quite fascinating ;–)
Click collages to embiggen for better viewing …
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.
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 Lists – December, November
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’” William A. Ward
Happily Retired Gal 
12 comments
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July 3, 2009 at 7:56 am
dianne
I love black and white
the big fluffy clouds look wonderful
July 3, 2009 at 8:11 am
Carletta
I haven’t experimented with B&W at all but this gives me the incentive to try a few things.
I love the last three images in the collage with the silhouetted trees.
Wimbledon – my favorite tennis event. But, as much as the Williams sisters are talented I’d love to see something different. 🙂
July 3, 2009 at 10:26 am
Nedekcir
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. You must be a photographer, nice photos.
July 3, 2009 at 11:12 am
maryt/theteach
Happy 4th of July, storyteller! 🙂
July 3, 2009 at 12:55 pm
jabblog
It’s a completely different perspective in monochrome! Well done
July 3, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Pam
Terrific sky collage, I like the way you did it in black and white. Very dramatic.
July 3, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Puna
How wonderful is this list…blessings to you too.
And I remember the wonderful matches between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Classic.
July 3, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Gattina
I would prefer to see a blue sky with green palm trees ! I don’t know why, but black and white pictures look sad to me. I am happy that now we have the possibility to see the colors. I will never know which color had the dress my grandma wore on one of her pictures when she was 19 ! That was the beginning of the 20th century.
July 4, 2009 at 1:43 am
jabblog
Monochrome concentrates the mind I think. Certainly the details are more important, more noticeable.
July 4, 2009 at 8:01 am
Arlene
wow! skies in black and white! Great collection!
Thank you for visiting my entry this week.
Happy week-end!
Arlene
July 4, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Race
beautiful shot of the skies, great capture!
July 6, 2009 at 3:27 pm
jeanne
Love them all! What great colors on the parade! Looks like you had wonderful weather too.