This lens was a long time in the making.  I had to wait for certain things to bloom and ripen.  But then isn’t that to be expected with Farmers Markets, and with anything that follows closely upon the cycles of nature?

Those buckets of marketplace flowers were on the last roll of film I developed and scanned, and that’s the photo I chose to ‘highlight’ on a little Animoto video I made.  I had actually selected the music for the Farmers Market project months back when another project had me browsing the Animoto library.  The song is “(Love is) Better Than Money”.  Ultimately I decided this lens would be my entry for the Summer Sunshine contest and that it would benefit the Grameen Foundation and microenterprise lending, and  I’m not sure if that makes the lyrics more fitting or more ironic.

If I had had more foresight, I would have discovered the template for the food for all/ sustainable gardening club earlier, and this lens would be sporting a stunning blue green template.  Alas, I didn’t, and it’s not.

I don’t know how to make banners and borders, but at least there’s Animoto, a company good at doing other things that I don’t know how to do myself.  At times I have suspected the folks at Animoto of having created artificial intelligence — sometimes it seems like their video creation program is analyzing the lyrics as well as the music!  When they get to the line “Everyone, everyone’s got to agree (love is better than money)” what do they do?  They start propogating those buckets of tulips all over the screen — lots of very enthusiastic tulips, multiplying real fast — and durned if it doesn’t appear that every one of ‘em is in perfect accord about something.

Now here’s my 6th Step Into Seattle lens: Step Into Seattle Farmers Market.

In the picture, you see my brother and me, a couple years before we began our careers as Superman and Aquaman.  I’ll get back to that…

My brother informed me today that (in regards to certain medical tests I’ve  been craving) that if I can produce phone numbers, he can make phone calls.  I thought this would be a good time to unveil Best Superman Brother Ever. The lens doesn’t necessarily feel real comfortable entering any contests, but it at least wants to poke its head out and say hello.   I understand that it has seen no visitors at all this week!  Among the people who hasn’t visited it: my Superman brother.  He laughed out loud when I told him I put it up, but he has not, um, actually visited it.

Easter Egg Hunt in Pendleton SC

Friends of the Park in Pendleton SC is sponsoring this year’s Easter Event and has the help of a great group of high school students from the Environmental Awareness Club. It has really been an experience working with these high energy teenagers and great fun!

The event is scheduled for March 28 from 2 to 5 on Pendleton’s historic Village Green and we have over 2,000 eggs to hide. I say “hide” but really there is no where to hide these eggs. They are just all over the village green and on the count of 3, all the children run and start filling up their baskets. Each egg either contains a prize or a piece of candy and they all disappear in minutes. It is an amazing site to see, for sure.

Before the Egg Hunt, there will be the traditional Easter Parade down through the town square. There will be police, firemen, dancers, ROTC, children pulling their wagons, moms pushing strollers, floats, decorated trucks, golf carts, and maybe even a mule and wagon. It is great fun!

After the hunt, the children can enjoy a variety of games and crafts, face painting, cotton candy and there might be an inflatable bouncing toy there. Another group of young people, Clemson Business Experience from Clemson University, will be leading the Sack Races, Tug of War, Spoon Relay, and other relays.

It’s going to be FUN in PendleTON on March 28th. Wish you could join us! Check it out at Easter Event in Pendleton SC

Painting by Nancy Hellams

I love to hear this hymn anytime during the year but especially during the Lenten Season. Morning Has Broken has become a very special hymn for my family as it has been sung at many family weddings (mine included) and at many family funerals.
It is a hymn of praise.
It is a hymn of hope.
It is a hymn of thanksgiving.
It is a hymn for new beginnings.

Yes, Morning Has Broken is my favorite hymn. I have enjoyed attending the Lenten Lunches in our community. Every week during Lent, a different church host the lunch serving soup and sandwiches and having a devotional. Our church will host the one next week and I had made a request to our minister that we sing this hymn during the Devotional part of the service. He informed me today that the hymn would be sung just for me.

I was not going to put up anything personal this week — and I was absolutely not going to put up anything that could be termed even remotely gripping.  I was going to put up a nice music lens, a pretty little music lens.  I had it all picked out: the nice music lens.  But after reading… well, not the previous post, but the lens it linked to, the nice music lens (Cat Stevens) didn’t want to go up.  It was feeling too un-gripping.  ”You’re up,” the Cat Stevens lens announced to the Joshua Kadison lens, “You have a story that’s at least a little bit gripping (I think maybe).”

“I would be gripping if Joshua Kadison wrote me himself,” countered the Joshua Kadison lens.  ”He did not, and I am not.”

“I still think you’re a better thematic match,”  the Cat Steven lens said, “You’re up! Unless… Well what about the Williams Syndrome music lens?  Do you suppose we could coax it into going up on the Luau? ”

But the Williams Syndrome music lens didn’t even want to go up on my computer screen, much less the Luau. So here’s Listening in on Joshua Kadison, which was pretty much shoved right on out the door by the “Still Cat Stevens” music lens.  (The title of this post comes from a lyric in the song, “Butterflies”.)

The darkness was close. Unnerving. Breathing was hard.

He heard voices all around, speaking of death and killing. He tried to fend off a resilient pincher attack of trembling and sweat.

Fear touched the very essence of his being.

Then, a voice escaped to him through the moments of panic. A voice as calming as he had ever heard. It was his Mother’s voice.

He hadn’t heard her sweetly soft voice in darkness for many years, but each time he did, serenity took his hand and comforted him.

Hush little baby, don’t say a word

Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird…

A  scary, authoritative voice penetrated the darkness, “Henry Lee, do you have any last words?”

Henry, with the help of his Mother’s voice, had beaten back the onslaught of anxiety and stood proud as he said, ” …And if that billy goat don’t pull, Mamma’s gonna buy you a cart and bull..”

The warden couldn’t see Henry’s calm look through the black hood.

A head nodded and a lever was pulled. The floor dropped open and Henry fell through.

…You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

My entry in this week’s Lens Luau Contest is about the Pink Floyd song Time and how it plays well with my life.

Before my netbook, there was Ravenna, a big old Craigslist computer named after Ravenna Creek Ravine, whose monitor exploded one day amidst startling sizzling noises.  For a long time, I thought the whole computer might have been lost.  When I plugged it in sans monitor, though, long later, it resumed making cheerful little 8:00 AM hums like it was receiving its morning security updates.

Downstairs in the laundry room, I found a monitor wearing a note that declared it was a very nice monitor, but its owner did not have room for it.  It allowed me to access “My (Lost) Documents”.  I used a flash memoir, “Playing With Fire”,  to pull together this lens, Memoir of a Hyporesponsive Child. (Been hesitating a bit before I put my wildest childhood friend — and more of my own self — on display here.)

Doc Hellams

I wrote a tribute to my hubby for my Linchpin Lens called Doc Hellams and have been so pleased at the number of folks who have left comments. Many of his old patients (even some that he delivered) have been writing in. Now, can you imagine how that makes my hubby feel? He is not used to being the center of attention as he is always the one that is attentive especially in our home. Yep, he spoils me rotten so this was my little way to pay him back and it has been fun. You see, Doc is used to being able to fix things and make them better but with me that is difficult. I suffer from a condition that causes Chronic Pain and there is nothing he can do to make it better, This condition has been a part of our lives for 24 years and not something that I talk about so this is the first time that I have written those words. My reason now is to let you know what an extraordinary man he is.

The local paper wants to do a Profile Feature about him after reading the lens. I haven’t gotten his ok on that one yet but am working on him. I had sent the lens to the Alumni Association at the Medical University of South Carolina where he graduated in 1956 and they have been corresponding getting permission to use photos, etc. Oh, I can’t wait to see what they do.

The photo above was one taken by Ammons Portrait Studio in Pendleton SC for their window about 7 years ago. They had a window display called “Angels of Pendleton” and Doc was one of the Angels chosen. Look closely and you can see the Angel Wings. Of course, his good friends gave him a hard time about it because Doc is one of those people who has a gruff exterior but is gentle as a lamb inside.

So, if you haven’t met my dear sweet hubby through my lens, I hope you will drop by. I proudly introduce to you: Doc Hellams, the love of my life! I want this lens to get in the top 100 more than any lens I have made. It is getting closer so maybe, just maybe, it will happen. If so, I am sure you will hear me hollering!

In six days the US Navy Seabees will be celebrating their 67th birthday! As a respected branch of the US Navy I welcome you to join in on the Seabee Birthday celebration. Give your shout out to the guys and gals that build and fight to defend our nation. Anyone and everyone is welcome…in fact when Seabees throw a party it’s always been about the more the merrier!

Personally there is a soft spot in my heart for Seabees, I’m married to one and both of us still have lasting friendships from our time served. As a young woman in uniform they were nothing but gentleman to my girlfriends and I…that one guy that did get out of hand will think twice before treating a woman with disrespect. Ouch!

I am especially proud of this lens for lots of reasons. The one shining moment came in the form of a beautiful certificate of appreciation given to me for my work on promoting the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park Fund on this lens. The committee in charge of this awesome project are doing everything they can to preserve the heritage and history of the US Navy Seabees…I am more than proud to do my part.

Now I think I’ll do this Lens Luau right this time, actually add the link to the lens for all to read and enjoy

As I’ve wandered around Squidoo this week, I’ve been lucky enough to visit some really great lenses describing many wonderful people who have had an impact on the life of a lensmaster. Whether they are other lensmasters, sportsmen, celebrities or loved ones – they have all become Linchpins.

Seeing these prompted me to create my own Linchpin lens – something I should have done earlier. However, as I get older I’m finding myself suffering from a new ailment which only a kick in the rear end can really cure – CCRS. But, this week my lens was finally completed and my Linchpin named.

So, here’s the person that I think  kicks butt: my Linchpin.