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Showing posts from June, 2024

A Whole Street of Houses, Stirred With A Spoon

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“ And by this time they were come up to the great iron gates in front of the house; and Tom stared through them at the rhododendrons and azaleas, which were all in flower; and then at the house itself, and wondered how many chimneys there were in it, and how long ago it was built, and what was the man’s name that built it, and whether he got much money for his job? These last were very difficult questions to answer. For Harthover had been built at ninety different times, and in nineteen different styles, and looked as if somebody had built a whole street of houses of every imaginable shape, and then stirred them together with a spoon.” —The Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley. Ch.1 (1863)

Vincent and Family

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Sunflower, Nightflower

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 Playing with my camera settings. Taken around 11:15 pm

Big Hard Sun

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Why I Never Get Asked

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Rays from the Backyard Sunflower patch

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My Name

I  don’t know when I became aware of my name, but “Jamie” just never sat well with me. It just didn’t sound right though my mother, my Memaw and two aunts persisted. To this day, one of my aunts “slip,” but with a wink and a giggle as I shoot the side eye, letting her get away with calling me Jamie one more time. Scottish in spirit, but skittish to me. “ Jim” never connected with me either, until I worked with a professor from South Africa whose pronunciation made the name sound elegant. He’s the only one who never received a word of correction as I waited for him to say it again. There’s a aire of nobility when addressing Conrad’s young British sailor Jim or a Starfleet Captain Jim, but it does not sound as pleasant if I must answer to it. My paternal grandparents tried, but my recollection is they did not approve of “Jim” or “Jamie” either, and so called me by my given name, “James.” Perhaps they were the affectionate source of my awareness.  I am named after my father to th...

Welcome, June

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  There’s a song that starts, “June came upon us much too soon . . . “. I’ve posted it below. One of my favorites.  Time waits for no one. Once again, the month took off without me, ready or not. I’m not excited about doing a rush job on my calendar, but it’s done.  Had an interesting moment last week. During a routine doctor visit, my doctor did not like some things I was describing so he stopped what he was doing and sent me to the ER to check for heart attack. Long story short, nothing was found. I’m just overworked and tired. I hate I had to hire a guy to help me with yard work, but I gotta take care of myself.  Not getting much reading or writing done but doing what I can when I am able.  On we go.