Christmas Eve 2011

I started singing: Oh the weather outside is frightful, the fire inside delightful...

Lou joined in: And since we've no place to go...

Together: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

There was no snow this Christmas so there was no valid reason for that song (in Dean Martin's voice) to run continuously through my head. But it sure was nice to have Lou immediately join Dino and I in letting that out of my head. Nothing more gratifying than to have your seasonal affliction validated so you can move on to other fun for the evening.

The rest of the night there was singing; talking, laughter and of course picture taking. The party moved on to the next place and a new set of people but the fun continued. Here's a few pictures from the night made into a video.

Summer Memories

Two shots taken this past summer. So pretty...such a nice place. I am so lucky to have captured these shots. :)

Great Night

I came across these pictures and I felt they never got the attention they should have at the time. They are from 2009. It was a very rough time period in my life. I needed the fun we were having here. And without fail when you get a few of us together, we may start off rather calm and quiet but we end up having some kind of fun.

This night we started off practicing Michael Jackson moves because....well, because we just can't seem to stop doing that. We aren't very good at it; can't get synchronized no matter how how we try; have no outlet for this spectacular production we are working out in our heads and spend most of our time laughing too hard to be taken seriously anyway. But for some reason we don't give it up. We never admit we can't do it. And we never stop enjoying those practice sessions. They are awesome and so are we!!

Really Big Squash

During the summer I often walked by this field with odd giant squash of some kind growing. It started off looking normal but they just continued to grow and grow to really huge proportions. Compared to the size of the rest of the field there was only a small section with this squash planted in it.

All summer I checked the progress of this squash every time I walked by that end of the field. I wondered what kind of squash it was. I wondered if maybe they were gourds. I wondered why they only planted a small amount. I wondered who owned the field. And I wondered what they were going to do with the giant squash.

At the end of the growing season that squash still sat there. It was huge and it just continued to sit there. The rest of the field was harvested and still that squashy end remained there on it's own. I watched to see what would happen next. And I waited....and waited....and waited.

Until one day I walked by and I was shocked to see that the squash had been plowed under! That beautiful huge squash...that could have used by local shelters...that could have been fed to farm animals...wasted!! Why??

Well I don't know why they did it but I will ask them why or I'll offer to take it off their hands if they plant it again next year. I was raised not to waste food or anything really. It drives me nuts to see all that food gone to waste. And if by chance it is some type of gourd that isn't supposed to be eaten...well, lets see that it gets used as decoration then! Anything is better than letting it rot in the field.

Remembering December 8, 1980

December 8, 1980 we lost John Lennon.

I remember the day well which is a rare event for me. I was 4 months pregnant with my first child, my daughter Sara. I remember going outside that winter day to see some strange man painting huge letters on the town garage that was kitty corner to my parents house. I didn't know who this man was or why he was defacing the barn but I remember being angry that he was doing it. I called the police and let them handle it.

Meanwhile after going back inside I heard on the news that John Lennon had been killed...shot to death. I was shocked and very upset. I didn't know what to do with myself so I grabbed a coat and went back outside. I stared at that barn for a long time. In huge red letters it said 'This is for you John...'. Now I felt bad for having called the police and gotten that man in trouble. Now I understood.

Later that week I found out the man was a boyfriend (Ray)of a friend of mine. He got community service for writing on the barn and he was supposed to also paint over what he had written. I don't know if he ever did his community service but I do know he came back and finished what he had started. The barn now read:
'This is for you John. Give peace a chance.'

Ray never painted over that message and no one ever tried to make him. That message remained on the barn until it was torn down many many years later. It became our own tribute to John Lennon.

I don't regret calling the police on Ray. The only thing I ever knew him to do right was to write that message on that barn. December 8, 1980 we lost John Lennon and the whole world cried for him.

Thanks, Ray.

I Have An Itis

It started as a sneeze or two,
and a tissue here and there
It came with just a tiny cough,
and still I didn't care

It grew and grew as time went on
and then became a wheezing
Each breath I took with some concern
felt very hellish teasing

And now it hurts my throat and chest
with chills and hacking cough
and rumbles through my head all day
almost takes my head right off

I finally go to see the doctor
he gave me orange pills
he says I have an 'itis'
and it comes with those damn chills!

So with the meds and plenty of rest
some fluids to help me fight this
he says I'll soon be feeling better
and be rid of this bronchitis! :)

Impostors

Sidewalk chickens...I know I've mentioned them before. And I've been looking for them for months now but they just haven't been out and about when I was. But I stuck to it.

And then it happened! A couple of months ago I saw chickens! But they weren't on the sidewalk so technically I suppose they can't be called sidewalk chickens. They were in front of a cemetery next to a church. So I'm not sure if they'd be called church chickens or cemetery chickens. And to be honest they weren't alone either. There was a guinea hen or two sauntering around amongst them there chickens...trying to blend in I'm sure.

So for now I'll post these pictures of church chickens/guinea hens because I'm sure I won't be seeing any sidewalk chickens until next year. I can't speak for the guinea hens (because they obviously have a mind of their own) but most chickens tend to stick closer to home during the winter months.
But come spring time and through the summer I'll still be on the look out for those sidewalk chickens!

Pheasants

One female and two males. I saw them all poking around near the side of the road when I was on my way to work. And THAT is why I carry a camera with me almost everywhere I go!