Sepia Scenes

I snapped these photos of ducks sunning themselves last August and thought they might look OK in sepia, so I gave it a whirl.


To see more sepiafied photos, visit our hostess, Mary T, at Sepia Scenes.

What I did on my spring vacation

Day One:

1. took several naps (just following our cats' lead - I figure if my body wasn't in need of sleep I'd never be able to conk out like I did)
2. made Ralph a nice dinner (doesn't happen every day)
3. froze a marshmallow Peep for later dunking in hot coffee (after reading a suggestion by a friend of a Facebook friend)
4. figured out how to post a photo on my Facebook profile ~ it elicited a lot of comments too. That Rigby cat strikes the cutest poses.
   

A perfectly polished performance

Yesterday we attended a wonderful event: a clarinet recital given by our daughter's beau at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford.

We had heard him play once before, in our living room, and we knew full well how accomplished he is on the clarinet.
But yesterday his performance mesmerized us, his family, and several friends who attended.
He played three pieces by Schumann, a Concerto for Clarinet by Aaron Copland, and four pieces for clarinet and piano by Robert Muczynski. He was accompanied on piano by an equally talented Hartt student.

The final performance, of Kleine Kammermusik by Paul Hindemith, featured five pieces he played with fellow students. They performed on French horn, flute, bassoon, and oboe.

Allegra's boyfriend had told us all on his Facebook invitation that the recital was going to be awesome. And it was.
It must be extremely strenuous to play the clarinet for such a long stretch of time. There was one intermission to give him a bit of a break.
Ralph's sister Michele turned to me soon after the recital started and whispered "He's fantastic!" She said she could picture him playing in a symphony. I can as well.

Attending such a beautiful recital made this Easter weekend a special one for our family, and one that I will always remember.

Bravo!

Looking at the Sky ~ near the water

I may have posted this photo last year, but not for Tisha's Looking at the Sky on Friday meme.
I took it last June when a friend of Allegra's was graduating from The Sound School, which is located on Long Island Sound in New Haven, Ct.

It was a perfectly gorgeous evening, as you can see. The shadow on the boardwalk is from my darling daughter.

Visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom to see many more photos of the sky. Thanks as always go to Tisha for hosting this fun meme ~

* Sepia Scenes *

And the original:

And the original:
I brought one of my many bunnies from my bunny collection outside Tuesday for a photo shoot. Looks like he laid a couple of eggs!

~ Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all. ~


For more sepiafied photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Sepia Scenes.

Ruby Tuesday ~ almost Easter ~

This week before Easter I have a perfect entry for a Ruby Tuesday post. Perfect to me, anyway!
It is not only an Easter egg, it's also red. What a find.

An elderly man who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine gave it to me more than a decade ago. I can't imagine having the patience to create such a piece of art.

To see more Ruby Tuesday entries, visit Mary T, The Teach, our hostess for this fun meme.

Looking at the Sky ~at sunset

From the archives - this was taken through our back window a few years ago. We're lucky to have such a lovely view of sunsets.

For more sky shots, visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom, our hostess for this meme.

Flowers are a girl's best friend

Today's post offers a perfect example of taking the bitter with the better. I'll explain:

The other day I was overjoyed to see that I had actually planted a pink hyacinth from last Easter. I had no memory of doing so. A blanket of leaves kept it safe and warm all winter.
A touch of spring for us to enjoy.

In other floral news, I sadly report that our frisky felines ate the blossoms on the pretty purple potted pansy plant presented to moi by Duchess Linda last Saturday. (see photo below)

I have been trying to make the photo straight, but no can do. I'm not only frustrated with my felines, I'm frustrated with my lack of technical skills. But if you tilt your head to the right you can see the pretty blossoms are gone, mere nubs of their former selves.
I hope they bloom again.
Darn kitty cats.
That's about it from my neck of the woods. Happy Spring to all ~

Sepia Scenes ~ those Brothers Furr

I'm trying to get back into blogging and photo memes. I've been away too long from the blogosphere.
I've posted this photo of our cats before, but not in sepia. =^. .^=

To see more entries, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Sepia Scenes.

* Ruby Tuesday *

Celebrating Ruby Tuesday...with Snoopy. He's all ready to get outside and play some baseball.
I love the Snoopster, always have.
I got this guy at an event I covered, and thought he'd make a cute subject for an early spring Ruby Tuesday post.

To see many more Ruby Tuesday entries, visit Mary T, The Teach.

Getting out and about

> > > WHAT GOOD IS SITTING ALONE IN YOUR ROOM?
Come hear the music play!
Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the cabaret! (With apologies to Liza Minnelli.)

Patti's pity party came to an end yesterday as I kissed my pillow good-bye and hopped in the van to take a ride up I-95 with Ralph to dine with royalty.
Yes, Airhead 55 and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting up with blogger extraordinaire Linda, Duchess of Norwich-Upon-Thames at a restaurant in Waterford.The Duchess presented me with a lovely alliterative gift: "pretty purple potted pansies for Princess Patti" to welcome spring. The Duchess and I agreed that we are both more than ready for spring to arrive.

She and I ordered clam chowder in a bread bowl: Yum.
I purposely haven't looked at Linda's blog, so I don't know if the Duchess doth posted about our get-together.
I'm sure that Ralph will fill in his readers with more details than I am revealing here; he had a pulled pork sandwich that he enjoyed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Simply put, we had a great time and we hope to get together again soon. We are ready to give the Duchess a "royal tour" of our neck of the woods someday soon.
~~~
Ralph and I split this dessert. It was a semi-sweet chocolate shell, filled with cloyingly sweet peanut butter. I would have preferred vanilla ice cream with the chocolate, but it wasn't my creation. The whipped cream was real, which was a treat.The Duchess chose cheesecake to end her meal. She liked it.

On the slow road to recovery

I'm still not feeling normal and this morning is the first time I've missed helping out with our church's Angel Food Ministries food distribution, which makes me feel sad. We've been doing it once a month since October.

Ralph left a few minutes ago to go do his part. He's in charge of checking paperwork and of yelling out peoples' orders when they show him their receipts. "One main box! One special number 3!" he bellows.
You can't order a special, which is either a variety of meats or a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, unless you order either a main box, for $30, or a senior box which features microwave meals. (My mother found the portions to be over-sized, way too much for her, and hasn't ordered it again.)

The ministry has grown and a lot more people from the community have heard about us and have been placing orders. The food is incredibly low-priced, and helps keep monthly grocery bills down, that's for sure.

Several friends have suggested I go to a doctor. Hmmm....novel idea. Then I guess I could find out for sure what is wrong with me. Must take under consideration.

Time to go rest for a bit... we actually have plans this afternoon and I want to have as much energy as possible to enjoy. Don't want to cancel!

But more on that later..

I hope to get back to visiting people soon. Happy weekend to all.

Random thoughts on a Friday night

This post is in deference to the one and only Empress Bee (of the High Sea), who has referred many times on her blog to possibly ingesting a bit too much fish oil.

These are some random thoughts I've had while I've been sick in bed over these last days, and they might just qualify for "too much fish oil" status, even though I haven't had any.

• I like M&Ms (who doesn't?) but I actually prefer Hershey-ets. I like the flavor of the Hershey's chocolate, but sometimes they are difficult to find in the store.
• I prefer thin, New York-style pizza crust, but really any is fine.
• I like peanut butter, but to me, chunky rules. That reminds me of when Cameron was 5 and he had a friend come over for lunch. I made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The little guy looked up at me quizzically and said, "They're nuts in here," to which I replied: "They're little pieces of peanuts." I guess his mommy only bought smooth peanut butter. I can't remember what I gave him for a replacement sandwich.
• I'll eat eggs cooked any way. Ralph doesn't care for them, but does eat them by adding cheese, potatoes, ham, bacon, tomatoes...to disguise the flavor.
  
• Hot dogs taste best cooked out on the grill in the summertime.
• Ditto hamburgers (sorry if anyone is a vegetarian).
  
• I've never liked beets. They are probably really nutritious, but I'm not interested.

So Miss Bee, how did I do??

A giggle

Three women, two younger and one senior citizen, were sitting naked in a sauna.
Suddenly there was a beeping sound. The young woman pressed her forearm and the beep stopped.

The others looked at her questioningly.

"That was my pager," she said. "I have a microchip under the skin of my arm," she said.

A few minutes later, a phone rang. The second young woman lifted her palm to her ear.

When she finished, she said, "That was my mobile phone. I have a microchip in my hand."

The older woman felt very low-tech. Not to be outdone, she decided she had to do something just as impressive.

She stepped out of the sauna and went to the bathroom. She returned with a piece of toilet paper hanging from her rear end.

The others raised their eyebrows and stared at her.

The older woman finally said, "Well, would you look at that...I'm getting a fax."

.

> I'm sick

* of ginger ale
* of Coke
* of seltzer
* of fruit juice
* of tea
* of plain crackers
* of feeling wiped out for 10 days

I'm glad:
* that five-letter, V-word is not part of this nasty flu
* I can eat something to keep up a modicum of strength
* the chills went away

I hope:
* I feel better soon, and can return to the blogosphere

Thanks for listening ~

Happy St. Patrick's Day ~ from the e-mail bag

IRISH GAS STATION

Taking a wee break from the golf course, Tiger Woods drives his new Mercedes into an Irish gas station.

An attendant greets him in typical Irish manner, unaware who the golf pro is...

"Top o' the mornin to ya".

As Tiger gets out of the car, two tees fall out of his pocket.

"So what are those things, laddie?" asks the attendant.

"They're called tees," replies Tiger.

"And what would ya be usin 'em for, now?" inquires the Irishman.

"Well, they're for resting my balls on when I drive," replies Tiger."Aw, Jaysus, Mary an' Joseph!" exclaims the Irish attendant. "Those fellas at Mercedes think of everything."

Flu is the reason...

I haven't been blogging. I feel a little better today, but for five days I kinda felt like I had been hit by a Mack Truck.

I hope to be back to blogging and blog-visiting soon.

Sepia Scenes ~ garden fun

I've posted the original photo before. With the accompanying brown, dead foliage, I thought it would work well in sepia.
Never called myself a gardener!


To see more Sepia Scenes, visit our wonderful hostess, Mary T, The Teach.

Ahead of the times, for once

I call myself a Late Bloomer, but I've come to realize I've actually been ahead of the curve in one area: being able to survive in a high cost state on a " low budget," to quote The Kinks.
I should have thought about writing a handbook for surviving and keeping a family of four together on a "low budget" a few years ago, before it became trendy.
Dang.
Ralph and I have survived our own unemployment problems, recession, depression and downward spirals for years. And we are still here to talk about it.

Not my usual upbeat post, but it is what it is.

I have a joke from the e-mail bag to share...maybe tomorrow!

Ruby Tuesday

Lots o' red. On Saturday we were invited to a lunch and basketball game at the University of Hartford. It was a nice surprise to be invited because we supported the annual fund.
The women played their last regular season game against the University of New Hampshire, and they won!
Since the school's colors are red and white, what could be easier than posting a pic from the game for Ruby Tuesday?

To see many more photos with a little or a lot of red, visit our hostess, Mary T, The Teach.

Photos from the passenger seat (again) and some others

Have driver, will snap photos. That's my new motto.
I've posted about the Colt building before, but this blue, onion-shaped dome always catches my eye as we approach downtown Hartford. Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Connecticut. You can see the temperature was 59 degrees when I took this. Woo hoo!

One of the entrances to Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford.

I like the perspective I got on one of Hartford's old churches as Ralph was stopped at a light.

OK, now the remainder were not taken from the passenger seat.
I originally was going for a Ruby Tuesday photo when I saw the red bleachers below, then the adorable Smart Car, the different lines of the parking lot and the tall lights for the field caught my eye. It was perfect weather, especially after all the snow we have had this winter.
The parking lot wasn't empty, it just looks like that from this angle. Parents were having tailgate parties before a Lacrosse game. Ah, spring.


















Here are mother and daughter before the women's basketball game. I was happy even if my expression is weird.

Ralph and I were given T-shirts at the lunch and celebration beforehand, the only catch was we had to put them on over our clothes.


And here I am with Cameron, Kid Two, who wasn't playing trumpet in the pep band like he normally does. He was doing some behind-the-scenes work for the college TV station. He told Ralph he had been there since 8:30 that morning (for a 2 p.m. game). Working hard!
I thank my Airhead 55 for snapping these family photos. I must admit I forgot to reciprocate. He isn't in any of them.
Next time I promise to do better.

~ Looking at the Sky ~ ~

I took these photos this morning from outside the front door. Now, three hours later, the sky is all white and dreary.

To see many more sky photos, visit our hostess, Tisha, at CrAzY Working Mom.

Sepia Scenes

This is Immanuel St. James Episcopal Church, which is on the opposite side of the Green in Derby, Ct. from the Sterling Opera House which was featured in the sepiafied photo I posted last week.
To see more sepia photos visit our hostess, Mary T, at Sepia Scenes.

Hoping to raise awareness

Last week I covered a Paczki-eating contest held each year on Fat Tuesday at a local bakery. But that's not what this post is about.

One of the 16 contestants (he didn't win even after downing eight of the huge, deep-fried filled pastries) is the father of a little girl who died in November 2007.
He and his teen-aged son and several friends formed "Team Sydney." They were all clad in blue T-shirts featuring adorable photos of Sydney. They were competing in her memory, and as a way to raise awareness of neuroblastoma.
Sydney died at the tender age of 7 after a courageous battle with the rare form of cancer that affects infants and young children. She was diagnosed with the disease when she was 4.

I've met this wonderful family through my job and my heart goes out to them. I hope that, like my previous post about Multiple Sclerosis and Muscular Dystrophy, my writing this will help to raise awareness of a dread disease.

Raising awareness is always good

She who hesitates is lost, or something like that.
Recently I covered a fund-raising event in which volunteers raised bail after agreeing to be "locked up" for an hour.
It was run by a local chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Connecticut. I almost posted about the MDA lockup, but decided against it. Some 38 jailbirds took part.
Today my friend and fellow Connecticut resident, Duchess Linda, wrote a truly moving post about a friend of hers who was diagnosed last fall with Multiple Sclerosis. I urge you to read it.

Her friend is clearly an amazing woman, raising four sons while battling a horribly debilitating disease. I have a friend who has had MS for more than 30 years, and I've seen how the various symptoms come and go, from mild to severe, often without warning.

Linda inspired me to post something about the MDA event (click here for story). I hope the newspaper story as well as this post will teach people a bit about Muscular Dystrophy. Those who know me know that Ralph is afflicted with a form of MD. I usually don't about him and his battle with the progressive disease, but I really should take the time to mention it, and do what I can to help raise awareness.

Ruby Tuesday

Since it snowed quite a bit here today (I think we got at least 10 inches of the white stuff) I decided to use a snow photo from my archives. It features one of my gnome friends. I love gnomes. ;-)

Visit our hostess, Mary T, The Teach, to see many more photos that contain a little or a lot of the color red.
Happy Ruby Tuesday ~

Creative photography

Last night I dreamt about walking on this Greenway, so I knew that was supposed to be my subject for Roger's creative photography meme this week.
Please click on the photo to biggify.

Go visit our host, the one and only Roger at Idaho Photo, and click on the Creative Photo tab to see more photos and join the fun!