§ Shopping .. TV Fragments

Monday morning I woke up to not feeling 100%....stomach flu. Nasty. But feeling stronger by the day...it kinda zapped me for a couple days.

Received a Texas Tollways Bill for our car...it wasn't even ON the toll road at the date and time of the toll tax!!! Amazing. Thankfully, it's been straightened out.

I understand that Blogger will no longer give you the option of the old interface this month, so I'm desperately trying to figure it all out. LOL

Here in town, there is a shopping place that Bud and I rarely frequent.  For more reasons than one, but the main reason is, it's GRUBBY!!  It's the Corpus Christi Trade Center, and it's filled with little areas cordoned off for individual sellers from all nationalities.  But, if you want to find the 'unusual' that you're looking for, you'd probably find it here.  Mostly Imports of course.  Well, I wanted a matching pair of foo dogs for our patio area by the large patio sliding doors.  Foo Dogs are oriental.  They are protectors of the gate. [or castle, temples, or residence] --warding off evil to the domicile entry...

In Chinese Mythology, Fu Dogs or Foo Dogs, also known as Chinese guardian lions are said to have protective powers. Foo Dogs are traditional guardians of temples, palaces, tombs, offices, and well-to-do homes. They always appear in pairs, the left side representing the female and the right side representing the male. What Are Foo Dogs? Foo dogs or fu dogs are considered to be sacred dogs that used to guard the Buddhist temples. Foo dogs have a close relationship with Buddhism as they have an appearance like lions and were considered as protectors of the religious buildings and defenders of law. There is a conception associated with foo dogs that these can shun away evil spirits from a place, this is why one can commonly find their statues at temple gates and tomb doors. As foo dogs are closely related to the history and tradition of China, they are given in the form of statues.So, last weekend after going out for our Brunch, we drove over to the Trade Center in hopes of finding the pair. There are several Oriental 'boutiques' and in the 2nd place we stopped, they had just what I wanted. Small, red stone Foo Dogs. I got one Female [she is the one with the cub under her paw] and one Male [he has the world/globe under his paw]. As soon as we arrived back home, I set 'em out for our protection---

Look closer, just above the "i's" in Hootin' Anni's watermark on the left larger image....see Tahoe in the window; watching me?

Read More and View Other Foo Dogs

Oh My Goodness....NCIS last couple of episodes leaves us viewers with all kinds of questions for the season ending.  Or is it just me?  You faithful followers...what happened to Jamie Lee?  What is going to happen to Ducky?  Is he not going to be coming back?  Why the bringing up of his will?  The last two weeks' episodes "Rekindled" and this week's "Playing with Fire" left us all with untied ends to be sure.  Then, looking further to see when the last show of the season will be I found two more - probably on the 15th of May, it'll be an unfinished show; a cliffhanger!!!  But the two  upcoming shows are: 

Up In Smoke Episode 23 5/8/12 The team's search for a terrorist targeting the Navy takes a bizarre turn when a high-tech bug is found in Probationary Agent Ned Dorneget's tooth.   

Till Death Do Us Part Episode 24 5/15/12 Terrorism shakes the foundations of the Navy and NCIS to such an extent that Gibbs and the team face surprises that will devastate them.

I'm at a loss for words other than I do hope Ducky returns. I do hope in season ten that we'll find out about Gibbs' love interest and Jamie Lee Curtis. What about Palmer and his wedding? Is this the "Till Death Do Us Part"....or is that something that will take us on a journey of the unknown? Maybe McGeek is leaving the show?  Or Jamie Lee no longer part of the plot?  What about all the other 'inner team' >>or perhaps another agent with NCIS that will  be  his/her final days because of terrorism?!!  OH My Goodness!!!

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Saturday, April 25th, 2009
12:40 A.M.


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PHOTO HUNT 2009 THEMES

PROTECTION


I had a very, VERY difficult time with this prompt! I just couldn't come up with any ideas at all. Something unique. I thought of cactus needles...which protect the plant. I thought of rose thorns, cat's claws and teeth, a lock, the alarm system keyboard in our home...things like that. But they just didn't really appeal to me for the subject this week. Too common, I think. Tho, still...what do I do? Well, I came up with an idea while going through my photo album and realized it was looking me right in the face...literally. So, here is the pair [one of three pairs] that we have in our yard/inside our home. They're called:




FOO DOGS [or Fu dog] Foo dogs are really lions. Behind their aesthetic appeal is a rich history of legend and tradition. The lion is known as the proud mater of the feline race. It is not indigenous to China, although lion artwork and sculptures were imported gifts to the emperor. The lion does not occur in Chinese primitive art, but was introduced later in connection with Buddhism as the defender of law and protector of sacred buildings. Lions are often placed at temple gates and porticos of houses. Sometimes, they guard tombs. Stone lions in front of official buildings were originally put there to scare demons. The conventional Chinese lion is sometimes called the "Lion of Corea" or the "Dog of Foo," because it was found at the threshold of Buddhist temples. The lion is sacred to Buddhism and is sometimes presented as offerings to Buddha. Some Buddhist deities are occasionally depicted mounted on this beast. It is an emblem of value and energy, those indispensable complements of wisdom, and was embroidered on the court robes of military officials of the second grade. The lions are always presented in pairs, with the female on the left and the male on the right. The male lion has his right paw on a ball, which represents the "Flower of life" The female is essentially identical, but has a single cub under her left paw, representing the cycle of life. Symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. Sometimes the female has her mouth closed, and the male open. This symbolizes the enunciation of the sacred word "om". However, Japanese adaptions state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death.

This pair is quite old. They've been 'protection' for over three decades. We've had them since Colorado. Bud had them anchored to our two gate posts on our long driveway where we lived. And they were then packed and moved to Arizona where he had them on our Oriental mini-bridge in our back yard...one on each side. Then, yet again, they were moved with us to Texas. They're now set out near the back yard gate under a potted fern on each side of the gate. Trust me, they're not in very good shape any more...they've been chipped, repaired, broken, repaired and touched up with blue enamel paint. But, they're still with us.