my birthday

I think this is the last year that I will celebrate my birthday.  Anyway, here are some photos of the day, starting with a breakfast birthday party.

Homemade granola ...

 The cook!

 The friends!

 Berries on yogurt ...

 Egg/sausage casserole with smiley face melon.

 Special glass for me ...

 On a little side street in West Palm Beach ...

 John looking at shirts ...

 Two little boys who caught my eye ...

 Interesting stuff.

the My Tie Sauce

Meanwhile, I've been somewhat busy in Florida with web and graphics work.  One of my jobs this week was making a new label for hot sauce - Curt Fonger's "My Tie" sauce.  For those who don't know, Curt was the local TV news anchor here for a number of years.  Mike, our pool guy, is a real fan of Curt's and was delighted to get a bottle of the hot sauce.  It's quite good!

The days are noticeably becoming shorter, even if it doesn't seem to be getting any cooler.  I rescued the succulent plants that were burned from the constant summer's sun.  Having no green thumb whatsoever, I think that perhaps these plants are going to come around.

fish dinner

John and Rey's fish dinner at Berkley Manor.  The big deal is knowing how to cook a whole fish on a grille.  Looks like a success and a good bottle of wine for Rey!  Asparagus and egg rolls?

beautiful roses!

Sandy brought these roses over yesterday to cheer me through the weekend.

More on John Lennon's Station Wagon

There's a great article about Hank and David's car - "John Lennon's Car: A Wagon That Rock 'N' Rolls" HERE - with photos much better than mine.  Great story.  Check it out!

First reporting of this car on this blog, HERE.

weekend visitors

Taking Chris to the dorm for his freshman year at FAU.  At Brios.  Gosh I wish I knew what to do with my crazy hair!

more fishing at Moraine

The Porterville Steam Show

Photos from the Portersville Steam Show that John and Ray attended the beginning of August.  You really have to be an engineer to fully appreciate, I think.

Gethsemani - Part 2

I made it back over to Gethsemani before I left KY.  I don't know why I like this place so much - the stillness that permeates everything?  I come away changed, knowing the world from a much quieter and simpler place.  I love seeing the monks there, living their prayer-lives.  Sometimes I wake up in the early morning hours and think of them singing their psalms in the early morning darkness and I know that we are not all going to hell in a hand basket, despite the news. Life is holy.  Some day I might have the opportunity to stay here for a week or more.

I had not noticed the new visitors center when I was there last year (Pentecost 2012).  I almost skipped it this time as well, but I had to go to the bathroom.  If you ignore the gift shop, filled with religious knick knacks and some monks cheese and books, it really is a treat.  I was glad that it didn't focus on Merton at all.  He was just a monk among many here.

There is a good little film about the Trappist life, and Gethsemani in particular, made by Louisville film maker, Morgan Atkinson.  (Check out Morgan's latest film, "Wonder").  In the film the monks acknowledge that their lives are for us.

There is a room with many photos of the monks and quotes from them and others about the nature of contemplative life.

 This is probably the finest Mary prayer I have ever come across...

Merton's hermitage:

 St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the best known and most influential Cistercian of all time.

 (I'll be adding more of these photos and quotations on my louie blog, if you're interested.)

 Monks chanting the None Psalms ...

Jubilee

I'm way behind on my posting - still not finished with the KY trip and John has some fish photos he wants up - but I wanted to put up this sweet photo of Jubilee that I got yesterday morning.

Jubilee is doing pretty well with her allergies on this return to the Florida grasses.  I have a good drug (Temeril-P) that I got from the dog allergy doctor, and it seems to be doing the trick.  I upped the dosage when we got back here, and have already pulled her back to 1 pill a day.  Eventually I need to wean her off - she didn't need it at all in PA.

I even think that her eyes are better.  She doesn't fall in the pool anymore.  The vets say that she has lost 90% of her vision in both eyes, but she seems to be getting around pretty well.  We have decided against getting the cataract surgery for now.

Meanwhile, I am busy, busy, busy with all the people needing computer help!

A recounting of Jubilee's return to Florida 2 years ago is HERE.  Big difference.