Anniversary at the Cabin

Marisa and Justin decided to stay down at the cabin Friday night. Justin wanted to celebrate their 1st Anniversary of being "a couple". So, Momma decided that I needed to go down and decorate the cabin with X-Mas lights, pictures of the couple, and lighted candles.
So, I went down early, decorated, warmed up the cabin, fired up the grill, and headed for home right after they got there.

Meet The Fockers

Ever seen the movie? Our Thanksgiving Day was shaping up to resemble the plot from it.
Background info: Daughter Marisa has been dating Justin for now just over a year. Politically, we are pretty much to the RIGHT, and Justin and his folks lean way to the LEFT. Though they have been dating for over a year, we had never "met his family". We did get introduced to his Mom back in June when she attended Marisa's Dance Recital, but, being so crowded, we didn't really get to know her.
Well, the kids thought that Thanksgiving would be a good time for us to finally meet. Marisa was very concerned that it could turn into a disaster due to our "differences". She dropped several hints to her Mom that she was hoping I could "behave myself" and not create a stir!
Wednesday night, she and Justin went to a local pub to reconnect with old friends in town for the holiday and at 1:00 A.M., texted Momma that "the kids needed a ride home". Kim and I went down and picked them up. I drove them in her truck to Justin's house and Kim picked me up there. On the way, I asked Marisa if she was afraid that I'd "misbehave" T'giving at Justin's parents house. She said that she hoped that we would not discuss any politics.
I told her that I would avoid it like the plague....but, if they started it, then I'd just change the subject like a Jehovah's Witness and preach to them the merits of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior!
We got home around 2:00A.M. and I crashed (after working 12 hours straight on Wednesday. I slept in till 1:45 P.M Thurs afternoon, so I didn't have much time to "worry about the upcoming meeting".
We arrived at their house at 4:00 P.M. and were warmly welcomed and sat around chatting about life in generaland common aquaintences.
After about 10 minutes, I was fully at ease, and started being myself....cracking jokes... telling funny stories about Marisa's childhood, etc.
The dinner and fellowship was terrific! They are really nice people, and we look forward to spending more time with them!
Hell, I even performed a little "after dinner magic" for them!

Decorating at Home

Well, Momma's done got started with the Christmas decorating inside the house, and decided that this year she was going to expand to the front of the house. But, due to our work schedule, she had a decorator come in today and "do his thing" to the front porch.
I helped.... I put up a spotlight...and took the pictures.

Mid-November, 2010

Last weekend was first time since October to head down for the cabin. Loaded up the mutts early Fri afternoon and headed down to stay until around noon on Sunday. Got to catch up on my 3 Net-Flix movies and finished one book and started another on my Kindle. Have I mentioned how much I love my Kindle?
It's Gun Deer Season here in Kentucky and the deer are starting to get fairly active. The hunters got 3 Bucks and one big Doe on Saturday morning down at the farm. I was surprised that Kooper (my big chicken of a dog) didn't freak out with all the shooting, but, he pretty much took it in stride.
One of my goals for the weekend was to decorate one of the cedar trees out in front of the cabin, and take some experimental time-lapse photographs of it with cabin in background. I took about 30 shots using a whole lot of different time settings and lighting enhancements.
However, in my zeal to edit out the unworthy shots, I think I might have zapped a couple of my best ones.
I left the lights on the tree in case we get some snow this weekend. If so, I hope to go back and try it again.
The daytime temps were in the 60's, but, it got pretty nippy after the sun went down. The old wood burning stove did a great job. Matter of fact, around 2:00 A.M. Sat morning I awoke pouring with sweat because it got so hot in the cabin!
Marisa and friends planning on using the cabin this weekend, so , maybe I'll finally ramble up in the mountains to do some visiting.
Possibility of snow here on Friday....if so, I'll go take my pictures first.

Cat Betrayal

This is one of my all time favorite clips. This is for all of us Cat Lovers!

It's a dull week...thought I'd bitch some

Spent last weekend home watching Univ of KY Basketball and UK Football, had to do some extra work Sat night, then more on Sunday night (work I could have done Fri night).
Actually got some "re-organizing and pitching out (not much)" of my junk in the basement.
Finally throwing out old love letters from 40 years ago..( from some girls that I have little or any memory of), picture of girl I went to school with in 8th grade...and haven't seen her since then, farm info and bills from back in the early 1980's.
The tough stuff is the accumulation of my Mom & Dad's and Grandparents things that I have held onto. IE: Old Dinner Bell/ Old Wall crank Telephone/ 3 really old radios from back in the 20's and 30's/ 3 old Steamer Trunks/ Old Bird cages (with holder)/ My Babybed/ my old wooden playpen/ 2 old trettle sewing machines...etc. I'd like to pass thos stuff on to someone in the family...daughter will have first dibs....but, don't have many young relatives left.
I made the mistake of moving one of my "magic prop stashs"....of course I had to stop and "check out" some things I purchased over the years, and never gotten around to use.
Also, I took the time to actually go through some of the "magic stuff" I purchased last weekend.
One "effect" that I really like...and hope to work on enough to get my dead ass out and perform is as follows:
A mentalism effect whereas a spectator is handed a book.... told to open at any page.... pick out any word in the book.... write it down on a small post-it note.... close the book.... not showing anyone else the selection.... wad up the posted note and put it in their pocket. Then, I would milk out a little time by using phycho babbling and general B.S. before telling them their selected word. The word is verified by another spectator who is then given the post-it note to read out loud.
Another project I worked on this weekend was to cull through my "e-mail Funnies collection". What I've done in the past is to copy the best of the e-mail videos received and put them into a file. Then, I'd go back about every 6 months or so, put them onto a "Windows Movie Maker" file...then burn them onto a DVD to send to my buddies that don't have computers. Well, it's a slow process to do this....and frustrating as hell when after several hours....the damned things don't download to be saved for transfering to DVD! I have a crapload of them because I've put off doing this for over a year. Tempted to just scrap the whole damned project!
Also, I tried to click on the icon on the blog to "e-mail my blog" to a friend....and to make sure it works, sent a copy to myself. Well, it just plain doesn't work! So, I just copied and pasted my Blogspot address onto an e-mail and sent it out that way.
Enough of my "Biching"!
Have a free weekend coming up... undecided on whether to " go to the cabin...or go to the mountains". Probably will just opt out for cabin, because, have to work Sunday to get a head start on Thanksgiving week. We have to cram 5 days work into 3 days so to be off Thur and Friday.

Magic Weekend

This past weekend I attended an "Magic Unconvention" at Cumberland Falls State park in Southeastern Kentucky. I started attending this annual event back in 1988, and look forward to it each year. Someone once asked me what it's like at a magic convention. I stated that it would be similar to having about 100 eleven year old boys get together with no parental control. It is a nonstop action of practical jokes, good natured ribbing, beautiful magic, and gathering of old friends.
The "big" magic conventions are held in large cities at fancy (expensive) hotels, and very structured show times, lectures,and competions. These "big conventions usually have turnouts of 300-900 magicians, run from Thurs evening thru Saturday night. The going rate for registration is about $110, the rooms at the hotels are around $ 125 per night.
Our "Unconvention" usually draws about 90-100 magicians from Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, and KY., and is held at a fairly remote (but beautiful) State Park. It runs just Friday and Saturday, registration is $20, rooms are around $85 per night.
What makes it "Unconventinal" is the fact that things are only really planned out once folks get there. Example: There are magic shows ( free to the public ) on Friday and Saturday night.... anyone that wants to perform signs up when they register. The lecturers times are a little more structured for Saturday. They are asked whether to perform on Sat. morning around 9:30...or around 2:00 in afternoon. Then we fill in the other times with close-up performances by volunteers. In the past, I have "performed" by demoing some magic effects for a buddy that is a dealer for his magic shop. We usually have about 10 Magic Shop Dealers each year.
Late on Fri and Sat nights after the shows, and the Dealers room is closed, many of us mingle around the big common room at the lodge and perform close-up magic for nonmagicians, or swap tips and encouragement to the new magicians. It's like one big happy family!

My work schedule keeps me from getting out to be around people to "do my magic". However, there were many suckers down there that I was able to entertain. Truthfully, it was probably the first time in many months that I actually "had fun" with other people!

Here are a few pictures from this year.

Clarification on last Post

I didn't anticipate the problem some would have reading my printed article. To read the article, one must "click on" the article page, then use magification to enlarge it.
In the future, I think I'll just "copy and paste, then add any pictures with it.