AMERICA . . . MY HOME SWEET HOME

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA . . . GOD BLESS AMERICA . . . GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES . . . PROUD TO BE AMERICANS!

FIRST THURSDAY RAMBLING (2013)

One more time - Happy New Year!  I thought these images from the Butterfly House would be a good start - positive, beautiful thoughts and acceptance that life goes on (the lifespan of a butterfly, dependent on the breed, could be only a few days or up to a year - no 100 years old butterfly). Spread your wings, fly high and enjoy each moment in the sun.  I found an article in the Grand Haven Tribune (at www.grandhaventribune.com) about a professional cyclist currently living on a sailboat.  You could read her blog at www.alwaysgoblog.wordpress.com.  I have thought of her comment, "Tickets are issued.  Only a few check-in for the journey of their dreams", where is your ticket? 

We missed the Times Square New Year ball-drop ceremony again!  Ralphie was already in bed and I continued watching the Twilight Zone Marathon.  I was supposed to keep watch but I fell asleep on the sofa and did not hear the clock striked at midnight.  2012 quietly left and 2013 casually came without bothering to wake us up for the celebration.

We had a few flurries on the last day of 2012, not enough for accumulation.  After putting in a couple of volunteer hours at the Butterfly House, I went to the store to return two sweaters and a necklace Ralphie had given me.  Next year I will remember to actually go to the store, look and touch before putting the items on my wish list.  The sweaters only looked good in the catalog and the necklace was actually a tiny, wimpy piece.  After the store, I visited a parishioner who had hip and knee surgery.  I brought her Holy Communion since she could not drive to attend Mass.   

I completed the 50 hours of volunteer in 2012 to qualify for an honorary membership with the Garden.  The regular membership is $65, that comes out to be $1.30 per volunteer hour.  I know you don't calculate wages when you volunteer.  I would rather get a good paying job so I could afford the $65 annual membership than putting in volunteer hours (at $1.30 per hour) while being unemployed.  OK, let's put a stop to this negative thinking! 

Ralphie was off the whole week of Christmas and finally went back to work on the 2nd.  The Director of Quality quit last month and moved to Nashville for a better job.  Ralphie told the company that he is happy with being Quality Engineer, doing the work without the pressure of being a manager.  The company already found a replacement and the new Director will start on Jan. 14th.  He and his family will be moving to St. Louis from Charlotte, North Carolina. Come to think of it, we have been in St. Louis 18+ years.  Ralphie said that pretty soon I will be more St. Louisian than being Vietnamese since I left Viet Nam when I was 19 years old.  I might have to make up stories about going to John F. Kennedy High School in Manchester! 

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.

TUESDAY TWO - BUTTERFLIES

The theme for December at the Butterfly House (www.butterflyhouse.org) is Snow in the Tropics when over 1,000 Paper Kite butterflies in free-flight over white orchids. The black/white butterflies gave an illusion of snow falling inside the tropical conservatory.

Not much happening after the 4-day Thanksgiving break, just the typical work load and daily lunch that consisted of left-over turkey. The weather was still in the mid-40s. CP finally stored his golf clubs away. He also put the hard-top on the T-bird and then carefully giving "her" a good coat of wax. I started looking around for ideas what to get CP for his birthday/Christmas. It is nice to marry to a man whose birthday is on December 25th. I only have to buy two presents and then decide which one is for birthday and the other would be for Christmas!

WHO IS AFRAID OF NUMBER 13?

Since I don't have a photo of a black cat or a tall ladder, this butterfly named Great Mormon from Southeast Asia, will have to be. When I made arrangement for the trip back from Atlanta, I wanted to spend an extra day (Saturday) with my sister and also to make it easier for my husband to pick me up, so I booked the returning flight on Sunday, November 13th.

I don't consider myself to be a supertitious person. I say things like, "knock on wood" while gently knocking on my own head, just as a joke. I broke a few mirrors but I never became paranoid that something bad would be happening for the next 7 years of my life. I just found that it was a funny coincidence when I got to the Atlanta airport while waiting to go thru security checkpoints, the agent tried to get things moving by telling the passengers to go to a shorter lane. I was directed to lane #13.

Mind you, I was not at all concern that I am flying on the 13th and now I stood in lane #13 and getting on an airplane to my seat #31E. As I was waiting at the gate (21A), a small question came to my mind - should I be worry? Not at all because there are many people, Qaptain Qwerty included, was born on the 13th and there were many times that his birthday fell on Friday the 13th. My Godfather birthday was also on the 13th. Hockey players are known as the most supertitious in sports, and many of them wearing #13 (like Pavol Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings) on their jersey and that is considered good luck. So who is afraid of #13, definitely not TOTA ;>)

TUESDAY TWO - FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER

Does it look like these two butterflies were just talking about how it was already the first day of November? Blink and the whole year of 2011 is almost gone! Remember "Y2K" and how the whole world was getting for all the chaos that came when the calendar turned on January 1, 2000! I am glad nothing really bad happened then. Eleven years later, "Y2K" was just another year that had passed.

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday, my husband was raking, blowing and getting the leave ready for curb-side picked up while I was helping out at a festival. On Sunday, we went to an early Mass. We only had time for a quick breakfast before heading down to the Rams game. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints were marching in to St. Louis. It was sort-of a miracle that the Rams won their first game 31-21 over the Saints. Everyone talked about how the Rams must be motivated by the Cardinals winning the World Series. After the football game, we headed toward Busch Stadium for the parade. When it started to drizzle, we decided to leave and watch the parade on television instead.

900th POST (A BLOG OF TOTA BEGINS WITH A SMALL POST IN AUGUST 2006)

This is the 900th post of this little boring, ramblings blog of mine! It is a major milestone and a good reason for celebrations. Special thanks always go to Qaptain Qwerty for helping me taking the first step, back in August 2006, toward the blogging world. Along the journey, QQ encouraged me to add photos (that was a bad idea) and gently nudged me whenever I slacked off. He never made fun of my cheesy photos and silly ramblings (well, a few times he did make fun of my obsession with hockey/football).

I have the privilege of knowing so many interesting bloggers. There are a few "cyber friends" that I treasure. The blogs I follow are those I read regularly, almost daily. (I don't know how some people could follow hundred of blogs.) I enjoy and appreciate Alisa (Displaced American www.alisajoy.blogspot.com), Nonna (Tasty Tales www.lynnskitchen202.blogspot.com) for letting me in their "home/kitchen".

Nonna is so kind with her comments even though I don't leave comments regularly on her blog nor any other blogs (sorry). When I first started blogging, someone told me to leave comments like, "Nice post" or "Interesting story", to drive traffic to my own blog. Another "trick" was to follow a lot of blogs (without actually visiting or reading), to get more readers/followers. Then what? The readers probably will visit once and never came back to my boring blog anyway. I don't have advertisement (Adsense) nor getting any commission for promoting any products. I am blogging/reading other people writing, for my own enjoyment, not to make money. There is nothing wrong with making a few dollars from blogging, but it is not something I am interested in, yet!

Blogging has been a wonderful experience and at times uplifting. It has created a circle of friendship and we no longer are just strangers sharing our thoughts. I have been praying for Vicky at The Westra World http://www.thewestraworld.blogspot.com/ and Leontien at http://www.fourleadcloverdairy.blogspot.com/ as they are going thru cancer treatments. (Vicky and Leontien, look forward to reading that you are on your way to complete recovery.)

There are a few bloggers that did not post regularly and I think of them often. (Hint - the Lone Gunman, how have you been? Hope all is well with you and your family.)
To all the blogging friends, thank you for sharing. To all my adoring fans and faithful readers, thank you and let the celebrations begin!

TUESDAY TWO - ORCHIDS IN PAIRS

Orchids in pairs or Orchids in Paris? Hey Qaptain Qwerty, is this qualified as "spoonie"?

OWLS AND ORCHIDS

Unlike other butterflies, the owl butterflies do not visit flowers for nectar, they prefer fruits as the main source for food. Can you tell how many gathered on the fruit tray of slices of orange in the above photo?

The owl butterflies are the largest butterflies and they got their name from the classic eyepot on the undersurface of their wings. During the day, they rest on tree trunks, on the walls, on the ground or on any surface.

In October, the Butterfly House features almost 100 blooming orchids and almost 2,000 owl butterflies from Costa Rica and Surinam got their "visa or working permit" to visit St. Louis during the month of October. The owl butterflies take wing in the evening in search for food and mates. I went to the Butterfly House on Tuesday when the Coservatory opens late until 7:00 p.m. We were surrounded by the owl butterflies flying in large group. It was a treat to see the owl butterflies in flight, in the dark. I saw a guest's head was almost covered by owl butterflies. He looked like he did not mind because they covered the areas where his hair no longer there.

I took these photos earlier in the day. The orchids looked so beautiful, especially with the sun shining, making the flowers so much more radiant.

It always made me happy whenever I visited the Butterfly House. Just seeing the colorful, beautiful blooming orchids and watching the butterflies in flight (so carefree so unconstrained) and for those moments, all my troubles seemed to be so far away!

Do you like orchids? Do you have orchids in your homes? Do you know the name of the orchids in this post? I will be sharing more photos of the butterflies and orchids in future posts.

INSIDE THE CONSERVATORY AT THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE

These photos were taken in May when my sister and I visited the Butterfly House. CH had a great time there, especially when we watched the emergence of the butterflies. In this large display box, there were a number of chrysalises that were soon to emerge.

CH was very excited when we spotted the above butterfly nectaring from the flowers. Others such as Morphos and Owls take their food from rotting fruits (bananas) instead of flowers.

CH put her hands out so the butterfly would land on her palms. We were not supposed to touch the butterfly. If they landed on us, we would have to shake our body to get it off. The butterfly is very fragile that even the most gentle touch might hurt them.

Could you identify the species of all the butterflies in this post? Sorry, this is not a contest and there are no prizes, just bragging rights!

FRIDAY "BUTTERFLY" SKY

A few weeks ago, I started to visit a parishioner at a skilled care nursing home. I brought Holy Communnion to Mr. K on Tuesday and Thursday. The nursing home was about a mile from the Butterfly House. After my visit, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and took these photos.

You could read more about the Butterfly House at www.butterflyhouse.org. I took family and friends here whenever they visit St. Louis. Both my Mom and sister enjoyed the butterflies but they could not stay inside the Conservatory long because it is 82 degrees (75% relative humidity) to accomodate these tropical butterflies. (QQ, I did not take you there because it was a short visit and I did not think you would care much for butterflies. It is sort-of girlie thing!)Most of the butterflies are imported from Ecuador, Suriname, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Philippines. There are no butterflies (or potato chips) from Brazil - haa haa (In the Peanuts, Lucy pointed to something on the ground and told Linus that it was a butterfly from Brazil. Linus corrected Lucy that it was a potato chip, not the butterfly. Lucy being bossy, would not admit that she was wrong, continued her "know it all" attitude and said, "It must be a potato chip from Brazil.")

The above sculpture was one of the 56 butterflies on display throughout the city from October 2010 thru May 2011. To see other sculptures I previously posted in this blog, search the label "butterflies". Or visit www.wingsinthecity.org for information about this citywide project and the artists who created the butterflies. The sculptures were funded by businesses and also were auctioned at a gala that raised a total of $1.3 million for Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care.

Do you have a Butterfly House in your city? If not, then be sure to visit the Butterfly House when you come to St. Louis or to Branson, Missouri :)

WOULD YOU CARE FOR A HOT ROLL?

Sunday, May 8th - We decided not to go to an early morning Mass in Memphis. Since CH would be by herself at the hotel and we would have to come back to pick her up after Mass, we thought we should go to 6:00 p.m. evening Mass when we get back to St. Louis. CH was happy that she did not have to get up early. We left Memphis around 10:30 a.m. after a quick breakfast.

The top photo was on I-55 approaching Illinois and you could see sandbags lining along the road. On the way to Nashville, we went thru Illinois, Kentucky then to Nashville. On the way home, we drove from Memphis then briefly thru Arkansas, crossed the river into Illinois and took I-55 all the way back in Missouri.

I took the photo above after we got off the exit to Lambert's Cafe. It is in the area of Poplar Bluff/New Madrid in Missouri where the Corp. of Engineers just put a hole in the Mississippi River Levee to relieve pressure from the rising water. The plan was designed to flood the farmland in order to spare the pupulated residential areas.

We realized that Sunday was Mother's Day and the Cafe was completed packed. CP had to stay in the parking lot since there was no parking space. I took CH inside the Cafe and showed her around. CP and ate at Lambert's once in 1998 on our trip to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. (I just waited for the cart to come by and did not wish to be hit in the head with a hot dinner roll.) The place is famous for its tradition of servers throwing hot rolls when guests raised their hands for more. Servers also walked around with side items, ready to fill your plates, at no extra charge. Read more about this tradition and all the festive-like atmosphere at www.throwedrolls.com and exact locations of the Cafe in Sikeston and in Branson (Missouri) and Foley in Alabama. I took a few photos inside the Cafe but the images did not turn out too good - must be the camera getting tired from being over-worked!

At 2:20 p.m. we were getting hungry and decided to get off the exit to St. Genevieve, Missouri. After lunch, we walked around the town square. We attempted to take the path leading to the ferry but could not get thru because the flood gate was already set in place. We thought CH would love to see the Blue Owl restaurant (above photo) in Kimmwick, Missouri so we made a quick stop there too. We did not get home until around 4:20 p.m. CP made hamburgers for dinner and finished up the apple pie he made on Thursday when CH first arrived in St. Louis. (QQ, we promise to make you an apple pie when you spend more time visiting and not just ran the marathon, then "fly away"!)

The next day, Monday, May 10th, I took CH around town, showing her the Awakening scuplture by J. Seward Johnson at Central Park in Chesterfield, www.chesterfieldarts.org. There are only two other castings of the Awakening in the world, Maryland, USA and Siracusa, Italy. I told CH about other scupltures and how I enjoy taking photos to share with my adoring fans in my blog. The Butterfly House was closed on Monday, so we went to the Route 66 Museum instead.
The next day, Tuesday, May 11th, we went to the Butterly House. CH enjoyed it very much, especially when a butterfly landed on her purse (above photo).

I have been to the Butterfly House many times. Each time, I still marveled at God's creation thru the Miracle of Metamorphosis (above photo).

After visiting the Butterfly House, we went to Annie Gunn's for lunch. Annie Gunn's is a restaurant and Smoke House is a grocery shop right next to it. Back in 2000, thru a temporary agency, I worked as an account payables clerk for a few months at Smoke House. During the flood of 1993, the water was above the sign of the pig and the owner who was trying to gather important documents ran out of time and had to be rescued by helicopter.