there were many colorful characters
a knight and his lady were reunited after many long days spent in kindergarten
at last, we shared a fairy bread feast and made a toast to our special magical day
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even the flamingos came out at night to play – dominican republic
“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing?”
Swami Satchidananda
very recently – warm and easy near the equator, nice way to wake up,
with a call from the sea, bringing news of a day,
where the biggest question is which size coconut to choose.
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and even more recently – warm and tucked in, home again in the great white north, nice way to wake up,
with a call from the weather robot, bringing news of a snow day off of school
where the biggest question is which size down comforter to choose.
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Traveling is seeing; it is the implicit that we travel by. Cynthia Ozick
here.
where i’ll be in less than 24 hours.
see you all when i get back.
A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. – Robert Orben
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image credit: dominican republic ministry of tourism
on the autumn beach on the shores of lake michigan,
with babies j and b
as the sleeping bear dunes take in the view with us
“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.” Walt Streightiff
where one ends and the other begins.
babies b and j form a bridge
Love is the bridge between two hearts. – Swedish Proverb
got a message from my good friend’s husband.
seems he’s taking 12 of us on a mystery trip to celebrate her milestone birthday.
he said, ‘pack your bags, and we’ll all meet at the airport.’
he said, ‘you won’t have to worry about a thing, it’s all taken care of.
your part is just to get some days off of work.’
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour. Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (and that’s an invitation), roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (to make a reservation), roll up for the mystery tour.
The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away,
Waiting to take you away.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour.
Roll up (we’ve got everything you need), roll up for the mystery tour.
where are we going?, i wondered.
i imagined we might be going to chicago, where i was born, and just a few hours away.
it’s a bit chilly there in the winter, but always so much fun.
“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, center, exits the water during the Chicago Polar Plunge, Sunday, March 2, 2014.
A few weeks ago, newly-minted Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon invited Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to be a guest on the show. The politician responded on Twitter, agreeing to stop by the Tonight Show if Fallon in turn agreed to participate in Chicago’s Polar Plunge — an annual dip into freezing Lake Michigan to benefit the city’s Special Olympics.
Fallon agreed, and this morning, he made good on his promise. Both Fallon and Emanuel plunged into the slushy 32-degree water — the comedian wearing a suit and tie and the politician sporting some kind of wetsuit. Fallon had asked his fans to wear neckties in solidarity.
he said, ‘and bring your passport.’
imagine my shock and awe when i found out we are going to the dominican republic instead.
it’s a bit warmer there in the winter, and sure to be a lot of fun too.
local dominican celebrity host, exits the water of the caribbean,
no neckties needed.
i see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.
Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it. – Rosalia de Castro
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image credits:
conversationpieces.co.uk,ephemrasociety.org,runawayguide.com,grammarly.com,
washingtonpost.com,andrewnelles/ap,etraveltrips.com,fanshare.com,
songwriters: LENNON, MCCARTNEY, Magical Mystery Tour lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
it took a small village of kinders to make a man.
they hiked through the deep snow.
they went in the playhouse to eat some snow and get pumped up about it.
they worked hard to push heavy loads almost a big as they were.
they built. and they built.
and they moved mountains.
and they crowned him with a prized possession.
and we celebrated with a song and a dance around the man they created.
and in the seventh hour, they rested.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
—
image credits: j. kurtz
‘Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, I’m going to snow.
If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes,that’s tough. I am going to snow anyway.’ – Maya Angelou
how some of us are getting around this week in ann arbor
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image credit: susannah b.
zucchini joy
i was attending a wedding shower where couples and families had been invited, and the soon-to-be bride and groom each shared true stories about the other growing up. v got up first, and shared a sentimental story about his love, back when she was just a little girl, and it inspired the guests to let out a collective, ‘awwwwww,’ when he was finished.
then c got up and shared her story about him. she told the tale of when v was little, and he desperately wanted a pet. his parents told him that it was absolutely not going to happen. and he cried and he begged and he cried some more, but all to no avail.
he wanted a companion so badly, that one day he adopted a large zucchini that he had found in the garden. he put a rope on it to create a leash, and took it on a walk. he loved his zucchini, took care of it, cleaned the outside of it, and dragged it along with him wherever he went. his mother made him keep it outside to sleep at night, where he left bowls of water for it, and each morning he ran to get it and was reunited with his pet once more. and he was happy.
a couple of re-enactors
before too long, as zucchini are known to do, especially when being dragged around in the dirt, the zucchini began to rot and fall apart. v valiantly tried to patch it up as best he could, but when he took it to walk around with him, little chunks fell off, and then big ones, and then bigger ones, until there was nothing left of it.
he had desperately tried to save his beloved pet, but now all that remained, was a stain on the leash, just hanging limp in his hand with nothing on the other end. and he sat in the dirt and he mourned the loss of his beloved pet zucchini.
and the shower guests responded with a collective silence. and then some laughed until they could not stop laughing, and tears rolled down their faces. and one had tears rolling down his face just remembering his zucchini.
habseligkeiten (German) – things that an adult might find worthless, but that a child regards as treasures.
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image credits: stephiemccarthy.com, flkr.com, zazzle.com
