Walter Jones Historical Park

Major William Webb's farmhouse, built 1875:
The Walter Jones Family actually lived here until 1992.


Barn
Interior of farmhouse, shot through the window :)
View of the river from the boardwalk:

You can see more HERE

Mandarin Museum & Historical Society

I had another Dr. appt today, so on the way home I stopped at this local museum. I have driven by many times but never stopped until today. It has exhibits on local history and is very interesting to me, having grown up here. There is also a small gallery showcasing the work of local artists.

This is a model of the Maple Leaf, a Canadian excursion steamer that ended up being used as a Union transport during the Civil War. It was sunken by a confederate mine in the St. John's in April, 1864.
Civil War uniforms:

And this is a chair that was owned by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She had a winter home on the St. Johns.
I will definitely be going back, the museum is located in a park on the St. John's. When I came out, this is what the weather was like, so I didn't get to walk to the river.

ARACHNOPHOBIA

Visitors Welcome

All the way from Canada...

The expression on the one far-right cracks me up:

These Canada Geese spend most of their time on the University campus right down the street. They are so common there that it was designated a bird sanctuary back in the 70's. These should actually be re-named "Jacksonville Geese", because they don't go back North. They hang around town year-round.

Not for the Faint of Heart

Yes, that is my arm and my blood. This will be my life for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I've been diagnosed with my second ectopic pregnancy. This time, they gave me a shot (actually two, one in each hip...owie) of methotrexate instead of surgery. I was a good candidate since I was not having any pain as of yet. My last one was in August of last year and I had to have emergency surgery. While I can't say I'm happy about it, I am thankful that this one does not seem like it will require more surgery.

So, I will have to get blood drawn regularly to make sure the medication is working like it's supposed to. The Dr. said it could drag on for as long as 6 weeks.
(and in case you're wondering, yes the nurse did look at me like I'd been hitting the pain pills too hard when I pulled my camera out and told her what I had in mind. But when I explained about the whole blog-thing, she was a good sport)

Oddly enough, it didn't hurt at all while I was taking a picture of it. Usually I don't look while they draw my blood, I look across the room and imagine myself far, far away, while biting the heck out of my lip. But this time, it was not painful at all. I think I'll take a picture every time I am having something medically-painful done. :) But don't worry, I won't share them all here. Only some of them.

Back-Row Baptist

Incidentally...

about my "guess this movie" from the other day...the answer was "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". So Allen is the winner of the Major Award. Allen, you should be receiving it in the next 46-68 months. Thanks for playing! ;)

Jibbitz Mania

Caught in the act

Imagine, in a town of over 800,000 people, I cut through the parking lot of the mall on my way to the bank and see...my Dad's truck! It was just too tempting. Since I had my camera with me (as always), I decided to try and capture the Great American bargain shopper in its natural habitat.

I entered, treading softly so as not to startle them. Almost immediately I found the male of the species browsing men's socks. This species is much different from others in that the males will make friends who will shop with them. This one has a Preacher shopping with him:
As you can see from this picture, the Preacher had spotted me. I left them headed to the better dress shirts and went in search of the female.

Females are much easier to capture, they become so engrossed in their task that they don't even hear the shutter of my camera clicking. Repeatedly. :)

And here is the promised land for the female bargain shopper. Even I had to put the camera down for this...
It was a very successful day for the G.A.B.S. When I left them, they had already saved over $600.00, and I was happy to help them in their quest!

Music speaks to me

This is a new song we practiced for the first time Wednesday night. I will just say that the timing for that message could not be more perfect.

Guest Photographer

My 13 yr old son got a wild hair and wanted to play with my camera. These are some of his shots...



Pretty good for a "beginner", but then again, with a Canon, you can't go wrong ;)

Got a Movie!

It was driving my son crazy...I've had my video ipod for a while now, and still no video on it. :) So he put a movie on for me today, one of my favorites. Can you recognize it from this frame? Die-hard fans probably will, if not, I'll add more clues.

Got to get it now :)

Capture the Flag

The kids had a R.A.S.H. fellowship during visitation tonight. Oh, and R.A.S.H. is "Running Around Snatching Humans". :) They drove around and paid visits to their friends who haven't been to church in a while, to "snatch" them and bring them back. They had pizza and snacks, and played games like dodge ball and capture the flag. Here's J getting double teamed:
And here's the smallest one trying to capture the flag from the biggest:
Gotta have ambition! ;)

Talented Hands

My sister took the personal DNA test, she is a "Faithful Artist", and this is part of the reason why the "Artist" part:

I can remember when I was little, I used to love to watch her practice, loved watching her hands move over the keys. I still do. :)

Waiting on Tigger

I woke up to cries of "Mommy!! Tummy hurt!!" at about 3:30 this morning. His tummy must have hurt, but by the time I got to him it was all better, and all over! So his favorite Tigger pillow had to soak and now he's having a "bath". RJ is ready for him to be done :)

Highway Sunset

Butterfly

Actually looks more like some sort of moth, but he was in the "Butterfly Garden", so what the hey :)
Update: Thanks to Florida Cracker 's tip, I believe we have determined that this is a "Skipper Moth". Not sure exactly which one, but that's what he looks like.

I am an "Encouraging Idealist"

I saw this test on another blog
I don't usually agree with these kind of things, but this one seemed pretty accurate. If you want to see what your "personal DNA" is, I have a link to the right ------>

You are an Encouraging Idealist.


personal DNA

You are an Idealist

As an IDEALIST, you are distinctive for your integration of confidence, imagination, willingness to explore, and desire for competence over style.

You have a strong capacity to comprehend the inner workings of things, finding new ideas and innovative insights to feed your curious nature.

You are quite comfortable in the realm of abstract thought. You don't need a practical solution to every one of life's questions.

You are comfortable with the decisions you make in life. You don't need to second-guess yourself, or seek a lot of opinions before you make up your mind.

You enjoy the routines that you have created in your life, and don't feel the need to shake things up just for the sake of change.

You generally succeed at what you do, and others would describe you as successful.

It is important to you that products be efficient – looking good has to come second to working well.

You aren't the kind of person who needs to collect stylish items in an attempt to create an attractive environment – you know that what matters most is function, not style.

Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

If you want to be different:
You take time to explore your own thoughts and ideas, but this experience would only be heightened if you opened yourself up even more to others' ideas.

Your faith in yourself and your lifestyle is well-founded, but the occasional foray into the unknown might broaden your perspective and help you see things differently.

how you relate to others

You are Encouraging

Your outgoing nature, understanding of others, and directness make you ENCOURAGING.

You want others to do well for themselves, and you generally believe in their abilities.

You often know what's good for people because of your caring nature and your worldview.

When you care about someone, you don't keep it to yourself: you are good at letting people know that you're thinking of them.

Because you trust people, you take violations of that trust very seriously.

You thrive in social situations, and even though you know who you like and who you don't like, you can interact well with many different types of people.

You have a healthy respect for people who have earned what they have, and you strive to be similar to successful others.

You are a loyal friend and a good listener.

If you want to be different:
Sometimes, in the course of being encouraging, you can be a bit judgmental—this can make it more difficult for others to follow your advice.

While you are an expert at getting the most out of the world and taking advantage of many experiences, you might gain some insight by taking the time to be alone, reflect on things, or just observe the goings-on in the world.

IS there such a thing???

Wildlife Encounters

Or, reason #5 why you NEVER leave your camera at home...

I didn't expect to see anything interesting at my daughter's orthodontist appt this morning, but this little guy was nosing around the back door when we were leaving. You just never know what you'll see, no matter how mundane your plans are :)