Sunday, December 31, 2023

As we approach a new cycle around the sun

 

Queen of the Winter by Marjorie Miller 1933


Puttin' on the Ritz!

Alice showing me how to "chill." That was the favorite activity of the inhabitants of my son's home! I certainly engaged in it happily.


Ceramic sculpture by Aram Hunanyan.



Photo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290482244731897593/

We do not become healers.
We came as healers. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become storytellers.
We came as carriers of the stories that we and our ancestors actually lived. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become writers.. dancers.. musicians.. helpers.. peacemakers. We came as such. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not learn to love in this sense. We came as Love.
We are Love.
Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are.

~Clarissa Pinkola Estes~


Today's quote:

A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. -Jimmy Carter, 39th US President, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)


Saturday, December 30, 2023

Next to last day of the year...

 



Sunrise in Georgia on my way (last week) to visit family.


Gingerbread model of Frank Lloyd Wrights' Falling Waters.


By Helena Nelson Reed

By Beatrix Potter


And two new critters came home with me from FL. First is Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear from my grandson Michael. He's a "warmie" with lavender which is enhanced when he's heated in a microwave...then he's cuddly warm! (I have to go buy a new microwave since mine died before my trip south.)


Second new critter is this hedgehog from my son, with good advice inside his rim. I think I'll call him Tiny.

"Enjoy the Little Things."



Today's quote:





Friday, December 29, 2023

From the mundane to the beautiful

 

A couple weeks before Christmas, we had a water leak (same pipe that leaked for months last winter). It only lasted a couple of weeks before these guys fixed it this time.


Don't you love the way the other crew members take it easy while the back hoe does all the finishing?


The last flower of my pre-solstice bouquet.

Looks like this orchid will bloom while I'm gone.


A moment at Moments Coffee cafe with a friend, while my car was being given a once over before I set on the road. 




I had time for a selfie with some of the decor.

Yes I had these roller skates as a kid, but in a much reduced size since I was just 7 years old!

Orchie is doing her thing...

Among the other things to do before going out of town for a week, I had a dental appointment!

I arrive with my mask, since I sit in a waiting room with sick people.



The decorations here seem to belong to the Dental Hygenist, who is from Bolivia.


Yes, I'm numb (upper lip) and wearing my goggles so they can zap the material to harden it.

I knew Amy Amaryllis wouldn't like to be alone for the holidays, so my friend took care of her.


Isn't that incredible? She didn't have a window to put it in, but it just kept on blooming anyway!


Orchie is blooming her little heart out too! Just wait till tomorrow when I bring Amy home from my friend's house...they'll be such pretty gals primping in front of each other!

Sharing with Floral Friday Fotos!




Today's quote:

The times are urgent; let us slow down.

AFRICAN SAYING


Thursday, December 28, 2023

Home again, home again, jiggidy jig.

 Sort of sick by the time I finally got home yesterday. So no blog this morning (I usually write the night before). Slept fine though, and it probably was just fatigue from travel.

This morning there's heavy fog, but no rain. While I was gone, Black Mountain apparently got a lot of rain, which it needed. In Tampa FL we had off and on light showers a few days. There were many coastal floods from the previous weekend's deluge which hit...just heavy rain and wind, but some Gulfport boats were flung ashore and are now stranded.







Here's my daughter-in-law selling Moonlit Macarons in Gulfport the weekend after the storm.  All is well in the center of the little town.


And here I am with my own bunch. Doug (ex-hubby) me, William, Cayenne and my son Marty. Becker in front row is the service dog at Freedom Plaza, a senior apartment building in Sun City Center, FL

There are more photos to come...


Here's something I like...though of course the big celebration is over.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀.

"Santas" of Northern Russia: on very left, Yamal Iri, the "White Elder" of the Yamal Peninsula, belonging to the indigenous Nentsi people; Second from the left is Russian Ded Moroz himself; Third from the left Chyskhaan, the "Bull Man" of the Sakha people of Yakutia, in Northern Siberia; next one, the lady, is Tugeni Eneken, "Mother Winter", of the Evenki and other tundra nomads; after her is the visiting official Santa Claus of Finland; and then Pokkaine, the youngish "Santa" of the ethnic Karelian people.


Photo: Vladimir Sevrinovsk posted to Facebook Dec 25, 2020


Have a great day...in this mid-time between Christmas and New Years.

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The Fairytale of New York

 You may well have heard the Pogues' version of the Fairytale of New York. 


But I especially liked the version of various musicians who sent one of them off who had travelled to the green fields beyond. Here's the Tribute to Shane MacGowan at Funeral, 2023.







Tuesday, December 26, 2023

After all the hoop-la.

 

Wonderful time yesterday with family for a Christmas visit with my ex-husband. Here are some of the pics from the occasion.

In the lobby with service dog, Becker, at Freedom Plaza.

Like father like son, Marty and Doug with their twin lighting necklaces!

My grandchildren Cayenne and William!


Second cousin of my son...Margaret Heym Lemon and her husband David.

I finally got to meet Margaret, who has been part of the Heym family for years.

Doug serves the lasagna while Marty cuts up tomatoes for the salad

Serving garlic bread and salad next to home made lasgna.

We had color coordination...so here are the grey guys.


And some art/craftswomanship... The Red Dress



Today's quote:

Getting worn out and run down robs you of receiving what you need from the universe.




Monday, December 25, 2023

Christmas is here!

 

Taken from playing a video on an old TV...this photo sort of shows my grandmother "Gummy" arriving with newspaper-wrapped presents in about 1947.


Same conditions captured my mother, Mataley Rogers preparing the turkey in 1947, in the kitchen on Cumberland St. in Houston, TX.

See my post with more of my family's early Christmas here.

Here I am, following a star (our sun) in the West (forgive my stretching of the story).

What is this I see, an E4...does that mean anything? Perhaps Endeavor For, or Engaging Four, or Emmanuel coming Forth! I am open to considering that these are wise men going to find the King of Kings.

And like a sheep following it's shepherd, there's the bigger truck ahead, going down the next hill as they pass one of the hotels in our town, which must be full for the holidays. There are two more motels to consider, wherever that star might lead them. Perhaps a stable behind one of them...

Well, my fantasy of Following the Star to the Babe in Bethlehem was given a reality check at the next red light.
Yes, our very own Black Mountain Fire Department was driving somewhere (unknown but without sirens) to obtain provisions, greet less able persons, give away toys, or perhaps park outside a local restaurant for lunch. 

I'm so glad these first responders are there when we might need them. For me, when I call 911 in the middle of the night, one of these trucks usually arrives first, before the ambulance. So these fire fighters are there listening to me talk about my symptoms, rather than putting out a fire. But as soon as the EMTs arrive, they give them the information. I think it's a redundant system, but these guys are much faster and know CPR...so may save lives in that way.

So while celebrating the birth of Jesus today, I honor also the care givers and first responders of our world.

I'm actually in Florida today with my son, grandchildren and other relations. 

My new chakra beaded bracelet!

Barb and Marty getting an early present from me.

I'd worry if this was an aura portrait. But it's the Dali' Museum's idea of an impressionistic portrait of myself.
Grandson Michael is the Cookie King. Each year he spends at least a day making lots and lots of cookies, then puts them in tins, and I guess gives them to friends and relatives as presents.

My son's tree is a rotating tree, so the gifts are over to the side. Cats are happy sitting on the skirt, and have been strictly admonished to leave the ornaments alone. They are behaving pretty well.




I do hope all of these blogger friends have merry time today, with whoever you choose to be with!

Today's quote:

Nothing so soothes our vanity as a display of greater vanity in others; it makes us vain, in fact, of our modesty. 
-Louis Kronenberger, writer (1904-1980)



Many thanks to those who share their photos on Facebook!



Salvador Dali