Wow...crazy, busy day!

We got up early and did a few things in the garden and just enjoyed the morning. It was my dad day so I called him to be sure he'd taken his morning pills and asked him if he wanted to go to Red Lobster for an early lunch. He was all for it (He's been hinting about Red Lobster the last couple weeks! haha) So we showered and got ready and picked Dad up about 11am and drove over to Iowa to the only R.L. in the area. Dad seemed to really enjoy his shrimp. Andy had the same thing as dad did. I got the broiled sampler with scallops, scampi and broiled stuffed flounder. It was all good.

After lunch we drove past Dad's old house. I think he was sort of pleased that the yard didn't look as good as when he and his late wife lived there. Then we went past the park near his old neighborhood and looked for geese and ducks but there weren't any. I wonder where they were? I have never been to that park without seeing lots of wild poultry! After that we went back to Illinois and stopped in at my sister's hardware store...she's the manager there and is the self-proclaimed Hardware Queen! She can talk hardware with any man and can do most of the things a guy can do when it comes to fixing leaky pipes, broken toilets, or any other hardware-related repairs! She really knows her nuts and bolts! Anyway, we visited with her for a moment, picked up a couple hook and eyes for my potting bench and then went on our way.

I took Dad past another house we used to live in. It was one of my early childhood homes and he got a kick out of seeing that and naming some of the neighbors who lived around us way back then! Not too bad for a guy with Alzheimer's!! I wish his short-term memory was as good. We took Dad home and dropped him off with the promise of cherry pie in the evening.

We got home and I got busy pouring over my photo possibilities for the local fairs. I like to show and it takes quite a bit of work to choose photos out of the hundreds/thousands I take in a year. I'm a bit upset that I don't have that many that really grab me this year. I have a pretty good eye for knowing what will win and what won't. I'm afraid I'm in for a disappointing year, this year. Due to some family stuff, I haven't taken time to do many of my photo trips...little drives I take with the only goal being to shoot some good photos.

Andy said he'd go to the recently flooded basement and get my photo frames, mats and hanging hardware. We haven't had time to clear up all the damaged things from the water in the basement yet...I think I'm in denial! He came up with a sick look on his face. Many of my mats and frames had been put in those cloth bags, like the ones they sell at grocery stores now that you re-use. They were all ruined. That's what I get for thinking I could get by with all the mats and frames I had bought over the years...for the first time, I didn't think I'd have to buy anything. So any money I win would be profit! But now, I'm going to have to get more mats and frames. Luckily, Hobby Lobby doesn't charge too much for those things and I was able to salvage a few frames. And I found 4 large frames that I had never used that were luckily in a plastic tote so they were okay. So now, mostly I have to buy mats. I'm just very glad I already had printer ink and photo paper...that's one expense I won't have! I will be working very hard to produce enough photos and art work to show. I got my entry form done this morning and will be mailing that tomorrow. Entries are due July 13th, judged July 14th and the fair begins July 15th.

I will also show some flowers at the fair...roses, lilies, day lilies, and what ever is blooming at the time of the fair. I have fun doing that and it's a crap shoot as to whether I'll win anything or not. I guess that's what I like about it...I never know! Any win is exciting!

Today I chose the photos I'll consider for showing. Next I have to edit the ones I like best and then print them, mat and frame them and get them all labeled and ready to go. The biggest job I have is to produce some art work within the next week...get it framed and ready. I also show that in this fair and I am NEVER ready until the last minute. I always seem to push those deadlines. I did it as a free-lance reporter and still have that bad habit! Oh well, it's not a huge thing if I don't get it done. It just means I can't show as much.

I whipped up an easy cherry pie and we took some to my dad tonight. We watched a couple TV shows with him then stopped and picked up a pizza and took it home to eat. Love Papa Murphy's De LITE pizzas! My sis Marsha put me on to them...YUMMMMO! Tonight it was chicken, artichoke, bacon and spinach...Wow!

I'm tired and still have a lot to do but can't sleep in tomorrow. Rosie has a doc appointment tomorrow to get her Bordetella sniffy vaccine. She's going to love that (NOT!). Lots of people don't get those for their dogs, but I never know when she's going to come nose-to-nose with another dog or sniff where another dog has been at the bike path. So I prefer to be safe, not sorry! Rosie, being the doggie diva she is, can't have more than one shot at a time. She had a bad reaction to one during her first battery of shots as a puppy and since then, we have to take her in for one shot at a time and she has to have benedryl before every vaccination.

Well, TTFN!