Mother Nature Gone Wild!!

Monkey Face Orchid (Dracula Simia)

Hooker’s Lips (Psychotria Elata)

Naked Man Orchid (Orchis Italica)

And a group of Naked Men Orchids!!

One Quiet Moment

I count myself lucky, having long ago won a lottery paid to me in seven sunrises a week for life. ~Robert Brault,

A Few Giggles to Start the Weekend!!

Have a fun weekend with lots of giggles and lots of beauty -- wherever you can find them!!

One Quiet Moment

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.    Rabindranath Tagore

The Missing Wife -- Sound Familiar???

Husband :- I lost my wife, she went shopping & hasn't come back yet.
Inspector :- What is her height?Husband :-I never checked.
Inspector :- Slim or healthy?.
Husband :- Not slim, can be healthy.
Inspector :- Color of eyes?
Husband :- Never noticed.
Inspector :- Color of hair?
Husband :- Changes according to season.
Inspector :- What was she wearing?
Husband :- Not sure whether it was a dress or a suit.
Inspector :- Was she driving?
Husband :- yes.
Inspector :- color of the car? . . . . .
Husband :- black Audi A8 with supercharged 3.0 litre V6 engine generating 333 horse power teamed with an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission with manual mode. And it has full LED     headlights, which use light emitting diodes for all light functions and has a very thin scratch on the front left door......................and then the husband started crying...
Inspector:- Don't worry sir,.....We will find your car.

Sky Watch Friday!!

Welcome to Sky Watch!! Time to share the beauty, the drama and the wonder of our skies!!  Join us and enjoy the beauty from all over the world!!
We've had quite a variety of skies lately but they are always beautiful!!

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. --Buddha

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. Lillian Dickson

In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back. Charlie Brown

One Quiet Moment

We do not inherit the earth from our fathers. We borrow it from our children.   David Bower

Remember to Eat Your Banana!!

And More Bananas!!

 

One Quiet Moment

May I never miss a sunset or rainbow because I'm looking down!  Sara June Parker

How About This Advice for the Day!!!

  Meet Mary Everett, 102 years old. She says she has not been to the doctor since she was   in her 40's.What's her secret to good health?

“For better digestion I drink beer, in the case of appetite loss I drink white wine, in the case of low blood pressure I drink red wine, in the case of high blood pressure I drink scotch, and when I have a cold I drink schnapps.”  When asked "do you drink water?”  She replied “I've never been that sick!”
Hey, I think I'm going with her!!!

Our World!!

A trip to Seattle and a visit to an art festival! Always fun, particularly if you enjoy "people watching" as well as the art!!

Welcome to Our World!!  Join us and share the beauty, the interesting aspects and the fun of your world!!

One Quiet Moment

The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live. --Bertrand Russell

Happy Sunday!!

Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. — Henri Nouwen

From one of my favorite places -- the Japanese Gardens!

One Quiet Moment

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.  Seymour Miller/Jill Jackson

Smile!! It's Saturday!!

And more moms and babies!!

Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened.  Anatole France

Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. Mark Twain

I never met an animal I didn't like but I can't say the same about people.. Doris Day

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language. Martin Buber

One Quiet Moment

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

A Day in the Park!!

Always fun to go back to the park!!!

And sure enough!! There was my favorite upside down duck!!

I was amazed at how many colorful flowers were still blooming!!

Sky Watch!!

Welcome to Sky Watch!!  Join us each week and share the beauty your skies and enjoy other beauitful skies from all over the world!! And wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!!

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. ~Rabindranath Tagore

The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary. ~Alfred Kreymborg

Only from the heart can you touch the sky. ~Rumi

One Quiet Moment

Enjoy the journey, enjoy ever moment, and quit worrying about winning and losing -- Matt Biondi

How About Some More Moms and Babes!!!

Always good for a smile on a gray rainy northwest day!!

I love the lions!!

Hope your week is going well!!

Some Clever Ideas Worth Knowing!

 Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.  If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
  ……
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of  spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting. 

  Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.  

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween (leftovers??) make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!!  Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!
                                                   Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.  This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.


Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.  




Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up.
Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.  Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

 

One Quiet Moment

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. --Allan K. Chalmers

Cashews??? Who Knew??

Let me know if you are unable to see the photos -- weird stuff again????

Ever wonder where cashews come from?You might think they grow inside a shell like any other nut, but their origins are far more bizarre. 

First of all, cashews are not actually nuts, but rather fruits from the cashew tree, a large evergreen tree that thrives in tropical climates.

The tree produces red flowers, which in turn produce yellow and red oval structures resembling apples. These so-called cashew apples are very juicy and pulpy, and their juice is often added to tropical fruit drinks.

 However, cashew apples are not actually fruits in a scientific sense...the real fruit of the cashew tree is the kidney-shaped formation growing at the end.

These fruits, also called drupes, are harvested and become what we know as a cashew nut. In their raw form, the other layer of the fruit contains multiple toxins, including anacardic acid, a powerful skin irritant similar to the toxin found in poison ivy that must be removed prior to eating.

 

Roasting the cashews destroys the toxins, but roasting must be performed carefully outdoors because the smoke can irritate the lungs, sometimes to a life-threatening degree.

Cashews, when they are roasted, change from their natural greenish-gray color to the light brown nut sold in stores.

Next time you crack open a tin of cashews, take a moment to appreciate the long journey those little c-shaped nuts took to get from the tree to your table! It also explains why they are so expensive!

Our World

Welcome to Our World!!  Join us and share your world and enjoy others!! So much to be shared and enjoyed!!

Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives. --C. S. Lewis

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.--Marcel Proust

One Quiet Moment

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
-- George Bernard Shaw

Happy Sunday!!

In summer, the song sings itself.
                                                                        Carlos Williams

Have a beautiful Sunday!! Enjoy!