the heat is on and a candyland championship game is in play
my absolute favorite game and the competition is tough
there is no crying in candyland.
—
“life is like candyland, there are many paths to take,
sometimes you run into lord licorice, but the end will always take you to the candy castle.”
-jack barakat
ted’s
where i spent many hours of my childhood
famous to many as a woodward drive-in restaurant and hot rod cruising spot back in the day
famous to me as the scene of many family dinners and celebration spot
and that one suumer day
when my older sisters and i walked up to ted’s
all on our own
the hostess seated us in a booth
feeling very grown up
pooling all of our change
looking at the menus
ordering 2 plates of french fries and lots of ketchup to share
when we finished, so proud of ourselves
the waitress dropped off our bill
my older sisters knew math
realizing that we didn’t have enough money to pay the bill
my sisters somehow negotiated with the waitress
to leave me in the booth while they ran home to get more money
i sat in the booth quietly waiting for their return
feeling what it meant to be a hostage
without ever having heard the word in my young life
i’d still like to know
how they got the waitress to agree to this
how they talked my mom into letting us go up there alone in the first place
perhaps we snuck up there
and what they told my mom when they returned home without me to get more money?
i’ll ask my sister the next time we meet.
not at ted’s.
—
“every happiness is a hostage to fortune.”
-arthur helps
grand circus park, detroit, michigan, usa – 1920s
—
walking in the beautiful snowfall yesterday, it was clear some things never change, even after 100 years
—
“snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness.”
-mary oliver
—
photo credit: historic detroit
“Hire a Mardi Gras Artist,” the latest altruistic endeavor from Krewe of Red Beans, is a grassroots effort that aims to transform 40 Orleans Parish homes into Mardi Gras floats, putting laid-off artists back to work and inspiring the city along the way.
The project is the brainchild of artist and float designer Caroline Thomas. The idea for “Hire a Mardi Gras Artist” came to her after several people asked her to decorate their homes. Thinking there might be an opportunity to put the whole industry back to work, Thomas approached Krewe of Red Beans and Feed the Second Line founder Devin De Wulf.
on president’s day
remembering those placemats that taught us about our country
—
“justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity,
those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice.”
-aleksandr solzhenitsyn
“they invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything.”
-bil keane
Happy Valentine’s Day!
—
image credit: google images
i will never forget
it was a friday
show and tell time
sitting on the floor
they took turns going around our circle
each child sharing their special thing
other children kindly looking at it
showing appreciation for what the others shared
then we came to n
who clearly had forgotten to bring something
yet said “i have something too”
he proudly walked around the circle
both hands together
gently cradling a single crumb
that he had picked up off our floor
showing each child
talking about his crumb
as the others
were all so kind
smiling at his crumb
complimenting him on his crumb
accepting the crumb as his special thing
without judging his crumb
my favorite show and tell special thing of all time.
—
“the wise learn from the experience of others, and the creative know how to make a crumb of experience go a long way.”
-eric hoffer
“one ox, two oxen. one fox, two foxen.”
jenny lawson
Happy Chinese New Year in the year of the Ox- 2021!
Celebrated at the second new moon following the Winter Solstice,
Chinese New Year is also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival.
According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar,
this festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of a long-awaited spring!
—
image credit: fairycake fair, tokyo station, japantimes.com
a group of penguins in the water is called a raft- on land, they become a waddle.
—
“all penguins are the same below the surface,
which I think is as perfect an analogy as we’re likely to get for the futility of racism.”
-Russell Brand
—
art credit: Wood print by Kaamran Hafeez, One Penguin in a Large. Group of Penguins
so happy to be celebrating
*Love Makes the World Go Round;
But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14
i feel lucky to have a job that keeps me laughing.
who else gets to say/respond to such great things at work?
–
“you need to have pants on.”
“try not to touch every person in the room”
“i know you washed your hands this morning, but it is afternoon now.”
“fish don’t really like to be hugged.”
“try to bend your legs to sit on the sled, that is called making them stiff and that is different, try to bend…..”
“did you call me grandpa?”
“it’s important to have both shoes.”
“before we start we all have to promise not to cry if we don’t get to the candy castle first.”
“behind you is that way.”
“why did she call you beth?”
“if you put that in your nose, it might not come out.”
“your snowpants are backwards, let’s see if i can help you fix that.”
“you want to be called something new?”
“i’m pretty sure these are your boots because your parents put them in your bag and they have your name on them.”
“your mom is having a baby but you’re not supposed to tell anyone yet?”
“i’m not sure that ranch dressing is good to drink.”
—
each day is the best day ever.
never a day goes by without a laugh or ten.
—
image credit: puffin puff pastry, google images
I didn't have my glasses on.... 