Leftovers Soup

Beautiful day out in the garden

2009-05-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

This was taken on the prettiest day of the years...so far. I was in the garden behind the house and trying to catch shots of a tiny humming bird. On the trees below you might be able to see him, or her...if you look very closely. Meet Tiki. He usually hides in the shadows. He's a very shy one!

Ah! The beauty of a warm spring day and a visiting humming bird!

Yes, that's my friend perched on the very tip top of the tree. Isn't the sky a vibrant beautiful blue today!?

It started to cloud up, which cooled things down a bit. We were nice and cozy in the sun. Still, I enjoyed being out on this wonderful day. Life updates follow the clouds.

Wow. Life has gotten interesting and so busy. Before I started dating, I thought I was busy, but now, well, life must be lived, so why keep putting it off. I like fun as much as anyone.

So, I am learning lots of new things... get your mind out of the gutter. I was married for over 20 years so I know a bit about "that". But, you may be a little bit right....this just isn't the place or time to tell about "those" things.

I am dating again and that's been fun. Some good, some not so good. Since, I'm not into casual encounters and on-night stands and am not a swinger I do become a bit discouraged from time to time, but how do you know about something until you experience that something.

I have a date coming up with a younger guy... not "that" young. 28. I've never gone out with anyone younger than me before. So far he's been very polite when we've talked.

I've dated a man 10...okay 2 men, Ten years my senior. Nice guys. Nothing exclusive with either yet. I really really like MarkC but, he's polyamorous and I just don't think he'd want the relationship to last. Maybe he'll surprise me. No way of knowing.

My last date was with Randy. He's seperated and has been for quiet a long time. This is the 4th time in 24 years. Still seems to be a nice guy. Since he's not divorced, I want to be real careful with this, if you know what I mean, but it's still nice to get together and have fun.

Tonight I have a wonderful date coming up. I just know this one will be great. MarkC and I are going to the Celtic Women's concert in Seattle. Then because of the late hour, I'll be staying the night at the Mayflower Park Hotel. Nice place! No, I must admit, not alone, but what fun would there be in that? Working out in their fitness suite? I can workout alone, at home.

Changes are in the air with work too. Well, the doc I last took Erni too, said there's something going on with his heart, but it would not be wise to waste lots of time and energy and perhaps make her even more anxious than she already is. He said he didn't expect her to see 73. That was 11 years ago.

She declines every day. A noticeable difference. It's sad really. Anyway, in mid June her daughter is moving in downstairs and will take over the night shift. Erni is scared and confussed. Then gets more confussed and frustrated at her confussion. She says she knows the end is close.

In August I am moving. Not sure where, but Dori will be renting out her place while her husband is out of town and when he gets back they will move into here, which means, I need to vamoose.

In some ways that will be good. I'll be able to freely entertain some friends. I will only work 10 hour days for the most part...if Erni is still with us, if not I still plan to work 12 hours or less a day. This always working is not ideal! And it will give Dori the chance to spend some time with her mother. I think they both need that.

So, now you know all that's going on. why I rarely up date and hopefully, you still love me!

Book Meme

2009-04-22T11:50:00.001-07:00

I am always reading. Often I am reading more than one book on any given day. The book that has caught my attention most recently, and very close at hand is The Ethical Slut. So that is the book I will use for this meme. It's nothing like what I expected and is an informative read.

See rules below for joining me on the meme. I never find 5 willing to take part, so I invite one and all to contribute.

My contribution for this particular time around is from The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton & Catherine A. Liszt. Following the picture is my excerpt. And following the excerpt is the rules.

One of the things peole get out of multiple relationships is the chance to be all of their various selves. When two people meet, they relate where they intersect, where they have complementary roles in similar scripts. So, being different things to different lovers, we might find ourselves having different boundaries, limits and relationship styles in different circumstances.

That might manifest in a variety of ways. For instance, I might be calm and centered when Lover A is angry, but Lover B's irritablity is distressing to me - it "pushes my buttons," perhaps reminding me of a past lover or a punitive parent. In this case I need to own my buttons, and figure out if my limits with Lover B are going to be different from my limits with Lover A.

Rules: 1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more. 2. Open it to page 123. 3.Find the first 5 sentences and write them down. 4.Then invite 5 friends to do the same. Even though I am not putting any names down, CONTRIBUTE! All of you. PLEASE!

I tried this book meme thing once before, so If you'd like to see that...just scroll to the bottom of the page. I used an excerpt from Aileni's e book that time. You should check that out, just because his book is so well written and fascinating.

Feel free to post your book meme on my comments, if you don't want to post them on your own blog.

2009-04-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

N is for... nap

Cozy and so Comfy
I'll snuggle next to you
Playing can wait a while
I've nothing better to do

I dream of little brother
He gives his toys to me
I take his yellow truck
He giggles withsuch glee

My pretty little sister
Thinks she makes me mad
But I love to see her happy
She really isn't bad

We snuggle up with Mommy
And dream our little dreams
This feels just like heaven
It's later than we'll scream!

Bren and the twins are taking a nap together.

2009-04-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

For a purple post, this is really stretching it, but isn't the purple on this African Violet just beautiful! What can I say? At least the basket is purple. I had to find a good reason to post this cute pic of Baby Damion. Isn't he cute. Know what's funny? He looks like Grace did when she was a baby.

Life update

2009-04-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, So nice of you to stop in. This is a photo of Yours Truly and my Teen Angel.

Do you know the name for these? Or anythng about them? AND...work work work work work

2009-04-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Did you see the pictures at the very beginning? I want to know if anyone knows what the name of these are. Thank you very much. The tree with the red flowers is beautiful. I have no idea what it is though. Mimosa, I am thinking. There's a pink on on the other side of the garden too. The other picture posted here is of a shrub. No leaves yet, just these pretty flowers with a tea fragrance.

A touch of heaven... the first blossoms of spring.

2009-04-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist. My favorite flower, the hyacinth, I just put the little beauties in a water glass. The fragrace is just heavenly. I am doing well, and beginning to find HOPE.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

2009-03-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Hello friends... (reminds me of Shakespeare, but then you ladies may begin to feel left out, if I fully quote him, so we'll just stick with hello friends.)

I am not posting any pictures right now, I have to get out and take some first, and THE CAMERA....
Well, It's the Camera's fault. I just can't get it to work nice with the computer. I can't download the pics!

I do hope I will get some pics posted soon.

The hands of time

2009-03-29T00:12:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a bit late, but I really like this picture. It's my elderly friend's hand and mine. The wiser elders have much that we can learn from them.

Behold the beauty of the sky. It's sky watch Friday.

2009-03-26T22:22:00.001-07:00

This lovely photo was taken last Monday morning at 7am. It looks like a water-color painting to me. The picture below is in Monochrome, but I loved the streak of light formed by the rising sun behind the clouds.

I so badly wanted to post my new pictures, taken with my new camera, and haven't yet figured out how to get it compatable with my computer. Drat!

So until I do, Here's the post I wanted to post Monday and couldn't. It seems appropriate to post them now.

Enjoy watching the sky.

Cute Camera Critters

2009-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

For our Camera Critters today, I thought this was adorable. Gracie took this picture of Whiskers. I agree with the kitty. I need a drink. This little guy was adopted found in a box, starved and injured. He only has 3 legs. He got around quiet well, and is doing fine, and is still mischievous!. Oh, they named him Tripod and called him Tri.

Puff the magic Dragon?

2009-03-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

I call this one Draco Clouds.

Clouds, like puzzles, may eventually form an image if you have imagination and look hard enough. To see more sky pictures, just click on the Sky Watch Friday button on the upper right of today's blog page.

2009-03-17T23:52:00.000-07:00

I is for Ireland. This is Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland. The history of this castle and my Irish forefathers who built the original castle is very Intriguing. I could tell you all about it, but you can find out more on the Internet. The castle now generates Income. It has been turned into a Hotel, Golf course, and "community". Some very crafty Individuals came up with an Ingenious plan. Still it is a beautiful part of Ireland and my history. Now, if I just had a few million to buy a small part of it, since they are selling pieces of it....

Monochrome Monday

2009-03-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quiet like the sky in the wee hours of the morning. Even with cloud coverage as in the bottom photo. I love the contrast of the beautiful moon in the black sky. Strange, but I'd love to have a huge mural like this covering my ceiling. It is interesting in these photos that no stars are seen.

Many more monochrome photos can be found through Aileni's Maniacs page.

1 Single Impression+2 fer Tuesday=3 Pictures

2008-07-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

this week… Through a Window

Check out her poem and lovely photography while you’re at it.

The photos below were taken from my windows. I've always enjoyed my windows. Each room (except for my bathroom and teen-angels room) has a huge window that takes up an entire wall. They are 7 ft.x9ft. The first is taken from my kitchen, the next from my bedroom, and the last from my kitchen also.

Enjoy my view.

Lovely tree of mine
Far about the ground below
Summer’s gift bestowed

Two fer Tuesday

Just post pictures in multiples of two, of the same topic.
Visit Jonna for more "Two Fer" pictures.

A mighty oak tree
Through the window I do see
Pretty leaves of green

Seen from my window
Little acorns I planted
Will one day be trees

Bridges Between

2008-07-07T02:26:00.000-07:00

This is my first post for Bridges Between. So join me on ...
A trip down Memory Lane
If you travel south on Hwy 79, Right on the county line between Saline and Grant counties, Arkansas, you will arrive at the Saline River Bridge. It used to be called the Tull Bridge. The bridge is in fair shape and is open to vehicular traffic. But this is not the bridge that sticks out in my memory.

When I was a young girl, and also when I was a teen-ager, we would drive for about 45 minutes to get to my dad’s favorite swimming spot. He would get off the road at the Tull Bridge, and then we would drive right next to the river, heading west for about a mile. I remember being afraid that the car would fall into the river. When he could go no farther we would get out and walk the rest of the way. It was a 10-minute walk from our parking spot. We’d often get stuck I the mud, and dad would get his “come-alongs” out and pull his old ’68 Chevy BelAir out of the mud. You could hear a train coming from miles away. We always wanted to hurry before it got there and count the cars being pulled. I’m not sure why but we were afraid of being too close.

We’d walk under the old bridge and admire her. She was so far overhead. We'd also search for flint up under the railroad bridge.

If we were in the river swimming and a train was coming, my father would tell us all to be quiet. I’m not sure why this was worthy of our reverence, but we’d all stop playing and stand in quiet awe as the train passed by.

I almost drowned in that river when I was 8or9 years old. I had just learned a few basics of swimming, and thought I was doing a great job, when I got over my head. I tried to stand up and couldn’t. I started to panic, and after what seemed to be an eternity, my dad ran into the river… he didn’t even want to swim that day. Well, he rescued me. He always called me a limp dishrag after that. I remember him trying to dry his driver’s license and photos.

How well I remember gathering up the old mussel shells and seeing the center pier from the lost bridge. In this photo it is visible behind the remaining railroad bridge.
One standing and one lost… railroad bridges over the Saline River south of Benton, near Old River Bridge. The center pier from the lost bridge is visible behind the remaining railroad bridge. It was built in 1899 and it was closed to traffic in 1974.
The bridge that stands today is a Single Warren through truss with two pony plate girder spans. The bridge that was lost was a Two-span Pratt through truss.

To learn what Bridges Between is all about look at RuneE's blog here.

Meet our Camera Critter, Guinevere

2008-07-05T16:14:00.001-07:00

Here is what I call our adorable gwenny-pig. She thought she was being crafty sneaking up to the bowl of apples.
She can be very persuasive. Every girl needs a nice soft bed with cushie pillows.

For more photos, visit Camera Critters,hosted by Misty.You'll be glad you did!

Join the book MEME

2008-04-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have done this once before, but no one responded. Maybe my book excerpt was too boring. I'll do an even better one. Inside the Rainbow by Aileni Calonyddaear. I'll even give you an extra paragraph to whet your whistle. The novel is only online, but the pages are numbered... uh, some of them anyway. You really should read the book. It's very intriguing. It's more like a message within a message. See for yourself. The book excerpt follows the rules.

The Book Meme.....
You have been tagged by me for this meme. It is a book meme, and here are the rules:
Rules:
1. Grab the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
2. Open it to page 123.
3.Find the first 5 sentences and write them down.
4.Then invite 5 friends to do the same. If your name is below I invite you to contribute. (I just might read the same book that you use.)
Aileni
Meri
Aims
Damma T
Gracie
anyone else who would like to post one would be more than welcome also.

The book I choose was Inside the Rainbow by Aileni Calonyddaear
"You poor boy", Tondalle said, His hands fluttering about Semyon's shoulders, before he overcame his habitual reticence and grasped the youngster reassuringly. "Your experiences yesterday and the muck they pumped into you have upset your system. You are hallucinating." He did not pursue the question of two lines from Hofmanstahl and he would not mention his dream again. However his ward had other ideas and his next words chilled Tonhalle.
"I know what you dreamed and I know where you hope - but it wasn't the planet below us now. It was as if you were in another time.... or, or," he stammered... "or in another history!"
Distracted, Tonhalle tried to soothe: "Look Semyon- don't regard it. Put it out of your mind, it will only make you ill if you try to make sense of it." He straightened up. "I must get MedLab."
"NO!........
Now go read it for yourself. You can find it at this link: http://cennad.googlepages.com/home