Thursday, September 5, 2013

ONE OF A KIND

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

It's time to plant tulip bulbs in the Midwest.

I've planted bulbs as early as September and as late as January

here in Missouri.

Bulbs develop roots before frost, and most bulbs need to experience two months of cold dormancy before they resume their growth and flowering cycle in the spring.

I look for Darwin Hybrid Tulip bulbs to plant in my gardens. They are the tallest tulips available, and are known for their brilliant colored flowers, long stems, and beautiful pyramid shape. They are wonderful to cut for floral arrangements.

These beauties were created by crossing the Fosteriana Tulips with the old Darwin Tulips (now part of the Single Late Class). Some tulips look good for the first couple of years, but Darwin Hybrid Tulips come back looking great year after year IF you do not cut the leaves off after they bloom. They are often called "perennial" tulips.

Daughter Sarah with Daisy (Chinese Crested/Chihuahua, Pearl Ming Zhu (Peek-a-Poo) and Izzy Belle (Schnoodle)

It isn't SPRING for me without a trip to Pella, Iowa, for the annual TULIP TIME FESTIVAL.

Bulbs are miracles-in-progress during the winter,

going unnoticed underground...

until the warmth and sunshine of spring

cause the cold dormant bulbs to grow and flower.

Remember...

God created you.

You were born an original.

One of a kind.

Click on the link below for more tulip photos and a fairy tale:

IT'S NEVER TO LATE TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-never-too-late-to-live-happily-ever.html

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and bring a friend!

Marcia Norwood

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

BUOYS WILL BE BUOYS


BUOYS: Copyright 2013 Marie Browning LaPlant

Marie Browning LaPlant, Artist and Author

"There is one old man...

well into his 80's

that has been painting

these buoys for over forty years in Rockport, Massachusetts."

Marie Browning LaPlant

Artist and Author

"The ground swell

is what's going to sink you

as well as what buoys you up.

These are cliches also, of course,

and I'm sometimes interested

in how much one can get away with."

Paul Muldoon

Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet, born June 20, 1951. He has published over 30 collections, and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and the T.S. Eliot Prize. He held the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1999 to 2004. At Princeton University he is both the Howard G.B. Clark'21 Professor in the Humanities, and chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts. He is also the president of the Poetry Society (U.K), and Poetry Editor at The New Yorker.

THE OLIVE TREE

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

The olive tree has been a symbol of peace throughout history.

The olive tree is beautiful with its silvery leaves and twisted, intertwined trunk.

Photo: Copyright The Holy Land Community and the Israel Olive Bond program

The olive tree originated in the Holy Land, and is mentioned countless time in the Bible.

Photo: Copyright The Holy Land Community and the Israel Olive Bond program

"And the dove came in to him (Noah) at eventide,

and lo in her mouth an olive leaf freshly plucked."

Genesis 8:11

The Holy Bible

The olive tree was revered in the Biblical period for its evergreen leaves, and the strength of its roots that can even penetrate rocks. The prophet Jeremiah describes it:

"The Lord called your name,

a green olive tree,

beautiful with goodly fruit."

Jeremiah 11:16

The Holy Bible

Our family donated funds to help plant olive trees in Israel. I had the incredible opportunity to visit Israel in 1997. People in our travel group had individual, silent prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane, near the foot of the Mount of Olives. The name in Hebrew means "oil press." Oil is still pressed from the fruit of eight ancient and gnarled olive trees there.

Click on this link for photographs

of the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=mcafee&va=olive+trees+in+the+garden+of+gethsemane


I purchased several carvings made from olive wood on my pilgrimage to Israel.	JESUS, The Good Shepherd Photo Copyright 2007 Marcia Norwood

Olive Oil is an excellent oil that was used in Bible times for cooking. It was mixed with flour for cakes, used for frying meat and eaten with bread and stews.

It was also used for lighting. It was used in lamps and set before the graves of holy men, and was considered holy. Women drank it or spread it on their bodies as a cure for all kinds of diseases. Those who came to the Temple would sacrifice on the altar offerings of grain, new wine, and Yitzhar - pure oil.

"Pure olive oil beaten for the light."

Exodus 27:20

The Holy Bible

The patriarch Jacob blessed the stone that had been his pillow and set it up as a memorial by pouring oil over it. (Genesis 28:18)

Photo: Copyright The Holy Land Community and the Israel Olive Bond program.

The olive press is required to extract oil from the olives. Oil production has three stages:

Crushing the olives, to produce pulp
Squeezing the pulp to separate the oil from the solid part

Separation of the three components of the pulp - water, solids, and oil

There is archeological evidence of olive presses in Israel from 3300 BCE, at Beit Shean, Gezer, Lachish, and Megiddo.

Extra virgin olive oil comes from cold pressing of the olives, and is judged to have a superior taste. Thanks to the spread of the Mediterranean diet, (which olive oil is a basic component), more and more people throughout the western world are being exposed to olive oil and it's aroma and taste.

Lebhar Friedman Inc. reported a major increase in demand for imported olive oil in US supermarkets.

September is when our Jewish friends celebrate their most holy times of the year, called the High Holy Days. They begin with Rosh Hashanah on September 5, which is the Jewish New Year. The holy time ends ten days later on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, which is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people.

Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, begins this evening at sundown.

I wish my Jewish friends, "Shana Tova u Metuka," a good and sweet year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and bring a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

B I C Y C L E

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Bicycles are fun to ride, and also wonderful to plant, and place in the yard as garden art.

My Vintage Bicycle

"Life is like riding a bicycle.

To keep your balance you must keep moving."

Albert Einstein

(In a letter to his son Eduard, 1930)

Granddaughter Megan, Daughters Sarah and Faith on Bronze Statue at Scholte House, Pella Iowa

"I thought of that while riding my bicycle."

Albert Einstein

(In reference to the Theory of Relativity)

Image from Graphics Fairy: http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Granddaughter Megan Jewell (2007)

Granddaughter Emily Grace (2007)

From Left: Granddaughter Megan, Grandsons Joshua and Caleb, Daughter Sarah, Granddaughter Emily, and Daughter Faith (2007)

Daughter Sarah Zheng-Kang (2007)

Daughter Faith Fu Ju (2007)

"I feel that I am entitled

to my share of lightheartedness,

and there is nothing wrong

with enjoying one's self simply, like a boy."

Leo Tolstoy

(In response to criticism for learning to ride a bicycle at age 67)

Grandson Joshua Taylor (2007)

"It is by riding a bicycle

that you learn the contours of a country best,

since you have to sweat up the hills
and coast down them.

Thus you remember them as they actually are,

while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you,

and you have no such accurate remembrance of country

you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."

Ernest Hemingway

My Vintage Bicycle

"Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle,

I have hope for the human race."

H.G. Wells

My Vintage Bicycle

"Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind;

it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes

to balance oneself on a bicycle."

Helen Keller

(Deaf and Blind Political Activist)

Robin Perches on My Vintage Bicycle

"Next to a leisurely walk

I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle.

It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face

and the springy motion of my iron steed.

The rapid rush through the air

gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy,

and the exercise makes my pulse dance

and my heart sing."

Helen Keller

(Deaf and Blind Political Activist)

My Vintage Bicycle

To discover

where I found my vintage bicycle,

and see more photographs...

click on this link:

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-love-affair-with-garden-art.html

BICYCLE IN THE NEWS:

Victory is his!

Cyclist steals back stolen bike,

and leaves thief cardboard cutout

and mocking note.

Click on this link to read more:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/cyclist-who-had-bike-stolen-steals-it-back--leaves-behind-cardboard-cutout-and-snarky-note-for-thief-191415731.html

Thanks for stopping by!

Come again, and bring a friend!

Marcia Norwood

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

B U L L Y

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

B U L L Y

Noun
1. A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing
2. A hired ruffian; a thug

Adult bullying exists.

It would be great if people mature as they go through life, and STOP being bullies - but sadly, this is not always the case. Adults can be bullies, just like teenagers and children.

Adult bullies are probably not interested in working things out, nor are they interested in compromise. They try to dominate and humiliate others. They feel important by bringing others down.

Workplace bullying makes life miserable. They create a hostile work environment, open the company to the risk of a law suit and reduce morale.

View from my front porch

I live between two bullies on a seemingly quiet cul-de-sac in the heart of America. Both our bookend-nightmare neighbors are friends with each other, and have jointly declared war on our family.

View of our front yard from our front porch

"We will make your life so miserable that you will move out," they said. "You and your family are trash. You plant too many flowers and trees. You and your Chinese daughters need to go back where you came from. This is America."

Dwarf Alberta Spruce and Boxwood line the sidewalk to our front door.

Dwarf Alberta Spruce and Bright Pink Knockout Roses

Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Yellow Knockout Roses, Boxwood

Their hostility toward us began when we had a our property surveyed. Several feet of land (on both sides) that neighbors once claimed as their own - was actually ours. Our boundary went right up to the edge of one neighbor's driveway.

They were furious, and escalated their attacks. Verbal assaults against my children and me increased. They cut down a tree in our yard, chopped off 1/3 of one of my tall ornamental grass plants, threw cigarettes in my flower gardens, and ran over the little fences along the property line.

One neighbor-from-hell poisoned a line of arborvitae along the fence line. Every tree died.

I thought I knew how to handle bullies.

After all, I've taught classes to adults and children on conflict resolution.

I realized after two years of attacks, insults, and property damage that I needed help. I kept a journal, and made the police file reports for each incident that broke the law. We tried mediation through the police. It accomplished nothing. The police were not too concerned until one neighbor attempted to run over my daughter, Faith, and I with her SUV.

We had our day in court. One neighbor was found guilty: assigned jail time, put on two years probation...then broke the rules of probation, and spent more time in jail. The probation was extended for another two years.

I'm not sure which is most alarming to me - the neighbors who are bullies, or the neighbors who - for the past five years - have ignored the reality of what my family has endured. We have been called troublemakers for calling the police. It reminds me that all that has to happen for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing.

Thank God for the few neighbors who opened their eyes, and came to our defense.

Gardening brings me much JOY. It has also caused CONFLICT with my bookend-nightmare neighbors. They are Garden-Haters.

I'm a GARDENER, and I'm not going to stop anytime soon.

My Chinese/American daughters and I will continue to bloom where we are planted.

After all, this is America.

How long will you gang up on me?

How long will you run with the bullies?

Psalm 62:3

The Message Bible

R E F U G E

Noun

1. Protection, shelter from danger or hardship
2. A place providing protection or shelter
3. A source of help or comfort in times of trouble

Synonyms
security, safety, asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, stronghold

P O U R O U T

Idiom (Combination of words with a figurative meaning)

Express without restrain

"Trust in Him at all times...

Pour out your heart before Him.

God is a refuge for us."

Psalms 62: 8-12

Tea Room in Blue Springs, Missouri

Thanks for stopping by!

Come again, and bring a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Monday, September 2, 2013

Turn Over a New Leaf

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Turn Over A New Leaf

Idiom (Combination of words with a figurative meaning)

To begin again, fresh
To start behaving in a better or different way

Image from Graphics Fairy: http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

The term dates to the 1500s, and actually refers to turning the page of a book. It implies that someone turns over the previous page with bad behavior, and starts anew on a fresh page.

Image from Graphics Fairy: http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Recidivism

The act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after experiencing negative consequences of the behavior, or have been treated or trained to STOP that behavior. Also used to refer to the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested for a similar offense.


Image from Graphics Fairy: http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Irish writer and poet, Oscar Wilde, was accused of recidivism after promising to change his bad behavior. He once said that he earnestly intended to turn over a new leaf, but he hadn't gotten to the bottom of the page yet. It is said that Wilde assured his critic that he would make good on his promise.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
(October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900)

Photograph taken in 1882 by Napoleon Sarony

Oscar Wilde became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death. He was forty-six years old and destitute when he died in Paris.

His masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), was on stage in London at the height of his fame and success, when Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry (the father of Wilde's lover) for libel. Evidence in the trial uncovered evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges, however, it led to his own conviction and imprisonment for gross indecency. He was convicted and imprisoned for two years of hard labor. While in prison in 1897, he wrote De Profundis, (Latin: "from the depths" from Psalm 130) a long letter which talks about his spiritual journey through his trials.

Would you like to turn over a new leaf...
       begin again...
            start fresh...
         start behaving in a better, different way?

You would?

Me, too!

I've imagined a place where we could all meet and share stories.

Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.

The Holy Bible

2 Corinthians 5:17

Thanks for stopping by!

Come again, and bring a friend!

SHOUT OUT to The Graphics Fairy for sharing fantastic images.
Graphics Fairy: http://thegraphicsfairy.com/

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking


Marcia Norwood, America's STORYTELLER

Blogs at: tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/

Tell Me A Story

TELL ME A STORY

Thursday, September 5, 2013

ONE OF A KIND

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

BUOYS WILL BE BUOYS

Marcia Norwood

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Buoy

(Pronounced: "boo-ee")

THE OLIVE TREE

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

B I C Y C L E

"Life is like riding a bicycle.

To keep your balance you must keep moving."

it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes

to balance oneself on a bicycle."

Victory is his!

Cyclist steals back stolen bike,

and leaves thief cardboard cutout

and mocking note.

B U L L Y

Monday, September 2, 2013

Turn Over a New Leaf

AMERICA'S STORYTELLER, Marcia Norwood