Poking

Three tug boats at the pier and boat jetty in Erith, UK.

I decided to poke around yesterday, after I finished my blog, to see what else was out there in computer land, and went into 'next blog' to find some neat blogs filled with pictures and news and recipes that looked good enough to eat. Then I saw "Arthur Pewty's Maggot Sandwich", now that has a strange name to it and not a very good name for any sandwich I know of, so, being nosey . . . or should I say newsy, I went in and checked out the blog to find a little bit of .....who am I kidding......a LOT of words and pictures of Erith in Kent, United Kingdom.

I made some notes on a piece of paper that had a lot already written on it, so I have had to try and find the words that I wrote to go with the pictures you are looking at here. Mr.Pewty is a talented writer and he walks around his town with his trusty camera and takes pictures and then writes up what is on going in his town. He wrote a few words about the boat jetty and being able to take the entire length of it without getting his feet wet. He has a fine sense of humor and well worth checking out if you have time to read his blog. Sometimes he finds things to bring to the attention of the 'bobbies' and sometimes he writes about the area in general, all well done and worth every minute of the read. He is up for an award and I can readily understand it. He could be chosen 'the blogger' of the year.

Dial Arch is in Woorich and is sporting a newly opened pub. The Arch building is the Woolrich Royal Arsenal which was built and designed by John Vanburgh in 1720.

What first caught my eye was the merry-g0-round which brought back memories of long ago. I had a ride on one similar to this one more than once and my children were treated to a merry[-go-round ride when they were small. Can't you hear the music and feel the excitement ?

So today we had a chance to visit a small village in England and it looks like it would be a wonderful place to visit. My wanderlust takes over and I want to go there and ride the merry-go-round . . . want to come? I bet you do. Well, when and, of course, if, I win the lottery I'll take you all along. Go about your day with your head in the clouds, dream a bit and make your day bright and cheerful. Smiling does wonder for the facial muscles and humming is so good for the soul. Know I'm thinking about you . . . go! . . . Have a Tony the Tiger day and make it "GRREEAATTT" Hugs to all.

Care and Feelings

There were no captions to go along with the pictures but they certainly show what a lot of love and attention can do. It looks like two little Koala bears were orphaned and this lady had the time and patience to see them on their way. I am amazed at how tiny they were to start off with and the end results are perfect. I love the pictures and stories about good people who take the time, energy and expense to raise the tiny animals in need. We see and hear about them all the time so know that some things are truly right in our world.

I was sent an e-mail yesterday that encompassed the years I grew up in and it was nostalgic as I walked down memory lane reliving some of the simple pleasures we enjoyed along the way. How lucky we were to be able to be outside for hours and play. How lucky we were to play under the streetlights until it was time to go to bed. How lucky we were to live in a time when the neighborhood of legal immigrants banded together to make being alive special. My world has changed and I have the wonderful memories to enjoy, yet, I look into the world of today and find it exciting and different, so unusual in the birth pains of new and different. I hope you learn to live in today and not waste your energies by not living at all. Attitude is the clue to survival. Then comes moderation is the key to good health and wealth, but learning to laugh at yourself is a gift you need to give yourself.

More cartoons about living in our modern computerized world.

So today, a new beginning of your week, get the hardest task done first and the rest will be easy. Remember, if you are at work, to get up out of your chair and walk around it ten times. Better still go for a walk on your coffee break and put your coffee in a paper cup to take along with you. If you are retired, don't just sit there thinking of what you 'used to' do, but get up and walk around the block, or bend over and pull a weed or two. As for me, I'm heading out to the kitchen to have my first cup of coffee. Today is a house day with chores to be done then a tuna salad with my elbows on the table as I read more of a good novel. Who says retirement is boring? Not me! Make your today a good one. Hugs to all.

New talent - Old talent

It looks like Gary Larson of the "Far Side" fame has to move over for another artist who has a tremendous sense of humor. "Whyatt" a name to be reckoned with as he tickles our funny bone. I have to give them credit for having a sense of humor and poking fun at some of the absurdities of life. Ah, if we could see ourselves as others see us we would most likely laugh out loud.

Then there is art of another kind, "nature'' at its best. How many times have you looked at the clouds to see wonderful scenes to satisfy your artistic eye, or looked at a mountain and find faces and pictures of all kinds of things. I could show you a rock formation up in the Sierras that takes on the look of an Indian village, or round the corner and find yourself looking at a beautiful castle. The vistas are wide and beautiful as a 'rock world' comes to life. Here on our coast we have 'stack's which have pictures of their very own. What an adventure it would be to take a hike with a trusty camera and take pictures along the way of nature's contribution to the art world.

Yesterday I bemoaned the fact that I did not have my camera with me as the sky was filled with huge white billowy wind clouds that made the most beautiful pictures. The beauty was awesome as the wind swirled the clouds around making a huge fan spread out with all kinds of faces and feathery patterns to nudge your imagination.

It is Sunday already, where did the weekend go? Did you have time to rest? Did you do something you really wanted to do? I just hope you had a delightful weekend doing what you wanted to do. It is the last of August and the long hot summer, now you have Fall to enjoy as time marches on with or without our approval. Make your today count, it is what you have to work with . . . Sunday a day of REST. Enjoy! Hugs to all.

Weeds Be Gone!!

After several weeks of attacking the weeds, I went out with my trusty camera to take some pictures to show off my hard work and the current neatness of my back yard. I didn't think or I would have taken before and after pictures so you would appreciate my constant harangue of fighting Oregon weeds. I don't know the names of the purple bush but it grows up to the top of the fence and into the orange flowers which, in turn, are an invasive type plant that spreads and grows everywhere. I do know the yellow bush is called Marguerite and it has a trunk as large as a tree and is a fast grower as it has been cut back every year and pays absolutely no attention to my wants.

I did thin out the huge green leaf plants and soon will have to trim back the Rose of Sharon which is now way over the fence and the little birds love it. You can't see the little glass birdhouse where the birds come to feed. The old tree trunk houses a couple of feeders but the birds, for the most part, ignore them. I think maybe they are too low and they may be worried about one of our larger predators coming by. We do get quite a few cat visitors and a wild animal or two.

This rock area was filled with all kinds of weeds and new sprouts of the berry bushes. At one time the entire area was all berry bushes so it is not something that will ever go away. I have to do something with this area but have not decided what. I envision a big hot tub to soak the aching bones but Pauline's money fairy hasn't stopped in yet. One can always hope.

Here is the magic chair that is light and delicate but strong enough to help me up. The bushes are all trimmed, even the edges of the yellow lawn. I don't know if the lawn will come back or not. I should do something to it but have no idea what. It gets watered and prayed over, and come to think about it, so do all the plants as I call upon St Francis of Assisi to look after the garden and the birds. A Hail Mary or two gets said so my little yard is in good hands. I decided as I sat in my little white plastic chair with the hose spraying, to write a little poem I call "Weeds"

Weeds have names like buttercup/milk weed/clover/dandy lions with yellow heads/drop seeds like pop corn and really truly spread.

There are good weeds and obnoxious weeds/although I cannot tell/they differ in their shapes and colors/and work so very hard/to cover all the ground between/the plants and bushes planted in our yards.

Queen Anne's Lace is pretty/as every queen should be/but thistles so majestic/with such spiky thorns/cut our finger tips and make us so forlorn.

Let the weeds take over/have a natural yard/and plant a bush or tree/wherever you can find/a space the weeds have left behind.

So today, Saturday play in your garden and relax in the sun. It is hard to believe that another month is almost gone . I can hear the music of "Autumn Leaves" in my head . . . now I'll be humming it all day. "Laus Deo" which means "Praise Be To God" which I learned about this morning when I read an e-mail from a friend about the history of the Washington Monument. A terrific history lesson that should be on the front page of every newspaper in town this morning, or at least on the television newscasts. So . . . Laus Deo . . . May YOU go with GOD. Hugs to all.

This and That

It is nice to have a friend who thinks enough of you to send along a money fairy who is going to bring you tons of money if you just send her on to all your friends and you will, in turn, receive a boodle of money. That's fine with me, I can spend money with the best of folks, and love to spend it as I dream of all the things I could do with a bundle of money. It is a lot of fun to live in a dream world for a very short time before reality sets in. I always thought if I had tons of money I would do something good with it, like a family compound . . . oh yeah, that would work just fine if everyone was getting along, but you know how that works. Then, after my family compound when everyone was well taken care of and there was harmony and peace . . . well everyone would be settled and all off somewhere spending some of my money . . . see it worked! Then I'd buy a huge piece of land and build a huge complex housing the elderly on one side and the throw-away children on the other, all under the care of people who would know exactly how to make it work . . . um . . . I better think that one through as the generation gap might get in the way. Maybe, if I had boodles and oodles of money I'd take that trip around the world, never pack a stitch, just buy along the way. Now that has some merit and I could do a few good deeds along the way. So much for my moments with the money fairy. Now, to get back to earth where our economy is in the basement and people are suffering while our leaders are telling us fairy tales at the town hall meetings and/or jaunting off and vacationing. What was it Nero did while Rome burned . . . ah yes, played the fiddle!!! My friend, Sharon Guinn, the artist who painted the fisherman says it all with her terrific sense of humor. I saw her painting in a gallery in Gold Beach and it made me laugh out loud. I was hoping she would do some humerus cards so I could buy some to send to folks who would appreciate them, but she is busier than ever and is going to show in two juried shows coming up. Wish her luck. I'm betting she wins. She is a very talented young lady. Daughter Pat and her friend Jock love to troll in the river hoping for that huge salmon that is waiting to be caught . . . so they think, but if I were a salmon and saw the shadow of hundreds of little boats with fishing lines and wiggly worms, I think I head for deeper water and swim far away. Sharon sent me an attachment of her picture so I could make a copy and share it.

So today, Friday, the end of another long work week for you. I thought the week flew by and I can't believe it is Friday already. Our weather has turned back to cool and overcast, late sunshine and a garden full of clippings to be picked up and bagged. Oh my, I am a really good clip artist and have a big callous on my hand from using the clippers all week. I even pushed the mower which is stubborn and a pain in the 'arse' but it did cut one or two patches. I got out the little lawn chair and pulled it around with me as I sat down on the grass to clip the edges to make things neat. I'm out of my mind as the spirit is willing but the body says otherwise. As I told a friend, I am glad that there is no one around with a movie camera to catch my gyrations as I try to lift the body up with the help of the chair. So, take it from me, hide the clippers and go off for the weekend and do something fun, the weeds will be there when you get back. Hugs to all.

Not Far

About five miles south of where I live there is a tent camping park which is filled this time of year with small recreational vehicles, and a tent or two which the lovers of the outdoors enjoy. Pat and I stopped so I could take a picture, or two, for my blog. The pathway leading to the ocean looked inviting until I saw something move in the shadows and envisioned a bear or a lion guarding the pathway. It looked pretty big in my imagination but it turned out to be a very large yellow cat with pretty eyes and lots of leaves and tiny tree limbs in its hair. When I called "kitty, kitty", it didn't hesitate to run to me, a poor little creature waiting to be petted. I took its picture and that is all the petting it got as it looked to me like it got a lot of food and petting from the campers about. When I got to the 'point' there were a group of men standing around looking out to the ocean where there were at least seven small boats circling around. I don't know if they were fishing boats or not. They seem to be doing a lot of skimming the waves so it may have been some folks racing and just having fun, . . . not that fishing isn't fun! One of the young men decided to jump the little fence and not go around to the pathway entrance and skidded down the side of the hill. He almost made it but tumbled as he got towards the bottom and rolled the rest of the way down. He laid there for a bit and I waited to see if he was hurt. There were several people who had just gone down the path and were close by to help if he needed it. I'd be no good with my hobbling and my cane, the most I could do would be hold his hand until help arrived . . . but . . . . he was young and jumped up without a scratch although he was rubbing his behind as he hobbled along. As you can see this path leads to the ocean and there are tents on the beach. What fun. It must be wonderful to lay there listening to the ocean waves breaking on the shore as they lull you to sleep in the blackness of the night.

When I finished taking my pictures I found Pat talking to her brother on the telephone as she wished him a happy birthday. She can hardly wait until next year when he turns the big 50 and she can welcome him into the sibling middle age club.

We rode further down the highway to the Lucky Seven Casino where they are adding a hotel onto the already finished dining room. I was amazed to stand and watch the workers move completed sides to the building. It doesn't take long to put up a building in the fast paced world of today. They will have it finished in no time, then I'll have to go back and take a picture of the finished hotel. We had our juicy hamburger and found that it has been priced ninety cents higher so that means the end of eating out as it is getting much too costly. Whatever happened to the days when the casinos offered free food to get you to come and gamble. Now they tighten the machines, raise the prices on their food and expect you to come and feed the machines . . . they have taken all the fun out of gaming. So Freddy win again, we will buy our good Angus beef and get a whole pound for several hamburgers, then cook up our own and play scrabble.

So today, realize how fortunate you are and dig into your pockets a donate a few dollars to those who are having a hard time of it. Right now we are hearing about seven families who were burned out, nothing at all left as the fire, started by a sick homeless man, flared out of control and jumped across the highway to a small group of homes that were closely built and the fire spread so fast the firemen were escorting people out of their homes as the flames came in their back doors. How devastating to lose everything, but as one of the women said, "It is only things." . . . and she is right. She has her life and she can rebuild with help from generous folks who will band together and fill the accounts at the bank. I think I'll add my candle money. Make today a memory day. Hugs to all.

A Banner Day - Mike's Birthday!

Today is son Michael's birthday and I caught up with him by telephone last evening, so had a chance to tease him about getting another year older. It doesn't bother him one bit as he has already had a birthday party with a friend whose birthday is the day before his and they celebrate with a big cookout every year. He should be coming this way before winter sets in and will check out my honey-do list, which I reminded him is getting longer and longer, and I'll treat him to a fancy dinner in his favorite restaurant.

The leaves are beginning to fall and I have a very small pile already raked up. My neighbor has a tree that is shedding but my pile of leaves is very small. I loved the picture which reminded me of days of long ago when there were leaves to rake and what fun it was to rake them into huge piles. We are having very dry weather and there have been pictures of fires in our forests, so there will be no burning of leaves.

Leaves

Crunching, crispy, wind blown leaves/reds with browns and greens/huddled on the sidewalks/waiting for a breeze.

The inner eye, the child's eye/remembers days of yore/when walking off to school/we kicked them to and fro/making noises as we'd go.

Laughter filled the air/the leaves so very light/scattered with our kicks/as they took a long, long flight.

We hurried home to find the rake/and make huge piles of leaves/built so high they couldn't fly/until we jumped right in/chasing them back to their ground/only to rake again.

Crunching, crispy, wind blown leaves/ revives the memory/ as I walked along the street/kicking leaves aside/ smiling/grinning/feeling good/ as the leaves went sailing by. (JMS-2006)

So today, hopefully it has cooled down as August dwindles and September makes headway. We have our Indian Summer to look forward to and for many a relief from some very hot and miserable weather. Make your today a good one and count your blessings as they come along and lift your spirits. I count YOU as a blessing so stay well, grin and bear it, and plot and plan one more beach walk to find the flat stones with flecks of color that make into beautiful jewelry. I have a new broach, made by my friend Marge which is unbelievable. The flat stone has green in it and she found beads the color of peacocks and did her magic. How lucky I am. Green sets it off, so if you are wearing green and need to look and feel beautiful, let me know and I'll let you borrow my beautiful broach for a day. Go with God. Hugs to all.

Mysteries

The e-mail I received yesterday has been around before showing a few mysterious events, but this one had a couple of pictures I do not remember seeing so I thought I'd share them with you this morning. The 'Light Pillars" pretty eerie aren't they? but . . . very beautiful. The upright luminous columns seem to be without a source of light but they reflect off of ice crystals from the sun, or artificial ground sources such as a street light. I've stared at the night sky a lot in my lifetime and saw a few falling stars and even a comet fly by, but so far these lights have eluded me. Keep your eye open, maybe you will be lucky and get a peek at them.

On the other hand if you get to Death Valley you may get a peek at a rock making its way across the desert floor. They weigh hundreds of pounds and the theory is that strong winds and surface ice explains how they move, but it would have to be hurricane winds or better to move these rocks. The rocks start side by side, then move at different rates and go off in different directions. A mystery yet to be resolved. If you are in the neighborhood of Death Valley, go and watch a rock or two take a trip across the desert sands.

I've never been to Death Valley although I rode by the road leading into it as I traveled. You know the kind of driver I am talking about . . . the one that points to the sign leading to an excellent attraction and says it twenty miles that way and keeps going. I don't understand why they say they like to travel and see the sights when they wont stop long enough to drive a few extra miles. Now I am a poker. I love to stop and look and see sights I've never seen and only heard about. It took me twenty years to finally see the Grand Canyon, what a treat that was. I finally got to see Mount Rushmore and that was spectacular. There is nothing like actually going to places you have read about and finally get to see the real thing. I'd make a good gypsy, all I need is good walking legs and I'd be off and running, but my octogenarian feet keep me closer to home.

So today, pick up a National Geographic, or tune into one of those new 'pods' you have and see what is out there and make a plan to go and visit when you can. If you come this way we have "The Devils Cauldron" and a few other places to stop, the door is open, the coffee pot is on and sometimes I am actually at home. Knock on the door and find out! Hugs. to all.

Beaches

A beach in China

Olimpiadas, Rio de Janeiro

It is impossible to believe that it is wall to wall umbrellas on a beach in China. The millions of people living in China have no problem with crowds. They live in crowds. They work in crowds and think nothing of it. I wonder how long it takes to do the census count in China. They are becoming the richest country in the world and a power to be reckoned with one day.

In Rio de Janeiro the vertical structure on Cotonduba Isand is the new welcome sign for the visitors. According to the write up, "This project from Zurique utilizes solar energy in solo power panels to pump sea water which will turn the turbines and produce power to work the system at night time." On top of this tower are cafes, auditoriums an shops. Lifts are used to take the visitors to the top. Wouldn't you like to see this close up? I would. It makes me wonder about sound. After seeing pictures of crowded beaches, I can't complain about our summer visitors as Sporthaven beach looks bare in comparison. Speaking of beaches reminds me of one summer visit when my girlfriend and I took a train from D. C. to Lynn, Massachusetts and spent our first visiting hours on the beach. Nana Barnaby warned us not to go to sleep on the beach and of course that is just what we did after a swim. We laid out on the beach for hours and when we woke up we were 'cooked'. It took a lot of vinegar to take away the sting and a lot of creme to sooth the blistered skin. Sitting on the edge of the seat riding the train back to D. C. was not fun and we could tell you every bump on the train track. It was a lesson well learned and one fact of life we really believed. Here, we have plenty of beaches but we also have the fog to roll in and cool us off. According to our weatherman we are about to experience three whole summer days of 'hot' weather; the first all summer.

So today, hopefully you are having a cool spell after your hot summer days. Some of you have sweltered and probably got a sunburn and a few sleepless nights. Signs of Fall are coming and those of you in New England will be seeing the change of color and feel the blessed coolness. I'd like to be there to enjoy your Fall, and the raking of leaves. In Nevada you will be enjoying the Aspen trees as they turn to gold and make the valley come alive. No matter where we are there is a joy in the change of the seasons. The rhythm of our lives, how lucky we are. Start with today with a song in your heart and make it a good one.

Have you cleaned your garage lately?

There was an e-mail saying this was the way to have your garage . . . well, if I had the funds to finance those cars then I would be able to have the wherewith all to keep my garage pristine . . . as it is there is a two car garage here but so is there an abundance of son John's belongings from his prior apartments here and there as he moves about from one contract to another in some places not in hailing distance. I spent many an hour 'cleaning' the work bench area only to be unappreciated as how can you work on a clean surface when you like knowing where each item is when it is hidden under some one item or another. I just don't understand how I could bring five children up to know that everything has a place and there is a place for everything. Well, according to "mom" that is, but my children, all but one, are far from organized . . . let's put it this way, they know where everything is, just don't move it, clean it, or box or bottle it . . . ignore is the buzz word and they are happy to put out the sign that says "the garage is off limits to any organized person". I finally got the message and have put myself off limits when it comes to cleaning the garage, but it keeps calling to me, "come clean me, come clean me!" I'm ignoring it when I go inside to get my garden tools but I have to admit it isn't easy. I wish my old friend, Clarence, was back as he made huge cupboards and shelves and even put pan bread boxes between the studs where he kept his nails sorted and easy to find. Come to think of it, he had an area or two filled with cobwebs and spiders and saw dust and all those wondrous things . . . guess I should leave well enough alone and stay out of a man's work place.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon with my clippers. What a sense of satisfaction to cut back the unruly plants that have overgrown due to our fog cover and heavy duty morning dew. It is almost like it has rained in the night. I'm not watering as much this summer as the yellow grass shows but with the rising costs and the invasion of three foot weeds, I don't want to encourage them anymore than I have to. Today, I have to go out and pick up my messes and add one more huge black bag to the pile waiting for a turn in the garbage pail. Last week I jammed on into the garbage pail and sat watching the garbage man shake the life out of the pail trying to get the jammed clippings out. I got another in this week and wonder if it will come out, if not, will I be charged extra if the driver has to get out and remove it by hand? Maybe he will just toss the pail back 'as is' . . . oh dear, that would be a big problem.

So today, a Sunday, a day of rest which I hope you are putting to good use . . . light a candle . . . I lit twenty of them over at the Star of the Sea and it gave light to a very dark alcove and made me smile as I stood there lighting one after the other with YOU in mind, along with those who are ill and for those who are struggling with all kinds of losses. What amazes me the most is how little we actually need to enjoy our world. All the possessions in the world are meaningless if you do not have someone to share them with. I'd like to be out in the kitchen cooking up a big Sunday morning breakfast for you, if you were only close by. Well, you are not, so I'll go and fix some hot sausage, a couple of eggs cooked in the sausage gravy, some rye toast with marmalade and another cup of coffee . . . sounds good to me. Ciao !!! Go to your kitchen and start cooking and think of me. Hugs to all.

A Trip Around The Block

On Thursday mid morning I decided to walk up to the Fred Meyer store and get some exercise and pick up the Globe with the Big X puzzle which I love to do, and of course a package of cookies to go with my tea when I got back and needed to replenish my energy. I decided to take my camera along to see what I could see that might be of interest to you. Of course, I put the pictures in reverse so my tale cannot be told in the sequence I hoped for. This picture of the lovely little white buds came out very well. I have no idea what the name of the plant is, but the flowers look like very small orchids and it is very beautiful as you can see. You can also see the rocks I walk on to weed and yes, I do use a walking stick, a big thick one I picked up on the beach for beach walking.

As I round the corner of Rowland and put my feet on Smith Street, I pass my neighbors house and saw this neglected holly bush which reminded me of a Christmas gift I gave Grandma Clementsen years ago. She was delighted to have such a beautiful plant with brilliant red berries. She finally told me some months later the berries were wired on the bush . . . so much for buying a holly bush with berries.

This is a good picture of the empty lot behind my house where the deer come through the break between my fence and the neighbors. There used to be a very tall bush there that rotted away so I have to replace the fence, some one of these days when I have extra funds to buy the material. That is our little brown house and the garage, and behind the garage is that ditch I talk about, the one that I spent yesterday talking to a man at city hall about . . . yes, like Don Quixote, I am fighting windmills and trying to have them explain why we have to be the sole keeper of their ditch for rain runoff when they have right of way. I'm told it isn't right of way but easement and written in the original contract between the developer and the city the property owners get to take care of it at no cost to the city or to the developer. Um. . . no, I cannot write the words on my mind about 'fair'.

Across Railroad Avenue which is the street I walk up to get to Freddy's, there are wild berry bushes and soon we will be able to pick them for cobblers and pies.

In the same field, which is where our deer live and so do some street folks, there is a field of Queen Anne Lace, not a bad weed to look at.

I spotted a thistle which we used to play with as children. We would go out into the field and gather them and make doll furniture out of them, in spite of the prickly thorns.

This is another shot of the field which is fenced by a fallen tree which do not stop the resident deer from coming through. Last count I saw five of them running up the street right past the house and wondered what the rush was all about. I still don't know.



So now you have an idea of what the neighborhood is like as you walk up Rowland, along Railroad past the Mill which spews a cloud of something they tell us is not harmful as we cough, sneeze and wheeze. It is a lovely walk on a summers day and the traffic is usually pretty heavy as they whip around the blind curve and am surprised to find someone out walking.

The black cloud emitted from the Mill . . . the one they tell us has no 'bad stuff' but we know that there is a tiny green residue that falls over the houses and the automobiles. The pile of sawdust is becoming larger and I keep wondering where the ply board goes now that we have such big problems in our housing market throughout the country.

The Mill. Some folks complain about is noise but I never hear it. The advantage of losing ones hearing as we grow older. Selective hearing is good. I only hear silence this time of the morning. I worked so hard on the back of the garage ditch area hoeing up weeds yesterday that I feel asleep through all of my favorite TV shows, so when One A.M. came about and I am wide awake, then Two, and Then Three . . . well why not just get up and blog . . . I did, now I can go sit in my favorite chair, cuddle in and go back for a power nap or two.

So today, make it a great Saturday and do lots of nothing, well laundry, grocery shopping, a sweep or two around the house and then do nothing. Make it fun no matter what you decide to do. I'm off to power nap. Hugs to all.

Different Pencil Art

An artist by the name of Dalton Ghetti uses graphite sculpture as his way of sharing his talents with the world. To sculpture on the head of a pencil has to be nerve wracking and the patience of Job at his finger tips as his sculpture can disappear in the blink of an eye it is so delicate. He started out by carving his friends name on a pencil to give them as a gift, then one creative idea after another followed. Currently he is working on an epic piece. He is carving the name of each of the three thousand people who died in the attack of the World Trade Center and it will take him ten years. Wouldn't it be something if the newspapers around the world would show this work as he finishes each pencil top. It would be a more fitting remembrance than the current cry of building a mosque at the 9/11 sight.

Along with the pictures and story of the graphite artist, I had a wonderful little movie story about Hummingbirds and their habits which was an inspiration to watch. I wish I could have culled some of the pictures to put on the blog but that can't be done. The camera crew went out and patiently followed hummingbirds and these amazing little birds seem to do a back stroke as they flit about, wings beating a hundred miles per hour and feed on the bell like flowers. Their colors are much like the peacock feathers, iridescent with the mixture of purples, blues and one actually had a dime like spot at its throat, a brilliant red. I have a tiny hummingbird visit my cactus plant that is in bloom with small orange colored bells. It is in a window box in front of my bedroom window where my computer is housed in a small El. I watch this tiny creature and am amazed as it looks like it is not even moving as the wings beat faster than the eye can see. I hope you are up to another Jean story poem . . .

A Hummingbird

I went to tend my garden/dressed in Navy blue and red/ attracted a humming bird/who stayed right by my head.

His iridescence beauty/was there for me to see/wings beating fast/as he stared right back at me.

I stood quietly/and whispered/a loving word or two/and hoped he would come closer/but that he'd never do.

It took him just a second/to realize his great mistake/ the red that he was looking at/ had no nectar in its wake.

He flew into the garden/where the red flowers are in bloom/and tasted all the nectar/until it made him swoon.

A breeze shook the little flower/and the Hummingbird took wing/leaving me to wonder/ if a Hummingbird sings.

So today, can it be Friday already . . . where did this week go? . . . a weekend coming up and I hope you find hummingbird to amaze you and make you smile. Hugs to all.