Googling images

Inspired by SpookyRach, I am going to list my Google findings. Place your cursor on the photo to see what it is a Google image of.
























Wow, this was a tedious post!

Tikimonkey triumphs!

Well, that's what I get for advertizing my blog to the family. My very own son, Tikimonkey, drew on his childhood memories of playing with this piggy bank. It came from the bank where my father worked for about 35 years. There is no date on it, but I reckon it is about forty-five years old. The label on the side advises "Shoot your Savings" . . .to Lubbock National Bank "The Bank for Kids." The spaceship is named KU 232 and the little red plane on top is pulled back to launch the coin. Releasing the spring fires the coin into the moon. Unfortunately, I have lost the key and there are several coins inside. Maybe a rare silver dollar or something (yeah, right). So, now, Tikimonkey, since you already have many original paintings and you have access to the cookie recipe, what will your prize be? Hmmm, gotta think about that. Anybody have any suggestions?

What in the world?

Ah, Sunday afternoon! After a pleasant lunch with friends, Cat and I had our minds made up to work in the yard. Right after reading the Sunday paper. And working the crossword puzzle. But, wouldn't you know it, the skies darkened and it starting raining! What a shame. Guess we will have to put off digging grass out of the iris bed until later. Maybe April.

Inspired by Jonboy's phenomenal success last week, I am encouraged to post a new "watzat?" for your viewing pleasure. As before, this is an item residing in my study. I've had it for a long time and you may have one, too. So let's file those guesses. The winner, should there be one, will receive a high-quality photo of a watercolor painting suitable for printing as the face of a greeting card. I'm thinking a floral scene would be best.

Weekend words F

Have you made the cookies yet? OK, here are two entries in the WW series.

FULMINATE
    I nearly used this one incorrectly a couple of days ago. I had already typed it into a discussion board response and then thought perhaps I should look it up just to be certain. Turns out I was looking for a different shade of meaning. The idea that I had intended to convey was that of sermonizing, ranting on, riding a hobby horse, expressing oneself freely and at length, though not bloviating (q.v.) because there was no negative connotation intended. "Fulminate" seemed to be the right word, but it wasn't. It comes from a Latin word meaning "thunderbolt" and conveys the idea of bursting destructively on the scene. When applied to speech, it suggests a vividly explosive denunciation. I would advise steering clear of fulmination. It is followed either by profound apology or lingering guilt, or maybe both.

    Now to a less somber word. Do you know who Anna Quindlen is? She writes editorials for Newsweek about once a month. Her writing is perceptive, articulate, and righteous. Reminds me of an Old Testament prophet, combining Hosea's passion with Amos's eloquence. A couple of months ago when Cat and I went to California for a wedding, we were wandering through a bookstore with our two sons and their wives. It was interesting to see which books attracted each of us. One daughter-in-law got the giggles looking at a picture book which poked fun at George W. Bush. The other looked for travel books featuring Southeast Asia. My eye was caught by an Anna Quindlen hardback. The price was marked down to $7.95 and that seemed like a bargain to me. When I was paying for it, the oldest daughter-in-law advised me that if I showed a university ID I could get a discount. What a surprise! The book only cost me a few cents less than seven dollars!
    When we got back to Texas, I started reading the book. It is a collection of essays. (I wanted so badly to describe the compendium with the word gallimaufry, but that implies disorder; and anas are confined to one subject.) There was a word which kept recurring of which I sensed the meaning because it comes from French. But my dictionary here at home doesn't have it listed (Must Buy New Dictionary). The word is FRISSON and it means a brief shudder of delight. You have experienced that, haven't you? Now you have a word for it, pronounced free-SOHn.

And we have a winner!

Wow! In no time flat, Jonboy made a wildly improbable and completely accurate guess. The "What-is-it" is in fact a Kenyan ceremonial mask. It is a mask of a jaguar (NOT, SpookyRach, the "effigy of the great booger god"), carved out of wood. I made our bus stop at the market where I first saw this on our way back from Lake Nakuru. Everyone was grumpy, but I just had to have it. (Please note that the photo has not been digitally edited. It was just downloaded from my Fuji Finepix E550. I love this little camera.)

OK, well, I don't know if Jonboy wants the recipe, so I will just publish it here for all to see. This is a great cookie and the recipe is original to Cat and me.
Cream 1 cup Crisco with 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar, mixing in 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. salt. Beat in two eggs until creamy. Mix in 1 cup flour and 1 tsp. baking soda. Add 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chopped nuts, and 1 cup coconut. Now mix in 3 cups of oats. The dough will be pretty stiff. Place walnut-sized drops of dough on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly browned in a 325 degree oven. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to waxed paper. Makes about 4 dozen 3" diameter cookies. Mmmm, yummy!

What in the world?

Is it getting colder where you live? It's supposed to be in the forties tonight at my house. And my son sent photos from Australia where it is early Spring. The flowers are blooming in bright profusion. And here's a photo that he sent of a really weird bird. (Yes, that is my son's head.)


But that's not the mystery photo for the week. Once again, I offer you a snippet of a photo of something in my study. Once again, the prize for a correct identification will be the recipe for some fantastic crispy oatmeal cookies. So here we go. What do you think this is? And where did it come from?