Random Photo Thread: The Sequel

[tinlizzie]

Thanks, guys. Yard work is my favorite thing to do. I have a lot of respect for the crafters who labor away stitching and knotting gifts for others. I have my first ever cross-stitch project in its bag on the shelf, it's two years old now and it may grow a beard before I ever get to it.

 

[Addie]

Yeah PF and Lizzie. There is some deeper inner satisfaction with helping Mother Earth become beautiful again after so much neglect. I loved the feeling of coming in after a hot day digging in the dirt. I almost hated to see that good dirt go down the drain as I showered.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...So here are the before and after of some 6 years of amending soil, watering through the dry winters, etc., etc...

What an amazing difference in just a half-decade. Forget that cross stitch project - your skills are definitely in the garden. Besides, you probably had a lousy teacher. Nice conversion on that dog house. Dog House. How BIG were those Shepherds?

 

[tinlizzie]

I appreciate the kind words, folks. If I recall correctly those Shepherds were 60 lbs. or so each and very active.............

CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share. For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle.

And Addie, you're an inspiration with that busy brain - you seem to be interested in everything, with lots and lots of life experience under your belt.

Here's a photo of one of the rewards of gardening. This is a Zebra, the State butterfly of Florida.

 

[Cheryl J]

Beautiful yard, tinlizzie....and I just LOVE that butterfly pic!

 

[Addie]

I appreciate the kind words, folks. If I recall correctly those Shepherds were 60 lbs. or so each and very active.............

CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share. For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle.

And Addie, you're an inspiration with that busy brain - you seem to be interested in everything, with lots and lots of life experience under your belt.
Here's a photo of one of the rewards of gardening. This is a Zebra, the State butterfly of Florida.

You are right. As I said before, I raised five kids, out lived two husbands, one child and have lived from Massachusetts to Texas to Hawaii and Washington State and back home in that time. Kids are all grown. They youngest is in Vermont practicing Medicine in an ER. I finished raising my oldest granddaughter who now has her oldest child in college and old enough to (heaven forbid) make me a Great, great grandmother. I have 17 grand and great grandchildren. My oldest two boys are now disabled. Spike from eight heart attacks, and Pirate from 20 plus years of carpet installing. A profession I do not recommend to any kid. It wrecks havoc on your knees from "kicking" in carpet. If anyone out there has a kid that is not college material, send them to plumbing school. Good money and you can specialize in what you want to do. Pirate went in that direction after he quit carpets, but by then the damage had already been done. After ten years he had to quit and apply for disability.

Anywhere I have lived, I learned something new. Specially in cooking. My mother was my greatest influence in that area. My father is the one who taught me to love embroidery. Knitting and crocheting I learned from my Aunt Lolo. She was a family favorite member to all of us kids. She had a stroke that took away her ability to speak, yet she managed to always get her message across.

I am old enough to remember the tail end of WWII and definitely the Korean War. If I hadn't chosen to get married at an early age, I would have chosen to go into nursing or music. Or to use music to calm the savage beast called pain. For a year I worked with a children's choir teaching them how to sing in harmony. The church organist didn't seem to know how to get it across to them. So I had her tell me what hymn she wanted them to sing two weeks away, and I would teach them to learn the hymn only singing the alto. They never heard the melody until their last rehearsal with me. During the final last rehearsal, they would join the sopranos and be ready for Sunday services. I also had to teach the organist my method. To this day, you will hear me singing hymns in Latin as I wash dishes or other housework. And I find myself harmonizing when I hear a song that I love. Go figure. I am protestant. But I did take Latin in high school. Of all the Latin hymns my all time favorite is Ave Verum by Mozart.

My apologies for the length.

 

[tinlizzie]

Beautiful yard, tinlizzie....and I just LOVE that butterfly pic!

Thanks, Cheryl. That's a Firebush he's perched on - a native plant that attracts lots of butterflies, like this Monarch, and bees. I hope to see a hummingbird feeding on it some day.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Beautiful Butterflies! I've taken the weekend off from yard work, except for watering, it's just too hot and I am tired. Been working extra shifts...

 

[Addie]

Beautiful Butterflies! I've taken the weekend off from yard work, except for watering, it's just too hot and I am tired. Been working extra shifts...

Next week spend some time where you and Shrek go someplace special.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share. For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle...

Then follow your bliss, lizzie. The butterflies and bees need you more that that piece of fabric does. Love your wildlife center. You could charge admissions.

 

[GotGarlic]

For the talk on culinary herbs I gave the other evening, I served watermelon salad with feta and mint. With the leftover rind, I made watermelon rind pickles and canned them ? I used my Instant Pot multicooker on the steam setting to sterilize the jars. Worked great.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

The CLE

We spent a little time this evening driving around downtown Cleveland. Stopped along the dock area at the Port of Cleveland so we could watch Lake Erie swallow up the sun. This might be my favorite shot. Sorry you can't here the fun being had by the people on the boat - The Goodtime III. We could hear them all the way on the shore. Party time!

 

[Kayelle]

What a beautiful picture CG.....so glad you're enjoying being home where your heart is.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Thanks, Kayelle. I'm sure the sights I see are just as pretty as when we lived here, but they seem to have taken on an extra special quality now that we only visit.

As mentioned elsewhere, we went to a little speakeasy tonight. Just a small place, with a bar that seats about a dozen, a couple of 2-person booths plus a four-person one, and a small seating area of a couch and two easy chairs, which is where we were relaxing. Anyway, in order to enter the bar, you had to know which item from those displayed in the entry was the magic one that opened the door! Since I described the inside, you know we made it in.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Not a very good image (Hynde is constantly moving, so every pic was fuzzy), but in the spirit of the "Photo, or it didn't happen" saying, here is proof that we got to see rocker Chrissie Hynde and professional photograper Jill Furmanovsky:

 

[Cheryl J]

I'm enjoying the pics of your trips, CG. Wow...that sunset one is amazing. I don't know many songs from The Pretenders, but I love "I'll Stand By You"...that one has meaning to me from a couple of decades ago and still makes me teary eyed when I hear it. So glad to hear you, Himself, and family are having a great time.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Thanks, Cheryl. Sunsets by lakes are extra-pretty - guess it's the reflection. I've been seeing a lot of clouds while we're here, too. Lots more and bigger/different shapes than we see in MA. It seems the choppy terrain and the mountains to the NW of us break up the cloud formations so we don't get the fun ones much. Thought I'd toss another couple of photos your way. The Akron library building is made from sheet metal. Large, diamond-shaped panels. While taking a photo of the texture, my two guys decided to add a different texture as a diversion.

 

[RPCookin]

We had an evening thunderstorm, then after it passed east of us, this:

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Ooh, RP, that looks heavenly.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Beautiful! Feel free to toss any of those thunderstorms up here, they all seem to pass over us and hit Nebraska.