DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #141 – MAY 21, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – BLUE DOG
The calendar called this fold dippy dog, but Mlle. Renee said that wasn’t a very nice thing to call man’s best friend. So I renamed the fold BLUE DOG. She says she can live with that. Also the calendar made this fold a two day challenge, but I couldn’t control my creativity. So I completed both parts in one day.
Tuesday’s half – the dog’s body.
And Wednesday’s half - the dog’s head.
Put both parts together, and you have … THE BLUE DOG
Renee gives this challenge … a WELL DONE! NOW, I’ll have to think of something else for Wednesday.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR - JUST USE LOGIC
I’m just guessing, but I’d say …
? = 175
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – ALPHAMETICS
With all the hazardous weather around the country, I almost didn’t use this puzzle today. But you can’t blame the weather on the puzzle maker.
This time the puzzle uses all 10 numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. N = 6 and H = 4.
Point to ponder today - are dogs allergic to the same things as humans? I’m allergic to cottonwood trees. Have been since I was 14 when the family moved from Saint Louis City to West Walnut Manor where the cottonwood tree seems to be the native resident tree. While there are no cottonwood trees on my block, the entire top of the neighboring hill is covered with the trees. And when the wind blows from the south like it did today, it actually looks like it is snowing. So naturally I was plagued with sneezes, wheezes and swollen, watering, itching eyes. I noticed that Renee was having the same problem today. Is she allergic to cottonwoods, too? Are is she just having psychosomatic symptoms to humor or mock me.
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #140 – MAY 20, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – BLUE BUTTERFLY
Un bel di vedremo! Today’s origami challenge has triggered an ear worm from a favorite opera. Won’t stop me from completing the task at hand. Though Mlle. Renee might get upset if I start singing.
Not only did my blue butterfly land on the puzzle page … it also visited one of the flowers I folded a month or more ago. 
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – WASEI-EIGO
Another Japan puzzle this morning. I think I need a cup or two of tea before starting this one. Oh, no! It triggered another ear worm.
OMG! I think I just dated myself. And would any mother let that lead singer near their teenage daughter?
I did not do well with the pseudo-Japanese language. I only figured out half of them
1 – ice + candy = popsicle, 2 – open + car = convertible, 3 salary + man = office worker, 4 – at + home = cozy, 5 – order + made = custom-made, 6 – four + balls = a walk
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – MONORAIL
I’ll get back to this later. I’m going back to bed. Well, I did it, but as you can see with a lot of erasures.
TREKKING THE C.W.E.
In Saint Louis, CWE stands for CENTRAL WEST END which is a historic part of the city where the elite (people and pets) meet to eat, shop and just people watch on sunny weekend days. Here is photographic mosaic I shot on Saturday when I was out with a couple of friends. You can click on the little images to view a larger version and read my commentary.
Our Saturday matinée movie was STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. 
Tourists always welcome in Saint Louis. And it’s a great place for a budget vacation.
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #139 – MAY 19, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – THE NOTHING WEEKEND
Still waiting for the rain to arrive and quell the attack of the cotton wood tree allergens. If it does, I might fold something special this afternoon.
HUZZAH! Still sneezing waiting for that rain to start … but I do have something to CROW about!
My first origami rooster … though with minor modifications I might be able to morph it into a bald eagle for the Fourth of July. It wasn’t a wasted weekend after all.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – THE SUNDAY HALF / MIKE’S COIN JAR
HELL’S BELL AND TANGERINES! Wouldn’t you know that they would throw another math problem at me during the middle of a spring allergy attack?
But, the answer is so simple, everyone should be able to figure it out. I did! Even though I sneezed three times while doing it.
ANSWER: First, what is the value of the four different coins in Mike’s jar? One quarter, one dime, one nickel and one penny is 41 cents. You should be able to figure it from there.
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – PHONETIC WORDPLAY
I figured it out … so don’t peek at the answer below.
tniap and tnief
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #138 – MAY 18, 2013
Yes, it’s another weak end, and I’m so annoyed with my sneezing and runny nose and eyes, I don’t ever give a HOOT!
Just give me some strong tea or coffee with honey to sooth my itchy palate … and totally clogged head.
My head has been taken over with cottonwood fluff!
Caffeinated owl courtesy of Mike S.
And I don’t even care that the origami challenge usually seen in this spot has been usurped by a fluff/puff piece.
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – NOTHING BUT FLUFF THIS WEEKEND
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – SATURDAY HALF/PERSON, PLACE, THING
I’ll finish this right after I visit the owls, and maybe I should add some bourbon to the coffee or tea.
And the answers are: repeeksdnuorg – pirtsria – lawardhtiw
And I didn’t get any of them. Shame on me.
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – PHONETIC WORDPLAY
THANKFULLY, I WAS SAVING
THIS FOR SUNDAY!
AND WHAT DID I DO ON FRIDAY?
I went to a bi-monthly luncheon at the Pasta House with about 20 guys from my William Cullen McBride High School class. Yes, it was an all-boys school.
And they’re all old men now!
THE TOTAL PICTURE!
On occasion, after I’ve posted a photo to the Weekly Photo Challenge, I will occasionally supply a little background on the photo I’ve submitted or about the other photos I was considering submitting. Today I would like to submit the entire ESCAPE photo. You might want to click on it to see the larger size.
THE TOTAL PICTURE — GOOSE ON THE LOOSE!
ENJOY!
Weekly Photo Challenge: ESCAPE!
In a new post created specifically for this challenge, share a picture that means ESCAPE to you.
Ready, Set, Run … GEESE ON THE LOOSE!
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #137 – MAY 17, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – EIGHT POINT STAR
This fold was a little bit involved and it took me a while to figure it out. Quite impressive once it’s done!
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – WORD LADDER
Not to worry, what with my allergies and the threat of rain, I’ve got all day to figure this out.
While I was able to get a couple of words going down the ladder, and a couple of words going up the ladder … they never were matching words. And the sneezing and wheezing didn’t help one jot.
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR -
I got the first two with no problem at all. The last one is rather tricky.
ANSWERS: Henry Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
COMING UP!
I guess 30 Days of Creativity is looming right around the corner on my many calendars. It runs from June 1 to June 30. Hopefully some of my origami calendar challenges will fit in with the 30 Days Calendar suggestions. You can check some of my daily creations from last year by checking the first category in the Categories List just to your right. If you think you’d like to partake in the creativity this year go to http://30daysofcreativity.com/ or check https://twitter.com/createstuff
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #136 – MAY 16, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – A MINI-BOOKLET
Shades of my very first job … as a trainee in the advertising traffic department. I learned all about the production end of advertising long before I got behind a typewriter and the creative end. So I not only was able to fold the little booklet, I was also able to print the cover on the paper before I started folding.
Yes, the cover is actually in the middle of the printed sheet before you begin the folding process.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – CALL THIS PHRASE
Personally, I don’t like advertisers who give their telephone number as a word of phrase. It is actually faster to dial a number than to dial a name or phrase. But I will take to time to spell out their phrase number after I have a couple of cups of coffee.
THE PHONE WORD WAS dnab guj BACKWARDS
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – MATCH THE FROGGIES
I was able to get the perfect match even as I was typing this very line. And I didn’t make any mistakes in my typing. Did you know that when I went to high school, my typing teacher was the first person to teach typing in a Missouri school? Also in an all boys school. And the typewriter he always used was an antique L. C. Smith original. He was about 88, which was only a couple of years older than the typewriter.
THE PERFECT MATCH WAS 3 AND 6.
PHOTO/STORY CHALLENGE – YOU ARE YOUR MAILBOX
THE PHOTO/STORY CHALLENGE – Write a brief story and illustrate it with up to twelve related photographs.
Alas, the poor person who delivers your mail … stuck with a motto that isn’t even a motto of the US Postal Service. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” It sounds great, but it was just a whim of an architect who needed an inscription to decorate the New York City post office building that he had designed. The quote was actually a variation of a comment written by the Greek historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus to describe the Persian mounted mail couriers of 500 B.C. So, unless the person who delivers your mail is of Greek or Persian decent and riding a horse, the motto really doesn’t apply.
All things considered, being a mail delivery person is not a happy lot. They really don’t even have a job title these days. Back when I was a kid they were known as a Mailman in the US or the British variation Postman. That title really didn’t work when women began delivering mail, and so the title of Letter Carrier started being used.
Actually I think the title of POSTAL COURIER would sound more romantic. Unfortunately the word POSTAL has a somewhat negative history.
Anyway, to get down to the PHOTO/STORY CHALLENGE at hand by introducing letter carrier Marvin Mailman makes a game of imagining what his postal patrons are like by the mailboxes they own.
SPECIAL DELIVERIES w/MARVIN MAILMAN
Mr. Hotrod is the eternal drive-in soda jerk who never really grew up. He also never tinkered or even owned a hot rod. He now leases an Acura Luxury Sedan with all the extra features.
E. J. McBucks still has the first dollar he ever inherited. It’s probably entombed in the brickwork of his mailbox.
Marty McFly has never eaten a fish that hasn’t come out of a can. He does like drowning worms.
Sigrid Agentmam is not to be messed with … her ultra secure mail depository even has a secret electronic pass code that is changed on a weekly basis.
Auntie Macassar still drapes all her plastic covered overstuffed furniture with little crocheted doilies to keep them from being soiled.
Mr. Mauler does not get mail deliveries, he has a dog that eats letter carriers for lunch.
Mr and Mrs Avian have a P.O. Box, their rustic mailbox is now the home of a family of Eurasian Tree Sparrows.
Mr. M. Bibber replaces his generic mailbox on a semi-weekly basis following his semi-weekly poker parties.
Mr. S. Bagel still has the same mailbox that his father put up 55-years ago. Either he’s a tightwad who never dusts his mailbox, or he is totally inept as a household handyman.
What’s your mail delivered to …
... a somewhat unknown or perhaps imaginary actor, writer, director, producer, photographer, friend, brother, uncle and all round good fellow that you really should get to know because he lives with that most glamorous fourpaw Mademoiselle Renee. (Mlle. Renee for short)
