Category Archives: Hobbies

Daily Prompt: Never Again

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Have you ever gone to a new place or tried a new experience and thought to yourself, “I’m never doing that again!” Tell us about it.

Barry, my adorable husband, wanted to share a place from his past with me. Barry was a Boy Scout Troup leader for years. While we were in the area of the Boy Scout Camp, we decided to ride up the mountain to see the camping area.

Neither of us thought about the mechanical condition of the truck, when we decided to tackle a mountain. Straight up the side of the mountain to get to the campsite. Not only was the road dirt, but it had been raining all week long.

As we started up the mountain, the truck started rocking and we realized the road was incredibly bumpy. Barry says, “I guess we need to change the shocks.”

By the time we reached the campsite, my body shook by itself and my teeth chattered without any help from the temparature in the air.

The campsite was beautiful, but that was the first and only time I eill ever see it. If a helicopter dropped me at the top of the mountain, I might consider a second trip. Until that day arrives, I’ll treasure my memories of our crazy ride up the side of a moutain.

I’m feeling better, so Awards Night is here…..Drum roll please…….

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Well, it has been a while since these awards were bestowed upon me, but I have been a little busy! Life is slowing down, so I’d like to pass these awards along to those that deserve them! Please forgive me for taking such a long time!

Many thanks to Tanumoy Biswas! Your kindness, wit, friendship and support has meant a lot to me. I enjoy finding comments from your on my blog. Thank you for the nominating my blog for so many awards. It was very kind of you. If you would like to check out Tanumoy blog, follow the link below. You will not be disappointed.

http://thenomadicsoliloquist.wordpress.com/about/

So, each of these awards has a certain life value attached to them, something we must imbibe and invoke within us. And these gifts are a constant reminder that we must remain Versatile in our thoughts, light up the dark corners of our mind with Sunshine, Never forget to respect our Inner Peace, bring changes in other’s lives by being positively Influential, and make this pale blue planet of ours an Awesome place to live in. Cheers!

The ABC Award requires me to write a word or a phrase about myself for each of the English alphabets, so here it is:

A: Apple- I love apples. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I enjoy apples daily. For the old saying to actually work, I’m not sure how many I would need to eat in a day!

B: Barry- I cannot imagine my life without my sweet!

C: Cats- My mother’s cat is cute, but vicious! I do not like that cat!

D: Dogs- Man and woman’s best friend! Our sweet Maggie is part of the family!

E: Easter– The day the Lord rose from his grave.

F: Flowers-I love flowers!

G: Gardening- I enjoy gardening. It is such a joy to watch the plants you put in the ground, come to life. It can be very therapuetic.

H: Hawaii- One place in the USA I’d love to visit.

I: Income- one of the hardest things to live without today!

J: Jack- with my name being Jill, I honestly have never met a Jack I could get along with.

K: Krispy Kreme–A place that would be my second home if it would not make as big as the side of a barn!

L: Lantana-One of my favorite flowers

M: Maggie May– our favorite puppy dog

N: Naive- I have often been called naive, I have a tendency to believe anything you might say

O: Oreo-the perfect cookie

P: Poetry-I would love to learn to write poetry, but I haven’t got a clue where to start

Q: Queues-things given to elderly people to help them perform daily tasks

R: Ricochet- I just like how this word sounds.

S: State-There are so many states you can get yourself into. {State of panic, state of mind, state of confusion, state of Georgia, etc,,,,,

T:Tchaikovsky- composer

U: Umbrella-Now that I only have one hand to use, this is a totally useless instrument. But a cool word.

V: Vanilla-such a wonder spice

W: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: {Gene Wilder version}-Thank goodness this is not real, but it is such a good old movie

X: Xena: Warrior Princess–stupid television show

Y: Yogi Bear–one of my favorite cartoon characters

Z: Zipline-riding a zipline is at the top of my bucket!

 MY NOMINATIONS:

(feel free to choose all, any or none of the awards)

http://goomfh.wordpress.com

http://likereadingontrains.wordpress.com

http://foodandwinehedonist.com

http://tylerpedersen02.wordpress.com

http://transcendingbordersblog.wordpress.com

http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com

http://mariejulietteleblog.wordpress.com

http://momentsinyourlife.wordpress.com

http://proverbsgirl.wordpress.com

http://healthisfromheaven.wordpress.com

http://dshenai.wordpress.com

http://kregianmiralpoems.wordpress.com

http://corbanwilkin.com

http://eugenejferguson.wordpress.com

http://renardmoreau.wordpress.com

http://doncharisma.wordpress.com

http://michellemarieantellg.wordpress.com

http://goodtimestories.wordpress.com

http://mcclendonvilla.wordpress.com

http://mjraik.wordpress.com

http://harshitmoon.wordpress.com

http://thoughtsfromanamericanwoman.wordpress.com

http://bearspawprint.wordpress.com

http://anaturemom.com

http://inlovewiththelord.wordpress.com

http://walterbright.org

http://secretangelps911.wordpress.com

http://rickmallery.wordpress.com

http://alluglyboysdo.wordpress.com

http://randomlyabstract.wordpress.com

I believe, more than the nominations, it’s the feeling of connectivity with a community of great bloggers that matters at the end of the day. So, there are no rules, no limitations. Congratulations to all! Spread joy, stay connected and keep smiling! One Peace, One Love, One World. Tanumoy, I liked what you said here, please do not be upset with me for using your words.

I chose newer blog visitors for my nominations! I have read each blog and enjoy them all. Have fun!  As the person nominating me did, I chose to only do the requirements for the ABC Award. You can chose to do them all or none!

Related Content:

• Awards, Nominations & LOTS of Self Talk!
• Lighten Up My Day
• Inner Peace Award
• 2 Awards Combined in 1
• “Moment of Inspiration”: Two Very Special Awards!
• Blog Awards Galore: A ‘Four’some Treat!
• Dessert Served Warm: “Super Sweet Blog Award”!
• Shine On Tanumoy with the… “Shine On Award”!

Writing through cancer: For the Week of July 28, 2013: What Did You Notice?

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I was unable to walk today, I’m not feeling my best, so I stayed close to home. We went to church this morning, but unable to attend tonight. I tell Barry to go without me, but he doesn’t like me home alone. I gave up and quit arguing.

Yesterday,  Barry and I walked the yard and updated our garden journal. I’ll use our stroll around the yard for this post. We started at the front porrch. We have a few Chinese Fringe Flowers that need pruning and a few new spouts have popped up, that need transplanting. A few weeds that need to be handled,  but nothing I cannot do.

My minature butterfly bush has come back out and is almost three feet tall already. I need to work on the decorative well pump by the porch. My butterfly garden is suffering from inattention. The hosta’s have come up beautifully and I have a few that need transplanting this fall. It may take us that long to get the garden back to glory to make room for them. A Sweet Gum Tree has taken root near the water spicket. That needs to go!

On the hill to the right of the house, we have planted two red maples and attempted to handle a bad wash area with monkey grass and lillies. They are filling in nicely. Might take a year or two for it to fill in.
To the left of the new trees, we planted a few Chinese Fringe Flower Shrubs to act as a barrier near the guidewire for the telephone pole. Looking good near the road.

At the drive, I have a combo of old-fashioned lillies, Stella D’odro lillies and knockout roses. We have tons of room to add to this area, I just need to figure out what to add. We recently moved the mailbox to the otherside of the drive. It needs sprucing up.

Down the rightside of the drive, is considered mom’s territory.  We have a couple of things there, we planted prior to mom’s arrival. There are three heavenly Gardenia Shrubs well-established. One blueberry bush is closeby for the local critters to enjoy.

Behind those a Pin Oak is coming in nicely. It is large enough to sit a chair under to enjoy a little shade.  The rest on that side is is mom’s territory. I need to feed her a friendly reminder that she needs to do some weeding.

Under our bedroom window, we discovered a few surprises. Four O’clocks planted a few years ago have come back out and a lantana has popped up thanks to some sweet bird in the yard. It will transplant nicely when the time comes. The Hosta’s have come back out. They are huge and need a new home.

Beside the garage door the Smilix vine and lantana are gorgeous. The ramp and porch are around four feet tall. The lantana has out grown the porch already. The back of the house is more natural. We have two Corkscrew Willow Trees, a beauty berry bush, and one lone Pampas Grass. We need to do more in the back. I’d like to get a few hardscaping projects done. Barry and I will work slowly on those.

There is evidence of unknown wildlife either living or traveling through the yard. We watched a bunny run around for a few minutes. By the driveway, we saw a couple of lizards and salamanders playing aound on the porch. Barry got a wildlife camera for a retirement. We have been attempting to get pictures of what happens in the yard at night. No success yet!

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                                 Gardenias

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                                  Hostas

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                                       Gerber Daisy

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                                   Maggie and Mom’s Iris’s

Writing through cancer: For the Week of June 30, 2013: Rediscovering Summer’s Joys

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Through our health crisis’ s, Barry and I did not think  a lot about what we were losing, we focused on changing our behaviors,  unknowingly bringing a few Summer’s Joys back into our lives.

Gone are the days of lying on the couch, doing nothing to benefit ourselves. We have a plan for each day of the week. When our schedule is not saturated with appointments, we find an activity and get involved. We have found a local farmer’s market that carries items from around the world. We are enjoying experimenting with our new discoveries. There are several fruits from around the world, that might loook a little strange, but are quite tasty.

We walk, we work out, we have found a therapy pool to try out this summer, we garden, we feed the birds in the yard and plant things especially for the wildlife around. We hope to catch a few photos of them nibbling on the goodies we have provided.

We have a few special projects planned for the yard,  but will have to wait on chemo, radiation and the good southern sun to cool off before we can get started. The Georgia heat and humidity has to die down to be productive outside. It will drain you in a flat second if you aren’t careful. I think getting the cast off will help a lot.

Dad has been really sick this summer. The doctor has actually not given him long to live. He is being discharged home on Hospice care. Been busy trying to help as much as possible.  Poor Kristie is worn out. I wish we could help more. We are being as supportive as possible.

We have planted a few Japanese Maple Trees, that are looking incredible. I love watching what we plant grow. I can’t wait to work on our butterfly garden. I love watching the flutterflies and hummingbirds go wild on the blossoms.

With chemo and radiation, our summer joy’s will be early fall joys this year, but hey….we have something to look forward to.

Word of the Weekend: Hoise

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hoise: 
verb 
: lift, raise; especially 
: to raise into position by or as if by means of tackle   

Bethany was selected by her Girl Scout troop to hoise the American flag for Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony on the town green. “In order for [New England Patriot’s quarterback Tom] Brady to play a great game, which is a must if the Pats want to hoise the Lombardi Trophy, he needs to stay upright.” — From an article by Nick Curcuru and Michael Muldoon in the Gloucester Daily Times(Massachusetts), January 27, 2013  Sponsored Link    

The connection between “hoise” and “hoist” is a bit confusing. The two words are essentially synonymous variants, but “hoist” is far more common. You’ll rarely encounter “hoise” in any of its regular forms: “hoise,” “hoised,” or “hoising.” But a variant of its past participle shows up fairly frequently as part of a set expression.

And now, here’s the confusing part—that variant past participle is “hoist”! The expression is “hoist with (or by) one’s own petard,” which means “victimized or hurt by one’s own scheme.” This oft-heard phrase owes its popularity to Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “For ’tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petar[d].” (A petard is a medieval explosive. The quote implies that the engineer—the person who sets the explosive device—is blown into the air by the explosion of his own device.) 

Jill and Barry Baynes

Word of the Weekend: Orotund

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orotund\OR-uh-tund\  adjective

1 :marked by fullness, strength, and clarity of sound : sonorous 
2 :pompous, bombastic   Josh cleared his throat dramatically, then did a dead-on impression of the professor’s orotund, patronizing speech.

 “Comedian Bob Hope used to tell an anecdote about Franklin D. Roosevelt housetraining his Scottish terrier, Fala, on the Chicago Tribune. It was a reference to Roosevelt’s greatest hater,Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick, an orotund aristocrat who considered the New Deal indistinguishable from Communism.” — From a post by Edward McClellan on NBC Chicago’s Ward Room blog, April 23, 2013 

Did you know?

The Latin roots of “orotund” are related to two more common English words—”oral” and “rotund.” Latin “or-” means “mouth,” and “rotundus” means “round” or “circular.” The Roman poet Horace joined forms of those Latin terms to create the phrase “ore rotundo,” literally meaning “with round mouth,” and figuratively meaning “with well-turned speech.” “Ore rotundo” was modified to “orotund” and adopted into English in the late 18th century. It can indicate either strength of delivery or inflated wording. 

Jill and Barry Baynes

For the Week of June 9, 2013: When You’re Laughin’…

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When You’re Laughin’…

I may have written about this one before, but I giggle to myself everytime I think about it! My father is such a caefree soul. Nothing ever appears to phase him. He could be pants’ ed by a naked clown and nothing, no response. I guess I get it from him. It takes a lot to get me going. If I am to the point of tears, leave me alone. If it is happy tears, point me to the bathroom quickly.

My dad was out out for lunch with his girlfriend, Charlene. They had a great time at lunch and were getting ready to leave. Pop got the check from the waitress and was headed to pay the check, while Charlene checked her make-up. While standing in line, a car in the parking lot caught dad’s attention. He thought he recognized someone.

The cashier said next, pop went to take a step forward when he realized his pants are around his ankles. He non-chalantly looks around the room, no one appears to have noticed. He slowly leans over, to grab his pants. He quickly pulls them up, as he glances around the room. He wants to make sure no one has seen what happened. When he was sure his pants were secue, he ran to the car.

He and Ms. Charlene have never eaten at that restaurant again. I can’t believe my dad was actually embarassed.

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