Life's Little Instruction Book, pages 70 + 71 . . .

...To be continued...

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back." Henry David Thoreau quote . . .

I have bluebirds on my property and it never fails to thrill me each time I see one.

Happy Friday everyone! The weatherman has promised me a 70 degree day. I think I should try to organize my gardening tools and get ready to play outside later.

Enjoy your upcoming weekend. ♥Rosemary

Mahatma Gandhi Objects Top $2 Million at auction . . .

Mahatma Gandhi's circa 1920 pocket watch, Gandhi's sandals, bowl, plate, glasses, and images of Gandhi with letters of authenticity realized $2,096,000 in New York City at Antiquorum Auctioneers' sale of important collectors' wristwatches, pocket watches and clocks on March 4 and 5, 2009.

The auction room was unusually overflowing with collectors, enthusiasts of horology and members of the press — curious to see the outcome of the bidding on Mahatma Gandhi's pocket watch and personal belongings.

Even if you sing poorly, sing. . .

Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent is my hero . . .

Susan Boyle. Not pretty, not slim, not young (48 years old), unmarried, never had a date, never been kissed, unemployed, an object of small-town ridicule (Scotland), and dressed like a frump. The entire audience was ready to boo her off the stage in a British talent search before she even started.
She lives with her cat Pebbles and is the youngest of 9 children in a musical family. Her mom died 2 years ago. What a pity...she would have been so proud!

Britain’s Got Talent rising star Susan Boyle has revealed to The Mirror that she hated how she looked on Saturday night’s show. Susan, 48 told the newspaper: “They say that television makes you look fat and it certainly did. “I looked like a garage. It was mortifying to see and a bit of a shock. I didn’t realise I could reduce people to tears and I hope it wasn’t because of that.” (She's funny too!)

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

The amazing Susan Boyle was such a huge hit on Saturday night’s Britain’s Got Talent show that she is said to have offers of work pouring in already.

Susan shocked the nation when she ambled onto stage and belted out ‘I Dream A Dream’ from Les Miserables. The video of her performance has racked up more than seven million views on YouTube and The Sun reports that Simon Cowell will now offer her a record deal whether she wins the show or not.

Piers Morgan told the newspaper: “As I watched Susan’s performance back, I texted Simon in Hollywood: ‘My god, she was even better than I remembered — she’s unbelievable’.

WAY TO GO, SUSAN! Everybody loves an underdog and we certainly love you!

Life's Little Instruction Book, pages 68 + 69 . . .

...To be continued...

One year in 40 seconds [video] from snow to summer and back . . .

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Images from the same spot through one entire year. Audio captured at the same place.
His last video was entitled: One year in 2 minutes.
Was it too long...getting too few viewers?
Was the same thing accomplished in 40 seconds?
Methinks more people would watch the 40-second one. A sign of the times?

Oranges are so interesting . . .

• In Afghanistan, oranges are customarily used as a seasoning at the dinner table; oranges are squeezed over the food to help cut grease.


• In Jamaica, people clean their floors with an orange cut in half; mechanics there use oranges to clean away grease and oil.


• Spain has over 35,000,000 orange trees.


• In Switzerland, oranges are sometimes served smothered with sugar and whipped cream.


• Europeans sometimes eat oranges with knives and forks.


• It wasn’t until after the Second World War that commercial orange-juice concentrate became available in America.


• The taste and aroma of oranges differ by season, county, state, and country, and even in the position in which it grew on the tree.


• The outside color of an orange has no absolute correlation with the maturity of the fruit and juice inside.


• Oranges were used in cosmetics by ladies of the French court in the 17th-century.


• The navel orange is one of the oldest varieties of oranges.


• About 25 billion oranges are typically grown in the United States each year.


• Many orange varieties float when placed in water; very sweet varieties, however, sink to the bottom.


• In the 19th-century orange blossoms were regularly shipped to Paris in salted barrels, because no French bride wanted to be married without wearing or holding them.


• Lightning kills as many orange trees as any disease.


• 17th-century Frenchmen liked to pour orange juice over their roasted chestnuts.

Orange you glad I'm finished? More facts about oranges.

Photo: Bowl of oranges in an antique Georgian glass bowl in my kitchen.