SkyWatch Friday With a Bit of Fence

Beautiful warm temperatures and clear, sunny skies greeted us aw we did our part to care for this corner of Planet Earth.

Old hippie must recycle!

Sun feels good during this brief warmup before another cold front.

Newly formed pond as a result of a filled in cave.  Old ranch fence and native cactus.

Click here for more skies across Planet Earth.  Click here for more fences.

Thursday Photo Challenge - - Red

These wildflowers were photographed in Kootenay National Park, BC, Canada in June, 2008.  I have been unable to identify the name for this little beauty.  

If you feel up to seeing RED today then join the group of photo contributors at the Thursday Challenge hosted by Dale Hudjik at spunwithtears.com.

Vortex Of Life

What did you get caught up in this week?

A snow storm?

A wind storm?

The storm of Life?

What spiral of activity did you encounter?

Laundry with no end?

A backed up stool?

A baby that was ill?

Did you feel you were being sucked into the vortex?

As a shattered barn pulled into a tornado?

As a ruthless mob breathed to life by talking heads?

As an uplifting joy at the sound of a loved one calling your name?

With what will you allow Life to engulf your being?

A life surrounded with storms of drudgery?

A blustery life filled like a cesspool with nothing but hate?

A calmness of faith to weather the storms of Life?

In my mind I remember the sight of the little girl on Saturday.

She was wearing a sweet dress with an extra ruffle at the hem.

The Cub Scouts raced their pinewood derby cars in a straight line.

She twirled and twirled with arms outstretched in a vortex of pleasure.

Simple pleasure.

Get swept up in the discussion on vortex over at Ginny's and Gretchen's Spin Cycle!

MLK, The Land of B I G and Campers

MLKjr

Arnebya at What Now and Why had another great post on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  She began her post asking what you were doing when you heard of the assassination of Dr. King.  Unlike when someone asks me about President Kennedy or his brother, Robert, my location did not immediately pop into my mind.  After having to think about where I was when I heard the report was during the evening news.  It bothered me that Dr. King's death had not impacted me more.  I used the computer, did some research and realized that was when it was announced, during the evening news.  Dr. King was shot at 6:01 PM and pronounced dead at 7:05 PM at a nearby hospital in Memphis, TN.  I was sitting in the living room at Lazy Acres Apartments in Dallas, Texas.  But I had to think about it.

I do not remember where I was when I heard about the attempt on Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan. The attempt on George Wallace that left him crippled is nothing I can recall in relation to my location.  I do remember where I was when told of the Oklahoma bombing and the 9/11 attacks.  My take on all this is pretty simple, if you feel a connection to something there is more impact when a tragedy happens.  It is a shame on me that I was not more in tune with Dr. Kings message.  It is people like me, the folks in the middle that are probably the greatest hurdle that keeps The Dream from being The Reality.

In The Land of B I G

Husband and I find ourselves surrounded by many extended cab, dual rear tires, all decked out to the nines pickups these days.  Surely in the Austin area there are plenty of energy conscious vehicles as well as guzzler suv's like our Jeep Wrangler.  We see more 10 gallon cowboy hats than we are accustomed to seeing.  Cowboy boots are common as bluebonnets in spring.  In short we are living in the heart of Texas Longhorn country.   This is ranching country.  This is big farm country.  It is Ford F150 and Dodge Ram country.  The saying is, "Everything is B I G in Texas."

I was struck by one passenger in one of the farm pickup trucks recently.  Cowboy hat, a plug of chew in his mouth with a little trickling out of the corner was next to us at a traffic light.  Cowboy became agitated and  reached into the floorboard.  In a state where guns are little gods, one can become concerned when an agitated person is reaching into the floorboard.  I sat for a split second in slight fear.  The the huge hatted cowboy/rancher in the well used ranch truck pulled a tiny chihuahua up and gingerly placed in the back seat of the extended cab.

Laughter spilled from me at this sight.  Really, think about this.  In the land of B I G, a chihuahua in an extended cab, dual rears with extended wheel base pickup truck with a big cowboy.  Pretty funny.

Campers

Almost half of my life I thought that camping as staying at a really cheap hotel.  Somewhere along the way I changed.  Maybe it was how affordable vacations become without hotel or motel costs.  Maybe it was our son becoming a Scout.  I cannot explain it but I grew to enjoy camping, tent camping.  Multiple vacations have been taken with about half the nights being spent in tents.  Cold weather, skunks, steaming hot weather, raccoons, good campsites, rain, leaking tents, high winds, crummy campsites, mesquitoes, noisy campers and closed campgrounds have been some of the experiences.  No matter, we both have enjoyed many of our adventures.

2008 Lake Jenny campsite

If we win the lottery.

Our last camping was done in 2008 in a too small tent.  Husband said no more tent camping in such a small tent.  We looked at really big tents and located some we thought would work.  Life brought changes not to mention that we are 6 years older now.   For the last couple of years we have been doing on line researching of small campers that the Jeep could pull easily.  One camper trailer has us intrigued.  It is the Alto Safari Condo and is manufactured in Canada.  It is, also, most likely out of our price range/budget.

But one can dream, one must dream.  And one must remember.

Flag Football

For the second day in a row we attended grandson activities.  Middle grandson is playing flag football.  It is fun to watch the coaches work with the children which includes a very talented young girl.  She grabs more than her fair share of flags.  Anyway it is surely fun to watch as she is not intimidated at all by the male dominated teams.  Another 4 or 5 year old girl outside the field was tossing a softball with her mom.  Lots of folks would thing this is a women's movement equal opportunity success.  For me it was just a throwback Sunday.

Our gym was wider than this.

As a girl growing up in a farming community in the 1940's & 50's girls did pretty much anything.  My older sisters would drag race and win pretty often.  We three older sisters all attended the country school in the community where we lived.  Due to the age spread only the older two attended the school at the same time. There was a Quonset hut style gym that was built during the 30's or 40's.  It was wide enough to have a full size basketball court with two sides having 3 rows of about 3 foot deep bleachers.  A jukebox was set in the concession area.  The concession area provided space for roller skates.  It was a real multipurpose building with a stage, dressing rooms and an attic area at one end.

There was a ball field in one corner of the school yard.  The outfield was next to a corn patch sort of like in the movie, Field of Dreams.  In the 50's when I attended the school the student population was really small. I played football, softball and "hard" ball.  Annie Over was a favorite pass time until the Quonset hut type gym burned one summer.  I relished being able to throw that ball all the way over the building every now and then.  But I did not have the strength or the technique of a couple of the guys and a couple of my girlfriends.

What fun to yell "Annie" and hear the "Over" reply.  I can still hear the sound of the ball hitting the metal roof of the gum and rolling across.  Then to wait in anticipation for the sound of the other team kids running as fast as legs would move to tag as many as possible if the ball had been caught.  Red Rover, jumping ropes, swinging, see-sawing, tag and playing on the 'monkey bars' added to all the fun.  Of course we were allowed to make play houses and bring dolls from home so it was not all tomboy play.

It was a joy to sit on an aluminum team bench today.  The sun was beaming in a cloudless sky.  A stiff wind kept us comfortable as well as hanging onto our hats.  We watched Middle grandson grab the flag of the runner just short of a touchdown.  Next play he intercepted the ball and ran it all the way back for a touchdown.  Love watching him so excited and celebrating with team members.  We felt sad for the other team's quarterback whose pass had been intercepted.  The other team's couch had to take a time out to comfort the quarterback who was in tears.  There is crying in flag football and it was not the girl.

I leave you knowing that kids are still playing ball, skinning knees, crying in disappointment and jumping for joy.  Here is wishing my readers an Annie Over, home run, good fun kind of a week.

Early Rising

I sleep late especially for a senior citizen.  I am rarely awake before 9 in the morning.  And my husband is not much more of an early riser either.  Part of this is because bedtime is 1 to 3 AM most nights.  This morning was different as we needed to be at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby races by 9 AM.  We went to bed at an early midnight.  Husband set his Sonic Boom alarm clock for 7 AM.

The sound portion of the alarm clock seems to not be working.  I have not check this to verify if there is a setting incorrectly or what.  Not that I doubt Husband's assessment but we both know to recheck each other these days.  Like today we were heading home and I gently mentioned the script I need to pick up at Sam's. Sure enough, he had forgotten the conversation about the script.  It had been about 7 minutes since the conversation.  He could tell you stories about me from just today, too.


Anywho,  it may have been the fear that the sound was working but I awoke at 6:30 and began my morning stretching and exercises.   The clock struck 7 and the alarm went off setting the bed to vibrating.  Husband awoke, turned off the alarm and headed to the bathroom.  We did so good and were at the school to watch the boys cars run their races.  Youngest came in 5th in his age group.  Middle had a major problem.  His car did not make it to the finish line.  He was one unhappy scout.

Example of track used today.

There was a new speed record set with one of the little wheeled pieces of wood going the 44 feet in 3 seconds..  We are talking about some serious engineering by scouts and their parents.  There were 12 finalists that ran 12 heats.  The time were all below 3.8 seconds for the 12 cars.  That is really amazing. The races are high tech with computers attached to the start gate and photocell finish lines.  It was a pleasure to be a part of the boys experience this morning as just background onlookers.  Contact with the boys amounts to mostly a wave, a hug as they pass by on the way for donuts and a high five as we all leave.

We met up again with Son at his apartment.  He finished packing for another business trip.  This trip is to Australian cities and Singapore.  I choose to sit in the warm sun in the car while he packed.  Of course I fell soundly asleep.  I mean, mouth open, snoring and drool down my cheek asleep in the front seat of the Jeep. I was awakened by Husband's unlocking the door and asking why I had not answered my phone.  I promised I never heard it ringing.  No matter, time to get in Son's vehicle and find some lunch.

Today's lunch was at Thai Cuisine.  Yes, that is the name of the restaurant.  This was our first Thai food experience so Son gave us the basics of Thai cooking.  There are similarities with other Asian food we have eaten.  In honor of Springfield's Cashew Chicken I chose the Thai version.  It was a delightfully different dish.  Here are a few pictures of the appetizer buffet.  It was all yummy.

Wish I could tell you what these tasty bits of food are named but, alas, dead brain cells do not recall the name.  But if you are ever in the Austin area, this could be a good stop over for a meal.  It is on West Parmer.

With a request for a to go box, I took the remainder of the generous portion for my evening meal.  And with that we were back in the car and on the way to the airport.  We said bye to our only child at the curbside. Wished him safe travels and we drove away leaving him to check in by himself.  Another change from 'olden times' when one could accompany a departing person to the waiting area.  But that is a story for another day.

After leaving Son's vehicle at his apartment, we climbed into the Jeep and headed to Sam's for my script. The aforementioned gentle reminder in re the script elicited the proper response as we arrived at Sam's.  Husband stayed in the Jeep while I went in to pick up my script.  A problem with one of the customer's orders led to a lengthy wait.  Being my mother's daughter, I made a friend in line.  Eventually I returned to the Jeep.  Husband was not asleep.  He agreed for a visit to World Market two shops away from Sam's.

We managed to mostly window shop in World Market.  There were some chairs I had seen on line that I wanted him to see.  These would be dining chairs to replace the eight we sold.  Only just two chairs with the remaining being folding or stacking chairs.  A box of biscotti did find its way home with us.  We arrived home within a minute as the shopping center is just across the street from our apartment.  It was now 7 PM and we jointly declared it to be pajama time.  Two folks a little beyond middle age ready to relax from a busy day following an early rising.

Skywatch Friday

Icy/snowy weather with clouds on either side gave an unusual landscape this morning in Austin, TX.  For other international skies visit Skywatch Friday.

The Awards

Gretchen of Second Blooming and Ginny of Lemon Drop Pie have given The Spin Cycle bloggers a theme of Awards.  I found my brain trying to overachieve on this again instead of just doing the simpler, obvious awards.  What the heck, I shall just let it go.

Screw up Award goes to:    Husband!
This award is to recognize the agility with which my husband can turn a Phillips head screw.  Let me tell you it is beauty in action.  Since the move there have been so many pieces of furniture, shelves, equipment, TVs, carts, hooks ad infinitum that needed to be disassembled and reassembled or unmounted and remounted on the wall.  I curse Phillips head screws. They are his favorite form of attachment.  Just last evening he saved me as I attempted to screw in just four of the despised screws.  He did it beautifully.  And you thought I was gonna' talk about something he did wrong!

Taking down stuff at the old house

Award for Most Dramatic goes to:  My Mom!
My Mom deserves the title of Drama Queen.  Today her call was to announce she had "squalled all night. That letter Arlene wrote just set me to squalling (crying).  All those nice things the people said about us."  The background for this latest drama is the house Mom and Daddy had bought in 1960 was purchased by my sister in 2008.  Last week Sister sold the home to the granddaughter of the man who built the house.  I thought that sounded like full circle, really good thing to happen the our family's home.  Not for Mom.  The night after the papers were signed she called.  She in sobs choked our, "I do not have a home anymore." Today's drama was receiving a printout of the post my sis made on Facebook and the responses.  I understand feelings about the house that was her home.  Mom gets angry with commentators on TV and calls us to yell about them.  While on a vacation with us to celebrate their 65 wedding anniversary Mom became so angry with Dad over something that happened the first year they were married she did not speak to him for several hours. Thanks, Mom, for feeling so deeply.

Award for Crazy Buzy Life goes to:  My Son!
Between sharing custody of his three sons, being an HR executive with Home Away, dating a lovely woman, helping with scouts, being a soccer coach, running 5 miles 3 and 4 times a week and the list goes on.  His work with this international company requires conference call sat all hours of the day and night with folks in Asia, The Pacific Rim, Australia, Europe and South America.  He left the field following a flag football game of his middle son and headed for the airport.  Five days later he returned on Friday and picked up the boys for his weekend with them.  He feels good to have his emails down to only about 100.  Thanks, Son, for still having time in the busy-ness of your life to spend a Saturday afternoon with us.

Award for Service to our Nation by a Woman goes to:  My friend Bernadette
Bernie grew up in a small town in the 1950's.  She wanted to go to college.  Bernie's dad was a coal miner and the funds for college were not available from him.  A girlfriend and Bernie sort of on a lark went to the recruiting office.  These two girls went to college and became Army nurses.  Bernie served in Vietnam as a field nurse.  She still suffers from PTSD as a result of the horrors she witnessed.  I know many men of my generation and generations before that served.  Bernie is the only female with whom I have been friends. Bernie served on the Veterans Commission for the State of Missouri for about 6 years.  During that time on the commission her son was on active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Last fall she was honored by having her story placed in our nation's Library of Congress.  Here is her picture in AARP in the November, 2013, issue.  Thanks, Bernie, for your service to our servicemen and our nation.

Bernadette at a Sorority Ritual

Award for Time Wasting goes to:  Blogger Spell Check
Being a very poor speller, I always doubt my spelling.  The spell check is f o r e v e r highlighting words I thought were correct.  I will open a second window and check the spelling.  So there, Mr. Time Waster, no thank you!

Caution, drippy sweet award coming up next.

Awards for most Encouraging Meme Bloggers go to:  Gretchen & Ginny
These two ladies have been so kind to encourage a senior citizen to join in the fun of blogging.  The expansion of a blog from just a personal journal into the Meme world has so broadened the landscape of blogging.  The Spin Cycle was a springboard into photo memes, poetry, crafts, cooking and learning from the perspective of other bloggers.  Encouraging comments on certain posts have given me courage to be, well, me in my posts.  Thank you both, Gretchen and Ginny, for your kindness and encouragement.

To read other's awards pick just click on over to The Spin Cycle!

Icy Weather

Sitting in the apartment being very pleased we  have no reason to get out of the house.  Husband had left his cell in the Jeep.  He decided to go get it and found ice on the ramp just outside our apartment.  The hallways in this complex are open to elements at each end.  The wind and rain had blown in the opening causing the moisture on the ramp.  Sort of surprising that it was cold enough to have an ice coating 30' from an opening. That is serious wind!

We are being concerned as old parents do.  Well, parents of all ages do.  There have been lots of pileups and fender benders all over the area.  Lots of flyovers and all are ice covered.  We live near a fire station which means we hear all the sirens on the way to accidents.  By living in the area where I 35, State 45 tollway and Mopac converge there are lots of sirens some days.  Lots of traffic as a main Dell computer campus is less than 2 miles away.

Not much else going on except some picture hanging, hook hanging, etc.  Put together another barstool so 3 kids have room to sit and eat.  Also, a small kitchen cart is being assembled.  Guess you could say we are just screwing around in the icy weather.  Take care, friends.  And those in the colder climes, stay warm!

Wild Bird Wednesday & Thursday Photo Challenge -- Shadows

Photo memes are great fun.  I am pleased to be having enough time to participate in these blogs once again. I am choosing photos from previous shoots for this week submission.  Wild Bird Wednesday is simply just what it says, pictures of wild birds.  This week's Thursday Photo Challenge is shadows.  I am choosing to combine the two in this post.

Just click here for birds and here for shadows.   Now see my take during a 2010 visit by a flock of cedar waxwings in our former back yard. The birds were attracted by the American Cranberry fruits.

Wine Class

One of our Christmas gifts was a wine tasting class at Central Market.  We surely did enjoy this class this evening.  We sampled 5 different Pinot Noir along with cheese, breads and sausages.  Yum.  The wines were from Burgandy, France, Argentina, Oregon, and two California wineries.  We brought one wine home with us from the Amica Wine Cellers of California.

There are some folks who have been kind to invite us into their home for dinner several times over the last few years.  They are friends of our son.  They enjoy wine and good cheeses.  I purchased some brie and puff pastry to give the baked brie a try.  One of the cheeses we were served tonight was a lovely, creamy cheese.  Probably will have to make my way back down to Central Market next month to get some of that cheese, too.  Once I have that in place along with some other hors d' oeuvres I will get a date set to invite the friends over here.

We received the check for our dining chairs last week!  I was pleased with the amount they brought.  Now if the furniture refinisher will ever get Mom's table completed!  There are still two pieces of furniture at the consignment store.  Hoping they sell soon!  I may see if the consignment store takes pictures.  I seem to have about 4 times as many pictures as I have walls to hang them!  Most are either still unpacked from the move or stacked in a box in our closet.

I had a thought today about a blog subject I hoped would be fun and of interest.  It is a real shame I cannot for the life of me remember a thing about it.  Maybe if I just go to bed and sleep on it I can remember.  But do not count on it.  I probably killed a few brain cells at the wine class tonight.  Oh, well, raise a glass with us and Cheers!

Grandpa Is Almost Always Right

Son, Oldest and Youngest grandsons dropped by this afternoon.  Son had been in Brazil on business so he was ready for down time.  Middle Grandson was in Houston with his drum group playing for America's Got Talent.  That is pretty exciting stuff!

It had been a few weeks since the boys had been here to the apartment.  We have been going to their place to visit.  What this means is I have had time to get more of the games and other toys unpacked and made easily available.

Youngest and I explored the two storage rooms.  He loved being able to find games and a jump rope in the level one storage area.  In the upper level we found what is probably a genuine antique toy, a carrom board.  This was used by Ninjapa and his brother as youngsters so you know it is old.  Youngest thought it would be a great choice for playing.  It was sure fun to see the excitement in his eyes uncovering this treasure.

Not ours but close

Again, not ours but close.

We brought the board into the apartment.  It was a big success.  Youngest and Oldest helped me set it up on a small, low cart.  They played a game then it was Ninjapa's turn with Youngest.  After Youngest 'beat' Gramps, he was ready for some outside activity.  It was time then for Ninjapa and Oldest to play.  It was decided the board and the little circle's could use a good polishing before the next visit.

While the older guys were watching games on TV and playing carrom, Youngest was videoing a bird in a tree across the street.  I went outside to check on him.  He was wishing for more birds to video.  We walked to the nearby pond that almost always has ducks paddling around.  We were not disappointed as there were probably at least 50 ducks.  If his eyes lit up at the carrom board, they were like fireworks seeing the ducks.

Youngest was so sweet and fun as he cautiously moved along the steep banks of the pond/water runoff area.  Something spooked the ducks and most took flight.  He was able to get it on video.
Using the paved area of the shopping center we walked closer to the end of the pond where the few remaining ducks were paddling.  At last I declared we needed to get back as we had been gone quite a long time.  His dad might be worried about us.  So we headed back and that is when the big excitement happened.

I had been seeing a bird I thought was a hawk for a couple of weeks.  Husband/Grandpa/Ninjapa assured me it was a turkey vulture.  I had been on line looking at the different types of hawks but Husband was the expert.  But there across the pond was a hawk.  It plunged into the grass and disappeared while lunching of some varmint.   After a time it rose and headed for a tree.  Not liking that perch it took to the air.  It circled downward and then within 30 ft. of Youngest and I was a hawk gracefully sailing.  And Youngest had it all on video.

http://jeffincypress.blogspot.com/2011/03/anahuac-red-tailed-hawks.html

I told Youngest I needed him to show Grandpa the video cause I was right for a change.  "I am almost never right,"  I said to youngest.  "Yes, Grandpa is ALWAYS right, Grandma, except this time," was Youngest's reply.  And we headed for the apartment to show Grandpa that Grandma can sometimes be right.

Why Can't I Be .... and SkyWatch Friday

In years past I have awakened to views out my bedroom window that looked like this:

Beautiful, for sure, but too much work for my aging body these days!

We no longer live in that house.  Today this is the view from my window once I open the blinds:

No maintenance view!  Waiting for spring and surprises in the landscape.

This is the skyview deep in the heart of Texas.  For more SkyWatch Friday, January 17, sky views from around the world click here.

As I was going through my morning rituals of devotions, click to give at the Greater Good site, prayer list, inspirational blogs and emails I found myself being envious.  Why can't I be that gifted in inspirational writing?  Why can't I have that much commitment to causes?  Why can't I be as determined to overcome adversity as say a Gabrielle Giffords?  I could make excuses or I can just accept the fact that I am not gifted in those areas.

Maybe all I need to be is a road sign pointing to these folks that I find inspirational.   Today I have been inspired to think and reflect by two blogs.

• One is The Water Witch's Daughter.  I find this blog to be a journey with another woman as she looks as life.  She frequently will include photos that are in and of themselves quite wonderful.  SuziCate's blog site has 'tabs' that include hints for touring her beloved Virginia, poetry and random thoughts.  She calls her husband Dirt Man.  Love it!
• Second is a United Methodist News Service email to which I subscribe.  The links to blogs in the email take me outside of my 880 sq. ft. life.  With links to blogs from members and pastors throughout the world, I am able to read about the news from a different perspective. Today the blog link that caught my eye was The Power of Small.  While it appears this is a site for Teen Depression Awareness, today's post spoke of the contaminated water problems in West Virginia.

In closing today I want to say simply blessings on each of you that come to visit my blog.

Thursday Photo Blog - Distance

Distance views in central Texas.

Word of the Week, Second Verse

Spin Cycle contributors this week are being asked by Ginny and Gretchen (does that make them the G-Gs?) to pick one of the other Spinner's word of the year and give its meaning within our own lives.  The list of words for selection are:  laser, this-busy-life, fun, self-care, balance, schedule, faith and trust.  There are seven words available to me.  I spent days figuring out my own word, refresh, now I need to pick another word!

Oh, goodness I am thinking about the different words and their place in my life.  Laser brings images of the little, polished mirrors Husband brought home from TI.  These small mirrors were a part of the work to develop laser control in the early 1970's.  Somewhere in one of these boxes we still have one of the mirrors.

This busy life, schedule, balance, fun and self care all seem to be intertwined in my mind.  The busi-ness of life for working folks, especially those with children, step children, partner or parents or combinations of the four are beyond busy.  It is a constant balancing act to manage all the phases of work, fun, self care and, one other word, responsibilities.  The only way most folks seem to manage it all is with scheduling or at least having a general outline of hopes.  I mean who has not been scheduled to leave for work only to have a child cut completely off the fatty tip end of a finger .  So the schedule goes up in smoke.  Or into a small puddle of blood till you get the finger wrapped in an icy cloth.  You then call to say you will be late to work in order to take the child to the emergency room.

I do not know if I can separate faith from trust.  Or trust from faith.  In my life I have repeatedly felt the presence of something so much bigger than my finite mind can grasp.  I call this being Creator.  I was raised to call it God, a man.  As a person that follows the teachings of Jesus, I read the Bible.  I recognize the Creator in the scriptures.  I trust these teachings.  I have faith in that Creator because I have experienced The Presence.  The presence of angels.  The presence of The Love that is of the Creator.  The presence of the Holy Spirit sent by the Creator.  My faith does not hinge on things tangible which seems to be the very definition of trust for me.  Nor do I attribute a gender to the Creator.  I find that limits my faith and the Creator's ability to reveal the Creator.

I have a plaque that has been in my home for decades.  It reads, "It is not the greatness of my faith that can move mountains, but my faith in the greatness of God.

So, there you have it.  I could not pick one word as they all resonated on some level.  Want to find out how others made the choice?  Click on over to The Spin Cycle hosted by Ginny and Gretchen.

Noses

My nose is long, narrow and hooked.  Witch like.  With a hooked nose and protruding chin my moniker in high school was Parrot.  My nose and its less than attractive side view has made me more aware of people's noses.  While watching NCIS tonight I was watching noses part of the time.

Who cares if my nose is not perfect?

So I have a half brother named John Boy Walton?  How did his nose look?

Noses and ears continue to grow.   According to Dr. Oz.com, this is because noses and ears are cartilage which continues to grow after bones quit growing.  Do you think David McCallam's nose and ears are bigger?  He is about 45 years older in the picture on the right in a recent NCIS episode than the 31 year old hottie on the left, circa 1964.

Abby is not sure if Ducky's ears are larger or not.

McGee does not want to make a decision.

DiNinozzo, De Nose o

Today I did laundry, more cleaning, and had beans, cornbread and greens for dinner.  Watched some TV, paid a bill or two and thought about noses.  Don't ya just wonder what excitement tomorrow holds from my life?  Oh, yes.  I did get this picture from Son who is in Brazil on business.

Are you seriously looking at his nose?