Sunset on the James River, Virginia. 
"So let us welcome peaceful evening in." ~ William Cowper. English Poet (1731-1800)
This deep water river flows past Jamestown where settlers built their colony 400 years ago. While the current is strong to the ocean, its surface is usually calm, only quiet and small lapping waves at the shore. This is a wonderful place to see the majesty of nature in the sunrise or as here, the sunset and transports me back into time when life was harder, yet at the same time much more simple. This is a perfect place to meditate and search the soul."When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul."
~ Horatio G. Spafford
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "peaceful". (end of post)
A little addition. (Click for larger view) One time a policeman pulled me over for running a stop sign. He said, "Didn't you see the stop sign?" I said, "Yeah, but I don't believe everything I read" ~ Steven Wright, Canadian comedian (1955 - )
There isn't much "fur" wearing in this town with winters mild and no snow to speak of; so I question the effectiveness of this addition to the stop sign. But it makes for an interesting picture, doesn't it?
I have been out of pocket with a trip to Indiana and looking at houses for my brother. He flies in on the 4th for three days of marathon house hunting.... I am nervous, hoping I am choosing those that will fit most of his criteria. Too many? Too few? Too high? Too few bedrooms? Lot too small? Kitchen too small? Pool? Hardwood floors? After four or five they start to blend together and I get dizzy! So, spread sheets, here we come... pros, cons, details... and the hope that he can make up his mind easier than I can. Five days and counting.... we'll see!
Submission for Lensday topic "sign". (end of post)
The silver empress of the sky ~ Thomas Tickell
(Click picture for larger view) The Moon
The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.
~ Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Nyssa and I spent an evening in January watching the moon rise over the Atlantic, its silvery magic dancing in the water. It was great! Cold, but great! This was a February moon, not quite full but still filled with all the mystery we always associate with the moon. Someday, I'll get out our telescope and see if I can get a picture through that lens... or someday, we might even see the earth rise from the moon.... we can dream, can't we?"Moonlight is sculpture; sunlight is painting." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
Submission for Shutterday topic "moon" and for Moody Monday's topic "heavenly".
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Mama gives a glimpse of her svelte tummy.
Wouldn't it be nice to get our figures back like this after pregnancy?
(Click pictures for larger view) "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Last Friday, I drove my parents from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Fort Wayne, Indiana.... 14 hours and back on Monday. A family gathering to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of another uncle and aunt. What does this have to do with cats? Plenty... plenty of cats, that is.
My cousin Kenny found several kittens in the woods behind his house in Atlanta and gave two of them to his brother, Bob who lived in Fort Wayne. One gray kitten with amber eyes, although only six months old, had already been roaming romantically one too many times. She arrived at her new home in the family way. Bob thought she was just getting fat although his dad and sister, Karen, told him differently. Two weeks later he was proud papa to four kittens. His parents took one but three still remain, making his grand total "five". Now months later, while he says he is trying to give them away, it is clear that they have all captured his heart.
Mama cat. I think she has another name but everyone called her "Mama".
As for "Mama" she will be off to Cats on Tuesday, hosted by gattina and shows her tummy for Tummy Tuesday over at catstuff.
Mama will board Friday's Ark on Friday over at the Modulator. On Sunday, she will be introduced to the Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by Justin's Random Thoughts. See you there! (end of post)
"Everybody knows "blue" Monday. Sometimes we see "red." "Black" looks are disconcerting. Often the weak hearted show the "white" feather or a "yellow" streak. And that "dark brown" taste is not unknown. But if you want to keep in the "pink" of mental condition you mustn't let disturbing riots of color mess up your environment." ~ H. E. Townsend
Colorful memories of childhood. Dylan Candy Bar, Manhattan. " Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?
'T is a marvel of great renown!
It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;
The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet
(As those who have tasted it say)
That good little children have only to eat
Of that fruit to be happy next day."
~ Eugene Field (1850 - 1895)
Dylan's Candy Bar in Manhattan, one of the most colorful shops in New York City with candy in every color of the rainbow and a hundred more beside, is a child's dream, a mother's nightmare and the source of income for thousands of dentists in the area. This was a giant lollipop sculpture on the first floor.
Colorful rubber ducks all in a row. Walmart. "Rubber Ducky, you're the one.
You make bath time lots of fun
Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you.
Rubber Ducky, joys of joys
When I squeak you, you make noise
Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true!"
~ Ernie (Sesame Street)
Is that Ernie I see hanging out around the Rubber Ducky display? These colorful happy little ducks are just waiting for that little boy or girl to take them home. I had a yellow one as a child but now they come in rainbow colors. Did you have a rubber duck too?
Colorful candy sprinkles. "I'm headed for a land that's far away
Beside the crystal fountains.
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains."
~ Unknown
When I was a little girl, my parents gave me a pretend doctor kit. It had a little bag and plastic stethoscope, tongue depressors, an eye chart and..... a bottle of pills that looked just like these. They were the best things. Back then I didn't know they were non-pariels, sprinkles, tiny balls of sugar so colorful and tasty. I still love them on cookies. Did you know that you can bake these in angel food cake batter and turn out a real angel food confetti cake? You can't get the mix anymore, so just use these to make your own!
Lovely, talented ladies... colorful in more ways than one. "In the colorful reflection we have what is life." ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832)
These two colorful ladies are fabulous. They perform ad lib skits and create characters that range in age from little four year old girls to bent old grannies and every age in between. Hysterical is a perfect word to describe them; add side splitting laughter and an incredible ability to play off each other and you have a team. They bring joy and sunshine each time they walk through the door at a program or special dinner. Funny thing... I don't think they have a name... I think "Delightful Dames" is good. What do you suggest?
The theme for Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt this week is "Colorful". You can go here to "Grab the Scavenger Hunt code" and here to join the blogroll. This really cute logo is available there as well. The link to other participants is in my blogroll on the sidebar.
PS: I had to go out of town early, early .... 3 AM.... this morning. So this is posted early for the Photo Hunt... will be back on Monday night. Have a great Memorial Day!
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Yum!(Click for rabbit's eye view) "To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist - the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know how much oil one must mix with one's vinegar." ~ Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Spring greens mix, young spinach, purple onion, sliced mushrooms, celery, carrots, halved grape tomatoes and shreds of mozzarella and cheddar cheese combine to make this tasty treat. Top it off with an oil and vinegar, ranch or cheesy parmesan dressing and perhaps add slices of grilled chicken breast and you have a meal....... yum! Salads are fun to photograph at our house. With five for supper, there will be five different variations. Dad is allergic to cucumbers, Mom cannot have croutons. Nyssa doesn't like onions or mushrooms and Stephen couldn't have any sliced grapes or mandarin oranges or dried cranberries on top. With salads like this our table is always festive!
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "food". (end of post)
Il Duomo. Florence, Italy.
(Click picture to enlarge) "This is the fairest picture on our planet, the most enchanting to look upon, the most satisfying to the eye and spirit. To see the sun sink down, drowned in his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city to a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature, and make a sympathetic one drunk with ecstasy." ~ Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
In 2003, my brother sang the title role in Verdi's opera, Othello. The festival was held in the beautiful Italian city, Florence and Nyssa and I were able to go over for two weeks. The art and architecture is amazing, no other area has so rich a history. The cathedral was massive with marble in colors I had never imagined and as you can see it towers over the surrounding landscape.
And the food.... a small family run restaurant with hand written menus was located near my brother's apartment. It opens at different times on different days, more or less near a scheduled time... no one seems to keep a rigid schedule in Florence, or other parts of Italy for that matter. Trains that run with to the minute precision in Austria; well, let's just say they "try" to be on time but few make it. Who cares though? If the train is late it means more time to get a gelato.... yum!
Submission for Shutterday topic "Europe". (end of post)
"I can't cook. I use a smoke alarm as a timer." ~ Carol Siskind
Did I ever post about the day I burned three batches of macaroni and cheese in the span of two hours? No?! Well! It isn't going to be today either! My mother is the cook in our family and she passed this fascination with cookbooks and gourmet presentations down to my brother, completely bypassing me. Even my dad makes a great homemade broccoli and cheese soup! Me, I am the every day common, but boring cook; the one who manages to cook just enough to get food into a child so that she doesn't starve to death. Through the years I have mastered the microwave and take pride in the fact that I can put dinner on the plates and have any leftovers put away and all the pots washed.... before we sit down to eat. Nyssa, on the other hand, is beginning to embrace cooking, but what she learns has to come from friends or her grandma... I am hopeless.
This past Christmas she decided to make a pie, a cherry pie... not canned filling, but fresh.
"If life is a bowl of cherries, then what am I doing in the pits?" ~ Erma Bombeck
Nyssa found the recipe on the internet and set about cooking. She used Bing cherries and admittedly they are not the recommended type for pies, but this was all we had available at the market. The first step, of course was to pit the cherries.
Did you know they have a special little gizmo to pit cherries with? It is pretty handy although you have to be just a little careful or pits will fly across the room! I wondered if she knew her own strength with that thing sometimes.
Pitting the cherries is definitely the hardest part... look what happens to your fingers.... red cherry stains and guess what girls... it doesn't wash off easily. Much scrubbing was needed to get the stain out.
Some people say that homemade crust is the best but I think the ready made, rolled up crusts are just as good. It certainly makes it easier to put together. So here is the recipe...6 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into bottom pie shell. Dot with 2 tablespoons of butter across the top of the mixture. Cover top with second crust. Brush with 1 egg white whipped with a bit of water for shiny crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook another 35-40 minutes. Let cool before cutting.
"Cooking is a form of flattery....a mischievous, deceitful, mean and ignoble activity, which cheats us by shapes and colors, by smoothing and draping...." ~ Plato (427-347 B.C.) Greek philosopher
And here is the end result.... Nyssa's homemade bing cherry pie! Doesn't it look delicious? Believe me it was and didn't last long, barely long enough to take these pictures.
Of course now she is thinking..."Hmm, this might work with peaches or apples or even blueberries!" The blueberries don't come in until July around these parts and the peaches about the same time. Maybe we could try it with the more tangy sour cherries... but that might require more sugar... we do have home grown pumpkin available for pie... but she will have to get her grandma to help her with that one.
Luscious cherry pie.... savory sweetness. What Nyssa will someday say about me.....
"My mother was a good recreational cook, but what she basically believed about cooking was that if you worked hard and prospered, someone else would do it for you." ~ Nora Ephron
Now my brother is more of the gourmet cook. He took one of the pumpkins I grew and made pumpkin bisque. Recipes for Mom's new no-fail pound cake and the only thing that I make which is really exceptional, Potica bread are linked as well.
The theme for Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt this week is "Cooked/Cooking". You can go here to "Grab the Scavenger Hunt code" and here to join the blogroll. This really cute logo is available there as well. The link to other participants is in my blogroll on the sidebar.
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Miss Scarlett patiently poses, waiting to see her girl, Nyssa.
(Click picture for larger view) "Purring is an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness overflow." ~ Anonymous
Miss Scarlett purrs when you pet her, when you talk to her, even when you just look at her and she did this though she was slowly wasting away to nothing. At her lowest point, she weighed only 6.5 pounds when she had been as hefty as 16 pounds just three years ago. She looked like she had been starved for months but she ate, although not much and she drank a lot of water, and licked ice all the time. After several tests we learned that she had mild hyperthyroidism, but more importantly, that she had two huge bladder stones... each 1 cm.
After her surgery and a bit of recovery time she started in on her new diet to prevent those pesky calcium oxalate stones. She will eat the dry and the wet diet and eats everything you put in front of her. She no longer has to run to the cat box every five minutes, she can sit comfortably, her fir is shiny and sleek again and those ribs and hip bones are no longer visible when she walks. Scarlett has gained about 2 pounds since the surgery and is more content and quiet than she has been in years..... Now, she sits patiently waiting for her girl to come home from college.
Scarlett will visit the cats on board Friday's Ark at the Modulator and will play with those cats over at the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. The carnival is hosted this week by The Cat Blogosphere. (end of post)
This hat is too large for such a little girl.
(Click picture for larger view) "Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject." ~ Eliot Porter (1901-1990), U.S. photographer
Her cowboy hat was way too large; a man's size, purchased at the local garage sale for a dollar. But for Nyssa it was fantastic, even if it fell sideways over her big blue-green eyes more often than not. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a mainstay at this point in time... although the jelly never stayed on the sandwich but migrated to her face at some point. Nyssa wouldn't touch steak until she was in high school, so the PB&J went with us to the steakhouse where she would order her side salad to go with it. In our small town, the restaurant didn't mind.I love the memories we made in those peanut butter and jelly days and that old ten gallon hat! You know... I think that hat may be stored away somewhere. Do you suppose it will survive until another little girl wants to play cowboy?
Submission for PhotoFriday topic "large". (end of post)
Max and his beloved basketball.
(Click picture for larger view) "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France
I haven't done an update on Max for some time. He is now one year and two months on his oral chemotherapy for cutaneous lymphoma. (Same as human mycosis fungoides) One nodule has popped up, but it has not grown and feels movable and not attached to underlying muscle. It will be removed soon. Max has the cocker skin troubles with small sebaceous adenomas popping up and then resolving and it is grass season when his skin allergies are at their worst, but he eats well and still knows how to sucker people into giving him two meals. That is a lack of communication on our part that he profits from. I have been struggling with his eyes. One cleared up but the other is constantly matted and all the antibiotics in the world don't seem to help. Then this week he has suddenly developed idiopathic facial nerve paralysis on his left side... he's had this twice on the right side before. Bless his heart, his muzzle is droopy and his ear floppy and he is drooling a bit from that side. The hardest thing is that his eye won't blink... so for two weeks it will be extra tears for him. It should resolve as the other episodes did. Max amazes his vets and I am just glad that he still loves his biscuits, chewy rawhides and the ever present basketball.
Max has surpassed my expectations and continues to love life, so we take it one day at a time, one biscuit at a time, one doggy kiss at a time.
Max will be going over to visit his friends at the Carnival of the Dogs hosted by Mickey's Musings and will see if any other puppies are boarding Friday's Ark hosted by the Modulator. (end of post)
Raindrops keep falling on my head.April Rain Song
Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
~ Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)
The cold rain of Winter; a Nor'easter sets up shop just off the coast and spins, bringing rain bands in from the Atlantic. It isn't so much the rain that chills you to the bone, but rather that cold, damp wind with strength to knock patio furniture over and fling branches down from the overhanging trees.
The nourishing rain of Spring; sometimes gentle, sometimes turbulent and laced with thunder and lightning. It falls on the newly planted seedlings and rejuvenates the awakening flower bulbs.. Spring rain is the life blood of nature.
The sudden rain of Summer is desperate to refresh as we languish under the hot sun. Drops sizzle as they hit the asphalt and steam rises from the ground, only adding to our misery. Words such as sticky, humid and heavy come to mind.
The cleansing rain of Autumn; assistant to the falling leaves and ripening pumpkins. Harvest begs nature to stave off the water until the cotton is picked and the wheat safely in the bin. Mud slicks and layers of damp pine needles squish beneath galoshes as the kids trudge back to school.
Rain shows us many faces, brings the booming symphony of thunder, spreads the sweet smell of freshly mowed grass and glistens on exposed skin. It touches all our senses. And I love the rain.
Submission for Tuesday Challenge topic "rain". (end of post)
Willow's tummy is up for this sleep session.
(Click pictures for larger view)"One must love a cat on its own terms." ~ Paul Gray
Wow! It is Tuesday and time for Cats on Tuesday and Tummy Tuesday; and to top it all off the cats have been tagged to do the "Seven Random Things" Meme. They are supposed to write it on their own blog but they really don't have one. With seven cats, we humans would NEVER get computer time and anyway... their spelling is atrocious! So I have chosen one, yes just one cat for this round and will share seven random things about her. Some of these may be secrets she didn't intend to share or things she thinks I am unaware of... but I have the "MOM" thing going on. By the way, we were tagged my Just Sharlene and meeyauw. Actually I think I have been tagged by meeyauw and the cats by Just Sharlene. OK. We are going to combine them.
First Lady Wilhelmina Abigail.... (cat)... seven things about Willow.
- We sometimes call her Willowbean, no reason in particular.
- She loves to sleep tummy side up but when she sleeps curled in a ball it is difficult to tell which end is which. (see picture above)
- She loves to watch things fall. When I moved the grandfather clock I found fifteen elastic hair bands, two plastic spiral toys, three ping pong balls, one sponge ball, two suede mice, and a red pipe cleaner under it. The clock had only one open area to push all these things into and it was against the wall. Willow would sit on the edge of the loft, push the items off, watch them fall, then run down and push them under the clock. I had wondered why she sat up there looking down so much!
- She can open the end table drawer with her paw to fish out pipe cleaners.
- She weighs almost 18 pounds.
- She has a brother, Nickolas, who lives with us too, but they never sleep together like most sibling cats.
- She likes to be rubbed at the base of her tail... most cats do not.
And now for my seven random things......
Willow often is lost in thought.... right!
- In my 16 years of education... up to and including college... I attended seven different schools while living in six different houses in five states. This made for a great medical school application. I'm surprised they believed it! My dad was not in the military, but in the ministry.
- I was attacked by a billy goat when I was around two and it left a long scrape on my back, but the scar faded.
- I was able to avoid two piano recitals... one because I had the measles and the second because we moved one week before the program. Alas, I did not get out of the third.>
- I devised toothpick splints for a baby chick with deformed feet. It worked and he was able to walk. Mom gave him to one of her school children but the child's mother accidentally dropped an iron on it's head and the poor thing did not survive. So much for my delicate splint work and special care.
- For a year my parents traveled around the south in a revival ministry. We pulled and lived in an Air Stream trailer. I went to church every night. On the trip between churches Mom would entertain me by playing a game. She would tap out the rhythm of various hymns and I would guess. No music, just the beat. Today, I can still identify many of the old church hymns simply by hearing the rhythm tapped out.
- I graduated from high school and started college when I was seventeen.
- I graduated from college on a Monday and got married the next day. (Not one of my better decisions.)
Now I am suppose to tag seven people but I know this is a really busy time of year so I will make this voluntary. If you would like to offer up seven new and random things about yourself, just do it! Then leave a comment here so that everyone else can find them on your blog too!
As for Willow she will be off to Cats on Tuesday, hosted by gattina. Miss Chloe presents a grand tummy for Tummy Tuesday over at catstuff. (end of post)
I have no idea who this fellow is.... nor the fish!
(Click picture for larger view) "Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.
It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. " ~ Unknown
A cool breezy day at Mt. Trashmore park, the geese honking in chorus, seagulls fighting over food and the ducks.... swimming and just being ducks. There is a dog barking and next to the dock a man is fishing. I've never seen anyone fishing here before.... feeding the gulls, running, walking dogs, skating, flying kites, racing model boats... all these things, yes, but fishing... never. I thought, "Now, this guy won't have much luck with that noisy dog and the noisy geese and that loud carousel set up." And yet, right before we left for the day, I saw him with pole bending... rolling in the line as fast as he could; his already overly excited dog was beside himself bouncing back and forth and barking even louder. This was the result of his efforts... a fish. Since I have only fished on the side of my grandfather's pond or the catfish ponds down in Pungo, I only recognize catfish. So both the man and the fish are strangers. Just as I snapped this photo, trying hard to be discrete, he saw me and grinning, posed for a second shot!
The luckiest creature of the day was the fish... he had his picture taken for the world to see and regained his freedom in the lake a moment later!
Submission for Shutterday topic "strangers, not necessarily in the night".
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Five little turtles lined up and ready for a nap. Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
(Click pictures for larger view)"Try to be like the turtle ~ at ease in your own shell." ~ Bill Copeland
The days are getting warmer and the sun shines on the cool waters of the bay. Turtles were everywhere in the water; many searched out an old log to bask in the warmth and the bright rays of the sun. These five are lined up in a row as if for take off, completely relaxed? Or poised for a rapid escape.
Blooming crabapple trees, pastel blossoms with five petals. Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
"The greatest gift of a garden is the restoration of the five senses." ~ Hanna Rion
The crabapple trees (Malus sp.) were blooming profusely a few weeks ago at the botanical garden. Each blossom of this species begins as a rounded "cherry bud" of dark pink; then erupts into five velvety petals, pale pink to white. Some species have a fuschia bloom and a few sport red ones. By mid summer the small red crabapples will be hanging in abundance off each limb.
Five American Coot (Fulica americana). Mt. Trashmore, Virginia Beach.
"Our five senses are incomplete without the sixth...a sense of humor!" ~ Unknown
These little water birds are quite funny to watch. On land their curved backs and off balance center of gravity forces them to run slightly bent like little old men. In the water they splash like little kids and bob their heads into the water leaving wiggling behinds up top, or they completely submerge then pop up like a fishing bob. Birds with a sense of humor!
Five tiny candy coated chocolate kisses.
Hershey's version of the ever famous M&M's. Yum!
"Every man is a fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists of not exceeding the limit." ~ Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)
Do you remember the big Cuckoo Bird who was "Cuckoo over Coco Puffs!?" This is how I felt the first time I tried these little colorful bites... So how could I help but line them up in various configurations and snap, snap, snap away? It was a hard shoot though... the candies kept disappearing from the bag and from the picture set up... and kept showing up in my mouth! Now how do you suppose that happened!? OK, I admit it... I ate my subjects. (Sigh!)
Five cats sleeping together on a bed.... this is a one-of-a-kind picture.
(Clockwise from upper left: Lady Willow, Miss Chloe,
Miss Clover, Mr. Rhett and Miss Scarlett)
"Most beds sleep up to six cats. Ten cats without the owner." ~ Stephen Baker
In this case the bed can only hold five cats and this is the rarest of rare sights. Lady Willow's presence is usually met with hissing and spitting and a general disruption of the normal pattern of things. Miss Chloe didn't know she was sleeping next to Willow and as soon as she figured it out, she moved... and fast.
So, here are my choices for this weeks theme.... you really didn't think you could get away without at least ONE cat picture did you?
The theme for Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt this week is "five". You can go here to "Grab the Scavenger Hunt code" and here to join the blogroll. This really cute logo is available there as well. The link to other participants is in my blogroll on the sidebar.
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