Monthly Archives: July 2009

July 19, 2009 · 9:39 pm

The Kid on a Leash with a Monkey on Her Back

kid-leash-monkey

Ah,  a beautiful afternoon walk on the boardwalk of my childhood. What a fine day to take one’s toddler out for a walk…

… on a leash! What were these parents thinking? You leash pets. Kids? You should hold their hands.

I know there is a segment of the parent population out there that thinks they are keeping their kids safe by leashing them. I just don’t buy it. I have had toddlers. Wandering toddlers at that. And I never once felt compelled to harness and leash them. I don’t know how the rest of you feel about this but I find the whole leash movement disturbing.

Look at this picture. If the parents only looked in the general direction of the kid instead of everywhere else, maybe there would be no need for the leash.

Does she get a biscuit at the end of the walk?

The monkey on the back was the icing on the cake for me. (apparently the monkey is part of the apparatus) We were walking and I said, “Hey look, there is a kid on a leash with a monkey on her back.”

This was the point of the day that I realized that I am starting to speak in blog post titles.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 18, 2009 · 10:25 pm

Michael Jackson Trading Cards

micheal-jackson-trading-cards

I saw these at the Brooklyn Flea last week. I got so caught up in taking pictures of everything I saw there that I totally missed the opportunity to buy these. What a great find.

I wonder if there are cards of Michael through the ages. It would be kind of cool to frame 10 cards that show the transition of his face from one era to the next. When they flashed the ‘Thriller Michael’ on the news I was taken back by the way he looked. Still black, he was going through his Diana Ross look alike phase then.

I wondered about these cards, so I did a little digging. Of course someone bought the url michealjacksonfuneral.org (there is a vulture born everyday) and there is a post under the ‘cool stuff‘ section that featured some of them. Seems they were made in the 80s. There are a bunch on ebay and shopzilla. The price is still low but I would imagine with time an unopened pack from this era will be worth something.

Guess I should go back and pick some up.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 17, 2009 · 11:24 pm

Talk about packing heat

cannon-balls

This sort of gives cannon balls a new meaning!

Alright, I admit I have reached new depths of sophomoric behavior. There should be a shot of me falling down laughing on the lawn in front of him while taking the picture.

Yes, Gary is AGAIN a good sport. And yes, this also explains his comment about explosives in cameras. He claims to be humoring me but I know he loves doing this. At least I think he does.

Hey, if after all these years we cannot amuse ourselves, what is the point?

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 16, 2009 · 8:28 pm

Damn dog can’t read!

caution-dog

Featured here, once again, is my beloved canine, Mel. Yes, that would be the Mel who seems to know no boundries. The only dog that can hold a snowball in her mouth. In the car!

On our daily morning walk we get to watch all the home renovations. It’s fun to see them change day to day.

For me.

For her, she simply wants into every construction site. This one did not have any fencing, and sadly my girl can not read; english OR spanish, but nice that they make an effort to be inclusive.

Luckily I had a camera.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 15, 2009 · 10:38 pm

The Art of the T-shirt

Soaring-mmortal-Blazing

I love the summertime when people proudly sport their favorite T-shirts. In some circles, picking out the T to wear to an event is akin to teenage girls and their outfit obsessions. Come on guys, the ones who do this know who you are, I don’t think I have to single you out here.

This guy was surely standing in front of his dresser pondering the perfect message to wear to the Dark Star Orchestra concert at the beach on Governors Island. This is a very T-shirt appreciative crowd. What you wear is admired, and yes sometimes coveted, like jewelry at a bit yenta-fest Bar-Mitzvah.

I Googled the message on this shirt so I would not appear pop culture ignorant in this instance (heaven forbid). I could not find any reference to the Soaring Immortal Blazing or any other phrase like Golden-maned warrior, but hey, this could be so hip it is not Googleable. (Is that a word? If not it should be). Or maybe fringe. But nonetheless, not only did I not find it, I had to read this shirt 3 times to absorb the message.

Perhaps it is simply because I am unburdened by the gravity of my mission.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 14, 2009 · 9:10 pm

The perfect gift

This is off season but so damn funny that I had to share it. If you are an email subscriber click over to the blog because this is a must see video. (thanks Jo, for sending this)

I passed this along to Gary in an email titled, “remember, it’s almost my birthday”.

Here’s his response:

I wonder if those explosives can fit in a camera?  Naaa…  It would probably just blind you and I’d have to walk you around for the rest of your life.

His undying love for me is truly touching.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 13, 2009 · 11:07 pm

Time To Cry Tuesday – Happy Campers

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No, make that counselors. Yes, after 11 years of writing a check to that haven in the adirondacks I am happy to say BOTH of my kids are staff members this year.

But the joy of not paying is tempered by the fact that for the first time in 11 years I will not be attending visiting day. And though I am sad that I will not be able to visit with my kids I could be equally heartbroken that I will not be able to eat the best fried chicken on earth and those heavenly little lemon meringue tarts with the little dollop of whipped cream on them.

Seriously, this is Time to Cry Tuesday so let me squeeze out a few tears for you.

We have aged out – for the second time in our lives – from a place that holds such intense memories that its culture is ingrained in our family as much as, if not more, any other piece of us.

I look at this picture and wonder, how can this be them? Wasn’t this just us? (note the Grateful Dead T) Ok, Gary’s beard was way more impressive (Danny is partaking in the great facial hair experiment). But I look at this photo and I know exactly what they are feeling. How the air smells first thing in the morning. How the lake tastes. The sense of belonging like no other from a place that is rival to none. For us still!

I look at those faces and the passage of time is so evident. (and I think what good money was spent on the orthodontist). Yet I could conjure up what a day at camp feels like as if I attended last year. So could my mom (yes, she went there too). And of course I have that tug at my heart that asks, “what happened to my little campers?”

I know they appreciate every minute. Jana surely did not think she would be there again this year. And they are forever grateful that we gave them this gift.

They are giving it right back with this image. Thanks guys for bringing us back, yet again.

We love you both, more than life itself.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 12, 2009 · 8:06 pm

World’s Smallest Dog Bowl

world's-smallest-dog-bowl

I came across this woman giving her dog a drink at the Brooklyn Flea today.

I have tortured all that travel with me and shot hundreds of pictures this weekend but for some reason this one stood out.  If you know me, I am not a fan of small dogs (they are more like high maintenance cats in my book) but the way this woman was using the cap of her water bottle to give her little yap yap yorkie a drink was a perfect moment in time.

The tattoo, the nail polish and the way the woman’s hair blended with the dog’s struck me as being so sweet.

Ok, so maybe I had a little heat stroke and felt compassion for the little yapper. I am not totally heartless.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 12, 2009 · 12:14 am

Cinema on the Bay presents Jaws

jaws-cinema-on-the-bay

I kid you not. In my sleepy little town they have this lovely movie series at Sunset Park, aptly named for the obvious reason that it has the most magnificent sunsets over the bay.

Do you think they decided to show this movie because it was funny to show Jaws by the water? This banner across Main Street (yes, we have a Main Street, we ooze quaint) caught my eye and cracked me up. Lovely rendering, no?

I am not sure if I am just paying more attention because I am working hard at being alert and not rushing, or if there are an unusual amount of humorous things out there lately.

What will they show next week The Poseiden Adventure?

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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July 10, 2009 · 10:19 pm

Just call me Kimmie O’Chaos

kimmie-o'chaos

I LOVE this name. If I had any musical talent this might be my stage name. It is so fitting. As was the circumstance in which I found myself behind this truck. I was on the way to the doctor for another in a series of bizarre ailments. No, my burning mouth syndrome has not flared up again, this is something new… ish.

Other people get bug bites. Me? I get the mother of all swell up and fear anaphylactic shock type bug bites. Gary can be sitting in the same spot and not get a single bite. I am like his fly strip! I have taken more than one trip to the the ER for bee stings, but this sucker was just a mosquito.

Doc walks in. Says “Wow”. (is that a diagnosis?) Writes a scrip for some industrial strength steroid cream and tells me to call if it gets worse.

Define worse.

Ok, so I have one arm that looks like I have been pumping iron and the other, not so much.

My life is always one long emergency. Even now, in the slow dog days of summer with no real crisis on the horizon, no kids home, work quiet and managable, something always seems to pop up.

I guess you can just call me Kimmie O’Chaos. (seriously, doesn’t that name kill you? I am so easily amused).

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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