TUESDAY TWO - A PAIR OF FEATHERS

We have a small backyard and it is facing a rather busy two lanes road. Surprisingly the land still attracts wildlife such as deer (In 2007 our deer daughter June came to stay with us while giving birth to our deer granddaughter Heidi), squirrels, (my husband specially despises chipmunks), cardinals, blue jay, sparrows, yellow finch, hummingbirds and some kind of big black birds which we don't care too much. It all started around April of last year when I saw the yellow finch by the fence and decided that I wanted to see them "up close and personal" by the patio. They probably have always been flying around in our backyard but I never took the time to look out the kitchen windows. It must be old age that made me realize that I must take time to "smell the roses" or "watch the birds". We put out one feeder specifically for the finch and another feeder for hummingbirds. Currently we have one feeder for cardinals and one for blue jay. A bag of 20 lbs feed costs about $12. It just occurred to me whether we are becoming like the government with all the social (entitlement) programs that create dependency and a system that rewards people for being "freeloaders". Perhaps we should stop providing and let the birds fly around looking for food as nature intended. Don't the birds in the above photo look obese to you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR - TET - CHUC MUNG NAM MOI

I thought the above ice scuplture of the dragon is fitting for this post celebrating the Lunar New Year being the Year of the Dragon.

This ice sculpture is on display in front of a business that sell baby stuff. I selected it for this post because the new year is like a baby. Hopefully this baby (looking good for being over 4,000 years old) will grow up strong, healthy and enjoy a bright future.

The business that sponsored the above sculpture was a sushi eatery. A whole fish is a popular dish on the Chinese New Year dinner menu. Fish, in Chinese pronunciation sounding like the word of abundance. Keep in mind if you are at such dinner, be careful not to flip the fish over because of an old superstition of equating flipping a fish with flipping a boat or fortune being turned upside down. Also, the head and tail of the fish must remain in tact to ensure good luck throughout the year.

Just a few more fish (from the Wildlights at the Zoo) for extra luck in 2012. (BTW, I am not really late with this post about the Lunar New Year or TET which is the Vietnamese New Year, since it is a 7 to14 days celebration - haa haa). Happy New Year to all and may the new year bring you good health, happiness, love, peace, blessings, liberty and justice!

FRIDAY "2012 EAGLE DAYS" SKY

I took this photo after we walked the entire length of Old Chain of Rocks Bridge from Missouri to Illinois. Why do I need to explain that the photo is on the Illinois side? Because the "Eagle Days" banner on the Missouri side was tangled and twisted by the wind. Someone did not go a good job at securing it to make sure the wind would not blow it into a knot! Since the banner was up high and not easy to fix, the "knot" was left "flowing in the wind".

It has been a busy week and I am pleased to report that I have accomplished a few more re-organization projects. (Last month I re-organized our food pantry to make room so we could stock up ready for the winter months.) At the stores, I noticed many shoppers picked up containers and organize systems. It is the new year and we all seemed to believe that we could somehow be "clutter-free" or become "zero accumulation" if only we have things in place.

I started with re-organizing the coats closet in the front room. Then I spent the entire morning on Saturday putting all the video tapes in boxes and move them to storage space in the spare bedroom. I organized the DVDs and found there are a few duplicates. That is where our money goes, buying things we don't need because it is on sale or forgot that we already got the same items or where we put them. It took three days to re-organize the dry bar. Five loads in the dishwasher for all the wine glasses, beer mugs, souvenir shot glasses, and now they are sparkling cleaned. Next, I re-organized the storage room in the basement. We were able to donate a blanket, a set of travel bags and a box of Christmas decorations we should not purchase in the first place. The last few years, instead of putting everything back in the boxes after the holidays, we set the goals that we would give away those that we could live without.

After letting go of my wedding dress, I had courage to pack up three more dresses and sent them to a thrift shop that funds shelter for pregnant teenagers. One of the dresses was a traditional red Chinese dress called cheongsam. I wore it in 1989 at the reception in New York given by my parents to their friends so they could prove that I did not just run away without a proper wedding ceremony. I was 50 lbs lighter and 23 years younger, so it would be appropriate to give the dress away for a good cause because I would never fit in it again and for a 51 years old geezer, I would look hideous in a red cheongsam!

What are your plans to achieve "clutter-free" or zero-accumulation goals?

I AM THE MIGHTY ONE (NOT DA QAPTAIN)

I don't know about the owner of the above license plate but I know that when it comes to finding interesting vanity plates, I am the "Mighty One" compared to Qaptain Qwerty. Apparently, Da Qaptain tried to show off in his recent post with a collage of images of vanity plates he captured during his daily running. Hey Qap, I bet you a chili dog at The Varsity that I would find the most interesting (and clever) plate. Are you up to the challenge?

TUESDAY TWO - EAGLE WATCHING

The 2012 Eagle Days took place last weekend (January 14-15). This annual event started in 1996 by a group of environmentally oriented organizations. We only began going to the viewing the last three years (even though we have been living in St. Louis over 17 years). On Sunday (January 15th), we bundled up and walked the entire length of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, 5,353 feet long, x 2 since we walked from Missouri to Illinois side and back to Missouri. (Hey Qap, that would count as my exercise of the month/year - haa haa).

There were spotting telescopes already set up by volunteers to assist guests with viewing of the eagles in the area. Individuals could also bring their own telescopes and binoculars. (The handsome young man, in black pants and black coat, on the left in the top and above photo would be my husband setting up his camera, testing a new zoom lense he just purchased. But we did not spot any eagles!)

There were also educational information and exhibits set up in warm tents located in the center of the bridge. It was disappointed that we did not see any eagles diving for fish in the river, not even roosting in the trees along the shoreline. It was sunny but freezing, in the upper 30s. However, it felt like 30 below zero when the wind blew across the bridge as the chill cut right thru the layers of clothes we were wearing. Eagle or no eagle, it was a good day to be outside.

FROM BIRTH TO ETERNITY - DR. KING LEGACY

Photography or any image recording was not allowed inside, so I only took a photo from the outside of Dr. King's birth home at 501 Auburn Avenue. It is a modest Queen Anne-style, constructed in 1894.

In the courtyard of Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is the Mediation Pool.

Above and below murals are on display outside of the King Center, showing the timeline of the struggles during the civil rights movement.

An eternal flame burns in a small circular pavilion directly fronting the white marble crypt where both Dr. King and Mrs. rest.

Outside the Freedom Plaza, Dr. King and Mrs. King final resting place, surrounded by a five-tiered reflecting pool, a symbol of the life-giving nature of water. The inscription on Dr. King's tomb reads, "FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY I'M FREE AT LAST".

THE KING CENTER - SWEET AUBURN DISTRICT, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

These photos were taken when my sister and I visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site during my trip in November (2011) to Atlanta, Georgia. We took MARTA, get off at Five Points station, then transfered to Bus #3. The Center, the Birth Home, this Historic Site and the Church all within walking distance on Auburn Avenue.

We first went to the National Park Service Visitor Center (450 Auburn Avenue) to sign up for the guided tour of Dr. King's birth home on 501 Auburn Avenue. While waiting for the scheduled time to visit the home, we toured the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, then walked to the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and crossed the street to the National Historic Site. The Center has exhibits such as Dr. King's Nobel Peace Prize, personal bible, a handwritten sermon, the key to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where he was assassinated and many items chronicling the civil rights movement.

The sculpture (below), outside the Historic Site, is the art work of Patrick Morelli. The scuplture reflects the ancient African ritual of lifting the newborn up the heaven and reciting the words, "Behold the only thing greater than yourself". Mrs. Coretta Scott King unveiled this monument as a tribune to Dr. King and as an inspiration to others to fight for dignity, social justice, and human rights.

I became very emotional when we visited the Freedom Hall, one of the exhibit rooms at the Center. The Freedom Hall includes photographic essays honoring Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi and other civil rights/human rights leaders. It has been almost 5 months since the "incident" took place, yet I still felt the pains caused by the humiliation. I could almost envision Ms. Parks and Dr. King shaking their heads in disbelief and disappointment, as we wonder how could such blatant discrimination still happening in America. The year is 2011, yet there are people who act as if there were still two sections on buses, movie houses and segregate water fountains. In a small way, I hope Ms. Parks would approve that I defended my dignity, that I held those violated the laws accountable for their actions and I was inspired to fight so that social justice would be safeguarded, not just for myself but for others. I hope Dr. King would be pleased that it would be the best way to honor his birthday and his legacy.

FRIDAY "THE 13TH" SKY

I am not a superstitious person, not to some extent as some people would go out of their way to avoid certain things or performing particular rituals to get rid of bad luck. I do admit that I rubbed the nose of the sculpture of a lion in front of the museum, but that did not help me win any jackpot. I do not believe that the number 13 carries bad luck nor do I think it is a good luck number either. I don't have any photos that would go the "Friday the 13th theme", so these photos would have to do. I extend many good wishes, and good luck, and that you will have good directions for the journeys in your life. There would be helpful signs to help guide you along, when to turn, which exit to take (or to avoid) and to stay on the right track (getting safely to where you wish to be). And if you need a little help, Aladin and the magic lamp would be there to lend a hand. (Above image is from Aladin, Wyoming)

FIRST SNOW FALL IN 2012

Not only I back-dated my posts, I am also late (very late) writing about events that happened days (a long time) ago! My feelings were hurt (deeply hurt) when Qaptain Qwerty made fun of me in his recent post. Since I never claimed to deliver the latest news or provide intelligent opinion about current events, it is my provocative to write whatever and whenever (at my earliest convenience) on any topics. Take that, Qaptain!

Thursday, January 12th - I got up around 5:00 am for a drink of water, when I looked out the kitchen window, it was still dark but I could see the snow already covered the ground. I did not pay much attention to the weather report so I was surprised to see that it was snowing outside. It must have started coming down after midnight since the backyard looked like a white blanket of fresh snow. There were reports of accidents, vehicles got stuck and shut down of the major roads. St. Louisians were caught off-guard, unprepared for this first snow fall. The salt trucks were out in full force but did not help much during morning rush hours. My husband had to park at a church parking lot because he (and many other drivers) were unable to get up the steep hill then down to the industrial park. The road were cleared by the early afternoon. It still took my husband an extra half hour to get home.

I am glad that I made the trip last weekend to drop off my wedding dress and a few other items at a local thrift shop. Proceed from donations funds scholarships to individuals with special financial needs. It took me a few years to finally let go of my wedding dress. After we celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary in 2009, I mentioned to my husband that I planned to give away the dress. I would never fit into it again and there is no daughter for me to pass it on. Even if I had a daughter, she probably would not want to wear my dress anyway. I have kept the dress long enough. We will always have the memory (in our heart) so it was time to donate my wedding dress and hope that it would be put to good use for a worthy cause. To readers who are ladies, do you still have your wedding dress? How or what do you plan to put the dress to good use? To the male readers, you sure got off easy with very little work - all you had to do was to return the tuxedo after the wedding!

EVERS 2

I was so pleased to see the above license plate "EVERS 2" after a few weeks of feeling bad (really bad) about the other license plate "NOT TWO"! I am encouraged by the message of "EVERS 2". Could the message be forEVERS tuesday 2? It is telling me that I should continue to publish the Tuesday Two theme because there would be millions of adoring fans who would be so disappointed if I discontinued the Tuesday Two posts. If you disagree with my theory, please feel free to let me know. I promise I will not feel real bad!

BELIEVE - HAPPY NEW YEAR (2012)

Believe in yourself even when no one does.
Believe in your ability to create a bright future even when someone told you that, "You don't have any skills. You don't have an education. You don't even speak the language. No one will give you a job."
Believe in your mind that you would be able to obtain a college degree even when someone said, "Let's see how long you will last working full time and attending school at night."
Believe in your strength as a proud American, in your rights to defend your liberty and freedom, especially when someone wanted you to "move to the back of the bus".
Believe in your courage defending your dignity and honor when someone humiliated you because of the color of your skin.
Believe in your fight when someone disciminated against you because they thought as an Asian woman you were supposed to be quiet and submissive. They thought you were "confrontational and demanding" and how dare you asked to be treated with respect.
Believe in your ability to overcome setbacks. Remember that setbacks are not failure, only if you allow yourself to be defeated.
You have survived and rose above many tribulations - you have experienced tremendous hardships, more than an average person could even image.
Believe in the kindness of others. Believe that there are more good-hearted people in the world than those individuals who cowardly looked the other way even when they knew a morally wrong act was committed.
Surround yourself with those who lift you up. Avoid those who tear you down or those who allowed evil to triumph by doing nothing.
Remember to return kindness to those who needed a helping hand and to let them know that they matter.
Give thanks to God for His blessings. He will provide what you need. You might not know what His plans are but they will come according to His schedule, not yours.
Today is the 32nd Anniversary of my family coming to America and I celebrate this special occassion with these self-affirmations, believe in myself even when no one did.
And to YOU - Happy New Year - Believe in yourself and make 2012 your year!

WILD CARD WEEKEND

Since the St. Louis Rams (2-14) did not make it to the playoffs (again) and I don't have any new football photos to post, so these photos will have to do. After the whole week of nice weather in the upper 60s (it reached 74s on Thursday), the temperature dropped down to mid-40s today. You could tell from these photos I took after coming out of church this morning that it was cloudy and grayish sky. After Mass, I brought Holy Communion to a parishioner who was discharged from the hospital earlier this week and is at home under hospice care. "Martha" looks weak compared to when I visited her on Wednesday. When I saw the red berries on the bare branches against the gloomy sky, I thought how about nature end-of-life, and sometimes we try to hang on to things, unable to let go, knowing that there was very little left. Martha smiled when I told her I also brought her a copy of the bulletin. After we prayed, I said goodbye and that I would bring her Holy Communion again on Wednesday even though we both knew that might not be necessary.

This is Wildcard Weekend "Do or Die" round. Yesterday, Saturday, Jan. 7th, the Detroit Lions gave the New Orleans Saints a hard time in the first half but could not hold the ground. The Saints advanced with a win 45-28, sending the Lions back to their den. The Houston Texans also won 31-10 over the Cincinnati Bangels. Latest news - my American hometown team the New York Giants had a big win 24-2 over the Atlanta Falcons (I should have bet with my sister who is now living in Atlanta but she does not care about football.) It should be a great match-up when the Giants play against the Packers in the Divisional Round next week.

TUESDAY TWO - NOT !!!!!!!

The owner of the vehicle must dislike my "Tuesday Two" theme so much that he/she has to let me know by selecting the above license plate. If you disagree with my theory, what do you think the message "NOT TWO" was about? (You might already notice that I am such a boring person with no interesting hobby that I just go around and capture images of specialty license plates.) Do you have a specialty license plate?

FIRST FRIDAY SKY 2012

I did not watch the Rose Bowl football game between Oregon and Wisconsin and I only watched part of the parade. I just thought the above photo taken in July 2010 when we were outside of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasedena, California and other photos from the same trip were fitting for the first 2012 Friday Sky post. The Rose Bowl game is traditionally played on New Year's Day, same as the Tournament of Roses Parade, but since January 1, 2012 fell on Sunday, the game and the parade were scheduled on Monday, January 2nd.

The water tower with the "Historic Route 66" shield was more than just a welcoming sign as we drove straight into Kingman, Arizona. It was comforting whenever we saw the landmarks mentioned in the guidebook. We needed to know that we were on the right track. We did not mind the few times when we were off course and had to turn around. But when the temperature was over 100, we were hungry and have driven the whole day, finding a town with plenty of eateries and cold drinks definitely made a person feel better!There was little chance of missing the giant US Route 66 shield outside the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. On the complex, there were 2 giant Kachinas in front of the old Trading Post. Visitors could walk around the Old Town Museum, sort-of an outdoor museum, that included buildings depicted what was once life on Old 66, auto camping with old vehicles in the desert, neon tourist courts, motels, diners and gas stations. Murals, memorabilia and recorded narration provided stories of the Mother Road.

TOP OF THE STAR

The title, "Top of the Star" came to my mind when I saw the above display at the Wildlights show at St. Louis Zoo. I hope 2012 will be a "top of the star" year for you!

PEACE AND JOY TO YOU

Peace and Joy or Joy and Peace, from whichever side you are reading (left to right or right to left), I do wish you will have both, not just for the New Year but all the coming years.
I went to a holiday craft show and "won" the above ornaments as attendance prize when my raffle ticket was drawn - yippee! I did not make any purchase nor was looking for any particular item. I like going to craft shows to see all the creative items "crafty" people make using various resources, especially recycled materials.
Personally, I pray for a peaceful heart, less anxious and worries about things that might never happen. I try to be at peace with what happened. Being at peace does not mean you gave up or stop fighting. Having a peaceful heart gives me the strength to leave "the ugliness" behind, to move forward and to make better decisions.
I pray for joy in whatever I will be doing on the new journey.
Here is to joy and peace in whatever your new year resolutions will be or your future plans in your career and in personal goals.

TWO NEW YORK RANGERS

Well, look closely you will see there are two New York Rangers goalies in the above photo. That was Henrik Lindqvist in the front but I forgot who the other goalie was since this photo was taken when the Rangers visited St. Louis in 2009. I don't have any photos from the 2012 Winter Classic on Monday, January 2nd between my American hometown New York Rangers vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, so these photos would have to do. The Rangers won 3-2 after trailing 0-2 in the 2nd period. Life is good and I am very happy!

The title for the above photo would be "Two Flyers and a Blues", also taken from when the Flyers visited St. Louis in 2009. That was when I had a few extra dollars burning in my pocket and decided to get the 10-game pack. I am proud to say that all the games that I selected, all 10 teams plus St. Louis Blues got into the playoffs that year (well, the Blues got eliminated after the 1st round). (Breaking News: I am excited that the 2013 Winter Classic could be held at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and my beloved Detroit Red Wings would be the hosting team for the game. Life is really good and I am really happy!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2012

Happy New Year - may all your hopes and dreams come true and may all your days filled with good health, peace and happiness.

Here is to 2012 and to all my "blogsphere" friends, thank you for visiting my silly boring blog, for your kind comments and for sharing your stories. Here is to many more years of happy blogging!

OLD FAITHFUL - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

This is the last post of 2011 (I know I have been "cheating" with publishing posts that were "back-dated" but this is my blog and I "cheat" if I want to - hee hee). Since I ended the year in high note with photos from the Grand Teton, I thought images from Old Faithful would be sort-of like the "old man" fitting for the outgoing year.

A nice feature about admission fee ($25 per vehicle) at the Yellowstone was that it was good for seven days for access to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton. From the North Entrance, the first attraction was Mammoth Hot Springs. We briefly stopped to look at the Terrace but did not walk around and up all the stairs since it looked like it required a lot of energy. We did not even go into the Visitor Center there. We thought we should save our strengh for other points of interests. We continued to follow the directions to Sheapeater Cliff, Indian Creek, Roaring Mountain, Norris Geyer Basin, Steamboat Geyer and could not pull ourselves away from Gibbon Falls. Following Firehole Canyon, Fountain Paint Pots, Lower Geyer Basin, Biscuit Basin, Black Sand Basin and finally arrived at Old Faithful. We simply followed the path leading to where the crowd was. We could hear the hot, hissing steam rises from the ground when we got closer. Since you could see the steam from miles away, there was no point in fighting the crowd to get any closer.

There it was, the one and only Old Faithful, famous for its regularity and awesome power of "blowing" steam approximately 130 to 180 feet high, very 90+ minutes or so. (We did not try to set our watch based on Old Faithful eruptions. Not that we doubted its accuracy.) From any angle surrounding the geyer would be impressive views, so there was no need to be right in front, except if you are unable to stand, then there are benches you could sit down. You could also view the geyser activties from comfortable rocking chairs on the deck of the Old Faithful Inn.

Let's hope that Old Faithful will be as "faithful" in blowing steams for many more generations to come.