Parts and Parts and Parts....

There always seems to be car and appliance parts in the woods! 

Greystone....

The area around Greystone has been converted to park land for many different types of recreation - even some hiking trails! 

For now it all takes place under the watchful eye of the Kirkbride Building... it is slated to be demolished but there is a group fighting to preserve at least part of it. 

I can't even imagine what it would feel like to come up the drive and have this imposing building looming ahead of you.....knowing that the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum would be your new home. 

Changes....And Then Not...

I had post ready to go about how I could keep the secret that I found out on Easter weekend.  
But it was here and is now gone.
Bye Zig.

It will be ok.

A Dog's Purpose...

Just finished A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron on my way to work. I loved this even more than the Art of Racing in the Rain.  It really felt like the book had been written by a dog and his unique perspective on life (and his many reincarnations).  The sad and cruel parts of pet ownership were addressed as well – it was not all happy fluff.

The love that he had with Ethan was so pure and unconditional – just like anyone who has owned a dog knows.

One of my favorite quotes: “Bailey, you take good care of Ethan, okay?”  I wagged my tail in cheerful non-comprehension. Were we going for a car ride or what?

And then there was this whole sequence....

"A week or so later, Smokey died. After dinner the family went into the backyard, where Ethan had excavated a big hole, and they wrapped Smokey’s body in a blanket and put it in the hole and covered it with dirt. Ethan hammered a piece of wood into the soil next to the mound of wet dirt, and he and Mom cried a little. I nuzzled them both to remind them that there was really no need to grieve, since I was okay and really a much better pet than Smokey ever was.
The next day, after Mom and the boy left for school, I went out into the yard and dug Smokey back up, figuring they couldn’t have meant to bury a perfectly good dead cat."

 
There is NO doubt that I am a dog person and I LOVED this book!   


 

Still Enjoying!

Brilliant, just brilliant!! 

Killian Jones is my name...

But most people have taken to call me by my more colorful moniker....Hook.

Round and Round...

Spent a lovely Sunday afternoon at a friend's house making traditional Easter eggs - a bit more labor intensive but time moved by so quickly with lots of laughs and champagne! 

Break, Break, Break...

I find it cosmic that a week that started with the death of a friend's wife ends with the birth of a another friend's child.  Perhaps I will have to be good and go to church on Sunday...


Break, Break, Break
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
 
Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on
o their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

Following Atticus...

Fantastic story of a novice hiker and his small dog.  I highly recommend the audio version – it is read by the author and it is like a friend telling you their story.  

I was interested because it involved a dog and hiking some high peaks but was hooked after the second chapter.   I had mornings where I cried all the way to work since the most random awful things would happen and Tom and Atticus got thru it together. 

I am not doing the story justice with my commentary on it – just read it!

Seriously Can't Resist...

This face!!

More Growth...

One More...

The fairest flower of them all taking in some sunshine....

New Flowers!

Two types of oxalis and a campanula...fingers crossed that they survive!

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…"

I re-watched all the Twilight movies this past weekend.  It’s been quite a while since I watched the first one - I used to have it on repeat!  They really did go above and beyond with its shout outs to the fans. 

The pain in New Moon, the conflict of Eclipse, the epic roller coaster of Breaking Dawn and the yumminess of Carlisle and his black Benz - I enjoyed all of it!!

"What a stupid lamb."
"What a sick, masochistic lion.”

Tidbits...

Drops from my brain while sitting and enjoying the mountains last August.  (unfortunately it does not translate well - the feeling is lost)

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Jūtu vēju par visu

Turos pie zemes ar kājām, ar prātu

Gars ir priecigs kad ir miers

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Zils, Zils, Zils – ar vēju un smaidu.

Vejš apkampa un aicina

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Tikai saprašana

Tikai tā momenta ir svariga – tas ir visums un pasaule – nekas vairs nav.

Neko citu nevajag, jo viskas ir šajā brīdī

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 Aplis sarkani deg - ikviens ir laimīgs

Avots ir pilns ar labvēlību

Var smelt visu dienu – aka ir pilna

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