Dogs Go Shopping – Snapshot of the Day, no. 33

022713_33DogsSmartFurnirMy two current inspirations for photography are Vivian Maier and Katie Quinn Davies’ “What Katie Ate” blog. Vivian’s work blows me away – and I can’t get enough. I’ve even signed up for the newsletter so I can keep up with the latest images released. (They are also working on a documentary of her life. Trailer here.)

But Katie’s images are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen in a long time. Plus, she gives us all of her recipes! Her cookbook was released right at my birthday last Nov., so of course my husband bought me a copy. And that brings us to why I clocked out for lunch and drove across town to shop for a hard-to-find ingredient called for in one of her recipes.

Having so little time, as usual, I decided to take my camera and get my snapshot of the day. Well, the market had my item, but it was very expensive. I decided I’d shop around some more. Meanwhile, I walked outside and saw some kids looking in the window of another store: Smart Furniture. (It is a really cool furniture shop started in Chattanooga.) I looked inside the window to see what the fuss was about, and saw these two dogs looking back at us all. I could not pass up this opportunity.

We were told the dogs are not normally there, so I took it as good fortune for me.

In Front of the Red Curtain – No. 32

022613_32InFrontRedCurtainRI took entirely too long to find a photo today, but it was too cold for anyone to be out – and the light was not good in most places. I usually only give myself about 10 minutes per day, but it just wasn’t appearing today.

I have always loved the red of this building, St. John’s Meeting Place, and wanted to give the curtain (which dubs as the front door) a mysterious feel. I could not wait for someone to walk in or out of the “door,” so I had to improvise and try imply this pedestrian was about to enter with international intrigue on his mind.

The Deli Counter – Snapshot no. 31

022513_31DeliCounterRI ran out of time – and light – today, so I decided to take my camera into the store with me when I was on my way home from work. I stood in produce for a while, but could never quite find the right shot. I turned around and saw these women and smiled. They appear to be three generations of women shopping together.

Bonnie – No. 30

022413_30BonnieRWe went for a walk in my old neighborhood today and met this lovely lady, Bonnie. We had a nice chat as we walked with her before she turned around to go back home. I think this shot would have been better with a longer lens, but I did not have one with me. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow.

Under the House – Snapshot of the Day, no. 29

022313_29UnderTheHouseRWe’ve been renovating my old house for about a year now. Today we were under the house trying to re-connect an outside faucet – on the opposite side of the house from this entrance. The total renovation, complete with photos and “fun” stories, will be a future post.

Story of the Day – Favorite Quotes

QuoteOFTheDayI interrupt this Snapshot of the Day series with a Story of the Day.

There have been lots of great quotes throughout history, but my 3 favorites (at the moment, at least) are these:

Going to war without France, is like going hunting without your accordion. — Jed Babbin

Jerry! You know I’ve always wanted to pretend I was an architect! — George Costanza (Seinfeld series)

Favorite quote #3 is my Story of the Day.

Two years ago, my husband and I were offered a couple of tickets to the Kid Rock concert in Nashville. I knew I’d love to go because I really like Kid Rock. Despite his bad boy reputation, he does seem to be a good guy – trying to make a difference in the world in many different areas. Plus, his latest CD at the time, “Born Free,” had a lot to do with God. But I wasn’t so sure Joe would be interested in going. He is a former Sunday school teacher and a fairly straight-laced kind of guy. . . but I asked him anyway.

Surprisingly he said, “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

ME: “Really? Ok. Cool!” And then I added: “Now don’t worry. This will be a clean show. This is his “Born Free” tour. It’s all about God.”

I’m an idiot.

So the day comes; I leave work a little early (Thanks, Tracey), and we drive up to Nashville. The closer we get, the more excited I become. The last concert I had been to was……I don’t even remember. We find the crowd to be mostly like us: tame and sober. I was pleasantly surprised. The unfortunate “lost lunch” in the bathroom was an anomaly, I was hoping.

We have great seats, but I have binoculars with me, too, so I can get a better view. The lights go down, the crowd starts to cheer and Jamey Johnson begins the warm up portion of the show. I really liked him. He was GOOD. Bonus!

Me: “Joe? Are you having fun?”

Joe: “Yes. This is great.”

Time for the Kid! The stadium goes dark. The music begins. And he walks out onto the stage – dressed like a pimp and screams, “You’ve Never Met a $%^&#$-*%@!#$ Quite Like Me!”

I turn to Joe and say, “I’m SO sorry!” And then we both burst out laughing. (Did I mention I’m an idiot?)

Ok. Of COURSE he would be performing some of his original hits. Why not? They are good. And I work at a newspaper. The language is nothing I don’t hear on a daily basis anyway. I just had it in my head that it would just be the “Born Free” album and nothing else.

Anyway, it was a great concert. Complete with shooting flames and guest appearances by Trace Adkins and Sheryl Crow. Kid Rock definitely puts on a good show. The only drawback: a woman in front of us was smoking for the first portion of the show. Argh! Migraine trigger. Plus, it’s illegal to smoke inside of public buildings in Tennessee. Someone in her row gets up and grabs the usher. We all help to point her out because none of us is happy about the smoke. Our area-offender is escorted out. It was clear she had been “partying” for a while.

A few minutes later, our smoking friend returns – and lights up another one.

The usher is called again. Again, she is asked to extinguish her offending stick, which she does. The usher leaves.

But, yes, you guessed it – she lights up another one. The usher stomps back to our friend and says, “Ma’am!? The next time I have to come up here, I will be with a police officer! It is ILLEGAL to smoke cigarettes in here!”

And our offensive friend slowly turns her head toward the usher and states my third-favorite quote:

But I’m not smoking a CIGARETTE!

Oh brother! She really was toasted. And yet, she STILL is not escorted out. But to her credit, she did not light up anything else. Thankfully! But the pot smoke did linger a bit. She was not the only offender. I was only hoping Joe and I wouldn’t get pulled over on our way home. A police officer would never believe we had not been smoking pot. The smell was all in our clothes.

Which explains why we felt the uncontrollable urge to pull over at a Krystal in Murfreesboro. We were starving!

We got home around 3:30 a.m., but we really did have a great time – despite the “cigarette” smoke.

Seventh and Market – Shot of the Day, no. 27

022113_27SeventhAndBroadRMy plan today was to shoot an entryway into a cafe that is inside one of our downtown buildings. To my surprise, it no longer exists. Great. So I turned around and shot a gentleman walking down the street. Ironically, I used to work in the building on the left back in the early 80s. It was Miller Bros. then. Now it houses BlueCross BlueShield. Or did until they moved to their main campus.

The Cleaning Lady – Snapshot of the Day, No. 26

022013_26CleaningLadyRThere is something about this food court that keeps bringing me back. When it first opened in the newly remodeled Warehouse Row, I would walk down from where I work to get design ideas for my husband’s and my new home. I love looking down on these typewriter key stools and watching people talking and eating their lunches.

I was in luck today. Two entire tables of people gathered for lunch. And when I switched lenses, they all got up and left. Typical.

And then it happened. I saw the cleaning lady wiping down the tables. “MAYBE, just maybe she’ll come to where I need her to be,” I thought to myself. But then, a lady sat down right below where I was standing. I framed the shot right when the lovely cleaning lady moved into my photo. CLICK! And I was gone. I had two meetings to get to, and time ticking away on the parking meter. Perfect timing. Thank you to both of you!

Medical collection – Photo no. 25

021913_25MedicalCollectionRThis is a collection of antique forceps and other medical instruments from the estate of Dr. William O. Campbell, a local doctor who recently passed away. Dr. Campbell spent over 40 years amassing this collection of about 10,000 items which date from the 16th century to present day. He logged and numbered every item he bought, making it an even more extraordinary find.