Paradigm man

Paradigm Physical Therapy, 701 N. Grant, Odessa, Texas

No, I'm not having any physical therapy, I just thought this logo in their parking lot made for an offbeat picture. I did, however, go to the doctor today for my annual checkup. Diagnosis: alive and aging.

In June, I think I'd like to...

make more aprons :)

I had given apron-making a rest for a while. But (sadly) our Hancock fabric store chain is going out of business, and fabulously reduced prices re-invigorated my desire (and Antigone's too!) to sew more pretty vintage-style aprons.

Fun with Photoshop

+ =

Craving

It's now the end of the Memorial Day weekend, which I spent mostly cleaning and a bit of organizing. Looking ahead to the work week, tonight I'll satisfy a craving for some summer fruit and enjoying the last hours of the three day weekend.

WIP: collage for bedroom

After doing some housecleaning today, I quit early and started something that's been on my mind a while: a collage for over my bed. After reading Neda and Rima's blogs, I have finally stopped resisting the urge. I haven't quite got it all worked out, but, hey, that's part of the fun. I'll post updates as I progress.

Two Things for 2007-06-03

hodgepodge & shipshape

Anyone can join and the rules are simple. Take a photograph of each the two things any way you interpret. Do keep them family friendly and use only your own material. Post on your blog on Sunday, June 3rd.

Two Things 2007-05-27

"Foreshorten" & "Alfresco"
(Or is it "Alfresco" & "Foreshorten"...)

My aprons hang there

It got late tonight, and I began scrambling for a picture for today. A really terrible picture in fading light! But, here's where I hang my aprons. The cross-stitch above it was done by me, age five. I have slight memories of doing it, loving it at first, and then thinking it would take forever to finish. In the end, I suspect my mom actually finished it.

Counting Chickens (after they are hatched)

Big news at Mr. Big's house! Specifically at his chicken house. Two of his hens have had chicks, and a third one is still brooding. Currently there are nine chicks, and they are all going to Kitten's awaiting chicken coop when they get old enough.

• Mr. Big is showing Kitten where some of the chicks are, under bushes, in the shade.
• Kitten has named this one "Totoro." (And another is named "Kiki.")
  
• She was thrilled that she was allowed to gently hold some of them.
• I told Star Bright I would title this picture, "The Chicken Whisperer." ha ha
  

Nice man in his work hat

Jorge, May 23, 2007

This very nice man, in his very old work hat, came by yesterday evening on his riding mower. In no time at all, my overgrown jungle of a yard became presentable once again. The cost to me? A simple dinner and an apple.

Two Things for 2007-05-27

Audrey has handed off "Two Things" to me for the next couple of weeks. (I'll be handing it off to one of you then.) The rules are simple. Take a photograph of each the two things listed below any way you interpret. Do keep them family friendly and use only your own material.

Your Two Thing assignment, should you decide to take it, is due to post on your blog on Sunday May 27th. (Or there-abouts.)

Two things are foreshorten and alfresco (courtesy of Merriam Webster's Word of the day)

In a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Driving home after work today, I saw these two love birds (actually parakeets) outside enjoying the good weather.

Maui Ixora Part 2

Aha! Antigone has returned from Reno and reminded me of this photo taken while they were on a Caribbean cruise. Behind my beautiful granddaughter (and behind her ear) is Maui Ixora!

Green acres

Back view of my house. Yes, I have a really big, and currently
very empty, greenhouse.

Today I went out to check on the Jujube trees I planted in my "back 40" -- what I call the empty back quarter acre of my place. I couldn't believe my eyes. It's a jungle back there, all those weeds and wildflowers greedily soaking up the nearly 10 inches of rain we've had so far this year. Normally at this time of year we are at 3 inches, and many years we get 10 inches for the whole year. My neighbor tells me rain is in the forecast again for the next few days. I wonder, should I start gathering two of every animal?

A few recent reads

One of the good things about traveling and then upon coming home not feeling up to par -- I nabbed a nasty northern bug while I was up there -- is that you have time to catch up on a few reads.

The Orchid Thief, a nonfiction work detailing the outrageous mania for orchids throughout the last couple hundred years.
The Diary of Mattie Spenser, sent to me by my mom, a good quick fictional read about the pioneers settling the Colorado Territory.
The Giver, given to me by Audrey, a young adult's science fiction depicting a possible future where there is no pain. And no joy either.

Two Things 2007-05-20

Button, "Whachu want? Hamburger?"

The End, the very end

Two Things 2007-05-12 explained

I left you guys kind of hanging about last week's Two Things, about the Shapes picture. Believe it or not that is a door, a door to the Blue Star Inn in Midland. I think it's made out of fiberglass, but I'm not sure. When the sun shines through it, the stars are blue. Here's another shot; all of them turned out rather artsy -- unintentionally -- I'm afraid.

Saturday Shopping

Okay, a really really boring picture. I didn't get out much today, except to go pick up a few things at my local grocery store. What can I say?

Passion for Flowers

Maybe at some point I'll get tired of posting pictures of flowers, but for the moment that is my passion. And, for the passionate about flowers, there is the passionflower!

I'm excited that my vine has begun blooming once again. This is a rather late date in the year for it to begin; maybe it's all the rain and cloudy days we've been having this year, I don't know. I'm very happy to once again see these blooms greeting me at my front gate. Blooming continues sometimes as late as November.

The first passionflower I ever saw was on the walk between Linda Nagem's house and BHS. I thought then, and now, that it is the most amazingly complex and exotic-looking flower I've ever seen. When I was last in Brummana, in 2000, that very same vine was there and blooming, twenty-five years later!

My newest neighbor

Born just four days ago. I can't wait for Katlynn to return from vacation so I can introduce her to this babe.

Do you ever wonder?

Do you ever wonder about things like this? Who does it? Why do they do it? Is it a world-wide phenomenon, or just something done by knuckleheads around here?

Home is where your Maui Ixora is

I'm not sure what a Maui Ixora is, but it looks beautiful and says it blooms all summer long. It was waiting for me when I got home, a thoughtful Mother's Day gift from my oldest daughter.

Going home

There's a saying, "Bloom where you're planted." Audrey and David have done just that. It's hard to have them so far away, and hard to say goodbye even after such a short visit. But I am proud of them for making their own way in the world.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day spent at the Erie Canal, taking a drive to the tour of the places where David and Audrey work, a wonderful bike ride through their neighborhood, and out to eat for a steak dinner :)

Rome home

What a simple but immense pleasure being, for the first time, at the home and neighborhood of my daughter and her fiance in Rome, New York.

Two Things 2007-05-12

Shapes


Soft

20 flowers

Audrey and David came to Ohio to get me on Friday. I didn't take pictures that day because we spent our time visiting and retiring early for the drive back to their home in New York the next day.

So in lieu of pictures from that day, I'm posting the flower pictures I took in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Pictures of blooming trees, blooms in flowerbeds, blooms on the side of the road, and blooms in the woods. It just couldn't have been a better time of year to visit! The weather was mild and everywhere was awash in blooms. I can't help but to indulge in posting so many beauties, all fresh and new to my eyes. I was giddy with color and petals.