§ This and That...

Back in mid November I ordered a shirt [knit, long, to wear with leggins] with a tiger print. I ordered it through Amazon. That very hour I placed the order, I received a confirmation email that the order went through. Next morning, I opened my emails and saw that it was shipped. But the delivery date was November 28th through December 18th!!! I went back online and logged into Amazon since my email told me that there was no tracking with the seller. I wondered why on earth it was going to take so long?!!! Well, to find out it was being shipped from Taiwan. That explains the delay. Now the other afternoon I again received an email...this time from the seller. It advised me that they changed carriers and this will have a tracking on it!!! Good to know. I couldn't wait for it to arrive as I love anything and everything with tigers,

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And again, I get bored sitting at home. I can only read so long before I feel the need to get up and move around. I have a small stash of driftwood pieces I have from walking along the shore. So, I thought I'd start a new wood carving. Driftwood is usually a very soft, porous, wood that I can take a knife to with just a minimal chance of stabbing myself or slicing some skin off my fingers. lol Naturally, I go with ideas of birds...any kinda bird.   I wanted to use this small, thin, piece of root for a fallen tree and then choose a thicker piece for the 'bird'. I started out with the concept of a wader...preferably a heron or egret. But, as I carved, more and more it resembled a flamingo. So, that is what I stuck with; continuing chiseling away....



Once I get it stained and painted and glued onto the 'tree', I'll post photos.  That is....IF IT TURNS OUT DECENT.


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Now, personally, I have never liked Google Plus. It's way too cliquish, and 99% of the time those that have a blog through this, a 'regular' blogger can't view or comment on their plus 'cause you can't see their posts unless you too are a 'member' of Google Plus. What is the use of having a blog when so many can't view it?!! Anyway, I read this online with our national news via my smartphone, that I am not the ONLY ONE who dislikes it. Google has now decided that Google Plus will be discontinued. And, with that news, they are going to do away with it earlier than was first announced. Yay. Whole thing is, I hope the ones that have blogs through this medium, that they won't lose their blogs!!!!!


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A new close-up






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Tarjay [Target] Sale!!!

§ The Unknown Title...

Thanks to Stewart for hosting WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY
and with hostess Lady Fi at Our World Tuesday
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Panoramic views of Oso Bay [mouseover captions] --

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Thanks to Joyce for hosting HODGEPODGE

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1. It was decided on Sunday the Denver Broncos will meet the Seattle Seahawks in this year's Superbowl. So when was the last time you bowled? Not where you thought this question was going is it? Do you like to bowl? Are you any good? I love to bowl. Let me rephrase that...I used  to love to bowl. And it's been eons. Was I any good? Just so so. Never bowled a perfect score, but many times in the 260 range.  Other times, I was doing good to break 190!

2. Should sports stars be role models? With all the many different scandals these past decades? No. But there ARE some good ones out there. It's the bad rep that gets me to say no for the majority.

3. January is National Oatmeal month...are you a fan? How do you like your oats? To quote Sesame Street's cookie monster....COOKIES!!!

4. What is one book on your reading list for 2014? When I finish PETRA'S LEGACY, I'm not much of a romance reader, but I found an older published [2009] novel at Half Price Books with the title "Gifts of War" written by Mackenzie Ford. Here is part of the inside dust cover flap:

Against the broader landscape of England in wartime, Gifts of War captures the era and the fates of men and women caught in the sweep of history. A vivid tale of romance, adventure, and intrigue...

Online, doing a search for the publishing date since there is no copyright page in the front of the book, just the title pages and publishing page with no year on it ---anyway, the site I found had a review page with the reviews of 4-5 stars for the most part...with high praise from other readers.

5. What would you like your future self to say to your present self? "I'm glad you remained happy all these years."

6. When scrolling through the TV guide, what is one movie title that makes you want to stop, grab the popcorn, and watch for a while? We have had no cable TV for nearly two years now, so we don't make use of TV Guide. I'm lovin' it.  But I LOVE popcorn and Jr. Mints and popping in a DVD for a movie.

7. What are two style trends you hope never come back into fashion? First I'm gonna go with 'styles' and it'd definitely be the BEE HIVE hair-do! Oh my goodness!! Sometimes ones of the softer gender would have enough hair spray in their bee hives to straighten and hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa to make it perpendicular!!! And then fashion trends? --- the wearing of under garments on the OUTSIDE that was "En Vogue" made popular by Madonna. [talk about role models?!!]

8. Insert your own random thought here. I had to look up the origin of the ship that I photographed with the dolphins [photo on previous blog post found here]. The ship, King Duncan, is from The Marshall Islands, Majuro was on the stern. That prompted me to check out the islands' history. Finding out, weather-wise, for me, it's now considered paradise!! Tropical islands, in the Pacific Ocean, turquoise waters, white sand beaches, Christian inhabitants, American with the currency the American dollar,....and did I say weather? For 12 months out of the year...lows in the mid 70s highs in the 80s. And not as much rain as I'd expect. The wettest month? Averaging 13 inches. Awwwwwwww, a piece of dreamland after this frosty cold winter we're having. Here in coastal Texas we have another Arctic Blast headin' our way with lows in the freezing mark and highs in the mid 40s!! On second thought, I'll stay right here for now...the Marshall Islands was a testing ground for nuclear weapons...there just has to be some residue in the ground!!!

photo of island courtesy of Google Image Search

§ They call me Mrs. Frumpy...

Okay, reading a while back that a Parish in Louisiana is trying to ban the wearing of pajama bottoms [pants] in public, I was interested a bit in the article. Slightly anyway, for the fact that a dress code ban for the public would be a civil rights thing, wouldn't it?  But that's a whole 'nother post.   I've seen this 'fad' a lot lately in stores and on the streets, around the malls, etc. Most times it's women. Usually younger ones [mid 20s to 30s in age]. Along with it, the footware is either CROCS™ or just plain fuzzy house slippers. In all actuality, I'd much prefer to see this style of clothing comparing it to such revealing and appalling outfits that leave nothing to the imagination. Okay, my point is, I'd rather have to look at a pair of fuzzy jammies on a woman than having to look at an overweight [young] gal with rolls of fat and legs with cellulite, showing off her buttocks in short, short, cut off jeans. Not to mention her top, with less coverage than a postage stamp!! Oh ya, and added to this a few tattoos placed in a prominent spot to accentuate her bosoms. And one more thing, yes, I WAS SEEN once wearing my pajamas long ago before it was a fashion statement. IN public. Kids were sick, I was worn to a frazzle, and on top of it all, we ran out of OTC medications, so I hopped in the car, with my pajamas on and drove to 7-11 late at night...

Yep, I'd much rather see PJs in public than the too revealing, more disgusting look of a street walker!! 

[image borrowed from Google Image Search - not mine- no copyright infringement intended]

§ Think Cotton...then, think fashion---

He don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants'em
is soon forgotten....

This past week the cotton farmers were working from sunup to sundown and beyond, if possible, to get all the cotton in. The crops would've been ruined if heavy rains came. All is well. At least saving the crops. I don't know for sure if the quota was met tho....

COTTON






Macro Monday linked button on sidebar





MONDAY MORSELS

speaking of cotton---it brings me to fashion...

1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s

Many times throughout days when I've watched movies and mini series and historical docu-dramas, I oftentimes find myself 'wrapped up' in the fashions and the costume designs for the particular era. Eons ago, I LOVED to dress, and 'dress up'. By that I mean, I was always checking out what was 'en vogue' and going out to buy a particular item to be with the in crowd. Not any more. Now that I'm retired, I rarely even wear dresses. Gimme a good comfortable pair of jeans or even a pair of baggy sweat pants and I'm the best I can be!! Anyway, this post is about fashion and entertainment...fashion sense, in a sense. My all time favorite era is when I get into a movie of the 16th century. Those women's fashions...how they can be dressed and trussed in those 'awkward' dress designs and still be alluring and flirtatious...yet, so corseted and unable to breathe right, the women and men carried themselves with such style and grace. But, I really, really do like the fashions of America in the 1920s----both women's AND MEN'S!! Such class. Men's spats....I love it. The beads galore on women's dresses. The word spiffy comes to mind. Back then, the fashion conscious were both genders. One reason I continually watch, over the decades, the Academy Awards is for the fashions. Granted, I still love to ogle fashions of a certain decade. And if I were to ask you what your favorite decade of style is, by viewing this slideshow just above this write-up, which would you pick? My favorite, I think, is the 1980s [with 1990s a close runner-up!]...

On a side note here, oh the good ol' days. When I was being brought up, my father was the voice of us kids when it came to getting ready for any occasion. The one thing that really stands out in my mind was the fact me being a girl, I WAS NOT ALLOWED to wear anything that would come close to boys' clothes! Ever. Even in the dead, and coldest of winters, if I WERE to wear long pants for keeping my legs dry and warm going to school, I HAD to WEAR a DRESS on top of it all. But I had the last say in it...once I got to school, I would go to the girls' restroom and remove my dress, hang it in my coat sleeve, and be in jeans for the day as all the other girls...when school was over, I'd return to the restroom and put on my dress again ---arriving home as I left earlier that day. GAWD!!! Even after some 50 years...I STILL think that was a ridiculous way of thinking on my father's part.

§ Once upon a time....

...ever since the presidential campaign back in '08 and seeing the future 1st lady come on stage wearing a beautiful and yet a simple cut dress, I've become obsessed with the color [of the dress]. Yes, I state my favorite colors are were dark forest green and royal purple...well, they still are favorites of mine, but the color of this dress...what I call magenta...it's quickly become a favorite of mine also. The color, when I wear it, brings out the silver in my graying hair. [the subject of gray hair will follow this] Not only that, I think it brings out a glow in ANY complexion. I never, ever, thought a certain color would accentuate any skin tone but this particular color, in my estimation...and I've seen it on many women since the campaign year only 'cause I've been paying attention more to the color...and as I say...the color is GOOD for ALL skin tones. All thanks to our 1st lady, well, at least through my eyes.... The color has been around forever of course. And being a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal that I am, I finally found a magenta T-Shirt. And I'm pleased as punch. Me? Dresses? Nah!! Now, the color...back to the color magenta:

"Magenta is a color of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life. The color magenta helps to create harmony and balance in every aspect of life; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. A combination of red and violet, magenta contains the passion, power and energy of red, restrained by the introspection and quiet energy of violet...."
read more on the color HERE

Michelle O photo courtesy of Access Hollywood dot com - no infringement intended.



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Then, returning to my thoughts on graying hair. My color of hair when a lot younger was a strawberry blond. Some days, especially in the summer when out in the sun a lot, it was quite near platinum blond...but with a very dingy yellow tinge to it. The redness returned in the Fall and Winter ...depending on the season. As the years passed and after I had my two children, it became quite dull and more a dish water blond. Darkening with age. Then, the five decades put a whole new scenario with my hair color. It was like it was overnight...but the dingy yellow blond became gray on top with a light ash blond at the nape of the neck. And being the outdoorsy person that I've always been, my face is sun-bleached and rather wrinkled. What am I saying? A WHOLE LOT WRINKLED!! Which is okay, no complaints here...but the hair...I'm not even contemplating coloring it...dying it back to blond ---it would look SO artificial with the skin condition. Now, I used to put a silver rinse in my mother's hair each time I'd fix up her 'do' for her. It was a gray rinse. Turning HER dingy Irish-strawberry-blond-turned-gray hair a vibrant shiny silver. More or less, a lot like what you see Paula Deen's hair color is on the Food Network. And, to be honest, I would like that color if only I were so lucky. The last time I had my hair trimmed off my neck for the season [bobbed short], my regular place I go to get my hair cut, she and I got to talking. I told her that I've looked and looked all over for a gray hair rinse --just a rinse; not dye. She said just get the expensive gray hair shampoos..."it'll work like the rinses of long ago did." I now have Pantene for Silver Hair. It DOES take the dingy yellow tones out. And I thank her for her advice. I would never have guessed that a shampoo could do 'the trick'. I asked Bud if he could see the difference in the gray tone...he said:
"What makes the difference anyhow? I'd love you if you were bald and toothless."

Pfffft....gimme a break. I know he just wants me around to cook his meals and clean up hair balls. The CATS' hairballs that is.

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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?!!? [answer it now], then click here to see what it tells you about your personality. [being that my color WAS green I feel reading about the color MAGENTA fits me better]. rofl

§ Another Sunrise, Another day filled with hopes and dreams...

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I call this photo "Another Morning has Arrived". Just a trickle of the sun's rays shining through the trees against the Plumbago blossom. I love the soft, pastel bluish lavender and the glossy kelly green of the leaves. And the dappled sunlight makes a perfect peace of mind. The world isn't all that gloomy afterall.











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Well, it's Monday, and I don't have any subject to 'talk' about. What can I say? The news is all the same ol' same ol'. The Oil spill still exists and no sign of it letting up, but there may be hope with the "A Whale". It has embarked on the Mississippi/Louisiana area and is proclaimed to be the world's LARGEST OIL SKIMMER ever!! I won't argue with that...the ship is 3 1/2 football fields in length and reputedly 10 stories high! Estimates are running that the ship, with filtering devices aboard it's hull....can suck up to 500,000 gallons of crude oil....filtering the oil...placing the said oil in tankers and spewing back to the sea the salt water. It sounds too good to be true...but I hope something positive comes from this. The ship belongs to a Taiwanese company. READ MORE and view photo HERE

This past week I completed Signora Da Vinci by Robin Maxwell. I have never really read anything much on Leonardo Da Vinci in the past, but since I knew he was famed with his genius in front of the world...his mother being a slave woman with not much known of her and his father, Piero da Vinci, who wants nothing to do with his son, Leonardo, who was a bastard. Historical records show little of Caterina who literally went to the ends of the earth for her son.....in this work of fiction. I applaud with great enthusiasm this work by Ms. Maxwell. She had very little to go on, and yet she turned out a highly convincing story. Chapter 37, I believe, just blew me away! It was a heart felt, loving, motherly and endeared son that makes the story a page turner. Also, having a lot to do with Italian Renaissance and the country's upheaval at the time of Caterina's and Leonardo's lifestyle and family. I recommend this book with vivacity. Now, I began reading a book from my youth which I never got a chance to read. Okay, so call me slow. But, I've always wanted to read this book as a youngster and never did. I read on a blog the other day about a movie "The Secret Garden"...the blogger---sorry, I can't recall just who...wrote with great praise of the movie and how good it was. I always KNOW in my heart, I will like the book better. So, I went and bought me a copy. And it's a classic...so well written, and such a wild story so far.


Oh and one more thing before you go....

THE BIKINI 're-introduced' into fashion...64 years ago, July 5th, 1946!! [some sites say 1947 tho] In France. ---it is written that it's a Roman invention, but in 1400 BC, Greek women were depicted wearing bikini like sports clothes. So, you decide.




POSTED: Monday, July 5th, 2010
12:20 A.M.

My Saturday Meme posts are in next post....scroll down. In the meantime, I just read this on the front page of Yah** News, about fashion. Now I'm a fan of this lady....girl...she is younger by many years, than I am, so I will think of her always as a 'girl'! LOL Knowing from columnists and her candid, personal, interviews she has gone through hell and came back, thriving and strong! She has a sense about her that I truly admire. And her family legacy is something that will no doubt go on through time as a 'royal' Hollywood name. She has spunk! I like that!!! I like that a lot. Okay, so my point in this post, is that when I read her style was over the top faux pas this time, I have to disagree. I think it shows truly 'being yourself'!!! Tho, some would think it's very odd...being one's self is not odd! It again, shows me backbone, fortitude, guts!!!! You go girl!!!! I adore the look...it's unique, it's probably indulging...but most of all, it shows her keen sense of self...high esteem of WHO she is...inside and out!! What do you think? The fact she went forward with her gut instinct and colored her blond frock to match the dress [gold AND black! I like her half black, half blond 'do']....it's outstanding. She'll never cease to amaze me.

Did I say I don't do gossip...well, that my friend...was over the fences neighborhood gossip. I do like to read about celebs from time to time. But, a Rona Barret, I'm not. hehehehe



Photo courtesy of news
not intended to infringe on copyright






POSTED: Saturday, September 19th, 2009
6:30 A.M.