From 2008

My 2008 Christmas poinsettia continues to thrive, although the conditions here are anything but those in which it usually grows. My dining room (its current home) is about 70-72* and dry as a bone. In Mexico and So. America, the usual habitat, it is, of course, very hot and humid as all get out!

I will put this one outside as soon as we have passed the last possibility for frost (ordinarily around May 15th). Maybe it will come back to its original color ..... fire-engine red!

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Being on Facebook has its advantages. I was just "found" by a cousin I haven't heard from in over ten years. She saw my name on the FB page of my high school class president. His wife was her childhood friend. My cousin lives in Florida and the class president lives in Pennsylvania and I am in North Carolina - but we all hail from the Charleston, WV area. Small world, isn't it? If you aren't on Facebook yet - maybe you should give it a try.

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Some very lovely rain fell last night and washed most of the yucky pollen away and we are extremely thankful for that. My sneezing, eye-itching and throat-tickling haven't stopped, however. One can hope that will come soon.

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Two lucky people in my family have just won an all-expense paid trip starting in Barcelona; where they will board a cruise ship and be taken to Valencia, Malaga and Majorca. Can you stand it?? I am most happy for them, but I would LOVE to be along on that trip!! Many years ago, mr. kenju worked for a company that took their top producers on wonderful trips every year. We got to go on their trips to 4-5 great places, and then, on the eve of going to the Costa del Sol in Spain, he quit that company. I mourned and mourned for weeks. I truly didn't see why he couldn't just hang on with that job until after that fabulous vacation!

More from Ecuador + The Vast Wasteland

More from my daughter's trip to Ecuador - mostly of Quito in this batch. I have no idea what we're looking at, so I'll just offer them for your viewing pleasure.

To the two new followers over there in the sidebar: I wish I knew who you are, but you didn't leave a comment and there is no icon for you. Delurk, please, and let me know who you are so I can thank you and return the favor!

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The statement that television is a "Vast Wasteland" was never truer at any other time of year than in the month of August. Here are some excerpts from Newton Minow's speech. What are you watching this month?

The Galapagos, Part 3

A blue-footed booby. Read the link to find out where the name comes from!!

An iguana (out of his element.)

Iguana gargoyles!

The ocean blue.

Hi, there. I'm smiling.....did you bring me any fish?

A seal sun-bath.

A snow-covered volcano in Ecuador.

Tortoise gargoyles.

Utter relaxation!! Look at the back flipper; hanging off the bench behind the pole. How could he be any more relaxed??

The Galapagos, Part 2

Click to enlarge.

According to my daughter, this pelican - seen here at the waterside fish market - had grabbed a very large chunk of fish away from another pelican. Once he got it into his mouth, it was too large to swallow. He refused to spit it out, lest another pelican take it. You can see the contours of the chunk in his jaw. I don't know what happened to him, but I think he learned the lesson that it doesn't always pay to be greedy!

I had always imagined The Galapagos to be lush and green, but that isn't the case - at least this time of year - which is their winter. The islands are volcanic in origin, and many of them have lava fields devoid of any vegetation. Click on the link for more info and a map.

Looking away to another island.

There is an 'otherworldly' charm to it; sort of like a moonscape with water.

Here is an active volcano (in resting stage).

And lest you think there is no green at all, here's a small patch. I hope the next batch of photos will have more animals for you. I have requested that.

Quito, Ecuador and The Galapagos, Part 1

One of my children has just returned from a 15 day trip to Ecuador, including a cruise on a 108' yacht (The Beluga) throughout the Galapagos Islands (600 miles off the Pacific coast of Ecuador.) She took almost 600 photos, and is passing them on to me in small bunches. I promise not to make you look at all of them, and I'll try to choose the better ones. I didn't edit these at all, so you should be able to enlarge them by clicking on the photo.

Look at the size of these bottles, from one of the hotels in which she stayed. I should have put something in the pic for comparison, but they are over 4" tall and the diameter of a quarter. Most hotels I've stayed in give much smaller portions.

One of the many friendly animals she saw there.

One of the thousands of iguanas. I could swear they are smiling!



I know there will be better photos of these birds and their snowy white babies.

The Day Begins...

Sunrise over the ocean always draws me out of bed long before I normally would rise. This is not the best series of photos, but I hope you will enjoy it. A deep cloud cover kept me from seeing the actual break of the sun disk on the horizon; a sight I always treasure. Maybe next time.

The tiny light in the lower right was on a buoy. The one at the top is the slightly more than crescent moon.

The lights in the bottom right were on the Virginia Beach boardwalk. It was 5:30 am, but people were walking there and on the beach.


I love how that fiery streak kept getting larger and longer.

Late November and December finds Christmas and Holiday lights galore on the beach and arching over the boardwalk. You pay $10 per car and drive the length of the boardwalk (about 30 blocks). We took a few photos of that, which I'll show you later.

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Christmas decorating for the Dogwood Tree Floral crew - including yours truly - begins in earnest on Friday the 28th and goes for 9 straight days. I will have something to post (probably), but visiting or commenting may be slim to none. Be good.

Scene at the Beach + a Quote

Looking right from our hotel (Marriott's Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach). This was taken at 10 am on Sat. morning. You see how few people were there in September; in June, the sand was completely dotted with people, blankets, chairs, umbrellas and coolers. The cloud that gave us shade left almost immediately, and we had bright sun all day!

The view from our room; overlooking the entry drive and parts of the Marriott Vacation Club. This part sits behind the hotel, while two other buildings overlook the ocean.

Three of my four; hard at work on the construction below (a corral for tiny hermit crabs), which unfortunately didn't last long, since the tide was coming in.

After our day in the ocean, we went out for dinner and to the local outlet mall. While my daughter and one of the girls were shopping, the rest of us sat on a bench beside a fountain and pool that had a statuette in the center, up on a platform. There were many coins in the pool, and our youngest proceeded to toss coins that she picked up from the bottom, onto the platform. A young father walked up with a beautiful, blond child of about 2 and a baby boy in a stroller. He sat the little girl down on the pool ledge and took out his cell phone. As he got interested in his conversation, the little girl slipped into the pool to pick up some coins so she could toss them like my granddaughter was doing. She was way too short to reach the coins easily, and in the process, she got herself wet from neck to toes. He dad was not happy, but he handled it well, and called his wife to report in and ask her to hurry back. Our group had a little laugh at their expense, as did others standing nearby. I really wish I'd had my camera; not only for the wet little girl, but for her baby brother, who had the most puzzled and concerned look on his face. I could only wonder what he thought of it all.

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And a most apropos quote:

"The soul is healed by being with children."

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, novelist (1821-1881)

9-13-08

A perfect day.

Saturday, September 13, 2008 - as perfect a day as one could imagine at the beach. Blue skies, 90+ degrees, light breezes, 86*+ water temps - and very few tourists! We went out to the beach around 9:30 am; got in the warm water, and didn't get out for nearly four hours. There was a sand bar near the shore, so we went out about 50 yards and the waves were warm, light and not so close together that you couldn't recover your balance between them. As I said, it was perfect. The only thing that could have made it better was someone waiting on the shore to dispense free cold drinks of our choice.

Our party consisted of my daughter and four of my grandkids (her nieces and nephews), ranging in age from almost 9 to 14. One downside was that the two boys refused sunblock and lived to regret it; especially since one of them was infected with poison ivy. Areas of poison ivy rash topped off with sunburn does not make a happy kid, especially when he has to apply gel on the rash. I used sunblock, but apparently I forgot my ears and my chest, which are currently the color of ripe watermelon (but not nearly so juicy, thank Heaven!) I am sure they will be when the blisters burst out, though. The other downside was that we drove down there in my mini-van, which is not really large enough for six people and all the luggage for them, plus chairs, a sleeping bag, a cooler and a blanket. Next time we will need to rent an RV or pile the luggage on top of the car!

When my kids were younger, we went on a vacation and used a car-top carrier to pack most of our luggage. Mr. kenju didn't anchor it properly atop our then full-sized van, and every time we went over a bump, or the wind was strong, the carrier lifted and dropped down on the car with a loud thump. Finally we stopped on the side of a highway and discovered that he had fastened the straps over the luggage rack, instead of under. Once we re-positioned it, it worked well. You might want to file away that little tip for future trips.

I was every bit as impressed with Marriott's Grand Dunes (at Myrtle Beach) this time, as I was when we were there back in June. They gave us a "handicapped" room, which was larger than the ones we had before and very spacious, especially the bathroom. The only quarrel I would have with them is the fact that they put chocolate chips and whipped cream on their breakfast buffet. Children do not often make good food choices, and ours were no exception since their parents were not there to hold the reins. My admonitions to take no more than you can reasonably eat at one sitting fell on deaf ears. I felt responsible, and therefore I had to eat more than I normally would (bacon, fruit and muffins) just to keep them from going to waste. I drew the line on the chocolate chips, though, as they are not in my breakfast menu, ever! What about you?

Mr. Kenju's Family Wedding, Part 1

In addition to attending the wedding (which I will tell you about later), we did some sight-seeing from the car. We had seen most of it before, but not in a few years, and it is always good to have a refresher. The building above is the Library of Congress. That shows about 1/3 of it.

Here's a more central view. I was hoping to catch the fountain statuary, as they/it(?) are/is really well done. Perhaps if you click to embiggen, you can see them better.

This is the Lincoln Memorial, at dusk.

And here is where we ate brunch on Saturday, before the wedding. There are Silver Diner's in many parts of the DC area. This one was in Arlington, VA. I heartily recommend it, especially for breakfast (which is all I have ever eaten there.) Below is the comment card I swiped. The only reason I marked the service down a notch was that we had to find the server to get our bill when we were done. Other than that, his service was terrific!

Danger, Will Robinson!

Click to enlarge.

Mr. kenju was afraid that the children had strayed too far from shore. It didn't matter that one of those children is 41, or that they were only waist deep.

(I guess we all need "Someone to Watch Over Me")

Beginner's Luck and Wishes for the Fourth

Remember the "shark-catcher + handsome pin-up" from last week? This was his first fishing trip, in 1999. Beginner's luck describes it fairly well, don't you think?

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I made up a recipe last night and it turned out to be good! (Surprise, surprise!) Someone gave me 3 summer squash and 2 shallots this week. I washed and sliced the squash and put them in a medium saucepan with 1 tablespoon butter and a splash of water, on medium heat. Meanwhile, I sliced the shallots, about 1/4 of an onion and 2 ribs of celery, and put them in a small skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter and a sprinkling of Mrs. Dash. My plan was to serve the onions and celery over our steak, which was grilling outside.

As the squash softened, I threw in a handful of dried cranberries and a little more water. As each dish reached the end of cooking, I decided to combine them; dumping the onion mixture into the squash and mixing well, then I added 1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar. I have to say it turned out very well. That was my beginner's luck!

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I missed a perfect photo opportunity this afternoon. I went to a drugstore to buy a birthday card, looking toward the fancy gift shop next door. They keep a wrought iron bench outside, which sometimes holds sale merchandise. It was empty. As I got back into the car later, I looked back toward the gift shop again. There was a nicely dressed, portly older gentleman sitting on the bench fast asleep, his head inclined toward the silk-flowered grapevine wreath on the bench beside him. I could just kick myself for not having my camera. That was no luck at all!

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Have a Happy Independence Day everyone!