My beautiful Mother’s Day gift: yesterday, my second granddaughter was baptized.
Juliet’s parents hold her while the priests asks for God’s blessing.
Juliet’s Godmother holds her as she is baptized.
My daughter-in-law, my granddaughters, and my son
Happy Mothers’ Day to all Mothers.
The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-27 (NIV)
http://vimeo.com/markg/fullmoonsilhouettes
This is an edited, single-shot (not time-lapse) video of the moon rising over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. Moonrises happen about every 25 hours--the moon's orbit around the Earth delays its rise by about 50 minutes each day--which means that it comes up after sunset about half the time. All you need is a horizon to watch it on.
She’s an extremely inspiring and talented person! I’m so thankful to have her as a fellow blogger. Check out her blog at wannabephotographer87.
So how this works is that I fill out this little questionnaire and ask others to join me for some coffee! Brilliant right? I’m so excited, I absolutely love coffee. (YES I truly do LOVE coffee!)
How many cups of coffee per day? I prepare my pot of coffee the night before so that is is brewing when my alarm clock so rudely jostles me out of my dreams. I blindly make my way to the kitchen for that first delicious steaming sip of dark, rich coffee. After that, I enjoy another mug while getting my face ready to greet the world (I mean my students), and drink another in the car during my 40 minute commute. Then, I have another mug during my prep period. Each mug is at least two cups. Let’s see … hmm…probably 6-8 cups of coffee during the day. UNLESS I’m falling asleep before my afternoon commute and need a Starbuck’s infusion of caffeine so that I do not cause a 6-car pile up on I-17. That means that I might consume 8-10 cups during a day.
What is your favorite caffeine delivery system? Brewed, served in a thick ceramic mug…NEVER a glass mug and preferably not a bone china cup.
What was your best cup of coffee? Every morning, the first sip.
What was your worst cup of coffee? The afternoon dregs of the pot in the little county weekly newspaper office where I worked as a part-time reporter, part-time go-fer.
What does your favorite mug say? A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are two thousand.
How do you take your coffee? Unadulterated, pure, simple, black, and hot.
When was your first cup? I was so young…I don’t know? 5th grade? But it was instant with lots of milk…not real coffee, in my opinion.
Have you ever gone on a coffee tea date? Oh yes, many. After 6 decades of living, I have enjoyed many delightful coffee dates.
I’d like to invite the following people to have coffee with me. Let’s hang around and chat….
OH NO! How can I possibly limit my invitation list? So many people who have visited my blog ….. I started to write a list, but just couldn’t narrow it. You are all welcome.
Amanda, let’s sit down and chat while we enjoy a deep, rich, dark, cup of fair trade coffee. We can talk about our 60Ds and more.
Food is our common ground, a universal experience.
- James Beard
Pul-e-Kumri, Afghanistan
Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the
single most significant trademarks of a culture.
- Mark Kurlansky
Burma
What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others.
- Lucretius, Roman Poet and Philosopher
Calcutta, India
Tibet
The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water,
I woke at 4 this morning (I guess my body hasn’t adjusted to Shanghai time yet). Rather than pretend to sleep, I decided on a walk before breakfast. The blue skies, which turned to gray and overcast just a few hours later) welcomed me into the tree-lined streets.
Check our my early morning walk.
Have a great day!
~Mona
Waxing Gibbous
I wasn’t sure what a “waxing gibbous” is, but a quick search led me to moonconnection.com.
After the new moon, the sunlit portion is increasing, but less than half, so it is waxing crescent. After the first quarter, the sunlit portion is still increasing, but now it is more than half, so it is waxing gibbous. After the full moon (maximum illumination), the light continually decreases. So the waning gibbous phase occurs next. Following the third quarter is the waning crescent, which wanes until the light is completely gone — a new moon.
With school out I’ve spent a little time with my camera.
1st, a few views of some battered door knobs: I was attracted to the dents, scratches, and layers of paint that speak of many years of living.
Have you ever seen Gregory Peck’s remarkable portrayal of Atticus Finch in the film version of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird?
Mary Badham’s Scout is just as I’d imagined her to be when I read the novel.
Take a look at her hairstyle, which mirrors mine when I was a kid — brown, straight, with bangs — frequently messy.
However, for special occasions (school picture day, for example), Mother would cut it, perm it, curl it (bobby pins in my hair overnight … much more comfortable than the enormous cylinders I wore each night during high school … but I digress.)
The picture below shows me in 4th grade, the year of my first bad experiences in elementary school. Prior to this, I was blessed to be taught by three sweet women, Sister Mary Jerome, Sister Rita, and Mrs. Buechlein, who praised and encouraged everything I did; I blossomed as a student.
On the first day of 4th grade, Sister Mary Jerome yelled at me. During her introductory speech / lecture, she asked if there were any questions. I raised my hand, stood up (the law at the time), and happily announced that Mother had given birth to my brother Andy the night before. She crossly told me that such a comment does not belong in the classroom and to save it for recess. I withered, and the tone was set for the entire year. I did not bloom again until I survived out of her class.
I find it appropriate that my one physical memento of that year is this picture which reveals the horrific hairstyling techniques of my well-meaning mother.
This article celebrates one of my favorite authors, Maurice Sendak, who left our world yesterday…. I read Max’s tale to my sons (each one both Max and “wild thing”) countless times. The book, with the edges of its spine chewed by a long-gone cocker spaniel, still sits on my bookcase, waiting for my next “wild thing” to snuggle up and listen to Max’s story. Don’t we all want “to be where someone love[s] [us] best of all”?
Have you ever discovered a word and were drawn to it? PERSPICACIOUS! I like the sound of it and the looks of it. I roll the word around in my mouth and play with it in my mind. There’s something perspicaciously smart about the word, and I’ve been looking for a way to use it.
What do I do? Walk up to someone and say, Hi! I’m feeling quite perspicacious today. How about you? Or should I write, That is a perspicacious comment, there. How about this: While Dan’s writing is perspicacious, yours is rather obtuse.
PERSPICACIOUS: penetratingly discerning or perceptive
Synonyms: insightful, wise, astute, sagacious, discerning, perceptive, clear-sighted, smart, sharp; Antonym: obtuse.
Don’t you think it’s a pretty cool word?
While I’d like to include a photo that shows my perspicaciousness, I couldn’t find one. Instead, I’ll share a shot I took Saturday night at the park where I met “Lizard Man” … I wonder how perspicacious HE is!
