A Journal to impart knowledge and facts |
July 22, 2015 I'm going to start today to record on a daily basis whatever happens to strike my fancy. So, it is a very cool breezy day. I just posted 5 short book reviews to The Monthly Reading Challenge. I'm suppose to put away some winter wood today from the woodpile outside but I'm playing hookey from work to write so starting this blog will get done. I'm having a daily fight with a flock of English Sparrows that are trying to take over my barn. They are making a terrible mess so they have to go. I have destroyed several nests so far they don't leave but they get out of the barn when I am around. I'm just starting the fight so I guess I don't know how far I have to go to discourage them. I'm trying not to spread myself to thin on WDC because I find so many things that are interesting here and I am trying to work on a new story. I really enjoy sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and reading blogs on WDC. |
For the end of the day: or just after the camel ride: ![]() Camels and Cairo Cairo is considered the cultural capital of the middle east. It is particularly known for the pyramids and the Egyptian museum. Within the culture it is considered impolite to point any part of your foot at someone or to show someone the soul of your shoe. Not visiting an acquaintance for a long period of time shows how insignificant you feel about you relationship, and it is a compliment for the food if you take a second helping. The people I met were all very helpful and polite. I saw the Khan El Khalili Bazaar early in the morning. It was actually quite calm with fewer people than I expected. Because it was early in the day. I was told that the way to pronounce the name was Ham Hem Halee. With a short a,e,In first two syllables and long ee in the last syllable. So, many things to see. Jewelry, backpacks, statuettes of all kinds, beautiful long gowns, shoes, sandals, slippers. Linen pants with camels on them and rugs of all kinds. I would like a dozen for my home. A Uber driver said to be sure to get a good price by haggling. He said if they say 100 come back with 50 but don't let them talk you up higher than 70. Inside the bazaar helpful people were only a step away. I saw too many items to describe them all. The camel ride was just amazing. Mounting was done while the beast rested on the ground. Good thing because once it stood up its long legs (6 feet plus at the shoulder, 7 feet plus at the hump), put us quite a ways up in the air. The first camel kept its head low at the guides shoulder, the others held their heads high and were strung out in a line. Attached to each other by long leads. We waved and called out hellos to other riders as different tours walked past each other. The ride was an hour long. The camels were decked out in beautiful bridles and colorful rugs under their saddles. I enjoyed the long languid walking gate that covered a lot of ground quite quickly as we strolled along. We mainly rode near the area where the pyramids could be seen and there was a lot of sand. A sign at the entrance said, "Built for Eternity" as we entered the pyramids. You must buy a ticket. There are security guards everywhere who check tickets. Once we were walking on the grounds near the pyramids there were stray dogs wandering among the crowds. I noticed there were also Arabian horses decked out for tours. Once I saw a two-wheel cart being pulled by a team of ponies. The pyramids were awesome and not anything like I have seen in pictures. The bricks were larger than I expected. One of the pyramids was bent having been not formed properly. I was reminded of a place in the Exodus where the Hebrew's were punished because of an argument Moses had with Pharoh. Their punishment was to make their own bricks for building as well as to maintain their schedule for building. I think the pyramids we were visiting are not the older ones that are not on the tourist guides list for visiting. It was a very long day. I enjoyed everything and learned things I did not ever think about as they applied to Egypt and the pyramids. Riding camels is fun. Bye for now. |
Prompt: Libraries I knew as a child and beyond. I went to a rural school. It housed grades 1-6. We learned the dui decimal system. Every room housed a certain number of books, which often were stacked on the wide windowsills. Our school was a 3-story brick building with a playground near the front entrance. When we moved to the nearby town for 8th grade the larger school has a library where students can maintain a library card and take out books. Every day in 5th grade just before lunch we took out our dictionaries which we kept in our desk. We had a race to find out who could turn to a certain word definition the fastest. The winner received a candy bar as a reward. The grade school where I was taught is now gone. Students in 2 counties and who reside in a certain postal zone attend the new grade school and high school. Although there is a very well-maintained library within the school you can also use the town library. Presently I have a statewide library card which has a special stamp and allows me to take out books that can be found within libraries across the state. I grew up in a farmhouse owned by my Grandparents on my father's side of the family. There was a large cabinet in one room which was filled with story books. My dad told both my brother and I we were not allowed to read the books. We both read every book in the cabinet. It was where I became familiar with "The radio Boys." My brother told me He became a ham radio operator because of those stories. I was introduced to "Seven cousins," though books owned by one of my cousins. Louisa Mae Alcott books never to be forgotten. She wrote about many subjects often not noticed because of the popularity of "Little Women," One of the special services provided by librarians is the help they can be about finding and obtaining books that I want to read. Librarians are helpful when researching out of ordinary subjects. and finding books about random ideas or culture. There is a special Book I think (?) the name of it is "The Librarian." It was written by a librarian telling the history and present need of libraries throughout the USA. It especially talks about a large library in New York City. It is a fascinating story. When I lived in Texas, my first husband was a sergeant in the air force. I used the Randolph Air Force base library. Now most of the books I read are on kindle. Some of them come from prime reading others come to me through the Libby App, which is used by the Pennsylvania library system. I'm especially pleased that I can still research interesting nonfiction. Our libraries are exceptional. I would not be happy without a library. HAPPY READING. apondia#1781748 |
Prompt: Silence Day or Day of Silence may refer to: Day of Silence, a day in April designated to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. This year it is April 12, 2024![]() No one should be bullied or harassed. Here is a simple truth. If you are a person who tends to bully others, you will find a reason to harass someone. I just stopped in for a quick look at my email because I've been snowed under with things to get done lately. Did not want to pass up a chance to say don't make excuses for not liking someone because you may not understand their gender or life purpose. Don't follow the crowd. Look into the facts of life about any subject. Try not to add misery to anyone. Scape goading anyone is a bad scene. Happy Trails. |
Day 3452: March 25, 2024 Prompt: “The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.” J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird I've have a parrot that never learned to fly. It was used poorly by someone who teased it as a young bird. Also, young birds that are raised by parent birds have an example to follow. Parrots for the pet trade are often hatched in incubators and raised by humans. When I purchased this bird, it had been taught to bite. A parrot bite can be a very serious wound. I set out to teach it to fly. I was not successful. I know how to handle it and have owned it now for several years. It is a very wise and fun pet. I like the prompt quote and recognize, that the part of a bird, that is often noticed is its' ability to fly. I have ridden in airplanes and jumped horses over 5-foot-high fences. I think jumping a horse over a high fence is more like a bird flying than riding in an airplane. It takes a faith in your four-footed partner to jump a fence. I also like the fact that our Father in Heaven chose birds to herald the coming of morning with song. I'm more excited at dawn to hear many birds singing, than to notice their flight. In spring and summer, they sing more and louder. I listen for the sound to judge the day's weather pattern. This is just a few thoughts relating to the prompt. I am always interacting with the outside world. That's who I am. We live in homes that keep us sheltered and safe from the outside world. Nevertheless, the real life is out there, trees, bushes, forests and parks, birds and other creatures. If you search maps, the outside world is bigger than the human inhabited part of the globe. Just thoughts. |
Spring Equinox.??![]() I have to say I'm weather disturbed. We were having this nice spring weather until the Spring Equinox. Then a blast of winter hit. I did expect this though, since the first of March was so calm this year. Now just enough snow and colder temps to make me disgusted. Weather here can be ![]() Hope your spring is going well. |