Picture Sunday

Hello, Sunday Nighters, and welcome to it. Another round of Picture Sunday. And you know how Stennie & I apologized in advance for last week's edition of the Hucklebug podcast? Well, you've already figured out where this is going, right? Yep, I'm sorry, too. This may well be the most boring edition of Picture Sunday yet. But it is what it is. I can't hit the bullseye every week, you know.

Now, see that guy up there? The maroon thing with his chest all puffed out? Well, if you live around here, he's a familiar sight. That's Hokie Bird, Virginia Tech's mascot. He's a gobbler, in case you didn't decipher that on your own.

A few months ago I was tooling around B'burg and saw something a little odd. I saw a statue of a very psychedelic Hokie Bird. In fact, here's the little fella I saw.



And isn't he cute, with a route sign on him, and a cow on one leg, and a horsie (without a mask, I'm assuming, though I could be wrong) on the other? The sign beside him was advertising something called Gobble Art, where apparently businesses and rich people can call up these folks and have their very own weirdly-painted Hokie Birds made to order. And you know something? It seems to be catching on, because they just keep springing up. Oh, yeah - this is where this is all going.

There's one outside the convenience store right on G Road where I always fill podmobile2 up with gas....



He's quite rural, wouldn't you say?

Then, one appeared right in the middle of town, outside Henderson Lawn, across the street from the Lyric Theater.



He's probably my favorite, because he seems to have roads all over him.

Then one sprung up on Draper Road.



He's wearing a little suit!

Then there's the one in front of a tatoo parlor in town. Tattooed, I'm not so sure about, he actually looks more like he's been boiled in oil, or maybe he represents how one feels after getting a tattoo, not that I'd know.



Ouch! Skinless Hokie Bird.

And finally, this one now sits outside a dentist's office on Main Street. He's without a doubt the most colorful Hokie Bird around.



I think this dentist's a little on the wild side. I'm not sure I want him working around in my mouth with pointed instruments.

I don't know. It just strikes me a little funny, seeing where one will turn up next. If any more show up, I'll be sure not to print their pictures here. I'm not that mean.

You know, I've been a bad girl today. I hot-footed it home from Mr M's so Stenns and I could get a podcast going (yes! there will a podcast tonight, an "instacast," we're calling it), then I immediately went to the folks' house to swim my first 60-lap swim of the season (and boy, are my arms tired), and then my mom cajoled me into staying for dinner.

It's not that I wasn't thinking of you, really. I mean, look at all those Hokie Birds up there! How could I not be thinking of you! I just wasn't thinking much of the recipe du jour. So I hope you'll all understand as I present this week's recipe. It's from the "You've Been Bad!" file at cardland, and, well, say hello to "No Dinner For You Tonight!"



Now, there are a few ways you can take this. You can take it this way: You're all fine folks, and none of you have been bad. I've been bad, and so the card is aimed at me. Or this way: We've all been there, right? Bad kid, no dinner. Or, possibly the best way to take it is this: Considering some of what you've seen in the past, Cream of Pickle Soup, Mashed Potato Cottages, Fish Muddle.... Hey, I'm giving you a break this week. Being bad maybe isn't such a, well, bad thing.

I'll do better next time.

Happy Week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* As I said above, if you'll give her just another hour or so for editing, you can go here and listen to Week 18 of the Hucklebug podcast. Or you can go to iTunes and subscribe. Do it. You know you want to.