It's Memorial Day Weekend...

...when we pause to remember...those who gave all in defense of our nation.

This holiday began as "Decoration Day" - when towns set aside a day to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers and honor their sacrifice.

Because the losses from the bloodiest war in American history were so staggering - more than 620,000 dead - NOT pausing to remember and honor those who perished was unthinkable.

But for obvious historical reasons, the observance of Decoration Day took different forms in Southern states than those in the North.

Neither side wanted to be told by the other when or how they should remember their fallen heroes.

After WW1 it changed from honoring the Civil War dead to honoring any who died in our nation's wars.

Finally, in 1971, Memorial Day became an official federal holiday.

And while it's common to celebrate the day as the kickoff of summer with parades, ball games, camping and cookouts...

...all of us should stop and reflect on its somber and sacred essence.

Men and women - most in the bloom of youth - gave up their futures, their families, their hopes and dreams to lay down their lives in defense of our country.

Whatever freedoms we have were purchased in their blood; gratitude and reverence should be the prevailing sentiments on this day.

Canadian Lt-Colonel John McCrae captured the soul of their sacrifice in a poem he penned during WWI, after the second battle of Ypres in 1915:

Always Remember.

Turning now to domestic affairs...

After calm and reasoned negotiations...

 ...Karen and I have reached an equitable agreement:

There will be NO golf holes in the front yard.

I tried to be gracious in defeat, but it was tough when she started singing "I got my WAY-ay, nyah nyah nyah NYAH nyah..."

Have to admit, her point that the backyard is for fun while the front yard is for curb appeal was tough to argue.

“You don’t go skinny dipping in the FRONT yard do you?” she demanded.

“Of course not my Darling Kumquat,” replied I.  “After taking pictures, the neighbors would have me arrested since the pool is in the backyard.”

“Game, set, match!” she exclaimed with both clenched fists thrust skyward.

I was going to suggest my DIY putting greens equate to "curb appeal", but that’s when she started singing and doing the Chicken Dance and I surmised my cause was lost.

So...plan B is I'll have 5 putting greens and 9 tees, ALL in the back yard.

Basically I'll play 1 through 5, then "turn the corner" and go back through holes 4, 3, 2 and 1 (read: 6, 7, 8 and 9), using different tee placements to make each hole "unique".

End result will be a 9 hole, par 32 hickory wiffle golf course.

What’s the overarching lesson here?

Staying with the golf theme, almost done with this year's 1st putting green installation:

it's #1 when you tee off...

...and #9 on the way back

Just laid the rug on there for the pics...still have to put sand down, compact it, then swap the paint can placeholder for the actual cup you see there, and finally spike down the carpet and carefully cut out the hole.  A little mulch around the edges and voila, new putting green.

Hoping to get the final one (hole #5) - planned as a 9' diameter circle - in place by end of June.

In the "whooda thunk it" department...

got to the lanes with a "full" scoresheet so had to improvise

...I actually rolled two 200 games back to back this week.

And...if I hadn't chopped the 10 pin on an easy 6-10 spare in the 10th frame of my 1st game - or done THE EXACT SAME THING in the 7th frame of my last game - I would have had my 1st 600 series, instead of falling short by 5 lousy pins.

Been trying to learn something from every outing, to pick up a tip or pointer from that series that will help me improve.

Admit it; you're fascinated by this.

I know Karen is.

Whenever I start mansplaining stuff to her she practically tingles with excitement.

Oh well...as with all of life, bowling is a...

And now boys and girls, it's time for a leisurely stroll through the Parting Shots department and this week we’re trying something new.

Just send me your email address, a valid credit card number and your power of attorney and I’ll email you the hand curated pictures I’ve…

What?

Hold on a sec…

Ok, scratch that.

Karen says to avoid prison time I should just do it the usual way, so here goes…

morning fire on the lower patio.

our "snowball tree" (latin: aboretum snowballus) in bloom.

looks like hasenpfeffer and duck risotto for dinner.

buddy and mr. squirrel in a staredown at the bird feeder...

...and mr. squirrel staring down at buddy from the bat house a moment later.

mr. mouse taking a dip in the pool.  never fear, I flung him to the (relative) safety of dry land, so he lived to swim another day.

gotta love the pink bird.

some mcm styling for you.

they have to be else I can't golf here.

Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday and remember those who gave their all in service to our country.

later, mcm fans...

Gotta Love...

...the month of May...when the mercury rises and life bursts into full bloom again.

The ornamental apple tree we planted in memory of Ryan is glorious right now...

...as all of Nature blesses us with a florescent symphony of colors, foliage and blossoms.

Oh yeah...and pollen...

...lots and lots of pollen.

Oh well, it's the price some of us pay for this beautiful weather.

Wasn't so very long ago we were pollen-free but enduring this...

...so pass the Zyrtec (and a tissue) and quit yer kvetching.

Guess who provided a couple more signs for Ryan's golf course?

Cool, right?

Mid Century Modern Tee signs for each hole; two down, three (or four, depending on progress this summer) to go.

Thank you, Holly.

We rock on.

We're behind in our outside work this year...lost at least 2 weeks with the crappy April weather, but a certain slave driver I know...

the mistress of the landscaping

...has been working someone like a borrowed mule to catch up...

the borrowed mule

...and she's on to my usual hidey holes so there's been no escape.

We are making progress...

...in spite of my best efforts.

We've now arrived at the part where I take a formal bow, announce in my best French accent, "Ta da!" and you all clap in wild appreciation for the awe inspiring events you've just experienced...

Yeah...like that.

later, mcm fans.

Today Is Good Friday...

...the start of Easter weekend...when Christians the world over celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ.

For most folks Easter's a yawn, just a day to indulge the kids with candy, stuffed animals, and maybe an Easter egg hunt...

...weather permitting, of course.

Nothing wrong with celebrating and having some fun; we used to when the kids were little.

In those days we usually had some month left over at the end of the money, but we always tried to scrape enough together for their Easter baskets.

And why not?

They were kids, and we wanted to make it fun for them.

But as the Apostle Paul wrote, "When I was a child I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man I put away childish things." (I Corinthians 13:11)

Rightly so, especially on Easter, because this day above all others has eternal consequences.

On Good Friday, while Jesus hung on Calvary's cross, the wrath of God burned on him for three hours as he paid the awful price for our sins.

Isaiah wrote, "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4,5)

The resurrection is proof God accepted His sacrifice...

...so we can have peace with our Creator and eternal life in heaven with Him.

God's done all the heavy lifting here, so what's your part in this?

Simple: <trust Him>

Happy Resurrection Weekend.

Behold the magic of waiting:

If you're of a certain age you recognize the above as a Polaroid picture, and unlike today's digital photography that's truly instant, taking pictures with a Polaroid camera involves some wait time...

...for that wonderful analog chemical reaction to percolate awhile as it cooks up an amazing picture right there in front of your beady little eyes.

The irony, of course, is that back in the day when Polaroid cameras were first introduced - think 1948 and the Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 - they were hailed as "instant photography".

No waiting!  Instant pictures!

Compared to the normal process of taking an entire roll of film, then removing it from the camera, packing it up and sending it away for development - something that could easily take a week or more - a Polaroid picture was indeed "instant".

And the Polaroids of old did develop more quickly than these Polaroid redux pictures do.

Whatever the chemical mixture was back then - now banned - it was much faster.

Within a few short minutes you saw your handiwork appear like a phantom emerging from the mist until voila!

Your masterpiece metamorphosed into vibrant reality right there in your sweaty mitts.

Today it's more like 10 or 15 minutes, and they actually continue their chemical process for quite awhile after that.

So...given the wait, the cost, the quality compared to ultra hi-res digital photos...is it worth it?

Sorry...didn't mean to insult your intelligence with such a dumb question.

Obviously it's worth it.

All you have to do is take one look at the camera that produces those pictures:

What?  You don't think that looks like a camera?

How about now?

Yeah...that flat rectangle was the original Transformer, an engineering and photographic marvel that - with a pull of the hand - miraculously morphed into the coolest camera ever invented:

The Polaroid SX-70, introduced in 1972.

A decade later it was out of production, but thanks to the Impossible Project in 2013, now succeeded by the rebirth of much improved Polaroid film, these classic cameras live again.

The SX-70 film is quite sensitive to over exposure, so it takes some experimentation with the light / dark adjustment to get it right.

Polaroid recommends setting the light/dark dial a third of the way toward darken:

That, however, is just a recommendation and each camera is a little different, so it can take awhile to find the sweet spot on your particular SX-70.

After more than my share of failures...

...I'm now finding success with this camera.

Indoors the camera actually adjusts to lower light conditions by using a slower shutter speed - a bit unnerving the first time you press the shutter button and experience this long pause before the film ejects.

Never fear, as long as you didn't punch the button, but firmly pressed and held it a moment, the film will eject...just be sure you hold the camera steady during the pause to reduce blurring.

Indoors at night requires a flash attachment and the results are variable.

If you're photographing something up close, it tends to highlight/wash out that person or object while most of the background fades to black.

If you're not taking a closeup it seems to work a little better...

...though I probably should have had the light/dark dial a click more toward darken.

Those last two were taken with a vintage NOS SX-70 flash bar, though Polaroid does sell an electronic one.

Bottom line, your best pictures will happen when there's lots of natural daylight, either inside or outside, and I absolutely love the rich, soft, creamy colors you get with the SX-70 film.

This camera is so cool it should have been a mid century modern marvel, but missed that era by 7 years or so.

Sadly, that drops it solidly into the 1970s, the dumbest decade on record:

Jimmy Carter, pet rocks, disco, polyester leisure suits, the Chevy Chevette, my first marriage...

The 70's owe the world an apology for pretty much everything EXCEPT the Polaroid SX-70 camera.

(And my oldest son...he was born in the 70's, so we'll carve out an exception for him.

(Um...and my co-worker Larry, also born in the 70's; and come to think of it, the Atari was kind of cool, and I did like Jaws; and Star Wars wasn't bad...)

Ok, forget all that.

The point is, you want to be one of the cool kids, right?

Of course you do, so get your hands on one of these classic SX-70 cameras, buy some Polaroid film and start making some instant memories.

And now I see we've arrived at the terminus of another blog entry...

...well, not that terminus...that one's in Australia where the fascists locked down the citizenry per instructions from Dr. Fraud himself, Anthony Fauci.

Either way, it is that time again, so you better lock it up...

later, mcm fans...