Male Cardinal
Stunning and easily spotted, especially against the snow as in the photo above (copied from one of the bird conservation groups on Facebook), the Cardinal is the State bird of Virginia and several other states including MD, NC, TN, and KY…I think. Everybody loves the ubiquitous Cardinal.
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I returned to the pool today after a two-week absence owing to the cold from hell. I arrived later than usual, and spent half of two classes in the water. As I have friends in both classes, this was a treat. Betty Jo is from Wisconsin, so we talked about snow. Sue has recently moved into a retirement home, and we talked about rents.
Marilla is here for the winter. She will travel to Florence in a month or so, where she owns an apartment left to her by an aunt. She and her husband visited the Smithsonian’s Museum of American Art Archives Sunday (currently sponsoring an exhibit of photos and documents from the work of the *MFAA during WWII). Marilla and I talked about the new film Monuments Men, as well as the Edsel book I finished while I was ill. Marella has an autographed copy of the book in her Florence apartment, as her family’s experiences figure in Saving Italy (Edsel, 2013).
Such fun I have with these old gals (Marilla is 80), most of them former Foreign Service wives, now mostly widows. You might wonder how we get any exercise, but we do the moves and talk at the same time, we’re women you know.
*Monuments Men
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“How did you find that, I hid it?” says David, as he returns from a dog walk and I whack off a chunk of his pecan nougat egg. Silly goose, he hid it on the candy shelf, next to my chocolate. I weigh my sliver of nougat and check the WW points. I’m okay, so it makes a nice treat. That’s the beauty of WW, you can eat anything, you just must count the points and stay within the guidelines. Flexibility…that’s why this diet works for me. Tonight, I am having a small boneless skinless chicken thigh cooked with carrots and diced Italian tomatoes. Still working on getting five fruits and vegetables per day.
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I’ve been told by various health professionals, that one of the best things you can do as you get older, is maintain your social network. Friends, that’s what makes life worth living. The other things that contribute to a healthy and long life are good diet and exercise. After a trip to the pool, I am positively positive, must be those endorphins? Who cares if its going to snow again tonight, the sun is shining today!
Wendy and Richard in San Diego celebrating their 50th birthdays last summer.
Yae, Dianne! Good for you! I do love your attitude also. Friends are definitely important. I cherish the time I spend with friends at Zumba, tai chi and other times. The one constant for me is blogging though. It’s great to reach out to cyber friends whenever I want.
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That bird is BEAUTIFUL.
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Nice shot. I like the contrast of the red bird agains the white snow.
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Thanks. The photo comes from the American Bird Conservancy.
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That cardinal photo is terrific. We are fortunate to have more than our share of cardinals visiting our feeders. A truly delightful bird to observe.
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This gives me hope. If the cardinals can survive your winter they can survive mine! Amazing little birds.
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Good advice on the friends/diet/exercise recommendations. I’ve got the diet down, just need to work on socializing more (new to the area) and exercise. We’re warming up, so I have no excuses. 🙂
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Socializing with others has been my biggest challenge!
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I love the colour of the Cardinal. Our birds blend in with the scenery. The colour comes with the finches, tits and of course the robin. All small birds.
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Our Cardinal is a Finch!
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Thanks for the tip about the treats and WW weighing. I am struggling just to stay where I am just now – something about the cold combined with the wet puts me off. Blessings from Dalamory.
http://www.freda.org.uk
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Cold+wet=off putting for many of us!
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Hey, didn’t I tell you that yesterday? LOL
Yes a balance of those things is what works. Sometimes there’s those burps in life, like that super cold, and you slow for a while. I went to the Monuments men last night, and it was very moving but moved things around a lot to make a new whole. I still liked it.
Yes too, our pool heater is bust till Thursday, and I am reverting to my normal self and being sedentary, or is that bookentary. 🙂 In our morning class, we sound like a bunch of birds. 🙂
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Happy to hear some positive feedback on this film. Mixed reviews around here.
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I enjoy my weekly hula classes for the same reason. Exercise and socializing — can’t be beat!
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Indeed, and nice when the other attendees are so interesting and friendly.
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You have a great attitude Dianne and I admire how you regularly exercise. It seems that you meet a very interesting group of ladies there, but then so are you. That’s a lovely photo of Wendy and Richard, and the Cardinal is one of my favorites and is always a welcome visitor to my feeders. Haven’t seen him for a while though.
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Thanks Denise. Some days my attitude is better then others.
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Nice photo… You really are so good about your diet and exercise…
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I try, I try.
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Love picture of Richard and his wife. Here are a couple of veggie tips…cooked and mashed cauliflower can be added to mashed potatoes, fresh spinach added to scrambled eggs or used instead of regular lettuce .
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Fixing collards tomorrow with a WW recipe.
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Bravo on your exercise and nutrition perseverance. And that photo of Wendy and Richard. I am always amazed at how youthful 50-somethings are.
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Yes, they look good. So did David and I at age 50, but that was long ago!
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