Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Despite the frigid temperatures and brutal winds, I had a lovely day today! I stayed in my jammies looking out at the artic weather until well after lunch time. Then, I went to the store and out to visit with Mom for a little while. This evening, I went to my regular Thursday Bible Study meeting…..when the meeting ended, so did my fairly routine day! Some friends from church and I went to the local community college campus to listen to our county historian, Bill Lattin, talk about the Civil War and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument – a memorial to the 463 Orleans County men who died during the Civil War – that is located in our lovely Mt. Albion Cemetery. After his presentation, my friends and I went to Tim Hortons for a hot treat – soup and chili – and great conversation!
So — what I really want to write about is Bill Lattin’s presentation. It was so interesting and enjoyable – I always love to hear him speak about our local history or other topics of interest. Mr. Lattin was also my art teacher in high school, so it is a pleasure to see him. He started out talking a little about the history of Mt. Albion Cemetery to set the stage for why it was chosen as the site for the monument. He also talked about the grief that the war caused, given that there were so many lives lost and families left alone to mourn and move on without their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. He had several photos and artifacts he had collected from that period. One item that struck me most was a long glass tube that the widows would capture their tears in – some would fill it with tears and take it to pour their tears onto the graves of their loved ones – others would fill it with tears and leave it on a table until all the tears dried up, signifying the end of the mourning period. I find it fascinating to hear about customs from long ago.
The history, stories, and visual aids he offered us kept the small room of close to 40 people glued to their seats and totally engrossed in what he had to say. But…..what made it so very personal and sentimental for me was his inclusion of information surrounding the efforts to restore the monument in the 1973-1976 time frame. I was in high school at that time – graduating in 1974. Although I was not directly involved in the work started by some students at the school, I did participate in some of the fund raising activities and was very aware of and supported the “SAVE THE TOWER” campaign that resulted in major renovation and restoration work on the tower. I remember that time fondly and he spoke of several people who I knew well. His recounting of the efforts that he, too, was very closely involved in, stirred up a heavy sense of pride and strong memories for me……I got a little teary eyed! At the time, it was obvious that the students and community leaders who lead the campaign were doing something special – we all knew it, but it wasn’t until tonight – when Bill Lattin put it all together and presented it so eloquently – that I realized just how incredibly special and historic it was! Before this campaign, the tower was falling into disrepair and was locked so that no one could go up and enjoy the view from the top due to safety concerns. The Village wasn’t in a position and didn’t have the drive to put forth the effort to repair it. Thanks to this group of caring people – in particular, the students who did not accept the suggestion that the Village “just tear it down” and came up with a way to save a historic monument – the tower was repaired and reopened so that it could be enjoyed once again…….and now, 40 years later, it is still going strong as a memorial to those who lost their lives fighting for the Union and as a great site to visit and climb to take in the amazing views – you can actually see clean to Canada on a clear day from up there!!!
This is a photo I took a few years ago of our beautiful Soldiers and Sailors Monument Tower – constructed of locally quarried Medina Sandstone, the tower was originally dedicated and opened on July 4, 1876 – the 100th anniversary of our great country. It stands 68 feet tall and sits on top of the highest point in the county in the oldest section of Mount Albion Cemetery. It has the names of 463 Orleans County Civil War casualties engraved in marble slabs on the interior walls. Visitors can climb the 84 steps of the winding wrought iron staircase to reach the top of the tower and have an incredible unobstructed view for miles and miles in all directions!!! It really is incredible and a historic treasure for our county. The rededication and reopening after the restoration work took place on July 4, 1976 – the 200th anniversary of our great country!!!
Sunday Stills – Cows
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge is Cows! Ed wants us to focus on cows and the products we get from cows. I live in an area with a LOT of dairy farms and, therefore, a LOT of cows! But…..I decided to go in a different direction with this post:
This is a cow on a New York State themed carousel at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, NY
And…..on the side of the cow is a carton of milk – showing one of the products cows produce
This cow is located at the Jello Museum in Leroy, New York
I found this cow, adorned in beautiful Yankee pin stripes and blue catcher’s mitts on the horns, in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
This cutie greeted customers on opening day at the new Chik-fil-A restaurant in Sanford, NC
And, now, for some products…..I was sure I’d find a photo of a nice juicy steak in my archives, but I couldn’t find one……DANG!!! But, these will do nicely:
Ice Cream…..I enjoyed this luscious banana split at Friendly’s in Brockport, NY
More Ice Cream…..I devoured this little piece of heaven – an amazing old fashioned chocolate (all chocolate) soda – at a little soda shop in Pittsboro, NC
Leather — I bought this gorgeous leather Guess bag at Macy’s (click here to read a post I wrote about it)
The End…..
Icicles…..
I am always fascinated by icicles – the way they form and grow and the shapes they take on. They can be quite dangerous – you don’t want to be under a big one if it breaks off and falls! But, they can also be quite beautiful! Here are some photos I took around my house this afternoon….
The first two are taken from the outside – one on the first floor over the porch and one on the second floor over the patio. The rest were more interesting, to me….they were taken from inside the house looking out the upstairs windows.
The Frozen Black North
OK, so I was having lunch with the ladies from church at Ho-Jack’s, today. It has been a particularly cold, snowy winter this year, so I was thinking it might be fun to go to Point Breeze and get some photos of Lake Ontario all frozen over – you know, since I was already almost there! Well, while I did wonder about the snow and ice conditions on the road leading up to The Black North Inn and the lighthouse, I didn’t think about how much COLDER it would be there at the lake and how the weather might be worse. The road conditions were actually pretty good — no problem, there! I parked the car and got out to get closer to the lake, but the path was covered in deep snow – I had to climb a pretty big ridge of snow and tread through some deep patches……but, I did it (you know, for the sake of artistic expression and all)! Once I got to where I could get some good shots, my hands were frozen – can’t wear gloves and snap photographs – and the wind was biting my ears off – literally!!! As I was standing there looking out onto the frozen lake – which was an amazing blend of beauty and eerie macabre – all I could think was “ARE YOU NUTS??? WHAT THE H*** WERE YOU THINKING???” So, I got my photos and headed back to the car where I cranked the heat up as high as I could and high tailed it out of there!!! 🙂
There really was quite an eerie feeling down there…..all by myself in the cold and haze of the winter sky – it was also quite peaceful and beautiful. Anyway – I hope you enjoy these photos – my ears and fingers paid dearly to capture them! hehehehe
The first two photos may look like a pile of rocks – in fact, I had to get closer to see that they were, indeed, NOT big rocks or something sticking up out of the ice! They were actually a large flock of geese all huddled up on the frozen water of the Oak Orchard River:
Oak Orchard River – all frozen – where it meets Lake Ontario:
Looking up the Oak Orchard River to the typically busy, full boat docks in front of The Black North Inn – now looking pretty lonely:
The lighthouse at Point Breeze:
Some shots of the Great Lake – Lake Ontario – frozen and deserted:
A marina with all the sail boats safely dry docked – anxiously awaiting the chance to get back in the water for some sun and fun:
And, finally, as I was leaving the Point, I stopped for this shot of Marsh Creek – usually full of boating activity, now desolate with an artic appearance and a wintery haze covered sun:
Now – I think I’ll go move my swivel rocker over in front of the fireplace and thaw out!!!
Sunday Stills – Murals or Graffiti
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, we were asked to provide photos of Murals or Graffiti. We have a lot of great murals in our area, but the weather is a little nasty, so I only stopped by a few right in the downtown area to get photos while I was out today. Here are my offerings for this challenge:
The first photo is our newest mural recently added in Waterman Park on Main Street to honor the legacy of our local sandstone quarrymen from about 100 years ago. For more information on this mural, our quarrymen legacy, and sandstone heritage, click here and here and here.
I love this mural in a third floor window of one of our historic downtown buildings – especially with the visible snowflakes that were falling as I snapped the photo! This dapper looking gentleman is always looking down on Main Street, tipping his hat to busy shoppers.
The next two photos are murals that can be found along the Erie Barge Canal near the Main Street lift bridge. The first one faces north and is located behind Bank Street – it depicts a team of mules towing a barge along a rural section of the canal. The second faces south and is located just west of the Main Street lift bridge – it depicts a high one lane bridge over the canal. Due to the weather and deep snow, I couldn’t get in position to get a straight on shot of the second mural, so I had to zoom in and take it on an angle – the photo isn’t very good, but I still wanted to include it in this post.
And, finally, I took this shot of a nice example of vintage advertising on the side of a local business:
Our Wonderful Bed
There is nothing in this world like your own, warm, cozy bed!!! I know it…..most people know it……and so do my girls!!! Actually, “my” bed really is more “their” bed than it is mine! 🙂 Night time is one story…..all four of us taking up just about every inch of a queen sized bed (click here for another post on the subject of sleeping with three big dogs)…..but, it is the rest of the time that the bed is one of their favorite places to be!
They LOVE being on the bed and, as we affectionately call it, “getting silly on the bed” – this means rubbing and rolling and scratching around on the covers like silly little gooses! I can make the bed and within minutes, it is unmade and rearranged to their liking! I’ve even entered the bedroom and found every blanket, sheet, and pillow off the bed and piled haphazardly on the floor!!! Take this morning, for instance…..I made the bed and left to brush my teeth and splash some water on my face. When I returned, just minutes later, I found THIS – so much for a nicely made up bed:
Amy loves to make a cocoon – she skootches herself around until she’s under the covers and then rolls around until she’s all wrapped up in the blankets and only her nose is sticking out:
Most any time of the day, Megan will head upstairs all by herself and lay on the bed – she can be found up there sleeping, rearranging the covers, or playing with her toys. The first photo was another time that the bed was all freshly made up and she decided she wanted the pillows and blankets in a more comfy arrangement:
One time, in our old house, she even decided to take our bed into the den with her……she took the comforter off the bed and dragged it across the hall to the den and put it on her doggie bed:
And, there are times when they are just as happy to lay on a nicely made bed……but not often – hehehe:
Oh, and I can’t forget to include a link to a post telling about the time I found a nice little “gift” in our bed…..click here for all the gory details!
May everyone be blessed with a wonderful, cozy, warm, inviting bed to enjoy!!!
Movie Review – Grand Piano
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon with not much of interest to me on TV. So, I was looking for a movie on Movies On Demand and found one that caught my eye – Grand Piano, starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack. Not really sure why I even checked out the trailer cause I don’t usually care much for Elijah Wood, but I did watch the trailer and found it intriguing! So, I watched it!
This movie isn’t due to be released in theaters until March 7th, but it is on On Demand, now. It is a suspense thriller about a gifted concert pianist, Elijah Wood, who is making a come back after being away from the stage due to his severe stage fright and a catastrophic performance five years ago. When he gets on stage for the much anticipated performance, he finds a message on his sheet music telling him that if he plays one wrong note, he will be shot on the spot and if he alerts anyone of his predicament, his famous actress wife – who is in a box seat in the audience – will be killed. While playing the concert of his life, he must figure out who is making the threats and why.
It will keep you on the edge of your seat, for sure! The performances are well done by all the actors and the music played during the concert makes for an incredible back drop to the suspense! It is a little slow in some spots and I would have liked a little better ending – I felt like it didn’t do the best job of tying it all together, but over all, it was really quite good! I rate it a solid B+ and recommend it for those who like a little suspense.
Here is the trailer:
Sunday Stills – Things We Take For Granted
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, Ed wanted us to think about the “Things We Take For Granted“. I’d like to think that we don’t take anything for granted – that we appreciate and find the value in everything and everyone that touches our lives. But, sadly, I know that is just not true. I know that family and friends can be easily taken for granted, if we don’t think about it. But, I think for the most part, we do find ways to ensure they know how much they are appreciated and valued – maybe not often enough, but that’s another story for another post. Some other things we take for granted are fresh water when we are thirsty, abundant food when we are hungry, the ability to breathe in fresh air, the ability to get out of bed each morning relatively healthy and ready to take on a new day — all things that many people around the world struggle with or have to fight for every day of their lives. But, I didn’t want to go there with this post…..it is enough to acknowledge that there are many blessings in our lives that others would give anything to be able to take them for granted and to remind everyone to do what we can for those less fortunate than we are.
What I wanted to focus on for this challenge are services we rarely, if ever, show regular appreciation for……but should!!! Some of them are things that this brutal winter has reminded me I should be more consciously thankful for!!! This is my way of saying “thank you” for just a small sampling of the services we take for granted, yet without them, our lives would be very different, indeed!!!
First up — we have become a society totally dependent on power! We flip a switch and just assume and expect that the lights will come on or the microwave will heat our dinner or the thermostat will tell the furnace to provide heat, etc. This is never more evident as when the power should go out and we go from room to room on autopilot flipping switches out of shear habit even though we know full well that nothing is going to happen! Thankfully, I have not lost power (knock on wood) during all of this bad weather, but my Mom and many others have. So, the first “thank you” is to the utility companies (power, gas, etc.) that provide the energy we consume without any thought and to the men and women who brave all kinds of harsh conditions and all hours of the day and night to repair it as quickly as possible when it goes out!
Next on my list are mail carriers. We’re all familiar with the historic motto – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Although there really is no official US Postal Service motto, this statement has stood the test of time and fuels an expectation that our mail will arrive no matter what! Well, I’m here to say “thank you” to the mail carriers who are out driving and walking in horrible weather conditions to deliver our mail each and every day! As I write this, I am thinking of the mail that I received in the past month during this brutal winter’s hazardous conditions with negative 40 degree wind chills and low visibilities due to blizzards. Yes, I have received some very important mailings – my tax documents, bills, etc. and some personal things that brought me great joy. But, a vast majority of it was junk mail that ended up in the recycle bin. How sad that these dedicated mail carriers are out braving the elements to bring me a stack of catalogs that I rarely even look at! My hats off and sincere thanks to you all…..
Another service that typically goes unappreciated – trash pick up! In the past several weeks, I have sat in my den looking out on my street and watched the trash and recycle trucks come like clock work in the worst of conditions! I watch the guys hanging on to the backs of the trucks or walking along the street from house to house emptying trash cans and recycle bins. They are outside in the harshest of weather all day long so that we don’t have to find a way to dispose of our own garbage! Talk about a thankless, yet extremely important, job!!! “Thank you” to the guys who keep our trash under control – without you, our cups (read “cans”) would definitely runneth over!!!
Next up – no matter how much snow Mother Nature dumps on us, we just assume that “someone” will come along with the right equipment to plow our streets and bulldoze the parking lot at the grocery store so that we can get out to go to work or school and fill our cupboards and go about our regular day to day activities. “Thank you” to all the village, town, county, and state workers and to all the private guys (or gals) with plows on the front of their pick up trucks or other equipment that venture out around the clock to clear the way for us to get to where we need to go – without you we’d really be “stuck”!
My street (at the entrance to my driveway) and Tops parking lot – taken this morning…..
And finally, but most certainly not least……when we are in trouble, hurt, or in immanent danger, we take for granted that when we call “911” someone will answer and send help appropriate to the situation and that the help will rescue us and save the day! A huge “thank you” to all our fire, police, and first responder professionals for being there when we need you and for keeping us safe and giving us a sense of security in our lives…..any time we need it, but especially during times when the weather creates another layer of danger – for us and you – as you respond to our calls!!!
The Village of Albion Police and Fire Stations on the corner of Bank and Platt Streets
Let’s all take time to appreciate these and other services that we typically take for granted — they are there for us when we need them — let’s give them a round of applause and our sincere thanks for all that they do for us!!!
Tribute to the Four Chaplains
I usually don’t double post things between my two blogs – this one (my personal blog) and the one I do for our church, but today it just feels appropriate to share it with both audiences. Our church – Albion First United Methodist Church – hosted our local American Legion Post and Veterans of Foreign Wars during our service, today. They presented an annual tribute service to four amazingly heroic and selfless men – The Four Chaplains. It was an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to attend and be a part of this incredibly emotional and humbling tribute.
I won’t retype the post – you can click on the link below to read the story and I truly hope you will go read it! I hope you sense the pride and emotion felt by all in attendance.
Click Here to read about the Tribute to the Four Chaplains
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