The Island of Sicily

Commenters have asked for food pictures--and I don't think I took to many. I was always diving in and eating rather than focusing! And for my dear blogger, Colleen, that was my daughter and her M.I.L. behind the Venetian masks in the store photo.

Sicily is a fairly large island to the south of the peninsula of Italy and maybe most famous for the volcanic Mt. Etna. Most of what you read about Sicily will mention that it is a poorer and less pristine part of Italy. I think the Sicilians are a generous and polite people and several went out of their way to caution us about pickpockets and thieves. We did not encounter a single bad incident. My lovely daughter did get the 100-times-over from a man twice her age on the bus into town one morning. They are NOT shy about looking! There are also cautions about the criminal element, since the Mafia began here. (As an historic note, the big M began because Sicily felt it was being taxed unfairly by the main government in Italy but not getting the resources and support. They didn't like the main government setting up all the rules and regulations, so they decided to run their own little government.)

My daughter selected 2.5 days in Sicily because her M.I.L.'s mother's side of the family came from that region---was that clear? Anyway, because we did not have a car and had to rely on buses and trains, we touched only a small part of the island. I missed some great cultural and archeological parts as daughter and her M.I.L. were into the churches!


We stayed at a 1950's type hotel on the far point of one of the lovely beach areas. It was a little bit of a walk to the beach, but we did manage to soak our toes at the end of the days. The hotel is way at the end on the point in the photo above. It looks far from the beach, but I was taking the photo from the first drop off of the bus at the days end.


Each day we took the bus into Palermo which was the primary city nearby. It was a quick 15 minute ride. Then we had to walk a few blocks to catch the bus/train that we needed for the next leg of the day's journey.

The first day we went to a lovely village on the coast called Monreal. We were very lucky in that we got there early in the day. While we were eating a lunch of pizza across from the piazza in the photo below, I saw the police beginning to set up street barriers and various officials in fancy dress arriving. By the end of our lunch we discovered that this day was a funeral for their Archbishop who had passed away a few days before. The death of an Archbishop is a big deal in any country, but especially so in Italy. Dignitaries paraded in with banners and flowers and full regalia for several hours that afternoon and we just sat and sipped our wine and watched from our front row seat. We eventually moved to the church and got inside for a quick look before it had filled and the service started. They even broadcast it on a large TV screen outside. Below, the villagers that lived across the piazza watched the parade from their balconies.


Then we took off for a walk around the village since everything had started to close. Going up and down hills like these is what keeps Italians so thin after eating plates of pasta and pizza.


We encountered small children in the alleys and byways playing and taking advantage of their time off during the funeral. These two lovely ladies below were playing with Barbie dolls, of course!

And here is a sign outside the local day care center...?

The trip back on the bus was an interesting but it is a longer story...which I will save for another day, if reminded.

Our second day in Sicily required a train trip. Trains in Italy are so easy to use and so comfortable and really on time. We took the train to an even smaller village called Cefalu--to look at the church in the picture below.


We hiked outside the city walls and saw are a close-up view of the lovely Mediterranean Sea.


On our last night in Sicily we had eaten so much food that day that we decided on a dinner of cheeses and wine ( a nice Sicilian white) at an outside Enoteka. This was followed by a gelato (or cannoli in my case) in the piazza of the small beach town where we stayed. It was a good decision since we were given the fun of seeing the town wind down as the locals stopped in the piazza and viewed a local classic car show. The drivers were dapper as they had dressed for the occasion and clearly were enjoying the attention!


My next post will be the last of Italy but all about romantic Tuscany.

Rome Part II

We had allowed time to spend a second day in Rome. This turned out to be a good idea since we had only seen the outside in a sweaty blur as we taxied and then ran by. The Sistine Chapel was closed because it was a Sunday, so the M.I.L. had to forgo that tour for another time. Hubby and I had seen it years ago and it was beautiful and we felt worth the time if you could get your mind around the hundreds of tourists at your shoulders, the guards calling out telling people to keep moving, to stop talking, and the people ignoring the guards and talking, etc., etc. If I had to see it again I would pick a cold day in winter. Also we were wise to bring binoculars as the ceiling is far above you.

This trip we toured the Roman Forum below:




and the areas around that which are a necessary part of a Rome visit. We started with Circus Maximus which was near the hotel...a large area for horse racing and mock battles. Now just a large open area in the city and a long walk to other places.


We had lunch at an area near the Coliseum where back in history they did some outside training of the Gladiators or animals or whatever. While historically there were all kinds of events at the Coliseum including flooding the place and holding mock naval battles, the Coliseum always resides in my mind as such a blood-thirsty place that I have very mixed feelings when going there. It is also very touristy--notice all the heads below in the photo. Mock Roman soldiers with large hairy legs beneath their plated skirts willing and ready to get a picture taken with you for a fee--I did not take a photo!

We did set aside time to see the Baths of Caracalla which I had not seen during my prior visit and this visit was most impressive. Some of the wall and floor mosaics were still visible. This engineering marvel built in 212 AD used between 15-20,000 cubic meters of water (both hot and cold) per day and held as many as 1,600 daily visitors. Due to the tight living quarters among the Romans it was a central part of the Roman social life.

The photos above don't really do it justice and I didn't want to load ALL that I took.

Next week on to the sunny island of Sicily.

First Day Rome Arrival

Flying into Rome from America usually results in leaving late in the afternoon, flying overnight, and with the back crossing of time zones, arrival is the next morning. The airport is about 16 miles outside of the city and taking a taxi into the city costs about $50.00 depending on the going rate of exchange. NOT in our favor these days. You can also take a train into the city which is cheaper, takes a little longer, and requires a little more vigilance for pickpocketers as well as schlepping your bags.

Going through customs was a brief courtesy since Italy has thousands of tourists each day from the U.S. We had booked Splendid Hotel La Torre in Rome, but on arrival, we were transferred a few blocks away to
Hotel Villa San Pio. The location was a lovely, quiet suburban area. The three of us shared a room with an additional bed.


Below was the view from our bedroom window.


Since we could not actually check in, we dropped all our bags at the hotel and then requested a cab to the Vatican. Because we were booked for the Scavi tour at 10:45 A.M. and had arrived at the airport at 8:30 A.M. we were under a very tight schedule. We hadn't showered but were able to change clothes a little in the bathroom at the hotel lobby . In our pathetic Italian and rudimentary English we explained to the taxi driver that we had reservations for the tour of the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica. Only 120 people a day get to tour and we didn't want to miss this opportunity. He indicated that he knew where we should go. As we drove around the Vatican on a Saturday morning, we saw the line of people for the tour of the Sistine chapel...blocks and blocks long. He dropped us at the front of this line. We now had a little less than 20 minutes and were feeling pretty good about the time we had made. We, of course, were told by the guards at the drop off that the excavations' office was clear on the other side of the Vatican and our taxi driver was already gone. We held out purses and camera tightly to our bodies and actually jogged all the way to the other side of Vatican City past the line of tourists. I am sure they thought we were crazy...I have never seen anyone jog across St. Peter's Square, that was a first.

We arrived at the office out of breath, and a little sweaty, but on time. Our luck was holding as there were only three others on our tour and the women who gave the tour was magnificent. She knew her subject well and gave us lots of time for questions at each stop. It was not a religious tour, but an historic tour and most rewarding. It ended at the hall of the Popes where we were gently and firmly pushed aside by a Cardinal and his minions on a tour reminding us abruptly of our place in this structured Catholic society.



The Swiss guards at the Vatican are very patient in answering the tourists questions every day. They are also cute.

Here is a quick shot inside St. Peter's.

We then walked to the Pantheon which is a must-see for any first time visitor as was my daughter's M.I.L. As you can see they were way ahead of me!

During the walk we stopped to visit the shops and be silly since we now had been up for over 24 hours.

The Pantheon is most impressive with a span of over 142 feet. It was originally a Roman temple and survived by being consecreated as a Catholic church. The architect is unknown. I had taken many pictures on a prior trip, so was able to just enjoy the building this time.

Within a few blocks was a small and lovely church that we had passed before and decided to visit.

That evening was M.I.L.'s birthday and so we took a taxi to the top of Janiculum Hill for a meal at Antico Arco. This place is expensive and has recently been re-designed with a modern minimalist interior. The wait staff anticipate your every need before you know you have one and it is just the place for a memory. Don't eat here if you want lots of food at a reasonable price...memories are more expensive. I ordered a raw seafood salad, a wild mushroom pasta dish, a lemon veal, etc...I can't remember what everyone else ordered but we shared and tasted since they provided tasting plates of what others had ordered and it was delish.

The Wanderers are Back

We got up at 6:30 yesterday morning in Monterongriffoli where we had stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in a medieval hamlet outside Siena for two days. By the time we drove to the Rome airport, checked our bags and got through two security checks, caught our plane to Boston where we went through customs and caught the second flight to Philadelphia and then drove home we had been up and moving for almost 24 hours! My daughters M.I.L. had been on 6 planes by the end of the the 10 day trip and handled all like a trooper. She now is thinking she may want to do more travel!

Still shaking the Tuscany dust off my shoes and trying to adjust to another continent, I have many lovely memories. My daughter had planned all of the this trip and it was one of the most rewarding I have ever taken. So I will take the blogger through step by step so that I have a good journal of the experience for myself and can share with readers as well.

Hundreds of pictures were taken and, of course, I cannot post them all, but will share some of the best.

Arrivederci

After many phone calls and odd conversations (due to poor technology not emotionality ) with all the family who are involved (there will be 5 of them) I have decided to go to Italy. I can probably do more to help all of them once Dad is moved back into my brother's house.

Today they moved him out of the hospital and into the therapy care house where they expect him to stay for the next three weeks. He seems reasonably strong if somewhat confused. The pain is finally subsiding for a while. From my brother's description everyone was in extreme pain just watching him struggle from the chair to the bed. We have never seen my father in pain. He has always been a go with the flow kind of guy, so this is very upsetting for all of us. And, although he is 92, he has never been in a hospital except to stay with my mother who there many times. Really!

Old age is not for the weak of heart or mind.

With regard to the Italy trip, I will post some pictures or at least talk about the trip when I return. My daughter has planned this trip for her mother-in-law's 63rd birthday and asked me to be the partner in the crime. Her M.I.L. has never traveled much anywhere in her life and is afraid to fly on planes. We will ply her with liquor and laughter. Three silly woman. I hope that we do well. We are going on a truffle hunt and wine tour. That should be something to blog about.

I will miss my blogging buddies and wish I could take all of you. You would all add something unique and special to the trip. But instead, I will try to take you virtually.

The Boynton Beach Bereavement Club (2005)

We had to leave the apartment for a dinner out and a movie last night since the managment told us the carpet cleaners were 'on the way" and had been delayed by a clean-up of a broken pipe. (They weren't and didn't! That is another story.)

Anyway we saw a movie that I had been hoping to catch sometime this month. Reviews, backgrounder and info can be found at Ronni's Guest Blogger entry at Times Goes By . Guest blogger did an extensive review of the movie, Boynton Beach Bereavement Club, which is about elders in a retirement community in Florida.

Anyway, the movie was very interesting in many ways but not all that compelling. The actors were all top flight folks and the dialogue was not all that bad although some of the jokes were predictable. The whole theme was about loneliness and love and in some cases sex among the elderly. It was pretty lite fare considering the lives of people in a retirement community are not that shallow. You won't see much of the younger family members either.

It is refreshing to see natural wrinkles and sags and real people on the big screen and maybe this will be the beginning of more movies like that.

I did find it painful to watch the actors who had filled their lips with collagen and tightened their faces so that they looked like perpetually smiling mannikins. The actors who had not were much more interesting to watch.

As an aside, I read an article recently which stated that Jane Fonda and Sally Fields had made a pact to not have plastic surgery.

Well, enough of this stupid blogging.

Bad Kharma

I am exhausted and really cannot continue anymore at this pace and with the type of news I am getting on the weekends. I actually think work will be easier than weekends!

Friday evening. Getting the spring and summer clothes out of the tiny apartment closet and exchanging them with the fall/winter clothes down at the house. (EVERYTHING going both directions appears to need spot cleaning or washing or mending or just throwing away--but no time now.)

Rushing to move all the furniture and loose and breakable stuff as the apartment management has promised a free carpet cleaning on Monday. I will not miss all the spots of my history this past year, but cannot do any cooking.



Saturday:
Loaded the car with STUFF. Stopped at Radio Shack and bought a battery charger for the phone that will work in Europe to prepare for my Friday departure to Italy. Visited my phone vendor and got them to set up international calling on the cell—setup is free but the calls are 99 cents a minute.

Called my sister to let her know I have the international service so we can arrange a meet up in Rome via cell after her week in France. Unloaded the car at the house and then tried to salvage the lawn with my husbands suggested tool of a pick axe, wheelbarrows full of top soil and handfuls of grass seed followed by armloads of straw. Setting many timers and many sprinkler moves was how I spent a long, dusty, and muddy Saturday afternoon outside.


In between times I swept away a hundred spider webs across each window and over each door. Hubby even shook out a spider from my tennis shoe which I had kicked off near the front door just 30 minutes before. The web across the mouth of the shoe caught his eye in the late afternoon sunlight and gave him the clue.


Sunday:
Sunday morning was spent hanging the bathroom mirrors…all four…which are VERY heavy. Husband and I had reached the point of yelling at each other because we could not seem to be able to successfully measure and complete the hanging in one try--both of us have graduate degrees mind you. We did achieve success with the the last mirror and that probably saved the marriage. Did laundry while waiting for a furniture delivery which never happened because the furniture truck broke down. Wrote the final punch list for the builder as I walked through all the rooms with pen in hand. Boiled and cleaned crabs for the freezer (husband's project).



Sunday Evening:
Driving home, and in the dark, unloaded the pile of winter clothes and boots and leftover food from the refrigerator. Vacuumed the apartment in preparation for the carpet cleaners, put clean sheets on the naked bed and then ate leftovers before falling into same dressed bed.

While Drifting to sleep in the eve and the phone rang. It was my daughter who told me that S.I.L. and baby brother in Colorado had been trying to reach me all weekend and left messages on my cell --- none of which I got. The quick jist: Dad fell on Saturday afternoon two steps into the sunken living room which resulted in breaking the ball joint in his hip. He was found shortly after the fall sitting up on the bottom step and continuing to eat the cookies which had been the motivation for the errand up the steps inthe first place. He claimed he had no pain but a trip to the hospital by ambulance was necessary.

Saturday night at the hospital they decided at first that there was no reason to do hip replacement on a 92-year-old. Then the nurse tells the doctors to look at the patient and evaluate him --- thank goodness someone thinks in that hospital. They decided he is in excellent health with more years ahead of him and proceeded to set up surgery on Sunday morning for a hip replacement. My daughter tells me that she was told surgery went very well and he does not appear to be in pain and they are going to get him up and walking on Monday morning. (It was after 11:00 at night by then, and of course, I had trouble falling asleep.)

Monday morning:
Here I sit in the office waiting for the Colorado morning time to call and see what is happening. Finished the call and all is as well as can be expected. They are not letting my sister know as she is in the middle of a week of gourmet classes in France and all of us feel she should enjoy her expensive vacation. (Wondering now if she will meet up with us in Italy or head on back.)

Called Dad this P.M. and between my bad cell connection, the hospitals 'iffy' phone, Dad's slurred speech due to drugs and his bad hearing, it was a most frustrating although sometimes funny phone call. He is in pain and discouraged. I gave second brother a pep talk about what lies ahead (had the same process with my M.I.L. when she came to visit years ago). I will call again Wednesday before I decide if I am going to cancel the Italy trip and lose all the money.

Oh, it is now 4:51 and no one has shown up to clean the carpets yet! Maybe this equinox thing is bad kharma.

You Can Never Be Too Thin or Too Rich

And THIS just in from London and THIS just in from Spain and THIS just in from Milan, the fashion capital of the world.

I knew that I shouldn't beat myself up for that extra little role above my slacks yesterday, and now it has been confirmed by fashionistas (the people who rule the clothing world) that I should be striving for a healthy body and not a size 0. I never was able to wear a size zero in my earliest of days anyway. My daughter wore that size when she was 18 and now that she is over 30 and has one child she is up to a size 4-6. She runs around like a chicken with her head cut off, so I know she gets plenty of exercise. Lifting Xman 20 times a days should count for something. And all that bending and clearing of floor areas is better than touching toes. Ands she has the cutest little figure in spite of her size increase.

I still want better proportion for myself and need to get rid of that pudgy middle which contrasts so well with my thin arms and legs. Some days I think I look like a woman who is malnurished rather than overfed. I have learned that 100 sit-ups a day for weeks will not work. It does give you excellent back and abdominal strength for standing tall and removing lower back pain, though.

More aeorobics and less food. This is my mantra before I leave for my trip with my daughter to Italy at the end of the month. (Geese, have you SEEN how stylish those Italian women in Italy look while walking down the street...including those in their 60's and 70's? No wonder they set the standard for style and weight.)

Last Week's Errand

Hubby is planning a business trip and has discovered that both of his razors have been left at the new house. So, just before ten on a Saturday night we make a trip to the nearby drugstore to pick up another razor before his flight tomorrow. I caution him that this may be a more expensive errand than he anticipated as I have run out of a number of age-stalling tools.

While looking for that great expensive face cream, I hear hubby swearing under his breath in the shaving aisle. "They don't even have my razor here. They have three--four--five razor gizmos that cost a fortune. What happened to the good old fashioned shave?" My husband hates planned obsolescence---especially that which relates to unnecessarily looking good.

I hand him my expensive cream and a jar of clear nail polish and smile sympathetically and tell him I will meet in front at checkout. I then walk to the front of the store hoping he won't take too long to pick something...anything. While standing near the front door a very thin elegant looking black woman walks in mumbling under her breath. She is dressed in black slacks, a gray sweater top with a white lace collar, pearls, silver hoop earrings and some new stylish gray baseball cap. I don't scrutinize her except to notice that she is carefully put together and about 55 in age.

She glances up at me and smiles. "Did you hear me? I am sorry. I didn't mean to be so loud."

I indicate with a nod that this not a problem and proceed to look at the newspaper headlines near the exit door.

She turns again to me and says, "It is just that I put something in the trunk of my car and slammed the lid shut with my keys and purse inside. AND my cell phone."

I suggest she may use to store to call her car club for help.

She sighs. "It is a BMW and can only be opened by a laser key and my BMW service says that they are backed up for three hours. I have an extra set of keys at Silver Oaks where I live. I just need to figure out how to get there."

I suggest she contact a police officer. I am beginning to get more uncomfortable with this whole conversation.

She grasps my hand with her thin bony one which is so very cold and smiles and introduces herself. She is a lawyer downtown and she rattles off some firm's name. "You can call this number and see that I am not lying." She hands me a card. Then she goes on to explain the laws of liability which police officers are under that precludes their helping her.

OK , now I have caught on and am really uncomfortable. I study her thin face and realize she was probably quite beautiful in her day.

"If you could just loan me cab fare, about $30.00 I will pay you double that when I come back to open the car outside."

My husband (who is incredibly naive) shows up and I cut the conversation off before he gets me in deeper than I want.

"All I have is $5.00 but maybe you can get more from someone else." I cram the money into her hand and grab hubby's elbow as I direct him out the door.

Outside I say aloud. "God, I hope I didn't contribute to her cocaine habit."

Hubby pats me on the shoulder and answers matter-of-factly..."You probably did."

The Times Between Times

A number of years ago I had reached the time in my life where my children were on their own in junior high school but it was also a time before I had become comfortable in my new role as 'loner'. Children had become a nice buffer for me on my adventures. It didn't matter if I got lost or used the wrong product or dressed poorly or made a public mistake. I had two kids that were distracting me and who, in turn, could be used to distract the focus of others on me.

I look back on that transition now and wonder when I got into the habit of using the kids as my invisibility cape. I do remember during the transition when it seemed very strange to enter a restaurant without kids and to sit alone at a table and order and eat food. It was strange to drive in a car and not be distracted by flying cheerios, upset stomachs and arguments about space. It was strange to have free, even though short, afternoons to go anywhere I wanted and do what I wanted at my own pace.

Years ago I was in Raleigh, North Carolina with my husband who was attending a meeting. This left me with free days exploring on my own. I enjoyed walking the town and visiting the farmers' market, but I eventually realized that I would have to take the rental car and do some country exploring to fill the remaining last day. Those of you who are born to explore cannot imagine why it would take courage to do this, but I was very uncomfortable with the thought of going out all by myself in a different car and reading a map all by myself and driving on strange roads. It was a new and different phase in my life.

There was a recreational lake and state park about an hour away and I decided that adventure would be my afternoon trip. I studied the map, used my instincts and made it to the resort without a hitch and with great relief. Weather was still warm and so there were quite a few families on picnics or boating the lake. It was a lovely blue sky day. I explored the lake and then found a path that meandered around the lake. It was a very long path and I knew that I could not make the entire circuit, but I could walk a short part of the way before I had to head back to the city.

I was twenty minutes into my walk when I saw grass movement and then heard a gentle but somewhat familiar noise to the side of the gravel path just ahead. I could not stop myself, but had to get closer to see the source of the noise. I just knew that is was a small rattle snake, but the closer I got the more intense and scary the rattle became. I got as close as I dared. I never had the courage to part the high grasses to see what was below. Yet, I felt very satisfied that I had tested my mettle thus far on so many goals that day and drove back to the hotel with a smile on my face.

Now I am at another time in my life that makes me uncomfortable once again. Twice this past month I have forgotten where I have parked my car when I went to the mall. The first time it took a short while and passing a number of rows before I stumbled on the little beast. The second time I wandered back and forth down the row of cars as darkness started to surround me for quite a while, trying hard to see my little car. Eventually I remembered that this was the row where I had parked the car a few days before on my visit to the same mall and with a little mind bending I finally remembered that I had most recently parked up the hill and on the other side of the store. This could be a small transition or a large transition that awaits me in the coming years and it has given me a twinge of concern.

I guess I will have to take it One Day at a Time as I always do.

Autumnal Rust

Autumnal rust returns

Wrapped in gold and amber.

Falling in love.

The Tablecloth Trick (Future magicians, link is here)

Do you remember the old tablecloth trick where the magician pulls out the tablecloth and all the dishes remain on the table exactly as they were before the pull?

Guess who wants to be a magician in my family? (Either that or he has a death wish.) While Xman was being fed from a jar of pureed peas of the most emerald green color, he got it into his head to reach for the place mat on which the peas rested. While his mommy was retrieving a fallen napkin, deft little fingers grasped the fringe of the mat and with a very professional twist of the wrist pulled the cloth mat determinedly up toward the air. The place mat flew in his grasp across the room and the spoon, the jar of peas, and another container of applesauce (as yet unopened) all took flight until gravity reminded the solids of their place within the laws of physics.

Everything went crashing to the floor, and like a good scientist, Xman carefully observed the results, including the swift actions of various adults rushing about with paper towels and sponges to protect all the surfaces of the new house. It seemed that some peas landed on the table, others on the floor and even dollops decorated Xman's clothes.


It wasn't until Xman's dinner came to an end that Tabor happened to look upward and saw that quite a few green circles of food had risen to the ceiling above. Xman has a unique talent for making me wish I had given in to my husband and just bought a fishing shack!

Thursday Thoughts #3

Colleen, it will never be the Thursday 13 because I am a rebel, I guess. Most of these Thursday Thoughts are about spending or losing money.

1a) My sister saved my image this last trip when my hubby saw her new wine cellar with over 600 bottles of wine. My wine cellar is a small cooler which holds just over 32 bottles. He now no longer thinks I am an extravagant connoisseur.

1b) On a similar note my sis and my B-I-L took us out to dinner and bought two bottles of wine at $35 each to go with our meal. It was great wine…and I am glad he picked up the bill. Those of you who regularly spend that much for wine…just shut up!

2) I am now into shopping for heavy duty and easy to clean bedspreads for my guest bedrooms. This is an important selection due to the following event: I purchased a nice and somewhat expensive red silk throw at Target and unpacked it to drape across the bottom of the master bed in the new house. Within seconds Xman had run to the material and bit into it and then left wet drool everywhere. (Note: he no longer 'walks' anywhere.) Patience…patience.


3) The recent Atlantic storm downed two trees at the new house, left lots of limbs and leaves across the deck, but spared the boat on the lift. My husband lost a year of his life on the plane trip home until we saw the boat was safe.



4) I just purchased a $10.00 glasses case for my 15-year-old Christian Dior prescription sunglasses. Guess what…they are now back in style! If you wait long enough everything comes round again. Of course, your eye prescription has to not change very much.

5) Hubby and I, while walking through the mall last night, purchased two Godiva dark chocolate truffles at $1.65 each. Are we the last of the big spenders or what? A woman my age that I didn’t know who was standing behind me during the purchase told me that I was worth it.

6) Did you know that it can cost hundreds/thousands of dollars if you lose your cell phone and don’t have it password protected? I go through this fear every other month while my hubby rushes around trying to remember where he left his cell phone.

7) And, not related to money at all but related to that great neighborhood of bloggers, please send good thoughts to Hedwig at Living the Scientific Life so she can get back to blogging, and send good thoughts to Peruby as she makes her SECOND batch of buckeyes and cares for the dog that ate the first.

8) On a final note, I sometimes think of (and miss) Carol at The Cerebral Outpost who has taken a brief, lengthy or permanent respite from blogging. My thoughts returned most recently when I came across this fellow below while walking around an area near Boulder. Carol will know why.

Twin Owls (Link)

Granite prominence
Timeworn by winter storms
Twin owls weather again

Many people watched the Stephen King movie with Jack Nicholson titled "The Shining" which was produced in 1980. While I have tremendous respect for Mr. King's writing talent I am not a big fan of his genre. Anyway what do Stephen King and the photo above have in common? The photo is a rock promontory called twin owls outside of Estes Park, Colorado and it rests above the Stanley Hotel which was the hotel used in the movie. The reason I have posted this photo is because it was a scene which I knew well. One of my girlfriends in elementary school had a father that managed that hotel. We got to play many an afternoon in that place which seemed enormous to me at the time. By today's standards it is not a very large hotel. We played in the pantry, the kitchen and the downstairs hallways. Today I am amazed that we were allowed to do that. Maybe nobody knew. It was winter and the season had slowed, so the hotel was not very busy as I recall.

That Strange Shape-shifting Time

Sitting in that gigantic metal airbus which, using any rational reasoning, should not be able to overcome earth’s gravitational pull much less fly over miles and miles of checkerboard farmland, I settled in and begin the time shift. Not the shift of time from Mountain Standard to Eastern Standard, but rather the shift in mental time from oldest daughter in a family that was started a long time ago and now exists with missing pieces to the my current mental time of being a wife, mother and grandmother whose days are filled with activities far from that former family.

My father, whose gentle demeanor and small stature would never fit the imposing image of Patriarch, is now ninety-two and a half. His walk is slow and careful, and his hearing is down to 30%, but his outlook and general health are miraculous. With pressures from his “busy-body” daughter-in-law and his first born (myself) he is adapting to some new digital hearing aides. The cacophony of daily noise is slowly being filtered by newly awakened neurons in the brain. The buttons and dials that rest above his ears are tiny and hard to identify for the awkward and numbed fingers of a 92-year-old, and yet he still tries to adjust. They actually seem to be working as I had several long if somewhat innocuous conversations with him. My father was never one to exchange deep thoughts, therefore, it is mostly talk about the “old-days” or what is currently happening.

During most of the week I was at my first brother’s house. Dad was far more active than he had been while staying at my youngest brother’s house, which had been his new home since Mom died over a year ago. This second move was necessitated by the unhappiness of my other SIL who after a year of living with Dad was requiring more privacy. (My judgement was that she was totally being selfish, but that is another story.) So the other SIL and brother have taken him in. We walked several blocks in the neighborhood each day, walked around Walden Pond outside of Boulder and elsewhere. We could see his strength and balance improving each day and he even commented on this himself. His gardening, which he loves, was limited in this new place due to the width of the vegetable beds. Still, he enjoyed watching the squirrels steal the strawberries as he sat at the kitchen table.

The next door neighbor had a sewer problem which also became my father’s new feature show. Since he was in construction years ago, watching the work of the back hoe and the activity of the laborers became another fascinating pursuit.

One memory I have from when I was a very small girl was watching John Wayne movies on TV with my father. I had purchased the John Wayne/John Ford DVD set for his birthday a while back and we watched one of those movies together while I was there.

I am involved in that traditional race where we try to fill our parent’s lives with activities and exercise to extend their life span...that race ahead of inevitable death.

Strangely, it was not unbearably sad to leave at the end of the week this time, but perhaps it was because I did not allow my mind to wander to those places in the future. I was concentrating only on the moment.

Before I lock the door..

I am going to have lunch or dinner with my best friend from high school and college days. While we are very different, our history together has made us soulmates. Anyone who reads this in the next 24 hours can comment...I have a question. Should I allow hubby to come? This is an important question because of the following facts:

I love my husband dearly.
I have not seen this gal in years.
I love her dearly.
My husband tends to take over a conversation most times.
I usually don't care.
I have not had a girly night or time out in ages.

What do you think?

I am not setting this up for a specific answer...really.

Going Our Different Ways

I am getting ready to head out to my homeland for about 9 days. I have not talked to my father very much since his hearing is gone and he has not clue one about using a computer. I may (or may not) have access to a PC or laptop for blogging. I know, I can hear all the moaning and groaning in blogdom...oh wait, that is just the old apartment AC kicking in.

Well, in the event that some poor soul cares, I will not be back until after September 2--and depending on comments, y'all may or may not be my first priority at that time. If the Rocky Mountains move me, I will try a haiku or two.

Anyway, as I sit here eating my version of a 'CHuckee-CHeese' menu -- CHeese, CHips and CHardonnay, I am beginning to regret our policy of keeping the refrigerator food inventory down before a long trip. We have not been shopping in days. (Actually this whole thing of keeping two refrigerators in different locations slightly full is getting old pretty fast.)

Someday I must blog on the shelf life of things. Chardonnay, Chips and Cheese pretty much last forever when not opened. Therefore I am eating these tonight. Hubby gets a frozen burrito or two.

I will not answer the plant question (you figure that out) until I return. Ha!

Too Much of a Good Thing is Still Too Much of a Good Thing

Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. I really think that life is all about balance and evenness and while uneven is interesting and sometimes exhilarating, it usually means a fall or a slide until all is in balance again. This slide keeps us awake and helps appreciate the other side even more, but peace is really when all is in balance. I don't care how much you like it, you will get tired of too much exhilaration.

Last week I was reading a news story about the sea life in La Jolla, California. I remember visiting the shoreline there a few years ago. I could smell the richness of the sea long before I reached the walkway to look over the coast. The richness I am talking about was the smell of sea lion feces and old fish. This was in thanks to the many lumps of sea lions lounging on the floating docks and rocks in the water. They covered every bare space and if you were trying to get to a boat that had been tied up you better be careful that it didn't appear you were disturbing one of them...that could get you a nasty fine. According to the article they now are taking over the beaches. Centuries ago they probably owned the beaches. Now mankind wants to use the beach as well and there is a definite conflict of space. Too much of mankind and too many sea lions. No balance.

A similar event is taking place in my county. We now have more white tail deer than were here when the pioneers arrived. This is due to all the land we cleared and all the open grass areas we have developed along the freeways and in the city and county parks and of course, the well-manicured yards of every home. This is also because we no longer hunt deer for food. The deer have no interest in moving off your driveway when you arrive home from work. They stare at you like cattle casually chomping on that hosta leaf and wondering why you bother to come home each evening insisting they move. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of shrubbery and landscaping have been eaten to the bare bark. Neighbors try to protect rows of dramatic hostas and gardens of colorful roses with bird netting. Netting that gets tangled in the lawn mower and gets tangled in your shoe laces and doesn't look all that pretty and thus, distracts from the beauty of what you are trying to raise.

We have a private botanic garden nearby that finally put up a ten foot metal fence around its acreage with an automatic gate for cars. They were losing rare plants that were hundreds of years old due to deer foraging. Too many deer and probably too many people loving the plants. Ten years ago they did not need a fence around the garden.

Well, it should all slide back into place in the coming years. Disease and famine and death will reappear and painfully balance will reign once again in the end, although I may not be here to see it.

Yes, too much wine...but

I kind of like the color, and it is the first actual section where my selection of html code actually worked! I mean there are only so many lines of computer crap one can read...so for now it stays.

I am so glad you asked,

And now for ahbsolutely ehveryone who has ahsked... That butter yellow color on the walls of the living area of my house does not render itself as accurately on the web as I would like. The brand is Duron and the color is Jonquil. The first photo above is in direct sunlight and the second is not. Like most yellows, it changes dramatically with the lighting...I also understand that yellows fade as well. This yellow has a slight peach cast that you cannot see.

I hope to do some type of overcolor or glaze in a darker brown, orange or copper color to add depth.

Inspiration

Today in my email I got the "Buzzword of the Day"

"blogger:
Bloggers have become the media’s new darlings, but in BuzzWhack’s view marketing guru Guy Kawasaki’s definition rings truer than ever: Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do."

That really motivates me to take some time and post today...

Monday Musings

Our first visitor this week landed on the railing of the deck, jumped to my husband's leg and then leaped to the rope of the large green umbrella and finally landing on one of the spokes at the top. Maybe he thought it was a tree. We are glad that we saw him as now we will be more careful in lowering and raising the deck umbrella!

The daughter, SIL, Xman and son all came to spend the weekend for a birthday celebration. The child exploded over my brandnew house in seconds. Windows with the view of the water were smudged with tiny little fingerprints, rugs covered with dangerous obstacles, wood floors sprinkled with milk and walls getting their first nicks from the 'cars'.


We ate baby back ribs, salad, corn on the cob and garlic bread on the deck the first evening followed by an angel food cake. The weather cooperated wonderfully. Early morning found Xman waiting for more food.


Breakfast was waffles. Delicious!!

Kids got a relaxing breakfast while hubby and I babysat. Uncle had lots of fun entertaining the little guy as well...

...including the traditional "lending of the bigshoes."


One look at our lawn that had been destroyed by the bulldozer removing the chain link fence and Xman decided we needed to do some more seeding.

Then in just a few short hours everyone was gone and all that was left were the sweet memories.

Symbolism?

Upon arrival at work early this morning, this is what greeted me from outside the fourth floor window on the cool side of the building as I walked, lost in thought, toward my cubicle. I was planning the day in my head when I got that feeling that I wasn't alone and upon looking up and out the window, this meditating creature was studying me.


My office is on the fourth floor of the building and that meant this guy was way outside his normal terrain. After dropping off my stuff and booting up my PC, I crossed the floor to the other side of the building to sign in and saw this as I looked up and out the window.


I think someone is trying to tell me to "pray" that the "sharks" don't get me at work.

(This week has been the most exhausting for hubby as the radiation toxins are now starting to reveal symptoms. Some digestive problems but mostly just exhaustion. He sleeps 10 to 12 hours each night. But he is going strong when he is awake.)

Heading out this weekend to the house. We are celebrating a belated birthday for my hubby with the kids. They will be spending the night. Mattresses still sit on the floors and there are not a lot of chairs, but we will make do. There are also only two mirrors available. Many boxes and temptations for Xman...we will have to be on our toes. Weather is predicted to be comfortable enough for a barbecue. Our first since last summer!

Black Talk

“Caw." "Ca rue ca rue.”
Two feathered friends’ rhythmic cool
Summer jazz session

Alice in Wonderland or Your Kingdom at Work

Alice was talking to the White Rabbit last week about her upcoming croquet game with the Queen and how nervous she was at making an effort to do well so that she could make the Queen look good. (She had been invited to join the Queen’s Team by the Fish-Footman recently at a high-tea.)

The White Rabbit briefly checked his watch, and then casually pointed out to Alice that her way of playing croquet with the Queen could be so improved if she took advantage of some strategies that had been demonstrated by the Cheshire Cat last year and written up by the Dormouse. It should be noted and was forgotten by Alice at the time that White Rabbit always had good ideas that weren't always well thought out.The Dormouse had never made a lot of money, but was much smarter than most subjects in the Kingdom and did lots of strategizing and writing. The White Rabbit suggested she follow him down the Hole of Possibilities for a demo of this strategy. Alice eagerly complied and when they reached the bottom, he demonstrated this strategy on his new large computer and Alice, of course, was impressed. She knew that the Cheshire Cat had gotten an award by the Wonderland Croquet Association for his innovative approach last year and since she had some leftover cake in her apron pocket, she was hoping that she could get him to let her in on the little secret. After all, this would benefit all of the kingdom and not just her, because this would make the Queen very generous and happy for months.

After thanking White Rabbit Alice decided to run this idea by the Mad-Hatter. He seemed to be her mentor these days. His style of insanity seemed to work the best in the Kingdom. He also agreed with White Rabbit about approaching Cheshire Cat as a good way to use up the cake before it got stale. The Kingdom of Wonderland is full of stale cake at this time of the year.

So Alice put on her cleanest apron transferring the piece of cake to the starched pocket and went off to visit the Cheshire Cat at his office. Cheshire Cat was one of the few people in the Kingdom that had a windowsill to sit and dream on, which he seemed to do more often than not, and that was exactly how Alice found him. He smiled his 'Ultrabrite' toothy smile as she approached. (Alice hated that easy smile of his.) He stretched very slowly before leaping from the window sill, and took his time recognizing her presence. She explained her venture with the Queen and then told him she had talked with White Rabbit who in turn suggested she might use his "already created, magnificent, brilliant and very original strategy."

Cheshire Cat started purring and then looked off into space as if he were thinking. Somehow, above the noise of his loud purring, she knew he wasn’t thinking about any one thing and was just stalling for time or maybe deciding if he could disappear easily. After stroking his whiskers with both paws he finally stated that this type of strategy cost lots of cake and the time of someone very wise, such as Dormouse who happened to be under Cheshire Cat’s domain at the time.

“But you have already developed the strategy and I just want to implement it on the exact same croquet field? This would make us BOTH look good. We could BOTH benefit. I would certainly mention your name to the Queen.” Alice reasoned.

Cheshire Cat looked at her as though she were speaking French! He seemed insulted. (He had recently lost three mice due to starvation because he moved some cake into incorrect pantries and therefore, lost it, and as a result, he was a little on edge.)

“How many pieces of cake and how much time?” she finally asked.

Cheshire Cat stared at the ceiling. “Uh…” pause…”Ahem…” pause “maybe…I guess between 20,000 and 50,000 pieces of cake and …I don’t know how much time. You would have to ask the Dormouse but, unfortunately, he is visiting his Aunt Brie in Iceland right now.”

Alice stared at her shoes. She had only three days before the big event. She had 45,000 pieces of cake in her freezer, but she needed a new cake plate which cost about 6,000 pieces and she had promised Mad Hatter she would help him with a tea party that also needed cake and she didn’t know how many people were going to be invited to the tea party so she didn’t know how much cake would be needed and oh dear.

“Ok, I'll let you know if I can get my hands on some more cake,” she said and left.

Alice was low in mood and just a little panicked. She passed Mad Hatter by the stream and told him her dilemma. Mad Hatter suggested they keep her cake in the freezer until next year when it would be more useful---but maybe more stale. He also suggested that instead, an alternative would be to send the cake to Mock Turtle who was a very cooperative turtle and maybe he could study the strategy and help Alice.

Alice was wondering how long this would take. Friday’s and weekends were not the best days for the young and popular Mock Turtle to learn stuff and Mock Turtle was more a soccer kind of turtle and not a croquet kind of turtle.

Alice watched the sun set on another day beyond the field across the stream thinking and trying to be positive.

To be continued…maybe.

"Morning, Squirrel"

Sound of crush above.
Pink crepe petals surrender;
Scattered summer bared.

Too Much of a Good Thing is Still Too Much of a Good Thing

Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. I really think that life is all about balance and evenness and while uneven is interesting and sometimes exhilarating, it usually means a fall or a slide until all is in balance again. This slide keeps us awake and helps appreciate the other side even more, but peace is really when all is in balance. I don't care how much you like it, you will get tired of too exhilaration.

Last week I was reading a news story about the sea life in La Jolla, California. I remember visiting the shoreline there a few years ago. I could smell the richness of the sea long before I reached the walkway to look over the coast. The richness I am talking about was the smell of sea lion feces and old fish. This was in thanks to the many lumps of sea lions lounging on the floating docks and rocks in the water. They covered every bare space and if you were trying to get to a boat that had been tied up you better be careful that it didn't appear you were disturbing one of them...that could get you a nasty fine. According to the article they now are taking over the beaches. Centuries ago they probably owned the beaches. Now mankind wants to use the beach as well and there is a definite conflict of space. Too much of mankind and too many sea lions. No balance.

A similar event is taking place in my county. We now have more white tail deer than were here when the pioneers arrived. This is due to all the land we cleared and all the open grass areas we have developed along the freeways and in the city and county parks and of course, the well-manicured yards of every home. This is also because we no longer hunt deer for food. The deer have no interest in moving off your driveway when you arrive home from work. They stare at you like cattle wondering why you bother to come home each evening insisting they move. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of shrubbery and landscaping have been eaten to the bare bark. Neighbors try to protect rows of dramatic hostas and gardens of colorful roses with bird netting. Netting that gets tangled in the lawn mower and gets tangled in your shoe laces and doesn't look all that pretty and thus, distracts from the beauty of what you are trying to raise.

We have a private botanic garden nearby that finally put up a ten foot metal fence around its acreage with an automatic gate for cars. They were losing rare plants hundreds of years old due to deer foraging. Too many deer and probably too many people loving the plants.

Well, it should all slide back into place in the coming years. Disease and famine and holocaust will reappear and painfully balance will reign once again in the end, although I may not be here to see it.