Nina Bonita

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In 2007 I spent a week in Mexico. I stayed with a friend of mine, Nic Garza, in Mercedes, Texas, and each day we spent in Mexico. I was the speaker at a revival meeting in Valle Hermoso, Mexico. Nic was my translator. One night after the meeting we stopped at a restaurant in Rio Bravo, Mexico to eat.



It was a great restaurant with an open fire pit. We met this little girl out in front of the restaurant. She was so cute that I just had to take her picture.

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I am very involved in my local Relay For Life. You can view my Relay For Life Blog here.

Z is for Zephyr

It's time again For ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is Z. I am curious to see what everyone posts. Z is a hard letter. My post is Zephyr. In 1936 Lincoln introduced the Zephyr, named and styled after the streamlined Burlington Zephyr express train. Several years ago I spent a lot of time manipulating photos to look like paintings. One of the photo/paintings was of a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr


1939 LINCOLN ZEPHYR

My Daddy has a used car lot, and has always had a number of old cars. That has given me lots of cars to photograph. I have a number of other old car photo/paintings. This one is of a 1942 Desoto. The most distinguishing feature of the 1942 DeSoto was its "Airfoil" headlights. Squarish doors hid the lamps until an underdash lever rotated the covers upward and turned on the lights. Though hidden headlights had been used on 1936-1937 Cords, they were still very much a novel idea in 1942.


1942 DESOTO

The Coupe deVille was introduced by Cadillac late in the 1949 model year. Part of the Cadillac Series 62 line, it was a closed, two-door coupé, Cadillac's first pillarless hardtop. Intended as a prestige model, at $3,497 it was one of the most expensive models of the Series 62 line. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome 'bows' in the headliner to simulate the ribs of a convertible top. The first-year Coupe deVille sold 2,150 units, but 1950 sales were more than double


1950 CADILLAC COUPE DE VILLE

The 1938 Graham was introduced with the slogan "Spirit of Motion". The car looked like it was in motion when standing still. The fenders, wheel openings and grille all appeared to be moving forward. The design was widely praised in the American press and by American designers. It also won the prestigious Concours D'Elegance in Paris, France. Its cut-back grille later gained the car the name "sharknose",


1938 SHARKNOSE GRAHAM

The Edsel is most famous for being a marketing disaster. Indeed, the name Edsel came to be synonymous with commercial failure. The main reason the Edsel's failure is so famous was that it flopped despite Ford’s investment of $400,000,000 in its development. There is no single reason why the Edsel failed, and failed so spectacularly. Popular culture often faults the car’s styling. Marketing experts hold the Edsel up as a supreme example of corporate America’s failure to understand the nature of the American consumer. The Edsel was "the wrong car at the wrong time."


1959 EDSEL

All of these cars belonged to my Daddy and were photographed and digitally manipulated by me.

Christmas in Jamaica

I know that it has been awhile since Christmas Day, but I have been so busy that I am just now getting to go through my pictures. It seemed very strange to take a cruise over the Christmas holiday. Once we were on the cruise ship it didn't seem like Christmas at all. There were very few Christmas decorations on the ship. There was a Christmas tree in the lobby with a Menorah right beside it. There was also a Christmas tree near the casino.


DOCKED IN MONTEGO BAY JAMAICA

When we woke up Christmas morning we had arrived at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Gina had a hard time with the fact that it was the first time she had not celebrated a traditional Christmas. She made a quick ship to shore call to Baton Rouge. and felt better after she had talked to Cynda. It was a quick 2 minute call, because ship to shore rates are 7.99 per minute.

We had booked a tour for the day. We traveled by bus to the Croydon Plantation. The bus trip was breathtaking in more ways than one. The scenery was beautiful as we traveled into the mountains, but we saw several accidents on the narrow twisty roads. One of them involved a tour bus.


TOUR BUS SANTA

While we were traveling through the countryside we passed many houses that were very close to the road. The hillsides are so steep that the houses are right by the road, and the children play in or very near the road. On our tour bus was a man who had long white hair and a beard. He had spent the entire week on the ship wearing a Santa hat. As we were riding through the countryside, the children along the road would see him sitting in the tour bus, and their eyes would open wide, and they would run following the tour bus.


JAMAICAN GIRL

Croydon Plantation is a working plantation that has many different crops. It is set in the mountains with the hillsides covered with pineapple, citrus trees, coffee, and many other crops.


COFFEE BEANS


CROYDON PLANTATION


CROYDON PLANTATION

On the plantation they grow 17 varieties of pineapple. Here in the U.S. we mostly eat Hawaiian pineapple, and we are used to only one variety. Were were given samples of three different pineapple varieties, and they tasted quite different. A pineapple plant produces one pineapple, and takes 18 to 24 months to mature.


BABY PINEAPPLE

After we toured the plantation we were fed a home cooked meal of jerk chicken, fried plantain, rice and beans, and cooked local greens. We were also served world famous Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The trip back to Montego Bay was beautiful and enjoyable.


BACK TO THE SHIP

We were back on board ship a little before sundown. We were able to watch a beautiful sunset over Jamaica before we left port. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship was in port next to us.


MONTEGO BAY SUNSET

By the time we left Jamaica, the sun had set and the countryside was sparkling with lights. The cruise ship next to us looked beautiful as it sparkled with light.


CRUISE SHIP AT NIGHT

Our Christmas 2008 in Jamaica will be a Christmas we will never forget. It will probably be one we won't repeat. Next year we will be celebrating a traditional Christmas.

Taste and See

During our recent cruise, one of the highlights of the day was dining in the elegant Monet Dining Room each evening. It was like going to the kind of upscale restaurant that we never would go to under normal circumstances. There were beautifully set tables, and waiters hovering over you. The meal would begin with the waiter asking you which of the starters you would like. I enjoyed getting to try new things. Sometimes I couldn't make up my mind and I would order two. Every night there were new tastes awaiting to be tried. Whether it was the Asparagus Veloute, the Tropical Fruits, the Bing Cherry Soup, Roasted Eggplant on Puff Pastry, or the Gazpacho Andalouse, I was never disappointed. I enjoyed getting to taste and see what these dishes actually tasted like.


OUR WAITER TOMISLAV AND GINA

After the starters, the waiters would clear away the dishes and reset the table for the entree. Tommy and Anna took such good care of us. Tommy's real name is Tomislav, but when he is working he goes by Tommy. He is from Croatia, as he says, from the crazy Balkans. Anna is from the Philippines. She had to leave her son at home with her mother to be able to work on the cruise ship. She gets to go home every 8 months. Tommy offered us many different entree options each night. Once again it was great to be able to taste new things that are never available in my hometown.


ANNA AND I

When time came for the desserts, there were always many yummy options. One of my favorites was the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. Other great desserts were Black and White Bread Pudding, Peach Grand Mariner Mousse and Baked Alaska.

My Daddy wasn't quite as impressed by the gourmet food. He would much rather eat in the buffet. He seemed to be quite suspicious of the food. Each time he was served he would carefully look his plate over as if trying to determine what it was. His favorite dish was the self serve soft ice cream that was available 24 hours a day.


DADDY ENJOYS HIS YAM POT PIE

I really enjoyed the food on the cruise ship, but I would never have known if I hadn't tasted it. God offers us the marvelous menu of life, and asks us to taste and see if it is good. In Psalms 34:8 the Bible tells us, "taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him". I really like this verse. God doesn't ask us to blindly follow him, he says taste and see that I am good.

Some people think that Christians blindly follow God, and that faith means believing with no evidence. God provides us with evidence and then asks us to trust him. When Paul and Barnabas were speaking to the people of Lystra they said, "God never left them without evidence of Himself and His goodness". (Acts 14:7)

God has given me lots of evidence that he exists and that he is good. With that evidence it isn't hard for me to have faith in Him even though I can't see him.

In Hebrews 11:1 it says "faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see". God tells us to taste and see that he is good so that we can be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can't see.

There is a Petra song from the 70's titled Taste and See. I haven't heard it for a long time, but the words go like this.

Taste and see that the Lord is good
He's got milk and honey for you
Come and dine at the Master's table,
He'll serve bread and wine to you

Well you tasted this and you tasted that
But you still ain't satisfied
You'll never find any peace of mind
In those empty things you tried

Don't be afraid of tasting something new
Your soul is hungry, nothing else will do
The bread of life will keep you satisfied
You won't go hungry or ever be denied

Taste and see that the Lord is good
He's got milk and honey for you
Come and dine at the Master's table,
He'll serve bread and wine to you

I challenge you to taste and see that the Lord is good.

P.S. Today is my son Gavin's 23rd birthday. Happy Birthday Gavin!!

A Really Useful Gift

For Christmas, Cynda and Dave gave me an unusual and very interesting gift. How many people can say that they got a gift for Christmas that changed lives? (A new PS3 doesn't count).

The gift was gift cards from the ADRA's Really Useful Gift Catalog. The catalog is full of projects that you can use the gift cards to donate to.

The basis for ADRA's existence, its reason for being, is to follow Christ’s example by being a voice for, serving, and partnering with those in need.


ADRA seeks to identify and address social injustice and deprivation in developing countries. The agency’s work seeks to improve the quality of life of those in need. ADRA invests in the potential of these individuals through community development initiatives targeting Food Security, Economic Development, Primary Health and Basic Education. ADRA’s emergency management initiatives provide aid to disaster survivors.


The project that I chose to use my gift for is to provide a food box and family assistance visit in Moldova. The Republic of Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a poverty rate of 48 percent. By giving to the project ADRA will give a struggling family a food box containing essential food and hygiene items. This box will be delivered to their home by a social worker, who will assess their needs and connect them to service agencies.

Moldova is a newly independent country that declared it's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union annexed Moldova during World War II. After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp economic declines. During the last decade little has been done to reduce the country’s vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies, Moldova continues to occupy last place among European countries in income per capita.



Think what we could accomplish in the world if instead of giving gifts that will gather dust or add useless clutter to someone's life, we would give gifts like this that will make a difference in the world.

Y Is For Yellow

It's time again For ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun.

My post for today is a little lame, but It is what I came up with. Y is for yellow.



This photo was taken in a plantation home. This stairway was small and cramped compared to the grand stairway in the main part of the home. This stairway at the back of the house was for the servants. I was captivated by the warm yellow glow and the shapes.



My family thinks that I take a lot of weird pictures. When I have my camera out, everything is fair game. As my wife was frying an egg, I just had to take a picture. Yeah, it is probably weird.



And you thought the last picture was weird!



This picture was taken at the Bluebonnet Swamp in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is a beautiful bit of swamp in the city limits that has been turned into a park with a visitors center and boardwalk so you can walk through the swamp. It is beautiful year round, but especially in the fall.



A soft focus close up of a yellow flower



In Belize, the inexpensive drinks are packaged in a plastic pouch. The yellow of the drink really draws you into this photo of a beautiful young school girl at the New Horizon SDA School in San Pedro, Belize

I hope the "yellow" has warmed you a bit on this cold winter day.

Back Home Again, Again!

Hey it's good to be back home again, yes it is. The old John Denver song really expresses how I feel. The last few weeks have been amazing and a lot of fun, but it sure is good to be back home again. We arrived back home from our cruise on Sunday the 28th, had 3 days to regroup, and then headed for Baton Rouge on New Years Day to see the grandkids.


AUTUMN WAS HAPPY TO SEE US

We stopped in Shreveport to pick up Autumn who had spent a few days with David's folks. When we got to Baton Rouge that evening, we celebrated Christmas with Cynda, Dave, and the girls.


WAKE UP PAPA

Friday noon we went to a wonderful; restaurant called ZEA's. In the afternoon, Gina and Cynda went shopping for scrapbooking supplies. Cynda has really gotten into scrapbooking. If you are interested you can see her scrapbooking site. She has gotten Gina interested, and Gina just started her own site.


AUTUMN SLEEPING ON GRANDMA

Autumn always wants to sleep with Grandma. Grandma would lay down with her until she went to sleep, and then get up. Autumn figured out how to keep Grandma with her. Just sleep on top of Grandma.


CYNDA AND DAVE CELEBRATE THEIR 7TH ANNIVERSARY

Saturday night Cynda and Dave went out to celebrate their anniversary while we kept the kids. They had a great time. People at the restaurant asked them if they were dating. We had a good time with the girls. We took them to the Himalayas Restaurant. Himalayas features an Indian and Nepalese menu. Autumn loves the Palak Paneer. My favorite is the Navratan Korma. Himalayas is Cynda and Dave's favorite restaurant in Baton Rouge. The owners love to see Autumn eat there. Not many kids her age will eat food that is unusual. Autumn will eat an adult portion of the Palak Paneer.


REBEKAH AND POOH TAKE A BATH

After eating at Himalayas, the girls needed baths. They enjoyed their baths, and we thought they would settle down and go to bed. They were way to excited for that. It was midnight before we got them to sleep.


REBEKAH DRIES OFF

Gina and Cynda had to take advantage of one more opportunity to shop for scrapbooking supplies on Sunday morning. After they were finished we got around and headed for home. It was after 1:00 when we left. We arrived home about 9:30, and yes it's good to be back home again.