It's cold as ice

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I was watching Man Made, a show on National Geographic about ICEHOTEL in Sweden. It is a hotel that has to be rebuilt every winter. Once they build it, it only lasts about 4 months and then, it's reclaimed by the Torne River. They've built 19 so far. They are currently looking for designers of the 20th Ice Hotel for Winter 2009.

"The entire ICEHOTEL is on loan from the mighty Torne River and is a place where time stands still. When the spring comes and then finally the summer, the entire creation will once again become part of the rushing rapids coursing toward the sea."

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For the stout and adventurous, you can choose between Cold Accommodations or Warm:

"Staying at ICEHOTEL is a must for the modern adventurer – an experience utterly unlike other hotel stays."

"At ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi you can choose between several different types of accommodation. The ideal is to combine one cold night in ICEHOTEL with several warm nights in our hotel rooms or hotel chalets. This in order to fully enjoy the ICEHOTEL experience."

Guess which one I'd be choosing! :]

Now moving from Sweden to nearby Norway... One of my favorite photography blogs is Ivar Ivrig, who lives in Trondheim, Norway. He currently has 411 Followers and goodness knows how many are subscribed to his feeds! I am one of Ivar's followers. I found him through the wildly popular Skywatch Friday and That's My World Tuesday photo memes. Some of the reasons I adore his blog are his photography, of course, and also the incredible lighting in that part of the world, the unique landscapes and fabulous colors of the arctic... all places and things that I will most likely never see. Just imagine seeing the aurora borealis or the midnight sun of Swedish summer... Ivar gives me beautiful glimpses into his extreme world. You should check him out!

Well, I've got to get ready to leave for the office, in my not so extreme world! Have a wonderful day, y'all!

Awww...Mondays

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Stop by Kimmie's for more Awwws!

Spring Singing in the Sunrise

I took this the other morning while having my coffee on the patio. I just love mornings!



Well, I didn't win at Bingo. Again. I told my mother I have to stop going Thursday nights. It's just too late for me. Most of you know that I'm usually in bed by 7:30-8:00. When I get back from Bingo on Thursday night it's almost 9:30. By the time I get my relaxing clothes on, scritch the kitties and pour a glass of wine it's nearly 10:00. By then the adrenaline has kicked in and I can't fall asleep to save my soul. It's not good, especially by Friday morning. I've lost my sunny disposition all day. This past Friday was busy at the office and my lack of sleep was really starting to show about mid-afternoon. I'm sorry, MotherDear. Really, I am. I just can't do it anymore.

It's been a week of some sad news. A bingo buddy's grandson was shot to death and another friend's niece has just been given a very bad cancer diagnosis. Really, they offer her no hope at all. So make sure you love all your loved ones entry good!

Have a wonderful Monday, y'all. I'm gonna make the best of it!

It was that kind of day

It rained all day Friday and all day Saturday, but Saturday was THE day - the day my friend Allen came over to snake the drain in my tub. For the last 3-4 weeks I'd be left standing in an inch or two of water after every shower. I had already tried 2 gallons of the Industrial Strength Drano stuff to absolutely no avail.

Time to call in the big guns!

Al even went and bought a new-fangled snake. He was oddly excited about using it, too - must be a guy-thing.

We gathered up the tools and rags and headed to the bathroom. The very first thing he did was put the stopper in the tub and turn on the water. I don't know... maybe he thought that I was mistaken? I have no idea. Anyway, no water. No water at all!

When it rains, it really does pour! I called the water company. My subdivision is on a community well. The community well lady told me their on-call guy was out there and found that the power had been knocked out, most likely from the storm, and that Georgia Power was on its way.

So, we couldn't fix the drain. We also couldn't cook burgers on the grill because it was pouring and thundering and lightening and I wouldn't have been able to do the dishes.

So I ordered Pizzas and Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings, bone out. Yum! It's not all bad news! :]

When I went to bed last night, I still had no water. But it's a brand new day and today I have water, and a cleared out drain! I was actually excited to clean my tub and shower and watch it drain freely!

Minor miracles still happen!

It's Bingo with the Biddies this afternoon! I hope you have a wonderful spring day!

Smoke

Smoldering birch logs
Man of my dreams
Once upon a stormy night
Kindled passions
Embers, music, wine and thee

Many thanks to Deb Godin The Cloud Messenger for this week's OSI prompt "Smoke". I was inspired to try my first acrostic poem.

LATSOF: A Single Stripe

This was my sky very early the other morning while enjoying my coffee on the patio while waiting for sunrise. Notice that single stripe cutting through the cloud cover? I thought it was very unusual and kinda cool.

Well, here's the sky that evening, just before sunset.

Another single stripe. In the same section of the sky. Maybe not as unusual as I thought. Or aliens.

Stop by Tisha's for lots more interesting and beautiful skies! Enjoy the day!

UPDATE: I just realized it's finally Friday and then I realized that blogger did not publish yet another scheduled post. Aaaaack! I may not get around to the other LATSOF posts until tomorrow. I am totally whipped.

Happy Friday, y'all. I can't recall a time I was THIS glad that this week is over. Come on weekend!

Stimulus (Loadofcrapisol)

BTW, I did not get a stimulus check... you see, I have a new small business and had a loss because of start up costs in 2007, and no income in 2008 because of the carried forward loss from the previous year. ::sigh::

Enjoy the today's trip around the sun! I'm sure gonna try!

Wednesday Wanderings

This was the sky over my Pecan Orchard when I got home from work last night. The sun was setting behind me and was shining on the west side of the trees yet the sky behind the trees was very gloomy. The photo doesn't quite grasp the full effect, but it was quite eerie. In a few weeks those naked pecan branches will have lovely green leaves on them. I can't wait! Of course, shortly thereafter comes the tassels of pollen but I'm still ready for lush leaves rustling again.

I found one of my cousins that I haven't seen in over 30 years on Facebook this week. She lives in LA. We haven't had too much catching up time, but she has lots of photos of herself with celebrities. Her profile photo happens to be with Neil Patrick Harris who played Doogie Howser, M.D. Oh boy, I use to love that show! So it got me to thinking and I went to Hulu and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have 4 seasons of the show on it! I watched a couple of episodes today. Doogie was the original blogger! Remember his big monitor with the blue screen that he kept his journal on at the end of every show? Gotta love it!

My nephew Brian and his girlfriend Anna are leaving for Hawaii tomorrow to attend a wedding and relax. They will be gone 8 days. It's Brian's second trip to Hawaii. I have not been at all yet... this does not seem quite fair to me. Of course my dream vacation is to go to Tuscany for a month, but still...

Anna is a Peach of a girl. We all love her to pieces! She's a keeper! And boy, can she ever play piano! She was classically trained but she can play anything. You know how I love piano, right? Anyway, I'm trying to learn some Korean words (Anna is Korean), but so far all I know how to say in Korean is turtle and steak. I don't think that's gonna come in too handy, but I'm working on it. My brain is putting up a fierce fight though. Don't tell Anna I know how to say steak yet, I want to surprise her. Oddly, it sounds an awful lot like turtle, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Peggy from Bingo with the Biddies is trying to help me with a few words (she is also Korean).

Korean is hard. Seriously. Here is turtle - 거북이 - see what I mean?

Hey! My business' web site host is in Kawaii, HI. Maybe I should fly to Kawaii to discuss my web site with my web host guru. Of course, I would have many things to discuss with the guru - it could take many hours and many days to thoroughly cover all the issues, at the pool bar of course. I might even be able to write the whole trip off as a business expense. Perhaps I should call some CEO of some big company to see if I can borrow their company jet. I hear they do it all the time.

I couldn't find a Pink Dogwood so...

I got a Red Dogwood!

No, that photo above is not my tree, this one is!

But someday, mine will look like that. It will take a few years, but it will be lovely! It is called a Cornus florida 'Cherokee Brave' (Flowering Dogwood). It even has fall foliage! Woo Hoo!

This Red Flowering Dogwood tree is the 'Chief' of the dogwood family. It's showy display of blooms in Spring is a stunning deep rich red. Fall foliage is a bright crimson color that seems to last forever. 'Cherokee Chief' Dogwood grows to a height of 20'-25' and spreads 12'-15'. New foliage is reddish-bronze.
Red Flowering Dogwood may be used in a variety of landscapes and are excellent accent plantings around the terrace or patio. 'Cherokee Chief' Dogwood is considered by many to be the best red flowering dogwood on the market today.

My Dad planted it on the side of the driveway opposite the White Dogwood. Now I just have to wait for them to grow!

Now, to find a place for the Red Japanese Maples I want!

Have a wonderful day, y'all!

Lexicogra-Verification: usifying

I had this as my word verification at Tama-Chan's and Tommy's the other day and all sorts of ideas came to mind. What are yours?

Today's word is: usifying.

Tell me what is means AND use it in a sentence!



Hope your day is full of sunbeams today!

Spring is springing

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Happy Monday, y'all! Spring is springing up all over here in the Deep South!

I took these after work Friday night. The graceful purple Wisteria is on the side of the road where my office is and I took these photos of it from inside my car. So lovely! The White Dogwood is next to the Wisteria.

My favorite color Azaleas - the coral pinks - are in my neighbor's front yard - one of the neighbors I referred to last week. Oh, they're probably nice enough - she just hasn't spoken to me except when she brings her kids to trick-or-treat. Hey, Free Chocolate? I'd speak to me too! :] The shrubs with white flowers are in the front of my house. I have no clue what they are.

Saturday I went in search of Pink Dogwoods. One of the two white ones I set out last year didn't make it. No luck. All anyone has is white. I really want a pink one. I need a pink one. Rats. I did see some spectacular Japanese Maple! My sister Lynda has one in her front yard and I just adore it! I was heartbroken that I couldn't scoop a few up right then, but the car trunk would not have worked at all! I'll have to have my Dad get them for me in his truck. I guess I'd better figure out where I can put them that my Pecan trees won't bother them first! My Dad will do that! He's a Peach!

I also sniffed some of the most fragrant yellow roses at the garden center. Heavenly. I do not do roses anymore. Way too much work! And I only have one orchid now where I use to have about three dozen. Did you know that cats love to pounce on orchids with bloom spikes? Neither did I until Gandalf showed me.

Enjoy the day! I'm gonna give it my best shot!

Equals

must have chocolate cake
no granola bar today
fat equals flavor

This week's OSI prompt "Equals" was suggested by KiteHorse.

You can tell where my mind is today! :] Enjoy your Sunday! Or Sundae, whichever the case may be!

Sunday Scenery - Four and Twenty Black Birds

This is what happens at The Swamp when you take one man, one cat and one loaf of bread and toss gently - a scene in green!

Click the collage to embiggen!

Black birds are an opportunistic, greedy bunch of birds, aren't they? They don't take just one piece of bread... Oh, no, no, no! They also don't take the smallest pieces. They try to cram as many of the largest pieces they can carry before flying off to devour them! And noisy!


Feather (my office kitty) gets quite excited about seeing so many birds in one place. Wow! Try as she might, she was unable to capture any black birds to bake in a pie though. Better luck next time, Feather!

Mmmm. Pie. I need some pie.

Stop by Lee's for some more Sunday Scenery. And have a sensational Sunday, y'all!

A Vintage Blast from the Past

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My mother got a card the other day from her cousin. Their mothers were sisters. Inside the letter were these treasures from the past that she thought my mother would want to have. With a bit of pathetic pleading, I convinced MotherDear to let me scan them before she put them in a box in a bottomless pit somewhere!

Notice the letter? It was written by my Great Aunt Mabel to my Great Uncle Arthur, who was in the Navy. Look at the date... it was written on VE Day! Wow.

From WillThink4Wine Photos

OK SisterDears, cousins, nieces and nephews... here's your chance! You can CLICK HERE for the very large version, or if you want them individually email me and I'll email you all of them individually.

Don't you just love old photos? I sure do! These totally made my week!

Have a wonderful day, y'all!

Pay at the pump

Remember when going to the gas station was a pleasant experience? You got your windshield washed, oil and radiator fluid checked and a happy smiling face? Oh... and it didn't break the bank AND you got Green Stamps! Woo Hoo!


This morning I had to stop for gas, because I didn't stop the last 3 days. I was waiting to see if it dropped from $1.72 a gallon. It did drop to $1.69, so I decided to wait another day to see if it dropped again! Then yesterday it went to $1.78! I paid $1.84 this morning. Sigh. To add insult to injury, I had to go inside to get my receipt. I seem to have the worst luck with gas receipts. I always seem to be the one who gets there when it runs out of paper. This time, it didn't run out - it jammed. Sigh.

It's pollen season in the Deep South.

So yesterday my car got a nice bath, inside and out - and not by me! Woo Hoo! There was a blanket of pollen covering it, causing my car to look like a silvery-metallic green. Not good!

Unfortunately, this morning my car was once again covered in pollen, but at least the inside is still clean!

Have a perfectly lovely day today, y'all!

UPDATE: On my way home from work, the price dropped back down to $1.74... 8 hours after I filled up. I'm so lucky.

The Picture Meme

I saw this fun photo game at Sandee's and knew I had to play along!

The idea is to search for images that answer the questions and then post them with the questions on your site. Here goes.

1 Age at my next birthday - Wow! I need to put on the brakes!

2 Place to which I’d like to travel - Tuscany, of course!

3 Favorite food - Italian, of course!

4 Favorite place - The lake in Maine.

5 My nickname - Duchess PMS

6 Favorite color - Red!

7 College major - The School of Hard Knocks!

8 Name of my love(s) - The Gray Boys, of course!

9 Hobby - Wine Tastings and Wine Dinners!

10 Bad habit - Not having enough Sister Weekends. There's way too many photos of just 3 SisterDears where there should be 4!

This was fun! As usual, I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play along...

The Blinds

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it." -Lady Galadriel, opening lines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings

I mentioned in a post last week that I really enjoy the neighbors over at The Swamp. They are so friendly, considerate, thoughtful and well, neighborly. We all look out for each other. People knock on back doors and borrow stuff like milk, tools and wheel barrows. Would you like to have some tea? Y'all come back!

In the Pecan Orchard it seems like most of my neighbors go out of their way not to make eye contact. They might have to wave or learn your name or something.

Well, the other day I noticed something else I find a bit disturbing. As I was driving into my subdivision it suddenly struck me... everyone's blinds were closed. In the middle of a perfectly lovely Spring day. What's up with that?

My Dad and I were having our glass of wine out on the back patio after supper last night and I asked him if he'd ever noticed that before. He hadn't. We started looking around at the neighbors houses that we could see from my back yard. Every window was covered either by blinds or curtains. No exception.

Now why do you suppose that is?

My Dad thinks people might afraid of home invasions and burglaries. Now I believe that might be part of it, except their kids were outside playing in their yards and riding their bikes and scooters. You'd think they would be more worried about the safety and well-being of their kids than their stuff, right?

I find this whole closed blinds thing strange and more than just a bit sad. It's like they're all hiding from the world. It makes me imagine they have a bunch of locks on all their doors, rather than the usual one.

When I lived in my little cottage in central Florida, I never locked my house - I mean, one brick and the burglar is in, right? However, when my parents moved in with me that changed. My mother likes locks locked. She locks the doors when she takes a nap! My back door has a screen door with a lock and a regular door with a dead bolt and door handle lock! Even the cat flap has a lock! Four locks on one door! Again, one brick...

Anyway, back to the blinds... I'm a blinds open kinda gal once the sun comes up, and I don't usually close them until it's time to go to bed or it gets dark. In fact, I love to open the windows as often as the weather cooperates!

What about all of you? Blinds/Curtains open or shut? And if you happen think of it, take a look around your neighborhood and tell me what you find.

Hope you all enjoy the day!