More 'remembrance':

"There is pleasure in calm remembrance of a past sorrow." --Marcus Tullius Cicero
"Remembrance and reflection how allied. What thin partitions divides sense from thought."
--Alexander Pope
"Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow from them." --Germaine de Stael
"Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear." --William Shakespeare
"That which resembles most living one's life over again, seems to be to recall all the circumstances of it; and, to render this remembrance more durable, to record them in writing." --Benjamin Franklin

No pain in my left foot noticeable on Sunday morning ! which allowed me walk to and from my ride to church... each way somewhere between one kilometer and one mile in distance. My breathing was not too good, but I took my time... perhaps 25 to 30 minutes each leg of the distance. The morning walk was delightful with a slight breeze and still cool, though mostly uphill. The afternoon walk possibly 85° Fahrenheit or more, and a bit humid, but then mostly downhill. Sunday sacrament and classes were most enjoyable.

Sunday dinner al fresco with the clan... and bugs, which scared off my daughter and her brood. Pool times... a bit chilly for Gail and I, but perfect for the grandkids and their parents.

Gail's been up out of bed three, now four, times since retiring for the evening. She took a pill to try to get some surcease from her pain... guess it's not working too well.

More "imagination":

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will."--George Bernard Shaw
"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."--John Lennon
"Imagination... its limits are only those of the mind itself."--Rod Serling
"By going over your day in imagination before you begin it, you can begin acting successfully at any moment."--Dorothea Brande
"To regard the imagination as metaphysics is to think of it as part of life, and to think of it as part of life is to realize the extent of artifice. We live in the mind."--Wallace Stevens

Gail purchased some material for a very reasonable price at a new local thrift store. I purchased a dark blue/black "Brooks Brothers" tie with but the slightest imperfection for $1.00 USD. What caught my eye was its length... suitable for one of my height of ~6' 4".

Chrissy and Richard had friends over to their place for a pool party Friday evening. They are going out Saturday night... Gail to babysit David and Ashley.

Our weather still just under average temperatures for this time of year, which should continue for another week, or so. I'm not looking forward to the near 110° Fahrenheit heat usually expected in July and August. Still a bit of snow on some of the Sierra mountains.

Cooked up a steak for myself for dinner... Gail's and my weekly treat usually, but Gail didn't feel well enough to eat. I'm feeling better. Gail's ills still keeping her from sleep. Her dogs don't help much, whining to be let out every hour or so. Luckily once I hit REM sleep AND I can breathe properly with the apnia mask I'll sleep through her constant getting in and out of bed... usually not waking until the grandkids, and/or their mother, start screaming in the morning.

" Intrin(sic) "... I thought too long on the title... generally a bad 'thing'... intrinsic... (sic). I originally came up with a poem of too many 'tiles' that I'll relate here::

Intrin(sic) Too Imagination and creativity belies mystique ... but mind and soul soaring at their peak :Bobby Nichols 6-25-2004

" Seashore Sensibilities "... a Haiku: sensibility... My sensibilities, of course... What would be if I lived near the sea ?... might not I be closer to Thee ?
Thoughts of shore birds skittering, shrieking, wheeling... murmuring tide washing the shore... the chill of the coastal breeze raising goosebumps on sand coated skin... the salt air a fragrance in of its own, the tang most refreshing...

More from John Stuart Mill:

"Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so."
"All good things which exist are the fruit of originality."
"Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character has abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage which it contained."

I have no idea where the time has gone. Spent an inordinate amount of time viewing the telly with: the basketball playoffs, "The Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl", "Lord of the Rings" ( parts I & II ), "Finding Nemo", various and sundry sci-fi offerings; church on Sunday's, new member/investigator's "class" on Wednesdays,... thrown in with all the "usual stuff" I do... or don't. Still reading scriptures and T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" when I can. The only things that seem to have suffered is my time on the computer and my poetry (such as it is).

A wee bit ill, on and off... headaches, tiredness, light-headiness, raspy throat... even some blood found congealed in my mouth on awakening from a nap Monday, probably from a sinus vesicle bursting while using the apnia mask... don't know. Feeling a bit better, except for the headaches, since.

Received a kiss from my daughter on Monday evening... as well as a card from the grandkids for Father's Day. Evidently Chrissy, my daughter, had tried to 'present' the before mentioned kiss and card on Sunday evening... but I had been dozing on the couch at the time.

So far, knock on ether, the late spring/early summer has been mild, below average in temperature... mostly mid-80°'s (Fahrenheit) with occasional low 90°:'s. The Sierras still have snow on them. Lately great thunderheads have been visible from our place that apparently are beyond Lake Tahoe on the eastern side of the Sierras. Meanwhile... my brother-in-law in South Dakota has been deluged with record rainfall. I understand the 'jet-stream' is missing us enough to the north to not give us any precipitation... yet close enough to keep the 'delta-breeze' from the San Francisco Bay Area active... cool !!! Guess that means my brothers in the Pacific Northwest are also getting a drop of rain here and there. Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where one of my sister-in-laws lives, had a temp of 128° Fahrenheit the other day... not so cool !!!

Turkey moms with their broods wandering around the property. Deer and quail quite abundant. An odd squirrel, raccoon, opossum found flattened on the roads. I've heard mention of skunks and rabbits about, but haven't seen any. No sign of the bears nor coyotes nor mountain lions yet.

Installed a new toilet seat and cover, green and padded, to replace the old one, unpadded, I managed to fatigue. I really need to lose some weight!

" Ascendant "... A pious offering... again, much more to be said.

" Nightmare2 "... Very few 'tiles' to work with AND the 'tiles' were repeated, again, from 6-11 and 6-12. I didn't look back on the original work(s), but rather decided to give it another go... with similar results.

" Lightning "... a Haiku: 'string of beads' not my affectation... but rather from this encyclopedia entry under the "Cloud-to-Ground Lightning, ..." heading. I found the description to be most poetic. The photo brought me to mind a flat expanse of highway in California leading to perhaps Mt. Diablo, or the Sutter Buttes, at night with lightning discharging from cloud to ground, and/or vice versa, lighting the road and landscape for an instant.

More from Ronald Reagan:

"We can not play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent." ... sounds familiar.
"No matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."
"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15."
"Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged." ... amen !!!

Ronald Reagan, past 40th U.S. President passed. My first recollection of Ronald Reagan was watching "Death Valley Days", a telly program of the old west in the '60's... with him as host. History will be kind to him. I also recall a comment he once made when he thought he was off-mike before a speech: " I have signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes. "... a link !!!... his disdain for the former Soviet Union ( U.S.S.R. / C.C.C.P. ) most evident.

Ray Charles has also passed...

The "Kid's" status: Phone installed, cold water hooked up, satellite TV hooked up completing the entertainment center ( VCR/DVD/Video Game console/Satellite TV ). Still using our shower/bath and relying on grandma, Gail, for meals. Richard needs to finish the propane hook-up for their hot water, heat, and stove. My Father-in-law has been cleaning his/Chrissy's pool in preparation of the coming hot weather. The pool's just a three year-old's stone's throw away from their home... I hope Richard and Chrissy lay down the law with my grandkids ( (7) year-old David and (3) year-old Ashley )... shudder !

David's parents purchased a larger motorcycle for David, my grandson, last week, a Kawasaki 60cc, that he's just barely able to handle. This makes the third motorcycle David has had since he was two years old ? Yup !

Gail's van developed a coolant leak on Tuesday, the day I had volunteered to help the Elders out in their ministry. I had to cancel, apologetically, mid-afternoon. It was hard enough to get Gail to allow me to use her van and then 'this' happens. Elder Talbot, kindly, said it just wasn't meant to be... and then he 'dropped the other shoe', an odd English/American colloquialism, meaning he then offered his own bit of news...

Elder Talbot has been re-assigned... I'm bummed again. Both mentors who introduced me to the Church now re-assigned, Elder Thompson just a few weeks ago. Though I personally don't like this policy of moving the Elders around every 6 weeks (+/-) I sort'a kind'a see the wisdom. Met Elder Lindsey (sp?) on Thursday when he and Brother Delaney dropped by to see Chrissy and Richard. Elder Lindsey is quite affable... he's from Hawaii and previously missioned in Stockton... he'll complete a good 'team' with Elder Green.

Stockton... one of my worst memories as a teen. I hated the area. My Father relocated the family there in the late 60's for two of the longest years I can remember... from the San Francisco Bay Area. The only fond memories of the place was bowling in the Junior High School league at West Lane Bowl... though we lived closer to Pacific Avenue Lanes; and the high scholastic level of my classes... on a par with what I had experienced in the Bay Area ( the scholastic level only to drop on relocating again ... sigh ! ). These were the days of busing kids all over the bloody place to balance the schools racially. I had lived such a sheltered life in Seattle and the Bay Area that I had no inkling of the diverse ethnic concentration differences between locales. I dreaded to get on the bus... even though the bus crowd was not ethnically mixed - it was sometimes rowdy. I would become fearful sometimes, probably for not much reason, and would, on occasion, walk home to avoid the stress of sharing the bus... a long walk that gave me pause to think and clear my mind of thisses and thats. Jung, Nagata, Eiler... classmates... good 'guys'... hope they prospered spiritually and worldly. I have a bad habit of leaving friends behind and not staying in touch.

Weather... 80°'s Fahrenheit predominate... a fair breeze on Monday through Thursday to cool things down a bit, albeit stirring up the allergens... two hanky days. Picked up some generic "Claritan D" on Friday to help with my breathing at night with the apnia mask. I've been ever so congested that I had to 'bite the bullet' and go the med route for a while so I can get a decent night's sleep.

Gail's Birthday... Gail, my wife, celebrated her 48th birthday by going with her parents and my Daughter's family to Lake Tahoe for a bit of pull-pull ching-ching. I was sort'a invited, but quarters were cramped as it was in the two vehicles with five adults and two children, and, coveting my peace and quiet ( and recent LDS affiliation ), I preferred to stay behind. Gail said she had an o.k. time, but came back with a terrible sore throat from inhaling the second-hand smoke offered up by the casinos... her voice still hoarse through Friday.

Gail's and my 13th Wedding Anniversary ( of our second marriage [re-marriage] )... no celebration: I wasn't able to set any money aside, for family reasons, as I have in the past for a brief getaway or dinner... maybe next year... ?

More house repairs... replaced a hose with a pin-hole leak from the hot water heater... coincidence ? We went without hot water for the better part of a week for one reason or another.

" The Missionaries "... bless them.

" Nightmare "... Very few 'tiles' to work with. Another warm-fuzzy poem by Bobby Nichols

" REMnant "... The same 'tiles' as before ( Nightmare ) ? O.K. A little bit of tweaking along the same motif as "Nightmare", but not as dark. Again... REM ( rapid eye movement ) a state of sleep conducive to dreaming... 'remnant': that which remains.

" Canvas Dynamique "... a Haiku: I, like most people, find beauty in the dusk and dawn skies. I love the way light and shadow will play on the various forms of clouds while the skies change, ever so swiftly, the colors dancing to time.

" The Brook "... a Haiku: The photo included a village nearby... but why ruin a nature poem with the mention.

" A Flower "... a Haiku: The first of many ?... a flower depicted.

" Gold Country "... a Haiku: The photo similar to a spot on the south fork of the American River where the Coloma "California Gold Discovery " site is... just down the hill, not too far, from where I live. The poem most easily rendered, though not likely memorable.

" Gold Fever "... a Haiku: Another photo of a stream/river with what appears to be the foothills of home.

The art that is Marcel Duchamp... a link !!!

More from Marcel Duchamp:

"The individual, man as a man, man as a brain, if you like, interests me more than what he makes, because I've noticed that most artists only repeat themselves."
"I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste."
"I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position."

I love chess. My Father taught me when I was young. I lettered in chess in High School ! However, I'm a most mediocre player at best... it's hard to find anyone who plays. My last game ( other than against my computer - which I lose to 99.99% of the time... in mediocre mode !!! ) was against my brother, Robin, in 1991. I have performed the feat of being one of maybe a thousand players who, in tournament play, won in four moves... playing black !!! While sounding self-aggrandizing to those that may know of this possible feat, I must make mention that the High School team we were playing didn't have enough players to field a team of seven... so they nabbed the first person passing in the hallway that knew how to move the pieces... in any fashion, to round out their field. I, perceiving this turn of events, though playing black, attacked using the Scholar's Mate game. Seeing everybody's faces rise from their fresh started games, much to the chagrin of the poor student dragged into the lions den, when I announced "check-mate !, gave me quite a giggle, inaudible of course, my smile not hiding my mirth. I still have the move sheet and name of the hapless player somewhere ( I kept all my tournament sheets ), but will refrain from posting that information. Our High School chess team finished in first place my junior and senior year, if I recall correctly ( maybe my sophomore year too? ); I, near the bottom of the team in playing strength, enjoyed every minute of it... probably my most enjoyable high school memories... there weren't many others.

Weather... High 80°'s to low 90°'s. The Sierra's, from the vantage point of US Highway 50 near Shingle Springs, still have some snow... but its retreat is most evident. What I don't understand is why the south fork of the American River reveals so many rocks in its bed at Chili Bar on US Highway 193. One would think the run-off would be much accelerated this time of the year... unless the water is being regulated...

Perused the G4/TechTV boards... getting used to the new idiosyncrasies of new board-dom.

My three year-old granddaughter, Ashley, stepped on a nail in a board Thursday. Chrissy, her mother/my daughter, thought that it appeared to have nearly passed all the way through Ashley's little foot. She's current on her shots and boosters so Chrissy cleaned the puncture as best she could and applied some anti-biotic ointment and a 'band-aid' type bandage. Poor baby. I gave her some juice and rubbed her back while Chrissy ministered first aid to her.

David, my seven year-old grandson, is out of school, the regular school year at end... he'll be in summer school soon enough, but I pray he gives himself an attitude adjustment...

" Aspire "... Inherit the stars !!!

" Vacuous... but not Confused "... The poet, ( hey that's me! ), might imagine a gentleman, of rather shallow bearing, on a stroll encountering perhaps the stereo-typical blond 'lady' making a cursory assessment from her demeanor. He, the poet, then wonders what happens after that ? Or, maybe the 'lady's' a manikin ? Where's my imaginary psychiatrist, Dr. Liebschitz, when I need him ?

" Mask of a Cat "... a Haiku: I took one look at the photo and did not see a nature setting, but rather the face, or mask, of a cat; formed of a pool of water reflecting sky surrounded by brush ( trees and shrubbery ). Hence, an abstract formed from nature. Maybe I need better glasses.

More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"All things come round to him who will but wait."... including patience ?
"Nature is a revelation of God; Art a revelation of man."
"There is not grief that does not speak."
"It is foolish to pretend that one is fully recovered from a disappointed passion. Such wounds always leave a scar."

Weather... more of the same. Allergies: Single hanky days w/no meds used !!!

Gail's nephew, Paul, in a fender-bender... no injuries.

Partial success with the tub hot water valve. I grounded (ground) the offending valve to where I could get the here-to-for rounded off beasty suitable for wrenching on. Done & done ! Then off to three stores, after picking up grandson David from school, looking for a valve, not new even in 1972. Third store, in Placerville, a charm. Back home to fit valve... new valve breaks its outer casing when I , evidently, over wrenched... leaving three-quarters threaded of a short length still in the pipe... not good. I manage to finagle the 'bloody' thing out, after prayer, and proceed to analyze the new problem: getting late and no hot nor cold water at all due to nothing to stop the bathroom from flooding without a valve with the water turned on. O.K. - the new valve is two pieces, the casing broken... but the innards intact. The old valve's innards are worn... but the casing is still perhaps 85% sound. Soooooooo, I took the new innards and inserted in the old casing and Voilà ! the leak much better, in a good way, than before. Not perfect, but good enough until we can fix the offending plumbing 'more-better'. I just need to be diligent and turn the valve off strongly after others use it.

Called my Mom on Wednesday. Her eye surgery last week very successful. Cataracts cleared and new eye lenses installed has her seeing without glasses for the first time in 'donkey's years'... except for reading. She said she still reaches for her non-existent glasses on waking.

Been visiting the new boards at G4/TechTV more than I had been in the last few months. 'Things' still shaking out... with more and more of the old crowd checking in... cool !

" Sea ? "... a Haiku: A whimsy took my mood. The photo of a seascape on a darkened day with just a bit of blue sky shown, and a preponderance of storm clouds showing perhaps a bit of virga in the heavens... the surf not yet affected by impending storm.selah... what an interesting concept... defining the word as having unknown meaning, or at best a dubious one. Like maybe someone forgot what it was supposed to mean ?

More from Booker T. Washington:

"Character, not circumstances, makes the man."
"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."
"I will not permit any man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him."

Note to self: 59, or so, recent poems not in collection... need to divvy up and start on edit for "More Poems4... a collection" and "More Poems5... a collection".

"On This Day..." a link ! Cool info on this site. The Webmaster managed to eliminate the right-click function of the mouse, ostensibly, to stop the pirating of his web page code ('View Source'). All I wanted to do was right-click and select 'Back'... oh well ! Maybe I'll Google later and check out the code for the applet (to eliminate the right-click function)... probably a java script, just for giggles. He, the Webmaster, is probably paranoid about someone finding out his source for "On This Day..." or... I could care less myself.

Weather Tuesday in the upper 80°'s Fahrenheit... still humid & muggy..

Son-in-law Richard left about 5 a.m. for work in San Francisco on Tuesday. I just know he'll panic as soon as he hits the Bay Area traffic. I don't envy his travels at all.

Went to the library in Georgetown (CA) Tuesday after picking up grandson David from school, and after Gail treated us to ice cream. Ashley, granddaughter, and Gail, wife, had chocolate; David and I had strawberry. The grandkids checked out some books and a video and I surfed the web on the only internet ready computer the library has... checking out my messages on the tech board at G4/TechTV.

After the library, Gail was given a shot for pain at her doctor's appointment, being advised not to drive after. She's still quite snappish about everything.

Downloaded the newest incarnation of Spybot Search and Destroy (v1.3) from PC World.com. Good little application to rid Window's machines of spyware. I've been using an older version for quite a while in conjunction with other applications to keep my computer clean of nasties, notably: SpywareBlaster, AdAware, ZoneAlarm, and AVG Antivirus... freeware versions... kept up to date with regularity.

Downloaded another ap called IE-SpyAd for further protection on my computer after reading it discussed on the G4/TechTV Tech board. il_wiccan had noted an update for it... and I couldn't connect the dots... so I made an inquiry and was brought up to date.

374... Strange set of events. Brother Wadsworth related to me on the way to/from church on Sunday that watching the BYU channel on the telly might be worthwhile. I surfed all through my DSS provider stations and couldn't find the channel, which I supposed would be listed but blocked. Wrong. Sooooo, I checked another DSS channel showing all listings and there it was, 374, which for some reason doesn't show, being skipped, evidently, when surfing. That was Sunday/Monday. Now I did some channel surfing on Tuesday, and lo and behold there is channel 374 now listed ??? AND it wasn't blocked, allowing me to view the programming. I was led to believe that this was an addition that had to be requested and an additional fee levied. Don't know. As it is I now have the channel and will check the programming on occasion as well as watch the conferences when broadcasted... cool !!!

Retouched my animated .gif, above, of Figaro and I, using IrfanView and UnFREEz... both freeware aps. The old .gif was hurriedly put together and showed an unevenness due to the (8) individual .gifs that make up the animated .gif not being of uniform size. Since I wanted to use the same animated .gif on the Tech Boards on G4/TechTV as well I finally resized the individual .gifs to 120 X 108 each ... keeping the size down to 96 KBytes... 100 KBytes being the max for the boards.

An email from my sister Peg. She's all work, work, work. A word of encouragement on my poetry... thank you !!! She also got a kick out of my link to 'Political Cartoons' on the sidebar... I usually do too !

" Angel Attending "... a Haiku: A dark wood pictured with what appears to be an Ethereal Being with wings, shimmering, ahead. I would imagine a Faerie to be more substantial, hence a more Angelic persona in view. yon appropriate metaphorically... "distant but within sight"... of mind, body, or spirit. The path ahead strewn with obstacles to trip one up... attended by an Angel... bringing hope and guidance through the darkness...

More 'ego' quotes:
"EGOTISM is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity" - Frank Leahy
"We reproach people for talking about themselves; but it is the subject they treat best." - Anatole France
"If EGOTISM means a terrific interest in one's self, EGOTISM is absolutely essential to efficient living." - Arnold Bennett
"A sophistical rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity, and gifted with an egotistical imagination that can at all times command an interminable and inconsistent series of arguments to malign an opponent and to glorify himself." - Benjamin Disraeli... no ego there !!!

"On This Day..." a link !

Weather Monday in the upper 80°'s Fahrenheit... & humid, making for a muggy sticky day.

Kitties !!! Six new Kittens... but one passed away. Two un-neutered cats and two un-neutered kittens, from a previous litter, sent for neutering Thursday last. The two neutered kittens, gorgeous black and whites like my cats Figaro and Taffy-Doodles, see my picture above, adopted out Monday to Tamara, one of our neighbors. Gail borrowed a trap ($100.00 USD deposit !!!) to trap the momma cat(s) and kittens, later this week, for momma cat's neutering and kittens adoption... phew !!! Gail has talked the shelter in accepting a donation after things settle out financially for us for services rendered... sweet !!!

Gail & I ( mostly Gail ) repairing yet another leak that controls the water flow to inside the house. She has a better grasp of how-to than I do when it comes to household 'stuff'. While I was resigned to measuring fittings and planning things out, Gail just used a wrench to take off the offending spigot. I did have a replacement on hand and turned off the water... my male ego (though small) tweaked. With another spare spigot I replaced yet another leaky valve. Then off to the hardware stores for more parts that Gail needed, and some hay for the horses, and stuff for my pet project... the hot water leak in the bathtub. I purchased a file and grinder bit for the drill and a new locking pliers. I've managed to round off the offending fitting to where no purchase may be made and hope to grind down a flat surface to wrench on... I should'a left it to Gail... eh ! The "Liquid Wrench" oil compound to un-seize the fitting didn't work last go-around either.

Gail's been more snappish than usual. She's added headaches to her repertoire of ills. I pray that it's nothing serious. She has a health appointment on Tuesday.

The Elders, and a young man named Tim, if I recall correctly, came by with two VHS videos on Monday to show my daughter, Chrissy, and her family. After showing the visitors Chrissy's new home... time constraints allowed only for one of the tapes to be shown... about Wilford Woodruff ... a link !~!, an inspirational story of a young man looking for faith as subscribed by the Savior, before 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' was formed. Interesting discussions between the Elders, Talbot and Green, and my son-in-law Richard of Catholic background.

" Prelude to an Interlude "... dude !!!

" Felicity "... Gail, my wife, didn't care for this poem when I read it to her... sigh ! Luckily I read so very few to her as not to discourage myself to abandon. One must crawl before one can walk... before one can soar...

" Seaside Amber Dawn "... a Haiku: Seaside, all in amber except that in shadow... the shadows a stark black... the ebbing tide noticeably filtering through the sand as it races back to the shoreline... another sigh...