The new duct tape

I've nicknamed myself MacGyver Girl.  Let me share my latest fix-it secret.

Black and silver binder clips.  Like this:

Yep.

Now do you believe me when I say it pays big time to be an office supplies dork?

Just last weekend, I used two different ones to fix two chronic plumbing annoyances. We'll  keep that non-specific. I keep one on the handle of my lawn mower so I don't have to hold the bar to keep the mower running. I'm lazy that way. I use them for electrical cord management. (Poor cord management says something about a person. I don't have time for that.) Also, they make excellent chip clips. Why buy those cute colored ones when black and silver never go out of style?

Tonight, I saw a woman whose rear view mirror was held on her car door by a humongous rusty one--easily the biggest binder clip in the world. Wonder where she got it?

Blood Moon - Monday, April 14, 2014

Yesterday was a full moon and total lunar eclipse which gave us a "Blood Moon."  These first few photos are the full moon pre-eclipse, which I took because of the unique-shaped clouds and trees.  The others are during the eclipse. They're shaky because I was too much of a slacker to drag the tripod out between 1:55 and 2:40 a.m.  The tiny white squigglies in most of the photos are stars.  I also had two photos with orbs, but decided not to post them.  ha!

The next lunar eclipse is supposed to be in 2019.  We'll check back.

Full moon through clouds (around 9 pm)

Tree looks orange from street lamp light

Eclipse

Almost lined up

Photo, meh--but the top right star

looks like an angel, kinda

Not bad, even w/o tripod

 

The star looks like a musical note

#BloodMoon #FullMoon #NighttimePhotos 

#EarlyA.M.Photog #TotalLunarEclipse 

Advo

Junk mail can be hilarious. Some random phrases from the stuff in my maibox:

Life's too short to clean your own home.
It's better when you bundle.
You need more than an oil change.
Big help comes in small envelopes.

Poem by Maya Stein

Here's a poem I got in the GoodReads newsletter. Go here https://www.goodreads.com You can subscribe to their newsletter and read a new poem every month. I like every single one I've read. If you're into poetry, you'll want to check them out.  


Even the stars have anemia
and the sun, come winter, waves feebly from a dim noon sky. Even a mountain
sags under the weight of its long haul through history, and a trail 
through the woods blanches from foot traffic. Lizzie put on a brave face, 
despite the cough that kept her up at night, coffee barely
denting her exhaustion. My friend the musician works so hard
her vocal cords strain against her throat when she whispers. I see them, taut
but tender, young soldiers forced into an early war. I don't know what keeps us
burning through our own reserves, insisting on performance long after
the curtain crumples to the stage. Even the stars have anemia, fading when
we look too close. Even rain evaporates. Even the moon turns its back.

Poem written by Maya Stein
Winner of the Goodreads Poetry Contest, April 2014

Oh heyyyyyy

I have six drafts of blog posts.  They're saved in the draft/preview folder, and they're not finished.

Which is why they haven't been posted.

But I have drafts.  Just reporting.

Happy Friday!

Wearin' o' the green 2014

A quick quote from an Irishman you may or may not have heard of:

"May you live all the days of your life."

Jonathan Swift

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2014

Why blog?

One post in February.  *sigh*

I don't need to tell people to keep coming to my blog when I have been such a slacker about posting.

So......

here's an entry for March 4, 2014.

I have 126 pictures on my camera that I'll download. 

I promise:  no backdating.

xoxo

Vintage trinkets

The salon I go to is near some second hand shops and antiques stores.  I went to a few of them, and I noticed a ceramics shop near where I park.  The ceramic Christmas tree I made a long time ago needed a star for the top because the one I bought when I got the colored bulbs was too small. I went inside the shop and found some toppers that are the perfect size, and I say "some" because two of the ribbon trees we made this past year needed stars, too, so I bought extras for those.  I'd put a picture of them here, but they're already packed up in the holiday stuff.  No worries about them being on the blog at the end of this year.

An entire wall in the shop had vintage items.  So...of course I had to look--ended up buying a couple of things.

The ship isn't genuine vintage because its inscription is dated 1997.  The oil lamp probably isn't old enough to be considered vintage, either.  I don't care if they're "jenn-you-ine" vintage or not.  They're unique and I like unique.

I'll get a chance to go there again the next time I get my hair done.

:)

Caroline the Super Kid

The award certificate Caroline received from school:

She wrote an essay about peer pressure and the ways her classmates could resist going along with the crowd instead of making bad choices to fit in.  She got a shiny medal with a patriotic ribbon.  You'll have to take my word for it when I say she looked like an Olympic medalist because she refused to consent to any photo.

Last Friday, she brought home a letter from her teachers saying she was eligible to compete in a spelling bee. She has monster spelling skillz, and I'm thinking, is it possible to get a lot of college tuition money if you make it to the late rounds of the Scripps spelling bee?  Right about the time I get ready to Google that, she says she isn't going to do it anyway because she doesn't like getting up in front of people.

Okayyyyy

We are proud of our Super Kid for working so hard on her project and getting the highest recognition as a reward!!!

The Best of Franabelle's Fancy, 2008-2013

I didn't blog a lot in 2013, so 2014 should and will have more blog posts.

I went back through all the years of blogging, and decided there were some posts that needed to be highlighted.  It should be nice for new readers to see what I've written before.

Hope you enjoy "The Best of Franabelle's Fancy."

From 2008
Happy Birthday Sharon
Auld Lang Syne

From 2009
Caroline Sings
Regarding Joan Didion
The Peace of Wild Things
The Date is Important
Reunion Reflections
On Fran's Bookshelf
For Kismet (and Beamer)
Bedtime Prayers

From 2010
Time Marches On

From 2011
Easter Clothes at Dickson Azalea Park
Dear Alexander Pope
National Scrapbook Day

From 2012
Seen About Town

From 2013
Is NatGeo Hiring?
Prom at Summer Camps


Please post a comment if you have one!