Today’s prompt is to share a picture and ask readers to share the post and try to make it go viral. Unfortunately, getting something to go viral is like finding an earring in the sand. Most likely, it’s not happening, and you’re going to be missing your earring.
That doesn’t stop me from sharing pictures. I do that with every post.
I’m also going to respond to the questions I was asked yesterday.
Jeanine asks: Sounds like a neat autumn day. Okay I have several questions if you end up needing more. But for now, my question is this – what kinds of videos do you watch on YouTube (or TikTok if that’s where you go)?
I watch all sorts of videos. My favorite videos to watch are any video where people are singing or dancing (or both) and furniture restoration. I will admit that I’ve watched every video featuring Susan Boyle, Loren Allred, Sydnie Christmas, Jonathan Antoine, Malakai Bayoh, and Jordan Rainer over and over again. I love listening to them sing, and Jordan Rainer also has really mad guitar skills. I love watching her fingers move on the guitar.
Watching furniture restoration is fun. It isn’t a skill that I have nor do I have the space to spray paint a dresser. I watch Olive Street Designs, Mad City Modern, Katie Scott (salvaged by k. scott), and more. I love to see old, broken down furniture updated and made beautiful. It is an amazing thing, in my opinion. Maybe because I don’t know how to do that? Well, even if I did know how to do that, I would still be amazed by these people’s skills. Charene of Olive Street Designs not only turns old furniture into works of art, she also teaches. She’s written books and she makes all sorts of videos about the art of furniture restoration. I’ve learned some new vocabulary, too. One of the terms that I’ve learned is “bat wing.” Nope, it has nothing to do with actual bats. It’s actually a type of furniture pull that was popular in the mid 20th century. They were a revival of a style made popular during the Queen Anne or the Chippendale furniture eras. If I had the skills, I would replace my own batwing pulls from my dresser. But, alas, no. The dresser is in the closet so I don’t have to look at batwings.
Other videos that I really enjoy include Ruby’s Rainbow and Candidly Kind. These youtube channels feature young ladies who have Down Syndrome. Ruby’s Rainbow features a high school sophomore named Ruby. Her mother started a nonprofit that provides scholarships for people who have Down Syndrome. Ruby’s joy is irrepressible. She is a cheerleader in her school and her delight at doing the cheers is contagious. She and her mom have the most hilarious conversations. And she gives out the scholarships. Even when she didn’t pass a test at school, she presented a positive attitude. She talks about all of the things that she loves, which includes her first solo trip in an airplane and working during the summer as a hostess in a restaurant. Her most favorite thing is queso. That is absolutely a way to Ruby’s heart.
Candidly Kind features Grace Key, who owns a business called Candidly Kind. She makes t-shirts, based on her artistic creations. Her theme is kindness, as well as light, love, and acceptance. She and her mother Carrie Key founded this business in 2018. If you go to the Candidly Kind website (https://www.candidlykind.com/designs), you can get a 20 percent discount through the end of October to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Grace is 27 years old and is pure delight and a little spice, too. She and her mom are two peas in a pod, and they are hilarious. Sometimes, Grace’s comments are so funny that her mother goes into fits of laughter. The awesome thing about Grace and Carrie is that they aren’t just mother and daughter, they are the best of friends.
Grace starts her videos by saying, “Hey, party people.” She also looks super cool with her glass of wine and her grin. How could anyone not enjoy being called “party people”?
In addition to selling shirts and other products and writing thank you notes to everyone who makes an order, she is also a motivational speaker. She talks about life with Down Syndrome. He has a real gift for public speaking. I’ve listened to parts of her presentations.
Jennifer asks: Your day sounds lovely! It is so funny how much we seem to have in common! Tonight I scheduled a massage for the first time in over a year. I am about to head over there. My question is what are some of your favorite memories of Syracuse?
Things that I remember include going to the New York State fair, a bakery called “Snowflake” that made the most incredible breads and cookies, a dairy store where we got delicious ice cream in baby cones, the hilly terrain, the library at the end of my street, a big old house with a crawl space underneath that was great for hiding, the picnics that LeMoyne College held for faculty, staff, and families that featured perfectly cooked steaks, and snow. So much snow. Yes, we walked uphill to school every day through piles of snow that sometimes were over my head (I was very small for my age). We walked uphill home, too. Every direction was uphill. We trudged for miles on end. We had two seasons. Winter and the Fourth of July. At the end of the school year, we had walked so far uphill that we were able to pluck the stars from the sky. Because sharing is caring, we each took only one star so everyone could…
Haha. The incessant uphill climb and the star plucking may or may not have happened. For sure, my overactive imagination did happen. For sure, it was a lot of snow. People associate Buffalo with loads of snow, but Syracuse has Buffalo beat. My older sisters learned to ski in the Syracuse area. There was plenty of opportunity for that. When we got snowed in by a blizzard, my older sisters skiied to a food store. At least, that’s my memory. It could be false. Who knows? The image of two young teenagers skiing to the store is adorable, however.
If you have any more questions, I will do another round of pictures and coversations! Just post the questions in the comment section!!!
