Lifetime of Love

A lifetime of love. Macro shot of porcelain figurine.
(Click picture for larger view)

"On the days that are summer sweet and full of a thousand dreams, I will love you.
On the days when thunder and rain come dashing against our hopes, I will love you.
On the days when we share a quiet world of contentment, I will love you.
On all the days, through all the seasons of our lives,
I will give you my heart . . .
I will give you my love."
~ Unknown

The faces are those of children, yet the gray is seen in their hair. Dressed in the wedding finery from times past, they share a kiss. Their love of a lifetime; still young in their hearts, still young in their minds.

This was a small 50th anniversary figurine used in my parent's 50th celebration.
Submission to MacroDay for topic "love". (end of post)

Fairytale Part 3: Pumpkin Blossom Time

June 24. Look what I see!!
(Click pictures for larger view)

"We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

(If you've missed the first two installments, you might want to read them first, here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2.)

As the magic pumpkin patch continued to grow......
.......the lady kept watch. By the end of June she started to see vine spikes growing at right angles to the main vine and at the ends were flame-shaped .... BUDS!!! There were a lot of them and they formed the joints along the vines.



The buds began to blossom just a few at a time and only very early in the morning. June and July are so hot; by ten in the morning the blooms had closed for the day. One week went by and then two; surely we should start seeing little pumpkins soon. The lady became concerned; perhaps they needed more water or food or maybe the seeds won't grow or... Well! The truth was obvious... the lady had no knowledge of how to grow pumpkins, most of the seeds she plants simply don't come up.


July 12. Early morning.

Where does one go to learn how to grow pumpkins? The internet search engines, of course. The lady learned that these large delicate yellow blooms come in two distinct forms ~ male and female. The male flowers on tall stalks begin to blossom two to three weeks before the female flowers appear. Why? So their showy blossoms will attract honey bees, imprinting them with pollen to facilitate the bees return to the flowers, day after day. These big blooms were the male flowers. And look Vicki... fruit flies love these blooms!


Male blossom.

What happens if the bees don't come? Well, the lady found out that she might have to "help" the pumpkins out.... in vitro fertilization of sorts; put the pollen from the male flower in the blossom of the female flower. She sincerely hoped the bees would come, though she hadn't seen any. Perhaps she just hadn't looked early enough in the day.



Then she saw them; yes, the bees had arrived, and look... all the fruit flies have red eyes... dominant trait. The lady was relieved as she had no wish to be a pumpkin fertility doctor.


July 12

So now it is back to waiting. Waiting for the female flowers. Watching as the vines continue their march to.... well, who knows... we only have so much yard to work with! The lady has to be gone for two weeks. Who will water, who will feed, who will keep the vines from going to the neighbor's house? Will the female flowers bloom? Will the bees cross pollinate the pumpkins with the cucumbers in the yard? At least this won't show up in this year's pumpkins... if any grow at all.

Then two days before the lady has to leave on her trip......


July 20. The female flower.

......she spies these small buds on short little stalks. Immediately beneath each bud is a tiny round mini-pumpkin about one half inch in diameter. All the female blossoms have these pumpkin precursors; and if the bees do their job, the flower will be fertilized and the round bulb will grow into a pumpkin. Not every female flower will be fertilized; most will shrivel up and fall to the ground, no one knows which ones will survive at this point.



Will the bees do a good job? Will the pumpkins begin to grow? As she left for her two weeks in New York, all the lady could do was wait and wonder.... and now, so must you......

To be continued... but again, not today....
(end of post)

Angry Arms

Crossed arms often signify anger.
(Click picture for larger view)

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses."
~ William Arthur Ward

Crossed arms signal Nyssa's anger. Mine too. It's probably where she gets this habit. Her anger is usually accompanied by a scowl, tightly pursed lips, squinting eyes and, if any sound comes from the mouth it is an "Oh, Mom" or "I can't believe you..." or "Mother!" This condition can be an almost permanent state of affairs during that period of adolescence from say age 11 to 20, although I've heard it is starting earlier and earlier. These days, mine is in college and I think she's learning that the little things that make her angry are not important. She is learning to save her anger for the big things, for changing them rather than flailing wildly and ineffectually against them.

Submission for PhotoFriday topic "anger". (end of post)

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

Lady Willow. (Click pictures for larger views)

"Cats are the ultimate narcissists. You can tell this by all the time they spend on personal grooming. Dogs aren't like this. A dog's idea of personal grooming is to roll in a dead fish." ~ James Gorman

Before a cat eats.... she washes. Before a cat plays with the catnip toy .... he washes. Before meals, before sleeping, before bird-washing.... the cats wash.


Sir Nicky

After exploring under the bed.... a cat washes. After being brushed ..... a cat washes. After being petted .... a cat washes. After a bath .... a cat bathes again.
In fact, before and after almost anything a cat does ..... he(she) washes.......


Miss Scarlett and Mr. Rhett

....... even if it isn't their own neck.


Miss Chloe and Miss Clover

...... and even if it isn't their own ear.

The cats are getting their coats ready to board Friday's Ark and will hopefully stay clean until the Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by Pet's Garden Blog. (end of post)

The "Grew Some" Tale Continues...

Pumpkin vine leaf. (Click pictures for larger view)

"Do you want to hear a gruesome story?
A farmer planted a pumpkin seed.
He watered it and cared for it very well,
and soon it grew some, and grew some, and grew some ...."
~ Unknown

In the magic flowerbed....
sixteen little pumpkin plants grew as the lady waited and watched. Soon the tiny cotyledons, the "seed leaves" gave way to the larger, broader, heart-shaped leaf of the pumpkin vine; and soon the vines filled the little flowerbed with no place to go but..........


June 16

...over the side of the landscape timbers and out into the side yard. Here the vine found lush grass and sent out tendrils to wrap around the blades. Soon at each junction of leaf and vine, secondary roots dug deep into the grassy earth, anchoring the vine.


June 18

At first the vines were compact like a lush rounded bush. The lady faithfully watered the plants when the leaves drooped from the heat and fed them with special nutrients in the water spray. Sometimes it seemed as if the vine with leaves and tendrils grew when she turned her back even for a few minutes.


June 25

Then one day, the plants seemed to break free, growing in all directions; a few spread to the west, towards the backyard fence, the tomatoes and the fig tree; others spread towards the east to the front of the house, some in front of the boxwoods and one tenacious vine growing behind the bush with tendrils pushing upward along the brick wall.


July 2

One group of vines headed to the south, across the yard in the direction of the neighbor's house, so the lady gently turned the ends back towards the front yard. Now the man who mowed the yard had to carefully navigate around the still tender plants.


July 7

Who knew that this was still just the beginning of this fairytale? Who knew that "fairytales" could be so gruesome? Who knew things were about to get out of hand with a new twist? Who knew?

The saga will continue.........but not today.
(end of post)

A Starry Night

A light shines in the dark night.
(Click picture for larger view)

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us." ~ Meister Johann Eckhart (1260 - 1327)

At first glance this might be a full moon on a clear, dark night with stars twinkling in the background; but see the gleam of the lamppost and the "moon" becomes a "lamp". Perhaps the picture of a lighted parkway path, but not in the big city; in a western town where the night stars can overcome the bright lights, where they gleam brightly and seem close enough to touch with my outstretched hand. Or maybe this is a street lamp lighting the deserted parking lot at a mountain top observatory; perhaps that is why the stars are so bright.

This is submitted for the Thursday Challenge topic "light". If you really want to know what this picture is then click "Read More" below; you know you do. Click the one with the arrows.

This picture was taken at the Yankee Candle Company in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was taken in broad daylight, inside. It is a wonderland of shops with a mainstreet from the 1800's; lamppost, street markers, sidewalk cafes and an arched roof with blue skies and wispy clouds. All the separate shopping areas open to this "town square". One shop is set up for Christmas... all year round. There are stuffed penguins, moose and a wooden bridge leading to the North Pole fantasy land. The room is dark, it's ceiling curved and painted black with thousands of these tiny sparks of light shining down as the sky would appear in the arctic. I simply stood under the lamp post and shot upward at an angle. (end of post)

Neon Glow

Fireworks glowing in the night sky. (Click picture for larger view)

"There are two kinds of light--the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures." ~ James Thurber

The neon glow of fireworks light up the July summer night with sparkles, fire, spinning wheels, bright percussion blasts of light and sound. This was one of my favorites; simple, like petals of an opening flower in glowing colors of red, orange and yellow. It reminded me of a large neon light glowing on top of a local diner or old time hotel. I can almost hear that rhythmic buzzing of the ballast.

Submission for LensDay topic "glow". (end of post)

Tummy Tuck

Mr. Rhett snuggles with his sister Miss Scarlett.
(Click picture for larger view)

"Fast asleep? IT is no matter.
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber.
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies
Which busy care draws in the brains of men;
Therefore thou sleep'st so sound."
~ William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Mr. Rhett takes a nap with his sister Miss Scarlett; his head tucked in next to her tummy, their front paws intertwined. She allows this, though at times with a look of consternation. I can just see her little white tummy patch. Ah, sweet sleep; would that we could so easily forget our cares and troubles.

Submission for Tummy Tuesday at catstuff.
The cats are resting and getting ready to board Friday's Ark and will visit the Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by Pet's Garden Blog.
(end of post)

Autumn On Its Way

Autumn 2005. November. Williamsburg, VA.
(Click picture for larger view)

"Autumn has caught us in our summer wear."
~ Philip Larkin, British Poet (1922-1986)

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."
~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Further north into New England and west into the mountains of Virginia, the leaves are beginning to turn. Here on the coast, Autumn comes in more slowly with temperatures as yet only rarely dipping into the 50's at night. And now a few returning days of summer with temperatures almost to 90. Autumn is a see-saw, up and down; with every dip a few leaves turn and drop, a few more pine needles fall. It takes time for full color to develop. This was the look of last year's Autumn.... a few more weeks away yet, but on its way... this year's. We just have to slow down and wait.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "Autumn". (end of post)

The Colour Of Dreams

Althaea officinalis. Marsh mallow. Macro.
(Click picture for larger view)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams." ~ Paul Gauguin

Shades of pink; deep and hot, pale and delicate; blended stripes against the bold background. Cool greens in shadow dark, punched with slivers of light as if from within the flower's center. Swirls of color so different, yet together remind me of childhood dreams; of sleeping beauties on soft downy beds strewn with delicate petals; of a white stallion whose hooves stir petals and leaves as it prances; of a prince who awakens her with a kiss; of light and swirls of color as all rejoice. How does color speak to you in your dreams?

Submission to MacroDay topic "colour". (end of post)

The Fairytale Begins

The beginning. (Click all pictures to see larger views)

"Every man's life is a fairy-tale written by God's fingers."
~ Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time....

There was a pumpkin of the "fairytale" variety. In a farmer's pumpkin patch it grew to weigh 20 pounds. One day in October, a family bought the beautiful pumpkin and took it home, where they made nine delicious pumpkin pies from its fleshy meat. The grown daughter scooped up the seeds, washed them, dried them and saved them wrapped carefully in a paper towel. She placed them in a dark corner of the garage where they rested until the next spring...May, actually.



While she planted two tomato plants in a flowerbed to the side of the house, the lady remembered the seeds. She prepared the soil, added fertilizer and prepared the seeds. Her father said to put four seeds in each of four mounds, as it was not likely that all would survive and grow. So she did. Then she watered and watched and waited until......



One day a small bowed shoot appeared in one mound, then another one and another one. They grew and sprouted two leaves each and suddenly the lady realized that every single seed had sprouted! There in the loose earth, were sixteen small seedling pumpkin plants growing in her magic flowerbed. Then she waited... again.........

(end of current post..... to be continued)

The Eyes of a Child

Nyssa, Age 2. 35mm film shot. 1988.

"A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend." ~ Author Unknown

"Sometimes looking deep into the eyes of a child, you are conscious of meeting a glance full of wisdom. The child has known nothing yet but love and beauty. All this piled-up world knowledge you have acquired is unguessed at by her. And yet you meet this wonderful look that tells you in a moment more than all the years of experience have seemed to teach."
~ Hildegarde Hawthorne

How quickly they grow up; yesterday a little girl, today a young woman. How we want to protect them from all the hurts and pain and how futile that desire is. Each girl faces different challenges and yet at the core, they are the same. The best a mother can do is teach by example, love without limit, model strength of character and pray for wisdom; then prepare to be amazed at the woman she becomes.

Submission to PhotoFriday topic "girl". (end of post)

A Body At Rest

Chloe slows things down. (Click picture for larger view)

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." ~ Mohandas Gandhi

Chloe is in perfect harmony with her surroundings. The bean bag chair molds to the contour of her sleeping form and the soft faux sheepskin throw cushions her aging bones. Chloe and Clover were born when Nyssa was seven, making them thirteen this summer. I can understand their need to sleep eighteen hours a day.... They're trying to slow down time.

Miss Chloe will likely board Friday's Ark this week, find an out of the way nook and go back to sleep. I hope she wakes in time to see the other cats at the Carnival of the Cats; this week hosted by House of Chaos.

(end of post)

For The Love Of The Game

Occupation - Coach. (Click picture for larger view)

"It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Coaching this team would bring neither wealth nor splendor and I doubt sincerely if it brought him any tranquility. Nyssa's basketball coach at the Math & Science high school had to coach because he loved the game. It certainly wasn't the excitement of winning, they didn't win a game in two years; although they almost won one game her senior year, but lost by two points to Immanuel... Nyssa's school her first two years of high school. I don't think many coaching scouts came to the games... very few parents came to them as most of the students were from other towns all across Mississippi. None of the girls were going to go to Duke or UConn on a basketball scholarship, in fact many of them had never played before. But they did go to Cornell, Yale, Princeton, CalTech, and William & Mary and their class had thirteen National Merit Finalists. It was probably easier for some of the girls to calculate the physics of a jump shot than make one. Yet, this coach always encouraged and never berated. He was gracious in ... well, I was going to say "winning and losing" but we will just have to say he was graceful in losing.

PS: The year after Nyssa graduated, the girls team won two or three games. I think it was the first time in the fifteen year history of the school that the girls team actually won. Oh, well. Everyone can't play in the WNBA! By the way, can you tell which player belongs to me?

Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "occupation". (end of post)

I've Looked At Clouds

Clouds (Click picture for larger view)

High Flight
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
~ John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922 - 1941)

Rolling, billowy, wispy, threatening, dancing, boiling, powdery, fluffy, feathery, darkening, silver-lined, stormy, mysterious, broken, fleecy, floating, white, gray, black, sweeping, cottony; all descriptions of clouds, each bring a different picture to mind. As children we rested on the sun warmed ground, gazing up at the clouds and looked for faces, animals, mountains, any object we might fantasize. We've watched the storm clouds sweep across the plains of Oklahoma; billowing and dark with swirls and rotations of gray and green, watching the birth of tornadoes. Clouds evoke such a wide range of emotion; fear, dread, awe, delight and wonder. Powerful indeed, these collections of water vapor, these clouds.

Submission for LensDay topic "clouds". (end of post)

Caught In The Act

Maggie

"When you are looking, a cat acts like a princess, but the minute they think you are not looking, a cat acts like a fool." ~ KC Buffington

This is Maggie. She belongs to my parents. It was Mom's idea for them to get her, but Maggie loves Dad best. Perhaps it is because he talked "baby talk" to her and called her his "sweet precious little girl" when she was still a kitten. Perhaps it is because he ALWAYS fills her food bowl when there is a tiny little dimple depression in the middle or because he opens the back door for her when she refuses to go through the cat door. My opinion is that she is still angry that Mom pays more attention to my kitty crew, especially that handsome imp, Nicky.

Ragdolls sleep on their backs, tummy up quite often. Maggie, however, keeps hers tucked away, so this was an unusual picture of her. My crew had just been herded to their sleeping quarters in the sunroom and the rest of the house was hers; obviously her favorite time of day.

If you wonder how we tell Willow and Maggie apart; it's in the face. Willow has a delicate more pointed nose, and a look that exudes innocence. Maggie, on the other hand, has the broader face with chipmunk cheeks and a permanent "if looks could kill" expression. This matches her attitude most of the time. If she would just relax a little she could have lots of fun with Nicky. He adores her.

It's Tummy Tuesday at catstuff.
Maggie will likely board Friday's Ark in a snit this week and hide in the corner. I hope she gets over herself in time to see the other cats at the Carnival of the Cats; this week hosted by House of Chaos.
(end of post)

Mom's Birthday Bash

Steinhilber's Restaurant. (Click picture for larger view)

"There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know." ~ Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)

Last Thursday was my mom's birthday. Dad and I took her to her favorite restaurant Steinhilber's, where we all had The Original Steiny's Fantail Fried Shrimp, large... no, huge...... no, gigantic shrimp in a light, almost tempura batter. She and Dad had fried oysters for an appetizer and I had the Lobster Bisque. It was fabulous, as always.

She wanted dessert but we talked her out of it. She had too much bread already with the dinner and hasn't been very good about checking her diabetes recently. So we piled back in my van and started back home. But of course Dad and I already had something up our collective sleeves. I dropped him off at a corner in the Town Center area and proceeded to drive around and around and around the block..... over and over. Finally, there he was. Mom kept asking where he was going and I kept telling her she would have to wait and see. As I retrieved my dad, he handed her a box with the words... The Cheesecake Factory.... on the side. She loves cheesecake more than any other sweet, except perhaps chocolate. They make a 6 CARB ORIGINAL CHEESECAKE™ she can actually eat.

The flowers? They arrived early in the day, from her loving son in Europe. She says that he told the florist what to put in the bouquet... yellow roses and sunflowers with some form of flowering greenery in the background....also yellow. I hope it isn't goldenrod or some other thing to make me sneeze. On rare occasions my brother will actually comment here, so here they are Stephen; beautiful job dude and hey, you remembered this year without any prompting! I am impressed!



All in all, it was a good day!

(end of post)

Drizzle Days

Rain on a tiny flower bud. Macro shot. (Click picture for larger view)

"I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains.
One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge,
but one misses a world of loveliness."
~ Adeline Knapp

The gray rainy days when drizzle and showers never cease, clouds block the sun and raindrops splash on blades of grass, coating them with shimmering beads of water; I love those days. In spring it heralds the wildflowers and weeds, small buds push their heads up above the grass; in the fall, it collects in tiny pools on curled leaves of red and gold. I try not to miss the beauty in these days.

Submission for MacroDay topic "rain". (end of post)

From Any Angle

An angle on nature. (Click picture for larger view)

"There is no single face in nature, because every eye that looks upon it, sees it from its own angle. So every man's spice-box seasons his own food." ~ Zora Neale Hurston (1903 - 1960) US dramatist

Wooden arbors along a tree lined path in the Brooklyn Botanical garden. Twisting, gnarled trunks of lush vines wind up the four corner posts onto the roof lattice. These vines wind over and through the rustic wood; clustered leaves in varying shades of greens and the dark woody vines suggest limbs of a giant oak at first glance. But in May they are covered with large elongated grape-like collections of delicate flowers in shades of purple and blue that hang and sway back and forth with the breeze.... Wisteria. This traditional Southern beauty in New York City, transplanted with loving care. I missed the blooms but the arbors still gave shade and beauty, as well as a sense of calm. Four or five of these large arbors bridged the path along a large grassy mall with green evergreen on one side and a rock wall planted with burning red, yellow and orange flowers on the other. New York's own private "Wisteria Lane"; beautiful in any season, from any angle.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "angle". (end of post)

Flying High

Vapor trail across the sky. (Click picture for larger view.)

"There are no limits to either time or distance, except as man himself may make them. I have but to touch the wind to know these things." ~ Hal Borland

Vapor trails, high in the sky and if I look long and hard I can see the plane miles above the earth. Where is it going? Europe, New York, Chicago, Atlanta; taking families on vacation, businessmen back home, newlyweds to their honeymoon? I always wonder.

Submission for PXITE topic "distance". (end of post)

What A Difference A Day Makes!!

Friday: August 18, 2006....Move-In.
(Click all pictures for larger view)

"College is a refuge from hasty judgment." ~ Robert Frost (American poet, 1874-1963)

Friday, August 18th, Nyssa moved into the brand new Jamestown South dorm. As a first time resident assistant, she had to arrive nine days before the regular students. That first week was filled with meetings, room checks, hours of planning and putting together informational bulletin boards. (Whew! Thank goodness she did the nametags for the doors before leaving home!) Needless to say, construction was still in progress even as we toted her stuff up the elevator to the top floor attic.... er, "penthouse." Scaffolding was still in place, furniture still being moved in, work on the phone system, re-cycling cans being placed and last minute glitches in air conditioning, cable and other things were being worked on. I think that every time we called the elevator we met up with a worker, whether we were on the way up or back down.

Nyssa has a single, all the resident assistants do. She shares a suite bath with two other girls. Each room in this dorm is a little different. Hers has a dormer window making a lovely reading nook and slanted ceilings. The pictures above are from her "move-in" day. The room is equipped with a bed, desk with attached bookshelf, chest of drawers and chair. For some reason, all the single rooms have beds with attachments for a loft. At this point we had disassembled the loft and moved the bed from the back wall to its position and switched the desk to the wall just left of the bathroom door. We had the rug down on the floor and the clothes hung in the closet. She had meetings, so this is basically the way I left it. For a full week she was the only person on the top floor.

Of course there were things we left at home that she wanted. So, on August 25th I made a second trip up to Williamsburg. The progress on the construction was amazing! The sod was looking good, trees were planted, scaffolding down, most of the workmen had departed, the kitchen had acquired a microwave and the rooms were ready for check-in. I went up the elevator, turned the corner, walked down the hall to her room and...... Her room looked exactly like I left it the week before! Actually, it looked worse with craft paper, colored corrugated cardboard, printouts, and other craft supplies on the bed and floor and chest. She had taken the loft frame apart and had it behind her bed and clothes from one suitcase were in the chest but that's it.

So, I nagged and ranted and raved and she countered by taking a shower. (Showering is her response to stress) I was told to make three more door tags, which I did. Then I cleared out the few things I knew I should bring back here for storage. She decided on a different arrangement of the furniture (third configuration), so we switched the desk and chest of drawers. While she worked on bulletin boards, I organized the closet, put away cleaning supplies, laundry supplies and a few remaining clothes. I needed a break so we made a run to Target and got supper (not at Target). We hung the curtains, put a new comforter on the bed and put plastic bins on the shelves she already had in the bathroom for linens and supplies. She also purchased a small futon.

Of course the futon came in pieces and required assembly. So, knowing how much was going on and the bulletin boards still in the process of being put up, I knew who would have to put it together. I did a really good job. Only one set of pre-drilled holes was misaligned and that was at the very end... Thank goodness! After I had finished and positioned and had everything that I could in place, I vacuumed. This is what we ended up with below. It was the best I could do with what we had. Still, this is probably as neat as it will be the entire year.


August 25th: After a hard days work. (That is Nyssa in the hall still working on the bulletin board construction.)

It really is amazing what a difference a Mom day makes!! Welcome to Jamestown South!

(end of post)

Garden Bright

A bright bloom in Brooklyn. (Click picture for larger view)

"Here is a little forest
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum;
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!"
~ Emily Dickenson, #2, 1851

Another gorgeous flower from the Brooklyn Botanical garden was a favorite for butterflies and bees. The blooms were large and petals so bright.... "I had to wear shades!!"

Flowers evoke feelings that differ with color, shade and the flower species. What do I feel as I gaze on this blossom? A hot sizzling sun; bold and brazen attitudes; sweet and tangy tangerine; "he loves me, he loves me not" game of the heart. What sensations do you feel when gazing on a blindingly bright bloom?

Submission for PhotoFriday topic "bright". (end of post)

Me And My Shadow

Miss Chloe loves to keep her face to the sun. Where's the suntan lotion?
(Click picture for larger view)

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you." ~ Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Miss Chloe sits prim and proper, as still as a statue; her eyes are squeezed tightly shut and face to the sun. This is one of her favorite poses. Sometimes I think she really does sleep sitting up like this; so wise and still. Then she opens her blue crossed eyes and that airhead look appears once more. Don't be fooled; she's smarter than she looks! At least I think she is.

Miss Chloe will be boarding Friday's Ark this week and will visit the Carnival of the Cats this Sunday. The carnival is hosted this week by Justin's Random Thoughts. (end of post)

My Mom: A Birthday Today!!!

Baby Lorane. 1928. (Click any picture to see larger view)

"No painter's brush, nor poet's pen
In justice to her fame
Has ever reached half high enough
To write a mother's name."
~ Unknown

On September 14th, 1928 in Roanoke, Virginia, a baby girl was born to Zula and Grady Brown. She would be an only child. They named her Annie Lorane.



As she grew, Lorane began to take piano lessons and showed a great talent for the instrument. She practiced and perfected her talent and still today is an accomplished pianist and accompanist.

This post is continued and if you don't click "read more" below, you will miss out on a lot of fun.


Lorane was a teenager during World War II; living through sugar, coffee, and most important for her, the rationing of nylons. Here she is at sixteen. After graduation from high school she worked for a year and then headed to Wilmore, Kentucky and Asbury College. There she met Loren William Gould.



Lorane was dating a friend of Loren's. Dad told this guy that if he ever broke up with Mom, he would be right there to ask her out. Obviously, the breakup occurred and Loren and Lorane began their college romance. Dad graduated in 1950 but started seminary at Asbury the next year. Mom graduated in 1951 and one week later on June 2nd, 1951, they married. This year marked their 55th wedding anniversary.

Their family grew. First a daughter in 1953. (That would be me on the top) And then a son in 1962. (below) Her daughter became a doctor. Her son became an opera singer. Much later a precious granddaughter graced the scene. (Nyssa, bottom picture,above)

Through the years she has taught countless first graders how to read and enjoy learning. She loved to teach and although she has been retired for fourteen years now, each fall that yearning for books and tablets, bulletin boards and reading circles comes back as strong as ever.



These days she struggles with diabetes and arthritis as well as other ailments as well as a daughter who won't let her eat that chocolate cake she craves. But as you can see, she keeps her sense of humor. Mom wears a wig and has; well ever since I can remember. Now she wears one peppered with gray and silver; however the wig company had a small brain cramp and sent a dark, dark brown one. It still looks better on her than it did on me.



Mom enjoys reading cookbooks and cooking, although at times when she and my dad are in the kitchen with Mom telling him what to do and Dad trying unsuccessfully to do it.... let's just say I try to go to my room and stay out of the way. She makes cookies by the hundreds for Nyssa, fries chicken for Nyssa, and makes homemade bread for Nyssa. But she has quit buttering the bread and hand feeding it to her one bite at a time.

Of course Nyssa loves her grandma more than words can express. Her husband of 55 years adores her. Her son dotes on her and keeps her in stitches laughing. And I love her so much, I'll do anything to keep her with us for as long as possible, even if means saying "no" to bread and potatoes and sweets. We are her family. We need her.

So, today she is 78 years young. Yes, I told the number; you figured it out anyway. Happy Birthday to Grandma, Sweetheart, and Mom.
You're the best!!!
We love you.

(end of post)

Yes, Max, There's A Home For You

Home

"Is there a home, a home for me?
Where the people stay until eternity?
Is there a road that winds up,
underneath the big green tree?
Is there a home, a home for me?"
~ Stan Ridgway

(Voice of Max)

"This is my home. My grandpa built it. It is sturdy with R11 insulation in the roof and walls and floor. I have a dog door with a flap to keep the cold air and rain out. I have a light to keep warm in the winter and a fan to cool it off in the summer. Grandpa has gotten a small air conditioner and is working on plans to put it in for next summer. My home has a temperature gauge on the outside so my people can see if I'm comfortable. The walls are painted inside. I have a linoleum floor throughout. Inside there is an orthopedic foam mattress with fuzzy cover. I have a covered porch to sit on in the summer rain and my mom brings my food to me there if it rains. She gets wet but I can stay dry. I have lots of toys and chew bones. I get lots of treats. I get lots of scratches from my people and I get to play ball with them. I love to help them work in the yard and if anyone comes up when they are with me, I protect them. I don't like the lawnmower guy. I think I have the most wonderful home and am the luckiest dog in the world.

I wasn't always so lucky. My mom and sister person found me in bad shape. I was sick with heart worms and hungry and dirty and matted and my paws were infected. I don't know how long I was out in the cold and the rain by myself. Mom said, "Do you want to get in the van?" So I did. Sometimes I still get scared at night by myself but then I get to sleep with the kitties and they talk to me too. My mom person loves me. My sister person loves me. My grandma and grandpa people love me too.

Mom said that I should tell you how I am doing. I have lymphoma, a cancer, that is in my skin. It's a special type of cancer and I take a chemo pill every three weeks. My nodules went away and so far all my blood work is normal. I feel better. But she still won't let me have figs. I am a lucky, lucky dog!!!"

Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "home".
Max hasn't visited at the Carnival of the Dogs for a while, so I'll try to arrange for him to have a play date there this week. The Carnival is hosted by Mickey's Musings. (end of post)

Aliseo Osteria del Borgo

Aliseo's... An Italian gem.
(Click all pictures for larger views)

"Dining is and always was a great artistic opportunity." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Aliseo Osteria del Borgo is a small one room Italian restaurant on Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn, not far from Prospect Park. It was hot, really hot the day we ate there and we were early; but the hostess graciously let us come in out of the 95+ heat. This gave us more time to study the decor. The entryway is hidden by this stained glass partition and plenty of light flows through the large front window.



There are at most, ten tables with mismatched chairs; candles on all the tables and in the windows. Long curtains separated the kitchen in the back from the dining area. Albano Ballerini is the owner and head chef and was there that evening as always.



The long wall is decorated in an old looking rose chintz wallpaper giving the space an intimate homey feeling; antique mirrors with clouded glass and gilded frames were scattered throughout. A rustic plastered fireplace and mantle completed the picture. Strings of small lights added a touch of whimsy. It was relaxed. It was cool.



That night the special was a baked lasagna with duck ragu. You can see it here. Even now my mouth waters when I think of that flaky pasta and that mixture of sauce and cheese..... So, if you're ever in Brooklyn and hungry for pasta that is a bit unusual.... check it out!

(end of post)

Purely Pasta

Baked Lasagna with Duck Ragu
(Click picture for larger view)

"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." ~ Fellini

On a street in Brooklyn is a small, cozy Italian restaurant Aliseo Osteria del Borgo. On that day in July, the house special was Baked Lasagna with Duck Ragu. This is no ordinary lasagna from a box, but rather thin homemade pasta sheets layered with the most delicate meat sauce, duck ragu. Melted cheese on the top and served hot. Need I say it was scrumptious?

Submission for LensDay topic "food". (end of post)

Tummy Watching

Miss Clover: "Stop looking at my belly!"
(Click picture for larger view)

"When you come right down to it all you have is yourself. The sun is a thousand rays in your belly. All the rest is nothing." ~ Pablo Picasso (Spanish Artist and Painter. 1881-1973)

Miss Clover rarely goes belly up. Well, except when she is breaking in a new box, in a sunny spot. Then she rolls and rolls and rubs her scent all over the box. This really is a waste of time. Willow just sits and watches the bizarre undulations. She knows that as soon as Clover moves off, she will have a new sleeping spot to snooze in the sun. Or maybe she is admiring Clover's tummy. Willow has a really hard time finding her own.

Submitted to catstuff's Tummy Tuesday.
Miss Clover and Lady Willow will be boarding Friday's Ark this week and will visit the Carnival of the Cats this Sunday. The carnival is hosted this week by Justin's Random Thoughts. (end of post)

Arrows Point The Way To A Twisted Tangent

Arrows, pointing the way. (Click picture for larger view)

"Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me!
A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time." ~ D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), Song of a Man Who Has Come Through

The arrows show which way to go, turn left on green or a U-turn. Not straight ahead, full steam; but a new direction. Not just one, but three; showing the way, directing, demanding... "Go this way!" Do I detect a sense of urgency?

Perhaps, but the prankster inside me can't resist making a twisting turn; taking another direction....completely. Yes, I did it. I was the culprit. Yes, I took a jar full of tiny sleeping insects with red and white eyes, hundreds of them, from the Genetics lab. Yes, I carefully removed the cork lid and placed their open glass cradle among mounds of tissue paper in a shoe box. Yes, I wrapped that box with brightly colored wrapping paper and tied a large beautiful bow on top. And yes, I left it on the desk, in the office of my college Physics professor.... Anonymously! And yes, it brought my heart great joy to see them awake, flitting around with their long or short wings, in every corner of the Physics department, enjoying those bananas that seemed to be the favorite food of someone there. Sometimes you just gotta love those fruit flies.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." ~ Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

This tangent was posted especially for Vicki who has had her own fruit fly fiascoes.

The picture is posted for Tuesdays Photos topic "arrow". (end of post)

September 11th: The Empty Space

WTC: Absent people, absent buildings; an empty space made sacred by circumstance.

"Life stood on the top stair a moment
Waved her last gray slander down the stair,
I will not forget her absent eyes
Her other smile like one rose
Falling, falling everywhere...."
~ Allen Tate (1899-1979), U.S. poet, critic. "Resurgam."

Many have written tributes to the victims of September 11th. Many have written their own memories of that day. They are beautiful tributes and awful memories that still bring shock and a sense of disbelief even now, five years later. But, it is so important to remember and keep on remembering.

Nyssa and I visited the WTC site this summer, this "hole in the ground" as many say. Some are angry that a memorial hasn't been built, that more progress hasn't been made to rebuild something... anything. I don't live in New York. I know the empty space is a reminder of that day to the people there, they see the hole in the skyline and in the ground each and every day. It has to be hard to even disguise the sadness in their eyes; this empty space is a reflection of empty chairs and absent smiles at so many dinner tables in the homes of those lost. But when we walked up to that empty space, that deep pit where once the proud towers stood, I knew that most Americans felt the pain of that day. I wish that every person could visit that "empty space" before it is filled with a beautiful and pristine memorial. The emptiness brings home the magnitude of the loss that we should never forget. It also gives us the courage and strength to continue on.

"It is only by going down into the abyss
that we recover the treasures of life.
Where you stumble,
there lies your treasure.
The very cave you are afraid to enter
turns out to be the source of
what you were looking for."
~ Joseph Campbell

I hope putting names and faces to each of those lost that day and remembering their lives, will help history remember. Perhaps if we knew of each name, each face and life details of each of the millions murdered in the Holocaust, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike; we would not have those who propose that the Holocaust did not happen. Perhaps we would not have those who already say that September 11th was a government conspiracy or that a missile hit the Pentagon. Perhaps we could finally learn from history.

Moody Monday's topic this week is "absent". It is something and someone once there, now gone. It is a feeling of loss. Today I feel and see it once again. (end of post)

Manhattan Mirror

The Chrysler Building: Mirrored in Manhattan
(Click picture for larger view)

"It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone." ~ Erica Jong (American writer)

The Chrysler Building in Manhattan; a shiny skyscraper with intricate architectural detail, stands adjacent to tall flat-walled high rise buildings with windows that become gigantic mirrors during the day and innumerable small squares of light shining in the darkness of night. With a bright sunny day and fluffy white clouds in the sky, the streets below take on a dark shadowy look in comparison to the silver shine of the "Chrysler". I love how the sky and clouds are mirrored and seem to almost reach ground level. And look! The Chrysler Building has a twin.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "mirror". This was a very similar topic to Pxite's "reflections" and the entries could be interchanged for both. (end of post)

A Reflection in Still Waters

Reflecting pool. Brooklyn Botanical Garden. New York.
(Click picture for larger view)

"No one can see their reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see."
~ Taoist proverb

The reflecting pool, its water still and dark, hides koi swimming among the waterlily and lotus blossoms. Surface reflections of color, light and shape form perfectly mirrored blooms floating upside down in their own parallel universe. Have I mentioned how much I love waterlily, all waterlily?

Submission for Pxite topic "reflection". (end of post)

Party Animal

Andy (JAM), April, 1989. (Click picture for larger view)

"A boy is a magical creature; you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can't lock him out of your heart." ~ Allan Beck

This little boy turned eighteen this year, graduated from high school, still loves his mom, has broken quite a few hearts and is Nyssa's first cousin and my only nephew. Here he was blonde, cute, happy, messy, sweet and had eyelashes that seemed to reach to the stars. Now, according to Nyssa, he looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch model. This may or may not be a good thing!?

Submission for PhotoFriday topic "boy". (end of post)

A Literary Cat

Mr. Rhett: Currently reading?! (Click picture for larger view)

"Outside of a cat, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a cat, it's too dark to read." ~ Sign at Lilac Hedge Bookshop, Norwich, VT (Variation on Groucho Marx quote)

Mr. Rhett loves books. He loves to touch the pages with his paws, rub his head on the corners, push them with his nose and sit on them, particularly if I'm trying to read. He's also fond of newspapers, magazines and writing paper as well as cereal boxes. Maybe the pictures on the cover entice him to make a book his own or perhaps the scent of the cereal draws him to the box. Surely he's not really reading is he? Who knows! I'm still trying to figure out why he's so attracted to closed bags of scone mix.

Mr. Rhett will be joining the other animals at this weeks Friday's Ark and will join the party at the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. The Carnival is hosted this week by Begin Each Day. (end of post)

Welcome to the Penthouse

Nyssa's Room.
(Click any of the pictures to see a larger view)

"Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community." ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

Nyssa is a Resident Assistant in the brand new dorm at William and Mary. Her floor is officially known as the "attic", although she prefers to look on it as "The Penthouse". Each RA is responsible for decorating the bulletin boards on their floor (six in the attic) and making name tags for all the resident rooms. This is an upperclass dorm so most of the students are juniors and seniors. Nyssa wanted cloth covered tags with classy decorations and special touches so these would be mementos for each person. And here are some examples.

The boys were all similar; black velvet backgrounds, ties hand tied by Nyssa's grandpa and a touch of sparkle for the tie tac.

The girls were all different. Variable backgrounds, decorations and hanging ribbons. Much hot gluing, cutting, printing, threading and angst went into these tags. Three long days and two very long nights of work; but the results were worth it. Wow! Wish I had an RA like this back when I was in college!

I blurred out the room numbers for privacy purposes. (end of post)

School Days

Public School #9, Brooklyn, New York
(Click picture for larger view)

"America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live." ~ Jane Addams (1869 - 1935) US social worker

Public School #9 Annex on Sterling Place in Brooklyn was built in 1895 and is on the Register of Historical Places. The companion school, built in 1867 is located two blocks away. Both are still in use as schools for the Brooklyn area. I love the architecture of the old buildings and the vibrant colors of the facades. I wonder how many children passed through these doors and looked out these windows over the past 100 years? How many went on to realize their dreams, as Aaron Copeland did? He attended the companion school, just down the street.

Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "school". (end of post)

Embrace Me

..my sweet embraceable frog? (Click picture for larger view)

Embraceable You

Embrace me
My sweet embraceable you
Embrace me
My irreplaceable you
Just to look at you
My heart grows tipsy in me
You and you alone
Bring out the gypsy in me

I love all
The many charms about you
Above all
I want my arms about you
Don't be naughty baby
Come to me
Come to me do
My sweet embraceable you

~ George and Ira Gershwin

I've posted this picture once before but it is one of my favorites. Perhaps it's the frog she's kissing; he is so cute and scholarly with his book in hand. Or perhaps it sparks the age old question, "How many frogs does a girl have to kiss to find her prince?"

Submission for Moody Monday topic "embracing". (end of post)

Willow Goes Belly Up

Willow: belly up! (Click picture for larger view)

"Relaxation means releasing all concern and tension and letting the natural order of life flow through one's being." ~ Donald Curtis

I knew Nicky loved to sleep on his back and for some time I thought he was the strange one. But his sister Willow spends at least half of her life on her back, belly up. Here she relaxes on the sunroom floor, her tummy bathed in sunlight and fur ruffled. I envy her complete composure, her lack of fear; that sense that at least in her world, the litterboxes are clean and all is well.

Submission for Tuesday Tummy at catstuff.
Miss Willow will be visiting the other animals at this weeks Friday's Ark and will join the party at the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. The Carnival is hosted this week by Begin Each Day. (end of post)

This Little Light of Mine

..I'm going to let it shine.
(Click picture for larger view)

"God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind." ~ Kahlil Gibran

A candle is the symbol of Alpha Lambda Delta, the National Honor Society for first year college students, and part of their purpose is to spread the love of learning. Tomorrow the children here in Virginia Beach return to the classroom and I'm sure some are excited while others are not. Parents almost universally are overjoyed. The school supplies at Walmart have been decimated, the school clothes and uniforms picked over, and the backpacks are ready. And so tomorrow, all over Hampton Roads, teachers begin again to spread their love of learning. In doing so they, like the wise man, light new candles to show the way.

Submission for Tuesday's Photos topic "candle". (end of post)

The Pretender

Hosta bloom & ant...."Peek-a-boo, I see you!"
(Click picture for larger view)

"The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh (1926- )

The hosta in bloom; its miniature flower, a pretender. I once mistook this flower for a lily, until I saw the black ant peeking out from the center petal. The plant is best known for its rounded shape and love of shade; the tall stems with rows of tiny flowers seem a gangly afterthought. But up close, the blooms are as exquisite as any lily or rose. The petals are white to pale lavender with translucent edging and a "wet look", enhanced by beads of morning dew glistening in the sun. What ant, or fly, or even bee could resist this tiny wonder; so beautiful, yet so soon faded?

Summer is quickly becoming fall. I see it in my pumpkins. (A tease for the "Great Pumpkin Epic", coming soon.) I feel it in the night air, at last. Many gorgeous flowers have come and gone this summer with only a fraction ending up here on this site. I've done that on purpose; save them, for dreary rainy day posts of fall; for something colorful to brighten the bleak gray of winter. This way they are able to bloom year 'round....in my camera, in my mind.

(end of post)

Silver Shoes

Flip-flop charm. Macro. (Click picture for larger view)

"You cannot put the same shoe on every foot." ~ Publilius Syrus, Maxims

This shoe would fit on a Barbie doll, as long as her foot was flat. How long have flip-flops been around? I remember having a pair as a child and they conjure up visions of beaches, large colorful towels, terry cloth cover-ups, plastic pails and shovels and sunscreen. We also wore flip-flops at the teen church camp; but only in the big showers with the slick concrete floors. We did not ride bicycles in them. We did not wear them to school or church or shopping.

When did this change? When did they become "fashion"? More importantly, WHY? How can you take a teenager or young adult serious when they traipse across campus in the dead of winter with temperatures below freezing, snow on the ground and flip-flops on their feet? And why would you want to keep a pair of "too big", (Size 11 for a size 9 foot), cheap black flip-flops that have stained the bottoms of your feet black (maybe permanently)? Why would you wear them all the time, or anytime?

By the way, Nyssa. You left this flip-flop dangling from the lamp in your room. Have you figured out a way to get the black off the bottoms of your feet yet?

Submission for MacroDay topic "shoes". (end of post)

Purity

White orchid (Click picture for larger view)

"Working in white makes people look into it. White is ethereal. There's a purity to it; it makes things look elevated in a way. There's a whole palette of white..." ~ Jonathan Milne

A simple white orchid, baby's breath and satin ribbons on a small white Bible; this was my mother's wedding bouquet fifty-six years ago. White orchids, green fern and pastel ribbon; an Easter corsage. When I was a little girl, my dad always found an orchid corsage for my mom each Easter. I think it reminded him of their wedding; of how much he loves her.

This flower was growing at a local nursery surrounded by many other varieties; red, violet, yellow, green and others. The large white blossom with just a touch of yellow caught my eye. I couldn't resist.

Submission for PXITE topic "white". (end of post)

Ernesto

Ernesto brought us flooding, wind and rain.
(Click pictures for larger view)

"The winds grow high;
Impending tempests charge the sky;
The lightning flies, the thunder roars;
And big waves lash the frightened shores."
~ Matthew Prior, The Lady's Looking-Glass

The roar of the wind woke me around 5:45 AM; it was just starting to get light and I heard rain on the roof and could barely make out the outline of objects. Max was in his dog house but the violent swaying of the tree limbs and the blowing rain bothered me so I decided to bring him in the sunroom. Max doesn't do thunder well and hates rain. The cats don't care for the sound of the rain and falling pine cones on the metal roof of the sunroom either. They would be fine together.

I sat with them for a while; watched the lightning and the trees bending and whipping back and forth, and listened to the staccato of the rain on the roof. I checked the front yard and the street was wet. The large black trash can was at the curb and it crossed my mind that I should go bring it up next to the house. With the predicted amount of rain and wind, I doubted there would be any trash pick-up today. The paper had been delivered; plastic wrapped and lying just behind the van. But it was raining, I was sleepy and I headed back to bed for a while. It was 6:30 AM.

It seemed like only a moment until I heard my dad call me to come with the camera. His words were actually, "Come look out front; I should have listened when you said it might flood." In an hour and a half it had rained at least three inches.

The street was flooded. Our huge black garbage can had floated away, somewhere. Water lapped half way up the driveway on our side and even closer to the houses across the street. Obviously, the huge drainage ditch behind the house was full and runoff water spilled out into the neighborhood. A large branch broken in the wind floats down the middle of the street. I could hear kids squealing in the streets, t-shirts soaked to the skin, having much more fun than their parents, whose cars were still parked and now almost submerged in the road. A lady trudges down the middle of Hialeah Drive in thigh-high water. She stopped and moved to the side as an idiot in the white truck drove up and down the street, three times. Each time the water pushed ahead of his grill forms a mini-tsunami and the wave brings debris and water even closer to the house, loosens landscape timbers across the street which float away and bounces a now floating Mercedes parked on the street. Not to mention the fact that he risks stalling his truck with each pass.



One poor fellow down the street tried to pull his station wagon further up in his driveway, but water flowed inside when he opened the door and the car either floated down into the street or stalled from water in the engine block. A small car (behind the bush) had water up to the windows. The rain continued, mixed with squalls of high wind until around 2 PM. No trash collection today. No mail today. No pizza delivery today.

The backyard backs up against the large drainage ditch that is supposed to handle the rain run off. The first two pictures above show the ditch as it normally appears; about eight feet deep and ten feet wide with easement on our side of about five feet and on the opposite bank, three feet. Today it was a river overflowing its banks. The water was level with the easement and overflowed to within three feet of the back fence. It was close, but it never came into the yard. The gutters didn't overflow and the sunroom stayed dry.



Finally, the rain stopped; the water slowly receded from the street though it is still full in the ditch. We found the wayward trash can down the street lodged behind a truck. Logs, pine needles, large clumps of mowed grass, a plastic bag of trash, a paper plate, a cardboard box, styrofoam fragments and apples floated up into the yard. Yes, apples; about six of them. Some had rotten spots but others looked intact. I've never seen an apple tree on this street, so who knows where they came from. We survived, actually we were lucky. No water in the house. No loss of power. Just a few unhappy cats who had to spend the day in the sunroom and one dog, who seemed to enjoy his day with his cat friends.

(end of post)

Silver Kisses

...by Hershey. (Click picture for larger view)

"Caramels are only a fad. Chocolate is a permanent thing." ~ Milton Snavely Hershey (1857-1945) Founded Hershey Chocolate Co 1903.

Keeping with the candy and chocolate theme is this, the Hershey Kiss. Wrapped in a piece of silver aluminum and with the characteristic "Hershey flag" extending from the chocolate teardrop top; the little Kiss is one of the most popular candies in the world. My personal favorite is the Kiss with an almond buried inside.

Did you know that the Hershey Kiss was introduced in 1907? Hey! That means that 2007 is the 100th Anniversary of this tiny, but mighty bit of sweet goodness!

Submission for PhotoFriday topic "silver". (end of post)

Chloe Wants To Play

Chloe:"Look what I found! A new toy! Mine! Mine!
(Click all pictures for larger views)

"Way down deep, we're all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them." ~ Jim Davis

New cat toys have to be shared, usually. Chloe gets to the new sac of catnip first. Chloe does not share well; but she plays hard and enjoys fully the new toy.

(If you don't click "read more" below, you'll miss some really cute pictures.)


Chloe: First I will rub my head and face on it. I can make it smell like me and maybe Clover and those strange big white fluff ball cats won't want it. Yes, rub my face, rub my chin!



Chloe: Wow! That smells good! It has that catnip stuff in it. I could keep my nose buried in this all day..... oh, how heavenly!



Chloe: Oh, I love, love, love this toy! I want to hug the stuffing (and the catnip) out of it. I must hold this precious toy so no one else can have it. Mine! Mine!



Chloe: Yawnnnnn! I am so tired and so happy and so sleepy. Look, my toy is just like a pillow! I think it's time to take a little nap. My toy is just right. Zzzzzzzz.

Oh, well! I tried to teach her to share but with little success. Perhaps she will share with the other kitties aboard Friday's Ark and those at the Carnival of the Cats, hosted by Watermark. We'll just have to wait and see.

(end of post)