Yours 'til Niagara Falls

A Posting Faux Pas

Actually, that might be a good name for a blog - "Fox Pass"  Anyhoo, I failed to credit the site which pointed me to the Spelling with Flickr idea.  I spotted it on Fred's World: http://fredsworld.wordpress.com/

Spell With Flickr

 

I think this concept is a hoot.  The link is metaatem.net/words/ 

Meet My New Friends

Meet my new friends.  They seem like nice people.  They are the back-to-nature type.  They like to go into the woods and gather mushrooms.  Funny, though, after one of their trips to the forest, it's hard to have a conversation with them.  They seem, oh, I don't know, so vacant.  And they giggle a lot.  But they seem like nice people.  (In reality, this is the border of an apron I bought yesterday.  How could I resist?)

Burma

My prayers, like so many others' go out to the brave people of Burma a.k.a. Myanmar.  What's ironic is that I just finished reading Amy Tan's book Saving Fish From Drowning . Burma is the setting for this book and Amy Tan is able to vividly describe the political situation in the region.  In addition, I was extremely fortunate to have seen the Dalai Lama last year when he came to the University of Buffalo.  It was one of the most moving events of my life. It is astounding just how small this world is getting.

A Rare Picture

This is my room.  Once a week or so, it is actually tidy.  If I am home on Sunday afternoon, I clean while I'm listening to Lynn Rossetto Kasper's radio program which you can find here: www.splendidtable.org .  Excellent foodie chit-chat.  An hour is generally enough time to make my room habitable again.  A nice way to organize cleaning one's house is provided by Allison at Brocante Home Chronicles.  It's one of my favorite sites and her Homekeeper's Organizer is really great.  In particular, the Seasonal Scrub checklist is very helpful to organize major house cleaning.  (The light sconces in my room are an eyesore.  I'm willing to tolerate them until the perfect ones come my way.  I'm thinking copper with a leaf motif.  Good luck to me.)

Saturday Swag

It's a beautiful day in my part of the world - a perfect day for yard sales and thrift stores.  here is what I came home with: A lusterware child's teaset - thin as eggshells.  How these objects survive, I'll never know!  Two dogs.  Naturally anyone normal would not need identical doggie figurines, but I figured these guys have spent several decades together, so who was I to split them up now?  Some 4" Japanese figurines and two swell books of inspiring stories for girls from 1937.  The stories are fairly well-written and the vocabulary level blows my mind!  My favorite item of the day is an oddball goose figurine.  I love the size and the colors.  It looks pretty old.  And the cost of my treasures?  $1.00 each.

Mary Jane's Farm

I don't subscribe to magazines very often for two reasons.  First, they always seem to get a new editor and/or change substantially as soon as I put the subscription whammy on them.  My other compelling reason is that as soon as you subscribe, they start dunning you to re-subscribe. Months in advance.  So, I usually buy magazines one issue at a time from the news stand.  I ordered these dandy periodicals, however, from a company which has never disappointed me.  They are a catalog/magazine hybrid from Mary Jane's Farm.  Good recipes, interesting articles and really great products.  http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/magazine.html is the address.

A Close Call

Last night, as the sun was setting, I took my dog out for a walk.  The trail is isolated enough that she can walk off the lead.  Toward the end of the trail, a pudgy little SKUNK waddles across the trail not five yards ahead of us.  My whole weekend flashed before my eyes.  A weekend filled with lingering clouds of sulphur stench and tomato juice baths.  That vision gave me an adrenaline rush powerful enough to nab Old Bailey just as she was making her charge.  Thank you St. Francis for favors received. (Our dear Saint has a feast day coming up on Thursday.  Many localities have a "Blessing of the Beasts" on that day)  I have a devotion to St. Francis and I made this doll about three years ago.  I thought it was fitting to make the patron saint of animals out of a variety of fibers, including camel, goat and sheep's wool. 

I Am Not Invisible

I am ready to put into words a pet peeve that has reared its head twice in the past 24 hours. Last night I walked into a fairly nice restaurant with a group of six others.  There we were near the hostess station and three different waitresses sauntered past us.  They weren't particularly busy, but not a-one gave us any eye contact, let alone a pleasant greeting.  Our party eventually racked up a bill of over $250.00, and the meal was great, but, with the exception of the waiter for our table, there were no smiles to be had.  This morning I stopped at the local Dunkin Donuts.  I stood at the counter within three feet of a young woman who was facing me filling a pastry tray.  after a full minute, I said in a fairly cheerful tone, "Good Morning"  The girl snarled back "I see you there!"  I'm not a big fan of phlegm-covered donuts, so I kept my mouth shut, but it will be a while before I visit that shop again.  I'm not asking for service people to throw their arms around me or anything, just a little smile of acknowledgment.

Hmmm... Two Bucks is a Lot of Money, Mister

Looky at what I picked up for two dollars at a yard sale just down the street from my humble hut. It was unmarked, so I assumed it would be at least $10.00.  I got a little woozy when the fella named his price.  The incandescent lighting distorts the pretty colors, and the face is beyond cute.  He's 9" tall and still sporting a paper tag with the name "Makowianka".