Beads a Flying!

I amassed plenty of beads during the parade. We were right on the front row and I was hoping to get a shot of some in mid-air headed towards me. I didn't get that shot, but here's this one.

Groovy Girl

The next installment in the parade series. Groovy girl was having a good time!

Potato Truck

 

As seen at the Saint Patrick's Day parade. This was one of the funnier floats.

 

I had to include both shots!

Flag Man

After Hoopla Girl, you now see Flag Man. He didn't generate the same response from the crowd (open-mouthed gazers), but he was still an interesting figure.

Pied Piper of Jackson

St. Paddy's Parade at Jackson on Sat. afternoon. I had an opportunity to get some interesting shots during the event.

The Caring Hands

This time of year is the perfect time to show the community that you care. I joined the Caring Hands recently to prepare and serve a dinner to women and children at a local shelter. My colleagues and I enjoyed the fellowship of the women and the playfulness of the children.

Walt-nado

I was invited to see The Case of the Birthday Surprise by Mississippi Murder Mysteries at no charge a few weeks back in exchange for some publicity photos. I took these during the shows, so I couldn't use the flash. Although this isn't one of the best photos from that session, I like the effect of one of the characters hanging some police tape around "the body". I call it the Walt-nado.

Eudora Welty Series

The three readings for the Eudora Welty New Play Series went great this weekend. The play I read for came in second place with a cash prize of $250. I wish it would have come in first, but the good news is a local theater group will probably produce it next year. I feel proud to have been the first Diane in Jackson anyway. It was a lot of fun!

Halloween: Trick or Treat!

Who could give a trick to such an adorable cowboy? We had quite a few kids stop by for Halloween last weekend, but our neighbor's little boy was particularly cute.

Die Miternaechters

Besides the food and drink, there was plenty of other entertainment at the Germanfest - including the (locally) famous Miternaechters. We enjoyed a few stanzas of the Chicken Polka - known to Germans as the Duck Dance. There were even a few authentic German folk songs, although my husband had a hard time understanding their "southern" accents (and I'm not talking about Bavaria here). It was a lot of fun though and I applaud the band for wearing real lederhosen. I don't need to hear the chicken polka for awhile though. Once per year, or less, is plenty for me.

Germanfest!

My husband and I finally made it to the Germanfest this year. The past two years, it has been the same weekend as the Viking Classic (the PGAs only stop in Mississippi) so we chose golf over beer and bratwurst. But I'm really glad we went this year.

It was not a large festival and I think my husband was probably the only authentic German there, but people seemed to be having a great time. Bales of hay were provided as seating, but some others brought their own chairs. This guy is obviously a Deutschophile - I just had to get a sly picture of him with his flag and the hat with all the real Oktoberfest flare.

Check back tomorrow for another look at Germanfest.

Mr Barista II

Simon is a barista at the Cups in the French Quarter. He makes a mean cappuccino with nice foamy milk, just like I like it. I invited him to stop by my blog sometime, hopefully he will!

Pollyanna

This is going to be my last show for awhile. My golf has really been suffering from the overabundance of theater!

I played Monique, the local French townsperson. I'm not sure why a French lady would move to Beldingsville, Vermont. But I decided that every small town in the 1910s had a local saloon with dancing girls. Monique was obviously needed to teach them the can-can and to dispense fashion advice. (Of course that was not really in the script). This is my third time to play a French woman, I guess I should be thankful I have that special skill. It was a lot of fun though and I hope to work with some of the cast again, there were many talented people.

An Evening of Laughs

As most of you probably know, my two main passions are golf and theater. Last night I did a show with Mississippi Murder Mysteries - we're a group that goes around and performs different shows in restaurants. At the end, the guests have to guess whodunnit and the winners receive a prize.

I don't know if this is a first in MMM history - but last night NO ONE guessed who the murderer was. I guess that means we all were good at looking guilty - except the real guilty one! These are some of the performers enjoying dinner after the show.

The Annabelle II

Since I showed you our hostess from the Belle of the Bends, I thought I'd also show our host from Anabelle. He was quite spiffy and very accomodating!

Happy Friday everyone! I'm going to be out of town again, this time in Germany so I should be able to get online. I'll be putting some of the days on auto post though. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Belle of the Bends II

This was our lovely hostess of the Belle of the Bends. She was gracious enough to pose with one of our German guests. She gave a presentation on floral arrangement as part of the tour, but none of those pictures came out as well as this one.

Thank you!!!

Ms Barista

There's a new coffee shop in town - Sneaky Beans! It's right in the heart of Fondren and will probably rival the Cups that is just a few blocks away. This barista kindly agreed to let me take her photo while at work. I'll show you more of Sneaky beans tomorrow.

The Caring Hands

Last week a group of volunteers from my work went to feed the women and children at a local shelter. It was a lot of hard work - but fun and rewarding too! We asked our colleagues to bring in a prepared dish that could be easily heated up for a potluck style dinner. Some people had different ideas of what can be easily heated, but in the end things worked out and the shelter's residents got plenty to eat that night with enough leftovers for the entire week! We also had a food/supply drive to help stock them up for the future. One person can change the world - even if it's only a little.

Mr Barista

For some reason I think it's strange that male coffee artists are called baristas - I think it's my French language influence. Why not baristos? I would think that Italian also has gender specifc titles the same as French since they are both Latin languages.

In any case, this barista was kind enough to let me snap his photo. He was worried about his hair and clothes, but I think he looks quite cool. Unfortunately, I forgot to get his name. Perhaps he'll be there next time and I'll pass on a link to my blog.

100 Strangers

I decided to post this as part of Birmingham Alabama's 100 Strangers challenge. These are some of the winners of last Friday's Bingo game who graciously posed for me and the club photographer. I believe the woman in the blue windsuit was the night's big winner.