Linda Kazel - Plinky Answers

Keeping the Grammar Wheels Greased

2013-02-07T13:24:37-05:00

Most adults make few opportunities for themselves to write creatively these days. Blogging ensures that I maintain my ability to express myself clearly with grammatical correctness. I have always loved words and it has been important to me to continually expand my vocabulary and use those newly found words in their proper context. Blogging has definitely enabled me to reinforce my language skills.

Fragrant Lace Curtains

2012-10-18T09:40:04-05:00

When I was about four years old, and that was 60 years ago, I lived in an old brick farm house with two parlors that had floor to ceiling windows hung with lace curtains. Back then, these were very high maintenance and were only washed once a year. When they were taken down to be washed, a year's worth of old house dust must have been released and I remember that smell that reminds me of a room or a house closed up for years.

Once washed in a wringer washer, drying the lace curtains was an equally onerous task because each one had to be attached to pins spaced about an inch apart on long wood stretcher squares, a technique similar to blocking a hand knit sweater today. There were at least six pairs of curtains and my mother and aunt who helped out with this chore would have to place two curtains on one stretcher square.

Once pinned, the curtains were placed in the sun and that is where a second, more wonderful fragrance comes in that I can recall strongly to this day. There must have been a chemical reaction between the detergent and starch used and the sun that gave off this incredibly strong scent of what I can only interpret as "clean." I loved it then and to this day when I think of those lace curtains, that unique and pleasing odor easily comes to mind.

Scrooge!

2012-09-20T10:16:27-05:00

Having grown up as an only child in the isolated, multi-generational home of dysfunctional adults, Christmas only magnified their selfish and neurotic behaviors. My mother, against all odds, did her best to make the holiday season as meaningful and happy as she could but the drama of others at times mostly countered her valiant efforts.

As I grew into an adult, Christmas became a time of year I dreaded: the commercialism, the manifestation of greed I witnessed in members of my family that I was also expected to participate in. I did for a few years, silently resenting all of what I saw as mere fakery. In the end,I observed that very little was never appreciated and all the effort was soon forgotten, only to be resurrected twelve months hence. If this vicious cycle was what Christmas was all about, I decided that I wanted to be permanently signed out of this ward of crazies.

For the past two decades, I have politely declined to show up to those Christmas family functions where it is all about what is hidden beneath Dollar General wrapping paper and stick-on bows, where the convivial meal is a rushed affair, where the whole thing is to be gotten through hurriedly because the troops have to soon be off to the same trap repeated at some other relative's home. And on it goes, year after year.

If there is a blessing in all of this, it is that a dozen years ago, I moved out of state and most years, actual or contrived bad winter driving weather conspired to keep me far away. As my absence festers, at least for my family, I am certain I have retained my reputation as "Scrooge." Lest people think I am uncharitable and my Christmas heart is completely cold, rather than spend money on what I consider to be junk, instead I give to charities and food banks.

I have recently moved back near the target area of my family's need for Christmas greed and all that goes with it. I will be expected to be there once again. I have already started doing my "blizzard dance."

As the old song goes, "Oh, the weather outside is frightful...Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow."

A Most Wonderful Teacher

2012-05-24T17:44:42-05:00

Out of all my high school teachers, Mr. R., the young man who taught 9th grade history was the most memorable even though I was blessed with many, many great teachers. When I was in school, 9th grade history was generally a course in world geography with an overview of the relationship between ethnic groups and the political boundaries that defined the countries they lived in. There was much emphasis on maps. This course was a precursor to more intense study of American and World History courses to come.

Long before I entered 9th grade in 1962, I was always enamored with maps and globes having a well-worn world atlas and a box filled with “National Geographic” maps from the earliest days of publication. I would spend hours twirling my globe with closed eyes, point a finger on a spot when it stopped, and if it wasn’t in the middle of an ocean, I would look up the country I landed on in the set of Collier’s Encyclopedia my mother had bought on time from a door-to-door salesman.

Mr. R., my 9th grade history teacher, brought all of my curiosity to life as we learned countries and capitols, cities and regions. My favorite assignment in class was the actual construction of maps. A girlfriend and I picked Africa and we set to work drawing the map on two gigantic pieces of poster board my mother bought. One Sunday afternoon, our heads were bent over the dining room table working furiously with crayons and colored pencils (years before markers) when there was a knock on our front door. It was Mr. R., who lived down the street, stopping by to give us some “atta-girls” for our hard work. His short inspirational visit that a teacher would do this just about blew our minds! He was a really nice man who genuinely cared for his students.

Mr. R. and his wife rented an apartment in a farm house that belonged to an acquaintance of my dad. Also a renter in that house was a girl in my class whose mother was reputed to be a prostitute. My dad told me that “something happened” there that caused Mr. R. and his wife to go their separate ways and the woman and her daughter to be evicted. Apparently, the landlord, who I remember as a scary, deeply religious zealot, contacted the school complaining about a person of such questionable character who was teaching children and I suspect Mr. R. was not invited back. I never learned all the details of the story but I remember feeling broken-hearted that this wonderful man was gone. The worst part of this news was that I had placed my much admired teacher on a pedestal because he really turned me on to studying and learning something I loved. That he was human too and had the capacity to make mistakes was to me the cause of much distress.

Many years later, I remember Mr. R. with much fondness for the gift of enthusiasm for learning he imparted on his students. I hope he went on to teach many other young minds.

Beauty is...

2012-05-03T09:09:08-05:00

Some of us are in awe of the physical manifestations of nature like the Grand Canyon; others feel the same emotions when we behold the creations of man like the Taj Mahal. Our perceptions and preferences are informed by where, when and how, in our own minds, we react emotionally to something. For some, the Grand Canyon is nothing more than a dry hole in the ground; others stand in awe not only by the size and scope of the unique landscape but also the natural processes that created it. The beautiful Taj Mahal is one man's memorial to his beloved wife erected stone by stone. Some might find this moving on may levels while others may behold this monument today and find the excess disturbing in the face of the crushing poverty that surrounds it. As the old saying goes, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."

Get Your 1920's On With "Easy Virtue"

2012-03-29T09:50:49-05:00

"Easy Virtue" is, to most Americans, an obscure post-WW I British farce based on the Noel Coward play by the same name. IMDB summarizes the plot: "A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window." Jessica Biel, Collin Firth, Ben Barnes and Kristin Scott Thomas round out the cast of the movie as well as provide credible voices to the CD. Who knew?

Equal to the hilarity that ensues throughout this fun film that takes place on a one of those huge country estates in Britain that is on the verge of ruin, the musical score takes center stage. Songs written by Noel Coward and Cole Porter harken back to both the boozy mania and the rebirth of romantic yearnings of war-weary young Brits. The "Easy Virtue Orchestra" perfectly captures the razz-ma-tazz energy of the Jazz Age.

This is one of the few films that I equally enjoy watching and listening to the CD again. Both are regulars on my "rainy Sunday afternoon movies and music" list.

Girl of the North

2011-10-13T09:02:15-05:00

winter_dawn

When it comes to weather and climate, I am truly a “girl of the north.” I live in Southern New England which in summer can feel quite tropical with high heat combined with high humidity. Like Southerners, we go from air-conditioned cars to workplaces to homes while the few steps in between hit us as if we were walking by a blast furnace. I find living like this claustrophobic and it has always given my body mixed messages that throw it off kilter.

When fall descends upon us, the crisp, cool, drier air sent on northern breezes snaps me out of my summer funk and makes me feel human again. I always look forward to taking out the turtlenecks, wools and corduroys and never a moment of sadness putting away the shorts, sandals and tanks.

For the most part, I find winter exhilarating though the early nights and morning darkness can be a bit oppressive if I am not actively distracting myself with indoor projects. During the winter months, as an apartment dweller with limited space, I move the spot where I create and write from the seasonally darker area of my dining room to a bedroom desk in front of a large northwest window where the light is brightly neutral.

There is nothing more pleasant than spending a wintry Sunday afternoon there watching snow drift slowly by the window and making art while sipping a hot cup of tea. My wonderful, loving Maine Coon Cat Duffy curls up on one end of the desk and occasionally reaches out with a big hairy paw to tell me he's still there and he needs some attention. I often listen to my favorite tunes, some I enjoy only in winter. Talk about taking the chilly edges off!

Magical Thinking

2011-09-29T09:24:05-05:00

Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat)

For the most part I am a pragmatist, a believer in cause and effect, the rational. For example, there is no “luck” or fate in slot machines. If you put money in and you win, it is a random electronic event. Las Vegas is built on the ideas of “luck” and “risk.” How much are you willing to risk to get lucky? Is surviving Russian Roulette with a gun to your head a matter of luck…or chance? Or both?

The Japanese people are great believers in luck. Maneki Neko, or the ubiquitous “lucky cat” that is symbolic of bringing prosperity and happiness, graces many homes and businesses. On September 28, PBS aired a documentary on the Tsunami that struck northern Japan that highlighted the amazing survival of several people caught up in the natural disaster. A young woman and her elderly mother who did not evacuate clung to the very top of the roof of their home as the water rose and overtook everything except for the small spot they were clinging to. In violent, churning receding water, a man and his car got swept up into the torrent of dangerous debris heading back to the sea. The man got on top of the car as it hurtled toward a bridge, the last barrier before everything could be swept out to sea or piled up and crushed. Another man was standing on the bridge saw him and screamed for the other to jump onto the bridge. He did and made it. Is this luck? Chance? Fate? A good choice? An instinct to survive? I am certain that the mother and daughter who survived the roiling waters of the sea and the man who jumped to the bridge all feel extremely “lucky” to be alive.

I have known people for whom nothing goes right for years at a time. Many times their lack of “luck” is the consequence of making bad choices. But, for others, it seems to go beyond whatever conscious good or bad decisions they make, the proverbial notion of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A near destitute friend purchased her first new car after having been stranded over and over by her old one. Right from the start, the car was a lemon, and continued to break down until, finally, after a year, it was replaced under the state’s “lemon law.” During yet another year of having unreliable transportation, she lost her job over this. If she had picked the identical little silver car next to the one she bought, would the same thing have happened. Why did this misfortune happen to her? Books have been written about when “bad things happen to good people.”

I have to admit there are times in my life where I have felt “luck” was on my side. A near-miss car accident….or ten…or a hundred. A surgery to remove a non-cancerous tumor that had an 80% chance of being malignant, and if it had been, the additional removal of the surrounding area would have caused major disfiguration. Conversely, there have been those times when I have felt that “luck” was not on my side. I think we all have similar experiences but, like me, don’t spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing them.

So is it luck, serendipity or coincidence? In the shifting sands of our lives, sometimes I feel that even hard-core pragmatists are compelled to assign meaning to experiences that upon quick reflection defy explanation.

I'll Have the Cheesecake, Please!

2011-09-15T08:40:09-05:00

A waiter wheels the dessert cart to our table and I am confronted with a dozen choices from cheesecake to torte to a German chocolate cake to French apple pie and more. They are all expertly crafted and presented. Hmmm...what to do? I can only have one. I scan the selection as the waiter grows impatient. My partner has selected the apple pie. My default is usually cheesecake and so I nod in its direction. It tastes as good as it looks, creamy with a surprising hint of lemon.

Now back to reality. First, there is nothing more unpleasant for me than baking. I'm a shoot-from-the-hip kind of cook...when I cook. Baking requires a recipe, is messy with all that flour that can't control itself and it requires way too many measuring things and bowls. Ugh! I will admit a pie is easier and less trouble but when given the choice between any kind of pie or cake (preferably baked by someone else), almost always, I will choose cake. Cheesecake is by far my favorite of all foods in the dessert category. Yum!

The Best in Business and Personal Customer Service

2011-09-15T08:23:14-05:00

From a business perspective, I cannot say enough positive things about our payroll service, PayChex. My company is in southern New England and our state got a direct hit from Irene. This knocked out the PayChex customer service and data center in our state. My rep called me early Monday morning to tell me that the company did not want to delay paychecks for employees in the area impacted by the storm so they were in the process of linking up with and making payroll records accessible to branches in other states and to please be patient. By noon, this operation was up and running and our employees were paid on time. This is just one recent example of the always great customer service PayChex provides.

From a personal perspective, I would have to count giant Amazon.com as having wonderful customer service .For most on-line purchases Amazon is my go-to and I have spent many thousands of dollars over the years there. I have received defective merchandise several times and my issue was resolved efficiently and promptly.

"Gasland"

2011-09-01T10:40:28-05:00

DEC Public Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling 11-10-09

"Gasland" an enlightening and revealing documentary by Josh Fox released by HBO deals with the environmental impact and human costs of natural gas hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." The United States has vast reserves of natural gas in multiple nationwide deposits that theoretically can provide this country with more energy independence by replacing crude oil with its volatility in terms of supply, demand and inherent price fluctuations.

The technology used in "Fracking" is problematical in its environmental impact particularly in terms of the process itself that potentially contaminates ground water supplies. Fox traveled around the country visiting families whose lives have been disrupted by "fracking" on their own property or adjacent land. For example, one man turned on his water tap, put a lighter to the gas/water that was streaming out and the mixture burst into flame. People and livestock who live in areas where "fracking" is taking place have suffered illnesses associated with the chemicals used to release underground gas deposits.

The natural gas industry though its lobbying efforts has managed to get itself exempted from the "Clean Water Act" so cannot be held liable for any damage that occurs to ground water sources as a result of "fracking. In addition the chemical cocktail that is forced under high pressure into the ground that releases the gas is proprietary information so that the public cannot know what deadly chemicals may be contaminating well water supplies.

In general, "fracking" takes place in rural areas where citizens have fewer voices to stop this desecration of precious ground water. Often, the gas companies send agents into the field to negotiate leases with cash-strapped landowners for much less than they are worth. The people in these areas, many who are low-income, do not have the financial resources to fight either the unfair leases or the contamination in court.

Because "Gasland" encompasses "fracking" problems all over the United States, perhaps even in your back yard, I feel the public at large needs to have access to another perspective in order to make an informed opinion as to whether or not this technology, as it stands today, is a viable alternative to other, greener sources of energy like solar and wind.

Towmater Takes First Prize

2011-07-28T10:35:29-05:00

Larry the Cable Guy History Channel Ad with Bad Editing

Though I have not seen many of the animated movies, of the ones I have seen, the one celebrity voiceover that I thought was spot-on was Larry the Cable Guy as Towmater in "Cars." I can't think of anyone who could have given that character a better voice and personality. Almost as enjoyable was Ed Asner as the old man in "UP."

Barbie Changed My Life

2011-07-21T11:10:40-05:00

Hands down for me was a Barbiie doll. Mattel had just released her in the spring of 1959. I was eleven years old, on the cusp of forgoing dolls altogether because most to that point were babies and, as all kids will do, I became bored with them. As a pre-teen, this doll with her womanly shape and seductive smile epitomized the young woman I wanted to be.

I distinctly remember going to Ben Franklin with my grandmother to purchase my Barbie. She was $3.99. She had dark "real" hair and came clad in the ubiquitous stretchy, black and white striped bathing suit, black plastic heels and was adorned with tiny gold hoops in her ears. Incidentally, mine was the 2nd iteration of Barbie but before the blond version came out a short time later.

As an only kid with a devastating imagination, my adventures with Barbie were varied and exciting. Both my mother and grandmother were seamstresses, so I learned how to sew at a very early age. I used scraps of all manner of fabrics to sew fashionable outfits in miniature that I saw in my mom's McCall's magazine. Once in a while, my mother even allowed me to buy some "official" Barbie clothes and accessories to round out what I created.

The first Barbie dolls did not have all of the accoutrements the modern ones offer today's little girls: Corvettes, houses just to name a few. I remember building endless castles, houses and furnishings out of cardboard and coloroed then with crayons.

I hung on to my Barbie doll and, astonishingly, every piece she came with survived and she was still in excellent condition. In 1995, I sold her for $1,500 and bought my first computer.

Looking back, Barbie afforded me at least another year of childhood while at the same time teaching this tomboyish young girl something about what roles I was to play as I grew into a woman, be they stereotypes today or not. I discovered through her an affection for clothing that had theretofore not existed. When I went somewhere with my mom, I began to look at how other teenaged girls dressed and what clothes they liked in the stores. We lived in a rural area where I had no close friends, so, in a way, Barbie took me by the hand and led me into adolescence.

Four Seasons of Perfect Days

2011-05-12T10:49:42-05:00

Perfect weather days exist in all seasons here in Southern New England. This past week, spring has gifted us with low humidity, warm sun and soft northerly breezes that make being inside very difficult and being outside pure joy. Every spring flower and tree is fully in bloom.

Though I am not a summer person in terms of excessive tropical heat and humidity we seem to get a lot of here, summer evenings are often perfect as the heat of the day dissipates and leaves an afterglow of cool loveliness. I enjoy taking to my balcony with a glass of wine and a favorite book as twilight fades to night.

Fall is probably my most favorite season when temperate days mix with clear blue skies that form a backdrop for a color riot of foliage. Nothing is prettier than the iconic New England town at this time of year.

Winter has its own version of perfect weather. Temperatures hovering at the freezing mark, a few inches of fluffy, sparkling new fallen snow on the ground and on pine boughs makes a walk in the woods a refreshing experience.

Conversely, in all seasons, perfect weather need not be defined as sunshine and blue skies. What may be imperfect outside can translate to rare hours of perfection indoors.We eschew the endless errands and escape from the nasty weather. A cold, windy rainy day in November can find us doing our favorite things: making art, reading a book, cooking up a pot of stew or hot soup or playing a board game with the kids.

All in all, we are nothing if not adaptable to our four seasons of weather and seem to be able to find perfect weather no matter what our meteorologists predict.

The Lost Art of Correspondence

2011-04-07T12:57:11-05:00

Sigh... I so miss the arcane convention of hand-written letters. There is something so noble about holding one in one's hand, savoring another's thoughts in carefully penned script or even hand-printed. Hand-written "Correspondence," once a necessity amongst literate people, has become more of a quaint art-form. When we discover long lost family letters, there seems nothing more urgent and pleasurable than lifting them from their yellowed envelopes and savoring each line beginning to end, sometimes many times over.

Before the advent of email and social networking, I had pen-pals from all over the world. We usually exchanged hand-written letters roughly monthly. Some of my friends used lovely stationary while others ripped familiar blue-lined paper out of their child's notebook. I couldn't wait to get to my mailbox after work to sort through the bills and junk mail to see if a letter was waiting for me, and if there was one, I answered immediately. The irony is that when we went to computers with the ease of email, I lost touch with all of my friends.

Fortunately, I have one cousin who lives a few hundred miles away who does not own a computer. We snail-mail each other a few times a year even when we can pick up the phone and talk for hours. Her handwriting is lovely and her letters are always written on some pretty stationary folded neatly inside a card. I am ashamed to say that mine to her are typed...on a computer, simply because my thoughts flow on a computer much more readily than they do when I try to make my forever lousy penmanship readable. It's still cool to have one person in my life with whom snail mail is our chosen mode of staying connected.

Generations in the future will no doubt find the idea of writing by hand and mailing a letter a dinosaur. I feel sad that they will have missed a great pleasure.

Healthy Food Shopping Spree

2011-03-31T10:22:01-05:00

This one is pretty easy. I'd head to the grocery store and spend the money on good healthy meat and vegetables, organic if available. It really wouldn't take long to eat up the thou.

The Golden Rule Rules!

2011-03-31T10:16:18-05:00

I have tried to live by both the Golden Rule and a line from "Alice in Wonderland:" "Say what you mean and mean what you say." The journey down both of these paths can be fraught with curves and bumps but, I think, in the end, I always feel better having made choices to abide by them whenever possible in tactful ways so as not to cause pain to others.

CNN/NPR Junkie

2011-03-31T10:08:18-05:00

I have to admit I am a CNN junkie, especially when news is unfolding fast. For a more balanced and detailed perspective, I am equally fond of NPR. I find local newspapers lack depth when it comes to national and international news and tend to distort the few local issues I am interested in.

My Favorite Place to Drive

2011-02-24T10:50:03-05:00

I'm definitely a "Blue Highways" kind of girl. One of my greatest pleasures is to grab my camera, make sure my gas tank is full and just take off for parts unknown, of course, avoiding anything that even looks like an interstate. No GPS allowed, but maybe a road map and compass are my guides of last resort when I reluctantly have to find my way home. Old barns, town squares, Americans living their lives are all scenes committed to memory on a card or in my mind. The rising price of gasoline may crimp my style a bit but it will never stop me from taking to the road.

Wacky Advice -- But Useful

2010-12-09T13:46:58-05:00

March Hare Pumpkin at Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup

This advice does not necessarily fall under "wacky," but it has certainly stood the test of time and has served me well. "Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say." This piece of advice came not directly from a person but from the book,"Alice in Wonderland," and paraphrased here as part of a conversation between Alice and the March Hare.

Canadian Blue Highways

2010-09-16T11:33:09-05:00

My husband and I have taken many "epic road trips," most of them memorable. The one we have talked about doing for years is a drive from Maritime Canada to the shores of the Pacific in British Columbia. Our habit is always to wander off the interstate and on to the two-lane blacktopped "Blue Highways." The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec that we have explored in this way are rich with small town life and hospitable folks. Though we began our off-the-beaten-path journies long before William Least Heat Moon's narrative "Blue Highways," once we read it, our kinship with really "seeing" America was further inspiration for our own "epic road trips." We are certain Canada, its people and places will yield a profound satisfaction in all the same ways we enjoyed discovering America on the road.

Dreams of an Adirondack Home

2010-08-12T13:30:28-05:00

Whiteface 6: View of Lake Placid

The reality of what my dream home consists of shifts constantly. I actually own two homes and if I could magically put the best parts of both together into one, a dream home I could afford would exist. Of course, my mind wanders to more luxurious homes in places that are out of my economic league, the price of watching too many TV programs that take dreamers on tours of these places.

The home that I would be happy with is freshwater lakefront and sits somewhat into a gentle hill and faces north. My property is very private along a shoreline with just a few other homes; "my" lake has a prohibition against power boats and so is always quiet. The distant view, breathtaking in all seasons, is my beloved Adirondack Mountains in New York State.

The home itself is an L-shaped modified cedar A-Frame with two wings and sits diagonally to the shoreline. It has about 4,000 square feet of open space, plenty of exposed beams with a great deal character and rustic charms, though visitors also find the home bright and filled with natural light. Most of all it is comfortable with a generous great room and obligatory fireplace. The lake side of the 'A" is glass allowing a panoramic view of the lake and distant mountains. A long, wide window seat is there for enjoying the view during all seasons. Off to both sides of the great glass walll are book cases and cupboards with art supplies and projects hidden away. A large antique brass telescope stands ready to bring both birds and the heavens closeby. Oriental rugs grace the hardwood floors throughout the home though the floors themselves are heated to ward off winter chills.

One wing has a master suite overlooking the lake with both an intimate balcony and screened sleeping porch along with two smaller guest rooms and baths.

The other wing has a large kitchen with breakfast area, a formal dining room for ten facing the lake. An intimate library with small fireplace and a studio, a laundry room/half bath round out that wing. Facing the lake, there is another deck with grill and fire pit to take the chill off enjoying the outdoors on those brisk Adirondack evenings.

The lower level is contains French doors facing the lake. A billiard room with wet bar and media room take up the central area of the house. Beneath the master suite, a guest suite overlooks the lake. Storage areas complete that wing. A small, nicely appointed one-bedroom apartment can be found under the kitchen/dining area for long term visitors or a live-in housekeeper.

Whether inside or outside, there would be no mistaking the use of the rustic Adirondack style in railings and woodwork. The decor is modeled after the "Great Camps" with steam bent trees and roots for bannisters, decorative overhead chandeliers and furnishings.

Lakeside, there is a large boathouse with a room on top, perhaps to be used for entertaining or additional studio space.

The grounds are minimally landscaped allowing room along the edges of the woods for sweet wild blueberries to grow in the the sandy soil. Ubiquitous red geraniums and other nectar laden red flowers grow in profusion in large terra cotta pots on decks. In summer an endless stream of hummingbirds visit and vie for both flowers and feeders. Amidst the sloped yard between the house and the lake, a nearly maintenance free approach is taken with low growing ground covers. A stepping stone walkway leads to the boathouse and sandy lakefront. A three-car garage lies close to the back of the house connected to it by an alleyway of cedar timbers and glass. The casual observer would miss that beneath the 3/4" thick glass roof of this structure there is a passive solar mass that contributes to warming this well insulated home. Solar cells on the back roof of the house facing south and west as well as on the garage contribute to overall energy efficiency. Photovoltaic cells may be added in the future to contribute to further energy savings.

So there you have my ideal "little" home in the Adirondack Mountains.

Do unto others....

2010-08-05T12:12:52-05:00

"What goes 'round comes 'round," a variation on the ubiquitous Golden Rule. I can think of very few instances in my life when this hasn't proved to be a great truism and something that has almost always made me stop and think before speaking or acting.

Lighning S-L-O-W

2010-08-05T10:15:47-05:00

Submitted by Ayzha (Connecticut)

How to Take Lightning Shots

A glass of wine, lights out, a snap of lightning and the crack-rumble of thunder lures me out to my balcony to watch the show. If lightning strikes close enough, though not too close, thankyouverymuch, a moment of ionized air envelops my body and smells so fresh and clean.

I have been several days without electricity and while practical living becomes inconvenient, darkened nights with candles flickering are counterpoint of quiet time to think, to imagine, to slow down, to let go of the thrum of life otherwise too frenetic.

"Frozen RIver" - an eye-opening Indie.

2010-08-05T10:02:23-05:00

Submitted by Ayzha (Connecticut)

Please let me be clear. This movie is not for the faint-hearted or the Pollyanna's of the world. It's about the gritty reality of poverty, desperation, humanity and redemption in the frozen borderland between far northern New York State and southern Ontario that is separated by the St. Lawrence River over which spans the Mohawk Indian Nation. Having grown up in a simlar place, this movie was a poignant and painful reminder of the struggles of making a life in the place called "home" where you are anchored, where opportunities are few and when rarely are there any good choices.

The World Would Be a Better Place If...

2010-07-22T09:51:32-05:00

Ban guns.

I wasn't that impressed with The Grand Canyon

2010-06-26T09:40:27-05:00