Poem posted by my computer...

Around the Corner

by Henson Towne

Around the corner I have 

a friend,

In this great city that has

 no end.

Yet days go by and weeks 

rush on,

And before I know it,

 a year is gone.

And I never see my 

old friend's face, 

For life is a swift and 

terrible race.

He knows I like him 

just as well, 

As in the days when 

I rang his bell.

And he rang mine. We were 

younger then -

And now we are busy, 

tired men-

Tired with playing a 

foolish game,

Tired with trying to 

make a name.

"Tomorrow" I say "I will 

call on Jim,

Just to show that I'm 

thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes, 

and tomorrow goes,

And the distance between us 

grows and grows.

Around the corner! 

Yet miles away...

"Here's a telegram, sir"

"Jim died today."

And that's what we get - 

and deserve in the end -

Around the corner,

 a vanished friend.

This poem never fails to move me.  So sad, but so true for so many.  Thank goodness at least for email and texting these days. Although not the same as face to face, it does make it easier to stay in touch.

Have a wonderful Sunday! If possible - get in touch with someone you miss today or just make someone smile...

Hugs,

Rian

ice-cream anyone?

Tom at Sightings over Sixty was talking about the love of ice-cream not long ago. From his post as well as the comments, it made me realize (not for the first time) how much alike we all are . Very few people (but of course there must be some) either don't like ice-cream or possibly can't eat it for various reasons. Such a shame.

Even though it is not my very favorite dessert in the world, I do enjoy it on occasion. As I mentioned in my comment on Tom's blog - fresh home-made peach is my all time favorite. But DJan of  Eye on the Edge mentioned that hers was Cappuccino chocolate chip.  This brought back memories - as DH and I discovered Cappuccino Chocolate Chip while on vacation in Maine quite a few years ago. It was delicious!

But last summer Blue Bell came out with "Happy Tracks" - an ice-cream that had both peanut butter and dark chocolate chunks in it. We were in heaven... and with our grandson living here with us (and also a chocolate and peanut butter lover), we couldn't keep it in the freezer for long.  It would disappear pretty quickly. For whatever reason, it has not come back on the shelf at our grocery stores this year. Yes, we have looked.

And one other ice-cream product that does 'call' to me... are Dove Bars! I love the dark chocolate coating and the creamy vanilla inside. I only let myself buy these in August when the weather is so hot here in Texas that any indulgent is OK to cool off (at least that is what I tell myself). And DH has been known to surprise me and stock the refrigerator with them when or if I need a boost... (like after having a bad day or week - which happens to the best of us on occasion).

So... with the dog days of summer here at last (we're at triple digits these days), ice-cream sounds like a good idea. 

Now growing up in New Orleans where the summers are very hot and humid, we had snow ball stands everywhere! I do miss those. And for those who might think these are the same as snow cones, they're not! Snow balls are a cone full of wonderfully soft crushed ice filled with whatever delectable syrup you asked to be put on top. My favorites as a child were always nectar and cream or chocolate and cream. Is anybody out there familiar with snowballs?

I still try to get a snowball in New Orleans whenever I'm home visiting family.

Well, I hope you had a wonderful week-end... and again... as always, thanks for visiting.  Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a Dove Bar today!

Hugs,
Rian

the sweetest thing...

Gizmo

Oldest grand daughter (17)  found this little kitten at a gas station last week.  My daughter sent me this pic of them both napping. 

More pics...

the sweetest thing

I think he's found a home... what do you think?

Other news on the horizon:

First - Thanks to all of you who shared my joy with the publishing of my book, "Time After Time"!  It's a good feeling to scratch something off my very small bucket list. But at the ripe old age of 74, time was running short. 

On that same 'time was/is running short' theme... I will mention here also that I've been very concerned that my 'radiation' cough has gotten worse lately. Now I cough so much in the morning and sometimes after I eat or drink - that I choke and my eyes water and nose runs. Also I cough up very thick mucus. And when this happens, my nasal airway closes up and I have to breathe through my mouth. The episode doesn't last too long, but it's worrisome (and I hope I didn't gross you out too much). 

I know some of the reasons this could be happening. And of course one of them is that my Breast Cancer could have metastasized to my lungs.  This was my worst fear.  However, this worry was put aside yesterday when I went for my annual Oncololgist's appointment. He both listened to my lungs and x-rayed them. Said that they were clear - no problem there. Thank goodness! What a relief!

However, he mentioned that other things that could cause these symptoms were reflux, asthma, and aspiration... and wants me to have a breathing/swallowing test run in the near future. I will do this, but probably not until September. We hope to visit our son in Hawaii in a few weeks... and that's the priority on my agenda now. 

If anyone out there is even halfway familiar with these symptoms (which I have put off as due to 'old age' for a long time), I would appreciate your input. 

But now I have another reason to celebrate besides the book being published! My worst fear hasn't come to pass.

Hugs,

Rian

Share the joy?

Just click on the picture and it will take you to the book !

Hi, this is an exciting day for me as I'm ordering my first batch of  'author copies' of my book from Amazon.  I imagine you didn't even know that I had a book published... and why would you? I've used a Penn name (D'Arcy Regan Hart) and have avoided self-publishing for a long time. But a dear friend enjoyed my story and encouraged me to publish it. So I thought... OK, why not?  

It's called "Time After Time" and is a story told in 3 parts... about a woman in her 60's who has recently became widowed. I myself am not widowed, but have enough friends and relatives these days that are... that somehow this story unfolded in my head. It is not the great American novel, nor was it intended to be.

It is simply a story about Annie Smith who having spent the last 42 years of her life lost in the lives of her husband and children, now comes to realize that without her family to care for, she has no focus. Annie, the wife and mother, was no more. Realizing that she must come to terms with this, she embarks on a journey to re-find her former self. 

This journey takes her to the little town of Carrick Cove, Maine (fictional) - a place where a few years back, she spent an unexpected and unbelievable week. Here on a cold rainy morning, she steps out of a coffee shop into the path of an oncoming truck - and encounters a friendship that will not only change her life, but give it new direction.

This is almost word for word the description of Part One, "A Time for Kindness"... which is how the story begins. It continues in Part Two, "A Time for Herself" and then Part Three, "A Time for the Past".  It is not action-packed, but has warmth, kindness, and yes, a bit of sadness too. My hope is that the story will make you smile.

Now I'm not posting this because I expect people to run to Amazon and order it. Seriously. But I just wanted to share this moment with you - for as as much as I put this off, I do find it exciting to see my book in print.


Hugs,
Rian 

a little late... but hey

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

I'm writing this Thursday night... at 11:35 PM... so it's a bit late. I think you're supposed to say "Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!"  first thing in the morning when you wake up on the first day of the month. But hey, it's still August 1st for another 25 minutes... might count for something.

                                      ________________________


Next are 2 pics taken outside of various critters that we see out front. My youngest granddaughter is fascinated with them and actually has a snail and doodlebug farm in a shoebox at her house. 

snail

toad cooling off in water dish

This little toad seemed very comfortable sitting in one of the cats' water dishes out front.

finding critters on beach

And this is a picture from my cell that son sent while granddaughter was exploring a beach for more little critters...

Tomorrow is the last day for pottery classes at the college. We will have a critique, but basically its a clean up day where we need to take everything from our lockers and shelves and bring home until classes start again in a few weeks. 

I missed last week due to family in town for a few days. But we had a wonderful visit where we ate way too much (crepes, whiskey cake, fresh peach pulled pork sandwiches, etc.), and talked ourselves blue in the face into the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, I'm knackered.... from both the getting ready (cleaning, cooking, etc.) as well as the actual running around... and staying up late (age is taking it's toll here?). But all in all, it was fun! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It is TGIF! 
Thanks for dropping by. BTW, the fig tree is finally slowing down production... it sure had a great season.


Hugs, 
Rian

Dh's birthday, finished sculptures, & figs!

We're having a fairly quiet Sunday... tomorrow is DH's birthday and he went to Central Market yesterday while I was at the Pottery Studio and got an Italian Creme cake. Since I have my Medicare Wellness Check scheduled for this Tuesday, I'm trying to cut back on the sweets. But I do plan on  having a small piece of birthday cake.

My playful seal sculpture and tiny fat cat sculpture both came out of the kiln this week. So my sea creatures finished pieces look like this:

and my tiny fat cat sculpture now joins my black & white collection:

Now sitting on the oxidation cart in the studio are my last 2 sea creatures pieces...

and...

hard to see as they are wrapped in plastic while drying

First attempt this semester to throw on the wheel. I did a cup and a small bowl. Clay is wet and I don't want it to dry out too fast as I probably won't get back to the studio until next Saturday to finish them off.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Barry is the slowest moving weather phenomenon... seems like it's been around forever. I just wish it would get a move on. Keeping touch with family in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, and San Antonio.... 

Had us in a panic when they were predicting about 26 inches of rain in either Baton Rouge or New Orleans... bad for Baton Rouge, but would be devastating for New Orleans. Hopefully it won't be that bad from what we can tell, but just wish it would get a move on and continue to downgrade.

Last pic:  figs gotten off our Celeste fig tree yesterday:

 first harvest of figs...

So, yes, the squirrels and birds are helping themselves... also the box turtles when they find them on the ground. But we were able to salvage these... and hopefully more in the days to come.

Have a wonderful Sunday! And thanks so much for dropping by. I would serve you some of this Italian Creme cake if I could... (much too much for just us). But I plan to send some home to kids tomorrow.

Hugs,
- Rian

new things to think about...

After reading blogs yesterday, I got to thinking about all the things we need to think about today that never entered our minds in years past. 

Things like:

1. Passwords... such a pain. They recommend you have a different one for each account and even that should change ever so often. This is almost an impossibility. When someone asks me my pin or password, my mind does a blank.  I would think someone could come up with a better way.


2. Scams... usually by phone. With Caller ID, most of us don't even answer calls by unknown people or numbers (if it's important, they should be smart enough to leave a message, right?) Our cell phone service actually says "Scam Likely" for some numbers (like whose going to answer those??). 

3. Security questions... I have to laugh at these - because some of us (at least those who have been married for 50+ years) could answer these questions for our spouses... (favorite places, first car, etc.) But it's possible that this wouldn't always be the case.


4. Terror attacks -  something that never entered our minds in years past. And although we mustn't let our lives change due to this new (relatively) threat, now we are even given instructions as to what to do when such should occur. 

I could go on (as I'm sure you could too)... 

5. iPhones, laptops, and computer games.... a wonderful convenience or a mass addiction? 

But I won't. 

It's just a lot to think about... besides aging, health, finances, children, etc. No wonder we get those occasional 3 am dark nights of the soul...

Now I'm thinking that I need to end this on a better note... something uplifting, something fun... 

Hmm...mmm  I had a birthday Saturday! We ordered pizza and I drank part of a Guinness. Slept like a baby. That was fun...

Hope you have a wonderful week!  And as always... thanks for visiting and letting me vent my thoughts. Wish I could serve you some coffee (or tea) and some of our left-over fresh peach custard pie...