An Introduction

The last day of July and we have had many foggy days without much sunshine, but if you look at the picture closely, you will see Mocha Mia, the newest member of daughter Pat's family and a bright ray of sunshine. I doubt "Moki" is eight weeks old, part of a litter of five whose mother belonged to a homeless woman. She is chocolate brown with beautiful eyes, very shy and has already made inroads to Pat's heart and her bed. She has her own bed, her own crate, her own toys and the voice of 'bugle ann' . . . what's not to love! Pat is a dog lover, always has been, and when she lost her beautiful Jasmine several years ago, she decided that she was not going to have a dog again. Losing them was much too painful, but . . .a friend led her to the shelter and the five little orphans nobody wanted were being admired, some frisky and one soft doe eyed beauty followed her around ----right out the door to a new home.

Pat has her job cut out for her as "Moki" tries to show who is boss. It is going to be an interesting year and I have a front row seat. It only took one puppy kiss and I am sure my new granddog is going to be a beauty and hopefully will learn quickly that I only allow treats in my kitchen.

I hope that you are young enough to have the will and spirit to enjoy a dog, a cat, a bird, a parrot a little white mouse, or a fish in a bowl and accept the unconditional love they give.

Erin

Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl who grew up to be a beautiful big girl . . . my granddaughter, Erin. I have bragging rights and just want to share a few of her wonderful photographs from her recent session as a camp counselor at the Ronald MacDonald camp in the high Sierras above Susanville.

Erin attended the camp when she was small and learned a lot about fun and being a part of a few weeks with other children hearing impaired. Each year she has gone back as a counselor and gives back love and attention to the latest group of children that come up from the cities.

As you can see, she is a dancer and one beat of music and she is on her feet. She is popular with the kids and there are so many more photographs with her and the group showing all of the wonderful things they do. from crafts to putting on a play and having their faces painted. They go out on the lake and hike around the area and are sent home with wonderful memories of great leaders and a fun time.

I hope you are all out eating MacDonald burgers knowing they have contributed to a camp for children in need and it is working just as it should.

Birthday Bash

Happy Birthday Darlene . . . Seventy what??? . . . Nah, can't be. Maggie looks like she doesn't believe it, and Dee is smiling because she knows how old you really are. Peat is looking for something good to eat, and Jean looks like she has made up her mind. John didn't take any more pictures so I can not show you Pat in her beautiful new blouse, which is very attractive, nor his picture either. . . I probably should have reached for the camera.

Our little birthday clique met at O'Hallorans where the service is great, the seating is not the best for conversation as the room is wide open and the tables close, but we manage to make more noise than anyone in the restaurant. Darlene opened her cards and gifts and Peat and John survived even though they refused to try out some of those great smelly lotions.

Our waitress managed to serve us delicious foods even though she had to reach over a head or two. John and I had the ribs which they specialize in, and they were excellent, very lean and tender with a great sauce. We all had bright orange carrots on our plate that tasted exactly like sweet potatoes, and were very good. Great salads, and I hear the steaks were really good this time. Pat brought half of hers home to have with her breakfast eggs. Two to one, John will talk her out of it. Peat and Darlene had one of the specials, Mahi-Mahi and were delighted with the light fish that was cooked to perfection. Maggie had salmon which she enjoyed and Dee sent her steak back to be 'cooked' and got it back in time for all of us to have finished our dinner. Yes, she did have a couple of bites but then decided she'd rather take the rest home and enjoy it later.

All in all I would say we had a very good time. The next bash is not until November which seems a long way off. Maybe we can think of another excuse to get together and enjoy a dinner out. We threatened John as he wasn't around for his June birthday. He tells us he doesn't have birthdays anymore, but, we feel he should be celebrated so maybe we will have a non-birthday party for him when he next comes home.

I hope you have family and friends to share birthdays with. They are special days. They should be celebrated just because you're here ---- well loved and appreciated. So Happy non-birthday today, start planning to celebrate in style.

Holes

Recently, I saw these pictures and copied them into my pictures. They are the three largest holes in the world. Sad to say, I did not copy where. They reminded me that our lives are full of holes, which we sometimes think of as bottomless, but ---- if we stopped to think, like looking at the pictures of holes, the beauty is there in spite of the darkness of the depths within each one. It only takes a minute of our time to stop and look and find our way. The brown hole reminds me of a cave in, deep and dark and worrisome; the green one has depth and beauty full of algae and the colors of the sea, while the silver one is gorgeous like a silk shawl ----look closely and you can see so many beautiful things. It just goes to show that there is a silver lining for each of us.

The fog has lifted and we have sunshine with a bit more heat. Not much wind so I am going to stop doing one of my favorite things and go out and make rainbows with the hose.

Make your day a good one. Do something you love to do.

Familiar

Favorite Foods

I enjoyed a wonderful surprise this morning when I opened my e-mail and found "Things in the life of an Italian child" which brought a flood of memories of a lovely Italian lady who we adopted to be our grandmother. Her name was Christine, a homemaker, and her husband was Caesar, a game warden, who made home made 'dego' red wine which he shared with us.

We could buy Italian dough for our homemade pizza at the local bakery and Grandma Scottie, as we called her, taught us how to stretch it out and what to put on it. Always delicious and such fun to put together around her kitchen table. The picture with the hands tells me I was not the only pinch and snip cook in the this world, as I watched her take a little bit of this, and a little bit of that and make a long cookie dipped in powdered sugar.

Looking at the pictures makes me want to fix an Italian dinner and enjoy a glass of red wine, which I'd gladly share if you were only here.

Growing up in a 'league of nations' neighborhood was fantastic and we could use the words like 'dego' or 'jickey' and be called a 'mick' without feeling we were committing a sin, as the words were said in love, not in prejudice or bias. We had other grandparents in our lives, not only Italian, but French and English and Scottish grandparents for my children. Minnie Mouse and Hobo, taught us about good neighbors, how to make a 'jickey pudding' and Sunday Hobo got out the grill and made hot cakes just for us. The grandparents live in our hearts now and I light a candle in thanksgiving for knowing and loving them.

One little e-mail and my heart is full. I hope your heart fills with love today when you remember grandparents, even the 'crusty' ones. Ti amo.

Imagination

The aviation pictures I received in an e-mail today were magnificent. This particular one caught my eye as I could see dragons rearing up in the beautiful sky as the plane landed in Holland. I am sure if I studied the picture, and let my imagination take over, I would see so much more, like the little cowboy riding a bucking bronco . . . do you see him?

I have enjoyed the mind travel over the years as I watched the huge billowy white clouds, to the endless rock formations in the mountains, to the shells and pebbles on the beach to find so many exciting pictures which create stories and adventures in my mind.

The pictures on the wall are Erin's photography of Salsa dancers in a night club. She managed to click her camera at the right second and got some awesome and interesting colorful designs which camouflage the dancers. I enjoy it every day as I have my meals and can sit and look at the myriad forms and figures that show themselves to me. I have tried to fill a few pages of a sketch book and draw some of the things I see.

The third picture to the left, is of the trailing from the plane and it is beautiful, reminiscent of a rainbow, a piece of jewelry, calmness in a work of nature's magic.

I hope you are out looking at some beautiful white clouds and seeing some of the wonderful pictures that are in the light and shadows. Let your imagination go to work and enjoy.

Eyes

This picture was taken by the astronauts as they floated in space. It is being sent around on the computer and touted as "God's Eye" with promises of miracles . . . but I doubt the astronauts had that in mind. It is a good thought but who ever said God had blue eyes? Not me. Inside of each of us is a 'minds eye' which we can call upon whenever we want to visit our inner spirit and come to terms with some of the things that bother us. It is a beautiful eye, which I refer to as 'god's eye' and it brings about peace and harmony within. Look for it, an amazing eye.

This particular picture brings to mind a poem I wrote about The Earth.

The astronauts took pictures/ when they flew above the earth/ showing earth a huge orb/ floating out in space/ holding within/ all the human race.

The continents are very small/ when compared to the oceans wide/ fire in the belly/pushing mountains very high.

Lava flows, building land/ washed away with tides/ the mystery, and the intrigue never, never hide/

Flying in an airplane/ the clouds are thick and wide/ hiding earth below/ as you see them floating, rising,/ swirling in the winds/ taking, shaping/ like angels with wings.

Standing by an ocean/ looking at sand dunes/ watching waves roll into shore/ endless/ like a tune./ timeless like a sunrise/ or a fading moon.

A time for life's reflections/ to say a prayer or two/ for all the souls/ spinning in this axis/ going round and round/ heading for infinity/ where life abounds.

I hope you visit your 'minds eye' and find peace and contentment.

Sunday Again

Time just goes by so fast as the second hand inches its way around the clock, and it seems to me time never rests. It is a good thing we do. I know I couldn't keep up with the pace of time.

To those of you who are reading "Bodewel Manor" the two pictures came through on a computer map, which was really great as you could touch a state and it brought up special pictures. I copied a couple from my home town and hope to use them in a story one day. How I wished I had these when I was sending the novel for publishing. "The Breakers" is one of the mansions on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island and the cliff over the ocean with the forty steps was part of the scenario within my story. Although the Kodak picture I used for the cover was perfect.

I spent some fifteen years in Rhode Island, not as many in Newport itself, although my love for Newport remains. I went there as a new bride and became a part of the Sullivan clan. Only the youngest one stayed at 'home' and the rest of us traveled far and wide to follow our dreams.

So back to my day of rest, although the early morning trip to Fred Meyers store puts a slight kink in my spirits when I check out to the tune of $92.70. Prices are higher than ever and the sales signs lie I tell you. Fred Meyer has a brand of its own and the coffee sold for $4.95, for the large can, for ages. With the recession and/or depression (depending on your income) it is now $8.95 and that isn't a top brand by any means. I'm addicted to fresh fruit and vegetables so have to pay a price for them but not $2.98 for peaches. I put the two, I chose so carefully, back in a hurry even though my mouth was watering. I bought some rhubarb instead and it is cooking on the stove right now . . . that was high also and I remember when it was a growing weed in our yard when I was little.

Son John surprised me when he walked in the door last evening. I should have known he was on his way as there has been silence for a few days. He looks great, feels good, and is happy that this particular contract is behind him. He had some tales to tell, and I am enjoying my Sunday as he sits in his favorite chair and sighs in contentment.

I hope your shopping expedition is easier on the pocket book and that you are enjoying cooking up some tasty meals this week. Stay healthy and happy. and hopefully some company will drop in and you can feel the warmth of a hug. Hugs to you.

Saturday Morning

I don't remember when I started to watch cowboy movies on television. Channel 26 carries all of the old westerns, on Saturday, and my son John teases me about having seen them at least a dozen times, or even more. He is right, I have seen some of them but every now and then one surprises me and I have not seen it, like, "The Man From the Alamo" with Glenn Ford. It was a great story and I enjoyed it.


I think my love of cowboy tales goes back to when I was much younger and fell in love with the handsome cowboy who was always gentle and saved the day. The fact that he kissed his horse and not the girl never dawned on me that he was just shy, but then he walked hand in hand with the girl at the end of the movie so there was hope for him.

Living in Nevada close to the little town of Genoa, pictured above, was as close as I got to the real thing. Nevada is filled with open ranches, long roads leading to the Sierra mountains where you can still follow the old wagon train trails. It is hot, dry and rugged still, yet filled with beauty that takes your breath away. Maybe that is why I loved living there. I was a part of a western movie.

I hope you join me for an occasional western and find excitement and contentment in the history of the west. Via Condeous.

IN AND OUT

I just got in. I have been out. Pat and I went for a trip to Coos Bay some two and a half hours away but it took better than four and a half hours because of the tourists with their huge land-whales on the road. We were happy to claim our room at the casino where we usually ask for, and get, a second floor room overlooking the estuary. It was very busy this time as we saw a huge barge towed in by the little tug boat and a funny looking little fishing boat that seem to go up and down and all around looking for salmon was our guess. The huge dredge ship was out there also.

Meeting an old friend, Berta, was the highlight of the trip. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and then had some time in the wonderful hotel lounge room that is worth a picture or two but I left my camera in the car. Berta and I caught up with family news and relived a few wonderful memories of the days we lived in Carson City and shared time together. Her huband Glen and her little dog Sadie, often joined us. We found we do miss each other and hopefully we can rectify that and plan other visits before the year is out. I think we agreed we got older and wiser.

We rode back today in very dense fog. I don't think I've been in that kind of fog for many years. As we rode along the highway overlooking the ocean, each open sea area became shrouded in a blanket of fog that defied us to see the lines on the road or the scenic views we are so accustomed to. I wondered how to tell you what fog is like when it is really indescribable. The mist rolls in, then rises in a thin veil like an eerie mysticque, and the trees keep their shape but the limbs loose theirs. The sun comes out unexpectedly and it is blinding and everything is clear and bright and beautiful until you drive a few miles more and you ride back into the dense clouds of fog that covers your world again. I wanted to capture a picture for you but it would be nothing when it came out. The ride through Humbug mountains was sunny with the trees growing up into the mountains as high as the eye could see in shades of green that I tried to list,in my mind. Deep forest green, lime green, lemon green, bottle green, apple green that changed and melded into colors as the sun glistened on the leaves until thefog hid them from view.

I hope you are having a sunshine day, not too hot, a soft breeze so you can go outside and find a chair to lounge in and look at your beautiful trees and flowers. Take time to smell them . . . they are not always in view.

Temper, Temper !!!

I'd like to be floating up there in the sky feeling at ease with the world. I cannot get in to Juno, my e-mail site because, according to them, I must "enable cookies to use this site". Now, I always thought cookies were not the best thing in the computer world. I understood them to be a sort of mark against you for using the same sight over and over. I gather I am mistaken as this goes on to say that "a cookie is a block of text that a web site sends to your internet browser, and it is for personalization and security features on your Juno account." There is a lot more to read, and some has to do with fiances which I wouldn't even consider doing on the computer. . . so I am frustrated. I don't like feeling computer illiterate and I don't feel like I can just arbitrarily hit a key and let Juno do its thing. Stomping my feet doesn't do much good. Hells bells and a few more words didn't help much either . . . so, I have sent out an SOS and hope son John, or my daughter Patricia will be able to figure out why I have been locked out of my e-mail. It is like losing my 'ear' to the outside world. Help!!!! I want it fixed and I want it fixed NOW!!!

Sunday Mornings

In spite of our busy world with people running around like a dog chasing its tail, Sunday is still a day of rest and I have to admit one of my special days. I like the feel of Sunday morning and today is no exception as we are fogged in, it is cool, and there is a slight breeze blowing the lovely huge Rose of Sharon in the rhythm of a troup of ballet dancers twirling on the tip of their toes.

I turned on the television and found one of the old movie classics on. Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine played the leads and several other old time players, whose names are long forgotten, were an important part of the cast. A murder mystery, I will never know the title because it had already been on for some time. I watched it from the middle to the end and enjoyed it. My memories of those screen faces brought back the many trips to the local movie houses on a Saturday and Sunday when we would go to a matinee for ten cents and see a full length feature, a serial, a cartoon and the news, then walk down the street and go into another theater to see another movie. When an e-mail comes through today with one of those 'old-time' memory clips, it reminds me of those good old days when the weekends were very important. We still had chores to do on Saturday, but Sunday was the day you could call your soul your own.

I'm thinking of Sunday mornings in Carson City when I lived in a tiny miner's shack and talked the landlord into screening the small porch. My fellow co-workers would come over and we would sit on the porch and read the Sunday paper, do the cross word puzzle and discuss the events of the week. I cooked many an omelet and pots of hot coffee as we enjoyed our day of rest in the company of one another.

I am thankful Sunday mornings have not changed a lot for me. Pat comes over and I make blueberry pancakes or an omelet and we take a ride to look at the ocean and watch the pelicans and the seagulls play. It is peaceful and restful and I am very grateful the good Lord made Sunday a day of rest.

I hope you are resting this Sunday morning freeing your hearts and minds from the stress of your working world. I hope you are planning to walk outside and breathe the fresh air and maybe take in a movie. Whatever you chose to do, know I am thinking of you with love in my heart.

The Wind Won

The nest must be empty and either the eggs did not survive the fall of the bird house, when the winds blew if off the porch railing, or the little hatchlings flew the coup in the middle of the night. I had so much fun watching the chickadees and their trips to the bird house. There were two birds carrying food into the nest for days. It was nice to feel I had become a friend and they were not afraid of me. I listened as they sang songs either on the top of the railing or the fence posts. They flew close by where I was sitting and listened to my voice which surprised me. So now I will move the bird house to a safer spot and hope that they will return again next year. I will keep the bird feeders fed as they seem to like the wild bird seed and they will know they are welcome in my garden.

I hope you have bird feeders out and are attracking the lovely birds so you can enjoy their beauty and their song. Make today special, just like you.

Solicitations

If the carrot was a salesman and I was the deer . . . um . . .you know what I would do. Four a.m. and the telephone rang. It spoiled a very lovely dream and all I got for my effort, to be pleasant a that time of day, or be scared out of my wits that someone died, was a loud buzz which meant someone was sending a fax. A fax, don't you have to have a machine? I think so. This continued for four more calls only this time the recorder on the telephone listened to the buzz. I contacted son John to see if he was expecting a fax but he said no, the fax machine is not hooked up . . . thank God . . . it would be one more modern appliance I would have to learn. I don't even use a cell phone, how would I manage a fax machine.

Daughter Pat tells me that she had the same experience some time ago and had to change her telephone number. Oh for my soap box!!

How do we end the harrassment of salespeople. I know they have to make a living, but do they have to do it in such obnoxious ways? The telephone rings and there is silence for a second or two, then a recorder . . . by that time I have hung up and gone about my business. Then there are those who solicite for one cause or another and will not take no for an answer. I had one last week about some ball game for the high school which I would gladly donate to, but the lady insisted that seventy five dollars would be good for me . . . is she kidding? I politely told her I did not do anything by telephone and to send me something in the mail. She got 'hot' and said they didn't do that, and I told her I couldn't do anything either. Manners have gone by the wayside.

The new sales pitch by door was cleverly done this week. A man came to the door and handed out a brochure about his new business that would be moving into our area this year, stores up and down the coast, and he was introducing himself and the product. Fine. No problem. But, the very next day along came another salesman to demonstrate the product, the one you were not intrested in having demonstrated . . . a new type water vacuum that costs over nineteen hundred dollars. The saleman was a soft man and I knew he got paid by showing the vacuum. He wound up telling me I had a very clean house and left. I'm smiling. I hate to be hard on salespeople and even invite the 'holy rollers' for a cup of tea, but, the new modern push to shove to get you to listen to their spiels is getting a bit much when your telephone rings at four a.m.

I hope your phone is not ringing at an ungodly hour and that you are resting and dreaming good dreams as you plot and plan to slow down this mad rush of the sales people. We all know how bad it is when we turn the TV on. Now if we didn't buy anything they advertise, do you think they would get a message? I do.

Words

I do not always see myself in a good light, like most people, I have my days when I wonder who that person is looking back at me in the mirror and I groan and moan instead of seeing the beauty of my own grandmother in that face. I was feeling a wee bit sorry for myself as I hobbled around and made my way to the computer wherein lies my connection to the outer world. Several friends keep me apprised of their interests in life and share so many funny jokes. Recently the political cartoonist have been busy telling it like it is and we have to laugh out loud even though the truth hurts. Our world is such a mess. I am smiling because I have friends that are staunch Republicans, and on the other hand , some who are staunch Democrats ---- and then there are 'us' who try to be Independent and make good choices. I don't think any of us have gotten it right. So the words flow back and forth and the ones that matter so much are the ones that make your sprit glow. Today words came that made my spirits rise and I am thankful for them. It made me think of words and how we use them. It is so easy to allow our mouths to utter obcenitites. Yesterday, The Chicken Gang came to play Chicken Foot which is a deviation of the Mexican Train Game. Picture seven senior ladies around a table playing with dominos, well it isn't as serious as a bridge game, and it does create a world of laughter that echos out through the open windows, opened this day with a cross breeze to cool the ladies down who suffer from those moments of stifling heat on a cold day. The ladies have to put up a nickel when they forget and shout out the forbidden word when someone blocks their final shot at the winning jar. We only made ten cents yesterday.

I hope you are using words today, soft words to those you love; kind words to those in need; a bit of a tongue lash for those who need it; and if you are lucky, you will hear the words you want to hear. So my words for you today are "I LOVE YOU."

My Nemisis

Maxine, isn't she wonderful, full of 'mouth' and ready like a whip cutting through the air, sarcasm at its best and hilarious to boot. Well here it is the Fourth of July, 2009, a foggy day for us on the coast and cool. The tourists have taken over the town and love it. Pat tells me that the Port is crowded, the salmon are only eight miles out, fishing boats are going out three at a time and everyone is in good spirits . . . me too . . . but . . . I am sitting, just like our gal Maxine, watching television and walking through the ads. I have to tell you I am getting in a lot of exercise, the ads flash on one right after the other, almost lose the story line. Basically I'm sulking as I have what is called a Bakers Cyst and had a steroid shot in the knee to calm it down. It has calmed down some but the right leg has started up in sympathy, then the back readjusts in a painful way and that song comes to mind about the hip bone being connected to the thigh bone . . . and on and on, as my body tells me to slow down, relax and get over it. I'm working on it, but no fire works for me tonight. I'm going to watch the big display from Washington, D. C.

I hope you are having a Fourth of July blast with cookouts, music, a bit of the bubbly and some good friends to help you celebrate the birthday of our country. So, Happy Birthday America.