Yahoo! 360° - Annie's Blog

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I live in New England & I enjoy nature, the ocean & beaches. I collect lighthouses,bottles, recipes & Italian ceramics.

Displaced!!!: Well my friends....it looks like Yahoo 360 is winding down unfortunately. I am checking other sites out and am now mostly on Facebook where I can play games and keep busy with some old friends.

I am hoping that all of you have a Facebook page or a Yahoo Profile page which doesn't seem to be anything too great!!! I also have a Multiply page but I don't like it there either. None of the blog spots out there have the same kind of closeness & kinship that we all found on 360. I chose to stick it out until the end to see what yahoo had to look forward to. If their new Profile lineup is it...well....it sure leave alot to be desired.

I have found another page call the 360 gang..and most on there are refugees from here. The site is run my one woman Chicky & she seems to have done a nice job. Not sure how long it will last tho since not alot of users are on there as yet.

Please let me know where you will be going so we can keep in touch.

For those of you who are not scrambling about looking for a new blog place please take care & I hope we find each other soon. I will miss all of you & hope we all meet up again very soon. Blogging with you has been fun for the last few years & I've gotten to know many very special & wonderful people.

God Bless you all & please lets keep in touch!
Love & peace always..

Friday June 12, 2009 - 04:26pm (EDT) Permanent Link | 1 Comment
1 year old!: My great-nephew Sean was born just a year ago & its hard to believe how much he has grown! He is now at the stage where he is walking & getting into everything!! With all the toys he received from his friends & family ..he was most interested in the tiny cake made especially for him. Here are some pictures of the Big Event!!! Enjoy!

All for me??????

Hey...this is pretty good!!

I'm in Heaven!!!

Thanks! I needed some help!!

Hey..your face is dirty!

I really get 'into' my cake!!

I'm a clown by trade!!! lol

Needless to say Sean & his friend were ready for a bath before they were tucked in for a restful & peaceful night. Of course we warned their parents about the sugar 'rush' they may have!!lol..

Hope you enjoyed these pictures!

Have a great weekend!

Tags: sean's1stbday

Saturday June 6, 2009 - 07:30am (EDT) Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Lake of Many Faces!: Well my friends...I just can't believe how fast a week can go by even when your not doing anything! Our week at Lake Ontario proved to be another one filled with much relaxation, walking, fishing, eating & just enjoying nature at its best.

The first thing we did after unpacking was to walk out to the lake and say hello to our old faithful friend. We were greeted with a greyish blue lake with small waves. It was quite cool because of the breeze coming off the water from Canada so sweatshirts and jackets were surely in order.

We all have our own time with the beauty and nature of the lake. Many times we will walk out there as a group and disperse and find ourselves quite alone on a lake that can mesmerize you. Sometimes the lake is like glass and you can see to the bottom..other times it is grey and the same color as the sky...sometimes it can look like a tropical paradise with its greenish/blue color and yet other times like an ominous ocean.

The guys go fishing in the morning so we girls get ready for our 'busy' day! Our walk to the beach is always the first walk we take. To sit down on a bench & watch the gulls , blue skies & fishermen on the pier is like heaven to me. Sometimes it is totally deserted since the state park doesn't open to most until Memorial Day weekend. '

Tuesday the 19th was my birthday so the others bought a cake & some champagne & we enjoyed the evening outside by the campfire. We toasted some marshmallows & enjoyed listening to the animals & birds beginning to bed down for the night. The campers began coming in on Wednesday so the park was packed & we could here & see their fires snapping & crackling away as ours was.

By weeks end we had taken many trips to the beach and numerous walks to the rocks. Sunset was the best time to watch the sun actually melt into the lake. A feeling of calm & quiet comes over you almost instantly. Sitting there along the rocks with people you love & thinking of nothing in particular except living in the moment. The sunset is a true beauty to behold for anyone and all the pictures I can take will not and cannot do it justice.

It's always so nice to come home to my dear friends. YOU~.. Thank you to those who left messages and comments while I was gone..it is always nice to know you didn't forget about me...

Love & peace to all of you!!

Tags: lake

Monday May 25, 2009 - 10:25pm (EDT) Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!: Memorial Day has changed somewhat since I was a kid. I can remember being taught why we celebrated this day~ to honor & commemorate all our fallen heroes in all the wars that America has taken part in.

It seems to me that people have chosen to consider this day the official start of the summer season with picnics & parties...lots of music & dancing...when actually it should be a day to honor & respect all of our soldiers both alive & dead for the service they do for our country and the freedom that we sing about.

Memorial Day wasn't always on Monday when I was a kid and I remember it being a day off for my mom & dad. We lived in the city of Bridgeport CT and lived up the street from where the parade would pass by. We would walk down early holding our flags to find a shady spot under a tree and meet up with neighbors and friends.

Usually we would end up at someone's house for a cookout afterwards & us kids would begin our own parade..Do you remember the Little Rascals and the International Silver String Submarine Band?? well ...we were that...we would take our toy instruments...who had drums or bugels and sometimes we would even take our pots & pans...with wooden spoons ..just to make noise...and parade around with our wagons & flags.

Amazingly enough...we would end up gathering together in a circle and whoever was the oldest would light a candle for the soldiers and we'd sing the Star Spangled Banner...we must have been a site to see and our parents all seemed very proud of us.

Unfortunately ~ I don't see such respect these days~ even for our soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. It seems like people don't even realize a war is raging and isn't getting any better and everyone goes along in their own little worlds..

When 9/11 happened back in 2001...I finally saw our country come together and everyone had their flags out and there were prayer groups & commemorations honoring the people who died that day. Our country was united and it was beautiful...Its too bad it took such a tragic and senseless attack to put us back on track.

So here it is Memorial Day Weekend and I don't see many flags being flown, prayer services or even much talk about our troops and how many have died fighting for our freedom. Its sad how people choose to not think about the many who have given their lives and who are fighting to keep us free but would rather think about where to go , what to do to or what food will enable them to have an enjoyable weekend! Somehow this Holiday has lost its meaning.

Back in 1868..directly after the Civil War~the head of the organization of Union Veterans ~Major General John A Logan established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers and declared that it should be observed on May 30 of each year. It is believed that this day was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the nation.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.

To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” . This was done to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

Please have a safe & happy Holiday weekend and pray for our troops all over the world...

Love & Peace always

Friday May 22, 2009 - 08:29pm (EDT) Permanent Link | 2 Comments
Entry for May 14, 2009: Hi all! Well my 2 week vacation is finally here and I just wanted to take some time out from packing to tell you all how much you mean to me. Although I won't have a computer with me at the Lake, you will all be in my thoughts & prayers & I will be missing all of you! I am still enjoying 360 so much more than Multiply, although I do pop on there every now & then to say hi & catch up with all of you each week. I've been busy both at home & at work & sooo sorry I don't get on here as much as I'd like to. I do have a Facebook page though & just have to fine me there...AnnMarie Juliano Cummings. Found so many old friends there!

It will be good to get away for the week. I am growing tired of all the messages I get on here about some people who can't seem to get along with each other but keep antagonizing each other instead of being the grownup people they claim to be instead of small school children. A bit too much drama for me & I'll be glad to get away from that for a bit. Hopefully by the time I get back these friends...and you know who you are will stop fighting & either walk away or mend your differences. This Yahoo 360 place is not for abusing each other & starting fights. The friends on my page are decent & fine people who care about their friends & deal with the many differences they have instead of picking fights with someone who may be different. The greatest thing about this place is ...you don't HAVE to talk to anyone you don't want to!!

Tired of the drama so shape up or ship out!!!

We won't be doing much on our trip to Lake Ontario... we make a few things ahead of time....bring crock pots, plug them in and we can be cooking supper while taking a walk in the woods or by the lake. We usually always opt for the lake only because every time we look at it ...it looks different. So fascinating and can look much like an ocean!

While the guys go fishing, the girls have any number of things to do~ like clean up the cabin a bit...make our beds, walk to the showers...(no hot water in the cabin)..which is thru a path in the woods...where many a skunk, possum and deer have been seen! We usually end up at the beach and walk along the sand and the rocks. We can sit there for hours and not even talk to each other...just be amazed at the perfect nature which is such a wonderful gift to all of us!

Sometimes, if its raining, we have books to keep us busy , we bring games, and some crafty things..like painting stain glass ornaments or ceramics....All mindless thing to do! We go into slow motion and stay that way for the entire week!

I can't stress enough to you how important a vacation like this is to me and I would imagine would be for you too! To not have to do anything or be anywhere, to read, walk, talk, eat and sleep when you want & not have to answer to anyone. To sit and watch a beautiful sunset melt and disappear into the lake and enjoy the quiet of the night with its chirps & ribits is something we do each evening & try to bring that wondrous feeling back home with us! I would advise a vacation like this to everyone!

We stay at a state park in a cabin which only costs $383.00 a week ..and we split that with another couple. Mind you there is no hot water..but we deal with it...bringing a pan to boil it and wash what little dishes we have and for sponge baths...We stock up with food when we get there...and we split that bill too..so its really an inexpensive week and the best & most relaxing vacation there could be....Try it ...and enjoy the stress-free life for a week...or two!

When we get home from the lake, next Friday, we ease back into reality. We both go back to work on Tuesday after Memorial Day and will spend the weekend putting in our garden.

So...that's about it...We will be leaving tomorrow morning very early 2:00 a.m to take the 6 hour drive to the Lake and get there in time for the guys to get fishing licenses while we go food shopping. Get the key to the cabin, unpack and hopefully by noon will be sitting on the porch looking out onto the lake and slowly relaxing & becoming part of God's beautiful & awesome nature..

Blessings of Love, Peace & Happiness to all of you & see you next weekend!! xo

Tags: vacation2

Thursday May 14, 2009 - 08:16am (EDT) Permanent Link | 4 Comments