Quiet Time

Sometimes you just need to find a place to sit and reflect. No interruptions. No chatter. I was in that kind of mood. I asked Himself to come with me to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston, Massachusetts.

I had been thinking about this place since the beginning of August. It's a place my grandma loved to visit, and the beginning of the month marked the first anniversary of my dad's passing.

We walked the paths that meandered through the woods. There were a couple of other walkers though we pretty much had the place to ourselves. You could feel the peace emanating from the trees. It had been a long time since I had visited. We sat in companionable silence by the pond. Listened to the splash of the fountain and watched the light play off the water and leaves. The landscaping wasn't as lush and pristine as I remembered though giant, white hydrangeas were in bloom.  Maybe it was just end of the season when the gardens are just tired and preparing for their own quiet time.

The Magna Carta

I finally got a chance to see the Magna Carta on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

 On 15. June 1215, King John of England was forced to set his seal on the Magna Carta. The document is significant because it limited the king's power and made the king subject to the law just like everyone else. This document was also the inspiration for the United States Declaration of Independence.

 Sadly, photographs even without flash were not permitted. The lighting was quite dim so these old eyes couldn't really see the details of the writing. The document wasn't as elaborate as I thought it would be. It's not large, maybe a little larger than 14 in. x 17 in. The writing was neat, but small, and no large decorated initials.  Small and plain in size, but huge in it's significance.

The last day to see the exhibit at the MFA is 31. August. The document will be heading back to its home at the British Library. Next year, marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, but you don't have to travel to England to see it.  The British Library has an online exhibit, Magna Carta: Treasures in Full. You can see the document up close. Read it in Latin or an English translation, and see its place on a timeline.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week

1. Enjoyed watching the much anticipated first episode of the new season of Doctor Who. The 12th Doctor did not disappoint. What made watching the show even better, I've managed to convert Himself into a Whovian (or at least he'll tolerate the show). Resistance is futile.

2. The Brother and his wife celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary

3. The little, screamy girls from next door went back to school. No more ahhs and eees all day long.

4. We took a walk through an area my grandma loved to visit.

5. Had an outing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

How was your week?

The New Blog

Welcome! The new blog came about all because Herself was ordering new business cards. The domain and email were cjkennedyink, but the blog and twitter were ponyexpress. She decided all the domains and names should match. As if, it really matters, but you know humans. Once they get an idea in their heads, they're like a dog chasing its tail. Round and round. Tsk.

So Herself spent the afternoon and evening exporting the blog and importing the blog into this new site. Then she had to tweak the html so the old blog would automatically redirect to here. Then LinkedIn was changed, and Twitter. And it's all been a huge bore. I've been on my chair languishing away, and  she hasn't even paid attention to me. Deep sigh. Forlorn look. I guess I'll just have to leave a present in front of the bedroom door.

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Blink

Some famous actors have given voice to the statues in London. Using your smartphone, you'll be able to get a call from the statue to hear it talk. As if statues, though beautiful, aren't creepy enough. Statues are creatures almost as old as time itself. They are known as the lonely assassins. You don't stop to look at the statues and then walk away. Not if you value your life. Any Whovian worth his salt knows this. Listen to The Doctor and take his advice.

Slow

My Blogger page is taking a long time to load. Can't tell if it's a server problem or just Monday morning. Anyone else having problems with Blogger?

Sunflower

Last year, I used one of those instant gardens. Roll out the carpet, water, and ta-dah flowers. Only nothing came up, until this year.

I had cut up a couple of squares and put them in pots by the front stairs. In the Spring, I had pulled out the carpet remnants and planted petunias.

As the season rolled by, these weed thingies came up in the pots. Wasn't sure if they were weeds so I left them. Glad I did. They turned out to be 4 mini-sunflowers towering over the petunias. Cool!

How does your garden grow?

Whovian Feast Day

While waiting for The Twelfth Doctor to land his TARDIS, today's menu will feature:

Breakfast:
11's Ham and Cheese Omelette (The Lodger)
Jumbo Buttermilk Biscuits
Banana, "Because bananas are good," (9th Doctor, The Empty Child) and "Always take a banana to a party, Rose." (10th Doctor, The Girl in the Fireplace)
Tea, Coffee, Milk

Lunch:
Cup of Soup (as explained by the 11th Doctor to the War Doctor, The Day of the Doctor)
Crackers
Tea, Coffee, Milk

Afternoon Tea:
Double Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes decorated with Edible Ball Bearings (silver dragees, 10th Doctor, Fear Her)
11's Beloved Jammie Dodgers (Victory of the Daleks)
Tea with Two Sugars (the way the 9th Doctor likes his tea, The Unquiet Dead)

Dinner:
Steak and Chips (fries, the 9th Doctor was going to order steak and chips at the restaurant in Boom Town)
Corn on the Cob
Tossed Salad
10's Lime and Tonic (The Unicorn and the Wasp), Tea, Coffee, Milk

Dessert:
Mini Cupcakes and Jammie Dodgers from Afternoon Tea, if there are any left over.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. This item has a bad beginning, but a good ending. My friend, Teague, was in an automobile accident on her birthday. Someone cut her off and she had to stop short to avoid broadsiding him. The guy behind her couldn't stop fast enough and hit her. Fortunately, she was only shaken and not stirred. Her car wasn't as lucky.

2. I Skyped with my friend, Red. She's getting settled into her new home in New Mexico. Skype kept acting up and dropping the signal. I called her back on the phone, and we chatted for a couple of hours. The phone is old technology, but it works.

3. Sunday, Himself and I browsed and antique store, went to lunch, and then took a drive to no where.

4. Our 29th wedding anniversary.

5. Two pieces of fun mail arrived. A postcard with a drawing of one of my ma's teacups from Robin, and a hand-made anniversary card from A. Thank you, both.

Throwback Thursday

Castaway Quay - August 1985

Wordless Wednesday

29

Oh, Joy

Looks like I'll be bathing my eyes in eye drops or looking for a spork to dig my eyeballs out. Are you bothered by ragweed, sage, and nettle? Misery loves company

Liebster Award

Fellow blogger, Sandra Cox, nominated me for the Liebster Award.  Thanks, Sandra, for making my day.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it: The Liebster Award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. The goal of this grand gesture is to help find blogs which are worthy of a bigger following... sort of like finding diamonds scattered amongst tiny grains of sparkling, white, distant sands. You imagine they are there but you have to look hard enough to pick up their beauty and inspiration against the decadence of a jealous sun. 

In German, Liebster means kindest, beloved, valued and welcome.

The rules for accepting this award are as follows:

List 6 random facts about myself. 
1. I don't like going bare foot
2. I love  plain, cheese pizza. I could eat pizza every day.
3. The only stick I can drive is a broom.
4. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 21 years old.
5. I don't drink coffee though I love the smell.
6. I don't wear dresses anymore.

Answer 6 questions from the blogger who nominated me. 
1. If you were an animal, what would you be?
I have always felt drawn to black bears. Black bears are protective of their young, know how to have fun, and know when to nap.

2. What's your favorite genre?
Fantasy.

3. When reading do you prefer paper or a hand held device?
I like reading on a tablet. The tablet doesn't weigh much, take up much room, and I can carry my entire library with me.

4. What's your favorite vacation spot?
the sun room.

5. What's your favorite charity?
My dad had Alzheimer's so that is the charity that is near and dear to me.

6. If given the choice where would you live?
That's a hard question because there are so many places depending on the season. A lighthouse on the New England coast, the German Alps, Bermuda.

Nominate 6 other blogs who have less than 200 followers and let them know they have been nominated.
Post 6 new questions for those bloggers to answer (If they wish to accept the award, it’s completely optional).

I nominate:
The Young One at Corinne Kennedy - My Art
Robin  at Pink House Studio
FinnBadger at envelope100
Donna at Just A Lucky Dog
Joan at A Rolling Crone
Elaine at Elaine's Life

Here are your questions:
1. Do you play a musical instrument?
2. Do you have allergies?
3. What's your earliest memory?
4.  What was your first job?
5. Black licorice, love it or hate it?
6. What did you want to be when you grew up?

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The Art of Science Learning Saturday workshops ended. Saturdays are now free time, unless there is a team meeting

2. Skyped with friend, A. Hadn't spoken to her in a long time. Was good to catch up. Another session is planned for next week so we can make art together.

3. Trying to get Himself hooked on Doctor Who. Himself has trouble with the accents, so we watched a few episodes with closed captioning. Not sure he's hooked, yet, but there are still a thousand episodes left to watch.

4. Heavy rains on Wednesday had me worried we'd be taking on water. Himself had to fix one of the downspouts by the sun room. Very fortunate we stayed nice and dry.

5. My blog won an award. (-; More on that later.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday

9th grade school photo. 1970. Ceej and the amazing technicolor dream shirt. Looks like I was auditioning for the color bars test pattern.

Wordless Wednesday

Is It Just Me

who thinks Summer went by too quickly? We hardly had any hot and humid days. By 8 PM, it's dark and the evenings are chilly. Deep sigh. Forlorn look.

Nostalgia

It started with Himself catching the end of the television show, Unwrapped. The show is a behind the scenes about popular foods. The bit Himself saw was about Fizzies, a flavored, seltzer tablet. Drop the tablet in a glass of water and make your own soda. We loved them as kids. Himself got all nostalgic and must have been talking to friends when he was told he could buy the tablets at The Christmas Tree Shoppe.

He  brought home a box of root beer and a box of grape flavored tablets. I admit I caught the nostalgia fever, and we were excited to introduce the girlies to a flash from our childhood. There was a huge build up as I poured out 4 glasses of water. We tore into the foil packet and dropped the tablet in the water. Plop! Fizz. Taste. Blech! Not as good as I remembered. Perhaps, this treat ought to remain in the past.

Did you ever have Fizzies?

Handyman

We needed a new faucet. Off to the big orange box store to pick one out. Sleek, goose-neck design, single handle with a pullout sprayer. The aerator didn't fit the adapter for the portable dishwasher. Back to the store with the dishwasher adapter to find a faucet that would fit. Sleek, goose-neck design with single handle and ordinary sprayer. Himself took the old faucet apart. Budgey screws, a few horse's patoots and a trip back to the store to buy a basin wrench as Himself's father's wrench wouldn't fit the tight space. Out with the old. In with the new, and water, water, everywhere. A call to the manufacturer's help line to be told there was a small, plastic, do-hickey inside the faucet that prevented the faucet to seal properly. The do-hickey had to be removed. Didn't sound like a big deal except the faucet would have to be taken apart. Horse's Patoot! Well, Himself wasn't having none of that. He brought home from the lab some long tweezers that would allow him to poke around, grab the do-hickey, and TA-DAH! a working faucet. It's good to have a handyman around.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Slim pickings for lunch. Himself surprised us by bringing home lunch from Kelly's Roast Beef. Roast beef sandwiches for the girlies, a scallop plate for Himself, and a fried clam plate for me.

2. A boring Sunday evening. We rented The Lego Movie. It turned out to be surprisingly funny. I watched it again the following day. Everything is awesome!

3. Sleep Number technicians removed the wheels, put legs on the bed and castor cups to protect the wood floor. The bed doesn't roll down the street anymore. Nice when a company takes pride in customer service.

4. We needed a new faucet. Himself installed it, and it works.

5. Went to the post office box to pick up mail. Junk, junk, bank statement, a postcard. What's this? The faux Star Ka'at stamp and faux cancellation mark I had admired on Finnbadger's mail art blog Envelope 100.
Thank you, Finn, the postcard made my day.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday

One of the few pictures of me that I actually like. I was 11 years old. The photo was taken at Minuteman National Park. I was on a "date" with The Brother (age 17) and his girlfriend.

Dad took the bus to work and left his car so The Brother could drive back and forth to school. The Brother was only to drive to school and back home. No side trips. No floating around. I got to go along so I would keep my mouth shut and not tattle. To further sweeten the deal, they took me for an ice cream sundae.

Wordless Wednesday

Kimball's Farm

After soaking up art, Teague and I decided we needed an ice cream cone from Kimball's Farm in Lancaster, MA (there are actually 4 locations).
We browsed the shop and stood in line for ice cream. There were so many flavors of ice cream to choose from. I was going to order a small cone. Teague ordered a Peppermint Stick kiddie cone, and I nearly fell over at the size. Perched on top of the sugar cone was a pint of ice cream. Hand to Gawd, I kid you not, a pint of ice cream! I ordered a kiddie cone of Coconut Almond Chip. We sat at a picnic table shaded by trees to enjoy our ice cream, a sweet ending to a perfect day.

Fruitlands Museum

view of Mount Wachusett 

Teague and I took another jaunt to the Fruitlands Museum. Fruitllands was the name of a (failed) experimental Utopian society (1843) founded by Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott) and Charles Lane. The museum was founded in 1914 by Clara Endicott Sears.

The museum is made up of small museums. A Shaker Museum which contains furniture, clothing, and items used by members of the 19th c. religious sect which believed in celibacy, communal living, and equality of the sexes. There is a Native American museum with objects from Native American tribes from New England, the Plains, Southwest, and Northwest. Outside the Native American museum, is a replica of a longhouse, dugout canoe (made by visitors to the museum with stone tools , and a garden planted with the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash.). The Art Museum is home to a collection of Hudson River School Landscapes. Currently on view, are also abstract landscapes by Artist-In-Residence, Richard Kattman.

Besides the buildings and artwork, the museum offers spectacular views of the Nashoba Valley, Mount Wachusett in Massachusetts and the Monadnocks in New Hampshire. There are also trails to hike. After the art and walking up and down the rolling hills, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the outdoor cafe.

Linguine a la Vongola

I don't like going out for Italian food. It's never as good as what I ate every day at home. Most Italian restaurants serve up dishes from the northern provinces of Italy. Meats and macaroni covered in cream sauces or food overpowered by garlic an oregano. My father's expression was "not our food". (Actually that label was used to describe any food that Ma didn't cook.) 

Both sides of my family come from Avellino, a southern province in the Campagnia region of Italy, northeast of Naples. Sauces (called gravy in my family) from this region is tomato based. I miss Ma's cooking. Eggplant Parmigiana which graced our holiday and special occasion meals like Green Bean Casserole, her to die for home-made ravioli, and one of my favorites, Linguine a la Vongola (linguine with clams). Ma used canned clams.

There is one Italian restaurant in Worcester that I love. Leo's Ristorante. It's a small, neighborhood restaurant in the Italian section of the city. (where else!) The food is close to Ma's. We were at Leo's last week to celebrate The Young One's and my birthdays. 

Just look at that dish! It's such a beautiful presentation with the open clam shells. Heaven on a plate and so much better than Ma's. But, Shhhh, don't tell her.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. On the way to get my car inspected, Himself and I stopped at IHOP for breakfast. Mmmm, fluffy, blueberry pancakes.

2. Sunday was a Law and Order marathon day. My favorite character is Lenny and his smart mouth.

3. My birthday

4. We had a birthday dinner (for myself and belated for the Young One) at Leo's Ristorante.

5. Teague and I had a trip to Fruitlands Museum and ice cream at Kimball's.

How was your week?