Approaching 2013

 

I'm in the lyrical mood during this holiday season, hope you don't mind reading a poem from Edgar Guest.

A Happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I'v played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!

The Christmas Night

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Wrapped was the world in slumber deep,
By seaward valley and cedarn steep,
And bright and blest were the dreams of its sleep;
All the hours of that wonderful night-tide through
The stars out-blossomed in fields of blue,
A heavenly chaplet, to diadem
The King in the manger of Bethlehem.

Out on the hills the shepherds lay,
Wakeful, that never a lamb might stray,
Humble and clean of heart were they;
Thus it was given them to hear
Marvelous harpings strange and clear,
Thus it was given them to see
The heralds of the nativity.

 

In the dim-lit stable the mother mild
Looked with holy eyes on her child,
Cradled him close to her heart and smiled;
Kingly purple nor crown had he,
Never a trapping of royalty;
But Mary saw that the baby's head
With a slender nimbus was garlanded.

Speechless her joy as she watched him there,
Forgetful of pain and grief and care,
And every thought in her soul was a prayer;
While under the dome of the desert sky
The Kings of the East from afar drew nigh,
And the great white star that was guide to them
Kept ward o'er the manger of Bethlehem.

Ady: Karácsonyi rege

Szeretnem ezt a gyonyoru verset magyar barataimmal megosztani aldasos Karacsonyt kivanva.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to All!

             There is so much to be thankful for, dear Lord give us Peace!

For their Honor....

                Thank you for your services today and every day.

Halloween - The History, Traditions, and Customs of Halloween

Halloween - The History, Traditions, and Customs of Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!

1956 Hungarian Revolution Memorials

                       Memorial of the 56 Revolution in the city of Szeged                 

           Memorial for the Heroes at the Parliament in Budapest 

At the end of the fighting, Hungarian casualties totaled at around 2,500 dead with an additional 20,000 wounded. Budapest bore the brunt of the bloodshed, with 1,569 civilians killed. Approximately 53 percent of the dead were workers, and about half of all the casualties were people younger than thirty. (Wikipedia)

Mátrai képek - Mátrafüredi Park Ősszel / Pánsip /

Beautiful Fall pictures of the Hungarian Matra region.

September Song

Every year when Autumn approaching - since I was a little girl - this beautiful poem of the Hungarian poet, Sandor Petofi is hunting me. Here I would like to share the English translation with you.

THE END OF SEPTEMBER

The flowers still bloom in the valley gardens,
The tree is still green outside of our window.
But in the distance you see the Winter World,
Soon the rooftops will be covered with snow.

Yet the summer still burns deep in my heart,
And within me lives the unending spring.
But my hair is already streaked with gray,
The winter frost already covers my frame.

Soon the flowers will die, life hurries on.
Come over my wife and sit here on my lap.
Who now placing your head against my heart
Will you one day gaze down at my death?

If I should die before you one day
Will you kneel down at my grave,
Or will you bring a young lover with you 
For whom you have forsaken my name?

If you cast aside your widow's veil
Hang it on my grave as a dark flag.
I will rise up for you from my earthy bed
And take it down in the winter night.

To wipe off my tears that shed for you
Who so easily forget her devotee
And to bind up the wounds in my heart
Who still loves you to the eternity.

Incredible Nature.....

No, these are not pictures from the Planet Mars, but from the hiking of my granddaughter Maureen when she climbed to the top of the mountain with her friends.

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.

Mars rover sends first photos

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has beamed back an incredible images of its surroundings, showing a spectacularly clear view of the enormous mountain that it will clamber up in the next few years. 'Curiosity' had its historic landing on Mars late on Aug. 5.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity snapped this picture of Mount Sharp with its front Hazard Avoidance camera, or Hazcam. The photo was released by NASA on Aug. 6, 2012.

Pianos under the Sky...

During my son, George's visit we took a ride few days ago to Salem's Minto Island State Park. We were very surprised to see that a jazzy piano was sitting on the road side, at the edge of a huge dog park. The puzzle was soon solved by this information from the net:

‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ was first commissioned by Fierce Earth of Birmingham, UK, in 2008. With 15 pianos distributed across the city over three weeks it was estimated that over 140,000 people across Birmingham played with or listened to music from the pianos. Since this time ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ has now reached over five million people worldwide. Each new city that commissions the work becomes part of this growing international legacy.

Play Me, I’m Yours is an artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram and has been touring internationally since 2008. Located in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos are available for any member of the public to play and enjoy.

News of the project spread internationally and since then, the artwork has continued to tour the world, successfully acting as a high profile launch event for numerous major international festivals, including the Pan Am Games, 2010 European Capital of Culture, San Jose Biennal, Sydney Festival, City of London Festival and Barcelona’s Maria Canals International Music Competition.

Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape.

The pianos have also levered many hidden musicians from out of the woodwork. It has become apparent that there are hundreds of pianists out there who don’t have access to a piano to play. ‘Play Me I’m Yours’ provides access to musical instruments and provides musicians an opportunity to share their creativity by performing in public.

In cities like London, hundreds of perfectly good working second hand pianos get thrown away each year. Jerram transports dozens of these pianos annually to countries where the instrument is rare and more valued, for the public to enjoy them. After being presented as an installation artwork the pianos are then commonly donated to schools and community groups within the area.

Duluth cleans up as Minn. floods persist to south

In this aerial photo, floodwaters surround the Burning Tree Plaza shopping area in Duluth, Minn., Wednesday afternoon, June 20, 2012. Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from pens at a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck northeastern Minnesota, inundating the city of Duluth, officials said Wednesday. (AP Photo/The Duluth News-Tribune, Bob King)

Memorial Day's weekend of 2012

Last night the sky above my house turned to crimson and black before a huge lightning and thunderstorm.

Happy Mother's Day!

On May 10, 1908, the first official Mother’s Day celebration took place at Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two white carnations were given to every Mother in attendance. Today white carnations are used to honor deceased Mothers, while pink or red carnations pay tribute to Mothers who are still alive.

"The Supermoon"

A runner makes his way along a trail on a butte in front of the "Supermoon" at Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona May 5, 2012. A "Supermoon" was lighting up Saturday's night sky in a once-a-year cosmic show, overshadowing a meteor shower from remnants of Halley's comet. The Moon was especially big and bright since it reached its closest spot to Earth at the same time when it was in its full phase. /NASA/

Finally I got some flowers in my garden! Blessed Easter for All!

BACH: Chorale from the Easter Cantata BWV 4 (Tr. E. Power Biggs)

The Pietà (1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was a representative in Rome. The sculpture, in Carrara marble, was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.

This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. The theme is of Northern origin, popular by that time in France but not yet in Italy. Michelangelo's interpretation of the Pietà is unique to the precedents. It is an important work as it balances the Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism. The statue is one of the most highly finished works by Michelangelo.

Strange Spring......

No use to look for sunshine this Spring, it is either raining every day, or, like just a few days ago, getting blanketed with snow.

Dream Homes

We were planning to build a log cabin after my husband’s retirement on our lot in a Senior Community by Lake Nacimiento, California. But after receiving quite a few plans and brochures from the manufacturers we had to change our minds considering our available funds.

We still can build - told my husband - and got down to his drawing board to design the smartest A-frame house for our gently sloping lot. We had our dream home built with a good contractor in less than six month.

The moving day was approaching rapidly and we spent the next two years enjoying our new home and surroundings. We even bought a little motor boat for the huge lake nearby.

Then one day we took the Amtrak for an 18 hours trip to State of Washington to visit an elderly relative of his. The Rail journey was magnificent with the ever-changing scenery. The dramatic snow-covered peaks of Mount Shasta and the Cascade Range, lush forests, fertile valleys, and long stretches of Pacific Ocean shoreline provided a stunning backdrop for our journey.

I instantly fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. Oh, Len - I told my husband - we made a big mistake, this is the place I would like to live for the rest of my life. And my dear man agreed with me.

This was 25 years ago. We sold our house in California and found our dream home again in Oregon, a manufactured home in five acres of old-growth forest.

Things have changed since then. I still live in Oregon but Len is gone exactly four years ago on the 20th of February.

Oregon Coast

This is the photo of Thor's Well - "the gates of dungeon" in Cape Perpetua, Oregon. At moderate tide and strong surf, the flowing water creates a fantastic landscape.

I just received this beautiful picture from my pan-pal among other amazing photos around the World. She lives in England and while I live in Oregon, I had no knowledge of this beautiful phenomenon of Nature until now. Hopefully I will have a chance to drive there this summer

Breakeup of the Phobos-Grunt probe

An artist's conception shows the breakup of the Phobos-Grunt probe during the final phases of its atmospheric re-entry.

Space probe crashes into Pacific, Russians say

Space probe crashes into Pacific, Russians say

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live).wmv