Voir dire

 

voir dire

noun

1. The formal examination of a prospective juror under oath to determine suitability for jury service or of a prospective witness under oath to determine competence to give testimony.
2. The preliminary phase of a jury trial in which the jurors are examined and selected.
3. A preliminary hearing without a jury in order to determine whether the evidence meets the test for admissibility to go to a full hearing at a criminal trial, in the legal systems of England and Wales, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

Where you will find me until I return to blogland.

 

 

 

T Stands For Back To The Spice Merchant

 

I am taking you once again to The Spice Merchant.  But first, I want to explain that I will be offline starting on Wednesday.  I am not sure how long I will be gone, but starting on Wednesday, I will be at the Sedgwick County Courthouse where I will wait to be called for voir dire.  Voir dire is the process by which a jury is selected from questions given by both the prosecutor and defense attorneys.  I have been told this will not take over three days and could be less, depending on where and when I am called, and if I am dismissed or accepted by both sides.

I have been assured this court never sequesters a jury and most cases last no longer than four days.  Please visit me before Wednesday morning if you want me to leave a comment.  Bleubeard doesn't know how to turn on the computer, so he will be no help, except to look adorable!

I am not sure what these are, but I think they are cards.  Stickers are included according to the package.  I'll check the next time I go. 

I found several of these I thought were great, including The Scream!  Poe and Alice would be good for this month's challenge Elle has given us at Art Journal Journey.

I was on a mission, and spent no time at all, snapping a few shots as I headed for the coffee beans.  Still, this is just another small section of this incredible store.

Items on the top shelf are not for sale, but are in the collection of Bob and his wife who own the store.  Those pots alone could cover a T Tuesday post.

It looks like a Hot Chocolate kind of day,

at least according to Gourmet Village whose site sells these for $9.50 (USD) which makes four cups of hot chocolate.  If they still have some the next time I return, I will probably buy a few.

Their seasonal and Christmas goodies are already out.  Would someone like to buy me that cardinal mug for Christmas (JOKE)?

Peruse,

enjoy.

Travel mugs that seemed

incredibly expensive.

These are adorable.

These mugs come with their own butterfly.

Now it's time to share your own drink related post.  It can be gifts you received, photos, a place you visited, movies, postcards, mail art, junk mail, catalogs, books, sketches, mixed media, drawings, paintings, handmade cards, tags, scrapbooking, or other art that is digital, hybrid, or traditional, a favorite mug, cup and saucer, teapot, coffee pot, or even a wine glass. Regardless, please join us by linking below.  Bleubeard and I will gladly visit, as will other T participants.  Please link only your T post and not your blog in general.  Bleubeard would like to remind you that old photos are acceptable because they may be taken any time, not just on Tuesday and not just this year.  Please remember to visit your fellow T participants.  

Second on the 2nd meets Monday Murals

 

I normally like to find a post that reminds me of the Art Journal Journey host of the month.  This month, the 2nd landed on Sunday, the day I share Monday Murals.  I decided to join Sami at Sami's Colourful World and her Monday Murals with my Second Look.  That means some of you will have seen this mural before.  Please be aware that Sami's mural link goes live at 11:01 a.m. my time.

This mural is from July, 2020.  It's the second time I took photos of the mural outside the Nifty Nut House. 

  This mural covers the entire south side of the original Nifty Nut House.

Let me share a few close ups:

  Hopefully, you'll see things you didn't see before.

     Did you notice the heart scrawled onto the tree trunk?  And how the squirrels are working together harvesting the nuts?

   They're storing their nuts for winter, while the auditor is taking inventory.

   They all work hard together.

   It's fun to check out this mural up close.  Although it's not a fable or folklore, it's still a cute story to which we all can relate.

The Nifty Nut House is located at 537 North St. Francis in Wichita, Kansas, USA.  It is a specialty house that sells nuts of all types, many of which they roast in their store, candies, and the most wonderful homemade fudge they also make in their store.

If you enjoy murals from around the world, please don't forget to visit Monday Murals at Sami's Colourful World.

Now it's time to share your own Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any length, any artistic endeavor is acceptable, as long as it's been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit. Please be aware, this link will only be open until T Stands For Tuesday goes live on Monday, October 3, which is tomorrow, at 4:00 p.m. my time.  Therefore, posting on the 2nd is going to be your only option.

 

Fairytales, Folklore, & Fables

 

Bleubeard and I would like to thank Neet for hosting in September.  Both Bleubeard and I really enjoyed her theme.

Today we welcome a new host at Art Journal Journey, as we do the first day of every month.  Our host is Elle from Empire of the Cat.  Her theme is Fairytales, Folklore, & Fables - Tell Me A Story.  She explains each of these themes in great detail on the Art Journal Journey blog.  Please check them out.

Those of us who live in the states when we are about six to 10 have heard the story

that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree with an axe when he was six.  I don't know if you could call it a fable or a myth, but it certainly didn't happen.

This is what happens when you hire a biographer.  You get a tall tale.  Washington needed to get his facts straight before he published his biography, or he should have hired a fact checker.

Something new to me was the myth I had heard that his teeth were made of wood.  Instead, they are made of hippopotamus teeth.  I wonder where his "dentist" found a hippopotamus in 18th Century America.

I started by gluing a portion of dressmaker tissue over 110 lb cream cardstock.

I then glued a piece of beautiful gifted gossamer ribbon (thanks Valerie) to the page. 

I found an image of George Washington in a children's coloring book that I colored using both water soluble crayons and watercolor pencils.  I found the sentiment in an old Farmer's Almanac.

Elle, Chris, Erika, Valerie, Bleubeard, and I are delighted you joined us and hope to see you this month at Art Journal Journey with your own take on Fairytales, Folklore, & Fables - Tell Me A Story.

 

We welcome art journal pages that meet the theme requirements, altered book pages, canvases, loose, or stand alone pages including fabric and digital art.  We do not allow cards, tags, index cards, ATCs, or ATCoins, unless they are part of a journal page, and as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.  Please remember if your blog is not in English, you must either provide a translation tool or translate it for us.  Hope to see you soon at Art Journal Journey. 

 

Friday Smiles 491: still at the art fair

 

It's Friday, which means it's time to join Friday Smiles which is hosted by Annie (at A Stitch in Time).   Let's visit her and the other wonderful ladies who also share their smiles each Friday.   

I stopped at this booth because I felt it had an African feel.  Unfortunately, the booth was very dark and I didn't get very good photos.

 

With the help of Photoshop, I lightened and added contrast to this photo.  Not sure I helped it much.

I know several of my readers and followers like pottery.  I was impressed with these bowls.

I got a real laugh at the sign.  In case you can't read it, "Buy art from a living artist. The dead ones don't need the money."

I came upon this booth and was immediately mesmerized.

I love copper and whirligigs, too.

The only problem was, there was no shade and no real tent, so I realized I had to move on.

This goes against everything I said about not showing sunflowers or jewelry.  Some of you may know I am allergic to metal.  I can't wear any jewelry, not even 24 karat.  Any metal against my skin causes me to break out in a rash.

So why, you ask, am I showing a sunflower and earrings?

Actually, the sunflower just happened to be in the way of the real object I was focusing on, 

 

the Keeper of the Plains, the real focus of my attention.

I will have one final booth to show next week.  No funnies this week, but a few Keepers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know some of you really enjoy seeing the Keeper.  I hope you enjoyed these images I found on the internet.  

 

Now PLEASE visit Annie  and don't forget to start your weekend with a smile.

 

 

Cats

 

Bleubeard has been ready to join Neet at Hickydorums, our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her Fur and/or Feathers theme since he heard about this month's theme.  He keeps asking when he can join the furry theme.  I told him I was saving the best till last.  Truth be told, I only found these images a couple of days ago.  They were the tiny "preview" type photos of each of the larger calendar pages.  

Although I had trouble lining the images up once they had glue on them, my final journal page represents Cats. Lions, Tigers, and Bleubeard, oh my!

Two tigers, a leopard, and a black leopard are happy to be in this spread.

A tiger and a snow leopard (both on the right side of each row) are shown here.

A cougar and a cousin of Iris's Henry are the next cats to grace this spread.

To the left of the cougar are two Siberian lynx.  The second row shows two tigers.

They are all cats, beautiful cats!

Of course, the most beautiful of all the cats

is my beloved Bleubeard, the face of our blog.

I started this page combining a turquoise Staz-on reinker to 91% isopropyl alcohol that I spread on the 110 lb cardstock.  Once dry, which only took a few minutes, I cut all the images from the back of a calendar.  I left one out so there would be room for my beloved Bleubeard.

 

As i mentioned, this is my final entry in September.  Bleubeard and I would like to thank Neet for her incredible hosting ability this month, even though she was on holiday and often challenged to find a spot where she could upload her art and leave comments to all the participants.  She did a far better job than I, that's for sure.  Thank you for being such a caring and inspirational host, dear friend.

Bleubeard and I would like to thank you for joining Neet's theme this month.  There's still time to join her great theme, Fur and/or Feathers, at Art Journal Journey. 

Since there are so many faces, I am going to share this with Nicole's Friday Face Off.  The last time I tried to visit participants, the link to FFO was missing. I DID let Nicole know, at least.