Five Delights for the Senses

It was very humid and warm today.   The skies were threatening storms that never came and the strong smell of salt water was in the air.
 When storms gather the clouds pick up water from the ocean and the scent becomes more evident than usual.  Monday afternoon we are due for thunder storms. We will see.

 Toni at Treasures by Toni put up a meme called 5 Delights for each sense.
I thought I would join in and list some too.

I love the taste of:
Fresh hot coffee or tea
Italian food.. just about anything Italian
Mexican food
Soft Philadelphia pretzels
Thanksgiving foods

I love the sight of:
The bay 
Mountains


Falling snow
Autumn leaves
Moonlight on the bay





I love the smell of:

Perfume
Leaves in the fall
Salt air
Cedar and Pine trees
A man wearing nice scent


I love the feel of:
Autumn weather
a strong hug
fresh, soft, clean sheets
breezes
Being warm on a cold day

Warm Summer Sunday

 



Happy Sunday friends!
We are going to see Winnie the Pooh tonight, so that will be wonderful. I'll let you know how it was.
It just feels like a meme day to me, so I will copy Toni and do her meme and then I will also join in for Sunday Stealing.

Let's begin with Toni's meme:
Summer Preferences Meme by Toni
1. Lounging by the pool or picnic by the lake?

Picnic by the creek..bay is just up ahead to the left. The Little is swimming.

Either one! I like picnics a lot.
As far as a pool is concerned,  I would prefer being in the pool rather than lounging. I would be bored senseless by lounging around. I am far too active for that.

2.Shopping or day at the beach?
Shopping as I spend every day 365 days a year at the beach. I don't go shopping as often as I am on the beach.

3. Favorite restaurant or Barbecue cookout?
Both. I just like being with people.

4. Sports game or flea market?
Well, if the sports game is the kids , then sports.
I think I was to a flea market once in my life. It would be nice to go look around though.
I've never been to a baseball game etc but in high school I went to various games etc.

Thanks for the meme  Toni!

Now onto Sunday Stealing. Click the logo to join up.


1. First thing you wash in the shower?

I wash my hair first, then my body.
2. What colour is your favourite hoodie?
    I have two that I like equally. One is Navy Blue and the other is gray.

 



3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?  
  Hahahahahahahahahaha. No!


4. Do you plan outfits?
In a way, yes, especially when going out.

Feeling okay!

    


5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
   My back hurts, my leg hurts but, over all I am feeling pretty good. If pain is down to 5 or less I am on top of the world   
I hang in there!












6. What’s the closest thing to you that's red?
    My cell phone cover is red or deep pink.

dream

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
     I don't recall.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?

    No, haven't been out today.




9. What are you craving right now?

Nothing really. I am happy with what is going on right now.

10. Do you floss?
Yes, I floss every day.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
 Delicious bubble and squeak or German food! Yummmmmm.

12. Are you emotional?

Not so you'd notice, but, in private I can be. In public I am self controlled and hate making a display.
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
Maybe as a kid I did, don't remember.


14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
    Both

15. Do you like your hair?
It's okay.It is straight but if I scrunch it when its wet it gets beachy and I like that.




16. Do you like yourself?

Eat out with George Bush???? Oh please, spare me.

 Yes. I see my own faults, but over all I like who I am.Everyone likes themselves. Even God says that this is true.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
 No.






18.What are you listening to right now?
 Sound of a lawn mower cutting my grass.
19. Are your parents strict?
No. They let me pretty much on my own. But I was a trustworthy,honest and reliable kid. No drugs, no sex, no smoking ever and a straight A student. I took being good seriously.
 However, when Daddy said no  it meant no without exception.

20. Would you go sky diving?
    No. You are not supposed to tempt God and things that are iffy like that do just that.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
 It's okay. I like it with pineapple or peaches.


22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
Yes. William Shatner, Jayne and Audrey Meadows, Patricia Nixon, President Eisenhower, and a few others.

23. Do you rent movies often?
Never.
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
Yes, a mercury glass lamp and two mirrored end tables in my office.

25. How many countries have you visited?
Two
26. Have you made a prank phone call?
Yes, tons of them as a kid.

27. Ever been on a train?
Many, many times. I commuted by train for a while too.

28. Brown or white eggs?
They are the same. I buy both.

29.Do you have a cell-phone?
Yes.

30. Do you use chap stick?
No, not that brand. I use other brands but not with any regularity.

Creative Adventures

Adventure Time compliments of my dear friend Toni!
I am in the hospital today for some heart alterations that are needed. God willing I will be home tomorrow as it is an over night procedure.
In the meantime, here is the adventure.  I hope you will join in.

I hope you will also take the time to read my post from yesterday. :)

The Sleepless Night

 

1.   Not being able to sleep this one night a few years back during Halloween, I twisted and turned in bed and turning toward the hallway I  saw that the Jack O'Lantern was still lit in the hall window. I was sure I blew the candle out. Oh well... better late than never.


 



2.   Rising from my bed I decided to walk to the kitchen after blowing out the cancle and get a cup of hot Sleepy Time tea. 
The night was chilly and blustery outside, the kind of night you are happy to be warm and cozy in the house.


3.   This is when I spotted a tall gnarly looking witch looking in my kitchen window!
I was so startled I nearly screamed!   I found myself shaking a bit.

4.   I was afraid that if I went outside I might run into something dangerous.
And when I heard scratching on the window I knew I didn't want to go out side at all.

 I wasn't really sure what to do. Being alone at night can be scary at times especially when you have a vivid imagination.
I tiptoed over to the sliding glass door in the dining area and peered out of the drapes.
The yard light was on now and I hoped I could see what or who was there.
I could not see from this angle. I would have to go to the back laundry room door and look out of the door window, something I was dreading. Whatever it was would be right there as it is next to the kitchen window!
I padded off to the laundry room and took a deep breath. "There is no help for it," I thought, "I must just do it! "
And do it I did!
And there stood the tall, gnarly fingered witch at my kitchen window!

She consisted of an old mop I was throwing out and a  dog cone that was going to  be trashed too. I had stuck the "cone of shame" on the mop head to get it out of the way. You know those cones they give to dogs who mustn't scratch? Yup, one of those.
Some witch.  Ha!
Typical of things around here.
Her waving arms and bony fingers were provided compliments of the green ash tree that grew just off the patio. 
The moonlight and blustery wind gave an animated,  spooky feel to the entire scene.
The woods beyond the backyard were alive in the moonlight and I could hear the Barn Owl hooting at me from the trees.  He was very amused by my antics I suspect.
Well, another catastrophe averted!      Sigh.. I need some sleep and a life!
 

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.

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!

Tuesday's Creatove Adventure

Hello from the New Jersey shore on this fine October day!
The sun is shining, the weather is too humid and too warm but it is a lovely day anyway.
I am joining Toni for her great adventure today as I try to do every week.
Click her graphic to join in!

So, here we go:

An Autumn Hike To Remember

Blue Hole located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

1.   While hiking in Autumn through one of the many trails in the State Forest, you come across a  pond said to have no bottom at all.
It is called the Blue Hole and many scary stories surround it.
You find a notebook bound in leather on the shore.



2.   You pick it up to study the object more carefully, when you hear a voice call to you from just over the rise.

You walk through the woods and over to see what or who it is. You come to the wooded top of the rise where you can see down into the little valley below.


3.   Just below the clearing you see this wondrous village filled with people. There are houses, shops and horse and buggies going up and oown the street.
You run back to pick up the notebook you had left behind.  It's cover has the title and name of the author:  The Blue Hole is no Myth by Joesph Mulliner.
Inside you read the story of a man seemingly from that village describing his trek to find the Blue Hole and how he discovered  a world outside his village populated with people who drove in horseless carriages! He was describing modern day times.
Stunned, you put the notebook in your backpack and hurry back to the top of the rise where you saw the little village in the valley.   
The village was obviously from the 1800's and you had thought it was a reproduction you'd never known about.  
But now you wondered what in the world was going on. Was the notebook a joke of some kind?
At the top of the rise you look down into the valley and see nothing other than a valley.
The village and its busy inhabitants are gone.
You know what you saw.  You know it was no hallucination but there's nothing there now except ruins of a once propserous Pine Barren town.
Near the edge of the rise is  a grave stone.
You rcognize the name as that of the *NJ Pine Barren Robin Hood....

 

Joe Mulliner, hung 1781

 
4.   And with much to remember on this Autumn hiking trip in the State Forest, you head back home and realize that only a few people will be told this tale and even most of them will never believe you.

*From the Weird NJ magazine (Read the whole article HERE):

Often referred to as “The Robin Hood Of The Pine Barrens,” Joe Mulliner was a Tory outlaw who was forced to flee his home in 1779 to avoid arrest, then went on a crime spree throughout the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, burning farmhouses, kidnapping, and holding up stagecoaches. But he often left poorer folks alone and preyed on the rich. He was captured in the Indian Cabin Mill Inn in Nesco after a night of drinking, dancing and debauchery. Convicted of high treason on August 8, 1781, he was sentence to be hanged the same day at Gallow’s Hill. Afterward, his body was delivered by wagon, along the very route that he had terrorized, to his wife at Sweetwater, where he was buried along a high bank overlooking the Mullica River and the Cold Spring Swamp. His final resting place is a lonely grave in the pines marked by the stone seen here at the right, the most recent monument in a long line of stones, the previous markers having all been stolen over the years.

A Tory or Loyalist: Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men.
They did much damage to American patriots during the Revolutionary war. Many of them ended up moving to Canada.

Tueday..

Well, leave it to me to be behind in my September Challenge of Back Where I Come From at McClendon Villa blog.
Here are day 29 and 30's questions and answers.

29.  Does your hometown have a newspaper?  Does it come out daily, bi-weekly, weekly, or some other frequency? Does your hometown have its own radio station?
It used to share a paper with our sister neighboring town and I think maybe a few other tiny towns. It was called the Spectator and it is gone now.

No, our town did not have a radio station but my high school did and I was managing editor.

30.  Reflection post: What did you think of this challenge? Did you enjoy it? Do you have any suggestions for 2018’s challenge song?
I did enjoy it.
Nope can't think of a song but will continue to think about it.

I found this new photo challenge called 14 Days of Fall for October 1-14th.
It says hosted by, but then there is absolutely nothing by them for this challenge at all.
So not sure what that's all about and can't find anyone doing it at all.
But it's good ideas for blogging so I will just go ahead and do it. 

  Day 1   Selfie taken  today:

 Day 2. I love...

My Pond

The pond filter got cleaned and it is crystal clear right down to the bottom. Fish hate it but it looks nice.

Day 3: Picture Perfect

September's Challenge Day 28 and a Thankful Thursday

Continuing with McClendon Villa's  Back Where I Come From Day 28:



28:  Was your hometown like one big family or just a group of strangers?

 Everyone knew everyone. Neighborhoods centered around people with similar backgrounds, etc so it made for closeness. 
Extended families lived in my town. Your grandparents and aunts, uncles, etc all lived in the same  town. 

Thankful Thursday:

I am thankful for the great outdoors which always makes me feel better.
 
I am thankful I got to live in Utah for a big portion of my life.

The Salt Lake valley  where I lived for a significant  part of my life.

Downtown Salt Lake  and Temple Square which I loved.

West Jordan where I once lived.

my favorite view was out the front window down into the valley at night. Mountains really do turn purple.  "For Purple mountains Majesty above the fruited plain.. America, America God shed his grace on thee..."