tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81234112150305982712013-03-19T13:05:15.142-07:00Life, in GeneralA blog about Nothing and EverythingSHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-90281774269732246102011-09-02T10:01:00.000-07:002011-09-06T18:09:56.457-07:002011-09-06T18:09:56.457-07:00Swimming<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">OMG! Do I ever love swimming, what a great sport. I got started when I was young. My grandfather taught my older sister and I to swim during lazy summers up in Union Pier, Michigan. Oh how I remember those days. Early in the day, when we went down to the beach you could see guppies swimming around your ankles so clean and clear was the water. Then Grandpa Frank would take each of us under his arms and walk us out to where the water was up to his shoulders. We'd be scared and hanging onto him for dear life, and then, wallah! we were on a sandbar with the water up to his knees. We were really far out (so it seemed) and our parents looked so, so far away. After a while out there, he would make us swim our way back; and that's how I learned how to swim. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">Since then I have always loved swimming. Not having a swimsuit-compatible body though has been a challenge to me over the years. Some years, throughout my teens, I wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit nor near a beach. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">When I was in my 20's, I lived near University of Tennessee in Knoxville and started using their pool. I actually got to where I could swim a mile, took like 55 minutes, but I would do it regularly; but it didn't last for long as soon after that milestone, I moved back to Chicago.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">I started swimming again over the years when my son was growing up. We'd go to Concordia University's pool in the neighborhood for fun. Then I left him behind and took it up more seriously. Although I'm happy to see that it has remained an enduring part of his life also.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">I spent a couple of lovely summers outside enjoying the Portage Park pool on Central. Loved that. I would go there alone and swim after classes in the mid day. For a couple of years, I was way too tan but just couldn't help myself. One day though, I went to class and a (male) student of mine said, "I saw you at the pool Sunday" and that was the end for me. I went there because I didn't know anyone and the thought of this guy or others pointing at me and saying, "Oh, there's my teacher" ruined it for me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">Then, I found Wright College's pool, how did I not know this??? Since then, I've been swimming pretty religiously for the past 3 years. Last October, I actually got up to swimming a mile again. Okay, it took an hour and 10 minutes but I did it! I even took a synchronized swim class this past January, but I've decided I like free swimming better.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">So, I was thinking about this as I swam this morning. 32 lengths (1/2 a mile) in 32 minutes. that's my new routine plus water walking and exercising in the pool. It's a nice community I am engaged with down there in the basement of the building; plus there is something very liberating about walking around in a bathing suit.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">So, I think I'm set for life as far as exercise goes. It's the kind of thing you can do till the day you die and it will probably prolong that day as well.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-66221696155113460642011-08-27T19:51:00.000-07:002011-08-28T06:18:15.902-07:002011-08-28T06:18:15.902-07:00<br />
I'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">m looking over this book I borrowed called <i>Chicago A Pictoral Celebration</i>, of many notable buildings, sculptures and gardens in Chicago. I took the paragraph below from page 107; it's talking about Millenium Park's sculptures.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ea9999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Much like Kapoor's <i>Cloud Gate</i> sculpture, (Jaume) Plensa has talked about the Crown Fountain as an environment in which people can interact with the work of art. Such interactive installments in Millenium Park may very well be a reflection of modern society, in which individuals feel increasingly isolated and lonely. At the same time, they encourage people to interact with the art—and it is in this civic spirit that Millenium Park was built, and the embodiments of this spirit throughout the grounds are without a doubt its greatest achievement."</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In 2004, I was working downtown at Harold Washington College two nights a week at Wabash and Lake Streets. Many afternoons I took an early train, went one stop further and spent time at the Chicago Culture Center. I watched as the park progressed both out the Michigan Avenue windows as well as from viewing the three dimensional models that were displayed. I remember hearing all the buzz about The Jellybean, (Chicagoan's unofficially named it such before Anish Kapoor could name his own sculpture) and when I first looked at it I thought it was stupid (on paper anyway). I remember my first experience seeing the real Cloud Gate. I was so completely surprised and impressed at how it drew people in, how people laid down on the ground to take pictures, stood in front of it, asked others to take pictures, went inside and up close to see their reflections, all kinds of things people were doing there. It was engagement with a piece of art like I'd never really experienced before. And, it was extraordinary.</span></div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb1XUFOlAXs&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb1XUFOlAXs&feature=related</a></span></div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Are you familiar with Crown Fountain? What a fun, exuberant day can be spent there. Either wading in and getting wet or just watching the kids and others enjoying themselves at this whimsical, engaging piece of art in the park.</span></div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z7jcqfBvbQ&NR=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z7jcqfBvbQ&NR=1</a></span></div><div class="Standard"><br />
</div><div class="Standard"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Engagement, yeah, I think it is exactly what people are missing more and more as they spend the better part of their days with their best friends; their technology of choice</span>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-55051386478974081402011-08-24T09:07:00.000-07:002011-08-26T11:09:11.555-07:002011-08-26T11:09:11.555-07:00Chicago History<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few months ago, a friend of mine told me she was taking a class in Chicago History, and having a great time doing so. Since the class was at Wilbur Wright College, I was interested. I teach there six days a week and swim there four to five mornings a week and really did not need to spend more time there, but the class sounded fun. I took one eight week session last spring; there were about 25 people in it, mostly retired, and they are a bunch who are informative and lively. It has proven to be a turning point for me. I am now hooked on all things Chicago!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'm a born and raised Chicagoan (Michael Reese Hospital) but never had as much appreciation for the city as I do today. I am curious to know more about the beginning phases of how Chicago got going, the disasters Chicago has seen, the Gangster era, the architecture, the famous people who live/d here, and in general, the beauty of the city's downtown and the lake front.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The teacher of the class, Ken Little, is Chicago's unofficial fire department historian. He has coupled his knowledge of the city together with slides taken by a priest (I'll have to learn more and will get back to you on this). He presents the history of Chicago through slides of buildings, newspaper clippings, events, etc. Other people in the class also contribute in a way that brings the history of Chicago to life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My friend and I and some other people have had the good fortune to have gone on a couple of "field trips" viewing places in Chicago that are so surprising. Our last field trip was on the south side. We went along the park system, Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, Douglas Park, Jackson Park, etc. If you'll note, the photo of the Statue of the Republic is from that trip. It's in Jackson Park, huge, all gold and should be more well-known as it is a replica of the original that was built for the Columbian Exposition held here in 1893.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> On an earlier trip, we started out at Wright College, and we went through many norrthwest neighborhoods. Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, then south till be wound up around Wicker Park. We viewed three different cannons (yes, <i>cannons</i>) parked outside houses and apartment buildings. So unexpected!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This Sunday, (August 28) we're taking a spin through the Gold Coast and up north. We have three stops to make, so I'll report back about it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> It's just amazing to me to realize that one sees much of the world without noticing. It takes a trained eye to help us see what's right in front of us and to appreciate it, otherwise we stand to miss so much.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-46913843688776459432011-08-22T18:43:00.000-07:002011-08-27T18:45:55.428-07:002011-08-27T18:45:55.428-07:00LexophilesLexophiles, how's that for a word? It means lovers of words; and, that's me alright. As an ESL teacher I find myself ever more intrigued by the language. Some of the rules make no sense whatsoever. Why do we have to change from I <i>am</i>, to you <i>are</i>, to s/he <i>is</i>? Who came up with that? All those "theys" in the world that set out to obstruct our way.<br />
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Let's look at the past tense of the verbs. Why are some regular, add -ed, and some irregular: go-went, buy-bought, sing-sang? Then we have verbs that don't change: hurt, cost, quit have only one form; why? Who designed this? It's craziness. I read that all new verbs will be regular. For example, I<i> texted</i> you. I <i>surfed </i>the net for hours etc. And isn't that funny how a noun so quickly becomes a verb? As in Google; "I <i>Googled</i> it yesterday."<br />
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Then there's pronunciation, what a headache for new learners. Think of a word like read, in the past, it's spelled the same, but pronounced like the word red. Some words change their pronunciation according to the part of speech it takes. For example, <i>live;</i> "I <i>live</i> on the corner." Or, "It's Saturday Night <i>Live</i>!" Same with <i>object</i>; as a noun, "He's the <i>objec</i>t of my affection." As a verb, "I <i>object!"</i><br />
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I've read that as English is becoming more and more the Lingua Franca for business around the world, that the language is now, and will keep on, changing to the point that there won't be a past tense form at all. As in: "Yesterday, I go to the beach." will be understood because of the word yesterday; forget changing the tense.<br />
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I really wonder what English will look like in 100 years?<br />
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For any other Lexophiles, check out the file under INSPIRATION that is titled Lexophiles. It's all funny plays on words (puns), example: "The dentist and the manicurist fought tooth and nail." Hah, some funny stuff.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-38539042282317914772011-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:002011-08-26T11:06:57.172-07:002011-08-26T11:06:57.172-07:00Cemeteries<div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I'm not really sure why, but I am totally attracted to cemeteries. In thinking about it, I can trace back my fascination to around 1974. I was living in upstate New York in a big, old Victorian house that was owned by the Hazelton's; the town's lumber company magnate and family. Seems the matriarch of the family was very old and living with one of her sons, so the house was rented out totally furnished. It was an amazing place! Across the road from a river, it had a wrap-around porch, two living rooms, and it was heated by a wood-burning stove. I only lived there for a couple of months but it was a great time. It was fall, and the leaves changing in the Adirondack Mountains are something to behold. Some days, I would ride a bike into town and after laboring up a steep hill there was a small graveyard. I remember that walking through there was a little like walking through history. You could see when some epidemic struck and many children died around the same time. Whole families were lain to rest together. There were stories told just in the looking. One thing that struck me the most though was a gravestone that read this:</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Beware! As you are now, I once was;</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As I am now, you soon will be, </span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, prepare for death and follow me!"</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have never forgotten those words and how they affected me. I thought about who that person was, was he a curmudgeon or a funny-guy? Was he afraid of death or comfortable with it? And, how should we prepare for death?</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That was the beginning of my interest and attraction to cemeteries. I went to Canada the summer before sophomore year in college, and found a spot north of Toronto which was an "Indian" graveyard. There, the people were buried above ground with mounds covering them. The feeling there was quite different.</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When my son was in about 5th grade, I learned to rollerblade so we had an activity we could enjoy together, and where did I learn? Altenheim Cemetery in River Forest. It was surrounded by the el train on Harlem to the east, the expressway on the south and the river on the west. We spent so many days skating up and down those aisles. To me, it was fun but also very peaceful. We would hug trees and feel their energy. He even had a bench under one tree where he would go for inspiration; it was his poetry-writing phase. Golden memories were formed at that cemetery.</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Forest Home cemetery in Forest Park has a celebrated "Cemetery Walk" in October every year, where they have community members dress up and act like the people buried there. I've been to that several times. I witnessed Ernest Hemingway's mother talking about the young Ernest, along with other notables. I remember there was a piano out there one year for the evangelist who preceded Billy Graham, (Billy Sunday) to do his sermon to. Very interesting history with Emma Goldman and the Haymarket Martyrs Monument there also.</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I took my son to Europe for his high school graduation present. We spent Christmas Day 2004 in Pere Lachaise Cemetery. He wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave, and of course, we took photos. I was amazed by the number of well-known people there; some, like Orson Welles, had remarkable gravestones. It was an awesome day.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">When my son lived in Seattle, we went to the cemetery there to visit Jimmy Hendrix and unbeknownst to us, Bruce Lee had a huge area of gardens and a pond that we took photos of.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">This year, after taking a Chicago History class, I learned about Oak Woods Cemetery; the only cemetery north of the Mason-Dixon line to hold Confederate soldiers. When we went there we found cannons and memorials to the six thousand Confederate soldiers, prisioners of war who died at Camp Douglas, all buried together beneath a towering monument. We found the gravesites of Mayor Harold Washington, Jesse Owens and Enrico Fermi, but even </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> bigger and more ostentatious is a ridiculously huge monument Roland Burris has erected for himself. A fool and egotist throughout eternity I guess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've been to Graceland in the past and seen the Potter Palmers and Marshall Fields' showing off their opulence even in death, though I find the island devoted to Daniel Burnham a fitting tribute. </span><br />
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</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span style="font-style: normal;">Just the other day, I turned into Mount Olive Cemetery and drove around. I noted some awesome trees and the sense of peace on a beautiful afternoon. I spotted a gravestone of a baby who lived only 13 days... makes me wonder about life.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I've always been a tree lover, so I question if it's the trees at cemeteries that attract me, or the peaceful feeling I get, but I am definitely attracted to these spots; more now than ever.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background: transparent; line-height: 0.12in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-style: normal; line-height: 0.12in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have some cemetery shots up on Flickr if you're interested:</span></div><div align="LEFT" style="background: transparent; line-height: 0.12in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150003@N07/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/7150003@N07/</a></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-15063625054708207322011-08-17T13:39:00.000-07:002011-08-20T09:41:17.346-07:002011-08-20T09:41:17.346-07:00Inspiration<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, I'm off of work this week and next, so, I'm hoping to find time to add content here to this blog. I've gone through my computer and posted quotes and stories that I have collected over the years that have inspired me. Hope they inspire you too. I will be writing next on Buddhism. I have been chanting Nam myoho renge kyo for the past 27 years. I see Buddhism not as a religion (we have no God we rever) but as a tool for living. More about the philosophy soon.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-39857525567143900832011-08-11T13:56:00.000-07:002011-08-12T18:37:12.591-07:002011-08-12T18:37:12.591-07:00Photography<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f8f9f1; color: #555555; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px;"></span><br />
<div class="entrytitle"><h3 style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I have always been interested in photography but the F-stops, shutter speed jargon turned me off; I’m not a detail minded person. Digital photography though makes everything easy. Over the years I’ve had different cameras, never anything fancy, but that hasn’t kept me from taking what I thought were interesting photos. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I've</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> never explored what goes into making a good photo good. I took a quick 101 workshop last weekend and at the same time got an </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Sylfaen,Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">offer from Shutterfly for a free 8×8 hard-cover photo album. I decided to take all the photos I had on hand and make an album of my favorite ones and then to move on from there. So, here it is, thanks, Shutterfly!</span></h3></div><div class="entrybody"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: small;"><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=2558cfd90ebb178f6cbbd47cbb382743&sid=0Bct2Llqzbs3LQ">http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?</a></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123411215030598271.post-51895870526284682142011-08-11T11:55:00.000-07:002011-08-12T18:38:10.286-07:002011-08-12T18:38:10.286-07:00New Blog Site<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: small;">I was asked to take a series of classes through University of Illinois' "Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality" program, so that I could teach GED online for the City Colleges. I have to take a series of 3 classes and in the second, (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Technology Tools for Online Teaching), class we had to create a blog of the course documenting the Web 2.0 technologies we would be exploring. </span>Now that the class is over, I've decided to keep on blogging, so I've left the original on Edublog dedicated to the technology we went over and moved to this site for personal use. If you care to see that blog, you can get to it here:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://shaylo.edublogs.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://shaylo.edublogs.org/</span></a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.podbean.com/advertising?edit=new&blog=376872"><img src="http://www.podbean.com/images/ads_on_this_podcast.png" alt="advertise on podbean" title="advertise on podbean" border="0" /></a></div>SHERYLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04544469320174762162noreply@blogger.com0