Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet

"Oh! What a tangled web we weave

When at first we practice to deceive!"

The famous quotation from Marmion of the historical poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott.

He was born on 15 August 1771 in Edinburgh, and died 21 September 1832, Melrose, Scotland.

Deception is the act of convincing another to believe information that is not true, or not the whole truth.

Yalta Conference (1945)

What was left off from this short video is the agreement of the three leaders that triggered the atom bombs for Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the Iron Curtain for Europe, and later on the Korean, Vietnamese and the Cold Wars.

Cyber Love

My old friend just sent me this cartoon, and she thinks it is very funny. Even so, lots of people are addicted to the Internet dating and using it as an escape from reality; hoping to find a perfect partner.

Only a few have the chance to actually meet in person, and then only the very few lucky ones are able to transfer the virtual sweetheart from their illusion-based fantasy worlds to the reality. However, I know about one very happy couple - a product of cyber love - who are planning to get married this Fall. They are both Senior Citizens, but not "over the hill yet".

Oregon Sky

On the third day of our unusual heatwave I was hopefully looking up to the sky and saw these beautiful cloud formations.

Cirrocumulus belong to the High Cloud group (5000-13000 m). They are small rounded puffs and usually short-lived. Cirrocumulus is made of ice crystals but include liquid water droplets also.

Sometimes they look like the scales on a fish - a "mackerel" sky that may mean a change in the weather is on its way. And sure enough - to my greatest relief - by the evening our temperature has dropped by 20 degrees.

Southfall, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

Summer is here before we know it, and with it comes the yard work. In this year our spring was very wet and cold, not much chance or desire to go outside and play in the mud. But now, every afternoon I go out for a few hours to pull the weeds, mow the lawn or trim the bushes. Unfortunately, I do not like to wear gloves and my poor hands suffer. This is one of my excuses for not posting in my blog lately.

The other excuse is a better one. My younger son came up from California to visit me for a few days, and we were on the go constantly. We also took a ride up to the mountains and visited one of my favored place, the Silver Falls State Park, only 25 miles from my home. The weather was warm and the sun was shining through the ancient forests, and a beautiful peace was all around us.

It is a kind of oasis, rolling hills and lush forests of the eastern Willamette Valley. Silver Falls State Park literally overflows with a variety of splendid waterfalls, trails, fascinating rock formations and greenery. It is the cool, green, rain-forest-like atmosphere that hits you as you approach this 8,700-acre state park. The fauna becomes denser and the road twists and turns a little tighter, and it is not long before you are drawn into the more than 21 miles of trails designed for hiking, biking, horse riding and of course, viewing.

Interestingly enough, you would not have thought much about the beauty of this place 16 billion years ago. Then, enormous lava flows from eruptions as far away as Idaho pushed their way into the Salem area, eventually reaching the sea. Yet it is that kind of volcanic destruction that ultimately created the beauty of the park. As each new lava flow cooled, it gave birth to new rock layers called basalt. These basalt formations were eventually cut into their present-day pathways by the various streams in the area, and then into the 11 waterfalls that are contained within Silver Falls State Park.

Memorial Day, 2009.

A Day of Remembrance for those who have died in our Nation's service.

For the Mothers of the World

When I left Hungary in 1956 I had no idea that I will not see my Mother for 22 years. As a young couple, my husband and I had a very hard time establishing ourselves in our new country. We also became a family when our three children were born who only knew their Grandmother through our correspondence. The years went by fast, and the children left home for jobs and school.

In 1978, for the first time since I had left home, I was becoming very homesick. I knew I could not go home yet, not even for a short visit. During the years I had invited my Mother to come out and see us, and she always declined. She was very fragile and had to use two canes for walking, and, of course her advanced age was a factor. But I think the fact that she never flew in her life also had a big part in her refusal. I wrote to her again explaining my loneliness, and after few more letters had been exchanged, my Mother finally agreed to take the long trip.

I'm still having problems describing my feelings when I first saw her emerging from Customs at the Los Angeles airport. She was sitting in a wheelchair and an attendant was pushing her. Her tired face was sparkling with happiness and tears. The children and I ran to her and held her in our arms; we took her out of the wheelchair and took her home.

She is long gone now, but I always will remember...