Ancient Passage, Monemvasai, Greece
This is intriguing. So many tales it could tell!
That’s just the way it is!
Things are a little different now, but in my youth it was a different story. Don’t get me wrong, we had fun because we didn’t know that life could be any different than it was. We lived 8 miles from my school; the bus picked us up after a mile hike. As the “young ladies” that we were, we were not allowed to wear slacks in school, ever! Arriving to a locked building we stomped our feet trying to keep warm in the 30 below weather until the school was finally opened. Later, the school agreed that us “ladies” would be allowed to wear jeans to school under out skirts, but we needed to remove them while in school. We accepted it because, that’s the way it was.
My big plan after high school was to go to college, so when the came to take the test for scholarships, I paid and took the test. We were to be given our scores when we had a meeting with our “guidance councilor.” I was stoked when it was my turn. He told me I was only qualified to get married and have kids. Nice. I was crushed, but that’s the way it was.
Looking for my first job was another enlightenment. The local paper “help wanted” section was divided into two parts; help wanted male and help wanted female. I was hired as a keypunch operator, which was a thrilling mental challenge! Not! I punched holes in the cards that the guys working on the other side of the row of file cabinets used on the computer that only male hands and brains were capable of understanding. That’s the way it was.
I was driving a stick shift truck from an early age, just not on main roads. When I was old enough I applied for a license and scheduled a driving test. The “man” that administered the test was a real peach. In Maine in the winter the roads are almost never totally clear of ice and or snow. He had me park facing uphill and had to put on my emergency brake then start of without spinning the wheels once. I was able to start and didn’t roll back, but spun the wheels a little. I failed my test. I thought it was interesting that a young man that took the test before me lost control and wiped out a ladies garden. He got his license! But, that was the way it was. Just for clarification, I never went back to try to get my license again until I was 25. Why bother?
Another rule was nonsensical that my brothers were allowed to hitchhike, but I wasn’t. We moved to a new town 6 or 8 miles away and was dropped off by the bus at the edge of town and walked home. The boys got home and were out playing. You are asking why I wasn’t picked up? Only one car and it was used for Dad to go to work. Sometime Mom would walk part way and walk me home. That was the way it was.
There are more, but I appear to be brain dead this morning. Later I will remember more of them an post. However, is you remember some of yours, feel free to comment.
Remember the Alamo… and other stuff
Thoughts From Inside A Crumbling Society Vol. II
Stop Laughing!
Some days it doesn’t pay to get out of bed! Yesterday was one of those days. It started out great, but things went down hill after I posted my blog and answered my emails.
Remember I mentioned I was going to cut my hair? Well, the best laid plans was the theme of the rest of the day. I have been cutting my hair with a Wrek Razor for many years. Yesterday I decided the blade looked rusted and dull. I replaced the blade with a shiny new blade. Easy peasy! Right? My Mother always said, “A dull knife is a dangerous knife!” I proved “A sharp one is also dangerous in the wrong hands!”
Remember I told you I hadn’t cut my hair throughout the pandemic, and it was over my shoulders. I will admit my fingers aren’t quite as agile as they used to be, and about half way through the cutting process, I sliced the end of one finger so deep it would not stop bleeding. I take Wafarin (blood thinner) which usually doesn’t affect a small cut. Yesterday was the exception.
I was looking in the mirror at a haircut that was quite unusual! One half of my head sported a short cut, and the other half was long shag. I was determined to finish my haircut. I decided not to temp fate again and finished the styling with scissors. Razors make better styling, but my fingers gratefully chose a safer route.
I may post a picture of the cut later, after I finish shaping it, and my finger heals! Go ahead and laugh now, I did! Accidents are stupid! Usually because we do not take the time to think our actions through. Speed is the culprit in most accidents!
A Portuguese Folktale – The Knight And The Pact With The Devil ~ Lines
After reading this tale, I felt it bore reblogging! The finished illustration was amazing!
Recipe by Food Librarian
I don’t know what this is the start of, but I like it! Chocolate is always a good start.
Want to visit NOLA again
It’s Monday!
Enough said, no one loves Monday! It’s okay with me, it is the second day of my week. Laundry was done yesterday, and today it is smooth sailing.
Today, I plan to get one of my books uploaded and make it live for sale! It is the sequel to Murder on Lake Haverly. I have named it “Options” because it was taken from a true story of my time in the Real Estate Profession. It is not word for word for good reason, the players in this story are alive. I have changed their names and the story has been altered so that none of the players will recognize themselves. One of these days, soon I will post the first chapter.
My second project is to cut my hair! I usually keep it short, but because of the “you know what” it has been ignored. It will be a major project, because it is hanging over my shoulders and I am tired of waking up with it in my mouth! I have had short hair most of my life, and now I know why. Long hair is a pain in the neck, for me. I can still remember the hair cuts my Mother gave me and the foul smelling permanent wave solution that was saturated on each and every small curler so tightly wound that it is a wonder my hair didn’t fall out! And the terrific tight mass of curly hair that was the result!
Mom, didn’t speak to me for weeks after I allowed a beautician cut my hair in my famous “DA!” Translated into acceptable English it was called “Ducks Tail!” I of course loved it more, because she hated it. I have always been a rebel, and hated those permanents.
My favorite permanent as a consenting adult, was my Afro! We traveled to Bermuda and Jamaica that year and when I stepped off the plane, a smiling man said, “Hey, Mama, I like your hair!” I smiled back and said, “I like yours, too!” He grabbed my baggage and moved me to the head of the line. I’ll tell you more about that trip in another blog with pictures.
Have a great Monday, and stay safe!
Forest House, Efteling, Holland
I want to explore this! Beautiful and enchanting. I am thinking of fantastic stories I could spin just from looking at the amazing house!
Offering a vintage Ball jar with wire bail
Saturate Me (by yeanbieber)
Now you’ve done it! I am a pasta junkie! I just happen to have some leftover sauce in the fridge!
1 March, 2021 00:37
This looks good! I assume the meat is beef? And wrapped in flatbread?
Gorman Falls, Texas
Beautiful!
A clever sign
M&Ms vs Skittles – Fight!
OMG! This looks like fun!
Today’s Pictures: 28 Feb 21
True me.. Tap-594..
Please Forgive me!
I know us writers are supposed to be able to do everything fast and accurate, but once in a while we need to re-group. I try to post every day, but life interferes. This week-end we spent cleaning Miranda, and getting a new book ready to publish. Miranda has been in storage and needs a facelift.
You have heard me talk about, Miranda, our Motorhome and our travels. We loved our time on the road and are yearning to do it again. We will be working a little, to keep Miranda in the style to which she has become accustomed. Before we hit the road we calculate the cost of gas, Resort rent, and food. The last time we were on the road it was $.50 a mile. Miranda gets about 7 to 9 miles per gallon. It also takes about a gallon of gas per hour to run the generator.
We have a two sided sheet in plastic that we check off items before we “hit the road,” the last thing is checking the tail, and brake lights. When we use Dolly-Part-On for our car, every time we stop for a rest or to change drivers, we check the hook-up just to make sure. Sir Fit the White Knight can’t really come off Dolly-Part-0n, but we check anyway. You may not believe this, but we can from start to finish, be ready to hit the road in 1/2 to 1 hour! We accepted a workamping job one summer, and when our nerves became so inflamed they were about ready to burst, it took less than the 1/2 hour to pack and leave.
The most important thing we do is take Miranda to see her Doctor for a check up. We have a favorite place called Precision Tire and Auto but they work on RVs too. They do an 18 point check and give us a written report. They do not try to get us to do un-needed repairs.
We drive 55 to 60 mph, we do not drive until we are exhausted, and we switch drivers ever hour to one and a half hour. This is supposed to be fun, so why would we drive 10 or 12 hours at break-neck speed, and not see anything on the way and fall into bed the minute we arrive? If we sound dull, think about this; we have never had an accident and never had a ticket! We get to our resort in time for a swim, have a relaxing dinner, and meet new friends.
If you see us, on the road, wave and smile. Happy traveling!
Lunar Year of the Ox ~ Detail
He or she certainly looks fierce enough to melt show! Amazing!
Mirante do Inferno, Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, Brazil
When I first looked at this I saw white splashing water, then I realized it was either fog or clouds. Beautiful!
Cake
This looks suspiciously like gingerbread or carrot, but the pecans!
Soneva Kiri Dining Pod, Koh Kood Island, Thailand
This looks like a fun dining experience.
Vegan French Toast
This one is for my vegan friend, Carin. I like it too!
A one ton oddity
Today’s Pictures: 27 Feb 21
My Poem, “Haiti – The Forgotten Dying Land,” Now Part Of The Anthology, “Inner Eye”
Oh, Joni so beautiful and sad! Congratulations on your publication. Your story brought tears to my eyes and my soul. Your words sent pictures to my mind in living color.
Teal Ducks
You may wonder why I am blogging this. My friend Roadtirement posted a picture of a duck with a most unusual coloration. I googled it and found the species is Teal Ducks.
A teal duck is a a type of small freshwater dabbling duck. Don’t know what a dabbling duck is? Well, it is a duck that mostly dabbles their food from above the water, and do not dive much. They can be multi-colored and share similar traits setting them apart from the other duck families, one is their petite size, habitat preferences, feeding behavior, and unique coloration.
They are found in primarily in shallow freshwater areas, like marshes, ponds, rivers, swamps, flooded agricultural fields with vegetation and shelter. They among the most popular duck species and some variety can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
They often swim around slowly and wiggle or nibble their flat bills, grabbing floating plant material or catching aquatic insects. Generally they are herbivorous, but they may eat some insects or mollusks particularly during the nesting season when ducklings need protein.
If you would like to learn more about Teal Ducks, and who doesn’t? Just Google “Ducks of unusual colors” and you can learn much more that I have written here, and it is fun to google learning about everything.
Recipe by Tiffin Tales
OHH! Fresh raspberries! I remember picking them from the bushes and eating more than I put in the basket.
Rod Stewart’s Birthday
Desert Wild Flower ~ Detail
This is so beautiful, I wanted you to enjoy it, too!
Lens Artists #133 – My Photography Journey
reblogging so people I know can like your post, too.
Today’s Pictures: 24 Feb 21
It is interesting that it will only let me reblog after I post. Okay, but interesting.
A pretty different duck
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life was this easy?
You see something that you want and feel you need, like beauty, brains, or success, and you just have to pick it off the tree of life?
Unfortunately, life is not like that! It appears that some people have the Midas touch, and everything they touch turns to gold. Others struggle their whole lives, and that brass ring eludes them, staying just out of their reach.
It is amusing to see the thousands of books sold that guarantee your success if you only cough up the cash! You do realize that the real winners are the authors of these books? That is not to say you cannot become successful by reading those books, and if you add the hard work, there is a very good chance you will become successful.
The operative words are “hard work.” That is the sticker point that most of the millions that purchase these books miss or overlook. They are just dreamers and will always be dreamers. The doers will grab the bull by the horns and hop on board and ride it until they earn the success they deserve.
An Old Farmer’s Advice
Us modern people could pay attention to some of these axioms;
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance!
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong!
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump!
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere Tractor!
Words that soak into your ears are whispered …not yelled!
Meanness don’t just happen overnight!
Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you!
It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge!
You cannot unsay a cruel word!
Every path has a few puddles!
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty!
This is one of my favorites: The best sermons are lived, not preached!
I need to memorize this one: Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna’ happen anyway!
Don’t judge folks by their relatives!
And I saves the best for last: Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer! This old farmer has more, but he has to start plowing!
Fool your guests with this mock apple pie that can be made with saltines. Break them into pieces, pile them into a waiting crust and top with a lemon-infused syrup that magically makes the crackers taste like apples.
If you say so! I have heard of this many times, but have never seen it successfully done. It looks like the real thing. I have never heard of Lemon infused syrup, so maybe that is the ticket. If anyone tries it, blog your success.
We Drove To Heaven
Noodle Squash and Shrimp Spring Rolls
Interesting combination. I am from Maine and love all seafood.
A real Man is:
One that loves to bathe his newborn babies! And delights in making the mess that goes along with trying to keep all the tiny legs and arms in side the tub while being mindful or the most important head not going underwater. And can even bringing himself to clean up the mess.
One that learns that changing a messy diaper is not “No-Man’s Land” and does not make him a wimp. He makes sure he gets every tiny drop so his precious darling won’t get even a little bit sore.
This is my husband of nearly 60 years, he delighted in bathing, and would tackle the messy, smelly jobs. He loved feeding and burping and getting spit up on, too!
Strawberry Pastry
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space
My first published book. There are 7 books in this series.
Prologue:
How does a family cope with making a life-changing decision? We have all had to make them at least once in our lives. Does the family become closer or drift apart?
This fictional story allows you to peek inside the lives of one family of four. They make the decision not many families have ever had or ever will have to make. They agreed to leave the comfort of their home, families, and Earth to journey to another planet many light-years away.
The whole family makes the journey together. However, this story is mainly about pre-teens, Ruby, Nolan, Bonnie, Shamus, and Dr. Allen (who is not a pre-teen), but can’t seem to stay out of trouble.
Ruby and Nolan climb the hill by their home to check on the Solar Panels and find two of them mangled and broken beyond repair. Checking, they discover a beautifully colored rock and decide it would be a great science project. They slide it down the hill with a little difficulty and hide it in the wood box in their hide-out.
What could go wrong? They are just going to study it, right?
This works quite well until the rock starts growing, and they realize it can’t be a rock; it’s an egg.
Yikes, it’s hatching!
Nolan is hoping for a pony, even though he knows ponies do not hatch from eggs. Ruby thought it might be a chicken, but she is a little concerned about its size. What could go wrong? After all, it is an egg; whatever is inside will be a harmless baby? Won’t it?
Chapter 1 The adventure begins
“Come on, Ruby, hurry up.” Nolan cried.
Frowning, she quickly turned from the sink; the front of her wet apron was covered with soap bubbles that were falling to the floor. “Keep your britches on, Nolan; you know our chores have to be done before we can leave.”
Ruby was tall for her age, a little over 4 feet, big blue eyes, and wavy brown hair falling nearly to her waist. She was on her way to becoming a beautiful woman, way too soon for her parents, especially for her Daddy Ty’s comfort.
“Okay, okay, what can I do to help?” He asked, a little-exasperated standing there trying not to look impatient but losing that battle.
Nolan was not as tall as Ruby but growing fast enough to overtake her in a year or less. Standing with his hands on his hips, his blue eyes sparkling over an impish grin under a shock of curly light brown hair.
“Why don’t you go and get our backpacks, swords, and sheaths? I am nearly finished with the dishes and will pack a lunch for us so we won’t have to come home until dinner time”.
He hurried to get everything Ruby asked for as she finished the Breakfast dishes and prepared sandwiches, water, and treats. Their parents, Ty and Robin, were away helping a neighbor; they were the New Seattle settlement’s unofficial leaders.
Other Books: by Brenda Colbath
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book 1: Science Project
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book2: Dragon Flight
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book 3: The Keep
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book 4: The “Others,”
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book 5: Wormhole
Ruby and Nolan’s Great Adventures in Space Book 6: Merpeople
Book 7 will be published soon
My latest children’s book
Sleep Travelers Book 1: The story of Ning, Dog, and Boss
Sleep Travelers Book 2: The Amusement Park
Murder on Lake Haverly
Immortal Enemies
The End of the Road
Spirited One
Tuxedo Cake Gabriela Cuisine• scroll down for English
Chocolate, and more chocolate! Love this!
Good Morning!
Some words of wisdom to help you get through your day!
“Never miss a good chance to shut-up!”
“Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement”
“Lettin’ the cat otta the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.”
This one refers to politicians, I think. You tell me if it fits.
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.” The moral:
“When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut!”
This one kinda relates to the above.
“If you’re riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there!”
Have a great day and laugh a little, even if it is at yourself.
