It's a Duck's Life

I am at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando attending a conference. It is a lovely accommodation. Its cache is the famous Peabody ducks. The duck logo can be found everywhere including on the toilet paper. There is duck shaped soap and duck shaped butter. And, there are real ducks that reside here. It goes back to a tradition at the first hotel in Memphis. Anyway, there are 6 mallard ducks that spend the day in a marble fountain in one of the marble lobbies and then spend the night in their "duck castle" (a big cage) located on one of the hotel's verandas. They live a very safe and pampered life. No stress, no troubles but they never get to fly. All they do is waddle from the fountain in the morning and then back to the castle in the evening where food awaits. They never fly, they never migrate, they never live fully as ducks.

So the question becomes for each of us - do we waddle in safety or do we fly in freedom?

Pirate Robie

Yesterday, my daughter Lisa decided to get a Halloween costume for her cat, Robie. Hence, Pirate Robie. We had a bet that she couldn't get the hat on the cat.  I lost the bet, but got some amusing photos. Oh, the joy of win-win situations!

Clouds in Paradise

Admittedly, it was not the best weather this past weekend at Glen Lake in northern Michigan, but the fresh air, blustery wind and spectacular beauty always brings joy to my heart. Here are a few shots of clouds looming over the lake.

The Candle Connection

As my Faithful Readers are aware, I am a supporter of HIS Home for Children, an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. My father, Doug Hill, also supports HIS Home by making birch candles. He cuts the branches of a birch tree (no live trees are harmed) into 2 to 6 inches lengths. He then drills a hole into one end and inserts a tea light. I then sell them at bazaars and the proceeds go to HIS Home. The other day Jerry Solem, woodwooker extraordinaire of Empire, Michigan, offered some of his birch logs to The Cause. The first 2 photos are of Jerry cutting the logs into mini-van transportable size. The third photo is of Dad with some of his works in progress. Then there are a couple of finished candles for your viewing pleasure.

I love the human connectivity of this process, where trees grow Up North in Michigan, the wood is gathered, Dad spends time in his shop crafting them, I drive them to Chicagoland and get them sold, and then the money is sent to the US HIS Home headquarters in Lima, Ohio where it then is transferred to meet the needs of over 100 children in the Carribean.  Ultimately, the glow of these candles touch hundreds and hundreds of people.  This is joy in action.

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes

This evening my parents (Helen and Doug Hill) and I took a drive on the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes scenic drive. It's the easy way to get to the top of the dunes (rather than climbing up on foot). It was a pleasant evening with pure air and lovely views of Glen Lake and Lake Michigan.

I've heard that a week or so ago that Good Morning America named the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore the most beautiful spot in America. Of course, we've known this all along.

Chuck also has a birthday

Chuck, an avid reader of this blog, has the same birthday (August 20th) as my mother. I would not be so forward as to mention his age, but he was born exactly 31 years after my mom. The folks in his unit decided to commemorate this special birthday with some thoughtful, creative and ever so empathetic decorating.  Happy Birthday, Chuck!

The Big Chill - July 2011

During the last week in July, my husband Mike and I flew to northern New Jersey for our annual Big Chill weekend with our high school buddies - woo hoo, George Washington High School Class of '73! Here are some photos from the weekend - no names will be mentioned to protect the guilty. We took a 90 minute NYC water taxi ride (great deal for $25), we saw a matinee of Jersey Boys (excellent show), did people watching at Times Square and ended the evening at Marie's Crisis, a piano bar  that specializes in Broadway showtunes - in the Village (I think).  The next day I was out walking amidst the New Jersey countryside and made the acquaitance of a goat. Thank you, Debbie and Bill, for hosting a wonderful weekend! What joy it is indeed to be able to spend time with such dear friends!