A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....06-29-05....Celebrating Summer

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, Dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Summer is finally here! It started on June 21st at 2:46 A.M. EDT, and I couldn't be happier that my favorite season is here at last!

So, today at the Finest we are celebrating all things "Summer"....like baseball and sandcastles, watermelon and lemonade, beach balls and suntan lotion.

What says "summer" to you?

I'll start............a few of my favorite "summer" memories from childhood; blueberry popsicles, catching lightening bugs, running barefooted through the grass, and ice cold watermelon juice dripping off my elbows. Okay, your turn! :-)






Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands). For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky—that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change.


"Midsummer" is celebrated all around the world with summer art and music festivals, but the annual celebration at Stonehenge has to be one of the most impressive. Last week, just under 21,000 people trekked to the Salisbury plain to watch the sunrise between the ancient stones of the megalithic ruin.

Summertime music
for your listening pleasure...

Summertime Key Largo Beach Baby Girl From Ipanema California Girls Summer Breeze Good Ol' Summertime

The Summer of '42 A Summer Place Surfin' USA In The Summertime Kokomo Crazy Days of Summer Sailing

Some Summer Links....

Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high.
Oh yo' daddy's rich
An' yo' ma is good lookin'
So hush, little baby,
Don't you cry. - George & Ira Gershwin, Heyward DuBose from "Porgy and Bess"


"This is June, the month of grass and leaves . . . already the aspens are trembling again, and a new summer is offered me." - Henry David Thoreau, Journal, June 6, 1857


Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. - Stanley Horowitz



That beautiful season the Summer! Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January.
- Hal Borland


For him in vain the envious seasons roll Who bears eternal summer in his soul. - Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Old Player


The serene philosophy of the pink rose is steadying. Its fragrant, delicate petals open fully and are ready to fall, without regret or disillusion, after only a day in the sun. It is so every summer. One can almost hear their pink, fragrant murmur as they settle down upon the grass: 'Summer, summer, it will always be summer.' - Rachel Peden

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. - Henry James, "A Backward Glance"


If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance. - Bern Williams

06-28-05 ~ Hall of Fame #12

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 06-27-05....Military Monday 06-28-05...Hall of Fame #12

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Mama_Bear]

I am so sorry, sistah Dolly, that I accidentally used an old topper on this thread. Aqua told me that I had left your name off, and sure enough, I did. Darn! I double and triple check these things to get them right and I still mess up! I'm glad she told me, so that I could let you know that is sure wasn't intentional. :-(

But I did at least get your name on the veranda graphic in my post. :-)

Dolly HUGS!

[STARWISE]

Well, since you're

it THAT WAY, I'll be happy to

the receep.

Tracking back, the beachy days of my yute were in New England .. the glorious vistas of Cape Cod, Black Point Beach and Rocky Neck Beach near Niantic, CT, and as a careless young ingenue.. on the beaches of Misquamicut in Westerly, RI. I lived in FL for 30+ years, and have had family continuously in Jensen Beach, FL, enjoyed the delightful beaches there and Stuart and for nigh onto 40 years, with trips to Sanibel, Captiva, etc. ... I can still conjure up the smell of Bain de Soleil and get melancholy, and relate to this position .. VERY WELL.

I've been to Bermuda, lived in the Bahamas, and the "feel" and aura of the Atlantic is still what I think of when I think of summery beach days ..nothing like it to me.

< And now, a message from Yur Frend, Dinky Applebuns, Miss XLady .. AKA Miss Gadget Tofu Humperdink (that's all I can come up with, when you've got ONE LETTER IN YOUR LAST NAME .. LOL. Of course, BG has a bunch of trouble coming .. she's Miss Poopsie Gizzard Tushie .. now, she's really a bullseye TARGET!

=======================================================

WHO ARE YOU?

Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. And, if we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.

Here is your dose of humor...Follow the instructions to find your new name.

Remember: children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day.

MORE LAUGHTER, PLEASE!!

The following in an excerpt from a children's book, "Captain Underpants And the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants" by Dave Pilkey. The evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names......

-----------------------------------------------------------

Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name

a = poopsie b = lumpy

c = buttercup d = gadget

e = crusty f = greasy

g = fluffy h = cheeseball

i = chim-chim j = stinky

k = flunky l = boobie

m = pinky n = zippy

o = goober p = doofus

q = slimy r = loopy

s = snotty t = tootie

u = dorkey v = squeezit

w = oprah x = skipper

y = dinky z = zsa-zsa

-----------------------------------------------------------

Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name

a = apple b = toilet

c = giggle d = burger

e = girdle f = barf

g = lizard h = waffle

i = cootie j = monkey

k = potty l = liver

m = banana n = rhino

o = bubble p = hamster

q = toad r = gizzard

s = pizza t = gerbil

u = chicken v = pickle

w = chuckle x = tofu

y = gorilla z = stinker

-----------------------------------------------------------

Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name

a = head b = mouth

c = face d = nose

e = tush f = breath

g = pants h = shorts

i = lips j = honker

k = butt l = brain

m = tushie n = chunks

o = hiney p = biscuits

q = toes r = buns

s = fanny t = sniffer

u = sprinkles v = kisser

w = squirt x = humperdinck

y = brains z = juice

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is Goober Chickenshorts.

Now when you FIGGER OUT WHO YOU ARE, GIVE US THE SCOOP .. AND LET OUT A BIG BELLY LAUGH ... Laughter, it's medicine .. and good for the soul ...

Yur frend, Dinky Applebuns ;)

[LadyX]

Adding to your Summer Theme, Mama,
I just *happen* to have a photograph of an old
Finest Family Summer Picnic Foto..:))

===============================================

===============================================

"Miss Maggie here -- hmmm...I see...
dixie sass and Temple Owl and Billie and jwfiv..
Luv W and The Mayor and WVNan and Brad's Gramma....
Diver Dave and lonestar and -- "

"WAIDDA MINIT!!
Where is our Wolfie?!!"

"Oh --I see him over there...:)

[LadyX]

Thank yew - thank yew - thank yew -- for "The Name Formula!!"

As for " I lived in FL for 30+ years, and have had family continuously in Jensen Beach, FL, enjoyed the delightful beaches there and Stuart and for nigh onto 40 years, with trips to Sanibel, Captiva, etc. ..." --

I was born in Miami, Florida; lived in Coral Gables until I was 9 1/2--
took "Sunday Drives in The Country" to Miami Beach and Mathison Hammock Beach before/during WW II!!
Moved up to Melbourne - later lived there again, and in Port Malabar, Ft. Pierce, Panama City -
On the west coast have been from Tampa/St.Pete down to Ft. Myers - stayed at Anna Maria Island for a vacation with my sister in 1997...

One son is in Lake Worth - the other in Davie, and about to move next month up to Port St. Lucie!

Other beaches - Virginia Beach; up and down North and South Carolina (lived here 4 times in SC, my mother's home state) -- Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Myrtle Beach, Cherry Grove, Hunting Island, Hilton Head...

And you moved up to Chicago???
(using a temporary insanity plea?!!)

[LadyX]

P.S.

Using The Formula on my real name,
I am transformed into:

"Loopy Applesniffer" - - haha!..snicker..snort.. musta been some fermented apples..:))

[LadyX]

Time for me to go on "Time Out" -- be back this evenng...

[STARWISE]

Wow .. we coulda been neighbors, XLady!! Left the Bahamas in '68 and lived in My-Amee, off Biscayne Blvd., close to downtown .. then headed to South Dade County .. took rides up Old Cutler Road a million times for the next 25+ years ..until I lost it all in Andrew '92. Re-located to suburb of Tampa until last summer, when the terror and fear of the 4 storms in 6 weeks last year DID put me temporarily in the insanity "ward" of life ... couldn't take it .. and my two great sons answered my 911 call. They both have established lives here and LUVVVV Chicago...I knew they were never coming back to their birth "home."

So, after years of saying "never" to snow, winter .. even though I missed them so ... here I sit .. in a city for the first time in my life, without a car for the first time in my life, looking for a job so I could eat now and then, and feeling some days like I've been abducted by aliens to another planet .. LOL. Never dreamt in a million years I'd end up here, but God is surely directing this play .. and I'm just trying to learn my lines ;).

I'll make one exception to my love of the Atlantic shore ... I took my dream trip to San Francisco, Monterey and Carmel 15 yrs ago ... I was stunned speechless at the glory and beauty of God's handiwork, standing on a precipice over Big Sur .. that is a slice of heaven on earth, for sure... just magnificent.

[Mama_Bear]

"Your Puppy is Adorable, ((((((((Lori)))))))! He's so Sweet!"

Thanks, Kitty. He has us wrapped around his little paw, that's for sure.

[dutchess]

Just stopping in for a "quick dip" before I head off to work on John's essay for tomorrow. Will be back to play if I get done early (right!!!!)

[deadhead]

Beautiful summer time celebration thread! Love your pledge graphic, I sent it to my sister, she loved it also. And your picnic basket graphic is very cute. Going with the American flag theme... I posted this here on the first day of summer, posting it again :-) When I think of summer, the first thing that comes to my mind is the beach. Love the ocean, especially when the waves are rolling in...fun, fun, fun

Happy Summer Time FR's Finest

[Mama_Bear]

aura of the Atlantic is still what I think of when I think of summery beach days ..nothing like it to me.

I spent many a summer day paddling in the Atlantic too. I remember that sometimes the water was so warm that it felt like a bathtub - unlike our Pacific waters. I was never so dissappointed as when I moved to California and found the beaches littered with rotting seaweed and the water icy cold even on the hottest day. I was used to sandy white beaches with little or no seaweed. But I still love going to the coast and the California coastline does have it's own kind of rugged beauty.

BTW, I like your dinky applebuns name much better than what mine comes out to be........loopy cootiebrain. LOL. My puppy's name translates to.........poopsie waffleface. That's cute.

[Mama_Bear]

Oh, this is just lovely, Colleen. I love that picture of the mother with the children and the background you used. It is a perfect summer graphic.

Billie has opened a whole new creative world for us, hasn't she? I heard that she is going to have a "dueling tables" post a week from next Tuesday. That's a great idea. I bet we get many really good ones.

Thanks for the compliments on my graphics. I'm kinda proud. I did the animation on the picnic basket with the ants. Like I told Billie, I know the ants are too big, but I am just thrilled that they actually run around as I intended them to. LOL. Learning to work with my animation program is very time consuming, especially since I won't read the manual. I just try things, hit or miss, until it works.

[Mama_Bear]

Yep, I do believe that is the Finest picnic folks. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

What a cute bear. I remember my little swim ring that I had when we used to vacation up at Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. Hadn't thought about that in years.

[Mama_Bear]

I'll make one exception to my love of the Atlantic shore ... I took my dream trip to San Francisco, Monterey and Carmel 15 yrs ago ... I was stunned speechless at the glory and beauty of God's handiwork, standing on a precipice over Big Sur .. that is a slice of heaven on earth, for sure... just magnificent.

Yes, that's what I meant about the California coast having it's own beauty. I agree Big Sur is God's country. No more beautiful place on earth. It is only about 3 1/2 hours away from where I live, but I don't go up there often enough.

[deadhead]

Yes, "dueling tables" LOL, it will be fun.

You should be proud of yourself, I am very impressed with all of your graphics and the animation, wow. Kudos to you, MamaBear. P.S. I like the ants big :-)

My Mom took us to the beach all the time, so that picture kind of reminds me of those happy times :-) If my Mom was cooking peppers and eggs in the morning, we knew where we were going...that was our breakfast at the beach. We would be there till dinner time, come home, eat dinner and go swimming in the pool. We were always swimming.

[Mama_Bear]

be back this evening

Okay. I need to take off for awhile also. TTYL

[Mama_Bear]

We would be there till dinner time, come home, eat dinner and go swimming in the pool. We were always swimming.

Bet you were some tired kids by the end of the day. LOL. Sounds like an idyllic childhood. Every child should have that kind of childhood.

[dutchess]

Yikes....I'm "crusty girdlesniffer" There's something wrong with that picture LOL! (thanks for the laugh starwise!)

[luvie]

That is hilarious and fun--sorta?

My new name is Zippy Girdlebutt! ROFL!!!! What am I laughing for!