Fond Memories and a Joke From Joe

I've been missing Koshimi lately and dug up this photo from last August when we drove up to the wine country in Northern California. Here we are amid the vineyards at Ledson Winery in Sonoma. Sheldon was just five months old, and was nearly the same size as Shimi. I remember this day as if it were yesterday. We had so much fun with both dogs. This particular day we went to Ledson to enjoy some wine and for lunch. I'm so happy we stopped for this photo. Sheldon and Shimi had so much fun running through the vineyards and looking at the grapes nearing harvest time. Fond memories indeed.

By the way, I sure had a lot of fun with my "What Movie is This?" posts the past two days. I want to thank to everyone who left a comment or sent me an e-mail with their guesses to the film titles. Either I picked really easy films, or y'all just know your 80's movies! I'll try that again sometime. OK so now here's a little joke that my brother Joe sent to me. I should warn you- if you are very religious or a strict Catholic, skip over this joke.
Hope you have a great Wednesday. Now here's my brother Joe's little joke:

While driving home, a neighborhood priest saw a Nun walking along the road, and decided to offer her a lift.

The Nun got in the car, sat down and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg, causing the priest to nearly have an accident

After regaining control of the car, the priest steadily slid his hand up her leg. The Nun said: "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand.

But changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The Nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129"

The priest apologized and said "Sorry Sister, but the flesh is weak"

Arriving at the convent, the Nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the chursh, the priest rushed to his Bible to look up Psalm 129.

It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.
-Rick Rockhill

What Movie is This? Part Deux

OK let's try this again. Yesterday I did a "What Movie is This?" contest but disclosed the name of the movie in the image name. Clever bloggers were able to "mouse over" the image and the name was revealed. Today I am much wiser... SO once again, does anyone know what movie this image is from? I'll hold off on posting any comments until Tuesday night, to allow everyone to guess. HERE IS THE TWIST: The first and fifteenth person to guess correctly will win a prize. YES, that's TWO PRIZES for TWO DIFFERENT WINNERS! Where else but right here at the Palm Springs Savant! Good Luck! Oh by the way, Happy St Patrick's Day!
Update: 9:00 PM PDT: The results were a little different today. Twelve or 17 people got it right, not to mention the folks who e-mailed me but didn't post a comment. We had just one winner, Grace who was the first person to respond correctly that it was Mannequin. Unfortunately we didn't have a second winner, because the 15th person guessed wrong. So congratulations Grace, I'll contact you for your prize. Thanks to everyone for playing "What Movie is This?"
-Rick O' Rockhill ;-)

What Movie is This?

Thought I'd have a bit of fun with you today. Does anyone remember what movie this is from? I'll hold off on publishing the comments until Monday evening. The first person who guesses correctly will win a prize...

Update: 7:00 PDT: Everyone answered correctly, it is Sixteen Candles, starring Molly Ringwold. (What a classic movie). Of course I forgot the image was named "Sixteen Candles" and some of you let me know just how easy this was. Oh well, it was fun! Congratulations to Casdok who was the first person to guess correctly!

Sunday Art Review: The Work of Erin

Welcome to The Sunday Art Review. This week I am pleased to feature the work of a North Carolina artist named Erin, of "The Babblings of a Whimsical Brainpan" fame. She is an interesting person with a remarkable story. Despite incredible obstacles and challenges in her life, she creates art for others to enjoy. I featured select works of Erin a year or two ago, but recently decided to show a more extensive view of Erin's work. These works, and others are available in poster and postcard. This first piece above left is titled "Elemental" in watercolor.

above: "Evening Snow", original photograph

above: "Magnolia Blossom", oil painting

above: "Roses", original photograph, altered

above: "Winter Blues", oil painting

above: "Winter Moon", oil painting

above: "Winter's Passing", oil painting

I hope you enjoy this week's Sunday Art Review of Erin's work. If you enjoyed these works, leave a comment here, then swing by her blog to say hello too.

-Rick Rockhill

The Saturday Seven: Visual Metaphors for Being Down

Lately I've been hearing more and more sad stories than usual from people I know. Various friends, acquaintances and former co-workers from years past have contacted me who have hit tough times, either emotionally or financially. Lost pets, lost jobs, closed businesses, divorce, money trouble, or just on the brink of something or other. It's a tough world out there, and it's never easy to deal with bad things in life when they hit. But it is a true test of our character and fortitude how we handle the low points as much as the high points. The only things I know about life is that it is too short and unpredictable. That's why I believe it is so important to cherish every moment, pause to appreciate the blessings we have, and focus on what matters most. That being said, when tough times do befall, it is equally important to allow oneself the process to grieve, express the dark emotions and just let it out. I tend to express myself in visual imagery, and chose this as the topic for another scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Visual Metaphors for Being Down. I should reassure you that this post has nothing to do with me, all is well in my life fortunately. I am merely dedicating this post to those folks out there who are struggling in some fashion. I hope these visual metaphors capture the feeling...

#1 Old Worn Out Shoes

#2 Broken Bottle

#3 Broken Egg

#4 Mangled Bicycle

#5 Shattered Window

#6 Decimated Forest

#7 Empty Room

Remember, behind every cloud is that silver lining...and eventually a bright new sunrise.

Tomorrow is a new day...and a new beginning. If you are someone going through a rough time, I hope these images are cathartic for you. If you know someone going through a tough time right now, just be there for them and listen. Let them express their feelings, and then when the time is right, lift them up with all your might.

-Rick Rockhill

Philatelic Friday: Stamps from AROUND THE WORLD!

Welcome to a new edition of Philatelic Friday! I have been busy organizing my images of stamps for this week's post. Stamps are so much fun. Take this one from the Bahamas, for just 5 cents, featuring Queen Elizabeth II with an ocean scene in the foreground. Speaking of the Bahamas, I found a fun fact for you. If you can imagine, there was once a real post office located in the ocean. Back in 1939, the government set up the post office as part of a scientific facility on the sea bed off the Bahamas. The mail from that branch was "franked" with a special oval postmark that was inscribed "Sea Floor/Bahamas". Isn't that cool? I thought you'd think so. If that's not strange enough, how about this fun fact. A stamp was once created on the moon. Yes, that's right on the moon. It happened during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The astronauts had a die of a postage stamp which they pulled an impression of when they touched down on the moon. Once back on Earth, the stamp die was used to make the 10 cent airmail stamp issued in September of that same year. Well onto this week's mini-exhibit of stamps. I thought I'd feature an international theme this week, with a few stamps from AROUND THE WORLD...

above: The Falkland Islands

above: Ireland

above: These two are from Italy

above: Greece

above: Monaco. featuring Princess Grace and Prince Ranier

I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of Philatelic Friday. Have a great day!

-Rick Rockhill

Adventures of Sheldon: Dressed for Success

One of the benefits of where I work is I have been able to bring Sheldon to the office regularly over the past ten months. He has put so much time in that he practically qualifies as an intern in the merchandising and e-commerce departments. So it was no surprise when he indicated that he was ready for a full time job in the office "where the pets go". In my capacity, it was easy to secure a job for Sheldon, so we prepared him for work, complete with a nice new tie. After all, being the "chief bone taster" and "toy tester" for us isn't a job for any slouch. It takes a true professional. A professional, you say? Well here I present Mr Sheldon, all spiffy and ready for a day at the office. I inspected his appearance and gave him the "thumbs up" for his first official day at work.

above: Mr Sheldon is all smiles as he waits for his ride to work. I just hope he doesn't ask for business cards on his first day. Wish him luck!

-Rick Rockhill