Delivery, made me laugh and birthday noms

- Personally delivering a small print job during afternoon rush hour and feeling a little beleaguered after the hour it took me to drive it to a woman's home in the outer 'burbs. But the look on her face when she saw her baby's birth announcements made it all worthwhile. She was delighted and he is a fine looking fellow, isn't he?

- A bumper sticker on the car in front of me reads, "I hope God isn't too picky." :)

- It's my sister's birthday and I am traveling to Thomasville, Georgia to celebrate with the family tonight. We are going to a place in which she says the salmon was so good last time, she told the waiter that she wanted to "lick her plate!" I hope they have that this time.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

Boop, rescue and fun name

- Poor kitty! It's Random Photo Thursday. :)

- Friend Leisa rescuing me from my angst in trying to get labels to format for a mass mailing I do every year. She pretty much did it. Thanks friend! And I got a kick out of her three dogs spotting me from outside, one by one. They lined up at the door with tails wagging. "We've got company!!!"

- And later, at a neighborhood pub, choosing a drink called "I Have a Babysitter Mojito" based on its fun name.

Cool prop, viceroy and comfort food

- Co-worker Nick's motorcycle, after being stolen, recovered and then considered "totaled" by the insurance company. Looks OK to me. He placed it in the nether regions of the printing warehouse for safekeeping for now. I use it to prop on when making private phone calls. :)

- Playing "Words with Friends" with a former co-worker and a (missing) blog friend. And a little thrill yesterday when I played a 72 point word and WWF named me the "Viceroy of Vocabulary." Woo hoo! Isn't "viceroy" a fun word?

- Fake meatloaf and real mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (swoon) at the natural food grocery hot food bar. Comfort food and the couch at the end of a long day.

Daddy don't sing!, gesture and wild honey

- I love the Avett Brothers and in this video, Scott Avett tries to sing "Just a Closer Walk (With Thee)" with charming results. So funny. :)

- They must be the nicest band in the world. There was a concert two weeks ago in Atlanta at a venue that was apparently over sold, disappointing a lot of fans who couldn't get in. So they have a letter on their website offering them free admission to an October concert in nearby Tennessee. Lovely.

- My friend Whitney posted the video above on facebook. She has a wonderful food blog now, Wild Honey, and I love her post about making a giant birthday cookie for her wee niece. You can check it out here.

Henrietta, losing track of time and good neighbors

- A member of my church, from Ghana by birth, speaks about her efforts to promote food preservation in her native country and brings a Ghanaian dish to the luncheon - a groundnut (peanut) stew. Delicious.

- My sister calls while in port from her cruise with husband and friends up the east coast. They are in Bar Harbor, Maine, this day. She is having so much fun that she doesn't even know it is Sunday.

- Neighbors rallying around a man who has broken his leg, by taking food over and taking shifts walking his dog.

Out of town, future chefs and rumble

A last look at summer on the first day of autumn...

- Calling a client and hearing music, chatter and tinkling sounds in the background. She says, "Do you mind calling me back next week? I'm in Barcelona."

- Students from the culinary school near home in their white chef coats, looking ghostly in the darkness as they walk from the bus to get an early morning start to their day.

- The rumble of a helicopter gliding through the darkness overhead, red and blue lights twinkling.

Sights and sounds - some from far away. I hope beautiful sights and sounds are in store for you this weekend, my friends!

Lunch, two nice people and saving $$$

In the span of 30 minutes - three good things...

- Going to Georgia State University for a work errand and to the pizza and pasta cafe at My Old School (cue background song from Steely Dan) for a take out lunch. You can still get (what I call) a bucket of pasta with marinara sauce for $4. I guess that's what causes that Freshman 15. :)

- On the way there, hearing Garrison Keillor on NPR giving the "Writers' Almanac" on the radio with the information that it's the birthday (September 21) of the creator of Penguin Books, Sir Allen Lane, known for popularizing the printing of great novels and books bound by paper, making them more accessible and affordable. Many of Keillor's books have been published by Penguin and a true testament to his niceness: my niece's friend has a distribution position at Penguin in New York and he made a special trip there to thank her for all her work on his behalf.

- Finding a parking place with 8 minutes left on the meter in downtown Atlanta. Sweet.

Want cake, strawberry rose and yum

- Ms. Kelly Funster, of the Funster family of Austin, Texas, outside Jason's Deli, spotting some cake she might like to have. Yes - that is friend Jannie Funster's daughter, eying that cake.

- Isn't that pretty? Jannie described it as "like a strawberry rose." Hmmm - there is a Jason's Deli near my house, too.

- Jannie reports that she and Kelly enjoyed that cake and Jannie took the rare opportunity to have caffeinated coffee in the afternoon.

All photos by Jannie Funster yesterday in Austin, TX while Lynn was pushing printing in the ATL. :)

Thanks to delightful Jannie and Kelly for providing some pics for today. (xoxoxo!) If you haven't checked out Jannie's blog, you are in for a treat! If you are a regular commenter over there, you get your own badge. Very cool.

The High, multi-tasking and pedicure

- Too bad that blue sky over The High Museum of Art in Atlanta couldn't be bottled.

- A woman running in the park, pushing a baby carriage (complete with sleeping baby), talking on her cellphone, with a smiling leashed dog in tow who is trotting along with her. A great display of multi-tasking.

- A late afternoon pedicure, and choosing a color that made me smile, "Can you tapas this?" OPI nail polish chooses such whimsical names for their colors - this one was a lovely shade of wine/raisin.

Ballpark, the field and view from The Ted

- The Braves lost on Sunday, but the ballpark experience at Turner Field (aka "The Ted") was lovely. A blue sky day, cheering home town fans and families having a good time together. The little blond boys to my right ate their weight in cotton candy and peanuts.

- The view from the seats.

- An early exit when the writing was on the wall. :) That gold dome straight ahead is the Georgia State Capitol building. Click to enlarge.

Playing piano, talk louder and perfect weather

- This is a great story - an elderly couple walk into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spot a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance - love his bounce and how she keeps smiling toward the camera. We are only as old as we feel, it's all attitude.

- My hairdresser and I have something of a who's on first conversation, causing me to explain my hearing issues (from too many loud concerts, most likely), after he cuts my Justin Bieber-length bangs. How much? He either says $7 or $17; he repeats it a second time, and the third time says "SEVEN!" As I leave he debates having a beer and says, "Because I'm thirsty or it's Thursday - take your pick." Wise guy. :)

- A surprise invitation from friend Lori to see the Atlanta Braves play the New York Mets on Sunday, which promises to be a perfect weather day, with a high of 79 degrees.

I hope you have wonderful weather and good things happen to you this weekend, my friends!

Foggy morning, protector and in the crate

It's Random Photo Thursday...there are three of them today.

- The Hiawassee River on a foggy morning. I put this one first so I can pull it up and look at it a lot today. So peaceful.

- My sister and brother-in-law's dog Moby when he was still kind of a pup. I only see him once a month, but we are pals. He has a ferocious bark and when I drove up last visit, he ran around the house with his gruff bark. I opened my car door, stuck my head out, and said, "It's Aunt Lynn!" He immediately came over and put his head under my hand for petting. But when my sis came out, he realized he had forgotten his job as protector of the family, backed up and started barking again. :)

- A client's baby, who had crawled into the family dog's crate. Such a change from my first visit, when she was a newborn - I was presented with the giant pump bottle of hand sanitizer and had already been asked to remove my shoes outside the front door (which I gamely did.) Oh how times have changed. :)

Smile sign, alternative transportation and books

Photo by Jesse P. using Smartphone

- A sign seen by two friends, Jesse and Eric, at lunch yesterday. Jesse presented their two possible interpretations:

1. Don't go up to customers devoid of warm emotion, be full! (Eric)
2. Don't be lazy, carry stuff, pick up stuff off tables. (Jesse)

They asked one of the waiters. It was 2, but I like 1 better.

- Walking up to a building for a meeting and encountering a young lady getting off a little silver scooter. She is wearing a red skirt and matching red helmet and cool glasses. I almost tell her she will be a Good Thing, but decide the explanation is too long and possibly alarming.

- I am supposed to be reading two books for my two different book groups, "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. But I am enjoying the delightfully predictable "Folly Beach" by Dorothea Benton Frank. Sometimes a lighthearted book is just what the doctor ordered. :)

Big 'ol squirrel, no lie and fortune cookie day

- Getting a kick out of the artwork in front of the art building at my old school - Georgia State University. This one is entitled, "6 ft Concrete Squirrel." The artist is Nimer Aleck II.

- And this one? It's called, "Table." Steve Comier created this in 1979.

- The admin at my mother's assisted living facility kindly mails an activities schedule to me. For September 13 it says "Happy National Fortune Cookie Day!" And they are having Fortune Cookies and lemonade at 3:00pm.

Self-portraits, traced hands and daisy festival

- Seen on the bulletin board at church - "I love my church" from young Kiera. Love all the self-portraits of her friends below it.

- A group from the church goes every year to build a house in Mexico for a family - this time for a single mother and her five children. The house is just one room, made of cinder blocks with a roof, but much better than the shed they were living in. Love the names in the traced hands.

- On Saturday, going for a walk at Stone Mountain Park and wondering why there were so many cars trying to get in there. It was the 43rd Yellow Daisy Festival with miles of arts and crafts for sale. I did that once. This day I was just content with walking while listening to music.

Healing, Cleansing and Hope

- Part five of Rene Clausen's "Memorial," subtitled "Petitions." Performed by the Pinellas County Center for the Arts Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra; Logan Brown, piano; Derek Edward Weston, conductor.*

Photo by ALM

- My niece took this photo, on the property of the plantation in which she works in north Florida, of a double rainbow. The Urban Dictionary says that a "double rainbow" is an expression that can be used as "a term expressing something of pure, unrivaled awesome. Used commonly when awesome or spectacular are simply insufficient." I think a double rainbow counts as being pretty awesome.


- This is the flag that was draped over the side of the Pentagon on September 11, 2011, it hangs inside the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

*René Clausen's Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) is part of a composition entitled Memorial, created to commemorate the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Memorial comprises four subsections - September Morning, The Attack, Prayers, and Petitions - and offers as its primary themes healing, cleansing and hope. It was first performed in February 2003 by The Concordia Choir and The Concordia College Orchestra at the Riverside Church in New York City.

Listen to the Kyrie if you have time this weekend - it is incredibly peaceful music. And I hope you have a lovely and peaceful weekend, my friends!

Fall is in the air, blueberries and having a walk

- Yeah, it is!

- Washing some North Carolina blueberries for my cereal and popping a juicy looking one in my mouth. It is so sweet. And I vow to find more to freeze for the coming winter.

- A line of mallard ducks crosses Bobby Jones golf course, interrupting play. Golfers stand bemused beside their carts as they watch the 12 ducks walk in single file across the course.

Photo taken with iPhone - someone forgot to charge her camera battery. :)

Bear Pole Dance, sharing and follow the scent

- This is an awesome video of a bear "pole dancing." It's only 33 seconds. Sometimes you need something silly like a dancing bear to get your morning off to a good start. :)

- One coworker brings in a bucket of okra from his garden, and another brings in Krispy Kreme donuts. They look funny next to each other and the donuts get lots more attention.

- Going to a meeting at 7pm, having already missed dinner, and being welcomed by the scent of cinnamon coffee cake, still warm from Janet's oven. Lovely.

Good place to sit, Labor Day and finally rain

- Someone put a board between these split trees, making a good place to sit. It's at the next door neighbor's house in the mountains.

- Enjoying my split time between the mountains and home for Labor Day weekend. I did not labor at anything on Labor Day, but spent the day mostly on the couch, watching the rain through the windows.

- Thankful for the rain - this is the first weekend morning in recent memory that I have not watered the outside plants at 5am. And thankful for dodging the severe weather threats that dominated TV reports in the afternoon.

Sparse traffic, windowsill and much traffic

- A quick, solitary trip to the mountains - just Friday evening and back to Atlanta on Sunday p.m. Traffic on the river was so sparse that I was startled to see this fly fisherman and might not have noticed him at all except for a faint scent of pipe smoke.

- My sister has added a hint of her life in northern Florida to the kitchen windowsill of her vacation home in the mountains - mallard ducks and watermelon. Her county in Florida is known for its prolific crop of watermelons. The small stones have always been there - something that her late mother-in-law must have put there. It was her house in the beginning.

- Summoning up patience at sitting through a long line of traffic trying to get through a busy resort town during the trip home. The tubing industry was doing a brisk business on this day.

Going greener, food porn and party dress

- Many dignitaries were present for the opening of Atlanta's first public solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles at Atlantic Station. (Photo taken of the dedication from my car window on the way to a client meeting.) I almost cropped out the oil spots, but they are part of the story after all.

- A coworker quickly minimizes an Internet page as I walk up to his desk. He sheepishly shows that he was looking at Denny's newest attempt at cholesterol on a plate - a patty melt that has macaroni and cheese in it. Another coworker walks up and says, "Is there a Denny's around here?" :) It's 1690 calories - oh my!

- A mom and her daughter at the natural foods grocery hot food bar. The wee one announces she wants Spanakopita. I smile at her, impressed that she can pronounce that word and she smiles back and swishes her dress. A purple velvet dress with a grand sash. She says, "This is my special dress up party dress." I tell her it is very pretty and go on my way.

I hope your travels throughout the day and the weekend are fun and uplifting. Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

Pete the cat, orange nails and networking

- Pete the cat. Last weekend he was finally banished to the back porch by my sister, who considered him a little too frisky for inside that day. It looks as if he decided to spend his time wisely, by doing a bit of grooming. (Photo a little fuzzy because it was taken through glass.)

- Meeting a potential client for lunch and having a delightful conversation with her. Her nails are painted a vivid orange, which seems curious to me, but I don't ask. Just before parting, she shares that she is going to a place this weekend that takes their football seriously - Auburn University. The Auburn Tigers will play Utah State on Saturday and Auburn fans will be all done up in orange.

- A head clearing late afternoon walk in the park near my office and then talking to friend Jerry on my drive home (using hands free device). We share networking tips before hanging up. Dinner and couch were calling. :)