What the heck . . .

Karen's photos from our excursions to Slater Museum at NFA

Listen to the news and ruin a very good day. So . . . Mr. Pope, yeah, the guy in Rome, is as flippant as Mr. Obama. Gees, does no one of consequence do and say the right thing anymore? I don't care what you call it but if any group of people go about purposefully killing others it is murder. Therefore it be hooves society to act quickly and ruthlessly to root out the murderers. Western society has the means at its disposal to wipe out the Islam that is succeeding in setting up its Caliphate but we do not have the will to do it because we are unsure of our own position vis a vis Islamic jihad. Woe be to the West as we allow murder in the name of cultural, barbaric nihilism to reign the world over. Be ready to fight the disastrous evil sayers and doers in your midst. Even if they are not holding a sword to your throat their words are potent and the fear they engender is palpable. Western leaders are a powerless lot of talkers with no clear goals or direction. Not sure what we can expect to happen next when we can't trust our 'democratic' governments to protect us from evil.

Well now . . . I spent  a pleasant day with Karen at the Slater Museum in Norwich. It's good that the museum is small because my poor brain goes on overload with so much beauty and interesting art and stories. We will return again so I have more time to absorb what the museum offers. Got caught up in the Greek and Roman statues and was trying to remember the history and mythology going along with Sophocles, Plato, Heracles, Nike of Samothrace. . . My head started to hurt! Just the exhibit dedicated to the Slaters was overwhelming never mind the Crocker exhibit. And . . . that does not include the modern exhibit of prints. Definitely good for your soul.  We stopped for a late lunch in Taftville at the Bakery. It is located in the building where I worked my first summer job over fifty-six years ago. The bakery is beautiful; seems like a daft word for a bakery but the cases of sweets and breads are colorful and gorgeous. We shared an excellent chicken sandwich, soup and coffee before leaving with two boxes of desserts.

Expect to see Kiddo at school tomorrow. Haven't been on lunch duty since early December. Hope I remember what my chores are! Perhaps he will bring a board game home with him and I can try to win at the Game of Life. Also had a real treat this morning as I was eating breakfast.  A sleek red fox ambled up the driveway, walked behind the garage and crossed the top of the hill. That was great.  I also saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the suet feeders. Didn't take the time to get the camera because I would have missed it all!

Quote:  Fain would I Raphael's god-like art rehearse, where, from the mingled strength of shade and light, a new creation rises to my sight; such heavenly figures from his pencil flow, so warm with life his blended colors glow.  __Addison

Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow . . .

This older P&D's Pop photo helps to keep life in perspective. It really is a grand if challenging world in the good old US of A.

And so it came to pass that the quaint Diner era has come to an ignominious end. What seemed like a real, honest new owner cum chef cum family walked out after six hours on the job. The whole family called it quits after some supposed legal problems and, bien sur, some words of discouragement from the almost past owners. Quite a feat - the Diner lasted about two and half years. We are thankful for little things when we must contend with Connecticut in all its foolishness - this is just another seemingly asinine act on the part of another asshole or more likely assholes. Connecticut seems to have more than its share of idiots. Do you suppose our wretched, no class prez was actually born in Connecticut? It certainly seems feasible. Even the earth is quaking in protest.

PS  The thesaurus says there is no other entry for asshole. So I shall go with this word because slug of the earth just doesn't seem fair to slugs.

Quote:  I do not know what comfort other people find in considering the weakness of great men, but 'tis always a mortification to me to observe that there is no perfection in humanity.   ___S. Montague

What if . . .

Refers to the three earthquakes felt in the Plainfield area this past week.  News is making a rather big story about it.

What if the puny earthquakes rattle around long enough to knock the big leaning rock over? That would truly be awesome. I would seriously like that to happen. That big boulder always gives me the heebie jeebies. I just wish it would tumble down nice and flat and then we could climb on it for picnics. Doesn't that sound fine and dandy? Ah, a girl can have her dreams.

It's been a bit odd today because P&D's Pop didn't go to school and work on the solar/battery powered car because the mighty powers that be call off school in case of freezing rain. Well, it's noontime and raining but no freezing; at least none yet. Too bad to have a wasted day.

We went out to Twin Oaks with Oneco friends last night and it was very good - time spent with good friends is precious. It's so good to be able to share your thoughts and laughter with like minded souls, where you don't have to second guess everything you say.

I'm going to try to put up a Facebook photo about the Earthquakes in northeastern Connecticut. It's too funny for words.

Quote:  It is astonishing how little one feels poverty when one loves.    ____Bulwer

C'est si bon . . .

Ah bon! Oui, c'est si bon quand on mange ce qui est délicieux. Oh my, how good to eat comfort food. I made myself dark white toast with scads of soft oozing butter covered with dark brown sugar that seeped into every buttery nook along with P&D's Pop's coffee. Can't even describe how good that was. I had just returned from Mass and gassing the Hyundai for under $20. That is a truly incredible feat. It is so odd that I asked the clerk if she had made a mistake with my change! I'm accustomed to giving the clerks two twenties and getting at least seven dollars or so back and this time I just got a bit of change and a dollar bill. Must admit that feels pretty damned good.

Kiddo and I played a lot of Connect Four this weekend and although I would get ahead in scoring by four games or so he would always surge at the end and wipe me out. His strategy is better than mine. I get so excited about possible wins I miss the obvious. Go figure. Here I am 62 years older than he and he beats me pretty regularly. Perhaps I should follow my own advice and slow down and think!

I'm trying to get him to play the saxophone more by encouraging him to practice some Beatles solos. Most of his music is accompaniment so it's really hard to appreciate what he's playing. Not sure if my words of wisdom are considered wisdom by Kiddo but believe it or not he thanked me for talking to him about it! I find him to be a very interesting young man and although our conversations are at times bizarre I suppose when you've got 62 years of living under your belt the modern kid has got to think that you're the one with bizarre behaviors! We have a good time on our Frications.

Grampa just came up from the basement hangar with another volume of America, a history of the US from 1916 to 1925, copyright 1925 and he found a postcard dated March 14, 4-PM, 1950 - Conyers. It was addressed to Mémère Caron. I shall put a photo of it at the top of this day's blog.

I've been playing with my old Konica-Minolta because it takes better photos through windows than the Panasonic. It just doesn't have a good telephoto lens. Oh well, nothing can be perfect and it's up to me to play around with my new one and improve my photo taking skill but I get anxious if I'm playing and miss some good shots so I don't really practice with the settings. This must prove that I, at least, don't improve with age. I've been thinking about buying some Harvey's Bristol Cream just so I can feel calm, warm and comfortable sitting in my Vermont Folk Rocker and contemplating what ever pops into my feeble brain. Seems to me the Sherry would be a perfect accompaniment to my getting-lazier-by-the-year self!

Quote:  The man that hath not music in himself, and is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; let no man trust him.   ___Shakespeare

Amazingly cold . . .

Accidental capture

Wow, I know that New England can be cold but the temperature this morning is not going up. We're at a whopping 6 degrees in bright sunshine and just feeding the birds was a chore and I'm wearing a complete set of long johns. Looks like it'll be in the extreme cold range for us all day. The schools have delayed by up to two hours because of the cold not because of snow. I left East Granby earlier than usual yesterday because of a snow squall which blotted out the sun but when I got to 91 South the sun popped out again. Pretty wild stuff to be driving in for sure.

We took a ride to Zip's this morning because they were celebrating Nancy's twenty-fourth year of working there! Goodness, we hadn't been in a long time but decided to stop in to see her. She still remembers our order! The Diner is such a neat throw back to the good old days. The menu doesn't change; the faces are the same; the service is the same and that can be comforting in this age of murderous, fanatic, brutality. Taking the spotlight off of the media and talking heads filled with fear mongering and asinine commentary is good. Listening in on conversations of normal everyday people on their way to work, eating breakfast helps bring you back to reality. What reality? The reality that the supposed defenders of truth, justice and the enlightened way don't dare to fight the barbaric Islamists in every way possible. Kill them now without hesitation wherever they are. Yes, without trials and a media circus. Governments know where they are but get caught up in the foolishness of giving them a say and defending them. No more excusing radicals. Destroy them. Okay, I guess that's the end of my rant for today.

P&D's Pop has been working hard this morning shoring up the four outside doors in this old house. The frigid air is getting through no matter what we've done previously. Every little bit helps to keep out the cold. I'm still thinking we should replace the five windows in the kitchen because this is a very cold area. But it's probably not worth the cost especially if we hope to sell this old house. No matter what we do it'll never be cost effective. We're comfortable but still have to turn up the heat and dress warmly. Phooey!

Quote:  In the history of man it has been very generally the case, that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of cure.    ___E.H Chapin (We can only hope that this is true.)

Good thing the windows are closed . . .

The ripping apart of Kaman has begun in earnest and the noise is pretty gd loud. It'll make for an interesting 10 years. Yep, it seems the town has given the rubble rousers ten years to turn the land across the river into a pristine park. So, I guess it's a good thing my hearing is not so good! The experiment with P&D's Pop old hearing aids fizzled. They just made everything so loud that I looked like a Mexican jumping bean.

Starting out 2015 with a visit to PT in Norwich. I do believe that'll  be it for fixing up the sciatica. I can pretty much keep it at bay at will so that's pretty good. But the right arm is literally getting to be a pain in the neck. Not sure how I'll handle that except to try not to use it and just rest it as much as possible. Problem is that when it feels good I forget about it and go and do something that re-activates the pain and that is most annoying. This growing older is not for the faint of heart. Gotta be a tough old bird!

Younger sister just called.  Haven't seen her in a few weeks because the holidays and weather haven't been cooperative. We'll see if I can get there this week. We're supposed to have some snow tomorrow but Wednesday is just going to be frigid. We have no snow left from our Saturday storm but East Granby still has a snowy ground cover. We'll have to see what the Tuesday storm leaves behind. I don't drive in bad weather. Don't like it at all. Getting cautious in my dotage.

P&D's Pop is on his way to school. I'm trying to talk him into having his hands looked at by the VA. He's having a lot of trouble using them without pain. He never complains like I do about pain but I can see it in his face and the number of ibuprofen he consumes. Always takes me a long time to get him to do something about his aches and pains; stubborn old Yankee codger.

Quote:  The multitude unawed is insolent; once seized with fear, contemptible and vain.   ____Mallet

Bonne et Heureuse Annee . . .

And Puppies' and Dante's Pop is off to the Yankee Flyers' Field for First Flight 2015. Excellent.