Sunset walk, love and the 'burbs

- Taking a sunset walk at Stone Mountain park on Saturday; a brisk and sunny day.  I peeled myself off the couch and went at the 11th hour (so to speak.)  The sun was setting just as I was five minutes away from my car. 

- A man pushes a woman in a wheelchair on the pedestrian part of the street at the park, a feat in itself, since the last stretch is all uphill.

- Stopping by the grocery store after and running into five people I know.  That's why I like living in the suburbs.

Making a difference, kind lady and special treat

- My friend Robert drives a school bus part time and one of the children, Lorenzo, likes to give him his artwork.  This one was hanging on his refrigerator last weekend.  I was delighted and saddened at the same time.  Lorenzo apparently comes from a very large family and it makes me think that he might not be getting much attention at home.  I tell Robert that he was put there for a reason and he is making a difference in this child's life.

- Another friend finds a friendly, untagged and unchipped dog roaming around her house; all attempts to find its owner were fruitless.  She asks her friend the veterinarian what she should do with it.  "Name it."

- Astounded that Easter candy is already available, I nevertheless snag a Cadbury's Creme Egg and savor it as a late night snack after a rainy trip to book club.  I always smile at the yellow "yolk" in the center.  And it was good.

I hope you find many good things around you this weekend, my friends.  Have a great one!

Midday stroll, rumble and memories of fishing

- Having a 45 minute walk at my favorite park (Tanyard Creek Park on Collier) at lunchtime yesterday.  I changed from my suit jacket to a hoodie, cranked up the iPod and enjoyed a midday stroll.  The bonus was the extra energy I had all afternoon.

- The rumble of a train overhead on the trestle and watching the end of it before it disappears.

- My coworker is wearing a t-shirt that depicts a fishing tournament and he is surprised to learn that I used to fish with my dad sometimes.  Dad said I wasn't a true fisherwoman since I wouldn't touch the fish or the bait, but oh my, the thrill of catching a fish can't be beat.  And most of all I loved sitting by the lake on an early Saturday morning idly chatting with dad or just sitting in companionable silence.

If it could talk..., a hit and movie weekend

- If this fern could talk, it would say, "I love me some outside!"  It was a rainy warmish weekend in Atlanta.  The fern comes in and out, but stays outdoors on the back porch if the temps are above about 40 degrees f.  It sits on a stool that came from my great aunt's home right now, but in the summer it hangs by my front door.

- Making Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro for game night with friends on Saturday. Click here for the recipe.  It was a hit and went well with the potluck dinner we always have.  My favorite thing:  red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing for dessert.  Yum.

- From the ridiculous to the sublime:  watching two movies on dvd this weekend I've heard a lot about, but just somehow hadn't seen before - Bridesmaids and The King's Speech.  I definitely recommend The King's Speech.  :)

Cat vs. Piñata, memories and beautiful noise

- Something fun for Friday/weekend - Cat vs. Piñata.  I love that this was one made just for cats  (you'll see.)  The maker of the video posted it on YouTube with this message:  "Made this piñata for our rescue cat Charlie to help him celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow as well as his one year anniversary of being ours. Like so many shelter cats, Charlie was on the verge of being euthanized." 

- I was lead to this little video after viewing a film called, "What do books do when people aren't around?" from my county library's blog.  It can be viewed here.  It reminded me of that old cartoon that shows a kitchen at night with the salt and pepper shakers dancing, and all the cutlery in motion, etc. and they scramble back in place when the humans come back.

- A late afternoon walk in the mostly silent park, until rounding the corner and a sight to behold:  the swings full of squealing laughing toddlers in motion.  The mom and nanny brigade surrounding them all smiles. 

I hope your weekend includes some fun and laughter my friends!  Happy Friday!

Two Swimming Heads, nice of her and fresh start

- My Tuesday night volunteer work puts me in a building that houses pieces from the State of Georgia Art Collection.  These gals had been relegated to a back hallway for some reason.  Still startling when I walk that way.  (I've blogged about them before, but it's been a couple of years.) 

The first one is my photo and I like that angle, but this one found online displays them to better effect.  The artist is John Jensen, using Mixed Media Sculpture and it's called Two Swimming Heads.  Click to enlarge.

- Waiting for an appointment with a room full of other people.  A woman gets up from her chair to move to another section of the waiting room and a piece of paper flutters to the floor behind her.  A young lady chases after her with it, only to be told that the paper was probably trash and didn't belong to the woman after all.  When she comes back, we all tell the young lady how nice that was of her to do that.

- Finally getting my two "go to" calendars in place for the new year.  Flat one on the desk to write in and one that displays three months at a time on the wall.  It feels so clean and fresh.  A lovely feeling.

Full of grace, gentle spirit and growth

- You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love... From the I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The sign borders the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta just next to Freedom Parkway.

- This is the original church building for Ebenezer Baptist Church, standing for more than 122 years. It was here, from the pulpit of the Heritage Sanctuary, that Dr. King preached his ministry of nonviolence. The sign asking that cars yield to bicycles is a tribute to the gentle spirit of the neighborhood. 

- Due to church growth, this much larger church building now resides just across the street. The King Center is just behind it.

I love living in a city with such rich history.  I took these photos last March (as you can tell from the leafing out of the trees) There were a number of photo snapping tourists around.  It's a holiday for most people today, but not me.  Sigh.  Off to work on a light traffic day.

Oh yeah - it's my 1002 post.  More than 1000 posts - I let that blogoversary slip by me last week.  :)

Beautiful and delicate, reading and it's all good

- Spotting a recipe for this Tomato-Cheddar Strata with Broccoli in the February 2012 issue of Country Living (left behind at the hospital* last weekend by my sister.)  I made it yesterday (halving it since it was for one.)  After describing it to friend Kim on an email, she said that it sounded "beautiful and delicate" and that fits perfectly.

- Standing in the coffee shop waiting and spotting a man reading a book at a cafe table on the other side of the window.  I am always interested in what other people are reading, and move a little closer to see.  "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck.  Good choice.

- Calling the department of motor vehicles in my county to inquire about my annual tag fee going up instead of down, as it usually does.  She explains.  I sigh and proclaim my sadness with a little drama.  She chuckles and is appropriately sympathetic.  Neither of us ruins the other's day.  It's all good. 

I hope you have nothing but good things happen to you this weekend, my friends!  Happy Friday!

* My mom is doing much better and was moved to a rehabilitation hospital yesterday.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Venti sized, peacock feather and candlelight

- Coffee Frappuccino for Lynn!  The four best words I heard all day yesterday.  I had earned 15 points from Starbucks and earned the right to have a free drink, so I went for the Venti size.  :) 

- Spotted on a woman in a shop:  a beautifully done tattoo that features a colorful peacock feather that goes from inside wrist to elbow.

- The neighbors downstairs had an extra smoky fire in their fireplace, leaving my place smelling a little smoky, too.  But finding the solution of having a candle burning in every room solved the problem and the flickering candlelight made all my rooms look beautiful.

The hospital, parking lot and some stories

- Spending the weekend within this hospital in Thomasville, Georgia with my mother (who is recovering from the aftereffects of a fall.)  The architecture of the building seems out of character for the surrounding neighborhood, but yet somehow fits anyway. 

- And in the parking lot, while getting in the car to leave, there is this view.  The tree is what is referred to as a "Live Oak" and has the usual ethereal looking Spanish moss dripping from it.  The house across the street is typical of the beautiful homes surrounding the hospital.

- Three favorite stories from the weekend (I was there from Friday morning to Sunday evening):

1. Two visitors come in and we stand whispering beside my sleeping (and sedated) mother's bed.  Ever the Southern Belle, her eyes open and she gently reprimands me for not offering them a chair.
2. A nurse is wearing a beautiful two-toned gold pendant.  Her father had it made for her specially, knowing that she loved white and yellow gold together.  It arrived in the mail one week after he died and is a Guardian Angel pendant.  She never takes it off.
3. A woman who comes in to clean the room tells me how much she loves working there and that this is her favorite floor of all.  I tell her that the people who work on that floor couldn't have been nicer, so I can understand that.

The wall, Bingo, the hawk and an alien

The following all happened in the space of five minutes:

- Arriving at friend and hairdresser Tim's home for a quick bangs trim, I decide that the mosaic wall they have created in their driveway might make a good blog photo.

- But lovely Bingo shows up and dances around me, remembering that I know where the treats are and am always allowed to give her one.  I was singing B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was her name, OH!  when...

- A voice at my elbow (which almost makes me throw my camera in the air from being startled) says, "There's a baby hawk in the back yard, come see."  It's Tim's ethereal wife Maxie.  Can you see the baby hawk?  It's in some tall trees which are being taken over by the crazy all-consuming vine Kudzu.

- And there was a new sculpture on the way inside - a sexy posing alien.  How 'bout that?  The truth is out there, y'all.  :)

I hope you have a rollicking five minutes in your weekend, my friends.  I hope it's wonderful no matter what. 

Midtown, quirky and Neil Diamond

- The lights of midtown Atlanta looked so beautiful as I was leaving volunteer work last night that I just had to get a "through the windshield" shot.

- Techwood Dr, referenced in the street sign above, leads to the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech.)  My GPS pronounces this street as "Tetchwood Doctor", which never ceases to make me laugh out loud.  It pronounces all streets ending in "Dr" as "Doctor", except in Florida, which I will never understand.

- The director of my volunteer organization has a newspaper ad for an upcoming Neil Diamond concert.  "Do you like him?" I ask.  She answers, "No, I don't like him.  I LOVE him!"  Me, too.  And we agree that "I am...I said" is our favorite Neil song.  We decide we were separated at birth after a discussion about how both our ex-husbands didn't like him at all.  :) 

No resolutions, eat more chocolate and oranges

Happy 2012, friends! Here are some favorite quotes about making resolutions, something I stopped doing because I NEVER keep them, despite good intentions. Well - I do resolve to eat more chocolate in 2012. Seems as though I'm always displaying oranges here this time of year - they are so good and I vow to eat more of them, too. 

- I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second. ~Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary

- Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. ~Oscar Wilde

- Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go. ~Brooks Atkinson