When I first saw the photo below, I saw a picture of creeping, pretty blue flowers on a tree trunk.
Please click on the image and perhaps you'll be as surprised as I was!
Monday, 15 October 2012
Trompe l'oeil
Trompe l'oeil is French for "deceive the eye."
When I first saw the photo below, I saw a picture of creeping, pretty blue flowers on a tree trunk.
Please click on the image and perhaps you'll be as surprised as I was!
When I first saw the photo below, I saw a picture of creeping, pretty blue flowers on a tree trunk.
Please click on the image and perhaps you'll be as surprised as I was!
Sunday, 14 October 2012
In vino veritas
Grammy97 sent me a bunch of "inspirationals" that go very well with a recurring theme here on the blog.
Thank you, Grammy.
These pictures reminded me of the birthday cards I made for Tumbleweed:
Thank you, Grammy.
These pictures reminded me of the birthday cards I made for Tumbleweed:
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Friday, 12 October 2012
Unfriendly clouds
I took this photo from my kitchen window yesterday. Needless to say, it soon became very noisy and wet!
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| (Please click on image to see it really large) |
Thursday, 11 October 2012
A legend from Bolivia
I came across a photo of an unusual tree on Facebook. I was intrigued and after a bit of googling, I discovered this interesting legend from Bolivia:
A long time ago, when gods lived on earth as people, the dark spirits (Añas) haunted the early Guarani people, killing the men and stealing their women.
In a small village lived a beautiful young woman named Araverá (Sparkle in the sky), the daughter of the grand chief Ururutï (White Condor). She recently married the hummingbird god, Colibrí (Chinu tumpa), and hoped to soon have a son, who would grow up to be the best Shaman (Paye) of the area, capable of destroying all of the evil spirits.
The Añas got wind of her plans and schemed to kill her. They mounted their fire-breathing winged horses and pointed them to her small town. But Araverá saw the danger and escaped, flying to the ultimate ends of the universe in a tiny flying chair that her husband Colibrí gave her.
The Añas pursued her everywhere, the the depths of the waters, under the earth and higher than the stars. When her tiny flying chair finally couldn't support the weight of her and her growing baby anymore, they descended to earth and hid inside a Toborochi tree (Samou).
The Añas passed them by and never found her. Inside the tree, Araverá bore her son. The boy grew and took revenge upon the evil Añas, but his mother remained in the trunk of the Torobochi, as she does to this day. Sometimes, when she does go outside, she becomes the tree's beautiful flower, so that the hummingbirds can come and enjoy her nectar.
A long time ago, when gods lived on earth as people, the dark spirits (Añas) haunted the early Guarani people, killing the men and stealing their women.
In a small village lived a beautiful young woman named Araverá (Sparkle in the sky), the daughter of the grand chief Ururutï (White Condor). She recently married the hummingbird god, Colibrí (Chinu tumpa), and hoped to soon have a son, who would grow up to be the best Shaman (Paye) of the area, capable of destroying all of the evil spirits.
The Añas got wind of her plans and schemed to kill her. They mounted their fire-breathing winged horses and pointed them to her small town. But Araverá saw the danger and escaped, flying to the ultimate ends of the universe in a tiny flying chair that her husband Colibrí gave her.
The Añas pursued her everywhere, the the depths of the waters, under the earth and higher than the stars. When her tiny flying chair finally couldn't support the weight of her and her growing baby anymore, they descended to earth and hid inside a Toborochi tree (Samou).
The Añas passed them by and never found her. Inside the tree, Araverá bore her son. The boy grew and took revenge upon the evil Añas, but his mother remained in the trunk of the Torobochi, as she does to this day. Sometimes, when she does go outside, she becomes the tree's beautiful flower, so that the hummingbirds can come and enjoy her nectar.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Green fingers
This is quite funny. The tweet is from Bedford police in the UK:
Beware of pretty plants in garage sales. I must say, it's quite a handsome bush!
Read a bit more HERE.
Beware of pretty plants in garage sales. I must say, it's quite a handsome bush!
Read a bit more HERE.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
The allure of meerkats
Pirate and Pirouette are great fans of the meerkats! The photos were taken three years apart, almost to the day. [Can you see Peter's birthday cards in Pirate's photo? Pirouette's photo was taken the day before Peter's birthday this year, no cards yet...]
Monday, 8 October 2012
Ah... Italy!
Una canzone italiana per CC:
*****
Today it's Peter's birthday, so it's quite nice to get into a romantic mood...
[Happy birthday, darling husband. Prepare your taste buds for your favourite meal tonight! Funnily enough, it's not Italian.]
*****
Today it's Peter's birthday, so it's quite nice to get into a romantic mood...
[Happy birthday, darling husband. Prepare your taste buds for your favourite meal tonight! Funnily enough, it's not Italian.]
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Fabulous
We had a post about great comebacks recently. View_From_Here sent me this joke, which fits in with the theme quite nicely...
Thank you, View.
A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband... She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded:
"Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty, you're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?
"We're taking Easy Jet," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"
"Easy Jet?" exclaimed the hairdresser... That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome ?"
"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."
"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it's going be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump."
"We're going to go to see the Vatican and maybe get to see the Pope."
"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."
A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome .
"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only were we on time in one of Easy Jet's brand new planes, but it was overbooked, so they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.
And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a £5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their presidential suite at no extra charge!"
"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."
"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me.
Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me."
"Oh, really! What did he say?"
He said: "Who the f*ck did your hair?"
Thank you, View.
A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband... She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded:
"Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty, you're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?
"We're taking Easy Jet," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"
"Easy Jet?" exclaimed the hairdresser... That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome ?"
"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."
"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it's going be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump."
"We're going to go to see the Vatican and maybe get to see the Pope."
"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."
A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome .
"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only were we on time in one of Easy Jet's brand new planes, but it was overbooked, so they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.
And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a £5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their presidential suite at no extra charge!"
"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."
"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me.
Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me."
"Oh, really! What did he say?"
He said: "Who the f*ck did your hair?"
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Friday, 5 October 2012
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Quick wit
Amy1, aka Ottoline, sent me a collection of very good examples of quick wit. Thank you!
Winston Churchill vs. Lady Astor
Groucho Marx vs. a contestant on “You Bet Your Life,” after the contestant revealed that he was a father of 10
Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas, after Douglas called him “two-faced” during a debate
Pierre Trudeau vs. Richard Nixon, upon hearing that Nixon had called him an asshole
Oscar Wilde vs. Lewis Morris… Morris had just been passed over for the Poet Laureateship
Miriam Hopkins vs. an anonymous singer
James McNeill Whistler vs. Oscar Wilde, after Whistler
had made a particularly witty observation
Bill Clinton vs. Dan Quayle, after Quayle revealed that he planned to be “a pit bull” in the 1992 campaign
Winston Churchill vs. a Member of Parliament
Calvin Coolidge vs. some random lady at a White House dinner
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart vs. an admirer
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Ouch!
Here's another wicked joke from our Mrsgunka:
A man got on the bus with both of his front trouser pockets full of golf balls and sat down next to a beautiful (you guessed it) blonde.The puzzled blonde kept looking at him and his bulging pockets.
Finally, after many glances from her, he said, "It's golf balls."
The blonde continued to look at him for a very long time, thinking deeply about what he had said.
After several minutes, not being able to contain her curiosity any longer, she asked,
"Does it hurt as much as tennis elbow ?"
Thank you, Mrsgunka.
A man got on the bus with both of his front trouser pockets full of golf balls and sat down next to a beautiful (you guessed it) blonde.The puzzled blonde kept looking at him and his bulging pockets.
Finally, after many glances from her, he said, "It's golf balls."
The blonde continued to look at him for a very long time, thinking deeply about what he had said.
After several minutes, not being able to contain her curiosity any longer, she asked,
"Does it hurt as much as tennis elbow ?"
Thank you, Mrsgunka.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Lovely creatures
View_From_Here sent me a large collection of photos of various animals. As there were too many pictures for a single post, I made a slideshow, adding some Latin music especially for View. Enjoy!
Thank you, View.
Thank you, View.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Famous at last!
CC sent me photos of three different hotels, all bearing a very interesting name. Well, considering that Regina means queen in Italian, I can only pretend to be famous!
Thank you, CC. Have a marvelous time!
*****
I found this sweet video with an Italian flavour. I think it goes well with this post:
Finally, have a look at this clever cartoon:
Thank you, CC. Have a marvelous time!
*****
I found this sweet video with an Italian flavour. I think it goes well with this post:
Finally, have a look at this clever cartoon:
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Friday, 28 September 2012
Sleuth is building a house - Part I
Here are the first photos of Sleuth's new house, with her own captions.
Hey Sleuth, we expect more pictures as the building progresses, so we can follow this interesting project step-by-step.
Thank you, Sleuth.
Hey Sleuth, we expect more pictures as the building progresses, so we can follow this interesting project step-by-step.
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| Staking out the excavation area on the original hill, which was covered in scrub sumac, briars and other icky stuff. |
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| Heavy equipment starts digging in. |
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| First boulder dug up. We called it the gnome hole boulder. It has lots of nooks and crannies in it as a result of pockets of oxidized pyrite. |
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| It's starting to look like a hole. Lots and lots of shale. We'll be using that for backfill and landscaping. |
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| Another really great boulder pulled out of the hole. Lots of tiny fossils in it and sparkly stuff. |
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| A view from above. Dan'l stands in the middle of what is the first floor. |
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| The Amvic block arrives! |
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| There's a cement truck in my living room! Pouring footers for the walls. |
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| More cement. The trench is for a wing-shaped retaining wall. |
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| Dan'l next to a pile of blue clay. There's enough clay to keep me busy making stuff forever. |
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| Huge slabs of shale! Not sure what I'll do with these, but I'm pretty sure it will be spectacular. |
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| Wall is going up. Yes, that's water. We hit a spring, but no worries, we have a plan! |
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| Wee Christmas trees spared. Didn't even know these two little guys were up there. |
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