It’s Saturday, and that means that Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday meets the crew at No Facilities Bar & Grill. Linda has switched gears on us today, and she’s making my life difficult, because events dictate the subject of this post. What’s a boy to do? Play along as best I can, I guess…
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘earworm.’ Talk about your latest earworm, or one that habitually haunts you. Enjoy!”
If we were at the bar, you’d be trying to buy me a beer.
“I’m surprised to see you here today.”
“Why’s that? I’m almost always here on Saturdays.”
“Well, with this being such a special day, I just thought…”
“He thought he would buy you a beer, but I beat him to it – this Corona, and her lime are on the house, congratulations!”
“Thank you, Cheryl, and thank you my friend. I didn’t expect any recognition. Well, I didn’t expect any from you, Cheryl is a different story, she generally pays attention to this stuff.”
“True, I don’t keep a close count, but a thousand blog posts is noteworthy.”
“Achieving the milestone might be noteworthy. I’m not sure how many of the thousand posts fall into that category.”
“I’d say six, maybe eight.”
“Thanks. That’s closer to what I expected from you.”
“How does your wife feel about having edited a thousand posts?”
“She cringed a bit. But, she doesn’t edit all of them, so she might not be at a thousand yet.”
“On No Facilities. Didn’t she edit your other blogs?”
“Oh, that’s right. She probably crossed this bridge a long time ago.”
“You’re lucky she didn’t jump off, Dan.”
“No Cheryl, we’re lucky she didn’t jump off. I follow him on Facebook – it’s not a pretty sight.”
“I’ve given up on Facebook, but he can’t be that bad.”
“Maybe not, if you live in England or Canada.”
“Huh?”
“He’s referring to the Facebook posts I make from my phone. It keeps switching to the English spelling of words like ‘honor’ – you know, putting the ‘U’ in them.”
“Aren’t you a tech-guy? Can’t you fix that?”
“Ha! I am a tech-guy, but I don’t seem to be able to fix this. The settings indicate that my language preference is ‘English’ and my region is ‘US’ – that should do it.”
“Listen guys, I have to go check the patio. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks Cheryl.”
“I didn’t notice ‘honor’ or the other ‘U’ words, but when you spelled realized with an ‘S’ – you can’t miss that.”
“I did.”
“Which is why you should always have your Editor at your side.”
“She really can’t be bothered with Facebook.”
“More and more, lately, neither can I.”
“Are you thinking of dropping your account?”
“No, but I’ve scaled back how often I go there and whom I follow.”
“That’s a popular trend. Facebook is losing the teen to twenty crowd, and the older generations are scaling back usage.”
“It’s losing value, too.”
“Trust you to focus on the financial side.”
“You tech-guys don’t understand, that’s what drives the platform.”
“I know, ‘show me the money’ – I guess that will mean more spam, spammy people and advertising.”
“It’s inevitable. And, as the core demographic shifts to our age-bracket, those ads are going to follow us.”
“Great, Facebook ads for spine surgery and arthritis medicine.”
“Wow, I leave you for a few minutes and you guys are talking about your aches and pains…”
“Actually, Cheryl, we’re still talking about Facebook.”
“That’s worse. I think you guys need another round.”
“On the house?”
“No. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of being able to buy him that celebratory beer.”
“OK, this round is on me, and toss in an order of wings.”
“Speaking of wings, I got some great shots of a Blue Heron at Great River Park this week.”
“Are you sure it was blue?”
“No. They all look like gray Herons to me, but I’m always thinking blue when I’m in that park.”
“Why? The Connecticut River certainly isn’t blue.”

“Allman Brothers.”
“Blue Sky?”
“Exactly. ♫ Walk along the river…”
“Please, I know the song – don’t try to sing it.”
“It’s hard not to sing. It gets stuck in my head.”
“I think they call that an earworm.”
“I don’t use that expression.”
“But that’s what they call it.”
“They can call it anything they want, but I don’t use that expression.”
“Why not?”
“Because it makes me think of the scene in “The Wrath of Khan” where that creepy thing crawls out of Chekov’s ear, and…”
“Stop!”
“What?”
“I can’t stand that scene – I don’t want it stuck in my head.”
“You should have let me sing Blue Sky.”
“I’ll make you a deal. Stop talking about that scene and you can sing Jessica.”
“OK.”
“Here you go boys. A fresh cold Corona and another splash of Meiomi. Wings will be up in a couple minutes.”
“Thanks Cheryl.”
“Hey wait a minute!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing with you Cheryl, but Jessica is an instrumental.”
“I knew that.”
Today’s gallery is from the past couple of weeks at Great River Park. Be sure to check out Cheryl’s latest post for her fun take on this prompt, and thank you all for reading these stories and encouraging me to this milestone post. Most important, thanks to The Editor for her loving service in making it appear that I understand English grammar.
I definitely don’t like the word, earworm, but, you did the best you could with it so I didn’t tune out. :-) The photo of the dome is exceptional – you did good! And, I appreciate the smile at the “I’m walkin…”, and it’s always good to have one shot of The Maddie along with that outstanding breakfast. Life is good in CT. Have a good weekend and congrats to you and the Editor on the milestone. :-)
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Thanks Judy. I was happy to get some pictures from a different part of the park. The dome is pretty. “I’m Walkin” is another song that gets stuck in my head, particularly when I see birds walking.
I hope you’re having a good weekend. I guess it’s going to get wet.
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Good story and pics, Dan! Awesome about your posts as well. :)
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Thanks Brett!
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Congrats on the post count! Oh how I miss my herons. Thanks for the photos. It is difficult to get good color at dawn. Maddie looks so majestic! I love the fog photo. It has been humid here for a couple of days now. Linda did throw us an ugly gub this time, didn’t she? 😉Have a great weekend! Thanks for the link.
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Thanks Cheryl. I don’t see the herons very often. Usually about twice a year, but it’s fun watching them. I thought about playing with the posts to avoid this milestone falling on a Saturday, but I figured that wasn’t fair. Linds gave me a challenge.
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And, as always, you rose to the challenge brilliantly. Happy #free48, Dan.
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I never heard of an earworm, but I have a feeling that word is going to become my earworm!!
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Oh, I hope not. I’ll stick with “this song is stuck in my head” – it takes longer to say, but it doesn’t bother me to think about it.
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Are these all photos you’ve taken with your new camera? They look really good – especially the bike photo and the walking duck.
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Oh, I forgot – congratulations on 1000 posts!! Huge milestone … and I’d give you a LOT more than 6-8 memorable ones 🙂
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Thanks Joanne. These pictures all were taken with the new camera, as well as about 50 that I couldn’t use because I didn’t understand how the features worked. I really liked the duck. The heron was pretty far away, and the standing mostly in the shadows, but he was looking for breakfast, so I can’t complain. I was going to Maddie’s for the same thing.
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It might sound like a funny thing to say, but I’m just learning how to ‘fail’. I was never comfortable with experimenting with settings and taking lots of really bad photos in the process. It’s been hard to just ‘play’ to see what the result might be and be ok with deleting 99% of my ‘work’.
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Failing is a great way to learn. In the tech field, they speak of “failing fast” as a way of perfecting a process.
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How odd that “earworm” is the word of the day. I woke up with one and although I love the song, I really, really, really want it out of my head!! Congratulations on 1,000 posts and kudos to the editor as well. Unfortunately, I’m now trying to get the thought of the actual earworm out of my mind and wasn’t there another place where someone put worms into Spock’s and someone else’s ears or am I mis-remembering the example you shared? Either way, but YUCK to that!!
janet
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Thanks Janet. It was Chekov and the captain of his ship who got the earworms in The Wrath of Kahn. I do try to sing the songs that get stuck in my head, sometimes it makes them go away. I really like “Blue Sky” so I don’t mind, but whenever I see a bird walking along the shore, I get “I’m Walkin” stuck, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I often can’t remember the words.
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When I saw the word ‘earworm’ that Star Trek scene is exactly what I thought of!! eeewww! And Dan, CONGRATULATIONS on 1000 posts. Hi Maddie.
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Thanks Pam! I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to ‘earworm’ on this post, but I knew if I got there, that scene was going to get mentioned.
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Congratulations to you and the Editor on 1000 posts!! That’s a lot of words to write and edit.
Ewwwww to ear worms. Yuk! But it is weird how sometimes a song gets in your head and you can’t stop singing it out loud or in your head!
Your new camera takes very crisp, clear shots. Love all the reflections and the herons. Maddie looks so content.
Hope you and the Editor and the hairy kids enjoy a great weekend. Rain on the way, but at least it’s much cooler.
🔹 Ginger 🔹
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Tanks so much for visiting, Ginger. People like you keep this process moving along. I’m liking the new camera. I won’t share the vast amount of failed attempts, but I am happy with the good pictures I’ve gotten.
I had to include Maddie. We had just come in from sitting outside for about 45 minutes. I think she was pleased.
I have a little bit of work to do outside, before the rains come, but it should be a nice weekend. I have a busy week at the day-job, so it can rain Mon-Thur. I was happy to have a cool morning for our walk.
I hope you have a great weekend!
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Earworm…I hear Kai Ryssdal say that every afternoon on my drive home from work: “It’s an earworm, isn’t it?” You can never go wrong with anything by the Allman Brothers! Congrats on 1000 posts, Dan.
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Thanks Lois. I forgot to include the link to Jessica – also one of my favorite songs. Those guys were one of the best things to come out of Georgia.
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Dan congrats on reaching the milestone. As for the earwig/earworm it sounds like a special job for Scotty to beam them to another universe or Khan’s bridge as we warp out of orbit.
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Thanks John. I wonder if they could lock into the worm inside Chekov’s brain? I try not to think about it.
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Oh gosh, I had forgotten about that Star Trek earworm scene. It took me years to do that.
Thanks buddy, thanks a lot. :(
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I’m so sorry. I guess you were at the bar with me cuz my buddy wasn’t happy with me.
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Some awesome shots Dan. I really love the warm light in that dome shot.
And hey, a big congrats on 1000 posts!
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Thanks Norm. More than 1/10 are doors 🙂. I was glad to get a shot of the dome from a different angle. Glad a bike was there for me to use.
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Looks like a Blue Heron to me. Love the tomatoes with egg and sausage. Nice job on the prompt and lovely photos.
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Thanks John. That breakfast is becoming a favorite meal. I don’t see the Heron at the river very often, I guess he likes to fish in the morning light. He got his breakfast, too.
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Looks that way, Dan. :-)
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I have a very vivid memory of a blue heron in Florida as I walked up the beach. He came up behind me and was about a foot above me when he squawked at me to evidently get out of his way. It was rather nerve racking.
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Yikes! I’ve never seen one in flight. I imagine it’s a remarkable presence.
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They are bigger than they seem with their wing span…and loud!
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Congratulations Dan and to The Editor as well!
The image of the Gazebo across the water is lovely. Great comp, and light. The walking goose was cute, and that framing on the Colt Dome is lovely.
I’m looking forward to the next 1000 posts. 😉
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Thanks Deborah. Charter Oak Landing is an unappreciated little area. It’s hard to get to, but it is beautiful.
I never thought I’d be around this long. I do enjoy it, so who knows? Don’t tell the Editor 🙂
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Well worth the effort for the image you made of it that day.
Zipping up my lips now. 🤐
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🙂
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“earworm” inspires very crazy images. 😁
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It truly does, Peter.
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Congratulations on 1K!
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Thanks. You don’t suppose I need 1024, do you 😏
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I always think of Khan when I hear the term earworm too. The song I find easy to get stuck in my brain is Tiny Bubbles by Don Ho. Lovely shots of the ducks and the river.
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Thanks Jan. There are a lot of songs. “I’m Walkin” is another. Whenever I see birds walking, that pops in my head.
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I take full credit for Dan knowing the Allman Brothers Band.
Well done Dan!
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Ha! You might be right, Paul. I am forever in your debt. Thanks!
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Hi Dan – well I’m enjoying Blue Peach or is that Blue Sky … not an earworm I’m glad to say.
1,000 posts – well done … with or without the Mistress Editor … and with or without English corrections … they do highlight things that might be odd = eg spammers …
Yes they look grey to me too – did you spell it gray … ah well … slate is meant to be blue too … but it always seems grey to me!
Happy rest of the weekend – cheers hIlary
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Thanks Hilary. I should have used grey. As far as I know they are either blue or green. Both drift toward grey for me.
Blue Sky is such an uplifting song. I love it.
I hope you’re enjoying the weekend.
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Thanks for the video at the end, Dan — There are several Allman Brothers songs I like. And sometimes I can’t stop singing “Tied to the Whipping Post” at work… But I couldn’t remember that song until I played it. What a great earworm to have. Very unlike the Wrath of Khan! LOL.
A thousand blog posts? Holy Hannah! Congratulations, my friend. I’m only halfway there after 5 years. Nice work, Dan. Happy weekend hugs.
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“Tied to the Whipping Post” – That’s a sad song to have associated with work – I am sorry. Blue sky is a feel-good tune.
You may not have the quantity of posts, but you have a quality body of work over at your place. I hope you’re having a great weekend. Thanks so much for your support!
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I also hate that word. Photos are pretty. Now I have the walking, talking thing in my head.🙄☺️
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Thanks. Sorry about getting that ding stuck, but it is a good tune 🙂
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Congrats on your 1,000th post, Dan! And kudos to The Editour for being your Grammar Queen. It takes a special person to apply correct English standards on a weekly basis for years and years and years and…
I haven’t noticed herons of any kind around here, but I can tell you that the geese are starting to group and honk their way south. We northerners know what that means, right?
500 bonus points for the Wrath of Khan mention, but -500 bonus points for the Chekov/worm mention. Ewww.
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Thanks Mary. I’ve been at this for years, and I appreciate the Editor and all of the people who come by this place.
Thanks for the bonus points, but boo to losing them. At least I used the scene where the thing was coming out, not where it went in.
I don’t see the herons very often. Maybe it’s only when the sun is at the point it is these days. Geese? We got plenty of honkers. I know what that means, but I hope we have a nice autumn first. We didn’t have much of a spring, and summer was brutal.
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Okay, Dan, I’ll give you 50 bonus points for the coming out. That might pay for half of a wing at the bar.
Considering we had an April blizzard, a nice autumn is due…well into November. :-)
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Thanks. You’re the best. PS, I have Green Bay in our survivor pool this week, so…
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Go Pack Go!
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Congratulations on your 1000! I enjoyed listening to Blue Sky while looking at the photos. Much better than the Wrath of Khan scene. Blue sky, blue sky, blue sky……. and better than Facebook which can be like walking through a mine field looking at the blue skies and then stepping into someone’s can of worms.
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Thanks JoAnna. It’s the best Blue Sky I know. Facebook is getting to be like work.
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Lovely pictures of Maddie, the heron and the blue dome.
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Thanks Sharukh!
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Nice bunch of pictures this time (well, they are always nice but several of these are especially nice), Congrats on the 1000th post!
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Thanks Janis. I was happy with these pictures. I’m glad I was able to work them into the SoCS prompt. Thanks for following and supporting me.
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Great Allman Bros song:)
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Thanks. I agree 🙂
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Really good, Dan. This was a pleasure to read. I wondered when you were going to weave earworm into the story- well done! I’m so glad I haven’t seen that movie scene!!
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Thanks Jennie. This was hard. I wanted to talk about the post milestone, but Linda’s prompt was hard to get to. It didn’t hit me until my buddy ordered the wings. I’m glad you stayed with me.
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I neglected to congratulate you on your post milestone, Dan. That is really worthy. And somehow you were able to work that into an earworm blog post. Well done! I’m glad I stayed with you, too.
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Beautiful, beautiful pictures, and CONGRATULATIONS! :)
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Thank you!
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Yes, ‘earworm’ makes me think of that scene as well.
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Yeah. I just can’t use the word. Thanks.
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Not even kidding, I was a kid when I saw Wrath of Khan, and I am STILL not recovered from the ear insect scene. Like, that was NOT okay. Ooher. Now and again, I will speak to my husband about this issue. He tries to comfort my inner child.
Anyway, Congratulations! on your 1000th post! :D
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Thanks Joey. I was an adult, but that’s one of the creepiest scenes EVER! I don’t know which is worse, the thing going into the helmet or…OK, I’ll stop,
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Thank you.
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That last photo is a real gem. Beautiful, Dan.
Congratulations to you both for quite a successful blog journey. Well done!
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Thanks Audrey, and thank you for supporting this with your visits and comments.
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So good to have time to read you again!!! What a horrid word to turn to!
But my biggest thang is you have other blogs? First I’ve heard of it. Woodworking? Pics? Techie stuff?
happy Monday, sorta.
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oph gads, and I just had my first sip of coffee… Congrats on 1000. I’ve not looked. Now I must.
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Ha ha – thanks!
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Thanks Kate. The other blogs are (were) tech-stuff. They have been dormant for quite some time and I am going to let the URLs expire and remove the content, as it’s quite dated.
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Also like the food plate with sliced tomatoes – mmm
And nice transition from wings to heron
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Thanks Yvette – I was running out of room to work that prompt into the story. The eggs with tomatoes has always been a favorite. It’s a very nice combination.
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mmmm
and super creative with the prompt so you nailed it
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🙂
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Some beautiful pics, Dan. How appropriate for your 1,000th post. Congratulations! And to think, we’ve both been blogging for the same amount of time, and yet I just passed 200 … :P
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Thanks PAul. As I mentioned to Teagan, you may not have the quantity of posts, but yours are of an amazing quality. I hope to let some recent information from you inspire this coming Saturday’s bar conversation. Of course it depends on what Linda gives us for a prompt, but I hope to have a reason to link to your site.
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As always, Dan…great shots of the park. Love that you share them…congrats on your milestone!!
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Thanks Kirt. That park might be the only part about working that I’ll miss.
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