§ Done and Thank Goodness....

After nearly two weeks of working on the bath, I really began to "hate" the entire job. But, now that it's finally done, it's not bad. Next room on the agenda is the Livingroom. A big, huge room that requires emptying the very large entertainment center of records [vinyl collection], CDs, tapes, DVDs, and even some very old VHS that haven't been replaced. Plus lots of knicknacks. Then, we need to patch cracked walls from the foundation sinking this past summer. And, rearrange furniture and picture frames. Estimated 2-4 weeks of work. I'm sure there will be many days off relaxing sore muscles. lol

I know I showed a lot in my previous post of the bathroom progress, but I wanted to record the finished job. We decided to go from blue to everything accented oriental red...

We have collected many Buddahs and dragons, a couple of oriental fans, Foo Dogs, and chinamen figurines. But...as I mentioned last week, there is a SPECIAl Buddah. Actually a Ho Tei [pronounced HO Tie]. I bought this for Bud for a gift of our very first Christmas...nearly 54 years ago. He's about 3 feet tall. Trust me, his belly has been rubbed thousands of times for good luck!!

Even when we moved from Colorado to Arizona and then the Texas coast, he had a special place in the CAR instead of the moving vans!!

The last share today is of the four Chinese Zodiac symbols in soapstone...
The Rat *Erik's
The Tiger *Bud's
The Ox *Me, Anni
The Rooster *Irene's



Wanna know what your personality [zodiac] is? Click here. PS...you need to know what YEAR of your birth to know your symbol first. Calculate here!!!

§ Lucky Cat...

I don't have many, but I do like 'em. This one is my newest. Bud found it at World Market when we were in there looking for imported wines. It's a roly-poly one; porcelain...touch it and the whole kitty wobbles. Sweet!!!! They're Japanese figurines that are supposed to be 'lucky' cats. The Legend of the Maneki Neko goes: " In the 17th century, there was a rundown and poverty-stricken temple in Tokyo. The temple's priest was very poor, but he shared what little food he had with his pet cat, Tama. One day, a wealthy and important man was caught in a storm while hunting and he took refuge under a big tree near the temple. While he waited for the storm to pass, the man noticed a cat beckoning him to come inside the temple gate. This was so startling that he left the shelter of the tree to have a closer look at this unusual cat. At that moment, the tree was struck by lighting. As a result, the wealthy man became friends with the poor priest, and the temple became prosperous. The priest and his cat never went hungry again. When Tama died he was buried in the Goutokuji Temple's cat cemetery with respect and love, and the Maneki Neko was made in honor of him. A Maneki Neko in your place of business, your home or on your website is said to bring in good luck and visitors. Maneki Neko is Japanese for "beckoning cat. " The message he's holding says "Please come in. You are welcome!" and he is beckoning you with his paw .

Since I didn't do last week's Picstory at Tina's, the category was EXOTIC...and this week it's UNDER the TREE...I guess, the lucky cat above could be considered exotic. And for my under the tree would be themed for the holidays since that's what I immediately thought of...Things found under the Christmas Tree. LOL I'll post this image I shared around December:

Send your own Lucky Cat, Maneki Neko, animated card to a friend...

Click Here

CONNECTING TO:

§ 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!!!

CONNECTING TO:

§ Orient Express?

Recently I purchased new shower curtains and shower liner for our hallway bathroom. Colors mingling with ruby rose, vanilla cream and gold and green...
Tina, at Picstory, would like to see ideas with the letter *B* this week...

"B" is for Black. I not only like to wear a lot of black [sweaters and sweats in winter to black slacks, capri pants, leotards, jeans...in summer; yes, I still continue to wear some black, sleeveless blouses, tank tops and shorts]. I also like black for decorating. In fact our hallway bath [two separate rooms for shower and lavatory] is in black. Mixed with black painted walls and brocaded gold and flocked wallpaper... The two rooms are Black, gold, red, and touches of the Orient.




ceramic panda and silk scarf that was framed [geisha girl]


Some of Bud's Oriental figurines from overseas when in Navy


New shower curtains and blackened bronze HoTei with redstone mini-Buddhas





connected to: Ruby Tuesday2 and Picstory [linked buttons on BOTTOM of blog page]

§ For want of a title, earrings appear magically---

Click button to join
FOLLOW ME TUESDAY linked button on SIDEBAR!!

From the movie: Memoirs of a Geisha Girl---

"You cannot call yourself a true geisha until you can stop a man in his tracks with a single look."

She did!!




A new pair of earrings - Cloisonne and Geisha Girls in Red Kimonos
purchased at Forever XXI



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Well, the Arctic Cold Front that was promised to us has arrived!! The blustery winds are here, the skies are filled with moisture [but no snow, I hope] all a powdery gray drabness above me...and the wind chill is probably close to 40 right now. There is a predicted freeze warning in effect and will remain for the early morning hours around here for the next three days. Highs in temps are only going to reach mid 40s today and a slow warming trend. But, come the weekend, it'll be back to normal and mid 60s low 70s. Ahhhhhhhhhh, I live for the weekend.

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
5:50 A.M.

RUBY TUESDAY post below Heads or Tails....

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TAILS - "Summertime memory"

Since this is TAILS your summertime memory needs to be a real memory of yours. It can be from last week, five years ago, a childhood memory, etc.

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Each and every summer when my parents were alive and our kids were young, they'd make a special effort to have a summertime evening of making homemade ice cream.....

We'd have the real heavy cream, rock salt, the ice cream maker [hand held crank], table salt for flavoring, sugar, along with tons of vanilla, eggs. Mom had spent all day cooking and preparing fresh strawberry syrup from the strawberries in their garden, and dad would make his famous homemade hot fudge. From the freezer there'd be broken bits of black walnuts from their tree the season prior. As our kids grew, each summer they'd look forward to having that special evening with my parents and that homemade ice cream. It was a fun time....oh to go back to the 'good ol' days'!!! The photo is Bud holding the maker while Irene took her turn at turning the crank/handle. The whole process took hours, and the anticipation for our kids was like watching a dog sitting with all the attention of a bone...and the mouths drooling!!! All the time, during the churning and cranking of the ice cream maker, once it began to get thickened, it was my mom's privilege of 'sample tasting'. She'd bring out her plastic spoon cache for just that purpose and taste test...we'd all watch in contemplating the next step...whether it'd be chow down time, or more cranking....she'd say "More vanilla"...out came the bottle of vanilla. Or "More salt"...then someone would sprinkle in more table salt. Or she'd say "Just a few more cranks and it'll be perfect!"...Boy oh boy, the smiles then!!! By the time it was finished and ready to serve and eat, it would be dark and the patio would be lit up with japanese lanterns....out came the bowls and spoons .....pig out feast ahead!!!!


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This is my very first time participating in Ruby Tuesday. And I wanted to show the shadow box of some Oriental Trinkets. Some of the pieces are red soap stone. A couple of red crocheted doilies. But the main feature is the red beaded, heart chain....a close up below---
















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PS...well, we have our first tropical storm of the season, Andres [the "A" is for Pacific Ocean...not an "A" as yet for the Atlantic]. But, for us here in the Gulf, no worries. It's on the Pacific side of Old Mexico,.....heading toward the resort town of Cabo San Lucas!!! Predicted to go in to hurricane forces before it's over and out to sea.

Sunday, May 31st, 2009
4:27 A.M.



For Sunday Stealing, scroll down below my "walk about", or CLICK HERE

A walk in the yard showing off all the 'whimsical' things, and some more flowers [are y'all tired of me posting posies yet? Y'know during the spring and summer months...it's all about flower gardens in our yard...] the 'trinkets' are mostly hidden until you're right up on 'em. Thing is, we still have a lot packed away. Our yard is much smaller than the one we had in Tucson. There just isn't room for it all. We've trashed some, we've packed others, and we've given other things away. But anyhow, I thought I'd do a walk about...

First, on the west edge of our patio we have a plant...a yellow trumpet. I've seen others in our neighborhood that are large enough to be considered small trees. I always cut it down over the few years we've lived here...goes to show you what I know. Maybe now I'll let it grow higher. Who knows. I do like the compactness of trimming it down tho...

In bud formation-

Beginning to open-

In full bloom-

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We have accent lighting around the flower beds for the effect. Among our rose flower bed is a hidden Frog...with a dragon fly on his tongue...

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Out front, off the porch the Esperanza is in full bloom...

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In the corner by a huge tree and pyracantha bush is some stuff of the 'oriental flair'...a couple of iron pagoda candle lights and a few white figurines among the orange flowering bush [I can't recall the specific name for it...it starts with an "I"] and the purple geisha girl flowering bush...

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We have a few pots with flowering annuals, hidden among the flowers miniature gnomes and fairies...

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Turtles, turtles, and woodland creature...oh my!

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Fox family...

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Raccoon family & Coyote...

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A wooden Kokopelli [life size, Bud made] and a full [but, not for long] bird feeder...






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1. Name one person who made you smile today: Dunno, just got up from a night's sleep.

2. What were you doing at 8am this morning? Ummmmm, it's not 8 a.m. yet.

3. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Did I mention sleeping?

4. What is your favorite candy bar? Now you're talkin'!!!----Altho, from a box, turtles...since the question is 'bar'...I'd have to say Big Hunk


5. Have you ever been to a strip club? Does Hooters count? Well, then....no.

6. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water

7. What was the last thing you ate? Cereal

8. The last sporting event you watched? LAD & Chicago Cubs game on TV

9. Do you go to church every Sunday? No

10. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? No way...love both, but would opt for pizza if given a choice. Actually, I cook my own 'Chinese' food....when you go out, they usually cook Chinese with MSG...that's lethal.

11. What are you doing tomorrow? Probably grocery shopping.

12. What do you think of when you hear Australia? Hugh Jackman

13. Biggest annoyance right now? I have this electrical outlet that I use to charge the cellphone...and I keep plugging it in....and the top socket is burned out!! [a creature of habit]

14. Last song listened to? Beautiful Day by U2

15. Do you have a maid service clean your house? Ya...most definitely. It's called Anni's House Cleaning Extraordinaire ...

16. Are you jealous of anyone? No way....why? Well, I may say I'm jealous of someone, but in all reality,.........I'm not.

17. Is anyone jealous of you? Dunno

18. What do you usually do during the day? Computer, crafts, shopping, eating, cleaning, reading...you name it.

19. Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Again....why? That's a waste of life...my motto....don't hate.

20. Are you thinking about someone right now? Yep, I need to call Irene. There's a project I'm tinking of doing and it's about Irene. Need to ask her a few things first....so I can begin.


NOTE: I guess I should clarify this one photo ABOVE, IN MY FLOWERS SECTION OF MY POST TODAY...it's not moonflowers --the kind that bloom at night. Nor does it have fragrance...it blooms all day long. To clarify it, they're not just yellow trumpets...their common name is Angel Trumpets. They are grown in white, purple, pink [salmon] and yellow.

Friday, May 22nd, 2009
7:30 A.M.


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My 55 Fiction today is Emotional Waves. Scroll down below Show N Tell, or CLICK HERE


For Show n Tell this week, I'm bringing with me for you to view our crystal Geisha Girl. The frontal image and the backside. She's about 10 inches tall, only, but very heavy!





~...End Show n Tell
COMMENT HERE if you'd like to skip my fiction 55 for Friday


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A Friday Meme with fiction...55 words, no more, no less. Try it, it's a fun challenge!!
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An ocean of emotions is the quiet
serenity that could change within minutes...
The undercurrent of depths unknown, a riptide
The ripple atop the glass surface only to
Change with time into
roaring waves of destruction!
The gentle curl one minute
Next, the thrash of a swell
undulating into ruination.
Tho, still waters run deep.

Bud & I have tons of things on the day's menu. Won't be able to visit with anybody. The day isn't long enough. The 'honey do' list grew overnight. I swear. We did get out last night and enjoyed Disney on Ice. And had a late dinner afterward. Very enjoyable. Since I can't visit....know I wish you all a happy Friday!!!