For Our Dear Sister In Malmesbury

Saw this and thought she would enjoy it ...

j

Welcome To My World

It's Sunday, and I'm in a reflective mood ...

Reflective of the things that give me joy, like ...


This hangs outside my front door on holidays. When I see it, I get a feeling I can't put into words.






     This is much easier. I love ships and good books ...

                                                                 I collect icons of history.



I am in absolute awe of God in large bodies of water ...

... and in small ones.

I bask in the memory of old loves ...

And delight in new ones.

Directing plays keeps my mind sharp,

... and writing them brings peace to my soul.

It's a good life.

                          Welcome to my world.

j

Parade of Homes

I went to the Parade of Homes today ... saw hot homes and cool ideas ...



I think this is about as close to Xanadu as it's gonna get ...

Finishing Touches

     The bad thing about moviing into new digs is, well, moving ...

     The good thing is the discovery of new and wonderful things you can do and/or aquire ...

... like a new desk. Or should I say, a really OLD desk - in fact, a 1930's art deco sewing machine cabinet.

      This treasure was in the window of a second-hand store. It cried out to me - "Take me," it cried.

     And I did. I most certainly did. (After paying for it, of course.)

     Being an animal lover, I was pleased when Mother and Son were finally reunited ...

And King Kong finally got his umbrella. Isn't it always a good thing when you can make a gorilla happy?

And the bushes are growing well, despite the indirect lighting. I haven't the heart to tell them they are plastic. Maybe next week ..

     And finally there is chair. Isn't it a wonderful thing when your most favorite piece of artwork in the whole world actually sits in one corner of your living room?

     I live in a happy house.

    

     j



A visit to the dam

     I was surprised to learn there exists a dam a short distance from where I live. Now I realize a visit to a modest dam is not a monumental adventure, but I had a good time, took pictures, and feel like sharing.

     Here is one side, looking along a natural valley. If you have a vivid imagination, it's easy to see that the water was much higher a few thousand years ago.

     This is looking down at one side of the dam. (In case I didn't mention it before, looking down from a height of more than a few feet is not one of my favorite things to do ...)

     I am much happier with the view looking up.

     And here is the view on the other side. Oddly enough, I have sailed on this body of water, but never got close enough to this dam to pay it more than scant attention.

     A fun Sunday afternoon.

j

Guest shot

I was asked to do a guest post on another blog - The Radical Write. If you love animals, you might see yourself here.

Richard Dawson

 I saw in the news that Richard Dawson died yesterday. I was reminded of my one near encounter with the legendary host of FAMILY FEUD …

     A (large) number of years ago I was employed as the Film Director for a medium sized television station. Since it was a national election year, it became my job to contact all the producers of the syndicated programs we aired, asking them to please have their on-air people refrain from mentioning the names of any candidates running (or else we would have to offer equal time to every OTHER candidate.)

      And no, when I called I did not speak directly to the outspoken former actor. Nor, for that matter did I speak to the show’s actual producer. I spoke to one of the “staff,” who promised to deliver my request when the recipient was in a good mood.

      Now, lest I paint a disparaging picture here, I had no reason to believe then, nor now, that Richard Dawson was ever in less than a good mood. What I DID believe, however, was that my contact person was far enough down the food chain that he didn’t carry any influential weight at all.

      And this appeared to have proved true. After a week (and a number of phone calls on my part), I received my answer.

      “Mister Dawson feels,” came the slow response, “that the show is a success based in large part to his off-the-cuff remarks. So …”

      I waited for what I then knew was coming.

      “So Mister Dawson will say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and there is nothing you can do about it. Thank you very much for your interest in FAMILY FEUD.”

      There was a pronounced click, followed by a dial tone.

      And so, gentle reader, there is a real moral to this story, and here it is. You may have great power and authority, and you may singularly influence millions of people. But don’t mess with the little guy sitting in a dark four by four work room who has one of these.

      So Richard Dawson did his thing …

      And I did mine …

      And we both lived happily ever after. Until yesterday.