Thursday, June 14, 2007

Wahoo! . . . oops . . . Thursday

Sometimes a girl gets forgetful . . . this week it's Wahoo! Thursday, instead of Wednesday.

Having just returned from vacation, I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for. This post will probably focus on last week, for that reason. It was awfully fun. That's a Mississippi squirrel, though, munching on the grass in our backyard.

This week's Wahoos:

1. I'm thankful for good timing. We arrived in Ann Arbor on Saturday; and, Sunday just happened to be the day of the "Taste of Ann Arbor" food festival, where we sampled foods from a variety of local restaurants, watched an exhibition of Morris Dancing and, best of all, squeezed in some great people-watching time. I was particularly fond of the family interaction:

I love seeing a parent down at his or her child's level; it seems to reflect a level of respect for one's child that standing above them lacks. Not that you shouldn't ever be able to stand up, but you know what I mean, right?

I liked the happy feet of Morris dancers, as well:


2. I'm grateful for this paragraph:

The Pont des Arts is wooden, and if you look through the slats, you can see boats passing beneath. Sometimes small bolts of lightning shoot from the boats as tourists take pictures of one another, and sometimes they just aim the cameras at nothing in particular and shoot - I like these kinds of photographs best, not that I have a camera - but if I did, I would randomly take pictures of nothing in particular. How else could you record life as it happens.

--from "Little Birds" by Simon Van Booy (Get the feeling I liked The Secret Lives of People in Love?)

With that thought in mind, I set my camera down on a counter in the Canton, Michigan IKEA and took photos aimed at the restaurant cash register. I do often take photos of people without paying too much attention to what they're doing, but I doubt I'd have thought to set the camera down for a change of pace, if I hadn't just read that paragraph the night before.


3. I'm grateful for little ones, who help us look at the world as if everything were new. Even with a little drool hanging from her lips, this was a beautiful sight:


4. I'm thankful for old friends. We had a little difficulty fitting in a dinner with our friends R. and L. because they're dealing with having their house "fixed" (wrecked by contractors who are not careful, is more accurate) and R. is immersed in his hectic job. But, we did manage to get together and it was wonderful. I always find myself wishing that we lived closer to R. and L., whenever we see them. Okay, so you want to see what I look like? Here's Bookfool with hubby and friends. You won't see another photo of me till the blonde babe (aka "me") loses some major flab.


5. I'm ridiculously in love with nature. We went to the botanical gardens. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the place, off the top of my head, but I've been sitting here flipping through photos from the gardens and . . . oh my gosh, it's so hard to choose! There was an incredible amount of beauty. I've decided to go for one close-up and one distance shot from the outdoor plots.

Here you go, a reason to be grateful for pollen - honey and the bees that make it:

I want my garden to look like this!!

I could go on all day. I only took about . . . uh . . . maybe 300 - 400 photos? Not bad for me (I took more than 900 during last year's vacation), but there's obviously too much to share in one post.

We spent a lot of time in our favorite park, which makes me very thankful for:

6. My tolerant spouse. He wanted to visit the museums, but very kindly agreed to my wish that we spend our time outdoors. I wanted to enjoy the cool air while we had the opportunity, since I knew we'd be returning to a long, hot summer. I didn't anticipate that it would shoot up to the 90's in time for our return, so it turned out to be a doubly good decision.

Which reminds me that I'd better go water the flowers before any more of them keel over.

Happy Thursday!

27 comments:

  1. Very good choice spending the time outdoors. Love the picture of the bee crawled right into that flower.
    I don't take enough random shots, some but not enough. Nice quote.

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  2. Nat,

    I'm so glad we spent our time outdoors! One of the things I find hard about living in Mississippi is that the heat does drive us inside for a very long time. So, when it's cool, we need to enjoy it - home or away!

    Isn't that a great quote? I need to do that more often, also. Probably need to get out more, as well. :)

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  3. Do not say ONE disparaging thing about yourself. You are beautiful, and sweet, and good and that is clearly evident by your face and the spirit represented in your blog. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, and I will not put up with put downs (as I need to remind myself when I get in a critical attitude).

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  4. p.s. I like the picture in your header!

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  5. Aw, thanks Bellezza. You're so sweet. I am definitely my own worst enemy. Need to work on that! *hugs*

    And thank you on the photo comment. It was your lovely new header that inspired me to play with some of my new photos. I tried four different photos before settling on the swan. If anyone had dropped by long enough, they would have seen a bunch of schizophrenic header changes going on. I kept saving them and then thinking, "Nah. Not quite right." LOL

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  6. You are beautiful!

    So are your pictures. I like the bee one too.

    I love the wahoo posts. Maybe I'll have to start wahooing on my blog soon.

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  7. I think you're cute! Actually, all the blogging bookworms I've seen pictures of so far are good-looking. Bookish AND beautiful! Can't beat that with a stick!

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  8. I agree with Bellezza...you're beautiful! Actually very close to how I pictured you...never happens like that :) Your warmth comes across well in your picture.

    I love all of these photos. They're great! I'm envious of your ability to get those cool shots of squirrels and bees and birds...I can never get those.

    900 pictures! Good Lord! I though my 140 in Mexico was a lot!

    The trip sounds like it was a blast. Glad you got to relax.

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  9. It sounds like you had a very nice trip, Nancy. :-) I am glad you were able to visit with your friends. I know what that's like, living far away and not being able to be in touch like you might like.

    I like museums, but nothing compares to being outdoors. :-)

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  10. I'm thankful for your fantastic pictures! They always bring a smile to my face. That one of the bee is so beautiful.

    Sounds like a great trip. I would have looked that food festival!

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  11. Nik,

    Thank you and thank you. I loved the way that bee climbed right inside the flowers. Funny how they really have no interest in you at all, as long as you don't get in their way!

    Feel free to take the "wahoo" idea and use it! Your posts are already upbeat (apart from when your MIL is visiting and you need to ventilate, LOL) but it's always good to look for reasons to be happy, IMHO. :)

    Bybee,

    Thanks. I suppose we all see our flaws more than anything because I can nod to the bookish part and that's about it. Do I suck at taking a compliment? LOL

    Chris,

    Thank you. Could be that I merely look like a wrinkled and inflated version of that kindergarten photo that made you picture me that way. ;)

    And, thanks on the photo comment. I can tell you it takes a lot of time and patience to get shots like that of the bee. Critters have this irritating tendency to keep moving! Squirrels are great, though, because they often freeze, like they're thinking that if they don't move for a few seconds they'll become invisible. I love that!

    Yeah, 900. But, that was in Alaska and Alaska is rather spectacular to look at from any angle - lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery.

    The trip was fantastic, thank you. Ann Arbor is a great place; we always have fun there. :)

    Wendy,

    We had a terrific trip, thanks. I do wish we lived closer to our friends, but I don't think that's going to happen. So, we really enjoy those biannual get-togethers!

    I do love museums, too, but I just couldn't pass up the chance to be outdoors in the cool air, while I had the chance!

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  12. Heather,

    Thanks, I love your photos, too!!

    The food festival was fun - very crowded and I'm not good with crowds, so I had to step behind the display tents, now and then, but we had a great time. :)

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  13. I love the picture of you! It's really good.
    I also love the paragraph from Simon's book - can't wait to get my copy soon. I should be seeing him on Monday.

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  14. Bookfool, you are lovely. You have a beautiful smile and kind eyes. Exactly the type of person I'd like to have coffee with.

    Last week was the Taste of Omaha Festival as well. I guess they have those things all over the place. I only go to get some bubble tea.

    I hope you took that picture of the bee with a zoom. I'd be standing across the street. Yikes!

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  15. I can't believe you! You look great!

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  16. One of the things I loved about Ann Arbor growing up was all the places to hang out and watch people. I love your photos. (And I'm just a little bit wistful: I want to go to IKEA, too).

    Incidentally, it's nice to put a fact to the name. :)

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  17. Kris,

    Thanks. I'd forgotten Simon's in St. Louis on the 18th! Oh, boy! Tell him "hi" from me, please? I can't wait to hear what you think. It's not the typical Kris read, but I think you'll like it. :)

    Kookie,

    You're too kind. I hope someday we'll be able to meet each other and have that coffee. It would be so fun to meet you!

    Bubble tea? What's that? I've never heard of it! Very cool that you had a festival, too. There's not much variety, here, so we always get really excited about the food in Ann Arbor. We ate really well, last week. :)

    I did use a zoom on the bee, but I've been known to get right up close - having never been stung by one, they don't make me nervous. Wasps, on the other hand, I give a wide berth. Those suckers are mean!!

    Angela,

    Thanks. I swear it's just a decent picture and a good job of cropping out the fat. LOL

    Melissa,

    You grew up in Ann Arbor? You lucky chick!! It's great for everything - people watching, outdoor activity, great food, solid education. The Canton IKEA was the least crowded IKEA I've ever been in - extremely pleasant. I lurv IKEA. :)

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  18. Well, if you are ever in Omaha, let me know.

    Bubble tea is a sweetened, fruit-flavored iced tea with globe tapioca in the bottom of the glass. The best way to describe it is Snapple with unflavored gummi bears floating in it, which (while accurate) makes it sound a lot less appealing than it is.

    I thought for sure that there in the South they would have bubble tea.

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  19. Will do, Kookie. I will tell you that I haven't been back to Nebraska since . . . uh, 1989. So, it might be a while. :)

    Ew, that sounds disgusting! We have sweet tea in the South. Supposedly, sweetened tea is no good unless the sugar is brewed in with the tea - so that's what sweet tea really is. Actually, I hate sugar in my tea, so I'm forever saying, "UNsweetened." It works about 50% of the time. :)

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  20. I'm spying on other people's comments :P I LOVE bubble tea! It's really not gross. Although I must admit the tapioca pearls freaked me out the first time I slurped one up. I love Kookie's description of it!

    Oh, and Nancy, I wanted to tell you, I love your turtle photo in your sidebar. That little fella's cute! It's my new favorite of the animal photos ;)

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  21. FINALLY!! A picture!! And a beautiful one at that!!

    It sounds like you had a great time!

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  22. I also hate sweetened iced tea, but to me Snapple and bubble tea taste more like fruit juice. Perhaps its just me. My husband hates all kinds of iced tea, but he loves bubble tea, so I guess it's just one of those things you just have to try. ;)

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  23. Chris,

    Now, I'm beginning to feel like I'm missing out on something. Where have you had bubble tea?

    Thanks. The turtle pic was taken in Jackson, at the Natural Science Museum. I thought he was a cutie, too. :)

    Stephanie,

    Thanks. I keep thinking, "I should delete that photo." I just don't like photos of myself (except for that kindergarten picture I posted a few weeks ago).

    We had a fantastic time. I always hate leaving Ann Arbor.

    Kookie,

    Maybe someday I'll happen across bubble tea and give it a try. I have no idea where I could find it! But, I do like fruit juice. You and Chris have me convinced it's worth a try. Chris is in New Orleans, so it's available in the South somewhere! Just not here.

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  24. We have a little shop down here that's owned by this really sweet Vietnamese couple and they serve nothing but Bubble Tea! It's a great little shop, though they have flavors that I am WAY to scared to try such as lychee, red bean, or avocado...echk! You can get other things than just the tea with the tapioca pearls...they have this really good frozen vanilla coffee you can get too with the little tapioca things in it. Basically you just have to try the tapioca thingies...or the "bubbles". But now there are about 4 bubble tea cafes in New Orleans believe it or not!

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  25. Chris,

    I get it, now. Bubble tea must be the new, hip thing. That means it'll make it to Vburg in about 10 years. We're consistently about 10 years behind the rest of the country on such things. We did finally get a coffee shop, but still no Starbucks. LOL

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  26. Hi Nancy...that's a very nice picture of you, truly. And great pixs of nature, as always. I miss my friends who are miles away. Keeping in touch via MSN and mobile messages is fun but not quite the same.
    I'm so behind in my reading, it's not funny. And now, I don't have much of an interest, being on holiday and all that. Haha! But I've got my eye on several books so I guess I'll be back in the swing of things soon.

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  27. Indigo,

    Thanks. I was going to ask if you're still in Tennessee, but I think you answered my question! It sounds like you and I are both bad about reading while traveling. I always find that I'm so busy I collapse into bed, at night, happy for any sleep (although I sleep so badly, these days, that I like to read for a while at night). But, I did squeeze in a little reading on the plane flights. I hope you find some reading time, soon. After a while, it starts to get on your nerves, doesn't it?

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