Who Writes Letters?

All photos and written works copyrighted sstaas.


When was the last time you wrote a letter?


It's been so long for me, that I don't remember. Nowadays I e mail or text. I very rarely put pen to paper, never mind seal an envelope. I'm not sure that my brain can function properly using a pen! I seem to have more to say when I use my laptop.



It was lovely, years ago, receiving letters in the mail. I used to get lots from family and friends who all lived so faraway. I kept the stamps as most were very pretty, and some were actually works of art.



The letters I put in drawers, inside books, or anywhere I felt like stuffing them. I hated to throw them out especially the ones from people who were close to me.



I'm delighted whenever I come across a letter!



I find them in odd places - inside heavy, gigantic dictionaries, even inside old handbags. I tend to come across them when I'm looking for something else. I even have some that date back to the 1970's.



Have you saved old letters and post cards?

Thanksgiving in March?

It’s the month of November, and here in the United States we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving. Time to entertain long-lost relatives by serving them turkey and all the trimmings.

We used to drive to Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s relatives. There would be around thirty people all diving into turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. Some years we’ve flown to San Diego where we had Thanksgiving dinner with friends. Another time we flew down to Key West.

This year, we’ll be at home. That way we avoid the crazy traffic on the roads and the equally crazy times at the airports.

So, who’s going to be cooking? Hmm. I can’t think of any reason why it should be me. Let’s see how many reasons there are for NOT cooking Thanksgiving dinner.




1. The poor turkey deserves to go gobble gobble even on Thanksgiving day.



2. You can never get everything ready at the same time.

3. Who really wants to watch Aunt Bertha belch?

4. Hasn't a new restaurant just opened up? Oh, it’s Chinese? Chinese turkey might be quite tasty.

5. Time for change! Let's celebrate Thanksgiving in March. There's nothing much going on in March, is there?




How many more reasons are there for not cooking Thanksgiving dinner?

What Illusion?!

All photos copyrighted sstaas. All rights reserved.

The other day, a Tuesday, early afternoon I think it was, I was out walking. The sun was shining, the temperature was warm for this time of the year. Lots of people were out jogging and walking. There were kids playing in their front yards. For a second I felt as if it were the summer. But, the illusion of it being a different season dissipated fast as I suddenly remembered about the teacher strike. That's why there were kids out playing!



This illusion of it being a different time of year got me thinking about the 'people' I've photographed over the years, in different places. Most are statues or sculpture, but look sort of real, in an unreal way, if you get what I mean. Some are real people who try to give the illusion that they look like statues.



Others don't look at all like a real person, but there still fun to photograph. Real people sit next to them to get their picture taken. Some even put their arm around the statues, pretending that they are real.



Some statues just pull you in and make you want to join them.



If I were a child I'd like to play with these children. It looks as if they're having a lot of fun.

This boy is enjoying fishing.




Here's another example of a real person trying to give the illusion that they are a statue.




Now, for a split second I did think that this man was real. I could do with him to sweep away the leaves in my backyard.



There's absolutely no way that anybody would think that these two are real. No. Now, perhaps if they were smaller, somebody might indeed think they're real.



Maybe we should join them anyway. After all, it's the illusion that they're enjoying dancing together that's beguiling. Let's dance!

Tripping to the Dentist

How I wish I had perfectly perfect teeth.

I just had extensive dental work performed on my upper jaw a few months ago. I'm pleased with the results, but was hoping that that was me as far as tripping over to the dentist's for a long while. I don't run to visit the dentist, I tend to trip and stumble.

Well, last night whilst eating a lovely chunk of grilled Italian bread with olive and garlic, about half a molar on the upper jaw fell out!

I had no choice but to make a trip to the dentist today. At least all he did was look. Next week will be when he'll get down to the serious business of preparing the molar for a crown.

No more crispy, crunchy, toasted Italian bread!

Excuse me whilst I dash into the kitchen and have some olive and garlic. Maybe I could also have a teeny tiny piece of Italian bread to dip in it?

Might as well. If I break any more teeth at least I already have an appointment with my dentist all set up for next week.

Have you ever experienced a broken tooth?

Five Good Reasons for not Raking Leaves

Hate raking or blowing away the leaves?! Me too. I just worked for hours yesterday removing the leaves in the back yard and in the front lawn. Today, you'd never know. The wind has blown more leaves from the trees. Both the front and back yards look like leaf carpets!

I'm ready for good reasons NOT to remove leaves. I don't even care if they're GOOD reasons or not!!

1. The wind will remove them - into your neighbour's yard!

2. The deer like the leaves, don't they?

3. You always wanted lovely brown, golden and orange carpets on your grass.

4. Might as well wait until ALL the leaves are down, right?

5. They're not MY leaves. They blew in from someone else's trees

Can you think of any other reasons that I don't have to rake the leaves?

Signs of the Village

All photos and written work copyrighted sstaas. All rights reserved.

Sometimes I walk in the village close to where I live. It's flat and has sidewalks, unlike my immediate neighbourhood. It's a cute place to wander around and admire the large, Victorian houses. It's also a good place to enjoy a pleasant lunch.

Several of the local businesses, however, are closing down, or are already closed.



There are many signs like these ones throughout the village.



What's going on? Why are the businesses failing? At the local shopping centers and malls the stores are busy, and people are buying. Maybe the antique and gift stores in the village just didn't offer essential wares that the public need and want?



Maybe the rents are too high? Haven't a clue, economics not being my forte. But, come to think on it, I never have purchased many things in the village shops. I usually just go to the supermarket or the drug store. Now, both of these are still in business. On a positive note, some new enterprises have opened up, and maybe more merchants will be encouraged to establish themselves here.

There are other signs in the village besides all the for lease and for rent ones.
This sign is intended to lure people to come to the village and hopefully shop.



This is a cheery sign.



Pedestrians have the right of way here, something which is attractive to walkers.



Guess we just have to hope that people don't keep on walking right out of the village, and that no more businesses fail.

Who or what is available?!



Maybe success is!

Why do you think so many small businesses are failing?

Signs of the Suburbs

All photos and written works copyrighted sstaas. All rights reserved.


Here in the suburbs there are so many cars that look just like mine. They may be a different make of car, but they still look like mine. At least that's what it seems when I'm wandering around in a parking lot looking for my car. Where did I park it?
Hmm.

I came up with a solution. I got myself an Ecosse sticker sign and a Scottish flag sticker sign. How many people have these two stickers on their car?! Do you know what 'Ecosse' means in English! Can you guess? It's the name of a country.

Much as I enjoy driving, I also love to walk. I walk around the neighbourhood most days for about two miles. There's a teacher strike just now, and the parents are not at all happy.




You can tell by this sign how annoyed people are.

There's a sign that I pass basically every day when I'm out walking.



Every evening around seven p.m. a weather balloon appears high in the sky. I often wonder where it ends up!

There are other signs in the suburbs. One was waiting on me when I got back home. A sign that Autumn is still here. Still loads of leaves to remove!



At least we back on to the woods, so we can dump the leaves out there.



Things to ponder: What do you think of teachers going out on strike? Do you have lots of leaves still? How do you deal with removing them? What stickers do you have on your car?

Election Day and the Trash Can

We just had these apparently very important elections. After being inundated with recordings of Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, even Pat Boone on our voice mail, and after being bombarded on television with so many advertisements, the big day finally arrived.

Did I really want to vote? No, not at all. It seemed as if none of the candidates expressed what he stood for. All of them just moaned and groaned about the opponent. Some of the advertisements sounded as if they came straight out of a children's playground. It was a case of he said this and he did that. I think children, however, are quite possibly better at expressing themselves than these professional politicians.

Anyhow, since I felt like going for a walk, off I strolled to the local school where one could vote. Standing outside was an acquaintance of mine. She was distribuiting leaflets to anyone and everyone. I took one and went inside to vote. Fortunately, I didn't toss the leaflet! I merely folded it and kept it in my hand.

When I came back outside my acquaintance looked concerned.
"Gosh. I'm almost out of leaflets! And we're getting lots of people now."
"Here," I replied, "you can have the one you gave me." Gosh, was I glad that I hadn't put it in the trash can!
"Great, that will help. But, I think I'll go inside to the trash can. That's where my leaflets usually end up. I feel embarrassed, however."
"I'll do it." What was I saying?! "I don't mind."

Off I go back inside. People stared at me as if it say, "You just voted. You don't really think you can vote again?"
I hastily rummaged in the trash can, all the while sensing piercing eyes fixed on me.

Lo and behold, I found about twenty fliers, all in good condition! I stepped outside feeling quite pleased with myself as I handed them over to my acquaintance.
"Wow. That's terrific! Thank you!" She was beaming from ear to ear.

As for the election itself? One name is very much like another. In the end, who even knows what the winner believes in? At least, the scathing advertisements have stopped. Pat Boone hasn't called back either. And now I know what it's like to rummage around inside a trash can!

The Broons and Oor Wullie Annuals

All photos and written works copyrighted sstaas. All rights reserved.


This is the first of November, and for weeks now the shops have been displaying Christmas items. Maybe we'll be seeing Easter items soon!

Anyhow, some of the best Christmas gifts I got as a child were The Broons and Oor Wullie annuals. In case you don't who they are, they are comic strip characters that are published every Sunday in one of the local newspapers in Glasgow, Scotland. Each year, at Christmas, they come out in an annual. Usually, one year it's The Broons annual that is published, and the following year it's Oor Wullie.

Now, they must have quite a following, for I purchased the annuals you can see in the photo above on Ebay. The seller lived in California. I think he was originally Scottish, however. I even got badges and key chains.



This Oor Wullie annual I purchased in Scotland. Got it on sale.

I'm thinking I should look for more of the The Broons and Oor Wullie on Ebay, now that Christmas is just around the corner.



"Help ma boab!", as Oor Wullie would say.

"Crivvens!", as Paw Broon would say.

Do you ever purchase annuals or books that you read as a child?