Molokai Girl

It's the Little Things In Life

2012-01-28T07:30:00.002-07:00

How many people do you think stopped to enjoy the lovely repetitious angles that the shadow and the bench afforded us here?

I'd be willing to bench all of my bet on the 'no one else' answer. Sorry, no pun intended. Tunnel vision. Distracted by that running list of all the things you need to get accomplished in the next hour, the day, all take away from our ability to notice and savor the little things in life.

I had to kneel down for this shot and I vaguely recall a few passers by wondering why I was doing that. Even in a city that is full of artists.

And these luscious gems! I nearly broke my neck doing a double take when I saw them. Kind of wish I owned this pair of shoes too-but I hardly have the occasion here in NM to wear heels like that. But, It wasn't just the shoes that caught my eye, but how the shadow of the heels made them appear to continue into the ledge they sat on.

Ah!!! It's the little things in life that bring me great joy!

I hope you have a day full of the little things in life.

For Rebecca

2012-01-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is for you, my dear, sweet Rebecca.

May all the guardian angels watch over and guide you and keep you safe from all harm.

And, I found this lovely haiku that Joe Spado wrote for you

(I don't think he'll mind my putting it here):

Prayers rise from ashes

Pure healing thoughts sent your way

Sweet smudge aroma

Many healing thoughts and prayers are being sent your way (for others reading this, I hope you'll join me).

Baring Blistering Bunions Bravely

2012-01-24T07:30:00.002-07:00

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our TENTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "B".

BELL

Saved by the bell...isn't that a funny expression when you think about it? There are so many phrases we use throughout each day-usually without regard to its meaning and its origin. "Saved by the bell" seems to have at least two origins that I can find. One is from the world of boxing slang in the latter half of the 19th century; when a boxer who is about to loose a round would be saved by the bell. The other 'origin' is from the17th century where it has been said that bells were placed in coffins in the event that the buried person would come to-they would ring the bell in hopes that someone would hear them and save them. In either case, the reference has to do with being saved by intervention. Which is how we use the phrase today.

BLACK DRAGON

We are at the start of Chinese New Year, or the lunar year. Actually, it begns at the end of the lunar celebration-celebration begins on Jan. 23rd and ends on Feb. 4th. According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon . The color of Water in Five Elements system is related to Black. Therefore we can say 2012 is a Black Dragon, Water Dragon or Black Water Dragon year (from the website: http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/2012ChineseHoroscope.htm).Check it out. Too much info for me to try to distill for you. Fascinating, though. The image is also from the website and is one of nine dragons that are on a very large/long scroll. Riveting stuff, I say.

BLACK JET

A few months back I was reading a book that I haven't read straight through yet (it lends itself to that) about gemstones. I was on the chapter about black jet and how it came to be in fashion. It's considered to be a lesser or minor gemstone. I suppose I could've saved this one for the letter, 'j', but it seems to fit in nicely with the black dragon theme here. From Wikipedia (they rock, don't they? no pun intended):

"Jet is a product of high pressure decomposition of wood from millions of years ago, commonly the wood of trees of the family Araucariaceae. Jet is found in two forms, hard and soft. Hard jet is the result of the carbon compression and salt water; soft jet is the result of the carbon compression and fresh water.

Jet as a gemstone was fashionable during the reign of Queen Victoria, during which the Queen wore Whitby jet as part of her mourning dress. Jet was associated with mourning jewellery in the 19th century because of its sombre colour and modest appearance, and it has been traditionally fashioned into rosaries for monks."

Anyway, as I was saying, I had just read about black jet (or, you can just call it jet but one might think you're talking about the flying machines) and then the next day went up to Santa Fe and was showing my friend a second hand store that has the neatest things for sale (called, Double Take). Lo and behold! There in the jewelry case is black jet. And, in asking permission to photograph it I found myself giving way too much information about an on line meme I do involving weekly postings of the letters of the alphabet. It's hard to explain what we do here to those that do not read blogs or even go near a computer, isn't it? Sigh...but I thought it was such an odd coincidence to run in to what I thought was something obscure after just reading about it.

So, maybe now, when you head out, YOU might run in to some black jet and know what it is!

And, no baring blistering bunions were bravely used in this post, as you can see. Didn't mean to get your hopes up.

News From Home About Cousin Debbie Donovan

2012-01-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

Words can't even begin to explain how I feel. Shocked. Sad. Disbelief. I did not get word that my cousin was gravely ill until 3 days ago (Friday). By then, she could not talk save for a whisper here and there, so I will not be able to communicate with her by way of phone.
Even though I am not ready to let her go, let her go, I must. My heart aches...

(3 sisters l-r: cousin Dinnie, cousin Rosie and cousin Debbie)

And, in a more detailed email from my brother Robert from a visit before she went into hospice on Jan. 12th:

Aloha ku’u family,

Cousin Debbie Donovan was experiencing some odd pains and the inability
(temporary) to walk a number of months ago. Just after her retirement from
Sheraton. by the late Fall, it was diagnosed as cancerous tumors; one in
the lower back, one in the spine near the neck and a third on the spine
behind her chest. When I visited at Queens Hospital 12 Jan we had a nice
time together wala’au, even as the pain in her groin and the intermittent
closure of autonomic lower body functions gave her grief. She wasn’t on
heavy pain management then. She was in good spirits then, although we
cried a bit while pule together, saying something like “family is what you’ve
really got going for you when things don’t look so good”. Hospice was
already in the planning, and one of the doctors there verified by her
demeanor that this was terminal. Peculiar it was, as Debbie was her
vivacious conversational self, and we both laughed and reminisced about
the ol’ days. I was very surprised that hospice for her began last week;
now she’s at St. Francis West Hospice, a facility behind the main
hospital, in Ewa. I visited last night, and Dinnie Girl, Sharen and her
son Darren were there visiting; Rosie had just left for home. Dinnie and
Rosie are often there all day, and Bob too. Debbie is now on
pain-management; on morphine and methadone, as the tumors in the spine
cause her skin to be painfully sensitive, too. Even though in and out of
consciousness, she enjoys the banter and reacts by smiling and chuckling -
she’s in on the conversation to boot. We pule together, the 5 of us,
before leaving, and I told Debbie that all of her cousins and ‘ohana far
and near are with her in solidarity and in prayer - that notion really
does comfort and buoy her spirit. The doctors told Dinnie that Debbie
could die at anytime, that insidious is the cancer. After a Franciscan-
Mr. Marianne fete at Kalaupapa today, I’ll visit Debbie again Sunday
afternoon, and again relay our ‘ohana’s love and prayer. St. Damien, pray
for us. Blessed Marianne, intercede for us. May God’s love, peace and
consolation remain with all of us in all of our life-journeys, Amen.

Love, rob

Let There Be Light

2012-01-21T07:30:00.001-07:00

...well, let there be RAINBOW light!

And there was. Rainbow light. And, we were pleased.

I have a solar rainbow maker in my dining room window. During a short window of time each day (as long as it is a sunny day), it gathers enough energy to cast moving beams of rainbow light throughout my dining room. If I'm lucky, I happen to be in the right place at the right time when this colorful light does this dance-a waltz if you may, throughout my dining room and on the walls. Quite magical, I say. My friend, Kassie Guzzardi remembered that I mentioned how I wanted one, almost bought one, but delayed. She then cleverly gave it to me for Christmas one year. It is something I truly treasure.

Earlier this week, I came home from running errands and was lucky enough to catch the rainbow tripping the light fantastic in the room. AND, I spy a shadow paired with the rainbow light!! Heart beats faster. Breath becomes rapid. Where is my camera? Stay calm. Retrieved the camera. Tried not to get flustered as these moments can pass as quickly as they come. Great! Got the shot! And, a second later, I went to get my cell phone to use my retro camera ap on it, and the moment was GONE.

A few days later, I came in again about the same time and saw the light again. Except, this time, the band of color was even MORE spectacular!

Oh, me! Oh, my! I am all too pleased to be able to share these with you fellow shadow hunters. If you're reading this and you're not a shadow hunter, perhaps this will have lit the spark within you. And then, you too can join us every week at Shadow Shot Sunday 2!

News Flash-ABC Weds Is Now Going Into Their 10th Round!!!

2012-01-17T07:30:00.002-07:00

ACE OF SPADES

The origin of the Ace of Spades is interesting. I won't go into it here, but the link through to Wikipedia does a good job. But, a note of warning: Wikipedia (the English version) will be staging a 24 hour blackout of the site on Jan. 18th in protest over pending legislation that will be very restrictive to what we can and cannot use on the internet. You can read about Wikipedia's first ever public protest in regards to the SOPA and PIPA act and you can even go one step further and contact your legislator to let them know how you feel about this level of internet restriction. It will affect all of us. And we all know that ABC Weds, now in it's 10th Round will be adversely affected by this kind of legislation. If you have a different take on this matter, please feel free to chime in on the comment section-just be sure to keep it civil!

AUGER

This was taken back in the day when digital did not exist-it is an auger for doing the first crush of grapes at the Callaway Winery in Temecula, CA. The image is behind glass in case you are wondering why it looks a bit wonkers.

Most folks know augers as a drilling device, but this one lay cradled in this giant stainless steel vat/hopper that harvested grapes were placed in to. The auger turns gently, getting what is called the first crush or free run of juice that is coaxed out of the grapes. Very little tannin is in this batch of juice-the tannin is added later so that it can be introduced in a controlled manner as the wine ferments. The tannin comes from the skins of the grapes and also affects the acidity of a wine.

ALLUVIAL FAN

(image from Wikipedia)

Don't you just love how that word sounds? Alluvial fan:

"An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain."

You know, you could chant "alluvial" over and over again-it really lends itself as a 'chanting' kind of word. : )

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

The Jesuits put these letters, A.M.D.G. on everything they write. They stand for the Latin words, Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, which mean "All is offered for the greater glory of God." In this spirit, everything they do or say is offered in humble gratitude.

Looking Down

2012-01-14T07:30:00.003-07:00

It does pay to look down when walking...

...because if you're lucky, you just might have the pleasure of seeing something like this. Oh, yes, it's just a funky sidewalk with rickety bricks along the edge. But, for a few brief moments in the morning that day, I was allowed to witness this treasure.

I love the patterns and the irregularity of the bricks against the red walk and the 'great wall of shadows' that the bricks cast. The compacted sand, pebbles and decaying leaves. I love seeing details like this.

It gives me great joy.

And, I suspect it does you too.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." (Martin Luther King)

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted! You can view all of my 2011 Shadow Shot Sunday images on my Flickr account. Click here to view them.

Zany, Zealous, Zanzibar Zebrasses

2012-01-10T07:30:00.003-07:00

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our NINTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week, we end Round 9 with the letter, "Z".

ZAMIA

(image from Wikipedia)

The name Zamia comes from the Greek azaniae, meaning "a pine cone" (Wikipedia).

I've seen zamia-in botanical gardens in San Diego. I don't think I've seen any here in New Mexico-perhaps our climate is not conducive to their growth-after all, they are well suited for warm, moist, tropical climates. It's a beautiful plant-you can always click on the link to read all the botanical specifics about it (I can't do it justice in explaining it!).

ZASTRUGA

(image from Wikipedia)

Brrrr!!!! I get shivers just thinking about zastruga! It's irregular grooves or ridges on surfaces on the snow caused by the wind, erosion and deposits. Oh-and in case you need to use the plural of this word, it is zastrungi. Go ahead, be a smarty pants and talk about how difficult it is to ski across miles and miles of zastrungi at the next party you attend!

ZEEBROID

(image from Wikipedia)

Really, I was looking for images of Zebrass'. Honest! But, I couldn't find any and instead, ran in to Zeebroids. Zeebroid is a broad term for a hybrid of a Zebra and an equine. You can get more specific, such as a

ZEEDONK

(image from Wikipedia)

Which is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. And, donkeys and ass are names used interchangeably for the same animal. Which is what a Zebrass is. So, I guess I really did find an image of a Zebrass, but not directly so!

And then there is the Zebrule (Zebra and a mule). Know too, that there is convention for naming the hybrid, which is done by sire (male) and dam (female). Yes it is rather sexist! But, that is what the scientific convention is.

Do you think you have a grasp of this hybrid-naming convention? Good. Now, let's see if you can guess the sire and dam of a Zorse. How about a Zony? Or, a Zetland? Answer: zebra/horse, zebra/pony, zebra/Shetland pony, respectively.

Wait! It gets even BETTER. A Zonkey? A cross between a Zebra and a donkey, BUT, 'Zonkey' is not considered a correct name. Instead, commonly accepted names are Zedonkey, Zebrinny, Zebrula, Zebrass, Zedonk. Even Zebadonk is considered correct.

So, next time you are at a loss for conversation (try this in an elevator full of strangers), try out this category of Zebroids on your listeners. They will be amazed!

Oh, and by the way, the title is also a sentence (in case you want to throw a tongue twister out to unsuspecting victims).

One Fine Morning....I Spy (you'll never guess)

2012-01-07T07:30:00.001-07:00

Ahhh...those morning walks that I keep intending to do. Well, it seems it's been too long since I have, but when I did, I 'found' these lovelies on my walk:

PANORAMA HEIGHTS EAST, RIO RANCHO

A lovely metal sign that names our neighborhood (although not many refer to our area as this). Still, lovely at any rate. I thought it would be neat to come back in the afternoon and take the opposite shadow so that the words are not backwards, but alas! The angle of the sun and the block wall does not lend itself to this. You will just have to imagine it.

CURVES

As in, asphalt curves. A detail that many walk right by as it is quite mundane. And, as you may already know, I celebrate the mundane! These curves made for such delicate shadows.

Both images were taken on my handy dandy cell phone which is now considered an 'antique' as it is about 3 1/2 years old now.

The Yin and Yang of Yellow

2012-01-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our NINTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "Y".

YELLOW YOLKS

We often have scrambled eggs with green chiles in them for breakfast. At least once a week (to me, that qualifies as 'often'). New Mexico green chile is a nice addition to eggs-and quite addicting, I might add! And, I buy my eggs fresh from someone who has hens, so the yolks are always a very deep yellow. Although it is not apparent in this photo since the cell phone camera ap desaturated the color.

YARD DECOR

Be it shiny, be it new, be it rusty, be it blue. Any yard decor will do (for me)! These make a great sound when the high winds come howling through. Sort of like having cows with bells in your back yard. Sans the cows.

YELLOWHAMMER

(Yellowhammer image from Wikipedia)

The Yellowhammer is a European bunting in which the male has yellow feathers on the head, neck, and breast. It really looks like a finch to me, but we don't have these here in this 'neck of the woods' so to speak, so I am relying on the ever so helpful Wikipedia (and we ABCer's should donate to their site since so many of us benefit from them). Link through provided if you want to read up more on Yellowhammers (what a strange name for a bird!).

YELLOWDOG MUSIC

(image from Yellowdog Music website)

What a cool organization this Yellowdog Music is! Funny how I found it too. "Yellowdog" in MY dictionary was simply defined as an employment contract that prevents workers from joining a labor status. So, off I go to the internet to snatch a link through and what I found is a completely different meaning of 'yellowdog" in the context of "yellowdog democrats" which is:

"a political term applied to voters in the Southern United States who voted solely for Democratic candidates, with the term commencing in the late 19th century. Due to Republican president Abraham Lincoln's leading the Union against the Confederacy, these voters would allegedly "vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for any Republican".^[1]^[2] The term is now more generally applied to refer to any Democrat who will vote a straight Party ticket under any circumstances." (Wikipedia)

I never knew.

And then there is "yellow dog linux":

" also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture (Power7). YDL is currently developed by Fixstars (which acquired Terra Soft Solutions in October 2008). Yellow Dog Linux was first released in the spring of 1999 for the Apple Macintosh PowerPC-based computers." (Wikipedia)

I never knew.

Page 1 of a Google search on "yellowdog" did not yield the employment contract situation.

But, back to Yellowdog Music. From their website, here is their description of themselves:

"Established in 1990, Yellow Dog Music has become a fixture in Toronto’s Leaside neighbourhood. The studios offer a place where students can get a taste of ‘downtown-style ‘ inventive instruction from professional gigging/recording-artist instructors. Aspiring musicians of all ages come to Yellow Dog to learn to play, compose, improvise, jam and record music. The doghouse offers lessons and ‘Garage Band’ programs which cater to the individual student’s passions and natural ways of learning. Rock, Jazz, Blues, Pop, Classical, Rap, Hip Hop, Show Tunes......take your pick, or pick ‘em all. The studio environment is cool, casual, creative and highly contagious. All are welcome to take a trial lesson, sign up for a session or settle in forever."

Once you’ve tried the ‘doghouse’, you’ll be tempted to “STAY”."

Good for you, Toronto, for having such a wonderful organization for your youth!

Passing Through The Portal Of Time

2011-12-31T07:30:00.002-07:00

Where does this lead to?

Where does this lead to, this unknown portal that looms before us. We can barely see the way to get through, but pass through it we must. There is no looking back. There is no way to stand still. We don't even know what is on the other side...but the journey begins for us for 2012. And, we will journey it together, come what may.

I thought this a befitting image to close the year with and to start the new one off. It is, enigmatic, at best. Just as the year ahead of us is. We do not know what it will bring.

Happily, we do know that it will continue to bring us shadow shots from around the world.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." (Martin Luther King)

Every week, a group of us from around the world post our shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Entertain your muse and be amused by stopping by to see what others have posted! You can view all of my 2010 Shadow Shot Sunday images on my Flickr account. Click here to view them. I hope to have the 2011 images asembled in one place in time for next week's posting.

And the image? It was taken at an old fire station in Denver which now serves as a museum.

X 'Rated'!

2011-12-27T07:30:00.002-07:00

ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our NINTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "X".

Not too many words begin with X! So, I think we all have to keep 'recycling' our X's!This is most definitely an 'x rated' post just as all your posts will be! ; )

How about:

XEBEC

Xebec is a Mediterranean sailing ship used primarily for trading. From Wikipedia:

"Xebecs were similar to galleys used by Algerian Berber corsairs and Barbary pirates having both lateen sails and oars for propulsion. Early xebecs had two masts; later ones three. Xebecs featured a distinctive hull with pronounced overhanging bow and stern, and rarely displaced more than 200 tons, making them slightly smaller and with slightly fewer guns than frigates of the period.
Notable xebecs of the French Navy include four launched in 1750:

Ruse, 160 tons, 18 guns
Serpent, 160 tons burthen, 18 guns
Requin, 260 tons burthen, 24 guns
Indiscret, 260 tons burthen, 24 guns

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a large polacre-xebec carried a square rig on the foremast, lateen sails on the other masts, a bowsprit, and two headsails. The square sail distinguished this form of a xebec from that of a felucca which is equipped solely with lateen sails. The last of the xebecs in use by European navies were fully square-rigged and were termed xebec-frigates.
The British brig-sloop Speedy's (14 guns, 54 men) defeat of the Spanish xebec-frigate El Gamo (32 guns, 319 men) on 6 May 1801 is generally regarded as one of the most remarkable single-ship actions in naval history. It was the foundation of the legendary reputation of the Speedy's commander, Lord Cochrane (later Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, GCB).
Sea-going Mediterranean peoples greatly favoured xebecs as corsairs, and for this purpose built them with a narrow floor to achieve a higher speed than their victims, but with a considerable beam in order to enable them to carry an extensive sail-plan. The lateen rig of the xebec allowed for the ship to sail close hauled to the wind often giving it an advantage in pursuit or escape. The use of oars or sweeps allowed the xebec to approach vessels who were becalmed. When used as corsairs they carried a crew of 300 to 400 men and mounted perhaps 16 to 40 guns according to size. In peacetime operations, the xebec could transport merchandise."

XRAY

Hard to be 'original' when it comes to the X letter! But, it is always entertaining to see how many different xrays we can all post. This image in not from the internet-it is from my personal stash of xrays that I got from someone. Won't say who, how or why. Just know that I have a good stash of xray images! Thank you, Madame Curie!