Playing 'catch-up'...

My oldest son and his family are in the process of moving to Hawaii. They have always loved visiting and planned to retire there when the time came. However, opportunities arose that allowed them to make this move now. So here are some pics just sent to us.

I'm not sure exactly where the pics were taken, but I know it is on the island of Oahu.








And DH and I just spent the last weekend in the Houston, TX and Lake Jackson area... visiting family. We ate at some great restaurants   (mostly seafood and Cajun), but also found a wonderful breakfast place where they serve fantastic grits (I love grits when they are cooked right!) and beignets (not the same as New Orleans, but very good!) And we found a place that served American Hot Chocolate, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and European Hot Chocolate! Since we were familiar with the first two, we decided to try the third. Wow! European Hot Chocolate was thick and rich... and like ambrosia (or as a Chocoholic, what I'd think ambrosia to be). We will return for more of that next time we visit.

We also went to the NASA Space Center as we hadn't been there since the kids were very young.  Took a few pics.

DH and brother by Space Shuttle

 

Space Pod

 and the next pic is of the NASA Command Center:

It was a fun visit! We got to spend time with family, eat very well, and see a few sights.

However, we did miss youngest grandchild's dance recital here at home while we were gone. We were sent this pic of her in her dance outfit. Haven't heard how she did yet, but probably will soon. She does look cute!

The cats are all doing fine. Tux, Julie, and Ghost are getting used to all the activity in the house that has taken place since the big move to Hawaii began. Actually Tux and Julie don't pay much attention, but Ghost stays under the bed a lot.

The outside ferals are all doing well. The mama with her 5 babies seems to have left them in the care of Cisco and Poncho (the 2 young cats that hang together) in the back yard. The little ones are eating and drinking on their own, but still try to nurse on Cisco... he/she and Poncho don't seem to mind and are surprisingly good with them.

Going to leave you with a picture of one of the box turtles eating with a feral. 

turtle and feral having breakfast

Don't know if I'll get a chance to post anything else this weekend, so I'll just wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day now! Have a great weekend and stay safe!

New baby chicks!... and baby kittens, etc.

Daughter sent me this pic this week of newly hatched baby chicks at her house. Says mom is a new mom and being a bit mean and overprotective.... but they are precious. If you look closely (may want to enlarge the pic), you can see that one is dark, one is light, and the one on top is 'silverish'. I love baby chicks and chickens, but with all the feral cats around here, we could never have them.

Mentioning feral cats, a young mother showed up at our back door just this morning with 5 little black kittens. They look about 5 weeks old. They ate, played on the porch for a bit, then disappeared. I imagine she's got them someplace on the property or at a neighbor's.

DH and I walked at the mall this week and came across this hanging plant arrangement. 

We thought it was really an attractive display. This pond area also has ducks and turtles. The kids love it!

BTW, my friend and I went to see "Beauty and the Beast" yesterday. It was her birthday and she wanted to see it. I hadn't heard much about it myself. But it was very enjoyable and Emma Watson ('Hermione' from Harry Potter) as Beauty and Dan Stevens ('Matthew' from Downton Abbey) as the Beast did a great job.

And here's a pic of a neighbor's front walk with her yellow day lilies:

 

Well, that's about my news. Perhaps I'll close with this pic of my youngest grand daughter trying on heels at Macy's.

She's a hoot!

Have a good weekend... and Happy Mother's Day!







 

a correction... and pottery sale results

First of all... a correction... that last pic on recent post ("monkey mind strikes again") was NOT Julie, but Julie's deceased brother, Jack. I hurriedly looked for a picture to put at the end of my post and grabbed that one (Julie and Jack are very similar although Julie is half Jack's size and has that 'martingale' marking across her chest).  DH saw the pic pulled up on my computer where I had left it... and said, "Oh, I miss our Jack..." and I looked closely, and said, "Oops! I just posted that as Julie".  So correction noted! And here is a pic of Julie hiding out on my desk as we speak.

She found me...

Our Student pottery sale was this past Tuesday on campus. It was a one day sale (not like the 3 day one in November). It wasn't terribly successful as we aren't allowed to advertise much... so it's there for anyone (usually students and faculty) that happen to pass by.

We did OK. I sold my rooster, several chickens, and a fox... as well as a few functional pieces. But the best part of it was getting feedback from the buyers of what they seemed to like and buy. I was asked if I had any tiny roosters (like my chicken size)... which I didn't (but will next time). Someone bought one of my small goblets and wanted to know if I had any more (I did... at home, but had brought mostly larger ones with me - who knew?). And the man who bought my tiny fox was thrilled with it, had me sign it,  and wanted to know if I had made any more (I told him 'only one other and that one had gone to a friend in Canada').

Here are a few pics of the student sale:

Some of the potters have been throwing and hand-building for years. Others (like myself) took it up later in life, but still enjoy it immensely. 

They say Art is Life and Life is Art... and I never really thought about this until recently. Now I seem to see it everywhere. TV shows and movies are constantly depicting what is happening, has happened, or likely to happen... Art is Life and Life is Art.

I've seen art that I didn't understand, didn't feel the emotion that the Artist felt when the piece was created... and wondered why it was considered 'good'?  Now I realize that Art is as individual as the next person... everyone won't 'see' it  - but some WILL - And that is something extraordinary. Someone put something from themselves into a form (written, sculpted, painted, etc.) and someone else 'felt,  saw, or simply appreciated it. Amazing! 

Part of this thought came to me when one of the other potters bought one of my chickens and said, "I have to have him, he keeps talking to me..." I laughed and said, "Yes, I've taught them to do that... ".

OK, time to get on with my day... so much to do, so little time. 

"... always time to nap"