Kittens and Mittens

... whose in charge anyway?
The weather outside was stunningly beautiful! It was a no mittens required kind of day. As Simmy was just finishing an hour long walk, she noticed a neighbor working outside taking down Christmas decorations. There was a flash of movement and Simmy saw their cat nimbly climb a ladder and sit on top as if he owned the place. Obviously, they weren't the only people in this fine neighborhood whose cat was trying to rule the roost... challenging them for authority.

It had been a bit of a hairy night for Sam and  Simmy, as well, because their cat was thinking that the unseasonably warm temperatures meant that he could go play outside... at 3 a.m., 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Well, that didn't go over quite so well with Sam and Simmy.
It is always funny to see life's little annoyances from the other side of the fence... so to speak... but, not always so funny when it is your own little authoritarian kitty challenging you.
The cat went and sat down right by those little letters... he'll do anything to try to be good.
Oy!

The Old Abbey

... headquarters helped to set the table as Sam and Simmy gave their first dinner party of the new year. Oldest construction son had told Simmy to ask for something really expensive at Christmastime.
So... with hesitant shyness... unsure of what qualified for really expensive... Simmy asked for some glasses by Villeroy and Boch. Now, there is a company steeped in history.
"With the acquisition of the former Benedictine abbey in 1809, Jean-François Boch laid the foundation stone for progressive ceramic production in the region. Since 1842, the Old Abbey has been the main headquarters of the international group."  This quote taken from the following website...
http://www.villeroy-boch.com/en/afr/home/the-company/discover-villeroy-boch/place-of-interest.html
As she set the table, the Kerios roses were a lovely, vibrant, fresh, real (real flowers are my favorite), addition to all the German offerings.
Even the wine, brought by the guests, was of German origin... Simmy loved Riesling so it was definitely a well received gift.
Deep appreciation for the work of many hands can come from a simple investigation of the origins of... crystal, roses, and wine.
Kerio is said to be the rose of Kenya but the strong German accent in this little youtube video is a bit of a surprise... http://www.batianflowers.com/
... so, the evening was a very German dinner party... all around...

... but the key to a good time is the conversation.

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Simmy was a little bored so she decided to send construction son a text in German. This is how the conversation went... please forgive any errors.
simmy- 'Hast du deine arbeit fur diesem tage fertig gemacht?
Simmy waited impatiently but when no reply was forthcoming...
simmy- Ru good?
There was still no reply so...
simmy- ?
Finally, she received a text back...
construction son- 'Yes we are done for the night.'
To which she replied...
simmy- 'That is exactly what I asked u. Ur german understanding is great.'
construction son- 'I guessed a couple of the words then I just copied it into my translate app.'
simmy- 'U cheated. I am just brushing up on my German for when Rammstein comes in may.'
construction son- 'Haha that's funny.'
simmy- 'U don't think I can afford the tickets either, huh?'

This little round of 'gotcha one- upmanship' ended there. Construction son was either not sure that Simmy was considering going to the concert or she had just been better at her comebacks.
Truth be told... Rammstein was not going to be any poster image Simmy had a strong appreciation for, sorry guys,... but, in an odd way they had been some inspiration for the scene she was currently writing for her novel... in a
Then and Now space- time reversal... or is that parallel?
Glass writes in 'Americans in Paris'... (1942?) 'Miss Baker smuggled documents out of France between the pages of her sheet music...'
Now, Simmy was thinking that Rammstein could be that group... (2012) their presentation was definitely one of a bold nature... and who really wants to rifle through the valise to see if all that pink phallasy is a fallacy?
Beware the snake oil salesman...


Answer to yesterdays' puzzle-
snakeskin shoes

Eden Project

Today's Puzzle- Guess what the picture is!

Mega Engineering aired a program called 'Dome over Houston.' The scientific information in this program is, of course, based on past historical design/ invention... Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome... of which, he likely got some ideas from Da Vinci.

My favorite quote from the one hour episode is by George Elworthy, Eden's Phase Five Director of the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK... "To build the Eden project, we had to build a building to build a building."

I love science. I always have. It is exciting! When an experiment worked... in Grade 11... I thought, 'How absolutely marvelous and exciting!'
Science is all about experiments... always has been... always will be. Now, scientists already know how the earth works to keep us all alive... to live another day.
In a small irony, the Eden Project was used as a filming location for the movie 'Die Another Day' starring Pierce Brosnan as 007.
And really, if we all admit it, the project is designed to see if it would actually be possible to die another day... postponing the inevitable for all mankind...
or, at least, the people inside the 'Dome over Houston.'
Now, I got a very uneasy feeling as I watched this program. Let's say, just for vanity sake, that the project could work.
Question- Who gets in and who stays out?
When that category 5 storm that is seen on the horizon... is looming over said Eden, will there be people desperately trying to get into this city and will they all be allowed in?

Somehow, it doesn't seem like a social architecture project... does it?

Question- If it takes years to build it... if there should happen to be an unforeseen problem... when that problem arises (always remembering that the problem the dome is meant to fix is the destruction left by a category 5 hurricane), so the problem may arise during the storm, ... who would be brave enough to get inside one of those handy little dirigibles, during the storm, and fly outside the dome to fix something...

Would you need the hardy survivors, who have been left out in the storm, to rescue you? Is it likely that the social behaviour of leaving them out of the safe zone will engender a let's try to save those inside the dome attitude from the unprotected group?

... or will the words 'Houston, we have a problem...' be a chilling reminder that when mankind screws things up... it's not so easy to fix... 

Answer to the picture puzzle in tomorrows' blog.

Glass Bird

Glass bird, Glass bird sitting in yon tree
From that highest perch... what doth the Glass bird see?

A little glass bird ornament had been tied to the birthday gift that Lovely One and Husband had given to Simmy.
"It's a garlic!" Simmy had exclaimed.
"No!" Lovely One said with a tinge of aversion, "it's a bird!"
"Oh! Why so it is!" Simmy said as she took a closer look.
Artistry sometimes disguises an article and one must take a closer look to see what was intended.
A little more research for the novel was needed and Simmy was reading 'Americans in Paris' by Charles Glass. She had even listened to the reading on youtube... which is 15 minutes long... 
Today though, she had put that glass bird on the door inside the feathered nest that had replaced the Christmas wreath.
As she took a photo of her art...

she could hear the birds tweet tweet in the trees and it sounded more like spring than winter.
Oh yes, don't feed the birds garlic... apparently it's not good for them.

Tweet Street

up on Tweet Street
you may find some bitter twitter
a few words here... a few words there
swift words... make kindness rare
so if this road you choose to travel
tie tight your shoes for niggling gravel
works its way under souls of feet
and soon that street may feel less sweet
the tiniest stone can seem like boulder
to any a careless, hapless soldier
thoughts that you... choose first to sift
may cause your tweet to be less swift
but sword of tweet has double edge
so careful where you plant your sedge
for likely as not the road you make
will someday be... the road you take
would better path each one desire
that salted one that has no brier
if that street becomes high way
tis flavored salt replaces my way
a favored life you will then be planting
    with little need for much recanting

Sparkly Wishes and Dirty Dishes

Sparkly silver stockings and sparkly red... or is that ruby slippers? Princess was, once again, the technicolor belle of the family gathering. There was no competition for those shoes but one little feisty fellow fetched some attention for creativity, for sure.

Wearing different socks,... on purpose, seems to be a family trait.
We won't tell you which of his relatives that particular habit has also been noted in.
Ahem!
It was a New Years' Day Christmas gathering that was well attended and...
blessed... yes, blessed.
... a good start to a new year full of possibilities and dreams and wishes.
Sparkly wishes and dirty dishes, when reversed,  requires food aplenty to satisfy the gentry.