COLLECTORS OR PACK RATS?

Grandpère and I are both collectors.  Our enthusiasm for our collections wax and wane, but we still have all the items we bought over the years.  Can you say pack rats? Pictured below is my collection of art umbrellas.  I purchased my first, Monet's "Waterlilies", at a museum shop and bought all but one of the rest on ebay for less than I paid in the shop.   Whenever an umbrella showed up on ebay, I bid on it, until I had 14.  The prices then began to rise, and I decided I had enough.  The umbrellas I see in the museum shops now are collapsible, and I prefer the style with the long handle.

Click on the pictures for the larger view.
 

Renoir - "The Umbrellas", Van Gogh - "Starry Night", Degas - "Ballet Dancers"

Da Vinci - "Mona Lisa", Monet - "Women in the Garden", Van Gogh - "Irises"

Monet - "Waterlilies", Monet - "Poppy Field at Vetheuil", Renoir - "Flowers in a Vase"

F L Wright - Stained glass, Botticelli - "Primavera", Botticelli - "Birth of Venus"

Raphael Angels ("Sistine Madonna"), Monet - "Les Bateaux Rouges", black umbrella

I included the black umbrella, which belonged to my mother, because I admire the elegance of the the shape when the umbrella is open and the graceful gold-colored handle.

My collections are stored in three umbrella stands, which I purchased for reasonable prices on ebay.

The names of the paintings represented on the umbrellas may not be exact, but I tried my best to identify them correctly.

FAVORITE WORDS

My Favorite Words

These fit so well they should be in a dictionary.

ADULT
A person who has stopped growing at both ends
And is now growing in the middle.
 
BEAUTY PARLOR A place where women curl up and dye.
 
CHICKENS
The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead.

COMMITTEE
A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
 
DUST
Mud with the juice squeezed out.
 
EGOTIST
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.

HANDKERCHIEF
Cold Storage.

INFLATION
Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.

MOSQUITO
An insect that makes you like flies better.

RAISIN
A grape with a sunburn.

SECRET
Something you tell to one person at a time.

SKELETON
A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.

TOOTHACHE
The pain that drives you to extraction.

TOMORROW
One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.

YAWN
An honest opinion openly expressed.

And MY Personal Favorite!!

WRINKLES
Something other people have,
Similar to my character lines.
 
Thanks Franks.

A BEAUTIFUL POEM...

I hope this poem has the same effect on you as it did on me.

 

Walk With Me by the Water

well worth the read... 

A BEAUTIFUL POEM ABOUT GROWING OLDER:

Damn...
I forgot the words

Don't blame me. You know who you are, and your name is Julie.

MORE "NOT IN OUR NAME" FROM MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

The following is a letter to the Times of London, (behind their paywall) from bishops, lay members of General Synod, and other prelates in the Church of England dissenting from the statement purporting to speak for "the Church" on the proposal to allow same-sex civil marriage in England. 

To: The Editor
The Times

Sir,

A number of recent statements by church leaders past and present may have given the mistaken impression that the Church is universally opposed to the extension of civil marriage to same-sex couples. We believe that does not adequately reflect the range of opinion which exists within the Church of England.

Marriage is a robust institution which has adapted much over the centuries. It has moved beyond the polygamy of the Old Testament and preoccupation with social status and property in pre-Enlightenment times.

While the Prayer Book states that marriage was ordained first for ‘the procreation of children’ the modern marriage service begins by emphasising the quality of relationship between marriage partners ‘that they shall be united with one another in heart, body and mind.’

The Church calls marriage holy or sacramental because the covenant relationship of committed, faithful love between the couple reflects the covenanted love and commitment between God and his Church. Growing in this kind of love means we are growing in the image of God. So the fact that there are same-sex couples who want to embrace marriage should be a cause for rejoicing in the Christian Church.

We welcome current moves by the House of Bishops to consider again its view of civil partnerships and human sexuality. We hope this will lead to a recognition of God’s grace at work in same-sex partnerships and call on the Church to engage in theological discussion and prayerful reflection on the nature of marriage.

We also welcome recent reported statements by the Bishop of Salisbury and the new Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral calling on the Church to affirm same-sex couples who want to take on the commitment of marriage.

It is our belief that the Church of England has nothing to fear from the introduction of civil marriage for same-sex couples. It will be for the churches to then decide how they should respond pastorally to such a change in the law.

Sincerely

Canon Giles Goddard, General Synod, Southwark
The Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans
The Rt Rev Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham
The Rt Rev Michael Doe
The Rt Rev John Gladwin
The Rt Rev Lord Harries of Pentregarth
The Rt Rev Peter Selby
The Rt Rev David Stancliffe
The Very Rev David Brindley, Dean of Portsmouth
The Very Rev Graham Smith, Dean of Norwich
The Very Rev Victor Stock, Dean of Guildford
Mrs April Alexander, General Synod, Southwark
The Rev Stephen Coles, General Synod, London
The Rev Clair Herbert, General Synod, London
Mr John Ward LLB, General Synod, London

Just one more reminder, amongst many, to us all and to the anonymous persons who put together the statement on same-sex civil marriage that, whoever they are, theirs are not the only opinions within  the Church of England.

H/T to Peter Owen at Thinking Anglicans.

HAPPY PRIDE DAY!

OOOO, THAT'S FRUITY!

Don't blame me for the caption.  Blame Ann M on Facebook.

Picture from George Takei on Facebook.

HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS

Grab a cup of coffee

  
 Go out on a  date

  
    Relax at the  beach

    
    Spend some time at the  museum

    
    Dine out at your  favorite restaurant

    
    Take a drive around  town

Not my generation, that's for sure.  I had to laugh the other day when I was at my son's house.  There I was with my two grandchildren, each of us focused on our techie toys.   There was no point in turning off my laptop, because no one would have talked to me anyway.  Well, I could have read a book.

Don't blame me.  Blame Doug.

STORY OF THE DAY - SMILING EYES

She turned to me & whispered, don't you 
just love it when you get so excited you 
forget to breathe? & the thought of her 
smiling eyes still makes me laugh.

From StoryPeople.

JUST SAYING GOODBYE - LEAVING TOWN

To help save the economy, the Government will announce 

next month that the Immigration Department will

 start deporting seniors instead of illegals

in order to lower Social Security

 and Medicare costs.

Older people are easier to catch and
will not remember how to get back home.

I started to cry when I thought of you.
Then it dawned on me ... oh, crap ....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I'll see you on the bus!


From that rascally Ann.  If Mitt is elected, don't be surprised...

STORY OF THE DAY - GHOSTS OF THE PAST

I'd probably have more trouble with the 
ghosts of the past, she said, if my 
memory wasn't shot to hell.

True!

From StoryPeople.

PLEASE HELP NACC WITH EXPENSES FOR GC12

Support Our Presence at General Convention

by Lionel Deimel

Dear Coalition Supporter,

The No Anglican Covenant Coalition will send our moderator, Malcolm French, and me, our Episcopal Church convenor, to the 2012 General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. The convention begins in less than two weeks. Along with other Coalition members and friends, we will monitor the progress of Covenant-related resolutions and will lobby for The Episcopal Church to take a strong stand against the Anglican Covenant. We will also distribute buttons and brochures to convention bishops and deputies in support of our lobbying efforts.

For the first time, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition needs to solicit financial help in support of our efforts. To date, coalition members have run our operations on a shoestring, and some members have made significant personal sacrifices to enable us to oppose what we believe is a disastrous change in direction for the Anglican Communion.

Our presence at General Convention will be our most expensive undertaking so far, requiring funds for travel, lodging, meals, buttons, brochures, etc. We estimate that this project will cost more than $3,000 US. Your help is urgently needed. Please consider making a generous donation to this important effort.

The No Anglican Covenant Coalition is an unincorporated organization, and contributions are not tax-deductible. However, donations of $25 US or more will be acknowledged with our Yes to Communion button that we will be distributing at General Convention.

By making a donation through PayPal, anyone in the world can contribute to this effort. Note that I, as Episcopal Church convenor, am acting as treasurer, so you will see both the Coalition’s name and my own on the PayPal pages when you make your donation using the button at the bottom of this post.

Thank you for your support,
Lionel Deimel
NACC Covnenor for The Episcopal Church