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Showing posts from February 16, 2020

In Praise Of Bobble Hats

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With apologies to my family members in England who may have already seen this. Back in 2017 on a visit to my family members in England my good niece Nicola presented me with a bobble hat she had knitted for me. There is a not a great need for warm head coverings in south west Florida. But once in a while...... This morning was once in a while .   The temps hovered around 40f, with a wicked cold wind from the north. Even in Florida we were calculating wind chill factors. Notwithstanding wind and cold, Mr. Zion had to go outside for his essential evacuations. He could not do so sans moi. I could not walk with him sans my bobble hat.                                         Merci NICOLA! 

I do business with only the very best.

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I am amused by the receipt I got from Goodwill Industries  (Charity Shops etc) when I donated some good "stuff" for re-sale.  Such donations can count as tax deductible.

A hoped for way station on the endless road of grief

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  Some will remember that I officiated at Justine and Luke's wedding, and that I know many members of Luke's extended family. In Sheffield, tragic site looms for now BY HEATHER B ELLOW   The Berkshire Eagle SHEFFIELD   — Tibetan prayer flags flutter at the entrance to the driveway. No-trespassing signs and police tape serve as constant reminders of the tragedy that took place there nearly a year ago. Every day, friends and neighbors pass the boarded-up carriage house at 1343 Home Road and wonder what will come of it. The home eventually will be torn down, according to Terri Wilbur. But how soon remains in question. Wilbur’s daughter, Justine, was killed in the home, along with her three children, by her husband, Luke Karpinski, March 12, 2019, according to authorities. The next day, Karpinski set the home on fire and   took his own life. Wilbur said the home will be razed and transformed into a place to remember them all. She plans to keep the land

It's official. Heaven is in Lee, Massachusetts.

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From an obit in today's Berkshire Eagle  " (n) entered peacefully into eternal rest on January 29, 2020 in Lee MA." Eternal rest is in Lee, MA ? Whod a thunk it! I think that one of the Churches  in this photo' is the (now closed) St. George's Episcopal Church, (centre picture to the left); the other (with the tall spire) is the Congregational Church.

That cat, that cat, where did you get that cat? (and His Lordship)

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The first time it happened was understandable. I walked into my bedroom only to be shocked  by the sight of this ultra-fluffy cat on my bed. The second time it happened I was foolish. The third time I was utterly stupid. For you see,  I do not have a cat.   But thrice my thought was "why is there a cat on my bed?"  I'd been looking at a feather duster which I used to remove the cobwebs and dog hairs from the louvered wooden doors to my walk in closet, and my bathroom. I knew that it was a feather duster which I'd left on my bed,  But what I knew and what I saw were at odds. I know that I do not have a cat.  But three times I saw a feather duster, and momentarily thought that it was a cat! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been making incremental  improvements to my kitchen (not before time!) In the spirit of improvement I decided that Zion should be included by the provision of a better and more dig

Music: - when I was a wee lad, and I wept for the sheer beauty of it.

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Was I eight years old, or was I ten years old? My exact age doesn't matter, except that I know it happened before my teen years. I had gone to bed. From the radio downstairs I heard the sheer beauty of a  piece of music. It was "The Arrival of The Queen of Sheba" from G.F. Handel's oratorio "Solomon". I left my bed, stood on the stairs,  and started to cry.  My parents, and maybe also my big sister Maureen,  heard me. "Why" they asked "are you crying?" As best I could I explained that the music I'd heard had a beauty which made me cry.   They understood. And this particular piece still evokes my lachrymose tendencies! https://youtu.be/C66XCqWkhmw Solomon and the Queen of Sheba