TUESDAY TWO - EVERY "2ND" COUNTS

When I saw the above plate, I thought of an "oldies but goodies" childhood memory. Qaptain Qwerty was about six years old and that particularly day he was under the weather. As we were eating dinner, Mother warned QQ not to eat a full meal. But who could refuse all the delicious cha gio, bun men nuong and che ba mau? When QQ started to throw up, Mother asked sarcastically, "An nua thoi?", do you wish to eat some more? QQ promptly responded, "An nua, nhung an mot chut thoi", Yes, but only a little more! (I don't remember what prompted the subject, but Mother was telling that story last week during my weekly phone call.)

I explained to the owner of the above vehicle that I simply enjoy finding interesting personalized plates. He was flattered and did not mind that I took a photo. He was kind enough to share that he is an owner of two dental laboratories, thus "2TH-LAB". He promised to give me a discount. I just hope I don't need that dentures anytime soon!

There was no one around for me to ask about the above plate. If I have to take an educated guess, I would say the owner could be (a) a determologist; (b) a taxidermist; and (c) someone who is in the leather business. What do you think "2ND SKN" mean?

CRACKING THE COCONUT CODE

I thought the photos of the stainless steel coconut trees from the Home & Garden Show would go nicely with the book, "Cracking the Coconut Code" by Mary Jo McCabe. I saw on the cover that this book provides "7 Insights to Transform Your Life" and the author was "a respected and sought-after-intuitive interpreter. She developed a unique ability to communicate with individual souls, both living and deceased." (Is it sort-of like psychic, palm readers or fortune teller?) Well, I am not really interested in communicate with dead people and after the reading the book, I did not really learn anything that would transform my life. Perhaps it is my limited ability to understand; therefore, you could read the book and decide for yourself.

Below are a few interesting questions and interpretations based on which answer you give, "Which tool do you reach for, a hammer, a saw, a wrench or a screwdrive, to reach goals in your life or to fix problems you are experiencing?" You have to read the book for the interpretations.

Visualize a tree filled with apples. Where do you see yourself in relation to the tree, hugging the trunk of the tree, sitting on one of the branches reaching for an apple or sitting at top of the tree enjoying an apple? Again, you could borrow the book from your local library and find out the insights that might provide understanding of yourself based on which action you choose.

On your mental screen, visualize a backyard and pick what you would rather do, play in the sandbox, sitting on the swing set, or riding the biycle around the block? (I wish there was a question like, which would you choose, going to a Stanley Cup Finals game and meeting your favorite player or a Superbowl game sitting in the first row at the 50-yard seats?).

Please note that I do not receive any commission nor promote this particular book or the field of psychic medium, I am simply sharing with you an interesting book I found at the library. (PS: I am not saying that I read everything in the book either!) Any interesting book you have read lately?

HOME IMPROVEMENT

The 2012 Home & Garden Show took place this weekend. It has been a few years since we last went to the show. We decided to go this year since we are planning to remodel our main bathroom and replace the cement slab in the patio with decorative concrete. Last year my husand being a handy man built the new roof for the patio and he plans to weather proof it this year. Did I tell you about the brick walls he built for the front of the house and in our backyard by the fence?

It has been my dream (and it will forever be just a dream) to live in a log cabin in Montana. I would love to have the furniture (above photo) for my bedroom, with a large window so I could wake up every morning looking at the beautiful view of the mountain. Do you have any remodeling projects? What would be your dream home and where would it be?

The show was at the America's Center & Edward Jones Dome (home of the St. Louis Rams). Most services offered at the show were home remodeling, maintenance and repairs, building materials, custom products, lawn and garden, a large display of gardens of the world (above is part of a Japanese garden), home and outdoor furnitures, decorations and plenty of services to make your home comfortable. We avoided all the giveaways. I know that some businesses held eligitimate contests but most of them are as bad as telemarketing. I thought of writing down a fetitious name and our disconnected land line!

GESUNDHEIT !!!

When walking from the parking lot to the store, I almost did not bother getting out my camera to take photo of the above plate "E-COLI". I was glad I did because when I came out of the store after about 30 minutes of shopping, I spotted the plate "TESTA" below. Individually these plates would be too plain, not much to decipher but they seemed to fit together as a statement, "Testing for ecoli".

I am not a supertitious person and I don't believe in someone being a jinx or a person could cause bad luck by saying or doing something either to himself or to somebody. (Well, there are a few exceptions when it comes to hockey players/games!). Perhaps it was simply a coincidence but the week before my husband commented that for 23+ years we have been married, I never had a bad cold. Well, earlier this week I got up with a sore throat, running nose and feeling iffy. It was not a bad cold and did not last long. Although I am feeling much better today, I still said that my husband jinxed me with his comment.

Would you like to decipher what the above plate "UDACHA" stand for? When I first saw it, I thought it was either "ACHU" or "ATCHOO" or "ACHEW". Perhaps it is the owner's last name. I hope it is not a bad word because I don't want the FCC to shut down my blog for violating decency standards!

FRIDAY SKY - EDEN, WYOMING

There is no particular reason for posting these photos, I just thought they would go nicely for this week Friday Sky post during Lenten Season. Last September, as we were on our way to Rock Springs, Wyoming, we passed by the little church as we approached the town of Eden, Wyoming. I could not resist capturing the image of the rustic look of the building against the sunset. My husband was again very accomodating to my request to turn around so I could take a few photos.

I am sure there is a lot of interesting history about this Saint Christopher's Catholic Church. My personal reason was because Christopher is my baptismal name. (Yes, I know that Christopher is traditionally baptism name for boys. It is an acient tradition that babies at their baptism are given the name of a saint whom later they should come to know, to love and to venerate. As an adult who coverted to Catholicism, since there are no doctrines against selecting baptismal names according to genders, I got to choose my own baptismal name and that is Saint Christopher.)

Above sculpture of Saint Christopher in front of the church as he is usual depicted as a giant of a man with a Christ child on his shoulder and a staff in one hand. For people of Christian faith, we believe that Saint Christopher is patronage saint of travelers. Medallions with his image and prayers are kept in vehicles as we request protection when traveling. Do you have Saint Christopher's Church in your town?

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS - OH SAY CAN YOU SEE

I don't what it is with me and glasses. This is the 2nd pair of glasses that I broke. It happened at the moment when I needed it the most, at a business seminar. Everything was going well, I found a good spot (front row, right corner seat where you could see the Powerpoint presentation and the presenter will see you when you raise your hand with a question, one of those rambling questions not really seeking for answers but to show off how smart you are!)

When the lense fell off, I thought "No problem" I would just snap it right back in the frame. Then I saw the separation. I again thought "No problem", the handout was just a courtesy copy of what would be covered in the presentation, so I didn't really need to look at the handout. But I needed the glasses for reading and filling out the evaluation form. I went to the front desk and asked for a piece of scotch tape. The tape held together the lense and the frame in place, just long enough for me to complete the evaluation. If Webster's ever need an image of a geeky geezer, my chubby face with a piece of scotch tape holding up a pair of broken reading glasses would be it!

LENTEN SEASON (2012)

"You are dust and to dust you shall return."
February 22nd was Ash Wednesday. Receiving ashes on the first day of Lent is a practice that dates back to the 5th century and by the 11th century was a universal Christian practice. In ancient times, many people used ashes for religious, magical and medical purposes. In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head or over the whole body as a sign of mourning and penance. During the Reformation, most Protestant Churches eliminated the use of ashes. In recent years, however, many of these Churches have resumed the practice. Pope Urban II (c.1035-1099) is credited with recommending that Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday.

As Catholics, the imposition of blessed ashes on our forehead on Ash Wednesday signifies the purification of our minds and hearts, which is the fruit of our Lenten observance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I pretty much was at church the whole day starting with 8:00 a.m. Mass, went back in the afternoon to help get the Lenten Supper ready to be served at 2:45 p.m. This was our first year providing Fasting Supper that included 4 kinds of homemade soups (Disclaimer: I had nothing to do with making the soups. I just helped serving the food), grilled cheese sandwich, salad and drink (lemonade and water). We requested donation only. Ash Wednesday (and Good Friday) are days of fasting and abstinence from meat. My husband stopped by after work and we had supper. I selected the clam chowder and CP had his favorite brocolli cheese. I continued to help until 6:45 p.m., just in time to join my husband for 7:00 p.m. Mass.

BURNING OF THE PALMS

I am skipping the regular "Tuesday Two" post this week and instead write about the Burning of the Palms. It was my first experience with how the burning was done. The day started out cloudy, in the upper 40s but the wind made it kind of chilly. Later in the afternoon the sun came out and it got up to the 50s. The school kids were gathered around in the parking lot in front of the church. Father explained the ritual of burning of the palms (parishioners brought back to church the palms they received from last year Palm Sunday), blessed and then burned the palms to create the ashes to be used at Ash Wednesday Masses.

The kids were all excited as they gathered around in a circle. The teachers had to tell them to quiet down to hear what Father was saying. When the burning got going with the smoke blowing around, the kids started coughing and they did not like the smoke flowing toward them. I loved watching the kids walked back to school in a very orderly manner because it reminded me of the school I went to in Viet Nam. We had to wear uniforms (white shirt, black/blue skirt for the girls, just high above the ankles, pants for the boys, white socks and black shoes). Both boys and girls wore ties. I had wonderful memory from those carefree years prior to the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

LINCOLN ON LINCOLN

The good people of Nevada, Iowa really took pride in their town being part of Lincoln Highway. So proud that they would erect this welcome sign that includes the "L" marker and a portrait of president Lincoln.

(above) Lincoln in Lincoln, Illinois (how appropriate)! We saw many more statutes during our Lincoln Highway adventure in July and September 2011, but we could not safely make a stop or even slow down to capture all the images.

Lincoln at Jefferson Square, in front of City Hall in Jefferson, Iowa. (I am so confused!)

I always like the creative way people preserve and create wonderful artwork out of tree stump or part of the tree trunk when the tree could not be saved and had to be cut down. I don't remember exactly where I saw the above sculpture, I only know that it was somewhere after the town of Nevada and before the town of Scranton in Iowa.

Does your town have any sculpture/mural of president Lincoln on display in public square or in front of City Hall?

LIFE IS VERY GOOD - TOTA IS VERY HAPPY

Have you heard? My beloved Detroit Red Wings set the new NHL record with 23 straight win at home (Joe Louis Arena in Detroit). The Wings broke the record of 22nd straight win by the Boston Bruins in 1929-30 season. To make it even better is the victory 3-2 against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks eliminated the Wings from 2nd round in the last two playoffs, so to get the winning record in a game against the Sharks would be "extra icing" on the cake!

How about the beautiful goal by Datsyuk with only 5 seconds left in regulation in the game against the Predators on Tuesday night? You got to love that kid with his dazzling move, carrying the puck like as if it was on a string and shooting into the net where no one thought would be possible.

Let's not forget Franzen "the Mule", hard at work as ever. Next game is Tuesday, Feb. 21st in Chicago against the Blackhawks then back to Joe Louis Arena on Thursday, Feb. 23rd against the Canucks. This is almost as exciting as the playoffs because this kind of winning record only happens every 8 decades. Anyone says otherwise would be "unsportmanship"!

TOTA - A GEEZER WITH TWO BEER-STAINED SHOES

Here we go again! Last Saturday I volunteered at a fundraising event for a women shelter. It was Trivia Night with silence auction. One of the donated items was a bucket full of "spirit drinks" such as Crown Royal, whiskey, and variety of vodka. I again helped served soda/water and another volunteer took care of the beer. Participants brought their own snacks and any other drinks they prefer. We had about 10 tables and I heard we generated over $3,000 for the shelter.

I should have known that it would be Murphy Law when it comes to me wearing new shoes and being next to a keg of beer. I wrote about an incident at a former workplace when every six months I would get beer on my shoes because someone would pick up his nametag at the registration table where I was standing and the person would manage to knock a bottle of beer over. My vehicle would smell beer the following morning from the shoes, no matter how hard I tried to clean them. This time at the Trivia Night, the other volunteer "accidentally" spilled the beer when he filled up a pitcher. When he turned around to get the paper towel, his elbow pressed again the pump. The beer was dispended on the floor and on my new shoes! Participants started to arrive so I could not spend too much time in the restroom trying to clean up. This time I drove very slow on the way home, so I wouldn't be pulled over and had to explain why I smelled like a drunk. The next day I rolled all the windows in my car down for a few hours to get rid of the "biergarten" smell - not sure I have to do with my shoes, do you have any suggestions?

FRIDAY SKY - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE PRESIDENTS

These photos sure come in handy for this Friday Sky post and for President Lincoln's birthday on Sunday, February 12th, President Washington's birthday on February 22nd and for President's Day on Monday, February 20th. (Yes, I admit that I am way late, again, writing about these holidays.) This is all I have write for this post. I was about to ask the question, "Who do you think is the best president who has done great things for America?" but I am afraid I might get in trouble asking such loaded question. On the other hand, it might help this boring blog getting more comments and lot of followers. Come to think of it, I prefer to keep this blog of mine boring and remain unknown in blogsphere. So consider it is a rhetorical question, no need to send your comments.

THURSDAY RAMBLINGS - I AM DREAMING OF WEALTH AND FORTUNE

Just a few to-the-point words to go along with these personalized license plates. Would you believe that I found the "DREAM 5" plate right next to "JO GOLD" in the parking lot? I wonder if these owners are related.

The "G-MONEY" plate was actually taken either a few weeks earlier or later. I thought these three go nicely together. We all wish for wealth and forture so we no longer have to be stuck in jobs we hate, putting up with outrageous behavior, working for people we don't respect simply because we have no choice.

With the Lenten Season is approaching, as a person of faith, I will try to be prayful for the transformation of the world we live in, to be mindful of performing acts of spiritual and corporal works of mercy, to be concern for others, instead of how large my personal accumulation of Gold and Money should be. I wonder if Mr. Steve Jobs would rather be a poor man, trading all of his wealth for many years of good health.

A FLOWER TO YOU

The above license plate is clever but too easy to decipher. Perhaps the owner's last name is Flower so I might find another plate that read "2-FLOWR", then I could use that image for a Tuesday Two post. I thought this personalized plate "1-FLOWR" would be appropriate following the Valentine's Day post. All we need is love and flowers to make the world go around in happy mode!

TUESDAY TWO - ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

Regular readers (and a few faithful followers) know I am not particularly "thrilled" when it comes to Valentine's Day. In my humble opinion, it is just another commercialized celebration mostly for the benefits of greeting cards companies, florists and jewelers. Let's not forget the chocolate covered strawberries (there goes the diet)! I am not comfortable with "mushy" expressions or display of affecttion that just for shows. However, not wanting to be known as a "Valentine's Day pooper", I would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and may all your days be filled with love and lot of love.

I thought these photos of the butterflies (taken from the Butterfly House) and the sculptures (bottom photos) at St. Louis Zoo, would be appropriate for this Tuesday Two post as well as for Valentine's Day.

Most of the snow from yesterday was gone. The sun actually came out around noon. The temperature was in the 40s but it was not windy, so the day was pretty comfortable when I went to the library and then food shopping.

The above sculpture reminds me of the movie "The Lion King". Even wild animals like tigers and lions love, protect and care for their offsprings, yet, there are people who abandon their children or worst, discard their babies simply because the option is readily available or were misinformed that it was the right choice.

ANOTHER SNOW DAY IN ST. LOUIS

It started around midnight with only dusty snow continued throughout the morning. My husband took "Luc" (Chinese name for the Mazda 6) since we heard that there would be accumulation in the evening. Being front-wheel drive, Luc would be much better than the Mustang when going up hill. (The 1st snowfall in January, CP had to park his Pony at a church parking lot and walked to his office.) So far this was only the third snowfall in the St. Louis area during this year so-called winter. Actually, the 2nd snowfall last week had only a few flurries and did not last more than an hour or so. Not that I complained about the mild winter, just don't want a serious drought in the summer.

This is our 17th winter in St. Louis and I sure don't miss living in Michigan during the winter months. Even though I was well aware of the harsh winter in Grand Haven, nothing prepared me for the experience of actual driving on US-31 in white-out condition and ice covered roads. One time, the snow from an 18-wheeler completely covered my windshield when the truck passed me. For a moment there my wipers could not get the snow off quick enough, I was driving blind and my guardian angel took over. Also, let's not forget all the 3-hour drive trips to Detroit at Christmas time. To this day I still remember the time when a van spinned out of control on I-75, then I saw its headlights shinning directly thru the passenger side (that was my side), somehow my husband was able to swerve out of the way. How he did it on the snow covered icy road I never knew!

HURRY UP OR SLOW DOWN?

Unlike Da Qaptain who just randomly put together a collage of the license plates, I make an effort to post plates that match in a "meaningful" way. (Actually, not only I am not as tall and good looking as Qap, I am not as smart and very technical challenge. I admit I don't know how to paste the photos together to make a collage.)

What do you think the message from the above license plate? Don't rush me, I am NOT-SLO? Or I refuse to SLO down because I have too much to do? I am smart, so don't say I am SLO? Hey Qap, your suggestion "If you don't have anything to say, say nothing. If you don't have anything to post, post nothing." did not work out too good for a blogger who took your suggestion to heart that he has nothing to wear and he wore nothing to work- haaaaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!! (He is currently in St. Louis County jail for indecent exposure in public.)