Yay!!

Hi, everyone!

 

Boy, am I happy to be signing on here again!

 

My youngest daughter Katie (you can see her in the John Wayne post) ~

 

"Classic Movie Katie" we called her when she was younger ~

 

got a new job at TCM (Turner Classic Movies)

 

 where she interned a few years back, right before graduation.

 

So, I am here in Atlanta helping her get set up in her new apartment.

 

However, just a couple of days before I came down to help,

 

the day Katie (also my computer fixer) left,

 

 ( of course...that's when problems happen ) ~

 

I had just finished my last blog post,

 

 and was searching on my computer for apartments, etc.,

 

looking at antebellum homes for sale that I could no way afford...;^)

 

just looking around in general, and all of a sudden the screen

 

turned white for a minute, then this official-looking "FBI"

 

notice came up...I had been allegedly looking at something that could

 

get me in big trouble, it said, and all I had to do to get out of it was to pay

 

$450...hmmmm....buying off the feds for $450? I don't think so, and

 

besides, all I had been looking at was real estate!

 

It locked up everything on my computer. :^(

 

 

It's called the "FBI Virus", and it is a nasty one.

 

Long story short (er), I had to have everything "wiped" from my computer,

 

returning it to the factory settings.

 

It was an extended-family member who did this, and he was (thankfully)

 

able to save all my photos by putting my hard-drive into another computer...

 

but it took four and a half hours; if I had taken it to a store for repair,

 

I doubt that they would have taken the time to do this.

 

So now my photos are safely on a flash-drive

 

(there was Jonathan's graduation on there,

 

and so many other things that I would have been so sad to have lost)!

 

However, I did lose all my contacts, etc.

 

and my e-mail account that is connected to A Little Fur in the Paint

 

also had everything deleted...

 

So if you don't get an answer to a question you've asked,

 

please leave me another comment, or e-mail me directly...

 

I apologize!

 

No pictures today, since I am on Katie's computer, but

 

watch for a new post very soon!

 

(The Bridges of Madison County post is still coming!)

 

Tomorrow I am going home, and tomorrow night  and

 

Saturday I will be painting faces at the

 

 Sweet Corn Festival in East Prairie, Missouri.

 

I've missed you all!

 

Thank you for "hanging in there" with me!

 

Love,

 

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John Wayne's Birthday Celebration in Winterset, Iowa!

Hi, Everyone...

 

I'm going to try and catch up on my blogging!

 

(Before I set off on another adventure...daughter Katie left for Atlanta

 

today, and her kitties and I will follow in a few days,

 

 as soon as her apartment is ready...)

 

~

 

Two weeks ago we went to Winterset, Iowa,

 

to the annual John Wayne Birthday Celebration...

 

Katie, Mr. B, and me.

 

We had such a good time!

 

~

 

All the photos (with a couple of exceptions) are Katie's.

 

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This beautiful bronze statue was in the middle of the city park...



The pink petunias are pretty, but I think some sagebrush would have been more fitting!



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The vintage Iowa Theatre...



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Katie, looking very pleased to be there!



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Winterset has a very pretty downtown area...the buildings haven't been covered



with that awful metal-façade stuff that so many towns used in the 60s to "update" the brick



buildings...(like Sikeston) ~ Look at the gorgeous ornate arches over the windows here!



~

~




They showed all five of the movies John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara



made together...we saw McLintock, Rio Grande, and The Quiet Man...



There just wasn't enough time to see all five and do the



other things we wanted to do...



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Inside the Iowa Theatre...



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The Quiet Man



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The Morrison's cute little bungalow home...



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Outside the John Wayne Birthplace Museum...



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This fellow was no "Duke", but he was having a good time



and folks were having a good time taking his photo!



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We got to the "Evening With Maureen O'Hara" dinner early...



E-a-r-l-y...



A rarity in my world!




But it paid off, as we got excellent seating...(thank you again, Katie!) ~



Out table was right next to the roped-off ones for Miss O'Hara and her family...



(She had LOTS of grandchildren and great-grandchildren with her!)



~





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Irish music was all around us...

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Maureen O'Hara and her family finally arrived!



She is still a beautiful lady.



~





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John Wayne's daughter, Aissa, was also in attendance; she hosted the



auction to raise money for a new museum.



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The auction was really fun to watch...



(And to listen to...auctioneers fascinate me, and these fellows were good!)



They stopped and asked people a couple of times if they were bidding or just scratching



their noses, so it wasn't stressful!



~



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This went for a lot!



Katie wants me to get into oil painting...



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They showed an interview with Miss O'Hara from a few years ago,



but she spoke a little about John Wayne from her seat, as well
...



what it had been like working with him and such.



Then she wished him a Happy Birthday...it was really sweet.



She is 92!

~



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Maureen O'Hara having her makeup touched up on the set of The Quiet Man ~



~





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For the finale, we were entertained by the



Shannon Rovers Bagpipes and the McKay Sisters Irish Dancers...



It was a delightful evening, as you can imagine!



You can read more about it here...



JohnWayneBirthplace.org



~



Before we left the area, Katie drove us around to see all of the remaining covered



bridges in Madison County...



I'll post about those tomorrow, hopefully!



~





~




I hate to end on a sad note, but I have to tell you about the baby robins...



When we got home, two of them had blown out of the nest...



(or fallen out, I don't want to think pushed out...but there was just one baby remaining,



and he was big...he took up almost all the room in the nest
by himself!)



The next night after we got home, we had a storm, and the final baby




bird was blown out... most of the nest had blown out of the tree, as well...



I was trying to keep an eye out for such a thing happening,



but by the time I found him, it was too late.



Poor little things, all of them.



I guess that's why a robin couple can have several clutches each spring...



I don't need to get attached to any more baby birds, though ~ so disappointing!



Have a great week, everyone...



I'll do some more catching up tomorrow!



Love,

 

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It's Me!

Hi, All!

 

I wanted to check in and let you know I am still on the planet;

 

you are all so sweet to check on me!

 

It has been absolute madness here; not in a bad way;

 

just in an "Oh, my goodness, there are just too many things going on" way...

 

Why does everything happen at once?

 

Why can't life events be all nicely spaced out?

 

It just doesn't work that way, does it?

 

♥

 

Jonathan graduated, and he and daughter Mandy

 

 had a great time in Ireland (her graduation gift to him);

 

now they are safely home.

 

(We picked him up last night and got back home and to bed at about 5 a.m.!)

 

We had a wonderful weekend in Winterset, Iowa,

 

at the John Wayne Birthday celebration and dinner with Maureen O'Hara...

 

(Jonathan and Mandy may have been taking photos of each other on

 

"The Quiet Man" bridge in Ireland at the same time we were watching it

 

on the "big screen" at the vintage Iowa Theatre...you never know! ;)

 

~

 

Now, out of the blue, daughter Katie has been offered a position at

 

her "dream workplace", Turner Classic Movies ~ TCM ~

 

in Atlanta, and we are going down tomorrow

 

to look for an apartment for her...

 

Actually, we are leaving at about 1 a.m., as it is an 8 hour drive and

 

she wants to have the entire day to look...

 

The apartment has to be kitty-friendly ~ she has four!

 

She starts Monday.

 

 (She interned there in 2010...they know she knows her "Classic Movie" stuff!)

 

See? Madness.

 

Then, Empty Nest. ;)

 

I will catch up with everything and everyone (I promise ~♥)

 

very soon...I miss blogging and connecting with all of you!

 

(Oh, Winterset Iowa is also in Madison County, where Clint Eastwood

 

filmed "The Bridges of Madison County", from Robert James Waller's book....

 

Before we left, Katie drove us to see every single remaining covered bridge ~

 

I told her we didn't have to ~ it had already been a busy weekend and we were

 

all tired, but she said "I know you want to see them, Mom!".

 

So we did.

 

In the meantime, I was honored to be asked to write a blog post

 

 about a painting project for DecorativePainters.org;

 

I didn't think the kinds of things I had been doing lately really "fit" that,

 

but I came up with something.

 

I'll show you soon!

 

For now, a nap for a little while before we set out for Atlanta.

 

(Are any of you in the Atlanta area??)

 

I'm leaving you with a little more madness...

 

A Fanciful Twist's Mad Tea Party

 

The one I had such fun with last year...:)

 

Vanessa's planning has begun for 2013!

 

So, be sure to stop by...it'll be a little while, though ~

 

~

~

 

Needless to say, I have lots of blog-material!

 

When things calm down...

 

See you soon!

 

Love,

 

 

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