Forest Fantasy

Original caption: Spring Flower Cake from Martha Stewart Living, March 2008. Vanilla-flavored bundt cake, glazed with orange syrup, served with a honey mousse and crystallized edible flowers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not far from home there is an old grove forest with four entrances  which cross a street and wind around to the lagoon side.  Each year we look forward to the blooming of the  Tropaeolum or as we know them,  nasturtiums.   Brilliant pops of  pinkish orange color peek out between  broad leaves, related to the cabbage family.

Note for foodie wannabes -”The biggest surprise with nasturtiums is the taste. In Latin nasturtium literally means “nose twist.” While most edible flowers have a subtle flavor, nasturtiums knock your socks off with their peppery taste. Plus, it’s not just the flowers and buds that are packed with a zippy flavor; the young leaves are tender and edible as well. Nasturtiums are popular with chefs and home gardeners because their colorful flowers not only dress up a plate, they’re high in vitamins A, C (10 times as much as lettuce), and D.”

I wasn’t interested in eating them, although my husband likes to pluck the tiny round seeds and put them in the freezer for the next season. Right now he has a row of seeds on the bathroom windowsill. Cute and plump.

I kept looking at the last shot I took with my cell phone earlier this week and my mind conjured up another story. Another picture. Just another adventure in PSE with my friend, Mac.

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Into the Woods . . .

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. However, that’s not my version of Into the Woods.

A few months ago I took some shots at our local art gallery, several interesting faces carved out of wood caught my attention. Yesterday, I was inspired, actually a little bored would be more like it. I had a brilliant idea, or so it seemed at the time. Perhaps my Photoshop skills could turn these inanimate objects into flesh and blood. Bring them to life, introduce them and perhaps, just perhaps they might like each, get along well enough to . . . you get the point. At least they could shed their splinters and enjoy a walk-a-bout.

Alas, my eyes grew dim and my matchmaking skills faded as I realized that no amount of manipulation, at least on my part, would ever bring them together. Another day, another adventure as I skip into the woods, alone.

Fuschia Fantasy – a Friday Drabble

Once I dreamt of pink satin slippers and a shimmering tutu. I imagined standing on points and hearing the thunderous applause as a handsome prince knelt before me with a single rose.

Someday I would join the Ballets de Monte Carlo and tour the world, or so I dreamed.
But alas, this chubby youngster was none too graceful, could barely remember a Tour jeté or Arabesque. It was hopeless, I might as well bronze my slippers.

Eventually a typewriter, sometimes a microphone. Now a computer and Photoshop
bring back those childhood dreams.

Fuschia hanging around

The delicate color of this Fuschia quietly said – buy me, buy me.  I was in the market for one and had always seen the lovely dark-colored ones, but this day there was just one Fuschia hanging from a mental support beam for the tent.  Love was in bloom. I carefully put this lady in the back of the Outback and drove home with my prize. Suspended from the back deck of the master bedroom and seemly happy, she produced more and more buds.
Yesterday was one of those SoCal  May Grey days, I  decided to capture a few images and play around with them.  The bump on my head from the pot each time I stood up  soon taught me a lesson. Back away from the plant slowly with knees bent and count to ten before standing upright.

fuschia

fuschia

fuschia

fuschia

The Object of my Affliction

Doggonit , I am really down with ‘dander’. I mean stuff that makes you miserable. The sneezing, the coughing and the itching. Allergy pills, nose spray – forget about it. Every Spring and Fall things get a little drippy, but out of the blue, I find myself allergic to Max! Well, not him but that white specks of dead skin that seem to get onto and into everything. Giving him fish oil, regular baths and brushing and really good food.

Yes, I know the drill. Get rid of carpets, upholstered furniture, keep the dog off the couch, off the bed and clean, clean, clean. I do my best, on some of it.  My husband has always had to use an inhaler, maybe that will be next. Taking Max back to the shelter is not an option. 

There is only one thing that I can do to avoid this problem, as much as I hate to do it.
I just have to figure way to get those wonderful kisses and that cold nose nudging me awake.

Breaking News!
Just ordered this air purifier today. Perhaps Max won’t be a Bubble Boy after all.

My Zero

This morning my son called asking for the phone number of a mutual friend. I rattled it off, ### OH###. Being a wise guy, not a made man, he corrected me. “There are no OH’s in numbers” Well, I have often corrected myself about this flaw. And I have to guess that many of my fellow Americans recite a ZERO as an OH.

I thought about his comment after the fact, and I am glad I did as I now have a reply worth a thousand words. Something more meaningful than me giving it back to him. Yes, that’s him in the poster below – hair added.

 

Youtube of the Bike Rally

You’ve see the pictures, now here’s a little extra on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zokcyEM9sRg

Bikers for Christ 11th. Annual Bike Blessing

Every year I look forward to hearing the roar of bikes rolling into Oceanside to the annual BFC Bike Blessing and Rally. This year money was raised to support the Warrior Foundation and the Downed Biker Fund. Here’s some of the shots of the day. Plus a great little video one guy took with his cell phone of this 91 years young grandma, who was gracious enough to let me take some pics of her. Hope you enjoy.

Emoting . . . more or less

Down through the ages man has communicated in many ways. From the most rudimentary manor of a simple grunt while dragging a hank of hair and a bag of bones into a cave to today’s ceaseless use of texting. The grunt may have produced some form of emotion, a meaning only known to the creature with the sloping forehead and possibly his mate, or as we say in this PC world, his significant other.

This started me thinking about the wide range of emotions humans express, especially those that easily distort the face. While fingers are flying on mini keyboard the recipient has no idea of the full meaning until the message ends with one of those handy little emoticons. And, there are dozens to choose from. And more on the horizon, no doubt.

Now for a brief history lesson.

The use of emoticons can be traced back to the 19th century, and they were commonly used in casual and humorous writing.
Creation of :-) and :-(
Scott Fahlman was the first documented person to use the emoticons and , with a specific suggestion that they be used to express emotion.[8] The text of his original proposal, posted to the Carnegie Mellon University computer science general board on 19 September 1982 (11:44), was thought to have been lost, but was recovered 20 years later by Jeff Baird from old backup tapes.[1]
19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman
From: Scott E Fahlman

I propose that the following character sequence for happy:

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark
things that are sad, given current trends. For this, use

Now WP actually inserted the Smiley faces where there there was a colon, dash and parentheses in the article.

_____________________________________________________________

Then there is the emote which is an entry in a text-based chat client that indicates an action taking place.[1] Unlike emoticons, they are not text art, and instead describe the action using words. (Not sure you needed to know that).
_____________________________________________________________
So I ask you, when was the last time you had a face-off, an actual conversation – for better or worse – with a friend, foe or significant other?
We’re not counting SKYPE.

We text to each other at the dinner table, in the theater, in class, even in church, God forbid. All this is legal, unlike the very common practice of texting and driving which is a crime in some states and the cause of multiple crashes.

Now what do those irritating little smiley faces have to say?

I wonder if there is an “I hate emoticons” emoticon. Silly me.
Is there a point to all this, you decide my grandson is sending me a text.

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• Creating pictures with Skype emoticons (randomfactsandallthingsfamousfive.wordpress.com)

 

Waiting for the breath of summer

The car’s in the shop and time to play with Photoshop Elements.

Here are the 3 shots I used to make this summer wind fantasy.

Day off

Summer wind

Girls day out