Boonervliet

Boonervliet
Originally uploaded by Nells1.

A beautiful scene ... from the Netherlands.

whatsup?

whatsup?
Originally uploaded by Desideria.

hee hee

Courtney

Courtney
Originally uploaded by JToddM.

A fantastic portrait.

X'mas Cat

X'mas Cat
Originally uploaded by Paul Ngan.

Since it is after Thanksgiving, the Christmas season has officially begun!

weathered pole

weathered pole
Originally uploaded by la femme jen.

At first, I thought that this was a deserted beach.

FREEDOM WON'T R.I.P.

FREEDOM WON'T R.I.P.
Originally uploaded by * laura.

The UAE telephone company blocked access to Flickr, and a lot of people are not happy.

Sunrise, Thanksgiving Day

Sunrise, Thanksgiving Day
Originally uploaded by Dean Forbes.

Unusual cloud conditions and lighting.

A face.

Write your own caption for this photo. 

Frosted Rose

Frosted Rose
Originally uploaded by wit.

Brrrrrr! So cold!

birch, catalpa, maple leaves

birch, catalpa, maple leaves gathered for for a photo op
Originally uploaded by Ctd 2005.

Quite beautiful.

Cabernet Grapes

CABERNET GRAPES
Originally uploaded by grbenson3.

Harvest time ...

haystacks

haystacks
Originally uploaded by Beyonce Knowles it all.

Dinner rolls for livestock.

Shirryn in Trent Park

Shirryn in Trent Park
Originally uploaded by Urban Disturbance.

Interesting light

green eyes

green eyes
Originally uploaded by phitar.

Caption by the photographer: "deep green eyes in sanorgaon."

Pink plumeria

Pink plumeria
Originally uploaded by superhero.

Velvety sweetness!

I saw this in a dream...

I saw this in a dream...
Originally uploaded by risumiru.

Today's superb photograph from one of the extremely talented artists who post their work on the website flickr.com.

Frost melting on cranesbill leaves

Frost melting on cranesbill leaves
Originally uploaded by Lida Rose.

Just when I didn't think that the photographs on flickr.com could get any better, I discover one like this.

My humility

Last Friday, I needed to cash a check. I only had some loose change in my pocket: no bills. So I went to the bank. It was closed. Huh! I figured that the branch I went to must have gone out of business. Maybe they didn't have enough customers at that location. So, I went to another branch. When I saw that it, too, was closed, it finally dawned on me that all banks were closed because it was Veterans' Day! Aren't I observant?

I really needed to buy some gasoline, because the last time that I had fueled my car was last Tuesday, and I take my Mother to do her errands on Saturdays. I didn't want to run out of gas with my eighty-four year old Mother in my car, and, oh, yes, did I mention that the gas gauge in my car is kaput? I asked her if she could lend me some money for gas, just until the following Monday, when I could cash a check, and she gave me a Thanksgiving Day gift of five twenty-dollar bills! Thanks, Mom!

Anyway, today, I did go to the bank, to cash the check that I had written last Friday, and I pulled into one of the drive-up lanes behind an SUV. Well, the driver obviously didn't have the paperwork, e. g., a deposit slip, necessary to conduct her/his business, because I saw the cannister come back with something in it. Then, the individual spent what seemed like an eternity filling the form(s) out, before sending them back.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it is expected that bank patrons are to have their paperwork prepared before presenting themselves in front of a teller. As a matter of fact, I have seen signs to that effect posted in banks, beside tellers' windows. I wouldn't dream of inconveniencing somebody by making them wait while I filled out a deposit or withdrawal slip. On more than one occasion, I have parked, gone inside the bank, gotten a slip, and filled it out, before returning to my car and proceeding to the drive-up window, just to keep such a scenario from occurring.

Why can't other people be as considerate as I am? In other news, I'm extremely proud of my humility!

Love this place... (pic)

Love this place...
Originally uploaded by !!! Monika !!!.

Another excellent public photograph from flickr.com.

Finding Neverland (pic)

Finding Neverland
Originally uploaded by HD .

This incredibly beautiful photograph, entitled "Finding Neverland," is one of the "Interesting Photos of the Day" at flickr.com.

Butt Crack

Since my brother and his family (wife, eleven-year-old twin girls, and an ancient cat) will be coming to visit during the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to wash the mountain of dirty clothes that I have been collecting in the kitchen. Actually, I only decided to wash one-half of the mountain this weekend; the other half, I plan to wash next weekend.

This weekend, I took all of my t-shirts and briefs, no dark clothing, so that I could use bleach, and get them really white. Even though I took only one-half of the clothes that needed washing, I still was going to need to use the "industrial strength, heavy duty, extremely huge" washer, the one that takes five dollars in quarters.

Before I could get going, however, I first needed to purchase some laundry detergent and some fabric softener sheets, so I went to the grocery store. Since a Books-a-Million was in the same shopping center as the grocery store, and since I had neglected to bring The New York Times crossword with me to pass the time, I went into the bookstore, looked around for a while and purchased a copy of Crime and Punishment.

Then, I went to the coin-operated laundry. Wouldn't you know it, the only five dollar washer was in use! Bah! I drove to a not-too-distant Walgreen's, in search of some chips, for a snack. Unfortunately, they didn't have Sun Chips, that type that I had a craving for. I drove on, ending up at a convenience store, which did have them. By the time that I got back to the laundry, another patron, a big, fat guy, whose butt crack I could see when he bent over, was loading his clothes into the big washer. Crap!

I drove downtown, to a convenience store which I knew had a cappuccino machine and got myself a cup. While I was out, I saw a red pickup truck with a bumper sticker which read: "Sorry I didn't make it to church. I was busy practing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian." When I returned to the laundry, I only had to wait about five minutes for the coveted washer. Yay! I loaded up my clothes and sat down to enjoy my coffee.

After I divided the clean clothes into two dryers, I opened my book and was able to read ten pages of it before the clothes were not only clean, but dry, too. I got back home at approximately twelve-thirty, which, since I had left at a little before ten o'clock, made my outing between two and one-half and three hours.

A deadly game

The government of North Korea continues to try to blackmail the United States into giving it aid.

[North Korean negotiator] Kim pressed Pyongyang's demand for an end to the U.S. sanctions imposed in October on eight companies accused of trafficking in nuclear, missile or biological weapons technology.

It was unclear whether those sanctions would have any effect, since the United States already bans trade with North Korea. But sanctions also were applied to a Macau bank that dealt with North Korean companies, disrupting Pyongyang's commercial activities.

"These kind of sanctions are in violation of the joint statement we have adopted and are going to hinder the implementation of the commitment we have made," Kim told reporters outside the North's Embassy.

Here's a news flash: The "commitment" referred to by Kim isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

Wake up, Europe

Mark Steyn on the riots in France.

Chirac's promises

French President Jacques Chirac swore that he would put an end to the lawlessness which has been raging in his country for eleven consecutive days. Since he has already been vowing to stop the violence, what makes anybody think that this time he really means it?

Didn't know that.

Car torchings are a daily fact of life in France's tough suburbs, with thousands burned each month, police say.

Postage increase

Just keep it up, post office. You will price yourself out of existence. People will just turn more and more to using facsimile machines and email.