Happy New Year to one and all! I hope that you and your families will have a banner year in every respect. After the last one, we deserve it, don't we?

..//..//..\\..\\..

The funeral was moving; both sad and joyful at the same time. I told my friend (the widow) that she had definitely chosen the best people to speak. One was her nephew, who met John when he was six and found a friend for life. His speech about meeting John and what he had eventually meant to his life and to the family was inspiring, and unexpected in one so young (about 30). He is a newlywed, and his wife was beaming in her love and admiration for him.

The other speaker was a former neighbor; a gynecologist who was mentored by John (a general practitioner and radiologist) and grew to love and admire him as they celebrated all things relating to their Alma Mater, The University of North Carolina, especially sports.

I knew his wife much better than him, but I feel as though I know him a little better now, and I see why he was beloved by everyone who came into contact with him. We should all be so lucky, and we should all live our lives so as to make that happen.

A final note....I wondered why the services were held at a funeral home that is not as well-known as some around here. I found out that John had delivered the infant who became the owner of the funeral home. See? You just never know where the ripples will stop when you cast that stone upon the waters.

Make it a great year!

"I got Plenty o' Nothing" and that's scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I went clothes shopping today (Monday) for only the third time this year; attempting to take advantage of some 40-50% off sales. The temperature got higher than predicted, so I overdressed and got really hot in the stores, even when I took off my quilted vest. I hate that. My pants were too large and I didn't wear a belt, so every 10 feet I had to hike up my pants. I'm sure that was a lovely sight. Glad I didn't have to watch me do it. Also, the pants are lint magnets, so by the time I left the store I had about 20 hitchhikers, in the form of loose threads. Sheesh. Wouldn't you like it if the manufacturers had to put it on the label when fabrics are bad lint magnets? I would. I can see it now: "This fabric will pick up every piece of lint within 30 yards. You are advised to carry a mini-lint roller with you at all times."

I ran into a neighbor at Stein Mart and we're both going to the funeral home tonight for the visitation. I have a feeling I will see many, many people I know. Is it odd to look forward to a funeral visitation? Seems a little creepy to me, but there it is.

I tried on about 5 pairs of pants and 4 jackets and several tops. Making a decision about clothing is getting harder and harder for me. If I lost 10 pounds, and things looked better on my body I might be able to decide more easily. Hmmm.....fat chance of that. I am going to walk more, but I'm making no promises along those lines. It just sets me up for failure. Problem is, I keep remembering when I was still 5'10" and 120 to 140 pounds and I could wear absolutely anything I put on my body. Why can't it always be that way? (Yes, I'm whining.)

Meme ~ Stolen from Unwordy

Memes are good for when your brain is mush, right?


I found this here, linked to from here!

The trick is, you have to copy and paste the list, and then bold (or color) the things you have done in your lifetime. I had to color them because I couldn't get some of them to un-bold, no matter what I did! Enjoy!

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown my own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted (does charcoal count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (accidentally)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job .
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Ridden an elephant

How many have you done? Feel free to steal this and do your own.

US Mail, funerals and grandsons who eat a lot!

Aren't we glad that mail is no longer delivered and picked-up in this fashion? Probably the mail carriers are the ones most happy about it. Our mail carrier had to use her own car for years and just in time for her retirement (Feb.) the P.O. gave her a new truck!


Message to Arkansas Patti: I have tried and tried to leave a message for you, but the comments won't work. Will you please email me at kenju99@gmail.com?

~~~\\~~~//~~~

My friend's husband's funeral will be Tuesday; allowing far flung family time to get here. I have volunteered to stay at the house on Sunday for two hours, to greet all comers and answer the phones, so my friend can get some much-needed rest. On Tuesday, I will take chicken salad and a fruit compote, to help feed the family and out-of-town visitors. I am very glad that I can finally do something to help her. Our neighbors will take the reins, I know. They are a wonderful bunch of women (and men) and we are losing too many of them nowadays. The last two to die were doctors, and both were fine gentlemen in their private lives and thought the world of by their peers. We are diminished by their loss.

\\~//~||~\\~//

Can you tell how much fun I am having coming up with new dividers for my posts? LOL

^^<<^^>>^^

Our daughter took her two nephews back to the DC area with her yesterday, and their plan is to go snow-tubing in PA for a day. They arrived early enough to do some sight-seeing and they went to several museums and the Lincoln Memorial. The last time they were there, they were too young to remember much of it and now (ages 15 and 12) they can process it all more easily. They said "it doesn't stink like NYC" so it is a good place to visit! (I think they were in NY during a garbage strike....LOL). She called last night after they got back to her apartment saying that she had taken them to a Japanese restaurant (their favorite) and they had eaten so much that the bill for the 3 of them was $100! (and no booze, mind you!) Calling back this morning, she had discovered that she only had 3 eggs. I said that will never feed two growing boys, so she should take them to the Silver Diner for breakfast. She lamented how much their food would cost her on this trip - and I said "You should have known!"

Maxine and the Bailout

*****************

Nothing truer than that!!

*************

Where's mine?

************

I always run into this kind.

************

I know what I'd prefer.....

************

And how could it not be, after all the financial news this year?!

::::||::::||::::||::::

In the "HOW COOL IS THAT?" department: I have befriended someone with my same name on Facebook. I know that there are other women out there with my name; one in Florida and one in Chicago, but this one actually answered my message. I suppose there is a big possibility that she is related to mr. kenju, because she comes from the same area of the country that he does. Wouldn't it be fun if we discover that they are related?!

Have you ever met or learned of anyone with your name (other than being a junior or II, I mean)?

Quotes +

Grover, Raggedy Anne, Oscar, Froggie and Kenju say: we hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!

\\||//||\\||//

To be nobody but myself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

e.e. cummings, poet (1894-1962)

xx\\xx//xx

Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that.

Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, preacher, journalist and activist (1802-1861)

oo\\oo//oo

Do you like modern art? Go here to see some of the most amazing digital microscopic photos. Many of them are every bit as beautiful and interesting as fine art that has achieved the highest acclaim!

xxx-//-000-\\-xxx

Here at Casa Kenju, we had our annual family gathering on Christmas Eve. The tenderloin was tender, the potatoes (a new recipe) wonderful, the green beans as good as usual, the deviled eggs sought after, the macaroni fit for a king, the rolls hot and the ambiance festive - and so - a good time was had by all. Dessert helped too: my favorite pineapple up-side down cake, apple and pecan pies.

Presents were exchanged and approved, and children scattered to try out their gifts. The boys got miniature helicopters (battery-operated) which provided several hours of fun for kids and grown-ups alike. The girls enjoyed their make-up kits and went off to the bathroom mirrors to apply eyeshadow, blush and lipstick and then model for us. It was so warm that they went outside to practice cheers and dances, and I suspect that my neighbors enjoyed watching them perform as much as we did. We are really blessed in our family with beautiful granddaughters and handsome grandsons. It is too bad that their parents don't want their photos used here, otherwise I 'd share!

Today was (luckily) quiet. I spent much of it lying in my recliner, watching "The Other Boleyn Girl", which I recommend you rent pronto. What a good movie!!

Some sad news came via email yesterday morning. One of our neighbors passed away on Christmas Eve around 11pm. The email was titled "Christmas in Heaven" and while it may sound like a wonderful thing (spending Christmas in Heaven), it made me very sad. Losing this man probably means that his wife will eventually move away, and I will be sad to lose her, as she is one of my favorite people. I had prayed that he would survive the holiday, but it was not to be. Now he is out of pain and she can have a measure of peace. I just wish it had happened after the holidays.

Christmas at Casa Kenju

In my dining room. After I took this photo, I added an angel and a creche set to the base of the trees. You can see a bit of me in the mirror ......lol. I hope you can enlarge them and see details.

Our "pencil tree"; the space saver. It has too many ornaments on it, but I can never decide when to quit.

The mantel. Santas above and below!


The hearth. No fires here - it was 60* yesterday!

The foyer. You can't see the miniature brass musical instruments nestled in the garland.

A few of my favorite ornaments.....Frogs and dogs!

The fairy frog

The properly dressed piggie


My oldest Santa, from the mid- 50's.


A very fancy reindeer; dressed in corduroy pants.


Sparkelina the fairy godmother.


The beaded tree and the painted swan. The white ball ornament up on the left has a gilded creche scene and was "made" by one of my kids in kindergarden.

Two frogs hugging!


This is what I do on the table when I don't want to go to any trouble. On Christmas Eve, it will be set for dinner, with small poinsettias.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!
and thanks to each of you who came yesterday to wish me the same!

Ephemera: Old Magazine Ads

This is from a commemorative of Life Magazine's premier issue - November 23, 1936. I love the old car ads. This one is very art deco and the diagonal lines created in the ad create the illusion of speed, while all the grill work says luxury and style galore!

I wonder what the executives of that time at GMC would think of what's going on in the industry at this moment? I suspect they never dreamed that 72 years in the future, General Motors was going to ask for a bailout!

//||\\//||\\

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!

Ephemera: Correct English

Here's another of the gems found in my mom's bookshelves. My mom was the only one of her five siblings who didn't go to college, and she was very sorry about it. She was always trying to better herself and this magazine was one example of her quest.

Some of the articles in it are:
"The Glamour of Great Names", which focuses on well-known classical musicians.

"The Fallacy of Describing the Unfamiliar", about writers who attempt to write about places they've never been.

"Enriching Your Vocabulary", definitions of preternatural, proclivities and prognostic, among others.

and the last: "Boners in High Places". I didn't know that was a fit subject for English class. Did you? Maybe that's a story about Bill Clinton.......The subtitle is "Did you make any of these mistakes?" Yep....could be about Clinton!

This is the back cover; an ad for a correspondence course that purportedly would teach you how to communicate effectively. Mom had the idea that I should be a speech therapist, since studying that might also help rid me of my WV hillbilly twang. Alas, I didn't agree with her so I still speak with that twang, which gets worse when I am around home and family. I have always had the ability (or maybe curse is the right word) to be able to pick up quickly on accents and speech patterns. If I am with someone who has an accent, I tend to (unconsciously) speak like they do after only a few minutes. Put me with a native New Yorker, and I am slinging it with the best of them (albeit with a twang to the slang)......LOL. I am not sure that speech therapy would have ever rid me of that!

The Pink Wedding

Pink weddings always make me want to say "Gag me with a spoon." This one was three shades of pink and cream, plus the bling and glitz requested by the bride. The stephanotis in her bouquet featured rhinestones, as did the ones in the groom's boutonniere (not pictured). All bouquets by Mel. The mother's corsages had pink rhinestones in them as well.

The bridesmaid's bouquets were actually very pretty (for pink....LOL). The colors are not true here. The darker roses were a deep shade of hot pink and for some odd reason they look red here. The church did not have a lot of light, so most of the colors are skewed a little.

One of the three types of centerpieces at the reception; white branches studded with pink cymbidium orchids and enough bling and glitz for a jewelry store! Crystal clear ornaments, pink crystal droplets and beaded garland festooned each one. I know you can't see it very well, but if I lightened it any more it would drown out all detail. Rhonda and I did these on site at the country club.

There were four of these taller arrangements with flowers and branches, sitting atop a tall vase with snow and pink ball ornaments inside. Done by Rhonda.

The altar arrangement (done by Mel).


This one graced the lobby at the country club.


The pew markers at the church (I did these).



Mel made the initials for the doors at the country club. (And Blogger will not let me make this font smaller no matter what I do!)

Norman Rockwell

"The mood of the nation at war's end was perfectly expressed in this painting chosen as the official poster for the government's eighth war bond drive. Longtime Saturday Evening Post editor Ben Hibbs called it "the greatest magazine cover ever published." May 26, 1945. This is the caption for this painting, found in Norman Rockwell's Memory Album.

When I first looked at this painting, I was struck by his masterful use of color and how it draws your eye throughout the painting. Notice the bright white elements. Starting with the girl on the far left; her blouse and socks. Next is the boy jumping off the stairs and then follow the white up through the three people on the stairs, over to the shirt on the clothesline, up to the boy sitting in the tree and finally, to the collar on the dress of the woman in the window. It is almost the same with the elements of green in the painting. See how balanced it is; how it pulls your attention to every corner of the action.

I was only 4 years old when this appeared on the cover of the Post. I don't know how it was back then, but it is my fervent wish that we can see this scene happening all over the country as soon as possible. Especially this week.

///^<>^\\\

The PINK wedding took a long time yesterday. It was in Henderson, NC, about 60 miles north of Raleigh. We left here at 2:00pm and we didn't get back to the shop until 7:30pm. As you might imagine, I was dog tired. I'll load the photos later and post them soon.

Leftovers

They better not even try!!

Age 12. What a skinny geek. Somebody should have told her that her underwear was showing.

The ballroom mantel in the Governor's Mansion, 2008, by Mel Day of Dogwood Tree Florals.

The first house we owned after we got married. We bought this one in 1965 and lived here for almost 5 years. We took this photo in November when we went to VA Beach. I can't believe all my roses are gone!

We're about to be swamped!!

My baby at 18 months. She crawled into the drum table to hide from my visiting uncle. I finally coaxed a smile out of her.

The porch of the Governor's Mansion on the night of our party. Curtains of light...!

**//**\\**

Our office luncheon was scrumptious and true to form, I didn't remember to take any photos! The camera was in my purse, so there's no excuse except stupidity. We went to Porter's on Hillsborough Street; my first time there - but definitely not the last! I had flounder (at the suggestion of my employer) and it was served swimming in a plate of clarified butter, with the best fresh green beans I've had in years. They were cooked with slivered red onion and small pieces of nuts (pine nuts and walnuts, I think). The flounder was so tender and prepared to perfection. I ate every last bite and I could have licked the platter clean. I can't wait to go back!

We exchanged gifts. I got a lovely coffee table book about my favorite place - Italy, a silver pine cone ornament, some excellent home-made mixed spices (think Ms. Dash, but better) and a metal plaque which says "Joy", made by one of our part-time associates who is taking a class in metal-working. All in all, I'd say it was a great day - except for the PINK wedding work. we had to do.....LOL. Actually, I think the pink wedding will turn out fine.......it's just different. You'll see it in the next few days.

Hope all your Christmas/Holiday plans are going well. Mine are stalled. The tree is up, but largely undecorated, cards have mostly not been written, and the only baking has been for gifts, not my family.

I've got 'miles to go before I rest'.

Quotes of Note +

You know who mr. grumpy is, don't you? In our home, it is usually the other way around. He goes to bed early and rises early, while I am just the opposite!

>>><<<

Some people with great virtues are disagreeable, while others with great vices are delightful. (Ain't it the truth!)

Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)

<<<>>>

Religions are not revealed: they are evolved. If a religion were revealed by God, that religion would be perfect in whole and in part, and would be as perfect at the first moment of its revelation as after ten thousand years of practice. There has never been a religion that which fulfills those conditions.

Robert Blatchford, author (1851-1943)

{{{}}}

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. (Let's hope this happens soon!)

John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (1917-1963)

}}}{{{

The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever committed. And this makes it very, very scary!)

Gil Bailie, author and lecturer (b. 1944)

///\\\

My employer is taking his harem (Rhonda, Ruth, Leslie, Sandra and me) (plus his brother, who works with us on big events) to a nice luncheon today. If I remember my camera, I'll show you pix from it later on. We have a pink wedding on Saturday, and I do mean pink! It features pink crystals, pink ornaments, pink butterflies, pink roses, etc., and Lord knows what all pink stuff! It may turn my stomach, but I'll try to take photos of that also.

On Thursday, I took a tropical fruit upside-down cake to work. It was the second one I made of late and this one was better than the first, which had too much butter and was heavy in the belly. I could eat 6 slices of this one without batting an eyelash. Mel ate 2 slices! I think I did well!