Echoes of Grace

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-07-16T23:17:00.001-07:00

This is on the plane, looking down on the clouds! I'm NOT thrilled about flying but it beats staying home... This is the return flight from OK to LAX - somewhere close to Denver.

Please post your Friday Sky at
Crazy Working Mom!

Spare Me!

2009-07-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

"My wife thinks I'm cute in the White Sox jacket," Obama later told Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth in a conversation that seemed very loose and free-flowing instead of scripted. "I'm not a Cubs hater, I'm not one of those guys. I just don't root for them, that's all."

If GW had made that comment, it would have created a furor. He is SO arrogant. (I know he was trying to joke around, but he just doesn't know how. He's a real stiff...)

And, he throws like a girlie man!!!

Uh oh...

2009-07-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, I said I'd do better this week. So far, N-O-T! We had a very frantic few days - lots of action and parties. It's taking a while to catch up with all the normal activities - like sleep.

The wedding was super! I'll post photos as soon as I can. Thanks for being patient with me!

She's Getting Hitched!

2009-07-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Hi, friends! I must apologize for not posting in a gazillion days.
My youngest is getting married Saturday after being widowed
four years ago. Most of you know our story,
so you also know that this is a very joyous occasion!

I will get back on track next week, promise!

Long May She Wave...

2009-07-03T22:59:00.001-07:00

The Declaration of Independence

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen
united States of America.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men area created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. ---
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May the principles upon which this country was founded continue unadulterated by those who seek to destroy the freedoms that our Founding Fathers envisioned for us.

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-07-02T23:06:00.001-07:00

The sky, as seen from our humble abode - a June sunset...

Our hostess, Crazy Working Mom, makes
this possible. Please drop by and see all
the beautiful Friday skies!

Wordless Wednesday - Big, Bad Wolf

2009-06-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

AMSCRAY, little duckling!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Whew.

2009-06-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

109 degrees today. I hate this town in summertime.
So, "Why," do you ask, do we continue to live here?
Our kids. They live here, too. I'm gonna blame it on them!

Photo Hunters - Flags

2009-06-26T22:53:00.001-07:00

This is the veteran's section of our local cemetery. It was a beautiful spring day, offset by the sorrow I felt knowing these men and women died fighting for us, in a less-than-perfect world. May honor always fall upon each and every one of these precious souls.

Photo Hunters - TN Chick

Thank You!!!

2009-06-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes!
I appreciate each and every one of you!

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-06-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

This was the view from the condo in Kaua'i (not ours, btw!). This is on the north side of the island, looking across Hanalei Bay. The clouds moved in and out all day long and when it was clear, we counted at least eight waterfalls. I haven't traveled anywhere except Hawai'i, but I would gladly spend the rest of my days right here....gazing across the bay.

Please stop by and visit our favorite hostess~
Crazy Working Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Preacher Bear

2009-06-23T21:42:00.001-07:00

Preacher Bear

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

We're a pair, he and I...

2009-06-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is a BEFORE photo - not my furniture.
Don't you just love the lamps?
And now, the funeral parlor drapes
and sheers are long gone...

I'm probably not going to blog this weekend again. I've been painting, if you can call if that. I have a bum right knee, and a bum left hip. My bad back was one of the reasons I had to quit working. Hubman's shoulder is thoroughly shot. So, having purchased a mobile home with the most gosh-awful veneer paneling, I have been painting it in my mind for the past two years. Since hubman is still w/o work, we've decided to try and get the painting actively started.

We laugh at each other because we can work for so long until we need a break. So we sit for a moment or two, and trying to get up out of the chair is a major ordeal. We look like clowns climbing out of a clown car. I can tell this is going to be a major undertaking, and a l-o-n-g one. I've attached a photo of the living room as it was right before we bought it. The funeral parlor drapes are now history, thank heavens! I'll post photos as we progress. It may be ten years from now.....

Well, I'm off to the drug store for more BenGay.

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-06-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

I took this on one of my "storm-chasing" adventures. I haven't played with the coloration, although I plan on it... I just loved the contrast of the bright trumpet flowers and the gloomy sky, the the hazy background.

Happy Skies!!!
Crazy Working Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Twins

2009-06-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

What a mug! WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

ABSENT W/O LEAVE!

2009-06-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry - I haven't been on board all weekend. I'll catch up with ya'll soon!
~~~Blessings~~~

Manic Monday - Shine

2009-06-08T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is my take on SHINE!
Please visit Mo, at Manic Monday

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-06-04T21:03:00.001-07:00

I know you guys in "rainsville" are sick of seeing gray skies! It's a treat for us, so much so that I took off the other afternoon in search of some sky shots. We live very close to the foothills and the storm clouds were very intense, with some lightening - which I love!
We're so accustomed to seeing palm trees and balmy blue skies. I like the contrast here, hope you do too!

Please visit our sky queen -
Crazy Working Mom

Kalliefornia - Down the Drain

2009-06-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I was born and raised in California, as were my parents, and my dad's mother. So, I'm a third-generation Californian. Today, I watched my beloved state get flushed right down the crapper.

Our "dear leader," Gov. Ahnold, is letting some folks out of the clink, cutting programs for children, education is taking a horrific beating, he's cutting back deeply in law enforcement, along with other legitimate social services. State employees are taking two days per month "furlough," and now they're getting their salaries whacked. Who does this hurt? All of the lower level folks!!!

And our beautiful, magnificent state parks? Getting axed - no pun intended. I guess there will be dirty nappies, cigarette butts, used condoms, and other delightful items strewn all over the state.

Isn't that just ducky? Let Peolosi and all the other pols run around the country in their jets, wasting taxpayer money, etc. They get mahvelous health care insurance, and no matter how long they serve, they get lifetime pay and benefits. Not too shabby, I'd say!

One of our children and her husband, own property in Montana. They're leaving as soon as they can work it out. It might be too late for us, but you never know. I never thought I'd ever want to leave my California.

Can we ever recover???

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-02T21:05:00.001-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Manic Monday - Spice

2009-05-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

All of us have some sort of spices tucked away in our kitchen. Some may be more common than others, depending upon the degree of the homeowner's abilities! Others may not be well known except by name, such as Frankincense and Myrrh (and not used in cooking...). These, along with gold, are mentioned in the Bible, as gifts presented to the Christ child by the Magi (Three Wise Men). So here is just a brief bit o' bits about Frankincense and Myrrh.

Spices and herbs have played a dramatic role in the development of Western civilization. Spices today are plentiful and are used mostly as flavorings. However, in ancient and medieval times, they were rare and precious products, used for medicine, perfume, incense, and flavoring.

Myrrh was used as an embalming ointment and was used, up until about the 15th century, as a penitential incense in funerals and cremations. The "holy oil" traditionally used by the Eastern Orthodox Church for performing the sacraments of chrismation and unction is traditionally scented with myrrh, and receiving either of these sacraments is commonly referred to as "receiving the Myrrh".Psalm 45 mentions myrrh as a kingly fragrance in a passage interpreted by some as referring to the future Messiah:

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness
beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant
with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
—Psalm 45:7-8

In the New Testament, myrrh was one of the gifts of the Magi to the infant Jesus according to Matthew, is cited in Mark as an intoxicant that was offered to Jesus during the crucifixion, and in John was one of the spices used to prepare Jesus' body for burial

Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula and in North Africa for more than 5000 years. Frankincense was found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamen, who died in 1323 BC, i.e. about 3332 years ago.

FRANKINCENSE

Frankincense is tapped from the very scraggly but hardy Boswellia tree by scraping the bark and allowing the exuded resins to bleed out and harden. These hardened resins are called tears. There are numerous species and varieties of frankincense trees, each producing a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin, even within the same species
.
The Greek historian Herodotus was familiar with Frankincense and knew it was harvested from trees in southern Arabia. He reports, however, that the gum was dangerous to harvest because of poisonous snakes that lived in the trees. He goes on to describe the method used by the Arabians to get around this problem, that being the burning of the gum of the styrax tree whose smoke would drive the snakes away. The resin is also mentioned by Theophrastus and by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia.

The Egyptians ground the charred resin into a powder called kohl (the world's first eyeliner...) Kohl was used to make the distinctive black eyeliner seen on so many figures in Egyptian art. The aroma of frankincense is said to represent life and the Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths have often used frankincense mixed with oils to anoint newborn infants and individuals considered to be moving into a new phase in their spiritual lives.

Mo knows all about the Egyptians!
Please visit him at Manic Monday.

Goodnight, Jay...

2009-05-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

It will be difficult saying "goodbye" tonight. As a youngster, I got to stay up with my mom and dad on Friday nights and watch Steve Allen, the precursor to Jack Paar. Then I went to bed with Johnny (Carson) oh so many nights!

Back in the "olden" days, we only had 5 TV channels and most of them went off the air around midnight. Then came the shot of the air force planes flying to to the poem of "High Flight,"'( a sonnet written by John Gillespie Magee, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War. He came to Britain, flew in a Spitfire squadron, and was killed at the age of nineteen on 11 December 1941 during a training flight from the airfield near Scopwick.)

"Oh I Have Slipped
The Surly Bonds of Earth...
Put Out My Hand
And Touched the Face of God"

Next came the all too familiar test pattern which stayed frozen on the screen until the station signed on again in the morning. For us night owls, it was either hit the hay or read. I usually read myself to sleep.

During the dark hours of my life, when I struggled with an alcoholic husband, staying up and waiting for him to come home, I watched TV. Some local channels (LA) started showing political commentators like Joe Payne and Louis Lomax. I guess that's where my love of political talk shows (TV & radio) began. Then, there was the drifting off to sleep with the test pattern...

I loved Johnny Carson and watching the Carson era end was literally heartbreaking, and I didn't see how some funny looking kid like Jay Leno could ever fill his shoes. That was the magical part of it. Jay never tried to be anyone but himself. With his goofy face and kind smile, he won me over. Johnny Carson was my favorite uncle but Jay is like a favorite cousin, one you could cut up with and no one would tell on the other.

I won't be switching to Letterman. I liked his earlier shows but he has become so bitter and his "humor" shows it. Although his show won awards, Jay got the audience and the love of his fans.
I don't know if I'll follow Conan or not. I used to watch him at the 12:30 a.m. slot years ago, but he got a little over the top for me. I'll give him another shot. I hate to end the Tonight Show legacy that began, for me, about fifty years ago...

I've got the Kleenex ready. I'll say "goodbye" to another late night friend...

Looking at the Sky on Friday

2009-05-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

This is an old rusted lantern that's hanging on the front porch. The original photo didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, so I doctored it up a bit and used the spotlight effect to darken the edges. I like the way the clouds are scattered in little patches and that you can see the sky through the cutouts...

Please go visit our Arkansas Sweetheart at
Looking at the Sky on Friday!

Global Nonsense

2009-05-27T20:18:00.001-07:00

Everyday, there are more" idjits" making the news. For instance, US Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, said Tuesday the Obama administration wanted to paint roofs an energy-reflecting white to increase the average global albedo. WHAT? Albedo? Is that like Libido? See Here:
For other uses, see Albedo (disambiguation).

The albedo of an object is the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the Sun. It is therefore a more specific form of the term reflectivity. Albedo is defined as the ratio of diffusely reflected to incident electromagnetic radiation. It is a unitless measure indicative of a surface's or body's diffuse reflectivity.
---Wikipedia

So, let's all paint our roofs white. And then, there's this:
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS PALMERSTON NORTH, New Zealand -- On a typical day, researchers in this college town coax hungry sheep into metal carts. They wheel the fluffy beasts into sealed chambers and feed them grass, then wait for them to burp. The exercise is part of a global effort to keep sheep, deer, cows and other livestock from belching methane when they eat and regurgitate grass. Methane is among the most potent greenhouse gases, and researchers now believe livestock industries are a major contributor to climate change, responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than cars are, according to the United Nations. But I thought "global warming" is all man's fault! Do we have to stop belching, too?

And last, but not least:

Chief Idjit, Henry Waxman - here's his fantastic idea:
Late Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the 900+ page Cap and Trade Carbon Tax bill by a vote of 33-25. "SERIOUS ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES" "Making the decision to regulate CO2 ... for the first time is likely to have serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities." "NO DEMONSTRATED HEALTH EFFECTS" In the absence of a strong statement of the standards being applied in this decision, there is a concern that EPA is making a finding based on (1) "harm" from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects."

When asked a direction question regarding HIS bill, Waxman was unable to answer. He said that they were leaving the ins-and-outs of this bill up to the scientists. Once again, our politicians are trying to pass bills they HAVEN'T EVEN READ, even though their name is on it!!! And, of course, it's full of P.S. (Like B.S. only Pig S. because it's full of PORK!!!) When are they going to get it through their thick skulls???? They may have the bucks to pay 3-4 time higher energy bills. I sure has hell don't!!!!!!! And while they're busy playing around with pig farts and sheep burps, the "Dear Leader" of North Korea has broken a 53-year old treaty. The world could be blown to smithereens because we've let the U.N. sit on their fat butts and tell "Dear Leader" to play nice. Reminds me of Nero playing his "fiddle" while Rome burns....

Hang on people: We're in for a LONG ride!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-26T21:28:00.001-07:00

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY