Happy New Year!!

Best wishes for an Happy New Year!!

May we have good health, wealth, good friends, and most of all, peace in the coming new year.

Cheers!

Butch

Voeux de Noël 2009 - Sensitif

YouTube - Voeux de Noël 2009 - Sensitif: "Voeux de Noël 2009 - Sensitif"

Happy Yuletide!

Happy Yuletide!

May your fire stay lighted, your hearth warm and may the ashes and the remnants of the Yule log bring you the best of luck for the whole year!

A Sunday Winter Tramp Through the Woods.

Steve's Sunday morning tramp with Seán.

It finally stopped raining enough to where the sun finally made an appearance today. Both Steve and Seán look forward to tramps in the forest or bicycle trails to get a wee bit of exercise. He sent this one along via mobile phone. The resolution on his I phone (I don't know if that is the correct name for it but, you get the jest of my conversation ) is quite good. I think it takes better pictures at times than our decade old camera. It's most likely time to upgrade.

I hope everyone survived the T-Day festivities and didn't put on too many pounds.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and to all!

Here's our turkey just out of the oven.

Veteran's Day 2009

These two pictures are among my favorites. I am in the debt of the photographers who took these photos, they capture the mood of this solemn day better than words.

Let's pause for a moment to honour our veterans both living and the fallen.
Laying down one's life for your comrades and country is the ultimate sacrifice.

Happy Samhaín and All Soul's Day

Don't party too hard on, the Celtic New Year.

Watch out for those wizards, witches and goblins begging for those "tricks or treats.


Don't drink whilst flying.

Happy Samhaín

Here's a poem my mother used to recite to us children around Halloween to keep us in line and just to get us into the scary mood of goblins, witches, ghouls, wizards and the dead. It has been passed down through our clan and each of them have been reciting it to their kids as well.

It was written by James Whitcomb Riley and entitled:

Little Orphant Annie

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups and saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away.
An' shoo the chickens off the purch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' all us other children, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun.
A-list'nin' to the witch tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-un 'at gets you
Ef you don't watch out!

Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,
so when he went to bed at night, away upstairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
an' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!
An' they seeked him the ratter room, an' cubbyhole, an' press,
An' seeked him up thec chimbly flue, an' every'wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found was this his pant an' roundabout:-

An' the Gobble-un 'at gets you
Ef you don't watch out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever'one an' all her blood an' kin;
An' onc't, when they was "company", an' ole folks was there,
She mocked 'em an' she shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
There was two great big black things a standin' by her side.
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!

An' the Gobble-un 'at gets you
Ef you don't watch out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oooooooo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin' bugs in dew is all squenched away,-
You better mind yer parents, and yer teachers fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore and needy ones 'at clusters all all about,

Er the Gobble-un 'at gets you
Ef you don't watch out!

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A' Soalin' sung by Peter, Paul & Mary

This song fits nicely for this night of begging.

Hey, Ho, nobody home,
Meat nor drink or money have I got,
Can't we be merry,
Hey, Ho, nobody home.

A soal, soal, soalcake, please good missus a soalcake,
An apple, pear, plum a cherry,
any old thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, one for Paul,
one for Him who made us all.

God bless the master of this house and the missus, also,
and all the little children, around your table grow.
The cattle in your stable, the dog by your front door,
and all that dwells within these gates we wish you ten times more.

A soal, soal, soalcake, please good missus a soalcake,
An apple, pear, plum a cherry,
any old thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, one for Paul,
one for Him who made us all.

Go down into the cellar and see what you can find.
If the barrels are not empty, we hope you will be kind.
We hope you will be kind with your apples and strawberr'
We'll come no more a soalin' 'til this time next year.

A soal, soal, soalcake, please good missus a soalcake,
An apple, pear, plum a cherry,
any old thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, one for Paul,
one for Him who made us all.

The streets are very dirty, my shoes are very thin.
I have a little pocket to put a penny in.
If you haven't got a penny, an ha' penny will do.
If you haven't got an ha' penny, then, God bless you.

A soal, soal, soalcake, please good missus a soalcake,
An apple, pear, plum a cherry,
any old thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, one for Paul,
one for Him who made us all.


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

Dead Fly Art

These bazaar photos are "dead fly" art.

( Don't ask . . . ;-) )

I received this in an email today and just had to share it.

The "artist" seems to have a wee bit of extra time on his hands. ;-)

Christmas in October

Steve got me a Cuisinart Food Processor for my Christmas present this year. ( a special edition model ) It is "top-of-the-line" with a chrome housing. This weight between 16 and 20 lbs, and I'll have to check those numbers to make sure. I will add a picture of it once I get some things out of the way today.

I decided to try two of the recipes from the recipe book that is sent along with the machine. One was a Vegetarian style pizza, which was simply delicious and the other was an Old World Apple-custard pie. ( again, absolutely, delicious! The above picture is the pie, of course. )

This machine makes the best dough I have ever made, either by hand or by my Kitchen-Aid with the dough-hook attachment. It's so easy, for one thing. I do not know why we waited so long to get one ( for me ). ;-)

I am a gatherer of machines and I had to fight the urge to keep my La Machine and a tiny Cuisinart that wasn't anywhere near large enough to handle what I wanted from it. So, They all went into the trash barrel and I walked away from it with barely any guilt.

I wish I could share a piece of that pie with you, but most of it has been shared by some neighbors and friends, so, you will have to settle for a virtual slice of pie.

Enjoy!

Moonstruck

Tomorrow morning a rocket will crash into the moon. This is a scientific experiment to see whether there may be water just under the moon's surface. The rocket will divide with the first 2.2 ton stage crashing into a crater on the moon creating a huge six mile high plume of debris where the second stage will be able to gather all the relevant information from the crash before crashing itself into the very same crater. The speed in which the two stages will crash, is twice the speed of a bullet and the explosive power will be equal to the power of 1.5 tons of TNT.

This photograph is a still image from the 1902 silent film "Le Voyage Dans La Lune", written and directed by Georges Mlis. I have always loved this picture of the "man in the moon."

Waiting for the Mailman

Seán knows when it's about time for the mail man to drop off the mail at our mail box. He will stand up in the window watching. He recognizes the sound of the mail truck's engine, and he understands the word, "mailman." We used to spell m-a-i-l-m-a-n in front of him to where he now understands that. So, we now say the word, "Letter-carrier", which, he hasn't learned yet.

Seán is very proud because he gets to go out to the mail box off of his leash. He puffs up and trots out there showing off, if you ask me. ;-)

This picture is of Steve and Seán watching the mail man deliver the mail. I wasn't able to capture what it looks like from behind very well but, it does make me smile every time I see him do it.

I Just Couldn't Do It.

Yesterday worked out to be a good day to mow the lawns after nearly one week of rain showers. As I was mowing the back yard, I noticed this grouping of flowers down the small hill and into the yard. The more I mowed, the more it bothered me that I would have to make the decision of chopping them up under the passing lawn mower or saving them in spite of where they were located. As you can see, they breathed a sigh of relief as I worked around them, sparing them the same fate as the grass. I just couldn't do it.

The August Wedding of our Niece.

Steve and I went back East to Michigan to attend our niece's wedding. Erin and her new husband Brandon have been planning every detail for a year. It turned out to be a very beautiful service with an harpist ( my sister-in-law's teacher ) who plays with the Detroit Symphony, performing some beautiful pieces for the harp. She ended with an Handel piece that would have brought the house down if it hadn't been played in a church setting. Erin's mother, Cherrie is standing at the left with her harp teacher.

This is Erin posing with the harp.

Erin and Brandon taking their vows. Tara, her sister ( on the left ) will be marrying in this same church about this time next year, so . . . the uncles will be back for more of the festivities.

After the ceremony, the congregation of well wishers were awaiting the bride and groom's appearance. Instead of throwing rice, which evidently kills the birds who eat it, bubbles were blown at the bridal couple. It was interesting participating in the bubble-making and watching grownups blowing bubbles with wild-abandonment, keeping up with the kids. I'm actually, in this picture, see if you can find me. ;-)

Here's another picture of the well-wishers.

My side of the family, that came up to Michigan from West Virginia, love to meet for breakfast before heading back to their homes. In this photo, from left to right, is my sister-in-law, Tammy, her husband, my youngest brother, Kevin, both living in Michigan, and Steve.

This is my cousin, Tommy from W. Virginia sharing a moment with my younger brother, John. It was his daughter who was married. If you are familiar with the state of Michigan, it looks like a mitten. The wedding took place in the town of Bad Axe, which is located in the "thumb" of Michigan.

This is my sister, Sharon who resides in Michigan and Steve. We had stopped for gasoline and noticed the sign on the building. "Mooney's Ice Cream" My last name happens to be Mooney and my sister's love of adventure, especially when it involves ice cream, brought us to this picture. I should add that we had just finished a nice country breakfast and she was ready to taste the ice cream. Taste was about all I could do on a full stomach.

We made it to the airport in plenty of time. I am always setting off the alarm system operated by the Homeland Security, so we always plan ahead for more time allowances. I have a titanium knee replacement and one can count on being pulled aside, patted down, and "wanded." I felt like an extra in an "Harry Potter" movie with all the wands being waved around. ;-)

It was off to Chicago, Illinois where we visited Steve's half of the family.

( to be continued )

Solarium blooming plants

The Geranium is in bloom with beautifully, bright red flowers. I thought I would add some of the other blooming plants in our solarium.

Enjoy!

Our very hot weather finally broke this past week bringing us much needed cooler weather. I awoke this morning to lightly falling rain. It wasn't enough to really quench the earth but, was enough to clean the air of the pollen, dust and other things that come with a dry spell. This time of year is our "dry-season" and is looked forward to by many Washingtonians. The very hot weather we experienced is unusual for this climate. We reached 111 degrees in one part of the city of Tacoma. On my drive home, it varied between 107 and 110 degrees F. on the expressway. This weather felt more like the temperatures you would expect in Los Angeles, California. Generally, it is much cooler this time of the year staying in the 70s and low 80s.

Is Global Warming finally catching up with us here in the Northwest? We shall see.

The Enumclaw Scottish Highland Games 2009

Last weekend was the annual Scottish Highland Games of 2009.

The dog on the left is an Elk Hound and the two dogs on the right are Irish Wolfhounds.

This is one of the Pipe & Drum Bands competing in this year's event. You can see one of the judges in the left of the picture watching them as they march to the performing field.

There is an annual procession of all the clans that are present and they walk past the grand stands for viewing. This is the Clan McKay with their piper following.

Clan Cian

Clan Stewart

This was the marching field and the grand stand. The dancing competition was also held in this general area.

Clan Wallace

Clan Campbell

Clan Gunn

Part of the crowd of people who attended the fair. Last year there were over one-hundred pipe & drum bands competing. Due to the recession, there were no where near the same numbers.

The featured musical groups this year were "Golden Bough", "Molly's Revenge", and "The Wicked Tinkers."

The weather wasn't as bad as it was forecast. It was in the 80s with a nice intermittent breeze.

Unfortunately there wouldn't be enough room to show pictures of every clan that attended and I didn't get pictures of them all. There are lots of things to see and do at this event with plenty of ethnic foods to sample as well.

Enjoy!

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The Flowers of the yard and a solarium surprise

This is one of two African Violets I have in bloom. This one shows off its beautiful blueish-purple and white colours among the other plants.

This is the other one.

Because of my injuries, I was unable to get out into the yard to capture these wild roses in their prime. The first bunch were pink and then came the red ones.

Look closely and you will see the moss growing on the bench in the design that runs along the flat surface. I thought this looked rather neat.

My "better late than never" lilies have finally made their entrance this year. The plant is much smaller this year than what I remember of last years flowers.