pissed @ picasa

I’ve been writing the eclectic eye for over two years now and have meticulously saved all 278 posts in a blog folder on a flash drive so my hard drive wouldn’t be overloaded; while in Picasa I deleted what I thought were the pictures from the folder that contained all of my work. What actually happened was the removal of the entire file. After several frantic moments searching for how to reinstall something, I am not happy to find that deleting a folder in Picasa removes it from your hard drive. How is it that a program can wipe my property from my hard drive?

Honestly, I am speechless at this time…is it too early for a drink? Until Wednesday be careful with your electronics and…

keep your peepers open!®

constrARTion

There was a time when I enjoyed driving. I would hop in my automobile, take to the road, and make a roundtrip from New Jersey to DC in one day with no traffic snarls AND on the same tank of gas. I’ve been in my car quite a bit lately and must say that it no longer is joyful to be behind the wheel. Seems like there are road repairs around every corner no matter what city or town, construction of some sort on every local route and interstate. Who decided that it is a good idea to work on major thoroughfares during rush hour? Creeping along at 5MPH on a 60MPH stretch burns way too much gas not to mention our nerves especially when it turns out that the hold up was a crew filling 200 yards of potholes. I realize huge projects need daylight and lots of time however these little jobs, really? Why can’t they do this at nighttime when millions of cars and their owners are immobile?

After a very frustrating day of detours, inhaling the aroma of La Tar, being lost and disbelief at the pump, there before me was a chance to soothe the burn. Fortunately, I had my camera, hopped out of the car when the opportunity allowed, and seized a moment to capture something concrete from concrete.

Just another reason to always…

keep your peepers open!®

destination next

Long before the term vision board became part of our vernacular, there was collage. Last year, I found myself creating this piece of art in my journal after I returned from Italy…

Maybe you think it’s a vision however for me, it was and is a declaration, an affirmation in art -- traveling to absorb new people, places and objects, chronicling each journey in words and images is part of the woman I have become and I love it! Guess that explains why without knowing it, I looked up and 6 hours had passed as I explored destination next via the web. Promise to keep you posted. Until then…

keep your peepers open!®

ps – happy birthday sds!

pearfection

keep your peepers open!®

tree love

I think that I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

                                      - Joyce Kilmer

I remember singing that poem as a young girl in grammar school; like a vine, those words wound themselves around my DNA as I indeed feel kindred to and captivated by trees, particularly with the texture and variation in color of exposed bark…

...something about it makes me think of skin, the sexy curvature of the one in the above photo was so sensual to the touch.

And how their trunks extend to branches that intertwine like posing dancers…

Trees form the universal tribe of Mother Nature, each species a people with their own unique personality, scent, movement, appearance and embellishments. Whenever I travel, I never fail to take pictures of ones that catch my eye and during a stay in Florida several years back, composed a free write ode to something that adorns them in different parts of the country.

moss
tina s. lassiter © 2005

soft and lazily draping itself in this dense moisture like it needs a nap or maybe, it is napping…like a tangled mass of nappy hair it grows chaotic, every whicha way, no rhyme nor reason narry a care for how it looks as it knows it is perfectly jazzy, tres chic just the way it is “who cares, I’m free to be me” it seems to say to the lusciously vivid green leaves that adorn its tresses, dressing up the locks woven together like an air loom falling high and low it sweeps downward to caress those who may happen by and notice these spindly gray fingers of nature that beckon, “hey baby, come sit under my web of intertwined delight rest in my shade for just a little while" as you grow a bit sleepy hypnotized by my exotic sway from side to side as a cool breeze passes through and you just sigh…succumb.

Not a poem per se, but oh so poetic.

Love a tree and as you do…

keep your peepers open!®

nod to the nog

When you’re in a hurry, you are more susceptible to mishaps and mistakes. Like getting all the way to the office, reaching for your wallet to get a little cash for lunch and freaking out because it’s not in your purse. Your heart drops, the sweating commences. Fear consumes you as your frantically search your pocketbook for the umpteenth time, retrace your steps until they are etched in every path you walked, hope beyond hope that maybe it’s home, and drive 1 MPH so you’re not stopped all the while wanting to put the pedal to the metal in order to get there! Besides being totally relieved when you open the front door and realizing you would have seen it sitting right next to where your pocketbook was that morning if you hadn’t been rushing, you are 5 lbs. lighter due to all that perspiration. Now why was I reliving that nightmare?

Oh yes! I was in a hurry, not paying attention when I reached into the grocer’s refrigerator and grabbed a carton of almond milk. It wasn’t until I was ready for a chocolate treat that I discovered I had inadvertently picked up plain rather than the dark chocolate variety. Disappointed, I decided to make the best of it, so I got creative creating…


Almond Nog

Handful of raw, unsalted almonds

2 small bananas
1 cup almond milk
¼ teaspoon rum extract (or the real thing)
Nutmeg

Cut banana into slices and put in the freezer for 20 minutes or until they are almost frozen. Put almonds into the blender and chop them until in small pieces. Add milk, bananas, rum and a couple shakes of nutmeg. Blend on shake or smoothie speed. Pour into your favorite tall glass, one shake of nutmeg on top, and enjoy...it’s a less caloric version of and great for those including me who don’t care for the holiday egg nog. As always, use other spices if you like.

The moral of this particular story…haste doesn’t always make waste if you use creative taste! But really, slow down and…

keep your peepers open!®

happy sunday

Happy Easter or Passover and if you don’t celebrate either, take a moment to celebrate all that life has given you.

Until Wednesday…

keep your peepers open!®

2lips 4 2day

my lips I seal

as I reveal

tulips to steal

your breath away today.

Make your Wednesday a wondrous one and...

keep your peepers open!®

night enlights

I awakened to lights and voices; the woman on the TV I fell asleep to spoke about a subject that made me pop up to take note.

Sparkling wine has always been my alcoholic beverage of choice ever since my grandparents introduced me to a saucer with a splash of pink effervescent deliciousness! Though my palate has evolved over the years, I’m far from a connoisseur and whenever the opportunity presents itself, don’t mind being more enlightened about something that gives me such delight. I did know that Champagne is a place in France where grapes to make the yummy stuff can be found, didn’t realize that Cava and Prosecco are also places, not just the names of two other types of the bubbly. My taste ranges from the low to the high on the price scale for any one of the three with a preference for champagne; excitement ensues when I find an inexpensive goodie as long as it’s brut (truly detest the sweetness of spumante, sorry Asti)!

Feeling that it  just might be a bubbling Sunday once the sun comes out to light up the day. May it be a sparkling one, no foolin’ so…

keep your peepers open!®