Weblog 272
May 1, 2011~ 1:30 pm
I CRACKED IT! It's not perfect, but I found a way to access the Blogger sign-in page from home. It appears my ISP (CompuServe, aka AOL) is blocking it for whatever nefarious, competitive reasons they may have, so the world is green once again, sprouting exuberant SKUNK CABBAGE amid the detritis that is the current world wide web.
(That's actually one of my photos from our trip the week before. On a drizzly, grayish day, walking along with dead leaves from last fall crunching underfoot, they appeared GLORIOUS green, shooting out and whooping about spring.) I love them!
I didn't say nearly enough about our trip and the beauty of the Laurel Highlands at this time of year. Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle is a sight to see....
It was a bit warmer the day we tromped there, and the place is aptly named. The coolness of the limestone walls in that gorge drops the temperature by 10 degrees at least-- that must be heavenly for visitors in the sticky-hot summer months. Wayne actually went down under them and stood behind. I wanted him to yell, "Stay alive, no matter what occurs. I will find you!" from 'The Last Of The Mohicans'. LOL!!! (His hair is quite long now, and I braided it for him while we were up there. He looked very Mohican-ish.)
Here he is standing near the original burial site of General Braddock, deeper in the woods from where his monument is placed along Route 40. You can't see the braids though, and I wish I had taken a clearer picture of them at some point. He looked fabulous and fit right in with the ambiance of the place.
Here I am on the same day, wearing a 'Red Riding Hood' rain slicker I'd picked up at Goodwill years ago, and never wore it till this trip. I'm standing the National Park information kiosk at the same site. Man, I was HAPPY that day, rain, skunk cabbage... braids and everything!
After many trips up to Ft. Necessity, we finally had the opportunity to actually go inside Mt. Washington Tavern, which is part of the park service. It was open for self guided tours.
The inside was filled with natural low light and when Wayne and I entered, we were the only folks in there. We had the place to ourselves. This is just inside the front hallway foyer
with the lovely colonial double doors. When we went upstairs to see the bedrooms, both of us heard a sound like a low mumble for an instant. Wayne said, "Did you fart?" looking at me big-eyed. "No. And I heard that too." When I snapped this picture in the same hallway
there was a floating circle. (I don't know if you believe in 'orbs' being spirits of the dead, but had you been there, you would have felt a presence.) The same circle of light showed in other pictures of this hallway, though never in the same position and never this clearly. I believe we had company, I truly do.
That's a shot of one of the guest rooms with some children's period furniture and toys. I loved how that cloth doll looked on the tiny chair. Creepy...... sad somehow, like it was waiting for the child to come back and play again. Every room had tall 4-poster or sleigh beds, chamber pots and nightgowns in yellowish linen laid out on the quilts and bedcovers, and all looked waiting to receive guests. It was terrific to finally see the inside of that building, which we'd driven past probably a hundred times over the years.
I know one thing: that area is only an hour away, and we'll be taking short weekend trips up there whenever life gets.... oh.....too modern and hectic. I'm afraid Gettysburg has lost its draw for me since its popularity as a tourist site has increased over the last decade, so we're very pleased to have this getaway so close to home.
On Saturday evening we watched 'Get Low'- a movie with Robert Duvall, who plays a hermit in his 70's, living on the outskirts of a small southern town in the early 1930's, whom the townspeople whisper about; mostly stories of his unsavory past. He'd lived that way for 40 years with only a string of dogs and a mule, whom he loves. He wants to arrange for his own funeral and have a 'party' ahead of time with one stipulation: everyone has to tell a story about him.
Bill Murray plays the undertaker who agrees to pull this together and as the story unfolds, it becomes the tale of a man with a secret so terrible, he makes his own prison and lives in it as a self-imposed life sentence. The film is offbeat, the casting excellent, and it was just the ticket for our entertainment last evening.
That's it for now, and I'm SO HAPPY TO HAVE ACCESS again (albeit through a back door to Blogger) --and I promise to keep up entries in here as long as my solution works for me. I did miss it so! It's one of my few relaxations, and I tend to get snarly when it's taken away. LOL!!!
May 4, 2011~ 7:30 pm
Wow. With everything that's happening on the international front, it's interesting that as I was browsing the net this evening, I came across a marvelous quiz that takes a person's political bent, and analyzes the results. (I can't say I'm surprised by my own evaluation but I AM SURPRISED by the small minority into which I fit.)
Lookie here!
If you're interested in just what KIND of political animal YOU are, go to this Typology site, and take the short test.
It's good to reflect on what resides in your deepest beliefs (especially at a time when the din of the crowd is so very LOUD.) I'm aghast at the political climate right now, and appalled at the way Bin Laden's execution has enflamed all the ugliest, most jingoist elements in this society. Make no mistake: I believe the man was a criminal. I believe he ordered horrific acts in the name of a vengeful, extreme fringe of Islam, but I do NOT agree with the way his death has been turned into a media event.
Blood sows more blood. That's the simple truth. We define ourselves.. and our nation.. by our ACTS. Period. We're allowing the cannibals to turn us into themselves, and that's nothing to be proud of.
On a much lighter note, after days and days and hours and hours spent tinkering with this machine of mine-- now with the last problem solved ---IT'S BACK! Old Betsy is back and bucking like a youngster! LOL!!! I am fearless when it comes to the Windows Registry, and therein the final answer resided. Viva la surf!! Once again, lean and clean, and (thank goodness) -working. :)
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
I CRACKED IT! It's not perfect, but I found a way to access the Blogger sign-in page from home. It appears my ISP (CompuServe, aka AOL) is blocking it for whatever nefarious, competitive reasons they may have, so the world is green once again, sprouting exuberant SKUNK CABBAGE amid the detritis that is the current world wide web.
(That's actually one of my photos from our trip the week before. On a drizzly, grayish day, walking along with dead leaves from last fall crunching underfoot, they appeared GLORIOUS green, shooting out and whooping about spring.) I love them!
I didn't say nearly enough about our trip and the beauty of the Laurel Highlands at this time of year. Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle is a sight to see....
It was a bit warmer the day we tromped there, and the place is aptly named. The coolness of the limestone walls in that gorge drops the temperature by 10 degrees at least-- that must be heavenly for visitors in the sticky-hot summer months. Wayne actually went down under them and stood behind. I wanted him to yell, "Stay alive, no matter what occurs. I will find you!" from 'The Last Of The Mohicans'. LOL!!! (His hair is quite long now, and I braided it for him while we were up there. He looked very Mohican-ish.)
Here he is standing near the original burial site of General Braddock, deeper in the woods from where his monument is placed along Route 40. You can't see the braids though, and I wish I had taken a clearer picture of them at some point. He looked fabulous and fit right in with the ambiance of the place.
Here I am on the same day, wearing a 'Red Riding Hood' rain slicker I'd picked up at Goodwill years ago, and never wore it till this trip. I'm standing the National Park information kiosk at the same site. Man, I was HAPPY that day, rain, skunk cabbage... braids and everything!
After many trips up to Ft. Necessity, we finally had the opportunity to actually go inside Mt. Washington Tavern, which is part of the park service. It was open for self guided tours.
The inside was filled with natural low light and when Wayne and I entered, we were the only folks in there. We had the place to ourselves. This is just inside the front hallway foyer
with the lovely colonial double doors. When we went upstairs to see the bedrooms, both of us heard a sound like a low mumble for an instant. Wayne said, "Did you fart?" looking at me big-eyed. "No. And I heard that too." When I snapped this picture in the same hallway
there was a floating circle. (I don't know if you believe in 'orbs' being spirits of the dead, but had you been there, you would have felt a presence.) The same circle of light showed in other pictures of this hallway, though never in the same position and never this clearly. I believe we had company, I truly do.
That's a shot of one of the guest rooms with some children's period furniture and toys. I loved how that cloth doll looked on the tiny chair. Creepy...... sad somehow, like it was waiting for the child to come back and play again. Every room had tall 4-poster or sleigh beds, chamber pots and nightgowns in yellowish linen laid out on the quilts and bedcovers, and all looked waiting to receive guests. It was terrific to finally see the inside of that building, which we'd driven past probably a hundred times over the years.
I know one thing: that area is only an hour away, and we'll be taking short weekend trips up there whenever life gets.... oh.....too modern and hectic. I'm afraid Gettysburg has lost its draw for me since its popularity as a tourist site has increased over the last decade, so we're very pleased to have this getaway so close to home.
On Saturday evening we watched 'Get Low'- a movie with Robert Duvall, who plays a hermit in his 70's, living on the outskirts of a small southern town in the early 1930's, whom the townspeople whisper about; mostly stories of his unsavory past. He'd lived that way for 40 years with only a string of dogs and a mule, whom he loves. He wants to arrange for his own funeral and have a 'party' ahead of time with one stipulation: everyone has to tell a story about him.
Bill Murray plays the undertaker who agrees to pull this together and as the story unfolds, it becomes the tale of a man with a secret so terrible, he makes his own prison and lives in it as a self-imposed life sentence. The film is offbeat, the casting excellent, and it was just the ticket for our entertainment last evening.
That's it for now, and I'm SO HAPPY TO HAVE ACCESS again (albeit through a back door to Blogger) --and I promise to keep up entries in here as long as my solution works for me. I did miss it so! It's one of my few relaxations, and I tend to get snarly when it's taken away. LOL!!!
May 4, 2011~ 7:30 pm
Wow. With everything that's happening on the international front, it's interesting that as I was browsing the net this evening, I came across a marvelous quiz that takes a person's political bent, and analyzes the results. (I can't say I'm surprised by my own evaluation but I AM SURPRISED by the small minority into which I fit.)
Lookie here!
If you're interested in just what KIND of political animal YOU are, go to this Typology site, and take the short test.
It's good to reflect on what resides in your deepest beliefs (especially at a time when the din of the crowd is so very LOUD.) I'm aghast at the political climate right now, and appalled at the way Bin Laden's execution has enflamed all the ugliest, most jingoist elements in this society. Make no mistake: I believe the man was a criminal. I believe he ordered horrific acts in the name of a vengeful, extreme fringe of Islam, but I do NOT agree with the way his death has been turned into a media event.
Blood sows more blood. That's the simple truth. We define ourselves.. and our nation.. by our ACTS. Period. We're allowing the cannibals to turn us into themselves, and that's nothing to be proud of.
On a much lighter note, after days and days and hours and hours spent tinkering with this machine of mine-- now with the last problem solved ---IT'S BACK! Old Betsy is back and bucking like a youngster! LOL!!! I am fearless when it comes to the Windows Registry, and therein the final answer resided. Viva la surf!! Once again, lean and clean, and (thank goodness) -working. :)
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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