Symmetry Saturday: Raleigh's Union Station

 Courtyard outside Union Station

 Another angle of the courtyard but a bit more dramatic 

THE DILLION

Click here to read about The Dillon 
to live/work here your need mega bucks....LOL Just Saying.
Mixed use building of Condos and commercial

Feline and Nature Friday: Kat loves Pup

Thanks Comedy Plus for hosting

Thanks LLB Gang for hosting

Dearest Aunty HiC,
I’m sure you’ve noticed how much I love cuddling with Pup. 

Mom and I don’t think he knew any felines before he joined our family.

He’s always patient  (tolerant) with me.... even when I sleep  holding his tail. 😹😹😹

It really warms my heart ( Mom’s too) when he chooses me for a pillow. 😻😻😻

❤️ Kat Your  Feline Nephew

Dearest Nephews...

Your arrival to your FUREVER home was part mystery and part divine intervention.  One thing that is not a mystery, is that you both were open to accepting new friends for what is in their heart not how they looked.  This is impawtant for everyone to do.  

Most of all you are proof of what kindness and TLC can accomplish. Your Mom was and still is the best teacher under the sun.  

Sorry Kat but I had to giggle just a wee bit.  Obviously you are very trusting of Pup too.  As is evident, by your choice of napping spots.  

Sending loving hugs to you and your peeps

Aunty HiC💕

BREAKING News January 9th in the afternoon..

Evidently Nevada only allows Wheelie houses to stay on one campsite for 30 days...then you have to move.

WELL yesterday was day 30 for the site Pup and Kat were living since December 8, 2019.

They moved to another site and LO AND BEHOLD that site has iffy 

wifi at best and at worst NONE. And even worse than worse.  Mom of Kat can text me but no photos. She texted this morning that there are wild donkeys near by.  Four were running around Kat's Wheelie house last night and HE WAS NOT HAPPY.I can text my nephews. 

I replied OMCs...I know that was a real PITA for Kat.

They will probably move to another location soon. 

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Nature what's it or who's it?

original

When I down loaded this photo of Mother Nature 

leaving a very very heavy layer of frost,

I noticed the two areas melting looked like eyes.

We don't get lots of snow but we sure can have lots pseudo snow.

Thankful and Thoroughly Poetic Thursday #2

Thankful Thursday with Brian and his Siblings

Hosted by Brian 

So much to be thankful for each and every day...when my eyes pop open a 6 am...(in spite of trying to sleep longer) and my feet touch the floor.

Today I'm very thankful for being another year older, family, friends who make each day a blessing and all in the innerwebs fun and  keeping me 

laughing.  Thank you Brian and family for hosting!!

Thank you all for your wonderful bday wishes on Tuesday.

As promised, my new discovery to replace Baskin-Robbins bday cake 

My Harris Teeter Triple Chocolate, dark, milk and white, I Scream and Sara Lee Pound cake
200% better than last year's Baskin-Robbins and a LOT cheaper


Hugs Cecilia

Today we join Two  SPOILED CATS 

Angel Sammy and Teddy for their poetic pictorial poem.

Here is today's inspiration

Up

....the pole he goes like a pro

why he does this I don't know.

A hard hat this high,

 is just for show.

Wordy Wednesday: Raleigh Union Station

It is with great pleasure I announce, the redemption of the 

Manners Police, M.P. 
Being my staff of one, he wore many hats to see how they fit.
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Angel Madi was the soul and inspiration of this blog.

Truly she gave me a gazillion ideas. 

M.P.  was the unofficial  inspiration for the blog.

He was always thinking of new and fun places to go for

photo shoots for "My Mind's Eye".

The staffer formerly known of as the unofficial Manners Police, is now

officially  

Creative and Motivational Thinker aka CaMT

CaMT took me day tripping on two fun trips recently!!

On New Year's day 2020 we took the opportunity to
visit (because there was no traffic and parking was free)
downtown to see

a very modern and sleek train station. It opened in July of 2018.

This station was built upon the skeleton of the unused former home of a Dillion Supply Company
industrial building.

First and foremost we arrived at about 10 am just in time to see the Amtrak
roll in from the north heading south

From the observation deck we also got a good view of downtown Raleigh

This is a portion of the 950' long high level train platform, which is said to be the only high level train platform between Washington, DC and West Palm Beach, Florida. It was not very busy on New Year's day but you can see a few people walking to catch their train.
There is also an underground concourse leading to the platform.

INSIDE


We were thrilled to see the kept lots of the cranes and pulley system used to move the
heavy metal around the Supply company
Here is an example of the pulley (yellow track in the ceiling) holding up a very large clock.
They also kept many of the heavy metal doors where rail cars were brought in to unload and load materials and equipment.

note the original overhead crane system (yellow)

Below are a few more pictures of the inside of Union Station in

Union Station is a multi-level building.  It is used for a multitude of events other than train travel.

Still decorated for Christmas too.

Just a little trivia

Happy Tuesday Birthday to Me

Hosted by Comedy Plus

No Baskin-Robbins cake for me this year...probably the first time in

my married life.  We ordered one last year...it was not at all good.

The stand alone Baskin-Robbins closed.  The only one left near us

shares the building with Burger King...I declare last year's cake 

smelled like french fries.

This year I decided to buy a carton of my favorite Harris Teeter brand I SCREAM

Triple Chocolate and a Sara Lee Pound cake. There will be pictures later.

The making of Me

Top row: For your viewing pleasure 

It appears from the top two photos I 

was a born a well balanced ham.  I could touch my head and foot a the same.

2nd Row left, I can't remember why I am in a formal at age 9, probably

a school function.

I'm in the middle my maternal grandmother aka 

Annie Ma on my right, my paternal grandmother on my left

2nd Row: middle photo I'm still practicing my hand/foot coordination.  I was an angel in Christmas Program.

2nd row: Junior in high school.  How many of your remember the

flip hair style.  Took a ton of bobby pins to get the curls.

Then you had to brush like crazy to get the flip and use hair spray.

Bottom Row:  We were in Parrot Land in Florida...good

thing I had been practicing my balance and arm coordination

1 parrot on my head, 2 on each arm

Awww Monday with Kat and Mom

Hosted by Comedy Plus

Dearest Aunty HiC

Happy New Year to you and all our blog Furiends! 

We aren’t party animals, but we did stay up until 9:00 PST, which is midnight EST. 😹

Dearest precious, extremely handsome Nephew....and Mom...
OMCs the Christmas lights look just like stars!!! Well done on the photo 

We watched football on New Year's Day, 

and thought  about your Honey Baked ham! Ha! 

Dearest Kat,
Angel Madi loved Honey Baked Ham too.
Any time it was in the house she would come running when she heard the fridge open. Then she would do
her Honey Baked prance around the Kitchen.
Lovingly your Aunty HiC

Mom and I are wishing you all peace, love, health, and happiness in 2020.

******************************************

BREAKING NEWS!!!

STAY TUNED

WEDNESDAY WON'T BE WORDLESS

THE TITLE WILL BE:

TITLE:

THE MANNERS POLICE REDEEMS HIMSELF

If you missed this story,  click here:

I have been told I  am a
HARD NUT TO CRACK; HOWEVER, THANKFULLY MANNERS POLICE DID IT!!

Sunday Selfies at Wegmans

New header contains photos we took on January 1, 2020
as we sashayed around downtown Raleigh.
You'll be seeing more over the coming days.
Top left an ~ 5 year old condo but it has a look of having been there forever
Top right is the 5 year old Union Station (train) in downtown Raleigh.
Bottom left is a Second Empire a very fancy restaurant.  Originally a grand home, Circa 1879,
Click here for history and to see inside.  

Tall round building behind the  Second Empire has some personal history.
In 1969 it was a very fancy Holiday Inn, it was one of the tallest in DownTown Raleigh at the time.   The 19th floor was a beautiful restaurant.
  One of my husband's groomsmen took us there as a wedding gift.

Bottom Right is The St. Paul A.M.E. Church is a historic American Gothic Revival style African Methodist Episcopal Church located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Address: 402 W Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27603  Opened: 1884

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Wegmans, a most extraordinary grocery store, opened in

Raleigh in September 2019.  It is 87 kinds of HUGE
Opening day they had ~3,000 people waiting for the doors to open
We let the newness wear off before made our trek 

In the mid 1980's we took a road trip to visit my BIL in Syracuse, NY.

That was the first Wegmans experience.  So we knew to expect B I G!!!

It is spread out over 104,000 square feet one story.

It is built on top of a huge parking deck.  Which keeps shoppers out of
the crazy NC weather.
As we walked toward the

escalator, to take us to the front door.  I wondered out loud 

how in the world a shopper could get their grocery cart down to the deck.

That question was answered.  We saw two folks standing in front of the escalator 

watching as their cart came down the middle section of the escalator for carts only.

The shopping center where Wegmans is located is new.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the art on the buildings.

I have know idea what a blowout is...but I'm hoping something to do with hair

This wrought iron sign was over part of a common area 

I really like the art by the PetPeople store

Now for the selfie part of the post

Two selfies of my hands and Niki the Nikon

I love the sunflower murals

Gracie the Highlander even had a selfie

Do you see her?

Now a few inside photos

Years ago I tried to take some inside photos at Fresh Market...evidently 

the management thought I was trying to 'steal' their display ideas.

They asked me to stop.

I discovered Wegmans has NO PROBLEM with photos

However, it was so crowded, it was hard not to get people in them.

Here are a few: