A Look at Family History (Italian)

My Nonna (grandmother) came to this country when she was six. She settled in Steubenville, where she met my Tatone (grandfather), who was also an immigrant.A very long time ago, my Nonna gave my Mum a picture of herself. It was a postcard depicting her as a child. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, postcards were a popular format for communicating with family abroad. A photographer...

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Snow Revisited & Etymology (Not Really)

When did this snow start? I thought it happened a week ago. I asked Better Half, “Wasn’t the day before the ice storm?”“No, it was Epiphany,” he replied.Epiphany? January 6th? Thank goodness I suffer from snow-picture compulsion. It was, in fact, the 9th.We have had a solid month of snow, off and on with a few hours of thaw between. Our driveway bears witness to our futile attempts...

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Winter Snow and Ice

I thought I would capture some early morning pictures. Unfortunately I tripped over my Nemesis and almost landed on the concrete porch. The wrought iron couch was a better choice (not.) He wiggled his nose at me, hopped over and actually had the audacity to paw my shoe. Begging bastard. I gave him some carrots anyway.We had rain this morning. The neighbors are attempting to clear...

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Winter Snow and Ice (Part II)

Primary entry at The Bemused Muse: Winter Snow and IceMore images, from this afternoon: Cherry tree "bat wing"Frozen branches against the green fenceMaple leaf buds encased in ice (macro)Frozen cherriesTrellis ice sculptureI wanna play too! (blog post time is not accura...

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Proximity Award

AnnieElf bestowed a Proximity Award upon me. I love things like this, not for any attention they might bring but because someone out there took the time to think of me. It uplifts the soul. Thank you, AnnieElf.This award’s creators say:Blogs who receive this award are 'exceedingly charming'. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships....

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Moles

Mole plaguing us allYou dig in the soil and laughOne means fifty moreWinter is the time for Aut’s really bad haiku (5/7/5, if you please)Spring is the best time to zap a labor of moles. (That's actually what you call a group of them, as in "Oh crap, killing these things is going to take a lot of labor.")The mole isn’t a bad animal. He’s a nuisance. He’s also clever in physical...

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My Obsidian Antagonist

My obsidian antagonist, my nemesis of spring, he who eats $150 worth of plants in a single go, the Black Rabbit of Cuchulainn has taken up residency on my front porch.I’m a rabbit person. I love the way they nibble the clover in the spring. I find their twitching noses adorable. A fat buck is perfectly capable of ripping a cat to shreds (my apologies to cat fanciers). They do have...

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | Dreams and Change

This post is in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is aimed at you, dear Reader. It's aimed at us. It's to no one and everyone at the same time. It's to the faceless and to the named, and to those who feel that the world keeps them down. It's to those who make the rules or those who break the rules. It is for all who believe in Dr. King's dream. It is for those who learned...

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | Dreams and Change, Part II

Who is the our greatest enemy? Is it people of other ethnic backgrounds? Is it the government? I believe it is us. We can't get ahead in life if we don't take control of where we are now, no matter our race. We can't blame anyone but our own self for how we approach life. Circumstances may not be favorable, but we determine if our life is bitter or sweet.Perhaps Aaron McGruder, creator of the comic strip (and television series) Boondocks, says it best. His premise is that King did not die that fateful day but slipped into a coma only to awake thirty years later to a world...

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Reflections

An assortment of winter sounds surrounds Pembroke Cottage today: the gravely rattle of the city snowplow as it prowls past our house; snow flung from driveways and walks with a vigorous sssuk tik. (I’ve posted some scenes in the entry prior to this one.)What’s with the name, Autrice? Cottage? Is it a small home? (Yes, thank God!) Does it resemble a cottage? (Of course not. It’s a Craftsman.) What is Pembroke? (A name. All the streets in this particular residential area have names like this; we are the Country Club. Homes here range from Craftsman such as ours to large stone...

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Snowy Morning (pictures)

Pictures: snowy morning A dusting of snow on my dusty millersI have yet to pull some of the plants Our bird feeder, empty this morning A toad's summer home(actually an expensive broken pot) The snow really isn't deep The roads are slick, howeverand that plow has been throughseveral times ...

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New Year's Day 2009

The first day of the New Year is unique: it is the only day of the year that we awake brimming with a sense of freshly baked optimism for the future and all the changes we must morph through in order to achieve it. Change becomes our mantra and we gaze (perhaps in a somewhat hung-over and bleary fashion) into the morning (or afternoon) sunlight and promise ourselves that each perceived...

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