The Bird With One Hundred Eyes

It's a cold, dreary day - winter is back. Just as the weatherman had predicted. Who would have thought I could find a piece of beauty (to me) on such a dark day. 

"Beauty of whatever kind, invariably excites the human soul to tears." 

- Edgar Allan Poe

This is a shot of the whole plumage being fanned out. He shook his train just as I pressed the button. What a poser!

Spring in Winter

It was a beautiful sunny day today. I could have sworn it was spring. Hard to believe that it is still winter. This is just a tease because the weather forecast is calling for colder weather by this weekend. Guess I chose a good day to take off from work and spend time with old friends. After I spent the morning exercising with a friend, I rushed to meet another for lunch. After lunch, we decided to go to the park because the weather was so nice.

"Do you want to walk or sit?" he asked.

"Walk," I replied - afraid I wouldn't know how to handle the awkward silence I knew would ensue. Most of the time I welcome silences, but this was an old friend that I've just recently been talking to again. Wondered if we still had enough in common to still be friends.

We walked and talked. Discussing our separate lives. Yes, there were silences. Not so awkward, as I had feared. Appropriate silences. Silences made as if to take a break from conversation to absorb the scenery on this beautiful day. Before I knew it, we had walked around the park three times. I stopped to stretch my calves. 

"Do you want to walk some more?" he asked.

"Sit, I want to sit..." I was tired because prior to meeting him for lunch, I had already completed a three and a half mile hilly walk.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" he asked.

"I wanted to walk," I replied.

We sat and talked some more. Before I knew it, two hours had elapsed. We began walking back to our cars. His hand brushed mine, accidentally. The next thing I knew, we were two friends holding hands walking back to our cars. In silence. It was a comforting feeling. We hugged and got into our cars and drove our separate ways. A nice ending to a beautiful afternoon.

what to do?

Today my role was that of coffeehouse friend. This is a role that gives me much pleasure, I might add. 

Yes, you did have my attention 100 percent this afternoon. Here is my response...

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If  you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it." - Author Unknown

Photo: Coffee on my birthday - Venice, Italy 2008

Another Birthday

Nope, it's not my birthday. It's the birthday of one of my friends. Although I don't get to see her often or talk to her much, I will always remember the first time I met her. She told me she never received my resumé from HR. She hired me anyway. I'm sure she rued the day. I always gave her trouble. One time I gave her a note from "my god" that said that I couldn't work on Sundays. After that, when the weekend schedules came out, I was always signed up to work on a Sunday. I think that was her way of getting me back. 

I still work at the same job, but my friend has moved on. Occasionally we meet for dinner with my new boss. It's always fun catching up at those dinners. So, I'm looking forward to dinner at the end of the week...wherever it's going to be.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! A toast to the woman who showed me that it is okay to wear two different colored shoes to work, laugh so the whole world can hear you,  and say "note taken."  I hope you have a great day. 

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream"

- C.S. Lewis

Knock-Knock

I saw this door knocker and thought it was pretty cool. Whenever I look at the photograph for this post, I think about knock-knock jokes. Here's the one running through my head right now:

Would you forget me in an hour?

No.

Would you forget me in a day?

No.

Would you forget me in a month?

No.

Would you forget me in a year?

No.

Would you forget me in ten years?

No.

Would you forget me in fifty years?

No.

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

I thought you said you wouldn't forget me...

"When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart. 

For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost. When I'm feeling most ghost-like, it is your remembering me that helps remind me that I actually exist. When I'm feeling sad, it's my consolation. When I'm feeling happy, it's part of why I feel that way.

If you forget me, one of the ways I remember who I am will be gone. If you forget, part of who I am will be gone." - Frederick Buechner

"Be sure to put the knocker fairly low on your door in case a very small friend drops by." 

- A.A. Milne

The Sea

Sometimes I wish this could be the view from my bedroom window. 

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), 

It's always ourself we find in the sea."

-e.e. cummings

Dinner

Went to dinner tonight at a friend's house. I wanted to thank her for making such a lovely meal. So, here's to good friends, good food, good conversation. And then lazing on the red sofa after dinner, once again!

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends." - Laurie Colwin

Breaking in the fine china!

Stuffed pork loin, mushroom risotto, and a nice bottle of wine.

And she even made dessert! Chocolate mousse.

February 14th

February 14, 2009 - Today is just another day, to me. It also happens to be called Valentine's Day. What annoys me is the commercialization of ALL holidays. And no, I'm not bitter that I do not have a boyfriend right now to shower me with overpriced crap that he feels he needs to purchase because the commercials say so. 

I really don't like holidays in general because people usually ask, "What did you get for ________ (fill in the holiday)?" I prefer the quality time spent with family and friends during holidays, over the materialistic things I might get. As for Valentine's Day, I guess that would be overpriced: candy, cards, flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, fancy dinners, etc... Please, it means more to me to get that kind of stuff at other times of the year, when it is a surprise. Show me your love when you're not being told that you should--ooh, and you don't even have to buy me anything, either.

Oh well, I guess at least a plus of holidays is a small spike in stimulating the economy.

To top it off, I tried to find out who this St. Valentine dude is. There are several different stories, and I'm not going to go into the detail. You can do the search yourself if you are so interested. Besides, Hallmark doesn't really give a hoot about the history, as long as you buy one of their greeting cards.

So, as to not be a total poop about the day, I'm going to share a photograph that, to me, captures a moment of unspoken love between a grandson and his grandmother.

This photograph was taken in the late spring of 2008 in Cernobbio, Italy. I was with family and friends taking a boat ride around Lake Como. We had just finished eating at a gelateria and were heading back to the boat. I was lagging behind, as usual trying to find the perfect photo op, which allowed me to snap this photograph of my mother and nephew.

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."

Note:  Right after we got back to the U.S. from Europe, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She has endured several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as surgeries and side effects. She has aged quite a bit from the time that photograph was taken, but I'm glad that my nephew got to experience his first trip to Europe with her.

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND DEAR FRIENDS, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. XOXO

Choices

What a busy day -- and I'm exhausted. As you can see from the photographs below, I went to my fave place to walk. Today was a little different from the other day. I was alone and nobody else was out there. That's how I like it. (I'm acting like it is my own nature center.) I was a little annoyed at the fact that I saw trash here and there along my walk. I tried to pick up what I could, but in the future--please take your trash with you!

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." David Russell

For Auntie B. the quote for this photograph would be Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken." Why? Obviously, there is a fork in the path and I had to make a choice of which path to take. Luckily, I walk here often, and have been able to take both. However, in life we are not always so fortunate.

And what would a walk in my favorite place be without my deer friends...I had to include a pic of this one, curiously staring at me. I wonder what was going through the mind of my buddy.

Rainy Day

When I left work today, the weather was beautiful. I went home and then got a good run in. Exciting. Lately, I haven't been too happy with the effort I've been putting into exercising because the weather has been not so great. I can't wait until spring. Then, I'll probably really complain about the rain, but at least it's easier to exercise in the rain, than on the snow/ice.

Right now, it is raining. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Sometimes I like rain, but right now I'm not in the mood for it. Actually, my favorite is when I have to work on the weekend and it is raining. That way, I know that nobody is outside having fun while I'm working.

In the photograph below, I was looking out the window at Dulcisinfundo ristorante. We ducked into it during a rainstorm and ate lunch, hoping the rain would pass. The food was pretty good. If you ever are in S. Gimignano Siena and want to eat at a nice little restaurant, the address is 21, Vicolo Degli Innocenti 53037 S.Gimignano Siena

"Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary." 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I can hear the rain falling as I type this. I have the urge to go grab a sponge, some soap, and a bucket and go wash my car...

By the way, the rain did stop by the end of our meal.

Winter Blues

This post is for all of the people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

Where I live, today was an overcast and hazy day. I took a walk in one of my favorite places here, but it didn't do anything for me. I began to think about other places I like to take walks. Instead of going through "light box" therapy for your SAD treatment, I am inviting you to take a visual walk with me through one of the most beautiful places I like in Hawaii. BUT you have to promise me that if you ever go to Hawaii and stay on Oahu - you have to visit the Windward Side of the island. Yes, Waikiki is wonderful for tourist-y stuff, but I promise that a drive along the Windward Side on up to the North Shore will be well worth your time. Besides, I stay exclusively on the Windward Side because driving into the "city" (Honolulu) makes me anxious and gives me a severe case of hives.

The long narrow photographs are panoramic views. Click on any photograph for a larger, more intense view.

The first few photographs are in a cemetery. From that point, you can have a view of the ocean as well as the Ko'olau Mountain (which is over 30 miles long). Although I don't have any photographs, the sunsets are beautiful there.

Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii

Ko'olau Mountain

A view toward the mountain

A view toward Kaneohe Bay

The next photographs of the Ko'olau Mountain were taken from a boat in Kaneohe Bay.

Coconut Island (Gilligan's Island) with a view of Ko'olau Mountain in the background.

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." - Carl Gustav Jung

Here You Go

Don't know who said the following quote, but do know that there are orchids in these photos. And Auntie B reminded me that I haven't been putting up any photos...

"When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume."

Fiera Milano - Milan Trade Fair

Yikes. It's February already. Right now, I'm sitting around watching television and eating Craisins. I started looking through my photos and saw these that I took at the Milan Trade Fair. I thought the display of dried fruits looked really cool how they were arranged as well as the colors of the fruits.