A Day In The Life

People, Places, Nature, LIFE!

03/04/2018
DailyMusings

24 comments

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

I have been absent from my blog, taking days to reply to comments…. why? Not enough hours in a day I think. Thursday was Purim, a busy day where gifts of food are exchanged with friends and then a nice meal is shared, in our case with a trip to Queens NY to family.Nephews and nieces and singing and fun. And food of course.

But I should back up to Wednesday, when we had a special presentation in school. A man brought his rescued birds from around the world for us to meet. I made friends with this little guy who took a liking to my bracelet

but then found he liked it atop my shoulder better- either one it seemed

On to Friday, where as is customary on Purim, we all dress in costume. (School was closed on the actual day of Purim, so we dressed up the day after)

This was the costume one of the boys in my class wore- I thought it was the BEST EVER. 

I dressed up as a cat

and one of my boys was a mouse….

Fortunately the storm that came throughFriday did not leave much snow, just a lot of rain and wind, and Saturday was  a clear though cold day. I woke up Sunday at 6am to find our electricity had gone out- just 4 houses on our block. I got in the car and went to Dunkin Donuts then headed to my favorite lookout on the river just in time to see an Eagle diving for a fish. I sat on a rock and took in the view while drinking my coffee, not minding the chill of the wind against me. Instead enjoying the sounds of the gulls and the sky turner lighter. 

By the time I returned home the lights were on and the day now could really begin.

Ending with the clouds awash in red- as seen from my front door.

Have a good week all!

03/01/2018
DailyMusings

20 comments

Black & White Sunday: Traces of the Past

I am late to getting to Paula’s Black & White Sunday, but better late… you know how it goes.

Today is the Jewish festival of Purim. It commemorates the defeat of Haman’s plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther. One of the traditional foods eaten on this day are Hamantashen, a triangular shaped cookie traditionally filled with apricot jam, poppy seed or prune lekvar, though many variations exist today. On any holiday I tend to think back to those that came before, which led me to the photo I have chosen for traces of the past. In this photo there are many traces of the past- it was taken in March 1991, in the apartment I lived in for 10 years before I got married. At the time this photo was taken I was engaged to be married, and had invited 2 of my husband’s daughters over to bake Hamantashen with me. They are in my kitchen, where the kitchen witch hangs on the left above a plant, my own baby dish and cup, another trace of the past hang on the wall. It was a tiny galley kitchen but I made it work, using every available space, as you can see the cookie sheet placed atop the dish draining rack.

Both girls have children of their own now, older than they are in this photo. Traces of the past…..

Traces of the Past

02/25/2018
DailyMusings

21 comments

Decorah Eagles-A Special Couple

I have been following the Decorah Eagles, located in Decorah Iowa for two years now, thanks to my blogging friend over at Choosing My Perspective There is a webcam that captures the nest live, 24 hours a day. Last year I followed them through laying 3 eggs, watching them hatch, and then watching them leave the nest. Yes, I shed a tear as each learned to fly and then took off forever. Eagles mate for life, leaving the nest during the summer months, but returning when fall arrives. This year Momma has laid 2 eggs just in the last few days. I watched a video capture from Saturday, where Poppa returns to the nest and they have a conversation, then she takes off leaving him to sit on those eggs for a while. If you have never heard an Eagle’s call, and how they chatter with one another, take a look. Seeing these wonderful birds up close and live is to me a miracle. I grew up during a time when Eagles were extinct.

02/20/2018
DailyMusings

28 comments

Share Your World

How do you like your eggs?

I used to eat a two egg omelette every morning before work, feeling it was protein that would hold me over the morning and keep hunger at bay. Not a good choice as my once low cholesterol shot way up. I gave up the omelettes and my cholesterol dropped down to 150, and I have not eaten an egg since. One morning before I swore off eggs, I cracked one open to find a double yoke inside. I could not resist having some fun with them, adding strawberries where needed, as you can see below.

Have you ever met anyone famous?

I am easily star struck, and having worked in NYC for almost 30 years it was not unusual to see famous people. I remember walking behind Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on a street in the city, but not approaching her as she seemed so unapproachable.  I met James Corden after seeing him perform on Broadway in One Man Two Guvnors, outside the theatre door.I met Governor Mario Cuomo, who was the Governor of the State of New York at the time, coming out of my doctors office- he was absolutely charming and told me I was seeing the best Doctor in NY. He had accompanied his wife to an appointment.

I met Ben E. King, the American soul and R&B singer and record producer, when he attended his granddaughter’s piano recital,  she takes lessons from the same teacher my husband takes lessons from. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of “Stand by Me”. 

And Elliott Murphy, a singer song writer popular back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, that I saw many times in concert at a small club in Long Island NY. It was pretty exciting talking with him after the show, as you can tell by my face.

 

What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

I think it was a record album by the Monkees – their first called Meet The Monkees and for some crazy reason I think it cost $3.75. That was a lot of money back in 1966. I also remember saving to buy my first guitar when I was 15- it cost $75.00 which was really A LOT of money back then. It was a Yamaha, and I still have it.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  

I had President’s Day off and spent the day with my BFF, shopping, sitting in Starbucks drinking coffee and then stopping for frozen yogurt.

Share Your World

02/20/2018
DailyMusings

29 comments

Time Moves On

I have posted this before, but on this the third “anniversary” of my brother’s death want to do so again. I wrote about his death, by his own hand, here. I have been thinking about him today. Saddened at the thought of his being gone from this world, sad for the troubled life he led, and sad at the thought that so few remember him. I am thinking about the mark each of us leaves, or maybe doesn’t leave. My sisters and I remember him, his 1 niece and 1 nephew whom he lived near and saw fairly frequently until his mental issues prevented that. Our cousins remember him as a young boy, teenager, young adult, the person they spent summer vacations with and shared holiday meals with growing up. It’s a small list of people as he didn’t have friends, was divorced for almost as long as he had been married. I hope somewhere at some time he had touched someone’s life in a meaningful way, shared a laugh with them that they remember, showed a kindness before his mental illness erased the good that had once existed within him. Replacing it with anger and irrational thoughts and all the injustices he thought had ever rained down upon him.

Today I choose to try to think back to those times before the darkness descended, to when he joked around and found humor in silly situations, to the laughter we shared together, to his love of the sea, of nature, how he loved to read the Encyclopedia. His curiosity about things and wanting to learn more and find out more. His love of yoga and meditation that centered him for a time, bringing solace to him and his world. Remembering that once long ago there had been light in his life.

My cousin sent me this photo of my parents and brother when my mother died last year. She found it poignant that it was just the three of them, all gone now, and hoped they were all together somewhere. A nice thought.

02/19/2018
DailyMusings

28 comments

Compromise

Compromise: That’s what everyone told me I would need to do when I got engaged. “You’re going to have to learn to compromise in a marriage“. “Remember to compromise” “You can’t always have things your way, you need to compromise.”

I have found this to be the case over the many years I am married, to “pick” my fights, and “give in”, or “compromise” on some things. I suppose this is the case throughout life, everyone you meet and have contact with, the relationships we engage in, there must be a certain amount of compromise as we are not going to agree on everything all of the time. We figure out which things are most important and we will not budge on, we stand our ground and let the other person do the compromising, or possibly walk away and never have a meeting of the minds about it. Is compromising different from giving in? The word compromise sounds so much more “friendly”- more eloquent, than the thought of “giving in” on something or to someone. Or is it just a a case of semantics?

I looked it up and found this: When one considers compromise it involves two or more individuals or groups giving and taking concerning ideas, actions, or both.  On the other hand, giving in simply means to allow the opposition to get everything they want, while receiving nothing or very little in return. Compromise is a kind of settlement where a person reduces or lowers his demand. The outcome is positive rather than negative.

So the bottom line is that life is a series of compromises we must make, in order to maintain compatibility in our relationships with others. Or if there is not to be a “meeting of the minds” we always have the option to walk away!

 

 

02/18/2018
DailyMusings

20 comments

Song Lyric Sunday: Earth

Joni Mitchell came immediately to mind when I saw the topic this week. The fate of the Earth is in our hands, I am only afraid of what will happen to it in the next 3 years while the current administration is in place.

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put ’em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem ’em
No no no
Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away the DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey, now they paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Why not?

02/18/2018
DailyMusings

32 comments

Which Way in the Snow

It snowed last night, more than was predicted. Originally they said 2 to 4 inches but it ended up more like 6. The flakes were large and piled up pretty fast. The plows were out and the temps started rising overnight so the streets weren’t too bad. I headed out this morning on foot at sunrise, before the world was awake and the streets were still empty. I went this way and that way around the blocks near my home. 

Shadows are long when the sun first rises

I turned around and was greeted by the sun!

Which Way

02/12/2018
DailyMusings

17 comments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Needs to start or end with the letter Y or in the caption “Why” needs to be present

Cee tells us this week that for the Fun Foto Challenge :

Needs to start or end with the letter Y or in the caption “Why” needs to be present

Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time that this was the prompt for this week, as I used this photo for Cee’s Black & White challenge for walls! So why not use it in color this week? 

Ok, so I will also share the yearly photos my Aunt and I take when we meet for lunch in New York yearly.

Y

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