Bright Spots in a Dreary Day

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I love both color and flowers. These photos were forwarded to me and made my  day. I expect many of these strangers on this page belong to species we are familiar with…such as orchids, roses and lilies.

It looks like spring with its delicate cream and pink spiky petals

This isn't colorful, but it's certainly an attention getter.

Amazing perfection in each layer of  petals as they increase from the small center petals to the largest. 

                                                       

                                                             Speaking of perfection, these white
                                                           outlined petals are rather neat.

This combination of colors is rather 

unusual. So is the arrangement of

petaled flowers in a perfect ball.

    The colorful balls below, left remind me of the 'pop balls'  we some time see on trees. Remember those tiny colored balls we used to pop.They grew on the leaves of oak trees.But a closer view shows they are spiky.The purple balls on the right consist of hundreds of tiny flowers…or appear to… and  may grow from bulbs. They''d sure brighten a dreary yard. 
                                                   

                

Would these be from our own west? Probably not. A close look
shows they pop up on leafless stems, and appear to prefer
a rocky mountainous rocky terrain.

A tree like this would be nice and so would a flower pot  of these beauties   below.                                  

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These appears to be a nice floral arrangement but since all these pictures are of seldom seen flowers, these must all be on the same plant. 

To have one bright red petal is a little unusual and makes these flowers appear to be laughing.
 

Take a second look at this one… those red petals below this 'basket' appearing center?  This the most unusual center ( I have no idea what something like this should be called)  I've ever seen.

Should these be thought of as
exotic blue bells or do you
see them as an open mouth?

These are some colorful
twists…all growing from
the same stem.

This reminds me of our Fourth
of July fireworks.

I wouldn't mind having a rose bush filled with these.

This is no beauty, that's for sure, but fascinating all the same.
If a person was walking through the grass and came across one of these would they jump? They don't appear to be very large but I think it would be startling..It certainly looks like an animal sticking its head out of the foliage.

Fluffy white centered in green petal-appearing leaves  appear at first glance, to be girls in fluffy white skirts. A closer look destroys that imaginary image, for the smaller part of the flower resembles a bird's head…not a girl's.

The flower resembles those of the spider wort in both color and shape, but these appear to grow on a tall stem.

A stem of white and coral  flowers  and  buds

A beautiful flower with a twist.

Can this be real? It is! Unbelievable
and charming.

White birds or angel figures? 

                                                           

                              

This looks almost 
poisonous…really unusual
to be blue totally blue…
flour, stem and leaves.


e of Fuchsias.

  









Unusual shape> for a flower.
Dancing girls?



chandelier?













                                                           

   


                

Is this an iris? It appears to  be
closely related with blooms that
are  half and half  blue and white.

                     

A few statistics about this blog:

First established……………….June, 2010  

Posts published………………..138

 Page views by  reader ………..61,891

Signed on followers/members…14

Approximate number of  readers  who read the Aluminist:  unknown, but I betcha those 14 followers don't make 61,891 log-ins!

It would please me greatly, if  more of you readers would take a moment and go  to  the right side of the page, just below my photo, and find the "Click on this site" strip.  Click it,  and a pop-up sign in form  appears. There, you may click on either the Google or Yahoo button and you're finished…now have become a follower of this  blog…and when I see that  number of followers  go from 14 to 15, I will be so-o-o pleased.

If you have neither a Google or Yahoo ID, use the button that is for that situation; click and fill out the new form that pops up. All it asks for is your name and password. Those  are only for Google or Blogger's benefit. This  appears  to be much simpler  than it was years  ago.

Dannie

                                                                                    

                                                    

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

It's a witches brew! I'm referring to computers and all related activities.

Today it's email. Two weeks ago it was the internet. Before that. . . more of the same   .   .   .

Email wonderful–if and when it works. Opened my computer Sat. morn. to check my mail. Had to enter my password–it wasn't  accepted. Changed it, Yahoo Mail opened.  What a shock to see an entirely different screen; an entirely different layout, different buttons to click for various actions (none of which did anything) and no mail, except a few old notices from 2011.

Ironically, nothing has changed about accessing 'help'. It remains impossible. Of course they state their phones are giving them great problems, so customers can either state their problems for 'community help' or email customer service via their form. Tried community service first and found pages of questions and complaints similar to mine. Very few answers - maybe one out of 10. Did that twice, and was assured I would be contacted by email–through the mail I am unable to receive, I presume, for I have yet to receive promised email.

 Besides that, my address list has disappeared. all saved messages are no more.

Why, when a system is finally understood, and doing exactly what we want it to do, is it tinkered with?
It's always described 'as new and better', or 'continuing our effort to bring you better service.' I can think of several apt replies to that!

It appears to me, that a little box that can dispense an answer to any question a person chooses to answer, that holds detailed instructions on most anything a person might wish to build or repair, should have been programed to fix  itself. Their human handlers don't seem to be smart enough to devise a simple method of communicating or correcting the problems they have caused.

I definitely need a chocolate fix.

Dannie

Rocking Chair Journey: Dandy's Yogg

Rocking Chair Journey: Dandy's Yogg: Some Days are Real Bummers.  Woof, woof. I hate to say this folks, but things need to improve around here. I know, I know, I have this...

Dandy's Yogg Today is a bummer

Some Days are Real Bummers.

 Woof, woof.
I hate to say this folks, but things need to improve around here. I know, I know, I have this long couch all to myself– I even have pillows to prop up on, and I have my own place to eat (with no more sneaky cats around, trying to steal from me), and I have a basket full of toys right here by my couch.

The trouble is the food. Have you ever tried eating the same thing day after day? The exact same thing. Well, my lady says she has–something she calls broccoli, but that was just for a short time, Anyway, try eating stew when the aroma of enchiladas fill the air?  This is dog food stew, mine you! I'll admit that I thought it was pretty good last year, but   . . .oh never mind. Just compare that same old stew to barbecue, or  bacon and eggs frying!

I love that bacon. I could hardly believe my luck when a friend brought a little sack of chunks of something that smelled just like bacon. I was intending to tear into that bag, but my lady put it all into a jar and sealed it up tight.So next she rations it out a chunk per day.They're little chunks, too, but the best thing I've ever eaten–kinda chewy but not tough.

Anyway, things have ben going pretty well with my one-a-days, and the few bites of human food I manage to beg for, but last night when I got a little impatient for my treat, there wasn't any. I begged, I stuck my paw out in my way of saying 'please', I pointed my nose toward the table where the jar of goodies is stored–I even got half-way into my lady's lap before I realized what I was doing, (I don't do stuff like kissys or cuddling, ya know).


Well, My lady told me the jar was empty, but I just didn't believe her. I could smell my treats and I was sure they were there somewhere. She held her hands out, like she does when she she says 'no more', and I still couldn't believe her, so she shows me the jar and took the lid off and tossed the jar on the couch for me to see for myself.

 I think she was a little provoked with me, but I didn't care. I just went to work
                                                on that good smelling jar.


 That's really a tough jar. I thought  I could tear anything  apart, but I chewed and chewed on it, and it still looks like a jar. Still smells like bacon, too!

                           Maybe if I'm especially good she'll get another bag go those treats.

Woof, woof.

DANDY

Laugh a Little

 Long ago, a friend sent me this group of aphorisms.

   .These have been around for years, but they're worth reading again.

        1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts

tomorrow.

       2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag

his tail.

       3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any

sense at all.

       4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.

       5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.

       6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the

dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

       7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how

many people a company can operate without.

       8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone

else looks?

       9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.

       10. No one has more driving ambition than the teenage boy who wants

to buy a car.

       11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.

       12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at

4 a.m. - like, it could be the right number.

       13. No one ever says "It's only a game" when their team is winning.

     **  14. I've reached the age where 'happy hour' is a nap.

       15. Be careful about reading the fine print--there's no way you're

going to like it.

       16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same

size bucket.

       17. Do you realize that, in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of

old ladies running around with tattoos?

       18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable

to cry in a Cadillac than in a Yugo.

       19. After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you're

probably dead.

       20. Always be yourself because the people that matter don't mind . .

. and the ones that mind don't matter.

       21. Life isn't tied with a bow -- but it's still a gift.

       REMEMBER....

       "POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME

REASON."

Rocking Chair Journey: Looking Back

Rocking Chair Journey: Looking Back: This past year was not near what I expected. I know it wasn't, although I can’t remember what I expected.   I’ve forgotten a lot of...

Looking Back

This past year was not near what I expected. I know it wasn't, although I can’t remember what I expected.  I’ve forgotten a lot of things, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t expect to break my hip. Nor did I expect to have to learn to walk again. I’ve always heard that if you do it right the first time, you won’t have to do it over. I’d tended to that little walking project eighty-six years ago and I must have done it right because I’ve certainly walked a lot over the years. I guess a person can’t put a lot of faith in some of these old sayings.

Anyway, I’ve learned to walk, and like the first time, it’s taken me almost a year.

Almost as important, I’ve finished two of the manuscripts that I was positive I had finished five times before. This time I’m positively positive that the job is done. I know this because I do not intend to read them again.

So I’m moving on with my writing, I’m now reworking my third story

which is actually my first, but it gets a little complicated at this point, so I’ll spare you any explanations and move on.

In the back of my mind there is a niggling thought that I should be thinking about doing something with these stories other than storing them in my computer files. However, I don’t multitask as well as well as I once did, so instead, I’m continuing to work this third story,
which is really my first.

 Nowadays, I like to finish a project before I go to the next, and I'm

beginning to realized there is a huge problem with this way of doing things. With ten more chapter to revise in this third novel and a sequel under way, I'm looking at two more years before I reach a stopping point. No way, is this acceptable!

Okay, I’ll work on this hitch in my mode of operations tomorrow–or the day after…I may need to make a list of my plans. Or, maybe I need to plan to make a list. That fits my schedule much better.

I'm flexible–this past year proved that. That nice, because I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm stuck in old habits. Of course, most of the changes of this past year were forced upon me, but I never protested, never complained…uh, lets skip this part of the past year.

Anyway, There's been a lot of changing going on, and a few were voluntarily undertaken. This year, for the first time in my life, I went through Christmas without a tree. My choice. I enjoy decorating a tree. Removing those decorations is not on my list of fun things to do. Since removing the decorations is tiresome, and living all year with a fully decorated tree might cause a few people question my state of mind, I chose to do without a tree. I’ve missed it, though.   I guess making this cone "tree" decorated with old junk jewelry could be called a minor  accomplishment of the year. I've intended to make it–or something similar– for years. Finally did it.

One more major time consuming accomplishment for the year is the disposal of over four hundred pieces of the decorative aluminum ware that was filling my closets and shelves. Did the same with some dishes and other odds and ends. Took pictures, measured and wrote descriptions, Wrapped, weighed and mailed each thing. The trouble is, I don’t feel I’ve accomplished anything with this project. The empty shelves have not become a reality. Neither has the hoped for tidy workroom. Instead, more unneeded junk has appeared, and has resisted all my efforts to create an orderly household. The battle continues–me, against all the things accumulated in sixty-nine years of keeping things that might come in handy someday. The keepsakes, our parents’ belongings, and the ‘good stuff’ that came from flea markets and garage sales, because it was priced so low we couldn’t pass it by.

I should do something about this accumulation.  I guess I can throw away the old valentines from the second grade, but what if I wanted to look at them again. What if I can’t remember the name of t                  hat boy that chased me with a little grass snake? No, the valentines are keepers. So is the third grade spelling prize, and that little memory book that everyone wrote icky poems in and told you what a wonderful person you are.

I guess I’d better leave all those things alone and get serious about selling on eBay and see if I can clear out the junk in the garage before it sneaks back into the house. But this is all really good stuff.  It might come in handy some day. There’s a 5-gallon crock jug with a hole in it–actually it may hold eight or 10 gallons. I can’t measure its volume on account of that hole, and there’s a McClellan army saddle and…wait a minute…surely I don’t need that.

Now, I hope no one gets the idea that I’m confused. When I get old I expect I’ll have moments of confusion, but for now, my thinking is as clear as a Texas sky (never you mind that Texas skies get a little hazy at times). Maybe I should say my thinking is as clear as the ding of a bell– no that brings to mind the word dingy. Besides, some bells tinkle, some bong, and some clang, so let's forget about how clear my thinking is and move on to what this post is all about–accomplishments and plans.

Except for rearranging the contents of closets and cabinets time and time again, hoping to find some arrange more suitable for my changed lifestyle, and stocking some extra batteries in preparation for the next power outage, I fear I've covered the year. In writing, it looks a bit short on accomplishments–but I've just remembered, two months of 2013 were spent away from home as a hospital guest and having a grand ole time in learning to stand on one leg, stomp my feet, and play brain games during the required recuperation time in a couple of therapy facilities. I'd much preferred to toss beanbags and practice opening cabinet doors while at home, but then I would have missed those weeks of 4:30 AM meds and all that broccoli and pasta.

Anyway,  I know exactly how I’m going to spend today. First I’ll take a nap, then I’ll hunt a pen that will still write (I have a box full of ones that no longer make a mark but except for that, they look almost new and ought to be good for something)  then I’ll get a sheet of paper–no little notebook with dozens of pages, this time. Just one sheet of paper and a pen that will write, and I’ll start jotting down all that I can remember of those plans I was planning to make.

Oh my goodness! Here I’m already thirteen days into 2014 and this was supposed to have been posted ten days ago. That's what happens when you don't have a list of your plans. I once had a list, but it got longer instead of shorter so I tore it to shreds.

I’m a little concerned that I’ve put off posting this account of my 2013 achievements. I think I had plans to add a few goals for 2014. I'd better get cracking or February will soon be here and I'll still be sitting here wondering what I’m supposed to be doing.

As always, your on on the ball, well organized, sane and happy blogger.

Dannie

Rocking Chair Journey: Woof, Woof. I'm back again. There' s a celebration...

Rocking Chair Journey: Woof, Woof. I'm back again. There' s a celebration...: Woof, Woof. I'm back again. There' s a celebration going on –– its seems I'm not the only one ready to welcome a new year. ...

Dandy's Yogg Happy New Year

Woof, Woof. I'm back again. There' s a celebration going on –– its seems I'm not the only one ready to welcome a new year.

Frankly,  2013 wore out its welcome months ago. My lady was gone weeks at a time, those dratted cats haven't come back so I don't have them to aggravate any more, and those deer keep wandering around in my yard. I watch out my window and bark and bark when they come around, and if my Lady doesn't come, I go fetch her,  but all she does is  looks out, takes a few pictures, and walk off. Looks like she ought to let me out so I can teach those big-eared trespassers they need to move on.



Well, since I've a lot of time on my paws, I figured I'd wish you all my very best doggie wishes for the coming year.


May you have no more ice-covered sidewalks and streets in the remaining winter months. 


May you enjoy the beauty
around you, and have a comfy place to nap.

May you have a good friend to talk to and be patient with those who annoying you.

                                 Most of all, My Lady and I wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014.

Happy New Year