HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

These are a few shots I took on Rt. 95 south of Baltimore this week.
Nice to know that someone honored Memorial Day with this tribute.

Love is but a song we sing
fears’ the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
and you may not know why
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
and try to love one another right now


Some may come and some may go
He will surely pass
When the one that left us here
returns for us at last
We are but a moment’s sunlight
fading in the grass
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another right now
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another right now
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another right now


If you hear the song I sing
you will understand…listen
You hold the key to love and fear
all in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
Its there at your command
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
Everybody get together
try to love one another right now
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
Everybody get together
try to love one another right now
I said…..
*Come on people now
smile on your brother
Everybody get together
try to love one another right now
right now
right now

Youngbloods

And finally one more shot from the kite festival mentioned in the previous post.


Happy Memorial Day everybody.

COLORFUL

Today's photohunters theme is COLORFUL- thanks to TNCHICK.

This is a shot that I took this past April at the kite festival in Washington D.C.

It was the opening day of the Cherry Blossom festival. A more colorful day I have not experienced in quite a while

But whenever the roof came white
The head in the dark below
Was a shade less the color of night,
A shade more the color of snow.
Robert Frost



Color


Love's a color, mine is blue.
Choose a color, how about you?
When the paler shades go down
then you know I'll come around.

When the colors mix into,
a swell of rainbows, less the blue,
There you'll find me,
pull me through...

Love's a color,
and now yellow.
Bright and bold,
never mellow.
Happy going in between,
yellow spilling in every seam.

Love's a color, and now red.
Feeling's deeper, nothing's said.
When the red is burning through,
pull me out and into you.
Passion holding tighter still,
warmer tones in overkill.
How my colors all fulfill...

2005

Kim GGG

UNINSPIRED AND UNCREATIVE

I was told by a fellow blogger that my posts these days are uninspired...compared to several months ago.

I agree....And they are definitely uncreative,in my opinion.

Maybe it's time to stop for a while-at least until my life becomes more inspiring.

After all, how many photos of my garden can one person take? And all this after I took some new ones to post, at that.

I was also told that I seem to have a morbid core. This, I'm afraid, is probably also true. I first noticed that when I was about 12. Geez, in 35 years you think I would have figured out how to take care of that. It may take me paying someone $150.00 an hour to figure that out for me. A therapist is going to cost me more than $150.00 an hour - isn't she? I may have to rethink that one.

Thanks for reading everyone. We'll see what happens next.

TAGGED

For the first time ever- I have been tagged by

Not So Little Woman

4 jobs I've had
Travel agent
Sales associate at Victoria's Secret
Aerobics Instructor
Floral designer

4 movies I can watch over and over
Braveheart
Dances with Wolves
Out of Africa
Fried Green Tomatoes

4 places I've lived - This is the boring answer
Washington D.C.
Silver Spring, Md.
Beltsville, Md.
Columbia, Md.
That's it- nowhere exciting.

4 categories of TV programming I enjoy
Cooking Channel
Travel programs
Design programs
"Real Sex" - no judgements please, I am just fascinated by people's quirks.

4 places I've been on holiday
Italy
Spain
Ireland
Scotland

4 of my favorite dishes
Rack of lamb
Dilled Blanquet de Veau
French fries- with lots of salt and vinegar
Bouillabaise or other fish stew like cioppino

4 web-sites I visit daily
Bullet holes in the mailbox
Velvet Factor.blogspot.com
comcast.net
Written Inc.

4 places I would rather be right now
Costa Rica
Hawaii
Sailing around the Greek Isles
Texas

I know, I sound more boring than ever! I think I need to move out of this state.

So now I guess I have to tag somebody: Sorry y'all but I'll tag Steve, Akelamalu,
Barbara, and anyone else who wants to play!

MY GOOSE IS COOKED ( in this case my pig)

This week's photohunters theme is COOKED/COOKING- Thanks to TNCHICK.

Many, many years ago my husband and I participated in a gourmet club (well, 2 actually). This gave us the opportunity to gather a bunch of our crazy friends and cook up a storm....revolving around a chosen theme.

Here, we have a pig roast that I decided to attempt. My husband absolutely refused to drain the lily pond so that I could roast the pig the proper way- by being buried and covered in banana leaves... I really thought the pond would have been perfect.

My second option was to roast the sucker (or suckling, shall I say) in the oven. He weighed about 40 pounds and was just a tad too long for the oven. Consequently I had to cut him in half to roast him. That is why he has a lovely belt made of starfruit.


All in all he was magnificent! We ended up just placing him in the center of the table and ripping the flesh right off of him with our bare hands- he was THAT good.

This next photo is a shot of most of us in our "traditional" hawaiian garb. I even dressed my son up...much to his dismay.

I apologize for the quality of the photo. The photographer seems to have had one too many mai tai's. Ah well, he was more fun that way.


Never eat more than you can lift.
Miss Piggy

GEWEL'S SECRET GARDEN

Let us now take a stroll to see what is blooming in my Secret Garden today.

All of this accompanied by words from Depeche Mode.



My secret garden's not so secret anymore
Run from the house holding my head in my hands
Feeling dejected, feeling like a child might feel
It all seems so absurd
That this should have occurred
My very only secret
And I had to go and leak it!
My secret garden's not so secret anymore!


No, my secret garden's not so secret anymore!
Run through the fields, down to the edge of the water
Can't stay long, here comes the reason why -
She'll catch me if she can,
Take me by the hand
I'll have to keep on running
And I just can't see the fun in
My secret garden not being secret anymore!

It used to be so easy
On days such as these she'd
Search and search for hours
In among the flowers
I loved it! - I loved her!
Play the fool, act so cruel - I loved it!
Read her book, take a look - I loved her

It all seems so absurd
That this should have occurred
My very only secret
And I had to go and leak it!
My secret garden's not so secret anymore!



And finally, a shot of a corner of my herb garden.

AL FRESCO

This past Mother's Day weekend was spent cooking- And EATING!

It started with a small gathering here with a few friends. The weather was absolutely perfect so I was able to have my first dinner of the season outside. Something about dining outside makes the food taste that much better. I don't know what it is.

This was when I made my chicken with forty cloves of garlic (thank you Barefoot Contessa). I paired that with a simple salad and a side dish of bowtie pasta with swiss chard, spinach and scallion sauce. That dish did cause a fire in the kitchen. But, we were able to get it out before the fire department had to be called. I really must pay closer attention to my cooking!

This is how the table looked. What you can't see is my fabulous chandelier full of candles hanging above the table. It gives off amazing light.

We ended with this fabulous berry souffle dessert. A mix of raspberries and blackberries swirled into a souffle. YUM! Thank you Food and Wine magazine.

Sunday was spent entertaining my family- my parents, two sisters and their families, my kids and their girlfriends. Again, the weather was gorgeous..my Father made a point of saying that whenever we needed rain I needed to plan a gathering- since it ALWAYS rains on my parties...maybe the pattern has finally been broken.

Next we have a photo of myself with my kids and dogs.

My boys.

My dad and brother-in-law digging into the buffet- A fabulous Beef brisket with my friend Travis's barbecue sauce (he hails from Texas so it was the REAL thing). my mother's amazingly huge baked penne pasta (where Mom goes so does pasta),grilled salmon, green beans, skewered grilled veggies, and caesar salad.

And to end the day 3, yes count them-3 desserts. I made the lemon cake in the center-with a layer of lemon curd between the layers in addition to the lemon buttercream icing. On the right is a raspberry/white chocolate semi-freddo with raspberry compote to top it. It was supposed to be bittersweet chocolate, but what the heck. And my sister's contribution of a coconut cake.


So this week started with doing a much longer walk and tae-bo after all of that feasting. Now for the leftovers.

STEVE"S BIRTHDAY

We're having a party. It's Steve's birthday and we're agonna celebrate. So run on over to

Bullet Holes In The Mailbox

and wish him a good one!!!

We're now entertaining him- since he entertains us on a daily basis.

The world -famous Tyrolian Oompah band playing just for you.

St. Pauli girl stopping by with your gifts!

And Here's Zippy- creating balloon animals for all the kids (especially you)!

And our very special guest- Marilyn Monroe. Here to sing you her breathy version of "Happy Birthday"

And, finally, a birthday cake made just for you- by ME!!


Have a great day, Steve!!! We all love you

FIVE

Today's theme is FIVE- thanks to tnchick.

This photo was taken at my stepson's wedding in North Carolina. Here he is with my two boys, his bride and her sister. Now let's just see if they have 5 kids!

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)

WAIT FOR ME

I had a fun day today. I got to spend it with one of my favorite people in my life.
Chuck and I spent the day at the nearby Loch Raven Reservoir doing a bit of a photo shoot.

He hosts a big Memorial Day party every year. He always has great local bands, lots of food, family and friends. One reason to host such a party is so that we don't forget the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day. He is putting together a film presentation which will feature some beautiful images that he has taken.

Some of his favorite subjects, located in our nation's capital, include the national monuments dedicated to the Vietnam War and World War II- As well as Arlington National Cemetary.
He also has very moving images taken at Ground Zero in N.Y. just days after the collapse of the Twin Towers. And touching shots taken at funerals honoring the fire and police men and women who lost their lives during this horrific time.

You can see his work at www.cwhateyeseeimages.com

Some of the shots that I took of him today will be included in his presentation accompanied by this Bob Seger song. I am looking forward to remembering all of those who have been lost in every battle fought for this country.

Thank you Chuck for helping us to remember. You are a true American.




Artist: Bob Seger
Wait For Me

I will answer the wind
I will leave with the tide
I'll be out on the road
Every chance I can ride

No matter how far
No matter how free
I'll be alone
If you'll wait for me

There'll be times when I'll rise
There'll be times when I'll fall
There'll be times when its best to say nothing at all

Knowing you're right
Letting it be
I'll be around
If you'll wait for me
If you'll wait for me

And I'll fight for the right to go over the hill
If it'll only mean something to me
I will not be persuaded
I wont be still
I'll find a way to be free

In the cool of the night
In the heat of the day
If you're ever in doubt
I'll be on my way
Straight to your side
I guarantee
I'll be around
If you'll wait for me
If you'll wait for me

WARRIOR WOMAN

Warrior Soul

*Damn! *There's a whole world at war with you;
You're outnumbered like crazy.
Sun's beating down, armor's rusty.
It's like the end before it's even started.

*Man! *You know everyone's safe in the village
Praying, wishing, calling for you
To 'get er done' and get on home,
And you want to just get up and leave the battle.

*Whoa! *Suddenly, you're surrounded
By great legions of your worst enemies
And some of them even resemble
Your friends, your faith...your own heart.

*AAAA! ! *You're scared out of your mind
And shaking out of your clothes
Struggling to think straight
As your foes advance, but...

*Yaaa! *You still draw your sword
Kick your heels into your stallion
And fight that damn good fight
Even when odds and gods are against you.

*Phew! *You've conquered your minions,
Slayed your dragons well.
But hell, you're still fighting-
(That's right, still fighting)

And that is why we adore you.
~Warrior Soul~

Ebone' Ingram

(I found the poem above on Poemhunter.com) More perfect words do not exist for this battle.


Soubriquet suggested that I post some shoes for our own Warrior Woman!!
Here we have some FIERCE ones with weapons for heels.


If she's feeling particularly firey today these are in order.

CHILDREN NO MORE

While posting photos of my children's childhood the other day I got to thinking about the wonderful men that they have become.

How lucky am I to have two such fabulous boys.

Here's a photo from 2 years ago taken at my stepson's wedding in North Carolina.

My Two Sons

My two sons are my vision of heaven and earth
Two young men of intense and immeasurable worth....

I would hope their experiences similar to mine
That they have their heaven on earth as I had my time.

04-07-06 Aho Speaks

GEWEL'S GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS

Here's what is blooming today in Gewel's garden of earthly delights.




Lay me down-
on a carpet of fragrance
petal-soft pink caresses-
twisting and twirling drifting down beyond blue
fluttering on a breeze to be swept aside-
pulled by invisible threads
showers of velvet sift, hover, barely float
encompassing all, buried beneath flora
Lay me down-
gewels


The above poem is in response to Chuck's criticism that I must include my words in these posts (and not the words of others).
Others say it so much more eloquently than I, however.

World Naked Gardening Day

Today is officially the 3rd annual World Naked Gardening Day. No-seriously!

It is celebrated in the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, India, New Zealand and Australia. So put on some sunscreen and get out there and celebrate.

I'm going to plant my herb garden now.
I will be staying away from the rose bushes however.

OH THOSE BEAUTIFUL CHILDHOOD DAYS

Today's theme is CHILDHOOD

So, here, I have chosen to shamelessly post photos of my children's childhood. We had the best time when they were little. All we did, me included, is play-day and night. They both had amazing imaginations. And me, being the doting Italian mother, indulged their every whim.

I can proudly say that they are still very goofy and make me laugh every day.



And, finally, a shot of me as a child. Here I am with my mother and younger sister on one of our annual summer trips to Italy. Don't I look like I'm having fun? I'm the one on the right, by the way.

I must take issue with the term 'a mere child,' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.
Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

P.S. don't know what is up with my photos posting so small- I am not happy about that. Maybe if I change the template?