Friday, January 12, 2024
Letter "B" -- Friday's Weekend Roundup 12 and Reflections and/or Street/Candid Captures
For Tom: This Week's Prompts Starts with "B". "A Favorite. "B"ig.
For James: Reflections and/or Street/Candid Captures. _ _ _ _
[Adi goes wild when our daughter came to visit]
Starts with "B": Beagle starts with "B" so I'll tell about my Beagle dog, Adi. She was born in 1996 and first came to our house as a pup. Adi was our daughter's but keeping her was more than she could handle so she came to us and was with us ever since, except for one time when she came for a short spell to the daughter. Above is a picture of her greeting the daughter when she came to visit.
When I retired in 2001, Mrs. Jim, a retired social worker did some preemptive professional application by suggesting that Adi and I could become a Pet Therapy Team for me to keep a little bit occupied. (Ladies, this a good thing to do for your husband when he retires.)
We both made the rigorous testing and soon passed into the new field and became a Registered Pet Therapy Team. Adi loved her part of the work, she was also a reading dog and tutored a sixth grade boy so he could pass his required skill level.
Both Adi and the child enjoyed their sessions.
But also she liked visiting the elderly. We became regulars with Assisted Living and Alzheimer's afflicted at our local facility. We continued with those until Adi retired in 2012. She received a nice letter from Delta, the registering society, you can read the letter here,
Adi and I were buddies and we have her ashes still.
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| [google find, "Corvettes" -- I have not purchased a new car since 1967] |
A Favorite: My Bucket List is one of my favorite daydream sites. In 2001 when I retired, travel on my list was three, the Panama Canal, China, and Moscow, USSR. I quickly did those and many more (I didn't start blogging until 2006 so only Moscow made this blog, right off we went to Sicily for two weeks so that was my first to make it here).
I've removed lots of items, like touching the South Pole, winning the lottery, and owning a Corvette.
Some are still there, maybe still open up to 100 and some more things I have forgotten.
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| [photo copyright, Jimmiehov 2010, first posted here] |
My Nebraska cousins, Linda and Jack, standing
away from the tall Statue of Sam Houston
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Tom's word choice, "Big": There is a U.S. saying, "Everything is Big in Texas". This is a photo of a statue north of Houston with my Nebraska cousins standing in front. It is of Sam Houston, Texas' first and third president back when we were a stand-alone Republic. He later was a U.S. Senator.
(Note, Sam Houston was not a Civil War hero, and he resigned his post after Texas seceded from the Union. He did own slaves as were helping on most Texas plantations.)
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| [Click on any picture to make it larger sized. Try clicking that one next] |
For James: Reflections and/or Street/Candid Captures: There is a 'slight' reflection in the pond above the falls. This a walk picture. Going here takes about 16 minutes at our rate, the round trip gives us plenty for our 30 minutes, one day of five we like. Below the falls is a small pond and then a Bench if our legs say. "Please give us a rest "
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The fine print:
- [Click on any picture for larger, click it again for extra large]
- I am linked with Tom of "Back
woods Travel" (Link here to click for Tom's Weekend Reviews)
- I am also linked this week with James of "Weekend Reflections" (click here for his Reflections Photos).
- The pictures mostly are all mine and rights are reserved to me under Copyright Law.
- I am also linked this week with James of "Weekend Reflections" (click here for his Reflections Photos).
- The pictures mostly are all mine and rights are reserved to me under Copyright Law.
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Labels: Cars, Family, Friday's Weekend Roundup 12, Reflections, Sicily, Travel, Walk pictures
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Big dog in the fold — Six Word Saturday —
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Describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words.
Six Word Saturday, Click the box --> to visit Cate's blog with Mr. Linky showing all the other blogs participating this week.
Cate is the boss at Six Word Saturday. She would like for you to participate.
Labels: Animals, Dogs-other, Humor(?), Road Pictures, Saturday, Sicily, Six Word Saturday
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!! A four-leaf clover for you
A scripture for Sunday also, I'm skipping right over that day this week (please do remember it's Palm Sunday the 16th!).
"All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee" (Psalm 145:10 KJV)
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I thought too, I'd skip right over the Ides of March on the 15th. On this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. That day always scares me. Why, I don't know.
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I picked this clump of clovers beside the sidewalk leading to downtown Killarney, Ireland.
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There was only one with four leaves. You will have to find it, I did not pick it. Isn't picking four-leaf clovers bad luck? Later in Scotland I was able to find another four-leafed one.
[large picture] [super size]
"All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee" (Psalm 145:10 KJV)
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I thought too, I'd skip right over the Ides of March on the 15th. On this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated. That day always scares me. Why, I don't know.
[large picture] [super size]I picked this clump of clovers beside the sidewalk leading to downtown Killarney, Ireland.
[large picture] [super size]There was only one with four leaves. You will have to find it, I did not pick it. Isn't picking four-leaf clovers bad luck? Later in Scotland I was able to find another four-leafed one.
[large picture] [super size]Our nice B&B in Killarney. This one was on a hill with a wonderful view from our front bedroom window. (link to Muckross Drive House)
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Here is the one I found in Scotland. It was on the grounds at the Drummond Castle and Gardens (link).
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This picture is not clear although it may show you the four leaves more distinctly.
Labels: Family, Gobal Warming, Green, Holiday Posts, Humor, Ireland, Jim Does, Jim's Life, Scotland, Sicily, Signs, St Patrick's Day, Status Report, Travel, Walk pictures
Friday, May 05, 2006
Our days in Palermo -- IMarch 13 to March 19, 2006
[Pictures enlarge when you click on them]
(You can have this map separately [link].)
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Our Spring 2006 Sicily, Amalfi Coast, Provence, and Tuscany vacation:
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We were to spend the first two weeks in Sicily, another week around Amalfi, a week in Provence, and a final week in Tuscany.
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Initially, we flew to Palermo, staying there six nights while we toured northern and western Sicily. We would end up at Taormina near Mt. Etna before departing for the Amalfi Coast.
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Our friend, Gene, has a daily Sicily run of pictures on his Web site(link). They didn't go on to the Almalfi Coast.
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In last Friday's blog (link) I asked, "what is Mrs. Jim doing here?"
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You would never guess, but she is eating a boiled potato at a Sicilian market. Italian people close their places of work and trade from noon until about 3:00 or a little later.
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With so many women working now, the markets cater to prepared foods. This is similar to our take out/take home style eating in the states. How would you like to work all morning, commute home and cook for the rest of the family. Not any more now that all these preparted foods can be purchased at the markets.
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While we were looking around at the market, this guy was filling a paper bucket with boiled potatoes.
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We didn't pay him any nevermind until our tour guide started handing them out. We were on a walk on our first afternoon in Palermo, compliments of our Grand Circle tour guide, Maurizio.
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Not everyone had arrived yet and because the natives (us) were getting restless, we all went out, letting Maurizio show us around. He knew we would be hungry after our long plane ride so he bought us these.
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Later he would take us to a cafe/bar where we could eat a late afternoon meal or have a snack.
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We continued this walking tour, finding the essentials like the Internet Cafe, eating places, and a couple of grocery stores.
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We all were very tired, but there was the welcome dinner at the hotel. Our whole group hadn't arrived, but we still had dinner that night.
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There were 29 in our group, eight of them showed up the next day. There was a problem with their plane (Delta Airlines) so they were stuck in Chicago for the night. The rest of us were glad we went ahead and ate, no waiting for them.
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Our hotel was an old one, in the middle of town. When we found our room, it had twin beds. Maurizio changed that for us, getting us a room matrimonial. It had a king size bed. From then on, all our Italian rooms were matrimonial. Ask for them when you are in Italy.
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The only English TV broadcast was CNN. That was enjoyable, but we hadn't been to bed for two days, just slept a little on the plane. You can bet we really did sleep good that night. Had to get up early for breakfast the next day and be on the tour.
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The next day was a morning bus and walking tour of Palermo. Breakfast was superb for a continental one. I was already getting to like Sicilian cheese.
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This was the view from our dining room. It was a little foggy (pollution?) in the mornings, but you can imagine the Mediterranean laying beyond those buildings.
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Then on to a couple of Cathedrals.
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First was the Palermo Cathedral. Construction was began in 1184 A.D. (link)(another link). These tombs contained remains of the Royal and clerical people. Perhaps the most famous was Costance de Hauteville (link). Significant also because it would be the first of many, many, churches we would visit in Europe.
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Next was the Monreale Cathedral. This one was started in 1174 (link). Looking towards the alter,
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and this is the Cloister of Monreal. .
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And on
to the Palermo Opera House, Teatro Massimo. It is the second largest historic opera house in Europe (after the Paris Opéra's Palais Garnier).(another link). 
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NOTE: Gene has a lot more pictures than I will post here anyway (link). BE SURE TO LOOK AT BOTH gallery pages, 1 and 2.
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And what do you think we did that night on our first whole day in Sicily?See you next week, Friday or so. Jim
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Labels: Italy, Jim Does, Places, Sicily, Travel
