Winter Wondering

Now, in South Carolina,
wondering about
Maryland winter - cold? wet?

a response to this prompt

Desire!

Desire for beauty
Often satisfied, glimpsing
Lily on yellow plate

---

---

Prompt from Writers
Island

Where We Live - #4

I explore my surroundings, considering each junction, crossroad or fork in the road an opportunity. Down the blacktop is an old barn, covered with kudzu. Turning left, I find the road narrows and abruptly ends at the river. The state highway winds past a Baptist church with a faded sign and then a brickyard with mounds of red clay waiting to become the façade of a McMansion in South Charlotte.

I never go home the way I came.

This is where we live.

---

Writers Island

Photographs

Recently I was thumbing through my online photo files and found two I'd like to share. They were taken on January 1, 2000 in Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland. I was walking around the city while Anne was busy dealing with the terrible Y2K thing for Verizon. Remember Y2K and how we all thought the world might end?

Anyway, I took these pictures and later "photoshopped" them to look like watercolors. I thought it was neat at the time and I still like them.

---

Treasures

I found another gem today. It’s “Writer’s Island". A place where we are prompted to express our self about something that is special to us. The subject for the week is “Treasure.”I’m not particularly proficient at writing, but I treasure my son and his family.We moved to Sun City Carolina Lakes because they live in Charlotte. My granddaughters are a joy to my heart and soul more valuable than silver or gold.

Where We Live - #3

It has been said (read this)that much can be learned about a community by looking at the newspapers that serve it. Here in Sun City Carolina Lakes, we have at least five newspapers to seeking our attention. On the national scale, it’s the USA Today. Then, there’s the metropolitan paper - the Charlotte Observer, a city paper - the Rock Hill Herald, and two small papers, the Lancaster News and the Fort Mill Times.

Extra, extra – read all about it!

It's where we live.

---

A Blog I just found!

Exploring blogs, I just now found "Three Beautiful Things better known as 3BT by Claire Grant. Claire is a young writer who lives in Kent, UK. Each day she posts a list of three beautiful things. Isn't that wonderful? An example of her work is Three Beautiful Things: Hand-in-hand, instant pictures and good deed.

Rooftops - #2

A "wintry mix" is what they called for. A wintry mix is what we got. However, I don't remember seeing pictures like this in the Sun City Carolina Lakes advertisements. It’s drizzling now. We’re going to the gym to do our first workout on the exercise machines. Nobody’s gonna kick sand in my face on the beach anymore. Charles Atlas, move on over.

---

The Theatre - #1

Saturday, we went to the theatre. We took Jordan and Kendyl to the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte to see “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” an adaptation of the classic fable presented as a puppet show where the characters were all animals – such as a pig, foxes and a camel. Jordan, Kendyl, Nana and PopPop all enjoyed the show. After the show it was dinner at a fancy restaurant - “Bob Evans!”

---

Week of New Beginnings

This has been a week of new beginnings, physically and spiritually. One Monday morning, with a fresh resolve in our steps, Anne and I went to the gym. The Lake House, which is the Sun City Carolina Lakes amenity center, has wonderful workout facilities. There are several treadmills, exercise equipment, free weights, an indoor track and an indoor swimming pool. Outside are another swimming pool, bocce courts and tennis courts. Since Monday, I have walked on a treadmill everyday. Anne has walked, gone to an aerobics class and joined a line-dancing club.

This has been a week of new beginnings.

Shortly after we joined Boyd Hill Baptist Church last month, Pastor Barber asked me to lead the Wednesday night Bible class. I accepted and on Wednesday, we began to study 1st Timothy. I look forward to learning as I teach.

This has been a week of new beginnings.

Rooftops - #1

Rained hard last night. Woke up to the tap tap tapping of the drainpipe just outside our bedroom window. I walked out on the patio and saw the bluish-grey sky over the roof tops and was reminded of the thought I had a few weeks ago. The view of Italian rooftops, New York rooftops, Paris rooftops - all get rave reviews.

So why not the view from my patio? I love it. Some mornings the rooftops are bathed in a pale pink, later in the day they stand in sharp contrast to the vivid blue sky, and at night the sun disappears over them. This morning they glistened in the bluish-grey aftermath of the rain last night.

---

From time to time I will post a "rooftops from my patio" picture. It's where I live.

Some Good Thoughts

I found this quote on the blog "Build this House." I used to list in on my sidebar, but thing were getting a little long over there, so decided to publish it as a post.

I believe there are: "Two Days We Should Not Worry" By Author Unknown

"There are two days in every week, about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, …we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever. The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and its poor performance; …Tomorrow's sun will rise,either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow,…This leaves only one day, Today. Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad,it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, Live but one day at a time."

My Sister Margaret!

My sister Margaret is an artist. She has been creating small masterpieces like the one on below for several years now. The works of art are mixed media collages. She uses paint, rubber stampings, decoupage, found objects and some other assemblage.
Created on stretched canvas, about 5x5 or 5x7, some of the items have 1 1/2 inch sides that are also stamped and collaged.
Margaret creates them for family and friends on birthdays and other special occasions and to demonstrate her love of "interesting" people and things. You can see more by clicking here. My sister Margaret is cool.

Where We Live - #2

One of the best things about moving the Carolinas is that we now live in “Steak n Shake country.” I grew up in Lexington, Illinois, just a few miles north of Normal - the birthplace of the Steak n Shake restaurant chain. Steakburgers and those little thin french fries – food fit for kings.
I remember driving American Graffiti style in the family’s blue ’52 Studebaker through the Steak n Shake parking lot on Saturday nights in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

Waving to friends from all the little towns in McLean County - looking at the girls - checking out to see what kind of car everyone drove. Listening to WLS!

Then, I moved to the Nation’s Capital – plenty of Hot Shoppes – but no Steak n Shakes. Ever since then, as we traveled I always insisted on stopping for a Steakburger whenever we could. Now, once again I live just a few miles from the Steak n Shake


I live in Steak and Shake country.

2008 - Beginning a New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. Last night was very cold here in Sun City, but it was cold most everywhere. The USA Today weather map was almost all blue and purple.

We went to Watchnight service on News Year's Eve at our new church, Boyd Hill Baptist. After the servcei, we stopped at the Steak n Shake for a midnight snack.

On New Year's Day we drove up to Smithfield, Virginia to visit Anne's mama. She is doing well and told us that she had a wonderful Christmas. We returned to this deep-freeze call Carolina on the next day.