July is almost here, ready for the sunflowers?
I am showing you a photo of the very small sunflowers from July of 2016 when we had a severe drought here in Georgia. Funny thing, this photo caught my eye because I went for a walk just this morning and I wore this exact same t-shirt! (As long as my clothes don't fall apart, I wear them forever.) You can't see it but on front of the shirt there is a map of the United States with each state being spelled out. (I think they had to cram in Massachusetts and Mississippi a bit! LOL.)
I am a cartophile. Are you one too? Cartophile is a person with an interest in maps!
My son is the same...as a child he asked about getting a world map. At the time that I looked into it, all the ones that I found were a bit expensive so what did I do? Found a plastic shower curtain with the world map upon it! Whenever he asked about a place in the world, I told him to go and "look it up on the shower curtain!". (This was in the days before the internet. Now you can look up anything.) I know y'all must be terribly impressed by my parenting skills! Okay, fast forward a few years...after he had grown up and moved out, his old room is still the same for when he visits but it has a nice world map upon on the wall! Hey, better late than never!
The green tree frog photo is from this year, he was in our irises on our front porch. I hope he was trying to get some of the mosquitoes that like to hang out there! Isn't he just the cutest thing?
As I told you in my last post, we did have some incredible heat in Georgia in June (it was the same in many parts of the country) but thankfully, we had a few spells of rain which cooled things down a wee bit. THANK goodness! I really was saying "bring me shade".
It's funny to try to park your car in the parking lots...everyone tries to get their car under some kind of shade tree, they are the first spaces to go!
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I was able to see the Elvis film! Even with the woman behind me with the LOUDEST cough on Earth and the man beside me who used the smelliest cologne in the Universe, I managed to enjoy the movie. I have some criticisms about it, of course. Still, it is well worth seeing just for the performance of Austin Butler playing Elvis. It truly is extraordinary. I truly love Tom Hanks but for him to play Col. Parker.... Best for me to not truly say what I think sometimes. I wonder what one of my favorite directors could have done with it...and that would be Michael Apted! Sadly, we will never know, since Mr. Apted is no longer with us. (If you remember he did the wonderful film , "Coal Miner's Daughter".) He totally understood Loretta Lynn being from the South, I suspect that he might have "gotten" Elvis too! Still, I am glad that this film was made. For one thing, it might make people see Elvis as a real person and not just an "icon" which if I hear that word just ONE more time....!!!! I can't think the last time I went to a theatre to see a film...okay, just got my husband to help me remember and it was February in 2020!
Hope the summer is going well for you all!
And thank you, thank you very much! OH! And I forgot to say...I couldn't help but be thankful that when they portrayed the '68 TV special, I didn't have to be told about it, I already saw it- in 1968! And I LOVED it!
Hey there, Kay! I read your posts but rarely comment. However, today I shall. Love the pictures. We really enjoyed our recent trip to NC and seeing all the green. The big news for us this week is that we got some rain - about an inch. Yay! It has been much, much needed. We've gotten about 25% of our usual amount for this point of the year. We shall take what we can get. Hope you have a good holiday weekend!
ReplyDeleteHey Kay! So nice to see your comment here! I loved your posts from North Carolina! Isn't rain so very welcome when you haven't seen any? Take care! Always nice to hear from you! x
DeleteI'm looking forward to seeing the Elvis movie too. I think more than a few people are critical of Tom Hanks' performance and accent in the movie.
ReplyDeleteI knew what to expect when I saw the film. Not only was it painful to listen to the Col. Parker's character but to also to be made to feel as if I needed to understand this point of view...that was too far for me to go. ("Too much Col. Parker, not enough Elvis"- that's what I said when we left the theatre!) More time could have spent on how much Elvis GAVE away in his lifetime, not just to friends and family but to people that you just met along the way.
DeleteThanks for the pics. I've been to Stone Mountain. I was so worried about looking around and falling off, that I don't remember any water down below. Guess I need to see the movie of Elvis. Sounds like the theatre was crowded. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteOh yes!
DeleteThere is a lovely lake there. Along with gorgeous wildflowers too! The movie wasn't too crowded but more than I thought there would be in the middle of the day! Take care in Kansas!
Love that picture of you among the sunflowers! I have spotted the first sunflowers out in the fields last weekend, at least two weeks earlier than usual, I think.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review of the Elvis movie. As for that woman behind you coughing - by now people should be well aware of their own possible covid symptoms and NOT go to a cinema when they have a cough! Here, she would have earned herself some VERY hard stares and probably comments from the other people at the cinema.
What's with the font size in today's post? My eyes jump to the paragraphs written in large font, but then I can't see what would make them more important than the rest of the post.
Someone else turned on their phone and you should have heard the woman behind her... I thought there was going to be a knock down fight! She really yelled at her. Hmmm.... I am thinking I might not go to many more films. Creepy feeling to be around anger like that.
DeleteSorry about the font...I have no idea how I do that and it's a bit hard to go back and change things, my poor old computer takes forever these days! So, there is no reason why those words are bigger.
Always great fotos!
ReplyDeleteI will tell Richard! Thanks!
DeleteA delightful series of photos Kay and love the one with you in the sunflowers. I think you are a great mother, you made geography fun! I also wear my clothes forever and I also enjoy maps. We haven't done any road tripping for a while but the first thing I do is go down to the AAA and buy their large print one that covers the USA. Even with our modern technology there are still places where it cuts out. I wouldn't go anywhere without my large print map. I haven't been to a movie in a very long time, but my son and his wife saw Elvis and he said his wife was very teary at the end of it. They have also both been to Graceland on one of their road trips. That was quite a different role for Tom Hanks. I also think my movie going days are over. I don't need the huge screens any more and I don't like the crush of people, let alone anything else. Anyhow, I am going on a bit so will quit here. Thanks so much for coming to my blog. It was lovely visiting yours.
ReplyDeleteI would say that if you don't have tears in your eyes at the end of the Elvis film you might not have a heart! I sure did.
DeleteAnd thanks very much for your comment, you write so beautifully and have a wonderful blog. Take care in Virginia!
After watching those 2 videos, I want to see the movie but on TV not in the theater just so I can adjust the volume. I like him a lot. Gigi hawaii
ReplyDeleteAnd you wouldn't have to worry about coughing or loud cologne! Aloha!
DeleteThere's an Elvis movie out? Goodness! I'm so out of it. I haven't been to see a movie in a theater in such a long, long time.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, our friends (and us) are planning on visiting England next year. We were there 30+ years ago with our kids. If you have any advice about what to see in London, I'd love it.
Advice from me about visiting London? Oh my, I am sure that there are so many others with better knowledge but I can tell you what I love about it...the museums, art galleries, the parks, the churches, the pubs, the old buildings and many of the new buildings. I love to just happen upon something, like the memorial to Oscar Hammerstein at Southwark Cathedral. Walk across as many bridges as possible across the Thames. The Waterloo Bridge is the longest, I think and there is even a song about it! You know I know that! LOL! And if you can get to a seaside town, make sure you do and have an ice cream cone and think of me. (Make it a honeycomb one, you will thank me.) Cheers!
DeleteMaps are wonderful, we have a globe the children used for their growing up years. Someone at husband's work was throwing it away!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures, your husband does great work.
It's funny you say that the globe was rescued from the garbage...I have a US map on my wall that I also rescued from a co-worker's trash can! It has a slight coffee stain at the far right corner but since the color is close, no one knows but me. (Except you, now! LOL.)
DeleteLoved this post, especially the Elvis clips. Brought back some hilarious memories of being 11 years old and having an Elvis scrapbook in the late '50s. I would cut out any picture of him with a girl, carefully scissor out her photo and paste in my 5th grade school picture. Surprise that I grew up to marry an Accountant but who also had a band, and is still a musician and songwriter in his spare time. Music has always been a big part of my life and it started with Elvis. I don't think I will see the movie.
ReplyDeleteHa! That is so dang funny, you cutting out your photo and putting it next to Elvis! For me, I knew Elvis from his 1960 films and he was like a favorite uncle to me. My aunt (who was just 8 years older) was a HUGE Elvis fan and had his photos all over.
DeleteBeing from the South, it meant a lot for me as a kid to hear a real Southern accent and for Elvis to have respect. The 1960's were a tough time.
Great post, as always. I saw 'Elvis' on Saturday night, and feel very much the same as you about it: loved seeing it, but with some reservations. The opening sequence when he burst into song brought my 14 year old self out, and shivers down my spine, ha ha. Who could forget the /68 special, it was sublime. Despite being Australian, I do not really like Bazz Lurman's films (thinking of Moulin Rouge) but am so pleased somebody made a long-overdue tribute to the one and only Elvis. Priscilla has been in Australia for the premieres and apparently she liked Austin Butler's portrayal - it was amazing. Oscar anyone?
ReplyDeleteAs always, I so agree with you! The writing and directing of this film could have been so much better. I read one review that said after seeing this film you might think it could have been a vampire movie, it was so dark and red. I very often overlook things that I don't like in films and focus on what I do like...so I can't give a great film review!
DeleteMy very first job was a candy girl in a movie theater. I always loved going to see a movie and would often go alone when I was young. Now however, I haven't been in a long time. I think the last time was when I took my grandkiddos to see the Wizard of Oz when it was played in a movie theater as a TCM special show! But if this comes out for the small screen...home TV... I will try and catch it! Too bad Tom Hanks had to spoil the show. Anyway, I love the sunflower pic! Our sunflowers won't be out for a few weeks yet but I always enjoy seeing them in the fields. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteP. S..your tree frog pic reminded me that I took a pic of a tree frog and actually won a ribbon at the county fair! You could win with your cool shot!
ReplyDeleteYaya, you should win ribbons for your cooking in addition to your photography! And I actually did take that photo of the frog too! We are so tickled that our plants are used by wildlife, you should hear us when we see them! Movies....I so love them but am very often disappointed. It wasn't just the Col. Parker character but the whole direction and screenplay were just too over the top for me and didn't focus on the man himself. Oh well! Take care and have a good summer! x
DeleteLove the shot with sunflowers
ReplyDeleteIt's funny but when I asked my husband to take that photo of me in the sunflowers, I remember being a bit sad that the flowers were not as tall as usual due to the drought. Looking at it now, I love it! Even if they were rather small, they were still beautiful.
DeleteI saw that Elvis movie too! And I have not been to a movie in years, and I wasn't THAT interested in a movie from that director, but friends wanted to go--so. I thought the young man playing Elvis was so good. I too saw Coal Miner's Daughter and loved it even though I am not a Loretta Lynn fan. Like you, I am glad someone attempted to explain about Elvis to people who have no idea what he was all about.
ReplyDeleteSissy Spacek got the voice just right for Loretta Lynn also! My Daddy spoke in that same Appalachian dialect as Loretta Lynn, so that film is extra special to me .(My Dad loved it too!) I know he would not have liked the Elvis film, I am sure of it. Too dark, too flashy and too "OTT" as my British husband would say! "OTT- Over the top!" HA!
DeleteStill, I think it was worth seeing, if only for seeing the REAL Elvis at the end, even in the poorest of health, could still sing and give it his ALL.
I was never super into Elvis. I was more Beatles, I'm afraid. However, I loved when he came to Hawaii. I also loved seeing the photos of you, Kay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay! And like you, I loved the Beatles too and all the British bands, you know I did! My Aunt was 8 years older than me and because she loved Elvis so much, I did too. I knew Elvis from the film's in the 1960's. Everyone makes fun of them but they were great for me, a kid from the South listening to a great singer with a Southern accent, a real one!
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