WWI Nurses

I am jsut finishing reading a wonderful book - Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.
A lot of intersting things about being a British nurse in WWI.
My mom was an Army Nurse in WWII. She never talked much about it.
But this book led me to the lyrics of this song which touched me:

THE ROSE OF NO MAN'S LAND(Jack Caddigan / James A. Brennan)William Thomas - 1916Henry Burr
1918Charles Hart
1919Hugh Donovan (a.k.a. Charles Harrison)
1919

I've seen some beautiful flowers
Grow in life's garden fair
I've spent some wonderful hours
Lost in their fragrance rare
But I have found another
Wondrous beyond compare....

There's a rose that grows in no-man's land
And it's wonderful to see
Though its sprayed with tears, it will live for years
In my garden of memory

It's the one red rose the soldier knows
It's the work of the Master's hand
'Neath the War's great curse stands a Red Cross nurse
She's the rose of no-man's land

Out in the heavenly splendour
Down to the trail of woe
God in his mercy has sent her
Fearing the World below
We call her Rose of Heaven
We've longed to love her so....

There's a rose that grows in no-man's land
And it's wonderful to see
Though its sprayed with tears, it will live for years
In my garden of memory
It's the one red rose the soldier knows
It's the work of the Master's hand
'Neath the War's great curse stands a Red Cross nurse
She's the rose of no-man's land

(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - June 2004)
retrieved June 20, 2007 from http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/t/theroseofnomansland.shtml

I'm a Corvette!

I'm a Corvette!
The car I have always wanted...well, every since the first time I watched Route 66 (this is really dtaing me, isnt it!). Of course, not the one in the photo on the quiz...but a vintage convertible one of course!
You are a Chevrolet Corvette!

"You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do. "

Athletic??? Competetive??? I dont think so. Yeah, dont push my pedal tho!

Go have some fun and see what you are at:
http://www.tomorrowland.us/cgi-bin/ptest-sportscar

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy birthday to my father - born Daniel Leo Sullivan Jr, Massachusetts, June 19, 1919.
Died in Seaside California June 9, 1997.
We all miss you so much.
You have some very fine grandsons to be proud of - one of whom ws born in June too - Happy Birthday Owen - who turned 12 on June 12. Guess that makes him a Gemini just like his great-grandfather!

Oh No, That Cant Happen to Me!

Yeah - we have all said that at one time or another huh?
I have said it too.
Cause I take real good care of my credit cards. I won't even give out CC numbers/information over portable phones cause I have heard those can be intercepted...

So what happens?
Got a call from American Express checking into a number of recent charges...several of which were declined thank goodness.
Yep, on the first 2 Saturdays of this month someone decided to try to go shopping with my CC.
3 or 4 places on the first Saturday. They managed to actually charge things then.
The second Saturday the humongous charge was declined.

So luckily AmEx knew this was not usual activity on my account (after all, I havent even checked this month's statement yet!). And so out with the old - in with the new. And I hope that somehow that little bugger can be traced!

But first I would like to figure out how and when they got the number. Cause neither hubby nor I can figure it out. Havent even used the card in about 2 months.

"They" keep talking about turning us into a cashless society. Well, before that happens, "they" better be able to figure out how to keep our accounts safe from those nasty little sneak thieves.

So - if anyone reads this - I hope you go immediately to check on all your CC accounts and make sure they are safe from intruders!

Misc Photos

The top photo is our ADHD dog - Jack. We adopted him. He is crazy. And getting worse as he gets older. The dog rescue told us they literally took him off the table minutes before he was to be euthanized at a shelter out in the Central Valley.

Dont you love the sign that is in some of the BART cars?

The Marine debris timeline I took awhile ago. It is at a beach in Cape May NJ. I think we should all keep that around and read it periodically. Make us think about what we are doing to our poor poor planet and how Mother Nature must cry herself to sleep each night.

And of course, with the job I do, I had to take a photo of the giant safety pin - or as I call it, a diaper pin! From the re-done museum in Golden Gate Park (SF, CA).

And that's enough time spent on photos today! Thank you Tom for getting me that neat transfer devise since I couldnt find my download cord!

Cambria CA

Another place we love is Cambria CA, just south of San Simeon where Hearst Castle is. Had never been to Hearst Castle so for my 50th birthday I planned a trip down there. Stayed in the most wonderful B&B, the J. Patrick House (www.jpatrickhouse.com). The rooms are great - the people are wonderful - the food is wonderful - and the have the most delicious chocolate chip cookies as a bedtime snack. Oh yeah, and the afternoon wine and goodies are good too as they try to serve local wines.

Hearst Castle is unbelievable - the amount of money that was spent there...above are a couple of the guesthouses that I wouldnt mind living in! And would love to be in that pool today as it is hot! hot! hot! here! The grounds are beautiful but I jsut wish I could have seen them when they had the wild animals there!

We have taken several tours but the best by far was the night time tour that is offered only in certain months. They had people dressed in period costume 'enjoying' themselves as guests in the house - that is the part I would want to play onlyI wouldnt want to leave!

And the wine bottles, I had to take a photo. Those are from the Cresta Blanca winery which use to be right up here in my neighborhood!

The last time we went to Cambria our favorite B&B was full. So we found another wonderful one, the Olalliebrry Inn ( www.olallieberry.com/) which is beautiful - with good food - and within walking distance of the main downtown area!

We always end up eating in the same two restuarants because we enjoy them so much: The Sea Chest (http://www.seachestrestaurant.com ) for their wonderful seafood - noreservations - games to play with while you are waiting for your table. And the Sow's Ear(http://www.thesowsear.com) - the food is very good and we love the bread that is baked into flowerpots - a combo of a white bread and a dark bread!

Lots of fun stores, especially the antiques, and The Shop Next Door (http://www.squibbhouse.net/shop.htm) where there are the most beautiful hand made rocking chairs in the whole world. I really am going to buy one, one of these days!

Memorial Day Weekend

The year after we moved back to CA we took advantage of one of those free weekend, come see and buy things. Took our trailer up to Bass Lake and ended up buying into the campground. NOt a bad deal at the time although they never were able to fulfill everything that we bought into. Plus after 15 years we had a choice of staying as lifetime members or getting our money back. We chose to get our money back. But we still love that area. And we try to go up every year - especially at this time of the year. These days we stay at a lovely place on HIghway 41 just outside of Fish Camp called the Narrow Gauge Inn (www.narrowgaugeinn.com). They have the most beautiful gardens there - and again, wonderful (but expensive) food at their restuarant.