A Monday Afternoon

Just a photo of the ocean.

Photo:Beach near me.

I had a CTA scan of my heart today at Jersey Shore University Medical Center so the

CTA scan of heart

surgeons can see where to repair when I have the procedure done on the 30th.
It is NJ's premier trauma hospital and it's very large. I had quite a hike to get to my destination.
Its so large they have carts to drive you from wing to wing.
The heart surgeon 's office messed up my appointment and didn't send my blood work to radiology so  there was a problem but it was finally straightened out and I was in and out in under an hour.
I was happy I was able to have it done without changing out of my clothing. I hate that.
I was happier still when we stopped for a take out coffee and roll. I had to fast for the test.

They injected a contrast dye through a catheter in my arm and I feel  kind of yukky now. You aren't supposed to feel bad but,  since it is a foreign substances inside your veins you do feel something. Some people feel things more acutely I think as well. I seem to be one of them.
I've had it injected before for contrast in MRI's. You can taste it, feel the heat from it and it makes you think you have to 'go' but you don't.  After you have it you must drink tons of water to flush it from you.
Results go to the doctor on Wednesday. He will use it as a road map for the procedure.
Sonogram a few weeks ago showed my arteries are clear which is very good 💗

 The drive home was lovely as all the trees are turning red and gold now.

50's Diner in Blogland

Toni posts her adventure each week and if you aren't joining in, why not?
There is no excuse. It's fun, lets your imagination go free and gives you a good reason to look at other blogs.

The Cafe Diner
1.   While driving most of the night I spotted a cafe diner sign up ahead and decided to stop. From the outside it reminded me of an old-fashioned bullet trailer diner. Hungry and thirsty I parked the car, walked up the 2 steps to the door and opened it to find myself in Annie's Rock & Roll Cafe!

I was in the right place. The parking lot full of classic 50's cars was hard to leave but hunger drove me forward.

Inside the jukebox was playing Dream Lover by Bobby Darin and I saw Annie standing behind the counter talking to customers.

I had heard of the diner from her Rock & Roll Cafe blog and the reputation for good food was legendary. 

But you never know....

2.   Not sure of what to expect I decided to sit at a booth across from the counter anyway and to my surprise  it was cozy and comfortable and the view outside was nice. I also had a good view of the diner and it's 50's decor.
I felt like I'd stepped back into 1957!

 A big menu was wedged between the ketchup and salt and pepper shakers so I picked it up and began looking through the selection of foods.

The delicious scents in the diner were making me hungrier by the minute.

3.   One of the waitresses spotted me sitting in the booth mesmerized and came over to see if I was ready to order.
Was I ever!

"Its a big menu for sure. Have you decided or do you need more time?"she said pleasantly.

I ordered the big hamburger with pizza fries and a  cup of hot coffee.
I was eyeing the huge pies in the display counter and coveting a big piece for dessert.
Banana Cream, Chocolate Cream, Lemon Meringue, Coconut Cream.
Oh there is nothing like cream pies at  a diner!

She brought the order quickly. The burger looked delicious as did the cole slaw on the side.

The pizza fries were drenched in Italian sauce and covered over in melted mozarella cheese. I was  in heaven! 

Annie saw me sitting there savoring my cup of coffee and walked over to see me.

4.   Sitting down beside me she said "Hi,"she said "so happy you stopped by. Of course your meal is on the house."

Now that is how I like my meals... free. 

I signed up for the dance contest that weekend too.  Hey, I have my poodle skirt, cashmere sweater set , bobby socks and saddle shoes all set to go.

Well, friends the Rock & Roll Cafe is a blog but, not a real diner and exists only in my dreams. I would just love to make it real!

2nd Saturday Post

My favorite choir bar none!
 I grew up hearing them, I watched them practice.
 My family doctor sang with them.

 All creatures of our God and king

Lift up your voices and with us sing

Alleluia, alleluia

Thou burning with golden beam

Thou silver moon with softer gleam

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

Thou rushing wind that art so strong

Ye clouds that sail in heaven a long

Alleluia, alleluia

Thou rising morn in praise rejoice

Ye light of evening find a voice

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

Thou flowing water pure and clear

Make music for thy Lord to hear

Alleluia, alleluia

Thou fire so masterful and bright

That gives to man both warmth and light

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

The List

Lists of questions let bloggers learn about one another and also let you learn about yourself as you come up with answers to things you never thought about.
 Marge put up this list and I am going to join in. It is great to have Marge back blogging!

Balsam Fir

1. Favorite smell:
Balsam Fir, Cedar. I like the smell of flowers, etc. I love the scent of the salt air and leaves on the ground in fall. There are so many scents that are wonderful and bring back memories and create good feeling, but over all the scent of Balsam and Cedar and the great outdoors are my favorite.

2. Last time you cried : 
 Earlier in the week 😭
Sometimes things get over whelming. I keep it to myself but sometimes tears are needed.

3. Favorite pizza?
My own home made with mushrooms, onion, red peppers, anything else I can pile on including cheddar cheese.

Black Eyed Susans

4. Favorite flower?
Black Eyed Susans.  When I was a little girl we lived in a little brick apartment across from a park designed by the great Frederick Law Olmsted who designed Central Park in New York as well as other parks.  He was  the father of American landscape architecture. Leading up to the park there was a little field in back of our apartment complex with a stream and a little bridge. In the stream I picked water cress for my mother to make salad and the field was loaded with black eyed Susans.  I loved how their happy little heads nodded in the breeze and the color is bright and sunfilled. I love to see crowds of them in gardens.


5. Did you go to college?
Yes I went to two of them: Ohio University in Athens, Ohio  and Rutgers University in New Brusnwick, NJ.

6. Untie your shoes when taking them off?          I can't tie my shoes since I can't bend.  So, I do a "preppy tie" on my shoes and slip them on and off without tying or untying.

Preppy Tie

7. Roller coasters?             
No, thank you.   I don't like the idea of being whipped around like a rag doll. It is no longer even an option for me anyway.

8. Favorite ice cream?
For a brand I like the ice cream at Cow's in Canada. For flavor I like real Vanilla with the vanilla bean chips in it.  
And for a Sundae I like Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce,  marshmallow sauce, peanuts and whipped cream.
In Pennsylvania  they are called a 'CMP'




9. Favorite pass time?   Make it 'times'. plural.  
Blogging, painting,playing piano,  learning, and being outdoors.



10. What drives you crazy?
Willful ignorance and closed minds.

Willful ignorance is the state and practice of ignoring any sensory input that appears to contradict one's inner model of reality. At heart, it is almost certainly driven by confirmation bias.
Willful ignorance differs from ordinary “ignorance“ — when someone is simply unaware of something — in that willfully ignorant people are fully aware of facts, resources and sources, but refuse to acknowledge them. Indeed, calling someone "ignorant" shouldn’t really be a pejorative, but intentional and willful ignorance is an entirely different matter. In practice though, the word "ignorance" has often come to mean "willful ignorance", and indeed, in many non-English languages, the word based on the same stem ("ignore") actually carries that meaning

11. What are you listening to?
a lawn mower somewhere in the neighborhood.

12. Favorite Color?         
I can't think of only one favorite.  I like color based on it's use. If it fits, it's fine but I really like vibrant, jewel colors best.

13. Tattoos?                 
I don't have any. 

14. Piercing?                 
My ears are pierced but that's all.


15. Color of hair?
Blonde with some white here and there that makes my hair look frosted.

16. Color of eyes?
Green, same color as that of my Famous Anonymous Kid 💖.
Here is her eye, same as mine pretty much.

17. Favorite food to eat?
Fried foods: Fried Tomatoes, Fried potatoes, Fried Chicken, Fried Eggplant, etc.
I also love Greek and Mexican food.

18. Favorite drink?
Water ,tea, coffee. As for coffee, well, I really just like Coffee Mate powdered creamer with a tiny bit of coffee in it.
For tea I am partial to strong Irish tea with milk in it.

20. Night owl or morning person?
Depends really and varies. I can be both.


21. Favorite day of the week?
 Saturday.I love the beach sounds,the boat sounds, the sound of light planes over head, lawn mowers, etc.

22. Do you have a nickname?
In High School I was Angie.
Some of my friends called Chanala meaning little Hannah.

23. Pictures on your wall?
Yes in all rooms really. Here is the largest hanging over my piano. It is a lovely original by Leonid Afremov.
He uses a pallet knife to paint. The strokes on this impressionistic painting amaze me.
You can enlarge it to see more detail.

Neighborhood Stroll Friday Foto Friends

 

How is it Friday again?
Well it is.
Joining Debbie for Foto Friends with
a bunch of different pictures I have taken.
As always you can click on them to enlarge them.
They are  taken with a Canon A560, except for the last two.

Cold Sand can feel nice on bare feet

Footprints in the Sand

Sunset Fire

Just in Case!

The glorious bay

On the Rocks

Swimming

Up to my knees to take this one. Just the bay..nothing else. It's enough I think

Fly by

And here he is

My mother on graduating as a Registered Nurse in Philadelphia, Pa. long before I came along.
This is a just because addition to the photos this week.

Below are my two favorite girls with a wolf. Yes, a real 100% wolf!

Thank you for visiting and come again soon.

Haiku on Wednesday

Road in my community. click to enlarge

None is traveling
 Here along this way but I,
              This autumn evening.
(haiku by Matsuo Basho 1644-1694)

Annie

A Sunday Night Adventure

Here is Toni's great adventure for this week. You can read her story here and join in here as well.

 

Cabin In The Forest

1.   While walking in a forest, you see a lovely cabin ahead that seems empty so you hurry over to see if anyone is there.
You've been walking for a long time trying to find your way. You were hiking with a group in the forest when you stopped to remove stones from your shoe. When you looked up they had gone ahead and you couldn't see them anymore. 
Though you hurried in the same direction they were gone. Had they taken a turn

somewhere? Did they even know you were missing?
So many thoughts in your head and you realize you should have stayed put where they last left you but stupidly you kept going and that was when  you saw the cabin.
It is was a large cabin and fairly modern and new. Set on the banks of a river, it's  well-kept exterior tells you that someone t frequents it or lives there permanently.
A knock on the door brings no results so you call out loudly. "Hello is anyone around?"
There is only the sound of the birds and some crickets.
It is late afternoon now and dusk is setting in.  You could stay on the porch and wait..or you could check for an open door. There might be a phone.
The front door is locked. All the windows are closed for the chilly autumn weather so you walk around the porch to the rears. There the porch opens up into a deck over looking the river.  A deck with  a sliding glass door that is partially open.
Hesitatingly you slide the glass open and call inside, "Hello? Is anyone home?"
No reply. The cabin is empty alright.  
With a great deal of trepidation you walk inside.
  
2.   In the empty cabin you spot a large chest in the corner of the main room and you notice a cell phone lying on it.
You pick it up and call the leader of your hiking group.
"Thank God"you think , "there is service!"
He answers the phone and when he learns it is you, he is relieved to say the least.
He knows where the cabin is and they will be there in the morning to get you.
One problem solved but now you're only problem is the cabin's occupant and whether or not they are friendly.

3.   Suddenly you hear a noise coming from the outside.  You hurry out the back rear door and around to the front to intercept them.
"Hey"says the tall man with an armload of wood,"where'd you come from?"
He is friendly and easy going.
"Hey" you answer when you get your wits back. There is something about him that captures your attention. "I got lost and was looking for my hiking group when I discovered your cabin."
"Oh, are you okay?" he asks.
He puts the wood down into a wood cradle and turns toward you again.
"You're not hurt are you? The woods can be rough if you get lost."
"Yes,thanks" you smile at him " just not sure what to do so I,umm, well I  kind of broke into your cabin and used your cell phone to call my group. 
Well I didn't break in  but I barged in for sure" You wait for him to be angry but nope. He just has an amused smile on his face.
"That's okay. Were you able to get hold of them?"
Oh gosh, this guy is so nice you think. 
"Yes. They will get me in the morning,"you reply.
"Then I guess you are spending the night.  Come on in. What's your name?" he asks.
You exchange pleasantries and he takes you on a little tour of the cabin.
He built it himself and spends the weekends here. The rest of the week he is in the city.

This is an impressive man.

Later that night brings some surprises as you find out that the hiking leader has another emergency to tend to and if you are alright he says, they will make arrangements to pick you up the next day. 
It is reassuring to know that the hiking leader knows the cabin owner very well. It's his older brother!
Adding to the complications your stay might be longer than anyone thought because a terrible storm opens with a resounding crack of thunder and lightning just as darkness settles in.
There is no problem, the cabin owner will see that you get home. Things are working out nicely and you are "stuck" with a guy you find very attractive.
 After staying up all night talking you know you want to see him again and again.
And lo and behold he is a fellow old time radio lover!
"Oh, be still my heart" you jokingly whisper to yourself . "Could he be any more perfect?"

4.   The adventure now over, you leave the cabin and both of you realize this is just a beginning.







I sure hope you will join in for Toni's adventures. It is a great way to have fun and invent a little story . So let your imagination soar and get busy writing!

I always try to add something real to my stories or base them on true incidents.
There are a couple of real things in this story.
One is that  I find it very attractive when men are capable and especially when they can build things!

The second thing is that I got lost in a forest once on a camping trip in the dead of night when it was pitch black out.
We had built a new boat and it was loaded with camping gear leaving no room for me or the dog, We  would walk around the lake.. no small distance.
We misjudged the time and lost daylight on the way.
You could not see your hand in front of your face and the dark was so impenetrable that the flashlight did no good.  Even my intrepid dog was scared and walked right up against my leg as we went  along.  He was a brave fellow not scared of most things and with his great eyesight I have often wondered through the years what he was smelling or sensing that frightened him so much.
  I had to be brave for the dog and hey! I was a curved bar girl scout! 😉 (curved bar is the equivilent of an eagle scout)
Years later a guy friend suggested it could have been a Bigfoot or Sasquatch because  I heard some low growls at one point that were unlike anything I'd ever heard before  and I was an experienced camper.
I dismissed that as myth back then (not so sure now)  and continued on but I have wondered through the years what it was that scared the dog so badly.

We finally found the camp site and things ended well!
Okay, your turn!

Friday the 13thAnd Fri Foto Friends

 

'Tis Friday the 13^th and if you are superstitious I guess that has meaning!
But here is Lucky the Black Cat filing his nails just
in case it does have any meaning. He wants to be ready if they need an official black cat for the day.

It is also the 100^th addition of Friday Foto Friends and I am joining in with Debbie as I usually do on Friday. You can join in too. Just click HERE to see her blog.

Here are some older photos I took in the past.
I hope you enjoy them.

Winter: Looking out the front window on a snowy day

Into the Woods

Summer: my little beach by the bay

Glittering Bay in Summer

Autumn Trees

Autumn green and red

Spring Rain on the little pond

I like taking photos like this

Apples from my tree this year

Driftwood

The kitchen

Reflection on the pond

My beautiful bay...

The big pond in Spring.  Scotch Broom in bloom