from the inside looking out ;-)

When the sun comes pouring in the kitchen window every morning, I feel blessed to begin a new day.

Outside my window

This morning the pond was very busy with Egrets, and Turkey vultures - here's just a 4 image collage-sampling of the 100+ photos I took

This day in History Oct 14, 1947

Oct 14 1947 Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yeager-breaks-sound-barrier

**The Quest for Mach One is available online or probably at your public library** 

My Uncle Jack was part of that historical day. I only had one Uncle and one Aunt. My mom was an only child, and my dad had just one sister. She married a handsome young man Jack Russell in 1941. Uncle Jack and his brother with only their high school diploma's from Buffalo, NY's Burgard Vocational High School, started working for Bell Aircraft in Buffalo. Soon my Uncle was off to California to work on projects at Edwards Air Force Base. 

He later had my Aunt come out from Buffalo with 3 other wives, they drove from Buffalo, after getting as many gas ration coupons they could gather up for the trip out west.  My Aunt described the living conditions and the sparse desert area that would become their home as dismal and lonely, but she was determined to make the best of their lives and opportunities. They first lived in railroad Boxcars!! Then 3 couples eventually rented a 3 bedroom home.  My Uncle worked as part of the team that was working on then "secret" projects. He ended up at the young age of 26 being the Crew Chief for test pilot Chuck Yeager.  On that Oct 14th day - my uncle was on the B29 aircraft that launched the X1.

He had a tiny part in the movie The Right Stuff. In the first few minutes of the movie, where the character (actor Sam Shepard) that plays Chuck Yeager - hurts his ribs, his friend Jack Ridley needs to use a portion of a broom stick to fashion a handle that Chuck can use to close the hatch after climbing in the X1. My Uncle plays the janitor, Jack Ridley walks up to him and says "Mr Russell can I borrow your broom". My Uncle didn't have any lines (that ended up in the movie), but he and Chuck Yeager were consultants on the movie set.
 My Aunt and Uncle met most of the "real" astronauts that trained at Edwards. Oh the stories my Aunt has in her memory banks of those years when Jack was working at Edwards for NASA.

The following Excerpt is quoted from this page

http://derekhorne.tripod.com/X1A.html

Yeager flies the X-1A

Chuck Yeager first flew the X-1A on November 21st 1953, the flight was perfect and Yeager flew on out to Mach 1.3 at 45,000 feet. The airplane flew beatifully and exactly like the X-1 and Yeager felt right at home.

Two more flights on December 2nd and December 8th produced speeds of Mach 1.5 & Mach 1.9. Yeager had told his crew chief, Jack Russell, "Hey, you sumbitch, if I get a fire warning light, I'm gonna strap you in my lap on the next ride and let you deal with it." Russell and the rest of his ground crew knew Chuck's neck was on the line and kept the rocket chambers so clean that they were germ-free!

See too this website: http://www.mach-buster.co.uk/#/yeager-the-bell-x-1/4532734274

Here's a >> link << to a photo of Jack in the Rocket Shop from 1956 from NASA's gallery

http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/view/all?os=100&pgs=50&sort=date

In later years, Jack and Chuck Yeager helped with the delivery and installation of the X1 in the Smithsonian Museum.  

My Uncle worked at Edwards Air Force Base, for many years and when he retired they gave him a portion of the engine of the X-15. 

In Buffalo NY, my Uncle was given the honor of being inducted into the Buffalo NY Air Museum Hall of Fame. http://wnyaerospace.org/

See too http://buffaloah.com/h/aero/bell/index.html

Uncle Jack passed away in 1996 - I really miss him. For only having one Uncle - I certainly had a most wonderful and interesting one.

My Aunt who is now 93 still lives in the home they bought 45 yrs ago. On a trip to California with my sister Carol in 2008, she took us to the small town where the test pilots lived in the 1940's and she and my Uncle had  their first home nearby. The area Willow Springs is almost like a ghost town now, and the family that "owns the town" hopes someday to make it a tourist attraction or something along those lines. She told us stories that I only wish I had "taped" and/or kept a diary of. But I'm sure I'd have to keep them secret.  Those test pilots partied like Rock Stars!!

related youtube videos about breaking the sound barrier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGqig1EYBhI
and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoMijlGRb04&feature=related

Movie The Right Stuff excerpt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uXoQ7cIDXg&feature=related
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Congratulations to Felix Baumgartner on his Accomplishment today Oct 14, 2012  (65 yrs later) - of skydiving from an altitude of 24 miles above the earth - in his own quest to be the first "human being" to actually break the sound barrier in a free fall to the earth.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/felix-baumgartner-jump-redbull-skydive_n_1965299.html

Hugsister Messageboard Contest thread Oct 13th

October 13th on the Hugsister messageboard in the Over theFence  forum community – I am posting a thread, where if you make “one” comment (you only are allowed “one” comment, on this particular thread) – then you might be chosen to win a Serif Software CD that contains 5 software programs. I got the CD with a recent printer purchase but already have similar or the same programs on my computers.

The rules for entry are that when you comment, it must be about what’s going on in your life, tell us about a craft project you’re working on, if you haven’t ever posted or haven’t in awhile, tell us why and or if we can do things differently on the message boards to make them more welcoming etc. If you’re a regular who posts all the time I welcome your input and tell us something we may not know about you, etc.  You only get to comment on this one thread, once, BUT you can comment on any other threads, you can start threads of your own etc.

What I’m hoping my little one day thread will do, is entice enough hugsisters to at least COME ON OVER to the Messageboards, and look around, visit the other subforums that we have, read through them, see what’s going on in those other forums etc. etc. And or contribute to those other forums with new posts of your own. 

If we can get more than 32 out of the 1000+ who have registered on the Hugsister Messageboard since its inception in Dec 2010,  - in a 15 minute time window – then we will finally break the record: Most users ever online was 32 on Jul 28 2011, 07:43 PM

The messageboard counts all registered visitors on the entire message board, not just in individual forums, and it counts in 15 minute increments. So within any 15 minute increment on the 24 hours of Oct 13^th – the goal is to have more than 32 looking around the place at the same time.  My one thread is only a small “incentive” or drawing card, that I’m hoping will bring about a bit more activity.  Plus my thread is also meant to be an encouragement for newbies, oldies, and those who just read and run..to read a bit about us, catch up with us and our lives – all in one thread. Kinda like a Sketti night with the theme being, with just one post/comment on one thread – tell us what’s going on in your life, share a craft tip, a photo, a recipe, - just make the post something of “substance”.

At  11:59pm Eastern USA time, on Oct 13 – I will draw a name from all those that commented, and then when I get their mailing address, I will send them the software CD to do what ever they want with.

If gals continue to comment on that one thread after the drawing, they are most welcome to do that, but the contest or entry period for the cd will be for only those comments posted, from midnight 12am Oct 13 – East Coast USA time to 11:59pm East Coast USA time Oct 13.

Details:
On October 13th a No Tricks ~ just a one Treat Drawing.
Any one that posts "one" post/comment to the tread that will be started at Midnight 12am Eastern Time, Sat Oct 13 will be entered into a drawing for the Serif Complete Arts & Crafts Creativity Suite DVD, that I got included with a recent printer purchase. I have no need for this CD, so thought it would make for a fun giveaway. Plus we'll see how many Hugsisters we can get to post on one "particular" thread over the course of one day.
The rules for entry: You must post One Comment on this single thread which will have in the Subject line
No Tricks, just a Treat CD Giveaway
In your comment you must tell us what you've been up to lately or how you're doing in life, and/OR give us a craft tip, tell us about crafts you're working on etc. (post pictures if you can or want to)
Please don't ask questions on the thread, and please don't just post saying you'd like to enter for a chance. And don't post saying thank you for offering the giveaway but that you don't want to enter, and just wanted to post a comment. Remember even if YOU personally do NOT want to win this, you could use it as a Gift/Giveaway yourself, put it in some ones stocking or a greeting card. Only one entry allowed per registered HugSister on the thread - so say as much or as little as you want to in that one comment.

At 11:59pm - October 13th, eastern USA time, I will draw a random number from all the qualifying posts to the thread and that person will receive the Arts and Crafts software programs DVD. I will mail it out to them after receiving their mailing address information.

Serif Complete Arts & Crafts Creativity Suite all programs on one DVD **Please note: this is compatible for Windows 7, Vista and XP users, but if you are a MAC user, you can always give it as a Gift to your Windows friends **  

NOTE : THIS DVD CAN NOT BE OFFERED FOR SALE!!!!  I'm trusting that the winner will accept this as a personal use only & gift, from me.

The following "complete" programs are on the DVD

Craft Artist Greeting Cards: http://www.serif.com/AllProducts/Software/...eetingCards.htm

Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 : **no longer available at Serif website http://www.amazon.com/Serif-Digital-Scrapb...2/dp/B00355R03W

Page Plus Essentials: http://www.serif.com/pageplus/essentials.aspx

PhotoPlus Essentials: http://www.serif.com/photoplus/essentials/
this is NOT the latest version that Serif has out now - this is description stated on the CD
"PhotoPlus Essentials is the fast and user-friendly photo editor that makes printing and uploading pictures as simple as can be. Ideal for photo enthusiasts who want to be able to organize their image collections as well as add stunning creative effects, with PhotoPlus Essentials, photo editing has never been so easy."

Scan Stitch and Share http://www.serif.com/scanstitchshare/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI
Serif Support & Community http://www.serif.com/Support/
If you need help, you have come to the right place. Whatever the question, chances are you’ll find the answer within these pages. Everything from help with your Serif software to managing your Serif account to accessing the Serif community forums – it’s all covered.

Free Downloads: http://www.serif.com/FreeDownloads/ If you don't win this Arts & Crafts Creativity Suite, you can still download and have some fun with the Free programs that Serif has available.

Serif main page: http://www.serif.com/

Serif Blog: http://www.serif.com/blog/

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If you are unfamiliar with the Hugsister Community / Messageboard here is some background information:

The messageboard was born Dec 19th 2010, when a generous hugsister Lynne, a.k.a. Blondemoments saw a need for each of us to stay connected.

 We had for the most part all been registered members of the pcCrafter.com messageboard community. PC Crafter.com was a website (its still online but doesn't sell anything, any longer) that sold the most amazing Clipart sets, done by the some of the most talented artists you'd ever want to have something of theirs in your clipart stash.  pcCrafter.com came online in about 2000, they sold clipart CDs in some stores, but they wanted to expand, and start selling Downloadable clipart sets - they called their 30piece clipart sets "Creatables" - for all the things your could Create with the clipart.  Then they started a monthly Club - called the HUG CLUB. For one low price each month, you would receive 2 - 30 piece clipart sets, plus a bunch of other goodies, such as printable paper doll sets, candy bar wrappers, home helpers - which were blank calendars (done with clipart), lists, recipe cards, etc. Toppers for scrapbook pages or cards etc.  and a mid-month snack consisting of 5 extra graphics that went with the "main" 30 piece clipart set of the month (they had a main 30 piece set and a 2nd bonus - 30 piece set) The 2 - 30 piece sets were eventually put up for sale to the general public at a later date. But those 5 extra graphics, and all the other CLUB content never was offered to the public (it was only available to monthly club members). 

Then every Thursday (up until Dec 2009) pccrafter released 2 completely new 30 piece clipart sets to the public. And throughout the year they offered different sets, Scrapables, Cardables, etc.  Life for a Graphicoholic didn't get much better.  And over on the pccrafter Messageboard - gals began to become friends, and have long running threads and conversations - about everything and anything. And of course we talked a lot about what we did with the graphics, and how much we looked forward to the NEW stuff coming out weekly and in the CLUB.   Hugsisters come from all walks of life, and from around the world.  Some have had meet ups, and its always a thrill to meet in person, folks you've only known via the internet. We've shared our lives, our joys, our sorrows, our problems etc.  PCCrafter stopped releasing new sets on Thursdays in Jan 2010, and only had the Club offerings, but they gave members "3" 30 piece clipart sets, plus all the regular Club content. The 3 - 30 piece sets were eventually put in the store for the public to buy. But in Jan 2011, any new clipart releases and/or club content ceased. The store remained viable for a few months, but eventually the shopping cart no longer functioned. The Messageboard was taken down from the pccrafter servers in April 2011.  So when we could see the handwriting on the cyberwalls that pccrafter.com was going to be no more...Lynne stepped to the plate and found a free online host invisionfree.com and created a New Meeting place for Hugsisters.  Its taken awhile to catch on, but we do have currently 1000+ registered.  Nothing can ever be like pccrafter's messageboard community. PC Crafter and the Clipart sold, the array of artists and various styles etc. was just awesome. But in the last few yrs of the pcc messageboard's life...things really had slowed down. Hugsisters moved on, grew bored of the community and/or even angry/hurt over some posts/threads etc. Many hugsisters found Facebook to be a good alternative to staying connected.  And on Facebook there is a group just for pccrafter messageboard Alumni.  **I belong to both the Hugsister Message Board and also the pcc Alumni group. (to join the Facebook group, you have to be of course on facebook, and be a friend of one of the pcc alumni group members, and then they can "add" you to the closed group)

Want to learn more about Hugsisters and our online messageboard:

Here is  the Hugsister Community forums registration information and some of the neighborhoods in the community

Here is the info you need to register over at the New Hugsister forum -

 the link to the registration page for the new hugsister forums:

http://z15.invisionfree.com/HugSisters/index.php?act=Reg&CODE=00

you will receive an email back after registering and then should be good to go 

The "main chat" area is called "Over the Fence"

Other forums of interest

Welcome introduce yourself after registering

Crafter's Marketplace
A place to post what you'd like to buy from a Hugsister, and Items a Hugsister is selling

Over the Fence
General Chit Chat - where we hang out.

What's Cooking?
share your favorite recipes

The Craft Room
What are you working on? What do you want to share?

The Craft Room ARCHIVES
Here is where you will find all those great projects previously created by our members

Crafty Links
Crafty ideas and projects from the web

Photo Album
Got a picture to share?

Hugs and Prayers Needed
Need a hug? Need a Prayer? Thats what Hugsisters do.

Yard Sale
Everyone loves a Yard Sale - got stuff to sell? Post here but please remove when it is gone.

Computer Help
Questions and answers to your computer problems

The Toy Box
What new crafting toys do you have or ideas for the toys?

Shout outs
Need to shout out a birthday, anniversary, or special something. This is the place.

Swap Meet!!!

Scrapbooking

Sewing/Quilting/Plastic Canvas and other Needle Arts

 

Steals and Deals
Check "Everyday" to see whats dealing today
Freebies, Craft coupons, restaurant deals, etc..

Our Daily Clicks

Health Forum
A place to share good information

Helpful Sites and Links - Keeper's Forum
a place to find links that we remembered seeing in posts but could no longer find

I hope you'll come by the place on Oct 13th and if you want, take a chance to win the Software DVD, and also read the many threads on the messageboard, and a long the way, get to know some of us a bit better.

Hugs, Mary a.k.a. LibMary 

What's on the Keyboard tonight...yum

Pumpkin Kisses