National Aviation Day

I dug Bennie's flying memorabilia out, looking for something to photograph for National Aviation Day (which is today) . . . not having a clue that there was a date-appropriate entry in his pilot logbook . . . and that on this date . . . the 19th day of August . . . in the year 1984 . . . Bennie flew his 1948 Beechcraft Bonanza from the airport in Cameron, Texas to the Red Bird Airport near Dallas, Texas . . . he only flew the Bonanza six more times before selling it the following year . . . I can visualize Bennie in the following verse . . . although the vehicle varies . . . sometimes it's an airplane . . . sometimes it's a racecar . . . or sometimes he's riding a horse around the meadows of Heaven . . .

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Then and Now

Well . . . since I did not have a human helper . . . and I could not get the goats or the dog or the cats to help on this project :) . . . this photo shows the set-up I used for photographing my Then & Now photo for The Family Curator's genealogy photo challenge for World Photography Day . . . which is the 19th day of August . . . I started out with my photo holder sitting on the top tier of this little step-ladder . . . but the hot summer breezes soon taught me a lesson . . . and the photo holder toppled over . . . and I had a torn photo! . . . because of the necessity of figuring out a photo holder for this project, I had already decided to use copies instead of originals . . . so the torn photo was not a big deal . . . I wound up using my little Kodak Z1012 for this photo session . . . it frequently malfunctions (zooms in and out and powers off . . . all by itself) . . . so I have not used it in a while . . . but it worked right today . . . and it worked great for this project . . .

Then and Now

This is my 1st attempt at a Then and Now photo . . . I obviously have a lot of work to do to figure out this method . . . I was not going to use this, but then decided to go ahead and journal about my journey thru figuring out this process . . . I tried this with my Canon Rebel T1i . . . did not like the results . . . looks like I need a wide-angle lens (which I do not yet have) . . . and need to take the camera off the auto setting . . . this was one of two photos taken with my little pocket digital camera . . . it has a wide angle setting . . . and it automatically compensates for the depth of field . . . I just did not want to stay outside very long in that 112° heat . . . so did not mess with the whole project more than a few minutes . . . the photo of my Bennie riding Yuma was taken probably 10-15 years ago (need to find the date) . . .

The photo collages (created in Picasa) above and below show the same photo of Bennie riding Yuma . . . and a photo from February of 2010 showing the same pasture across the street from my house . . . in an apparent attempt to help us think cool thoughts, the news guys keep showing video from the Super Bowl Snow Storm of February 2011 . . . so I drug out my snow photos from the year before . . . think snow!

One thing is for sure . . . creating a Then and Now photo in Picasa is a lot easier (and cooler!) than actually doing the photo outside . . . if anyone has any hints on doing these Then and Now photos, I would like to hear them . . . and FYI . . . the weatherman just said that it is still 103° in Dallas as of 9:41 p.m.!

Bricolage :: Flowers for Mothers

Dedicated to anyone missing their Mother today

You scattered beauty as the rose sheds leaves,
My mother, as you journeyed down life's ways.
You wove love's tapestry, as moonlight weaves
Rare shadow-patterns through a silver haze.
You lifted sorrows from the burdened mind,
And comforted the weary and distressed;
With gentle understanding, helpful, kind,
You brought the pain-wracked ease, the weary rest.
And now that you are gone, no monument
Of massive stone, however deftly carved,
Could fittingly portray the strength you lent
The sick and desolate and beauty-starved.
Remembering, I'll plant a thousand flowers
To banish suffering through countless hours.


My Mother
by
Nancy Richey Ranson




Clicking on today's photo will reveal a textured background image created from this photo of dried flowers preserved from my Bennie's memorial service in April of 2010 . . . which, along with a texture from Shadowhouse Creations, was used to create a double-exposure collage in Picasa . . . and was then texturized using IrvanView . . . please do let me know if you use this for a project . . . I would like to see what ideas you come up . . .

Home at Last

Oliver Spain ca. 1959

Upper Right
George Oliver Spain, III
1951 ~ 2008
from the pages of
The 1959 Lair
(Rockdale Yearbook)
Oliver's findagrave memorial page

In Memory of Keith

Arlin Keith Pounders
13 April 1955 ~ 15 April 2011

I would rather sleep in the southern corner
of a little country churchyard
than in the tomb of the Capulets.

Edmund Burke
(1729-1797)

In Memory of Bennie

In memory of
~ Bennie Everhart ~
20 March 1948 ~ 07 April 2010

April Rose

This is this Spring's very first pink bud on the antique Fairy Rose (1932) in my yard . . . I planted it last April, shortly following the death of my husband . . . this bud is about the size of the fingernail on my little finger . . . these miniature roses are just the perfect size for drying for use in tearbottles . . .

Happy Birthday, Miss Ruby

A HISTORY
OF
LEE COUNTY
TEXAS
VOL. II

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
BY
LEE COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION
TO

MRS. RUBY NETTLES VANCE
LIFE LONG RESIDENT OF LEXINGTON
A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION SINCE 1965

Her deep love for preserving history has been her motivation for many years to research and chronicle the histories of Lee County families and events and to share this knowledge through the pages of Lee County publications.

She was instrumental in gathering information for Volume I of the History of Lee County and she has been one of the driving forces in insisting that this continuation of the History be completed.

Researchers will be eternally thankful to Mrs. Vance and to her fellow historian, Mrs. Jan Conn, for their diligent work in compiling a record of every cemetery in Lee County -- listing the wording on many of the grave stones and the location of each grave in all of these cemeteries.

Thank you, Miss Ruby
01 April 1910 ~ 14 April 2003

In Memory of Elfie

Elfriede "Elfie or Frieda" Haf-Concepcion Haf-Serafin
21 March 1933 ~ 21 July 2010

Let me remember only lovely things . . .
The sapphire of the sea, a star adrift,
The spreading glory of the dying day . . .
The clear, blue sky that follows summer rain,
Sweet warbled notes, and sunset's afterglow.
Thus shall I keep the storehouse of my mind
Barred to the gloom that memory often brings;
Beauty will mold each thought that lives with me --
I shall remember only lovely things.

Willa Hoey

Happy Birthday to Gini's Mom

Bennie's Birthdays

Ten years ago today I presented the above gift certificate to my Bennie as a surprise for his 53rd birthday . . . this piece of paper has been in this place on his shop wall since that time . . . it informed him that I was gifting him with the opportunity to take 20 laps in a Winston Cup Stock Car (NASCAR) at Texas Motor Speedway . . . he had a blast! . . .

More than fifteen years before he started racing (1998) on the dirt tracks around Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, et al, Bennie bought a Cessna 150 and earned his private pilot's license . . . he enjoyed the freedom of flying above the earth's surface . . . sooo . . .

For his 1st birthday in Heaven . . . and for the 63rd anniversary of his birth here on this earth . . . I submitted his photo to be included in NASA's Face In Space program . . . click on the following link to view a few related images . . . you still have time to submit a photo to go into space on the final shuttle mission . . .



Bennie & NASA . . . his face in space . . .

Face In Space

Happy Birthday, Aunt Gladys

On the 21st day of February . . . in the year 1913 . . . Gladys Coreen Muston was born in Lee County, Texas . . . one of her five older sisters was my paternal grandma . . . this photograph shows a vintage image of Aunt Gladys from Grandma's photo album . . . I placed it on the February 1913 page in my old perpetual calendar book . . . Aunt Gladys is on your left . . . the girl on the right is probably their youngest sister, Pauline . . .

Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001

Racecars and Hearts

Til death us do part

08 February 1975

Remembering my Dad