tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114002152024-03-08T10:23:15.477-05:00Make a Mental NoteLuciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1133737599913623682023-04-27T12:48:00.000-04:002023-04-27T12:48:24.674-04:00When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (W. Whitman)<b>When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd<br /><br />By <a href=/poets/196.html>Walt Whitman</a><br />1819-1892</b><br /><hr width="18%" align="left"><br /><i>1</i><br /><br />When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,<br />And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,<br />I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.<br /><br />Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,<br />Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,<br />And thought of him I love.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/manet/manet_lilac_in_a_vase.jpg" frame="_top"><img src="http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/manet/manet_lilac_in_a_vase.jpg" width=50% align="right"></a><br /><i>2</i><br /><br />O powerful western fallen star!<br />O shades of night--O moody, tearful night!<br />O great star disappear'd--O the black murk that hides the star!<br />O cruel hands that hold me powerless--O helpless soul of me!<br />O harsh surrounding cloud that will not free my soul.<br /><br /><i>3</i><br /><br />In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash'd palings,<br />Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,<br />With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,<br />With every leaf a miracle--and from this bush in the dooryard,<br />With delicate-color'd blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,<br />A sprig with its flower I break.<br /><br /><i>4</i><br /><br /><a href="http://bailey.aros.net/nature/images/Hermit%20Thrush%20good.jpg" frame="_top"><img src="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Ft1.gstatic.com%2Flicensed-image%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcQhGtp6wGlOAsijMK3vsoAJXO1krNSUCD6kXONSmPsLxtn4YOLTTLi8weDzG2cWro9TlMcZ6FuB-ajz4H0&psig=AOvVaw10TmBzCmzCvXQDYY6EhkEr&ust=1682700435280000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCJC2vePByv4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE" width=50% align="left"></a><br/>
In the swamp in secluded recesses,<br />A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song.<br /><br />Solitary the thrush,<br />The hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements,<br />Sings by himself a song.<br /><br />Song of the bleeding throat,<br />Death's outlet song of life, (for well dear brother I know,<br />If thou wast not granted to sing thou wouldist surely die.)<br /><br /><br /><i>5</i><br /><br />Over the breast of the spring, the land, amid cities,<br />Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the violets peep'd<br />from the ground, spotting the gray debris,<br />Amid the grass in the fields each side of the lanes, passing the<br />endless grass,<br />Passing the yellow-spear'd wheat, every grain from its shroud in the<br />dark-brown fields uprisen,<br />Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the orchards,<br />Carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave,<br />Night and day journeys a coffin.<br /><br /><i>6</i><br /><br />Coffin that passes through lanes and streets,<br />Through day and night with the great cloud darkening the land,<br />With the pomp of the inloop'd flags with the cities draped in black,<br />With the show of the States themselves as of crape-veil'd women standing,<br />With processions long and winding and the flambeaus of the night,<br />With the countless torches lit, with the silent sea of faces and the<br />unbared heads,<br />With the waiting depot, the arriving coffin, and the sombre faces,<br />With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong<br />and solemn,<br />With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour'd around the coffin,<br />The dim-lit churches and the shuddering organs--where amid these<br />you journey,<br />With the tolling tolling bells' perpetual clang,<br />Here, coffin that slowly passes,<br />I give you my sprig of lilac.<br /><br /><i>7</i><br /><br />(Nor for you, for one alone,<br />Blossoms and branches green to coffins all I bring,<br />For fresh as the morning, thus would I chant a song for you O sane<br />and sacred death.<br /><br />All over bouquets of roses,<br />O death, I cover you over with roses and early lilies,<br />But mostly and now the lilac that blooms the first,<br />Copious I break, I break the sprigs from the bushes,<br />With loaded arms I come, pouring for you,<br />For you and the coffins all of you O death.)<br /><br /><i>8</i><br /><br />O western orb sailing the heaven,<br />Now I know what you must have meant as a month since I walk'd,<br />As I walk'd in silence the transparent shadowy night,<br />As I saw you had something to tell as you bent to me night after night,<br />As you droop'd from the sky low down as if to my side, (while the<br />other stars all look'd on,)<br />As we wander'd together the solemn night, (for something I know not<br />what kept me from sleep,)<br />As the night advanced, and I saw on the rim of the west how full you<br />were of woe,<br />As I stood on the rising ground in the breeze in the cool transparent night,<br />As I watch'd where you pass'd and was lost in the netherward black<br />of the night,<br />As my soul in its trouble dissatisfied sank, as where you sad orb,<br />Concluded, dropt in the night, and was gone.<br /><br /><i>9</i><br /><br />Sing on there in the swamp,<br />O singer bashful and tender, I hear your notes, I hear your call,<br />I hear, I come presently, I understand you,<br />But a moment I linger, for the lustrous star has detain'd me,<br />The star my departing comrade holds and detains me.<br /><br /><i>10</i><br /><br />O how shall I warble myself for the dead one there I loved?<br />And how shall I deck my song for the large sweet soul that has gone?<br />And what shall my perfume be for the grave of him I love?<br /><br />Sea-winds blown from east and west,<br />Blown from the Eastern sea and blown from the Western sea, till<br />there on the prairies meeting,<br />These and with these and the breath of my chant,<br />I'll perfume the grave of him I love.<br /><br /><i>11</i><br /><br />O what shall I hang on the chamber walls?<br />And what shall the pictures be that I hang on the walls,<br />To adorn the burial-house of him I love?<br />Pictures of growing spring and farms and homes,<br />With the Fourth-month eve at sundown, and the gray smoke lucid and bright,<br />With floods of the yellow gold of the gorgeous, indolent, sinking<br />sun, burning, expanding the air,<br />With the fresh sweet herbage under foot, and the pale green leaves<br />of the trees prolific,<br />In the distance the flowing glaze, the breast of the river, with a<br />wind-dapple here and there,<br />With ranging hills on the banks, with many a line against the sky,<br />and shadows,<br />And the city at hand with dwellings so dense, and stacks of chimneys,<br />And all the scenes of life and the workshops, and the workmen<br />homeward returning.<br /><br /><i>12</i><br /><br />Lo, body and soul--this land,<br />My own Manhattan with spires, and the sparkling and hurrying tides,<br />and the ships,<br />The varied and ample land, the South and the North in the light,<br />Ohio's shores and flashing Missouri,<br />And ever the far-spreading prairies cover'd with grass and corn.<br /><br />Lo, the most excellent sun so calm and haughty,<br />The violet and purple morn with just-felt breezes,<br />The gentle soft-born measureless light,<br />The miracle spreading bathing all, the fulfill'd noon,<br />The coming eve delicious, the welcome night and the stars,<br />Over my cities shining all, enveloping man and land.<br /><br /><i>13</i><br /><br />Sing on, sing on you gray-brown bird,<br />Sing from the swamps, the recesses, pour your chant from the bushes,<br />Limitless out of the dusk, out of the cedars and pines.<br /><br />Sing on dearest brother, warble your reedy song,<br />Loud human song, with voice of uttermost woe.<br /><br />O liquid and free and tender!<br />O wild and loose to my soul--O wondrous singer!<br />You only I hear--yet the star holds me, (but will soon depart,)<br />Yet the lilac with mastering odor holds me.<br /><br /><i>14</i><br /><br />Now while I sat in the day and look'd forth,<br />In the close of the day with its light and the fields of spring, and<br />the farmers preparing their crops,<br />In the large unconscious scenery of my land with its lakes and forests,<br />In the heavenly aerial beauty, (after the perturb'd winds and the storms,)<br />Under the arching heavens of the afternoon swift passing, and the<br />voices of children and women,<br />The many-moving sea-tides, and I saw the ships how they sail'd,<br />And the summer approaching with richness, and the fields all busy<br />with labor,<br />And the infinite separate houses, how they all went on, each with<br />its meals and minutia of daily usages,<br />And the streets how their throbbings throbb'd, and the cities pent--<br />lo, then and there,<br />Falling upon them all and among them all, enveloping me with the rest,<br />Appear'd the cloud, appear'd the long black trail,<br />And I knew death, its thought, and the sacred knowledge of death.<br /><br />Then with the knowledge of death as walking one side of me,<br />And the thought of death close-walking the other side of me,<br />And I in the middle as with companions, and as holding the hands of<br />companions,<br />I fled forth to the hiding receiving night that talks not,<br />Down to the shores of the water, the path by the swamp in the dimness,<br />To the solemn shadowy cedars and ghostly pines so still.<br /><br />And the singer so shy to the rest receiv'd me,<br />The gray-brown bird I know receiv'd us comrades three,<br />And he sang the carol of death, and a verse for him I love.<br /><br />From deep secluded recesses,<br />From the fragrant cedars and the ghostly pines so still,<br />Came the carol of the bird.<br /><br />And the charm of the carol rapt me,<br />As I held as if by their hands my comrades in the night,<br />And the voice of my spirit tallied the song of the bird.<br /><br />Come lovely and soothing death,<br />Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving,<br />In the day, in the night, to all, to each,<br />Sooner or later delicate death.<br /><br />Prais'd be the fathomless universe,<br />For life and joy, and for objects and knowledge curious,<br />And for love, sweet love--but praise! praise! praise!<br />For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding death.<br /><br />Dark mother always gliding near with soft feet,<br />Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome?<br />Then I chant it for thee, I glorify thee above all,<br />I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly.<br /><br />Approach strong deliveress,<br />When it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead,<br />Lost in the loving floating ocean of thee,<br />Laved in the flood of thy bliss O death.<br /><br />From me to thee glad serenades,<br />Dances for thee I propose saluting thee, adornments and feastings for thee,<br />And the sights of the open landscape and the high-spread shy are fitting,<br />And life and the fields, and the huge and thoughtful night.<br /><br />The night in silence under many a star,<br />The ocean shore and the husky whispering wave whose voice I know,<br />And the soul turning to thee O vast and well-veil'd death,<br />And the body gratefully nestling close to thee.<br /><br />Over the tree-tops I float thee a song,<br />Over the rising and sinking waves, over the myriad fields and the<br />prairies wide,<br />Over the dense-pack'd cities all and the teeming wharves and ways,<br />I float this carol with joy, with joy to thee O death.<br /><br /><i>15</i><br /><br />To the tally of my soul,<br />Loud and strong kept up the gray-brown bird,<br />With pure deliberate notes spreading filling the night.<br /><br />Loud in the pines and cedars dim,<br />Clear in the freshness moist and the swamp-perfume,<br />And I with my comrades there in the night.<br /><br />While my sight that was bound in my eyes unclosed,<br />As to long panoramas of visions.<br /><br />And I saw askant the armies,<br />I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags,<br />Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierc'd with missiles I saw them,<br />And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody,<br />And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence,)<br />And the staffs all splinter'd and broken.<br /><br />I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them,<br />And the white skeletons of young men, I saw them,<br />I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war,<br />But I saw they were not as was thought,<br />They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer'd not,<br />The living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd,<br />And the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd,<br />And the armies that remain'd suffer'd.<br /><br /><i>16</i><br /><br />Passing the visions, passing the night,<br />Passing, unloosing the hold of my comrades' hands,<br />Passing the song of the hermit bird and the tallying song of my soul,<br />Victorious song, death's outlet song, yet varying ever-altering song,<br />As low and wailing, yet clear the notes, rising and falling,<br />flooding the night,<br />Sadly sinking and fainting, as warning and warning, and yet again<br />bursting with joy,<br />Covering the earth and filling the spread of the heaven,<br />As that powerful psalm in the night I heard from recesses,<br />Passing, I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves,<br />I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring.<br /><br />I cease from my song for thee,<br />From my gaze on thee in the west, fronting the west, communing with thee,<br />O comrade lustrous with silver face in the night.<br /><br />Yet each to keep and all, retrievements out of the night,<br />The song, the wondrous chant of the gray-brown bird,<br />And the tallying chant, the echo arous'd in my soul,<br />With the lustrous and drooping star with the countenance full of woe,<br />With the holders holding my hand nearing the call of the bird,<br />Comrades mine and I in the midst, and their memory ever to keep, for<br />the dead I loved so well,<br />For the sweetest, wisest soul of all my days and lands--and this for<br />his dear sake,<br />Lilac and star and bird twined with the chant of my soul,<br />There in the fragrant pines and the cedars dusk and dim.<br /><hr width="18%" align="left"><br /><p><i>DayPoems Poem No. 2059</i><a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/2059.html">When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd by Walt Whitman</a></p>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-85409047455172266232023-04-27T06:41:00.004-04:002023-04-27T06:43:04.361-04:00The Brave Sparrow: The Story of Mars and the Birdbath<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewevpxs9_bA-Qgqerv3z8T-lFmO0EHbt85rcc-uVbyh9x9VCUBDRP0CUf65uC1fwswOGXE-rBnCVddccIAXbkBOq8-gicVrNckGu4vOx_AWncgZ95C_uA1JmrB5PwDpvBJXELk-dReyflPALX-Bze_hmNMskHJ_dwg6Rowwps2LrmlxCLKw/s1448/5DADFE52-2D82-474E-BCB9-9AB7E5FBCDC9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewevpxs9_bA-Qgqerv3z8T-lFmO0EHbt85rcc-uVbyh9x9VCUBDRP0CUf65uC1fwswOGXE-rBnCVddccIAXbkBOq8-gicVrNckGu4vOx_AWncgZ95C_uA1JmrB5PwDpvBJXELk-dReyflPALX-Bze_hmNMskHJ_dwg6Rowwps2LrmlxCLKw/s320/5DADFE52-2D82-474E-BCB9-9AB7E5FBCDC9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p> The Brave Sparrow: The Story of Mars and the Birdbath</p><p> Once upon a time, there was a small sparrow named Mars. He lived in a grassy meadow, close to a beautiful, lush forest full of vibrant birds and animals. Every day, Mars would fly around looking for food or just to explore. One day, while soaring through the sky, he spotted something—a bright, reflective object at the edge of the forest. Flying down, he discovered that it was actually a birdbath filled with sparkling, clean water.</p><p>Mars was overjoyed because he had never seen such a thing before. He flapped his wings excitedly and hopped onto the edge of the bath. To his surprise, the water was very refreshing and he stayed there quenching his thirst until he was completely refreshed.</p><p>He enjoyed the taste of the fresh water and the peace and quiet near the birdbath. So, he decided to make it his home. From that day onwards, no matter what kind of weather, Mars would come to the birdbath to drink and dip his wings in the cool, clear water every day.</p><p>He also enjoyed that other birds would often come to the birdbath to join him, so he made a lot of friends. They'd fly around together in the meadow, gathering seed and sharing stories about the day’s adventures.</p><p>For many months, Mars enjoyed living near the birdbath, but one day he noticed some strange movement in the grass near the forest edge. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was actually a hawk, trying to prey on one of the other birds. Mars was so scared and wanted to help, but he was alone.</p><p>So, he thought of a plan. He called out loudly to the other birds, who joined him in a spectacular flurry of feathers. The hawk was so intimidated by the sudden appearance of the birds and the sound of their chirping, that it quickly flew away.</p><p>From that day on, Mars was known as the brave sparrow who protected his homeland. He was always remembered for his courage and loyalty to the other birds.</p><p>The entire forest was so proud of Mars, and to this day, the birdbath is still a beloved monument in the meadow, a reminder of the brave sparrow, Mars.</p>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-53373156956360618752019-12-03T14:37:00.003-05:002019-12-07T22:25:12.973-05:00Quick WW Recipe Sources<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Quick WW Recipe Sources<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Google “Weight Watchers” or “WW” to find more inspiration!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/303107893546374/" target="_blank">Air Fryer Weight Watchers Recipes (Facebook)</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.recipe-diaries.com/air-fryer-recipes/" target="_blank">Air Fryer recipes</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://slapdashmom.com/" target="_blank">Slap Dash Mom Weight Watchers Recipes</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://slapdashmom.com/">https://slapdashmom.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://slapdashmom.com/category/recipes/instant-pot/">https://slapdashmom.com/category/recipes/instant-pot/</a><o:p><a href="https://slapdashmom.com/category/recipes/instant-pot/">Slap Dash Mom Instapot WW</a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.skinnytaste.com/smart-points/" target="_blank">SkinnyTaste Weight Watchers and Instapot Recipes</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.skinnytaste.com/smart-points/">https://www.skinnytaste.com/smart-points/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.skinnytaste.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/https://www.skinnytaste.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/">https://www.skinnytaste.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/https://www.skinnytaste.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2019/02/weight-watchers-zero-point-lunchbox.html" target="_blank">Weight Watchers Zero Point Lunchbox</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2019/02/weight-watchers-zero-point-lunchbox.html">https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2019/02/weight-watchers-zero-point-lunchbox.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/blog/food/easy-instapot-recipes" target="_blank">WW Instapot receipes</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/blog/food/easy-instapot-recipes">https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/blog/food/easy-instapot-recipes</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Easy WW Recipes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://simple-nourished-living.com/category/food-health/weight-watchers-recipes-five-ingredients/<a href="https://simple-nourished-living.com/category/food-health/weight-watchers-recipes-five-ingredients/" target="_blank">https://simple-nourished-living.com/category/food-health/weight-watchers-recipes-five-ingredients/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-51606192178268864262014-07-23T14:54:00.001-04:002014-07-23T14:55:53.813-04:00Video Job Interview Etiquette
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Video job interviews are just as relevant as an in-person interview, but can be more challenging. Preparing and rehearsing for video job interviews is the key to success.
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You will need the proper technologies tested and ready, a quiet, well-lit place where you can focus your thoughts, the job description and resume within eyesight, and your interview wardrobe chosen and ready.
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<b>Dress for Success:</b> Interview clothing must be professional, not business casual or casual, even though you may be interviewing at home. First impressions occur within a matter of seconds and are lasting. Make sure your clothing is clean and pressed, appropriate for a boardroom presentation (such as a suit and tie, or two-piece skirt suit with blouse), and seasonal. Make sure whatever you wear doesn’t pinch or pull, because you will need to be composed and comfortable.
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<b>Grooming:</b> Make sure you are showered, teeth brushed, your hair is fixed in a professional presentation, and your nails clean and manicured. If you wear glasses, make sure they are free of dust and smudges.
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<b>Location:</b> The room you choose should be quiet, where you can focus without interruptions. You will need to shut off your cell phone, unplug your landline, and turn off background noises such as TV or radio. If you are using Skype, set your profile to “Busy” or “Away” (and for Webex, “In a meeting”) in order to stop interruptions. Look behind and around where you will be facing the camera, and remove all objects that would not be seen in a meeting or conference room setting. For example, plants are fine, but kids and pets should be kept out of the area. Sit or stand at a distance where your head and shoulders are visible to the other person. Lighting should show your face, not the back of your head, so arrange advantageous lighting. You might want to keep the resume and job description within immediate eyesight, for quick reference.
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<b>On-Camera Etiquette:</b> Your job is to present your skills, charm and personality on video, and to engage the other person. Remember all the important interview tactics such as maintaining near-constant eye contact and explaining past experience thoroughly, and with strong examples. Sit forward, keeping your head and shoulders in camera view, and do not lean back. Look at the camera lens, not the screen, in order to engage the other person’s eye contact. Keep feet evenly on the ground and maintain balance (don’t shift your weight too often). Try not to interrupt the other person while they are speaking; sometimes there are slight delays in internet speed, even with the fastest communication technologies. Try to talk in paragraphs, not pages, because your voice can muffle or stretch through technology channels. Act both naturally and professionally, paying attention to what the other person is saying. At the end of the interview, be sure to thank the other person for his or her time.
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How to check yourself: Use the video software image of yourself, reduce its size, and then position it on your screen so that it is directly under the camera lens. Take a quick peek at it now and then to be sure you are presenting yourself in the best way possible. (Your occasional glances at the tiny image near the camera lens will not break your eye contact or appear distracting to the other person.)
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<b>Testing:</b> Perform a "mini-test run" to work out kinks. Ideally, practice talking to someone else with a computer webcam, so you can see how you project yourself. Be sure to test for sound quality, and if you need to replace computer microphone and/or speakers with a headset, make sure you have time to buy and install one prior to your interview.
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<b>Additional Reading:</b>
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<a href="http://live.wsj.com/video/how-to-handle-a-job-interview-over-skype/46076C01-E1F3-404C-BA0F-FACB07C685CC.html#!46076C01-E1F3-404C-BA0F-FACB07C685CC">Video: How to Handle a Job Interiew over Skype,</a> The Wall Street Journal, 2010.<br>
<a href="http://www.interviewsuccessformula.com/interview-preparation/preparing-for-a-virtual-job-interview.php">Preparing for a Virtual Job Interview,</a> by “Interview Success Formula.”<br>
<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~speacare/guides/virtual_interviews.pdf">Ace Your Virtual Interview Quick Tipsheet,</a> Indiana University Career Development Office.<br>
<a href="https://ulife.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/blog/2013/04/10/hello-hello-preparing-for-phone-and-skypefacetime-interviews/">Hello? Hello!? Preparing for Phone and Skype/Facetime Interviews,</a> University of Pennsylvania, Jamie Grant, 2013.<br>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-78122614884585508662014-06-23T17:46:00.000-04:002014-06-23T17:47:54.356-04:00Do Not Buy from Gevalia.com! EVER!DON'T buy coffee from Gevalia - They sent a debt collector after I paid $21.43 twice & sent proof of one of the cancelled checks. They credited someone else's acct, would not own the mistake for six months, finally did own the mistake, and then told ME to cancel the collection notices coming at me from their agency. It took almost a year for me to throw my hands up over the $21.43 and call an attorney to stop all the harassment coming from Gevalia and their debt collector. I paid it, I have the cancelled check, but Gevalia credited someone else, and then refused to stop harassing me. I've never encountered such terrible and stupid customer service IN MY LIFE.
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I paid this bill in October 2013, and again in March 2014. On the March cancelled check I noticed someone crossed out my account number and inked in a totally different one. I sent a copy of that check in every single correspondance with Gevalia, but only encountered sheer stupidity in return. North Shore is their collection agency.
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This is email number 9 from them on this same subject. I was a great and very constant customer with Gevalia since 2004. Now, I want to ruin them in return for driving up my blood pressure to the point where I am on three separate BP medications:
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Hi XXXXX,
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Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
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Our records show your last payment was made on 06/06/14. The last paid
amount is : $21.43. At this time, we show your outstanding balance is
now with Northshore. We ask that you please contact Northshore for
further assistance.<p>
We apologize for the inconvenience and hope this information has been
helpful. Thanks again for reaching out.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-10574840079029102462009-10-20T11:07:00.005-04:002014-08-16T16:36:59.888-04:00Do not quit Lexapro cold turkeyMy insurance company, US Healthcare, suddenly decided to take Lexapro off its formulary. It did this the same month I lost my job. I had to either pay $300 for my prescription (which I could not do), or quit cold turkey. So I quit cold turkey.<br /><br />So July 1 I quit taking it. It's now October 20 and I'm back on it for a week. I finally stopped crying yesterday after three months of uncontrollable sobbing.<br /><br />I think back on the darkness of my journey back to Lexapro.... The suicidal thoughts 24/7, the hot flashes, the feelings of being insane. Unable to communicate and feeling cut off from the world. Talking to myself out loud. Feeling dizzy, and uncoordinated. Shivering from cold when in a room temperature environment. Waking up in the middle of the night feeling desperate and ready to kill myself quietly and instantly and let the chips fall where they may. <br /><br />You don't phone a hotline when you're serious about suicide. You think about what to do with your pet. I had decided to bring Zacki to the vet and leave her there, come home, and kill myself. I had it all worked out. But between the hot and cold flashes, dizzy/nauseated feelings, and space-brain, I kept forgetting where I was and what I was doing. So I'd sit down again, and immerse in Second Life, or try to speak coherently to my friend Debbie, who has now become used to my going silent for weeks at a time. Depression sucks.<br /><br />I have a new job, and refilled my prescription, and took my first pill.... and the hot flashes which has been occurring every 45 minutes for 6 minutes duration, STOPPED. On the second dose, my brain cleared. It was like somebody removed a heavy foggy shroud from my mind. The chills stopped, and I don't have to sit at my desk at work with a blanket over me, shivering. Some how, some way, maybe it was the third dose -- I stopped thinking about suicide - and that is like a shrill radio in the background has been turned off. <br /><br />I honestly think, that Lexapro is more important right now, than my mortgage. They can foreclose on the house, I don't care, as long as I don't have to think about killing myself any more. It was a horror.<br /><br />Never quit Lexapro cold turkey. <br /><br />For me, Never quit Lexapro, period. I'm done with the withdrawal crap. I'm glad to have the drug back in my life. Apparently, I need it. So be it.<br /><br />United Heathcare, on the other hand, nearly killed me. I blame them 100% for my misery.
Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-77202697135142057882008-02-13T11:31:00.005-05:002008-02-15T22:15:44.334-05:00Commercial Mafia, or Earrings IncorporatedThe TV show Cashmere Mafia was interesting to me, for two episodes. Then I examined my own reactions to it and, laughing at my own folly, quit watching entirely. The show features a team of pretty leading ladies, with interesting clothing and makeup, and the occasional interesting man, escort or lesbian by their side.<br /><br />It goes like this: Five minutes of earrings and sass, followed by five minutes of commercials about skin solutions, hair dyes, diets, and makeovers. Then, five minutes of earrings and sass, followed by five minutes of commercials about skin solutions, hair dyes, diets, and makeovers.<br /><br />Cashmere Mafia is the ultimate guilt pack. You know you are being bombarded with magazine-like "You need to be skinny and rich" advertising, you know you've forgotten the plot again after the fourth minute of contiguous advertisements, and yet, you hang on for another peek at -- yes -- the earrings.<br /><br />I am not gong to comment on the earrings except to say they are creative and glittery, catching a woman's envious eye. I searched the net to see if anyone actually manufactured those earrings and that's when I stopped myself short of checking on the color of Lucy Liu's lipstick or shoes. Really, what a dolt I can be.<br /><br />Not that we shouldn't pay attention to all advertising! If a gray hair comes along, I am an educated consumer, and know exactly which L'Oreal Excellence *100% coverage!* box I need to buy in order to be more like my role models, those Fabulous models of earrings, those purveyors of glam.<br /><br />I think if there had been just a tad fewer commercials, I might have actually remembered the plot from time to time. But then -- maybe I'm all wrong about this, and we are SUPPOSED to remember the commercials, and not the plot? God what a thought - maybe I'm getting alzheimer's... what's the cure-all commercial for that again? I forget?Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-23982447603450581122007-07-08T13:23:00.001-04:002007-07-08T13:30:42.646-04:00Perfumes I'm wearing this summerIt's so hard to choose a summer perfume! There are the soft vanillas, the heady florals, the comforting ambers... and the refreshing greens. I've run amok. Here is what I'm wearing and I have yet to figure out why:<br />Bois d'Iris (Different Company)<br />Heroine (Strange Invisible Perfumes)<br />Chanel no. 19 (Chanel)<br />Luctor et Emergo (People of the Labyrinths)<br />Silver Crystal Amouage (Amouage)<br />Wild Thing (Rich Hippie)<br />Rose (Comme de Garcons)<br /><br />What? you say - where's the very Italian Carthusia Mediterraneo, the refreshing Vanille Orange, the sunny-dry Gobin-Daudes!! I've lost my mind. Next thing you know I'll be wearing something that smells like cake. White cake with pink icing. LOL Just shoot me now.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1160503860494472542006-10-10T14:10:00.000-04:002019-12-04T10:31:44.040-05:00To our perfumista friends who know SleepycatsSleepycats is in the hospital having a stem cell transplant (bone marrow transplant) right this minute. She is having the heavy blasts of chemo to prep her blood, and tomorrow morning at 9:30am Eastern time she will receive her stem cells. This treatment for her multiple myeloma is very difficult and sickening, and she's having a hard time of it. She spent all last night throwing up from her first blast of chemo. Her sickness will worsen until from next Sunday through next Friday we have been told will be an absolute horror. Then... gradual lessening, to tolerable conditions. Hopefully these stem cells will find their way into her bone marrow and make a home there, and produce good cancer-free bone-marrow producing blood for her in a short time. This is not a trivial process! There is a 10% fatality risk.<br /><br />I am asking you to take a minute and send blessings and positive thoughts to Sleepycats in a hospital in Philadelphia. She needs your love.<br /><br />Thanks!! Much love, LLuciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1154528625520024252006-08-02T10:21:00.000-04:002006-08-02T10:23:45.536-04:00100 degreesIt's 100 degrees and going up. Most perfumes are making me a little ill -- except:<br /><br />PDN Vanille Tonka (soft vanilla incense)<br />Carthusia - Mediterraneo (light soft lemony iced tea with a hint of balsamic rice)Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1153524342739258902006-07-21T19:22:00.000-04:002006-07-21T19:33:24.003-04:00Isabey Day!!It was coming. I kept thinking about Isabey Gardenia for over a week and then, this morning, I sprayed with abandon!! OMG. Lush creamy gardenia, tropical and luminous, sultry and sweet and animalic, so close to me all day long. The final drydown is the most heavenly refreshing gardenia. This perfume is addicting. It's soooo hard to find now, that I tend to hoard it :-( But oh my, what a killer to wear on a hot day in July. I am soooo in love with Isabey.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1153425172605375142006-07-20T15:45:00.000-04:002006-07-20T15:52:52.606-04:00Dorissima Goldmundhttp://www.luckyscent.com/shop/detail.asp?itemid=26600§ion=1<br /><br />Why is this perfume so perfect on a day when light kindling self-ignites? Because it's a luxurious skin scent, that grows more and more seductive as it plays off my body heat. I walk in a veil of iris root, rose, carnations, sandalwood, musks, balsam, and vanillas. The overall impression is sandalwood and balsam, the rest is fringe, until past drydown when it's like slightly incensy vanillas. This perfume could be relaxing, but probably for some very calm person LOL, not a hot fiery one like me. This one stokes me up and centers me, which is right - for me.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1153348201338077402006-07-19T18:09:00.000-04:002006-08-02T10:28:34.660-04:00Summer PerfumesOutdoor temperatures yesterday reached 100 degrees, and today it's in the 90's. I'm working in an office environment but the air conditioner is always shut off at 5pm and everyone works until at least 6. Sometimes during the day the a/c seems to be off and the fans on, and everyone just sort of melts into their chairs, passion and energy replaced by grumpiness, which is a shame...... because they're losing consciousness.....<br /><br />So I've been playing with my perfumes. Do I wear Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Alla Fresca, and stay green and fresh all day? Or how about something flowery and refreshing, like Creed's La Fleur de The Rose Bulgarie, a staple that stays in my purse. I tried Isabey Gardenia, a very heady gardenia that is so smooth and creamy it turms my slight sweat into pearls of greenhouse incense. What to wear in the dog days of summer?<br /><br />In the '80's I would have worn Angel had it been in production LOL. Sometimes I still look at it, and sniff the bottle, and long for it. But I want to keep my co-workers on my bright side so I won't do it hahahaha. A soft gourmand from Bed Bath and Beyond might be nice, and I have often considered wearing just the whipped buttercream frost body cream - but I always stop short, thinking of the mosquito frenzy that would ensue.<br /><br />Chanel No 5 extreme is stunning, as you probably already know. I think this is a perfume that can take the sun blasting heat, and enclosed airless office, and still remain fresh and good. I've never irritated anyone by wearing it, and in fact it's always awarded compliments. But to get up in the morning when it's 80 degrees and muggy, and think of Chanel - it's hard. Cringe. As beautiful as it is, it's sweet and sweet doesn't always appeal to me in the miserable heat.<br /><br />I don't have to tell you that for me, the churchy perfumes are out in this weather. So are the sticky buns cinnamon pumpkin parfait sugar wafer diabetic death ones. Uber sweet will make me queasy.<br /><br />So what do I wear? Those of you who know me already know the answer: POTL. I wear People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo body cream and/or parfum. It's sweet grasses, hay, marzipan, and marachino cherries, in a lovely drydown that is incensy and bright/summery. This is my *everything* perfume.<br /><br />I also find myself reaching for Amouage Silver Cristal. This perfume is no longer in commerce so I won't go into detail, but it does have some similarities with Chanel 19. Silver Cristal is green and desert dry, with undertones of moroccan roses and sandalwood. Men love it and for me, it goes everywhere.<br /><br />I wore San (Ruby, a limited edition) the other day and it was pretty good! A goth parfum, in my opinion, it's rose based with notes that are dressy and gothic. It was perfect for a summer evening out.<br /><br />What are your *extremely hot* summar perfumes - and why?Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1139761492687581862006-02-12T11:07:00.000-05:002006-02-12T11:29:18.190-05:00Pro-JUTE-what?How do you pronounce proscuitto? I've heard pro-JUTE in the movies so many times, that when I told the counterman at the Murphy's Supermarket deli to give me a half pound of pro-JUTE, he blinked for a second, then asked, "thin sliced?"<br /><br />So I called my aunt, a first-generation American who speaks perfect Italian, and I said "Aunt V I had the most delicious dinner last night, by rolling thinly sliced pro-JUTE around a small dollop of sour cream, with fresh chives on top. She said, "What?" (She almost always says "What?" because she's been experimenting with hearing aids lately and sometimes forgets to put them back into her ears.) I said, "I had the most..." She said, "No, you mean pro-JUTE-oh!" Ah, thank you I said to her, the ultimate expert on not only Italian pronunciation, but also food: she minored in cooking at Smith, and delights (as I do, it's a genetic thing) in our incredibly useful five - or six - senses.<br /><br />Pro-JUTE-oh, it turns out, is a diabetic's nightmare, so I only ate a couple of slices. The curing process must include sugar because it really jolts the glucose to the roof. But - like an annual piece of birthday cake - you gotta live, gotta taste life, even if just a little bit less than normal non-diabetics.<br /><br />"Fresh chives?" Yes - incredibly, here in South Jersey, and with this mild winter, I still have a few chives. I've been sprinkling them on my daily poached egg breakfast. But this morning, with 15 inches of snow on the ground, I'm sure the last of the fresh chives are doomed. Oh well, spring is right around the corner (sort of).<br /><br />I also bought scallops yesterday, and will wrap them in bacon, skewer with wooden toothpicks, and broil them for a few minutes later this afternoon. They go absolutely beautifully with spinach simmered in olive oil and fresh chopped garlic, and a good chardonnay. The bacon is complimentary to the spinach and garlic, and the chardonnay loves the delicate scallops. Once again, bacon having been cured with some sugar, a diabetic must be very careful to only eat a slice or two. But that is quite enough to go round several scallops, so a little goes a long way.<br /><br />I am wearing Eadward Indulge perfume today, because it's so perfect on a snowy wintry day. It smells like spices and vanilla and orange marmalade and gingerbread. And the sweet perfection of Indulge's homey, warming sillage, won't have my blood sugar roaring like the fire in my coal stove.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1137973837492965882006-01-22T18:40:00.000-05:002006-01-22T19:05:22.146-05:00Whole Wheat Pasta in Vodka Sauce and Kidney Beans (gag?)Tonight's dinner: Whole Wheat Pasta with Kidney Beans in Vodka Sauce.<br />Are you a diabetic too?<br /><br />My blood sugar whch has traditionally hovered around 280 to 425 is resting nicely at 121 after a lunch of sardines on whole wheat toast. That went over so nicely I thought I'd give the cardboard pasta a try. It's not so bad with a ton of vodka sauca on it! So with 5mg of glipizide (my regular nightly dose) and a glass of wine (which lowers blood sugar) the big question is, what's this big pasta feast gonna cost me? Am I going to wind up short of breath wishing I had insulin to counteract the big bad sugar monster? Or am I going to feel buyant and good, the sugar monster at bay and my regular blood flowing nicely throughout?<br /><br />Tick tock. Tick tock. I check my watch and wait the requisite 2 hours. Who wants to wait the 2 houirs? Have to.<br />Whoa!!! The result: 130. Are you kidding? I checked it again: 130. <br /><br />This is a record. An after dinner shockeroo. The pasta actually tasted halfway decent with the vodka sauce and kidney beans, so I ate a lot. Too much. Who cares, I just wanna have a decent dinner, I've had the WORST day and deserve a comfort food. But what is this? 130? It's registering like a gestapo-minded "you need to eat this" cardboard-flavored dinner. But hark! It's pretty decent, all things considered. I don't get it. But let it be known: you can have pasta and your bg can still test at 130. There you go! I'm writing this down for posterity.<br /><br />It was warm and comforting, pasta-esque with the wine and everything, and I even phoned my mother as I fished the colander out of the closet. Steam rose deliciously from the b\pot on the stove as I swirled the can of kidney beans into the vodka sauce and then into the cooked pasta, eventually allowing it to sit on the shut-down burner for a few minutes. The sauce smelled suspiciously delicious of fresh basil in thick rigotto and tomato paste. The whole wheat spaghetti was extra thick like linguini, and once it was bured in sauce you couldn't tell the linguini was green.<br /><br />Overall, with a sip of wine, and stabbing and turning the fork while talking to my mother on the phone, the steaming pasta went down like angels in a bowling alley. I slithered and fell, with grace, into the great opening in my esophagus, the big hungry hole, whose taste buds had already prayed to the great Virgin Mary that this food would taste good and not require cracked pepper, which I had run out of last night. No, it was perfection, in a word. And so was my blood sugar. Is this fabulous or what? I am thinking of making seconds.<br /><br />I will never disparage green linguini again. Or kidney beans! The doctor will never mention vodka sauce but believe you me, it's good for your nealth. So bon appetit!Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1135993047663401492005-12-30T20:21:00.000-05:002006-01-02T20:52:20.536-05:00<p align="center"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/41/78664827_947761d5c5.jpg"></p><br />I've crawled out of my cave to post The Best Of, with my friends. I'd really rather say something about my friends because they ARE worth telling the world about, but to be sociable and join in the fun, I will tell the world about the great makeup/perfume products I discovered in 2005. Here is my list, and it will be followed by a list of my friends blogs, so you can rummage around comparing 2005 Best Ofs:<br /><br /><h3>Best Of 2005</h3><br /><img src="http://a1377.g.akamai.net/7/1377/5720/20050928180047/www.sephora.com/assets/dyn/product/P78827/P78827_hero.jpg" align="right">1. <a href="http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml;jsessionid=HUPHHI5SFQ11PLAUCLBBXCQ?id=P78827&categoryId=RP&shouldPaginate=" target="_top">Philosophy Gingerbread Man Shower Gel and Bubble Bath.</a> I can't wake up without this product. My employer would be wise to ship a case of this stuff to me to ensure I get to work post-showered clean, refreshed, smiling, and smelling good.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://www.lusciouscargo.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TDCEDT002&Category_Code=TDC&Product_Count=2" target="_top">The Different Company's <b>Bois d'Iris</b> perfume.</a> After 30-mumblemumble years of adoring rose perfumes, I fell head over heels for iris and changed my signature scent. This is entirely Maller's fault. You know who you are.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://www.fresh.com/html/skincare/treat.shtml" target="_top">Fresh's Umbrian Clay Face Treatment</a> has taken my super-sensitive skin that blotches at a mere whisper of soap or heat, and treated it as the delicate porcelain pain in the *ss it is. I have found my soap, face mask, and treatment bar in the Umbrian Clay product line. I also use the Umbrian Clay toothpaste, shampoo, and hair mask. I am a FOOL in love with Umbrian Clay.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://store.nordstrom.com/product/product.asp?styleid=2876521&category=2377897~2377899~2382880&PrevStyleID=2876520&NextStyleID=none" target="_top">Stella Rose Absolute Parfum Intense.</a> I have been speechless since finding my love, Stella Rose Absolute. I thought Stella parfum was the be-all end-all of perfumes for me (aside from Bois d'Iris). But nooooo, there is a fresher jewel that brings me from a blousey cool rose-peony-amber friendly place in my home, to just inside the perimeter of my rose garden on a dewy morning in June. This is the perfume that is my most essential self. It is as though the perfumer made it exactly, and only, for the real and true ME.<br /><br />5. <a href="http://store.nordstrom.com/product/product_brandboutique.asp?styleid=2858460&boutique=la_prairie&category=2377897~2377898~2384643~2385042&Search=True&keyword=la+prairie+caviar+%3E+In+All+Categories&SearchType=keywordsearch" target="_top">La Prairie Extrait of Skin Caviar Firming Complex.</a> This is it, this is the secret of my skin, the reason it looks 10 years younger. Now you know.<br /><br /><img src="http://a1216.g.akamai.net/f/1216/955/6h/images2.nordstrom.com/images/store/product/medium/12023U.jpg" align="right">6. <a href="http://store.nordstrom.com/product/product_brandboutique.asp?styleid=2797696&boutique=bobbi_brown&category=2377897~2379264~2379208~2379393~2380178&SourceID=&refsid=11216U&origin=related%2Dboutique&refcat=2377897%7E2377898%7E2379385%7E2383387&slotid=3" target="_top">Bobbi Bell Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Violet Ink.</a> This eyeliner glides on like silk, makes a beautiful smoky line, stays put all day, and comes in really beautiful colors. I use Violet Ink most of the time, but also sometimes use Sepia Ink or Graphite Shimmer Ink, subtle yet rich smoky colors that are complimentary to my grey-blue eye color. This is the most essential make-up of my wardrobe.<br /><br />7. <a href="http://www.gloss.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1131063&sidenav=m" target="_top">Chanel Glossimer in Sensuelle.</a> The little swatches on Gloss.com and other sites have no bearing on the real color, which is a soft violet. It is like a soft fuschia that is lost in amethyst. This incredible color is very flattering and makes the teeth look whiter, the smile softer, and the skin flushed pink. I've never used a more flattering Glossimer (and I use SO MANY of them!!).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.lusciouscargo.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/potlcre001.jpg" align="left">8. <a href="http://www.lusciouscargo.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=POTLCRE001&Category_Code=POTL&Product_Count=1">People of the Labyrinths <b>Luctor et Emergo - Body Creme.</b></a> I think I was the first person to get a jar of this incredible body creme because Autumn, a very kind e-store proprietress, offered me her one and only sample (in a ripped box) at a huge discount. I grabbed it. I wasn't feeling well at the time and to have my favorite perfume in a thick creme form was true heaven. Well it is the thickest, richest body creme I've ever worn. It has an extremely high parfum content (parfum being the second listed ingredient!) so I can't imagine how they can afford to keep this stuff in production considering its decently low price. The body creme is all you need - no need to put on ANY perfume afterwards. It deeply conditions the skin and forms a thin waterproof shield, sort of like a second skin. This is truly magical stuff and I am never without it. My greatest fear is that it will cease production so I WILL have to buy a backup jar, and soon but I see Autumn doesn't carry it any more (!!!!) so I will grab a jar from Marcy quick.<br /><br />I use tons of other products but these are the most stand-out of 2005 for me. Of the 20 Glossimers in my bag, I usually only wear one. Of the 30 eyeliners and eye pencils in my vanity, I always gravitate to Violent Ink. Of the 100+ perfume bottles in shelves around my dressing area, I nearly always reach for the same few. I'm in such a happy rut. May you have a similarly happy rut, routine, and discovery of best products for 2005 and again in 2006.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />Lucia<br /><br />Here are links to my friend's Best Of lists:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://alabasterbrow.blogsome.com/" >An Alabaster Brow</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://beautyaddict.blogspot.com/2005/12/2005-is-almost-gone-and-oh-what-year.html" >Beauty Addict</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://blogdorfgoodman.blogspot.com/2005/12/2005-was-year-that-i-spent-more-money.html" >Blogdorf Goodman</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2005/12/best_of_2005_to.html" >Bois de Jasmin</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://braintrappedingirlsbody.blogspot.com/2005/12/before-calendar-flips-and-you-start.html" >Brain Trapped in Girl's Body</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://cestchic.blogspot.com/2005/12/few-of-my-favorite-things-2005.html" >c'est chic</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://cjblue.blogspot.com/2005/12/best-of-2005.html" >Crazy Jay Blue</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://greatsheelephant.blogspot.com/" >The Great She Elephant</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.jonniker.com/?p=96" >Hrmph</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://beautydiary.blogspot.com/2005/12/happy-early-new-years-visit-these.html" >Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.legerdenez.blogspot.com/" >Legerdenez</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://amentalnote.blogspot.com/" >Make a Mental Note</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://monkeyposh.blogspot.com/2005/12/monkeys-favorite-things-2005.html" >Monkey Posh</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://mother-hen.blogspot.com/2005/12/perfume-and-beauty-top-10-of-2005.html" >Mother Hen's Place</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://mylifemywordsmymind.blogspot.com/2005/12/my-top-ten-beauty-finds-of-2005.html" >my life my words my mind</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://lachendwolf.blogspot.com/2005/12/top-ten-of-wolfish-beauty-for-2005.html" >no one knows why the wolf laughs</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/30/1530375.html" >Now Smell This</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://atreauombligo.blogspot.com/2005/12/best-of-2005.html" >�Ombligo!</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.pdawwg.com/blog/archives/000964.html" >Peppermint Patty</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://perfumesmellinthings.blogspot.com/2005/12/best-of-2005.html" >Perfume-Smellin' Things</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://scentzilla.com/?p=83" >Scentzilla!</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://after-so-much-thinking.blogspot.com/2005/12/year-in-fragrance-other-good-stuff_30.html" >She'll be feverish after so much thinking</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://slapoftheday.blogspot.com/2005/12/no-slap-today.html" >Slap of the Day</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/2005/12/as-2005-draws-to-close-it-is-time-to.html" >Victoria's Own</a></li><br /></ul>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1127071560408602972005-09-18T15:22:00.000-04:002005-12-19T23:36:22.510-05:00My very scary petThe finches were flying up to the birdfeeder and then swooping into the bushes. They looked surprised because at the last second they'd falter in midair and then take cover quickly in a bush, although, some flew to the top of the birdfeeder and sat up there, looking down.<br /><br />Bizarre, I thought. I went outside to look at the other side of the birdfeeder and this is what I found -- my pet praying mantis!!! She is intimidating EVERYBODY!<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/091805mantis.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/091805mantis.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/091805mantiscloseupW.jpg" target="_new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/091805mantiscloseupW.jpg" width=100%></a>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1125176913195236002005-08-27T17:03:00.000-04:002005-09-02T20:00:16.973-04:00Bug loveI was going to pull out the gigantic wormwood plant at the other end of the garden (big fluffy thing from which absinthe is made) when I buried my hands into the old wood and started to pull -- and a GIGANTIC praying mantis daintily stepped over my knuckles to drop to a lower branch.<br /><br />This was a mature female, with closed darkened wings and a full six or seven inch length. I looked at her. She turned her head completely around and looked at me. We stood there for a moment.<br /><br />Then I did something really bizarre: I petted her. I said, "Hello there!" very softly, and using only my index finger, gently stroked her back. She didn't budge, just kept looking at me. Then she took a step forward and stopped again, looking back at me. I said, "Nice to have you here!" and petted her back again! It was smooth going from head to tail, but rough and bristly from tail to head (I was actually stroking her closed wings). <br /><br /><img src="http://www.cartoonbank.com/assets/1/47402_m.gif" align="right" width=70%>I petted and talked to this praying mantis for a good ten minutes before she tired of me and dropped to another, much lower branch. I didn't even bother to dash inside for the camera. I simply savored the bond, and then went back to gardening. However, the wormwood plant was spared.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1124664501703807072005-08-21T18:37:00.000-04:002005-08-27T19:16:49.396-04:00Today's crop of insect photography!I took these in the garden near my front door. I'm using a Sony DSC F-707 and importing them into my Mac Powerbook G4, then use Adobe Photoshop to crop them and add my copyright. Then I upload them to photobucket.com for storage and to link to them from here. <br /><br />I don't know what the species is on the last one, the orange spotted swallowtail -- but will ask an expert this evening and post the name when I find out. <br /><br />A Pipevine Swallowtail with pale smeary blue markings. <br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/pipevinesw082105-2.jpg" target="_top"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/pipevinesw082105-2W.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br />Another view of the Pipevine Swallowtail. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/pipevineswtail082105.jpg" target="_top"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/pipevineswtail082105W.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/23.htm">Red-spotted purple <i>Basilarchia astyanax</i> butterfly</a> (and yes, he's standing upside-down on the flower) - Thanks to bugguide.net for identifying the species for me! <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/orangespottedswallowtail082105.jpg" target="_top"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/orangespotswallowtail0821W.jpg" width=100%></a>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1124559715547111722005-08-20T13:21:00.000-04:002005-08-20T15:14:49.066-04:00Remarks at cousin Sydney's FuneralREMARKS AT FUNERAL OF SYDNEY JOHNSON <br />spoken July 22, 2005<br /> <br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/sydney.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/sydney1.jpg" width=70% align="right"></a>How can we best summarize Sydney Johnson, my brother? There are many ways to describe him. Loving husband and father, servant of his faith, an engineer, a scientist, an economist, a man who faced adversity and held his head high.<br /> <br />I have another word for him – which summarizes what he meant to us, his brothers and sister. It may surprise many of you who knew him as he became increasingly housebound and even wheelchair-bound.<br /> <br />I would call Syd an Explorer. He loved to explore.<br /> <br />This was brought back to me last month, as I visited Syd in his Danbury hospital room. He was heavily medicated and sleeping and breathing deeply. On the TV above his bed were dozens gazelles and giraffes running across the screen – Cynthia looked at me and said: "He loves the Discovery Channel."<br /> <br />Suddenly, seeing those gazelles and giraffes, I remembered how much Syd loved to travel and learn about and explore many, many new worlds. <br />When he graduated from college in 1966, Syd was the first in our family to move overseas – to York and to London, England, where he spent the better part of two decades. He decided to take the old Queen Mary, a traditional transatlantic ocean voyage. He loved York – the old Minster, the Shambles.<br /> <br />I was privileged in the early 1970s to spend time with him in England. We traveled many places, both in the UK and elsewhere.<br /> <br />I recall, particularly an adventure in Morocco. We had just purchased Moroccan jalabas, the long flowing Arab robes, at a souk in Casablanca, and decided to wear them as we boarded a long distance bus, filled with Arabs and Berbers, across the Atlas Mountains.<br /> <br />I fancied that my French skills and my somewhat darker skin (after all, we have a Spanish ancestor on our mother's side) would enable us to pass as locals. Syd, whose Scandinavian origins were immediately betrayed by a face as red as a beetroot after a few hours of African sunlight, convinced me otherwise.<br /> <br />I remember another trip, when Syd's Serbian language skills betrayed him and he purchased a train ticket from Belgrade to Venice on a train that actually went to Switzerland – the Swiss police removed him from the train and, after he was released, he had to hitchhike through the Simplon Tunnel. He had a grand time, and told that story many times afterward.<br /> <br />Carolyn remembers the Christmas skiing trip in the Austrian Alps – Syd was an excellent athlete. And a protective older brother to us all.<br /> <br />I recall a phone call from Istanbul one day. It was Syd. He had taken the Orient Express train to Turkey. There had just been an earthquake in Istanbul and he wanted to describe it for us.<br /> <br />Yet there was one more trip.<br /> <br />The poet Elizabeth Bishop wrote, at the conclusion of her poem "Questions of Travel":<br /> <br />/ . . . / Should we have stayed at home<br /> <br />/ . . . / Wherever that might be?<br /> <br />Syd eventually learned that his travel days were over and that he would stay at home. But, like Lou Gehrig in very similar circumstances, he considered himself lucky – or as many would say, including Syd, blessed.<br /> <br />Lucky to be blessed with a loving and devoted wife. Blessed also with a son who was smart and caring, and whose interest in computers paralleled his own.<br /> <br />At home, during the final decade of his life, he became an involuntary explorer, on a trip that none of us would envy him for – as he faced his increasing disability. But he still loved to explore.<br /> <br />I visited him on the evening before his 60th birthday, last November. I shared with him photos of the recent trip that my daughter Marta and I had made to India. He was fascinated by the trip. Syd's eyes lighted up, and he nodded with glee, as we discussed photos of some village monkeys who begged money from tourists, and then took the coins to a local fruit seller, who gave them bananas in exchange. After the monkeys finished the bananas, they awaited the next tourist bus. Syd chortled.<br /> <br />In those final years, Syd dealt with his disease with courage, dignity, fortitude, and incredible grace – and never allowed it to undermine his faith. In that last journey, he became a hero for many of us – and now he has one more journey, one more exploration, and we who are left behind can only note how much we enjoyed his company, and his exploring mind, and say: "Thank you, Syd. Have a great trip."<br /><br />Bruce Johnson (Seattle, WA )Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1124479958970129012005-08-19T14:12:00.000-04:002005-08-19T15:32:39.013-04:00A bizarre comparison: Musc Ravageur versus Jasmine de NuitYou wonder why I am comparing them? Because they have a very similar "vibe." They could actually be the same perfume except for the candy/churchy differences. Let's see why . . . . .<br /><br />I have The Different Company's Jasmine de Nuit on my right arm, and Frederick Malle's Musc Ravageur on my left arm. It's been 30 minutes.<br /><br />Sillage: Similar! There is a sameness to the amount of sillage given the same exact quantity of perfume applied to each arm, and a similar "vibe" to the perfumes themselves. However, my nose picks up a beautiful candy sweetness from the Jasmine, and an incredible churchy incense quality from the Musc. <br /><br />Taken from their sites:<br /><ul><li>MUSC RAVAGEUR. Sensual and sophisticated. Powerful yet perfectly controlled. Dramatic and mysterious. MUSC RAVAGEUR is a grown-up perfume, an uncompromising Oriental, which trumps current fads. Its explosive departure of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon is set against a lusty backdrop of vanilla, musk and amber. No flowers, just a refined and exalted skin scent. Its creator: Maurice Roucel<br /><br /><li>JASMIN DE NUIT is a childhood dream, the sweetness of the flower that opens at nightfall mingled with a hint of star anise on a bed of amber. Egyptian Jasmine is used abundantly here and, combined with spices such as cardamom and cinnamon, delivers a series of sweet yet powerful sensual notes. Olfactory note: Floral and amber, fruity blackcurrent. Main components: Egyptian Jasmine, Badian (Star Anise), Ceylon Cinnamon, Cardamom, Sandalwood, Amber.</ul><br />They have very strong notes in common: Amber and cinnamon. A common result: Musc Ravageur has vanilla and musk which may produce an accord similar to the Nasmin de Nuit's jasmine, which is a musky floral. <br /><br />But here's the big distinction between them: The sandalwood and star anise candy-sweeten Jasmin de Nuit, while the bergamot-musk combination causes a skin-scent incense quality to Musc Ravageur.<br /><br />I don't think I would ever layer these two perfumes, but I do believe that the Jasmin de Nuit and Musc Ravageur have such a similar impact on the skin as to be summer and winter renditions of the same perfume. Test for yourself and see!Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1124376408677482112005-08-18T10:39:00.000-04:002005-08-18T15:21:37.483-04:00Comparing Two Carnation PerfumesCdG Carnation on the left wrist. JAR Diamond Waters on the right wrist. It's been 30 minutes.<br /><br />It's not easy to tell them apart. However, I detect just a hint more clove in the CdG, and a smidgeon of jasmine in the JAR. The JAR also seems to have a very slight blend of oppoponax into it.<br /><br />The CdG is an overall impression of Red Carnations and cloves, and has a very slightly soapy quality. The JAR is an overall impression of White, or more subtle Carnations -- and Oppoponax. It has no soapy quality whatsoever.<br /><br />If I bring my nose out and away from my arm to catch only the sillage, they are identical except one seems warmer (the CdG) and JAR has a church incense vibe.<br /><br />If I bring my wallet to the store to buy them, the CdG Carnation is in the $100 range, and the JAR Diamond Waters is in the $800 range. I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend, and whether or not you prefer soapy or incensy carnations!<br /><br />FOUR HOURS LATER: The JAR has turned into a barely detectible light floral with hints of carnation and opoponax. It is not a "carnation" fragrance at this point. The CdG is just as strong as when I first applied it (LOL). And true. Steady as she goes!<br /><br /><a name="<$BlogItemNumber$>"> </a>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1124320723197535982005-08-17T19:07:00.000-04:002005-08-18T15:36:24.830-04:0010 favorite perfumes<a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/abstract/study_of_form_and_color/445358_hot_in_chinese.php?id=445358" target="new"><img src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/445358/2/istockphoto_445358_hot_in_chinese.jpg" align="right" width=40%></a>The dog days of August! whew. I can't even take the camera outside because the lenses fog. My house windows are fogged! And my ankles are covered with mosquito bites. <br /><br />BUT!! There is respite in a cooling shower and a refreshing perfume. Feel human again! Here are my ten perfume choices (in no particular order) to lighten up these dog days of summer:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=14967/Carthusia_-_Mediterraneo/Unlisted_Brand/Fragrances/">Carthusia's Meditteraneo (soft lemony iced tea)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=54846/The_Different_Company_-_The_Divine_Bergamote/Unlisted_Brand/Fragrances/">The Different Company's Divine Bergamote (soft citrus)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=59281/Michel_Comte_Shared_Water_Pour_Femme/Unlisted_Brand/Fragrances/">Michel Comte's Shared Water pour femme (jasmine and saltwater)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=65565/Hamptons/Bond_No.9/Fragrances/">Bond No. 9's Hamptons (a greener rendition of Chinatown)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=2043/No.19/Chanel/Fragrances/">Chanel No. 19 (sparkling greenery)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=10590/Heliotrope/Etro/Fragrances/">Etro Heliotrope (soft heliotrope)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=24477/People_of_the_Labyrinths_Luctor_et_Emergo/Unlisted_Brand/Fragrances/">People of the Labyrinths' Luctor et Emergo (dried sweet grasses)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=37024/Stella/Stella_McCartney/Fragrances/">Stella McCartney's Stella (cooling roses, with amber)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=13231/Red_Series-_Carnation/Comme_des_Garcons/Fragrances/">Comme de Garcons' Carnation (cooling carnation)</a><br /><li><a href="http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemID=25996/Monyette_Paris/Monyette_Paris/Fragrances/">Monyette Paris (tropical paradise)</a><br /></ul><br /><br />Want to see more Top 10 Summer Fragrance lists? Check out <A href="http://alabasterbrow.blogsome.com/">An Alabaster Brow</A>, <A href="http://blogdorfgoodman.blogspot.com/">Blogdorf Goodman</A>, <A href="http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/">Bois de Jasmin</A>, <A href="http://braintrappedingirlsbody.blogspot.com/">Brain Trapped in Girl's Body</A>, <A href="http://cestchic.blogspot.com/">C'est Chic</A>, <A href="http://beautydiary.blogspot.com/">Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary</A>, <A href="http://parislondon.blogspot.com/">Life in Paris</A>, <A href="http://atreauombligo.blogspot.com/">Ombligo!</A>, <A href="http://seldomnicenowadays.blogspot.com/">Seldom Nice Nowadays</A>, <a href="http://after-so-much-thinking.blogspot.com/">She'll Be Feverish After So Much Thinking,</a> <A href="http://selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com/">Self-Styled Siren</A>, and <A href="http://bananafishleaves.blogspot.com/">This Bananafish Smells Like Leaves</A>.Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1123864347582166572005-08-12T12:25:00.000-04:002005-08-12T17:19:08.163-04:00More beautiful creatures from this morningClick on any photo for a closer view.<br /><br />Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (aka Yellow Swallowtail). <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/Striped-Swallowtail0812Web.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/Striped-Swallowtail0812Web.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br />His wings. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/ETigerSwallowtail0812Web.jpg" target="new1" width=200%><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/stripeswallowtail-2-0812Web.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br />A House Finch poses for me. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/posingforcamera8-12.jpg" target="new2"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/posingforcamera8-12Web.jpg" width=100%></a>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11400215.post-1123775467387426262005-08-11T11:46:00.000-04:002005-08-12T16:28:29.946-04:00More critters from the garden this morningPainted lady closeup. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/paintedlady0811-1web.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/paintedlady0811-1web.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br />Dragonfly - Male Blue Dasher. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/dragonfly0811-1web.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/dragonfly0811-1web.jpg" width=100%></a><br /><br />A bee works a some lavender. <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/beeworkinglavenderWeb.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/parfum033/beeworkinglavenderWeb.jpg" width=100%></a>Luciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17864083015355477158noreply@blogger.com3