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This photo makes me laugh as I recall a long day with lots of driving, that had nothing to do with seeing a circus. My friend Patti and I took advantage of a school holiday and drove our kids 3 hours in search of adventure. I had heard that the Carson and Barnes Circus wintered in Hugo, Oklahoma. I figured our enthused kids would help us get a behind the scenes tour or maybe a ride on an elephant. Nope. We did see this wagon and a few animals in the distance by a barn. And we gave ourselves a tour of the local cemetery where lots of circus performers are remembered with very unique gravestones! No circus, but a fun day!  Other Circus Adventures: Friend, Milissa and I took our kids to watch the Carson & Barnes team raise the tent, using elephant power... Returned in the evening and our kids had camel rides... I went to great extremes to get the elephant man with Moolah Shriner Circus to let me climb up on the neck of one of his sweet beasts.... My kids and I invited the grandchildren of circus star, Karl Wallenda over for lunch, before their evening performance...
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This line up of teepees pleased me when I spotted them in South Dakota, last fall. They brought back all the childhood memories I had of wishing I was a little Indian girl with long braids. I loved the idea of living in any kind of tent and teepees were such wonderful shapes! Of course I knew little about the real history of Native Americans when I was very young. The colorful shapes in this photo remind me of those innocent dreams.  Teepee Memories: Spending the night in some cement motor court teepees... Renting a teepee for the night and fretting over the inside fire pit... My kids wanting to sleep in a hotel teepee with their cousins, but chickening out...
I love this photo of Heidi in her chiffon scarf, nibbling on my lens cap. I especially love it because she's reminding me that scarves are a pretty festive thing to put on your head! This evening I am saying good-bye to my hair and this photo of Heidi will give me an extra boost!  Fun With Chiffon Scarves: Wearing them while riding in a convertible along the coast... Juggling with scarves... Magic Tricks... Dancing with them!
I do love my 2-inch bear and he brings me a lot of laughs. Here he is, back when he was plump and furry. Since I started using him in a blog 4 years ago, he has lost stuffing and hair. He has aged more than our president during this last term. In some ways Little Bear has been put to more tests than any president.  What Has Aged Little Bear? Being run over by a car... falling off a 10-foot wall... toppling off a cattail into murky waters at dusk... falling into a a glass of champagne... riding a slimy turtle... and the stress of being lost and left behind on a trip to New York! (Luckily he was found by caring strangers)
I've always made a point to stop at kids' lemonade stands, because I remember the thrill of having real customers as a kid! But I never had a customer as exciting as the Easter Bunny!  Selling Memories: I sold more Kool-aid than lemonade... My brother at 7 sold his own water color images of Italian scenes to Florida State students, studying in Florence. At 11, I was jealous of his cleverness, talent and success... At 6 I went door to door in our Staten Island apt. building, selling my own toys and treasures. Mom found out and I had to go retrieve and return my earnings....
I loved the drama of this window in an old building I spotted in Santiago. You could almost picture Juliet calling out to Romeo or Rapunzel dropping down her hair. But in truth I love windows of all kinds, rustic or ornate. I love studying all the different shapes and styles on buildings and houses. But mostly I love having lots in my home, so I can see the world out there!  Windows I Like: Old, with wavy glass... Windows, surrounded by brightly painted or weathered shutters ... Bay window with a seat for watching & lounging... Open windows with flower-filled window boxes... peeking out oddly narrow windows in old forts or castles... Gigantic picture windows with glorious views!
Like most kids, I loved to climb and this is a photo of my favorite climbing memory. I was 11 (and quite a snappy dresser in my red knee socks) when my family enjoyed a visit to "Park of the Monsters" in Northern Italy. It was like living in a fairytale, as we explored the forest-like setting. We discovered numerous colossal creatures, covered in moss and vines. Never again have I been able to climb dragons and enter monstrous mouths! Very thrilling!  Climbing Memories: Winding stairs in bell towers and lighthouses.... Rock climbing & rappelling... Trees of course... Caving ladders... Jungle gyms when I was very young!
A good set of stairs makes anything look storybook special. Cinderella ran down them at midnight and Shirley Temple tap-danced on them. Even Rocky made them dramatic in Philly, when he raced up them. As a kid, I used to keep a tiny book to record all the important steps I'd climbed. I didn't count these stairs in Santiago, Chile 3 years ago, but there were many.  What's fun about Stairs? Bumping down them in a sleeping bag... Going down the banister... Playing the "Rock School Game" on the stairs... Posing on them for photos... Sending your Slinky down the steps... Coming down them on Christmas morning!!
Since I was tiny myself, I have adored and collected tiny things. So this photo is worthy of my "S & L List". But, it is how Nathalie used these tiny hands last March and again in June thats brings the biggest smile. Last spring, Nathalie & her mom, joined Heidi & me for a reunion in Austin. All weekend we laughed ourselves silly, even before the precious gift of hands appeared. Months later, Nathalie used the tiny hands in a live storty-telling event called, "That Belongs in a Museum". I was giddy knowing she had cleverly used the goofy props in her performance. But I later saw a video of the performance and learned that Nathalie had mentioned me... because she knew I was trying to find a positive way of dealing with cancer, by Collecting Smiles and Laughs! Oh, I love how she phrased that. Thank you, Nathalie. You always make me smile and laugh! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SwuwasQZpA https://thatbelongsinamuseum.org/  My Favorite Tiny Things: My 2-inch bear that writes his own blog, a pair of 3-inch salesman sample kid gloves, the dollhouse I built in my teens, childhood charm bracelet and a collection of OLD Crackerjack and gum machine treasures... back when they made good ones!
This little girl with the purple balloon and rolling butterfly made me smile, a few years ago. I spotted her when Don and I were enjoying a Chilean wine festival with our nephew. We suddenly heard the sound of cymbals and drums. A crowd began to surround a father and son duo, stomping and twirling in the square, while their attached drums and cymbals pounded and crashed along. The crowds watched and applauded. The little girl was oblivious to the performance, or the nearby parrot... or twirling pinwheels. She had her hands full!  Surprising performances: A young yodeler, echoing across Barton Springs Pool in Austin, TX... "Shaky Jake" playing his nearly busted guitar on the corner in Ann Arbor, MI... A spooky silver-painted, human statue in Paris, Sweetest ever clown in Barcelona, with a red nose that lit up when money dropped in his pail... and way too many to performers to name, in New Orleans...
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