine covers a wide range of topics from news of her daily life to stories of wartime Germany. It's a fascinating stop and I'm glad I found her wonderful blog.

My second stop on the tour is The Life of Riley. Olive Riley was born in 1899 in Broken Hill, Australia, and is the oldest blogger on my tour. She writes her blog with the help of her friend, Mike, and she is an absolute delight. Say "hi" when you stop by; Ollie loves company.

Somewhere in a parallel universe, there is another me that lives near the ocean in a charming cottage. That ME actually has the time to furnish said cottage with vintage treasures and THEN take pictures of them to share with the world. Since that me does not exist in THIS reality, I live vicariously through Kim at Daisy Cottage. You're gonna love this blog; it's a visual treat.

In another parallel universe I live on a ranch, kinda like Ree over at Confessions Of A Pioneer Woman. Ree writes hysterical posts about real life on a working cattle ranch and her pictures are fabulous. Her tag line is, "Plowing Through Life in the Country, One Calf Nut at a Time." Don't miss this one.

I am a writer by trade and this list would not be complete without my favorite writer's site. The Burry Man Writer's Center in Scotland has in international following and manages to encourage and promote writers of all nationalities and interests... all without ego. Hosts Joseph and Jennifer are warm, witty and gracious as ever in their brand new blog, Burry Thoughts. If you write at all, this is a Must See!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy my recommendations.

DK Raymer

Red Friday - August 31

It's Friday again... put on your RED!

Photo courtesy of Lainey's Photo website

Thursday Thirteen - Week 41

Labor Day Weekend signals summer's end and time to switch gears for fall. I'm getting ready to dive into a huge writing project - I'll start sharing details with you next week - and I've been firing up my creative spark by reading favorite quotes from my personal journal. I thought I'd share some of them with you; maybe you'll be inspired to start your own fall project. Hats off to Samulli for this week's header!

13 Quotes for Writers and Other Creative Types

1. Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little. -- Tom Stoppard

2. There's no excuse not to dream. -- Candy wrapper

3. There is no better way to spend your life than in the unceasing preoccupation of an idea - of an ideal. -- Gustave Flaubert

4. Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. -- Henry Ward Beecher

5. If you really do put a small value upon yourself rest assured that the world will not raise your price. -- Anonymous

6. We learn to fly not by becoming fearless, but by the daily practive of courage. -- Sam Keen

7. Those whom God wishes to bless, he puts in their hands the means to help others. -- Saying

8. Hope is hearing the melody of the future. -- Rueben Alves

9. Every pebble and wildflower has a story to tell. -- Chet Raymo

10. There is no such thing in anybody's life as an unimportant day. -- Alexander Woolcott

11. Life isn't about finding yourself; life is about creating yourself. -- George Bernard Shaw

12. The artist has one function - to affirm and glorify life. -- W. Edward Brown

13. Rest when you're weary, refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work. -- Ralph S. Marsten, Jr.

Let me know if these gave you a creative nudge!

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Let's Go To The Fair

This week I'm boring entertaining my readers with pictures from the county fair we went to in July. If you've never been to a Midwest county fair on a 90 degree day in July, then you just don't know what fun is.  Shortly after we arrived, the parade began on the Midway. Here's the band. Seriously, this is them.

They actually played really well - with choreography! They just weren't much to look at. Wave goodbye to the band.

Here come the antique tractors.

Another tractor...

And another. At this point, I got tired of taking tractor pictures so I waited for something more exciting to drive by.

But this was it. I think there's a law that says you can't have a parade in Missouri without Missouri mules. They were very well behaved. I hoped you liked the parade. Friday  make that Saturday I'll show you The World's Worst Fair Attraction Run By A Civic Organization. Who says nothin' fun ever happens in flyover country?

Redefining Dumb Blonde

Okay, usually I don't like to laugh at other people's embarrassing moments, but this was just too easy! You've probably already seen this clip of Miss South Carolina answering a question in the Miss Teen USA 2007 pageant - excuse me: it's a scholarship program! (Quick - what movie is that line from?)  I caught this last night on Leno. I'm soooooo glad I'm not blonde any more.  After you watch this, go hug your smart kids!

Summer's Almost Gone

I can't believe this is the last full week of summer. August has been brutal, but June and July were gorgeous - the best summer months I've ever had. I'm gonna hate to see this one end.

Before we all start digging out our fleecy sweatshirts, I thought this would be a good week to revisit the fair.  In mid-July - before the killer heat wave set in - Mitch and I went to the Greene County fair with my brother, David, SIL Sandy, nephew Mike and his sweet girlfriend, Kaitlin. (Sorry if I mis-spelled your name!) I haven't been to a fair in 10 years. Maybe longer. But I love them: Corndogs, cotton candy, candy apples (I never eat this stuff; it creeps me out - I just like to see it) farm animals, politicians giving away emery boards and yard sticks, home grown fruit and vegetable contests and carnival rides - I love everything about the fair.  I took my camera this year and got some good pictures. I'll be sharing some of them with you every day this week. Stay tuned...

Who's Doing This?

Blog day is this coming Friday, August 31st. I'm still looking for one more blog to round out my list. So, I'm curious, is anyone else participating in this? Or are you all heading to the lake for one last 3-day vacation before Fall?

Remember That Sinkhole?

Remember that poor jogger I told you about a few days ago, why fell into a sinkhole in my very favorite park?  Yeah well, turns out he wasn't so innocent.  He was a federal fugitive - with several outstanding warrents. And he wasn't in the park that morning for a leisurely jog. He spotted a couple of police officers and cut through the park to avoid them.

So it got me thinking... what sort of guy was this? I mean, how bad do you have to be for the earth to spontaneously open up beneath you and swallow you whole - in a 25 ft. pit - smack dab in the middle of town?  Have you ever heard of that? Me neither. That goes way beyond bad Karma. I'd be having a come-to-Jesus moment if I were him.  Oh yeah, he's in police custody, by the way. To recap: the score is Sequita Park-1, Bad Guy-zip.

Special Friends

"Every now and then we find a special friend, who never lets us down, who understands it all, reaches out each time you fall, you're the best friend that I've found."

-Jordan Hill, "Remember Me This Way"

I found this great pic on Lainey's Photo Website.

I May Have Spoken Too Soon

Maybe I shouldn't have packed away those winter photos so soon... it was 96 here yesterday. Okay that's not 104 but it's close and the humidity is astronomical! I can do heat or I can do humidity but not at the same time. Just north of us, the Springfield area had torrential rain. Totals were from 6 to 11 inches in less than 24 hours. You can imagine the flooding. It washed out entire roads, and a number of people had to be rescued because they drove into running water. Duh! Why do people do that?

In a creepy bit of weather related news: You know the park I walk regularly in? Well, Tuesday morning a man was walking along the paved trail, stepped off it to go around a pile of flood debris... and fell into a 25 foot sink hole! He wasn't found until last night, poor thing. I've walked that trail a hundred times and I've never thought about the dangers of sinkholes - just snakes, perverts and rabid squirrels. Now I have something brand new to worry about. I think, when the weather cools, I'll walk in the other direction.

Hurry up, Autumn!