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i took this photo of us, at our friend roni's 30th birthday party....and then layered it....cuz that's what i do.....and then neil went behind my back and pursued another girl that was 11 years younger than him...cuz that's what he does....
Ta Prohm is one of the most memorable and well visited sites of Angkor, not because of its architectural or artistic worth but because of the picturesque nature of its neglected condition, the ultimate romantic ruin. After Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century much of the area was gradually consumed by the jungle and the temples were largely obscured and forgotten over the centuries. At Ta Prohm this is very much still tangible.
The temple itself was founded in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, the most prolific builder of Angkor's ancient rulers. This is one of the larger temples covering a larger site with gate towers adorned with faces punctuating its long enclosure walls on each side. The temple itself would be a fairly typical Khmer temple if it wasn't for the drama of its ruined state, larger parts of which are enveloped in startling tree roots which appear to hold some of the precarious ruins together! The layout is thus rather difficult to follow while trees grow out of various structures and show how easily the jungle can devour a structure if left unhindered. The form of the roots is alarmingly alien at times, as if great tentacles or deformed fingers are clutching at the temple.
I had known about this temple from an early age having been fascinated by my mother's slides from her visit in 1965 so it was amazing to finally see this place for ourselves, barely anything seemed to have changed since. The main problem though was the weather, the worst of our entire trip, with a heavy downpour of rain marking our morning visit to our final two temples, and necessitating the use of large umbrellas (for which we were very grateful) in order to cope with the incessant rain!
Instead of the typical "horse-powered" horse carriage, this one uses a donkey...because horses are too mainstream.
Today was our company picnic at the World Wildlife Zoo. I hadn't been, and it's very close to my house. These Macaws were awesome because they weren't caged, so they'd come right up to you.
Shade bombed because of a late acting shutter on my camera but NS 9919 is one the last few C44-9W's NS received and leads a UP SD70M. Not in the frame is the bottom two units, NS 3096 and NS 930 our infamous yard slug set usually used on G68 and G70.
Sugar and spice and everything nice, ribbons and curls because she's a girl.
-- Author Unknown
Posted one without the texture - please let me know which one you like best!!
Thanks to Skeletal Mess for the awesome texture.
(because there is always the moment when I'm forced to open my eyes and I can no longer imagine you next to me)
it was because of my grandmother that i never got to know my grandfather. for some reason that i'm sure made total sense to her, she caused a bit of a rift in our family a long time ago. i was maybe 13 or 14 when it all happened and for the next few years after i didn't really see them all that much. and then i didn't see them at all.
until a few years ago: my grandfather was in the hospital in London and my dad had been going up to visit him, so i asked if i could come along. and for the first time in nearly 20 years, i got to see him again. and talk to him.
and i realized how much i had missed him. and it made me want to laugh, and to smile. and it made me want to cry.
i got to go visit him back in Windsor only one more time before he died. it was one of the days that i will remember for the rest of my life. he was staying (i believe) at the Villa Maria, which sits right on the Detroit River nearly under the Ambassador Bridge. we sat outside at a table, and watched the ships go by, and he told stories i had never heard before—things about when he was in the air force, and when he was over in the war. i wished to god i had had a tape recorder, because i'm never going to remember all of the things he said.
and when i went down for his funeral, i saw my grandmother again for the first time since i was 14 or 15. and i was polite. and i said hello. and she looked quite the same as i remembered (though obviously older), but at the same time it was like being introduced to a stranger.
and i couldn't tell if i wanted to hate her, or to hug her.
but maybe she wasn't totally to blame—i've been an adult now for quite some time, and if had really wanted to rectify the situation, couldn't i have at least tried...?
i don't know.
it doesn't really matter now though.
i had been thinking about all of this more and more since he died, and i had been working up the courage to get back in touch with her when my father called to tell me that she was ill, that they had had to move her from her house to 'The Lodge' because she couldn't take care of herself anymore.
and i thought about going down to visit. i struggled with it.
and ultimately, i decided that i would go see her over christmas, and that i would see how i felt about things then.
and then she died.
5 am christmas morning.
just hours before we were going to visit.
my dad woke me up around 6, and him and my brother and myself, we went down to see her.
it wasn't quite the way i was expecting it to happen, but i did get to go visit her in the end. and tried my best to say my goodbyes.
* * * *
the photo?
oh, right.
so, a few days later we were at the house, moving her stuff back from 'The Lodge'.
"if you see anything you want, take it" they said—so this is what i have, this jacket (his) and its twin (hers). and since i can't have THEM anymore, i guess these will have to make do.
* * * *
THE DETAILS : shot against the red wall in my office using a 580EX bounced off the ceiling and side wall.
July 17, 2019 - I decided my kitchen needed a facelift. This all started because my dishwasher detergent cup no longer locks it broke in late June. The dishwasher was in the house when I purchased it in 1995. It is probably 30 - 35 years old so it was time to replace it. I was just going to replace the dishwasher however the previous owners put a new tile floor in which blocks the dishwasher from being easily replaced. I was never content with my kitchen the only work I have done to it was to replace the original drop-in oven which didn't work when I bought the house and the matching harvest gold exhaust hood was replaced with a white exhaust hood. I painted the walls yellow in 1996. The oven I bought in 1995 died in March 2018 so the oven is only a year old. I also replaced the kitchen faucet last August. I thought about just maintaining the faucet but decided to upgrade to a faucet with a pullout sprayer.
I engaged KitchenSaver to replace the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, countertop and sink. I want the kitchen to look brand new so hired a contractor to strip nearly 100 years worth of paint off the pantry and basement doors, door frames, window, window frame and sill and repaint the woodwork and walls. The contractor will also be installing wood base since the base was removed by a previous owner. I am also installing a Subway tile white backsplash which will go up to the bottom of the wall cabinets and on either side of the window.
I am a retired architect and it was fun getting back into design. I knew exactly what I wanted and took me no time at all to select everything.
I am going with an Arts and Crafts oak cabinet and drawer fronts. The wood stain is nearly a perfect match to the house woodwork and my furniture. Door and drawer pulls are bronze/copper in the Arts and Crafts style.
I also bought new light fixtures for the kitchen and dining room both with a bronze finish. KitchenSaver will be installing five dimmable LED lights below the cabinets and above the sink.
I decided to add a recycling/trash cabinet and pantry cabinet to fill in the dead space between the refrigerator and wall this necessitated the removal of the existing quad outlet that the refrigerator is plugged into. (no outlet behind the refrigerator) In order to do any electrical work in my house I had to bring the existing electrical circuit breaker panel up to current codes. Which meant I needed to replace the existing electrical circuit breaker panel. I had a duplex outlet added behind the refrigerator. With the new circuit breaker panel I now can use the microwave oven and toaster oven at the same time. What a concept! I also replaced the old fashion knob and tube light switch which controls the basement light. The old switch scared me and wasn't safe.
New window treatments for the backdoor and window. I wasn't able to find a blind which matches the Sherwin Williams Indian White SW 1035 paint color so I am going with a Levelor Cordless Cellular blind that is an exact match to the Sherwin Williams Koi Pond SW 7727 wall color.
One last improvement the contractor got paint stripper on the existing oven exhaust hood so I replaced the hood with a new black hood which matches the oven.
This is my Accountability Chart from 2024. Why am I posting something so personal here on Flickr? 1) Because it's me, and 2) Because it might inspire others who are struggling to stick with goals or New Year's resolutions.
In 2024 I set goals to get at least 150 active minutes each week; lift weights for 30 minutes twice a week; vacuum once a week; post 2+ pics on Flickr each week; walk to the grocery store twice a month; only read books that I already owned or borrowed from other people, develop no more than four rolls of film, and plant a pollinator garden.
These goals were meant to improve my health, save money, do my part to save the planet, and have a better home life.
As you can see from the chart, I did not reach my goals every week. Some of them I hardly reached at all. But I met some of them quite a lot, and I guarantee I met them more often because I wanted to keep those checkmarks going on the chart.
I met my target of 150 active minutes on 39/52 weeks, or 75% of the time. That's two weeks more than in 2023.
I only managed to lift weights for 30 minutes twice in one week once. But I did lift weights for 30 minutes on 13 occasions, and lifted weights [period] on 43 occasions, and that's not bad at all!
I vacuumed on 48/52 weeks, which is 92% of the time, which was my best result. Vacuuming doesn't take as much time, and it appeases my wife, so even though it doesn't benefit my health, it does benefit my life.
In 2023 I had set a goal to post 3+ pics on Flickr each week, but that proved to be too much, given my competing priorities, and I only hit the target on 21 weeks. I reduced the goal in 2024 to 2+ pics per week, and met that target on 39 weeks, so I felt good about that.
I walked to the grocery store (instead of driving) 13 times. There's lots of room for improvement, but I have a family of three now, and it just sucks to carry that much heavy stuff while wearing heavier clothes. What I mean is that if I'm going to get sweaty, I don't want to be wearing the heavier clothes I wear for a walk to the store, especially in winter. But I can still aim high, and if I don't achieve it, it's not a big deal.
In 2024, I read 10 books that I either borrowed from someone else or the library, or already owned. That saved me probably $200!
I also set a goal to only develop four rolls of film in 2024 to save money, because developing at home is not an option and I never learned how anyway. Developing at a lab is at least $13/roll. I ended up developing five rolls, but that's okay.
I didn't plant a pollinator garden because we unexpectedly moved in the spring, and thus no longer had access to a garden. I did buy a few potted lupins after moving, but they did better indoors.
Anyway, the point of this is that if you have routine goals (like health improvements) and have a hard time sticking to them over time, it really helped me to make this chart and break them down into smaller units (in this case, weeks), and log them. In a place where my wife can see it. That way, it's obvious if I'm keeping on top of my goals.
You also need to make them specific. "Get Healthier" is too vague. I set the "150 active minutes a week" target because that's what my family doctor told me in response to a few bloodwork indicators. So I had the motivation and a number to aim for. You can set a number and a frequency that makes sense for your goals; whatever they may be.
I hope this inspires a few people to make a similar accountability chart!
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IMG_0300ap
This is my third time in Tuscany, and I have always visited Montalcino. This is because it is probably my favourite place on Planet Earth, the views from the ancient streets and alleys are incredible. And it makes very fine wine.
Previously, I have been here on Sundays, when the cyclists finish a day of riding by passing through the city gates, and it crowded.
So, how would it be early on Monday morning?
I say early, we were going to Florence, but laid in bed too late, really. So, a change of plan and a trip to some old haunts. Or friends.
We did get up, have coffee and breakfast, before loading the car, setting in the destination. One hour.
I engage all gears and we lurch off, up the gravel drive and onto the lane beyond.
Places change, but I find it hard to believe that Tuscany has changed that much in 16 years, so, we go a different way. Pass through the portal of a walled village, criss-cross the little-used railway, through olive groves, then up and up to the town.
We parked at the other end of the village, next to the church which is perched on the edge of a sheer drop of hundreds of feet to the lush countryside that spreads out like Google Maps below.
The car park was half full, so we park up. I go to visit the church, but there was a lady inside, so I don't linger, take a half dozen shots, and we leave. Back outside into the blinding bright sunshine.
Two guys were strimming grass, which was more herbs than grass, and smelt fantastic, they stopped for us to pass, so up the wide steps into the town, there this view opens up to our left.
I have taken it before, and better, but this'll do. The road seems to plunge down the sides of the cliffs to the farmland below, which then stretches to the horizon.
We try to find somewhere for breakfast. Second breakfast. But most places didn't start serving until midday. And it wasn't yet ten.
I then spotted and ice cream parlour, so we tottered down on the cobbles, and ordered two huge waffle cones and cappuccinos. Then sat down outside to watch the (Italian) world go by, which was at least stylish.
The ice cream was wonderful, of course.
Then there was a wine shop.
The local wine is Brunello, a dark and mysterious wine, and pricy. I say pricy, I baulk at paying a tenner for a bottle, but I stump up the cash for a box of three bottles, and a small phial of aged Balsamic Vinegar.
I won't say how much it was, but I had to explain to Jools.
Now laden down with bottles, we had to walk back to the car, which was pretty much all uphill, and steep uphill too.
The town was getting busy, so it seemed good to be going the other way, back to the car.
Once back, all hot and bothered, we programmed the car for Pienza, where we hoped to have lunch.
Montalcino is at 2,000 feet, this is what comes with owning a car with an altimeter, and to get to Pienza, we would have to get down to the level of the farmland way below, this is done at a crazy roundabout near the city gates, two exits near each other, but one goes down at about 1:4, and that's the way we had to go.
However, before that fun, the sat nav tried to lead us through the middle of the town, were what is a road and what isn't, isn't always easy to tell.
After ending up at two dead ends, we retraced our way back to the car park and round the edge of the town to the roundabout.
We made it across, and the road just dropped like a stone, some 1,500 feet in five minutes, where we joined the main road for a twenty minute blast, before turning off, and heading up, up, up again.
Through more olive groves and woodland to Pienza, which I always remembered as being quiet.
Not at one on a Monday, the new car park was nearly full, but we nabbed a spot, then waled to the start of the ancient town centre, where we were sucked in by a pizza place, where I ordered a diavalo hot and spicy pizza, and Jools ordered one with truffle shavings, which added €10 to the price.
The wait meant we could people watch, the fussy French couple opposite, the noise eight person American group who argued about spitting the bill and left no tip.
The food came, and was very welcome indeed, and not that spicy. And the unfiltered beer went down well.
Normally we would also have gone to Montepulciano to complete the hat trick, but it would be crazy busy, and the car park is a long hard walk up a cobbled street to the town a couple of hundred feet above.
I have been twice, and so thought I could live with missing a third, so we headed back home, it being a hot and humid day, and too hot to be walking in crowds looking into shops selling stuff we don't need.
Though there is always room for more cheese and wine.
Talking of wine, we needed some, as we were nearly out. And I remembered a couple of places near to our apartment, where we could buy some local.
So that's what we did, following signs across farmland and over drainage canals to a castle, where we two scruffs were very much out of place. But our money is as good.
We parked and the gardener told us where the shop was, so in the air-conditioned coolness, we bought a bottle of rose and a bottle of red and made good our escape, back to the main road and back to the old farm.
Too hot for butterfly chasing, so we stay inside, drinking wine and listening to the Clash.
As you do.
PLAN Canada created this trio of Scout Books to promote their initiative, Because I Am A Girl. Read more in our Case Study: www.scoutbooks.com/plan-canada
I'm sorry I haven't uploaded but I've been bussy with my last year of school and haven't really had the concentration or the inspiration to sit down and work on a figure. I'm sorry.
Because it was a 3 day weekend and so many RVs were out and about, we didn't get a site with 'full hook-up' for the 3 nights we were here. Apart from not being able to use the toaster, it didn't make much difference. Every RV park we stayed in had excellent washroom / toilet facilities - usually with sufficient hot water.
I couldn't figure out how I felt about being back, and it made it very difficult to use my camera because I had no idea what I was really seeing with my heart, or what I meant to show you. I realize now that I ended up making a great many images of bits of things. I think it was because I didn't feel ready to step back and see things from a distance, to take a long-range view. It felt safer to cut the place up into little pieces that I could take in one at a time.
While I was crowded up against the glass along with 150 other people the little boy next to me innocently asked his mom "Why is he licking his ball?"
I could barely resist the impulse to answer him with the punch line from one of my favorite one line jokes.
Because shorebird ID is still very challenging to me, I'll explain how I came up with least sandpiper for this guy. I'm not sure I'm correct. He was tiny... sparrow sized. His legs are olive/dark green colored, not black, so that rules out semipalmated sandpiper. Also, his bill is slightly down curved, leading me to believe he/she is a least sandpiper.
花散らしの雨のあと。
Today's rain finished cherry blossom season here in Tokyo.
7 April 2016
Tokyo, Japan
Ricoh CX5
This morning I woke up late, I slept almost 9 hours and after breakfast I started working on a project for next Tuesday. I don't know if it's the heat or the fires but I feel extremely lazy today. I didn't go anywhere, two of my activities for Sunday are watching TV and working on this project (I'm still doing it), but it's all good because as Robert A. Heinlein said "Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things” :)...
Monday is almost here and September is around the corner, I am 3 months away to finish my 365 and I can't wait for it!!