REFLECTIONS

I just joined the Sons of Italy with my wife.  We needed a way to get out and meet people. Tomorrow we'll have dinner with the group.  The members are mostly middle aged and over. At first I did not feel I was old enough to fit in.  It's scary but in fact I'm older than I feel! I'm also going to look for a younger group of people to join.  I'm hoping some of their energy will rub off on me! There will be a grab bag auction with the proceeds going to charity.  The bags will have inexpensive new or slightly used articles We're bringing two bags. One has a picture frame and the other has a journal and pens.

This one is doing well with new shoots coming in. A strong wind cracked the stalk of the second plant below.

I have to admit it. I'm an introvert and this article explains it best. I need friends as much as anyone but I just find it difficult.  Anyway, I'm better off this way than being with people who are phony and manipulative.  Here is a copy of the article from the "Lifehack" site: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/you-didnt-get-why-you-couldnt-get-along-with-introverts-before-you-read-this-youll-understand-after.html The website is on my list of interesting sites.

More of my interest in Ancient Rome. Here is an excellent video.

Have you seen this Geico TV commercial? It's silly but it still made me laugh!

At first I did not see it but just some movement from the corner of my eye.  I stopped in time before grabbing the door handle and squashing it. I quickly got my camera. My wife was putting away the dishes while watching TV.  It created a perfect background for the short movie, just like a horror movie! I did not have enough time to take sharper images but they came out better than I expected.

My son-in-law Ryan emailed me this video. Enjoy!

It was warm today, more like summer than October; perfect weather for taking down my tomato plants. This is the last "harvest" of about a dozen green and ripe tomatoes. I could not get myself to completely cut down these last two plants. They have new leaves sprouting. There won't be enough time left in the season for them to mature but at least I can watch them grow. They are still beautiful. Here's a stubborn little shoot.  He's not sure the summer is over just yet!

My daughter Laurissa and her husband Ryan came to visit us from New York. We had a great time. York has been ill but he seemed much better these past few days. He enjoyed a restful nap. Here he's looking for Ryan & Laurissa

It's so delicate that I just could not pull it out. But when I looked for it a few hours later it was gone.

Here is an interesting video of ancient Roman military tactics. The video is about 20 minutes long. Enjoy!

I found this photo on the internet last year but I don't remember where.   It could be from someone's blog.  I'm just not sure. If it's your photo let me know so I can give you credit. I did put a frame around it using FotoFlexer.  (  http://fotoflexer.com/  ) I love the colors and the reflection of the trees and clouds in the water.

Today it was an effort just to get up.  I managed to spend an hour on my exercise bike, which gave me slightly more energy. Posting on my blog was enjoyable. This afternoon Lynette and I are going to a farmer's market in "Old Town Winchester".  It's a small "city center" with restaurants and small locally owned stores.  The farmer's market is a one day event from 1 PM until 4 PM. Later we're going to the grand opening of Castiglia's Pizza Amore.  It's a small family business. We like the owners.  They offer some of the best Italian food we've ever tasted. This is one of the owner's restaurants but they had to shut down their old restaurant.  Now they just have this one. I liked the atmosphere of the old place. Hopefully they can turn this one into more of a restaurant than a pizza parlor. I wish them luck!