Women Pirates!

I just finished reading a book entitled "The Real Pirates of the Caribbean" by Colin Woodard, it was a free find one day while I was perusing the kindle free book discussion on Amazon. (See my Tuesday Teasers tab for some quotes from the book.) This book was an interesting and intriguing find, today these pirates are like folk heroes to many, especially after Johnny Depp made a first class impression by playing the loveable scoundrel, Captain Jack Sparrow in recent popular movies. What I didn't know was that there were three notable women pirates whose stories are wrapped in history and mystery but they really existed and raided and fought on pirate ships, one of the women was even known as a pirate queen.These three renowned women pirates were; Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Grace O'Malley; she was known as the Irish Pirate Queen.

Depiction of Anne Bonny

Mary Read and Anne Bonny served on ships with 'Calico' Jack Rackham, known for wearing bright colored clothing, he often sailed the waters near Jamaica and the Bahamas. He was a former sailor on the HMS Neptune, but decided the Captain was a wimp because he would not fight the French so he conspired to overthrow the vessel and was then elected Captain himself. He fell madly in love with a married Anne Bonny, a fiery redhead and offered to buy her from her husband, who really did not think that was a good idea! I guess Anne also fell madly in love with the exciting bad guy, Calico Jack, because she then ran away with him and became a piratess (is that a real word, piratess?). Not much is really known about these two pirate women but it is rumored that Anne's successful business man father was able to get her out of prison somehow and up to South Carolina, where she married again and raised  family. Unfortunately for Mary, she became sick in prison and died, the women being shown mercy and thrown into prison instead of being hanged, after Calico Jack's crew was captured and met their fates at the end of a rope (about 1720 in Jamaica). There is an island where they were hanged whose name was changed to Rackham's Cay after the demise of the Captain and his crew.

Grace O'Malley came from a seafaring family, loved the sea but was discouraged from partaking in the family 'business' because she was a woman. She managed to trump all the rest of her family by becoming a successful piratess in Ireland and earned the title of Pirate Queen.

Winter Beauty

House Finch

Blue Jay

Starling

Pheasant

Downy Woodpecker

We've had a relatively snow free winter but just lately there's been a downpour of the fluffy white stuff. I like to put out seed and suet cakes for my feathered friends. Here are some pictures of the critters that frequent the yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barn Owl

Chickadee

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto potties..................

Can I let you in on a little secret? I hate, I mean hate, auto-flush toilets. They are never adjusted right. They flush when you barely walk into the stall, sometimes they never flush at all. But the most evil of them all are the toilets that flush when you are not ready for them to do so. All you have to do is move a fraction of an inch and the dang thing flushes! You’re tucking or un-tucking your shirttails and the fool thing flushes! I mean really, do you want to get splashed with droplets from whatever has been inside that bowl? The employee bathroom at work has those auto-flush monsters in it and I am tempted daily to just hike down to the other end of the building and go to the ‘normal’ bathroom, where the flush gremlins are not laying in wait to pounce upon me when I least expect it! 

            

Another new year...

Life has been a whirlwind the past few weeks. Not only has work been incredibly busy but home life has been too. We had 5 house guests over the holidays, and numerous other guests here and there depending on what was happening. On New Year’s Eve we had 13 people for dinner, and it turned out just wonderfully, even though I was worn out by the time all the guests left. The end of the year is a time for reflection, and I am still doing my share of that.

Sadly, having Christmas over is a relief, because it takes so much preparation it seems. I have simplified over the years by not transforming every room of my house into a winter wonderland, and cutting down on the baking and card sending. I am just too exhausted to do it and my health is not the best. I prefer to contemplate what the birth of the Savior means to me, but I get conflicted wondering why we celebrate in Dec. when he was actually born near Passover which is around Easter. I guess through the ages it has just become the time we celebrate it. I don’t want to delve into a history lesson about it right now.

I do hate how right after Halloween the stores are full of Christmas stuff and the resulting commercialization of an amazing chapter in the history of mankind. I also dislike the ongoing fight between the “Happy Holidays” folks and the “Merry Christmas” folks and how it is a cardinal sin to even play a religious Christmas carol in a store. Come on people, it is a religious holiday, you can choose to participate or not participate, or just participate in your own way but please don’t try to wipe the reason for the holiday off the annals of the planet. If you were in Egypt during Ramadan, I can assure you they would not tolerate you trying to change or obliterate what Ramadan was all about. It brings to mind a saying…when in Rome….

Another new year, it is a fresh start and a new time to get your life in order! One of my goals is to get out of debt (except for the house) and we are well on the way to accomplishing that in a matter of a few months. Yay! I will tackle the house after reaching that debt free goal just mentioned.

Things to look forward to in 2012: Anthony returning home from his mission in Japan, getting my senior tech certification all done, Brianna turning two, a trip to the Florida panhandle beaches before Angie leaves the area, enjoying the 33^rd year of marriage to my wonderful hubby, and celebrating another Christmas with loved family and friends!

Where I've Read 2011

For a view of the nifty map showing locations of where books I have read this year take place, click the link below. There were no pins available for outer space or the realms of fantasy and there were several books I've read that took place there.....!!

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=204002409934671907214.0004b404709286a39b428&msa=0&ll=54.162434,-61.523437&spn=107.613937,316.054688

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

You've been racked!

Saturday while leaving the hospital where I work, I saw a curious sight….coins were taped to the vending machine and along side it was a note… “You’ve been RACK’d!” (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness). It brought a smile to my face. After black Friday shenanigans the day before, it was good to see that somebody was thinking about others, rather than themselves. The true Christmas spirit had not been crushed after all. I set out to my car and found two candy canes stuck under the windshield wiper blade with that little note on it again…You’ve been RACK’d!! My smile got even bigger. Some days can surely be trying when you work with the stress of traumas and real life situations of life and death in a health care setting. Thank you to the mysterious RACKer hitting the hospital, you de-stressed my day and restored my faith in others to do good unto one another.