Earthrise

40 years ago today the world got a first hand look at how small our home is compared to the vastness of space. Earthrise was taken by astronaut William Anders on board Apollo 8 as it circled the moon on Christmas Eve, 1968. Isn’t she beautiful?

Pink Paisley Telecaster

I fell in love with this guitar when I first saw it a few months ago, and when circumstances worked out, it became my birthday present today. It’s a Fender Pink Paisley Telecaster, 1968 Reissue, Crafted in Japan instrument and is nearly as high in quality as American made Fenders. It tuned up very nicely, … Read more

3 Things That Make Me Happy

It’s been a stress-filled day (month) and while (finally) taking a break this evening I read Wil’s very apt words of wisdom: I remembered something someone said to me many, many years ago. I forget the precise wording, but the suggestion was to take a moment every day to identify three different things that I … Read more

Missouri Meanderings 2008

Missouri Meanderings 2008 All of the postings from our October 2008 trip to St Louis, presented as one long article, in correct chronological order. Table of Contents Fleming Park, Fall 2008 Sunset Over the Mississippi Hannibal Fall Colors Views of the Gateway Arch Lily Ponds, Tower Grove Park Misc Mississippi Fall 2008 St Louis Scenes … Read more

Lindsborg Holiday Lights 2008

We took a drive around town last night and ended up with a few photos of homes nicely decorated for the holidays. I had noticed how warm it was on Sunday evening (high 40s) but it was too late to go out. Last night, it was still warm, so we took off right after eating. … Read more

Friday Flickr Fun

Saw this and it’s easy and fun, so here you go: It works like this: if you use Flickr, go to the sixth page of your photostream and pick the sixth picture there, then post it to your blog. The photo below is of one of the water lilies at Tower Grove Park in St. … Read more

A Rare Occurrence

From what I read, this particular conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the Moon won’t happen for another 44 years. Here’s hoping I’ll be here for the encore! I have to admit, if I had realized just how rare tonight’s gathering was I would have tried for a more scenic location than a city parking lot, … Read more

St Louis Scenes

Here’s the final set of images from our trip to Missouri and St Louis last month. Nothing spectacular here, but I wanted to share some of the photos we took, mostly at the largest park in St Louis, Forest Park. Additional images on flickr.

Xaviere XV-700 Natural Flamed Maple

I got my first Les Paul style guitar today, in the form of an XV-700 from Xaviere. It’s finished in natural flamed maple on a mahogany body. Xaviere is sold by the Guitar Fetish company, who are best known for their guitar pickups and other accessories. The XV-700 is a very low-cost guitar, coming in … Read more

Southwest Rub

This is a great dry rub for beef; we’ve been using it on flatiron steaks with great success. I temporarily misplaced the recipe, so when I found it I decided it was time to share (plus now I know where to find it in the future!) Southwest Rub 2 Tbs chili powder 2 Tbs brown … Read more