Waterslide Season

           Here we are on the giant waterslide rushing downhill to the end of summer.  Sure, we're only a couple weeks in, but it's going to go fast judging by how fast the year's been rushing by already.   And it's been hot, hot, hot!  It's been hot across much of the United States-- that is from what I've been hearing on some of the blogs, but fortunately so far we've had a pretty pleasant summer in Southern California.

         It was pretty hot on Tossing It Out this week.  The week started with my list of my 10 Hot Latin Favorites.  If you like Latin influenced music you can still go check it out and tell me what you think.  On Tuesday I talked about hot, sizzling carne asada cooked on the grill--a great summertime cook out treat.

         I want to express a big thank you to all of those who responded so positively to my Wednesday post about Daniel Jackson's blog from prison, The Saga of the Concrete Jungle.  If you have not yet visited this blog I encourage you to check out my post first, and then go visit Dan's blog.

         Thursday and Friday were hot topic days for debate and thought.  You can still add your opinions, but read through the comments on these posts--I was very impressed by what many of you had to contribute here. 

          The upcoming week will hopefully be as equally interesting as the last.  Tomorrow (Sunday) I continue with my study of the book of Jonah--we find out what happens next after the big fish spits Jonah out on dry land.  Monday I will be eschewing the favorites lists and returning to a Blog Boggled entry where I will be talking about some blogging related issues.  I will return to another list format on the following Monday, July 19, as I invite all who are interested in posting the Soundtrack of Your Life. 

         This coming Tuesday I will be continuing a story that I started in March about products made by the Dolores Canning Company.   I had offered up my chili recipe using a Dolores Chili Brick at that time.  This past week I was delighted to receive a shipment of Dolores Pickled Pigs Feet and Pork Rinds.  During the weekend I will conduct a sampling of these products with a panel of family members and we will give our verdict and hopefully have some pictures.

        The balance of the week will be rounded out with some yet to be determined topics, including my traditional debate topic for Thursday.   Hope you will stay tuned throughout the week for all the fun.

  

            I wanted to mention a favorite post this past week and that was Marvin's Old Silly's Free Spirit Blog which had a nice post:  Does God Go To Your Church?.   This one really spoke to me this week.

          Oh, and one more thing, have you noticed any of the changes in my blog yet? Probably not. They've been pretty subtle so far, but I assure you that they have been happening slowly and will continue in the days and weeks to come.

And now some awards:

           From Carol at Under the Tiki Hut comes The Versatile Blogger Award.  I'm not sure how many times this has been passed to me now, but who's counting.  It's always a pleasure to be recognized as "versatile"--why what the heck, it's nice to recognized period.

            Carol made her customized rules for accepting this award:   List your seven most memorable moments OR new words to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

           Since I'm not feeling particularly creative in a songworthy way, here are seven memorable moments:

1.   My son's birth
2.  My first daughter's birth
3.  My second daughter's birth
4.   My third daughter's birth
5.   My birth-- well, I don't actually remember the moment, but it was memorable and my mother has reminded me about it my whole life.
6.   My and my wife's wedding.
7.   My lunch -- okay, okay--maybe I won't remember it that long but (ugh) I'm remembering it right now.

           And that's my duty done, so now I have to pass this on to five more Versatile Bloggers and they are:

1.   Lisa at 1 Wasabi Mommy
2.   Jessica at Alliterative Allomorph
3.   Sig at Beadedbears Nonsense and Complete Waste of Time
4.  Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs
5.   Marjorie at Everything Emerald

There you go bloggers!  If you want it then it's yours; if you already have it now you have another one; and if you don't want it then ignore it.  You can follow the same rules that Carol gave or make up your own.  And the rest of you make sure you stop by to visit them and let them know you saw their award here.

And Now Another Award:

            From Patricia at Patricia Stoltey's Blog comes the "Creative Writer" Blogger Award, formerly known as Lesa's Bald-Faced Liar Award.   I'm glad they changed the name cause I like to tell the truth, but of course sometimes I tell stories that aren't really true. 

I'm sure you've all seen this one and already know the rules, but here they are anyway:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to them.
2. Add the award to your blog.
3. Tell six outrageous lies about yourself and one truth. (Another variant: Tell six truths and one outrageous lie. YOU get to guess which variant I chose – and which statements are true, as well as which are lies.)
4. Nominate six creative liars–I mean writers–and post links to them.
5. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.

Here are 5 lies and 1 truth:

1.  I was once a roadie for the Marshall Tucker Band (a popular country rock band in the 70s)
2.  I was the salutatorian of my graduating class in high school.
3.  I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
4.  I performed in a circus that featured Ted Cassidy and Jackie Coogan from the television show "The Addams Family".
5. While rafting down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon, the raft I was in capsized and I broke my leg, necessitating a helicopter rescue out of the canyon.
6.  In the late 70s I spent one season working as a featured magic act in a carnival sideshow.

There you go -- which one is true?

Now here are my nominees:

1.  Fatherhood and other Common Terrors
2.  Welcome to my World of Poetry  (I don't think you have this one yet)
3.  Alex J Cavanaugh
4.  Falen Formulates Fiction
5.  Creepy Query Girl
6.  Unedited

         There you go -- that's six.  Hey! Somebody want to run over and tell them I gave them this in case I forget?  I do tend to forget.  

          Have a great week end one and all!