Sweet chocolate Easter bunny.
(Click pictures for larger view)"I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?" ~ unknown
When I started to look for things that depicted the word "sweet", I thought of the smell of roses, the look on a sleeping child's face, the light touch of a kiss and the sweet strains of a melodic violin. But the word just kept coming back to "taste".... the sweetness of "taste".
Hershey candy coated kisses"Caramels are only a fad. Chocolate is a permanent thing." ~ Milton S. Hershey
Nothing speaks of a "sweet" taste quite like chocolate. Yes, you have sweet potatoes and cake and sweet corn and pudding, but there is just something about chocolate that grownups and kids alike cannot resist. Mr. Hershey knew this when he developed an entire town around his chocolate factory; there the streetlights are shaped like Hershey Kisses and the air is permeated with the smell of soft sweet chocolate.
Dark Lindt chocolate, sweet but biting."Chocolate flows in deep dark, sweet waves, a river to ignite my mind and alert my senses" ~ unknown
Some people demonstrate an evolving taste for things "sweet" as they grow older. They look at a richer, dark sweetness with an added sharpness. Not me. Bring on the white chocolate with all that stuff that is so bad for you, but it sure tastes great!
Cold Stone Creamery chocolate ice cream with M&M's."My tongue is smiling." ~ Abigail Trillin, after eating chocolate ice-cream, "Alice, Let's Eat"
In Italy they serve this little sweet item called gelato. There is nothing in the world, anywhere like this gelato, especially the chocolate variety! We have tried all sorts of ice cream brands and ice cream shops and nothing comes close! (though Cold Stone is pretty good and Nyssa says that Maggie Moo's is not bad either)
I looked back at the pictures I chose for this week and it does seem to confirm my suspicions......All roads sweet lead back to chocolate! So I leave you with one final example of something really "sweet"....
1987. Nyssa's first birthday. Chocolate cake. 
"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold." ~ Judith Olney
Have a sweet, chocolate filled week and a wonderful 4th of July!
The theme for Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt this week is "sweet". 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.
(end of post)
"Congratulations....WE DID IT!!!!!" ~ Elle Woods, "Legally Blond"
Bless his heart! He is so excited and anxious and he has called almost every day. Then the communication workers in Germany went on strike so it took almost three weeks to get a phone and he still doesn't have internet so he has to go to the opera house to use the computer and get e-mail. I can't imagine what his handy (cell phone) bill is going to be this month!
He was already amazed that I found 13 houses for him to look at and that they were all very nice and would be great to live in. Then when two of them "spoke" or rather "screamed" at him and a third, "spoke loudly" and he actually had to decide....in three days, I think it threw him into a shock. Of course when the offer was made and accepted and a home inspection made and addendum accepted and the loan application done before he flew off the next day..... he was in complete shock and I was in the Twilight Zone. Closing set for three weeks from the day the contract accepted?
And then it was here... today... Nyssa and I went with identification in hand, a notarized power of attorney and the largest single check I have ever held in my hand. I was nervous, stomach in turmoil and I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't my money or life being signed away... Then a dawn of realization... this felt like going into a legal deposition. Would the seller be across the table? Fortunately, this was a title office and the seller was doing the close in his own attorney's office, so no face to face but much faxing.... after my part was done.
When I bought my former home in Mississippi, the contract was one, maybe two pages. Now there are disclosures and definitions and tons of places to initial and check. At closing it is worse, some pages had five copies to sign! And what do you sign if you are buying a house for someone else and have to act as their attorney? "Stephen(his full name) by Sheila Roxanne __________ (my FULL name which is longer than his and he got away with his middle initial), his Attorney in Fact." Yes, I had to sign all of that for most of the pages. They allowed me to put "his AIF" on a few pages after both of the names, of course, but these were few and far between. Even the pages I initialed were hard... SG by SRP, AIF. I am surprised that I didn't write Sheila instead of Stephen at least once!
But finally, it was done! I was an Attorney for the day, something I would never have thought would happen in my wildest imagination! Only two glitches... I can't "ransom" my furniture until July 11th and..... I should have already arranged to transfer the utilities into his name or actually, my name since most wanted him to call to put it into his name alone. Our agent was negotiating two houses for Stephen and thought she had given me the page of utility phone numbers and she had not. I thought she said she would give it to me at closing. But the seller didn't have any orders in to stop the water or gas or electricity, so it should be fine.
Nyssa, Dad and I started in on the floors and putting down the area room rugs and they look pretty good! While there we experienced our first lightning and thunder show in this new home and it was great.... I should be able to get some awesome lightning pictures from those upstairs windows. More to do tomorrow! Even the delay in furniture is fine... gives more time to go through the stuff in the small storage unit and get that moved in..... so all in all a good day! Right guys!!!????
RIGHT!!!!
PS: Several have asked about my knee. It is slowly getting better, but I am keeping a knee brace on it during the day.... right now, very tired but it held up. Tomorrow? We shall see.
(end of post)
...but the place you live in is that much more grey. Shawshank Redemption.
(Click picture for larger view) "I am a feather for each wind that blows." ~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Grey feathers from a mourning dove or mockingbird, with the soft down near the point; not usually the type seen in feather beds, but still beautiful. Amazingly, the sticky green weed on which it rests is called "bed-straw"; an irritating, scratchy plant with small spines on each stalk and with round spiny seed balls that stick deep in Max's fur and adhere to trousers and shirts as one walks by. In early American times, this plant was used to stuff mattresses, but given how it feels... I'd take the grey feather mattress any time.
Submission for Photo Friday topic "grey". (end of post)
Fortune Cookie. June 27, 2007.
Never known them to be that specific before.... or even close, actually! Closing is 10 AM on Friday, June 29th. All is in order.
(end of short post)
So!? This is as much of a blizzard as we usually get! It was April after all!
(Click picture for larger view) "Don't knock the weather, nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." ~ Kin Hubbard
OK, so it was in April, but it was still Spring and the snow came down really hard.... for about an hour. There was actually a dusting on the ground that you could almost measure! This was our BIG snow for the year! Sure, it had spit some and flaked a little back in January, but only for 30 minutes or less and it didn't even manage to coat the grass blades, never mind the roadway. I'm still waiting for one of those rare twelve inch snows that close the schools and flush out the old sleds in storage. All the kids make tracks over to Mt. Trashmore, the only elevation of any significance in the area and wear the snow out!
As for this blizzard... by the time I picked my brother up from the airport and started back it was over and the sun started to peek out... in less than ten minutes you would have never known the blizzard happened. The remnants indicated a light drizzle of rain at most and by noon, that too was gone; thus verifying the old adage...If you don't like the weather, just wait ten minutes... and it will change!"
Submission to Thursday Challenge for topic "weather". (end of post)
"In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends."
~ Kozuko Okakura
We have daylily and Easter lilies; why not have varieties called "Christmas" or "Peppermint" or "Candy Cane"? This one grows in the beautiful gardens of the Jackson family, here in Hampton Roads.
"To analyze the charms of flowers is like dissecting music; it is one of those things which it is far better to enjoy, than to attempt to fully understand." ~ Henry T. Tuckermanz
A frilly female in red and white looks ready for the music to begin, ready to be off to the dance, decked out in ruffles and lace. Do you suppose her date has a matching cumberbund?
"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful." ~ Abram L. Urban
Freckled geranium blossoms in a most unusual color. Usually we see red or white but personally, I love these, with their splashes and sprinkles of the two intermixed. They remind me of a variety of African violet I used to grow, with lavender flowers splashed with blue and pink.
"Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its vigor." ~ Henry Ward Beecher
Surely this would be a Candy Cane Tulip, with red and white stripes and the sun shining through the fluttering petals. It looks luscious enough to eat!
I am sure there are many more "candy canes" in the flower world, these are but a few. Perhaps these beauties are not edible, but they certainly are eye candy!!!
News: My mom's knee is doing much better and after a week and two days back in the hospital, she was transferred back to rehab yesterday. I don't think she lost that much in the rehab arena during her hospitalization and I know the pain issue will be much less this time around.
As for my brother's house (that we will all live in), the final walk through is today at 12:30 pm. I only have one set of eyes, but do have the list from the home inspector to go over. Since I have been there several times, I have already looked at a lot of the things on the list and so far, so good. The loan packet has been completed and is to be at the title company this morning as is the survey. Closing is set for 10 AM on Friday. Hopefully, by the end of the day today I will have been able to arrange for my furniture in storage to be delivered on Monday and for the fence company to meet me tomorrow for an estimate and layout. I have to get the plans to the homeowner's association for approval by their meeting date next week!
There! Did I forget to say that my brother, Stephen, is in full swing of rehersals for The Ring Cycle at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany? I have his power of attorney for the house, Dad has it for the cashier's check for the closing and he won't even get to be here for the momentous occasion.... or the gut wrenching two days before! As soon as the keys are transferred, I will be putting in a call to the new home owner...... send cash! (wink!)
As this is my sanity outlet... I hope to return later today! But for now....
(end of post)
November sunset along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Picture by Nyssa. (Click to enlarge) ". . . these are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang." ~ Herman Melville. "Moby Dick"
Nyssa took this picture of a calm November sunset along the Gulf Coast in Pass Christian, Mississippi; before the ravages of Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes and businesses of the people there. The beautiful white beaches and the smooth waters of the Gulf seen here, bely the power of Nature when atmosphere and water come together. But the people here are of strong stock and unlike some neighbors to the west, have not whined and complained; they have rolled up their sleeves and gotten back to the task of living. They accept the help of those they did not know and greeted them with true Southern hospitality and graciousness. And slowly life returns to the tranquility of long ago and far away. I am proud of the people of Mississippi and their example to all of us.
Submission to Tuesday Challenge for topic "coast". (end of post)
Miss Chloe: Sleepy sunbather.
(Click picture for larger view) "There are people who reshape the world by force or argument, but the cat just lies there, dozing, and the world quietly reshapes itself to suit his comfort and convenience." ~ Allen and Ivy Dodd
Miss Chloe is usually the prim and proper cat with all paws tucked in and tail wrapped around her body. She often sleeps sitting up or curled in a tight ball. One exception to this pattern is her love of the sun. She will stretch out on her side in a sunbeam and warm her tummy, then turn and warm her back, moving her whole body ever so slightly with the changing light and shadows. If I disturb her slumber and feel that soft belly, I feel that deep warmth trapped in her fur. This is complete and total relaxation... I envy her.
One of my cousin Bob's cats... possibly Mama Cat!
Miss Chloe and Mama Cat share the stage this week at Cats on Tuesday, hosted by gattina and Chloe shows her aging tummy for Tummy Tuesday over at catstuff. These girls will also be hanging out at Friday's Ark hosted by the Modulator and on Sunday will travel to the fun filled Carnival of the Cats; hosted by TBIFOC. (end of post)
...OK, so it is the wrong song! (Indiana peonies)
(Click picture for larger view) "Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
~ Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "April Rain Song"
In Spring, when the rain comes, the humidity is pulled out of the air and condensed into droplets that fall on our gardens; we are left with a cool refreshing feeling. The sparkling droplets on this peony tell the story of life; of thirst, of thunder, of water and relief and and adorn each petal like diamonds. These are the rains I love, the drenching, slow, soaking rains that feed the earth.
Not so with the Summer rain that seems to add as much water to the air as it releases with hot steam rising off the sun baked pavement. The air after the rain is as muggy and heavy and oppressive as before and we feel its weight. No, I don't care for the Summer rains, except as relief for the flowers. Give me those cooling, refreshing rains of Spring.
Submission for SeeItSunday topic "rain".
News Update: Mom has been in the hospital for a week now. For a while it looked as if they might have to go back in to her knee incision and irrigate and debride the wound. However, it looks as if she had some excessive bleeding into the soft tissue that is resolving slowly but steadily. Antibiotics have been given as she did have some fever and blood is a perfect culture medium. (Sorry to those who are grossed out by medical language.) If he is satisfied with her progress, she will likely be transferred back to the rehabilitation facility on Monday for at least two weeks there. Basically, she is bored.
The house closing is still set for Friday so this week is going to be hysterical. Nyssa and I bought rugs, room size rugs for the downstairs so the furniture in storage can be moved in. I can't remember what it looks like, the furniture so this should be fun. Walk through is Tuesday or Wednesday. I have many phone calls to make and estimates for fencing to get and I must, really must hear those magical words.... "the loan is approved and set"... no later than Tuesday!
I feel stomach knots coming on again. Rug pictures and story will follow sometime this week!
(end of post)
"When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens." ~ Anne Lamott
A shiny red apple to sweeten the day.
(Click pictures for larger view)"And pluck till time and times are done The silver apples of the moon The golden apples of the sun." ~ William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939) Source: The Wind Among the Reeds, 1899
For the Photo Hunt theme today I decided to look beyond the shiny coins in my pocket and the shiny gold in that ring, the shiny beads hanging from Nyssa's rearview mirror and that shiny stethoscope in my mother's hospital room. Today, I thought about the shiny, glistening and gleaming aspects of nature. It surprised me a bit at how varied and numerous they are. We start with the shiny red apple... and that old adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", unless of course you happen to live with one.
Shiny stones form a solid rainbow of color."The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time." ~ John Muir
Dull and lifeless stones are brought to life by time and water, whether in a rolling stone polisher or in a mountain stream. Smooth and shiny, even the words flow perfectly together off the tongue.
Shiny golden dragonfly with gossamer wings."Clouds of insects danced and buzzed in the golden autumn light, and the air was full of the piping of the song-birds. Long, glinting dragonflies shot across the path, or hung tremulous with gauzy wings and gleaming bodies." ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
This was one of the most beautiful dragonflies I have ever seen. The body a metallic gold and the wings almost invisible between the veins; both shone with the reflected light of the sun. This shiny metal effect is in such contrast with the gorgeous rust brown accents on the thorax and those huge eyes. God's artistry at work, even in the small details.
One of the shiny Fairytale pumpkins from my flowerbed/yard garden.Pumpkins
Pumpkins tugging at their vines,
Pumpkins growing round and green.
Pumpkins hiding in the leaves,
Pumpkins shyly, smooth and clean.
Pumpkins shining in the rain,
Pumpkins plumping in the sun.
Pumpkins blushing underneath,
Turning orange, one by one.
~ Heather Mitchell Amey
Yes, I grew pumpkins in a flowerbed last year and yes, they got out of hand and spread... well they spread everywhere; into the side yard, the front yard and for a while it looked like they were going to take off into the neighbor's yard and on down the street. This is one of the ten pumpkins that resulted. This one weighed around 17 lbs and made many pies. In fact we still have some frozen ready to make three more or perhaps a little pumpkin bisque. If you should want to see the progression you can go here and simply click on the links to each post... starting with number one of course. Oh, and yes, I have planted the seeds... some original, some from the pumpkins from last year, a white pumpkin and I threw in some cantaloupe seeds saved from an exceptionally sweet one last season just for fun. Vicki thinks I should transplant them to the new house. We will see. They have a homeowners association there and I don't know how they feel about pumpkin vines streaming out into the wildlife preserve... but the wildlife would love it!
Moonshine reflected in the ocean, a dance of light. The shining silver moon
Is a coin hung in the sky
To pay the old Dream Maker
Whenever he goes by.
~ Jane Yolen
One of my moonrise photos from the first week in January. Sunset and moonrise were within five minutes of each other, so we braved the cold wind and were rewarded with the most spectacular sight. While the sunrise deals in pastels of pink and blue and lavender and the glistening reflection is that of gold, the moonrise works its magic in deep, rich navy and royal purple and ebony with shiny silver and diamonds glistening on the waves. Breathtaking!
The theme for Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt this week is "shiny". 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.
(end of post)
....the dream of flight.
(Click picture to enlarge) "I believe that if one always looked at the sky, one would end up with wings." ~ Gustave Flaubert
To soar above the earth with wind in your hair, unencumbered by gravity, floating in the cool breezes; who has not at one time or another dreamed of flying with eagles!? Such are the things dreams are made of. What dreams are on your horizon?
Submission for PhotoFriday topic "dream". (end of post)
Miss Scarlett. 2005. Corpulent kitty.
(Click pictures for larger view)"I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course." ~ Mark Twain
Miss Scarlett has been a pear shaped kitty all her life. This picture was taken in 2005 after she moved from Mississippi to Virginia. She had a hard time reaching all of her parts and the other kitties loved to torment her. Also she was very dark in her coloration, almost black... with those white tummy spots of course. Then in early 2006, she began to lick ice and turn around and around and walk back and forth all day. It wasn't obvious at first but soon we realized that Miss Scarlett was losing weight and in the process, losing her pear shape.
Miss Scarlet, December 2006.
Miss Scarlett hits bottom at six pounds.
Post-op patient. Poor Miss Scarlett.
Miss Scarlett today... a new and healthy kitty.
Miss Scarlett is boarding Friday's Ark at the Modulator with all the other cats today and on Sunday she will stroll over to the Carnival of the Cats, at This That & The Other Thing. I think she is craving a bit of cotton candy!
(end of post)
Blue pansies. Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
(Click picture for larger view) "A certain blue enters your soul." ~ Henri Matisse
It has been hot and humid and stifling for a few days, but these baby blue pansies have that cool look for a hot summer day. A front has come through with rain and now winds from the north, so cooler temps for a few days.
We are nine days to closing on the new house. The appraisal is in, the insurance set up in the works, the business end of the loan almost done, the homeowners association papers delivered, a survey ordered and funds being transferred. I still need to do another measurement for the refrigerator and decide on a couple of models to send for Stephen's approval and Nyssa will help me did through some discounts rugs and perhaps go to an estate sale in search of temporary floor coverings for the hardwood floors. Next week I will arrange for my stuff in storage to be set up for delivery. My stomach is still in knots, this seems so surreal.
My mom is still in the hospital on high powered antibiotics, her knee and leg seem less warm, less red and less swollen. She is bored and a little blue. We should know by tomorrow or Friday whether they will have to go back in. No positive cultures, only minimal fever... both good signs. She was scheduled to get out of the nursing rehab place the day we closed on the house, but that will be pushed back now. We just have to wait and see. One day at a time.
Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "blue". (end of post)
A vapor trail in the sky at sunset.
(Click picture for larger view) "There are no signposts in the sky to show a man has passed that way before. There are no channels marked. The flier breaks each second into new uncharted seas." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The vapor trail of a passing jet, the only signpost to say... "someone is passing this way". It will quickly dissipate and so five minutes from now, someone standing here will never know. Thus the sky changes from moment to moment; the clouds come and go and so change the colors, from navy to red to blue to black to grey. Like life, the sky is always changing, never static for very long and though we may desire to freeze moments in time, this change is as it should be. Without the fleeting nature of the sky, how many beautiful and rare and unique sunsets would we miss? Without the progressions of life, what beautiful and rare and unique memories would be lost?
Submission for Lensday topic "sky". (end of post)
"The cat, like the genius, draws into itself as into a shell except in the atmosphere of congeniality, and this is the secret of its remarkable and elusive personality." ~ Ida M. Mellen, American writer
On a hot day, Mr. Rhett shows a little tummy.
(Click pictures for larger view)
He asked if I would tell you some of his better attributes... besides the fact that the camera loves him... that is obvious! So...
Mr. Rhett has a strong profile.
Mr. Rhett often has something to say.
A sensitive soul.
Rhett deserves the full attention this week at Cats on Tuesday, hosted by gattina and shows his tummy for Tummy Tuesday over at catstuff. (end of post)
