Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
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
Sunday Stills – Bad Weather
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge was an easy one…..Ed asked for Bad Weather photos! Since we have had more than our share of bad weather during this historically brutal winter here in Western New York (and it is only January), I had plenty of opportunities to snap some examples of bad weather. The difficulty came in deciding what I would focus on for my photos! I thought about it while I was out and about yesterday, but my idea came to me this morning……the bitter cold aspect would be my focus. So, here you go……
The thermometer on my patio – taken about 7:30 this morning:
Breakfast on the patio, anyone?
How about if we curl up on the wicker set to read a good book?
And, finally…..a screen photo of the Accuweather app on my iPhone – note the “Real Feel” temp of -21 degrees!!! Bbbrrr!!! (Um – was it really necessary to point out that “Today is a poor day for Outdoor Fitness”???)
I think I’ll close out this post and go fix a HOT cup of cocoa and move my swivel rocker closer to the fireplace and stay there until SPRING!!!
To all those across the country that are enduring unusually cold winter weather, stay warm and safe!!!
Good Catch, Katie!
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the girls and their meal time routine (click here to refresh your memory – it will help this post make more sense). Well, while I was serving up tonight’s dinner, Katie added a new twist to the story and gave me something to laugh about!
As with every meal, they were all lined up just a foot or two from their respective dishes. I scooped in Katie’s meal first – as usual. Then, I scooped in Amy’s meal…..but, in the process, one morsel fell from the scoop and rolled towards Katie. Now, usually when this happens, they all just stare at it and each other while I pick up whatever dropped and put it in the bowl that it was meant to go in before it dropped! But, tonight….with the speed and precision of a lightening bolt, Katie grabbed the morsel just as it stopped rolling a few inches from her feet. But…..she didn’t eat it – cause, you know, they wait until they are all served and are told to eat…..no, she didn’t eat it – she just grabbed it into her mouth and in one swift motion, dropped it into her own dish and stepped back to her position in line! Of course, this was technically Amy’s morsel, but it was Katie’s for the taking….and take it, she did!
Good catch, old girl……and, yes, I did put an extra morsel in Amy’s dish to replace the one that was lost to Katie (not that she would have noticed, but it was the right thing to do)!
Sunday Stills – The Letter “F”
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge is to photograph something that represents the Letter “F”! This morning, Mother Nature dumped a whole new blanket of white on us, so the most obvious representation of the Letter “F” is:
FRESH FLAKES on the FURNITURE
Subtitled: Looks like FUZZY FUR!
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