Past Christmas card from Ray Sutton's blog

Whatever happened to....

Christmas cards.... they're a vanishing item. Or I should say, they are being transformed into the electronic variety, as shown above. This is a 'snipping' from an animated greeting that I received the other day from friends.

I've only received two actual old-fashioned cards so far this year. One from friends in the building, and another from a distant cousin, who perhaps isn't as computer-oriented as some of the rest of us.

I think the electronic variety are just fine. It saves on trees, trips to the post office, and stamps. And it's easier to send a reply, too. I wish everybody did it.


Enjoy the Christmas season, everyone...

NAME THIS KITTEN!!!!

My artist friend Joe Byrne has a new kitten...His name is___________ _________...If you wish...you can help Joe out by filling in the blank (s)....The winner will receive an autographed full color photo of (what's his name) ...You may enter as many names as you can think up...Just hit comments below and get started....Contest ends Dec 7th....Good Luck!

 (click to enlarge)

That's one of Joe's paintings he is currently working on behind him....

To comment on my post you can click on Anonymous...but leave your name in the content box...

Do You Remember Thanksgiving?

 

That's right!  That's what our grandchildren will ask themselves someday...What a shame that we live in a country so engrossed in the "Almighty Dollar" that we are losing our values every day that goes by...Last night we watched a documentary on TV about the dust storms that ruined so many people's lives back in the early 30's out in the Midwest ...Those storms were even more devastating than our most recent hurricane Sandy...And they didn't last one or two days but months and years...They said that the worst of those storms was the black ones...And today we have another black storm rolling over us...and it's called "Black Friday"...and it wants to kill all of the beauty and feelings and love we feel on a holiday that is meant to be felt in our hearts and minds...God help us if the country can't see what happening and get us back on track...

This cartoon says it all...

More Halloweeeeeen....

WARNING -WARNING

Not for the faint hearted...

Must be over 12 yrs. old to view...

Boo!!!

As Halloween Creeps in on Us...

What are we going to do???

Let's counter their Tricks and have our own Treats....hehehehehehe...Click on the pix below...

If you dare...

Now....Don't you feel better?

Flower Portrait

My friend Ray up in Vancouver (Ray's Blogging again) loves to put flower portraits on his blog...So do I....So here is today's portrait...I wish I knew what it is...It was growing in my niece, Mary's back yard...

A cat named Peter

We have pets...Pets are a part of our lives...Some of us are dog lovers...some of us love cats...some of us love birds who squawk...and others find Gerbils fun to watch ...Personally I like cats...About ten years ago when I moved to the country I didn't have any pets...and I wasn't looking to have any in my new home either...But my next door neighbor's cat  decided to have some kittens...and my pet loving girlfriend talked me into bringing two of these new born home with me...One male...one female...Peter and Pumpkin...

Well I tried having them live indoor...No way!...They shredded every piece of furniture I had...Luckily it was old furniture...So...Out they went...and became "OUTDOOR CATS"....

They greeted me when I drove down my driveway by perching on the pump house as I drove in...then they would follow my car to the house and wait to see if I would come out and play with them....Peter was always first to be petted and loved to butt his head against mine...He was more affectionate than Pumpkin but she could wheedle lots of petting from me with her female ways...


I lost Peter this afternoon to a type of cancer called lymphoma ...

We will always remember him and the love he brought to my house...

He had the longest whiskers...

Peter loved to make new friends...

And Pumpkin is her name...

I'd rather be lucky than good....

Last night those words came true...I played in a 9-ball tournament at a pool hall called Grady's...It was named after a fine pool player named Grady Mathews...He passed away recently and will be missed...After just watching the tournaments over the past few weeks I decided o try my hand at one...Since I haven't played much pool in many months and ...that I am recuperating from breaking my hip a little over two months ago...I was skeptical of my out come...

This is a signed old photo of me and probably the most famous pool player of all time, "Willie Mosconi" (He was GOOD!)

But I was lucky...very lucky and walked away with the first place prize...I think that was at 6:30 this morning...I never lost a set...I started off with a "BYE" and then played five more times...Was I good?  I should have been beat by every player I faced but last night was my night and I was "LUCKY"...(Go figure)

I ate Victorian Perch last night...

Last night I attended a dinner at a restaurant in West Columbia with a wonderful group of folk called the Sociable Singles....We meet every Tuesday night and try out various restaurants around Columbia...Last night we were at a Greek restaurant named "the Grecian Garden"...I arrived early and saw written on the Specials's Board...Victorian Perch...$10.95

It sounded vry different and something I would love to try...Here's what one of these babies looks like...

Today I looked it up and here's what I found...Lake Victoria perch was formerly called the Nile perch. However, it is not a true perch, nor did it ever live in the Nile. The fish was introduced into Lake Victoria to control the population of another species. It has nearly destroyed the lake's 350 native species of fish and has worked its way to the top of the lakes food chain. It can grow to enormous sizes. Perch weighing 240 kg (530 lbs) have been reported. Typical commercial sizes range between 3 and 6 kg (7-13 lbs). This fish is the most important fish food in Africa.

The fish was fried and tasted very good...Actually...It was delicious...Try it...You may like it too!!!

Sunflower Seedlings & HealthSouth

Once upon a time there was an artist / photographer named Uncle Ron...Who...decided to grow some sunflowers to feed his birds...So he got the seeds and the little pots and some good soil and planted them...and of course he watered them...And lo and behold...they sprouted...So...one morning he decided to check on them and went out to the driveway where they were sitting in his metal trailer...The sun was shinning and the seeds were sprouting...Hooray! So he watered them and they thanked him by waving their little petals at him ...This made Uncle Ron very happy...so happy...he didn't see the trailer hitch grab the bottom of his PJ's...And he made a quick turn but his foot didn't move ...but the rest of him did..."KABOOM" ..down he went on the hard cement driveway...

End of story?

By no means...He immediately thought of that little old woman on TV who wailed,"I've fallen down and can't get up"...So he fumbled for his trusty cell phone and called his dearest friend, "Margie", who came immediately to his aide...She put a pad under his head and called 911...

Here comes the ambulance...Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...and away they took him to the Lexington County Hospital Emergency Room...Once they got him there...they x-rayed his hip...And before the xrays were done a doctor on duty in the ER examined his hip and said he had torn a muscle in hi leg...The xrays provided him wrong...He had cracked his femur and needed a pin to help it heal...So...by 6:30 that evening he had 2 pins in his leg...

Now he had to recover in one of their rooms...3 days went by ...The staff were great but he will not comment on the food...

Then 2 wild guys in yellow jump suits showed up and took him to HealthSouth in their ambulance...

After settling him in room he went down for therapy...Boy!...was that room going ...like Grand Central Station...patients, therapists, aides going and coming ...back and forth...everyone doing something...

And then he met her..."S___________ "his personal therapist....She had a twinkle in her eye (which could mean several things)...He learned to do as she said regardless of what feelings he had at the time but she knew what she taught him was going to help him in the long run...And they had a lot of fun too!...He could not believe she had him mix up a batch of pancakes and fry them...(they were good too!)

S____________ was his occupational therapist...and R_____ was his physical therapist...R____was different from S__________ ...He worked on the lower half of his body...A lot of his exercises hurt but were very necessary for his hip to mend...Learning to just lift his foot off the floor was very hard ...but as was said...(in the long run)... it is going to help him get back to normal...R____taught him much about the different kinds of shoes (walking, running, etc.) He was very pleasant to work with...and it wasn't long before Uncle Ron could walk around the large room with his walker and feel confident that he wouldn't fall down...

The nurses and their aides who looked after him in his room were terrific...They helped him both day and night...He will always remember his sponge baths and showers...WOW!..."He was squeaky clean from head to foot"...

And he can't forget Dr. D______...who looked in on him every morning and always had a big smile...

He's going home tomorrow...and he will have to continue his therapy on his own and with Margie's help...If they work together it won't be long before he is caring for his sunflower seedlings...

Tomorrow is a new day!

Rathkeltair and Syr at Celtic Commotion

Last Friday night I stumbled on a wonderful concert under the stars at the base of the Gervais/Meeting St. Bridge on the West Bank of the Congaree River which divides Columbia and West Columbia...It was called the Celtic Commotion and it was a prelude to their concert on the following day at the Columbia Speedway called Tartan Day South...There were 3 or 4 bands there but I arrived a little late and missed one...God bless them...they were selling pints of Guiness and Harp draft beer in the parking lot...So for the price of two Guinesses...I got to see and hear some wonderful Celtic (Rock) music...And of course I had my trusty cell phone with me and recorded some of their songs and images...

 

The first group is called "Syr"...and they were not on the main stage but up where I was sitting so I was very close to them as they performed...

 

 This group is called Rathkeltair...and they are an international band and have played worldwide...Give them both a listen...

Winfred "Jeanne" Chapiesky, nee O'Shea

We never called her Winfred...It was always Jean or Jeanne...She married my oldest brother Vic (we called him Dudie back then) in 1945 at the end of World War II...He just returned from Panama where he served with the US Army Coast Artillery...They took up residence in a Chicago suburb called Bellwood...In the followinng years they had four children...Patricia, Michael, Marya and Amy...Their children grew up and married and they had children...(And so it went)
How did Jean ever keep track of all their birthdays? The Lord only knows...but  she did though...and she loved them all...

(Vic past away in 2004 at the age of 85...)

Here is her Obit taken from the Chicago Tribune on March 27, 2012

She will be missed...

Winifred Chapiesky

Winifred "Jeanne" Chapiesky, nee O'Shea, of Lisle and formerly of Plainfield and Berkeley, passed away on March 24, 2012, in her apartment at the glorious age of 89. Jeanne's children were with her at her passing. Jeanne was preceded in death by her husband, Victor Chapiesky; her mother and father, Kenneth and Winifred O'Shea; step-mother, Mildred O'Shea; and her sisters, Mary Allred and Patricia Julison. She is survived her children, Patricia Chapiesky-Ruffo, Michael (Elizabeth) Chapiesky, Marya (Scott Larson) Chapiesky and Amy (Kenneth) Chapiesky-Ellis. She is also survived by her sister, Delores (the late Thomas) O'Gorman; and her brother, Dennis (Jeanne) O'Shea. Jeanne was the proud grandmother of Michael (Amy) Rufo, Daniel (Colleen) Ruffo, Mary (Daniel) Zarembski, John (Meghan) Ruffo, Nicholas Ruffo, and Katie (Joel) Ruffo-Petriz, Kevin O'Driscoll, Stella Larson, Egan Larson and Tommy (TJ) Chapiesky. Jeanne was also the proud great-grandmother of Sofia Rufo, Ally Rufo, Cara Ruffo, Jordan Ruffo, Jimmy Ruffo, Anya Zarembski, Madison Zarembski, Mikey Ruffo, Quentin Ruffo, Andrew Eichensehr-Ruffo, Teresa Ruffo, Katie Ruffo, Alexia Petriz and Natalie Petriz. Jeanne also has many in-laws, nephews, nieces, and friends that loved to be in her company. Jeanne was a former member and President for the Ladies of Chrysostom of St. John Chrysostom Parish in Bellwood, IL. Jeanne was also a former member of the Red Hat Society of Carillon in Plainfield, IL. Jeanne's wit and humor will be sorely missed by all. Visitation Wednesday, 3 to 9 p.m. at Adams Winterfield & Sullivan Funeral Home, 4343 Main St. (1 block S. of Ogden Ave.), Downers Grove, IL. Funeral Service Thursday, 11 a.m., at the funeral home. Inurnment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Association http://www.alz.org/ or the Seasons Hospice http://www.seasons.org/, would be appreciated. For info: 630-968-1000 or http://www.adamswinterfieldsullivan.com/.

Published in Chicago Tribune on March 27, 2012

Jean always put a big spread for us when we came for dinner...That's me on the left...Pattie in her high chair and Jean looking happy and smiling...

Here's her family now (in 2004 that is...) There's quite a few more come along in the the last 8 years...The two old guys sitting right and left of Jean are her brother-in-laws... me and Johnny...

Sunday Morning Comics

If this don't make you laugh you must be dead...I don't know why they call it Blondie...It's all about Dagwood...

Otis the Black Lab Puppy

My nephew David and his family have added a new puppy to their home...and his name is Otis...  He certainly is a keeper...

Uncle Ron's Museli...

Here is a mixture of cereals which I find both appetizing and healthful...I call it Uncle Ron's Museli...

I take a gallon plastic bag and in it I mix: 4 cups of ground oats (regular oatmeal not the minute kind) ...4 cups of plain Cheerios...one cup of almond slices...one cup of sunflower kernels and one cup of raisins...

Note: chopped walnuts of pecans can be substituted for the almonds...

Once they are mixed I take a cup of the mixture and add a teaspoon of ground flax seed...
and one sliced banana or one sliced peaches or strawberries or even some sliced dried apricots if I don't have fresh fruit available...You can eat this mixture raw of you can pour some juice or milk on it as you like...I prefer juice...

Camellia "Gorge-e-osso"

Sometimes you get lucky when you snap your shutter...

I know I did...Enjoy!

Follow this blog...

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That's right...I said follow this blog...

It's one of the best you will ever read on what's happening in our country  TODAY!...the good old USA

...It's about people...politicians...government...elections...It's about US!

I stumbled across her by accident and I'm so glad I did...She tells it like it is and for my money...She's right on the mark...Her blog is called ...

DOGWALK MUSINGS...

Please check her out...You won't regret it...I guarantee...

http://dogwalkmusings.blogspot.com/

See what she says about Newt and Mitt...

Uncle Ron's Wood Chipper CHILI...

 

Yesterday Margie and I were talking to some new friends and they wanted to know why we called each other Norm and Margie...well we asked them if they had ever seen the film called "Fargo" which is a black comedy about two weird kidnapper's who are pursued by a pregnant sheriff who lives in Fargo, North Dakota...Her husband is an artist named Norm...and her name is Margie...At the end of the film is when one of the crooks tries to get rid of his dead buddy's remains in a wood chipper...(Yuk!!!)

Well it was one of the first movies we saw together back when we started dating and we had fun talking like those wonderful folk who live up there...with their "Yaaahs" and "You betchas"...and so we called each other by the film characters names..."Norm and Margie"...

Now for the chili recipe...

Every October I would enter the Group Therapy  chili cook off in Columbia and each time I was required to give my chili a name...So Margie  (Linda) suggested the one you see in the pix...Uncle Ron's Wood Chipper Chili...It sounds pretty gross and so we used it...Margie (Linda) found a rubber foot at a dollar store and we put a white sock on it and attached it to a large wooden ladle...and thus you can see the results...The chili was a hit and we had to replenish the pot with more beans and tomatoes we bought at a local drug store to keep the pot going...I forget how much we sold (1.00 a cup) but all of the money was given to charity...The recipe is in the second photo for anyone to try...

Bon appetite...

Mr. Bumper Magoo and the ornaments

Here's a short clip of Mr. Magoo ...We gave him a first name...Bumper...It will show you why he's so loved by us...

Boy am I Gorgeous (2)

Here are some excerps from our Zoo trip...Check out the video...

Boy Am I Gorgeous...

One of my favorite places to photograph is at our Riverbanks Zoo...Margie (Linda) said we should take advantage of the FREE admission on Fridays during January and February... so...Off we went and had a very enjoyable afternoon...I took my old Olympus SP-500 UZ digital camera with us...It's 10X zoom lens proved highly capable of capturing these wonderful animals...Enjoy...

The End...(for now)