Night Music

I took this photo one night in March at our farm. Our guests had just left, and we were closing up for the night when I saw the moon peaking through those pecan limbs that had not yet put on their leaves. I thought it was beautiful. Maybe you will think so, too.

I will be out of town Thursday through Sunday, but through the new scheduling feature of Blogger, this should post Thursday evening. Please be patient with my visits to you, which I will make when I return.

For more Skywatch Friday photos, visit Tom.

TT #9 Thirteen Oxymorons

One of my favorite little bedside books is Dr. Mardy Grothe's Oxymoronica (2004). He defines oxymoronica as "any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true." So today I am listing thirteen oxymorons from his book. (I'll be away beginning tomorrow through Sunday for a weekend trip---please be patient with my delayed visits.)

1. I hate intolerant people. (Gloria Steinem)


2. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. (Mark Twain)


3. I love mankind---it's people I can't stand. (Charles M. Schultz)


4. Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you. (Carl Jung)


5. How is it possible to have a civil war? (George Carlin)


6. It's not that I am afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens. (Woody Allen)


7. There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. (George Orwell)


8. Only love can be divided endlessly and still not diminish. (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)


9. Scratch a lover and find a foe. (Dorothy Parker)


10. A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it. (Zsa Zsa Gabor)


11. The child is father of the man. (William Wordsworth)


12. Their very silence is a loud cry. (Cicero)


13. No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut. (Sam Rayburn)

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The Circle of Life

This Mother's Day weekend has been a busy one, and it has indicated to me that, indeed, Life and Time roll on. We began the weekend by taking friends to dinner at a new restaurant slightly out of town. We enjoyed our time together talking about our grandsons--they have three; we have two---our travel plans, our work, and our many good times together. On Saturday, we attended an 80th birthday party for a cousin. We saw and visited with four generations of some families. The party was held outside on the pristine site of another cousin's preserved log cabin and, though the heat and gnats were bothersome, the party spirit was evident. It is hard to believe that ELF is 80 years old, but time marches on.


Our children and the little boys were here last weekend, so their sweet cards were all we had of them this weekend. Elizabeth, our precious and beautiful daughter, who is herself the mother of one and expecting another, sent a card which read, "Mom, who would have ever imagined the day when I'd be the one all stressed out, raising a family and you'd be the one out playing and enjoying life." And my daughter-in-law, in her blog, titled a picture of Brooks and Alexander as "the next generation". Time marches on.


While our children weren't here today, my mother was. We picked her up from the Terrace, and I cooked some of her favorites for lunch--cubed steak, creamed corn, pear salad, and apple pie. She was not doing well; she just couldn't walk. Mother is 85, frail, and challenged by Parkinson's. Time marches on. We can't change that; we wouldn't want to. We just need to enjoy every minute.

We had dinner out tonight with other friends. We talked about travel and remodeling and family. They don't have children, but they have close cousins and nieces and nephews, and they are the most loving people, so we had a delightful evening.

Our weekend was diverse---dinner with friends, family birthday party, and cards and phone calls from our children. It was a lovely weekend.

My favorite gift on Mother's Day is always the same---it is simply knowing that my children are happy and healthy (and employed with health insurance)!

Lazy Hazy Day at the Lake

We drove up to the Lake earlier this week to find the sky blue, the water calm, and the haze settled in. It seems early for the haze and heat, but this is the Deep south, and the temps have already reached the high eighties. It was midweek, so no boats were out; no people were about. It was just the sky and the water--peaceful and calm.

For more Skywatch Friday participants, visit Wigger's World

TT #8 Things I like about Wine

I'm sorry; I just had a hard time with this week's theme. I just couldn't think of something "gross" to write about. I looked at all angles, but I just couldn't get it. I know some of you will be very creative, and then I'll have one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments.

However, I finally remembered that I have at least 144 bottles of wine in my collection. Does that count? Then how about

Thirteen Things I like about Wine

1. Vineyards. I have visited one or two in the past, and I will be tripping to Napa in August. That's where it all begins.


2. Labels. I love wine labels. In fact, I am drawn to purchase sometimes because of the label--or the name. Vintners know that, do they? Some labels in my cellar---Running with Scissors; Sixteen Hands; Red Truck; Jest Red.


3. Corks. I save them and recycle. I make place card holders and trivets.


4. Color. I love the colors of wine, and isn't it interesting that some of our favorite colors are named for wine--burgundy and claret, and champagne.


5. Boxes. I love the box a case of wine is packed in. I use them to transport wine glasses, and they are great for packing books.


6. Stemware. I just refuse to drink wine from anything else. I have some great acrylic wine stems that I travel with, and I love to pull them out at a picnic, or on the boat, or at a casual party.


7. Bottle bag. I have this great Reisenthel Bottle Bag. Made of canvas, it has nine compartments. I can put four of my acrylic stems in it, a couple of bottles of wine, a corkscrew, a bottle of water, and a bottle of aspirin (which reminds me not to have too much fun)---and I'm ready for the party!


8. Atmosphere. There's something about wine that begs for atmosphere, and sometimes wine is the atmosphere. Don't you feel special with a stem of wine in your hand?


9. Cheese. To the old saying from The Rubiyaiyat, "a loaf of bread, a flask of wine, a book of verse, and Thou", I would have to add a wedge of cheese. For me, it would be a boule of Tuscan bread, an English Stilton, a montepulciano d'abruzzo, and Emily Dickinson's verse.


10. The buzz in the room. I love the sounds in the room an hour into the party when the wine has put a glow on those gathered.


11. Corkscrews. Have you ever seen so many kinds? Often, the simplest ones are the best.


12. Wine quotes. I love wine quotes. Some of my favorites, and shortest, are: In vino veritas (Pliny); Wine is bottled poetry (RL Stevenson); I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines (O Goldsmith); and It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason (Latin saying).


13. Thou. See #9. Wine is best enjoyed with others.
    

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Big Children and Little Children

Family time is good time--and we had plenty of good times over the weekend. Elizabeth and Alexander flew in late on Thursday (Papai stayed in Tampa, but we missed him), and the Columbus children, Andrew, Tara, and Brooks, came in late on Friday.

We had several years, before grandchildren, to enjoy our adult children and their spouses, and we always valued our meals together. We tried to make an event out of our evenings---a new recipe, a new wine find, or what we called an interactive dinner where we mixed up the couples and each prepared a dish. Well, those days are over for a while. On Friday night we cooked on the grill, and we opened some good wine, and we ate in shifts. That's about all I remember.

But it was fun to watch the little boys, Brooks and Alexander, learn their way around each other. We saw a little cousin rivalry, but they soon learned to co-exist. Brooks, the elder at 26 months, is learning about sharing, and Alexander, the younger at 15 months, is prone to hairpulling in his enthusiasm. They are two smart little boys; they just approach the world very differently. Brooks, the cautious one, wants to size up everyone and everything, and he seems to love learning. He knows all the colors, most of the alphabet, and he can count to twelve. He is adding new words to his vocabulary every day. Alexander, the fearless one, travels at warp speed and is very verbal; we just don't know what he's saying most of the time. He can approximate mama; he points to a fish and says "peixe" (like pesh, which is fish in Portuguese), and he knows animal sounds for tiger, cow, and dog. I think he said YaYa, but I couldn't convince the others of that. They are so precious.

They both love books, dogs, and being outside, so we spent a lot of time doing those things. We took rides on the stroller and tricycle; we visited the neighborhood park, and we spent one day at the farm. Did I say how precious they are?

Alexander's mother, with another one on the way, isn't feeling too perky these days, but thank goodness, the rest of us were in fair shape. Otherwise, we could never have kept up with the little boys. Whew! But, you know what? They are precious!

A slideshow from the weekend:

Mount Rushmore

We made a bike trip to Sturgis, South Dakota a couple of years ago. I had never seen Mount Rushmore. It was breathtaking, especially when framed as it was here. I took the photo from inside a tunnel through the mountain. The likenesses had recently been cleaned, hence the whiteness you see. Our country is beautiful!

For more Skywatch photos, visit Wiggers World.