Weekly Winners Sunday Meme

My daughter and her boyfriend at the Flaming Lips Alley Dedication.
They marched in Oklahoma City at night and Wayne of Flaming Lips
walked in his plastic ball. They carried lit tiki torches. There were
about 1000 skeletons. Anyway as many as the fire marshall would allow!
They had a blast! She sent me this picture.

The trees above and below are around our town.
Bradford pears and maples.

I took a trip to T-town.

Utica Square. Where Williams Sonoma is located.
This is the prettiest shopping center in T-town.

They even have phone booths from Great Britain!
These phone booths and these big clocks below are
located all over the square.

Our house from the beginning of the week.
The wind and the weather changed so quickly
that the leaves' colors turned and then began
to fall. The wind blew rather hard one day
and night.


The leaves they are a'changing.


I do love the crunchy sound that walking on fallen
leaves make. My husband raked and burned some
leaves today. See--we live in the country, you can
do that!



Kissa found a new place to lounge and hide.


I thought it was my bathroom haven.
But maybe it is hers now?
You can join this fun group by visiting
Lotus who created it.
We will be posting on Sundays our pictures
that we have taken the week before. There
is also a link in my sidebar. See8

Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

John Newton (played by Albert Finney in Amazing Grace) wrote the words to one of the most beloved hymns of all time between 1760 and 1770, while working as an evangelical pastor. Son of the commander of a merchant ship, Newton was captain of a slave ship for many years, until he underwent a dramatic religious conversion while steering his vessel through a storm.

November Pay It Forward Book Exchange- 19 books up for grabs!

This is a project of Overwhelmed With Joy. Many books are up for grabs. There are lots of people participating in the giveaways each month. Go on over and check it out!
I have a book I will be giving away soon. It is Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

Girl With a Pearl Earring

This was found here on the author, Tracy Chevalier's website about her book Girl With a Pearl Earring. I read the book a few years ago. I think it is very interesting to imagine the story behind the painting. Here is what Tracy says:

"Little is known about Vermeer. For a start, we don't know what he looked like. There are no confirmed images of him, though in one of his early works, The Procuress, a man looks out at the viewer from the edge of the scene, which in Dutch painting of the time was often the artist himself. In The Art of Painting a painter sits with his back to us. We don't know if it's meant to be Vermeer, but it gives us an idea of what an artist in his studio might have looked like.
The few known facts about Vermeer's life come from legal documents, of marriages and births and sales and debts. The son of innkeepers, he was born in 1632 in Delft, a town of about 25,000 people best known for its blue and white glazed earthenware. He spent all of his life there, though he may have done a six-year painting apprenticeship elsewhere, possibly in Amsterdam or Utrecht."


"In 1653 Vermeer converted to Catholicism and married Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic from a well-off bourgeois family. They had eleven surviving children. The family lived in the house of Maria Thins, Vermeer's mother-in-law, in an area off the main Market Square known as Papists' Corner because of the concentration of Catholics living there. Only 20% of the population were Catholic; the rest were Protestant. Catholics were tolerated but barred from municipal functions and required to worship privately. There were two "hidden" churches in Delft, one right next door to Maria Thins' house."


The book was made into a movie. I have watched the movie. Colin Firth plays Vermeer and Scarlett Johannson is Griet. Tracy Chevalier had this to say about the film.
"It was strange too to see that my scribbling had spawned a whole industry of Vermeer boffins - there were reproductions of Vermeers and other Dutch paintings tacked up everywhere in the production offices, and books strewn about that I myself had read for research. I confess it was rather gratifying to have Colin Firth elbow someone out of the way in the set canteen so that he could sit next to me at lunch and grill me about Vermeer. Someone else also turned to me in the canteen and said, 'Do you realise that your idea is paying all these people's wages for two months?' Yes, surreal it was."

Here is an excerpt from the book:
He got another of the lion-head chairs and set it close to his easel but sideways so it faced the window. "Sit here."
"What do you want, sir?" I asked, sitting. I was puzzled--we never sat together. I shivered, although I was not cold.
"Don't talk." He opened a shutter so that the light fell directly on my face. "Look out the window." He sat down in
his chair by the easel. I gazed at the New Church tower and swallowed. I could feel my jaw tightening and my eyes
widening. "Now look at me." I turned my head and looked at him over my left shoulder. His eyes locked with mine.
I could think of nothing except how their grey was like the inside of an oyster shell. He seemed to be waiting for
something. My face began to strain with the fear that I was not giving him what he wanted. "Griet," he said softly.
It was all he had to say. My eyes filled with tears I did not shed. I knew now. "Yes. Don't move."
He was going to paint me.

Housewarming for Juliebug and Tigger too

SCROLL DOWN FOR HOUSEWARMING GIFTS
UNDERNEATH THESE "OKLAHOMA" POSTS
NOVEMBER 16, 1907-2007
46th STATE!

"Flowers on the prairie where the JUNE bugs zoom"

John Schneider and Pam Dawber sing

Oklahoma, what a great state!

Oklahoma's 100th Birthday

The Oklahoma Statehood Stamp features a familiar landscape of an Oklahoma sunrise, with the sun rising from beyond a river flowing through a valley of high plains terrain. Stamp designer Mike Larsen, of Chickasaw ancestry, captures this tranquil Oklahoma scene. Also, the stamp pays homage to 1943 hit Broadway musical Oklahoma! by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. with the caption, “Oh, what a beautiful mornin’…” The musical’s signature song doubles as Oklahoma’s state song.

OKLAHOMA!

Brand new state!
Brand new state, gonna treat you great!
Gonna give you barley, carrots and pertaters,
Pasture fer the cattle,
Spinach and termayters!
Flowers on the prarie where the June bugs zoom,
Plen'y of air and plen'y of room,
Plen'y of room to swing a rope!
Plen'y of heart and plen'y of hope.
Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma,
Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk
Makin' lazy circles in the sky.
We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine,
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.
Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma,
Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk
Makin' lazy circles in the sky.
We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say
Yeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine,
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.

Housewarming for Juliebug and Tigger too

Housewarming Day for Julie at Another Chance Ranch.
I am giving her six of these chairs to put on her beautiful porch!
I think they will go nicely with her ranch style hacienda.

The party is also for Tiggerlane.
I have chosen this great Francis Francis Expresso maker to warm her house
and her heart. I hope it gives her much pleasure this winter.



This Housewarming Party is hosted by Swampy.
You can head over there to her place to see all the other gifts
being bestowed by other guests.
Let's give a big round of applause for Swampy!

Free Rice.com

I found this over at Donna's and played it. I got up to 600 grains before I got tired. It was late. I saw something about this on the news. They donate rice to feed the hungry if you play. The sponsors at the bottom of the page pay. I noticed Macy's as one of the sponsors. I did pretty good hovering around 40, got up to 46, and went back down to 40. The words are hard but if you think about the prefixes and roots you can figure them out. They take away points for missing but they don't take away the grains you are winning. Anyway, you can play here or over in my sidebar click Free Rice dot com.

Oklahoma Rising - 2007 Centennial

Happy Birthday Oklahoma

Oklahoma Rising

Happy 100th Birthday Oklahoma!! May God bless us all.

Fish Swim to Music

Fish Swim to Music from Junebug57 on Vimeo.

I was filming the fish as my hubby was rocking on his guitar
in another room. I only later noticed I picked up the sound. :D

Spunky the Wonder Dog, the Saga continues...

Here, of course, is Spunky as a little tyke. He didn't stay that way long though.

Here is Spunky, all grown up, happy-go-lucky guy that he was.
Spunky had a touch of the ol' OCD though, had to have things
in their place, especially the cats. He was a control freak, if
they just moved, he was ready to pounce on them. And the
funny thing was, he couldn't wait for them to move so he
could punish this behavior. He was a small dictator, much
like Hitler. Probably in his blood...and bones.

Spunky had quirky little habits. He was rather fond of turtle
soup, minus the soup. He had them "turtles on the half shell"
instead. No box turtle or terrapin was safe in our yard. I have
rescued many a turtle when I could. He would have them down,
cracking them open with his teeth, and carrying them from
place to place, and start the process of crackation. Like my new
word? I would have to take the turtles down the road for a
short trip away from our yard if there was to be any hope of
their survival. If I would just toss them over the fence, Spunky
was on them in a few seconds. He was a master escapee (a
whole other story). So whenever I mowed the grass on my riding
lawn mower, there Spunky would be running up and down in
front of, behind, or beside me. Pacing away, one of his favorite
pasttimes. I think he needed replacement soles on his feet.
He could travel for miles.....and that is another story....
.....to be continued........

Paul McCartney Blackbird 1975

Blackbird fly, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Wordless Wednesday-Ziggy

Jars Of Clay- Worlds Apart

Ok maybe this is my favorite one after all. Do you ever feel how can people come up with just one more excellent song? I am always amazed. "Did you really have to die for me?" I am so glad He did.

Jars of Clay - Love Song for a Saviour (Live)

I think this is my favorite Jars of Clay song.

I won a contest!!

Look at what I won in a contest. There are pretty Christmas cards and tags.
This lovely prize came from Tamara at TP Designs.
She handmakes these cards and tags. Go check out her site for Christmas!
Thank you very much Tamara.

The Notebook Video , After All by Peter Cetera and Cher

Wasn't this a great movie and book?

Friendship

"They color my life with the beautiful hues of friendship. Although we come from different backgrounds and cultures we share the same spirit of friendship."

I received this beautiful "Friendship" award from very nice blogger friend Kila. I have only been blogging since September of this year and I have met so many wonderful blogging friends. Everyone has been so helpful to me. (and I needed much help) I am enjoying blogging so much. I am never at a loss so far for something to say. The wonderful thing with a blog is you can say whatever your heart desires. That's freedom. And then the lucky thing about it is you might have people read it and comment. Bonus!!! Then of course you feel validated and necessary in this life. Well, I may be putting to much emphasis on this, 'cause my real value and acceptance comes from God, but blog comments are like the icing on the cake. You could do without it, but it makes it much sweeter and adds a final touch. I would like to pass this award on to some new "friends." My first person that I came into contact with and who has encouraged me was Janet. Her sister Donna is also an encouragement to me. Not to get carried away here but there are so many I could give this award to: bluemomma, extremely nice to me, humbleorigins, I see her being a friend every place I visit, Sandy, another friend who is always there. Here is another Janet who I like to call Janet Planet, she has been much help to me. I could go on and on, last but not least Robin. I joined two of her groups, Fun Monday (which just being a part of has gained me many blogger visits) and the poetry group. There are others that I could mention that have already been given this award by someone else. I am happy to have met all of you.