Smarmoofus Spot

This would be my fourth Half-Nekkid Thursday post.  After all these months, I’m only up to four.  Wow.  I really owe you guys something for all your patience.  How ’bout this:

Photo Date: July 2, 2008

Something unusual for me, but relatively tame for Half-Nekkid Thursday.   I don’t know what compelled me.  But just try to tell me the office chair isn’t a nice touch!

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Photo Date: July 1, 2005 | Location: Arizona, US

Wow… that was three years ago, to the day.  Hrm.  So much for “wordless”.  Well, as long as I’ve opened my big fat mouth, I might as well tell you about the photo… My sister and I were driving north toward Las Vegas, NV, and we noticed our parents (driving in another car) had become separated from us (in fact, they missed the turn and found themselves in California).  So when we saw this sign for a boat launch and river recreation area, we decided we had time enough to head off the highway a bit for a visit.  When we got down to the water level, we discovered what living in a convection oven must feel like.  It was insanely hot and yet dry.  And the wind, when it hit us in the face, was sheer agony.  And, yet, everybody was out there in not-at-all-protective bathing suits… and they were happy about it.  So my sister and I assumed that being wet must act like wearing a fire suit.  So we gasped and puffed our way down to the river’s edge from the parking area, and we poked our [sexy] little toes into the water.  You wouldn’t believe the icy chill!  We stared at the people around us in utter confusion.  How could they be enjoying this?!  It was either blast-furnace or glacial runoff.  There was no in-between.

So we gave up on enjoying the park.  As we were getting ready to leave, I decided to take a picture of the scenery to document our visit.  But as I snapped my picture, my sister’s hand flew in front of the frame at the very last second.  That wasn’t this picture.  It was the one I took before this one, which is long-since discarded.  But it inspired this picture.  I liked the proportion of her near hand and the distant palm trees.  So I said, “Put your hand out again, as though you’re dangling a puppy treat…”  Then I got into position and I took this shot.  I manipulated it ever so slightly to enhance the effect that she’s holding the trunk of that tree between her thumb and fingers.

is a meme brought to you by Kdubs, based on an original idea by Uisce.

Compared to Arkansas, Michigan summers are mild.  But the way I remember it, it was hot that Saturday at the end of July last year when the Megamoo and I set to work in the front yard… he was tackling the dead limbs in the shrub-that-had-grown-into-a-tree, and I was cleaning out Toyoty (his late car, may she rest in peace *sigh*).  Both jobs were massive undertakings, and I’d say we had an equal division of labour… unless you consider the fact that I was cleaning his mess out of his car.  But I kind of enjoyed the work, and it was incredibly gratifying to see the end result all those hours later.  I managed to reduce the contents of his trunk to his duffel bag full of softball gear, a few automotive essentials (neatly stored in an old shoebox), and about a dozen bottles of Gatorade in various flavors.  I don’t remember what I left in the passenger portion of the car, but I do know that it was little enough that we were able to transport people in the backseat again for the first time in months.  That was nice.

While I was cleaning out his car, Megamoo worked tirelessly, sawing away at the dead limbs.  He accumulated quite a tangle of trimmings below him as the afternoon wore on.  Occasionally, I would take a break from my job to go inside to grab a couple of drinks for us (while enjoying the too-brief moment of cool air and shade).  On one such trip inside, I found my camera and when I came outside I snapped a couple of pictures of the Megamoo while he worked.  He was a sport about it, playing along and following my ridiculous pose suggestions… “Bring the saw down to the branch you’re sitting on, like you’re going to cut it out from under you!”  “Make a monkey face!”  While grueling and hot and sweaty, it was a fun afternoon.

But what really makes the day stand out in my mind is the moment about halfway through my task when I paused and looked up to see Megamoo practically charging across the lawn toward me.  It was one of those moments they write about in cheap romance novels… he grabbed me and pulled me almost-roughly against him, then kissed me more thoroughly than he’d done in some time.  Then, just as abruptly, he released me, turned around, and marched back across the yard to resume his work.  I just stood there staring like a bemused idiot for several minutes.

is a meme brought to you by Skittles!

I am loving this new meme!  I’m so excited about it that I’m posting early.  This is my second week participating in the Thematic Photographic photo meme, created by Carmi over at Written Inc..  Each Wednesday Carmi will post a photo and name the theme, then participants will make a related post on their own blogs, sharing their take on the theme.   Here is my take on the theme wood:

Photo date: June 27, 2008

Yet another odd item I had laying about my place.  I have no idea why I own this, but it has just made its existence worthwhile.  What pleases me about this photo is the way the grain of the wood ball goes counter to the grain of my wood floor, and yet they blend so well.  And, of course, the play of the light and shadows adds some visual interest.  I regret the odd variation in wood tone right along where the natural light’s ‘edge’ runs.  It overemphasizes what should be a very soft line.  But it is a flaw in the subject, not in the photograph.

By the way, I don’t actually like curves.  Ask my sister.  She’ll tell you that given an opportunity to create something, nine times out of ten, I’ll use straight lines.  It just happens that my last two photographs for Thematic Photographic were of spherical objects.  Not by preference, I assure you.

is a photo meme hosted by Carmi at Written Inc.

This is my twenty-ninth 55, if I haven’t lost count again.  (Ugh, that was embarrassing last week. Good thing nobody noticed…)

Dear You,

You are the tongue to my chapped lips.

Soothing, you make it worse.

But I am not as strong as I pretend to be.

I let you fill my need.

You are the salt in my wound.

I poured you there myself.

I don’t know what to do.  Please advise.

With confliction,
- me

The story behind the story…

The double-indented section is a poem I wrote several years ago, titled “Lost Resolve”.  History certainly does repeat itself, doesn’t it?  The good news is I don’t remember why I wrote it in the first place.  The bad news is, it has become relevant again.  Maybe in another several years I will have forgotten… again.

is hosted by g-man.  You may also visit 55flashfictionfriday blogspot for more 55s.

Photo date: June 14, 2008

Photo date: June 14, 2008

is a meme brought to you by Kdubs, based on an original idea by Uisce.

This is my first week participating in the Thematic Photographic photo meme, recently started up by Carmi over at Written Inc. (how clever is that blog name?).  Each Wednesday Carmi will post a photo and name the theme, then participants will make a related post on their own blogs, sharing their take on the theme.  This week’s theme is glass, and here is my take on it:

Photo date: June 22, 2008

I’m going to sneak in here and add a bit of background to this post, since I just visited everybody else and saw that most people said something about their photos.  Only a bit of background, though, because this is a hastily-staged shot that I took today just so I could have something to post related to the “glass” theme.  The setting is my land in Central Arkansas, at about 7pm.  I’m facing northeast, so the sun is getting ready to set left and behind me (you can see a little starburst light pattern toward the left side of the glass globe to give you an idea of where the sun is).

My plan originally was to go to the store to buy some colourful glass beads and do something glittery and fun with them.  But I got up too late for the lighting I would need for that idea, so I looked around my room and found the old “crystal ball” (just a regular glass globe, complete with imperfections) my aunt gave me years ago, and two frosted glass candle holders that my sister gave me.  Glass and more glass.  Yay!  So I grabbed those and my camera bag, and I was off!

I also like this shot, but I showed the other one first because it was easier to understand:

 
Photo date: June 22, 2008

This is the same glass globe, but viewed through the lid of a clear glass canister.  It’s neat, but not as sharply focused as the other photo.

is a photo meme hosted by Carmi at Written Inc.

This is my twenty-eighth flash fiction piece.  Let’s see… twenty-eight times fifty-five equals… one thousand five hundred forty words.  Why did I feel the need to calculate that?  Anyway, here are the most recent fifty-five.  Enjoy.  Or detest.  It’s up to you.

… drifting… drowning… bits of conversation swimming around… can’t make out the words… twisting… lost in a sea of confusion… rolling… it will never end… turbulent current driving down, around… can’t find the surface… starting to feel panic…

A strong voice breaks in calmly, “You need to remember to breathe.”

“I would, but there’s no air!”

Story behind the story:

I apologize to anybody with an anxiety disorder.  This has nothing to do with that.  I just needed to get this out.  Things have been coming at me hard for the last several forevers, and I’m starting to lose sight of what I believe in.  I can’t seem to even live up to my own expectations these days, and that’s the thing that I regret the most.  Strike that.  That’s the only thing that I regret.  I at least feel good about everything that I tried to do.  And maybe I should let go of the regret, too, because at least I tried. But letting go is so hard.  I did it once, and that’s what got me here.

is hosted by g-man. Also, a blog was recently established, dedicated to hosting only our 55s. Please visit 55flashfictionfriday blogspot.

This would be my third HNT post… the last one was way back in November of last year.  I bet you thought you’d never see me again!

Photo Date: June 5, 2008

 I was playing around with my camera and snapped this pic of my feet on the night of June 5th.  I just happened to be wearing a skirt and had [poorly] painted toenails that day.  But that was the exception (I generally wear jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt–year-round), and now I have a nifty photo to show for it.

This is where I confess that just a couple of days later, I went out to my land to help my sister prime the pump (I would say that she was helping me since it’s my land, but of the two of us she is the one who knew what we were supposed to be doing) and had to mow a path to the well-house.  In so doing, I managed to get a nasty case of chigger bites.  Those of you from the Rural South know what I’m talking about.  Now, I did several things wrong with regard to that trip to my land: 1. I did not change out of my socks and shoes into the flip-flops that I keep in the trunk of my car for just this purpose; 2. I did not immediately bathe when I got home; and 3. I did not rub alcohol or some other strong chemicals on my feet and ankles to kill those nasty microscopic buggers before I went to bed.  At about 3am, I realized my mistakes.  By the next morning, all that beautiful skin you see in the photo above was torn to shreds.  Turns out it is possible to scratch in one’s sleep.  And when the hot water of my shower hit my raw flesh the next morning…?  OH.  MY.  GAWD!  Ouch.

is a meme brought to you by Osbasso.