A part of Rio with the Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf Mountain in the background.

Ash covered snow on Mt Etna in Sicily.

Red and white lighthouse --- here's one. Assateague Light House from when we were there for the famed pony penning where wild horses are driven from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island where some of the horses are auctioned off to control the herd size and to raise money for the care of the rest of the wild horses. Here the lighthouse can be seen in the background as the cowboys are starting to drive the wild horses into the water for the short swim to Chincoteague Island. Here are some of the ponies after the swim. Some of the ponies are selected to be returned to the island for the good of the herd, these are "auctioned" off anyway to raise money, but the person "buying" the horse is essentially making a donation to the organization in question. This is the horse that my wife "bought", where the money was being donated to the local hospice organization. She did so because of how helpful hospice was for her mother in the preceding couple of years. We decided the foal should be named "Papa Bear" after her mother's nickname for her father.

socks, yes I do wear my pins. Of course I have favorites that I wear often and then some that haven't been worn for years. I have not read Madeline Albrights book. I remember putting it on my Christmas list at the time it was published, didn't get it then and had completely forgotten about it. Thanks Casey and socks for reminding me. I will be on a hunt for it. Alisande, great site your amber jewelry friends have. I found several things to think about for future gift giving. Lots of info on the site, thanks for posting it. Caflowerluver, love your Doxies too!