Do you know what this is?

This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home of the 4th Infantry Division. It will eventually shipped home and put into the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.

The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Suddam that dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the America's liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors.

Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

Silverton Reservoir (Oregon)

Although not so popular as the nearby Silver Falls State Park (which is upstream from this reservoir), this small park offers some beautiful locations for hiking, fishing, kayaking, and peaceful spots to set up a hammock for a nice afternoon nap.

My younger son, George flew up from California to be with me during my second eye surgery in a month. He loves the outdoors and took me for a little hiking to the reservoir on the day after my surgery. Nothing makes me to heal faster than the fresh air in a beautiful surrounding.

Summer is here again...

A beautiful bouquet from Thormane, Margit Kiss, Hungarian artist (Eger, 1901 - Nagybanya, December 24, 1977).

Don't Cry for Me Argentina, Elaine Paige

This video is available again. She gives me so much joy, I would like to share her with you.

On Memorial Day...

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 30 in 2011). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who died in all wars.

My Choice 367 - Lucia Popp: Solveig's Song (Grieg)

My previously publisheded video of this song is not available anymore. This newest version is made up with beautiful photoes of Switzerland, simple and beauutiful, just like Greig's Solveig's Song from "Peer Gynt".

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother and Child by Francis Coates Jones, 1885.

Gentre-figure painter Francis Coates Jones, born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1857, first expressed interest in art in 1876 when visiting Edwin Abbey. In the autumn of 1887 he went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.