Mellow Yellow Monday #163 - Beautiful Yellow Flowering Tree - March 5, 2012

I am still in Bangalore, Karnataka, India - my fifth day with a dear blogging
friend and his family who have made my stay in India's "Silicon Valley" such a
wonderful experience.  I have been delighted with the beautiful flowers in this
garden city of India, especially with one spectacular yellow flowering tree.
I still do not know its name - my slow internet has not allowed me to easily
access the excellent "Flowers of India" website so, perhaps, one of my
followers might be able to tell me what this tree is.

It is blooming in great profusion right now and I love the brilliant yellow
flowers.  These pictures were taken on the grounds of St. Philomena's
Church in Mysore.

=

I am participating in Mellow Yellow Monday, #163 -

check out the site and add your own yellow photo to join in the fun!

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 - Jaipur Cows Resting in the Shade - February 19, 2012

A beloved Indian friend and fellow blogger gets a bit annoyed at me when I
post pictures of cows or elephants and the like.  He tells me I am not showing
the true beauty of India and I am giving people a distorted view and feeding
in to stereotypes.  Well, I have to disagree with him.  I absolutely love India
and will post pictures of all that I see, including the amazing temples and
their ancient history, the interesting festival, the beautiful faces of the
people, the interesting modes of transportation, AND the animals.  I, for
one, love the cows - their sweet gentle faces and so I take many pictures of
them.  I guess, having spent several years of my childhood on a farm, I am
drawn to these creatures.

So, dear blogging friend, forgive me, but, for two days in a row, my post
is about cows.  I post it with love...of India, its beauty and its creatures, and
of you.

I am participating in Shadow Shot Sunday 2 - post your shadow shot and join

in the fun!

Thanksgiving Greetings - November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

No time for poetry today, dear family and friends. Things are slowly

beginning to fall into place but, to be truthful, I'm still not ready to leave.

My youngest son, Jeremy, has been coming over daily, after work, to

help me, giving me grief, in a loving way, about the need for haste and

warning me that my storage space is nearly full.  He thinks I need to

discard everything I have left ( impossible ).

December 1st is my departure day for India and I wonder if I'm going

to have to postpone it again.  If I do, I won't get any flights over the

holiday season, I know.  I won't be doing any Thanksgiving day feasting,

though I've had several kind invitations.

While you are with family and friends today, offer a little prayer

that I do get finished and out of here and on my way to India.

Once again, please bear with me.  I haven't responded to all your kind

comments or read blogs which distresses me greatly.  I promise to

catch up once I get settled in India and get internet access.  I love you

all and wish you joy and happiness.  You all are one of my "thanks"

on this special day.  I am especially thankful to my friends and family

and I am thankful to be an American, even in this time of stress for

our country.

My biggest thanks this season are to my youngest son, Jeremy, for all

he has done to help me get moved and on my way to India.  He has worked

long days and nights and I appreciate it more than I can say.

Home Again - December 26, 2010

Home Again - December 26, 2010

I drove up to West Sacramento, California on Christmas Eve with my oldest son,
Shawn Smith, and my youngest, Jeremy Vukasinovic.  Our destination was the home
of my middle son, Alex Vukasinovic, and his wife, Laura, and my two granddogs. I spent
a good part of  the day before preparing our Christmas Eve dinner since Laura, who is a
paramedic, was scheduled to work until 8PM and I didn't want her to worry with cooking
after putting in a twelve hour shift taking care of patients.  Alex works a rather bizarre
4AM to noon shift at his job. 

Armed with an assortment of appetizers, two crab quiches, two Caribbean pies

for dessert and several bottles of wine, we were greeted warmly by all. To make the

gathering merrier, Shawn's friend, Dawn, and her daughter, Kirsten, joined us for dinner.

We had a lovely evening, with a lot of laughter, enhanced by three dogs, two of them my

granddogs and Gus, who has been Laura's since she was thirteen.  He lives with her

mom and, sadly, now has cancer.  He still is a sweet and loving pooch, though, and does

not yet seem to be in any great discomfort.

My middle ( and only married) son, Alex

Alex's lovely wife, Laura

Jeremy, Shawn, Alex and my granddog, Bucky

The stockings I made for Laura and Alex last year

( I still haven't put their names on them )



Taffy says she loves her grandma even if she is

always taking pictures!

Gus and Bucky are waiting to play fetch and

Taffy is eyeing the couch

I'd rather sit comfy than chase a tennis ball!

Now, this REALLY feels good!

Okay, Shawn, throw another one!

Kirsten, Dawn, and Shawn

Goodness, Alex and Jeremy are TALL!

Mama Carmen and her three sons

The table looks nice

Taffy is getting a scratch from Uncle Jeremy

Enough pictures, Paparrazi Mama!

Yummy!

What's so funny, Shawn?

Doggies have to wait in the living room while humans eat!

They are taking forever, Taffy.

I don't like this one bit.

How can you resist these sad eyes?  Eat faster!

Good grief!

I can't even look at them anymore, Taffy!

This is a doggie crying!

What about this face?  I'm lonely.

Yeah!  Daddy is telling us we are wonderful!

Good wine, good company!

Kirsten with Gus and Taffy

I can see why the doggies like this!

Tomorrow, I'll post our pictures taken at the Calhoun Christmas gathering in Antelope,

California.  Laura's mom and stepfather were nice enough to invite us to share their family

feast.  Since, other than myself and the boys, we have no family on the West Coast, it's

been nice to be included in Laura's famiy events since Alex married into this wonderful

group. 

I'm posting this on Pet Pride since there are so many pictures of Taffy and Bucky in

this post.  Check out the site and put your animal family photographs there.

 

Camera Critters - Pets of English Friends - October 2, 2010

Camera Critters - Pets of English Friends - October 2, 2010

These are photos, taken six years ago, during a visit to my dear friends, Steve and

Jenny Clark, who have a wonderful 15th century farm house in Rye.  We met when we

were tablemates on a southeast Asian cruise in 1997 and those twelve days just flew

by.  Over the past thirteen years, they've been to San Francisco twice, I've been to

England at least four times and we've met up twice in Barcelona.  They've always had

Great Danes and an assortment of other "critters".  I just came across these pictures

and thought they'd be perfect for today's blog.

Oh, yes, to answer today's Camera Critter question, I just celebrated my first blog

anniversary in September!!

I am  participating in Camera Critters - join in the fun!

Wordless Wednesday & Watery Wednesday - Showing Friends San Francisco and Beyond - September 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday & Watery Wednesday

Showing Friends San Francisco and Beyond - September 8, 2010

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday and Watery Wednesday.