"A Candle in the Wind"

I remember my grandmother telling me to savor every hour of every day you personally are here on this earth, and also the hours you have with those you love, because one of two things inevitably will happen. Either you will live to be a ripe old age with no clue where the years have gone and why you're not still young. Or life will come abruptly and tragically to an end at a much too young age, and there will be no more hours together. Ever.

Last Sunday we lost a wonderful young man who will be missed every day by all of us who loved and still love him. Sending up prayers for my friends, the Rochlin's. And everybody else who mourns or weeps or grieves this day. We will say goodbye to Charley this morning at 9:00 am. With full military honors.

On a cold, breezy Monday afternoon in Westport, friends and family of the late Charles "Charley" Rochlin filtered through the same Meeker Road residence where the 24-year-old native was raised and returned to when he wasn't serving his country overseas as a U.S. Marine. Seated together around the kitchen island were Rochlin's three younger sisters -- Taylor, 9, Kendall, 12, and Brittany, 21. Slouched in their stools, the three girls said little; their necks glimmered from the personalized diamond pendants their older brother had given to each of them on Christmas morning, less than 48 hours before he was killed in a Sunday morning car accident on Greens Farm Road. Rochlin was traveling in a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by his childhood friend Matthew Packer, 25, of Westport, when wet and foggy conditions forced the vehicle off the roadway and into a tree at about 2:45 a.m. on Sunday. The collision, which produced severe damage to the passenger side of the vehicle, killed Rochlin and sent Packer to Norwalk Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Westport police said. Rochlin's parents described their son on Monday as a family-oriented young man, honored to serve his country as a Marine and happy to live life as an American. "My Charley was dedicated to his family," said his stepmother, Lucretia Rochlin. "A huge, huge part of his life were his three sisters. They adored him; Charley was their hero." So much in fact that when the young Marine returned home in September after a seven-month tour in Iraq, the youngest of the three brought her brother to Coleytown Elementary School for show-and-tell, Lucretia Rochlin said. Whether it was answering questions for a room full of elementary school children or helping his blind, 91-year-old great-grandmother navigate the house, Charley Rochlin had a way of relating to different personalities, she said. "He loved to help people, he was the least selfish person you would ever meet," Lucretia Rochlin said. Born in Westport on Sept. 14, 1985, Charley Rochlin played competitive sports since childhood, taking home junior golf championships and numerous pee-wee hockey trophies, said his father, Scott Rochlin. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School for three years and played varsity ice hockey, helping lead the Jesuits to two state championship titles, Scott Rochlin said. He went on to graduate from Staples High School before spending a year at Norwalk Community College and another three years at the University of Colorado. In March of 2008, he sat his parents down and announced his intentions to act on his dream of becoming a U.S. Marine, his father said. The family was proud of his intentions and supportive every step of the way, Scott Rochlin said. "I was obviously nervous what with everything that was happening," he said. "Those seven months he was away (on tour in Iraq) I can tell you I got very little sleep." Rochlin had only recently returned home for Christmas break and was scheduled to ship off in early January for a second tour, this time in Afghanistan, his father said. Scott Rochlin awoke Sunday morning expecting to celebrate his own birthday with his wife and children. Instead, there was no celebration; Charley Rochlin was gone. "I was really looking forward to spending my birthday with (Charley)," Scott Rochlin said. "We never quite got there." The funeral will be held on Dec. 30 at 9 a.m. at Saint Luke Church, 49 Turkey Hill Road North, Westport. Interment with full military honors will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery, 395 Main St., Westport. The accident is still under investigation and the Westport Police Department is requesting that anyone who may have witnessed or has information about the accident call the police department at (203) 341-6000.

WESTPORT

By CHASE WRIGHT

Hour Staff Writer

Winter Light

Well, it's turned out to be pretty much an awful month of December for a lot of the good folks I know and love. Deaths, major illnesses, loss of jobs, major operations, you name it, it's happened this past month.

I cannot tell you how very much I'm looking
forward to this month - and year - ending.
Hope springs eternal for 2010.

Ok! I'm now done being morose and am off to find
~my happy place~.

~~~

xoabb
expecting only goodnesss for the people she
loves this coming 2010!

Sunday Serenity

Christmas is over
Fun was had by one and all
Crazy blond lady?


Well, she did OK!
P. S. - With a ton of help from her family!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Photo taken 12/18/09. Our first snowfall.
And the colors of our flag? Appropriate for any holiday!

Twas...

...the Night before Christmas
And all through the House...
The only creature stirring was a
rather crazy blond lady really
trying to keep it all together
so the fam, et al, can have a
MOST EXCELLENT
Xmas day.

She's pretty sure this approach will work!
Result to come.

~~~

xoabb
love all of you!

Winter Solstice

Another season...

Days will now become longer

Happy? You betcha!

View from the 7th Floor

Our view for two days.
The Care? Beyond the norm.
Norwalk Hospital.

~

My GB had cervical spine surgery last week. It was a long and arduous road getting to the point where we knew only surgery was the answer, but we got there! And it was a good thing we did. Not much longer and a wheelchair would have been GB's future. I am so very thankful for everyone and everything that got my GB to where he is today. He's certainly not back in tip-top shape, but headed in that direction.
Let's see....tho GB had been to many doctors and had had many MRI's, EMG's and other tests, no one ever caught on to what was really going on. It was only after GB was sent to physical therapy that someone finally started getting to the bottom of what was truly happening to him. After GB's second session, his physical therapist, Vlad (thank you, you wonderful man!) said to GB - "You need to see a neurologist." I asked GB what that meant, and his reply was Vlad said something weird was happening to his right hand. Of course, I had to call Vlad and ask him what the hell he meant by that. He told me that what he was seeing in GB's hand was stroke-like behavior, though he wasn't saying it was a stroke. Um...that scared the hell out of me.
After a lot lot lot more BS, GB was finally sent to a Neurologist (Daryl Singer - can't sing his praises loud enough - he's the best!). And after some tests he did, he immediately sent us to a Neurosurgeon (Javed Shahid - a total and complete life-saver).
Bottom line, my GB won't require a wheel chair for the rest of his life. He might not ever be 100%, but, by golly, he'll have quality, and a good chance his golf game will get back to a single digit handicap.

May that be the only handicap he ever has.

Tho they'll never see this,
Blessings to Vlad, Singer & Shahid
My GB has a mobile future because of the 3 of you...

~~~

xoabb
thankfulness abounds

Twists & Turns

Hmmm.....

Every once in a while life throws you a curve ball.

Long story short, we've been thrown such a ball. Tomorrow my hubs, GB, will undergo surgery to ~fix~ two of the vertebrae in his upper spine. It's pretty critical he has this done as if he doesn't, he'll end up in a wheel chair sooner than later for the rest of his life. It's a surgery that's really quite common, but when it's happening to you/your family, it's quite unique and quite scary. To say the least, I've been preoccupied of late and have spent minimal time here or anywhere else. And it looks like that's going to continue for the foreseeable future.

I know we'll be in the thoughts and prayers of those who know us, and that's appreciated more than we could ever tell you. Thank you, thank you! I'll get back to visiting all my favorite haunts as soon as I can. Until then, know you're never far from my longing to visit you/talk to you!

~~~

xoabb
~

Photo: July 2009, in the garden of our VA Blogfest landlords,
Mathews County, VA

Sunday Serenity: Traditions Old & New

Our family is all about tradition. Whether it be Sunday family dinner, the annual it must be the perfect Christmas tree hunt (hubby does that one), ~favorite meal~ birthday dinners, fish fries, Bears football games of which the outcome is never pretty, gin games, etc. etc. etc., our traditions mean everything to all of us, and I'm certain most will live on through this generation and all of our generations to come. That said, it's truly not easy establishing a new family tradition that you just know is going to last a lifetime or two or three.

Well now! I'm astonished and very pleased to report that this past Thanksgiving another lifelong family tradition was firmly born; one I really do believe will continue for many years to come:

About 30 minutes before we were all to sit down for our yearly feast, Remy (the hubs & my eldest daughter) announced that she had something she wanted us all to participate in. She told us she'd cut out leaf shapes and wanted each of us to write down one thing we were thankful for. We were then to take the leaf and place it written side down on one of the plates and then be sure we didn't sit where our leaf was. Rem said we could write whatever we wanted, happy, funny, deep thought, goofy - whatever we wanted. Well, just about all of us laughed at this silly idea but being the ~good sports~ we are, played along.
We all sat down to our first course of lasagna - yup, another lovely family tradition (from the Varco side) that's taken place every single year I've known my husband, 32 Thanksgivings so far - and Rem announced that each of us was to read the leaf note at their plate. It was simply magical. There were fun moments, solemn moments, laugh-out-loud moments, thankful moments and, as we discovered as the leaf notes were being read...themed moments - it became obvious there had been ~talk between folks~ before they wrote their thankful one thing down... a Heather thing seemed to be going on... (In all honesty, I feel I must report my dad had to have read my mother's leaf before he wrote his own, see below.)

And every single one of the 30 or so gathered around our Thanksgiving tables agreed this tradition-in-the-making was one that would have to be repeated each Thanksgiving for all the years to come, whether we originals were all together again or were celebrating at different tables with other family and friends.

~~~

xoabb

Thank you Remy!
What a sweet & wonderful tradition/memory you've created!

~

The Notes, in no particular order:

I am thankful for:

The Blue Hornet {a car}, Sunday Fundays, Love & Family

Thankful for the 3 H's: Health, Happines & Hard-ons

That I have lived long enough to enjoy my family & George's Bloody Marys

Gin @ 5 (mom)

Mary + Gin @ 5:30 + Ann & George for giving us this extended family (dad)

Dolfin cheerlearders

I am thankful for "beer pong" and "flip the cup"

Thankful for "pink" & Heather

For being here today w/my whole family!

My kids ~ and Heather

The Thanksgiving keg ~ & Heather

I'm thankful for my family

I am thankful for the love of family and friends

I am thankful for my mom and dad

My dad breaking the vegan code ~ and Heather

I'm thankful for all the great people I'm spending Thanksgiving with

I'm thankful the Murray girls are doing all the dishes

For my healthy & loving & happy children & 4 being well endowed

I'm thankful for Heather

I'm thankful the itching has stopped

I'm thankful for...my mom's facebook status ~ (& Heather)

-3 turkeys -good company -free drinks -for the Giants winning today (hopefully) -3 turkeys -Yankees winning -that & I am done with this

I am thankful for...Good food ~ & Heather

God's Blessing

Spending time with family

I'm thankful for family

Good health & family

I'm thankful for the gatherings we do each Thanksgiving. And wine

I am thankful for my family and friends

Having the day off!

My best friend Mikey & beautiful daughter

Thankful for life

Last, but certainly not least:I am thankful for my dad's seductive ways, for if he was not such a *imp,
I probably wouldn't be here with all you beautiful people today!

A Chorus Line

Never have I seen a bunch of seagulls, (who all happen to look like they're the same kind), lined up so perfectly? It's "A Chorus Line" of seagulls with an ~Autumnal New England Sky~ in the background, just above our Long Island Sound. Just short of perfection!

~

"And now, ladies and gentlemen,
For your listening pleasure,
The solo performance of the night..."
(first gull on lower right - duh??)

"Kiss today goodbye,
The sweetness and the sorrow.
Wish me luck, the same to youuuuuuuu.
But I can't regret
What I did for love, what I did fooorrrrrr looooove."

(gull above was photographically captured holding
the note on that last musical syllable - looooooove.)
~just sayin'~
~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

~

Sky Watch Friday
Do join us!

Nap-time with Stella-Dog

Eldest Daughter gets in some snuggle time with Stella-Dog...

A dog's life just isn't that easy! (sigh)

~~~

xoabb

expect snuggly things!

Yum!

Mussels Sailor-Style

That's it.

Just yum!

~~~

xoabb

expect the recipe if you request it!

;-)

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

"December 7, 1941"

"A date which will live in Infamy...No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory."

Sending a heart-felt THANK YOU to each and
every United States of America veteran.
Your service is greatly appreciated and
certainly not ever taken for granted.
Thank you.

~~~

on another note...

I'm being spammed each and every day on one particular post. I see that there are blogspot.com posters that enable comment blocking just for certain posts. I have no clue how to do that, so for the time being, I'm going to enable word verification. Hate to do it, but am quite tired of the spam. Been happening for far too too long.

~~~

xoabb
blessings to all!

Sunday Serenity

Generation Continuation
L to R: son, daughter, mom, dad, daughter

~~~

xoabb
how lucky am I??

Homeward Bound

Boat is put to bed

Bird still winging his way home

Hugs when he gets there?

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

Sky Watch Friday!

Do Join Us!

Gathering 'round the Kitchen Table...

My good friend Kacey of Wine on the Keyboard holds a themed photo contest each month on her blog. For November the theme was, quite appropriately, "I'm thankful for...". The only rule was it couldn't be a person or a pet. Here's my entry:

I'm forever thankful for our kitchen table and all the people that have gathered around it over these many years. We've shared Thanksgiving, Sunday Family Dinners, good times, card games and many many other wonderful moments.

~~~

xoabb

it's all good!

Autumn Migration

Geese migrating across
the autumn sky on their way...
to the parking lot

(That's where they ultimately landed.)

(Doesn't make for very good haiku...sigh.)

~~~

xoabb
signing off now to go practice her haiku writing skills

~

12/01 @ 8:02pm update: Well well well! There have been a few developments here concerning this particular haiku I tried to pen. Daughter dearest (AKA Formerly Affianced - don't ask, it's a once-sad story, and now she's happy and just needs to change the name of her blog - and actually post on it!...oh dear...TMI!). pointed out the first line of the above haiku contained 6, not 5, but 6 syllables. Perhaps, this is the greatest haiku sin I have ever committed (let's not discuss the quality content of the three lines, please). She suggested losing the a in across. Hmm...I like that better than replacing ~migrating~ with ~flying~ or ~winging~. Consider it done! Then, my friend, Flea, penned a haiku in the right rhythm that was just wonderful:

Geese flying across
The golden wheat near water
Safe in parking lot

So very nice, Ms. Flea! Thank you!

~~~

Live & Learn!

Whirling and Twirling....

Childhood...serenity realized.

~~~

xoabb

I want to be young just once more!

Thanksgiving Flowers

Hope you have lots to be thankful for.

I certainly do.

~~~

xoabb

I'm so very blessed!

Thanksgiving

~Flowers in the Half-Bath~

~~~

xoabb
Thankful. I am. And you?

Smokin'!

My mom and dad are here, we're having 30 for Thanksgiving dinner and I work until 12:45 today! Scatter-brained? Yes! Discombobulated? Definitely!

BUT!

I have a secret weapon that's called FAMILY! So there's LOADS of help for all the prep work/cooking/decoration/cleanup, etc. Jules (always my very secretest - that's a word, btw - weapon) desperately tried to have Turkey-day at her home, but all the ~children~ overruled. They all informed us - from the oldest at 30 to the youngest at 2 (ok it wasn't Little Miss Magic, it was that 8 year-old Connor-Man) - that tradition dictates Thanksgiving is always here while Christmas is always there! There being Jules and family's home.
Whatever! Just know getting to the big day is a lot of work, but once we're all seated around the table(s), we'll all count our many blessings and be very thankful we've all gathered together one more year.
That said, the time for bloggin' will be a rare event for the next week like anyone will really miss anything.
So, my friends, I want to wish every one of you a very blessed day full of wonderful moments that turn out to be future moments you give thanks for. Thanksgiving...the very best holiday...

May Thanksgiving day and the thoughts behind it be just wonderful for everyone!

~~~

xoabb
expecting thankful thoughts all around!

Above photo taken of our smoked turkey last Thanksgiving '08.
Click here to see it!

P. S. We always have 3 turkeys each Thanksgiving - a traditional roasted one, a deep fried one (though last year that didn't work out at all! Go here for a good giggle.), and a smoked one. This year, we're only doing two as our friend Tony is doing the smoking honors for us in his Big Green Egg! Just thrilled as , 1. It's one less thing to do, 2. I know it will be delicious & 3. "Houston we have a problem" won't repeat itself this year!

Autumnal Serenity

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

~ John Muir

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Most trees around here have dropped their leaves, but we still have a few desperately clinging to their leaf-load (see above and here). And I must say, those left are still all kinds of beautiful shades! Such a strange autumn it's been this year. The trees all seemed to peak at different times, so instead of one big glorious autumn, we've had little bits of autumn glory here and there. Not bad...not at all bad...just different.

Fire on the Horizon

Glorious Sunset
Looking over the river
What could be better??

xoabb
expect anything!

Sky Watch Friday
Do join us!

Well, That's Just Delicious!

Part of our meal Wednesday evening...so VERY good!!

Pan Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch pencil thin asparagus,rinsed
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to coat skillet
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Over medium heat, saute garlic till just golden. Remove from pan and turn heat up a bit. When pan is just smoking, throw in wet asparagus and then immediately clamp on a pot lid! Shake pan vigorously and more than once until asparagus is toasty on all sides. Toss garlic back into pan, then add salt and pepper (always fresh ground!) to your taste. Serve hot or room temp - delicious both ways!

Um, the rest is up to you!

~~~

xoabb expect anything!

BlyHot TNG, Yup, The Next Generation!

BlyHot TNG

For many years my parents have grown a bunch of different pepper plants in their garden. At the end of each growing season, they've dehydrated and ground them (in the Cuisinart) to make their famous (at least to our inner circle) BumHot. (Depending on the growing conditions, some years are hotter than others.) We've been the grateful recipients of BumHot over the years and we're hoping for another supply this year, but this year we've harvested, dried (in my ancient Galloping Gourmet (!!) food dehydrator) and ground our very first supply! Of course, all our plants were from seeds the BumHot originators supplied, and though I'm sure our mix isn't the same as theirs, it's good!

I wanted to call our dried pepper mix BumHot Jr., but was overruled...surprise surprise!

So we're going to go with BlyHot TNG.

Ours was a tremendous sneeze and watery eyes producer while in the making, and it has a tremendously wonderful tingly hot flavor now that it's finished! Maybe we got it just about perfectly right!

xoabb

expect family traditions to continue!

Autumnal Ripples...

Ripples of beauty
Upon my Autumnal pond
Seasonal Splendor!
~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Double Magic, Sundog Style!

Sun in the middle,
With sundogs* on either side
A sight rarely seen...
~~~
(And just beautiful)
(Thank you, Mother Nature!)

xoabb
expect the very unexpected!

P. S. To my young friend, Weather Boy, aka JBM (Nurse Nancy's son), that makes 4 sundog sightings for me in the last 6 weeks! ?

*The scientific name for sundog is parhelion (from ~beside the sun~). According to my very favorite source of information, Wikipedia.org, sundogs/parhelia are atmospheric phenomenon. (Click on the highlighted words for more information and incredible photos.) Oh, and it has something to do with ice crystals. I like anything that involves ice crystals!

Southward Bound w/a Side of Sundog

Air growing colder
Winter's just 'round the corner
Homeward bound we fly!

~~~

xoabb
expect snowbird behavior!

This began as a double sundog WHOOPEE, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT ACTUALLY OCCURED, A DOUBLE SUNDOG AND I GOT TO PHOTOGRAPH IT!! post. But I'm just too lazy to go to the trouble to post all the pics from flickr to here this evening. SO, if you want to see that double dog double down terrific sundog phenom, just scoot on over to my flickr page. And if you're too lazy to do that, pooh on you!

Oh, it's Friday the 13th...that must by why we don't care!

SkyWatch Friday!
Do join us!

Turkey in the Tree

My turkey's have finally returned to their tree home...
And I couldn't possibly be happier!
I've missed them so...

Another winter season begins.

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Autumnal Ripples

Autumn leaves reflected in an autumn pond

~~~

xoabb

Abstracted Still Life, Pet Edition

It's a quiet moment for the Bly animals that own us. Clockwise from the very large dog, (that would be Stella on the right), is Trey-you lounging as only he knows how to do. Then, of course, just above Trey-you, is Baby...that would be Stella's nearly three year old stuffed baby bear that she loves dearly and completely.

So there! That's the picture of the Bly animals that own us completely and entirely! And that's a very good thing. As Martha has said more than once. Amen.

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Looking out the Asylum Doors

Nurse Nancy and I work in an office suite in the middle of the school building which has not one window or door that opens to the outside. Usually this doesn't bother me, but in light of what went on last Friday, I do believe when I'm at work tomorrow the walls will feel like they're closing in. At least I can walk out into the hall and look out the door for a minute or two.

Just let me wallow for a minute.

I'll be in a better mood soon enough.

~~~

xoabb

And, yes, my glass is still half full! (Always!)

As Poor As A Church Mouse

"As Poor As A Church Mouse

"Walking around Brantingham, I noticed this grave with a mouse carving. Looked it up when I got back and found out it was carved by Robert 'Mousey' Thompson of Kilburn (near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, 1876-1919). Thompson's trademark was a carved mouse chosen because he reckoned that the rate of pay for carving church furniture made him as poor as a church mouse."

Thank you Trick75!
Such a wonderful photo!
(thanks mum bum for the heads up!)

~~~

xoabb
expect serenity!

Early Morning Light, then Darkness

snapped: 11/06/09

Well, it started off being a beautiful day.

Let's just say it went downhill from there. There was an incident at work yesterday that I personally think wasn't at all fair to the person it happened to. But in all honesty I don't know every side of this story. And as my very wise mither-dear has always told me: There are always three sides to every story: that side, this side, and somewhere in the middle, the true and right side.

I just hope some good comes out of this,

especially for that person...

whom I consider my friend.

Pooh! I hate sad days!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything - sadness too.

CT Coast Sunset

I was driving home from the grocery store on the 2nd and happened to glance toward the sunset. Must tell you, the day had been nice but nothing spectacular. I nearly wrecked the car when I caught a glimpse of the now gorgeous sunset sky!

So I had to chase that sunset out onto our local Saugatuck Shores. As I got to the parking lot, two old salts who had been clamming yelled: "Shoulda been here 3 minutes ago - that sunset was the most spectacular we've ever seen, and we've seen a lot of 'em!" That's me...always a day late and a dollar short. (sigh)

And though the above photo isn't as wonderful as it could have been 3 minutes earlier, I still think it's kinda sorta beautiful!

~~~

xoabb
expect me to be late sometimes!

Sky Watch Friday
Do join us!

News Story

In the backyard, 10/29/09.

Above has nuthin' to do with today's post, but I like it. So there!

Today I read a story about a young boxer who was down on his luck but ultimately worked (is still working?) his way to a better life for himself. Here is what he had to say:

"I could ask someone [to help] but then at the same time, how hard are you going to work for something if every time you get in trouble somebody catches you? I did something to put myself in this position, I have to [do something to] work my way out of it."

~

Words to live by.
For everyone.
Me included.

~~~

xoabb

(You'll find ~The Boxer's~ story here.)

Last Harvest...

We were supposed to have our Community Garden plots cleaned out and "put to bed for the winter" by the first day of November. Well, we missed that by one day, but yesterday, the deed was done! Remy, Kat and I worked hard and all was complete in about two hours. As you can see, our very last 2009 garden season CG Kate bag harvest consists of....peppers! What a shock!!! Rem and I have wondered often and long this growing season why we thought it necessary to plant so very very very many pepper plants. Those babies were prolific beyond belief! And the nasturtiums? Right there with the peppers! Isn't that last bouquet beautiful? (My dad sent the seeds for both the peppers and nasturtiums - very hardy Missourah seeds there!)

Our plot upon arrival yesterday.

The dead tomato and bean plants had been removed last weekend, but I couldn't bear to remove the peppers, eggplant or nasturtiums until the last moment - they were still so vigorous! There hasn't been a frost yet and I do wish we could have let everything be until a natural kill...

But we couldn't,
so it was time to put our CG plot to bed for the winter.

Our Community Garden received a grant for close to $100,000. Because of this, the wheel barrow you see above (filled with the last of our plant vegetation) plus the tool sheds and all the garden tools they're filled with (plus so much more), is available for free to all of us lucky enough to have ~won~ a plot in our community garden.

~Gardeners Extraordinaire~
Rem & Kat
(with our CG Kate Bag)
And our cleaned-up plot!
(Remember this and this?)
(It really has been a good first year!)
~
Half-way to a full-circle gardening year.

We're already dreaming of next Spring!

That, my friends, is a glimpse into My World for this Tuesday.
Hope you enjoyed it!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

That's My World Tuesday
Do join us!
(This week Klaus, the creator of My World Tuesday is the guest host.)

That would be me she is hanging up on...

(Let's try this one more time (see post below this). First time I tried to post this, the comic strip didn't post!)

(Courtesy of Vic Lee's Pardon my Planet comic strip)

I burst out laughing when I read the above! It is so directed at me. Yes, I am a victim of ~Recorded Message Rage~. I think my friends would tell you I'm usually a fairly mild mannered gal, but get me on the phone with a non-human originating voice and the cussing invariably begins. Only thing worse is the RM where you have to speak your answers instead of punching in my case, usually the wrong a number. I must have a speech impediment because the reply I almost always get is "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said. Will you please repeat your answer?" After the 3rd or 4th time hearing this, yup, the cussing begins.

Laughing at oneself...
It's good to do!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

That would be me she is hanging up on....

OH NO! THERE'S JUST A BIG OLD BLANK SPOT!
WHAT WENT WRONG??
SEE POST DIRECTLY ABOVE.

(Courtesy of Vic Lee's Pardon my Planet comic strip)
(

I burst out laughing when I read the above! It is so directed at me. Yes, I am a victim of ~Recorded Message Rage~. I think my friends would tell you I'm usually a fairly mild mannered gal, but get me on the phone with a non-human originating voice and the cussing invariably begins. Only thing worse is the RM where you have to speak your answers instead of punching in my case, usually the wrong a number. I must have a speech impediment because the reply I almost always get is "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said. Will you please repeat your answer?" After the 3rd or 4th time hearing this, yup, the cussing begins.

Laughing at oneself...
It's good to do!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!

Sunday Serenity

Don't confuse serenity with being lazy or careless, with putting off decisions or deferring the study of important matters.
Serenity always goes hand in hand with diligence, which is a virtue we need in order to consider and solve outstanding problems without delay.

~ Josemaria Escriva, The Forge

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

Sky Watch w/a Side of Change...

Seasonal beauty abounds!
Look at the difference 6 weeks makes here!

xoabb

expect anything!

~

Sky Watch Friday

Do join us!

xoabb

expect anything!

Stormy Sky

Wish I could paint what
My mind tells my fingers to...
There's just no ~connect~.

(sigh)

~~~

xoabb
expect wishful thinking at times

Photo: Stormy Sunset on Lake Champlain, May 2008

Beehive

This tree, that happens to be in front of the school I work in has just been incredibly spectacular this year. This is the third year I've worked here and Maple Tree has never ever been more beautiful! (No it's not the first pic you've seen of Maple Tree.)
Must tell you, though I've proclaimed loud and long that this Autumn isn't near as lovely as last Autumn...the last day or two has been absolutely magnificent! If only there was sunlight to back up all this crimson beauty!

Community Garden Clean-Up's Begun!

Well, I began the cleanup.
But I just couldn't bear to pull up the nasturtiums.
They're still so beautiful!

Or the habanero (I think) peppers.
They might not ever turn yellow or orange,
but I'm keeping them on the vine until the very
last day we can have plants in our plots.
And that's this coming Sunday, Nov. 1st.

Above taken as I was walking to our plot this past Sunday.
Embiggen the photo and you can see how
huge the nasturtiums have gotten!
(Our plot is the one behind the wooden frame.)
The eggplant and pepper plants still look beautiful,
but they're not producing like they did.

After the removal of the tomato plants and cages,
and the now non-producing bean plants.
I tried to save as much of the nasturtiums as
I could, and couldn't bear to take the other
healthy plants out.
Alas, next Sunday all will be gone.

It's been fun!

~~~

xoabb
expect anything!