Elephants

For some reason elephants keep catching my attention. I guess it started because I was thinking about making an elephant. I've wanted, for a long time, to make a stuffed elephant and decorate it lavishly with fancy fabric and beading. Similar to the picture but mine will be much more elaborate!

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Anyway, since I've been noticing elephants, here are a couple of poems that reference elephants and some elephant trivia & quotes!

I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent.
~Dr. Seuss

 Love will draw an elephant through a key-hole.
~Samuel Richardson

When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it's best to let him run.
~Abraham Lincoln

 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

• September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day.
• Elephants are pregnant for nearly 2 years.
• A group of elephants is called a herd, a parade, or a memory.
• The elephant's trunk has about 15,000 muscles, and it takes baby elephants quite some time to learn to master its use. The trunk combines both nose and upper lip and transforms them into a single powerful organ that is able to touch, grasp and smell.
• Elephants are the largest living land animals.
• Elephants live in a structured social order. The females spend their entire lives in tightly knit family groups made up of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. These groups are led by the eldest female called the matriarch. Adult males live mostly solitary lives.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Ghost Elephants  
by Jean Valentine

In the elephant field
tall green ghost elephants
with your cargo of summer leaves

at night I heard you breathing at the window

Don't you ever think I'm not crying
since you're away from me
Don't ever think I went free

At first the goodbye had a lilt to it—
maybe just a couple of months—
but it was a beheading.

Ghost elephant,
reach down,
cross me over—

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The Elephant in the Room
 by Kay Ryan

It isn’t so much
a complete elephant
as an elephant
sense—perhaps
pillar legs supporting
a looming mass,
beyond which it’s
mostly a guess.
In any case, we
manage with relative
ease. There are just
places in the room
that we bounce off
when we come up
against; not something
we feel we have to
announce.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

Only once?

I thought I'd share this quote from Bob Marley. It was too long for a side quote so I put it into a post. I like it a lot but I hope the only once in your life part isn't true!

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life. 

Arboretum!

My daughter and her boyfriend have been visiting and on Sunday we went to the Arboretum at Sacramento State University. It's a 3-acre site with about 1200 trees. It's also very shady and cool! It was fun to walk around and look at the trees and sit in the shade.

Silent Sunday

Happy Birthday!

Today is my cat's 8th birthday! It's hard to believe they've been with me for eight years. Before these two found me, I was definitely not an animal person. One of the cats my daughter and her boyfriend had was having kittens and she persuaded me to adopt one. She also brought one to our place as "her" kitten. I was very quickly attached to both of them!

They are littermates and were born on the same day but quite a long time apart. Mellifera (mostly white with black cap on her head), was the first kitten born. She was born on my daughter's arm. Apparently her mother was scared and didn't know what to do. My daughter woke up and found a newborn kitten on her arm! Two more kittens were born after that and they figured that was it. They both went to work and when they came home, stumbled over a teeny kitten on the living room floor - that was Pippin (mostly black). He was definitely the runt of the litter although you'd never know it now - he weighs about 15 lbs. He's not a fat cat, just a very large one!

They have both brought so much joy to my life. I never could have imagined that two cats could bring so much happiness. They are totally spoiled and completely run my life and I'm quite happy with that! We have a party for them every year but this year it will be a day late. My daughter and her boyfriend will be here tomorrow so I've explained to Pippin & Mellifera that we will have their party tomorrow. They don't seem concerned.

Mellifera already got a special treat today. She likes to go out on the patio first thing in the morning. I don't let them out unsupervised so I have to stand by the door and watch when either one is on the patio. Consequently they usually doesn't stay out a long time. Since it was her birthday today, she got to stay out almost half an hour. I think that was just the beginning. Once Pippin gets up he'll want to go out also. Oh well. As I said, they do run my life!

About 1-1/2 - 2 months old. This was before they came to live with me.
 

I think they were about six months old here.

Mellifera on the bench on the patio. Her favorite spot to relax!

One of Pippin's favorite spots is the top of my filing cabinet. I put a throw there to make it more comfortable.

Mellifera on the patio again!

Pippin looking adorable!

My Visitor!

I was sitting here thinking that I wanted to do a blog post today but I didn't have much to say. Fortunately I had a small visitor who provided me with a post!

I was sitting at the computer with my back to the patio when I heard a clicking noise. At first I assumed it was someone on the sidewalk. My patio faces the sidewalk and with the door open I hear a lot of noise and conversations from passing pedestrians. The clicking didn't stop though so I finally got up to see what it was. There was a bird on the tree outside my patio tapping at the tree! I'm going to say maybe it was a woodpecker because I don't know much about birds but they tap on trees right? Anyway I got a few pictures, they aren't terrific but maybe someone can identify my visitor. She (or he) made a nice break for me. I love that I can sit here, facing a city street and see birds in my tree. It isn't really my tree but it's right outside my patio so I figure I can claim it!

Here's a pretty good close-up.

This one you have to look a little harder. The bird is mostly brown and blends in with tree. He had a sort of reddish head which you can kind of see in this picture. 

 
Another close-up!

This one gives you a better idea of where the tree is. You can see the bird pretty well still!

Silent Sunday

My patio garden

Saturday is one of my days off from the computer. I've found that I need a couple of days a week when I don't turn the computer on. Otherwise I'm too easily distracted from things I need to do off-line!

However in case you do have your computer on today, here's some pictures from my garden. It's a small garden but it's been looking quite nice this summer. And of course the cats have enjoyed it!

Goodreads

I just finished updating my Goodreads account so I thought I'd ask: Are you on Goodreads? I found this site late last year and was instantly captivated. I can get hints on what to read, track what I'm reading, look at what friends are reading and join a challenge. I love it!

I used to save my list of books to be read on an Amazon wishlist. I like Goodreads to be read list much better. It's fun to see what other people are reading and get recommendations. My daughter is on also and I get a lot of recommendations from what she is reading. Sometimes we have similar tastes!

You can see the widget on the righthand side that shows my challenge for this year. Click on it and join me on Goodreads! Maybe you'll find something that sounds good in my lists!

Here's a screenshot of some of the books I've read this year.  

Sometimes . . .

I read a lot of poetry. Some I just like, some I love, some makes me think and some makes me squirm. And sometimes one slaps me in the face and says wake up and pay attention. This one did that.

Frozen
 by Natasha Head

I have seen a life laid to waste,

in the name of pure stubbornness,
in the absolute definition of denial.

I see my own life.
Caught up on the same rails,
charging full steam ahead,
to a tunnel where no light shines.

The gates of experience fly by.
Still frames of adventures
I have excused myself from
for reasons, for selfishness.

Vanity . . . shame.
The double yellow line,
solid and illuminated,
laughs as I attempt to find the nerve.

To dare cross.

Throwing up walls of resistance
as the hourglass bleeds
grains of sand I can't afford.

I have seen a lifetime
laid to waste,
and in its shadow,
I have seen my own.

Paris!

Goodness Paris has been popping up the last few days. I've decided it's a sign and I'm going to win the lottery so I can go. Of course I don't buy tickets so it will be difficult. . .

I started reading a book called The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn. It's one that I've had sitting around for awhile but haven't read. I'm about half-way through and really enjoying it. The author lost her job and decided to use her savings to move to Paris and attend Le Cordon Bleu. The story is definitely not making me want to attend Le Cordon Bleu but it does make me want to go to Paris. I've been there, but only for one day. It would be so amazing to be able to live there!

This morning someone I follow on Facebook posted a picture from this article: The most beautiful Metro stations in Paris! These are incredible!  The stations I saw were not at all as beautiful. Here's a few highlights from the article! 

This one is my favorite. It's the Place Colette entrance to the Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre station. It was redesigned in 2000 with arches of big glass beads.

This is the Abbesses Station. It is one of the few art nouveau stations which still has its glass canopy at the entrance.

These two pictures are from the Concorde Station. The walls look like one gigantic word search puzzle. Each tile has a letter, and together they’re the words to the Declaration of the Rights of Man from the French Revolution of 1789.

This is the Cite station. It has a beautiful art nouveau entrance, it also has pretty globe lighting along the track itself, reminiscent of old fashioned street lights.

I Love Pinterest!

When I first heard about Pinterest I couldn't figure out what the big deal was. Posting pictures? It didn't sound like a lot of fun. Once I got on though it took very little time for me to be hooked. I thought I'd share a few of my pins today and if you'd like to see more you can find me here.

This is from my It made me smile and/or laugh board.

This one's from my Quotes and Thoughts board.

This is from the Vintage cookbooks and recipes board.  I collect old cookbooks and leaflets and I have this one. One of these days I'm going to take pictures of all of mine and post them on my board!

This is from the Jewelry board. It's Elizabeth Taylor's tiara. Circa 1880, it was a gift from Mike Todd. Some how I think I could live with having this!

 

This is from the Cats board. You probably could have guessed that!

This is one I just re-pinned tonight. It's on my History board.

I love pink! This lovely pink tree is on the Yes, I do like pink board.

This one is on the Needlework board. It's called  "Leaving" by Lisa Binkley and is in the August/September 2012 Quilting Arts magazine. I really like this a lot. The beaded leaf is wonderful.

Really? It's been that long?

I have been neglecting my blog for the last six months. It's hard to believe it's been that long! I think I just ran out of steam for awhile but let's see if I can get back into this! Since I'm basically a lazy person and it's 105 here today, I think I'll start easy with a few pictures.

The first one is a buggy that goes from Old Sacramento to the State Capitol. I was parked by the Capitol today (in a nice shady spot) and saw the buggy coming down the street. Nos 2&5 are sidewalk art pictures from my walks. Nos 3&4 are pretty ones that I took in the State Capitol Park.

Ok, that was an easy post! I think I can ease back into this. Assuming I don't have a heat stroke. It's been over a 100 the last few days and in the high 90's prior to that. The rest of this week is supposed to be around 100. I spoke with my daughter the other day and she was in Half Moon Bay. By the ocean. Looking at fog. I'm sitting here in 100+ heat and she's looking at the ocean and fog. That's the nice thing about being in the Bay Area; you can drive to the ocean within a reasonable time. It's not such a reasonable time from Sacramento. . . ah well.

I do love living here but I hate the heat! I've decided it's just like any relationship, there are one or two things you just really don't like. Unfortunately the one thing I don't like goes on and on and on and on all summer long. Sure it gets hot in the Bay Area but only for a few days at a time. Then the fog moves in and it cools off. Sacramento has no off button in the summer. I am desperately awaiting fall. I love fall and I love Sacramento in the fall. I am literally counting the days!