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Roses against my
dusky evening skies … full moon
captured fuzzily

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click to embiggen & for others participating in

Sky Watch and Haiku Friday

Thought for Today
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.”
Victor Hugo

Hoping everyone
enjoyed celebrating the

birth of our Nation ;–)

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Click to embiggen for better viewing …

and for others participating in
(remembering the 4th of July)
See my other Mosaic Monday posts today at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“If you take advantage of everything America has to offer, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.”
Geraldine Ferraro

HF Looking at the Sky HappilyRetiredLogo

Experimenting …
black and white sky views can be

quite fascinating ;–)

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click collages to embiggen for better viewing …

… and for others participating in

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”  Thich Nhat Hanh

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South Breeze Farm hosted the Giving Thanks Challenge and I participated at Small Reflections in November and decided to continue indefinitely … generating the following list one day at a time throughout the month of JUNE.  I’ve decided to transfer the lists at the end of each month from Small Reflections to Happily Retired Gal … just because.  Click to see previous lists already published here.

1. for Morning drizzles … first in a very long time.

2. Roger Federer is still ‘alive’ in the French Open … though it was sad to see Rafa Nadal & Andy Roddick lose their last matches.

3. for the beautiful & varied skies we’ve had this week, even though we didn’t get much rain.

4. my sister & I have been able to connect by phone while she and her husband are traveling in Alaska.

5. for Public Television broadcasts like the Tavis Smiley show.

6. Svetlana Kuznetsova finally held it together and won her second Grand Slam Championship … this time at the French Open.

7. Roger Federer finally won the French Open completing a personal lifetime SLAM and tying the record of Pete Sampras at 14 Grand Slam wins!

8. to learn there still ONE Ritz Camera Store open in Orange County (after learning 400 of 800 stores closed recently in a reorganization effort) so the insurance I purchased for my Nikon D60, Tamron 28-300mm lens, and Sony HDTV are still in effect … especially since I’m having trouble with my Tamron lens.

9. to discover a weekly Mosaic Meme at The Little Red House ;–)

10. for all I’ve learned in my Digital Media class and my natural inclinations to experiment & explore on my own.

11. the day to play with possibilities …

12. for the generosity of my neighbor who keeps a lovely garden herself and occasionally passes along a variety of plants to add to my own garden.

13. to share Maidenhair fern (initially a gift from a student decades ago) with two neighbors who admired it today. The plant grows prolifically (almost weed-like) where I live and now it will grace their gardens too.

14. for beautiful sunrises & sunsets … with lovely weather in between.

15. for a long delightful catch-up phone call from my sister who is currently on Kodiak Island in Alaska until Wednesday night when they take the ferry back to Homer … after which they’ll drive on to Anchorage.

16. for my laptop … even though it crashes regularly, somehow it rights itself and reboots … at least for the time being.

17. for patience and persistence … that keep me trying to figure things out and resolve problems that arise.

18. the noisy young ‘party’ renters in the house next door have moved on and a nicer family is there for the next week.

19. for morning drizzles … but I was HOPING for real rain!

20. to connect with my sister (who is currently in Fairbanks, Alaska) by phone to catch up on their recent travel experiences.

21. Wimbledon is starting overnight so I’ll have TENNIS to watch tomorrow ;–)

22. for excellent tennis matches to watch today!

23. the new cactus plants seem to be doing fine in my yard.

24. for a new perm and fresh hair cut ;–)

25. my Apricot roses are in bloom for the second time this season. Recently, I learned it’s called ‘Just Joey’

26. for entertaining Wimbledon tennis matches on television. Watching in HD is kewl ;–)

27. veteran tennis player Tommy Haas managed to pull out a 10-8 win in the 5th set this morning (after the match was stopped for darkness at 2 sets each and 6 games all Friday evening). He moves to the 2nd week ‘Round of 16′ after lots of bad luck at Wimbledon during the past decade.

28. a day to catch up on Wimbledon tennis matches (since no one plays on the middle Sunday) and time to do so ;–)

29. Andy Roddick and both Williams sisters are still ‘alive’ in the Old England Tournament and looking strong. Melanie Oudin (the gutsy American youngster) did amazingly well to get to the Round of 16! She’s one to watch for sure.

30. the Williams sisters both continue to play magnificently and are through to the semi-finals.


Thank you Joy

FYI – My previous Gratitude Lists can be found at Happily Retired Gal, my new WordPress site. It is my intention to keep this ‘Daily Gratitude List’ in my sidebar indefinitely because I believe it makes sense to focus on what’s right in our lives regularly. Click for:
2009 Lists – May, April, March, February, January
2008 ListsDecember, November

Thought for Today

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’”  William A. Ward

ALMOST


Window boxes filled
colorfully with summer

flowers in full bloom ;–)

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click to embiggen for better viewing …

and for others participating in
See my other Wordless posts this week at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”
James Dent

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Nd60 019 cropped

Click mosaic to embiggen and for others participating in

Thought for Today
“It is not enought to be busy … the question is: what are we busy about?”
Henry David Thoreau

ALMOST

This is my 78thMisty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.


Early morning … long
shadows fall across the yard.

Roses in full bloom ;–)

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click to embiggen for better viewing …and for others participating in

See my other Camera Critters posts at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“All of us do not have equal talent,
but all of us should have and equal opportunity
to develop our talent.”
John F. Kennedy


Playing with ‘templates’
in Photoshop Elements …
enjoying process!

Thirteen ‘windows’ through
which to examine pansies
growing in MY yard.

Click  to embiggen & for others participating in

Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, and Color Carnival,

See my other Wordless T-13 Colorful posts today at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“Joy is not in things!  It is in us!”
Benjamin Franklin

ALMOST

Scroll down for Window Views

While rains fell Midwest,
early morning drizzles brought
me a bit of hope …

here in So Cal, but
soon it became clear I’d be
‘watering’ by hand

Click to embiggen for better viewing …

A few more windows
snapped around the neighborhood
on my daily walks …

filtered and collaged
cutouts … posterized … and some
poster edges too.

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

and for others participating in
See my other Wordless posts this week at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“Our life is frittered away with detail.  Simplify.  Simplify.”
Henry David Thoreau

This is my 75thMisty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.

Often hummingbirds
visit lemon and lime trees
here in my front yard

occasionally
I am quick enough to catch
a few photographs

like the ones I’ve shared
here today in my montage …
(click to embiggen)


Sparrows more common
dart from rooftop into trees
in our neighborhood


Click to embiggen for better viewing …and for others participating in

Camera Critters this week.
See my other Camera Critters posts at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity.”
Dorothy Parker

Early morning skies
in my neighborhood often
delight and amaze.

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click to embiggen for better viewing … and for others participating in
See my other T-13 posts at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations
and more SKY Watch views at

Thought for Today
“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
Albert Einstein

Click to embiggen for better viewing … and for others participating in
See my other Wordless posts this week at
Small Reflections and Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.”
William James

Click to embiggen for better viewing …

and for others participating in

Mosaic Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Today’s Flowers this week.

Thought for Today
“If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Belatedly …

This is my 73rdMisty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.

Sleepily … Molly
observes from the back of the
Explorer as I

snap some photographs.
What a fun day it has been …
first to Doggie Beach

where she romped & played
in the water … on the sand
chasing tennis balls …

and making new friends.
Afterward … a visit to

a local groomer ;–)

HappilyRetiredGal-small black

Click  to embiggen & for others participating in Haiku Friday & Camera Critters.

See my other Camera Critters post
featuring Ms. Kitty at Sacred Ruminations

Thought for Today
“You don’t understand anything until you learn it in more than one way.”
Marvin Minsky

ALMOST …

wordlesswednesdayfromsarcasticmoms

Week 6 – My 1st

I’ve observed this new
colorful activity …
and today I’ve played

sharing HATS displayed
recently in Sunset Beach …
Mother’s Day Craft Faire ;–)

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Color Carnival and Wordless Wednesday.
See also Window Views and Ruby Tuesday at Small Reflections
and WW-Purple Passion Photo & Mosaic Monday at Sacred Ruminations.

Thought for Today
“I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn’t itch.”
Gilda Radner

Tuesday morning addendum: While taking time to catch up on blog visits this morning (after being away from my computer most of the past few days), I’ve just discovered and new Monday Morning Mosaic Meme and am delighted to find others who create this kind of eye-candy!  I’ve decided to add that logo to THIS post and plan to participate weekly from now on … in fact, once I finish this addition here … I intend to create a belated Monday Morning Mosaic at Sacred Ruminations … just because ;–)


On the left is the logo I found at Gemma’s today and on the right is one I created myself … because I didn’t see one at The Little Red House.  If you participate in Mosaic Monday and would like to use mine, feel free.  You can find my first ‘official’ Mosaic Monday at Sacred Ruminations.

Mellow Yellow Monday #17

One collage of blooms
with two different backgrounds …
first white & then black

using a template
I created … fun to share
blooms with yellow here.

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Click to embiggen and for others participating


Thought for Today
“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.”  Henry Boye

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I'm a happily retired teacher. You might recognize me from one of my three original Blogger-based sites:

Small Reflections

Sacred Ruminations

Blog Rolls, Bling and Blurbs

If you don't, click to learn more about me.

Welcome to my first WordPress site. I hope you'll look around, leave me a comment or two, and check back as often as time permits. Hugs and blessings, storyteller

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