Pet Pride

It's Sunday and time for our lovely pets to show off, strut and play. Pet Pride is hosted by Bozo in Mumbai! Click on the icon, sign your favorite pet in and let them play with all our four-legged, four-pawed, winged, hoofed, web footed and whatever else friends!

My name is Sam and I had a haircut today -- miserable experience as always, but it did earn me a treat once I got home. Of course, I had to share with Mojo -- she thinks she's so cool! I didn't see HER at the groomers!!

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Summer is here! Time for lots of shadows! Lots of fun! Cruise on over to Hey Harriet, sign up and play with the rest of us! Once you start looking, you'll find the most amazing shadows!

I found this on a neighbors fence, lovely flowers, lovely shadows!

 

Happy dogs, enjoying the shade in our neighbors yard.

 

The hippo statue at the zoo, catching a nap in the shadows!

 

And my favorite mug! May you all have a lovely shadow filled weekend!

 

Evening Wisdom, Summer, Beauty

 

A life without love is like a year without summer.
~Swedish Proverb

 

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance.
~Bern Williams

 

Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it.
Rabindranath Tagore

Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.
Rabindranath Tagore quote

 

Looking Back - Part 5 - WWII Memories

Today I was looking through old posts and diaries, trying to decide what to write about for my next Looking Back series and I found myself thinking about a time during my own childhood – I guess once the memory takes a backward glance, it gets curious about what else it can root out to look at and this is what it found today.

My family moved to Monahans, Texas in the winter of 1942 when I was eight years old. We lived in a tiny house while my father looked for work. Once he was settled in a permanent job, we moved into a two bedroom house with a lovely yard and a nice big garage. I got to have my very first pet, a black mixed breed dog named Moe.

Soon after I started school in Monahans the teachers decided I should move up to the fourth grade as I was considerably ahead of those in the third grade at the time. It wasn’t the best move because while I had no trouble doing the work, socially I simply didn’t fit in with fourth graders. Plus I was the new kid on the block, my hair was too curly and red, not to mention that I had buck teeth at that time -- well, you get the picture. Not the most fun time for an eight year old. On top of that I was an only child with parents who were far more absorbed in their own problems to spend a lot of time with me. Their relationship wasn't good; my father had frequent affairs and they quarreled constantly. At that time, it seemed to me that they always looked at me with a puzzled expression as if trying to figure out just where in the hell I'd come from in the first place. At least that was how it felt to me at the time.

During this same period a huge new air base was being built in a tiny community about twenty miles from Monahans on Highway 80, about 230 miles east of El Paso. The little town was called Pyote and the air base was nicknamed "Rattlesnake Bomber Base" for the numerous rattlesnake dens that were uncovered during its construction.

For many men in the Air Force at that time it was their last station in the states before heading overseas. The first troops were assigned within a month, well before the base was completed. Troops and civilian technicians poured in, and the population of the base grew steadily to a peak of over 6,500 in October 1944.

Within four months of its opening, the base had become the largest bomber installation in the country. Despite morale problems caused by isolation and the shortage of off-base recreation and of dependents' housing, Pyote achieved a distinguished record in molding inexperienced individuals into effective bomber crews.

And it was this lack of recreation and dependents’ housing that brought about an enormous change in my life. My parents rented out my bedroom to one couple from the base, then they put three beds and some second hand furniture into our garage. My father found an old piece of carpeting and my mother made curtains for the windows. The family car was parked behind the garage on blocks as the tires had worn out and it was difficult if not impossible to replace them during that time. When the garage was more or less livable, the wives of three additional pilots/bomber crew members moved in. The men themselves were required to live on the base, but when they got off in the evenings they would come into town and spend as many hours as possible with their wives. I can still hear them singing and laughing as a bunch of them would take off down the street, on foot, to search for a cafe, a bar, whatever -- there weren't many, so the choice was limited.

But suddenly, I had brothers and sisters! These guys and their wives were, for the most part, a long way from home, it was isolated, it was barren, it was windy with vicious sandstorms, cold, cold in the winter and hotter than hell in the summer. But instead of complaining, they all made the most of their time there – primarily because of being able to see each other as much as possible before the men shipped out into the unknown, not knowing whether they would make it back from the war or not. And I became the little sister to all of them and they spoiled me royally and, needless to say, I loved it.

One of the pilots brought his fiance to town and they had their wedding in the small chapel on the base and I was the flower girl. I was one of the few kids in Monahans during that time that had CHOCOLATE candy! And bubble gum – gum, period! All those delightful goodies that were so sparse and hard to get during the war. Needless to say, this improved my social standing in school considerably.

The couples moved in and they moved out, the men went overseas, wives returned to their homes all over the country and another group would move in. I slept on the sofa bed for nearly three years and loved every minute of it! The guys wrote me letters and sent me presents from overseas, some that were sent to the South Pacific even made me jewelry out of shells they found. Their wives stayed in touch with us for the remainder of the war. Many celebrated the holidays with us and they were my best holidays ever. I had never felt so loved!

Before the war came to an end there was gradually less need for off base housing and I finally moved back into my room, the car moved back into the garage. I knew it was a good thing we were winning the war and when it was finally over I jumped up and down and celebrated along with everyone else, but I missed my “family”.

We continued to hear from many of those that had shared our house. Some of the men didn’t make it back and I cried for them. After the war a few of the couples actually returned to Monahans to visit us and it was wonderful. We heard from many of them for years.

I hadn’t thought of that time in many, many years. It’s been another fun look back.

Evening Wisdom, Thoughts and Beauty

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. ~Dennis Wholey



The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing. ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations




In life, as in restaurants, we swallow a lot of indigestible stuff just because it comes with the dinner. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960



Now that it's all over, what did you really do yesterday that's worth mentioning? ~Coleman Cox

Sky Watch Friday!

Welcome back to Sky Watch Friday! Join us and our hosts Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise.Click here to sign up and share your lovely skies with us!

With skies like these year round why would one want to live anywhere else?

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

 

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.
Will Rogers

 

Where there is love there is life.
Mohandas K. Gandhi

 

Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy'd the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done...
Matthew Arnold

 

Leaving a Footprint Behind

“This blog is about leaving my footprint behind when I go. It's also about finding out who I am now, even if it's a different person each day. It's about thinking, feeling, learning and changing - and about laughing too, I hope; and it's about filling my life with new people and making each new day interesting.”

I found this statement about blogging as I was surfing around one afternoon and I copied and pasted it, wishing I had written it myself because it said so perfectly how I feel about blogging. Then the doorbell rang, I hit the wrong key and promptly lost my connection and by the time I returned to my computer I was unable to return to the blog where I had found it – the big frustration of the day.

I am not claiming in any way that these are my words, but they did make me think about what it’s like to be able to leave that “footprint” behind – so much better than a diary because this is shared with other people. It’s a way for me to leave a kind of legacy to my children. It has become, for me, a new way to learn about myself, to explore places within me that I would have been afraid to see in earlier stages of my life. It has helped me realize that in many ways I am a different person each day. I am learning more each day, not only about myself, but about others and how we interact, how we manage to touch those similar strings in the instruments of our lives and enjoy the music that we create together. And it is about laughter, joy, being able to see the beauty in our world, as well as in the those who inhabit our world, those that add to our joy and our laughter.

It offers each of us the opportunity to reach out, to meet others, to exchange thoughts and ideas and laughter. It helps us to see our many similarities with others as well as helping to define our differences with others, but whatever, we never come away empty handed.

So, to whomever wrote this, I say thank you. You have helped me to define the pleasure and excitement and the sense of fulfillment that blogging has brought into my life. And I’m also glad that it has come to me at this stage of life as I have such a rich tapestry to explore and to enjoy.

Evening Humor - 25 Reasons To Thank Mothers

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A
JOB WELL DONE .
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
" If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4.. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9 My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA..
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING ..
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE..
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS..
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

And last but not least!

25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

Looking Back - Part 4 - Discovering Another Side

Sunday morning I was reading a post written by Lin of Letters from Lin in which she wrote about being a dancer in her younger days and the companies she had danced with, the ballets she had performed in during that time. Her post brought back a lot of memories for me as well. Memories about fun things I did in my twenties – as I’m sure many of you can do as well.

When I was in my early twenties and living in Dallas, Texas, working and wondering what else I would like to do with my life I became friends with a young woman originally from Germany. She was involved in a theater group, I got curious and began going to the theater with her. I had no interest in acting -- well, maybe it was more a lack of confidence than a lack of interest, but I did think it was fun working back stage, helping the actors with their lines, being available backstage to prompt them during a performance. It wasn’t long before I could recite the entire play from memory.

The group was performing a play called “The Fantastiks” – their spelling, not my typo – and some of you may have seen it at one time. It was on Broadway and was later made into a movie. It was winter and there was a wild flu bug going around and the girl who had the leading female role in the play got sick just before the weekend performance. We had a sold out house and no one to take her place.

I arrived at the theater early that evening – for whatever reason, and found the director waiting for me in the lobby. He told me that I knew all of her lines, her costumes would fit me and he needed me to get back stage and get dressed. I was stunned, I was terrified, I was excited as he and the stage manager hustled me back to the dressing room.

The performance went quite well and when the final curtain fell, the director came out to tell the audience what had happened and he brought me out on the stage. The applause was mindboggling as I received a standing ovation and then three bouquets of flowers. And that was the beginning of one more era of my life.

About that same time Baruch Lumet – the father of the Hollywood director, Sidney Lumet –was volunteering at the same theater, teaching acting classes and I began attending. I slowly began to lose my Texas accent – it didn’t go away completely, but at least most people never guessed that I had been born and raised in Texas. I continued to be very active in the theater group for several years.

The director with whom I had worked with originally called on me several times to perform in various theater projects of his and in the spring of 1961 he was putting together a musical review for a local coffee house – we had those back then rather than just bars – and they offered musical entertainment of various kinds six nights a week. I was preparing to return to the university by then and was trying very hard to stash enough money away to pay for my first year tuition when my director friend approached me, told me what his plans were for the coffee house and asked if I’d be interested in performing with the group. When he told me what they were willing to pay, my decision was a no brainer. If I performed through the summer, I’d have enough to pay for more than my first year. Needless to say, I accepted the offer and prepared to start summer school at the same time.

It was a wild summer to say the least. I was taking three classes – the first one at seven in the morning. I was home by noon, had to tackle the homework and be at the theater by eight in the evening. I usually got home between one and two in the morning, slept four hours and got up in time to drive thirty miles to Denton, Texas where the University of North Texas is located.

The show was going on tour in the fall and I was asked to join them, but I had to say no, I had determined that I was very serious about finishing my degree and besides I’d lost so much weight, they were having to continually alter my costumes and I figured it was time to quit.

I never regretted my decision, but it was a truly fun and exciting time in my life and I felt -- still do, that it was the beginning of a whole new take on life, on me and what I was capable of achieving.

It frequently seems that too much of the time we tend to focus on the bad periods in our lives rather than the good. But for a change, this has been a fun-look back today, to a creative, rewarding time in my life. I believe we all have those good memories of some kind. I also feel that we should be willing to look back, to search for them and keep them around to remind us during the bad times of the joy, the fun, the fulfillment we have enjoyed in the past. And a big thanks to Lin for reminding me to do just that.

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
Buddha



Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole.
Corita Kent



Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.
Corita Kent



Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.
Dorothy Thompson

That's My World - Sequim Lavender Festival

It's time once again to share your world! Hosted each Tuesday by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise, That's My World offers a chance to show what is beautiful and interesting about your world, to share it with others all over 'our world'. Click here to sign up and join the fun!

In a month my dear friends from Portland are coming to Seattle to take me to the Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington, and I am so excited! Lavender is one of my favorite scents not to mention the beautiful color and it is a very versatile and useful plant in addition to being gorgeous! I'll be taking photos to share with you later, but I'm going to borrow a few today so that I can share some of the fun ahead of time.



We will be spending the night so that we'll be able to visit seven beautiful Farms on Tour in the stunning Sequim-Dungeness Valley. Growers share their techniques for cultivating, drying and using lavender, and visitors experience the perfume and beauty of this captivating herb. See dozens of varieties with colors and scents from sweet whites to crisp purples, while enjoying the sunshine, mountain views, scented breezes and open spaces of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.

The poster below is the one used this year to promote the festival.



In addition to touring the farms there will be a Street Fair where there will be more than 150 crafts and lavender booths, food, music, and more set up in downtown Sequim. Admission is free and there is free parking throughout downtown.

Evening Humor - The Best Smart Ass Answers !!

SMART ASS ANSWER #6

It was mealtime during an airline flight. 'Would you like dinner?' the flight
attendant asked John, seated in front. 'What are my choices?' John
asked. 'Yes or no,' she replied.

SMART ASS ANSWER #5

A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets.
As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his
trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat, she said, 'Sir, I need
to see your ticket, not your stub.'

SMART ASS ANSWER #4

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but
she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, ' Do
these turkeys get any bigger?' The stock boy replied, 'No ma'am, they're
dead.'

SMART ASS ANSWER #3

The police officer got out of his car as the kid who was stopped
for speeding rolled down his window. 'I've been waiting for you all day,' the
officer said. The kid replied, Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.'
When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a
ticket.

SMART ASS ANSWER #2

A truck driver was driving along on the freeway and noticed a sign
that read: Low Bridge Ahead. Before he knows it, the
bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it. Cars are backed up for miles.

Finally a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the
truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, 'Got stuck, huh?' The
truck driver says, 'No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas.'

SMART ASS ANSWER OF THE YEAR 2009 !!


A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. 'Now
class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might
consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death
in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!'
A smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, 'What
would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter
sexual exhaustion?' The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering
When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student,
shook her head and sweetly said, 'Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam
with your other hand.'

A BONUS EXTRA

A woman is standing nude looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not
happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old,
fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband
replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect

Pet Pride! A New Fun Meme!

Pet Pride is a new, fun meme, a place to share your best, four-legged friend! Click here to sign up and join the fun! Give us an opportunity to meet that special pet/friend that fills your life with love and fun.

And this is my very best four-legged friend! His name is Sam Schnauzer! I'll be showing the other canine member of our household next week! And then there will be the lovely kitties that add so much to both my daughters households!