Our lives are brought together by the things we have in common. We share friendships that have no boundaries. We see things that are truly unique, and things that are the same. Here we will knit together the strands we share...
So what signs of Spring's approach (or at least Winter's winding down) do you see?
This plug isn't that old. It came with my Jabra Freespeak BlueTooth headset. I can confidently say that I purchased this no more than five years ago so there definately are still unpolarized plugs out there, just few and far between.
Is that it is attached to this:
If it wasn't for the clever posters below, I'd never have thought of these two things:
A future vintage Brother sewing machine purchased in the 80's and used once every few years or so.
A vintage Sessions clock with a very yellowed cord! The piece that turns the hands fell off so you have to adjust the time with a needlenosed plier. Since I'm too lazy to do it during Daylight Savings time, this clock is one hour off.
OK - this looks like it's becoming a category in it's own right and, as I couldn't join in the "unpolarized plug" (we have different plugs completely in the UK) I CAN join in with this one .... and mine's so old it doesn't have a plug of any sort -
...my sewing machine. Bought for me by my dad at an antique fair at least 15 years ago, possibly longer. The box is a wonderful piece of furniture in it's own right (get's used as a side table I'm afraid) and the machine inside is beautiful too. (and it works - ok it only does straight stitching and you have to crank it by hand but the tension is perfect!)
I searched my house high and low for something, anything with an unpolarized plug, with no results. After reading Andi's post about the sewing machine, I realized I had something just perfect. A vintage sewing machine my husband picked up at a yard sale a few years back.
It's really a neat piece of machinery... I love the style of it, but as you can tell by the extreme layer of dust, it isn't very useful. . in fact, I'm not even sure it works.... it's just sitting there on a shelf in my garage. . .
I bought it in the eighties, (which REALLY, isn't that long ago, right?) still runs like a top. My trusty Singer sewing machine.
Well, my funny sign was a billboard a couple years ago. No picture (I actually did a google search for it though), but it was good enough for me to remember it, so I thought I would share it....
It was for Dreyer's Ice Cream. It showed a young girl eating an ice cream cone with the caption: "because she hasn't asked where she came from yet". Now, maybe I thought it was so funny because I hadn't had "the talk" with my then eight year old daughter yet...but I laughed every time I drove by it. And then laughed more when she would ask why I was laughing. :)
Oh, and "the talk" that finally happened last month...it wasn't so bad. :)
Ok, so I'm posting this from the road during the middle of our move to New Jersey from Texas.
Since I don't have picture posting capabilities and I didn't have my camera with me anyway--you'll just have to bear with me. (Yes I know that kind of defeats the purpose of a photo scavenger hunt, but can I play the "I'm moving" card? :-) )
Anyway, we're lost in some little New Jersey town off the Garden State Parkway today when we come across a restaurant proclaiming that they sell:
HOT TEXAS WEINERS
Ha ha! Imagine that! I lived in Texas for 7 months and never once had a Hot Texas Weiner or had ever heard of one for that matter!!!
My husband, also in the car with me at the time, tried to insist he was from Texas. Ha ha, sorry buddy, I won't buy that until I see a sign for Hot Alaskan Weiners.
Since I am not a big runner; if you ever met me you would know my body is made for a lot of things but running is not one of them; I had to come up with a different sort of entry. So here it is, camera shy, in the vanity mirror of the car waiting for dear hubby....
hello next assignment...I am having a hard time with a plug and a flamingo, apparently I have a lot of plugs (but new) and no flamingos (maybe while on the vaca I will find one).
Here in SoCal, where every street, town and "plaza" is named in Spanish, we also find the best of the best in "Spanglish". . .
Presenting, The CASA DE SENIORS. . .as in "senior citizens", and not to be confused with "señor". . or "man" in Spanish.
This one makes me laugh every time...
First a sign that was intended to be funny, I think. Although, I feel it fell rather flat.
And now, a sign that wasn't intended to be funny:
But that I found hysterical! This sign has been up for over a week, and nobody has fixed it! (N.B. for those of you over the pond who may not know A&W, it is a fast food joint that has one of their hamburgers called the "teen-burger")As I'm in the UK our electrical plugs/sockets are completely different. So, as I didn't want to be left out on this one, I thought I'd share a picture of one of our electrical plugs.
You'll see ours have three pins - live, earth and neutral. The extra pin is the earth which grounds the appliance should it become live. Also you can't really see but the third pin is slightly longer and this is to open an internal gaurd in the wall socket which prevents little fingers exploring when the socket is empty!
I am astounded by the amount of these in my house, it's something that has become an issue to me over the years - thinking about how much energy I use in my everyday life and how much of that is really necessary....something as ordinary as an electrical plug can make you look at things in a different way...just think every time you push one into a wall socket - Do I really need to use this appliance or could I do without it?
The energy is gonna run out sooner or later.....sorry, I'll take my eco-warrior hat off now....!
Behold the unpolarized electrical plug, an indication of an appliance that is more than 10 years old. In my case, it's a coffee grinder that I bought at least 20 years ago that has now been delegated to a spice grinder.
Do you have one of these?????
This is Windsor Castle which is about 15 miles by road (10 miles as the crow flies) from the spot I sit here in my lounge.
Windsor Castle is the Queen's official residence and is the largest occupied castle in the world. We took a visiting American friend for a look around Windsor Castle last summer and here are some more pictures
Hi there, I've just joined this game and I'm really keen to play. I looked at the current posted categories and thought "Oh Great....I am in rural England in February, where am I going to find a flamingo?"
I searched on the net to find where the nearest flamingo might be - an animal park in Oxfordshire about 70 miles away, not really in my neighbourhood. I decided to think laterally...perhaps there is a bar or a business called "The Flamingo" nearby...no luck.
Then this morning I realised, I have not one but three flamingo (a stand of flamingo is apparantly the correct collective phrase) here in my very house...so here they are:
Wendy
I drive by this sign on a corner store everyday on my way home from work through the Mission. It always makes me smile.
All over San Francisco there are big hearts designed by different artists. The one in my neighborhood looks like a chalkboard (complete with badly erased things). I often see people stopping to rub it to see if the writing comes off. 
This also seems appropriate for Valentine's Day week.
Finally I found a flamingo today while driving through the Castro (who would think a flamingo would be hard to find in San Francisco?) At first I thought I would just have the sign as my submission until I saw the whole window...yeah! 
We grow our fruit big here in BC...
Yup. The Big Apple.
Last weekend, my hubby and I took a break from Big City househunting to check out a mall. We walked by this window display:
Now is it just me, or does the sight of a heart exploding out of a mannequin's chest just not really cry out "Valentine's Day"? Come to think of it, it didn't really entice me to go buy some overpriced yoga wear either.
I wonder if their aggression leads to exploding hearts.
I have found a better "Biggest"! In Kingston, Ontario, we have (for 4 days anyways) the world's biggest snowglobe!
It is over 2 stories tall and 20 feet in diameter. Unfortunately, the people that were supposed to be in it were out to lunch! Or a warming break perhaps. It was -10C....
Man oh man, I had to drive about 15 mins from my house but it is totally worth it! Every time I drive by this sign I laugh out loud so hard I almost pee, it confuses my children, I just tell my oldest, "just wait until you can read you will laugh too"
Don't try and deny it I can hear you laughing now. ;)
Chocolate Moose!
Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, Maine is home to "Lenny" the 1700 lb Chocolate Moose.
It's the one place we always visit with our flat travelers, and we always pick up something (usually a "chocolate lobster on the rocks") to send home with our visitor.
...finally found the giant Tweety in, of all places, my colleague's office next door. At first I thought about Beaver Stadium, but nope, Michigan's Big House is still bigger (albeit by only a few thousand people) -- fair's fair.
Tweety sits in her desk chair when she goes on vacation, otherwise he is ensconced in her visitor chair.
Wait just one darn minute! When did 'Native Prairie Restoration involve brick, concrete and glass?
I live in a semi-rural area that is exploding with both development and a vocal army against all things concrete and steel in order to preserve the natural setting of the area. I have watched this building go up behind this sign for months and can't help but shake my head over the irony of it.
Especially when you read the descprition on the signs themselves.
"This area is being managed to encourage the growth of native wildflowers and plants. The diverse plant community is similar to the prairies that covered much of Minnesota years ago. The variety of grasses and flowering plants provide food and habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife. It is estimated that only about 1% of native tall grass prairie remains in the United States today."
So much for preservation, huh?
Sigh..try as I might, these is the best I can get of flamingos!
From my fabric wishbook! Notice they are white with pink undercoatings/fur/?? Interesting!!
Still searching for the biggest whatever and the new assignments, guess I need to keep the camera with me! :)
Cop out!
Yeah, what can I say, I've been super busy on the weekends packing and stuff and there IS a dorky giant pair of cowboy boots outside of one of the malls near us, but I just haven't had time to get over there!
So since I hate Texas anyway, this Alaskan girl will give you a picture of something her hometown (Palmer) is famous for (photo courtesy the Juneau Empire--I told you I was a cop out!)
I was wondering how people felt about our next assignment being either....funny signs, I am sure that you have some businesses that think they have a sense of humor and put up funny sayings or just a sign that you think is hilarious and maybe shouldn't be. Another idea was local underground....something that only locals or people that have lived in your town a long time would know about. Anyway this has been fun!
I have plans for a better "Biggest", but in the meantime, how a bout a big snowstorm?
It's the biggest one we've had so far this year...
Well this was my first thought for "Home of The Giant..." This acorn is used every year on New Year's Eve to welcome in the new year. They raise it up and drop just like they do with the ball in Times Square! If fact the local media here does a split screen as the ball drops in Times Square with this giant acorn. It resides in a park downtown.
Funny thing was on the way to get the picture for this, we saw another giant sitting on the side of the road!It took a bit of time to get this guy photographed. one must take care when photographing this large desert dwelling bird to not startle it.
I drive past this bird on a daily basis and it makes me laugh every time.
When I was taking the pictures yesterday I was asked by the management what I was doing and could they "help me"? I had forgotten that I had my id badge on from work and probably looked like a city employee out getting random photos of their "signage". Any way I just told them I was capturing the "artwork". She looked at my sideways and said okay....
So you can see just how big this bird is... those are second story windows.
