Fort Night

Okay. You're probably thinking the above is a typo - that I meant 'fortnight' as in 'two weeks from now'. But really, I meant Fort Night. As in a night in which children (and adults alike) get together to make forts out of blankets, so that they can share spooky stories under the cover of darkness.

It all started when Lori, Shayne, Shelley, Anthony, Mister Man and I thought we should have a weekend getaway in the new abode of Shayne and Lori. From there, Lori thought it might be fun to build forts - like we did when we were kids. And then we could crawl into those forts and tell ghost stories! So plans were put in place: a pot luck, overnighter in which forts would be built and stories would be exchanged. The potluck was amazing. Lori made cedar plank salmon. We all made dishes to appear in supporting roles.

Shelley skewered delicious morsels for the chocolate fountain.

It was an evening of laughter and friendship.

And Guitar Hero.

(Note Mister Man's "helping hand")

And then, when darkness fell, we built one heckuva fort.

And then.... And THEN, gentle reader, came the best moment of all: the moment in which we all crawled into the fort.

And frightened the POOP out of each other with spooky stories.

It was everything we thought it would be. I felt like I'd slid backwards in time to a summer's night in the 70's when scary stories were told in hushed voices by a group of kids who were huddled around a flashlight, desperately trying to frighten the life out of each other.

It was a fabulous evening, that was capped off by a wonderful morning.

Though I DID notice when I was editing photos, that Shayne's hand was reaching over to steal a slice of bacon off my breakfast plate.....

Ah, friends. You have to love 'em....

Hot from the Desert

As we slog through the January rain, and day after day of endless grey skies, I have to remind myself that, not even a month ago, I was hanging out in the desert. And it was glorious. So, I went back and picked through my photos, plucking out the ones that I thought might lift you out of the winter doldrums and catapult you into a place where things are dry, not drenched. Can't you just feel the sun beating down on you now?

We visited a ghost town that was full of nifty textures and colours.

The following message could be adopted for general use, don't you think?

Mister Man complied.

There was much to photograph.

Old mines 'n stuff.

Wildlife!!

Family in the old west....

A taste of home!

Of course Mister Man found the bar.

And, in homage to Kids in the Hall, Mister Man "squished the head" of the horizon. He's got the whole world in his hands. Indeed.

I shot this looking through the eyeball end of a telescope. It kind of reminds me of a perfect ending in an old-school western.... Giddy up.

Signs and Such

The other day, the news was abuzz with reports of planetary realignment which, in turn, led to a whole lot of upheaval in the astrological world. So all of a sudden, we were faced with the notion that we might be living under a new sign. And THAT got me to thinking about some of the fabulous signs Mister Man and I saw in Arizona.

This one was one of my favourite images. An answer box. Now wouldn't that be grand when you're having a bit of a conundrum?

This one made me giggle:

Let's take a closer look:

Gran Especial pantys... interesting. Or how about this one?

In fact, this place was bursting with signage. Some of which was indeed, perplexing.

Let's push in on this for a closer look, shall we?

So it was puzzling to see the liquor stand a few hundred meters away.

The market was full of partial mannequins. They were all "poised" with their bottoms thrust out towards us, as if they were perched there with their hand on their knees....

And then there were the male equivalents of the mannequins.

And these weren't really signs... but I believe they are hugely symbolic of our American adventure.

Not that anyone landed in jail or anything. Nope. They were too busy playing on the rides, having fun.

But the thing that tickled me most, was watching Mister Man enjoy himself.