The ghosts of lonely buildings

Hi All ~ my friend Barb called me from Canada the other day and I promised her I would get back to blogging so here I am!

Unfortunately I have no pictures to post today but I did have some thoughts that I decided to blog about. Tonight I went with my sister to our aunt's house. We had a lovely dinner and some great conversation.

Driving home I noticed several buildings I thought seemed lonely. In downtown Knoxville there's an old L&N station. Once a lively train station, it later became a restaurant and now has a sign saying "Office Space for Rent." This struck me as sad that a building with so much history would now be (at least partially) vacant.

Another structure is the Sunsphere on the old World's Fair site. The tower is topped with a sphere made of bronze-looking mirrored panels. During the 1982 World's Fair it shone so beautifully. Now it sits dark. It seems lonely.

Lastly, a building on a highway used to be a hotel. The lower floor is now home to a thrift store but the upper windows were dark. Maybe there are offices on these floors, I don't know.

As I was driving I thought of the ghosts of bustling crowds, laughing travelers, people breathing life into these spaces. It felt sad to me to see them dark.

Are there spaces around you that you've seen time and change take the life and light from the building? Do you think ghosts inhabit the spaces? Do the walls remember? I'd love to hear about the places you know!

I'll try to get back here with pictures soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Midway through Women's History Month

Hi Everyone and Happy Women's History Month...

Most people who know me well know that I count my girl-friendships as some of my grandest treasures in life. I've been extremely blessed by the tremendous friends life has led me to throughout the years. I've been equally fortunate to find female role-models.

I once did an exercise where I was asked to list the five women I admire most. Like many others, I listed celebs and historical figures: Oprah, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Theresa, etc. And I do admire those women. But today I've been thinking about women who have had a more personal impact on my life. I'm going to take advantage of my blog to share some of my appreciation for them!

~~~~~

Nancy Wise Hamilton

As you've probably heard me say at least a million times, my Aunt Nancy is one of the greatest people I know. She's more like a big sister than an aunt in many ways. When Mom died, Nancy (and her sweet husband Jack) were there for my sister and me 1000%. We really couldn't have made it through all the stuff without her.


Nancy inspires me. She has an easy grace about her that puts everyone at ease. She makes things look effortless - things like entertaining, exercising, and looking fantastic. My sister and I joke that Nancy must have either gotten our share of these genes or that she was switched at the hospital. Whatever the answer, I consider myself very fortunate to have my Aunt Nancy.

~~~~~

Lorin Basden Arnold

Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold was my professor and academic advisor while I was working on my undergraduate degree at Rowan University. She made learning challenging AND enjoyable (not always two things that come together in college level courses). One of the things I appreciate about Lorin is that she always supported and encouraged me as a student and as a person. In my gazillion years as a student, Lorin was my most influential professor!

In addition to being a busy professor, Lorin is a wife & a mother of six children. She is also a vegetarian (or perhaps she's a vegan now...not sure) who makes time for things she loves - like yoga and crocheting. I have begged her to tell me how she manages all of these things in a mere 24-hour day but since I'm getting no answer, I suspect it's magic! I once asked about her decision to shave her head and she responded that with six kids she didn't want to waste time maintaining a hair-style dictated by society!

Nancy and Lorin are just a couple of the women I consider role-models. I have many, many more.

~~~~~

So to all of you special ladies - the friends who have brought great joy into my life, who bring me laughter and new ideas and a sense of my own history - I say many thanks!

I hope that each of you can look around and see the greatness that other women bring to your own lives. And that you will celebrate Women's History Month, because each terrific woman you encounter adds a layer to your own history!

And one final wish... if you haven't yet read The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton, I hope you'll find time to do that this month! It is a delightful story that celebrates the special bond of women's friendship!

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Good Evening from Kitty Comedy Central,

Tonight's broadcast features news of the discovery of weapons of mass destruction in Seymour, Tennessee. These two highly rambuctious kittens Daisy (left) and Dandy (right) have combined forces to create chaos and wreak havoc in the Miller household. Tonight's act of terrorism: a game of tag.
















A seemingly harmless chase turned into a large mess when Dandy chased Daisy across the couch at a high rate of speed just as I went to take my glass of soda from the end table into the kitchen. Before I could lift it out of the missile's (aka Daisy) range the soda was sent flying. The liquid went all of the way into the next room and splattered onto my hutch and curio cabinet as well as soaking the carpet, the television remote and the answering machine.

Cleanup efforts were further hampered by the ensuing game of attack the paper-towels and ice-cube hockey.

Never a dull moment, sigh!

Thanks for joining us. Wishing you and your's a quiet, peaceful evening.

Amazing beauty

Hello again,

I'm so excited as I write this that I can hardly stand it...

I was just out on my back deck enjoying the glorious sunset over the pond (yes, we've had sun today - that in itself is enough to bring me great joy). As I was standing there a small bird flew to the edge of the railing and perched about 10 feet from me. At first glance I thought it was a robin because of the rusty breast feathers. But then I noticed the striking blue around the edges of it's wing feathers. I'm not certain but I believe it was a female bluebird! I've seen bluebirds several times this past week! If they are the birds of happiness it seems only fitting that they have appeared in my life now, right? And ironically enough just last week I received a letter from Journey that had a photograph of a magnificient bluebird on the cover.

Since I didn't have my camera handy when my flighty little visitor made her appearance I'll share some of the other shots I captured yesterday and today.

These pictures were taken as I was driving through a neighborhood about a mile from my house. As you can see, there is quite a bit of snow in the Smokies this year.

Pictures from the Porch - Day #3 (no pictures were made yesterday)

Morning

Early morning photo - on clear days there is a perfect reflection onto the pond of the houses behind me.

Sunset

Sunset - a flock of 17 geese enjoyed a sunset dinner cruise. Did goose #17 feel like odd-man-out I wonder?

This graceful couple were dining in my neighbor's backyard!

I pinch myself that I am finally living on my own and in such a state of happiness and amazing beauty.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your day has been filled with awe-inspiring moments and that you have a wonderful evening.

Whisker moments will return in my next blog...

Lots of Love

Ice Cream Cone scars

Hello & Happy Tuesday.

I was talking to my sister earlier. I'm pleased to report that we've become pretty close again since mom died last year and even more so since I returned to Knoxville. We were discussing funny/embarrassing moments and she told me I should blog about one of them. When I was in elementary school (probably 5th grade) she had taken me to see Fiddler on the Roof. For some reason my mom didn't believe in going to the movies on Sundays but she thought that we were going to see a play and that was okay (I'm sure there is rationale in there somewhere but even today I don't exactly follow int). Anyway, after the movie (gasp) Karen took me to Baskin Robbins. We both ordered Strawberry Shortcake ice cream and as I took my first taste the scoop of pink and white ice cream fell from the cone, went skidding across the floor and landed a hair's width from a gentleman's white patten leather loafer. I was mortified and to make matters worse the shine white shoes were worn by Bill Battle who was, at that time, the head football coach for the University of Tennessee! It's been over 30 years since that fleeting moment. But if you ever go out for ice cream with me, please don't laugh when I ask for mine in a cup!

Pictures from the Porch - Day #2

I loved the color of the sky - especially remarkable since it was snowing quite hard when this shot was captured.

I have some very nice neighbors, including a lovely flock of geese. I know that people say geese pollute ponds but I love them. It was a real highlight for me the day I realized there are geese on the pond. I look forward to watching them throughout my time here at my sweet little house.

If the sun ever makes another appearance I'll try to get a sunset photo from the porch.

Who needs catnip when you can have drinking straws? Toby instructs his brothers on the proper way to play with a straw.

I hope you have a relaxing evening. The Olympics have preempted my favorite Tuesday night program (The Biggest Loser) but at least I have American Idol to look forward to tonight.

Time and creativity

Good morning,

Another Monday morning but I suspect it's a different kind of Monday for me than for many of you. While I'm not working it is entirely too easy for the weekends and the weekdays to blur together. Clocks and calendars lose their power when there is no defined beginning or ending to a work week. That's not necessarily a good thing, or a bad thing...it just is! I would love to hear about your schedules and if your days are structured by time clocks and anticipation of weekends or vacations :)

A friend recently challenged me to do something creative every day. This is not as easy for me as I would like for it to be. I'm a great starter and eagerly try lots of new crafts seeking the "it" that becomes my exciting new hobby. The thing I've realized though is that in order to live my truth I have to be completely honest with myself. The truth is I don't ENJOY a lot of the things I try. I want to like them, I really do, but many of them leave me frustrated! I've tried all sorts of paper-crafting: collages, rubber-stamping, card-making. I've tried drawing and painting. I've experimented with quilting and sewing. All too quickly I discover that I've spent lots of money to have the tools I need only to end up with the clutter of UFOs (unfinished objects). How about you...have you found your "it" yet? I know that for some it may not be a craft, but may instead be a talent for sports or music or decorating or.....

The only thing that comes close to being my "it" is photography. I do love my camera and finding things that are fun to capture (and sometimes even share!) Trying to figure out how to use this and meet Journey's creative-daily project challenge I've thought about different photography ideas. I once read about a project where people were asked to take pictures of themselves every day for a year. I hate making pictures of myself so I've decided to alter this concept... I'm going to do a shorter version of the project and call it Pictures from the Porch.

Please allow me to explain... my back deck overlooks a lovely large pond. I've noticed recently that the pond seems to change almost daily depending on the weather. I hope you will enjoy seeing the different pictures or at least that you won't become so bored that you refuse to ever visit my blog again...

Picture from the Porch Day #1 - Monday February 15, 2010

It's cold and windy this morning. We had a light dusting of snow overnight but the leaden gray of the sky suggests that there is more to follow. The tree in the foreground of the photo is actually part of my yard. I've been told that in summers past the spring-fed pond sometimes is more of a puddle but since my December 15th arrival the tree has been partially submerged. I wonder how deep the water is here. Many mornings I see geese floating and playing on the pond. I love it!

Another thing I love to find and photograph is statues and sculptures at libraries. This interest too can be laid at Journey's feet. Journey is an amazing letter writer and since she learned of my love of books and libraries during our early pen-pal relationship she has sent me some amazing pictures made from the different libaries she visits during her extensive travels. Although I've always loved libraries, it had never occurred to me to seek them out when traveling. Last week I was at one of the Knox County Public Libraries and noticed this interesting little guy....

Knox County Public Library System - Fountain City Branch.

This little guy looks like he should be holding a book, I wonder if it was past due!

And of course, my favorite photographic hobby, capturing pictures of my fur-babies. Here is Daisy, Dandy's twin. Daisy is so different from his twin (yes, Daisy is a male but was named before we discovered that little detail and it's such a fitting name that I just can't bring myself to change it!) Daisy is much calmer, is very gentle and sweet (he reminds me so much of my Tyler kitty). He doesn't like to be held and prefers ankle time to lap time. His coloring is lighter, more yellow and white (like a daisy) where Dandy (whose official name is Dandelion) is a brighter yellow.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I look forward to hearing about any creative outlets that you find satisfying and/or rewarding.

Have a lovely day.

A beautiful evening with some special ladies

Hi again. I hope everyone is warm and safe and enjoying whatever great things life has brought you today.

I had a wonderful day and a delightful evening spent with three very special ladies. I met each of these ladies when I was a child and even after all these years, they are so easy to be around. We've known each other through bad and good times. Tonight was one of the good times. We had dinner together and are hoping to make it a monthly gathering.

(from l-->r) Karen, me, Debbi, Anita

When I think about it, there is nowhere else I could have moved where I would have had a group of friends already established. Moving back to Tennessee was such a good decision for this time in my life.

Not only do the people around me add joy and beauty, but my surroundings bring me pleasure too. Almost every day there are ducks and/or geese on the pond behind my house. It's been a treat to watch them splash and play as well as experiencing the magnificience of them taking flight.

This picture of Dolly won't win any awards for photography but I couldn't resist sharing it because she positively LOVES sunbathing!

Thanks again for visiting. Lots of wishes that you have joy, love, friendship, and beauty in your life.