Blue morning, spooky and aglow

The moon has just been beautiful this week.  Here it is this morning, in the dawn's early light, in the Upper West Side.  It rained during the night, so everything smelled crisp and new on this blue morning.

Last night I stood at my front door and saw it peeking through.  It looks so spooky when changed to the black and white "NOIR" setting in my iPhone filters.

The Blood Moon eclipse had just started when I was leaving for work on Wednesday morning.  I took this grainy shot of it while waiting at a light during my commute - about 6:45am. 

And when I got to work, about 40 minutes later, the sky was all aglow.  I love the early morning!  If I can't sleep in, it might as well be beautiful. :)

I hope the weekend is good to you, my friends!

Good Things Happened: Early morning, crisp and rare treat

Things have been quiet here, which I never mind.  So here are three random good things from the past few days:

 An early morning visit to the dry cleaners before work.  The sky was so gorgeous.  I love this time of morning, right before things get crazy.

The crisp beauty of the red and white flowers on these plants at my work place (not sure what they are.) 

When I was traveling with my family a few weeks ago, during one of the airport stops, niece Abby said, "I wish I had a fountain drink as big as my head."  We agreed there is just nothing like a Diet Coke from a fountain (a rare treat for me, since I don't think it's good for you.)  So this is the photo I texted her last Saturday, when I was out and about and especially thirsty, with the caption, "So I got a fountain drink as big as my head."  :)  

I hope your weekend is full of delight, my friends!

Early morning gift, another batch and pure bliss

The rain stopped just as I got to work, one early morning, a few days ago.  And this lovely rainbow appeared, like a gift.

At home, lovely vegetables waiting to be put in another batch of Alice Water's Ratatouille, which was so delicious and made my home smell so good, that I had to make another batch.  The avocados were just hanging out here waiting to be put on toast or in salad.  :)

And at the park, friend Janice's dog, Chili, enjoying a blissful roll in a puddle. 

Orphan, julep time, Flower Moon and commute

A late afternoon view of my front porch at the condos last Saturday.  I got several plants potted for the front and back porch and mixed them in with those I nurtured through the winter.  The yellow/green pot on the right was given to me by my neighbor, who spotted someone about to throw it away.  "Lynn might want that!"  And of course, I gladly took that pretty orphan in.  

Also on Saturday - I did something that had been on my to do list:  I polished my silver julep cup, just in time for the Kentucky Derby viewing.  I didn't make a mint julep to go in it, just opting for some pretty flowers instead.  You can click on the red link to see the julep recipe if you're interested in making one.  I do love them.

This grainy photo is a tribute to the Flower Moon from Wednesday.  It was totally full on Wednesday night, but was beautiful that morning, too.  I wasn't expecting it on my early drive to work and gasped the first time I saw it in the dark at 6am.  (I was stopped at a 4-minute red light here.)  I looked up its name when I got to work.  From the Farmer's Almanac:  "We use Full Moon names that were used during Native American and Colonial times to help track the seasons. Depending on the tribe, May’s Full Moon was called the Full Flower Moon as well as Mother’s Moon, Milk Moon, and Corn Planting Moon. The May Moon marked a time of increasing fertility, with temperatures warm enough for safely bearing young, a near end to late frosts, and plants in bloom."

 And this thing has quite a presence!  The photo, snapped during a stop on my afternoon commute, shows just a bit of the Mercedes Benz Stadium that the Atlanta Falcons will play in, beginning in the fall.  I'll probably never see the inside of it, since I'm not much of a fan of professional football, but my rambling afternoon commute home has taken me by here a few times and it's been fun watching it get nearer and nearer to completion.

Just when I had really gotten accustomed to this "new normal" of commuting through Atlanta, on my journey home to the suburbs, they have completed the repair of I-85 and it will be open on Monday.  I am so grateful they used that bonus money incentive and got it done so quickly.

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

Impossible, saving lives and scary clown

I'm headed to my favorite place in the world for the weekend, to recharge my batteries.  I need some river time!  I'll post some pics next week.  Meanwhile - here are some Friday Funnies, featuring three things that make me crazy:  passwords, your vs. you're, and traffic.  :)

I had to change the password for my bank website and it took about half an hour to do it.  We can all relate to this, I think.

I was moving to a new townhouse once and went by to clean it the day before official move-in day.  A neighbor left a note on my windshield that said, "Your in my parking place."  I came close to marking up the note with the correct "You're."  But I always like to take the high road, so didn't.  We never were friends though. :)

And the afternoon commute has been crazy since the collapse of the I-85 bridge last month (the morning commute is better since I leave for work two hours early in the morning).  I am grateful for my traffic app, which navigates the best way home.  I've seen parts of Atlanta that I never knew existed - it's been interesting, but I'll be glad to have I-85 back.  Meanwhile - there are times during my drive home when I've felt like the gal above. 

I hope you have an excellent weekend, my friends!

Hanging out, cloudy sky and reappearance

This lovely little tulip was hanging out all by itself at the park on Saturday morning, just waiting to pose for the camera.  It was a lovely respite, this walk, after a week of battling traffic during, what we're calling, The New Normal, in Atlanta, after the I-85 bridge collapse.

And back home at the condos - a glorious Saturday morning sky.  I was walking over to look at the dogwood tree, there on the right, but love the look of that cloud formation and a couple of puffs of cloud that had escaped, there at the top.

And the pink Dogwood tree in the condo driveway blooms again.  Someone did a wonderful job landscaping this complex when it was built 30 or so years ago.  It's lovely to see old friends like those pink blossoms reappear year after year.

Hope you have a good week, my friends!

Spring forward, lovely read and beauties

The sky never seems to disappoint at this little corner of the world in northwest Atlanta.  The week after daylight savings time sprang to be, I left for work in the darkness and arrived to work to these pink puffed beauties.

Leonora wrote about her latest good reads in a recent blog post.  I'm listening to this one during my commute.  I told a friend at work this morning that I'm smiling during the drive and not obsessing about traffic.  It's a  lovely story about a widower who finds a charm bracelet that belonged to his late wife and embarks on a journey to find out more about her past and even more about himself. 

It was a chilly morning last Saturday when friend Laura and I walked in the park and caught up with life.  She never questions why I stop to snap photos with my phone and encouraged me to get this close up of the buds of this flowering tree.  We dropped into the 20s (f) this week - so cold.  I hope these lovelies survived.

Spring is around the corner.  Sigh.

Just breathe, pink haze and have a good week

This is by no means the best photograph of the super moon from November 14 (taken with iPhone 6 and a little grainy), but it represents my view, as I stood in the street of my neighborhood after a challenging week and just breathed.

I could still see that same beautiful moon this morning - the internet tells me that occurs because it's really the sun's light reflecting off of the moon's surface.  It was off to the right here, but I wasn't able to get a photo of it (don't worry - I was at a complete stop.)  I did get the hazy, pink glow over the skyline of midtown Atlanta (here on I-85 south).  The haze is from smoke blowing in from wildfires in northern Georgia and western North Carolina - not a good thing at all, but it did make the skyline look mystic.

I hope you have a good week.  Hugs!

Rolling clouds, moon with three names and captivated

- The skyline of midtown Atlanta up ahead during my morning commute this week.  And look at that beautiful sky!  Don't worry - we were all stopped.  Really stopped.

 - The Buck Moon that happened Tuesday night.  So called because bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time.  It's also known as the Thunder Moon, because of the frequent thunderstorms in July.  And it is also known as the Capricorn Moon.

- And more sitting in traffic.  On Thursday morning, I was captivated by this commuter pup - on an early morning trip with its person.

Here's something else to be captivated by:  the weekend!  I hope yours is lovely.

Special gift, still a puppy and beauty at home

- Receiving this photo in a text message from niece Amanda, who lives in Madison, Florida, "This huge dragonfly was on our porch tonight, and Kloie saw it before anyone else & yelled, "Miss Amanda!  Please take a picture of this dragonfly & send it to Aunt Lynn!!!!"  Kloie is six-years-old and Amanda's future step-daughter (she and Kloie's dad, Travis, will be married next March.)  I am delighted to call her my Great Niece already.  She is already beloved to all of us.

I've always loved dragonflies.  And then yesterday morning, feeling unmotivated to get to work, I was sitting at a traffic light five minutes away - and three dragonflies swirled and soared around my car and then flew north.

- This photo, also from a text, taken by my older sister on a visit with niece Carla in Ankara, Turkey of  the family's not-quite-well-behaved dog Eva.  Our younger sister texted, "Is that dog standing on the table?"  :)

- And at home, neighbor Rhonda's bountiful flowers.  She and I conspire on planting every spring, but her flowers are always the most beautiful.

I love early morning watering.  The birds around the condos are fully awake at 6am and provide a glorious symphony of singing to each other.  I love their calls and answers.  

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Three beautiful things, cake and along the way

- Friend and coworker Bren gave me this card for my birthday last Thursday (with a gift card for lattes).  I love the owl magnets attached and those truly beautiful words.

- And then friend and coworker Joanne brought in this delicious little cake around lunchtime and sang happy birthday.  If I had to work on my birthday, all of these things made it so nice.

- Aaaand - Mr. C's sign made me chuckle, as it so often does.  It's probably not always good to be lucky - I just wonder what happened to inspire that.  :)

Almost home, grinning from ear to ear and recipe of the month

- Around 6pm Thursday evening and on my way home - I had so much time to sit at this red light that I marveled at how beautiful those bare, winter trees are against the darkening sky.

- On Tuesday evening - arriving at my volunteer place, Georgia Public Broadcasting, a young man in a bright blue t-shirt was taking a selfie at this spot with Cookie Monster, grinning from ear to ear.  It took me a minute to figure that was he, since he has fruit in front of him, not cookies.

- My baker's rack, full of cookbooks.  When I bought this thing, several years ago, I had to donate a box full of cookbooks that wouldn't fit (vowing to put them all in this one place.)  My niece and I were talking about this - we both print out recipes a lot (you can see some crammed in there if you click to enlarge).  So my new vow is to cook something out of each of those books at least once a month and I'll post about it here.  I'll start with Alice Waters's Chez Panisse Vegetables there on top and report back!  I told friend Leisa, when we had dinner this week, that vegetables are my favorite thing, so that's a perfect place to start.

It's Friday!  Happy Friday.  Have a great weekend, y'all!

Smiling faces, remnants and not stressed out

It's pretty telling about the week I've had when all I have to post about is a sandwich, cheese and bad traffic.  :)  But here goes anyway!

-Tuesday was National Sandwich Day, so I went to Jersey Mike's - my favorite submarine sandwich near my office.  This is the #4 regular served "Mike's Way" (onions, lettuce, tomatoes, olive oil blend, red wine vinegar and spices).  The #4 isn't on the menu, but was the featured sub a couple of years ago, so they still make it for me.  The employees behind the counter were all smiling at me when I walked in on Tuesday and the lead sandwich maker said, "#4?" and pointed up to the sign above him.  It's the featured sub once again.  :)

- I like to go through the cheese "remnant" basket in the Whole Food cheese shop.  It's a great way to sample interesting looking cheeses at a low price.  Wednesday lunch was Cotswold cheese - I always seem to love cheese from the UK. "Cotswold is a variation of Double Gloucester, which has been supplemented with chopped onions and chives for added flavour. Cotswold originates in Gloucestershire County of England."  It was delicious and a perfect lunch with a cup of soup on a rainy day. 

- Friend Caroline and I were grumbling last night about driving in rainy traffic this week (she referred to us as "the grumpy travelers" to another friend)  :).  It took me 1.5 hours to go 20 miles yesterday morning and the same in the evening - pretty common in the rain and not the worst commute in the Atlanta area I've heard of, by any means.  In the morning, a song by 21 Pilots came on the radio and I really listened to the lyrics.  It's called "Stressed Out" - the link to the video is here.  I love that their parents are included in the video!  Somehow this song made my morning go better, as I passed accidents and arrived safely at work (only 1/2 hour late) in the rain.

It's supposed to rain until the middle of next week.  I think I might go to Jersey Mike's for lunch again today - where smiling faces always await me.  Have a great weekend, my friends!

Beside the front door, through the windshield and fun gift

- These mums graced the table of my Clan's tent at the Stone Mountain Highland games two weeks ago and they are still pretty beside my front door.  The fake pumpkin was purchased on sale one year at Rite Aid pharmacy after Halloween. 

- The majority of the turning leaves around here have already fallen due to all the rain we had during the last few days.  But these beauties were spotted on my commute home yesterday, taken through the windshield.  The late afternoon sun was hitting them just right.

- And I'm all ready for Halloween on Saturday night.  Last year two teenage girls knocked on my door for treats and that was it.  One of them didn't even have a candy bag - she just held her purse open.  :)   The fun plastic spiderweb bowl was given to me by a friend.  I love it.

This is a very orange post, isn't it?  I'm sad to see October come to a close - it just flew by.  But good things will happen in November, too - I just know it.  Have a great weekend, my friends!

Day is done, can't get it out of my head and more quiet

- I would have never captured this image if I hadn't been listening to the last bit of the audio book I was about to return to the library.  I was sitting in the library parking lot listening and thinking how beautiful the winter branches of that tree looked against the 6pm sky.  The real story here is about taking a quiet few moments to look at simple things around me like this.

- Finally watching the film Saving Mr. Banks, the story of the making of the film Mary Poppins.  My sister Jo and I loved "Mary Poppins" when we were children and had the soundtrack.  So I found that I knew every word to some of the songs, particularly "Let's go fly a kite."  I've been singing it all this week.  Here's a link to the scene in the "Saving Mr. Banks" in which the song is pitched to PL Travers (played so well by Emma Thompson that I forgot it was her I was watching.)

- Driving home from the eye doctor with eyes so dilated I turned off the audio book and the radio and just concentrated on driving.  And then realizing I kind of liked the quiet. 

Audio books make my long commute more than bearable.  And I tend to listen to things I wouldn't normally read.  Right now I'm listening to another Lee Child book and have a Nevada Barr book waiting for after that.  Both authors stretch reality a bit, but that's what make them good mystery / thrillers, I guess.  :)  Have a good weekend!

Bumper crop, coming around and in the air

- Coworker Bobby has a winter garden at home, in which he grows mustard greens and kale, among other things.  He brought boxes of both in last week and we all left with (clean) trash bags full of greens to take home.  I was laughing after I braised all of those mustard greens in broth on Sunday, that it yielded exactly this amount (see above).  That's my Monday desk lunch above with a chunk of cornbread.  The greens were just seasoned with a little Kosher salt and some apple cider vinegar.  Pretty good.

- January has never been my favorite month, but now that we have Downton Abbey, it's coming around for me. 

- A chilly, foggy commute this morning, but as I approached midtown Atlanta on I-85 south, I could smell something like bread baking.  But then realized it was the glorious fumes from the SweetWater Brewing Company down on the right.  Lovely to think that beer brewing gives off that comforting scent in the air.

 Three things that gave me pleasure the last two days:  food sharing, Downton Abbey and the smell of beer brewing.  :)

Gathered by nature, drive by laughter and great work spot

- On a bright October afternoon, spotting a rock drawing someone scratched onto a wall at the park near work.  If click to enlarge, you can see the beauty of the rocks and leaves gathered by nature on the lower right.

- From Mr Cs Bar & Grill sign:  Safer than the White House.  Indeed!  The sign made me lol when I passed it on my way into work this morning, so the lol cat is in honor of that.  :)  It was raining (again), so no way to stop and get a pic. 

- Mr Cs and the park where the drawing was are about 1/2 mile from each other.  Truly a wonderful blend of urban life and nature in my workplace of NW Atlanta.

It's my 1400th post today.  How about that?   Hope you have a great weekend, my friends!

Saving the planet, currently listening and currently reading

- The sign for Mr C's Bar & Grill near my office: "Mr C's - Saving the Planet by Making People Walk Home."  Good for them, I say!  It's been at least a couple of years, I think, since they have posted whimsical things on their sign. Hopefully it's a trend - I need humor for my commute.  :)  See Mr C's on Labels, below, for past signage.

- Currently listening during my commute:  Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, one of his Jack Reacher books.  Violent at times, but every one is a cracking good suspense yarn.  I have another waiting for me at the library - I am having a Jack Reacher marathon.  Jack wanders the country with only a toothbrush and an old passport in his pocket.  He buys new clothes every three days and swears by his wandering lifestyle. He manages to save (or mostly save) the day in each book. 

- Currently reading at home:  The Quiet American by Graham Greene.  I'm only a few pages in - and book group meets on it Sunday night.  The link has a review of it, from The New York Times, circa 1956.  The internet is so marvelous for items like that.

Looking forward to a quiet day on Saturday to sit and read.  Celebrating the weekend over here!  I hope yours is lovely.

Good things happened, side by side and laughing all the way

- "This is what we will do.  We will go and put good things into the world...and the trees and the flowers and the sky will be so happy."  Spotted by my sister in a shop in Pensacola, Florida - she loved it and I wish I could afford to buy it for her.  ($$$)  She doesn't know I have a blog, let alone about the "good things" reference, so of course I loved that part the most.

- Spotting about 25 birds sitting side by side on a power line this morning observing rush hour traffic on I-85 southbound.  I wonder what they were thinking?  I think they were thinking they are happy they can fly.

- A man and woman sitting in the front of moving van, stopped at the red light on the other side of the intersection this morning at 7:30am.  They were smiling and laughing.  Probably a long moving day for them, so they were off to a happy start.  :)

And I'm happy - it's Friday!!!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

Happy Day, hugs and the weather is a 10

- It's looking as if just me and some trucks are on the way to work at 7am.  :)  But have a look a the message on the back of the dump truck.  (Hint - see post title.)  We were at a dead standstill, so I was able to snap the shot with my phone.  Click to enlarge. 

- There is a big family wedding this weekend and everyone is coming to it.  I haven't seen or hugged a family member since February 9, until last night when my Shenandoah Valley sister and brother-in-law came into Atlanta to stay with me until we leave for the wedding on Saturday.  I was hug deprived, and now I'm not.

- The weather clearing up just in time for a bride to walk down the aisle.  And now they can have a blue sky reception, too.

Life has been very busy the last several days - I think I'm way behind on blog visiting and comments, but can be around some today, I hope.  Have a lovely weekend, everyone!