Beauty and nostalgia

Random beauty and nostalgia tidbits from my week.

I went down into the basement this morning looking for a drawing book I have hidden away somewhere, couldn't find the drawing book but I dragged up my favorite children's book and re-read it.







our well read copy does not look like this anymore. it has no cover, some red marker drawings on it, but it still says to jenna love mommy 1987

reading the book made me miss the "little ones" being all together

(Christmas)

The sun came out long enough this morning to give the road and sky a golden glow.

and last, but not least, it was snowing on Tuesday at the same time the sun was setting and it looked like the trees were on fire.

Hope you're all having a good week!

Good things come in threes.....

I got tickets to Jerry Seinfeld to help combat the mid winter blahs!








and then I found out Blue Man Group was coming to Syracuse.
I've been wanting to share the blue man group experience with the family since I saw them in Chicago.









Then a friend asked if I had any interest in going to see Elton John's 60th birthday bash concert at Madison Square Garden. Transportation and accommodations included.


Those blahs never had a chance.

6 Weird Things About Me

1. I have an alias that only a few people know about. I still use it occasionally. But don't worry it's not in any police records or legal documents :-)
My initials are below.









2. I like cottage cheese and ketchup. (I will spare you a photo)

3. I don't like a strong wind. It scares me. Must be why I have recurring dreams about tornadoes. or is it that I don't like wind because I have recurring dreams about tornadoes? hmm.

4. I am very tactile. I like to touch everything. If someone tells me I can't touch something, (say, in a museum) it makes me want to touch it more.

















5. I don't like shoes much. I like to be barefoot. As much as possible. Even in the snow.





















6. I tagged a stuffed orange.















I have been tagged for this "6 weird things about me" post by Richard

Each person who gets tagged needs to create a post of their own 6 weird things as well as clearly state this rule.

After you state your 6 weird things, you can choose to "tag" some people and list their names if you'd like.

Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means.

I am tagging Vanessa, Jenna, Mike, Tina, Kate and Arngee. (sorry to say, I just heard back from Arngee that he doesn't want to play.)

Two for Tuesday

Out the backdoor, then and now.














Summer Stream















Winter Stream

Mother bored.....

I had the whole day to myself yesterday.

Read the paper, finished a book, did some cleaning, planned meals and grocery shopped.

Then I was bored.

So I got out the old (2003) family computer that was replaced by individual laptops and I set it up in the guest bedroom. It needed a wireless card so I bought one, opened up the tower, and installed a wireless card into the peripheral component interconnect slot in the MOTHER BOARD. It works.

Wooo hooo. I am a computer goddess (geek).

Zubrowka anyone?

Goin to a Polish party this weekend!
One where MUCH polish food will be served.
And much WODKA (voodkah) will be drunk(?), drank(?), drunken(?), consumed!

So in honor of the upcoming polish party I was searching the web for an appropriate cocktail or appetizer to bring and found a most interesting one.

Zubrowka - vodka infused with bison grass.
Touted as an aprodisiac and a potent agent for virility.
Said to be as delightful as listening to music in the moonlight.


And what can you make with bison grass vodka?
recipe is below



Tatanka
2 oz bison grass vodka
dash of lime juice
apple juice

Combine all ingredients over ice. Can serve with grated cinnamon.
More recipes here

Jak sobie pościelesz, tak się wyśpisz.
( How you make your bed, thus will you rest)

Two for Tuesday - Old Expressions

I find myself using old expressions sometimes but having no clue where they came from.
Here are two to share today!

THE DEVIL TO PAY
Originally this saying was devil to pay and no hot pitch. In a sailing ship a devil was the seam between planks. This had to be made waterproof. Fibres from old ropes were first hammered into the seam and then pitch (a tar-like substance) was poured (or paid) onto it. If you had the devil to pay and no hot pitch you were in trouble.

START FROM SCRATCH
This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.

Do you know any?

Check this out

How to go from drab to dazzling
with a little paint (and a lot of talent)

mall wall in Niagara, NY



Eric Grohe is a graphic designer and illustrator who now focuses on painting figurative and architectural murals for clients throughout the country.
check out more of his really cool work here

This post is for Jenna

Diploma arrived today.
OFFICIAL documentation, woo hoo!

What to post?

mmm.
I am so sleepy tonight.
I don't feel much like posting.
and The Office will be on soon
and Grey's Anatomy is coming on after that.
and I still have to play taxi driver tonight.
and I want to take a bubble bath.
and tomorrow is Friday. (hooray!)

so here is a cool picture I found on the net but I can't remember where.















“Wind is to fire like distance is to love; it extinguishes the small and enflames the great.”

Two for Tuesday

Two riddles for today!

I'll post the answers tomorrow.

(No fair looking the answers up on the internet either)

What has rivers but no water, cities but no buildings, and forests but no trees?
(if you need a clue, scroll down to the bottom of the page)

What emotion is an anagram of a homonym of an antonym of a homonym of an anagram of WOLF?

(definitions for homonym, antonym, and anagram are at the bottom too)

ANSWERS POSTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

Only in your dreams....

Have you heard of lucid dreaming?

The dream state where you know you are dreaming but are totally aware of your surroundings and can take control of what you are doing in your dreams? Like flying whenever you want.

I first read about it back in the 80's and was fascinated. I tried the exercises (yes there are excercises) to promote lucid dreaming. It really worked. It worked so well it kinda freaked me out. I could control what I did and dreams seemed a little too real at the time.

I got thinking of this today as wonderful daughter Jenna and I had the same dream last night. In different cities and at different times but the same dream nonetheless.

I think it would be interesting to revisit lucid dreaming and see where I travel!
Want to come?

more info on lucid dreaming

A little snow and ice never stopped anyone...

Our neighbors at Mink Island sent this pic.

They spent the night on the island 2 weeks ago.

When they drove the boat to the island there was no ice

The next morning this is what they had to come back through.

We had to miss this adventure but the next one is planned for February.

Dig a hole to China?

Not me!

If I did a hole from my home, straight down through the earth, I will not end up in China. I will end up in the Indian Ocean, off the southwest coast of Australia.

want to see where you'd end up?

click here

the ZOO!

The nice thing about quitting my job and going to work for the family business?

Family tends to come first now!

I was able to push my start date to next Monday and am spending some fun time with my niece Kate this week as her daycare is closed.

Today we went to the zoo.

Kate's favorite animal today?

the lion

My favorite?

the red panda

Happy New Year

May 2007 bring.....

A strong heart
Clear vision
Inspiration
Opportunities
Changes
Fresh ideas
Fun
Laughter
Exploration
Wisdom
Less procrastination
New friends
Peaceful moments



“Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.”

New Year's celebrations around the world

Tired of the same old ball dropping, champagne toast, auld lang syne at midnight? Try one of these new year's traditions from around the world.

Thai celebration: The New Year celebrations start by people chasing each other down the street with buckets of water. This is also a day for good deeds and karama-polishing acts.

Swedish celebration: Go to church, go to smorgasbords and drink spicy glogg.

Denmark: Throw broken dishes at your friend's doors. Old dishes are saved year around to throw them at the homes where their friends live on New Years Eve. Many broken dishes were a symbol that you have many friends.

Portugese and Spanish celebrations: pick and eat twelve grapes from a bunch as the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve. This is done to ensure twelve happy months in the coming year. Sometimes the grapes are washed down with wine.

Netherlands: burn your Christmas tree in a street bonfire.

Japanese celebration: Hang a rope of straw across the front of your house to keep out evil spirits, the straw stands for happiness and good luck. When the New Year begins, the Japanese people begin to laugh, and this is supposed to bring them good luck in the New Year.

Korean: on New Year's day wear new clothing. This symbolizes a fresh beginning.

Celebrating the New Year

How it all began......

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring). The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days!

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. It is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

January 1st officially became the first day of a new year in 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar established the Julian Calendar.

The tradition of New Year's resolutions also started with the ancient Babylonians. The early Babylonian's resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment in order to start the new year off with a clean slate.

Christmas Cookie Exchange

This holiday season saw our 7th annual Christmas cookie exchange.

These are all that are left!

24 women

1728 cookies

24 gifts exchanged

An evening of festivities with good friends, old and new.

Two for Tuesday

tis the season for snowman jokes.