I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Weekend Reflections

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James each week beginning Friday at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. It's another wonderful way of opening your eyes to new and different kinds of beauty. Click on the post title and sign up to play with us!  Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas! Needless to say, I did! Such a wonderful visit -- at long last -- with my daughter! The weather hasn't been conducive to getting out to take photos, but I dug up a few! Hope you enjoy them!  Wishing you all a very wonderful, Happy New Year!!

Each moment of the year has its own beauty. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within. ~ Horace Friess

Each season has its own wonder, it's own special place, and purpose in the pattern of creation. ~  Unknown

Some think
it's green envy,
rippling across,
in waves
of discontent,
across a few islands
of stability.

But to some,
its the ability
of two peaceful types,
to meet,
on these
floating supports,
and
balance
each other's thoughts,
as they talk,
about diving into the green,
and making their own waves,
urging the denizens
to live together,
and swim together
in peace.....

Posted by Ugich Konitari to Sylvia From Over the Hill at December 31, 2010 8:44 PM 

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Sky Watch Friday!

Time to share your skies, the beauty over your world, the clouds, the colors! Sky Watch is hosted each week by Klaus and the Sky Watch team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren and me. Join us and the many people from all over the world who share theirs with us each week! Click on the post title to be taken to the SWF website where you can sign up. Here are some of our magnificent skies from the past week in spite of the rain, and the gray, there always seemed to be a break before the day ended! And, of course, what is beauty without some of Will Rogers humor and wisdom!
Wishing you a wonderful New Year with lots of love and laughter!
We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.
Will Rogers


Things in our country run in spite of government, not by aid of it.
Will Rogers

We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.
Will Rogers

When you put down the good things you ought to have done, and leave out the bad ones you did do well, that's Memoirs.
Will Rogers

You can't say civilization don't advance... in every war they kill you in a new way.
Will Rogers

The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.
Will Rogers

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.  ~ Martha Washington

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person. Always do what you are afraid to do.
 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.  ~ Oscar Wilde

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.
This is how it manifests:

I decided to wash my car. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trashcan under the table, and notice that the trashcan is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the bottle of coke that I had been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered. I set the coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, we will be looking for the remote, but nobody will remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm bottle of coke sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favor, will you? Pass this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.



Tuesday, December 28, 2010

ABC Wednesday - X!

Got your dictionary out? You ready to play with the letters? It's that time again! ABC Wednesday is hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and the ABC team: Denise, Annelie, Leslie, Nathalie, Joyce, Donna, Helen, Roger, Troy, Jay, Barb, Gattina and me! Hope you all had a terrific Christmas! I did as my daughter I hadn't seen in seven years came for a wonderful Christmas visit! So, I've been pretty busy! But X marks the spot and today is the X Day!! X is for Xmas, Xanadu, X-ray - a flower X-ray this time! And X is for Xylophone!
May you all have a very Happy New Year!!
Photos today courtesy of our terrific partner in blogging fun, Google!

Monday, December 27, 2010

That's My World!

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and me. Join us and share your world with others from all over Our World! Just click on the post title, read the rules, sign up and play with us! So! How is your world this week? Have you taken time to see the beauty there? What is it about your world that makes you smile or laugh or feel grateful for? Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was incredible as my daughter, Robyn, whom I hadn't seen in seven years flew in from Michigan to surprise and  spend Christmas with me! It's been the best one ever!!

If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them.
Will Rogers


I have a scheme for stopping war. It's this - no nation is allowed to enter a war till they have paid for the last one.
Will Rogers

If you make any money, the government shoves you in the creek once a year with it in your pockets, and all that don't get wet you can keep.
Will Rogers


In Hollywood the woods are full of people that learned to write but evidently can't read. If they could read their stuff, they'd stop writing.
Will Rogers


It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for.
Will Rogers

Sunday, December 26, 2010

MicroFiction Monday

Susan at Stony River Farm hosts Microfiction Monday. She posts a picture and you compose a story in 140 characters. You can click on the link under the title to get further instructions. To help you along she has posted a wonderful link that counts your characters for you! How great is that! You can get the counter at Design 215.


This meme is easy and it's fun! Thanks, Susan for hosting.
And here's the picture for the day!

This is your idea of the perfect honeymoon place? An ocean and an iron fence?
What's for food?
Food? I thought we were gonna live on love!








139 letters
And from my wonderful friend in Mumbai!!

Between phone taps, and leaking embassy cables, for a minute I thought Julian was after pigeons. So glad we overflew Sweden. OK. Now Tell.

Posted by Ugich Konitari to Sylvia From Over the Hill at December 26, 2010 7:53 PM

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas! I surely have! As some of  you know, my oldest daughter, Robyn, whom I hadn't seen in seven years, surprised me with a Christmas visit and I've had such an incredible holiday! She's here for another couple of days, so I may be slow to get to your blog, but I will!! Have a great week and a very Happy, Prosperous New Year!!!
Sylvia

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Shadow Shot Sunday!

 Merry Christmas Everyone!
Hi Everyone! I just had an incredible surprise and early Christmas present! My oldest daughter, Robyn, whom I haven't seen in seven years, just showed up to spend Christmas with me!!!  So I may be a little late getting around to your sites, but I will! Needless to say, I'm thrilled silly!!!


We had one wonderful day of sunshine and I managed to get a couple of shots before it disappeared! And I got a few from around the house!
Hope you've all had a wonderful, joyful, Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Weekend Reflections


Weekend Reflections is hosted by James each week beginning Friday at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. It's another wonderful way of opening your eyes to new and different kinds of beauty. Click on the post title and sign up to play with us! We did have one afternoon of glorious sunshine and my son took me down to the harbor to take some shots! I think it was definitely worth the trip!
Hi Everyone! I just had an incredible surprise and early Christmas present! My oldest daughter, Robyn, whom I haven't seen in seven years, just showed up to spend Christmas with me!!!  So I may be a little late getting around to your sites, but I will! Needless to say, I'm thrilled silly!!!

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.  ~Edith Wharton

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!  ~John Muir

When you possess light within, you see it externally.  ~Anaïs Nin

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Sky Watch Friday!

Hi Everyone! I just had an incredible surprise and early Christmas present! My oldest daughter, Robyn, whom I haven't seen in seven years, just showed up to spend Christmas with me!!!  So I may be a little late getting around to your sites, but I will! Needless to say, I'm thrilled silly!!!

Time to share your skies, the beauty over your world, the clouds, the colors! Sky Watch is hosted each week by Klaus and the Sky Watch team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren and me. Join us and the many people from all over the world who share theirs with us each week! Click on the post title to be taken to the SWF website where you can sign up. Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas with lots of love and laughter, beautiful music and delicious food!!
Thank each of you for being such a wonderful part of my life, each and every day! And here are some of our magnificent skies from the past week in spite of the rain, and the gray, there always seemed to be a break before the day ended! And, of course, what is beauty without some wry chuckles courtesy of
Will Rogers.


There is nothing so stupid as the educated man if you get him off the thing he was educated in.
Will Rogers

There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Will Rogers

We don't seem to be able to check crime, so why not legalize it and then tax it out of business?
Will Rogers

A fool and his money are soon elected.
Will Rogers

If I studied all my life, I couldn't think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of congress.
Will Rogers


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

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.
Mark Twain

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.  Don't clean it up too quickly.  ~Andy Rooney

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.
-- Carl Sagan


Keeping a Straight Face!!

IT CAN BE HARD  KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE AS A COURT REPORTER
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place. 

ATTORNEY:
  What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS:     He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY:  And why did that upset you?
WITNESS:     My name is Susan!
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS:     Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Are you sexually active?
WITNESS:     No, I just lie there.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS:     Yes.
ATTORNEY:  And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS:     I forget.
ATTORNEY:  You forget?  Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS:     We both do.
ATTORNEY:  Voodoo?
WITNESS:     We do.
ATTORNEY:  You do?
WITNESS:     Yes, voodoo.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS:  Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY:  The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS:      He's 20, much like your IQ.
___________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS:     Are you serious?
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS:     Yes.
ATTORNEY:  And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS:     Getting laid
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  She had three children, right?
WITNESS:     Yes.
ATTORNEY:  How many were boys?
WITNESS:
    None.
ATTORNEY:   Were there any girls?
WITNESS:      Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS:     By death.
ATTORNEY:  And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS:     Take a guess.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS:     He was about medium height and had a beard
ATTORNEY:  Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS:     Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS:  No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS:     All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS:     Oral..
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS:     The autopsy started around 8:30 PM
ATTORNEY:  And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS:     If not, he was by the time I finished.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY:  Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS:     Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

And last:

ATTORNEY:  Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS:     No.
ATTORNEY:  Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS:     No.
ATTORNEY:  Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS:     No.
ATTORNEY:  So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS:     No.
ATTORNEY:  How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS:     Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY:  I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS:     Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

ABC Wednesday - W!

Got your dictionary out? You ready to play with the letters? It's that time again! ABC Wednesday is hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and the ABC team: Denise, Annelie, Leslie, Nathalie, Joyce, Donna, Helen, Roger, Troy, Jay, Barb, Gattina and me!
Whoo hoo!! Wake up!! What are you Waiting on? It's the W Day! Ready to go on a Walkabout? Well climb on the Wagon, don't forget your Wallet and your War bonnet and a Warm, Wool  Wardrobe! It's Winter, you know! Lots of cold, Windy, Weather ahead! We're going to need lots of Wood in the Woodpile so be prepared to Work for this one! And now lets see What kind of Wild, Wonderful World we can Whip up!! And here are my W Words for the  day!  W is for Wave, Waffle, Wagons, covered and otherwise! W is for Weeping Willows, Winter,Welsh Corgi,  and the main W of all today!  WINE!!!

Except for the dreary Winter shot from Washington, the other photos are courtesy of the magnificent Google!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

That's My World!

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and me. Join us and share your world with others from all over Our World! Just click on the post title, read the rules, sign up and play with us! So! How is your world this week? Have you taken time to see the beauty there? What is it about your world that makes you smile or laugh or feel grateful for?  As the end of the year draws closer (and the weather remains crappy) I've looked back at some of the really fantastic views of my world!! AND I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Live, Love, Laugh and Enjoy!
Do the best you can, and don't take life too serious.
Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.

Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.
Will Rogers

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.
Will Rogers

I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him "father."
Will Rogers

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Portland Time