Karaoke

Ok, I didn't take this picture, I think my cousin Vicki did, it's one of the few times I've done karaoke, it was fun.  Thought I'd share it.

Kilgore

As everyone probably knows I love genealogy, and I've been doing a good bit of research on my Nana's family lately, this is my mom's mother.  This was a very interesting family.  I've found some wonderful stories about them.  This is one of my favorite picture of Nana, it's of her that was taken when my mother was just a little girl.  My mother favors her a lot.  She was an amazing woman.  She could do just about anything.  From logrolling, fishing, ceramics, sewing, she made everyone's clothes, I remember her beautiful quilts, she was always doing something, one with nature kind of woman.  She had beautiful red hair like I've never seen before, and a beautiful complexion, much like my mother.  Fair skin.  She loved animals like I've never seen, except maybe my sister Dena, which I'm sure she got from Nana.  Her father was an exceptional farmer, who farmed by the stars, they also were gifted in other ways, lets just say they knew things.  Her father was also a beekeeper as I've talked about in some of my entries.  Maybe this is where I got my love for insects from.  Who knows.

Jazz Art by Hohimer

This is some beautiful art by R.J. Hohimer, check out his site at www.hohimer.com

I love the brilliant colors, and the movement you can feel.  We saw this guy at the art festival this weekend. I enjoyed all of his work.  Can't you just hear the music "Jazz Hot"!  It sizzles.  This guy was really nice and allowed us to take a picture of his work.  Enjoy.

Joshua Tree

This was taken in the Desert of California, on a trek across the California, Oregon, Washington, and a part of Canada.  more later or I"ll be late for work.  I'm pretty sure I was in California, but I'm thinking it may have been Oregon, I just remember coming up on these trees and remember the story of Joshua after Moses died.  It was one of the most diffrent but beautiful trees I've seen.  I had taken many more, I even have some of me in the desert, which I can't seem to find.  But I was happy I found this one in one of my old emails I had sent.  Ok, someone remind me how did the story go, with Joshua, I know the tree marked something, maybe that they were almost in the promised land or something.  Can't rememeber, will have to look it up later.  The deserts of Oregon were my favorite, that's why I think I was in Oregon and not Northern California, but I'm blank.  I just remember walking in the desert for a nice piece, taking a few nice picturs of some plants and me in the desert and the desert sand and bushes.  Then back in the car and to what came next.  Looking forward to planning a trip.

Jello

There's always room for Jello!

Jazz Guitar

No John Travolta yet for J, but I'm trying, I did get a J for Jazz GuitarI took today.  I need some ideas for J's, any ideas?

 

Iggy the Iguana

Images of Italy

 

 

It was very cold that Febuary when I toured through Venice with David and Rita, and a whole bunch of real estate agents, not many pictures survived from that trip, here are the few ones that I still have, one day I'll learn to back up all my old pictures.  Venice was very diffrent for me.  Not the cleanest place but not as nasty as I had heard.  I was there during "Carnivale" walking through San Marco Square was a madhouse.  The gondala ride through Italy was fun.  The Basilica blew my mind it was so beautiful and full of history.  There were so many people in San Marco Square, and pidgeons flying everywhere.  One of my favorite places was the Santa Maria Della Salute, it's the building in the picture.  I'm not sure what it was about it.   I'm going to have to go through more of my pictures and see if I can find more.  Like I said in one of my past entries it was so cold that day, and I had to buy a fro to keep my ears warm.  The gondola ride through the canals was my favorite, I saw many beautiful architeture and art.  I would love to go back during a warm season.  This place was the biggest shopping place I've ever seen.  I'll write more on my adventures there later.  It was wonderful.  There are more pictures in boxes.  I used to have them all scanned on my computer, but when it crashed a couple months ago I lost pretty much everything I had saved on the computer.  Lesson learned, from now on everything goes on a backup.  I found a few more pictures from Italy that I will post later, can't seem to get FTP working for me tonight, must be a lot on there.

Innertubing Adventures

Days like yesterday remind me that summer is on it's way. I sit here today thinking of last year and our intertubing adventure down the river, one of the things I love about Florida on a hot summer day we can go down with intertubes down some nice river that is spring fed.  My adventure down the river last year reminded me that places like this need  to stay preserved and protected.  Looking at this picture I can hear all the sounds, smell the freshness of it all, and feel the coolness of the water soothing my spirit like it was yesterday.  It was also Mike and my first outing together and with friends.  When I was going down the river, the water was so crystal clear.  Cool crystal clear spring water, eel grass, little and not so little fish swim beneath you as you see them clearly.  Tiny minnows gently nipping you as you let your feet dangle into the water.  A family of red-eared sliders (turtles) sunning themself on a moss draped cypress log.  Distant sound of nature, peaceful as it was in the beginning.  My thoughts fade back to my teenage years going down this same river and what it meant for me then, and what it meant for me last summer.  The river is still as beautiful as it was then.  I remember imagining going under water and swimming through a cave and coming up on another side with a whole new world on the other side.  On the othe side people lived as peaceful as the foilage. Ferns amond lillies, trees among bushes.   I love the underwater caves that as a boy I thought if you would dive down in them that when you came up on the other side you would be in a peaceful place on the other side.  Still looking for those peaceful places.

Insects

My favorite insect is the bee.  I mean just thinking of such a little insect as being part of His plan to make such beauty in our world amazes me.  The dictionary gives us it's meaning of  pollination as "To transfer pollen from an anther to the stigma of (a flower).  It's much more than that however,  have you ever sat eating a apple, orange, squash, or watermelon and wondered how it came to be that. Or just admired the beauty of a flower.  Well here's an example.  Thanks to God and an insect.

Harley

This was a picture I found of Harley, I remember him sitting on my lap coming back from Daytona during Bike Week, so Harley was a perfect name.  I thought I was through with the H's until I saw this one, so had to add it.  He's one of those dogs that will be waiting to say hello at "The Rainbow Bridge".  He was such a champion, sometimes I think he thought he was human.  I took this for one of his walks by the river.

Hair

Ok, It's not Buckwheat, this is me during Carnival in Venice Italy, Everyone was wearing masks and elaborate costumes, it was Febuary and the coldest time of the year there, and I had forgot to wear something over my ears.   So I bought this big wig.  At least I blended in a little better since it was Carnivale.

Hat of birds

I said in my last entry we went to the zoo, I loved the bird aviary, they would just fly up to you and land on your head, it was great.  Autumn wasn't too crazy about it, she kept saying shoo bird.  But she finally got into it before we left, she even fed them, but was little scared.  This is a  picture of her dad, my brother Lance, they kept trying to eat his button off his hat, I on the other hand didn't have on a hat, and they chewed on my ears and my bald head.  Autumn said they are pooping everywhere.

Heaven

Thinking of H pictures has been harder.  I thought I had to try and capture Heaven or just a picture that makes me think of it, I went through all my pictures of the clouds and sunlight coming out in beams, but this picture seems to capture it for me more, it was a weekend my brother Lance and Autumn came to see me and we had gone to the zoo, and then took her on a picnic on the river afterwards.  It was a beautiful day, she was looking up at her dad when I took this but something about it reminds me of the look she does when she looks up to Heaven and says something to someone that we love that has passed on, like she did when we were in our grandmother's boat that day.  Something about those blue eyes staring up and talking to Heaven!

Horse

What are the most magical creatures on the planet, they've always been horses.  something wild but free about them, I love their eyes, almost like looking into a soul. I would love to go back before the white man came here and watch them roam free. Then I think of after we came and some of my ancestors, wonder what they thought of their horses, I mean I know they used them as labor, and transportation, but I wonder if they loved them.  Thought I'd dedicate this page to Mosie at, You can tell she loves her horse. http://journals.aol.com/mosie1944/MYCOUNTRYLIFE

Ginni

Ginni

Well it's my last day of G's so had to put Ginni in here, Ginni was my last roomate.   In this picture she's standing in the tree I played in as a little boy the first time she went to visit my hometown.   She sounds like she's entering a new part of her life, and really getting things back together.  Way to go Ginny!  Short for Virginia, but guess you'll always be Ginni to me.  I use a phrase in love and light, I got that from her, she did have a light that she never even knew she had.  Hope it's getting even brighter!

Garden

This one is dedicated to my Aol  J-Land buddy Carol at http://journals.aol.com/eynl/HappeningsduringtheairIbreathe/  

It was taken in Atlanta years ago, I tried doctoring it up but couldn't seem to capture the beauty of that day, I scanned it but it still just doesn't look as nice as I remember it, I loved all the orchids and waterlilies. 

Grandchildren

Thought I'd put a picture of Nana's (my mom's) grandchildren.  Arn't they just adorable.

Goat

On the way to Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg, on a side road there is a little magical place called Sunnymeadows Posey Patch.  A beautiful woman named Diane (Diney) runs a Greenhouse full of beautiful flowers.  Her husband Larry has a little goat farm also, so I took plenty of pictures of both.  The one with the flower and the butterfly was taken there.  I forgot the goat's name, but there were many of them and it was a beautiful day at a beautiful place.

Family

Family

The Family Castle by Nancy Rakovszky

Our castle stands atop the hills
And offers strength of spirit
Place your hand little one unto mine
And I shall lead you to it.

The family castle is now your home
The stones grow ever stronger
For the castle's built on love and hope
Alone you are no longer.

Behind these walls that rise up high
Lies a garden lush and green
It's offerings bountiful as the sea
And beauty yet unseen.

Drink the waters that beckon you near
They'll fill your heart with hope
Feast on the knowledge offered here
For that will help you cope.

Our fires will fill your soul with warmth
To cast off the chill outside
Yet stay not here within these walls
They were not built to hide.

Swing wide the gates so you can see
The world lie at your feet
For without what hides beyond
The castle's incomplete.

Mount our stallion strong and true
For he shall be your guide
His legs have carried those of us
Who've ventured far outside.

Fear not what you do not yet know
Lead on and find your star
Fill your pack with experience
That you shall gain afar.

The good times will outnumber bad
Though sometimes you shall fall
It's at that time that you should seek
The strength of the castle wall.

For no matter the path you choose to take
No matter the strength of tides
You need only look inside your heart
For that's where the castle resides.