Shadows and Reflections

It was colder than you know what today and the windy was up but I bundled up and went on a walk today. The sky was clear and I was enjoying the sun. My employer has a new plaza in front of the building and I love it. It replaced a lot of odd 1980’s planters and design features with and open concept area with shade and seating areas with interesting shadows. See the light areas above? They are supposed to look like natural gas flames like on a stove or a gas light. Yeah, I know you gotta use your imagination. Since I work for a gas company I think that it is a nice touch. Too bad they don’t have some gas fireplaces out there.

I went to the north end of downtown. I like the reflections of our all glass city hall on the back of the performing arts center. It gave the the all beige concrete exterior a little “liquidy” look. Liquidy is a word in Oklahoma, just so you know.

This is our brand new state of the art drunk driver proof fountain at Bartlett Square. You know the Bartlett Square with the Circle Drive (or roundabout, my British readers may say). It is all so confusing to me. It must be confusing to drunk drivers also because our two previous conventional fountains got totalled by the drunks ramming into them at night. This new one has a low profile so they can drive right over it plus it has flashing lights. We cater to our drunks here in Oklahoma.

You can see how cold it is. At high noon there is still a lot of ice around the fountain.

Linking with Our World Tuesday

Writing Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

I received Writing Blue Highways as a Christmas gift. It is only 164 small format pages and I zipped through it in two days. It is not so much about the book Blue Highways as it is about the process of writing the book Blue Highways. Now there are two types of people in the world. Those who read Blue Highways and loved it and those who never heard of it. It came out in the early 1980’s and is about a 13,000 mile road trip that William Least Heat-Moon took to discover America. He follows the secondary roads, the so called “Blue Highways” of the title. He travels around and talks to people on the way. The road trip took less than a year. It took five years to write the book and the “Writing Blue Highways” is about those five years.

The pencil written first draft and the typed multiple drafts after that. The endless editing and redrafting. The submissions to publishers, editors, and agents and the rejections. It is also about the financial hardship. He had to earn a living while writing the book. Basically he wrote every spare hour that he had. The book is also about the relationships that suffered because of his writing. The book is also about the drive of the writer and the creative process and the refining process of editing and redrafting. There is not much financial reward in most writing.

I was really inspired by this book and so I am going to reread “Blue Highways” it will be one of the few books I’ve ever read three times. I love his pluck and his writing and marvel at his nerdiness. (That is a word here in Oklahoma, just so you know.)

I highly recommend this book if you liked Blue Highways or if you like reading books about the process of writing. I am not giving this copy away. I’m keeping it. I very rarely keep books these days. Apparently I gave away my copy of Blue Highways so I bought a Kindle version of it. Obviously I’m not giving it away either. Kindle is forever, or at least until Amazon has decreasing sales for three for quarters in a row. That is forever these days. Believe me, I work for a master limited partnership.

Sunlit Sunday – Colorful

Linking to Sunlit Sunday today.

We are the middle of a cold front. The heater just keeps chugging away and there is still a chill in the air inside. I am glad that Heather and I took the time to take the outside lights down yesterday. We are all “De-Christmastized” for now and somehow that feels great. I love Christmas and all that but when it is time to end then it is time to end. The photo is way back in November. The leaves have long been down and then replaced with Christmas lights which are now down as well. I cheated (those of you who know me, know that I cheat a lot) and ran the photo through Topaz Impressions to give it just a little more oomph.

I’m looking forward to the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions NFL playoff game this year. I’m a Cowboys fan so I just take it one game at a time. The Cowboys do seem mentally tougher this year than in the previous years and during the games the owner Jerry Jones stays in his box.

And then after the game Downton Abbey’s new season starts up this evening. I love that show and wished they made more than a few episodes a year. Most television shows just bore me to tears so I am really looking forward to Downton Abbey this season.

And sometime son and I will probably head to the gym to get some exercise.

Wild with Reese Witherspoon

On a dark, cold, wet, rainy day Logan said he wanted to stay home so Heather and I went to see the movie “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon.

I read the book about two years ago and loved it (my review). The movie does justice to the book. It is totally absorbing and captivating.

The book and the movie are based on the author, Cheryl Strayed‘s journey on the Pacific Coast Trail that stretches from the Mexican border, through California, and into Oregon and Washington. What the book is really about is her grief at the loss of her mother to cancer and Ms. Strayed’s personal collapse after due to her loss.

Reese Weatherspoon did a great job and Laura Dern was fantastic in her role as Strayed’s mother Bobbi. I would not be surprised if there were not Academy Award nominations for the both of them.

President Barack Obama with actress Reese Witherspoon in the Oval Office on June 25, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I highly recommend the movie. There are several steamy nude scenes so leave the kiddos home.

Check out the Wild web site. All sorts of fun stuff there.

A Long Time Ago, When the Sun Shined

Earlier this week, when the son still shined, I took a little longer walk than usual. I mean you have to when the sun is shining right?

I’m sure glad that I took that walk that was a little longer than usual because the sun decided to go on a New Year’s Holiday.

It may have gone to Hawaii or I don’t know where. I just know that it is not in Oklahoma. It has been cold, wet, and miserable here. So I hadn’t got out to take any other pics.

But, I sure am glad that I took a little extra time that day to enjoy the sun. I’m not sure it is coming back.

Birthday!

It’s my Dad’s birthday today. He’s still doing great.

He worked long and hard during his tenure in the US Forest Service while being a great husband for over fifty years and raising three kids.

He deserves to sit back and tell a few stories

Happy Birthday Gramps!

Skywatch Friday – A Happy New Years Neighborhood Sky

A Skywatch Photo from my front porch. I processed the photo through Topaz Impressions.

Linking with Skywatch Friday

From Our Family to You and your family, we wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year!!

Turkey Mountain Snow Day

This is a scene from Tulsa’s beautiful Turkey Mountain Wilderness Park after a brief snow in November. It is a beautiful place where Simon Malls plans on putting in a huge luxury outlet mall (whatever that is.)

I used Topaz Impressions with their Watercolor IV filter to make this.

Check out Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition for more information on Turkey Moutain

Linking with Digital Art Meme

Song-ography – Seasons of Love

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments, oh dear
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?

How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love

Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Linking with Song-ography

A Belated White Christmas

Hey we finally got a little bit of snow here in Oklahoma. The kind of snow that I like. It covers the grass and trees but doesn’t stick to the driveways and roadways.

Just enough to get some snow pics but not cause any disruption.

I’m not a big fan of disruption.

It is amazing how fast the snow shovels and sleds appear and mild and bread disappear at grocery stores with the first hint of snow.

I’m doing a transition out of Christmas and into New Years. I’ve even quit using my Christmas coffee mug and started using my New Year’s mug. All I need is a few hours of warm weather so I can take the Christmas decorations down.

Have you started your transition yet?

YogisDen.us

Welcome to my world