The Numbers Game #80, Please Play Along, July 7, 2025

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Welcome to “The Numbers Game #80”  Today’s number is 201. To play along, go to your photos file folder and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find that include that number and post a link to your blog in my Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title. This prompt will repeat each Monday with a new number. If you want to play along, please put a link to your blog in comments below. Here are my contributions to the album.

Ollie wants to come along
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Gloria
2018
2010
2017
South Dakota 1954. Zippy, our pet raccoon
1950
1956

Click on photos to enlarge.

Yikes! I have 19,000 more  201 photos in my media file!!!! I’ll spare you the rest.

Santiago for Cellpic Sunday

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For Cellpic Sunday

Simply Red for July Squares

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Click on photos to enlarge.

The prompt for July Squares is “Simply Red.”

Cracked Open, for SOCS July 5, 2025

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The Day Cracked Open Like an Egg

IMG_4736

The Day Cracked Open Like an Egg

The rain falls
fresh as cucumbers
on cobblestones and tiles,
the dust of summer
washed from crevasses
and curves of stone and clay.

The air is cleansed
of the scent of primavera,
jacaranda
and flamboyan trees
and the whole world
breathes easily again.

Clouds dried up
by sunlight,
the silent birds
are flushed
from their covering leaves
and open in chorus

to the booming crack
of cohetes, splitting the air
in celebration
of Saint John the Baptist
who has baptized all
this day.

The prompt for SOCS is “Something that opens.”

OMG!!!

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In a bottle of Mescal labelled “Alacran.”

If you haven’t read my “Most Original Gift” blog, go HERE and read it first.

I decided to research whether people actually drank the mezcal that is bottled with scorpions (and in my case a snake as well)  and I just read this:

The scorpions are added live, and they release the venom into the mezcal as they die. It is used medically to relieve a cough or used topically for muscle pain.

Caged! For Fibbing Friday, July 4, 2025

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For this week’s Fibbing Friday, it’s all a con……….

Definitions or descriptions for these please!

1. Conservative: An adjective describing someone consumed by a goal to work in a prison.
2. Conspire: The sweat of a prisoner on a chain gang.
3. Condense: A prisoner who just doesn’t “get” it.
4. Context: Books donated to a prison library.
5. Contemplate: A “how to” book on crime written by an inmate .
6. Consider:  The spouse of someone in prison.
7. Condo: A list of rules for prison inmates
8. Contour: A guided tour of a prison. I actually took one when I was a student teacher!!
9. Consent: Someone found guilty of a crime and hustled off to prison.
10. Consul: Religion found while serving in prison.

Becky McGuigan’s Birthday Serenade

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Becky and her friend Patrick added a special dimension to my surprise birthday party yesterday.  Here is one of Becky’s original songs she sang for the occasion. It’s titled “I’m a Songwriter,” and she certainly is. A song singer as well. She has sung several of mine!!! Thanks, Becky. HERE is the link to Patrick De Gabriel’s song.

Patrick De Gabriel Serenades us at the Surprise Birthday Party

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My friend Becky McGuigan brought her friend Patrick to my surprise birthday party and they both entertained us with their original songs. I gave Patrick one of my poems that everyone thinks should be made into a song and he’s hopefully going to provide music for it and perhaps even sing it. Below his photo you can click on a youtube rendition of the one of the songs he sang for us. I’m going to link Becky singing her original song as well. Here is her link.

 

Click on link below to  hear Patrick singing his song

And, the Rest of the Story…..July 3, 2025

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For my birthday, Brad took me to a wonderful new restaurant. When I walked in, who happened to be there but my friend Aurora, who was having lunch with the mayor’s wife and another friend. This was coincidence but a nice addition to the day.  Then later another friend came in and sat at an adjoining table. It had been at least 10 years since we had seen each other. She reminded me of her name and asked me to remind her of mine. We never did figure out how we knew each other but both remembered we’d once seen each other often. This happens more and more frequently. It wasn’t until I got home and looked her up on Facebook that I discovered she was celebrating her birthday today as well!

Unfortunately, I was having such a good time that I forgot to take any photos except for the beautiful garden, the lovely center arrangement and this appetizer, which was delicious. Our meals were wonderful, but strangely enough, Brad promptly asked for the bill before dessert. He said he was sorry, but he had other plans, so he drove me home, walked me into the house, opened the door and. . .  

Click on the below photos to see captions.

Luz Marie was holding the sign, but who else was there?
Yolanda
Alejandra
and Jose.
Marie Jose
Carmen
Kristina
Isidro
Brad
Lach,
Becky,
Patrick and…
Patrick’s admirer
So here is a photo of Yoli taken on Father’s Day.
And Juan Pablo, Santiago and Emmie taken on Father’s Day as well.
A gift from Lach and Becky. They know me so well! Have to get this in the states.
The cake was spectacular, and no, I didn’t get the candle blown out.

Go HERE to see my first birthday surprise, HERE to see and hear Patrick singing his song, and HERE to see and hear Becky singing her song.

Most Unique Birthday Gift EVER!!! Plus Flowers to Boot.

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This is my usual massage day, so as we arrived at the foot and leg massage section of the process, the doorbell rang and Pasiano, Patti and Eduardo showed up with these gorgeous flowers and a very heavy bag.

Click on photos to enlarge and read captions.

The flowers were beautiful.
But, what was in the heavy bag?
Given with love, but…
Can you see what it was?
Yikes! is that a scorpion?
And a snake?
A snake and 3 scorpions, in fact.
In a bottle of Mescal labelled “Alacran.”

It was, in fact, a great delicacy.. Alacran Mescal, complete with snake and three giant scorpions. Said to increase virility in men. if you need some help in that department, drop by…I’ll give you a shot glass full plus a doggie bag.

Mexico never ceases to amaze me! So sweet,
as they know how much I like unusual things

Pepe was here to provide the massage and the audience!!! What a great beginning to the day. Brad will be here at 1:30 or 2 to take me out for another surprise, so more photos will probably follow.

Now go HERE to discover even more disturbing facts before going HERE to discover what birthday surprises the afternoon brought.

UPDATE: I did some quick research on this mezcal. See what I found HERE.