Today's Wonder of the World is...Ties! No, sorry. Not that kind. But as long as I'm here...Hey there, my handsome hubby in your wide burgundy tie! Hey Celeste! Hey Stu! Sweetheart, what's with your strange half smile? Are you slightly embarrassed that you and Stu are dressed like Good Humor Ice Cream men? Just kidding! Ha ha.
But back to ties! Neck ties are nice, but I'd like to invite you to ponder with me all the wacky wonderful ways we tie one thing to another.
You know, like Velcro! Flickr photo by David- in Austin I've always wanted to try that! Except maybe not while looking like a clown. Though if you wear a suit of Velcro and stick yourself to a wall, I suppose that qualifies you as a clown, stripes or no stripes!
And then there's bungee cords! Flickr photo by gilligguy I love to say the word bungee. Say it. See how fun that was? And hey! What kind of camping trip was that bungee cord user going on anyway? (I don't know about you, but I don't usually take a headless mannequin in swim trunks with me.)
Then there's good old fashioned rope. Flickr photo by Aphotic Aura That bridge makes me a little nervous. I've watched too many Roadrunner cartoons.
And frog ties! How I love frog ties! Flickr photo by rboyne No! Not tied frogs!
Frog ties! Like this. Flickr photo by kmjeuph
But when it comes to attaching things, it's hard to beat a roll of duct tape. Flickr photo by ironicofoeva Yes! Those prom clothes are made of duct tape! Haven't you ever heard of a duct tape prom scholarship? It's for real! Look HERE and see the amazing finalists! They should go on Project Runway!
My sweetie Sarah has had her own duct tape fun. She and her friends Sarah and Beth went to the Destination Imagination Global Finals a few summers ago, and brought duct tape guitars! Okay, so they didn't attach anything, but they were still cool!
And I love this zipper fish. Flickr photo by raumoberbayern
Call me old fashioned, but my favorite way to tie has got to be the button. Flickr photo by turnsoleluna
Sarah likes them too. A few years ago she hid in her room and did this! If I were a more practical person, I might have been upset. But I'm not always practical. I saw that phone and a tear welled in my eye. "This calls for a BIG HUG!!" I said. My precious baby is a girl after my own heart! I LOVE THAT PHONE! The buttons might not tie anything, but Sarah always keeps the phone tied up! Does that count?
Have a Wonder-Full Thursday, y'all! And be sure to tune in tomorrow if you can! Big Changes are about to happen around my house, and I need all the advice I can get!!
Love, Becky PS. Enjoy this old David Letterman meets Velcro youtube video!
Today's Wonder of the World is...Crepes, Crêpes, and Crapes Fit for A Queen! Flickr photo by jkbaxter612 Who else but a Court Magician could take crepe paper like this
Visiting her blog is like stepping into a jewelry box filled with the most fanciful treasures! She even makes little doll shoes! Amazing!
So now the Queen has her shoes of crepe paper. What about her crown?
Let's hop over to Roses Petite Maison, another enchanted place I love to visit, and let sweet Rosemary crown her with glitter and stars and crepe paper medallions!
How fine!
And don't forget something pretty to carry, with more crepe papery frills!
Now, what about flowers for our queen? Of course...boughs of Crape Myrtle! Let's cut a few branches to make a blossom bouquet! Flickr photo by scilit
Crape myrtles are a true wonder.
Here's a few by a neighbor's driveway.
They come in all different vibrant colors. There's even a grape myrtle! Flickr photo by .:Lee Ann:.
The red ones remind me of something... Flickr photo by CVercher
That's it! It's the burning bush! The bush which burned and burned and never was consumed! The one God used to speak to Moses. Flickr photo by gordonplumb
Those crepe myrtles have been burning..um, blossoming since June, and they're still going strong! And their bark. Now that's a wonder too! Flickr photo by GeekGolfer If God is speaking to me through Crape Myrtles, God must be saying, "Enjoy my Wonders! They're for you!"
Either that, or God's saying, "Don't commit Crape Murder! Read Southern Living's article HERE and stop chopping my dear trees to pieces." Or maybe that's just me talking.
But I've forgotten all about our Queen! She must be famished! What else should we feed her but crêpes, of course! Sammy has crêpes at the ready. He's happy to share his recipe here, in case you have a queen or king reclining on your sofa, waiting to be fed.
Why look! Here are the commoners, eating the left overs! Yum!
Today's Wonder of the World is...Tubes! And All Things Tubular! Flickr photo by bitzi Isn't that the most beautiful picture of straws you've ever seen? Great job, bitzi!
Here's another sucky thing. It's the one that inspired this post. Flickr photo by skippy haha Just in case you live in a country where people actually use their legs and walk into a bank instead of living in their cars, allow me to introduce this to you. This, my friend, is a vacuum tube machine (sorry, I don't know the official word for this thingamajig) for making deposits and withdrawals from the bank drive through.
Not too long ago, someone asked my nine year old what kind of things he likes. Did he say throwing baseball, or riding his bike, or spying on his older brother and sister when they had their teenage friends over? No. Sam said, "You know those sucky things at the drive through's at banks? The things that they put your money in and send them over to you in a tube? I LOVE those things!"
It got me thinking how unique Sammy is. It also got me thinking about tubes.
I'm the daughter of a drainage engineer, and I'm married to a Michelin man, so I've got to like tubes! (Think drainage pipes and inner tubes.)
But you know what my favorite tube is? Flickr photo by langnewspaper Yum! Oh man. I want some now. I will try to distract myself with other tubes that I like.
I'm also crazy about this flower, now that I've discovered it. Flickr photo by Rainer Fritz Look carefully. The petals are all tubes!
I used to be a chemistry teacher. So naturally I like test tubes. These days I like them best holding flowers! Flickr photo by ryansmintheus
I also like tubing! Flickr photo by bearfont
But I'm a little scared to ride a tube like this. Flickr photo by metalsnowski
Although if I got washed up on the shore, maybe I'd find one of these. Even with decorated with the artful workings of a tube worm! Flickr photo by Perk's Pics After all I do love scallops. I wouldn't let a little tube worm scare me. And besides, when I was in London in college, I went underground through my own little tunnels. As in The Tube! When I think of it that way, I was kind of like a tube worm. Flickr photo by London SLR
I also enjoy remembering tube tops. Flickr photo by babyburd No, not those! Although they are kind of pretty.
I meant a tube top like this: Flickr photo by senoritahollywood Apparently they're back now! And you know what tube tops remind me of?
The boob tube! Flickr photo by The Nixer Sorry! That's what we always called it in my house growing up. Maybe because if you watch it too much, it turns you into a complete boob. Unless you're watching Project Runway, or Ace of Cakes, or The Next Food Network Star, of course!
Can you think of any other tubes you like? Ones you see in food, art, nature, or whatever? Oh! I know another! Those tubular ducts in my house that carry my air conditioning! It's supposed to be 98 degrees today, so I'm LOVING them!
Today's Wonder of the World is...the Mask! Who is that Masked Man? I believe it's Zorro! Carrying a bag of Halloween candy! Ben discovered Zorro in France. Don't you love the mustache? I had to buy a new bottle of mascara after that, but it was worth it!
We love masks around our house. Here's a few on a wall beside Sam's room. Ben made the bottom one in Art a couple years ago. Sarah made the middle one when she was in first grade. (Love the pipe cleaner earrings!) And the top one I bought because I go ape over smiling cats with people teeth. I take them down from the wall sometimes when Sam has friends for a sleepover. Sam hardly notices them anymore, but some kids find them spooky-ooky, as my nephew Luke would say.
Back in our French life, Ben wore a mask on Wednesday afternoons at his fencing class. Usually he wore the whole suit, but this was just a Skewer Your Family at Fencing day. He's about to turn his sister into a kabob. Not really.
Ben also liked collecting gas masks at the flea market. It was the only way I could trick him into going with me.
I have an amazing friend Doug Berky who makes unbelievable masks, and tells stories with them. Find out more about him HERE.
When he puts them on, Doug becomes the mask.
I probably should try to say something profound about how many times we wear masks in life and take them off when we feel safe. But I don't feel very profound right now. (I just spent a few hours fussing at my sewing machine because that thing is out to get me. Or at least to make me crazy.) So let's not be profound, okey doke? Let's just look at creatures with masks permanently attached.
You won't believe this one! Flickr photo by donariel. A spider, with a smiling sun on his back!
And how about this beetle? He looks like he's wearing an African mask. Flickr photo by gripspix I think he's beautiful. As long as he's not crawling on me!
Sometimes flowers have mask faces. Flickr photo by thiagoleon.
And owls. Flickr photo by ianmichaelthomas
And birds! Flickr photo by wine buff
And Lucha Libre wrestlers!
And tell me, do you like masks, or do they creep you out? Do you have a favorite mask from childhood? My favorite mask is an old yellow Power Ranger one that Ben picked out after doing #2 in the potty for the first time. Sorry if this is too much information for you, people. And sorry, Ben, if you're reading this, which you never do. I don't usually post potty training stories about you. I only write about what a beast you are! (Beast is a compliment in Ben language.)
I love that mask because it reminds me of little Ben and how he'd wear it while striking his Power Ranger poses, not realizing or caring until four years later that he was wearing the girl Power Ranger costume. Somehow he didn't notice the pink lipstick.
Today's Wonder of the World is...Passionate Television--Reality Style! Hey Tim! Hey Heidi! I'm making it work, Tim! I really am!
And no, People Who Have Yet To Discover The Wonder of Reality TV, I didn't fall and hit my head. Have you ever watched Project Runway, or The Next Food Network Star, or Ace of Cakes? Haven't you? YOU MUST DO IT! THAT'S AN ORDER. Pretty Please.
I turned my nose up at those shows until a year or so ago. I thought all reality television was trash TV, like this. Recognize that icon? Maybe not, unless you watched Loft Story in Franceor its evil twin in Canada. (Actually they're both evil.) Loft Story made big news in France back in spring of 2001. I watched a few episodes out of curiosity, but afterwards I always felt the need to take a bath. Let's just say it was a little too passionate. Tacky, tacky, tacky, mes amis.
But then last year I had a revelation! B.R. (Before Revelation) I hardly ever watched TV. I was too busy writing, mothering, reading, and whatever else I do that gets undone a few hours later.
People would tell me about Project Runway, or America's Next Top Model and I'd think of Loft Story and roll my eyes.
It's not that I was a TV snob. I'd had my love affairs with TV shows. I'd been through the addictions, breaking out in a sweat when they'd split town and leave me hanging, craving just one more episode! Over the years I've had my share of lovers: West Wing, Law and Order, Northern Exposure, Cheers, and Murder She Wrote. (Stop laughing, you young whippersnappers!) I understood how people could become addicted to TV. But to reality TV?
Weren't there better ways to spend their time? Like...I don't know...clipping strangers' toenails or helping squirrels cross the street?
Then I watched my first Project Runway. I nearly cried. I had the urge to call up everyone I knew and beg them to watch this show! Hey Christian! (He's so fierce.) Here were these wildly talented people, competing in ridiculously impossible challenges, showing off their creativity in unbelievable ways! Such passion for their art! Such dedication! Such tattoos!
So now I'm an addict. And be afraid. There are plenty of others just like me.
Like my new friend Beth. Hey there Beth! People, this is Reverend Beth Templeton. She is an AMAZING person who runs United Ministries, a non-profit organization here in Greenville/Greer, and I've been wanting to meet her ever since we moved here in 1990.
I finally got my chance a couple of weeks ago! We sat beside each other at a Meet The Authors thingy at the 2008 national conference for the Church and Synagogue Library Association. She was there to talk about her soon to be released book, Loving our Neighbor, A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty, and she also teaches a seminar I've been wanting to attend: Helping Others: Servant or Sucker. (Read more about her and her philosophy HERE) We had a little time to chat as the crowds ebbed and flowed, so you'd think that I might ask her one or two of my hundreds of questions.
Oh no I didn't.
Guess what we talked about.
That dress! Don't think I'm shallow. Don't think I don't care. But people, this is A DRESS MADE OUT OF A PLASTIC TABLECLOTH, LETTUCE, AND TOMATOES! Can you believe it?!
It turns out she's addicted to Project Runway too! Once we started talking, we couldn't stop! People were waiting to talk to us, and we tried to ignore them. (Actually she didn't. And neither did I. Mostly.) But the minute they walked away, we moved on to this dress made out of plastic cups! Plastic cups! Don't get the wrong idea. Usually they use fabric, and make the dress (or whatever) within 24 hours, WITH NO PATTERN OR ANYTHING! JUST THEIR OWN INCREDIBLE BRAINS! For this particular challenge they had to buy all their materials from the grocery store. Oh, how I wish there was a rerun on right now. It gets me so juiced (did I just say that?) to see such passion and skill for art!
And just when I thought I could handle adding one reality show to my busy schedule, my brother Steve introduced me to Ace of Cakes! It's not a contest show, just a documentary- like hour of cake amazement from Charm City Cakes on the Food Network. Here's a few examples of their work.
Amazing, huh? The whole cast of characters are wonderfully quirky and hilarious. And they love their jobs. And their art! And the cakes are entirely edible. People say they're delicious!
But this post isn't over yet! (Sorry, I'm OD-ing on the exclamation points, but they're absolutely necessary.)
Just last week at the beach I discovered a brand new show (new to me anyway!) It was raining and Sam and I were flipping through channels. Guess what else I found on the Food Network?! No, not Paula Dean eating a sausage and donut sandwich! Besides that!
The Next Food Network Star! And they were having a marathon of all their shows! Sam and I watched every one. I even let him stay up the other night to find out the winner. It made us both grouchy but it was worth it! Take a look and you'll see what I mean.
I think what attracts me to these programs is the same thing that attracts me to you lovely bloggers out there. You are so passionate about painting or sewing or tatting or design or writing or collage work or mothering or teaching or whatever you do...and YOUR TALENT INSPIRES ME! I am in awe of what you can do. Not only that you can do it, but that you DO IT! You find the courage to try! And that gives me the courage to try as well.
So thank you! And I hope to see you on a TV Reality show one day!
And don't worry. I will sign up for Beth's seminar. Maybe then I'll show restraint and ask my questions. But I should probably wait until Season Five of Project Runway is over, just in case!
Have a Wonder-Full Weekend, y'all! And tell me, how do you feel about these kinds of shows? Which ones do you love? Hate? (Perish the thought!) And has anyone ever watched Groomer Has It? Beth says it's great!
