Guilty pleasures......

Now

you

will

know

just

how

old

I

am......

still 

makes

me 

swoon...

smiles.

Whew....that just about wore me out!

Now it's confirmed,

I am an old dog....

and you would be justified in assuming that means

I cannot be taught new tricks....

I tried though

really I did.

But I simply struggled...

and that is not what blogging is all about for me.

OK,

here it is...

I tried the newer interface of Blogger.

There

I said it...

I found it to be clunky.

Now, in reality,

I am the one who is clunky,

stubborn,

set in my ways,

awkward,

embarrassed by my inability to conform....

So, I am back to the old interface

(don't ask me how long it took me to find my way,

let's just say I should have dropped bread crumbs on the way in....)

I have had better luck with my new iPhone....

Whew!

Glad that I could say that at least....

here is a bit of the other things I have been doing....

Enjoying my anniversary flowers...

BIG blooms...

drinking copious amounts of coffee....

photographing things

I am amazed at the clarity of images from a phone!

I have three different apps for imaging

the camera that came with the phone...

Camera+ (which my son found for me)

and Instagram, which I read about online,

and actually found on my own!

Camera+ actually produces the best image, but I have yet to 

learn all the features.

Instagram is easy, and friendly too. 

I like it.

I use it the most.

this is my office.

a mess....but in a good way.

The trunk is drying, I put new wallpaper in it just hours ago,

and am waiting for it to cure.

I plan to store some of that pile of fabric and 

felted wool in it by the end of the day.

(the border on that image is one of the many reasons I like Instagram.

How about you?

Do you find newer technology (interfaces, apps.....etc...)

a challenge?

Please share your experiences with me.

If you have found that the newer interface is worth the effort,

please tell me that too.

I am willing to try it again if the incentive seems worth the journey.

smiles

TGIF!

Awards gladly accepted.....

I love surprises...

and so today as I checked in to see what was 

happenin' in bloggin' land...

I was pleasantly surprised to see that 

MICHELLE My Belle

at the 

"Ramblings of a Peacock"

had left me a 

unexpected treat....

I have done 

not a single thing to 

be worthy...

But I like it anyway....

I am to pass it along to 15 

"newly discovered"

blogs....

Whoa!

that meant I needed to put on my 

reading glasses and 

hike around blogland for some 

undiscovered treasures...

So, off I've gone...

and come back with the 

goods...

1. WindLost

2. Wanna Buy A Duck?

3. Yeah, But Houdini didn't have these hips.

4. The World According to Isa

5. The Second Half of My Life

6. The Pink Peony of Le Jardin

7. The Paris Market

8. The Fifty Factor

9. Stuff No One Told Me (but I learned anyway)

10. Seens from the backs of my eyelids

11. Recycled Interiors

12. Older and Wisor

13. Inventing Weddings

14. Dwellers Without Decorators

15. Bless Their Hearts Mom

Admittedly,

there are some of my faves that I have been following 

for quite awhile....not really newly discovered, but 

honestly, as I went through the list I just couldn't 

pass them by....love them all...

hope I'm forgiven...

Go by and check them out!

All are worth the effort and you might just be surprised too!

smiles

Homeland.....

Don't know if you have watched it yet....

I wouldn't have, except for the strange neighbors...

January,

I posted about a bunch of strangers that invaded my 

neighborhood.

If you need a memory jolt,

or just some info on this...

check it out HERE.....
and HERE...
and finally, HERE

One day,
 the trucks arrived....
and the catering tents.....
and the lighting guys....
and then,
 an influx of people of all sorts
(see previous posts for photos)

Then,
strange things started happening.....
my nosey neighbors became silent.....
silence seemed to permeate even the daylight hours...
followed by hours of heightened expected sounds...
then,
the night "lit up wildly"....

What's it all about Alfie?

The filming of the new series,
HOMELAND
that's what...
right here in river city, oops,
 make that my hometown...

Claire Danes
stars as an "on the edge" CIA agent intent on
making up for lost time.....10 years worth....
ambitious, and very intense.

I recorded the first two episodes.
I am not a network TV viewer.....
Neilson rating would hate me....
I watch stuff that most people don't even know exists on TV....

But,
I am also an avid reader of John Le Carre.
I watch old episodes of "The Avengers" that come in the mail.
I believe that Tom Clancy just might be a genius...

So,
when I found that this hoopla
was about a spy series on Showtime
I became open-minded to the idea of something I view
as "network"...

I've not been disappointed.
It is pretty intense.
I have been impressed with Ms. Danes
and I have long felt that
Mandy Patinkin was one of the most interesting
actors of my generation.

But what keeps me on the edge of my seat,
honestly,
is seeing images of places I know well....

Of course, the living room that Claire sits in
monitoring her "suspect" is familiar, it's my
neighbor's living room.
Painted slightly different,
and furnished with props,
but still,
I certainly recognize the door to the storage room outback,
I have one too...

But,
 then there is the scene
that they filmed to depict the exterior of her home,
HA!
I know that brick and wrought iron exterior!
I sold those condos in 1980!
HA!
I know that exterior scene with the whole family in front of a building,
that is the old terminal building at the airport!
I was a Flight Attendant for Piedmont Airlines in 1981, and saw that building
quite a bit...
HA!
I know that house that the "suspect" lives in!
If you go out my back door and walk about 1/4 mile, you will be in the backyard of
that house....
HA!
(last one, I promise)
I know that park, where the "suspect" meets the wife of his comrade!
I have gone to the fall "Festival in the Park" there since I was in grade school.

What fun!
I must have stopped the action 2 dozen times....
I now wish that all TV shows were filmed in my town,
my neighborhood.
I haven't enjoyed watching a show this much since
"Dallas"....but that's a whole different story.

I love the idea of recognizing these places,
sort of an interactive TV show, if you will....
Boy,
I am having fun!
smiles

Feelin' Silly....;-)

Shut up, 

you complain too much

You got to change the way your think'n

Ain'tcha' got no smiles for me?

Doo Doo Doo Doo

Feelin' silly!

I feel a trend comin' on...

smiles.

Today.....I am grateful

to live in this land....

to breathe this air....

to sit in this sunshine....

to hear children playing outside....

to be free....

smiles.

How many times do you get the lyrics wrong?

I wish I could just say that 

I am getting old and leave it at that ....

But I have been getting the lyrics wrong for 

DECADES!

I was listening to my favorite oldies station today,

and this song came on.....

THE ASSOCIATION

"Along Comes Mary"

Every time I think that I'm the only one who's lonely

Someone calls on me

And every now and then I spend my time in rhyme and verse

And curse those faults in me

And then along comes Mary

And does she want to give me kicks , and be my steady chick

And give me pick of memories

Or maybe rather gather tales of all the fails and tribulations

No one ever sees

When we met I was sure out to lunch

Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

When vague desire is the fire in the eyes of chicks

Whose sickness is the games they play

And when the masquerade is played and neighbor folks make jokes

As who is most to blame today

And then along comes Mary

And does she want to set them free, and let them see reality

From where she got her name

And will they struggle much when told that such a tender touch as hers

Will make them not the same

When we met I was sure out to lunch

Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

And when the morning of the warning's passed, the gassed

And flaccid kids are flung across the stars

The psychodramas and the traumas gone

The songs are left unsung and hung upon the scars

And then along comes Mary

And does she want to see the stains, the dead remains of all the pains

She left the night before

Or will their waking eyes reflect the lies, and make them

Realize their urgent cry for sight no more

When we met I was sure out to lunch

Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

Now I know that I cannot possibly be the only Baby Boomer that got this 

verse absolutely wrong....

Now,

this is what I thought for over 40 years that they were saying.....

"M-O-U-T cup is as sweet as a cup...."

I know...

makes no sense at all....but that is what I heard,

and besides, the 60's didn't really make much sense, anyway.

Thank God for Google,

(no they don't pay me to say that)

 there are plenty BB's out there who would really like to know the 

lyrics to our favorite songs.....before we can't remember 

what the name of the song was...

(that is actually a problem right now but that's another story)

And

so

We

Google

for the answer....

How about you?

Have you been singing the wrong lyrics, too?

What song, and what have you been singing?

Please share with me.....so I don't feel so silly....

smiles.

Gratitude....again....

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

 It turns what we have into enough,

 and more... 

It turns denial into acceptance, 

chaos to order, 

confusion to clarity. 

It can turn a meal into a feast, 

a house into a home, 

a stranger into a friend. 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, 

brings peace for today,

 and creates vision for tomorrow.

-Melody Beattie

I love this quote,

from one of my favorite authors.

I feel peaceful as I read the words.

Just reading these words

makes me feel as though 

everything is right with the world.

I hope that you feel the same way...

smiles..

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen.....

I love this....

I can still recite the "talk"....

once memorized I am not sure you would ever

forget it.

I have been "retired" 

for over 15 years,

but there are still nights that I dream 

about being late to the airport.....

sheer terror.

It was not a job for the perpetually 

late......

or for those who need hours to dress.....

or for those with OCD.....

But it was (and is!) a fabulous job 

for the young person afflicted with wanderlust...

smiles.

"living right".....well, maybe....

That's what they say when blessed by some good fortune around here.....

"She must be livin' right...."

she's got a raise...

a boyfriend....

escaped a relationship...

found Jesus...

won the lottery....

got good grades....

made it home on bald tires...

made it to work on time....

got good hair...

good skin...

good kids...

Well, you get the picture....

Anyway, I don't know if I have been livin' right,

but I did run into a bit of good fortune.

while on one of my junkin trips,

I can across a bolt of fabric....

a very large bolt.

It was 54" wide,

and on a roll,

and weighed in over 10 pounds,

easily.

I sort of hmm'ed and haw'ed over it for a

few minutes....and then looked at the price.

$4.98

that's it.....

I wasn't sure if that meant per yard,

or what....

So, I took it up to the front of this store,

which by the way doesn't normally carry fabric,

and asked...

"That's it mam'"

"$4.98 is the price"

So, I bought it,

brought it home,

showed it to my sweetie,

who knows a thing or two about textiles...

and he just about 

"fell out"

(that's what they say around here when someone is 

going to faint)

He couldn't believe it.

He said that there must be 25 yards on the roll....

and then,

he looked closer,

(which he does with all fabric)

"It's cotton, and look at this!"

I look...

"It's Waverly!"

Holy Cow!

Now what to do with my find.....

I sat with it in my office for weeks....

I would think, 

ponder,

measure a bit,

and then,

I decided.

Curtains for the living room.

We have lived here for over 5 years,

and really had no need for curtains, as 

we look out to trees....lots of trees.

But curtains would be nice,

so that's what I did....

Here they are...

I must confess....

I cheated a bit...

I used a pair of curtain from IKEA

for the lining, and that gave the fabric some structure.

But I am pleased to have finished....
I must be livin right...
smiles

A visual expression of love.....

Please indulge me.....

this is a powerful video.

A friend sent it to me....

and I cried....no sobbed.

It is powerful.

Now,

I don't want to get into a 

discussion on faith, ethics, or politics.....

What I see here is 

LOVE.....pure and simple.

If you do not have a 

tissue, don't even think about 

watching this....

As the Beatles said...

All you need is love.

smiles.

It was a very good day....

there was cake....

there were balloons.....

there were flowers.....

and

there were gifts.....

but most importantly,

there was family....

Family 

related by 

blood

and 

not.....

So much

 of my life is 

spent with

 adopted family

 these days.

Yes....

people who I consider

to be family...

but we share today...

nothing of yesterday.

I am blessed with

wonderful ladies

who consider me

to be their 

friend.

So 

there was fun,

and laughter,

and giggling

and sighs,

and 

smiles.

Out in the Country.....

Out In The Country

Whenever I need to leave it all behind
Or feel the need to get away
I find a quiet place, far from the human race
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Whenever I feel them closing in on me
Or need a bit of room to move
When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime...

I stand alone...

My friend Mary does wonderful things with 

her regular posts "Mosaic Monday"

they are filled with 

imagination,

love,

a creative eye,

thoughtfulness,

and 

a quiet observance of what

makes this world special.....

This week,

her work reminded me of this song...

one of my favorites from the 70's.

It brings back those carefree summers

that I spent in my teen years

lifeguarding at one of the local 

pools......

acquiring a tan,

reading trashy novels,

laughing with friends,

and 

of course,

blowing that whistle!

smiles.

Goin' on a Road Trip....

Yes,

we are headed out of town for a couple of days....

a long couple of days....

very long...

really long...

This will be the scenery....

for a lot of hours...

But I can dream...

of this...

And this...

Even this....

And these are the men I would choose to be with...

Because they are....

My buds....

and...

Like to go where I like to go.....

like here....

and most of the time,

 when I am here,

I look up at this...

Fun times...

I am missing me some

 beach time this year....

and don't see a way

 to get there anytime soon.

But this weekend,

I will be able to see 

a Cin-City Reds game

in person!

Yeah!

And eat cheese conies....

and visit some sweet in-laws...

so life is sweet....

smiles

Tis the season.....

For weddings....

you may find that you are attending 

many social functions this time of year.

Graduation....

birthdays....

Showers.....

all sorts of events that require

a certain amount of social grace.

Most of these events 

have been planned months in advance.

But....

the weddings that 

you  attend may have been planned...

in some cases...

for years.

No kidding.

You may think I exaggerate...

but if you have never planned 

a wedding, say for 250 guests....

well, you may have no idea.

When my studio was in full swing,

we booked October

(yes, the Halloween month!)

at least a year in advance.

And I mean BOOKED.

and we had to 

turn girls down....

and refer them to other photographers.

The church,

the reception site,

the caterer,

the cake maker,

the florist, 

and the photographer,

all of them should be booked,

contract signed, 

and deposit made,

at least a year in advance.

Especially 

if you plan to marry in a month

that is popular for your region.

Yes, 

it is a regional thing,

the weather in my fair city is lovely in October,

so much nicer than in June,

which by the way is sweltering......

So, the dates and places go quickly.

I guess my whole point here

is this....

If you find yourself at one of these 

large wedding events, 

make sure to find your way to the 

host and hostess

before you leave.

Thank them....

for the invitation, certainly...

but also for all the hard work,

that obviously, went into the event,

and tell them how lovely it all was....

so that they may find a moment 

of peace in the chaos.

smiles....

This is what I saw.....

Well, close....

this photo is actually from a bit earlier in the year,

But it gives the general feeling for what I am about

to describe...

I woke up early

(sorry k, it's unexpected)

and was clearly not going to be able

 to roll over and shoot for another short dream

so....

down the stairs,

just in time to watch my sweetie start his car

and pull out of the drive....

poured myself a cup o' joe,

staggered into the living room

to scan the paper.

I always open the sliders

wide, early in morning

even on days that promise to 

hit the 90's,

because lately, I have been yearning for 

contact with nature.

I am not really able to explain this but 

suffice to say, I will endure hot flashes 

in order to hear the birds,

listen to the rustle of the leaves

as the breezes dance by,

and all that romantic stuff....

I figure it's just a side effect of the hormones

 that don't know 

how old they are 

(that's a whole different story).

This morning is glorious.

The breeze is light,

the birds are singing their littles throats raw,

and the hummers (birds)

are hitting the new juice like "Ali".

I finished what I could stand of the paper,

and grabbed my coffee for a sit outside on the deck.

The hummers kept coming to the feeder even though it was only

3 feet from where I sat.

The squirrels took a much needed break

 from eating all of my bird food.

And then,

the sun started to peak through the pines....

(I know it sounds like a James Taylor song, but it's true)

and as it did,

about 100 yards away, a spider web

was illuminated....brilliantly!

I was transfixed,

(actually still, and mouth open)

Wait! 

I have a set of binoculars@!

Once back in my seat,

"bios" in hand,

I took a couple of seconds to adjust the settings,

and wa-la!

there is was...a huge...

no HUGE  spider web at a "sissy comfortable"

distance away from me.

It glowed..

and before I could think,

a plane making it's initial approach to our local airport

began to pass within distance,

as I watched it thru the bios,

it passed in front of the sliver of moon....

WOW!

how cool is that, even with these tiny specs

I can see the craters on the moon!

Cool!

Then I was hooked..

how many other things can I get an unusually close look at

in this morning clarity?

Lots I am afraid...

I could be there still, as the air is till cool,

and the breezes are bekoning 

and the birds are enticing,

and the pines.....

well, they are as mesmerizing as JT,

and as feathery as goose down....

I know now what I will do in my retirement.

I will do as my father does,

I will sit on the deck,

with the small bios,

and a cup o' joe,

and watch.....

smiles.

A cupa tea...

I am blessed....

I have women in my life that remind 

me how very lucky I am .....

Each week,

one or two of them will come

by my house after work,

or on their way to play,

and we will sit in the 

BAKW

(Big A@# Kitchen Window)
drink something hot,
tea, coffee, hot chocolate

and talk.

We do not discuss politics

(ever)

we do not discuss children

(well, occasionally)

we do not discuss men

(now that's a lie!)

But we are 

regularly

aware of how 

blessed we all are.

To have good health,

friends, family,

food (especially food!)

And now,
I am blessed in a new way...
Bloggy friends.
(hope they don't mind that name)
I am so amazed
at the talent,
the kindness and
the sheer joy of writing...

Thank you Anne!
smiles

Five years ago...

friends of mine were married....

a lovely wedding 

in a garden,

with friends,

family,

and 

children.

It was wonderful,

and 

I in no way 

was responsible for the photos 

on this day.

Another "shooter" was 

in charge of the 

documentation...

so,

whatever I walked away 

with 

was mine.

I love this photo.

It exemplifies

them...

private,

intelligent,

sweet,

and 

so in love...

They have a beautiful child now.

She is more beautiful than

any other little girl

(my opinion, of course)

and 

I am so proud of the 

path that they both take...

it entails,

honesty,

integrity,

hard work,

spiritual growth,

and

love....

smiles.