The listening vessels

These amazing concrete structures are called listening vessels. They are made in such a way that Mike and I sat 100 feet apart and could converse quietly with each other. We also sat quietly and listened to the sounds of the park, magnified by these vessels. It is an amazing addition to this beautiful park located in the busy downtown area of Houston.

Memorial Day, Discovery Green, Houston

I thought I would show you a very thought provoking display in the park during the Annual Conference-in reference to Memorial Day I'm sure.

Hello Houston!

Mike and I spent a good part of last week at the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. This year, it was held in downtown Houston. I am a country girl and enjoy living in my tiny community, 30 miles from any large city. At home, I'm so isolated that I can shower outside! I have a serene "bubble" of woods and pasture land to live in.

There are just a few more people here:

 Was it silly for us to pull our chairs up to the large window in our hotel room and just sit there, looking at the bustling city?

 Or,  were we obvious "country bumpkins" when we had our morning coffee at the same window. I'm serious, we did not watch TV until the last night-when the basketball playoffs were on (go Dallas!).

The hotel was beautiful and the park was a welcome green area in the middle of all the tall buildings. The conference was awesome and it was a good experience for us. But, I'm very happy to be back in the quiet, calm of my country home.

The full moon's morning greeting. Foto Friday challenge

http://zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com/

The theme this week for Rebecca's photo challenge was : Beauty in the Ugly.

I didn't see any "ugly" when I stepped out of my house early one morning. How about a photo whose theme is "Beauty in the Eerie".

 5:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

What a cool summer morning....but a Halloween sight.

Setting the mood  for the mystery of this day.

My favorite poet says it so well.:

The Freedom of the Moon

by Robert Frost

I've tried the new moon tilted in the air

Above a hazy tree-and-farmhouse cluster

As you might try a jewel in your hair.

I've tried it fine with little breadth of luster,

Alone, or in one ornament combining

With one first-water start almost shining.



I put it shining anywhere I please.

By walking slowly on some evening later,

I've pulled it from a crate of crooked trees,

And brought it over glossy water, greater,

And dropped it in, and seen the image wallow,

The color run, all sorts of wonder follow.

The Pool Deck-almost finished!

Remember when I showed you the first bit of construction on the pool deck Mike was building? He has almost finished the deck and walkway that connects to our front porch.

Here he is, back in April.

Do you want to see how it looks now? I'll walk you up...

Turn the corner and go toward the top deck.

One step up..

View to the pool.

View to the garden.

Now, look back down, toward the house.See the rectangle next to the windows? That is where our outdoor shower will be.

The last part of the project is to finish the handrail along the deck and complete the shower.
The new deck and walkway are not only a practical addition, but an interesting "architectural" feature as well. I think it is awesome. Mike works very hard, improving our property, and I appreciate it so much!

Change the World event update

We gathered at our Church garden yesterday for "Change the World" day. We have a small garden, but we gave all it has produced so far to the Community Kitchen.  They serve meals to as many as 350 people, 2 days each month. I pray that the garden continues to produce vegetables to donate. We were blessed by 2 inches of much needed rain this week and it has already made such a difference. The tomatoes have green fruit and so do the zucchini. It has been such a joy to work on this project!

Easter Revisited

I came across this picture this morning. I fully intended to include it in my Easter post but I had put it in a different folder for some reason.  I thought it was a cute idea, which I stole and simplified (from Martha Stewart). I took some pretty cupcake wrappers, shaped them with scissors and turned them inside out. Then I took half of a plastic egg, stuffed it with peanut butter-marshmallow cookies, and hot glued it to the wrapper.  Little flowers! I also filled some with Easter candy to hide with the eggs at our Church Easter egg hunt. I thought they were bright and eye catching. Easy and cute.