Pretty in Pink!

I love the color PINK and so does our tongues!
We ate some cotton candy and voila! Pink tongues! It took about 1 day for all the pink to go away! I really think PINK is our color!

Tatanka!

We were in the Deadwood, SD, area for about 5 days and drove by "Tatanka" several times. On the last day we were there, we decided to see "Tatanka"! I almost couldn't go inside the building because I was mistaken for a duck! :}

We found out that Kevin Costner (the actor) wanted to "tell the bison's story" so he had Tatanka built. 30-60 million bison once roamed the great plains of North America. By the end of the 19th century, less than 1,000 bison survived.

Tatanka is a Lakota word that means "bull buffalo" but Tatanka meant more than that to the Lakota people. Ceremonies and daily life revolved around sacred reverence for Takanta.

The Lakota people only killed Tatanka as a means of survival NOT like the "white" people who killed the bison for sport and profit.

The bronze figures are beautiful, and we were there for quite a while, taking photos from all angles.

These bronze figures depict a "buffalo jump." Before coming to this place, I had no idea what the heck that meant. After coming here, I was not happy to find out.

A buffalo jump is a way of killing buffalo. Riders chase the buffalo toward a hidden drop off and, of course, they fall to their death. How something so beautiful (the bronze figures) can depict something so brutal. . .

Sometimes life is too full of reality! Too much reality is just too much sometimes!

After visiting this place, I was sad just thinking about all the bison being killed back in the "olden" days.

If that was Kevin Costner's purpose, I guess it worked.

Did We Make a Wrong Turn?

Test question--where are we? Well, we did put over 8,000 miles on our mini van during our roadtrip but we did NOT drive to Athens. So where the heck are we? We are in Nashville! Yes. . . Nashville, at the Parthenon. This is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

This building was the only one that was preserved by the city after the Exposition ended. And get this--in 1897, when it was built, it was built of plaster, wood, and brick! And as you can imagine, it was deteriorating FAST.

In 1920, it was re-built but this time, thank goodness, in concrete. It took 5 years to complete the restoration of the building.

And if seeing this beautiful building wasn't enough, there is a bonus once you get inside.

But here is one more photo. I just love this photo.

What a wonderful gift our eyes are!

More Beale

Zipper--at the crossroads of Beale Street and Rufus Thomas! How kewl is that?
Rufus Thomas was a rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian from Memphis, TN.
Rufus Thomas is credited for discovering B.B. King. I LOVE B.B. King.
Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. In that same year, he died of heart failure at the age of 84.
This street off Beale Street was named in his honor!

An evening on Beale Street. Isn't this pretty? I love all the colors in the sky and in the neon signs.

Here I am in a restaurant/bar on Beale Street. Can you read what the cup says? It's Zip's beer because I don't drink beer but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to "pose" with it.

Here's a photo of Beale Street during the day. Quite a difference huh?

I don't know why there are cars parked on the street because Beale Street is for pedestrians only. During the evenings, there are young men who perform for tips. They do the most amazing cartwheels down the road. They go on and on and on--it's truly amazing. Can you imagine how much it would hurt if "body meets the road" in a cartwheel gone wrong? Yikes! Ouch!

When You're Feelin' Blues

Head on over to Beale Street in Memphis! I loved Beale Street.

I'm standing at the entrance of the Daisy Theater on Beale Street. Sooooooo beautiful, don't you think?

On our carriage ride (yes the wet one), we learned that a whole bunch of "rap" music/videos are produced/shot here!

We walked by Coyote Ugly and it was rockin' even though it was still daylight! The people here know how to party for sure!

Zip took this photo and, to me, it's great. Yes, this is still Beale Street--I love all the different elements in this photo--the flag, the T-shirt sign, the long row of buildings, colorful canopies, the church in the background (white building) and, of course, the person walking on a hot sunny day probably doing a little grocery shopping maybe?!

I just love this building. The minute I saw the beautiful colors and row after row of windows, I knew it would make a great photo (at least to me)! There is no business or eatery or anything inside this beautiful building. It's just there, waiting for somebody or something to give it life again.

Up and down and all around Beale Street, you cannot get away from the blues.

You hear it escaping from the restaurants and bars as you walk past them.

You hear it booming from little side streets and niches where street bands hold their impromptu concerts and pass around a bucket for donations!

You hear the blues inside the shops as you stroll the aisles looking for the perfect souvenirs!

It's everywhere and it's wonderful. You can't help but tap your feet to the beat!

I would rather drink a wet willie than get a wet willie that's for sure!

Here I am at A. Schwab's. It's a dry goods store and the only remaining original business on Beale Street! Their motto is "If you can't find it at A. Schwab's, you're probably better off without it!" Amen to that bro!

We had a wonderful time on Beale Street. We were able to go back on several different days and soak in all the wonderful music, food, and sights.

Stay tuned for more photos too!

My Cute-ums Cuttlebug!

I bought a Cuttlebug ONLY because it's so darn cute!
I have two Big Shots (the blue one and when the black and pink came out, I had to get that one)and one Big Kick, the Sizzix Texture Boutique (HAD to have it--looks like a purse) sooooo did I really need a Cuttlebug?
I think not.
But if less is more than more is better!!! Right?
As you can see, I blinged my little bug with stickers! The colored flower stickers are actually tiny beads--love the texture of them.

While organizing my stamproom (a life-long project by the way!), I came across all these stickers that I never use (don't ask). When I saw my poor naked Cuttlebug sitting on my shelf staring back at me with these saddums eyes, I thought--poor little naked guy--let's see if I can bring a smile to both our faces!

When I was done "stickering" my Cuttlebug, we were both happy!

I love this little guy even more with all the bright colors on it :} (and please don't hate me just because I'm a little "out there"!

I'm happy in my own little world and you should be too!

October Calendars!

Created by Sharon Gabrielson!

Created by Christy Lannom!

Created by Yuki Zepeda!

Hope you enjoyed the October Red Hot Calendars!

Cinderella's Carriage Ride

I felt like Cinderella in this carriage! There were a line of carriages and I picked this one because it was so beautiful.

Do we look wet?

About 5 minutes into our carriage ride right off Beale Street in Memphis, it started to rain. Of course, we didn't have our umbrellas and we couldn't find a place to take cover until about 15 minutes later!

We FINALLY found a parking garage that wasn't already crowded with other carriages, and we were able to wait until the rain subsided.

The horse's name is Nellie, just in case you were wondering.

Nellie is a magnificent horse! I got to pet her while we waited for the rain to stop. Nellie is a Percheron. Percherons are noted for heavy muscling and were historically used a battle mounts during the Middle Ages. This is one powerful horse! It was FASCINATING to watch the interaction between Nellie and the driver (whose name escapes me!) maneuver through the streets and obstacles in and around the Beale Street area.

Such a beautiful carriage. It's called a birdnest carriage. It would have been PERFECT had it had a cover!!!!! See the dog? His name is Buckwheat.

Love this photo I took of Nellie's. . . well, you know. . . her back side.

Lots of bling on the wheels! LOVE IT.

We had a very memorable carriage ride! I got to meet a beautiful horse and learn something about her and Beale Street.

Getting wet made it FUN!!!!!

If you have never been to Beale Street, pack your bags and go there now! You will have a blast!