View from the couch, desk lunch and city life

 - I was home a lot this weekend and spent much of it having a marathon viewing of Law & Order, SVU - it was either delete 21 episodes from last season or view them.  (Only one more to go.)  The real story here is that I love the view from my couch.  If you click to enlarge, you might be able to see some goldfinches on the feeder and one on the Victorian hanging planter.  They were cute - they kept coming and going, chasing each other away - bumping each other off perches.  More entertaining than TV really. 

- Whole Foods had pints of small heirloom tomatoes on sale and they were beautiful in my desk lunch at work.  The yellow pear tomatoes remind me of my maternal grandfather, who always had those in his garden at home.  We used to "walk the garden" and he would pick some for me to eat right there.  I don't see those often for sale, so I had to buy them.

- From Mr Cs sign:  BIDEN JAM 2015.  I laughed out loud on Friday morning, September 4, when I saw this sign.  Thursday was a traffic day to remember in Atlanta - on the morning news, they warned us of afternoon traffic, involving a college football game at the Georgia dome, an Atlanta Braves game, the Atlanta black gay pride festival, Dragoncon, as well as Vice President Joe Biden coming to speak in the evening.  I should have gone to Mr C's to wait it out after work - it took about 1.5 hours to get home to the 'burbs.  :)

Glowing serenity, definitely downstairs and double nice

- When my sisters and I spent a day in Elbert County, Georgia, a few Fridays ago, I spotted this angel marking someone's grave at the second family cemetery we visited.  The angel spoke to me for some reason and I think someone's loved one must have shelled out a pretty penny to have it erected there. 

- My sisters and I are also facebook friends and we all recently took one of those lighthearted facebook quizzes "What Downton Abbey character would you be?"  My sisters (who sort of operate as a unit at times) both got Mr. Bates.  I got Mr. Carson.  :)  He's a good sort, and kind of a rules follower, like me.  So I was looking for the quiz outside of facebook to share with you and found one, but it's different that the one I took before.  This time I got Mrs. Patmore.  :) 

- A dinner with one of my niece's friends, who also lives in the Atlanta area.  It felt a little like being with family, having dinner and chatting about life.  And there were crab cakes atop a salad that also had walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese..  Yum.

Sunday night favorite, proud gran and remembrance

 Photo from PBS

- They make me so happy - although I only saw about 45 minutes of Downton Abbey before falling asleep on the couch.  Thanks to my recording device, I can finish it tonight (as temperature drops to record lows.)

- Church friend Susan passing down photos of her tiny grandchildren in their Christmas Day pjs just before the service starts.

- Overhearing a man call his wife of many years "Mom" - and smiling when remembering that my dad used to do the same thing with my mother. 

Slow cooker lasagna, signs of fall and dancing

- This is slow cooker lasagna, after being cooked for four hours in the slow cooker and then a final six minutes under the broiler to give it that golden look.  I found the recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website - you can find it here.  It makes A LOT - so my freezer is full of portions for future lunches and such.  This was a practice run for making it for guests.  It's very good, but a little salty tasting to me, probably because of the Italian sausage.  I might do half as much sausage next time or even leave it out and go vegetarian.

- Leaves crunching underfoot and the need to throw a wrap on when I leave on these brisk mornings here in the South.

- Watching the delightfully silly Dancing with the Stars.  I loved that guy's "Bollywood" style dance.  I am a passable dancer, and that rarely comes up anymore - usually just at wedding receptions - so I admire great dancing skills.  :)

Red gold, laughing and sofa time

- Home grown tomatoes are like gold to me and friend and coworker Bobby keeps me supplied when his come in. Here they are at home (with Duke's Mayo - important) and later at work in a sandwich for lunch. So good!

- Coming into work in the morning and the plant manager is standing with Charlone at the small press, telling her some tale that has her in stitches laughing. A lovely sound, her laugh.

- It's been a busy week for activities after work and I decide to forgo the afternoon walk in place of sofa time for Thursday evening. Funniest moment - turning on the TV in time to hear Dr. Phil tell a weeping woman, "This ain't my first time at the rodeo!"

Yay - it's the weekend! I hope yours is wonderful, my friends!

Rescue, hanging on and treasure

- My rescue plant on a Saturday morning on the back porch. My neighbor picked it up from a pile of debris awaiting the trash collectors at the university hospital in which she works. Someone had vacated an office and abandoned the plant. She brought it home and asked if I wanted it.

- One raindrop still hanging on after the Friday night thunderstorm that popped up.

- 60 Minutes and the rebroadcast of a story from last January showing an American treasure, Wynton Marsalis, in Cuba. Marsalis and his band mates found common ground with musicians in Havana. "They just have a lot of people who can play," Marsalis told Morley Safer.

Water works, no water works and guilty pleasure

- An unedited photo of a portion of the Atlanta Water Works - shot from the car window. There is lots more sparkling water and a beautiful park there, too. I'd have straightened and cropped that photo a bit, but my slow computer didn't cooperate this morning. Life is often not perfect though, so there you are.

- I was on my way from work to my volunteer organization. The volunteer coordinator pokes her head into the room in which I am bent over a publication, reading an article before I get started. She asks, "Are you crying?" Startled - I tell her I seldom cry. But that's not true - I'm a crying fool over sentimental stuff, like sad movies or when someone I like gets voted off Dancing with the Stars. :)

- Facebook friend Marybeth posts this last night: MBA "is not totally embarrassed that after a tough day at the office and a workout, she enjoys watching slightly trashy reality TV shows as an escape ! What's your guilty pleasure?" I have a feeling she is talking about American Idol and she already knows that I am devoted to that dancing show.

The shadow, not me and DWTS

- The shadow that this little statue makes on the wall at my mother's assisted living apartment. This was an award my dad won a long time ago and we put it on top of the kitchen cabinet. I like how it looks as if it is watching over things.

- Somehow my cellphone manages to dial up my office on its own inside my purse - twice - while I'm out. I'm told that they could hear me talking, but couldn't get me to hear them. I put it all together when I realized they were hearing the woman's voice who is reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" that I am listening to on CD in the car. :)

- The guilty pleasure of watching Dancing with the Stars on TV. What a crazy show, but I enjoy it immensely.

Sunrise, no complaints and priceless

Sunset over Razor lake by ALM

- My niece works on this property in northern Florida and is privy to this view all the time. I tell her how lucky she is (except for that working cows thing, which she doesn't mind.) :)

- Such a comparison with the concrete and asphalt I am surrounded by, but no complaints here. I love my section of northwest Atlanta and especially clients like loyal Matt, who tells me yesterday how much he likes working with us on his projects.

- Catching the end of America's Got Talent, a guilty pleasure. No spoiler here, but I think the right person won and the look of excitement on the winner's face was priceless.

Blue building, one more day and Cash Cab

- This building on Defoor Avenue in Atlanta, part of my daily commute. I've always been intrigued by its artful details - the silver painted door, the different colored chairs in front, the bronze painted urn, etc. and wondered if it was a business or residence.

- Walking into work on a Monday morning and finding that a co-worker has brought in Krispy Kreme donuts and deciding that my vow to eat less sugar can wait one more day.

- Hearing that my favorite game show, "Cash Cab", won a daytime Emmy award. A bit of an anomaly on the Discovery Channel, the premise is that unassuming people enter the "Cash Cab" in New York City as simple passengers taking a normal taxi ride, only to be shocked when they discover that they’re instant contestants on a game show. It is great fun, I think.

Take a whiff, impressed and the tango

- Catching the tell tale scent of lavender while walking by the plant aisle at the grocery store. I can't resist bringing it home; it is so unique looking that my neighbor calls me during the day to ask what it is. Take a whiff, I say (but give her a hint anyway.)

- Co-worker Joanne displaying some of her blown glass art and making it sound so easy to do that. We are all so impressed that she will be demonstrating her craft at the Decatur Arts Festival this weekend.

- Skipping the last hour of the finale of Dancing with the Stars because I can predict who will win. But reflecting during the first hour how easy they make it look to do those dance moves and knowing what incredibly hard work it must be. They make me want to learn to tango. :)

Journey, grace and walking music

Dreaming of spring. My "weedy pot" during the recent snow.

- Realizing only yesterday that there is a message stitched into the edge of the inner pocket of my jacket, "Life is a journey. Stay warm. Keep dry."

- Blinking back tears while watching the Olympics medal ceremony in which skier Lindsey Vonn receives her gold medal. There are a number of athletes who have handled themselves with grace and dignity during the games and she is one of them. Another is Canadian first at-home gold medalist, Alexandre Bilodeau, who spoke so proudly of his uncomplaining handicapped brother and all he must endure that he inspired a bystander at The Today Show interview to say Bilodeau makes him proud to be Canadian.

- Following a singing man down the hall after my volunteer stint at Georgia Public Broadcasting. As he holds the elevator door for me, I tell him how much I enjoyed his hallway singing. (It was “O mio babbino caro” (O My Beloved Daddy) from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.”) He says a little sadly that he is not as good as he used to be. I say that we could all say that about something and thank him for the few moments of walking music.

Home spot, shake and big bands

- A mid-week trip to this hospital in Macon, Georgia to be with my dad who is back in again.* He offered up this startling fact last time we were here: The entrance to this hospital is on the spot in which he lived with his parents in their family home when he was a teenager. The house was eventually torn down to make way for the hospital.

- It always makes male medical staff smile when they tell him their name and he offers his hand for a shake, even when he is woozy.

- Later I find a program on GPB-TV (Georgia Public Broadcasting) that has clips of bands from the Big Band era. Mom and Dad especially love The Glenn Miller Orchestra, so I check to see if he is awake by singing along with "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo." A great song and fun to sing, but I am not known for my singing and it is a good test because it makes him smile.

* Dad had a medical procedure yesterday, and was resting comfortably when sis and I switched caregiving shifts last night.

Tom & Jerry, mouse hole and bowling

- Tom and Jerry cartoons are my favorite. I always like how Jerry has his little mouse hole to run through so Tom can't get him.

- This looks for all the world like a mouse hole here at the printing company. I mentioned that to co-worker Joanne in passing one day. Yesterday I spotted a plastic mouse peeking out and yes, she put it there, all the way back in October and I just now noticed. :)

- Any kind of whimsy is the best part of my day. Another bit of whimsy - the youth group at my church had bowling in the hallway on Sunday evening, using frozen turkeys - safely donated to charity before they could thaw.

Red hatter, no charge and pure contentment

- While pumping gas, spotting a "Red Hat Contractor" in her purple truck adorned with red hat logo. And impressed that this "over 50" woman, wearing a purple t-shirt, but no hat, has her own driveway paving business.

- At another gas station across town, Ryan carefully checks my tires for proper pressure after someone tells me a tire looks low. He sends me off with no charge.

- Finally sinking into the sofa after a long day with a salad of dark greens, steamed broccoli, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and a lemon Dijon dressing. The best part - a white wine spritzer and Grey's Anatomy from last week on the DVR.

Cheerleader, how good and the Twilight Zone

- This lawn jockey in friend Tim's front yard, all done up as a University of Georgia cheerleader for gameday. With support like this, UGA just might be looking at a fourth straight win this week. The lawn jockey has endless costumes and soon will be done up for Halloween.

- Visiting a fragrance design business and telling them how good it smells in there. They say they do not smell it at all. Most people think the printing company has a pervasive smell of ink, but we do not smell it either. At least not anymore.

- "There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call 'The Twilight Zone.'" Hearing this lovely prose on NPR this morning made me happy, as they paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Twilight Zone!

Nazar Boncuk, Scout and Wheel

- A visitor spotting the "evil eye," received as a wedding favor at a Turkish - American marriage ceremony, in my hurricane lamp. Turkish people believe the evil eye, or nazar boncuk, wards off misfortune and ill will from the evil eyes of others. I just like the way it looks among the other rocks.

- Another great client dog, Scout, a two-year-old yellow lab who exuberantly brought all his toys for display one by one. He mortified his owner by walking though his visitor's legs from behind. The visitor thought it was funny.

- Sitting with other visitors and patients in a hospital community room and reflecting how the ubiquitous television game show "Wheel of Fortune" brings people together.

Abblasen, run through the rain and coast is clear

- A decidedly un-sunny Sunday in which the afternoon was spent in slothful sofa-time, catching up on DVRd CBS Sunday Morning shows, with the wonderful opening theme music, "Abblasen" played by Wynton Marsalis.

- An exhilarating run through the rain with friend Ginny, both umbrella-less, and laughing as we reach our cars soaked.

- Putting away Sophie's nemesis, the vacuum cleaner. She emerges from behind the futon meowing her discontent and "is the coast clear?" I tell her I don't like it much either.

Mr C's, the Hawks and dancing cowboys

- From Mr C's Sign yesterday:

IF U
EAT
MEATLOAF
THE
HAWKS
WILL WIN
$6.99

- But sadly, they did not. This morning the camera operator on the local NBC affiliate (amid much hilarity from the two anchor women) cut the weather man out of the shot because he bet against the Hawks. I suppose we can't expect the transplanted news people to love our teams like we do.

- Would this make you think I care about the Hawks? I would have totally jumped on the bandwagon if they had not been eliminated from the playoffs last night. However, instead of watching them on television, I watched the delightfully silly Dancing with the Stars. You gotta love a show that encourages a rodeo cowboy like Ty Murray to dance the samba. The cowboy nation must be behind him with the votes.

Hands held, warmth and journey

- The congregation of my church ending the service with hands held.

- The weather warming enough to sit outside for coffee in the afternoon and watch the world go by.

- Watching a little of the endless Super Bowl pregame coverage and admiring the quirkiness of the story of how Arnel Pineda got his job as lead singer for Journey. (From a cover performance on YouTube.)