9 Cool Things...

Things.  I love things in life.  Here are a few things that I enjoy, and maybe....you will too!

CLANADONIA    They are Scotland’s hardest working tribal drums and pipe band and their high energy blend of tribal rhythms, bagpipes and tartan clad mayhem is exactly why I love them! There must be a sense of native pride and freedom when banging their drums with such vibrant passion!

TARDIS     Anyone that knows me, can tell you that I am a Dr. Who fan. Besides the Time Lord element, my favorite thing is this fictional time machine found in the British science fiction television program. The inside is much, MUCH, bigger than the outside…which looks like a 1960’s London Police Box. A Tardis is much more than a traveling spacecraft or magical box…it has a degree of sentience! Most useful in times when dealing with alien worlds or anxiety filled humans of the past!

THE VICAR OF DIBLEY      A BBC television sitcom starring, Dawn French, who portrays the character of Reverand Geraldine Granger. It is set in a fictional small Oxfordshire village called Dibley, which is assigned a female vicar following the 1992 changes in the Church of England that permitted the ordination of women. The theme music was a setting of Psalm 23 composed by Howard Goodall and was performed by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford with George Humphreys singing the solo. From start to finish, with the opening song….rolling into the quirky village characters…it is undeniable fun!

GOOD & PLENTY CANDY   It is old school….it is funny looking….it is licorice…and I love it!

THE RED FLANNEL SHIRT    Yes. I am a fan of the flannel shirt. I mean…let’s face it. When you are 50-something, you are not trying to look sexy anymore. I want comfort. I want to be warm and cozy. My favorite pair of jeans are not designer, or dark or form fitting. They are faded, baggy, and ripped to shreds. Still...I wear them…because I must. –LOL-- They are comfortable, and just me. 

THE SONG “MR. ROBOTO”      Yes.  I am a lover of “Mr. Roboto”. "Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung of the band Styx, and recorded on the Styx album ‘Kilroy Was Here’. Whenever I hear this song me and my kids bust out the lyrics ….. “You're wondering who I am, (Secret secret, I've got a secret)”

THE DOLMA AT NEW SEASONS MARKET     Dolma is a Mediterranean dish made with rice-stuffed grape leaves. I find mine already premade at New Seasons Market. I can’t…let me repeat….CAN’T eat just one!

NORTH & SOUTH     BBC Drama Miniseries       North and South is a four part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton. The sets, costumes and acting were excellent, especially Richard Armitage's performance as mill owner John Thornton. He's got a brilliant deep, brooding sort of look about him, but with a softer and kinder side also. It is this side of his character that is gradually revealed as the story goes on. The way Richard Armitage portrayed these two sides of Thornton's character was amazing. The central story revolves around the antagonistic relationship between two characters, with Mr. Thornton, a hard-working industrialist running a cotton mill. Historical and quite the action….a must see!

ANSEL ADAMS     American Photographer    His black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, are the beginnings of my passion in photography. I have had a tough last year, and had to sell my camera equipment for health reasons, but I have the passion still in my heart for always looking at the world through a lens, even if only through my iPhone. I will be striving to save money to purchase camera equipment again. I still find myself drawn to black and white photographs. It is the contrast of light and dark and the shadows in between that tell the story.

And The Cat Ran Away With The Eggs...

Easter.  That time that we anticipate as children, as spring opens up and blossoms around us. The days start to warm under the sun, and the grass begins to look like a thin green carpet at our feet.  We take notice of birds chirping in the trees, and dandelions as they begin to pop up with their vivid yellow blooms.  Spring is a renewal of hope and a sign of things to come.

When I was a little girl, I remember our big front yard and the century old oak tree centered upon the lawn, spreading her branches over us to give shade.  Her lower branch embraced a weathered, prickly rope and an old rubber tire.  Our swing was wonderful.  If you grew tired of swinging, you could push down with your toes and twirl around in the tire until you felt the rope tighten....then...let go.  Spinning....spinning....round and round...

It was this same old tire swing that was the perfect hiding place for colorful easter eggs on a light windy Easter afternoon.  Cinder blocks full of dirt, tufts of weeds and dandelions, and even the flowerbed filled with petunias and rooster combs....were the perfect hiding places for the vinegar smelling eggs.  I remember it well.  Especially the egg that got away.  As a little girl, I wanted to try and find the most clever of all hiding places.  My turn to hide...and I hit all the usual spots in the front yard....but there was one idea.  The back bumper on the car.  Yes.  I did indeed hide an egg in our old car's back metal bumper...and I did indeed forget where I hid that unfound egg.  No worries though, on a day a month later the egg was causing quite a stink in the car....and finally on a quick stop to park it rolled out of the bumper onto the carport with a sulfuric splat.  I did not claim that egg....but instead looked up to the sky like I was so very interested in some nonexistant bird flying overhead.  But, of course, I was the known culprit.  It seemed a very...."Tammy" thing to do.  

One thing stands the test of time, even if that smelly egg didn't, is what Easter represents to me and my family.  More than a renewal of hope, Easter is about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We were given the gift of hope, and that gift is eternal.  We live, we breathe, we face obstacles, we struggle with circumstances, we hurt, we cry, we laugh, we find joy.  Everything around us gives us opportunities to strengthen our awareness to humanity, to build stamina in our faith.  We are given forgiveness and we are also able to forgive.  Through the Resurrection, we are part of the world's gift of the plan of salvation.  We are given so much, for a man who gave up all.  For a man that suffered all.  

This Easter, I give my love to all of you out there that have impacted my life, whether long time high school friends, friends along my life journey, my family and children.  I hope that along life's ride, I have somehow touched you, or made a difference.  Happy Easter, and if you feel a need to run away with an egg.  Do it.  It will be found.  Just like we are found.  Jesus never loses us.