R E F L E C T I O N S

Before:     It was too spread out and floppy. After:   It's balanced. <>  <>  <>  <>  <> HUNGRY BLUE JAY  It was an enjoyable peaceful day.

I found this picture in the pile of old photos I have in my basement. Here Angela has her arms around me. My mother is on the right and my aunt is to the left. My brother looks bored.  I can't tell if the men in the background are our fathers. I'm not sure who took the photo. I like the style of the old cars. The location is Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. Our outfits remind me of the old TV show The Little Rascals. It looks like I'm wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers T-shirt!     A post from the blog:  Stonehouse Cottage Potpourri~  encouraged me to post this photo. It was sometime in the 50's. Angela's family lived in another state so we didn't get together much. But when we did we had a good time. I had a boyhood crush on her. I even gave her my doll. I know boys are not supposed to play with dolls. I'm not sure where I got it but I really liked that doll. The link to the post:  1952...Cousins and Best Friends

The adventure of life is like sailing in a small ship.  We can adjust the sails and rudder but the wind and waves are mostly in control.  Reaching our goals, changing them when the situation proves they are unobtainable, recovering from unexpected hardships, succeeding when it seems all is lost; in the end we have much less control than we believe.  This makes life scary but it also makes it exciting and enjoyable. I wrote this quote, inspired by a post from the Aphorism of the Day blog. The link: http://mydailyaphorism.blogspot.com/2011/04/sailing-wouldnt-be-much-fun-if-we.html?showComment=1303423745399#c2686770346005764239

Yesterday I attended a six hour lecture about the aging brain. "Advances in Preventing Cognitive Decline: Getting Old, Thinking Young" The lecturer is a research professor at Johns Hopkins. The hippocampus was one of the main topics discussed. Definition: The hippocampu s is a complex neural structure (shaped like a sea horse) consisting of grey matter and located on the floor of each lateral ventricle; intimately involved in motivation and emotion as part of the limbic system and has a central role in the formation of memories.    It was very interesting but I'm sure I won't remember the complex medical details; which are too much for the average person like myself. I made an outline of some of the information that I believe I can use: ~SLEEP (usually 7 to 8 hours) (6 to 9 hours as needed) Don't set alarm? ~STRESS- AVOID! (Affects the health of hippocampus as does depression and anxiety. The nerve structure physically changes into a less healthy ...

The small top of this plant fell off one day. See my older posts about this. Here is the original Zebra plant. The tip: It was hard not to shake while taking these photos especially for these closeups.  I was not in the mood to set up a tripod so they're not as sharp as I'd like. Here's the progress of the tip so far: Notice the bottom zebra striped leaf.   I hope it will continue to grow.

The last few days have been a bit difficult because my wife Lynette had a very bad flareup of her celiac disease.  She cannot tolerate wheat and some other grains. Non-stop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and painful abdomen went on for over a day. She became weak and dehydrated.  Even now, the day after it's difficult to get her to drink fluids.  Chicken soup, green tea and ginger ale are all I can get her to take; that and anti-diarrhea and nausea medication.   I think the "gluten free" pizza at Ledos restaurant was the cause.  On the menu it was listed as gluten free with a warning that they could not guaranty any cross contamination.  I ate some and I am fine so it was not food poisoning. Here's a video which explains it better.  The sound is a little too low so you'll have to turn up the volume.

I like the color and pattern of this large pot. The pot below looks like a bomb blew it apart! I only have myself to blame.  I didn't bring them in before the frost of winter cracked them. Maybe this white one survived because was in the carport. The turtles held up okay except for this one with a broken leg. I'll have to find a way to repair the two pots and the turtle leg.  I just can't see throwing them away!