She walks in Beauty, like the night–Lord Bryron

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PICTURE OF THE DAY:

Found somewhere in Mt. Dora–dedicated to

Misty, Billy, Terry and Charlie.

Better luck next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicean barks of yore,
That gently, o’er a perfumed sea,
The weary, wayworn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.  Edgar Allen Poe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three stand NECKLACE and Clip EARRNGS

Honorable Mention:
THE VINTAGE VIEW
Multi-Dealer Mini Mall
Mary Jo Pfeiffer, Proprietor
789 W. Montrose Street
Clermont, Florida
352-243-9977
Oh, Beauty, passing beauty! sweetest Sweet!
How canst thou let me waste my youth in sighs;
I only ask to sit beside thy feet.
Thou knowest I dare not look into thine eyes,  Alfred Lord Tennyson
No not this anatomy….you’ve already checked him out a hundred times…..and Claire gets INDEPTH instructions….must be nice.
And it is not always face,
Clothes, or fortune gives the grace,
Or the feature, or the youth;
But the language and the truth,
With the ardor and the passion,
Gives the lover weight and fashion.
 Ben Johnson
Suggestion for a POSSIBLE ADVENTURE
NORTH BEND STATE PARK
202 N. Bend Park Rd
Route 1, Box 221
Cairo, WV 26337
Lodge, cabins, Campgrounds,
More than 72 miles of trails
305 acre Lake w/fishing piers
Hughes River and pond fishing
Canoe and kayak rentals
WIFI at Lodge and lodge lawn area
Organized hikes, campfires and entertainment
Picnicking
Playground equipment
Volleyball and tennis courts
Miniature golf
Equipment rentals
Swimming pool open weekends in summer.
And, when I pause, still groves among,
(Such loveliness is mine) a throng
Of nightingales awake and strain
Their souls into a quivering song  Sarojini Naidu
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Beauty they say is in the eye of the beholder.
Men are handsomehaving an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking   http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/handsome
and while a woman can be called handsome it is generally used for the males of our species..
Beautifulhaving beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind     http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/beautiful: is what woman are usually described or compared to.
So men are attractive, well-proportioned and give a suggestion of health and strength while women give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear and think about.  Men suggestive of good health, women delighting the senses….obviously men have been making up the language for a long time now.
Who can say
Why her eyes,
Those playmates of the hamlet where Beauty dwells,
Why her eyes smile that way ?    Majeed Amjad
This is a woman figurine (yeah a blind man could figure that out) from prehistory.   There are many such figurines often call fertility goddesses, but I have my own interpretation—maybe this was what an ideal woman looked like.  See woman then were fertility as men had no idea they contributed to pregnancy (and given the little they do in the 9 months of bringing a baby into this world, I sometimes wonder if they shouldn’t just get an honorable  mention instead of a full credit).  So women were then treated right and fed this well-curved creature that brought pleasure and new life….a win win situation for the men who claimed and protected them…and if it’s your job to provide for them (or somebody else might) then you want them to look well fed and cared for—hence the stone figure….probably some great hunter’s  main squeeze and his way of saying–hey look at what I got and how well fed she is.
So in Pre-history I’m presuming a beautiful woman was a plump, pregnant, pleasure-vessel that was worthy of caricatures.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
   So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
   But tell of days in goodness spent,  Lord Bryon
Then let’s move centuries ahead to the Renaissance in the 15th century
She has clothes on, but she is still plump but all else has gone askew:  men have taken control as they figured out that those few seconds of their release is required for woman to reproduce.  They have also become very controlling of those reproduction organs for it is very important that no one but them touch her…as that would confuse the blood lines (not to mention making them look foolish and out of control) and that just isn’t done.  Rich women are mostly chattels, with their dowry, family and bloodlines more important than anything except of course their ability to reproduce while remaining chaste to all but her legal spouse.  So even an ugly rich woman could and most probably would marry.
Look at England and Henry VIII who left the Catholic Church to marry one woman, then let his staff frame her so he could marry a third, by which he finally had a son (oh I forgot that part—having children was only good if there were one or more boy children), he did go through three more wives (the mother of his son died from the delivery, the next one was ugly and he annulled the union, the next was very young and probably did mess around on him and the last outlived him).
So now woman remained plump, and pregnant,  she had added protected and controlled, as well as faithful (if she wished to keep her children, her position and as we see in Henry’s 5th wife Katharine  Howard’s case her head.)
Oh but least I forget we’d added a new woman..the mistress–often  beautiful, witty and some times single.  She was often exclusive to her rich lover (who may have had many such women) but not always and her children when she was impregnated often were  given money, land and even awarded positions (Henry who in additions to all those wives had several mistresses–including a sister of one of his queens—He only acknowledged one child Henry Fitzroy the son of his mistress Elizabeth Blount, and  he did give him a dukedom.)   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Henry_VIII

” A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”   J.Keats

 2.Charlize TheronAnd we all know what’s beautiful today….We now have no room for excess pounds and many of us see our self as fat and ugly when we might well have been attractive (wanta move to the renaissance?)many eons ago.  We are back to naked or nearly so and we are independent more so than even (both in income, bearing children–we can skip the sex completely–and pretty much else) but many of us on our own are barely make a living and men still make more money even in the same job.   We also live much longer and so have to live with menopause and what happens next as many of us can’t afford to retire.
So here we are almost naked again, but with a lot less to see and independent, only with child if we choose to or had a goof up moment….who meets the opposite sex on an impersonal organism called a computer and where they are using pictures that are 20 years old.   But yet we still have the same beautiful vs. handsome definition for us vs. them.  Please define progress.
 beautiful lady with eyes on fire,
That sparkle and laugh, that can smile and cry,
I love your eyes so clear and true.
Beautiful lady I adore you     Graham R. Bryan 
28 1/2" Large black BEAD with Gold Highlights Vintage NECKLACE
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Your beauty extends into the heavens,
it goes on forever and never lessens.
Even when the clouds heighten
you are here and the world brightens.
You are like a fruit that constantly ripens
your beauty continues to grow no mater what happens.
 Daniel Erdle 
1993 CYPRESS GARDEN Brochure

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” Mark Twain

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I met this wee lassie in the Park off Park Ave in Winter Park and she is my

FEATURED PICTURE OF THE DAY—AS YOU can see she wasn’t very happy about her day but she is none the less a beautiful addition to today’s blog…I can’t remember her name–Iris????

 

 

 

 

 

 

If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!
J.M. Barrie

 

 

 

 

 

MARHILL Bracelet Beads in gold tone setting  VINTAGE

SUGGESTION TO LOOK INTO FOR A POSSIBLE ADVENTURE
PINOT’S PALETTE
1572 Central Ave.
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
727-821-3700
Paint, drink, have fun
Date night, girls night out, out with friends
 Oh, she thought, how horrible it is that people have to grow up-and marry-and change!    L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island

1970s Made in France LE CREUSET Cast Iron 2 qt. Dutch Oven "B"

Outlander:  Best TV Episodes of the Year:
Guess Who?

They spent the first three years of school getting you to pretend stuff and then the rest of it marking you down if you did the same thing.    Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake

HONORABLE MENTION
Double Creek Pottery
237 W. 4th St.
Ste. 4
Mount Dora, FL
352-735-0058
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?
Satchel Paige

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My Blog today is for a friend.  The other day Alicia and I were talking and somehow we got to the fact that she’d been reading something on line about what you shouldn’t wear over 30—She noted that she wore many of these items but she a was a few (or more)years over 30 and wondered  why her age made such a distance since she liked wearing these items.  I promised that I’d look into it.
So I wandered around the internet to see what we shouldn’t be wearing.  I found:
Glitter eye shadow—which I enjoy and I’m about as far past Alicia in age as she is past 30 and then some.  Opps so I’m an offender too.
Leopard Print–opps I have a nice light jacket that I wear some times that has a leopard print…..and you guys let me go out in that…and you call yourselves my friends.
UGS–they’re for children according to one article and they even carry the ads for them–butthey’d sell them to you without ID saying you’re under 30–hey I never worse those…a little warm for Florida and not my style—-so I’m doing something right.
And those are just a few.
Tom Stoppard:  Maturity is a high price to pay for growing up.
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Ok first let me say that I’m probably not a great person to make this kind of evaluation—Someone overhead me taking to a friend one day and commented that “I bet you were the kind of kid who colored outside the lines!”  To which I replied “You mean there were lines?”
That declared I will go on to say—No one is the same, not even  if they’re over 30–or 40   or even 60 & 70.   So why even bother with these little tid bits written by people who at best are trying to help you and at worse just wants you bow down to their better “knowledge” of fashion in particular and life in general (especially life over 30)?  Well from what I have seen from my over 30 and then some–perspective—women are taught from the cradle that fashion is important and that said that the powers that be (the strange fashion police hiding behind the shrubs to chastise you for wearing white shoes in the winter, or crop tops despite the fact that you still look hot in it) past 30.
J. M. Barrie:  Growing up is such a barbarous business, full of inconvenience… and pimples.
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For one thing not everybody who is 30 (or 40 etc.) is actually that age.  I  was one of those people.  When I was 36 I was dating a 28 year old and I got carded to buy beer, yes at 36.  I wore shorts and crop tops and no body complained and I didn’t look like an over 30 person who shouldn’t wear sexy clothes (trust me I would not wear them today but…..).  I know under 30s that don’t look good in them—and vis versa—but whom am I to say who looks good in what
no body has appointed me to the fashion police (yet).
Some people just don’t give a crap for what people think and wear exactly what they want, even if they look OMG she isn’t wearing that out of the house…bad.  I do not have that freedom of independence of doing this, but if you do—then it’s your life….do it.  But I must apologize in advance cause I’ll be turning to Alicia saying she doesn’t have much fashion sense does she.
I read something the other day that read something like “If it makes you feel good then wear it”    I think that may be the golden rule of personal fashion.
One over 30 (there are many) article recommended high rise pant (those ugly pleated things) with a pretty (whose definition?) blouse—and they feature a pair of pants you can purchase—at $220—If I had that kind of money for slacks I wouldn’t be looking for a job!
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There are some things you might want to consider though.
There are exceptions:  For instance most teen kids don’t want to have their mom to dress alike with them–so you might not want to wear shorts and a halter top to school activities.
Church is another place where a certain amount of decorum is desired by (usually) the congregation and the organization, so expressing your over 30 self in an outrageous under 30 get up may be hazardous to your self respect with others of your denomination.
And  of course your sense of fashion has to take a deep respite when it comes to work…Nurses can’t  wear graphic t-shirts on duty or a teacher showing up in UGS, stripped tights and a leopard bikini top in most school venues (I haven’t checked in California lately) would generally be frown on.
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The rest of is week I think I’ll look at fashion and how women became the victim of it and whose fault is that anyway?
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Today’s pictures are Winter Park
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All you need is faith, trust  and a little bit of pixie dust.

If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? Shakespeare

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FEATURED PICTURE
Beautiful Bride and Handsome Groom

taken in Hannibal Square/Winter Park  last month

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNED GLASS/Japan  4 1/2 Heavy Crystal Cigarette Lighter

HONORABLE MENTION

The Zen Cowgirl Located at Papilio

https://www.facebook.com/TheZenCowgirl

A Vintage Boutique, with Furniture, Home Decor, Architectural Items, Jewelry & More.

http://www.papiliomountdora.com/

Papilio is a nature inspired gift and art shop located in beautiful Mount Dora, Florida. They carry an exquisite collection of bath and body products, baby products 

120 W. 5th Ave

Mt. Dora 32757

Met the Zen Cowgirl myself this weekend and I love her store within another store—You gotta go to Mt. Dora—it has sooooo much to offer—and of course check out this store as part of the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORTS of MACKINAC Booklet 1962 The

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get a Jamie, Claire or even Black Jack to make Droughtlander a little shorter.

http://www.yareah.com/2015/12/27/outlander-toys-feature-sexy-sam-heughan-and-caitriona-balfe-take-a-look/

Let others know what you’re waiting for at

http://www.yareah.com/2016/01/02/poldark-outlander-vikings-longmire-and-power-everybody-is-waiting-for-these-tv-shows/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clip-on Earrings Vintage Crystal Glitter

PRESENTED FOR A POSSIBLE ADVENTURE
Tour 3 of Tampa Bay areas finest craft breweries
Generous samples at each of the 3 locations visited.
Cooler on van for Growlers, 22 oz. Bombers, or 6 pack purchases at the breweries
Last approx. 3.5 hrs.
813-609-TOUR
Incudes Pick up at pre-determined locations
Visits to 3 breweries
Snacks and bottled water provided
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
William Shakespeare
As I was reading something on St. David’s (both a town on St. Bride’s Bay in Wales and a Norman church set in a hollow on the site of it’s predecessor 6th century site hidden from the sea then and still–to avoid the Viking raiders) in my effort to determine what I wanted to see on my visit as I want to stay the extra time on my own in Cornwall and Wales.  They mentioned that the severe exterior is off set by the church/cathedral’s inside decorative details including humorously carved misericords (see above) since laughter was considered a weapon against the devil.  This took me aback as I didn’t realize that was the case in 15 century Catholic Churches.   Made me wander what else laughter could  be used for.
According to Psychology Today:
 Freud himself noted that there is really ‘no such thing as a joke’: if human beings are the only animals to laugh, with some going so far as to turn laughter into a form of art and source of employment, then this is no doubt because they have by far the most developed unconscious in the animal kingdom. The things that people laugh about most are their errors and inadequacies; the difficult challenges that they face such as personal identity, social and sexual relationships, and death; and incongruity, absurdity, and meaninglessness. These are all deeply human concerns and challenges: just as no one has ever seen a laughing dog, so no one has ever heard about a laughing god.    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/the-many-uses-laughter
So humor and it’s associated laughter is solely human neither Godly nor holy, however it has been used in godly places to fight unholy evil.
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Apparently you can feel happy very easily:
Researchers have found that you can even “act as if” you are feeling an emotion—say, happiness or irritation—by arranging your face in a smile or a frown, and you are likely to feel that emotion.    http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/humor/benefits-humor
Even a teaching aid:   in China….At a school for the deaf in Guangzhou, a physics teacher is uses humor to explain complicated scientific theories to his students.  http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/09/10/physics-teacher-uses-laughter-to-teach-tough-subjects#ixzz3waDCyR3O
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And the experts—even the Mayo Clinic sees it as a win-win as it :  Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.  http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
The Oncologist Journal supports APPROPIATE Humor in the ongoing treatment of cancer patients:  Humor may help to ease the pain, show the human side of the health care team, and help everyone cope. Whether the patient uses humor to lighten the mood of a difficult consultation with their physician, or health care workers use it to help cheer each other through the day, humor and laughter can be valuable tools. Humor can soften the isolation experienced by both patients and staff. When used sensitively, respecting the gravity of the situation, humor can build the connection among the caregiver, patient, and family.    http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/
Men’s Fitness even recognizes it as an enhancement of physical training:   But laughing is much more than just an emotional response to something funny. It’s physical. Laughing exercises several muscles in the body, including your abdomen, back, shoulders, and 15 facial muscles. And it may actually enhance your workout.  http://www.mensfitness.com/training/endurance/5-ways-laughter-can-enhance-your-workout
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So how can you make your or a friend or family member’s life funnier
Watch a funny movie:  From Net Flix to on Demand (HBO currently has Home Alone–one and two and Howard the Duck to name a few) that you can rent (Ted 2 (unrated) is on Demand) or that you get as part of your cable service.   Alternative:  watch a really bad one:  that always makes me groan and giggle and eventually laugh out loud.
Go to a comedy club there’s bunches around lately.  Hint like the movies, even the bad ones can be funny.:
SAK Comedy Lab
Zagat rated
Bonkerz Comedy Club – Downtown Orlando
Closed today
Improv Comedy Club
Local & celeb stand-up plus bar eats
Opens at 6:30 PM
I found  these 3 in Orlando without any effort at all and we are hardly the fun capital of the world—-besides the Mouse that is.
Play with your kids, you may have forgotten how much you laugh playing hide and seek, blowing bubbles or playing jacks   or kids game boards…Being a kid again if only for an hour or two can do more than make you laugh, it can refresh you and nourish your soul.
And there are many more.
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Pictures today are from Sanford, Fl.

Harold himself… fell covered with deadly wounds

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FEATURED PICTURE (S) OF THE DAY:

More lovely ladies from the Sanford Home Tour Entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought shall be the harder, the heart the keener, courage the greater, as our strength lessens. Here lies our leader all cut down, the valiant man in the dust; always may he mourn who now thinks to turn away from this war play. I am old, I will not go away, but I plan to lie down by the side of my lord, by the man so dearly loved.—The Battle of Maldon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handpainted Porcelain Music Box 1984 Avon GOLDEN DREAMS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HONORABLE MENTION:

PIECE OF MINE

Unique home accessories and gifts

144 W. 4th Ave.

Mt. Dora,   FL 32757

352-735-2200

www.pieceofminehome.com

This is a great little shop situated in a cottage among a row of typical business building.  Lots of great stuff and a wonderful staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this year king Athelstan, lord of warriors,
Brown Ring-giver of men, with his brother prince Edmund,
Won undying glory with the edges of swords,
In warfare around Brunanburh.   The Parker Chronicle, annal for 937

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ČECHOSLOVAKIA', a mark form used between 1918 and 1921 SUGAR BOWL

and Bloopers:  http://www.etonline.com/news/167786_outlander_season_2_first_look_and_bloopers/

and—If I have to explain you obviously are too young to watch the show:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then he sent his men all over England into every shire to ascertain how many hundreds of “hides” of land there were in each shire, and how much land and live-stock the king himself owned in the country, and what annual dues were lawfully his from each shire.   The Laud (Peterborough) Chronicle,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throngs VIEW JFK's BIER 6/7/1968 News Paper

NOTED FOR ADVENTURE POTENTIAL
  • He forbade the killing of boars even as the killing of harts. For he loved the stags as dearly as though he had been their father.
  • The Laud (Peterborough) Chronicle,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUN BANK 24 Daytona '91 IMSA Grand Prix of Endurance

TODAY  1/6–in 1066, marks the date when Harold became King—an Anglo Saxon one (and  the last of that genre)–the picture–probably not a great likeness –is from a tapestry made by the Normans (or at least their women) who would cut the reign off at 9 months (and yes he was probably expecting a visit from the man (and bastard) whom may or may not have had any more right to that the throne than did Harrold:  William soon to be called Conqueror replacing the bastard label.
If you’re really interested in Anglo-Saxons–it’s where the English language originated while the native Celts  spoke a more Gaelic dialect— more like Jamie and crew in Outlander–who originated in Germany and started raids on the Isle in the middle of the 5th century (see my Pinterest on my novel of King Arthur that I’m working on–https://www.pinterest.com/lindachase56829/my-novels/ ) and by the middle of the 6th c they had established  kingdoms which included Wessex, Mercia and Northumbra and controlled most of the country which is now England.  Any way as I was saying if you’re interest in them the Brits have the best trove ever of the Anglo-Saxons, acquired from a burial ship from a place you probably never heard of Sutton Hoo (Suffolk) http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sutton-hoo and they’re all now in the British Museum in London (below)   http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/sutton-hoo-and-europe-ad-300-1100-new-gallery-at-the-british-museum
But back to Harold– seems that there’s a lot of he (Harold) said, he also said (William) and what he (Edward) supposedly said about this all:  That is Edward the Confessor (king 1042 – 1066) who was the only  British King who was canonized—for you less religiously versed people that means they made him a saint. Interestingly enough one of the reasons he was made a saint is that he didn’t even have sex with his wife, who by the way was Harold’s sister….so it’s possible that he was made a saint due to sexual performance or preference issues.   And yes Saxons  were Christians–which back then only offered one option–Catholic, but not always in fact another Saint–Augustine (like that town we have in Florida) was sent by Rome itself in 597 AD, to convert the pagan kingdom and of course their king.  He succeeded and is given credit for founding the main church ( no longer Catholic but Church of England–now) in England–Canterburyhttp://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/conservation/
In fact there’s still a Saxon Church still standing:  St. Laurence (see below) was built in the late 8th century.   Located In Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, it is one of relatively few surviving Anglo-Saxon churches in England that does not show later medieval alteration or rebuilding.   http://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=1621

 

 

 

But there I go again—-back to Harold, when Edward died (childless of course–remember the celebrate bit we just talked about) Harold said that he named him, (his fav brother-in-law)  king (and there was support from the Saxon Lords)  while in distant France was William the Bastard, soon to be Conquer who claimed to both have a pledge from Edward for the crown coming to him and another from  Harold who prior to all this going down was cruising about and end up ship wrecked and captured by yeah William again– of support and allegiance.    Since neither of them were ever made or even considered (not that I’m privy to the church’s decision on such matters, just assuming) sainthood it was pretty much like a Judge Judy show.

 

Before he was king Harold was the Earl of Hereford–he reportedly founded the town of New Radnor in Wales (see below) which had a Forest that was really moorland used for hunting and a rich abundance of wildlife–seems that’s the original meaning of Forest.  Who knew?!

 

So now Harold is Harold II–they don’t stay with one thing long do they.  He knew that William wanted his kingdom, but he knew he wasn’t the only one—see there were the Vikings who claimed the throne through treaties and previous occupation and Edgar the Atheling (meaning prince) who held the best claim direct through direct decent from a previous Viking rulers but he was like less than a year old and so not Harold’s immediate problem.

 

See the Vikings had gone from raiders to conquerors and held large parts of Britain and in fact York was one of their strategic towns…the town street names ending in “gate” come from the Danish and mean “street” or “Way”.  The Jorvik Viking Center http://jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/  there has a very historically accurate ride which includes sounds and smells from the Viking era and the figures you see have actually been recreated from a computer study of actual skeletons….it’s very interesting.

 

Anyway the appearance of Halley’s comet (felt to be an ill omen) in April and his own brother’s Tostig’s mismanagement which resulted in his replacement by and the resulting threats to avenge this slight only made matters worse.   Tostig and Harald Hardrada another Viking claimant eventually hooked up to plan–you guessed it—an invasion.  After some misadventures Harold and his army hit the invaders at Stamford Bridge and soundly defeated them on September 25.  But before they could celebrate word came that William was invading in the south.

 

 

This Stone was erected to remember the Battle of Stamford Bridge which took place on 25 September 1066   http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/battle-for-stamford-bridge-to-be-given-its-due-1-6068684

But poor Harold had no time to celebrate as the Normans under William had arrived.  So Harold and his army turned south while Willaim built an earth and timber castle at Hastings.  Harold and friends arrived on October 14 or there abouts and that must have been a march…a battle weary army moving about 225 miles–if they started the return the next day after the battle that’s still almost 12 miles a day which given the conditions of the roads and the fact that most of the troops were on foot is a feat to be admired.

 

But there was to be no more victories for Harold and the British Isle went from English as norm (which wasn’t native as I mentioned before) to French–with generations going by before a British King spoke English.  Never would England be successfully invaded again—but first there was Hasting and the Defeat of Harold who may or may not have died with an arrow through his eye, but who was only king for 9 months and 8 days.

 

 

Today there is a monument, to the man who was so shortly a king, near Battle Abbey (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/1066-battle-of-hastings-abbey-and-battlefield/history/) that William had built and in which he had the high alter set at the site of the short reigning monarch’s place of death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. “Remarkably, this Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (as it was later known) was written not in Latin, as was the practice in virtually every other literate corner of Europe, but in the everyday language that people spoke. By the end of the tenth century, this language had a name for the new state: it was ‘the land of the Angles’, Engla lond.4”
Author: Marc Morris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard PETTY Fan APPRECIATION Poster Nascar   1992

 

SOURCE
A GUIDE TO NORMAN SITES IN BRITAIN/Nigel & Mary Kerr
BLUEPRINT BRTAIN/Berlitz
GREAT BRITAIN/Eyewitness Travel Guide
KINGS AND QUEENS/Richard Cavendish
ROYAL BRITAIN/An Illustrated Encyclopedia of
THROUGH BRITAIN ON ROADS AND  COUNTRY ROADS/Peter Brereton

“A new heart for a New Year, always!” Charles Dickens

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 PICTURE (S) OF THE DAY:  Performers in the Neighborhood at the Sanford Home Tour in December…..looking good gals.    https://sanfordhistorictrust.wildapricot.org/Holiday-Tour-of-Homes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wooden Bead  Single STRAND NECKLACE 11 1/2"

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention:

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THE GOBLIN MARKET RESTAURANT

330 Dora Drawdy Lane

Mount Dora, Fl 32757

www.Goblinmarketrestaurant.com

Since 1996. The restaurant features three intimate, book-lined dining rooms furnished in soothing muted tones with tasteful modern art. The private, tree shaded, courtyard and garden patio are open year round for alfresco dining, and lighter gourmet fare is served nightly in our full-service lounge. Low lighting and “new age” music add the finishing touches to the restaurant’s casual elegance.  From homemade soups, dressings and desserts to the freshest in seafood and steaks, the goblin is that perfect place for any occasion. Open for lunch, dinner .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“[T]omorrow is a new day. You shall begin it well & serenely, & with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day … is too dear with its hopes & invitations to waste a moment on the rotten yesterdays.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRECIOUS Moments Figurine 1987 "MOMMY I Love You"

All about Jamie and why it worked with Sam

 

 

 

 
“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards.”
G.K. Chesterton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOYDS BEARS & Friends:  Grenville and Beatrice....Best Friends   1993

 

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.”
T.S. Eliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mug PITCHER of Colonial Man Vintage  Tiny TOBY

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I thought these quotes I’ve been using today are very interesting in each points out the importance of the new and often seems to down grades the value of what you were and did before.  I don’t see life like that myself–I do not think that we are ever free of our past–but on the other hand I do believe that we only become victims of it when we allow ourselves to do so.
The idea of a new year with a clean start is definitely appealing–if not a bit daunting.

 

 

 

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How can we do better with this new chance:
Realize that it was only a few days since 2015 and accept the idea that nothing much has changed.  Midnight 20016 (1/1) wasn’t a magical entry into a land (or year) where you’re going to leave bad habits and ways behind and become a different you.
That said don’t throw up your hands in defeat and say what the hell, pick up another cigarette or chocolate and accept that fact that you’ll die of lung or throat cancer before your time or that your fat will increase and your life expectancy decrease.  But what you have to accept is that this is just a starting point to something you really need to do–it isn’t magical–you haven’t suddenly gotten over your smoking or eating addiction (etc)–but that it’s time to take a stand and the first few days of 2016 are as good as any time to actually grow a back bone and stand  and say “I’m worth it and I’m going to do it.”
“Each age has deemed the new-born year
The fittest time for festal cheer.”
Sir Walter Scott
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IT’S USELESS WTHOUT A PLAN:
If you want to quit smoking look into the plans—are you best suited for a cold turkey stop or maybe pills or other tobacco items that let you stop gradually–then look into local programs.
Other things to consider when picking a program whether for weight loss, cigarette cessation or whatever.
1.  Do you need professional help–some problems have to have different levels of help–Drug addiction for instance needs assistance beyond what most self-help groups can do.  On the other hand getting out of a bad relationship may work with self help or maybe you even need a psychologist or psychiatrist.
2.  Do your research for what’s available  and how it applies to you and your situation—a personal one-on-one counselor is good for people who don’t like sharing with the group, but are often costly so that has to be considered as well.   On the other hand they might be available at your church, school or community resources.
3.  There are also self help programs from online  sources, programs on DVDs that can be purchased and special programs offered by places like the “Y” or other agencies.  But remember if you’re going to do this you must be able to continue your motivation with nothing but an impersonal reminder of your goals.
“I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.”
Anaïs Nin
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When looking at programs more things to consider:
1.  How far away is the program—the further and/or more out of your way it is the less likely you are to continue to attend….gyms start out the New Years with many attendees but even though most of them pay for full years membership few continue coming regularly after the first few months, even weeks.
2.  How much supervision is there.  You may be very motivated, but I find that most of us are  more motivated on returning to the usual, less demanding life style and let our planned life improvement sinks slowly into the swamp of lost efforts and intentions.
3.  Is there a friend or relative that can (needs to) join you?  You’re much more likely to succeed if you have someone else to share the effort with.

“[I]f this life of ours
Be a good glad thing, why should we make us merry
Because a year of it is gone? but Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’…”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ROLEX  24 At DAYTONA 2/4-5/1995 Program

 

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“I wake expectant, hoping to see a new thing.”
Annie Dillard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China Cup and Saucer Vintage, Very small FINE

 

 

 

So, if anatomy is destiny then testosterone is doom. Al Goldstein

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Featured Picture of the day—what a beautiful Mother and child

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temptations (Honorable Mention for the Day)

100 W.  3rd Ave.

Mount Dora,  Fl. 32757

https://www.facebook.com/Temptations-Mount-Dora-1518552305076900/

A variety of gifts and lovely items including jewelry, scarves and much, much more in Mt. Dora…who could ask for more?

 

 

 

 

 

Check out how Tobias is part of the Male showing their BACON trend for 2015
While Sam showed everything but….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONSIDERATION FOR AN ADVENTURE:

MT DORA’S PALM ISLAND BOARDWALK AND PARK

411 S. Tremain St.

Mt. Dora, Fl

www.cityofmountdora.com

This entrance to natural Florida leads you to Palm Island with its many species of plants and animals in their natural habitat.  You might see a crane and  other birds, even an alligator in this unique park.  Relax, recharge in peaceful solitude while you get a glimpse of nature and see what original Florida must have been about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Future Part II.jpg
This year there was a lot made of Back to the Future II which presented a future set in October 2015–(the movie was made in the 80’s)–according to Wikipedia they got a lot right:
 the rise of ubiquitous cameras; unmanned drones for mundane tasks; flat panel, widescreen television sets mounted on walls with multiple channel viewing; video chat systems; hands-free video game systems; talking hologram billboards; wearable technology; and head-mounted displays. Payment on personal portable devices is also predicted with products like iZettle, however the real product are in need of a smartphone (or similar) and apps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future_Part_II
A lot of stuff was close which is an interesting look at the way things progressed.  But this made me wander what other movies are out there set in our near future that might give us an idea what’s gonna happen:
This movie was made in the 1980’s (a popular time for looking at the future) and is Italian, but it doesn’t meet my criteria because it is set in 2019, but is 20 years after a nuclear holocaust which means  it started in 1999.  It does however have all manner of Mad Max type cars, and scenes of the desolation and involves our hero going after THE LAST FERTILE WOMAN in the world–given the lack of mass communication and all the record keeping issues in general one wonders how they decided she was fertile and that she was the only one, given distance etc.
2081 poster.jpg
This movie is based on Kurt Vonnegut’s original story, 2081.   This future depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is “finally equal….” The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks and the intelligent wear earpieces that fire off loud noises to keep them from taking unfair advantage of their brains. It is a poetic tale of triumph and tragedy about a broken family, a brutal government, and an act of defiance that changes everything.           
So instead of war, pestilence and plague we have a more fine line–a reverse discrimination apparently where we are attempting to be equal and thus we take the lowest possible base line and make all comply—in order to make the less able be accepted– but as with all complete conformity it is impossible to achieve without the dissatisfaction of many.  Well at least no collapse of civilization or gross cars and I presume NYC is still standing.   I don’t know how they handle fertility–I mean does the infertile woman have the right to expect all woman to be the same?
A Sound of Thunder poster.jpg
Welcome to 2055 where you can go into the past to hunt  dinosaurs, unfortunately something goes wrong and a butterfly not scheduled to die does—and from there the city is changed, people and creatures die on incoming waves….and the world is becoming a wilderness.
This one involves a lot of immediate changes, and people and nature altering their evolutionary cycles.  No bombs just a dead butterfly.
AI Poster.jpg
In the late 21st century, global warming has flooded the coastlines, wiping out coastal cities (i.e. Paris, Amsterdam, New York City, Venice, etc.) and drastically reducing the human population. There is a new class of robots called Mecha, advanced humanoids capable of emulating thoughts and emotions.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.I._Artificial_Intelligence
So we see as time moves along we move from nuclear devastation to Global warming–the first an act of war the second just neglect.  Now instead of New York (a very abused city) being exploded it was deluged—which probably took longer and involved fewer causalities…..and now we have robots
Demolition man.jpg
This is the first movie I remember seeing Sandra Bullock–it deals with the future (2032) where you are fined for swearing, there are no violent criminals, you use shells in the toilet and the only restaurant is Taco Bell—-I’ll take the end of civilization as we know it please.
Logans run movie poster.jpg
In the year 2274, the remnants of human civilization live in a sealed domed city, a utopia run by a computer that takes care of all aspects of their life, including reproduction. The citizens live a hedonistic life but, to maintain the city, everyone must undergo the ritual of “Carrousel” [sic] when they reach the age of 30.[10] There, they are vaporized and ostensibly “renewed”. To track this, they are implanted at birth with a “life-clock” crystal in the palm of their hand that changes color as they approach their “Last Day.” Most residents accept this promise of rebirth, but those who do not are known as “Runners” and “Sandmen” are assigned to pursue and terminate them.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film)
So while we won’t over populate we also won’t grow old…..well at least there are other restaurants to choose from.
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So there you have it what part of the world isn’t destroyed by the BOMB will be drowned by global warming and what’s left won’t have criminals or toilet paper, but do have loveable robots and total equality and the survivors  will live in domed cities where they will be terminated at age 30, but they’re OK with that as they are tired of eating tacos anyway—oh and it will all be run by the last fertile woman.    Ya got that?
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“New Year’s resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.” — James Agate

Welcome to 2016:  “New Year’s Day now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” — Mark Twain

 

 

 

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Pictures except for main are from Sanford Home show–still

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Photo

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Another lovely lady performing at the Sanford Home show.

 

 

OH AND MAIN PICTURE IS MY NEWEST NIECE AND PIXIE PRINCESS–PENNY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“For a new year to bring you something new, make a move, like a butterfly tearing its cocoon! Make a move!” — Mehmet Murat Ildan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

your reading assignment for 2016:

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-12-29/9-books-you-need-to-read-in-2016-before-their-tv-adaptations-air

 

 

 

 

Hey, here’s one for you–another adventure where you don’t have to leave the comfort of your computer and saves you the multiple dollars for a plane ticket:

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/british-museum/AwEp68JO4NECkQ?hl=en

 

 

 

 

BRITISH MUSEUM AND GOOGLE PRESENT (been there and done this one multiple times but are still multitudes of the collection I have not seen):  The virtual walk-through enables anyone in the world with an Internet connection to explore the roughly 80,000 artifacts on display (which is just 1% of the total collection of at least eight million objects) just as they’re presented in the museum, from the Lewis Chessmen and cat mummies to famously contested artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. Visitors start in the yawning expanse of the museum’s Great Court, the largest public square in Europe, with early morning light filtering through the 3,312 glass roof panes. All of the images stitched together into the Street View were captured before and after museum visiting hours, and the galleries of the United Kingdom’s top tourist attraction appear surreally empty.

 

 

 

 

Fewer than 200 objects that are currently on display at the museum are not included in the Street View; these are primarily works of modern art under copyright elsewhere and ethnographic objects that could not be photographed for cultural reasons, according to Chris Michaels, head of digital media and publishing at the museum.  https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/151f61d886205718

 

 

 

 

 

“All of us every single year, we’re a different person. I don’t think we’re the same person all our lives.” — Steven Spielberg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 OK so far today on TV I have seen Soylent Green  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/plotsummary (on TCM) a little futurist piece about Charlton Heston (and a small part for screen legend Edward G. Robinson) in a terrible future where life is cheap and the biggest luxury is to commit state sanctioned suicide—but through all this is the food source Green and the mysteries of its origins.    (next movie on this station is The Fly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdv4QA-O1bg the original with Vincent Price–where a scientist is mixed with a house fly during a teleportation experiment).  Positive images are so fantastic for 2016 so far…and the BBC has  Psycho—- http://www.filmsite.org/psyc.html knives and bloody shower—I am so not encouraged in this start–though 2 out of 3 of these movies however are classic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.” — Charles Kettering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So most of the presents are out from under the tree and we’ll soon be taking down all those decorations we so lovingly put up. …Isn’t it interesting that what was so creatively done has started to become a clutter.  What I so enjoyed now graces space that was once clear and I have started missing that clear space and Monday I will start putting it all away–I try to do one room a day and do some major cleaning an reorganizing so that I truly can start the New Year out a bit better than I ended.

 

 

 

“My New Year’s resolution list usually starts with the desire to lose between 10 and 3,000 pounds.” — Nia Vardalos

 

 

 

 

 

 

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No resolutions–I may at one time have done them but they seem rather hopeless and I have forsaken them in favor of just living my life and trying to do positive things and hopefully this year to loose some weight.  I do know some things that I plan to do….

1.  Finalize and make reservations for over a month and a half  in UK…about a month of that on my own.

that trip by the way will be detailed and PICTURED Exclusively on my blog.

 

2.  Work on my novel that month on my own hopefully in Cornwall

 

3.  Get my facebook for small businesses up and active after my return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.” — Joey Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IN CORNWALL (AND MOST OF CELTIC ANCIENT Ways) Nov. 1 was New Years and Halloween, New Years Eve.   Allan Apples ( a very large apple) was given to family members to bring luck for the coming year.   Unmarried girls often put these under their pillows so that they would dream of their future husband for in Celtic society New Years Eve was a time for divination and luck bringing.    Though they are still occasionally given to children during the Halloween time the significance has been lost to most.

 

 

 

 

 

 “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” — T.S. Eliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In some societies the Bible is used to foretell the new year.  The inquirer randomly opened the Bible on New Years morning and without looking at the page a pin is thrust into it or a finger laid upon it.  The verse chosen foretells the good or bad nature of the next 12 months.

 

 

 

 

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. – Joey Adam
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Jan 1 is
FESTIVAL OF HERA, THE GREEK QUEEN OF HEAVEN
FESTIVAL OF CHORONOS, FATHER OF TIME
The coming year brings  fresh beginning
And like the sun I am renewed and remade
I leave behind my hurts and troubles
I leave my grievances and burdens,
For I am a child of the earth and of the infinite heavens.
And my soul is filled with light.  Sheena Morgan
To kick start my New Year, I took an IQ test and the results were negative. – Unknown
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In Herefordshire and Worcestershire a plaited crown was made of Blackthorn (some UK legends says this is what Jesus’ Crown of Thorns was made of) early on New Years morning.  In Herefordshire it is held in a fire till it was scorched and then hung up with the mistletoe to bring luck, while in Worcestershire it is baked in the oven, and carried to the nearest cornfield where it is burnt and its ashes scattered over the field to bring successful crops.
When I thought about the evils of drinking in the New Year, I gave up thinking
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In some areas of Scotland the first visitor of the New Year (often called The First Foot) brings a luck-bringing gift of coal (the symbol of fire and through that fortune and protection) or if there is no visitor then the householder can bring it himself, but it must have originated from outside the house and not brought out of the house and then back in again.  This assures prosperity for the house and family for the coming year.
He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool. – F.M. Knowles

 

 

 

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A friend asks his friend for a cigarette. His friend says, “I think you made a New Year resolution to quit smoking.” The man says, “I am in the process of quitting. Right now, I am in the middle of phase one.” “What’s phase one? asked his friend. “I’ve quit buying.” – Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Other Souces:

THE  Encyclopedia of Superstitions/Hole

 

Wicca Book of Days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On New Year’s Eve, Marilyn stood up in the local pub and said that it was time to get ready. At the stroke of midnight, she wanted every husband to be standing next to the one person who made his life worth living. As the clock struck – the bartender was almost crushed to death. – Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

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