Zebra Cake

I don't know how Dorothy did this but it looks cool.

books and quotes

It just occurred to me that I've been remiss about keeping up with this blog.  I've read a lot of quotes lately that I think are quite profound but I don't post them. I'm keeping apace with the tall stack of books that is growing in the corner, yet no reviews appear on the blog. I haven't expressed an opinion in ages.  I wonder. My enthusiasm has gone AWOL and my curiosity wanders down the garden path. Is it old age? I fear the synapses in my brain are getting frayed around the edges and no longer fire off snappily like in days of yore.

While I talk myself out of this fog let me leave you with these tidbits:

Game Change: We all got odds and ends of this book before it even hit the bookstores. It details the campaigns, personal scandals, and political mistakes made by the major contenders for the presidency  during the 2008 presidential campaign. John Heileman and Mark Helprin put together an informative and entertaining account of one of the most interesting campaigns in history.

"Do something instead of killing time, because time is killing you." ----Paulo Coelho

Chocolate Days Popsicle Weeks: I read this book in 1970 when it was first published. I liked it then and reread it  recently and gained as much insight this time around as at the first. Edward Hannibal tells the story of a young couple finding success in New York City during the 60's and all the trappings that go with it. The author paints the life like portrait of a marriage that struggles and succeeds to flourish amidst the turbulence of the age.

"You can't leave footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt--and who wants to leave butt prints in the sands of time?" ----Bob Moawad

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger:   I read The Catcher in the Rye in 1966 while I was in the Army. I've read it twice since then. I'm just now getting around to reading Franny and Zooey. it's actually two interrelated short stories. Franny and Zooey are sister and brother and very bright lights in a world of dim bulbs. Franny undergoes a nervous break down while trying to cope with the world by "unceasing prayer" and Zooey attempts to talk her back to safe metaphysical ground using his own understanding of philosophy and religion.

Life....punishes those who try to compartmentalize it.  Thus if, for any reason whatsoever, moral standards are conspicuously and unprecedentely breached in one area of society, such as the political, it will follow as the night the day that those standards will start collapsing all down the line--in sports, entertainment, education, the armed forces, business, and government.------Margaret Halsey

Thanksgiving

I am thankful not just for the abundance of food and material comfort I am able to enjoy, but also for my family and the fact that we can share good times together. My daughter, Rachel, and her husband Brad were not able to be with us, but they will join us for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter, Kelly, Jenna, Burk, Marley

 

 

Before the rest of the family arrives Jenna takes

her place with a can of root beer.

 

The line forms to the left.

 

 

 

After the meal the Black Friday ads are perused for bargains.

They'll start tonight instead of just before dawn.

 

After dinner ennui.

 

The one person not using a smart phone is watching a ball game.

 

Bill is about to fall asleep.

 

 

 

Tara, Jarrett, and Gracen

 

 

Later, Hunter and Gracen eat ice cream together.

 

Family Get Together

Years ago our extended family would have Thanksgiving dinner together, but as the years went by the family grew larger and there was no way we could get everyone together in one house. So, today we rented the community building and all got together and then Thursday we will all have dinner with our individual families.

Me, Dorothy ,my sister Rita, and my sister Kay

 

Samantha, Tara, Kelly, and Jenna

 

Cindy, Amy, Robin, Rita

 

This is a rare picture of me. I usually don't smile

for photos, but my grand daughter Samantha got me

tickled about something and took my picture

 

Gracen and I went for a walk and ended up here.

 

 

I'm getting old and forgetful. I didn't get enough photos. If any family members

have additional pics that you would like to see here, just email them to me and

I'll add them right away.

 

 

 

 

,

Lunch with Jenna

Well, I didn't quite get off line yet.  Here's the deal.  I'm upgrading one of our phones to an iPhone 4 and we'll have a wireless hot spot which will give the Internet signal to our laptop. I think it will save us money.  Usually, when I upgrade online I get the new phone the next day, but according to their website the phone company is still processing the transaction. So I'm glad that I didn't immediately sever our ties with the old service provider.

In the mean time, yesterday we went to Jenna's school for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids dressed up as Indians and pilgrims.

 

 

Offline

I'm going to be off line for awhile.  I'm in the process of ending my association with one internet service provider and connecting with another.  So, I'll be navigating through  foggy cyberspace and hopefully I'll see you on the other side soon.

Fall

Every season has its own shape of clouds and color of sky.

What color of blue is this sky? Azure? Cerulean?

The clouds are altocumulus but they look like puffs of lint

scudding across the sky. This view from my back door makes

me glad to be a human being.

Painting Again

I decided to take the advice of my blogger friend Steven at Projections and pick up the paint brushes once more.  It's been five years since my last painting, so I'm out of practice. I painted this picture of my daughter Rachel and her husband Brad's sail boat. Below is a photo of the boat at anchor in Culebra.

 

 

When using paint I've always had problems establishing color values. Light and dark values are easier to create in black and white so I painted the picture below in black and white first then applied the background colors with a translucent wash of acrylic paint, water, and flow enhancer. Then I used opaque colors for all the surfaces that were reflecting bright sunlight.  I'm not real happy with the results but I'll keep trying.