Do you know?

Recently on Fools Rush In, Granny Annie posed the question of whether you should  leave a tip for a take out order. The responses were very interesting and I left one as well explaining that we are friends with a few of the bar tenders at Red
Lobster and that was why I saw things in a little different light.




 

 Last night was our night to go to Red Lobster so I told one of our friends about the blog and the question posed ........ he quickly answered..."Yes, I pay taxes on it!"......... I said "What?"

Well here is the deal. At this particular restaurant it is set up so that each server is recorded on the amount of money the consumer purchased and then they are taxed 15% on that amount and that includes to go orders. So when the bar tender takes the order and checks them out he is recorded with that amount of purchase and charged 15% tax to the government whether he receives a tip or not. Hubby and I usually share a meal not because we are trying to save money but rather to not over eat but we always leave a generous tip.  Because we eat out so often I see servers in a different light because I have gotten to know them. It is a tough job and you wouldn't believe the things they have to put up with....good customers are appreciated and remembered.

Here is a little tidbit....Red Lobster and Olive garden are owned by the same people (have friends here too).....hmmmmm

Cheddar cheese biscuits and

bread sticks.

Recently we went to a new restaurant and the little server spoke very broken English.....I think she was Chinese, well anyhow, she took very good care of us so hubby gave her a hearty tip but he watched as she put all of it in a jar. She came back and made a great effort to speak with us (I think to show her appreciation) but hubby said if we go back...he will palm her a tip like you have to do in Mexico. Trust me on this folks...the servers are the good guys, be nice.

This and That

Have you seen these in the grocery store?

Well, they are delicious

and especially with cream cheese with chives. Add a hard boiled egg and you have an instant breakfast.

Can you count them? Eight on the sock and 2 on the wire mesh. These are Lesser Goldfinch. They love the finch sock and I love to watch them.
Here is a great picture of one that I borrowed from the computer............

and they serenade with a sweet little song.

We have fed these birds for some time now as well as others. Sometimes it seems they are going to eat me out of house and home. Who ever came up with the saying "she eats like a bird"....... has never fed one.

Fall

There is much excitement on blogville for the fall season. It is for us, a reprieve from the heat, but we don't have the experience of those beautiful fall colors like....

Connie on Far Side of Fifty

The fun on Susan's Daily doses

The creativity on Linda's life journal

It is for us in Arizona, a time to 'exhale" and not have a heat blast when stepping outside. Some plants even think it is spring again and give forth one last beauty like this one from my rose bush.............

There are a few signs of fall around my house like.........

this little book on a shelf and

this little wall hanging but I must confess they are always here but wait I did buy something just for fall......

Sure can't accuse me of over doing it:)

And I did finish this scarf..............

which probably won't be needed until maybe Dec. but then there has been some years that I did my Christmas shopping in shorts so only time will tell. For some of you it is more like Dawn expressed on her post "The Waiting game"

"It knows that as soon as it gives in to the fall,

the winds of winter will begin breathing down our necks."

I often miss the beautiful changing seasons but then.....comes all that snow.

 

Can you believe what you see?

A while back I created a file I titled "amazing photo's" and began to save those photo's that bring those responses of ahhhhhh, wow, beautiful, awesome and etc. You know like some of these.....

and when I need a little lift I watch them on a slide show but recently I have begun to wonder if what I see is real. There are many photo blogs to peruse and I think many use programs like photoshop and etc. to enhance their photo's but how far do you go to enhance before it becomes photo manipulation?

Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction). However, photo manipulation has been regularly used to deceive or persuade viewers, or for improved story-telling and self-expression. Oftentimes even subtle and discrete changes can have profound impacts on how we interpret or judge a photograph which is why learning when manipulation has occurred is important.

The growing popularity of image manipulation has raised concern as to whether it allows for unrealistic images to be portrayed to the public. In her article "On Photography" (1977), Susan Sontag discusses the objectivity, or lack thereof, in photography, concluding that "photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored and tricked out".^[11] A practice widely used in the magazine industry, the use of Photoshop on an already subjective photograph, creates a constructed reality for the individual and it can become difficult to differentiate fact from fiction. .

Here are a few examples ....
enhancement...

 Change of reality

 Deception

Now you know how those diet ads work...

 The sensational

Helicopter Shark is a composition of two photographs that gives the impression that a Great white shark is leaping out of the water attacking military personnel climbing a suspended ladder attached to a special forces UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The photo was widely circulated via email in 2001, along with a claim that it had been chosen as “National Geographic Photo of the Year”.

Manipulation for political purposes.....

 a black face is inserted into the crowd.

Hoping to illustrate its diverse enrollment, the University of Wisconsin at Madison doctored a photograph on a brochure cover by digitally inserting a black student in a crowd of white football fans. The original photograph of white fans was taken in 1993. The additional black student, senior Diallo Shabazz, was taken in 1994. University officials said that they spent the summer looking for pictures that would show the school’s diversity — but had no luck.

Photo manipulation is nothing new....

This nearly iconic portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a composite of Lincoln’s head and the Southern politician John Calhoun’s body. Putting the date of this image into context, note that the first permanent photographic image was created in 1826 and the Eastman Dry Plate Company (later to become Eastman Kodak) was created in 1881.

 The bazaar for "entertainment".

So what's the big deal?

From the time we are children we look for models. With the potential to alter body image, debate continues as to whether manipulated images, particularly those in magazines, contribute to self-esteem issues in both men and women. It is hard to find a famous woman over 60 years old that really looks 60 years old and not enough long term marriages to give hope to even have one. There is a one shining light and I share it with you......

Weston Mo.

Weston, Mo. was our last stop and think we left the best for last. I discovered this town through a great little web site called Small town gems. It is indeed a very quaint little town with a most unusual B&B called....Inn at Weston Landing. They have four themed rooms available to rent and I choose the Andrew O'mallley room. I have never experienced something like this before.

Billed as a lesson in  Irish History and indeed it was. I had already seen pictures of the room but my hubby walked into the bathroom and said..."You have to come see this".

Well, I took lots of pictures and am excited to share them with you.

 An old pedal sewing machine made into a sink.

 Creation of a shower

 A little collection of mugs and right next to it.....

 As you enter the room is this old cart with a extra quilt but trust me...the one on the bed was very sufficient....

 and beautiful.

 Old time dresser in the corner and see that light to the right?

   There was one on each side of the bed and they lit up top or bottom or both.

 Cozy little sitting area and guess what??? There was a Irish cook book on the table:)

The biggest highlight was the fireplace (not a real one)

But what a view a night.....

Sitting in the rocking chairs in front of it and just taking it all in. No phone and no T.V.

The hostess was the new owner and she was very sweet. We were her only quests for the evening so when we told her we didn't do stairs very well (to go to the parlor for morning coffee) she offered to bring it right to our door at whatever time we wanted:) Sure enough a pot of hot coffee and freshly baked scones greeted us a 6:00 A.M. with a wonderful breakfast to follow.

It was late in their season so the gardens were being let go but there were still flowers and glimpses of the beauty that abounds....

 House across the street from the Inn

When you first come into this town you actually come through the housing section so again my handy gps lead us to the right spot and we were pleasantly surprised to find this charming little down town.

and this little buggy parked on the street

 We are early risers so most of the little shops were closed but what a pretty setting.

We also discovered the town cat. I didn't get a picture !@#@#%$#^$^$% but she came right to us when we sat down on a bench for a little scratch. You need to read about the B&B...it was originally a ice house and the other rooms were just as impressive. Wish now I would have asked to see them since they weren't occupied.

What a great trip we had!