Happy Easter!

I received a lovely email from my Bro and SIL with pictures of the beautiful azaleas and blooming tree in their yard. I thought I would share them with you! I did resize them to load a little more quickly. My SIL is so talented with putting together an image like this and the photographer could have been either one. Aren’t they beautiful?

Easter was always a big event in our family. New Sunday Clothes, coloring and hiding eggs, and Easter Baskets! I love Easter Baskets and sis and I still exchange little surprises each year. We both enjoy the little wind-up or mechanical toys and I can count on finding at least one in my basket! I found a black and white snapshot of “us three kids” all dressed up in our Easter best:

Our Granddaddy always wore a hat – and my brother liked it so much Granddaddy bought one for him – and he wore it every chance he got. Isn’t the little sport coat and tie adorable? You rarely see little boys really dressed up anymore, even for church or weddings.

Sis and I (I am in the middle) were so cute in our petti-coat floofy dresses, white socks, gloves, hat, and small purses. I remember that dress – I loved the embroidery on the bottom and the three-colored ribbon sash. Special occasions were not the only times we were dressed alike…

and here is a picture of my First Easter:

Have a lovely day – as meaningful as the cultural aspect of the holiday is with remembering loved ones and spending the day with family and friends, the true meaning of Easter is the bedrock of my faith as a Christian.

Dustbunny

Easter crafts

I saw a demonstration on the Today show this week by a representative of Family Fun Magazine and they had some of the cutest crafts for Easter decorations! If you are wondering what you can do, I can recommend this site as I was soo impressed with their creative projects. The images you see below were copied from the site, so want to give credit where credit is due.  Click on the links below and it will take you to the printer-ready page.

This nest of pom-pom chickies

This carrot tree

and more!! go check out the many ideas and projects.

Dustbunny

My Cat

The cat in my life is a rescue. I was visiting my brother, sis in law, nephew, and niece (Hi y’all!). SIL and Niece were driving home from town and saw him trotting along side of the road – a kitten about 5 months old. They were able to coax him into the van and take him home. He had not had a good life before then – there were scabs and sores on his paws, he was hungry and skinny, and missing most of his tail. A few days of good food and kind treatment was all he needed. Soon he would leap up to the window in the door, catch his claws in the sill so he could look inside, and meow for attention. A LOUD meow – and earned the nickname Mouth.

Now this first picture may look artsy and diffused – no magic here except an air-conditioned house, EXTREMELY hot and humid day, and curious cat. Fog on the camera lens is the original soft-focus. He had slipped out of the house to snack off the lawn and I thought it would be a good time to get a couple of pictures of him out in the sunlight.

Back to when we met: About a week after they found him on the side of the road I arrived for a visit. His new family had not come to pick him up and my family convinced me to take him home with me. They didn’t have to work too hard as he was an affectionate and loving cat with a purr you can hear in the next room and a meow that demands attention from a nearby human. My portable closet (the back of the vehicle) had the old cat carrier from previous animal… It was meant to be!

A visit to the vet for a check up confirmed he was a “manx” and not the victim of cruel abuse to have a 4-inch stub of a tail. I was relieved about that. Cats with tails look kind of strange to me now. The Vet (“Doc”) said he thought either that someone may have thrown him from a moving car and he landed on the pavement, or he walked so far on the hot pavement it burned his paws – thus the healing places on the pads.

He is my buddy. Whatever I am doing, he has to help, even with the computer.

The printer fascinates him…but right now he is snoozing at my feet, under the desk. Awake and roaming the house he comes back to pat me with his paw – it is time to play!

Dustbunny

Postcard – Charles Ringling Residence, Sarasota

This is not a residence like where I live, but a RESIDENCE. I just put this up on ebay, and wanted to share it here.

The card is certainly bright…

I’ve toured the lovely John and Mabel Ringling Home and the Beautiful Art Museum bearing their name, but didn’t realize brother Charles also had a palatial home in Sarasota! This is a unique card – well, at least I haven’t seen it before!

In doing research I found on the MyFlorida.com website (go down the page to Ringling), “In contrast to his brother’s interest in developing Sarasota’s coastal areas, Charles Ringling invested in the downtown. He bought the old Gillespie golf course and developed the city’s business district. He was president of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, 1925-26, during which time he built the Sarasota Terrace Hotel. Ringling founded his own bank, the Ringling Bank and Trust Company and gave property to the county for a courthouse.” Apparently while brother John was going all through Europe buying art, Charles was developing parts of Sarasota.

The description at the USF website gives some marvelous detail about the construction to take advantage of the breezes and light, the Pink Etowah Georgia Marble, and exquisite furnishings including a carpet designed by Mrs. Ringling.

The back of the card reads:
“This is one of the show places of Sarasota. Mrs. Ringling is the widow of Charles Ringling of circus fame, one of the seven Ringling brothers, founders of “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

Dustbunny

Shuttle Launch Tues AM

I stayed up Monday night/Tues am so I could run outside and see the night launch of the Shuttle Endeavor. I had been outside earlier and saw the clouds had obscured the stars but I was hopeful the clouds may have cleared a LITTLE so I could see it. Nope, completely blanketed sky. Sigh. I had even put NEW batteries in my power-hungry camera.

But I can tell you about a previous night shuttle launch of the Atlantis I saw in 1985…Back in the olden days before everyone had a computer at home. We did have gasoline powered cars, and direct dial long distance, but our music came in either large black discs called an “LP,” or a small tape called “Cassette.” We were moving on from 8-tracks, but many still had those at home or in their cars.

I was living in a community an hour or so south of The Cape and was out with some buddies visiting another friend. We were crossing the Indian River about the time for the launch so I convinced everyone to stop. There was a small park on the causeway and we walked up on the bridge for a clear view of the river to the north. The shuttle went off as expected and it was a thrilling sight. First the sky glowed, and the river too, reflecting the light. Then we could see the rockets power the shuttle so slowly at first and then suddenly springing into the sky. It was so clear that we were able to watch the separation of the rockets from the shuttle – well, at least the red dots falling away from another rocket exhaust flare.

This is the mission we saw, STS 61B

My friends were happy to humor me by stopping but were excited when the launch turned out to be so interesting!

Starting with the first rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, our parents always made sure we watched history being made. We were crouched in front of the black and white TV to watch the ignition and take off from the pad, running outside at the right point and searching the sky for the tell-tale red flare then watching until it blinked out of sight. It was so exciting, Americans were going into space! I was enthralled. If you asked me back then what I wanted to “be” as an adult, I would reply “a space technician.” I wanted to be one of the engineers sitting in mission control, confidently pushing buttons and being part of the team creating such marvelous adventure.

No, I didn’t end up as a space technician, but have retained a life-long (so far) interest in things space, science, ecology, and technology. So many interests!

We always watched CBS and Walter Conkrite was the narrator of this adventure. No one else could relay the story and explain with excitement the complexity quite as well as he did. I still miss him on the evening news…

Remember a few years ago when John Glenn was a crew member on one of the shuttles? I no longer live on the east coast but I can still see the glow of the rockets for shuttle launches (and the vapor trails the day of the terrible Challenger disaster). That Saturday I sat in the car, listening to the radio and watching the sky to see him launched into space-again! The few moments of red glow reminded me of running for the back door, leaping over the steps and dodging sandspurs in our bare feet. Then I headed for home and Saturday chores.

Dustbunny

Postcarding – Tamiami Trail

Posting another interesting story behind the card on ebay today – item #290211616922. Be sure to click on the underlined links for some more information.

Sigh – another one I want to keep but I have to draw the line somewhere!!! Postmarked 1968 but that sure looks like a substantial 50’s car to me. Talk about a long, straight road…two lanes with ditches on each side as far as you can see. Don’t slow down or the mosquitoes will get you. Also watch out for Florida Panthers, Alligators, Deer, and maybe a bear here and there. Welcome to the real south Florida. The road begins in Tampa and winds south then south east and finally east into Miami. Urban scenery lines the highway along the coast, turning more rural as you turn more eastern until you approach the sprawl of Miami.

The road is a “Natural Scenic Byway” along the borders of the northern edge of the Everglades and was significant in the development of not only south Florida, but the drainage questions the government has been dealing with in the Everglades for the last century.

I looked up a bit about the Tamiami Trail and found a series of articles printed in the St. Pete Times back in 2003 at the 75th Anniversary of the completion of the road. The author interviews one of the last remaining men that built it. An important member of the teams was the ox…and over 2,000,000 million sticks of dynamite was needed to make the road.

Hope you enjoyed a little of the trivia I learned about this postcard. There is always a story behind the card – one of the reasons I enjoy them!

Dustbunny

Cat on a Leash

After writing about the blessing of the animals at Christ Church in Alexandria, I remembered a picture I saw this week on I can has Cheezeburger.

Nothing like taking your cat out for a drag? I think the best defense a cat has when dealing with humans and their ideas is the instant dishrag – to go completely limp.

My Plumber:

My hot water heater gave up the ghost a few years ago and I called a plumber out to replace it. I am one of those annoying people that likes to visit and watch repair people while they work on my stuff. We were chatting and I mentioned that I was trying to keep The Cat in the house and the plumber was a cat person and admitted it. He had been called out to a house for a plugged toilet (ugh) and determined the problem was an obstruction in the line from the house to the street. While inspecting the pipe he found a tiny kitten! For no charge he dug out the pipe, cut it above and below the kitten and rescued it (and of course replaced and reburied that bit of pipe). That cat is now his special buddy and likes accompany the plumber on his daily exercise walks to the mailbox – about 1/2 mile away. The cat gets tired and has to be carried back to the house…

Dustbunny

Cool Blog posts by others – Paper Beads

I was trolling through the internet and saw these paper beads and how-to instructions at this blog. Doesn’t the idea make your mind spin, thinking of the possibilities? The instructions are simple and easy-to-follow. Be sure to read the suggestion-filled comments for more bead ideas and other uses of the paper mixture.

Some thoughts:

-use the tiny bits of leftover scrapbooking paper

-instead of tearing – use the crosscut shredder (tearing paper will be part of the fun for kids but if you are more interested in the creative part of the process those shredders are pretty fast…)

Check out the link – the author has several more pictures showing the different colors and effects she was able to get with the paint. I am going to be spending some time checking out the archives at www.astorybooklife.com

Dustbunny

Washington DC – traveling by train! Part 1

I was sorting some postcards of Washington DC from the 1930-1940’s and was thinking about a trip we took to DC in 2001.

I really enjoy traveling. Each step is fun; from planning, reading guidebooks, arriving, and then going home again. The only thing I don’t like is the packing. Ick. I tend to take too much stuff. When I trim down and minimize my stuff, it seems the first stop anywhere is either Wal-mart, K-Mart, or Walgreens.

In July of 2001 we planned a trip to Washington DC and North Carolina for October to see the leaves – and avoid the heat and humidity of a DC summer. Sis and I were emailing back and forth and swapping websites for places we wanted to see or tours to take when the terrible tragedy of September 11 occurred. As the weeks passed it seemed safe to travel and we went forward with our plans.

Trains – who can resist the idea of sleeping on a train? We were raised on classic movies and so many of them included train scenes. A favorite movie in our family was “White Christmas.” Leaving Florida one evening and arriving in the snow the next day, imagine that! The Auto Train leaves from Sanford, Florida and arrives in Virginia the next morning. Sis and I both had tickets – and so did her NEW car!

A valet checked the car’s ticket, filmed a video during a walk around inspection and drove it away for loading. It was kind of disappointing that we couldn’t watch the process, but did get a picture of one of the auto carriers.

The car was checked in and it was time to check in ourselves. The wait to board the train seemed long, but FINALLY it was time to board the “Superliner.” Snazzy name for a two-story train! Trivia: the auto-train is the longest passenger train, nearly ¾ mile long.

We went “whole hog” (country term for first class) and booked a deluxe sleeper compartment, so had our own sitting area/bunks and bathroom. The sink was about 8×12, and the commode was no more luxurious than a porta-potty with a shower. (Oh well, it sure beat dressing and wandering down the hall in the middle of the night!)

Complimentary snacks and juice were available when we boarded. Sis was exhausted as she had worked the night before and only napped briefly before packing. As soon as the train was in motion, she lowered the upper bunk and crawled in for a nap and I enjoyed the scenery. I was familiar with the some of the places on the Florida route, and recognized landmarks and towns along the way. There were some beautiful views of rural Florida. Scenery from a train is different than that from a car. We were passing so close to the trees they would flash by and you’d catch the occasional quick glimpse of someone’s back yard. Train bridges don’t have rails like highway bridges and if the ride was a little smoother it would be almost like you were flying across the water.

A movie was the entertainment after dinner, but we were so tired that we skipped it and crashed early. The next day was going to be a busy and full day with lots of things to see.

A muffin and cereal breakfast and we pulled into the station in Virginia to a beautiful day. The train station was just a few miles from Mt. Vernon, our first stop. The day was perfect – just cool enough for a light jacket and a cloud-free sky. The temp in Fla was 90 the day we left and it was 60 in Virginia (almost chilly to my thin blood)! Nice! It was exciting – the trees were just beginning to show some color.

I remember a lot from that day – we arrived at Mt. Vernon early and were able to get a great parking place even though a fall festival was held that day. It was absolutely beautiful. See for yourself! Click here to go to the website.

The above link is a great site…it gives lots of information and pictures. I thought the grounds beautiful, and George himself was the landscape architect. The design stands the test of time! The mansion is seen from a “broad” expanse of lawn. Wow. I was impressed by the view from the “back porch”…the grounds sloping down to the Potomac river as shown in the picture to the right.

I love trivia, and we were told on the house tour that George picked the colors for the downstairs (put-your-eye-out Prussian blue and a brilliant turquoise) and Martha picked the colors for the upstairs of softer and more relaxing colors.

The central hallway was beautiful, pine paneling painted to look like mahogany. You can just imagine the hot and humid summers…sitting here in the evenings trying to catch a breeze from the open doorways and swatting mosquitoes.

I tried out the wooden chairs on the back porch while Sis toured more of the outbuildings. She came back to find me napping in the sun – and took a picture to prove it to me, our family, and all our friends. (it does NOT need to be preserved for posterity on the internet so it is not here, but we do have this nice picture of the “back porch” and the view of the river.

It was time to move on and we drove into Alexandria. I remember Christ Church – they were blessing the animals that day! It is not often you see cats on a leash…

And I will leave you here. More to come!

Dustbunny