Eat, Pray, Love, Snooze

We both love Julia Roberts, but Terri didn't even make it halfway through this yawner on Sunday evening. And it's not like it was too late to be up. She was out by 7:30!

But I kept watching and was compelled to pause the movie and wake her to go outside and enjoy the beautiful end to the day. While we were bathed in a golden, pinkish, orange sunset, we listened to the birds busily getting ready for nightfall and enjoyed the soft breeze.

That peaceful time was enough to inspire us to go back to the movie-- which actually turned out quite nicely.

Memorial Day

Traditionally celebrated on May 30th, Memorial Day is now the last Monday of May. This year they are the same.

The Moving Wall™ was assembled at an American Legion post near our house this weekend. It is a half-size replica of the permanent memorial in Washington D.C. The polished black aluminum wall is embossed with the name of every service man and woman who died in the Vietnam conflict. The names are listed in the order in which they died.

It was humbling to see the thousands of names of people I never knew, 58,000 people who gave their lives years ago to assure the peace and security at home that would allow me to take pictures of their memorial on a hot Monday in May, 2011. Thank you all.

Sunday morning

My Sunday morning ritual includes separating the Tribune into three piles: stuff I'll read, stuff Terri will read, and stuff no one reads. Since we remodeled, I've been doing it while standing at the breakfast bar. Now I can sit because the bar stools came in this week!

It is life's little pleasures that keep us going, isn't it?

Oh yeah!

Son John made this for me. Nice work, isn't it? One day this, or something close to it, will be the masthead for this blog. Someday.

Door County, Wisconsin

Door County is on a sleepy Wisconsin peninsula with Lake Michigan on its east coast and Green Bay on its west. A popular vacation destination, it's often called the "Cape Cod of the Midwest".

While Wisconsin is known as a producer of milk, cheese and other dairy products, Door County is known for cherries and "fish boils"-- a process where fresh whitefish, potatoes and onions are boiled together in a large kettle over an open fire. The climactic "boil over" happens at the end when the cook pours some diesel fuel on the fire. The resulting flare-up generates "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd of hungry vacationers and the flames burn off any fish oil that floated to the top of the boiling water.

Door County's Baileys Harbor is also part of my heritage. It's where my great-grandparents, Peter and Anna Muckian, settled when they first came to the United States from Dundalk, Ireland. Maybe that's why this farm-- though never in the family-- does kind of say "home" to me.

Details 2

I like to look up when I'm around old buildings. It amazes me to see how much detail was placed so high above where most people look. The intricate work shown in this photo is approximately 18 to 20 feet above street level on a downtown Joliet, Illinois building.

Wispy clouds

Details 1

One of the statues in Chicago's Buckingham Fountain.

Rialto Square in Joliet

This theatre is a beautifully restored gem. And we're lucky to live so close to it because they book some good musical acts. Saw John Prine last year and Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary) this year.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Muckian!

Photo taken at Lake Tahoe, her favorite place in the world.

Buckingham Fountain

Was lucky to have some great light that day.

Road trip!

A beautiful house in Red Bud, Illinois

Where am I?

Seattle is notorious for its rainy weather, and Chicago's weather has been imitating Seattle this spring. I'm afraid that my feet are going to become webbed. Yeah, that much rain.

Casualties

Though it may not be clear from this photo, the robin's nest and four eggs from my post last Tuesday did not survive this past weekend's storms.

The nest can be seen on the ground in the upper middle of this picture with one light blue egg to the right and another to the left. A third egg is at lower left.

Steadfast tradition

It amazes me that an entirely different culture can walk along quietly while mainstream society speeds by with its ever-changing technologies.

The Mighty Dragon Tree

Terri and I saw this at Rocky Mountain National Park. At higher elevations, the winds twist the wood into interesting and, sometimes, odd-looking shapes. The name the Germans gave it is krumholz, which means "crooked wood".

On one of our hikes, we saw this older dead tree which has lost its bark. I thought it looked like a dragon rearing up on its hind legs in battle.

Whatsit?

No, it's not the business end of the space shuttle; it's something much simpler. It's one of the burners on my gas range. This is what I see after the cast aluminum deflector cap is removed. Exciting, huh?

Uh-oh

Guess I'm guilty then.


















Photo from The Ellen Show website.

Garden ornament

Terri loved this when we saw it last fall. We brought it home on 10/10/10 and she put it in the little garden outside our front door-- "temporarily," she said.

This picture was taken on Mother's Day, 2011. The little cement girl is still in the same place, now with flowers in her skirt. I guess "temporary" is a relative term.

Sebastian likes Dixieland jazz

Seb, the bearded dragon, was on the desk, but kept looking for the source of the music. He scurried off the desk onto the file cabinet. Then he made his way through the maze of picture frames and headed for the ledge the speaker is on. At the edge of the file cabinet, he paused and looked up towards the speaker. I placed him on the ledge and he went straight to it and stared at it for several minutes.

I think he likes music. Or maybe just Dixieland jazz. "Oh when the saints..."

Babies on board

Our first nest this year-- looks like it will be robins.

We have four tall evergreens on the north side of the house. As I was walking past, I thought I'd check for nests. While checking number three, I saw and heard a robin making a commotion in number four. But I know their tricks! Sure enough, after looking closer in number three, there it was. Mom, you were trying to fake me out, but you don't have to worry. We just want to watch.

Stay tuned.

Old school

The streets around Main School in Shelbyville, Illinois are still paved with bricks.

Happy Mother's Day

Mary Josephine Cecilia Kissinger Muckian Kelly, September 6, 1935 - June 9, 1998.

Mary Jo gave birth to seven children and was "Mom" to so many more. Everyone loved her sense of humor and she was always kind and fair.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her. I think it was taken when she was about one. It captures her spirit quite well.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

11:07 in Shelbyville, Illinois

Visualize whirled peas

Yeah, it was on a Prius.

Amish parking lot

In Arthur, Illinois.

(Be careful not to step in the exhaust.)

May flowers

All those April showers did wonders for the azalea bush that Terri keeps trying to kill.

Wash their rocks, of course

The answer to the question, "What do third grade teachers do when they get home from school?"

At last

Last night I felt sad, worried and grateful. 

Sad that a human was killed. Regardless of what he did, he acted based on what he believed were noble ideals. And he was a son, a father, husband and brother. He had family. 

Worried about what might happen next. 

Grateful that there are people who handle security on our behalf. I could not do it.

Today I have no sadness for him and I'm not so worried either. I think it was necessary. And I remain very grateful that the USA has the people who can manage these affairs.






Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.

Fruit and a song

Saw this and thought of the song from Sesame Street with the lyrics: "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish this song?"

If you were a child, or were around small children in the mid-1970s, you'll have that tune in your head now. You're welcome.