Nature's Color Palate

From my favorite traveler  (a.k.a. daughter) in the state of Florida, mainly around DeBary and Jacksonville, I present their prettiest color palate snapped by the cellphone of Elena. It's amazing how many beautiful blossoms she photographs.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I've been down with a little stomach virus and not enjoying much of the beautiful weather we've been having lately here in upstate New York. So I haven't accomplished much at all. Hopefully by tomorrow, I'll be able to get out more. So until next time dear friends be blessed.

Doodling On The Keyboard Again

Here's another one of Unconscious Mutterings meme. This meme is a favorite and always has me either answering with my first thought or taking time to think. It's fun and all you do is answer with whatever comes to your mind for each question. Most times one word answers will do. As for me, I always answer tongue in cheek. :-)

1. Argue ~ Disagreeable Discussion
2. Surprise! ~ I'm Home!!
3. Telescope ~ Star Gazer
4. Shopping ~ Tires Me Out!
5. Button ~ Hole
6. Certifiable ~ Nut :)
7. Blind date ~ Never In My Lifetime!
9. Station ~ Train
10. Appreciation ~ Show Yours..

Now hopefully you'll try either on your own blog or answer here in comments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Cartoon Of The Day
Friendship

Quiet night tonight. It's my night to watch either a DVD of mine or series repeats or just read one of my Agatha Christie novels. I can always find something to occupy my mind. So dear friends, have a great weekend and until next time be blessed.

Wednesday's Poetry Day #2

Sad to think that those who have been in the limelight when they were young find it hard to accept we all grow old in time. Much easier to keep those early days as happy memories and enjoy the time you have. Don't you agree?

The Days Of Glory Gone By

His glory days passed as years gone by
remembering he sadly breaths a sigh.

He's missing the days of playing ball
the happy memories he can now recall.

Remembering the roar of his faithful fans
as his homerun ball sails into the stands.

Wishing he can turn back the many years
to his youthful days and greeting cheers.

Alas his days of glory and years gone by
he now sadly sits back and lets out a sigh.

Toni Taddeo ©

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That's about it for now and until next time dear friends have a day of blessings.

Unique Street Sculptures

Found these two sculptures online and intriguing. There are many more of them I wouldn't put on my blog. Not the strange bit but the ugly and x-rated ones. I enjoy seeing this type of unique sculpture enough to post things like this every so often. No artists were mentioned wuth the photos but they were available to show here without worrying about copyrights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I leave you with my quote for the day, "An artist's work is limitless. It can be found anywhere, even on the streets and walls."  Until the next time dear friends have a day of blessings.

It's Earth Day

Every year on April 22, trees are planted, litter is cleaned up, and awareness for the issues plaguing the planet are raised. In honor of the holiday, now in its 48th year, I thought I would post 2 facts about Earth Day.

Children sweeping a city park in New York City on Earth Day, circa 1970s.

The first Earth Day marked a strange combination of boisterous rallies and sober reflection on the state of the planet. Protests, demonstrations, fundraisers, nature walks, speeches, concerts, and every sort of civic gathering imaginable took place at colleges, VFW halls, public squares, and parks across the United States on April 22, 1970. Environmental crusaders found themselves thrust into the limelight, and pop culture icons like poet Allen Ginsberg were asked to speak on behalf of Mother Earth. Some of the more colorful displays of the day included mock trials for polluting objects, like an old Chevrolet, which was sentenced to death by sledgehammer. (The car ultimately survived the beating and was donated to an art class.) In New York City, Earth Day celebrations effectively shut down parts of the city. Twenty thousand people packed into Union Square to see Paul Newman and hear a speech by Mayor John Lindsay, who arrived on an electric bus.

Students assemble a globe on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in 1995.

With bipartisan support in Congress and thousands of civic demonstrations across the country, support for environmental reform in 1970 was undeniable. According to the EPA, "Public opinion polls indicate that a permanent change in national priorities followed Earth Day 1970. When polled in May 1971, 25 percent of the U.S. public declared protecting the environment to be an important goal, a 2500 percent increase over 1969." The 1970s saw the passage of the most comprehensive environmental legislation in U.S. history, including the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. In addition, just 8 months after the first Earth Day, Richard Nixon approved the creation of a new organization tasked with monitoring the nation’s natural assets: the Environmental Protection Agency.

Even my favorite Peanuts "kids" plant a tree on Earth Day :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I leave you with my quote, "Every day is Earth Day. Let us observe it as such."  Until next time dear friends have a day and weekend of blessings.

Friday Foto Friends ~ Flower Power

The following photos were taken by my daughter this past week knowing I love flower photos. She sends me photos she takes while traveling the state of Florida where she lives. Some of these are wild flowers and I can't name all of them but if you can let me know.

"I like to think a flower opens itself to outgrow its plantedness. That it yearns to be carried away."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name. Until next time dear friends have a lovely and blessed weekend.

Wednesday Is Poetry Day

By A Peaceful River Shore

Sitting here on a bench by a peaceful river shore
There sails a sailboat barely seen in the misty haze
And rising in the distance is the sun's early light
The only sound I hear is the soft current's wave.

A feeling of quiet peace now joyfully surrounds me
As the horizon in the distance clearly now is seen
The beauty of the landscape is a sight to behold
And the air around me smells refreshing and clean.

The sounds of birds and families now can be heard
As the sun is rising high above the daylight sky
I listen to the sounds of life saying not a word
But feeling just a little sad as time is flying by.

The time has come for me to leave the river shore
And the park bench that I sit on every early morn
Yes I now am feeling sad as time swiftly flies by
Yet happy knowing that I'll be back again at dawn.

Toni Taddeo ©

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That's about it for now and until next time dear friends have a day of blessings.

Beauty In The Sky

After a perfect Easter Sunday with family yesterday, we had an early evening rain storm while at my niece and nephew Christa and Matt's home that came with wind that knocked out their electricity. It was fast and furious. My sister Phyllis and I left around 7:00 PM and on the way home after the storm we witnessed this beauty on the sky. I have never seen such a big full rainbow like this. Phyllis stopped the car in the driveway to my apartment complex  (you can see where I live in the last photo),  and I snapped these.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pictures don't do this beauty justice. It was breathtaking to see. I love this kind of stuff. Hope you enjoyed seeing it too. Until next time be blessed my friends.

My Easter Wish For You

Easter Blessings

May the Light of this season
From the heavens above
And the faith of Our Lord
Bring you all much love.

May time spent with family
And all your true friends
Be filled with much joy
That this Easter can send.

You are wished all blessings
This holy holiday does bring
And new awakenings surround you
With the warmth of Spring.

With the hope of this time
On this happy season I send
A blessed and joyous Easter
To your family and friends.

Toni Taddeo ©

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Much Love,

Good Friday

What is Good Friday and why do we call Good Friday “good,” when it is such a dark and bleak event commemorating a day of suffering and death for Jesus?
For Christians, Good Friday is a crucial day of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. Paul considered it to be “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had promised all along in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

In order for the good news of the gospel to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is important to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then the gospel of Jesus’ grace comes and brings us relief and salvation.

In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the deathblow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

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1 Peter 2:24 - “and He Himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; “for by His wounds you were healed.” ~ Praise The Lord! Until the next time my friends, be blessed.

A Hodgepodge Photo Mix

Being not much going on I'm posting a couple of my photos taken last week outside my apartment, and because baseball season is here I thought I would post one of Future Yankees waiting to practice at a Kids Yankee Field for kids in New Jersey and New York You gotta like this one.

I took the following last Friday at 7:00am with little bright pieces of sky peeping
through the dark clouds after three days of nothing but rain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Being this is Holy Week I'm taking a break from posting until a special Good Friday post I put online every year. Until then be blessed dear friends.

Palm Sunday

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, a Christian feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament.

Matthew 21:1-11 (NASB) The Triumphal Entry
When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

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Every year we are given palms in church and my sisters and I learned from our Dad how to make crosses to give to other family members and/or leave on our deceased family members gravestones when we visit their graves. The crosses we make resemble the photo shown above.

I leave you with this, "May the spirit of this holy occasion and the warmth of the season make your heart bloom with joy & happiness. Have a Blessed Palm Sunday."

Friday Foto Friends #75 More From My Daughter

The following photos were taken by my daughter Elena last week in Cedar Key, Florida. She lives and works all around Florida. She's a licensed notary and real estate agent, and sends me photos she takes while traveling the state.

Pelicans, He Even Posed For Her

Beautiful And So Peaceful Looking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A little laughter is good for the soul

If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name. Until next time dear friends have a lovely and blessed weekend.

Female Wisdom Part 2

This past week I've been getting a kick out of female wisdom and their lists for themselves. Here is one I found last year and thought you might get a kick out of it too. I now have a feeling I need a life or something new to write about.

"My Self List"
1. My goal for 2017 is to lose 10 pounds. Only 13 more to go!

2. Ate salad for dinner: Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really just one big, round crouton covered with tomato sauce and cheese. FINE, It was a pizza, I ate a pizza.

3. How to prepare Tofu: A- Throw it in the trash. B- Grill some meat.

4. I just did a week's worth of cardio after walking into a spider web.

5. I don't mean to brag but...I finished my 14 day diet in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

6. A recent study has found that woman who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it.

7. Kids today don't know how easy they have it. I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.

8. I may not be funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented..  (I forgot where I was going with this).

9. I love being over 60. I learn something new every day.....and forget 5 others.

10. I think I'll just put an "Out of Order" sticker on my forehead and call it a day.

And that's all folks!!

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Until next time my friends, have a day of blessings.