Naima turned 7 today!
Here are some of my favorite pictures of her over the years:
I hope Naima had a happy birthday! We will do some of her favorite things any way. Sleeping. Going to the park. Eating.
Happy Birthday Naima!!
Category Archives: Boone FUMC
Houston (Vidor) Mission Trip – Day 8
This is my telling of my experience on the Boone First United Methodist Church Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Houston (Vidor). There were 18 people on the mission trip and all of them experienced the mission trip in a completely different way than I did.
Therefore, you should pull your tired bones out of bed on Sunday, July 8 and drag yourself to the basement of the Boone First United Methodist Church (703 Arden Street) between worship services (approximately 10 AM) and listen to the other 17 people give their testimony about the mission trip. I’ll probably run my yap as well. There will also be a video. Also, there will be refreshments.
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The last day of the Mission Trip was the shortest as it is only a quick 8 hours from Tulsa to Boone. I spent most of the day driving and we stopped for lunch at an IHOB in Liberty, Kansas for lunch. Jordan’s choosing. We stopped at the Junction Creamery in Osceola for ice cream to celebrate Summer’s Gotcha Day. Other than that, the day was just bathroom stops.
I drove almost the entire day, so there aren’t many photos.
But here is my day in photos:
#wafflelife Always stay in a hotel with free breakfast. Hotels that charge for breakfast are bull(expletive deleted)!!!
As the kids were packing up the van, I took a few quick shots around downtown Tulsa.
Bathroom break and gas stop.
This is a stupid rule.
Stopping in Osceola for ice cream!
Watch out Anna, that lady behind you is eyeing your Cookie Monster!
This is how Summer smiles!
This is how Summer shows joy.
Emily and officially the last picture of the mission trip.
We got home a little after 6. Sadly, when we got home we found out that Megan’s car had been towed. Nobody had paid attention to where she parked and the city towed her.
After that was sorted out, I somehow got out of returning the vans to Ankeny, so I went home. Saw Naima and tried to re-orient myself back to normal life.
It was an amazing trip on just about every level. I really can’t recommend going on a mission trip enough. Especially with a youth group. It is rewarding beyond your imagination.
You Still Wonder Why I Existed, I Exist in a World That’s Real Different!
I need to start this post with yet another apology. On Monday, when I posted the submissions for RELIGION and THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE I did not post a second picture submitted by Andy.
This was not an error of carelessness like in some past weeks. I legitimately didn’t know that it was a submission.
You see, he sent me a picture of Hawkeye propaganda. I didn’t realize that it was a submission for RELIGION. I thought he was committing a hate crime and I nearly called the police.
However, I remember that in some societies, being a Hawkeye fan is considered a mental illness. With the way this society stigmatizes mental illness, I thought I better just pretend like nothing happened. Back away from the propaganda and nobody gets hurt.
But the ordeal wasn’t over. You see before Andy sent me the picture of his boat, he implied that I might not publish his submission. I let him know that I will publish ANY submission that doesn’t get me in trouble with the law.
He then sent me a picture of his boat with the following explanation:
I feel closest to God in my boat on water at sunrise or sunset…
I can relate to this sentiment. I don’t fish (much), although I did catch a fish worthy of a Master Angler Big Fish award once, but didn’t turn it in due to my modesty. I also often feel closest to God when I am in nature.
I texted back:
I was worried it was going to be some Hawkeye garbage.
He then sent me the picture of Hawkeye propaganda with the commentary that they go together. I didn’t put together that the pictures went together. I thought that the propaganda was on the boat, because it is.
I have since rectified the situation. If you click on the link below, you can see Andy’s submitted Hawkeye propaganda:
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION
Now that bit of unpleasantness is behind us, I need to remind you that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is:
WORK!
A WORK picture is anything that involves WORK. A person WORKing. The tools somebody uses when they are WORKing. The results of WORKing. If you don’t know what WORK is, ask an immigrant. They get the job done. We all know that Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo.
The world wasn’t ready for the following RELIGION pictures on Monday. Not sure the world is ready now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:
You’re welcome world!
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION
Before I get into the participation and the tommyrot and the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE quoting, I want to point out the historical significance of today. Today is the 2 year anniversary of The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016!
If you don’t know about The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016, let me give you the short, short, short version.
During the football season, me and few fellow computer miners engage in a spirited bit of gambling. The winner each week gets to claim a red solo cup filled with change. Well, maybe not exactly filled, but there is some change in it.
At the end of the season, the person with the most red cups is proclaimed The Witch and they get the travelling trophy. A Franklin Broomworks Children’s Broom.(Incidentally, I agree with Franklin Broomworks and their hardcore child labor policies.) In the event of a tie, the title of Witch gets conferred in a tie-breaking competition that is determined by the people that are not involved in the tie.
In 2016, the tie-breaker was a turtle race.
The 4 people tied for first place were Joe (AKA Flat Earth Joe), Michelle, Cathie, and Humble Narrator. Before our traditional year end banquet at Zeno’s in Marshalltown we congregated at the Colo Outpost of AMOutdoors. What happened next is something conspiracy theorists have been discussing for 2 years now.
But don’t take my word for it, roll this conspiracy’s Zapruder film.
NOTE: If you are an email subscriber to “An Artist’s Notebook and are in the Outlook list, you will have to go to the website to view this atrocity. If you are in the regular distribution list, you already had to come to the website, so this message isn’t for you:
As you can see, the Red Turtle (MY TURTLE), clearly wins this race! Yet inexplicably, the Orange loser turtle is somehow declared the winner. Rigged! I can only speculate at what level the Russians were involved.
That being said, if you are into hunting and fishing, you could do worse than checking out Micky’s hunting and fishing website by clicking on the link below:
AMOUTDOORS
Just don’t trust the guy to run a turtle race. He is as crooked as dog’s hind leg. Depending on the dog, crookeder.
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Participation rates!
Tommyrot!
Here are the submissions for RELIGION:
Becky Parmelee
Kim Barker
Christopher D. Bennett
Shannon Bardole
Andy Sharp
Tamara Peterson
Andy Sharp
But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:
WORK!
WORK! What a great theme! But what is WORK photography? WORK photography would be a photo of somebody doing their job, at their job, the tools for their job. But WORK doesn’t just happen at a job. WORK can also be done for fun. Like gardening. Or landscaping. Or mowing. Wait, mowing isn’t fun, but it still counts as WORK. Along with doing dishes and dusting.
As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
HOUSEKEEPING
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTARY DIVISION
In recent weeks, 3 people have earned their very own Photography 139 avatars by leaving comments on “An Artist’s Notebook” entries.
Welcome to the Photography 139 commentary world:
Joe Duff
Linda Bennett
Tamara Peterson
Do you want your very own Photography 139 like giants in the blog post commentary industry like:
Angie DeWaard
Andy Sharp
Jesse Howard
All you have to do is leave a comment on an “An Artist’s Notebook” entry and I will gladly create you your very own Photography 139 avatar!
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 POST NOTIFICATION
I’m currently using a post notification plugin called MailPoet. I’m not 100% satisfied with it, but it will stay status quo until I get back from my mission trip to Houston at the end of June. At that time, I will (hopefully) have the free time to play with a couple of different plug-ins.
If you use Outlook to view the post notification emails, let me know and I’ll switch you over to the Outlook subscription group.
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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very labored Monday!
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Oh wait, that isn’t all I have for today. If you are out and about from 4-7 today, I will be hanging out with the Boone Area Humane Society taking pictures for their booth and mascot at Ericson Public Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff.
If you don’t want to come see me, come to see Hope:
Just to make it clear, I will not be in the dog costume. I am about a foot too tall for the costume.
And I Wonder How the World Gon’ Take This; They Might Hate It, But You Don’t Know Anything About Me!
The world wasn’t ready for these MUSIC photos on Monday. Not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:
The majority of the pictures were taken at Rieman Music in Ames. If you have any music needs, this is definitely the place to shop. Many of the guitars pictured are Derrick’s creation. He is creating a Jennifer guitar, an Evalyn guitar, and a Layla guitar to the honor the women in his life.
The rest of the pictures were taken at Boone First United Methodist Church.
You’re welcome world.
Something They Told Me That I Won’t Make It, I’m Not Famous, I’m Just Bennett
The world wasn’t ready for these CITY pictures to be revealed on Monday. I’m not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:
I had big plans of making it down to Des Moines this weekend, but Logan’s graduation ceremony last about 7 hours. 5 hours and 30 minutes of that were trying to get out of the parking lot. Sunday, I decided to mow and then went to a concert at Boone First United Methodist Church. It was a guitar/violin duo named Lyra. They were worth the effort.
All of my CITY pictures were taken in the seedy back alley pictures of Boone.
You’re welcome world!
04-30-08
The following images (and this collection is all over the place) came from the folder 04-30-08:
Karen
One of the bitter parts of this collection is that Karen has passed away since this picture was taken. Many of these pictures were taken during Olivia’s Stitching Time. A sewing circle that Teresa started and ran for a year or so.
I don’t believe I used the Little White Lye Soap pictures for anything, but I did take them. The tulips are in my Mom’s yard.
By adding these photos to the Photography 139 Photography Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic An Artist’s Notebook blog entries to their original glory:
Cheese Subscription
By restoring those entries I have now restored every blog entry from April of 2008:
APRIL – 2008
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve more Little White Lye Soap and gymnastics,
Cluck Cluck Noodles
Last Sunday the Methodist Men had our annual Chicken Noodles Brunch. I took a few photos of the event:
You may recall that the weather last Sunday was less than idyllic. Loads of snow dropped on the metropolitan Boone area and the temperatures were cold as well. The turnout for worship service was very low. However, almost everybody stuck around for our brunch. What I thought was going to be a disaster turned out to be a great success.
The Chicken Noodles Brunch is by far the most ambitious Methodist Men project. Everything is made from scratch*. On Thursday the noodles are made and cut. The chicken is picked. On Saturday, the potatoes are peeled. On Sunday, starting at 7 AM, everything is put together.
I’m glad so much effort was rewarded!
*If you don’t count our trademark red applesauce.
An Afternoon with O’Keeffe, Hopper, Basquiat, and Suzie
A couple Sundays back I met Suzie at the Des Moines Art Center to take in one of Des Moines’ most underappreciated attractions. The Des Moines Art Center is actually one of my favorite art museums that I have ever visited. It’s collection is surprisingly impressive and to top that off, it is FREE!
This was the 3rd or 4th time that we had tried to get together to visit the Des Moines Art Center, but something always seemed to get in the way. Made me think that the trip was never going to happen, much like Scottie D. and I’s next great tenderloining adventure to Winterset may never happen.
This trip to the art center ended up being kind of strange. Part of the way through the museum I started to sweat profusely and I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of hunger. We sat down for awhile and Suzie gave me a stick of gum. I felt better after a few minutes.
It was very bizarre. Not sure Suzie will want to visit the Art Center with me again at any time in the near future.
Here are a few pictures I took before my hot flash:
This is called Klingon Mustaches
After I felt better, I bid Suzie a fond adieu and then headed to the March for Our Lives via quick pit stop at Ted’s Coney Island.
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So I had an amazing day today. On a couple of strange fronts I had some new knowledge dropped on me and I’m still reeling from the info.
KNOWLEDGE BOMB #1
Today was the Methodist Men’s Annual Chicken Noodle Brunch. While we were taking a break from our arduous labor, I asked Kio if he had seen why Jefferson, Iowa was in the news this week.
Kio is a top dog at the Boone Area Humane Society, so I was referring to the story that was on the news about Jefferson coppers catching feral cats and then busting a cap in them.
Kio has unfortunately bought into the massive misinformation campaign to paint me as a cat hater. When in reality, I don’t hate cats. Cats suck and I report the facts. I don’t get any joy in this truth.
Because of his perception on my perception of cats, he thought I was going to push for Boone to follow suit with this efficient way to deal with an excess feline population.
However, all I really wanted to know is what the Boone Area Humane Society thought about this policy.
Now Kio can’t speak for the Boone Area Humane Society (okay, that is literally one of his jobs), but he can tell me what they do in Boone with what he termed “community cats”. Boone picks up these cats and makes sure they have all their shots and then microchips them, so they can track them. Then they return them to the neighborhood where they were trapped.
I was literally shocked to find out that this was happening. Boone has community cats.
Kio gave me the rough estimate that there are in the ballpark of 25 of these community cats in Boone. They are all registered, but he did not know whether or not the public had access to this registry.
I’ve had a few cats show up in my neighborhood and I had them dealt with before they could have an adverse effect on my property value.
However, I had no clue that some parts of Boone have sanctioned cats just strolling around.
I have decided that if I ever move, I will be finding out about how to check out this registry to make sure there isn’t one of these community cats in the neighborhood of a potential new home. Much in the same way that I made sure there were very few rental properties in my neighborhood when I bought my current homestead.
KNOWLEDGE BOMB #2
I now know the purpose and the story behind “The Shrine” between Boone and Ames. If you don’t know about “The Shrine”, it is a mysterious building on a country road between Boone and Ames, built by a guy that is known to run gawkers away from it. It is a source of frequent internet speculation and sometimes “investigative journalism” by local media outlets. It has its own thread on Reddit.
I have my information from a high placed source. While I would tell you what it is, I don’t want to ruin the mystery for you.
Here is a YouTube documentary on “The Shrine”:
I’ll just leave it that the documentary gets a few things right and quite a few things wrong.
Romans 8:14
Here are a few Easter pictures from both the Rise of the Son Service and the breakfast that followed:
Photo credit for the majority of these photos go to Jaxon. I’m still waiting for the day he submits a photo for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!