Red and Yellow #ThursdayTreeLove #blogboost

A number of bloggers who participate in Parul's twice a month #ThursdayTreeLove live in climates where snow is rare or nonexistent.  They enjoy photos I take in the winter - winterscapes that are ho hum ordinary to me but are a treat for them.

This winter, we've either had too much snow or hardly any.   After a miserable Saturday with snow and some ice, we are now going back into warmer than normal weather.

So here is a snow picture from my "archives".

Snow is pretty (in my humble opinion) as long as you don't have to shovel it, drive in it, walk in it, but there is more to winter than snow.

But some trees here are planted just for their winter interest.  In our local botanical gardens, we have these two trees.  These look like bushes, but are actually a type of dogwood tree.  In the winter, one shows off its red bark, and one shows off its yellow bark.

Dogwood trees don't only show their personality with lovely flowers.  Sometimes, it's also....(wait for it....)

....their bark.

Day 23 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Yarn Bombing in Punta Gorda #WordlessWednesday #blogboost

Downtown Punta Gorda - come to a yarn bombing.

In the City of Punta Gorda, Florida, the local downtown permitted some holiday yarn bombing (a type of "urban graffiti" consisting of fiber crafts covering outdoor objects).  This isn't always done with urban government permission, but this time, it was.

There was a Santa...

A Grinch....

A toy soldier...

And (perhaps off topic), a bicycle.

As someone who has crocheted for nearly 50 years (wish I could knit) I enjoyed this so much. Thank you, City of Punta Gorda!

Linking this week with Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Day 22 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Blue Monday #blogboost

Yesterday was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year, also known as Blue Monday.

According to Wikipedia:  "The concept was first published as part of a 2005 press release from holiday company Sky Travel, which claimed to have calculated the date using an equation."  Blue Monday is the third Monday of January here in the northern hemisphere.

Well, people who know me know that I am not very good at math.   Since yesterday was Music Moves Me, I am talking about Blue Monday on Tuesday.

For me, anyway, Blue Monday was not blue.

True, where I live in upstate New York, snow was on the ground, we had a harsh wind chill, and the weather forecast was...well, wintry.  The break in the cold the Northeast United States experienced the weekend before last is a memory.

But, consider this.  It was sunny, something that usually only comes with cold in our winters.

Yesterday, in our United States date notation, was 01/20/2020.  When will that ever happen again?

Spouse and I had lunch with two cousins, as we were passing through where they live.   It's nice to visit with family.

And, speaking of blue, note this sunset from last night.

This was taken during the "blue hour", a time after sunset but before darkness descends.  The sky is still blue and you can see a pink cast looking east.

As the sunset progressed, the blue remained and there was a yellow glow in the west.

A perfect end.


Day 21 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Songs that Appeal #MusicMovesMe #blogboost

It's the third Monday of a new year.  It's time for #MusicMovesMe!
Who are the members of Music Moves Me?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only,  please containing links to You Tube or Vimeo for actual music.  Other posts are subject to removal or labeling as "No Music".)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

Today, I again welcome those in the Ultimate Blog Challenge to rock out with me.

For January, our guest conductor is Michelle at Music and Merriment with Michelle.  Today, and I apologize for this, I am not going to be following the theme, mainly because the death of Rush's drummer Neil Peart derailed me a little and, due to circumstaances, the only thing I could do was move the post I intended for the 13th into this spot. So come back again next week.

Today, I feature songs that have appealed to me recently.

From 1962/1963:  Vince Guaraldi Trio  and the Grammy Award winner "Cast Your Fate To the Wind".

From 1966, The Left Banke and "Walk Away Renee".

From 1984, Talk Talk and "It's My Life".

From 1965, Gerry and the Pacemakers with "Ferry Cross the Mersey". 

Ricky Nelson, with his 1961 hit "Traveling Man". 

"We Gotta Get Out of this Place"by the Animals - a 1965 classic beloved by those who served in Vietnam.

Wrapping up with Del Shannon and "Runaway". 


See you next week - same time, same place.

And, while we are at it:  day 20 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Restaurant Nostalgia #blogboost

Last Sunday, I wrote a post suggesting we say no to nostalgia, and...here I am being nostalgic.

Do you remember restaurant chains that have gone under?  I thought about that after reading an article predicting the possible demise in 2020 of various restaurant chains:  Steak and Shake, Ruby Tuesday's, Friendly's, and others.


It's curious.  Chains that have come and gone in the 30 some odd years I've lived in the Binghamton, New York area (some of which are still alive and well) include:

Ground Round, Pizzeria Uno (Uno Pizzeria and Grill), Hooters (yes, even a Hooters couldn't make it here), Fuddruckers, and more.

Which led me to another thought:  how many restaurant chains I knew from my childhood and early adulthood no longer exist?

Many.   Let's name a few.

Horn and Hardart.  Remember the Automats?  I do, from my New York City childhood.

Howard Johnson's.  There was one in the Bronx (near to where I grew up).  My aunt would take me there and it was such a treat.

Steak and Brew, which became Beefsteak Charlie's. My spouse and I had many dates at Steak and Brew.

Or Lums, which I remember from living in Florida for a brief time in the 1970's.

Chi-Chi's Spouse and I frequented in Wichita, Kansas in the late 1970's.

Steak and Ale.

Charlie Browns, a chain my mother in law loved.

It's quite a list.

Do you have any favorites to add?

 Day 19 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow #blogboost

At Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, we ran across a beautiful blooming tree called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

The blooms open as dark violet, then lighten, and in its final hours, turns white.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Alas, this is another plant I can't grow in my upstate New York zone 5b garden, as it is only hardy to zone 9.

Another plant for my dreams, along with the camilla (which I did try to grow in my yard, and it didn't end well for the plant) and crepe myrtle, which can grow in Southern New York State but not where I live.

Day 18 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Spirit of Punta Gorda #SkywatchFriday #blogboost

The weather for sunset wasn't promising, but I had learned my lesson last week, and we went to a park in Punta Gorda, Florida just in case.  Am I glad we did.

There, in a park, we found a statue erected after Punta Gorda survived Hurricane Charley.  It's called "The Spirit to Punta Gorda".

This statue was created in 2005 by artist Peggy McTeague and friends, who welded various pieces of metal, including I-beams from destroyed hurricane trailers.  At the base (you will have trouble seeing it in my photos) there is a sundial, with a shadow at 4:27pm marking the time Hurricane Charley hit the city.

Approaching the statue, which is one upright palm and one bowed down palm separated by a sundial.

I think this one was my favorite.

Here you can see both metal palm trees, with real ones in the near distance.

Just think - Punta Gorda ("Fat Point" in Spanish) remained unbowed despite being hit by a Category four hurricane in August of 2004.


Join Yogi and other skywatchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

Day 17 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Nine Pieces of Blogging Advice #blogboost

As we approach the thrid week of the January Ultimate Blog Challenge, I wanted to share some hard-learned lessons with you.  I've published some of these observations before, but good advice never gets old.  Here are nine things I learned  from all my years of blogging.

1.  My first piece of advise will be strange.  Do you REALLY want to blog?  If so, why?  You have to know yourself AND the audience you want to attract.  I really wanted to blog but I just started to blog one day (after having "thought about it").   I blogged for over two years without any kind of readership, and it is a bit lonely out there. I would not be blogging today if I hadn't been told (by a friend who is a writer) about them. This leads to advice #2:

2.  I wish I knew there was such a thing as blogging challenges when I started.  If you want to grow your readership (and who doesn't want followers, for either personal or business reasons?), this is one of the fastest ways to increase your readership.  In turn, by reading the blogs of those in your challenge, you will quickly learn what works - and what doesn't.

But again, you need to know your "why".  Why are you doing this? Personal satisfaction?  Connecting with people with similar interests?  Gaining customers for your business?  Getting experience so you can write blogs for businesses?  Challenges go only so far.

3.  I wish I knew that consistent posting is key.  I highly recommend daily posting, at least for the first month or two of your blog.   Once you establish yourself, what becomes necessary is not daily posting, but, rather, consistent posting.  If you don't want to post daily - and many bloggers don't want to, or can't - then it helps your readers to know that you have a schedule. Then stick to it.  I know successful bloggers who blog only once a week.  Or only on weekdays.  Whatever works.

4.  I wish I knew there is no such thing as a perfect blog post.  Perfection is not necessary.  Passion IS necessary.  If you don't like what you write, your readers won't, either.

5. If you love something, work that into your blog posts.  If you couldn't care less about that topic, don't bother.  Blog about something you love.  I can't emphasize this enough.  That dislike/boredom/lack of passion will show right through your writing.

6.  But, you must know what your readers want.  A blog is not all about you.  It is about your readers, too.    Your readers may want to know about you, but they also want to learn, or enjoy the music/photos you post, or - there has to be a reason for them to keep coming back.  And, don't ever take your readers for granted.   There are (literally) hundreds of thousands of blogs out there.

7.  I wish I knew how important blogging comments are.  Those comments are more valuable to a blogger than breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even good chocolate. People love to be appreciated?  If you get a comment, try your best to find the website of the commenter (it isn't always easy) and check them out.  That's the least you can do to say "thank you".

Confession:  Even now, when things get busy in my life, I forget to respond to my commenters - not a good practice.

8. If you do disagree with a post, which is fine, please, please, please, be respectful. There is a person, a living, breathing human being with feelings, on the other end of that blog post you like or dislike. If you lurk, please comment on some other blog posts today!

9.  Pictures.  People love pictures.

Flower picture from one of my walks

BUT.

But don't use photos without permission - EVER.  But no one is going to appreciate people who get photos off of Google Image searches.  Even if the site says you can use photos, please read the fine print.  Do you need to ask permission? Or, is the stated free use without strings attached? For example, if you make money off your blog, that "free use" may go away.

So:  anything to add?  Anything you disagree with?

Day 16 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

January Violets - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day #blogboost

The first Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for 2020 leaves me, in my zone 5b garden, a bit short of blooms.

Despite record high temperatures this past week, nothing much is growing outside my home near Binghamton, New York.

Inside, my amaryllis aren't blooming yet (I intentionally planted mine late) so I don't have much to offer you.

Just some African violets, all of which you have seen before.

But what is wrong with reruns?

This is a specialty violet I had bought from a local nursery the beginning of January, and I recently transplanted it into a self watering pot because the small pot had been drying out so rapidly.

Finally, my Thanksgiving cactus, after having a banner year, haven't done that well bloom-wise this season, but one does have a flower to show you.

My thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for keeping the gardening fires alive for us in cold climates (and letting us see the flowers of warm climes) each 15th of the month.

See you again in February!

Day 15 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Not Hanging Out in the Waiting Room #blogboost

A blog post I read yesterday hit home so hard that I decided to base my post for today on it.

This blogger's question to us is:  As we grow older, do we become "more"?

I was thinking about this just the other week at work.  I find myself climbing up and down several flights of stairs several times a day.  Recently, it has hit me how I cling to the rail, moving slowly up and down the stairs.  But people working for my company who are 20 or 30 years younger than me bounce up and down those stairs, seemingly without effort.

Once, I was like that.

Another thing about stairs: if stairs don't have rails (and you'll be surprised how many stairs don't) a little thrill of fear goes through me and I almost have to force myself to go down those stairs. ("Up" isn't that hard - yet.)

My back hurts.  My right shoulder hurts.  My knee sometimes hurts.  I have to do stretching exercises.

I am stiff when I get out of bed.

But some of the up sides this blogger mentioned have happened to me, too.

I have discovered the sunrise and the sunset.

I've discovered how wonderful a good meal can be.

I treasure sleeping through the night the way the mother of a newborn baby does.  (Well, maybe not the same way).


I am not afraid to stop and smell the flowers in public (although my sense of smell isn't what it used to be).

Every day is special, just because I woke up.  I don't have to be on vacation to feel that way.

Have you found this shifting of thought in yourself, too?

The only constant in life is change, but, during a recent visit to Florida, I've also seen how that change can enrich you.  Aging is not hanging out in "G-d's Waiting Room" (a certain relative's take on aging and Florida.)

More on that (hopefully) in future posts.

Day 14 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Exit Peart #MusicMovesMe #blogboost

It's Monday.   It's time for #MusicMovesMe!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only,  please containing links to You Tube or Vimeo for actual music.  Other posts are subject to removal or labeling as "No Music".)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

Today, I again welcome those in the Ultimate Blog Challenge to rock out with me.

For January, our guest conductor is Michelle at Music and Merriment with Michelle.

Michelle's theme for today:  "Your Pick".  I wish I didn't have to pick this artist, though.  It's another sad day, with another rock legend gone to the Great Gig in the Sky.

Neil Ellwood Peart, drummer and chief lyricist for Rush, dead of brain cancer on January 7, at age 67.  My age.

This You Tube video claims to be the first recording (bootleg) of Peart, back in 1974.


Next, from 1982, one of my favorite Rush songs - Subdivisions.

Some claim that the song "Tom Sawyer" has been overplayed.  It doesn't matter because this is classic Peart, from 1976.

Listen to the lyrics of "Freewill", from 1980.

Speaking of songs of great power, I end this with an instrumental from 1981 that showcases the talent of Neil Peart-YYZ.  I never knew where the title of the song came from, so I looked it up - it's the transmitter code of the Toronto airport.

And that's a wrap.  I encourage you to listen to other participants in Music Moves Me using this:

Join me again next Monday, same time, same place.

Day 13 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Say No to Nostalgia? #blogboost

Recently, spouse and I visited a neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, which we lived in as newlyweds.  In 1974.

Tampa, Florida has changed drastically since 1974.    It's a bit dizzying, driving down streets that were once familiar and no longer are.  Only the names are the same.  And, speaking of names, there are all the streets that didn't even exist when we lived there.

Oh, for the good old days.

Sometimes, I feel like this sad face I found on a rail trail in Dunedin, Florida.

But wait.  There is no such thing as the 'good old days".  Never has been.

If you are in your 20's and 30's, just wait.  In about 20 or so years that nostalgia mosquito is going to bite you.  One day you'll find yourself frustrated with technology that your 10 year old child uses effortlessly.  Or you'll suddenly realize that TV shows (if they even have TV in 20 years) just aren't made the way they used to be.

That "my childhood is a museum" feeling that I used to get talking to my soon to be 30 year old son will be your feeling, too.

"Those days" weren't ideal.   Not everything was great.  Not everything has gone downhill.

So exactly what it is about the "good old days" that I don't miss?

1.  Coke-bottle eyeglasses.  If you wear glasses and have poor vision (like me) I am thankful daily for ultra light lenses that don't leave permanent sores on your nose and your ears. And I'm grateful they aren't made from glass.  I remember the pair I broke minutes before a job interview, back in Tampa.

2. Typewriters. 
And anything connected to them: carbon paper.  Correcttype.  Onionskin. 

Typing was a complex process:  inserting paper into a roller, rolling it into position, setting the margins, typing.  When you heard a bell, you knew you were about five spaces from the end.  Time to hyphenate, then return the carriage to where it started, and start typing your next sentence. 

Nope.  Don't miss it.  Give me a computer, spellcheck, and cut/paste any day.

3.  Old fashioned medicine.  I'm probably going to get an earful about this and I totally agree our current medical system in the United States is dystunctional.  But I have a medical condition, easily treated today for many people with diet, exercise and medication.  My grandmother died from the same condition in 1937 because there was no treatment.  That condition, by the way, is high blood pressure.

I may also have died in childbirth without modern medicine, which is a story for another day.

Modern medicine has a lot of problems, no doubt about it.  But enough of us are walking around right now who may not be on this earth if we hadn't expanded on the medical knowledge of the 1950's.

4.  Long distance phone service.  In my childhood, a long distance call (which included, if you lived in New York City, calling another borough) was an expensive proposition.  If you wanted to call another country, what a process that was.

Now, we keep in touch with people from all over the world with ease.  That includes reading each other's blogs.

It's true that our modern world has lots of frustration to it, especially if you have ever been hacked, or had your identity stolen, or other things that a person of the 1970's would have stared at you if you had gone back in time and complained about it.

But nostalgia?  It has its place.  But let's be real - our modern age has a lot to recommend.

Do you feel nostalgic for your childhood or teenage years?  What don't you miss about it?

Day 12 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

International Blog Delurking Week 2020 #blogboost

It's that time of the year - the time that comes once a year.

Are you a blog lurker?  I am, at times.  I admit it.  How about you?

What is a lurker? You like a blog, and you may even read it regularly, but you rarely (or ever) comment.

Maybe you are shy.  I understand. I'm shy, too. Maybe you feel you have nothing to say.  I understand.

This week, the blogging community asks you to speak up.    It's International Blog Delurking Week and it lasts until tomorrow, January 12.

This year, a blog I like to read (Happiness and Food),is hosting International Blog Delurking Week. Parul also hosts the #ThursdayTreeLove twice a month meme I enjoy participating in.

The badge?  Go to Happiness and Food, get it and comment there, too.

Blog comments are like chocolate to a blog writer.  I'd love to see you comment.

You can just comment below, where it says "Post a Comment", and say "I'm here!" (unless, of course, you're a spammer.  If you are, don't even think of commenting.  Just
go away.)

I know, Blogger blogs can be difficult to comment on.  Today, I ask you to try.

  You can ask me questions.  You can suggest topics you would like me to blog about.  You can talk about the weather, food, or chocolate.  You can follow me on Twitter or Pinterest (see right sidebar), too.

I am honored by everyone who comes by to read my posts.  Thank you, if you have commented before.  And thank you for commenting today, if this post moves you. (And thank you if you have delurked on your own!)

I look forward to hearing from you today, but, most of all, if there are other blogs you like where you won't you comment on them today, too?  A new blogger, especially, gives up if he or she blogs in silence.  Please make a blogger's day today, even if it isn't me.

Day 11 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Don't Turn Your Back on a Sunset #blogboost #SkywatchFriday

I should know better.

I was taking pictures of a sunset.  It started out promising.

Soon, a bird joined me in watching, as the sun went behind a cloud.

And then another bird, as the sun peeked out one last time.

As anther bird arrived, we all took a final look.

Yes, I turned my back on the sunset.  It was cold.  The wind was whipping and I only had a light jacket on.

So spouse and I went back to our motel, and I made the mistake of looking back at the western horizon.

To my combined horror and enjoyment, the entire horizon was on fire, but I couldn't see most of it as it was blocked by buidings.

I did manage to get this.

I hope the birds back at the beach had a better view.

Join Yogi and other bloggers from all over the world for #SkywatchFriday.

Day 10 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Palm Trees at Sunset #ThursdayTreeLove #blogboost

It's no secret to readers of my blog that I love palm trees.  They can not grow where I live in upstate New York (too cold in the winter).

But I fell in love with them the first time I visited Florida (in 1966), and I have never lost that love.

Every once in a while I must travel to where they thrive, to nourish my soul.  So I did that just that recently  I spent time in the land of palm trees.  Although it was winter in Florida, I didn't mind the cool weather one bit.

I can look at palm trees all day long.

And, seeing them during or after sunset is even better.

 Beauty can be found almost anywhere.  And when I see these trees, I can hope that spring will come to upstate New York one day.  It won't be this week.

Or next week.  Or next month.  Or the month after that.

I couldn't wait.  So spouse and I traveled about 1,200 miles (1931 km) to escape winter.  I know some of you were expecting a snow picture, and there will be more snow, trust me.  Just not today.

Join Parul and other bloggers who love trees the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at #ThursdayTreeLove.

Day nine of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Christmas in Florida #blogboost #WordlessWednesday

I've spent almost all my life in the northern climes of the United States, where Christmas is intertwined with winter - snow, snowflakes, Santa at the North Pole - our Christmas imagery is full of cold weather.

The other day, a co-worker, knowing that I lived for two winters in Florida (back years ago) and had spent some of January last year in Florida, recently asked me "how do Floridians decorate for Christmas?"

Well....it's a little late, but you don't need snow to celebrate the Holidays.

Orange decorations are a natural.

As is a palm tree with a present attached.

Not sure about a shoe, but why not?

Next to a Mexican restaurant is a cactus decoration.

Meanwhile, back in the Southern Tier of New York...

Day 8 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Joining Sandee at #WordlessWednesday.

How Do You Decide What to Read Next? #blogboost

Have you ever had trouble figuring out what to read next?

I don't usually have that problem.  I go to my local library 2-3 times a week, usually on my lunch period, and browse the new books.  I usually find something that looks interesting.

Right now, I am getting into an author, Katherine Center, whose latest book is called "Things You Save in a Fire".  I read that book, and then devoured two other books by her.  There's just something about her voice that I love.  And, it would seem that I am moving way from YA literature that I spent several years enjoying.

But what happens if you can't figure out what you want to read?

All is not lost.

A while back, I was told about a website called What Should I Read Next? and I decided to conduct two searches to test the site out.  I had just given up on a YA book that disappointed me.  Actually, a number of books I've tried to read recently have disappointed me.  So maybe a website could pick better than me? 

My first search was on one of my favorite YA books, The Fault in our Stars, by John Green.  This is a story written from the point of view of a teen aged girl terminally ill with thyroid cancer.

Based on that book, what else might I want to read?

These were some of my results, and I may pick one to read.

• • Jennifer E Smith - The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (I looked on Goodreads and it had a slightly less than 4 star rating - but the description didn't seem to appeal to me.)
• • David Levithan - Every Day (A 4 star rating - and the description intrigues me.  Every day, a different body, a different life.  This one has possibilities.)
• • Gayle Forman - Just One Day (a tiny bit more than 4 stars but it is more of a romance than what I normally go in for.  Yes, The Fault in our Stars is a romance, but it was so much more.  Interesting, the site also picked the sequel to this Gayle Forman book.
• • Matthew Quick - Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock (this one sounds so harrowing, I don't know if I would be able to pick it up. It is told from the point of view of a suicidal teen intending to murder someone.)
• • Rachel Cohn, David Levithan - Dash and Lily's Book of Dares (a "Christmas in New York" type of book.  Not sure.)

But now, as I am writing it, I put in "Things You Save in a Fire".  The result?  They couldn't give me a recommendation!

By now, I had intrigued by the Internet wanting to help me with my next reading selections. What a site had found me based on The Fault in Our Stars introduced me to several books, including one I may just read (although, I never did).  So, I started looking for other sites providing this service.   I tried a site called  Bookkaholic but apparently it doesn't exist any more.

Finally, I found an intriguing site called Lazy Library, where no recommended book is over 200 pages.  But several searches resulted in blank pages.  I don't think it was working well with my browser settings.  Or maybe just with me.

I guess I am on my own for choosing my next book, which I really don't mind.

Do you use web sites to help you choose your reading?  What kind of results have you had?

Maybe the "featured books" shelf in my library is the best, after all?

Day seven of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

New Beginnings #MusicMovesMe #Blogboost

It's the first Monday of a new year.  The First Monday of a new decade.  It's time for #MusicMovesMe!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only,  please containing links to You Tube or Vimeo for actual music.  Other posts are subject to removal or labeling as "No Music".)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

Today, I welcome those in the Ultimate Blog Challenge to rock out with me.

For January, our guest conductor is Michelle at Music and Merriment with Michelle.  Today, our theme is "New Beginnings".

Some of these are favorite songs from my teen years and early adulthood.

Like this song from the Byrds, and its biblical references:  "Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Chicago - Beginnings, from 1969. (This is the full version, clocking in at about eight minutes).

Johnny Nash -  from 1972, I Can See Clearly Now

I don't often feature dance music, but if I'm in the right mood, I will listen to this music.  Here is a song I found called "New Memories" by Dubvision & Afrojack.

REM and "Begin the Begin" from 1986.

And finally, the Beatles and "Here Comes the Sun"

It's a wrap!  Join me next week, same time, same place, for more music.

Day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

The Train to Florida #blogboost

It's been an experience, raising a son and experiencing him as both a child and an adult.  Sometimes, I like to look back at some of my fondest experiences.

In 2006, it had been 30 years since I last set foot in Florida.

Now it was time to go back.

How much had things changed since I lived in Tampa, Florida between 1974 and 1976?

I remember a lot about what is now called "old Florida" from living there, and from visits in 1966, 1969 and 1972 as a teenager. I remember Busch Gardens in Tampa when it was a free brewery tour followed by a free trained parrot show. I remember Disney World when it first opened (my first visit was 10 months, I believe, after its opening) before you needed a bank loan to visit.

So how did I prepare for this nostalgic visit? By researching it to death. I discovered various Tampa landmarks of my years there were gone-Mirabella's, Maas Brothers - and others had been bought up or had name changes. The Tampa skyline definitely was not what it was (or, more like it, what it was not) back in 1976. But absolutely nothing prepared me for what was to come.

And now...how to get to Florida?  I am scared of flying (a long story).

I remembered seeing ads for the Auto Train in the early 1970's when I still lived in New York City.  It still existed.  So we booked it, myself, my spouse and my then-16 year old son, and our car.

Lorton Auto Train terminal, March 2013

Here's a post I wrote in 2018 about riding on the Auto Train.  It's named the Auto Train, by the way, because you must have a motorized vehicle (which rides in separate cars) to ride on the train.

Once the train pulled out of the station in Lorton, Virginia, there was the amazing sense of getting ready to complete a journey that had started in 1966. Forty years earlier, an Atlantic Coast Line train had brought me home from Tampa, Florida during an airplane strike. Now, in a way, I was taking the return train.

In Fredericksburg, Virginia, we passed near Civil War battlefields we had visited years ago. At Quantico, we went right through the marine base and watched helicopters in flight. We passed over a beautiful lake and had close up views of the countryside. In Richmond, Virginia, we passed so close to a highway we could see the faces of drivers heading in the opposite direction. It was so tempting to wave!

A train (not the Auto Train, but on the same tracks) traveling through Ashland, VA, April 2017

We passed people going home for their supper hour. In one town (Ashland, Virginia) we passed right down the middle of their main street, with driveways backing right into the path of the train.

Even after darkness fell,  I peered out the window every time lights and the start of whistle blowing announced a town. We passed through southern North Carolina as I fell into a fitful sleep. The train seemed to speed up. When a train passed in another direction it felt as if the train would rock right off its tracks.

Finally, we pulled into a well lit station - our one stop, to change crews and do maintenance only: Florence, South Carolina. We stayed there a while, and then traveled on.

At some point I woke up in time to see a huge, well lit billboard for a Crab Shack on Tybee Island and didn't know if it was part of a dream or not. (It was not a dream).

The next thing I knew, it was 6am and time for breakfast. We were traveling through southern Georgia.

As darkness made way to light, my son and I gazed upon a southern green scape. What a feeling it was to share this with my son, pointing out the southern vegetation and  landmarks as we came across them. How awesome is it to share a piece of your life with your teenage son?

The sun was already high in the sky as we crossed over the St. Mary's River into Florida. It glared down with the promise of a broiling August Florida day. After breakfast, we slowly wound through Jacksonville, Florida.  Jacksonville is the largest city (in area) in the United States and the Auto Train gives a very good view, taking a good 20 minutes to pass through.

To my delight I saw names I had not seen in 30 years...Kash and Karry, Winn-Dixie. They had survived the 31 years since I had been last in Jacksonville.

South of Jacksonville, we saw many shade houses on farms, and the conductor announced these were fern growing areas. Certainly nothing you would have seen from the Interstate.

Finally we got to Sanford, and the circle started in 1966 was complete.

It was the last time my spouse, my son and I would take a common vacation until August 2017, when we traveled together (well, in separate cars) to see the total solar eclipse in Columbia, South Carolina. I asked my son if he remembered the trip to Florida.  He did, and said he wouldn't mind traveling on the Auto Train again. 

I hope he does one day.

Have you ever traveled long distance by train?

Day 5 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

The Day the Firemen Cried #blogboost

The horrific fires of Australia are all over the news.  Several bloggers in Australia I read for SkywatchFriday live in Australia and have been posting (not close up!) amazing photos.

I have never been to Australia although I have dreamed of visiting since I was a child.

Nor do I live in California, but the daughter of someone I work with did.  And I mean "did" in the sense of a fire going through her community in 2017.  Her rental house survived but many of the students in the college she was attending found themselves homeless.  She ended up moving back to New York State.  She has a young son.  Maybe she would have stuck it out on her own.  After all, she had lived in California for 10 years - in Oakland, in San Francisco, in the Russian River Valley, but there was her son, and the air quality.

And, though blogging, I cyber-know others affected by fires.

I thought that floods (having been through three of them at different points in my life - a flash flood in Arkansas and two where I live in the Southern Tier of New York) were the scariest thing around, but I was wrong.

And all of these news programs have brought up a childhood memory.

It could have been a disaster, and I could have been right in the middle of it.

On April 20, 1963 I accompanied the Brownie (or it could have been Girl Scout by then) troop I belonged to a Girl Scout camp out on Staten Island.  Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of my native New York City.  Staten Island, at the time, had large areas of undeveloped land, full of brush.  There were fire hydrants, but inadequate pressure.

It was Easter Saturday.  There had been a drought.  Everything was tinder-dry.

Three brush fires on the island rapidly turned into what New York City firemen call five alarm fires - and we were trying to get back home in the midst of it.  I don't know what road or highway our bus was on but we got a view of one of the fires.

Traffic was at a standstill, and heavy smoke hung everywhere.  In the distance, we could see fields and houses on fire.  At one point, my memory tells me that I saw a train car explode. The world was on fire.

The adults on the bus kept us calm. At one point, we were on the floor of the bus.  My memory is hazy on a lot of this, about as hazy as the sky was.

Unlike the tragic Staten Island Octopus Attacking the Staten Island Ferry of November 22, 1963, this was for real.  But, amazingly, although 36 people (according to news reports) were treated in hospitals, no one died.  500 people were left homeless and more than 100 houses were destroyed - all in the largest city in the United States

The firemen couldn't fight the fires as there was next to no water pressure.  News reports said some of them cried as they watched houses burn.

I wasn't scared, though - until we finally were able to get back to the drop off point and my mother ran forward, grabbed me, and almost suffocated me with hugs and kisses.

THEN I was scared.

I hope so that I never get closer to a fire than I did that day.

Older residents still remember what they call Black Saturday.

But now, the world is experiencing one Black Saturday (and Sunday, and Monday....) after another.  I wonder how many people even remember Staten Island's Black Saturday.

Day four of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Look Up From That Phone! #SkywatchFriday #blogboost

As I left for work yesterday, I wasn't sure if we would have a wonderful sunrise.  My instincts said "yes", but as the sun brightened the eastern horizon, I didn't know just how wonderful it would get.

As I walked to the bus stop, facing east, it was just beginning.

On the bus, as the driver drove east, the sunrise unfolded and even the driver remarked on how beautiful it was.  I was resigning myself to watching and not photographing because it is difficult to photograph on a bus.  But I looked around, and most of the other passengers were staring at their phones, oblivious.

I wanted to scream "People, LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!"

Well, I didn't scream.  Just whipped out my phone when we stopped for a light and used my phone for what it is intended for.  Photography. (OK, only kidding, my point of view is that a smart phone is a camera you can text and talk to other people on. And, oh yes, the Internet.)

As the driver drove, I photographed.  And people continued to stare at their phones.  Their loss.

This is what I saw as we drove east. (Please forgive the reflection towards the top of the photo from a fluorescent light.)

By the time I got to my bus stop in downtown Binghamton, the fireworks were over.

But it was still pretty.

Join Yogi and other sky watchers each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

Day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Who Am I Anyway? #blogboost

It's day two of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and I haven't even introduced myself.  Let's take care of that now.

I am a "young" senior citizen living in the Southern Tier of New York State, not far from the snowbelt.   Yes, we get so much snow here we need a snow pole in our stores - only kidding but I did find this in a Trader Joes about an hour from where I live, back in 2016.

I'm an amateur photographer, with no formal training.  I love to take pictures.

Right now I blog and I also work full time in a totally unrelated field.  Call blogging my relaxation, my excuse to have almost 10,000 photos on my phone, and my way for me (an introvert in real life) to connect with others.

With this blog, I try to create an oasis of calm, showing you the beauty that is my world here in the Binghamton, New York area.  I have been blogging since April of 2009, inspired to finally jump in to blogging by a tragic mass shooting near where I work.  You can check out my very first blog post if you want to read more (note, I would edit it a lot more if I was writing it today).

I've been blogging daily since late April of 2011.  I started doing that with a blog challenge that no longer exists, and just kept on going after I found the original Ultimate Blog hallenge.  I don't know when that daily blogging streak will stop - in fact I'm giving it a bit of thought right now.  This post will be my #3,709th.  Do I really need to keep going?

I'm a big believer in "bloom where you are planted".

My current lineup of posts depends on the day of the week, so you can join in daily, or just for the days that interest you.

Mondays are Music Mondays - I join in a meme called Music Moves Me, where a number of bloggers blog weekly - one week on a theme picked by a monthly "guest conductor" and, on alternate weeks, any type of music we want.  As long as your blog contains at least one music video, we would gladly welcome you, too.

Every second and fourth Thursday, I join Thursday Tree Love, where we blog about - yes, you guessed right.  Trees. Because some of bloggers in this twice a month feature lives on the Indian subcontinent, I see climate zones way different from mine.  I really enjoy this one.

Friday I participate in Skywatch Friday, where bloggers from all over the world show the sky in their part of the world.  Some participants are amateur photographers (like me) and others professional.  It's an interesting mix, and I like this one, too.

Finally, on the 15th of each month I write a post for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, where participants take pictures of whatever is blooming in their yards or houses.  I've been doing this one since 2011.

On other days, I blog about anything that moves me.  Like today.

I'd love if you introduce yourself to me in the comments below.  

Day two of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

For Old Times Sake #blogboost

I welcome to my blog (I'll give you more of an introduction in the following days) if you are finding me due to the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  If you are already one of my readers, thank you for returning today.

Although I gave up making New Years resolutions years ago, and don't choose a "word of the year", I am aware that this year is going to be a year of major changes in my life (more on that later this month).

I also find I am finally recovering from some of the strain of having been a caregiver to an aging mother in law (although it wasn't as physical hands-on as many experience, it was a strain in many other ways) and realize that I need to reconnect with people I know.

I've let relationships drop.  I won't blame anyone but myself.  Now, I have to try to find some of those loose ends and reconnect them.

Some of this was hastened by news in November that one of my first cousins has cancer (her prognosis is good- the last good news of the Old Year 2019).  But I am reminded once again of how short and precious life can be, as I know two people battling cancer right now (one on battle #2), plus a former co worker who spent much of 2019 battling cancer but hopefully now in remission.

So, New Years Eve was the perfect opportunity.  I texted, Facebook messaged, and spoke on the phone - and did some long awaited catching up.

We are a spread out people.  One cousin I wished Happy New Year to is in Italy right now.  A woman I've known for some 45 years, who lives in suburban New York City, is visiting her daughter in California.  I texted with a cousin who has retired to Texas and one who is a world traveler, and we joked that our texts seem to gravitate to discussions of our medical conditions and doctors (hmmm, did I find that silly when I was a teen?)  I shared photos of my late mother in law with my husband's cousin who lives in New Mexico.

Now, I just have to keep these relationships going - easier said than done.  Old acquaintances should never be forgot.   They should always be brought to mind.

It's the beginning of a new day,  a new year, a new decade, and it's up to us how we will use this day we've been granted.

Every New Year's Eve, right before midnight (yes, I'm one of those who insists on staying up till midnight, although it's harder and harder each year), I get ready to watch the ball drop in Times Square.  After all, I grew up in New York City.

After the ball drops at midnight, the TV will play a song called "Auld Lang Syne".  Have you ever wondered what the lyrics mean?

Here they are.

Yesterday, we thought of old times past.  Today, we start looking towards the future, the decade that many already are starting to call "The Roaring 20's".

I intend to do some of my own roaring.  And I hope to do it with friends and family.   That's part of the awesomeness of the Ultimate Blog Challenge - I reunite with bloggers known, find new ones, and enjoy the companionship.

What about you?

Happy New Year!

Day 1 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost