photos and descriptions of what makes our world a pleasure
emphasis on Florida and the Tampa Bay area but also far beyond

HOLIDAYS

Father’s Day

June 20, 2009

Long-time readers of this blog know that my sister, Lucy, writes Lava to Lilikoi, a blog about gardening in Hawaii. Occasionally, she and I do a guest post for each other. Last year, when I was busy with preparations for an approaching hurricane here in Florida she did a couple for me. More recently, while [...]

Tagged as: HOLIDAYS

My Favorite Doughboy

May 23, 2009

Monday is Memorial Day when we honor those who have been lost in war. Thankfully, to my knowledge, none of my kin have ever been lost in battle, but they have indeed served during wartime. Normally, Inkwatu doesn’t cover personal things, but today’s post is a tribute to members of my family, living and [...]

Tagged as: cemeteries, HISTORIC, HOLIDAYS

Guan Yin

May 9, 2009

GUAN YIN To set the mood for this post, click the play button below for a 30 second sample of a luscious, contemporary setting of a traditional Guan Yin mantra. (There is nothing to download–this is streaming audio.) If you would like the short sample to repeat, click on the little icon that shows a [...]

Tagged as: Buddhist, HOLIDAYS

Spring!

March 21, 2009

click here for larger image Spring officially began yesterday at 7:44am. But those of us with allergies, especially oak allergies, already knew it was here. My apologies for the brevity of this morning’s post, but my army of antihistamines, decongestants, cough syrups, eye drops, expectorants, and analgesics has been totally overwhelmed by this year’s high [...]

Tagged as: Atlanta, HOLIDAYS, NATURE, trees

An Irish feast

March 14, 2009

click here for larger image FRESH IRISH SCONES A number of years ago there was a tiny book, How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History), that enjoyed a surprising success at sales. Its success seemed unlikely because it was a book on a rather narrow aspect of culture and history written by an academic [...]

Tagged as: Florida, FOOD, HOLIDAYS, Irish food

The Year of the Ox

February 14, 2009

(Note: all the individual pictures in this post link to larger images in Flickr; just click on the smaller images you see here.) “Chinese New Year” was this past January 26th. It falls on a different day every year in our calendar system (the Gregorian calendar) because the “Chinese New Year” is based on the [...]

Tagged as: Add new tag, China, favorite articles, HOLIDAYS, NATURE

Spreading around the love

February 11, 2009

click here for larger image PASTRIES AT MAZZARO’S If you have a significant other, you probably already have thought through what you’ll get as a Valentine’s Day gift. Sometimes, though, it’s fun to spread the love around on Valentine’s Day to folks you care about beyond that special someone. Remember getting all those little paper [...]

Tagged as: bakeries, chocolate, Florida, flowers, FOOD, gifts, HOLIDAYS, SHOPPING, St. Petersburg

Low Tide

December 31, 2008

seashell exposed by the low tide After all the holidays there’s an emotional let-down. The money is a little tighter due to special expenses. There’s physical and mental exhaustion. We are depleted in almost every way. We are experiencing “low tide.” The human mind seem hard-wired to notice patterns, to have creative interpretations of the [...]

Tagged as: beaches, favorite articles, Florida, HOLIDAYS, SPIRITUAL

Happy New Year Software Upgrade

December 28, 2008

click here to see image on Flickr MR. EGGPLANT SAYS HAPPY NEW YEAR! (I found Mr. Eggplant at the Gulfport Tuesday Morning Market.) Beginning Monday, December 29th, Inkwatu will be undergoing a major technical revamping: the installation of completely new blogging software. The address (http://inkwatu.com) will remain exactly the same. This transition won’t affect the [...]

Tagged as: announcement, HOLIDAYS

Yule & Saturnalia Feasts

December 27, 2008

Please see definitions for Yule and Saturnalia. Two brief quotes: “Yule is a winter festival identified with Christmas in modern times. The pagan Germanic peoples celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. When the Julian calendar was adopted in northern Europe, Yule was placed on [...]

Tagged as: FOOD, HOLIDAYS, Italian food, MUSIC

Season’s Greetings

December 24, 2008

As if you haven’t already endured an unrelenting lashing of holiday music in stores and from the media, here’s three more free selections from my pipe organ mp3 album on Amazon of carol arrangements of mine published by Concordia, “Cherry Tree Carol”, “What Child Is This,” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” Hope you [...]

Tagged as: favorite articles, HOLIDAYS, MUSIC

Quick Breads

December 20, 2008

click here to see larger image BANANA BREAD A couple weeks ago I caught the holiday spirit and started making quick breads to give friends as gifts. I’d never really made them before and I was delighted to discover that they’re very easy to make. They make the home smell terrific and people love it [...]

Tagged as: favorite articles, FOOD, HOLIDAYS, MUSIC

Winter Light

November 1, 2008

WINTER STORM AT ST. PETE BEACH Although winter, technically, begins on the solstice and ends on the equinox, in Ireland, November 1st is considered the first day of winter, probably because, in the ancient Celtic tradition, Samhain marked the beginning of November and the beginning of winter. (Note: there’s a free Samhain mp3 in [...]

Tagged as: favorite articles, HOLIDAYS

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