Word of the Day...

...is Shiteria.

Dedicated to my roomate

who works in an elementary school

and hates cafeteria food.

Simple...

Simple...
Originally uploaded by portseye.

Mood: Quiet
Music: 0509041022 by Ottmar Liebert

Sometimes in the quiet glow you can get a sense of what matters in life! In life we need rain, wind, sky, fire and a deep breath of fresh air from within the breath of one's soul.

The Eyes of Texas...

For those who are...
Originally uploaded by portseye.

...and the rest of the nation are upon Beaumont and the surrounding areas who are dealing with the aftermath of the storm. Once again, it's time to reach out to our neighbors in need. Thanks to Philip for his wonderful photo.

Safe and Sound...

...the day after the storm and happy to report that Houston faired pretty well. My family is all fine thank goodness and better yet no loss of power. Some friends of mine have lost power and I feel for them. The past few days have been filled with anxiety and have been very stressful. I haven't had a good night's sleep and hoping that tonight I can catch up on some. Thanks to all who stopped by and sent their thoughts and prayers our way. I have a favor to ask though...please send them to our neighbors in Beaumont/Port Arthur & the Louisiana/Texas state line area as unfortunately, they bore the brunt of the storm. The pictures we have seen have been dismal as once again mother nature has shown us who is in charge.

Passing Storm

Hurricane Rita Radar
Originally uploaded by nieve44.

Well looks like Texas might be getting a very unwanted visitor in the next 72 hours. There's a sense of urgency in the city today but as I walked my dog this evening and looked up at the nightsky there was a calm in the air. A calm before the passing storm! I've started my making my list and gathering things and this morning I stopped at three local grocery stores to buy water. The first two are somewhat upscale in the chain of grocery stores here in Houston and there was no water to be found. Alas, I stop at another grocery store near downtown which is a little less upscale and let's say tends to invite a myriad of rift raft customers. Plenty of water to be found and the aisle virtually empty of customers! However, the beer aisle was much busier and the shelves much more bare. At the checkout lane I noticed the lady behind me gathering her loose change to buy a pint of Foster's Ale for the road...at 10:00 in the morning!

Just Because...

Rosas
Originally uploaded by nieve44.

...I wanted to add some color to my blog for today. Someone brought these to work for the office and they brightened up our day.

Music: Untitled Rumba, Ottmar Liebert
Mood: Emotive

In Memorium

In Memorium
Originally uploaded by nieve44.

Music: Tears in the Rain, Ottmar Liebert
Mood: Heartache

Hard to believe that another year has come and gone. This pic is from a snow globe that was given to me by a friend and sits on my window sill. I was playing around with the camera and this picture came up. Very eerrie...like a mirage. Ironically, there's a tag on the bottom of this which reads: "Made in Hong Kong". Well, the globe may well be made in Hong Kong but the towers were in built in NYC. They may be gone now but their light still shines bright.

I have another picture of New York that hangs over my bed. It's one of my favorites of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset with the twin towers in the foreground. New York has always held a special place in my heart as one of my dear friends is from NY. She was my old roomate and who is now a doctor...Pathologist to be exact. She was one of the many Pathologists who worked tiredlessly to bring closure to so many families. I haven't heard from her in a while and I suspect she may be in New Orleans as I heard that there is a team of Pathologists from across the country bringing closure to familes who lost loves ones in that disaster. She remains one of my biggest heroes.

Wounded Knee

Wounded Knee
Originally uploaded by nieve44.

Pain had been the word of the day but alas relief came today after a visit to the Ortho specialist. I had originally injured my knee 20 years ago when I had arthroscopic surgery. Now twenty years later it has come back to haunt me. Today, the doc drained quite a bit of fluid and I will need a couple of weeks of physical therapy. :-(

PAIN

Pain is the word of the day!

*Pain in my heart from the disaster last week in New Orleans. *Pain in my pocket book from the rising cost of gasoline. *Physical pain on my right knee that may require surgery in the near future. *Pain over my waistband growing as I am unable to exercise because of my knee :-( *Hunger pains that I need to endure to overcome the above pain! *Growing pains here in Houston with the influx of evacuees from Louisiana but I know that Houston and its citizens (old & new) will rise to the occasion.