Sunshine

Yellow daisy (Click picture for larger view)

"Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul." ~ Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926) US naturalist

Someone I know loves yellow; the color of the sun. Bright and cheerful, it chases away the shadows of the night each dawn. Yellow is hopeful, warm, inviting and comforting. It reminds of the renewal of life in Spring with daffodils, buttercups and forsythia; of the tenacity of life in Summer with the dandelion and daisy; and the fullness and cycle of life in Fall as the leaves turn a golden yellow and flutter to the ground.

For now, it is Summer and the daisy reigns.

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Remember?

Ball and jacks (Click picture for larger view)

Remember?

Remember when you played "Jacks"
You picked one up before the ball came back?
Remember playing "Hide and Seek"
You closed your eyes and sneaked a peek?
Remember when you flew a kite,
To get it up took all your might?
Remember when a piece of chalk
Wrote game boundaries on the walk?
Remember when with your hands
You made a ball from rubber bands?
Remember how you bounced a ball
For no rhyme or reason at all?
Remember how you had a fit
When you heard "Tag, you're it?"
Remember how skates and a wooden box
Made a racer that was tops?
Remember when you spun a top
And wished it would never stop?
Remember kicking an empty can
Along the curb as you ran?
Remember who got blamed
When everyday the rules were changed?
Do kids today have more fun
Sitting and watching their Nintendos run?

~ Sue Chuzi

Do you remember playing jacks or hide and seek or flying down the hill on your bicycle, handlebar streamers flowing in the wind? I do. I remember catching fireflies in glass jars on warm summer evenings, jumping out of apple trees and rolling down the hill, splashing in a rickety round kiddy swimming pool 12 inches deep, swinging on a little metal swingset as high as I could go without tilting it over and making mudpies in little toy cake pans. I remember candy necklaces made with edible rings that tasted like banana, the hot night air in Roanoke,Virginia with no air conditioning and all the cricket sounds and birds chirping in the bushes. I remember black and white TV with only three stations. There was no SONY corporation or Nintendo or home computers. No cell phones, blackberries or e-mail. These modern times are better? Sometimes I wonder.

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

It's An Iced Tea Day

Sweet Iced Tea (Macro) (Click picture for larger view)

"Sweet Tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two years old." ~ On Moving To The South

"Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea." ~ Henry Fielding (1707-1754), British novelist

It's hot as blue blazes and sultry, so humid you start sweating just steppin' out of the house. It's the kind of day that has "bad hair" and "limp clothes" written all over it. There is no breeze. The skies are gray. The rain you thought would cool things down only pushed the humidity even higher. Even the dog wants to lay on the cool concrete in the shade and not move.

It's an iced tea day. Not just any iced tea, but sweet iced tea with a touch of lemon and lots of ice. You can't find this in the North; they only offer unsweet tea. You can't find it in Europe; they have unsweet tea but only one cube of ice at most. Only in the South do menus include both and waitresses routinely ask as you order "iced tea", "Sweet or Unsweet?" Make mine sweet, please.

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

Ninety-two Years Young

Mr. G: Ninety -two years young. (Click picture for larger view)

"Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so." ~ Tryon Edwards (American Theologian, 1809-1894)

Two weeks ago I took my parents back to Roanoke where 50 years ago they pastored a fledgling church. Mr. G became a member there when I was just a very small child and is still an active member. He is 92 years young. And what a life! He has been an English teacher, insurance salesman, employee of JC Penney, among other jobs through the years. He is a published author of his autobiography, has built his own home in Roanoke and sings in the church choir and with a men's quartet. He remembers stories about me that my parents have forgotten. (I'm not sure if this last item is a good thing or not.) There is still a spring in his step, a glint in his eye and a spry sharpness to his mind. If I could be as nimble in mind and body as he is, I wouldn't mind living to be 100.

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

The Cat Rules of Modeling

Chloe knows how to strike a pose.
(Click pictures for larger view)

"Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic." ~ Lillian Jackson Braun

Miss Chloe loves to lounge in the sun on her cat tree perch. She knows how to be a great model and knows the rules of good sunbathing health as well. Rule #1: Always start on your back in a relaxed state. Pretend to ignore the camera, avoid looking straight into the lens. Avoid looking too trashy!

(Continue for more pictures by clicking "read more" below.)


Rule #2: Change poses often. A photographer doesn't like a "statue" that never moves; but move slowly to avoid becoming a blur on film. If you manage to scratch that itch at the base of your tail in the process, so much the better. Try not to look like a hussy while doing this.



Rule #3: Make sure you strike at least one pose with eyes half closed, preferably with graceful positioning of the feet. In this setting, make sure to look straight towards the camera while still keeping that nonchalant air about you. This pose should be the most demure.



Rule #4: While in this position and while keeping all legs in a restful, relaxed and modest position; slowly open your eyes and stare straight into the lens. Make eye contact with the photographer using a technique that looks deep into their soul and stirs the emotions. Don't overdo it.



Rule #5: Finally, tilt your head back, placing one paw under the chin and slowly close eyes tightly. Of course, make sure you are making the best use of sunlight and shade to enhance the look. Remain in this pose to indicate that the session is over. Keep your eyes shut long enough and she WILL go away.

And how do these rules keep a kitty healthy? One should never be exposed to the sun on one side for too long, it ages the skin and fur. Even a cat tries to avoid tan lines.

Miss Chloe should be awake in time to board the Friday's Ark today and will visit the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday. This week the Carnival is hosted by Pets Garden Blog. See you there.

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