I miss you Sam!!

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

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sky Watch Friday!


Sky Watch is hosted each week by Klaus and the Sky Watch team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. Click on the icon, sign in and share your beautiful skies with people from all over the world who participate! PLEASE! do read and follow the instructions before you sign in!! Thanks! Enjoy the skies!

The sun came out yesterday!!! I was ecstatic! No, nothing particularly amazing or colorful, just BEAUTIFUL blue with puffy white exclamation points -- the soft white clouds seemed to be a little giddy themselves!



“The Sky is the daily bread of the imagination” Ralph Waldo Emerson



“Oh! `darkly, deeply, beautifully blue', As someone somewhere sings about the sky.”
Lord Byron



Sure enough the sun went away by mid afternoon, but I went down to the harbor anyway. It was worth the trip. Click to embiggen and see the mountains.

“Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” Jimi Hendrix





“I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?” Chuang Tzu

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Be proud of your accomplishments. But don't take them too seriously.
~Dr. Lee Jampolsky



Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless. ~Honoré de Balzac



Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night. ~Glade Byron Addams



Love has no desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. ~Kahlil Gibran



He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. ~Cyril Connolly

The World of Travel Today!










Oh! And one more thing!

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas and oil, as well as current market conditions, the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



People who have no weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them. ~ Anatole France



Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better. ~Andre Gide



We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. ~Anaïs Nin



There is a wisdom of the head, and... a wisdom of the heart. ~Charles Dickens



You can't turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again. ~Bonnie Prudden



The trick is growing up without growing old. ~Casey Stengel

ABC -- A!


Hey, it's time to start another round of ABC Wednesday hosted each week by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt! AND today is the A day! Click on the icon, sign up and show us how well you've learned your ABCs!

A is for Appaloosa



The Appaloosa is a horse breed known for its preferred leopard-spotted coat pattern and other distinctive physical characteristics. While there is evidence of leopard-spotted horses dating back to the Paleolithic era in Europe, the Nez Perce people of the American Pacific Northwest developed the American breed. They were once referred to by white settlers as the "Palouse horse," possibly after the Palouse River, which ran through the heart of Nez Perce country. Gradually, the name evolved into "Appaloosa." The Nez Perce lost most of their horses following the Nez Perce War in 1877 and the breed fell into decline for several decades. However, a small number of dedicated breeders kept the Appaloosa alive for several decades until a registry was formed in 1938. Today the Appaloosa is one of the most popular breeds in the United States, and it was named the official state horse of Idaho in 1975.

And A is for Amphora!



A is for Apples and Apricots



Monday, January 18, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. ~Plutarch



You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet



Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. ~Ruth Ann Schabacker

That's My World -- Snoqualmi Falls

Time to share your world and enjoy others as well. That's My World is hosted each week my Klaus and the My World team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. Click on the icon to sign up and share with us the special things in your world. PLEASE! do read and follow the instructions when signing in! Thank you!!

Only about 25 miles from where I live in Seattle is a place called Snoqualmie Falls and any of you who have visited my blog at all have probably seen some of my pictures that I have taken there. My current header pic is one I took there. It is an incredibly beautiful place and I thought I would share with you today.

The history is courtesy of Wikipedia, all the shots are mine except the first one and the winter one which is courtesy of Google.



Snoqualmie Falls is a 268 ft (82 m) waterfall on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington, USA. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions, but is perhaps best known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the Falls every year, where there is a two acre (8,000 m²) park, an observation deck, and a gift shop. The restaurant there is excellent and their food is delicious, but make sure you're really hungry because the portions are huge!!



Most of the river is diverted into the power plants, but at times the river is high enough to flow across the entire precipice, which creates an almost blinding spray. High water occurs following a period of heavy rains or snow followed by warm rainy weather. This can occur during the rainy season which lasts from November through March. During high water, the falls take on a curtain form.



For the Snoqualmie People, who have lived for centuries in the Snoqualmie Valley in western Washington, Snoqualmie Falls is central to their culture, beliefs, and spirituality. A traditional burial site, to the Snoqualmie, the falls are "the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer" and "where prayers were carried up to the Creator by great mists that rise from the powerful flow." The mists rising from the base of the waterfall are said to serve to connect Heaven and Earth.



The falls were first nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 as a traditional cultural property for its association with the beliefs of the Snoqualmie people. However, the property owner, Puget Sound Energy, objected to the listing. The falls were subsequently determined eligible for listing in the National Register. The owners rescinded their objection and on September 2, 2009, the falls were formally listed in the National Register.

Sunday, January 17, 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 her name 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.

Here's this week's picture, followed by my story to go with it:




I don't know about this Roman costume party, George thinks my hairdo looks
like pigs in a blanket, what do you think?

He's right, oink, oink!


For those of you who don't know what "pigs in a blanket" are, they are small sausage rolls wrapped in dough and baked.

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. ~John F. Kennedy



In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play. ~Friedrich Nietzsche



Adults are obsolete children. ~Dr. Seuss



One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination. ~Sam Levenson



Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~Mark Twain



Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman

Pet Pride!


Hey! All you critters, four and two legged, it's time to head over to Bozo's pad in Mumbai to see what's shaking with The Man this week! So, get your human pal to click on the picture of Bozo and sign you up and lets get started!

We had all the guys over again for some play time and it was a lot of fun, but I just wish they weren't all SOOOO much bigger than I am!!



Mojo's Dad came out to referee and we got down to some serious play time!



And then, wouldn't you know it?? It started raining AGAIN! So, we all had to head for home. Mojo was pooped and got right in her bed with one of her Christmas toys.



And I went downstairs and got up on Mom's bed. I was ready for a nap, too, that's for sure!

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