SUCH JOY! Wonderful, spectacular days in California with family! we visited a couple lighthouses (Point Reyes and Pigeon Point); took a ferry to Alcatraz (lighthouse & prison audio tour)with our grandson; chapel service at ABSW; 9-holes of golf on the most beautiful golf course i've ever seen; saw many sights, many animals & marine life; had many yummy dinners, lunches and breakfasts with family--and now, missing west coast family all the more, but happy to have briefly shared in "their world."
the weather out there was perfect every day! I took a gazillion photos, including several shots of things not very many people think worthy of photographing, but i found very interesting: close-ups of the colors and textures of rocks & grasses, floor patterns of different tiles in old dining room of alcatraz, looking through old dirty window in warden's office, and the ocean as seen through old lighthouse window, for example. I have one shot that looks exactly like a Wyeth watercolor: an old dirty window, with an old dirty raincoat hanging on a nail hook next to the window. perhaps i will make my own painting of this shot.
the colors of the landscape and pacific ocean and rocks were just magnificent! i told my daughter as we rode along the coastline that i felt like i was living inside a calendar: each turn in the road exposed a new view, even more outstanding than the previous, as if someone had turned the page of a scenic calendar. it was definitely a MOST en-JOY-able vacation for us!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
California
We are SO EXCITED!! tomorrow morning we leave for California to visit daughter dear, her wonderful hubby and their marvelous son--our first-born grandson! Crazy flights these days mean that non-stop flights are hard to come by, so the majority of our day will be spent traveling. The good news is tho, that by heading west, we at least gain time and will get there earlier than it seems possible. I often tell my daughter how fortunate they are to be living "out there" where they are blessed with "27 hours a day" instead of our east coast measly 24 hr days! {:^D
i am all packed and ready to go. i suggested to my hubby that we leave NOW and spend the night in the airport, but he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. this will be very exciting too, since i usually have gone to California solo, and this time we will be going together. we have a lot planned for the short time we'll be there, but we are excited nonetheless.
i LOVE flying!!! i was 54 when i took my first flight, but i've been hooked ever since. i usually arrive at my destination with a stiff neck, which comes from staring out the window for hours at a time. i LOVE to look down on the fascinating cloud formations and the layout of the land far, far below. The colors and patterns are always interesting. It's as if i am viewing God's very own palette and i find it SO very interesting. i never tire of seeing it from such a different and glorious angle.
i take lots of activities to keep me busy on the long flights, but usually my book, crossword puzzle, my Bible, my crocheting are each barely started, because the majority of time i am staring at the wonders out my little window. it is a true JOY to be enJOYing a vacation with my loving husband and wonderful "left coast" family! happy travels!
i am all packed and ready to go. i suggested to my hubby that we leave NOW and spend the night in the airport, but he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. this will be very exciting too, since i usually have gone to California solo, and this time we will be going together. we have a lot planned for the short time we'll be there, but we are excited nonetheless.
i LOVE flying!!! i was 54 when i took my first flight, but i've been hooked ever since. i usually arrive at my destination with a stiff neck, which comes from staring out the window for hours at a time. i LOVE to look down on the fascinating cloud formations and the layout of the land far, far below. The colors and patterns are always interesting. It's as if i am viewing God's very own palette and i find it SO very interesting. i never tire of seeing it from such a different and glorious angle.
i take lots of activities to keep me busy on the long flights, but usually my book, crossword puzzle, my Bible, my crocheting are each barely started, because the majority of time i am staring at the wonders out my little window. it is a true JOY to be enJOYing a vacation with my loving husband and wonderful "left coast" family! happy travels!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
African Safari
Okay, i admit it: i have an addiction. i spent yesterday GLUED to my computer screen watching a live web-cam set up in Botswana, Africa, panning back and forth over a large pond area, filming all the wild animals and birds who happened by for a cool drink or snack. such a thrill, i cannot even describe! this morning i TOLD myself i wouldn't even open the link (if you want it, email me and i'll share it) but then i thought, what's the HARM if i just watch it while i have my toast and coffee?
honestly now, have you EVER enjoyed cinnamon toast while watching a small herd of elephants play in a pond on the other side of the world? i mean, c'mon! i got excited last week over praying mantis egg cases, but this is INCREDIBLY BIGGER! the elephants in this group (only 7 of them this morning, whereas yesterday a herd of 23 came by!) all sizes, from nursing (yes!) baby up to bull, and every size between. splashing, spraying, drinking (ewww..muddy water?!), and rolling! i was laughing out loud! what fun to watch; how AMAZING to watch! what a PRIVILEGE to see!
there was also a momma boar with a young one, drinking and rolling in the mud, a sunning crocodile (alligator??), two large turtles, wildabeast, heron, kingfisher, type of guinea hen, antelope, and a type of gull. the most exciting to me tho, was one of my favorite animals: the elephant. i took almost 80 photos on my safari, since i learned how to take a screen-shot of what the web-cam was showing.
i knew i had an addiction when, just after midnight, after listening to an hour of comments following the pres-debate, i ACTUALLY CONSIDERED tip-toeing downstairs to turn on the computer to see what was going on in Botswana!! they're 6 hours ahead of EST, so i thought the early morning "crowd" might be at the pond for a drink of muddy water to start their day. (Botswana web-cam support group, here i come! HELP! help!!!) fortunately i fell asleep before the temptation developed too strongly. but, ya-GOTTA love the folks who came up with such an idea; it opens the world to me! o what JOY!
honestly now, have you EVER enjoyed cinnamon toast while watching a small herd of elephants play in a pond on the other side of the world? i mean, c'mon! i got excited last week over praying mantis egg cases, but this is INCREDIBLY BIGGER! the elephants in this group (only 7 of them this morning, whereas yesterday a herd of 23 came by!) all sizes, from nursing (yes!) baby up to bull, and every size between. splashing, spraying, drinking (ewww..muddy water?!), and rolling! i was laughing out loud! what fun to watch; how AMAZING to watch! what a PRIVILEGE to see!
there was also a momma boar with a young one, drinking and rolling in the mud, a sunning crocodile (alligator??), two large turtles, wildabeast, heron, kingfisher, type of guinea hen, antelope, and a type of gull. the most exciting to me tho, was one of my favorite animals: the elephant. i took almost 80 photos on my safari, since i learned how to take a screen-shot of what the web-cam was showing.
i knew i had an addiction when, just after midnight, after listening to an hour of comments following the pres-debate, i ACTUALLY CONSIDERED tip-toeing downstairs to turn on the computer to see what was going on in Botswana!! they're 6 hours ahead of EST, so i thought the early morning "crowd" might be at the pond for a drink of muddy water to start their day. (Botswana web-cam support group, here i come! HELP! help!!!) fortunately i fell asleep before the temptation developed too strongly. but, ya-GOTTA love the folks who came up with such an idea; it opens the world to me! o what JOY!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Little Things for Free
It's the little things in life that count, and most are free. they're one of the many thrills of my re-lifement (known to some as re-tirement). yesterday's "little thing" that is SO BIG to me: i SAW the praying mantis creating and forming her egg case! i've often been excited to see the finished product-egg case hidden on a branch (usually on our arborvitae bushes), but to actually SEE her foaming and forming this magnificent winter protection around the eggs, utterly AMAZED me.
i often see things that (of course) have been happening all along. but when i was in the "world of cubicles" i missed them; and now just feel SO BLESSED to be seeing them. i usually try to photograph as many as i can. perhaps someday i'll do a little book, "All I [did not] Miss" and include the photos of the early morning dew on the spider webs, the squirrel running across my lawn with a corn cob in its mouth, the swallowtail butterfly hatching from its chrysalis, the sunrise out my window, the hibiscus flower larger than my hand that was only budding the day before. i didn't have to spend a cent to see any of these marvels; i just had to look and see. how great is that!
come spring--usually the first really HOT day--i'll be out staring at that egg case to see the tiny (3/8") baby praying mantises, and am ALWAYS thrilled at the number of them! i follow throughout the summer, amazed at their growth spurts. come late summer, they are huge and that's when they usually watch ME--as i water the garden, invariably one or two usually come out of hiding and keep a close eye on me, sometimes running to a higher leaf to avoid getting wet.
i remember the very first time i saw their egg case. my young son brought a branch home to me, egg case firmly attached and asked what it was. i had no idea, but we looked it up in the encyclopedia (in the days before world wide web and wikipedia)! i've enjoyed these incredible (and beneficial) insects ever since. what JOY!
i often see things that (of course) have been happening all along. but when i was in the "world of cubicles" i missed them; and now just feel SO BLESSED to be seeing them. i usually try to photograph as many as i can. perhaps someday i'll do a little book, "All I [did not] Miss" and include the photos of the early morning dew on the spider webs, the squirrel running across my lawn with a corn cob in its mouth, the swallowtail butterfly hatching from its chrysalis, the sunrise out my window, the hibiscus flower larger than my hand that was only budding the day before. i didn't have to spend a cent to see any of these marvels; i just had to look and see. how great is that!
come spring--usually the first really HOT day--i'll be out staring at that egg case to see the tiny (3/8") baby praying mantises, and am ALWAYS thrilled at the number of them! i follow throughout the summer, amazed at their growth spurts. come late summer, they are huge and that's when they usually watch ME--as i water the garden, invariably one or two usually come out of hiding and keep a close eye on me, sometimes running to a higher leaf to avoid getting wet.
i remember the very first time i saw their egg case. my young son brought a branch home to me, egg case firmly attached and asked what it was. i had no idea, but we looked it up in the encyclopedia (in the days before world wide web and wikipedia)! i've enjoyed these incredible (and beneficial) insects ever since. what JOY!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Book Notes
I was in my "bunker" the other day--which i ought to explain before i say what i intended to say... (years ago when i worked in a school for handicapped young adults, one of the shop teachers made a wooden plaque for me and woodburned into it: [my name]'s Bunker. over the next 20 years it always found a place in whatever office i happened to be working in; now in my relifement, it sits atop one of the 3 bookshelves in my little art/study room.)
...so, as i was in my bunker for Bible study i reached for 2 old books that my dad gave me back in the 80's when i mentioned to him that i really enjoyed the g.campbell morgan commentaries. he had gone upstairs (to 1 of HIS many bookcases---gee, where did we all get our love of books from?) and he brought to me 2 old books that he happened to have in his library, by that same commentator. one book is dated 1944 (ok, i confess. i had to ask B to help me decipher the roman numerals), and the other is dated 1909. that alone, in ADDITION to the fact that these were books from my dad's own library, makes them of value to me. BUT! guess what makes them even MORE valuable? dad has penciled his notes in the margins in one of them!!!
Dad has been rejoicing in Heaven with our Lord for the past 12 years, but i felt very close to him when i turned the page in one of his old books (The Triumphs of Faith) and read his notations! it brought back such pleasant memories of when dad used to take my brother and i with him to Leary's Bookstore in downtown Philadelphia. leary's is no longer there, but was a tall, very narrow building with many stories, sandwiched between 2 larger buildings, much like a tall book itself perched on the shelf of sidewalk. how we LOVED going in town with dad to leary's! we rode the old elevator up to the floor with all the used books. on special days, he'd have an extra 10 or 25 cents and would buy us a poetry book, some of which i still have. we'd spend hours in there amongst the dusty, yellowed page books, the aroma of which could only be construed if you've ever smelled that wonderful scent. it would be like trying to describe the wonderful smell of a box of crayons--the person would only understand if they too, loved and recalled that pleasing smell and the memories it brought to mind.
dad left his mark in this book, and with much JOY i can truly and thankfully say, that dad left his mark on me as well. what a dad! what a dear dad.
...so, as i was in my bunker for Bible study i reached for 2 old books that my dad gave me back in the 80's when i mentioned to him that i really enjoyed the g.campbell morgan commentaries. he had gone upstairs (to 1 of HIS many bookcases---gee, where did we all get our love of books from?) and he brought to me 2 old books that he happened to have in his library, by that same commentator. one book is dated 1944 (ok, i confess. i had to ask B to help me decipher the roman numerals), and the other is dated 1909. that alone, in ADDITION to the fact that these were books from my dad's own library, makes them of value to me. BUT! guess what makes them even MORE valuable? dad has penciled his notes in the margins in one of them!!!
Dad has been rejoicing in Heaven with our Lord for the past 12 years, but i felt very close to him when i turned the page in one of his old books (The Triumphs of Faith) and read his notations! it brought back such pleasant memories of when dad used to take my brother and i with him to Leary's Bookstore in downtown Philadelphia. leary's is no longer there, but was a tall, very narrow building with many stories, sandwiched between 2 larger buildings, much like a tall book itself perched on the shelf of sidewalk. how we LOVED going in town with dad to leary's! we rode the old elevator up to the floor with all the used books. on special days, he'd have an extra 10 or 25 cents and would buy us a poetry book, some of which i still have. we'd spend hours in there amongst the dusty, yellowed page books, the aroma of which could only be construed if you've ever smelled that wonderful scent. it would be like trying to describe the wonderful smell of a box of crayons--the person would only understand if they too, loved and recalled that pleasing smell and the memories it brought to mind.
dad left his mark in this book, and with much JOY i can truly and thankfully say, that dad left his mark on me as well. what a dad! what a dear dad.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Grape Mates
Trees are just beginning to show their colors! Very exciting to see the reds "sneaking in" a little more each day! One sad change though, now that it's October, is that i soon won't be able to go out in the back yard and pick fresh veggies from my small garden planted way back in the unseasonably hot days of April. i have only a few more grape [to]mat'es to pick and a few sweet peppers. it makes me sad because i have loved going out and filling the up-turned hem of my t-shirt with these delicacies. i always had half of them eaten before they made it into the house. they were sweeter than candy and gave me great pleasure, not only in their taste, but in the fact that they were the results of my months of nurturing.
the few cucumbers and zucchini that i harvested were disappointing and baffling, but i'm hoping that by adding my compost to the soil for next year's garden, it'll make a difference. (imagine! me, born & raised on a small dead-end street in philadelphia, making her own compost pile! somehow that just amazes and thrills me.) i feel good too that it has saved much refuse going to a landfill and will be put to good use.
i might double the plot size next year from 8'x8' to 16'x8' and add a few other things. i also want to either get a soil test kit, or at least have our local co-op test my soil for me. plus, i want to try to save some seeds from the dead flowers in my front garden and see if i can get some of them to grow again (like i do every year with my marigolds).
as much as i'll miss gardening over the next 6 months, i'm glad we have the seasons of change. my focus can change to IN-door fun things now; no more weeding and hours spent watering and fretting over weeks of no rain. change is good. (i'm SURE going to miss pickin' and eatin' those precious, red grape mates tho!)
the few cucumbers and zucchini that i harvested were disappointing and baffling, but i'm hoping that by adding my compost to the soil for next year's garden, it'll make a difference. (imagine! me, born & raised on a small dead-end street in philadelphia, making her own compost pile! somehow that just amazes and thrills me.) i feel good too that it has saved much refuse going to a landfill and will be put to good use.
i might double the plot size next year from 8'x8' to 16'x8' and add a few other things. i also want to either get a soil test kit, or at least have our local co-op test my soil for me. plus, i want to try to save some seeds from the dead flowers in my front garden and see if i can get some of them to grow again (like i do every year with my marigolds).
as much as i'll miss gardening over the next 6 months, i'm glad we have the seasons of change. my focus can change to IN-door fun things now; no more weeding and hours spent watering and fretting over weeks of no rain. change is good. (i'm SURE going to miss pickin' and eatin' those precious, red grape mates tho!)
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