Bring Me That Horizon

Welcome to jennyweber dot com

........................................

Home of Jenny the Pirate

........................................

 ........................................

Our four children

........................................

Our eight grandchildren

........................................

This will go better if you

check your expectations at the door.

.........................................

We're not big on logic

but there's no shortage of irony.

.........................................

 Nice is different than good.

.........................................

Oh and ...

I flunked charm school.

So what.

Can't write anything.

> Jennifer <

Causing considerable consternation
to many fine folk since 1957

Pepper and me ... Seattle 1962

  

Hoist The Colors

>>>>++<<<<

>>>>++<<<<

>>>>++<<<<

Insist on yourself; never imitate.

Your own gift you can present

every moment

with the cumulative force

of a whole life’s cultivation;

but of the adopted talent of another

you have only an extemporaneous

half possession.

That which each can do best,

none but his Maker can teach him.

> Ralph Waldo Emerson <

>>>>++<<<<

Represent:

The Black Velvet Coat

Belay That!

This blog does not contain and its author will not condone profanity, crude language, or verbal abuse. Commenters, you are welcome to speak your mind but do not cuss or I will delete either the word or your entire comment, depending on my mood. Continued use of bad words or inappropriate sentiments will result in the offending individual being banned, after which they'll be obliged to walk the plank. Thankee for your understanding and compliance.

> Jenny the Pirate <

In The Market, As It Were

 

 

 =0=0=0=

Contributor to

American Cemetery

published by Kates-Boylston

A Pistol With One Shot

Ecstatically shooting everything in sight using my beloved Nikon D3100 with AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR kit lens and AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 G prime lens.

Also capturing outrageous beauty left and right with my Nikon D7000 blissfully married to my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D AF prime glass. Don't be jeal.

And then there was the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f:3.5-5.6G ED VR II zoom. We're done here.

Dying Is A Day Worth Living For

I am a taphophile

Word. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010

Great things are happening at

Find A Grave

If you don't believe me, click the pics.

>>>>++<<<<

Dying is a wild night

and a new road.

Emily Dickinson

>>>>++<<<<

REMEMBRANCE

When I am gone

Please remember me

 As a heartfelt laugh,

 As a tenderness.

 Hold fast to the image of me

When my soul was on fire,

The light of love shining

Through my eyes.

Remember me when I was singing

And seemed to know my way.

Remember always

When we were together

And time stood still.

Remember most not what I did,

Or who I was;

Oh please remember me

For what I always desired to be:

A smile on the face of God.

David Robert Brooks

>>>>++<<<<

 

 

 Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.

>>>>++<<<<

Keep To The Code

receipt.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Want To Find This
The Promise Of Redemption

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I BELIEVED, AND THEREFORE HAVE I SPOKEN; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

II Corinthians 4

>>>>++<<<<

THE DREAMERS

In the dawn of the day of ages,
 In the youth of a wondrous race,
 'Twas the dreamer who saw the marvel,
 'Twas the dreamer who saw God's face.


On the mountains and in the valleys,
By the banks of the crystal stream,
He wandered whose eyes grew heavy
With the grandeur of his dream.

The seer whose grave none knoweth,
The leader who rent the sea,
The lover of men who, smiling,
Walked safe on Galilee --

All dreamed their dreams and whispered
To the weary and worn and sad
Of a vision that passeth knowledge.
They said to the world: "Be glad!

"Be glad for the words we utter,
Be glad for the dreams we dream;
Be glad, for the shadows fleeing
Shall let God's sunlight beam."

But the dreams and the dreamers vanish,
The world with its cares grows old;
The night, with the stars that gem it,
Is passing fair, but cold.

What light in the heavens shining
Shall the eye of the dreamer see?
Was the glory of old a phantom,
The wraith of a mockery?

Oh, man, with your soul that crieth
In gloom for a guiding gleam,
To you are the voices speaking
Of those who dream their dream.

If their vision be false and fleeting,
If its glory delude their sight --
Ah, well, 'tis a dream shall brighten
The long, dark hours of night.

> Edward Sims Van Zile <

>>>>++<<<<

Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it, have never known it again.

~ Ronald Reagan

Photo Jennifer Weber 2010

Not Without My Effects

My Compass Works Fine

The Courage Of Our Hearts

gbotlogo.jpg

 

onestarflag_thumb.jpg

Daft Like Jack

 "I can name fingers and point names ..."

And We'll Sing It All The Time
  • Elements Series: Fire
    Elements Series: Fire
    by Peter Kater
  • Danny Wright Healer of Hearts
    Danny Wright Healer of Hearts
    by Danny Wright
  • Grace
    Grace
    Old World Records
  • The Hymns Collection (2 Disc Set)
    The Hymns Collection (2 Disc Set)
    Stone Angel Music, Inc.
  • Always Near - A Romantic Collection
    Always Near - A Romantic Collection
    Real Music
  • Copia
    Copia
    Temporary Residence Ltd.
  • The Poet: Romances for Cello
    The Poet: Romances for Cello
    Spring Hill Music
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall
    Narada Productions, Inc.
  • Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff
    Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff
    RCA
  • The Pity Party: A Mean-Spirited Diatribe Against Liberal Compassion
    The Pity Party: A Mean-Spirited Diatribe Against Liberal Compassion
    by William Voegeli
  • The Art of Memoir
    The Art of Memoir
    by Mary Karr
  • The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems
    The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems
    by Emily Dickinson
  • Among The Dead: My Years in The Port Mortuary
    Among The Dead: My Years in The Port Mortuary
    by John W. Harper
  • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
    On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
    by William Zinsser
  • Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them
    Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them
    by Steven Milloy
  • The Amateur
    The Amateur
    by Edward Klein
  • Hating Jesus: The American Left's War on Christianity
    Hating Jesus: The American Left's War on Christianity
    by Matt Barber, Paul Hair
  • In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms
    In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms
    by Dr. Laura Schlessinger
  • Where Are They Buried (Revised and Updated): How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy
    Where Are They Buried (Revised and Updated): How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy
    by Tod Benoit
  • Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays
    Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays
    by Candace Savage
  • Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
    Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
    by John Marzluff Ph.D., Tony Angell
  • Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!
    Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!
    by Andrew Breitbart
  • 11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative
    11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative
    by Paul Kengor
  • Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds
    Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds
    by Bernd Heinrich
  • Talking Heads: The Vent Haven Portraits
    Talking Heads: The Vent Haven Portraits
    by Matthew Rolston
  • Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt
    Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt
    by Todd Harra, Ken McKenzie
  • America's Steadfast Dream
    America's Steadfast Dream
    by E. Merrill Root
  • Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book
    Good Dog, Carl : A Classic Board Book
    by Alexandra Day
  • Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
    Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
    by Lynne Truss
  • The American Way of Death Revisited
    The American Way of Death Revisited
    by Jessica Mitford
  • In Six Days : Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation
    In Six Days : Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation
    Master Books
  • Architects of Ruin: How big government liberals wrecked the global economy---and how they will do it again if no one stops them
    Architects of Ruin: How big government liberals wrecked the global economy---and how they will do it again if no one stops them
    by Peter Schweizer
  • Grave Influence: 21 Radicals and Their Worldviews That Rule America From the Grave
    Grave Influence: 21 Radicals and Their Worldviews That Rule America From the Grave
    by Brannon Howse
  • Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow: The Tragic Courtship and Marriage of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore
    Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow: The Tragic Courtship and Marriage of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore
    by Eleanor Alexander
Easy On The Goods
  • Waiting for
    Waiting for "Superman"
    starring Geoffrey Canada, Michelle Rhee
  • The Catered Affair (Remastered)
    The Catered Affair (Remastered)
    starring Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, Rod Taylor
  • Bernie
    Bernie
    starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey
  • Remember the Night
    Remember the Night
    starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, Sterling Holloway
  • The Ox-Bow Incident
    The Ox-Bow Incident
    starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe
  • The Bad Seed
    The Bad Seed
    starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden
  • Shadow of a Doubt
    Shadow of a Doubt
    starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers
  • The More The Merrier
    The More The Merrier
    starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Bruce Bennett, Ann Savage
  • Act of Valor
    Act of Valor
    starring Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez, Nestor Serrano
  • Deep Water
    Deep Water
    starring Tilda Swinton, Donald Crowhurst, Jean Badin, Clare Crowhurst, Simon Crowhurst
  • Sunset Boulevard
    Sunset Boulevard
    starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich Von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark
  • Penny Serenade
    Penny Serenade
    starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Edgar Buchanan, Beulah Bondi
  • Double Indemnity
    Double Indemnity
    starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather
  • Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged
    Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged
    starring Gary Anthony Williams
  • Fat Sick & Nearly Dead
    Fat Sick & Nearly Dead
    Passion River
  • It Happened One Night (Remastered Black & White)
    It Happened One Night (Remastered Black & White)
    starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
  • Stella Dallas
    Stella Dallas
    starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley, Barbara O'Neil, Alan Hale
  • The Iron Lady
    The Iron Lady
    starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Anthony Head, Alexandra Roach
  • Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (4 Disc Set)
    Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (4 Disc Set)
    starring Peter Sallis, Anne Reid, Sally Lindsay, Melissa Collier, Sarah Laborde
  • The Red Balloon (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)
    The Red Balloon (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)
    starring Red Balloon
  • Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition)
    Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition)
    starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck
  • The Major and the Minor (Universal Cinema Classics)
    The Major and the Minor (Universal Cinema Classics)
    starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland
  • My Dog Skip
    My Dog Skip
    starring Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson, Kevin Bacon
  • Sabrina
    Sabrina
    starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Walter Hampden, John Williams
  • The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer
    The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer
    starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins
  • Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
    Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
    starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport
  • Now, Voyager (Keepcase)
    Now, Voyager (Keepcase)
    starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, John Loder
  • The Trip To Bountiful
    The Trip To Bountiful
  • Hold Back the Dawn [DVD] Charles Boyer; Olivia de Havilland; Paulette Goddard
    Hold Back the Dawn [DVD] Charles Boyer; Olivia de Havilland; Paulette Goddard
That Dog Is Never Going To Move

~ RIP JAVIER ~

1999 - 2016

Columbia's Finest Chihuahua

=0=0=0=

~ RIP SHILOH ~

2017 - 2021

My Tar Heel Granddog

=0=0=0=

~ RIP RAMBO ~

2008 - 2022

Andrew's Beloved Pet

=0=0=0=

Click on our pictures to visit our

Find a Grave pages!

Simple. Easy To Remember.

Blog Post Archives
We're Square
Powered by Squarespace
Wednesday
Feb252015

Wordless Wednesday :: Wings

=0=0=0=

Happy Wednesday

Saturday
Feb212015

Three for three

Our third grandchild turns three tomorrow.

Remember Andrew? Born on two twenty-two twenty-twelve at two-thirteen in the afternoon?

And remember me, I'm the one who begged the doctor to fudge the time to two-twelve, so that Andrew could tell people for his entire life that he was born on two twenty-two twenty-twelve at two twelve?

Yeah. Or rather, no. That's what she said: No can do, Mamaw. Step off. Or words to that effect.

Or she may have only shaken her head at me in a negative fashion. At any rate she was disinclined to acquiesce to my request.

Killjoy. So much for that conversation starter.

But that minor blip doesn't keep us from celebrating. Sometimes even on a different day.

So yesterday little Andrew and his entourage arrived in the afternoon and we had ourselves a time.

I'd made this hot taco dip and it was a big hit. Follow the recipe to the letter except use extra-lean ground chuck or sirloin, the large chunky sized can of refried beans, and double the amount of Velveeta.

Booyah. For a crowd.

Also we ordered pizza, something the kids will always eat. Stephanie had prepared a lavish display of cupcakes frosted in red and white, in keeping with the Radio Flyer theme.

I wish you could have seen Andrew opening his presents.

He received new shoes and several outfits ranging from casual dressy to playwear. Those got a passing glance as he rooted past the garments to find the toys.

Amongst the trucks and soldiers and plastic guns was the item that lit up his little face like a summer sunrise.

A set of tools: Black and Decker Junior. From his parents.

He'd shopped online for this toy, fantasizing about it for many weeks before the fact.

No; my three-year-old grandson doesn't have his own computer. He's learned to borrow his mother's iPad and navigate to the virtual toy aisle.

Click, swipe. Drool. A kid can dream. And sometimes dreams come true. Joy was writ large in the boy's tiny face with the wide brown eyes that take up nearly half of it.

So for the remainder of the family's visit, Andrew put his toolbelt on and took it off several times, wore his safety goggles upside down, attempted to measure his sisters, and fixed some things I didn't know were broken.

He even FaceTimed with Uncle Andrew to show it all off.

Best of all, we were together, with something wonderful to celebrate.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Saturday ~ Happy Weekend

Tuesday
Feb172015

Look away Dixieland

Southern Cross of Honor, St. Peter's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Chapin, South Carolina

TG and I are in Savannah, Georgia, for a few days. We met Andrew here as he is on assignment with his unit. I'm so glad boom operators get days off.

If you like gracious lowcountry touches such as wrought iron and gaslight, Live Oaks harboring masses of dreamy Spanish moss, stunningly ethereal cemeteries, a staggering array of restaurants, and gentle southern customs, Savannah is the place.

View of Bull Street from Foxy Loxy Cafe, Savannah

All its myriad charms are like a gift.

Just over one hundred fifty years ago however, Savannah was the gift.

Ives Monument, Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

On December 22, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman, having concluded his infamous hyper-destructive March to the Sea, dispatched a message he no doubt considered clever:

=0=0=0=

To His Excellency President Lincoln:

I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton.

Signed,

W.T. Sherman, Major-General

=0=0=0=

The festive holidays came and went.

In the new year, Sherman launched the Carolinas Campaign, which involved marching northward through South Carolina and torching Columbia.

Vinnie Van GoGo's: The place for pizza in Savannah

The nefarious act was accomplished on February 17, 1865, exactly one hundred fifty years ago.

The view of Main Street from the steps of the State House is a gorgeous one today.

Carriage horse, Savannah

In late February of 1865, however, thanks to a vindictive General "Total War" Sherman and his obnoxious Yankee troops, it looked like this:

Main Street from the Capitol, Columbia, South Carolina: February 1865

No; I didn't take that picture of the smoking rubble. I will thank you not to snicker.

Meanwhile, President Lincoln prepared for his second inaugural on March 4, 1865.

He would live barely six weeks after delivering it.

Louisa Porter Angel, Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah

Six days before President Lincoln's death, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. Grant, after one final engagement: The Battle of Appomattox Court House.

Every word of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is fascinating when you consider the way things were going. Although not necessarily a fan of Abraham Lincoln personally, I am impressed by both his poetic wisdom and his political acumen.

William Scarbrough House/Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, Savannah

So on this day so historically significant for my adopted hometown, a city I have grown to love, I give you the closing words of that speech, which in these perilous times hold a haunting ring of truth for America and for the world.

=0=0=0=

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

=0=0=0=

Happy Tuesday

Friday
Feb132015

Of hearts and wings redux

As it happens I am triskaidekaphobic around the edges as well as an incurable romantic (through and through). Therefore I consider the re-telling of this tale to be ideal for Friday the Thirteenth, Valentine's Day Eve.

Once upon a time several warm Marches ago, taking a wee break from work, I sat outside by the pool, savoring a half-cup of reheated coffee, watching and listening.

In the slanting light of the cool spring afternoon a saucy squirrel stopped chasing a friend long enough to prostrate himself on a truncated, sun-soaked branch high in a towering conifer, his vivacious throaty chirps mingling with those of his compadres higher in his tree as well as in neighboring pines. Their late-day badinage was punctuated by the tweets and calls of an equally energetic avian citizenry.

I lazed quietly on the swing and thought about many things: the perfunctory nature of life, the healing grace of God, the sad reality of loss, and the amazing power of dreams. And all the work I had left to do.

As I stalled, unwilling to go inside, tuning in to various genre of birdsong (nature's iPod), I was reminded of a long-ago mini tragedy.

It involved our third and baby daughter, Erica (she of the many phobias), and, as it happens, a bird.

Therein lies the tragedy.

Erica was about three when one day the kids were playing indoors. I was nearby in the kitchen when I heard an ominous thunk.

Hastening into the front room, I arrived in time to see a good-sized bird fluttering to the ground outside our picture window. He had flown smack into the glass and experienced an unplanned detour.

We hustled outside en masse and the children watched as I crawled around some shrubbery to take a look. The stunned creature lay on his back, eyes glazed, toes curled, wings askew, in shock but still alive.

In spite of my better judgment I decided to "rescue" the bird. Soon enough he lay cozily in Baby Andrew's playpen (minus Andrew and his toys) in the living room, warm under his makeshift blanket, attempting to recover. A buffet of a few breadcrumbs and water was available in case he should revive and crave a snack.

Stephanie and Audrey functioned as nurse assistants but the most wide-eyed and helpless aide was Erica. She was just old enough to understand but not old enough to contribute.

It took the bird several hours to die. He did it quietly, all on his own; we were spared the agonizing decision of whether to remove him from life support.

I suppose there was a shoebox funeral but honestly I don't remember. I had four small children! It is a wonder I'm coherent today.

That night TG and I put the kids to bed as usual and were ourselves asleep when, somewhere in the small hours, I heard sniffling. I went looking for the broken heart.

Turned out it belonged to a pale and trembling Erica, green eyes brimming, cheeks sticky with tears. I asked her what was wrong.

I -- I -- I wanted to keep that bird, she explained in a tragic sobbing voice.

I added my sundered heart to the heap and knelt in front of her. 

Oh baby, I said. Don't cry. If you can hold on till the morning, Mama will buy you a bird.

What a parent will say in the middle of the night in order to get a kid to go back to sleep.

But it worked, and I did buy her a parakeet the next day, which "pet" in due time she allowed to die of starvation and/or hypothermia. That's a whole 'nother Budgie blog. (And don't bother alerting PeTA. I'm pretty sure his demise was inevitable and either way the statute has run on that one.)

How short is life. How glorious its possibilities. How extreme its desires and how rude its awakenings. How decisive its true-ups and its letdowns.

How brief the time to shine, to fly in the open air with the sun on your face. How happy the moments when all seems lost but a viable solution is found.

How earnest the craving to accomplish something meaningful before your expiration date. How deep the need for someone and something to truly cherish.

Like the beak of a tiny wren, life is fragile but just as strong as it needs to be -- and perfectly designed for its intended use. Like the best, most inspiring art, form follows function and vice versa.

Eat enough to stay alive but swallow quickly so you can keep on singing to the end.

And never forget: Someone is watching and someone is listening. Someone stands by to offer comfort in the death hour. Someone will miss you when you're gone. Someone somewhere is loving you. 

=0=0=0=

Happy Friday ~ Happy Valentine Weekend

 

Monday
Feb092015

Lowcountry lollygagging

Concrete Dalmatian, Central Station, Meeting and Wentworth StreetsWe day-tripped to Charleston last Saturday.

TG likes to attend Citadel home basketball games -- he played for the Bulldogs from 1970-1974 -- but that is not all. This past weekend marked the annual Alumni Game.

My man laced up his Nike Air Jordans and played nine minutes total. He even scored a goal.

Not that I was there to see it.

Erica came along for the ride and a change of scenery, and since the weather was very fine -- although not as warm as we had hoped; more on that later -- we asked TG to drop us off at Citadel Square while he went on to the games.

Patio lights, Christophe of Society Street

Besides simply passing the time, our objective was three-fold: Walk; take pictures; drink coffee.

Although we arrived at lunchtime, we didn't plan to eat out per se, on account of we were invited to dinner on Sullivan's Island later than evening.

We started out on the shadowy side of Meeting Street and quickly learned that was a mistake. The problem was not so much the temperature, which promised to top out at sixty, but due to gusty wind.

So we crossed over to the sunny side. Much more better.

We walked by a vintage "double house" fire station on Meeting Street where it intersects with Wentworth. One could spend many blissful days photographing the doorways of Charleston.

United States Custom House, East Bay Street

In due course we were in the full tourist-shopping district where caveat emptor was never a more appropriate warning.

Even so, we wandered into Sperry Top-Sider on King Street, Erica being enamored of the stylish preppy boat shoes. Just to look.

The Little Boo came away not with new kicks, but with a dressy-casual seahorse sweatshirt and coordinating shirt I encouraged her to buy.

One: I love seahorses. Two: Don't shop with me if you don't want to be told that you deserve to treat yourself. It's how I roll. Vicarious retail thrills and all that.

(FYI the folks at Sperry Top-Sider were having an epic sale. Not on their classic shoes, but on their apparel, which I didn't even know they had.)

Prudent snacking "R" us

After we had spent Erica's money, we were more peckish than ever. We began searching in earnest for a bake shop.

Where King Street crossed Society Street, there was a chalkboard set up on the sidewalk, with lots of tempting pastel-chalked words like chocolate and baguette and coffee. An arrow pointed down Society.

We followed and ended up at Christophe Artisan Chocolatier-Patissier, a fragrant establishment where we enjoyed French-press coffee with real cream and tucked in to a small brioche loaf, saving a third to take home to Audrey.

We sat on the red brick patio and tossed brioche crumbs to a fat little bird, and took pictures of the lights strung between Christophe's and a white brick house.

The sky was so blue!

Is that Davy Jones? No; it's only Erica. Do not frighten her.

Erica loves Moon Pies and there is a Moon Pie General Store on Market Street, so we swanned in that direction. 

Along the way we stopped at The Peanut Shop where one is invited to sample Virginia peanuts liberally dusted with every kind of flavored coating imaginable.

Most are delicious; some taste like Clorox. My favorite variety is Salt & Vinegar. I bought a small canister for prudent snacking at a later date.

After Erica bought -- wait for it -- a Moon Pie (double-decker) at the Moon Pie General Store, we wandered toward Charleston Harbor and the shipping terminals and Waterfront Park, pausing along the way to take pictures of random doorways and the stunning United States Custom House.

Down at the Port of Charleston, the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship was preparing for its late-afternoon departure. The passengers were all aboard and there was much loudspeaker-talking and tone-sounding and horn-blowing leading up to sailing.

Central Station, Meeting Street

We made our way out onto the pier to get a better look, and sat for a time in one of the ample swings that front the harbor. Fort Sumter is right where the Yankees and Rebels left it a century and a half ago.

But we got cold -- high temperature of maybe-sixty had been attained and lasted for approximately nine minutes, the same amount of time TG trod the boards at McAlister Fieldhouse -- so we moseyed over to the railing to be in the sun and wait for the ship to embark on its journey.

In a bid to warm up a degree or two, Erica decided to take her new sweatshirt out of its spiffy tote and tie the sleeves around her neck.

But she kept clutching at the tied ends, which she had not knotted. Finally she admitted that she was having a horrible non-carnival fantasy of her new sweatshirt flying off her neck and down into the water.

I said, give it to me, and she reluctantly obeyed, beg-warning me NOT to let it fly off the pier, and I fixed her shirt real cute on her back and tied it securely in the front so she didn't have to strangle herself with either worry or her own two hands.

Je Suis Charlie

Then she admitted she was terrified I was going to drop my camera (I have a tendency to hang my arms over railings with my Nikon in my hand, not strapped to me in any way because I can't stand stuff hanging around my neck.)

We pretty much cracked up at how paranoid Erica is. Her own shadow -- of which, yes, she is afraid -- laughed at her.

Still and all, we were so cold, we decided to walk back up the pier to Vendue Range. More refreshment was needed and besides, TG would be coming to collect us soon.

At Belgian Gelato we resisted both the gelato and the waffles they put it on. Erica bought me a Diet Coke and herself a black coffee. She broke open her double-decker Moon Pie and had her second grand snack of the day. Third, if you count the nutty samples she scarfed at The Peanut Shop.

Sitting outside once more in the sun beside a giant ice cream cone, we met Charlie.

Society Street entryway

He is a rescue dog who is clearly part long-hair Chihuahua and part Papillon, and the most precious little guy, sweeter than all the moon pies and waffles and gelato in the whole world.

His lovely owner sat and talked with us and it turns out she is from Columbia too, so we had a nice chat while Charlie let us alternately stroke his soft fur, exclaim over his ridiculous cuteness level, and take his picture.

While we passed the time with Charles and his human, the cruise ship left the dock and made its way to the sea lanes. We missed the whole thing. How something that big could get away a mere stone's throw from us, and escape our notice, is testament to how much we love dogs.

Then TG called and said where y'all at, and we divulged our geographic coordinates, and we walked to the corner where Vendue Range segues into Concord Street. I was shivering violently by then.

We hopped into the car -- well, Erica hopped; I more or less tumbled -- and I turned my seat-warmer on and tried to get my core temperature back to normal. I think I was teetering on the brink of hypothermia but there is no way we will ever know for sure.

Pastry stand and banners, Christophe Chocolatier-Patissier

Across the Ravenel Bridge (from which we spotted the Carnival Fantasy well underway) and onto Sullivan's Island we went, to the mind-bogglingly beautiful one-street-off-the-beach home of one of TG's college coaches, a man whose name I could drop because he's a minor celebrity in the world of college basketball, but which I won't because I just won't.

I will say that he and his wife are perfectly charming people and marvelous, un-fussy hosts and along with them and maybe six other couples, plus our Erica, we enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by our hostess.

In the lap of all that lowcountry luxury and southern hospitality, I finally got warm.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Monday