Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for January 25, 2013

Audrey must have seen my dog !

Squirrel!

Little Miss High Maintenance.

Do dogs get Attention Deficit Disorder ?

G’nite Balladeers ! I’ve got to bring me ship safely into the sunny Sarasota shores ( predicted temp. 75 degrees ) in a while., so I need my beauty ( LOL ) sleep.Talk back at ye later.

He was named after that famous canine star Audrey Murphy. You know, the side kick of Gene Audrey.

Well… here I am….a bit worse for wear….

Is anybody still up?Not sure whether I should head over to the Tiki or just stay here at the salon and go to sleep….

I’m so tired…

No, Bev, Briatollah doesn’t drive the 67 Ballard…wish he did, cos he just got his safety award.

We had a new driver, and I don’t think he’ll EVER get a safety award, not with the way he takes corners….

And I fell asleep for a while, so I didn’t notice every turn…. but I’m pretty sure we got lost.

I know the trip doesn’t usually take so long….and this part looked quite unfamiliar…

And we don’t usually have to do this, either….

I think I’d remember!

Meanwhile……

I’m not so sure Audrey needs to see anything in particular to be overcome by that state…

I know the feeling.

BTW… My brother’s youngest dog is known as the A.D.H.D. dog….

Sleeping to chasing her tail in 5 seconds flat….same for the reverse.

Bounds ahead of you on the steep, narrow stairs, stops in her tracks, turns around, licks your face, squeezes past you and runs back down.By the time you get to the top she’s already knocked you aside and gone ahead of you again.

And she’s not small!

pcolli…. and Robert Newton films are what people study to learn a 16th century west country accent for Renaissance Faires..cos that’s what he was doing…

Well, he was exaggerating his actual west country accent, and putting it into Shakespearean-style dialogue.

OTOH I’ve heard that some real 16th and 17th century pirates probably DID talk like that, cos that’s where they came from…

Very laid-back dogs have a tension deficit disorder.

Its called switch on/switch off. Dogs are masters at that. Women can do it too. (Don’t let them say they can’t.)I do it a lot but they attribute that to my age.

Morning Ballardeers,Safely anchored in sunny Sarasota, for the day and evening, before venturing north early tomorrow to invade Tampa Bay, along with Gasparilla pirates.I’ve arranged to ferry my guest and crew from my galleon, The Irish Rover, to Sarasota where the can enjoy the city with its fine shops and restaurants. I even set up land transport for any who want it so they can easily see all the sites that Sarasota offers.I have to see to the canons for tomorrow " invasion " and a myriad of other things aboard, so I won’t be communicating till early evening. Enjoy your day !

As I mentioned the other day, I’d not mind wearing Bev’s pirate shredds, tho’ pirates and belly dancers are somewhat the outcasts in our SCA group. Here are a few of the things that I have worn to events: is farly recent.

is from 2008 after the death of Cuddles.

is a simple one during her life and .

is my Baron and Baroness as they proclaimed a moment of silence in the Baronial Anniversary party for Cuddles.

Thanks, Vet! There is no such, but I registered this as my official ARMS:and I use the name Beatrice Fayrewether of the Aviary. Cuddles was a member of the Royal Menagerie (as were a few dogs who regularly attended events) and the one time that I traveled to be a part of Estrella War she was in the grand procession of Royal Court on the arm of the Baroness Lisabetta in a photo above. She was so popular t events because of her flirting with all the men and cheering when awards were givenI use my ARMS on many things – like this umbrella with Fitzroy.

pcolli is rightPoor common folk did not have ships. They were very costly many times causing a country to nearly go bankrupt just to keep them up.The crew may speak more “commonly” but many of the so called “pirates” were very eloquent speakers. All could read and write. It was necessary to be educated to do the job.It was critical that orders be spoken clearly and understood. When the ship is in crisis like a rough sea things have to be done to save it. Garbled verbiage would have some going “What did he say?” just as the main mast breaks under the force of the winds. Now all the ropes, sails, equipment had what one would call nautical names to be quickly identified so a jargon was used. Starboard, Port instead of right side and left side. Main sail jib. The famous poop deck. Early sailing ships had no internal bathroom. There was a place near the stern (rear) where there was a wooden seat with a hole for you to use. It hung over the side. Pots below deck were not a good idea in a heaving ship on rough seas.

Audrey spots someone taking pictures at Ballard Point…

….and all she can think about is updating her Facebook status!

Wow, what traffic.

Do you suppose this is why?…….

Some of the guest and crew are still ashore but we’re setting everything up for tomorrow’s entry into Tampa Bay at 11am.Beads, trinkets, etc. to throw to the crowds. The cannons, muskets, and pistols are all loaded with powder. No shot or cannon balls – we won’t repeat that mistake, although my crew would like to fire a few at that pirate tub, the Jose Gaspar whose motley pirate “Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla” lead the invasion of Tampa.Weather is supposed to be gorgeous with the high in the mid-70’s and plenty of sunshine ! BTW Both pcolli and Veteran are correct about pirate speech. Clarity and brevity are the order of the day on shipboard. The Aarghs and Aye Me Hearties is reserved for impressing the tourists and landlubbers.My crew are well educated, multi-lingual, and expert sailors.We usually prefer to call ourselves oceanic entrepreneurs rather than pirates – we certainly are more honest than corporate raiders.

I HAD to LOL at that one!!! Just had my last 78gm filet with a smear of my old Bearnais and a nice serving of fresh green beans just al dente with Margaritas (somehow not in the mood for gin). I saved your image because it DOES represent an Umbrella Cockatoo

Here she was with a new Prince who was a good friend to us (partly from all her flirtation with him)

Sigh…..

I’m catching up on all the TV shows from my TiVo right now as I prepare for this big change in my eating for a whole year. I also just called and scheduled a bunch of tests (They will be at my very closest Albertson’s (Jewel) tomorrow, but it was all booked- mine will be on 2/14 with all the ultrasound etc about current condition of heart and veins so that I may document effects of this extreme diet. It costs me over $200 including access to seeing all the ultrasound online but I wanted documentation.

Problems, Susan?

That Heraldic surcoat (jumper) above of silk taffeta with cockatoo applique on lower skirt has over 600 pearls on it that took me months to embroider; I was going to do less, but after her passing decided to go full on with the project. Pearls are from 8mm down to 2 for details and mostly white but some grey and blue.

Boat’s a bit small isn’t it?

Neal has his priorities, and Audrey has hers.

I’d love to grill, but we’ve only got a balcony and a construction site next to our house busy into the night.

Good morning Balladeers.