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Daddy holding his firstborn child for the very first time over five years ago.
A take your breath away kind of moment indeed.
It IS what life is all about.
As Nathan would say, "Happy Daddy Day Daddy" AND Happy Father's Day to ALL of the amazing daddy's out there.
A hint of the Friday Night Service from my firstborn son's book "The Treasure of Shabbat." by Jonathan Bressel (available on Amazon.)
Ortygia is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the Città Vecchia (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. The name originates from the ancient Greek ortyx (ὄρτυξ), which means "Quail".
The Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo has it that the goddess Leto stopped at Ortygia to give birth to Artemis, the firstborn of her twins. Artemis then helped Leto across the sea to the island of Delos, where Leto gave birth to Apollo. Other ancient sources state that the twins were born in the same place – which was either Delos or Ortygia – but Ortygia, according to Strabo was an old name of Delos. Further, there were perhaps a half-dozen other places called Ortygia, so that the identification is uncertain.
It was also said that Asteria, the sister of Leto, metamorphosed into a quail (Ortyx), threw herself into the sea, and was metamorphosed into the island of Ortygia. Another myth suggested that it was Delos, rather than Ortygia.
Eos, the goddess of the dawn, fell in love with the mortal hunter Orion and abducted him to Ortygia, where he met Artemis and joined her retinue. He was slain by the goddess either for because the gods did not approve of goddesses taking mortal men to lovers, or for challenging her in an archery contest, or trying to force himself upon one of her maids.
Ortygia was the mythological home of Arethusa, a chaste nymph who, while fleeing a river god, was transformed by Artemis into a spring, traversed underground and appeared here, thus providing water for the city. Arethusa and her pursuer, the river god Alpheus, came from Arcadia in Greece.
Ortygia, being an island just off the coast, was easily transformed into a natural fortress with harbors and was big enough that it could hold a significant population in ancient times. Therefore, the history of Ortygia is synonymous with the early history of Syracuse.
Miss Wenonah wanted to wave hello to everyone out there in Flickr Land!! She actually just doing a bit of stretching!! Figured that Wenonah sounded right for this Osprey since it means firstborn daughter in Sioux!! She was doing a bit of preening before the day got started on Armand Bayou!!!
DSL_2488uls
Faith recognizes and appreciates fleeting moments of goodness as a guarantee of that abundance which is yet to descent upon our expectant hearts ...
Quotes by Patricia Bechthold
Click on the link below for a great song that conveys the wonderful story of Christmas and of Jesus birth. Enjoy...
Working Towards a Better World ...
Have a Safe & Joyful Holiday Season
This plaque was a gift from my firstborn grandchild almost 14 years ago. At about age five when four more grandchildren (out of the present 8) arrived he sat me down so for a serious talk. “Remember,” he said, “I am the one who made you a grandpa.”
Jimmy Maripotti Junior shot this photo of me and my firstborn son. We were on one of the Boston Whalers in the lagoon. Kwajalein Atoll is in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean
Approaching Tyseley is GBRf firstborn, 66701 working 4H33, 14.45 Banbury Reservoir to Tnstead Quarry. 7/4/2026
El Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso de 1721 se construyó bajo el reinado del rey Felipe V. Es un magnífico ejemplo de arquitectura palatina europea: un pequeño Versalles. Felipe V se retiró a este lugar en 1724 cuando abdicó de forma inesperada en su hijo Luis, primogénito de su primer matrimonio con María Luisa de Saboya
El conjunto lo conforman el palacio propiamente dicho y una serie de edificios anejos, que dan a aquel una forma de U. Aquí están enterrados el rey Felipe V y su segunda esposa, Isabel de Farnesio.
Desde la construcción del palacio y hasta el reinado de Alfonso XIII, el palacio fue la residencia veraniega de los reyes españoles.
The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso of 1721 was built under the reign of King Philip V. It is a magnificent example of European palace architecture: a little Versailles. Philip V retired to this place in 1724 when he unexpectedly abdicated to his son Louis, the firstborn of his first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.
The complex is made up of the palace itself and a series of adjoining buildings, which give it a U-shape. King Philip V and his second wife, Isabella of Farnese, are buried here.
From the construction of the palace until the reign of Alfonso XIII, the palace was the summer residence of the Spanish kings.
Not your average family portrait I grant you but probably my fave to date with the three of us in.
I had already formulated the plan for this one and thankfully everyone's wellies were in the boot of the car.
Single flashgun on a stand gelled Peacock blue, a small amount of vape in the air. 1/250th to avoid the light from outside spilling in and ruining the feel. More luck than judgement that the drop shadow from Riley's hands line up with Lauren's and mine almost perfectly.
Happy days with the family in a dank and dingy hole in the ground of a Sunday morning.
If you lined up a 100 Minnesotans you would be most fortunate to have one or two who could identify this beautiful young male bird often found along gravel roads using old fencing for a perch. You would not want to saddle your firstborn with the name of this bird, Dickcissel, but it belongs in the cardinal family and is a hearty migrator as far as South America where it can gather in flocks of millions.
Okay, John and Jax. Having been tagged by both of you in less than 24 hours, I guess I really need to go ahead and devote the time to this task. My favorite 10 albums of all time. IMPOSSIBLE! It simply cannot be done. To try and cultivate into a mere 10 albums (and let alone rank them) a half a century of musical tastes and preferences is physically impossible. So I cannot even begin to do so.
I can however, relate to you perhaps ten albums that, for a plethera of reasons, have impacted who I am, how I feel about life or world issues or just everyday living, or have seeded themselves firmly into the medley of musical variations I have come to enjoy over the span of 50 years. Some are rock, some are country, some are blues, some are just uniquely different. But the majority of them have had their early roots in the blues, or have been influenced by various blues artists to some degree. So in no particular order, here they are.
SRV, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Sky is Crying.
Released about one year after Vaughan's death in 1990, the album features ten tracks originally recorded between 1984 and 1989.
The Sky Is Crying illustrates many of Vaughan's musical influences, including songs in the style of traditional Delta blues, Chicago blues, jump blues, jazz blues, and Jimi Hendrix. The album's tone alternates primarily between uptempo pieces and gritty, slow blues. The album includes a Grammy-winning extended instrumental cover version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing"; "Chitlins con Carne", a jazz instrumental; and, "Life by the Drop", a song written by Vaughan's friend Doyle Bramhall and played on acoustic guitar. This song is not about Vaughan's struggle with drug abuse, as many think, but actually about Vaughan's friendship with Doyle Bramhall from Bramhall's perspective.
ZZ Top, Tres Hombres.
Tres Hombres is the third album by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 1973, and marked the first of many times the band worked with engineer Terry Manning. It proved to be the group's commercial breakthrough, attracting a far larger fanbase. The album hit the top ten while the single "La Grange" hit 41 on the singles chart.
The band's name is often said to be a combination of two popular brands of rolling paper, Zig-Zag and Top. It has also been claimed as a tribute to blues singer Z. Z. Hill. However, Gibbons wrote in his autobiography, Rock + Roll Gearhead, that it actually came from a tribute to and a play on the name of blues guitar master B. B. King. The band had planned to call themselves Z.Z. King, but felt it was too similar. Since B.B. King was at the "top", they settled on ZZ Top.
In January 1973, ZZ Top opened for The Rolling Stones three shows in Hawaii. They also began recording with engineer Terry Manning at Ardent Studios in Memphis. The resultant third album, Tres Hombres (1973), was the first for which the band gained a million-seller and wide acclaim. Hombres featured ZZ's classic hit "La Grange", written about the Chicken Ranch, a famous La Grange, Texas bordello (that was also the subject of the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). Other album cuts like "Waitin' for the Bus" and its immediate follower "Jesus Just Left Chicago" became fan favorites and rock-radio staples. However, my favorite tune to be spawned on this album was "Hot, Blue and Righteous".
Delbert McClinton, Never Been Rocked Enough.
This album is probably the most currently produced album on my list here, and possibly on my list of the 50 most influential albums for me. It as produced and relased in 1992. Nothing since then, at least to my immediate knowledge, would make the list.
Delbert McClinton (born 4 November 1940, Lubbock, Texas) is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. Active as a side-man since at least 1962 and as a band leader since 1972, he has recorded several major-label albums, and charted singles on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Country Songs charts. His highest-peaking single was "Tell Me About It", a 1992 duet with Tanya Tucker which reached #4 on the Country charts. He has also had four albums that made it to #1 on the U.S. Blues chart, and another that reached #2.
His 1992 release of this album featured the hit single "Every Time I Roll the Dice", which made it to #13 on the US Mainstream Rock charts, While the album only made it to #113. He has written for and recorded with a group of musicians that reads like the who's who or the music industry, including John Lennon.
And at the legendary Skyliner Ballroom, where McClinton's band was the only white act to play its Blue Monday nights AND be the backing band for the headliners, he received a first-class tutelage from the masters of blues music like Jimmy Reed, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson. McClinton cut a number of local and regional singles before hitting the national charts in 1962 playing harmonica on Bruce Channel's now classic “Hey! Baby.” On a subsequent package tour of England, Delbert showed some of his harp licks to the rhythm guitarist for a young band at the bottom of the bill. The lessons he gave John Lennon were later heard on hit singles by The Beatles; when the two met Lennon already knew the instrument's basics, and the experienced McClinton shared some new licks with him.
Pink Floyd, Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. In 1985 guitarist David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo album. At the end of 1986 he changed his mind, and decided that the new material would instead be included in a new Pink Floyd album. Subsequently Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright (who had left the group in 1979) were brought on board for the project. Although for legal reasons Wright could not be re-admitted to the band, he and Mason helped Gilmour craft what would become the first Pink Floyd album since the departure of lyricist and bass guitarist Roger Waters in December 1985.
The album was recorded primarily on Gilmour's converted houseboat, Astoria. Its production was marked by an ongoing legal dispute between Waters and the band as to who owned the rights to Pink Floyd's name, which was not resolved until several months after the album was released. Unlike most of Pink Floyd's studio albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason has no central theme, and is instead a collection of rock songs written mostly by Gilmour and musician Anthony Moore. Although the album received mixed reviews and was derided by Waters, with the help of an enormously successful world tour it easily out-sold their previous album The Final Cut. A Momentary Lapse of Reason is certified multi-platinum in the US.
Although the amazing talents of Water's were not present on this album, it still spawned two of my all time favorite songs, "Dogs of War", and "On the Turning Away".
Iron Maiden, Live After Death.
Live After Death is a live album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on October 14, 1985 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002). It was recorded during the band's World Slavery Tour. The album was instrumental in establishing the band as an extraordinary live band and is regarded as one of the best live albums ever recorded.
For anyone with a love of metal, Iron Maiden is a must hear band. The cover art was done by Derek Riggs, and pictures the band's mascot, Eddie rising from a grave. On that grave is a tombstone with a quote from the fantasy and horror fiction author H. P. Lovecraft's The Nameless City:
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
Yet with strange aeons even death may die."
The proper quote is actually "And with strange..." instead of "Yet with strange...". A similar version of this phrase is used in Metallica's song "The Thing That Should Not Be" from the Master of Puppets album.
Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime.
Operation: Mindcrime is a concept album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche. Released on May 3, 1988, it is the band's third full-length album. A rock opera, its story follows a man who becomes disillusioned with the society of the time and reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. The album is highly regarded within the heavy metal community, often labelled as one of the genre's finest works. It ranked at number 10 at metal-rules.com's best heavy metal albums ever. In January 1989, it ranked #34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time."
The album begins with the protagonist, Nikki, in a hospital. He lies in a near catatonic state, unable to remember anything but snippets from his past. Suddenly, Nikki's memories come flooding back in a torrent. He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution. At the head of this organization is a political and religious demagogue known only as Dr. X, who by manipulating Nikki through a combination of his heroin addiction and brainwashing techniques, uses Nikki as an assassin. Whenever Dr. X uses the word "mindcrime" Nikki becomes his docile puppet, a state which Dr. X uses to command Nikki to undertake any murder that the Doctor wishes. Through one of Dr. X's probable associates, a corrupt priest named Father William, Nikki is offered the services of a prostitute-turned-nun named Sister Mary. Through his friendship and growing affection toward Sister Mary, Nikki begins to question the nature of what he is doing. Dr. X notices this and, seeing a potential threat in Mary, orders Nikki to kill both her and the priest. Nikki goes to Mary's church and kills the priest, but after confronting Mary fails to comply with the command to murder her. He and Mary decided to leave the organization together, and Nikki goes to Dr. X to tell him that they are out. Dr. X, however, reminds Nikki that he is an addict, and that he is the one who can provide him with his daily fix. Nikki leaves, conflicted and returns to Mary, only to find her dead, hanging from her own rosary. He cannot cope with the loss, as well as the possibility that he himself may have killed her and not known it, and begins to succumb to insanity. The police, arriving on the scene, arrest him for Mary's murder and the murders he committed for Dr. X. He is put into a hospital, where he begins to remember what has happened.
Rush, Hemispheres.
Hemispheres is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1978. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and mixed at Trident Studios in London. This album continues Rush's trend of using the fantasy and science fiction lyrics written by Neil Peart. Similar to their 1976 release, 2112, Hemispheres contains a single, epic song broken into chapters as the first half of the album ("Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres") while the second half contains two more conventionally-executed tracks ("Circumstances", "The Trees"), then is rounded out by the nine-and-a-half-minute instrumental, "La Villa Strangiato".
The album contains examples of Rush's adherence to progressive rock standards including the use of epic, multi-movement song structures, complex rhythms and time signatures, and flexible guitar solos, like those found in "La Villa Strangiato".
Hemispheres was Rush's fourth consecutive Gold album upon release in 1978 and would subsequently go Platinum in the US. For a short period of time, the album was released on Canadian red vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with poster (catalogue number SANR-1-1015), and as a limited edition picture disc (catalogue number SRP-1300),both have which become much sought after collectors items.
Hang in there, folks....only 3 to go. I apologize, but I try not to halfway do anything...LOL!
Metallica, Ride the Lightning.
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on July 27, 1984 through Megaforce Records and was re-released on November 19, 1984 by Elektra Records. Ride the Lightning was certified gold by the RIAA on November 5, 1987 and was most recently certified 5x platinum on June 9, 2003.
Ride the Lightning retains the speed of Kill 'Em All on songs like "Trapped Under Ice" and "Fight Fire with Fire", but also contains the first of Metallica's longer, more intricate tracks, such as "Fade to Black" and the nearly 9-minute closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu". "Ride the Lightning" is the last Metallica album to credit former member, Dave Mustaine. Ride the Lightning was listed at #3 on a list compiled by metal-rules.com of the Top 100 Metal Albums of All Time.
"Ride the Lightning" is Metallica's first song which directly pointed on the misery of the criminal justice system. The song is one of two on the album that credits former member Dave Mustaine. The lyrics of the song "Ride the Lightning" are written from the perspective of someone who is forthcoming death-by-electrocution, although he didn't commit murder.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" was composed by Cliff Burton, James Hetfield, and Lars Ulrich. The songs inspiration is Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls about the dishonor of modern warfare and Robert Jordan's eminent doom during the bloody Spanish Civil War, with specific allusions to the scene in which five soldiers are obliterated during an air-strike, whilst taking a position on a hill.
The lyrics of Fade to Black suggest a man contemplating, then eventually committing suicide. Metallica revealed that they have received letters from fans who were dissuaded from committing suicide by the song.
"Creeping Death" describes the Plague of the Firstborn (Exodus 12:29). The lyrics deal with the 10 plagues on Egypt, and throughout the song, four of the ten plagues are mentioned as well as the Passover.
"The Call of Ktulu" was Metallica's second instrumental song, following the first instrumental "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" from Kill 'Em All. The song working title was originally "When Hell Freezes Over".
The idea of the song "The Call of Ktulu" is based upon H.P. Lovecraft's book The Shadow Over Innsmouth which was first introduced to the rest of the band by Cliff Burton. The song's name was taken from one of H.P. Lovecraft's main stories featuring Cthulhu, The Call of Cthulhu, which was written in 1928 for the magazine Weird Tales. The name "Ktulu" is originally written "Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft.
And all this time you thought they were just a bunch of fucking stoners.....hehehe.
Led Zeppelin, IV.
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums. Also the album has alternatively been referred to as , Four Symbols, The Fourth Album (those two titles each having been used in the Atlantic Records catalogue), Untitled, Runes, Sticks, ZoSo and The Hermit. Zoso is also the moniker for the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page.
Upon its release, Led Zeppelin IV was a commercial and critical success. The album is one of the best-selling albums in history at 37 million units. It has shipped over 23 million units in the United States alone, putting it third on the all-time list in the United States and twelfth world-wide. In 2003, the album was ranked 66th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
"Black Dog" got its name from a stray black dog that was roaming about the concourse of Headley Grange during recording sessions for the song.
"The Battle of Evermore" and "Misty Mountain Hop" are references to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels.
"Going to California" is a reference to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
The idea for each member of the band to choose a personal emblem for the cover was Page's. In an interview he gave in 1977, he recalled:
After all this crap that we'd had with the critics, I put it to everybody else that it'd be a good idea to put out something totally anonymous. At first I wanted just one symbol on it, but then it was decided that since it was our fourth album and there were four of us, we could each choose our own symbol. I designed mine and everyone else had their own reasons for using the symbols that they used.
Page stated that he designed his own symbol himself and has never publicly disclosed any reasoning behind it. However, it has been argued that his symbol appeared as early as 1557 to represent Saturn. The symbol is sometimes referred to as "ZoSo", though Page has explained that it was not in fact intended to be a word at all.
Bassist John Paul Jones' symbol, which he chose from Rudolf Koch's Book of Signs, is a single circle intersecting 3 vesica pisces (a triquetra). It is intended to symbolise a person who possesses both confidence and competence.
Drummer John Bonham's symbol, the three interlocking rings, was picked by the drummer from the same book. It represents the triad of mother, father and child, but also happens to be the logo for Ballantine beer.
Singer Robert Plant's symbol was his own design, being based on the sign of the supposed Mu civilisation.
There is also a fifth, smaller symbol chosen by guest vocalist Sandy Denny representing her contribution to the track "The Battle of Evermore"; it appears in the credits list on the inner sleeve of the LP, serving as an asterisk and is shaped like three triangles touching at their points.
And finally we make it home with....
Allman Brothers, Live at Fillmore East.
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue. It is often cited as being one of the most well-known live recordings in history.
Recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, the storied rock venue in New York City, on Friday and Saturday March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971, it showcased the band's mixture of blues, Southern rock and jazz. The cover of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues" which opens the set showcases Duane Allman's slide guitar work in open E Tuning. "Whipping Post" became the standard for a long, epic jam that never lost interest (opening in 11/8 time, unusual territory for a rock band), while the ethereal-to-furious "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", with its harmonized melody, Latin feel and burning drive invited comparisons with John Coltrane (especially Duane's solo-ending pull-offs, a direct nod to the jazz saxophonist).
The album was produced by Tom Dowd, who condensed the running time of various songs, occasionally even merging multiple performances onto one track. At Fillmore East peaked at #13 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart.
Two other songs recorded during the same set of shows, "Trouble No More", and the memorable "Mountain Jam", were later released on Eat a Peach, the latter spanning two sides of the double album.
Those songs were later included in their entirety, along with uncut versions of some, re-edited versions of others, and some previously omitted tracks, on a new release of the Fillmore material entitled The Fillmore Concerts (1992). "Stormy Monday" gained back a harmonica solo; "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" and "Drunken Hearted Boy" were included as well.
In 1998 a 5.1 DTS mix of the original version was released with Duane Allman in the left rear channel, Dickey Betts in the right rear channel, Jai Johanny Johanson in the front left channel, Butch Trucks in the right front channel and Gregg Allman and Berry Oakley both spread out over the front and center channels.
George Kimball of Rolling Stone magazine hailed them as "the best damn rock and roll band this country has produced in the past five years." A few months later, group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. The group survived that and the death of bassist Oakley in another motorcycle accident a year later; with replacement members Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams, the Allman Brothers Band achieved its peak commercial success in 1973 with the album Brothers and Sisters and the hit single "Ramblin' Man". Internal turmoil overtook the band soon after; the group dissolved in 1976, reformed briefly at the end of the decade with additional personnel changes, and dissolved again in 1982.
In 1989, the group reformed with some new members and has been recording and touring since. A series of personnel changes in the late 1990s was capped by the departure of Betts. The group found stability during the 2000s with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, the nephew of their drummer, serving as its guitarists, and became renowned for their month-long string of shows in New York City each spring. The band has been awarded eleven gold and five platinum albums between 1971 and 2005 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked them 52nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004.
Yesterday was a day of endings and a day of beginnings.
My firstborn graduated from preschool.
I was fortunate enough to be able to capture and enjoy most of his last day (thank you Ma Ma and Pa Pa for watching Haley and Austin while I was with Nathan).
It was a day that I will never forgot.
Never.
We made Mommy and Nathan potatoe heads, had lunch together, rode the bus together AND celebrated his BIG achievement last night by all of us going out for pizza and ice cream.
We ended the big day by visiting with my beloved grandma who is in the hospital. It was wonderful seeing her face light up when the five of us walked into her room.
Preschool may have ended but SO MUCH is just beginning.
A summer full of fun and sun is in store for us.
Park visits, barbeques, backyard playtime, soccer, baseball, swimming lessons, library visits, and OMG our FREAKING MALL IS FINALLY GETTING AN INDOOR PLAY PLACE FOR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! There IS a GOD!
Don't get me wrong, there will be a TON of crying, screaming, and fighting but I am going to try my hardest to have as much fun with the kiddos as possible.
WITHOUT GOING CRAZY HOPEFULLY.
I mean HELLO! I WILL be with a 5 yr old, a 3 yr old, and a baby everyday, ALL DAY, all summer long.
*grin*
Muryllo, the firstborn of the BeauBull Family, and Nadja; both born in May. My Charming Taureans !!
They were born in May- Muryllo on the 17th and Nadja an hour later already on the 18th
Paul Marchant's amazing Morgan SS (with over a million miles and seen earlier in my photostream) with Mike Anthony's amazing creation of his kid's car. Mike is a genuine master mechanic and expert in all things Morgan. The diminutive SS is solid and made in the Morgan way. A tiny masterpiece.
Faith recognizes and appreciates fleeting moments of goodness as a guarantee of that abundance which is yet to descent upon our expectant hearts ...
Quotes by Patricia Bechthold
Click on the link below for a great song that conveys the wonderful story of Christmas and of Jesus birth. Enjoy...
Working Towards a Better World ...
Archives
Today I had a conversation with Anne from the home care service about my past, and whether I would like to see my firstborn son again...
I took this photo of my wife as she was admiring our two cars. The Scion is our present car. The Corvette is our future car. Right now it belongs to her grandfather, but he has promised to give it to our firstborn child. Isn't it ironic, that the classic Corvette will be our future car and by that time the Scion XB will be a classic?
So what do you see in this photo?
I see two sexy cars and some dangerous curves.
HPPT! My very first Pretty Pink Tuesday Post!
Here's my first proper attempt at composite image. Proud of my "firstborn" but I know there's much to improve
Let me know what you think!
I was tagged by Nikonjim.
I found this harder than I expected.
This is two self portraits of me at 25 and at 50. The younger me, a high school teacher, had bought his first SLR (a Ricoh K2) a year before and the older me is sitting in a train photographing my reflection in the glass.
Ten things you probably don't know about me
1. I grew up in a staunchly Christian, conservative home. I am neither of those now.
2. I tend to avoid conflict where I can. My diplomacy sometimes irritates my wife.
3. I met my wife when we taught black children in an underprivileged school in South Africa. She was a single mother and I offered to babysit her children when she was sick (it made a good impression).
4. I met one of the Robben Island prisoners who was in prison with Nelson Mandela. His son went on to become the president of South Africa after Mandela. I was humbled by his compassion and lack of bitterness.
5. I have sat in a small room at night giving extra lessons in Mathematics while people were singing in the street outside: "Bulala amaBhulu". I asked my pupils what it meant and they said, sheepishly "Kill the white people..." It actually means "Kill the Boers" but it is technically the same thing. I waited till the street was quiet before I went home.
6. I have strong convictions about honesty and respect for religion and the differences between peoples.
7. My talent is to be better than average at most things that I do but never excellent. This has been true in sport, school, music and art. Maybe photography is the one?
8. I once confronted a Special Branch security policeman and asked him to return some library books. He had taken them from one of my pupils during a raid on an after-hours school program. This was not one of my best ideas and didn't end well for me. This may be what prompted me to go back to school to study computer science.
9. I attended the bris (circumcision) of my best friend's firstborn and forgot to look away at a critical moment in the ceremony. I had to sit down very quickly to avoid fainting.
10. My wife is my staunchest ally and best friend. She is also brave and fierce. My sons used to say she was strong "like a Russian bull". We still don't know where they got that from.
I tag:
El Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso de 1721 se construyó bajo el reinado del rey Felipe V. Es un magnífico ejemplo de arquitectura palatina europea: un pequeño Versalles. Felipe V se retiró a este lugar en 1724 cuando abdicó de forma inesperada en su hijo Luis, primogénito de su primer matrimonio con María Luisa de Saboya
El conjunto lo conforman el palacio propiamente dicho y una serie de edificios anejos, que dan a aquel una forma de U. Aquí están enterrados el rey Felipe V y su segunda esposa, Isabel de Farnesio.
Desde la construcción del palacio y hasta el reinado de Alfonso XIII, el palacio fue la residencia veraniega de los reyes españoles.
The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso of 1721 was built under the reign of King Philip V. It is a magnificent example of European palace architecture: a little Versailles. Philip V retired to this place in 1724 when he unexpectedly abdicated to his son Louis, the firstborn of his first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy.
The complex is made up of the palace itself and a series of adjoining buildings, which give it a U-shape. King Philip V and his second wife, Isabella of Farnese, are buried here.
From the construction of the palace until the reign of Alfonso XIII, the palace was the summer residence of the Spanish kings.
"My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too. This is my wish."
Author: Rascal Flatts
*my firstborn graduates high school on the 12th . . . it was just yesterday he was my baby.. hold your little ones tight.. time flies too fast!