U2 ROCKS!!!

The first time I saw U2 was at Ritchie Coloseum with 600? people. I was right up front with Bono's boot in my face. :-) Ah, good times. They opened with Gloria. I still have Larry Mullen Jr.'s broken drum stick. Somewhere. I also have a pic of me with Bono that I will have to drum up. haha

Bono & the boys prompted my one & only failed theft. My GF's & I had traveled 2 hours to see Rattle & Hum and there was this HUGE cut-out kiosk of U2; larger than life. It was closing night for the movie and we asked about the kiosk. The dorky manager said it got sent back to the company to be destroyed. WHAT???!!! we all cried in unison. Sacrelig. We begged, we pleaded, we offered to buy it. NO. So then I went next door to the drug store for a utility knife, but all they had was razors. You know the old-fashioned kind that were sharp on both edges & fit into a metal razor-holder thingie? Yeah, those. Anyway, while we acted all cash-ual just hangin' out, Trish cut her fingers as she cut the cardboard boys from the rest of the structure.

Once released, we made a dash for the door & into the parking lot. Did I mention it was HUGE? And a bit awkward to run with.

"HEY!" Movie Manager Boy ran after us.

And this is the most important lesson I learned that night: Getaway car.

I suppose it could have been worse; we could have been arrested. Can you imagine that? But officer, my only crime is loving U2 too much. Ah, memories!

But I digress. Last night's affair was a bit more involved than a simple concert:

So space-agey.

Perfect BEAUTIFUL night. AWESOME concert. Chiro-sister & I rocked out with Atlasta & SIL. Atlasta told us after the concert, "Oh yeah. I almost got my ass kicked tonight."

"What???" said us women-folk.

It seems that he was at the bar & he was about to order when a guy next to him said, "Hey! I was NEXT." The bartender looked at Atlasta, and Atlasta said, "No problem. Ladies first."
Next Guy said, "Hey! I'll kick your ass!"
Atlasta replied, "OK, ma'am."

At this point the bartender and everyone in hearing distance was laughing so hard that no one was taking him seriously. Hahahaha Good times.

River House

Last part of road to my driveway.

Down by the river, where I hang out with Fisherman Willie.

Front of house.

Garage/ full basement downstairs.

Moving Day. Barkley & Remi's first nap!

Living room, with furniture!

View of front yard from front porch. HEAVEN. :-)

Leaving wilderness to see U2 tonight. YAY, meeeeeeeee!

You Are Here

I used to have a teacher in school who would stop students in the hallway with, "Where are you supposed to be?" [Student mumbled answer]
"Well, then get there," he'd say. Whaaaa? Weren't we on our way when he stopped us?

Where are you? On your way somewhere? Or looking for directions? Perhaps looking for your compass--moral, or otherwise. Do you know where you're going? Are you taking a leisurely stroll or jetting it somewhere? So many things to consider when you're taking a trip. Or living your life. Where are you supposed to be? It doesn't matter. You are HERE. That's your starting point. Now GO to where you need to get to.

Day of Rest

Last weekend I doggie-sat for my chiro-sister. His name is Albus, a rescued Jack Russell. [Eddie Izzard: small yappy-type dog] or, as a friend calls him, "The spoiled white sausage." Hahahaha Chiro-sister called to check in with me, and I snapped this pic for her; sunning himself on the back porch. "Yeah, he likes to do that. Sometimes he gets sunburned," she said. HAPPY Day of Rest! :-) H.

My New-Old Dogs

I've had a couple false starts with getting a new dog, after Barkley & Remi; and when I was on Petfinder looking for rottweilers, I thought, MAY-beeee with a couple. And then. THEN! I saw Margaret & Millie, 2 labweilers like Barkley & Remi. I emailed Miss Ruthie with my choices. She wrote back,

I think it would be wonderful to give M & M a chance to have a new life with you. They look wonderful and are attached to each other like Remi and Barkley. I would think that before you make your decision, you should make an appointment to visit with them for awhile.

Just talking to their foster Mom, Mari, I knew they were coming home with me. SO SWEET.

Mari Saying Goodbye.

SO SWEET.

Taking a walk; step-step-plop 'n' rest.

Chillaxin by the labyrinth.

THANK YOU AARF for letting me have M & M retire to the country with me. I am SO HAPPY to have them here with me! We had our first vet visit with Dr. Clark yesterday, and he kept saying what wonderful dogs they are. YES. Yes, they are. Here's to dog slobber and drool and the messiness that is doggie LOVE! :-) H.

From the treehouse

There's a treehouse structure built overlooking the gardens. See the rose garden?

Here it is:

This little cardinal was v. chirpy

and followed me back outside. :-)

And that's the last post for Lewis Ginter Gardens! :-) Up next: Margaret & Millie.

Lewis Ginter LABYRINTH?!

The fragrance of roses and the variety:

So delicious

And then. THEN! I saw it:

Built in by the rose garden. A simple little 7-circuit Cretan. I've noticed this with another, Chartres Cathedral labyrinth that is built in as part of a walkway; people walk thru it. Some people don't even notice it's a labyrinth. Oh, well.

BLESSINGS on your path. :-)

HAPPY B-Day, Atlasta!

In the family photo album, Mum wrote for my brother, "At last! A boy!" after me & chiro-sister. So of course, we call him Atlasta, a.k.a. Brother D, on this blog. Today is his birthday. SIL has hers a few days prior, so we celebrated them together this past weekend. What would you like for your birthday?

Perhaps some tie-dye duct tape. :-)

Or maybe U2 tickets, in your piratey b-day card?

Make a WISH . . .

on your gluten-free b-day cake! Yes, it really was. :-)

More from Lewis Ginter Gardens

It was National Talk Like a Pirate Day on Sat.

These . . .

. . . open up to reveal these:

I see hearts wherever I go.

Atlasta said, "Look--Ella, and More Ella."

Atlasta says, "Real plants that look fake."

Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden at Lewis Ginter is so cool! We saw a variety of butterflies:

Eating

Landing

Mmm Hmmmm

More of our adventures tomorrow!

Day of Rest

Statue from Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, VA. Full report tomorrow of our visit yesterday. In the meantime, today! I get Margaret & Millie, my 2 new-old dogs. I met them yesterday--SO SWEET!

Bluesy Deva

The Deva Premal concert was AWESOME! It's not like a regular concert with lots of clapping & cheering. Her music is conducive to meditation, yoga, relaxation. "You know you don't have to clap, right?" she said, after she opened with the Gayatri mantra and the audience was clapping. She encourages silence in between songs. "It's like eating a meal and then not digesting it." The silence is for digestion. Her music is meditative, deep, reflective. She & Miten don't have a set playlist, they go with the flow. So then. THEN! Miten started a blues riff, and this is what transpired:

Deva Premal

I was at Brother Atlasta's house watching Battlestar Galactica with him & SIL. We used to watch the cheesy version in the 70's; the new one is much more high tech. As the program started, Atlasta said something like, "That music is so . . . it's not even real words!"

And then. THEN! I started singing along. It was one of those moments of serendipity and surprise. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. "How do you know this? I thought you said you never saw the show."

"It's Sanskrit," I replied. [It's so easy when you speak the language.] "It's the Gayatri Mantra. I learned it from my friends at The Shirdi Sai Baba Temple." Now I have to say, it's so rare that I know something that Mensa Boy doesn't, that it's hard not to be a big sister & GLOAT. Hahahaha

So this is all a preamble to say that tonight, I'm going with my friend Susan, to see Deva Premal; one of my favourite singers. When Susan & I were in Sedona a few years ago, we had the against-all-odds opportunity to see her in concert. I'm ready for another night of Light, Love, & Spirit! NAMASTE, :-) H.

Gluten Free Goodness

I told Mum to hold it out like fishermen do when
they have their picture taken with a fish. Look
at those HUGE loaves!

I used to have tea and toast every morning for breakfast. I would eat half a loaf in a sitting, that's how much I loved it. And then I had to go gluten free, and that killed the whole bread thing. It's been over 2 years since I had real bread. During that time I have eaten sawdust, gritty cardboard, or chewy mush. All these things claimed to be GF "bread." Even the ones that are edible, just aren't like real bread. I put up with it because it's GF & it's better than nothing. Except when it's not. So then I just don't eat sandwiches & other normal bready things.

Composer Brother gave me a subscription to Living Without, an awesome magazine for people with food allergies. This weekend, Mum gave a try with one of the bread recipes. I had a REAL sandwich! The texture, the taste--it's like real bread. Here's the recipe to Champion Sandwich Bread. Thanks to Diane Kittle for bringing back toast & sandwiches, and thanks to Mum for GF baking! :-)

Skymont Hike

Jerry Caplin, an old theatre friend from my Wayside daze, used to introduce me as, "This is Halimah. She used to live in a dome." There were a total of 4 domes: 2 large ones, & 2 smaller ones. We lived in one of the larger ones, and then Daniel & Ruth each had a separate dome.

Sunday a.m., what started off as a dog walk down the road, ended in a hike around our old stomping grounds. Down past Hangman's Tree--well-pruned, but HUGE!


Down the hill from where we used to live, this is what's left of Daniel's dome, the upper part:


Here's the road up to our house; more of a trail now:




We followed a new road up the hill toward the domes, and it ended here:

Ruth's dome, the only one left, in it's original place. Now attached to a trailer.

As we were standing there on this quiet, early Sunday a.m., my phone rang. Yikes! So then we walked down a bit and followed a trail up. It was the old road that led down to the A-Frame House. And, this is the little hill that led up to our house. I can't remember who hit whom in the lip with the clip board--Atlasta or chiro-sister, but this is the scene of the crime.

Another view of Ruth's dome:

And then we headed back down . . .

Quite the trip down memory lane. Lots of 'member whens? :-)

Front Royal Air Show

Saturday was a perfect English-weather day for an airshow. Thanks to the kind generosity of Joseph from AIM, where chiro-sister Ruth teaches anatomy & physiology, we were able to offer seated massage. THANKS, Joseph!

As you feel my hands on your shoulders, and listen to the ROAR of airplane engines, you can being to relax . . . .

The crowd awaits The Flying Circus.

We kind of missed the air show part of the air show, as we were massaging thru most of it. This was a pic I snapped of an airplane as it landed.

And then. THEN! We saw Mum's next adventure:

Ruth & I groaned as we heard Mum's enthusiastic oohs & aahhs. Here we go. The next thing will be Mum calling from the plane, "Hi dahling. I'm about to take my first jump out of an airplane. What are you doing today?" Hahahaha It was a fun day. :-)