Skywatch Friday

I couldn't choose, so today you get two for the price of one :)

Downtown Jacksonville, from the Landing:
Seagull In Flight:

Bar Hoppin'

Got your attention, didn't I? :) No, I don't frequent the bars. (I don't even INfrequent the bars) But today, I was invited to lunch with a celeb, so I made an exception. My wonderful friend, Melissa , won passes to "Lunch with Trace Adkins" from a local radio station. Since it was an over 3 hour affair, her hubby didn't want to take that much time off work. So she invited me!! :)

(So, we were, technically, in a bar. But it was closed for the event, and actually it's brand new and it's first night open is tonight.)

Here is Mrs. Melissa, waiting for the main attraction...
And here's the man himself :) It was pretty cool, he did a mini-concert, sang 6 or 7 of his popular songs. I have to say, he is one entertainer that's as good live as he is on the radio.

And here he is, posing with me. (Good of him, BAAAAD of me...but whatchagonnado??)
Very nice guy, it was a fun day. I always am up for something different, so thanks again, Melissa! :)

Bokeh, baby :)

Crabby

Dock

Deserted

Sunset on Cedar Key

Skywatch Friday

Princess Confetti

It's not every day you see a real, live pony in Sam's, but we got to see one today! This is Princess Confetti , and she is a seeing-eye pony. I spoke to her owner, Cheryl Spencer, and she was more than happy to tell me all about her and let me take their pictures. I was surprised when we were allowed to pet her. Cheryl explained that unlike seeing-eye dogs, horses are not easily distracted, so they are allowed to interact with people while they are working :)



And interact she did, even giving us kisses :) She was a sweet, pretty thing and very intelligent. It made our day to see a pony trotting around in Sam's club.

Here's more about her if you're interested.

Red

Words of Faith and Hope...

...in a cemetery?? :) Yep, it's a revolutionary war and civil war-era cemetery. Gravestones had a lot more to say back then than they do now...

In case Blooger won't let you enlarge the pics, here's what they read:

"Our Father, John W. Stacy. Died July 23rd, 1871 in the 73rd year of his age. A consistent member and for more than 20 years the efficient Clerk of Midway Church" (if only that consistency could be said about all our church members):

"Blessed are the Dead that Die in the Lord":

"Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of His Saints":

"Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for They Shall See God":

And my favorite, "Sacred to the Memory of Oliver Stevens, who was born in Newport, N.H. and died in Greensboro, GA June 16, 1853 in the 71st year of his age. As a man, he was sincere, generous, trustworthy and possessed the esteem and confidence of all. As a Christian, he exemplified the purity, humility and charity of genuine religion. His consistent and useful life had a fitting close in a death marked by the peace and hope of the Gospel. The memory of the just is blessed" I can't think of anything better to be said about a man whose life was evidently well-lived. His family who loved him made sure that a woman walking through this cemetery over 150 years later would know what a fine man and Christian their father was. It really touched me. :)

And then there were a few chuckles as well. Are they in alphabetical, or order of importance, do ya reckon?? ;oP

All Night Long

No...not the Lionel Richie song...the view you get to see all night long after you eat undercooked shrimp!
*obviously I'm feeling better - I took a picture of my toilet ;o)

The Smallest Church in America

Or at least in Southeast GA :) According to the flyer, this 10x15 church was built in 1949 by a local grocer, Agnes Harper. She was criticized and told that it would not do justice to God. She said "It's not the dimensions of the church...it's the extent of the faith."


It's open 24 hours, the lights come on when you open the door. They say you can comfortably fit 13 people...if they hold their breath :) They have a service there every 3rd Sunday, and it's also available for weddings and baptisms. Smallest church...smallest preacher...

You can see more pics of the smallest church Here

Skywatch Friday

The sky is so exceedingly blue today, not a speck of a cloud or anything. I had to put something else in the picture for the camera to focus on! :) Hopefully at least a few clouds will come up by this evening for the sunset.

Creative

He wants his Thomas the Train to have a hill to go up and down, so this is his answer :)
Notice the tongue of concentration...
...and Thomas goes down the hill at the speed of light!!! Gotta love it.

Home Away from Home

Just a Tiny Bit

of fall in my own backyard :)

Hard Habit to Break

(I love how they put all the pictures of the really active, xtreme sport people on their packages. Knowing that the only thing you feel like doing after eating there is sitting on the couch in a stupor, too lazy to tie your own shoes.)

Story Time

The lady in this picture, Mrs. V, has been teaching this class for around 40 years now. She taught me when I was this age, and now she has taught all 4 of my children. It boggles my mind to try and count all the little lives she has taught through the years. This scene is really not how it appears though...it was more like them sitting for 5 seconds, one scoots his chair all the way back against the wall...I go to retrieve him and bring his chair back into line...meanwhile C has turned around and is trying to kneel in his chair, then D gets up and decides he's had enough of story time and is off to play with the trucks...and as you can see in this pic little S on the right is angling to make his escape :o) Meanwhile, Mrs. V continues steadily on, oblivious to the chaos that reigns directly in front of her, and I'm trying to get the shots I want while all 4 of them are in one spot for a millisecond. Exhausting! I don't know how she's kept at it all these years. Either she really loves children, or really hates change. ;o) Just kidding, no one can do what she has done for so long without loving it.
And of course Mr. C had to come investigate :) All these little ones have learned that when I have my camera, they get to see themselves on the screen. It makes it hard to take pictures of them when they all crowd around me saying "See!! 'Onna see!!"

Choo-choo!!

He loves to watch the train, but the loud noise is scary, so Daddy has to hold him on his lap...