Friday Freedom

I visited New York City in the summer of 1973.


This is picture of the Statue in Paris in 1886.

Here is a link about the Statue's history.

Wordless Wednesday-I will call him Red

Check out more Wordless Wednesday HERE.

Would you like a slice of lemon and a little bacteria on the side?

I saw this on the news a few weeks ago and again last night on our local news.
It makes you think twice before asking for that slice of lemon at a restaurant.
I wonder if it's the same with limes? :D Because our immune systems are
potentially lower in the winter perhaps we should do without the lemon. They
found the lemons you buy at the supermarket to be without bacteria. You
just need to wash them first, use clean knifes, and clean hands. Duh?

Fun Monday-What's Your Line?

This week's Fun Monday hostess with the mostest is Mariposa.

Her wish is our command.  Please explain the meaning of your

blog's name or the origin of it or how you came up with it.  Well,

she didn't exactly use those words....and also name your favorite/

most common food.  

God Put a Smile upon my Face.  He did.  It just seemed so natural

for me.  I have had people wonder why I smile at them.  I have tried

not smiling before but by golly it always pops out unexpectedly.  People

might think I'm flirting but I'm not and I smile equally at women and

men.  So I discovered this song by Coldplay.  It is the best ever.  

My favorite/most common meal:  Tequila Lime Chicken

I wouldn't say this was my most common meal but one of

my favorites.  Anything with chicken would be my favorite.

I am posting the recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa.

She is awesome.

You can click on the recipe to enlarge it or enbiggen it as Peter likes to say. :D

Vitruvian Men

Vitruvian Men
Originally uploaded by ianharrywebb

My oldest brother had a poster of the Vitruvian Man on his bedroom wall. He had a bedroom that was detached completely from our house. He was a very private person anyway and this certainly helped his privacy. He usually kept his room locked I think. Of course, curiosity would overcome me and I just had to see what was in his room. I would be sure he wasn't at home, probably at football practice or working, and then I would quickly enter his room and close the door. A small room but he had a desk. He liked to make models of The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Dracula. He painted them so nicely. I marveled at his work. He was such a mystery to me. He was five years older than me and I was the youngest of four children. I had two other older brothers. But he was the one that I was in awe of. He worked hard in school and made good grades. He did science experiments. He hunted and fished and played football. He was very quiet unless he got mad. My other brothers found that out often. He was the responsible one. Always.

Let Sleeping Lions Lie

Willowtree has a post today with a much closer picture

of the lion statue in Trafalgar Square, London. I love

this scene I took from a distance.



Speaking of sleeping lions, here lies an heroic lion.

The Swiss Guards' honor was put to the test in 1792, when--after trying to escape the French Revolution--King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and their children were hauled back to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. A mob of working-class Parisians stormed the palace in search of aristocratic blood. More than 700 Swiss officers and soldiers died while defending the palace, without knowing that their royal employers--like Elvis--had left the building.

In the early 1800s, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen was hired to sculpt a monument to the fallen Swiss Guards. The sculpture was carved in a sandstone cliff above the city center, near Lucerne's Glacier Garden and the Panorama, and it has attracted countless visitors since its dedication in 1821.

Louvre {loov'-ruh} — a French palace and the national art museum of France.

Located in Paris, the Louvre is one of the largest palaces in the world and, as a former residence of the kings of France, one of the most illustrious. It exemplifies traditional French architecture since the Renaissance, and it houses a magnificent collection of ancient and Western art.

This is Canova-Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

There was so much to see at the Louvre.  We could not

possibly have seen it all.  We just had to pick and choose

where we would go.  I don't remember and cannot find

what the name of this statue is.  Someone please tell

me in the comments if you know. 


Here is my daughter in a panoramic view of Lucerne.

The most beautiful city ever, I think.  

Friday Feast

I decided to participate in this week's Friday Feast.  

I borrowed (:D) this icon from Gattina. (thank you)

Appetizer

Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone?  If so,

what did you do and who was your victim?

This happened years ago and is the first practical joke I

can remember ever doing.  My mom's sister (my aunt) was

visiting and my mom was gone to work.  My aunt was fixing

her hair in my mom's bedroom and she asked me if we had

a small mirror so she could fix the back of her hair.  Well,

immediately I had a brainstorm!  Ah, I was so funny!  I ran

upstairs to my room and got a mirror for her.  Now this woman

had no sense of humor at all!  But who cares?  When you're 

eleven years old?  I didn't!  I gave her one of those little mirrors

on a stick that the dentist gives you to look in your mouth at

your teeth.  She didn't find it amusing at all but I fell on the 

floor laughing.  She just stared at me and told my mother 

later....

Soup

What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?

These aren't my main ones.  The main ones are ugly

Tupperware and a tall Cains Restaurant Blend pepper.

Salad

What is the next place you plan to visit on vacation

or business?

I don't really have plans yet but I would like to visit Canada

again next.  I would like to take a train trip.  

Main Course

What kind of lotion do you use to keep your hands from

getting too dry?

Aveda hand relief

Dessert

Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it 

a name.

Raspberry Sorbet with snickerdoodles:

1 bag of frozen raspberries

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix in blender and pour into pyrex dish.

Freeze for 1 hour.

Serve with snickerdoodles.  Do you want the

recipe for snickerdoodles?  

Gattina's got more entries over here to check out.

Always Help Your Dad!

Just for laughs:

  An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey.  He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.  His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.

  The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

  Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year.  I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.  I know if you were here my troubles would be over.  I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love, Dad

  A few days later he received a letter from his son.

  Dear Dad,

Don't dig up that garden.  That's where the bodies are buried.

Love, Vincent

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies.  They apologized to the old man and left.

  That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

  Dear Dad,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.  That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love, Vincent

Laughter is the best medicine....this was found in our newspaper.  

Wordless Wednesday-Treasures

My angels:

Seize the Day!



They're on their way:

My Dad who's gone...I just didn't have enough

time with you.

Seize the Day!

For more Wordless Wednesday look here.

Everything by Lifehouse

Fun Monday-Things That Make You Laugh

Fun Monday is being hosted by Sayre ('cause she smiles).

The rules are she wants to see some sign or just some

thing that makes you laugh or smile preferably on your

drive somewhere (possibly to work).  I don't drive to

work, I work at home so.....I didn't do well with my

assignment this week.  'Cause I do drive other places

but I failed to read my assignment this week!  Sorry...

Here is something that makes me laugh every

time I notice them.

They are 5 lb. weight balls

This creature and others we have make me laugh every

day.  Out loud.  

Please join others to bring a smile to your face today.

weekly Winners Sunday Meme

Please seek more Weekly Winner's here.

Dear Frankie

I watched this movie two nights ago.  It is filmed in Scotland.

It is about a single mom and her 9 year old son.  She moves

her son and her mom to Glasgow.  They have moved a lot.  At

first I didn't understand the mother's actions.  Frankie is the boy

and he is deaf/mute.  He writes letters to his dad who is away

on a ship and apparently has been for years.  He receives letters

from his dad too.  As the movie progresses you begin to get

a clearer picture of the situation and it is very touching.  By the

end you find out that Frankie had more of a grasp on what was

taking place than what he was given credit for.  The setting is

in Scotland but the movie was not very scenic.  For this reason

I would give it about 3-1/2 stars on a scale of 0-5.  It was worth

watching  (probably just renting).  

Anyway, I was reading Laura's blog and she and her husband

are going to Scotland soon by themselves and asked for

recommendations of movies or books.  

Ron Paul

My son ordered me a yard sign.  I voted for him in the

primary.  

All Things Red

Marilyn at 819 Ohio/Building Our New Old House asked us to Get the Red Out.
So here is my attempt to blaze a trail of red:

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness." ~Bill Blass

"When in doubt wear red." ~Bill Blass

"Better a red face than a black heart." ~Portuguese proverb

"Red roses are for love triumphant." ~Bill Blass

"A careful driver is one who honks his horn when going

through a red light." ~Henry Morgan

"Make a remark," said the Red Queen, "it's ridiculous to

leave all the conversation to the pudding."

"Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own

skin.  That, or a kick-ass red lipstick." ~Gwyneth Paltrow

"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue.

Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way

they really are or people might think we're stupid." ~

Jules Feiffer

"An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere,

while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight...The truly

wise person is colorblind." ~Albert Schweitzer

"Give her two red roses, each with a note.  The first note

says 'For the woman I love' and the second, 'For my best

friend'." ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Pensieve's Poetic License-February

Our poem's this month are based on the sonnet.

It is supposed to be about something we love.

Music Inside

There is music in my soul

Melody and harmony in part

Out of my mouth it plays a role

Delivering dreams straight from the heart.

The notes I play are felt

The chorus follows verses

Words that spark and melt

Bring feelings to the surface.

How much of me can be revealed

What part of me is shown

The music can provide a shield

A safe refuge, a home.

All my hopes and all my dreams

Quietly display my world as its theme.

Please go explore the other sonnets at Robin's.  

Also this lovely package came for me this week.  It contained

some sweet melt-in-your mouth treats and a cookbook

that I won from Robin at Pensieve's.  What a delight!

Call It Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are pictures of my sweetheart and I in 1974.


Here is our wedding picture in  1975.

Just beginning our life together.

Here we are after 30 years in 2005.

Still sweethearts...

We are celebrating our anniversary with a 

cruise to Alaska.  

Here we are on the promenade.

Still sweethearts after all these years.

Let's "Call It Love".   (By Poco)