Jumping from the Frying Pan!

We oft sit in the frying pan sweltering away -- get out! Get out!

Unfortunately so many times we go back to what we were doing and, guess what? In time, end up back in the frying pan. Here's how to avoid the Colonel's secret extra crispy recipe.

Make a list of 10 things you really want to do. Pick just one and do it. Regularly I write down my 10 imaginary lives. Here are some of my recurring top 5:

1. Pilot delivering mail in Alaska
2. Travel writer
3. Voodoo doctor -- sounds like it would be fun, plus there are some people I'd like to "doo" some "voo" to!
4. Famous inventor
5. Magnificent painter

After my first watercolor class last Saturday, I'm a painter all right -- a painter of what I have no idea and was sent home with the advice to practice every day! But you know what? I did it! I painted the ugliest purple and blue tree with pink leaves this world has ever seen and that was magnificent -- a magnificent painting.

This week join me and do something different! I'm sewing together my latest invention -- panties for the world to see! What will you do?

(Just an aside, who the heck ever thought "colonel "should be spelled like that?)

whirl wind

With five weeks, 19 states, and 6,000 miles from home back to home I've had a lot of time to think. With that I will leave you with a few things. First of which no doubt you're dying to know!

The largest ball of twine is located in Darwin, MN. About 17,400 lbs and rolled by one man over the course of 39 years, it is a phenomenon. Sorry Kansas! Yours is a blob of twine lacking the ingenuity of creative lever systems to appropriately roll the twine around into a ball. And Ripley's (believe it or not there is a twine-fest integrating into our North American cities--pun intended) yours is plastic. But watch out folks, on the "ball" is Wisconsin's own James Frank Kotera twining away at his masterpiece, self-claimed to weigh in at 19,336 lbs! Now those are some big balls.

More bites to chew over your morning coffee:

We have no control over weather only whether we'll choose to be controlled.

There are actually lakes in South Dakota. Lake Poinsettia Recreation Area. This was an amazing viewing event. Thousands (no joke) of birds sat floating in the lake in front of our camp. From the east one bird started to fly and with that in succession like "the wave" at a college football game each bird took to flight moving just 25 feet further to the east before landing, resting afloat again.

I visited the Perryville Battlefield in Kentucky, a battle won by the Confederates, but left the state of Kentucky in Union hands. Standing among the rolling fields of the battlefield were blatant clues to this battle won, but war lost. In the valley a small fleet of Confederate soldiers hid to later storm the unprepared Union army at the top of one particular knoll. When the Confederates reached the summit to sweeping views of Union troops on each hilltop as far as the eye could see they retreated and fled Kentucky leaving behind their dead and wounded. By all historic accounts the Confederates won the Battle at Perryville. Metaphorically speaking often I find myself rushing to reach the hilltop never paying mind to the landscape beyond.

Driving US back roads from nowhere to nowhere in no particular hurry.