Imagine

Leftovers

2009-12-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

A pretty, festive bow hung on the chain of a chandelier makes a lovely addition to your Christmas decor. It is especially effective if you have high ceilings and a long chain. I hung a gold one in my dining room about six years ago, and it is still there.

Christmas Past: a swag hung over a mirror behind a love seat. The colors of the ribbon blend with the upholstery and the tassels add a festive touch.

This is the crazy gingerbread house at the Governor's Mansion this year. Made by Donna of Sweet Memories Bakery, it is a real treat to see! Click to enlarge.

One of the few trees in my yard that still has leaves on it; the red really stands out in a forest of gray trunks and branches. We thought it was going to be dusted with snow, but all we got was sleet, which knocked all those pretty red leaves off!

Another tree from Christmas Past; I did this one a few years back. It has about 1800 lights on it and approximately 350 sterling silver and cut crystal ornaments on it, including crystal icicles. The people who hired me to do this tree discovered the morning I was to arrive that their tree stand was broken. The gentleman jury-rigged it and it appeared to be sturdy. Just as I hung the last ornament on the tree, it toppled over on me. No harm was done, nothing broke and not one ornament fell off the tree! I was so very glad I had hung them all using silver chenille stems.

2009-12-20T11:00:00.001-05:00

I have kleptomania,
But when it gets bad,
I take something for it.

I may be schizophrenic,
but at least I have each other.

In Memoriam

With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week. Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey", died peacefully at age 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started.

I LOVE COOKING WITH WINE
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

I want to die while asleep like my grandfather,
not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car.

Dollar Origami

2009-12-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding.

The goal of this art is to create a representation of an

object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably

without the use of gluing or cutting the paper, and using

only one piece of paper.

Won Park is the master of Origami. He is also called the

"money folder", a practitioner of origami whose canvas is

the United States One Dollar Bill. Bending, twisting, and

folding, he creates life-like shapes in stunning detail.

I think they are all stunning, but my favorites are the crab, the fish and the scorpion! Which one do you like?

Quotes of Note + a Rant*

2009-12-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.

Vladimir Nabokov, (1899-1977)

^^^

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.

Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and writer (121-180)

^^^^^

*Have you noticed they're becoming more common?

How many other gray-haired women flipped the bird to a tail-gating teen this week? I don't know, but I was one of them. I was waiting to pull out of my neighborhood and I looked left and saw no cars. I pulled out and turned right and before I had gone 20 feet - or had a chance to accelerate to the posted limit - a car with a messy-haired teenage driver sped up behind me and was literally one inch from my bumper. Livid I was and I think he was too. (How dare that old lady pull out in front of me???) He must have thought that, while I was thinking "How fast were you going when you materialized out of nowhere???" As soon as the road split into two lanes, he pulled left and sped past me, driving erratically. I was going to try and get his license plate but I wasn't able to see it long enough to get the number. Just my luck.

W.O.W.

2009-12-17T12:01:00.004-05:00

That stands for Women of _______ (my neighborhood). As you may remember reading, we do things together all year long; with more or less participation depending on the the time of the event. Tuesday evening was the night for our annual Christmas pot-luck dinner - and we always have a good time. We had 31 woman this year, including the new owner of one house, brought by the seller to meet her new neighbors.

The food was glorious, as usual. Tenderloin that melted in your mouth, Honey-Baked Ham, and many salads, side dishes and desserts to test your will-power. My favorite was brought by our former long-time mail-carrier, Donna. She has been at our last 2-3 dinners, since she retired from the USPS. She gave us such good service for years that we all had made friends with her, so now she is an honorary WOW. Donna made a kind of egg salad. She told us that it had ten eggs, crushed saltine crackers, pimiento cheese, onion, red pepper and mayo in it - and if any of you know the recipe for this - I'd really love to have it. I could have eaten a bowlful by myself!

There are only a few homes in our neighborhood that can accommodate 30+ people for a sit-down meal, and two of the women are gracious enough to share their lovely homes with us on an alternating basis. Mr. kenju fusses every year because the men aren't included, and I always say...."How many people do you think have a home big enough to hold 60+ people for a seated meal?" Oddly, he never has an answer, but he says..."If the men had a dinner and the women weren't included, they'd be fussing up a storm." I keep telling him he should plan such a get-together and just see how many of the WOW women get mad about it. My prediction is.......... wait for it........ NONE!

The highlight of the dinner is when we do our annual ornament exchange. Each person brings a wrapped gift; an ornament for the tree or some other holiday item. Numbers are drawn out of a bowl to indicate the order in which we will choose our gifts. It is preferable to have higher numbers, since the gifts chosen by the lower numbered people can be "stolen". My number was 19.

As you may know, I collect frogs, and froggy Christmas ornaments are among my favorites. Unfortunately, there is another woman who also collects frogs, so the "stealing" can get quite heated. Last night, we barely managed to keep it in check, while daring others to steal our frogs! Early on in the choosing, our hostess picked a gift that was a darling frog ornament. I set my sights for it, of course, and when my number came up, I "stole" the frog. I hadn't had it long when the other frog collector stole it from me. Then I was allowed to choose another gift - and I could take one from the pile - or steal one. I took one from the pile, and would you believe it?? I got another frog!! I'd say that was some GOOD KARMA!! Now I feel badly about complaining in a post recently that I can't catch a break and win anything. This frog was very similar to the one I'd had in the beginning, so both of us frog collectors went home happy.

My camera stayed home on the kitchen counter, so I have no photos for you. You can smack me if you want.

The Leopard and the Mouse

2009-12-16T12:01:00.001-05:00

Seemingly unaware of the beast towering over it,

the tiny rodent grabbed at scraps of meat thrown

into the African Leopard's enclosure.

But instead of pouncing on the tiny intruder,

the 12-year-old leopard Sheena kept her distance.

After a few minutes she tried to nudge the mouse

away with her nose, but the determined little guy

kept chewing away until he was full.

The extraordinary scene was captured by photo-

graphy student Casey Gutteridge at the Santago

Rare Leopard Project in Hertfordshire, England.

The 19-year-old was astounded by the mouse's

behavior.
He said had no idea where the mouse came from.

He just appeared after the keeper had dropped in

the meat for the leopard. Taking no notice of the

leopard, the mouse went straight over to the meat

and started eating.

Even when the leopard bent down and sniffed him,

the mouse just carried on eating like nothing had

happened. Project owner Jackie James added:

“It was so funny to see - Sheena batted the mouse

a couple of times to try to get it away from her food.

But the determined little thing took no notice and

just carried on.” The mouse continued to eat the

leopard's lunch and showed the leopard who was

boss.

Olio*

2009-12-15T12:01:00.039-05:00

*mixture, hodgepodge; favorite of crosswordists (is there such a word?) everywhere, the Italian word for oil (and incidentally, post number 1, 120!)

If you are not a member of S*m's Club or C*stco, this part may not interest you. They have the very best pre-cooked rotisserie chickens ever, and the cost is probably lower than you'd pay for an un-cooked whole chicken at the market! I bought one Monday and we had it for dinner, along with baked sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and left-over green beans. Perfectly seasoned and served warm or cold, they are an easy solution to a busy woman's meal plans. I didn't work today, but I wanted something good for dinner without too much trouble on my part and this fit the bill! There was enough for a container of left-over chicken, with which I will make chicken salad. I fed 2 cats a plateful each (they seldom eat people food, but love fowl) and at the moment I am boiling the carcass to make stock, and tomorrow, after removing the fat, I will toss in some vegetables and rice and the soup pot will toil and trouble for another dinner. Where else could you get 2 meals, chicken salad and a pot of soup for under $5???

***

Speaking of oil, some years ago, after using solid shortenings (such as Cr*sco) became verboten, I switched to olive oil for almost all cooking needs. It was light, tasty and supposedly good for your innards. Now, I'm not so sure. I've developed an allergy to it - or maybe just some sensitivity - but anything I eat with olive oil sliiiiiides right through me. That's probably TMI. I've now changed to safflower oil and so far I have no problem with that. Do you have a favorite cooking oil that I could try?

*****

Do all your light bulbs seem to burn out at the same time? In the past three weeks or so, we have had 6 fluorescent tubes and at least 4 incandescent bulbs burn out within days of each other. Today I was attempting to replace the outside light by the small garage door. The fixture is old, and as I loosened the glass cover by twisting the screw which holds it in place, the glass cover came loose and I thought the screw was still in place. After changing to one of the new, long-lasting bulbs, I washed the glass cover. When I went back out side to install it, I discovered the screw was missing and it was nowhere to be found. I went over the concrete pad below it with a fine-tooth comb and it had just simply disappeared. I have a large container of screws and nails, but (of course) nothing I had could be used for that cover. I will have to go to a hardware store and attempt to locate something usable - or have the rusty fixture replaced. It's over 35 years old, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt.....lol....especially since it was nothing to brag about 35 years ago - and certainly isn't now!

Around the World in Eighty Blogs

2009-12-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

The brainchild of Shannon (Everyday Stranger), Around the World in Eighty Blogs features bloggers posting today about their fair cities. Here's my take on.....

Raleigh, North Carolina (also see here) We moved here in the fall of 1969; we had just had our second baby, mr. kenju was starting a new job, we had sold our former home and were looking for an apartment and trying to find a pre-school for our first-born. It was both a trying and an exciting time in our lives. The only thing I knew about Raleigh before we moved here was what Barney and Andy said about it on "The Andy Griffith Show". If you remember, Barney always stayed at the YMCA on Hillsborough Street when he came to town. It sounded only slightly less like "Hicksville" than Mayberry, where the fictional Andy and Barney hailed from. And in 1969, that wasn't too far from the truth. But they had a spanking new mall, the likes of which I'd never seen before and they had few sailors in uniform* so it seemed okay to me. It was also the state capital, and I knew it was a good thing to live in the capital if you ever have reason to need state government for anything. What that might be I didn't know, I just thought of it as a good thing.

*We had lived in Norfolk, VA previously, and I was decidedly weary of all things Naval by the time we left there.

I remember seeing the Governor's Mansion and all the state government buildings shortly after we moved here; little did I know then that many years later I would be involved in decorating that Mansion for Christmas or doing flowers there for the filming of a TV show (as I did in the 90's).

Raleigh is home to many colleges and universities; NCSU, Meredith College, Peace College, Shaw U., St. Augustine College, the new law school for Campbell U., and we're only a stone's throw from UNC in Chapel Hill and Duke and NCCU in Durham. Because of that, plus all the technology and pharmaceutical research companies in the area, we have a high per capita income level and a very high level of college grads. That helps to make Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill one of the preferred areas in the country. Over the past ten or so years, we have consistently been high on several national magazine lists of the best places to live in the USA. That has resulted in a population explosion here; at one point we were gaining approximately 1,000 new residents per month. A problem developed, since our city services had a hard time keeping up with all the new residents and our roads were not built for the amount of use they were getting. Thankfully, the increases have slowed down over the last few years.

We are almost equidistant from the mountains and the coastal regions, providing for easy travel to vacations in either location. Our weather is fairly consistent, and although we usually get snow at least once during winter, it is not of long duration. (I really hope that will be true of the winter of 2009!)

After living in an apartment for 18 months, we found a home to buy. We lived there for eleven years; the longest I had ever lived in one place up to that time. We discovered that Raleigh was a very good place to raise a family. Our children went to after-school programs at the very same YMCA that Barney mentioned on Andy's show, played in Pullen Park and attended schools that had high marks in testing and student achievement. The only real quarrel I've had with Raleigh over the 40 years we've been here is with the school board. So many changes were made over the years that one of my children went to seven different schools between first and twelfth grades, and only one of those changes was our choice.

Over the years, my husband was asked by various employers to move to another city, and most of those moves would have involved promotions and raises. Each time, we made the decision to remain in Raleigh. Most of the time that meant that he had to change jobs/companies, and we were lucky that his field made that possible without too much trouble or worry. We thought it was best for our children to remain here and keep the family stability we had come to prefer, rather than to move willy-nilly every time someone wanted us to be somewhere else. We have never been sorry for those decisions. We've been in our current home for 27 years, and have no plans to leave it or Raleigh. Whenever someone asks me where we plan to retire - I always answer right where I am now - in Raleigh!

The Plumber, Our Money and Oprah

2009-12-13T19:30:00.002-05:00

The plumber came - and our money went home with him.

Friday morning I woke up to discover that we had no hot water. We had several leaks in pipes under the house that had been discovered by our son on Thanksgiving. Those were repaired last week, and a sizable chunk of money left with him then. Now this.

I am always a $1 short and a day late. That old saw may need to be up-dated to read: A thousand short and a minute late. No matter how hard I work and how much cash I can rake in, something happens to make it leave my hands in ways that are neither ideal nor expected.

On a recent Oprah, a re-run had people who had won large sums of money either through the lottery, on a game show or with Publisher's Clearing House. I celebrated along with the winners, and of course, I contemplated winning a large sum and what we'd do with the winnings. It's human nature to speculate that way, isn't it?

One of the women who won $25K just for being present at Oprah's show that day said that her deceased husband had made it possible. He died of cancer in September. She said she'd had the ticket to Oprah's show for two years and had not been able to use it because her husband always took a turn for the worse or had a set-back on the days she'd planned to see the show. She had to wait until he died to take advantage of the ticket and on the very day she did - she won big! She had no doubt that her husband had planned it for her. I tried not to be envious.......LOL

But I do wonder why some people win big in Las Vegas, or with the lottery and others play forever and win nothing. Is it just good karma? And if so, why can't I have some?

Why our Great-Grandparents Were Happier

2009-12-12T19:00:00.000-05:00

This email came recently; titled "why our great-grandparents were happier than we are." I'm not so sure they were happier, but they were certainly drunker and more doped-up! Look at the array of products featuring heroin and cocaine. Click to enlarge.

Bayer's Heroin. Between 1890 and 1910, heroin was sold as a non-addictive (huh?) substitute for morphine. It was also used to treat children with strong coughs. Yikes!

Maltine was suggested as an accompaniment to a meal; full glasses for adults and half-glasses for children.

Coca wine, anyone? Metcalf's coca wine was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market.

A paper weight promoting C.F. Boehringer and Soehne (Mannheim, Germany). They were proud of being the largest producer of products containing quinine and cocaine in the world.

Mariani wine was the most famous Coca wine of its time. Pope Leo XIII supposedly carried one with him at all times. He gave the producer (Mariani) a Vatican Gold Medal.

My pediatrician 44 years ago had me using paregoric for my son's colic. Little did I know then what it was.

I've mixed up the photos with the commentary, but here is the rest of it:
Opium for Asthma.

Cocaine tablets (1900)
All actors, singers, teachers and preachers had to have them for maximum performance! Said to be "great to soothe the voice".

Cocaine drops for toothache. Very popular for children.

Opium for newborns. It would make them sleep well; not only the opium, but the 46% alcohol!

Quotes + Just Babble

2009-12-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawk weed, and even the hated plantain with tall stems, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn.

William Henry Hudson, author and naturalist (1841-1922)

***

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.

Kenji Miyazawa, poet and story writer (1896-1933)

*****

The first quote finds me nodding yes; I love green grass, but I prefer seeing flowers, even those we call weeds.

The second quote I'm not so sure about. The philosophy is good but the doing might be difficult. Perhaps it is akin to the religious philosophy of "offering up your pain for the good of others".

***

Last week we had the plumber in to repair three leaks found under the house by our son on Thanksgiving. Today, I awoke to no hot water. There's not much that deflates my usually positive outlook, but not having hot water when you need (nay, crave) a hot shower and a shampoo will do it every time. The plumber is here now. He mumbled something about a thermostat and not pulling 240 amps or something like that. It's all Greek to me, so I hope and have to trust that he knows whereof he speaks and is honest. We've been using his services for about 2 years and we've never had a reason to doubt that he is honest, and I sure hope we don't find one now. I've decided that if he isn't able to repair it tonight, I am going to the health club tomorrow to clean up. I am so grateful for that option. I know my neighbors would gladly offer me a bathroom, but I'd hate to ask. Have you ever been in that position? What did you do?

*****

My employer asked me today on Facebook if I "wasn't tired of decorating" by now, and I answered by saying "you know how much I love it", and that's true. But on reflection, I've decided that part of the draw for me is not only using my creativity and making things beautiful, but the camaraderie between friends and co-workers. I am fortunate to like and enjoy the company of everyone with whom I work, whether it is with Mel or some other business. That hasn't always been true, and a few jobs I've had were stressful because of the people involved, but not many of them. I've been blessed in that respect (as well as others). And no, I am not tired of decorating, but while I love doing it, I prefer to get paid for it - and at home - that doesn't fly! Mr. kenju asked me today if he "had any input into our Christmas decorating..." and I asked "Are you planning to do any of it?" He replied no and then so did I. If you aren't doing it - you have little right to say what gets done and where. Right?

Christmas Decor 2009

2009-12-10T21:01:00.030-05:00

These photos are from a private home that I have been doing with a friend for about 8-9 years now; except for last year, when they had a plumbing leak and the dining room ceiling caved in. We finished this job in three days (sometimes, it takes four). My daughter cannot believe that there is a house that takes as long as the Governor's mansion to decorate!! I made this arrangement around the Florentine angel this morning. Fresh holly, fir, ribbon and cording.

The chandelier in the breakfast room; fresh greenery, incorporating faux pepper berry garland, and hung with gingerbread ornaments made for the owner's children when they were babies.

A small white tree, hung with hand-blown sugared fruit ornaments and tiny glass balls.

The grandfather clock in the kitchen, with faux garland and pepper berries.

A detail of the ribbon used in the living room (mantel).

The foyer; main stair railings festooned with faux garland, dried red hydrangeas, exquisite silk ribbon embroidered with holly leaves and berries and three gilded acorns on the newel.

The living room; a china/book cabinet topped with a Florentine gilded angel, faux garland and magnolia leaves.

A detail of the tree. Approximately 2000 lights and 300 Christopher Radko hand-blown glass ornaments.

The tree, nestled in the curve of the main staircase.

The grandfather clock in the foyer.

The gilt mirror in the dining room; hung with four Italian angels, faux garland and gold ribbon (which was later changed to raspberry red silk cording).

The china cabinet in the breakfast room.

The living room mantel; faux garland sharing space with two Chinese horse statues and gilt pears.

A better photo of the Florentine angel in the living room.

The owner's study.

Believe it or not, this is not all we do for that home. We also garland the stairs leading down to the lower floor and a mantel in the den downstairs, do three wreaths for exterior doors, one wreath for indoors, a second tree in the dining room with all sterling silver ornaments, light 2 outdoor topiaries, garland an outdoor terrace railing with fresh greens, a lamp post, a tiny tree for the lower level and a table decoration for the terrace! See why it takes three days?

Street Gangs.....

2009-12-09T20:00:00.007-05:00

in Helena, Montana

2009-12-08T20:00:00.004-05:00

Observations on Maturing .....

It's harder to tell navy from black.

Everything old is new again, but if you wore it before,
you're too old to wear it the second time around.

Your kids are becoming you...and your grandchildren
are perfect.

Yellow becomes the big color...walls...hair...teeth.

Going out is good. Coming home is better.

When people say you look "Great"...they add "for your age."

When you needed the discount you had to pay full price. . .
Now you get discounts on everything...movies...hotels...flights.

You forget names...but it's OK because other people forgot they
even knew you.

The last 2 outfits you wore had spots on them.

You ask your husband or friend how your outfit looks and they
tell you the truth.

The five pounds you wanted to lose is now 15 and you have a
better chance of losing your keys than the 15 pounds.

You realize you're never going to be really good at anything...
especially golf.

Your husband is counting on you to remember things you don't
remember. (because he can't either)

The things you cared to do, you don't care to do, but you
care that you don't care to do them anymore.

Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair with the TV
blaring then he does in bed. It's called his "pre-sleep."

Remember when your mother said "Wear clean underwear
in case you get in an accident"? Now you bring clean underwear
in case you HAVE an accident.

You used to say, "I hope my kids GET married. Now, "I hope
they STAY married!"

The best place to have a conversation with your husband is in the bathroom...you have his full attention.

Who wants to wear 3" heels anyway?

You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and
"OFF" switch.

When GOOGLE, ipod, email, modem were unheard of and a mouse
was something that made you climb on a table.

You use more 4 letter words..."what?"..."when?"

Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it
anywhere.

Your husband has a night out with the guys but he's home by
9:00 P.M...

You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you've read it
before.

Notice everything they sell in stores is sleeveless.

Many of the people in People Magazine you've never heard of.

Your concealer doesn't conceal.

Your lipstick bleeds.

Your mascara clumps and your eyebrows are disappearing.

You don't have hair under your arms and very little on your
legs but your chin needs to be plucked daily.

What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

Everybody whispers.

Now that your husband has retired ... you'd give anything
if he'd find a job..

You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet....2 of which you
will never wear.

But old is good in some things:...old songs...old movies...
best of all: OLD FRIENDS

2009-12-07T20:00:00.003-05:00

What to write?
Where to start?

I've no ideas or plans tonight.
Let's see what happens, shall we?

The day started with a haircut for me; one sadly needed, since I had begun to resemble a Q-tip. I persuaded mr. kenju to go with me so he wouldn't have to spend the day by himself. I'll be working tomorrow and Wednesday, and likely be gone all day. After my haircut, we went to Penney's, the Post Office, Costco, Trader Joe's, the gas station, two banks, Chick-Fil-A for lunch, then he got a haircut* too, (different place) and on to the pharmacy for yet another prescription.

* Mr. kenju was blessed with good thick hair, but as it grows, it gets curlier and curlier. Because I've been working so much, he hasn't been able to get out for a haircut. I told him this morning he looked like "Luigi" who just landed off the boat from the old country! Luigi and the Q-tip really needed haircuts today!

Getting into and out of the car all those times made my hip hurt. I don't usually like leather seats in the car, since they burn me up in summer and freeze me in winter. But now I'm beginning to see the beauty in being able to slide in and out instead of dragging my (increasingly large) butt over the velour upholstery.

Remember when I ranted about the digital conversion fiasco? On Thanksgiving I asked my son to take my TV out of the garage and put it upstairs in my office. It is a newer and better TV and I was hoping that it would get more channels than the old one did (with the digital converter box). Today I finally removed 4 years worth of dust and grime, plugged it in and did a new scan. I now get two more channels, (bringing the total to six) although still not the one I want - WTVD (ABC). I'm trying to be grateful for small advances. The next move is to get a cable splitter and more cable and hook this TV up to that. I'm fearful that it might make for difficulty in keeping my computer connection, but I won't know if I don't try. I can always switch it back.

I love my cats, but one of them is driving me nuts. She constantly sticks her paw into the water bowl, knocks it about until some or all of the water spills and laps the water off the floor. She does this even when the bowl is clean and freshly filled. I don't understand why. I surmised that she may have cataracts and the only way she can test if there is water in the bowl is to stick her paw in it, but that doesn't really make sense. I am at my wits end. The hallway off the kitchen where I keep their food and water is also home to their litter pan. They track clay litter into the wet spots that are always on the floor and it leaves an icky residue that I have to mop everyday. I've looked for heavy, flat-sided bowls that wouldn't tip easily, but I haven't found any. The other idea I had was to get a wide board and glue the water and food bowls to it so it can't be tipped over. That would make cleaning and refilling a pain, but at least the floor wouldn't always look so bad. What would your solution be?

When Farmers Get Bored

2009-12-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

Which one do you like best?

Quote of Note + a Confession

2009-12-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God.

Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (1903-1998)

***

I'm bone tired. I have worked nine out of the last ten days straight and it is finally getting to me. I have to admit that such constant labor is too much for my body. I used to work long, hard hours like this and after a night's sleep, I could get right back to work the next day and be like a new person. That's not happening as well as it used to. The problem is that I still want to do it. I want to be able to do the arrangements, the bows and wreaths and whatever else is asked of me and do an excellent job; one that will make me proud and my employers happy. I suppose I'm going to have to cut back on the hours next year, and it kills me to say that.
Anyone know where I can buy a dose of stamina?

The Rest of the Decor Pix

2009-12-04T20:00:00.004-05:00

This one and below: close-ups of two of the arrangements I made at the Mansion.

Below: one of a pair of arrangements made by Rhonda, that flank the grand staircase in the foyer. It is so hard to get a good, color-true photo here. The large ball in t he arrangement is lime green, but here it looks silver.

Below: The dining room mantel; done by Rhonda this year. Some of the other women studded fruit with cloves, which are displayed in silver bowls and trays on the mantel and throughout the dining room.

Below: part of the dining room table decor; it was a group effort this year. Mel made the tree with fruit in it, both Rhonda and I each made some of the arrangements with fruit and glittered ornaments.

I made this arrangement.

I made this dried hydrangea topiary and sprayed it gold. It sits in a gorgeous silver urn and is surrounded by a mirrored mosaic wreath.

There were four of Mel's seashell wreaths hanging on the windows in the library.

This is the children's tree on the sun porch in the Mansion. It is decorated with ornaments made by NC schoolchildren. Below this photo is a close-up of some of the ornaments.

I had to show you this lovely hinge I kept looking at every day. It was on the doors to the kitchen, and although someone needs to remove the paint and go at it with some brass polish, I think it is one of the best things there. It was probably original to the Mansion; which was completed in 1891. It is too bad that builders and hardware manufacturers don't pay that much attention to detail any more.

Rhonda made a pair of these sprays to hang on double doors leading from public to private areas of the Mansion.

The top third of the tree in the Ladies' Parlour. It has an angel this year instead of bows. She's a little crooked, but no one minds, since she is so pretty.

This is the bottom third of the Ladies' tree; replete with beautifully wrapped gift boxes (unfortunately empty!)

The Governor has invited the decorating crew to a small party at the Mansion on the 13th. I will try to get some outdoor photos at that time, as well as some more indoor ones from better perspectives than these.

2009 NC Governor's Mansion Decor

2009-12-04T00:40:00.002-05:00

The tree in the Gentlemen's Parlour; very hard to photograph. It has a few imperfections, but over all, it's the best tree we have had in this location. My favorite of the three trees (and this photo does not do it justice.) The reds and greens are brighter and more prominent than they appear here. It holds cardinals, dogwood branches, bird's nests, sea shells, nuts and other items pertinent to North Carolina.

The bottom third of the tree above.

Rhonda did this arrangement and deer grouping; a winter wonderland. Below is a close-up.

Mel's mantel arrangements are usually gorgeous and this year is no exception. Cardinals, birch branches, seasonal foliage and a bit of glittery garland combine to make a lovely presentation. The Governor said of it this morning....."It's beautiful without being too overdone."

This mantel is in the Ladies' Parlour. This year, there is no specific theme to the decor; just lush elegance.

I made this low arrangement for the marble console table that sits behind the sofa and the Ladies' Parlour.

A side view of the grand staircase, with simple, lit garland and white and silvery bows.

Our crew: Rhonda, Billy,Sandra,Mel, Irma, Earlene and Judy/kenju. Billy is Mel's brother, Sandra is Billy's wife, and Earlene is a long-time Day family friend. Irma is the House Manager at the Mansion. A few people were not present for the photo; notably Pat Day, Mel's other sister-in-law, and some of their friends from Roxboro, NC. We had fewer people helping this year and we completed the entire mansion and grounds in a record three days from start to finish! I didn't get to photograph any of the exterior decor yet, but I hope to next week. It consists of fresh wreaths, decorated simply with red velvet bows, garland and bows on lamp posts - but it is beautiful.

I was too tired to process the photos when I got home today, in time for my usual posting at 8pm. I sat down in my recliner at 8:00pm to watch TV and promptly fell deeply asleep for three hours! Enjoy; there will be a few more photos tomorrow.

Previews of Coming Attractions ~ Decor 2009

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This console table is on the right in the entrance hall of the NC Governor's Mansion. This year, it has one tall arrangement and a lower companion piece. We use all fresh greenery and branches; most of which is cut from the Mansion grounds, or donated by local businesses. We have bins and bins of decorations to choose from. Each year, the trustees* at the mansion take down and save all the permanent decor. They take bows apart and roll all the ribbons; remove ornaments from the trees and store them and anything else the designers might be able to use again. When we begin to design an arrangement, we "go shopping" from all the bins to pick and choose which elements, ornaments and ribbons we want to use. It is SO much fun!! Mel Day (being the boss) gets his pick first, and then the two designers (Rhonda and I) can comb through all the bins.

*Trustees are prison inmates with special privileges; namely they get to work in the Mansion every day and return to the prison at night.

Above is a close-up of the lower arrangement and below is a closer view of the taller one. I had a great time making these today! (you can see me in that photo too...lol)

This arrangement is on a sideboard across the hall from the console table. It is partially obscured, but the container is an exquisite Asian piece. I won't hazard a guess as to the period or country of origin, as I'd probably get it wrong, but it's a delight to be able to work with it.

Above is a close-up of the one above. See the butterfly perched on the green ball?

This one (and its companion below) sit on demi-lunes flanking the grand staircase in the foyer of the Mansion. It has a "fan" of peacock feathers. These white porcelain urns are approximately 3 feet tall without the arrangements.

This one has a few peacock feathers, but its height is gained by the use of corkscrew willow branches. Due to reflection from the camera flash, the glittered, split pomegranates look light yellow here, but these are lime green in person.

This is my small arrangement (about 16" across that sits on the coffee table in the library. As I told you last night, in that room we have featured sea shells, starfish and sand dollars in tribute to the home town of our current Governor, Bev Perdue. The round pods that look yellow here, are also lime green - they are protea pods.

There are two very tall bookcases in the library; and I have been privileged to make the arrangements that go atop them for several years. Everything in this room is completely natural this year; no artificial elements were used. Dried hydrangea, eleagnes, various evergreens, real bird nests, Spanish moss, sand dollars and corkscrew willow are some of the items used in making these and the ones in the photo below.

The photo below shows the mantel in the library. Rhonda made the three sprays, and Mel did the mantel with amaryllis and narcissus plants, mised with various evergreen boughs, Spanish moss, birch branches and raffia. Hanging out of the mantel decor are sand dollars.

I did this small arrangement of moss, willow branches, various seashells and holly berries. It sits on a sofa table in the library, in front of the Governor's family photos.

2009-12-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

The North Carolina Governor's Mansion is a wonderful place to work even if you only get to do it four or five days a year. Today, we (Mel Day's crew) started the 2009 Christmas Decorations; feeling very fortunate to have been chosen to decorate the Mansion for our new Governor, Beverly Perdue.

Photos will follow in a few days, but not until a majority of the work has been completed.

Today, we worked in the library; the Governor's theme for that room is "green/environmentally sound". To that end, all materials used are completely natural: various evergreen boughs, branches, mosses, seashells, birds nests, raffia, holly, corkscrew willow, eleagnes, narcissus plants, amaryllis plants and magnolia. The seashells are there as a nod to the city from which our Governor hails - New Bern. NC. and its proximity to the Atlantic coast.

Seven arrangements were completed (by me) today; five large ones and two small ones, and in addition, I made 30 red velvet bows for use on the exterior window wreaths and garlanding on the wrought iron railings and gates that surround the Mansion grounds.

Come back tomorrow; I may be able to take some photos.

How I Named My Blog

2009-12-01T00:01:00.019-05:00

Ruth at Synch-ro-nizing decided we should each do a meme telling how we came up with the names for our blogs. I decided to participate, especially since she said there would be NO awards. As I told her, blog awards are becoming so trite and common. LOL

I started blogging in 2005, and my blog was named Just Ask Judy. I had envisioned it as a helpful place for brides and their parents to get unbiased information about weddings that was not guaranteed to make money for the person answering the question, as it usually is when you ask a professional. Few brides found my site in those early days, and as I began to read more and more blogs written by others, I started to add anything that came to mind on my blog. After two years of that, Blogger changed their templates and started Blogger 2. I had to make a change and I wanted a new format with color options that I didn't have with the old blog.

I thought about it for a while, and one day I was reading a post by Shephard at Schubert Alley Shephard about seeing Carrie Fisher's performance of her one-man show. Carrie talked about the times in her life when her father, Eddie Fisher (married to her mother Debbie Reynolds) was dallying with other actresses, notably Elizabeth Taylor. It was scandalous behavior for the times and at one point, Carrie said to the audience......"Imagine What I'm Leaving Out."

Immediately, I knew that would be the title of my new blog, and I set about to make that happen, in February 2007. Sometime over the last year, it was unofficially shortened to "Imagine", which I now prefer. My favorite college English professor drummed into me that writing should be "clear, concise and concrete." What's more concise than Imagine?

Christmas Decor 2009

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The main ballroom tree; a joint effort, but not done by me. I spent the whole day making wreaths and doing bows, and none of my photos was good. These pix are all from Brier Creek Country Club.

This and the next two are close-ups of the ornaments on the ballroom tree.

This ornament is about 8" long; much bigger than it looks here.

The bottom part of the lobby tree.

Swags over the doorways in the golf shop.

We worked from 9am until 5:30 pm today. Every two years we replace all the lights in the wreaths and trees and this is our year to do that. There are 3 trees, about 20 wreaths of all sizes, several areas of garlanding and decor on wall sconces. Then we do the golf shop and the tennis club, so it takes seven people all day!

Driving home on Interstate 540 is dicey at best, but in a heavy rainstorm at 5:30 - it is a double hell! I thought I'd never get home. My plan was to stop for dinner at a restaurant on the way, but halfway there (after 30 minutes in the car for a trip that should have taken only 12 minutes) I called mr. kenju and said dinner would have to be Thanksgiving leftovers (once again). He wasn't happy about it, but he had no choice. Tomorrow we start the Governor's Mansion Christmas decor. I doubt dinner will be any fancier then.....LOL

Christmas Decor 2009

2009-11-29T20:00:00.001-05:00

A wreath I made today for the Capital City Club. What a shame it has to share space with that monstrosity of a printer.

The lobby tree at the Capital City Club; a joint effort. Mel put the tree together, Rhonda lit it, I made the bows and hung about 1/3 of the ornaments and Rhonda finished it, with help from Kris. It takes a village.....! This is one of six trees for this club.

This is a tree I decorated at the Hampton Inn Brier Creek last week. We do six trees there and some wreaths.

A Family of Six

2009-11-28T20:00:00.001-05:00

Another wonderful email:

BLACK BEAR QUINTUPLETS

Black bears typically have the two cubs; rarely, one or three. In 2008, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear Sow gave birth to five healthy young.There were two or three reports of sows with as many as 4 cubs, but five was, and is, very extraordinary. I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom- no matter how much time and effort was involved. I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark. After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for more than six weeks, I had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them. I used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera. The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait.

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive. As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen them, and everything remained OK. I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become acclimated to me, or to people in general, and treat them as approachable friends. This could easily become dangerous for both man and animal.

After Halloween, I received no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated. This spring, just before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered all over the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2008. I saw them before mid-April and dreamed nightly of taking another family portrait, a highly improbable second once-in-a-lifetime photograph.

On 25 April 2009, I achieved my dream.

When something as magical as this happens between man and animal, Native Americans say, We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow. And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these exhilarating photos with you.

By Tom Sears