Some old pictures

Hi All!

I tried to load these on Facebook, but it wouldn't recognize the file they were in and I couldn't figure out another way around it. I don't think I have posted these before. If I have, then they are for those who haven't seen them yet.

Love to All
Mic

Tim, Me and Les


Mom and Dad


Aunt Bonnie (Bleil) Hall and Grandma Beth (Atwell) Bleil


Aunt Bonnie and Aunt Jeanne (Bleil) Russell


Karen


Dad, Mom, Grandpa Leslie Fowler, Nana (Hey, I have NO clue what her first name was! Can anyone help?)


Rick, Grandpa, Chris, Mike, Nana, Debbie, Art Jr (Did I get it right?)


Mom


Mom and her friend Bobbi (so says the back of the picture)

My Scotland and Brugge Trips

Finally have some time to post some of my photos from my Fall trips to Scotland and Brugge. I had a wonderful time on both trips and was able to meet our "cousin" in the Aberdeen area. She and I had a lot of fun and I look forward to her visit here in February and mine back up that way in May.

Precious

The other night I saw the film Precious (based on the book Push by Sapphire). It is about a teenaged girl from Harlem, who despite her mother's physical and sexual abuse and her father's raping her, manages to discover a world that can exist for her outside of it all. She is kicked out of school for becoming pregnant again (for the second time by age 16). What the school doesn't know is that Precious' father is the one who has fathered both children, not some boyfriend. Precious does well in math, but her language skills are nearly non-existent. The principal, realizing that there may be more to Precious' situation than Precious is willing to tell, suggests to her that she attend an alternative education program that will prep her to get her GED.

It is one of the most moving films I have ever seen. It will make you laugh, cry, get angry, and realize just how blessed you are that "there but for the grace of God, go I". It will make you appreciate the ones who love you even more and make you realize that there are some who are only self-serving that you should leave by the wayside. It will also make you see the role that ignorance plays in daily lives and to realize that those who suffer from it deserve compassion. It will show you hope exists in all circumstances, no matter how dismal.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who reads this. What you take away from it is worth much more than the price of a ticket.

Here's the trailer:



Off to get the book...that is bound to be even better than the film.

Elementary, my dear Watson!

Ooh, this coming Christmas Day brings with it yet another rendering of the character of Sherlock Holmes. My favorite portrayal of the enigmatic sleuth is that done by Jeremy Brett. (I just got done watching an episode on Netflix of the series he did in 1994. These episodes have some neat camera angles in their filming, albeit there's a lot of overacting going on in them.) I think he does a wonderful job of bringing out Holmes' eccentricities. (The overacting in his case is done deliberately, enhancing Holmes' eccentric manner.) And, he looks like what I used to imagine Sherlock Holmes should look like when I read my copy of the Complete Sherlock Holmes as a young girl. That edition is currently in the attic and I will have to bring it down to read before Christmastime, when Robert Downey Jr. dons the quirks and idiosyncrisies of the reknown detective. I do look forward to the newer version, mostly to see the picture as a whole, rather than specifically for Downey's portrayal. The effects and action in the trailer look good but there is just something that my mind cannot get past in thinking that Downey just doesn't strike me as Holmes material.

It has been at least 2 decades or maybe 3, since I read any Sherlock Holmes stories. I never noticed the contradictions in his character that exist in the texts. I think that I shall enjoy rereading the stories with a new eye, a more mature, more astute, more discerning eye. It will seem like reading them for the first time all over again.

So, I leave you with the images of the the two actors in full Holmes garb, played by Brett and Downey Jr. and you may decide for yourselves who you think looks more like Holmes should.


http://www.sherlock-holmes.es/images/utilidades/brett_pipa.jpg


http://l.yimg.com/img.omg.yahoo.com/omg/us/img/3b/f5/8538_9013817490.jpg

Elementary, My Dear Watson

Ooh, this coming Christmas Day brings with it yet another rendering of the character of Sherlock Holmes. My favorite portrayal of the enigmatic sleuth is that done by Jeremy Brett. (I just got done watching an episode on Netflix of the series he did in 1994. These episodes have some neat camera angles in their filming, albeit it there's a lot of overacting going on in them.) I think he does a wonderful job of bringing out Holmes' eccentricities. (I think the overacting in this case, enhances Holmes' eccentric ways.) And, he looks like what I used to imagine Sherlock Holmes should look like when I read my copy of the Complete Sherlock Holmes as a young girl. That edition is currently in the attic and I will have to bring it down to read before Christmastime, when Robert Down Jr. dons the quirks and idiosyncrisies of the reknown detective. I do look forward to the newer version, mostly to see the picture as a whole, rather than specifically for Downy's portrayal. The effects and action in the trailer look good but there is just something that my mind cannot get past in thinking that Downy just doesn't strike me as Holmes material.

It has been at least 2 decades or maybe 3, since I read any Sherlock Holmes stories. I never noticed the contradictions in his character that exist in the texts. I think that I shall enjoy rereading the stories with a new eye, a more mature, more astute, more discerning eye. It will seem like reading them for the first time all over again.

So, I leave you with the images of the the two actors in full Holmes garb, played by Brett and Downy Jr. and you may decide for yourselves who you think looks more like Holmes should.

Granada Spain

Okay, here are some of the pics from Granada...really nice place but hot!!! The Sierra Nevadas were beautiful! I'll post more later!

Granada, Spain

Here are some of my many photos of Granada. Some really pretty sights.

Mysterious Ways

With the anniversaries of Mom's and Myrtle's deaths approaching, my thoughts have been even more frequently on them.

I had been thinking a lot lately that about this time last year when Myrtle, who was too sick to go shopping by then but still at home (and not in hospital), wanted to make sure she had little bags of Halloween goodies prepared for the trick-or-treaters. So, I grabbed several assorted large bags of candy at Sam's, found some treat bags at the dollar store and went to pick Chantelle up at the house and head over to Myrtle's and John's house. Chantelle and I and Myrtle (as well as she was able) put together I don't know how many treat bags, but there were a lot. She enjoyed doing that every year and she loved to see the costumed kids come to the door. (One year, I sewed her a large pumpkin costume which she wore to greet the trick-or-treaters.) So, I know how much she loved having us there to help her do that last year. That was October the 11th.

Here's the mysterious part:
Yesterday, I was getting ready to go over to Jon's and Renee's house in order to see the kids before going to work , which I do on the weekends because the house is right down the road from my work. Before going there, I had stopped at Price Chopper because I wanted to pick up some French bread to go with some Spanish chorizo (it has the texture of pepperoni but tastes more like salami, to me) that I was bringing into work to share there. I had collected the bread and the few other items that I needed and headed to the cash register. I was kind of rushing. Well, I picked the shortest line, but it was "liked to be" (a phrase Myrtle used to use quite a bit) the longest, since there was a little old lady (a black woman) unloading the groceries from her cart. I wasn't paying much attention until I put my things on the conveyor belt when she said, in a voice that was feeble and shaky, that she hadn't finished putting her things up. It was then that it struck me how she reminded me of Myrtle, since she had on a wig similar to one that Myrtle wore often and glasses like those Myrtle wore. In fact, her features (slightly) and her mannerisms reminded of Myrtle. I then noticed the cartful of things and immediately apologized for my inattention, collecting my things off of the conveyor belt. At once I saw just how much she was struggling while very shakily putting the things up on the belt, so I asked her if I could help her and she said yes. So I loaded her stuff on the belt for her, put down a plastic order divider, put my things down on the belt and went around the aisle to bag her groceries. She was obviously having a difficult time of it doing these groceries all by herself. So I asked her to wait and I would help her put them in her vehicle since I was going out to the parkiing lot too. She consented. I paid for my groceries after she paid for her order, put my own plastic bag of groceries on my arm and helped her guide her cart through the maze of shoppers out to the parking lot. On the way to her vehicle she told me that usually her husband helps her but that he is a pastor and was in the middle of performing church services at that hour. We found her van (which was in the same aisle as my car) and we put the groceries in the back of it. She thanked me and I wished her a nice day, turning to walk to my car. When I got to my car I realized that I had inadvertently grabbed my own bag of groceries off my arm and had put it in her vehicle. Thankfully she didn't move very quickly. I turned and saw the van still there, so I trotted back and tapped on her window, telling her what I had done. We laughed and she got out to help me look...sweet little thing. I found my groceries and was off again after another laugh with her about it. On the way back to my car, the memory of the day of making treat bags with Myrtle and Chantelle came to mind and I considered that it had been right around this time last year that we had made them. It made me smile all afternoon and I decided to look in my Sam's club statements out of curiousity (I had put the candy on my Sam's credit card last year) to see how close the dates were.

I was overcome with emotion just a short while ago when I dug out the statement and it showed the date of purchase for that candy last year was 10/11/08.

I know that one shouldn't brag about their good deeds and truly the reason for writing this is not to brag. But I had to share with you all the mysterious way in which God touched my life in a unique way yesterday. I have had similar things like this happen before and it always gives me such a shock.

Thank you, Lord. This will be a memory I will keep forever.

Language Loo

Now here is a language learning concept I never considered. It had me chuckling to myself the whole time.

I am currently down in Albany to attend class today. Yesterday I had come down to get set up in the place I am staying (the sp academy this semester). As I have yet to bring my tiny fridge down with me, I had to dine out last night.

My new favorite place to eat down here is The Macaroni Grill. They serve, you guessed it, Italian fare. I entered the restaurant but before having the hostess seat me, I had to use the restroom. While I am in the process of doing what comes naturally (LOL), I realized that the overhead speakers are playing a language learning program. One voice says something in English and another one says the same thing in Italian. I thought to myself "I never thought of it, but its an interesting way to pick up a bit of the language" I mean, what else are you but a captive audience while doing your business in the bathroom. I just had to chuckle at the interesting way in human ideas are put to work. Really, what is the difference between reading a book or listening to language learning audio in the bathroom. So, thumbs up to the MG once again for a pleasant experience.

And if you are wondering how the food is there. I highly recommend it. I have been there several times and last night was the first time I had a dish I wasn't completely pleased with. I had ordered Chicken Florentine. As you may know, most anything florentine has spinach in it. Well, this time the spinach was VERY salty. It was the first time I had ever ordered that particular dish and when the manager (who goes around to all the tables to ask how the meal is) came to my table I told him of the saltiness and he could see I hadn't eaten much of it. I did give it a good shot. I even went so far as to isolate several tastes of all the individual ingredients mixed in the dish and found out the culprit was definitely the spinach. He offered to get me another dish, but I declined and just ordered a light desert (ahhh, italian sorbetto...a cool and soothing taste of heaven) which easily made up for the salty spinach dish. But to my joyful surprise, they deducted the price of the chicken florentine from my bill. I wasn't expecting that. I know in pricey restaurants they do that. But this is a chain restaurant, so I had no expectation they would do that. And it wouldn't have bothered me to pay for the dish. Like I said, I had never ordered it before and may that was the way it was supposed to be served. I wasn't sure.

All in all, I have yet to have a truly bad experience there. Try the MG sometime if you ever are near one.

Chicago at the Champlain Valley Exposition Essex Junction VT 8/29/09

At first arriving at our seats, I began to have reservations of how much I would enjoy the performance. It was my first time at that venue and the bleacher-style seating was of uncomfortable hardwood and very cramped. When people tapped their feet or moved to the music while sitting, the benches would shake you. I have to say that I am no fan of crowds and even less when they are condensed into close quarters. In my mind, things were not shaping up well and I feared an unpleasant evening of physical discomfort, loud music that was practically irrecognizable from its original form and people everywhere too close for my liking. But as it turned out, it was a very pleasant experience after all. And the music made all the difference. Once they began to play, their unmistakable sound made me forget the little annoyances around me.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them playing last night, since I didn't bring my camera. I don't think it would have mattered had I had it though. We were sufficiently up in the grandstand so as not to have been able to get a good shot anyway.

What I can tell you was it was a great show. I am not a big fan of live performances. I have seen so very few because often times the artists will change the versions of the songs while playing live (that is why i always prefer the studio version of recordings over the live recordings). Sometimes the changes are only slight, but sometimes the songs are bearly recognizable as compared to their original studio versions. Well, last night, it practically could have been the album versions for the songs they played. There was very little variation in the songs. For me, that made it so much more enjoyable.

This was the first time I had ever heard Jason Scheff sing the songs that Peter Cetera used to do the vocals for. His style is quite close; and obviously he was quite a find for Chicago back in 1985 after Cetera left. He does best when he hits the stronger notes, but with the weaker ones his voice breaks a bit too easily. And he tends to hold certain notes too long. Otherwise, his performance was excellent. And of course Robert Lamm was his fine self as usual. Not to mention all the other members of the band.

In addition to sitting up in the grandstand I had a tall woman sitting in front of me so my view was limited. But, since the band didn't deviate their songs much, I had only to sit and listen, much of the time with my eyes closed, and enjoy. When I did have my eyes open and I wasn't trying to look around the head of the woman in front of me, my eyes rested on a couple in the orchestra seating below, sitting off a bit from the rest of those seated in that section. They caught my eye because they were older and I imagined they had been together a long time. They sat the whole time with his arm around her and her head often resting on his shoulder. Now and then you could see them talking to one another. And at one point he turned and gently kissed the side of her face. (I'm weird. I like to observe people and how they interact.) Chicago is definitely the band to enjoy with an intimate loved one. Their singular style and mostly romantic arrangements lend themselves well to a romantic evening, in my opinion. And so it seemed for that couple last evening.








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3 for lunch

My friend Kathy and I meant our friend and long-time co-worker Diana Wardell (former Cogan) for lunch at the Butcher Block one day.

Not one of the pictures turned out good for all of us. So in all fairness I'll put all 3 up, so that we can each be seen with our best pose of the day. :)

I think this one is the better one of Kathy


And this one the better one of Diana


And this one the better of me

A day at the Shelburne Museum 8/19/09 (in progress)

The first building you go into is a large silo with a temporary display of vintage motorcycles. I don't know what, if any, connection it may have to the museum itself. But motorcycles might have been an interest of the founders of the museum or something. I have a bad habit of not reading the plaques that go along with the displays. Consequently, I sometimes don't know how the subject matter of some of my photos fits into the rest of the displays there. I guess I don't read them all because it would take much more time to go through the displays. But you sure miss a lot by doing that.









Me and the chillin :)



Aunt Karen and the chillin...tried to get the pretty background in.



The next display on circus memorabilia was in a horseshoe-shaped barn. I think it was Barnum and Bailey stuff. But, again, I didn't read the displays much. On the inside, along what would be the outer curve of the horseshoe was one very long display of circus miniatures handcarved by one person. Along what would be the inner curve of the horseshoe was full-sized carousel horses and other carousel animals as well as other means of conveyance used in the circus procession. I loved the minitures.













The founder of the museum and his wife used to go on big game hunting expeditions (mostly in the Canadian Rockies) with friends of theirs. These are some of their prized kills. I'm not big on taxidermed critters but standing near these things really gives you quite an impression of their sizes.







Entering the rear of the railcar that was attached to the locomotive in the picture below it. The interior of the car and the train station looked like something out of an episode of The Wild, Wild West.





Approaching the steamboat Ticonderoga, also decorated to the period of its heyday.