Outdoor RUBIES in My Watery World

Scroll down for Wordful Wednesday & Midweek Blues too

Warmer weather brings
people to the beach and pier
also the Street Fair

Do you see the seagull in the picture below?

How about in the next photo?
If you missed the one above, look up again

If walking to the end of the pier and back is more exercise that one wants, there are folks who will give you a ride in one of these.

Kids can play in these colorful contraptions and people enjoy a variety of foods while enjoying the Street Fair on Tuesday evenings from 5-9pm.
Click to see more views and entertainment shared previously

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Ruby Tuesday, My World,
Outdoor Wednesday, Watery Wednesday,
Midweek Blues and Wordful Wednesday

Thought for Today

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” Stephen R. Covey

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Friday’s FAVES – Blue Skies – Pink Blossoms

This week’s Yard Art
and Earth Hour information
are in the next post …
Scroll down for Looking at the Sky, (belated) Midweek Blues
Pink Saturday and Today’s Flowers herein with my FAVES

1. Although he arrived very late (and by himself without his usual two helpers) on Wednesday, my gardener took time to plant my birthday ‘Veteran’s Honor’ rose bush as promised. I’m hoping it will do as well as the other roses I have growing in my yard.

2. My parkway is awash with color, brightening the neighborhood and my spirits. I feel so blessed to live here in Southern California near the Pacific Ocean where Spring arrives early, and it’s a joy to share such views on my blog for those in colder climates still waiting for the weather to warm up.

3. Our skies have been variable as clouds drift through the area but there have plenty of beautiful BLUES above like these:

4. I happened upon these lovely pink blossoms at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach while hanging out with my sister this past week. I’m not sure what they are but wonder if they might be Rhododendron. What do you think?

5. Finally … my 18-55mm lens for my Nikon D60 is back in my possession and working the way it’s supposed to! More than a month ago the Vibration Reduction went ‘wonky’ (shortly after I had it cleaned at my local ‘repair’ shop under the Ritz Camera warranty). They sent it to Nikon and when it was returned with the VR fixed, the lens wouldn’t take photos at the ‘infinity’ setting … so the repair shop sent it back to Nikon (with a ‘rush’ order). When it was returned in a couple of week with a note that nothing was done to it … my local guy sent it back once again with the instructions highlighted. All this took considerable time. Of course I’ve had my camera with the Tamron 28-300mm lens, but I’ve missed the smaller lens and am glad to have it back.

Click any image to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Friday’s FAVE Five,
Midweek Blues, Looking at the Sky, Pink Saturday, and Today’s Flowers

Thought for Today

“And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Yard Art on Thursdays – Earth Hour

Mary the teach at Work of the Poet
has asked bloggers to share Yard Art on Thursdays …
Lots of people who live near the beach
in Southern California ‘decorate’ their yards
(often in unique ways) so I’ll have a steady supply!

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Yard Art

I you’re interested, click for an update on my Dell Inspiron issues … they’ve ALL be resolved! Hooray

Join the Earth Hour Movement
on March 27th at 8:30pm

Hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations. Learn more about how Earth Hour began, what we’ve accomplished, and what is in store for 2010. Click to learn more …

To participate, just flip off your light switch
at 8:30 pm local time to cast your vote for
action on climate change.

Thought for Today

“You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think.” the Talmud

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Pretty Pink Flowers in the Neighborhood

Friday’s Fave Five, Weekend Reflections,
Camera Critters & Looking at the Sky are in the next post

Raphiolepsis
I just learned the name of this
bush with pink blossoms

I’m still searching for
the name of the plant below
blooming in my yard

shared previously
both in ‘normal view‘ and in
‘macro view‘ as well

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Pink Saturday,
Today’s Flowers, and Shadow Shot Sunday

For those following the continuing saga of my Dell Inspiron issues … this past week ‘Sanjay’ scheduled two 11am calls, one on Tuesday and the other on Friday. I waited Tuesday for 90 minutes before having to leave for an appointment (took his cell phone call at about 1pm but since I wasn’t home couldn’t do anything with my laptop) and waited Friday for two and a half hours (missing the 4:40pm call from ‘Sean’ by seconds trying to fish the cell phone out of my purse when it rang).

I called Dell Tech Support when I arrived home … around 6pm and spoke to Roy who listened attentively and made notes in my file. Specifically I needed to let Sean and Sanjay know that I would be unavailable at 11am for a while and that it would be better to call me early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Roy scheduled a callback for Monday between 4 and 6pm. He also encouraged me to talk directly with Customer Service which I did. However, three different people assertively told me (multiple times) there was no way to replace my battery (even though it had clearly been faulty from the get go) unless I was willing to pay $159 for a new one. The 3rd representative (Angel) actually hung up (yup … you read that right) on me as I expressed my frustration and asked for yet another ‘supervisor’ to talk to after telling me that even during the first year they wouldn’t have replaced the battery, but would had me return the entire computer. That conflicts with what the Tech Support guys have told me. Apparently Customer Support personnel don’t have access to Tech Support case files and Tech Support can’t handle the ‘battery’ issue since it’s a Customer Service issue. Talk about a Catch 22!

So … my extended warranty will pay to have someone come to my house to ‘trouble shoot’ … even replace the monitor, but not the battery. There’s no way I’d spend that amount of money without assurances that a new bigger battery would actually FIX the dim monitor problem. Upgrading to Windows 7 and replacing the battery would cost about the same thing as new Dell notebook (not that I’d be likely to buy another Dell any time soon).

I’ve decided to let some time pass (to calm myself) before trying again … but I suspect this Inspiron 1720 notebook will remain a desktop indefinitely. Looking at the bright side, at least the machine is finally ‘stable’ and not crashing repeatedly any longer … and THAT’s a good thing. I do love my new Sony Vaio notebook. It’s bright enough to use on battery power without changing from the ‘balanced power’ settings and gives me about 3 hours of battery life before suggesting I plug it in … so I’m technologically ‘mobile’ again at last.

Thought for Today

“A great teacher never strives to explain her vision: she simply invites you to stand beside her and see for yourself.” Rev. R. Inman

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Friday’s FAVE Five and More …

1. Although it finally cooled off yesterday, we’ve had amazingly warm weather the past few days here in Southern California at the beach and I’ve been able to take advantage of it … walking with my camera in hand several days.

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and if you missed them, I shared some
‘kewl’ pelican shots at Small Reflections
(see #5 of 13 things on my list)

2. While celebrating my sister’s birthday recently (sharing a delicious frozen dessert with nuts), I bit down on something hard. Thinking it was a piece of shell, I retrieved it from my mouth only to discover it was metal and looked suspiciously like a filling. Fortunately it wasn’t (a visit to my dentist confirmed that it did indeed LOOK like a filling but I didn’t have one missing) so I don’t have to have any work done on my teeth. At the urging of a friend whose husband used to manage a restaurant, I returned to share the incident with the manager. Upon checking with the head chef, we learned their ice cream containers have metal fasteners … and the piece in question was part of that. As a thank you for bringing the problem to their attention, they’re mailing me a gift certificate … adding an unexpected bonus to the experience.

3. Last Friday I drove by Costco for gasoline and went inside with my sister who wanted to buy some bananas. I stopped to look at laptops and ended up buying this …

a Sony Vaio (running Windows 7) … appearing here alongside the Dell Inspiron 1720 (running Vista) that I’ve had nothing but trouble with since I bought it in July of 2008. I’m working with Dell Tech Support to resolve continuing issues since it’s covered for 4 years by an extended warranty … and I’m delighted that it’s no longer crashing regularly, but when disconnected from the power supply, the screen still becomes so dim as to be unreadable … making it essentially non-functional away from my desk unless I carry the power supply with me and find an outlet wherever I go. I’ve suggested a larger more powerful battery … and there’s been talk of a new monitor. Hopefully I’ll find out more today when Sanjay calls me around 11am. In the meantime, I’ve got a new ‘toy’ to keep me connected and it’s pretty kewl. The software I own and use regularly with Vista (Microsoft Office and Photoshop Elements) seem to run just fine so far even though it’s a 64-bit machine running Windows 7.

4. The local Adult School is offering classes in Windows 7 and I’ve signed up … changing from the class I’d intended to take to this one figuring I could use a bit of help making this transition. In addition, I enjoyed a delightful afternoon with friends yesterday visiting over lunch in Laguna before seeing The Second City in Can You be more Pacific at the Laguna Playhouse. Before heading home, we purchased advance tickets for a May performance of Hershey Felder in ‘Beethoven As I Knew Him’ … we hear it’s quite entertaining.

5. Once I finish with Sanjay from Dell Tech Support this morning, I’m spending this afternoon with my sister once again. We’re trying to maximize the time we have left before she and her husband hit the road again on April 15th. I want to share one more view from this week containing reflections of the sky and the beach in the windows of this Lifeguard Tower on the pier … pretty nifty, eh? Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Click for others participating in Friday’s FAVE Five, Looking at the Sky, Weekend Reflections, and Camera Critters

Thought for Today

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” Anne Frank

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Outdoor Watery Wednesday & Window Views

ALMOST

Beach town … Surf City
shares it’s history in this
Surfing Museum

today’s temp’ratures
will reach the low 80s and
draw more people here

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Almost Wordless Wednesday,
Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Window Views,
Midweek Blues and Wordful Wednesday

Thought for Today

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Yard Art, Pink Macro Flowers & Camera Critters

Scroll down for Pink Saturday,
Today’s Flowers and Macro Monday
More ‘Critters’ are with my Wednesday images
in the next post
Shades of Hitchcock …

Mary the teach at Work of the Poet
has asked bloggers to share Yard Art on Thursdays …
Lots of people who live near the beach
in Southern California ‘decorate’ their yards
(often in unique ways) so I’ll have a steady supply!
Here’s MY second contribution …
(click here for my first)
Neither is from my yard!

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Yard Art

and  Camera Critters

I’m sorry to be a bit late with Pink Saturday, but I’m doing what I can to catch up so please bear with me.  Actually, the Yard Art photo (shared Thursday evening) has a touch of ‘pink’ if you look closely … so perhaps it was enough?  In any case, I’ve decided to ‘amend’ this  post since I published it so late that almost no one got a chance to visit and see this cute  pooch.  Methinks he deserves another chance, don’t you?

In last week’s Pink Saturday/Today’s Flowers post, I shared bushes with pink blossoms that surround a palm tree in my front yard and asked for help identifying them. Several visitors suggested I needed ‘macro shots’ … so this week I experimented with my Tamron lens and am sharing some close ups in hopes someone will recognize and name this plant for me, thus I offer a ‘review of last weekend’ …

If you recognize
these pink blossoms, please tell me
what you think they are

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Macro Monday and Today’s Flowers

Thought for Today

“Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.” Maya Angelou

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Shades of Hitchcock …

ALMOST

Last week I shared a goose
from Cerritos Regional Park …

… and today I share some interesting bird activity.

occasionally
these pigeons took flight ‘en masse’
in sweeping circles

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in (Almost) Wordless Wednesday,
Outdoor Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, Wordful Wednesday,
Midweek Blues, and Camera Critters too

Thought for Today

“People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.” Bill Vaughan

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

Weekend Multi-tasking …

Scroll down for
Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, & Color Carnival
and a brief personal update

one photograph for
Window Views, Reflections and
Sunday Shadow Shots

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and others participating in
Weekend Reflections, Shadow Shot Sunday and Window Views

Brief Update about my Computer Issues

I’m pleased to report (to those following my ‘computer challenges’ lately) that after spending several hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support yesterday afternoon, things seem to be working better already. There have been NO BLUE SCREEN CRASHES today and the promised replacement keyboard arrived in today’s mail. THAT was FAST!!!

I’ve removed the old ‘sticky’ one and installed the ‘refurbished’ keyboard. All the keys seem to work normally, though the ‘feel’ is a bit different. I suspect I’ll get used to it quickly and I’m quite relieved to not have to go back and FIX words any longer.

I don’t know the name
of these bushes with dainty
pink blossoms … if YOU

have an idea what
they might be please let me know
below in comments

colorful blooms from
South Coast Plaza Mall near the
door to Z’Tejas

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Pink Saturday,
Today’s Flowers, and Color Carnival

Thought for Today

“You have the opportunity to be a powerful influence on the lives of other people, no matter your position in life.” V.J. Smith

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

YARD ART along with my February Gratitude List transferred from the sidebar at Small Reflections

Mary the teach at Work of the Poet
has asked bloggers to share Yard Art on Thursdays …
Lots of people who live near the beach
in Southern California ‘decorate’ their yards
(often in unique ways) so I’ll have a steady supply!
Here’s MY first contribution …
(NOT from my yard)

Click to embiggen and for others sharing Yard Art

South Breeze Farm hosted the Giving Thanks Challenge and I participated at Small Reflections in November of 2008 and decided to continue indefinitely … generating the following list one day at a time throughout the month of August. 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. the transfer of my sidebar gratitude list to Happily Retired Gal went a bit smoother this month.

2. my computer cooperated and allowed me to do some catching up on blog visits today … I really appreciate folks who make the entire post available in the feed (rather than just a few lines) because I actually get to SEE everything and can click over to comment periodically

3. to Hootin’ Anni and Lori E (of Family Trees May Contain Nuts) for sharing Valentines with their visitors … reminding me to do likewise! I’ve added mine to the top of my sidebar (here too) .  I invite you to ‘snag’ a copy to enjoy if you wish … just right click on the image to save it to your computer.

4. for a pleasant outing with my sister today … and a ‘fix’ for my Blogger photo upload problem.

5. to stay home most of this rainy day … leaving only briefly to assist a friend’s sister resolve some camera and computer problems.

6. that the two small leaks in my living room ceiling (from the deck off my upstairs bedroom) seem minor … especially as I watch the devastation caused by mudslides in the La Canada-Flintridge area and problems created by the record snowfall in the Mid-Atlantic east-coast states.

7. Molly & I went for a LONG walk today … enjoying the dry weather

8. for another day of clear weather and the opportunity to connect with friends for lunch to catch up with one another.

9. today’s rain has been the gentle steady drizzily kind.

10. my pansies have survived the rain and some of my bulb shoots have already started to bloom … earlier than ever. I’m still trying to identify the pretty white blossoms shared previous.

11. for memories of my mom on the anniversary of her birth.

12. I’ve cleared off space on my DVR to record the Olympic broadcasts so I can watch them as time permits.

13. I’ll be spending the day with my sister (and possibly a good friend if she’s feeling up to it) starting with a camera class on ‘lighting’ at the sole remaining
Ritz Camera store in the Orange County area this morning then letting the rest of the day unfold spontaneously.

14. I had canned food for Ms Kitty when I ran out of dry food w/o time to get to the store. Methinks SHE was happy too

15. Shen & Zhao have returned to participate in the Winter Olympics one last time … they skated beautifully Sunday night.

16. that (although they made some mistakes in their long program Monday night) Shen & Zhao had enough of a lead from their short program to win the Gold Medal finally on their 4th trip to the Olympics (at the age of 31 & 36) with Pang & Tong taking the silver after they’d just missed the podium (in 4th place) four years ago in Torino. What a night for China!

17. for a good night’s sleep after several ‘restless’ ones.

18. that Evan Lysacek skated two ‘complete programs’ beautifully in Vancouver, won the Gold medal and has handled all the petty ‘controversy’ over the ‘quad’ in men’s skating (stirred up by questions posed by the press to Evgeni Plushenko who seems upset that ignoring changes in scoring didn’t win him a second Gold medal on the strength of his jumps and intimidating bravado) magnificently. As Scott Hamilton & Dick Buttons eloquently point out, the event IS called Figure SKATING for a reason!

19. although things didn’t go exactly as planned … my sister & I spent a delightful afternoon together and I got a $49 refund from REI because the kewl Keen boots I bought there less than two weeks ago at full price were on sale yesterday. Lucky me

20. for sunshine today after last night’s rain … especially since more rain is predicted for Sunday night and possibly throughout the entire week ahead.

21. for morning coffee with half & half

22. that I finally managed to connect to the Internet after my ‘wireless router’ died overnight

23. it’s my 65th birthday and I’ll be celebrating with my sister!

24. that Channel 4 makes actual ‘video replays’ available on its website because for some reason my DVR didn’t record last night’s events so I missed the women’s short programs in Figure Skating (along with whatever else was broadcast). I’m looking forward to catching up as time permits.

25. I managed to fix my DVR so it recorded the Olympic broadcasts to view as time permits.

26. my sister & I celebrated my birthday again … this time at Duke’s as we planned to do (but didn’t) on Tuesday.

27. my neighbor gave me a lovely Veteran’s Honor rose bush for my yard on Friday … a gift from her father who has raised roses for a long time.

28. that even though more ‘wet stuph’ is predicted, yesterday’s rain has stopped for the time being making for lovely Southern California weather all day long.

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:
2010 Lists – January
2009 Lists – December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2008 Lists – December, 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

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)

A bit of RUBY in my Watery Outdoor World

stormy skies above
as we walked out on the pier …
surveying the scene

very different
from the ones I shared last week
at this local beach

just a few people
brave enough to swim, walk, and
lay upon the sand

For Ruby Tuesday
here’s the bright Barefoot Bar sign
and menu outside

My sister likes her fish tacos ‘battered’ …

I prefer mine Cajun style

and THIS is Hula Pie … delicious!

Click for others participating in
My World, Ruby Tuesday,
Outdoor Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, and Midweek Blues

Thought for Today

“Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again.”
Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Click for comments at the TOP of the post under the title, rather than at the bottom ;–)