Pink Flowers and Nifty Shadows …

I suspect I’ll continue to share photos & tidbits here (as well as on my two blogger sites) from time to time … but I publish more regularly at my NEW self hosted blog called Giraffe Journal and my Labyrinth Journal website so I hope you’ll visit me at either (or both) as time permits.

Scroll down for Shadow Shot Sunday and more …

Just these two roses
blooming on the parkway now …
and pink Azaleas

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

Potted plant shadows
playing on my patio …
amidst STRANGE weather!

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
participating in Shadow Shot Sunday

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

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. my Explorer is ready to hit the road again next week after having some maintenance work completed today.

2. for a productive morning at home followed by a pleasant afternoon with my sister ending with ‘fish tacos’ at Duke’s … delicious day & dinner!

3. the sun’s breaking through earlier again this morning after a couple of overcast days here at the beach.

4. a lovely lunch with a good friend, the kindness of strangers, learning to use Skype today and helping someone else get started with Skype too.

5. that I discovered and am participating in a Festival of Change at Online Clarity.

6. I watered the yard deeply in anticipation of the trip and that my neighbor will feed Ms. Kitty in my absence.

7. I’m packed & ready to drive to Phoenix, AZ tomorrow with my sister where we’ll spend the next 6 days.

8. that Molly loves to visit Camp Ilene when I travel & can’t take her with me … for 4 additional free Buttermilk Spice muffins from Mimi’s Cafe to bring with us … and that my sister wanted to stop at the Cabazon outlets yesterday because I found an excellent ‘deal’ on a lovely white bag at the Brighton store.

9. to be attending the Your Purpose Summit with Baeth Davis this weekend even though I’m thoroughly confused at the end of the first day’s sessions.

10. Barb encouraged me to attend the VIP party last night even though I felt overwhelmed because this morning clarity has come through my journaling and I’m ready for what comes next.

11. for yesterday’s ‘private analysis of my hand’ along with the many people I’ve met who have helped me figure out my ‘purpose’ and the book I’m going to publish with the help of the people at Vervante.

12. for some ‘down time’ Sunday afternoon to relax around & swim in the pool at the resort & spa after the event ended … finally!

13. for the delightful & surprising ways things fell together on the drive back from Phoenix. It’s good to be home again.

14. for emerging clarity about the books I’m going to publish & the business I’ll begin based on them.

15. all 8 of the domain names I wanted were available at GoDaddy so I bought them all … and I’ve connected with a website designer I met last weekend who I’m hoping will develop my site with me so I can devote my attention to other things.

16. Michelle at GoDaddy ‘tech support’ called this morning and helped me set up ‘LabyrinthJournal.com’ to be hosted at WordPress as a ‘site under construction’ with an email attached to it for ‘business’ purposes clear signs of progress.

17. for a good night’s sleep and breakfast out with a friend this morning since I’ve not yet gotten myself to a grocery store since returning home from Arizona on Monday.

18. I’ve created a new place to playfully share stories online called Giraffe Journals and hope you’ll want to check it out & play with me there … just because.

19. a friend told me about the Surf City Surf Dog contest at Dog Beach this morning … it was great fun and I took lots of photos to share, but for now … here’s a ‘kewl’ YouTube video is from the Los Angeles Times:

20. for visitors to my new self-hosted WordPress blog, Giraffe Journal, who left supportive, enthusiastic comments as I step out into this virtual world to be known … just as I am.

21. for all the wonderful resources coming my way to help with this huge transition in my life.

22. to know I’m changing in small but significant ways each day as I step into my future … pursuing my purpose passionately!

23. I’m one of the first six to sign up for the six-month Get Your Book Done Live training with Christine Klosur & Lynne Klippel. That means I receive a free one-hour ‘coaching’ call as a bonus in addition to big savings on the cost by paying in full up front!

24. for people like Marianne Williamson who inspire millions to step up & take meaningful actions … making a difference. I highly recommend watching this interview on ‘mashable tv’ that won’t seem to appear here (as it did at Small Reflections) no matter what I do, but (fortunately) DOES show up when I click the preceding ‘interview’ link.

25. for a pleasant lunch & visit at Z’ Tejas with a friend this afternoon … sharing a delicious enchilada entree & yummy skillet cobbler dessert!

26. for ‘Rick’ at GoDaddy tech support who exhibited great patience and resourcefulness in assisting me with ‘access’ issues at my new self-hosted Giraffe Journal site last night after I changed the URL earlier in the day.

27. for a lovely afternoon at the Lyceum Theater viewing ‘Alice’ followed by dinner at Mimi’s Cafe in Newport Beach with friends yesterday. Life is good indeed!

28. I spent the morning on my front patio writing & occasionally visiting with passers-by while Molly played with a new neighborhood puppy named Guapo.

29. to get my hair cut today 😉

30. for the Women on Purpose Online Telesummit … the first 3 calls have been filled with useful information!

FYI – My previous Gratitude Lists can be found here at Happily Retired Gal, my WordPress site. It is my intention to keep this ‘Daily Gratitude List’ in my sidebar at Small Reflections indefinitely because I believe it makes sense to focus on what’s right in our lives regularly. Click for:
2010 Lists –September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, 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 ;–)

Advertisement

Sorry I’ve not kept up here lately …

I suspect I’ll continue to share photos & tidbits here (as well as on my two blogger sites) from time to time … but I have a NEW self hosted Website called Giraffe Journals Just for the JOY of it, and I hope you’ll visit me there as time permits.

With apologies, belatedly I share …

A wild rose bush
climbs around the old palm tree
trunk in my front yard …

producing tiny
multi-colored short-lived blooms
you can see below

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Mellow Yellow Monday, Finding Beauty and Just for the JOY of it!

I invite all to participate and
spread the word far and wide …

Thought for Today

“When you arise in the morning, I invite you to think of one thing. What is going to change today? And what part will you play in creating that change, in being the conscious cause of it?” Neale Donald Walsh

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

Pink Roses – August Gratitude List

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Finding Beauty and Just for the JOY of it!

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

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. for another long & good night’s sleep … time this morning to write & wander the grounds around K’s house by myself while enjoying morning coffee … perusing & taking a few notes from the lovely books about Labyrinths that K left on the night-stand … walking her labyrinth alone (after walking it with her last night) … connecting with her over coffee on the patio later, sharing personal stories (along with laughter & tears) … reading & responding to her ‘black book’ … savoring breakfast on the patio with K & R … watching & photographing hummingbirds at the feeder before showering and packing up to hit the road for Flagstaff. I’m so happy the Mountain Lion fetish spoke to her!

2. an easy drive from Placitas to Flagstaff yesterday (gaining back the hour I lost as time changed from Mountain to Pacific) … with gentle showers along the way that paused for me to carry in my luggage before starting up again & falling through the night … another wonderful night’s rest … and morning pause in the rain for me to load ‘stuph’ into the Explorer … followed by an easy drive today from Flagstaff back to Corona where I picked up Molly who was ‘tired, clean, sweet-smelling, & happy to see me’ … then home again where we’re happy together.

3. for time to transition back into life as I live it while holding on to the energy & ideas from the retreat … telephone connections with friends ‘C’ and ‘S’ … making plans to connect later this week … a lovely visit in the blue chairs on the patio with neighbor ‘B’ who looked after the yard & Ms. Kitty in my absence …

4. for another restful night … writing while getting laundry done this morning … checking out & listening to the first 3 of 21 ‘Successful Authors Secrets’ talks after Jen shared a link in a follow up email … being reminded of ‘abundance & support’ … realizing I don’t have to do anything alone.

5. I picked up mail yesterday afternoon so I could pay bills electronically this morning after doing some writing because this afternoon I’ll be driving with friends to the Laguna Playhouse to see ‘Life Could be a Dream’ …

6. for a lovely long visit with ‘C’ to catch up over lunch … sharing a bit of my Taos experience while learning what’s being going on with her.

7. I could help out neighbors with guest parking issues on this BUSY ‘surfing contest’ weekend 😉

8. I responded to Facebook ‘friend’ requests and sent friend requests of my own using the ‘retreat roster’ (along with ‘invites’ to retreat participants without FB accounts) as a way of reconnecting after being back home almost a week … then added links to recent blog posts.

9. for a lovely & longer than usual visit with friends at this months Retired Gals Lunch.

10. fascinating & practical information from the daily Successful Authors Secrets calls this month.

11. I managed to share some photos from the Taos Writers Retreat with other participants at the Google Group & Facebook today.

12. for a delicious ‘taco meal deal’ at Mimi’s Cafe for $9.99 … starting with salad & ending with a petite dessert (bread pudding) currently in my refrigerator waiting to be enjoyed later along with a free 4 pack of muffins in my freezer 😉

13. the Verizon Wireless store in Newport Beach had a Palm Pre Plus I could look at … even though they couldn’t give me the low ‘online price’ of $29.99 in the store.

14. for leftovers from Mimi’s Cafe, time to write & organize photos to share, and sunshine finally here at the beach!

15. I ordered a Palm Pre Plus online this morning and learned it was FREE with a ‘smartphone’ upgrade & 2 year contract renewal (rather than the $29.99 online deal I saw last week that seemed pretty good at the time especially considering it lists for $699 and I’ve always liked Palm OS products)

16. my sister and her husband arrived home this evening where they’ll stay for a few weeks taking a ‘breather’ and dealing with ‘necessary stuph’ before they hit the road again right after Labor Day next month.

17. my Palm Pre Plus arrived this morning and I managed to get it activated and data transferred from my old LG phone.

18. with help from Palm Tech Support I managed to get my 6 year old old Palm Life Drive (that hasn’t been backed up for months since my old Dell running XP crashed) to HotSync with my newer Dell laptop running Vista after which another Tech Support person helped me successfully transfer other data from my computer to my new smartphone … pretty nifty 😉

19. for a new perm & haircut yesterday and time to ‘play’ with my new Palm Pre Plus today … teaching myself how to use it effectively.

20. for a pleasant lunch & catch up visit today with a good friend after which I ran a bunch of errands which included using my 20% coupon at Staples on writing supplies.

21. for this 5th day in a row of BLUE SKIES & SUNSHINE here in Southern California at the beach … it’s been a long time coming since summer is almost over and school will begin soon.

22. I uploaded three more albums of Taos photos to my Facebook page and picked up LOTS of 3×5 cards to begin a writing project.

23. I signed up for an online challenge for a 40-day ‘Inner Mean Girl Cleanse’ & shared at Facebook after which a few of my Taos friends joined too. We’re ready to release old toxic habits that no longer serve & replace them with more loving ones.

24. I called Palm Tech Support with my questions this morning because I learned nifty new editing shortcuts & lots of other tips too 😉

25. I met my sister & her husband for breakfast at Mimi’s Cafe in Long Beach this morning … we had a delightful catch up visit.

26. for this entire day spent with my sister … visiting as we ran errands together, shared a tasty ‘sushi’ lunch at Matsu in Huntington Beach & free lattes at Peet’s later in the day when we stopped by to purchase a pound of specially ground coffee for the new ‘French Press’ mugs (purchased at Sur Le Tab in Newport beach earlier in the day).

27. I’ve signed up for a 4-day event in Phoenix, AZ designed to help me clarify my purpose for a writing project … and my sister has agreed to come along as my free guest so we’ll have 6 days together since we’ll drive both ways. Molly will enjoy another week at Camp Ilene in Corona 😉

28. I finished & mailed off a hand-written letter to a friend from the Taos Retreat this morning and enjoyed a lovely phone connection with another retreat friend in the late afternoon.

29. for today’s wonderful celebration with family & friends at McIntyre House in Los Angeles … as a loved one celebrated a year of sobriety!

30. I’ve signed up for a Festival of Change at Online Clarity … “a celebration and exploration of how we align ourselves with the flow of change – simply, naturally, and with a deeper, richer awareness” … and am looking forward to participating ‘virtually’ in another event tomorrow night: A Call to Conscious Evolution: Our Moment of Choice at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles.

31. I’m meeting my sister, her husband, and friends for breakfast this morning … after which my sister & I will spend the day together again.

FYI – My previous Gratitude Lists can be found here at Happily Retired Gal, my WordPress site. It is my intention to keep this ‘Daily Gratitude List’ in my sidebar at Small Reflections indefinitely because I believe it makes sense to focus on what’s right in our lives regularly. Click for:
2010 Lists – August, July, June, May, April, March, February, 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 ;–)

Lovely Pink Miracles …

I don’t have a clue
what this plant is called, but it
captures attention

reminding me of
things I’ve taken for granted …
Daily Miracles

when I slow my pace
enough to observe our world
clarity evolves

relearning to trust
intuition from within
guides us on our path

with intention I
move ahead with purpose and
grow my gifts to share

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Finding Beauty and Just for the JOY of it!

Thought for Today

“Miracles happen every day and people need to know this … they can look for miracles in their lives. The Good New is — there’s still good news.” Mary Ellen

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

Pink Naked Ladies in Bloom

Beautiful surprise
pink blossoms peek through this old
gnarly Jade plant

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Finding Beauty and Just for the JOY of it!

Thought for Today

“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” Claude Monet

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

Lovely Photos from a Friend in Northern California

Beautiful Pink Azaleas around their home …

their cat, Sam … looking in from the outside

and this amazing dragonfly capture

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Camera Critters,
Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Pet Pride,
Shadow Shots and Macro Monday

Thought for Today

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

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

FaveFive … Miscellaneous Memes

Scroll down for
Sky Watch, Midweek Blues,
Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Weekend Reflections, Window Views, Just for Joy,
Camera Critters, Pet Pride, Mosaic and Macro Monday

Click for others participating in Friday’s Fave Five

1. I’ve enjoyed watching the skies change from ‘drizzily grey’ in the morning to pretty blues with wispy clouds drifting by in the afternoon … and capturing views with my camera to share here today and at Sacred Ruminations yesterday.

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Sky Watch and Midweek Blues

2. My struggling Endless Summer Hydrangea remains small but is finally producing some lovely pink blossoms … and I’ve enjoyed creating and experimenting with filters on this mosaic … the first is straight out of the camera, in the middle is Paint Daubs (with the mosaic flipped horizontally) and at the bottom I used the Watercolor filter.

3. After enjoying and sharing photos of African Lily blossoms from around my neighborhood a couple of week ago, I was delighted to discover two buds on my own potted African Lily … and photographed them over the three day period they lasted.

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

4. With tendonitis in my elbow, it’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to toss a toy for Molly to fetch … but this past week my elbow felt better and we played several days. I love trying to capture her catching the toy in the air and returning it joyfully (with her ears flying) … just for the JOY of it!

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
sharing Camera Critters, Pet Pride and Just for the JOY of it!

5. I enjoyed a tasty breakfast at Mimi’s Cafe on a drizzily Wednesday morning this week and took these photos for Window Views & Weekend Reflections.

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
participating in Weekend Reflections and Window Views

Thought for Today

“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

Pink Blossoms-Shadows-Blue Skies with Variable Clouds-May Gratitude List from Small Reflections

Scroll down for Shadow Shots,
Sky Watch, Midweek Blues, Yard Art,
Weekend Reflections & my May Gratitude List

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

Straight out of the camera above & Poster Edges below

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others sharing Shadow Shots on Sunday

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Sky Watch and Midweek Blues

Click to embiggen for better viewing and
for others sharing Yard Art

Straight out of the camera

Palette Knife Filter

Watercolor Filter

Click to embiggen for better viewing and
for others sharing Weekend Reflections

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

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. I’m glad to have transferred my April Gratitude List to Happily Retired Gal at WordPress this morning along with my post with miscellaneous weekend memes so I can begin my May list this afternoon.2. to have Internet access (with help this morning from Time Warner Cable Tech Support) after my D-Link router failed yesterday leaving me w/o access when I returned home from the ‘Eagles’ matinee performance at the Blue Moon Theatre and dinner at Knott’s Berry Farm.

3. for pleasant ‘gardening’ weather over the last couple of days … making the time pulling weeds, cleaning up my yard, and tilling the soil for new planting all the more enjoyable.

4. my $30 refund check from Staples (for recycling old printer cartridges) arrived in a timely manner to help defray the cost of a new wireless router … the Home Valet Plus from Cisco, an easy to use system.

5. one Gladiola shoot survived ‘doggie play’ and is beginning to produce lovely pink blossoms from the bottom up. I’ll share photos soon.

6. I remembered to celebrate (belatedly) my 500th post at Sacred Ruminations and plan to celebrate my 250th post at Happily Retired Gal tomorrow when I share my Fave Five on Friday (and possibly a few weekend memes) there.

7. for the folks at SimpleTruths.com and the resources they make available … like this brief inspirational video Dreams are Whispers from the Soul …

8. to hear from my sister (after more than a week w/o contact) and catch up on travel adventures in the Southwest …

9. for those who send me occasional emails that remind me of what I know, but tend to forget in the busy day-to-day activities of my life.

10. for the monthly opportunity to connect & catch up with retired friends over lunch today …

11. that I decided to cut myself some slack and skip this session at the local Adult School because it’s given me time to do other things with my mornings.

12. the small market a few blocks from home carries ‘half & half’ so that I can walk to replenish my supply when I run low rather than drive to the supermarket.

13. for the $20 I saved at Petco today (using my card along with coupons) when I stocked up on treats & chews for Molly.

14. to be able to help a friend with email issues by setting up a ‘gmail’ account for her that imports her verizon.net email and replies as if she was actually using the Verizon account without having to put up with its ‘quirks’ … pretty nifty.

15. to have finally found time to create and publish ‘a catch up post’ here at Small Reflections and to share lovely pink gladiola blossoms at Happily Retired Gal (after about a week of non-computer related activities kept me away from this virtual world). I appreciate continued your visits & supportive comments … thanks so much!

16. for delightful phone connections with friends & family during this weekend and a fun visit to a local nursery with a friend during which I picked up a variety of colorful bedding plants for my yard.

17. I saved almost $43 on my grocery shopping bill today using coupons!

18. to have fresh produce and food in the fridge this morning with numerous ‘options’ from which to choose for breakfast 😉

19. to get half of the new bedding plants in the ground this afternoon when the drizzles cleared.

20. for a lovely afternoon at the Laguna Playhouse followed by an early dinner at the Beachcomber on the beach in Crystal Cove … an absolutely delightful outing!

21. the remaining bedding plants are in the ground and everything seems to be surviving just fine.

22. that the French Open begins tomorrow so there will be TENNIS to watch for two weeks 😉

23. I won those free tickets to the three Pacific Chorale concerts … the 3rd concert is tonight: Rachmaninov Vespers.

24. for my DVR capturing matches so I’ve had TENNIS to watch today.

25. it rained in Paris so I could catch up on yesterday’s matches before the DVR dumped them to record new matches.

26. for a new perm … I love wash & wear ‘care-free- hair!

27. we’ve had warmer sunnier weather here in So Cal at the beach this week.

28. I learned about Google Docs in an Adult School class this morning.

29. the gal at Time Warner Cable ‘tech support’ got the Tennis Channel to work again fairly quickly this morning so I can record matches to watch later on today.

30. my neighbor picked up milk for me & BowWow Beanie toys for Molly at the market today … saving me a trip.

31. for an hour-long ‘catch up’ phone call from my sister who’s currently on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon after spending a week at Lake Powell without cell service.

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 –May, April, March, February, 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 ;–)

Pinks, PuppyPlay, Shadows, WindowReflections

This LOVELY pink rose
didn’t last for long because
Aloha ‘gallumphed’ …

Click images to embiggen for better viewing …

It’s not easy to
catch crisp views of Aloha
… always on the move!

Her exuberance
often takes a toll on the
blossoms in my yard

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Shadow Shots, Camera Critters, Pet Pride, and Macro Monday

Walking recently
these window views caught my eye
with palm reflections

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Window Views and Weekend Reflections

If YOU loved PacMac the way I did, you’ll enjoy Google’s home page  … celebrating the game’s 30th anniversary! You can actually PLAY the game there … Enjoy 😉

Thought for Today

“Inside all of us is a Wild Thing.” Maurice Sendak

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

Beautiful Blossoms …

One gladiola
survived ‘doggie play’ and PINK
loveliness emerged

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

If time permits … you might enjoy this brief inspirational video clip from Simple Truths entitled ‘The Push‘ … I watch it occasionally, just because … and it ALWAYS touches my spirit with its simple but powerful reminder 😉

Thought for Today

“We can never discover new continents until we have the courage to lose sight of all coasts.” Andre Gide

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

Celebrating my 250th post at HRG …

Scroll down for Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers,
Shadow Shots, Camera Critters, Pet Pride,
Macro and Mosaic Monday

1. Setting up a new wireless network when my ancient D-Link router failed proved to be quite simple. I used my $30 refund from Staples (for recycling old ink cartridges) to help defray the cost of a Home Valet Plus by Cisco and found the set up quite simple … using the enclosed flash drive they refer to as a ‘key’ to do most of the work for me. So far it works great and hopefully it will last as long as the D-Link did.

2. I’m grateful I wasn’t watching yesterday’s crazy ‘free-fall’ of the stock market when it dropped 998 points in just a few minutes and that I didn’t have ‘stop-losses’ in place that would have kicked in automatically. What a mess! Learning about it after the fact is distressing enough. I thought automatic ‘stops’ were in place to keep this kind of thing from happening … but I guess they don’t take effect that late in the day. Interestingly, I received a letter from Vanguard just yesterday that they’ve reduced the trading costs from $25 to $7 … probably to compete with the likes of Scottrade and other inexpensive trading companies. Once upon a time (a few years back … before blogging) I used to trade stocks more actively than I do currently … and I would have been in front of my computer when it happened.

3. Walking through the neighborhood recently I discovered and photographed these beautiful pink hibiscus blossoms to share for Pink Saturday and Macro Monday …

… and am delighted to share my newly cleared off parkway in this mosaic … featuring a few remaining rose blossoms and one pink gladiola (that survived Aloha’s exuberant play this Spring) … ready to burst forth in bloom any day now.

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

4. Once upon a time, Ms. Kitty was a ‘hunter’ … but once I started to feed her she stopped and the birds returned. Unfortunately one of the neighbor’s cat hunts quite patiently. One morning this past week I noticed him on the prowl when I went outside to feed Ms. Kitty … grabbed my camera to capture a few shots. Ms. Kitty doesn’t have much to do with him, but with me nearby … she DID approach … perhaps to remind the younger cat not to encroach upon her territory. It’s good to know she can hold her own at her advanced age.

Straight out of the camera above and
poster edges below

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Camera Critters and Pet Pride

5. The skies have been blue for the most part this past week, but I did capture some interesting wispy clouds I’ve decided to share with you this week … just because.

… and I’ve enjoyed looking at the skies from my blue patio chairs (Ms Kitty and Molly keeping me company) whenever possible because the weather has been so pleasant. It amazes me to realize that THIS is my 250th WordPress post … that more than 5200 comments have been left by visitors here (with more than 2000 SPAM comments caught by Askimet). Taken with the 520 posts at Sacred Ruminations, 692 at Small Reflections, and 35 at Blog Rolls and Bling … I’ve published 1476 times in this virtual world since I started blogging on October 21st of 2007. Who knew I’d be so prolific? I’m grateful to all who have assisted and encouraged me along the way.

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Friday’s FAVE Five,
Looking at the Sky and Midweek Blues

WordPress does provide interesting ‘stats’ in the ‘Dashboard’ that don’t seem to be available at Blogger. Here are a few from today:

Blog Stats Summary Tables

Total views: 29,429

Busiest day: 177 — Saturday, September 12, 2009

Views today: 12

Totals

Posts: 250

Comments: 5,268

Categories: 86

Tags: 13

Email Subscribers

Blog:3 active

Comments: 19 subscribers, 23 subscriptions

Spam

Akismet has protected your site from 2,163 spam comments.

Google is commemorating Tchaikovsky’s 170th birthday
with this nifty logo … very kewl isn’t it.

Thought for Today

“Consciously cultivating thankfulness is a journey of the soul, one that begins when we look around us and see the positive effects that gratitude creates.” MJ Ryan

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

Pink Flowers – Shadows – Critters – Macros and My April Gratitude List from Small Reflections

Scroll down for Camera Critters, Shadow Shots, and
My April Gratitude List transferred from
the sidebar at Small Reflections

My early pink Spring roses took a beating from recent rains followed by strong winds … but are still fascinating to me. I hope you enjoy my pink floral views.

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

Molly Smells the Fading Roses
on a Sunny Spring Afternoon

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Camera Critters, Pet Pride,
and Shadow Shot Sunday

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

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. for a pleasant day spent with my sister while accomplishing a few necessary tasks.

2. for the day to rest & recover at home 😉

3. to spend the afternoon with a good friend … enjoying lunch then helping her run some errands and trouble-shooting some computer problems for her.

4. I’ve learned about and signed up for the 2010 Summer Writers Retreat at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House & Conference Center in Taos, New Mexico … I’m looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and meeting new people too.

5. there’s room for Molly at Camp Ilene when I go to Taos this summer so she’ll get a ‘doggie’ vacation … with the opportunity to play with fur-friends for a couple of weeks while I’m away from home.

6. to connect & catch up with another friend for brunch … using a ‘buy one breakfast – get one free’ coupon at Mimi’s Cafe.

7. for the opportunity to reconnect with my cousin & his wife (along with my sister & her husband) at the Knott’s Berry Farm Chicken House this morning.

8. today at home to rest & recover after watering the yard this morning before the winds kicked up outside.

9. to spend today with my sister … hanging out & having lunch later at Matsu, my favorite local Japanese restaurant.

10. I’m beginning my days writing ‘morning pages’ as I used to do for decades …

11. my roses have started to bloom already 😉

12. the rain stopped long enough to squeeze in a walk with Molly this morning before I went to my Windows 7 class.

13. for one final breakfast at the Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach shared with my sister this morning before she and her husband head for Yosemite and places beyond.

14. I drove into my sister’s after today’s Windows 7 class to teach her (one final time) about labeling photos in Windows Photo Gallery before she & her husband leave on this trip and hopefully she won’t spend HOURS ‘renaming’ the photos as she’s done on previous trips.

15. that through sheer persistence and experimentation, I’ve managed (finally) to correct some of the frustrating ‘glitches’ on the Dell Inspiron resulting from all those dreaded Blue Screen of Death Crashes during the first 20 months I owned it … before (with Dell Tech Support’s assistance over a month or so) finally ‘stabilizing’ the system.

16. for all the beautiful ROSES blooming in my yard currently … pink, red (scroll down for these), and apricot (I’ll add the link soon once I share them – see the end of my April 23rd post here at Small Reflections).

17. I’m getting my files backed up on an external drive, slowly but steadily. One of these days I’ll figure out how to make that happen automatically.

18. to be attending a ‘Spring concert’ this afternoon with friends.

19. I’ve managed to find and copy most of the photo & data files from an old backup of the Dell that ‘crashed’ a few weeks ago and I’m very relieved.

20. I ran errands after class today so the Explorer has a full tank of gas, Molly has food & treats and I have fresh groceries in the house.

21. It’s started to rain late this afternoon … and I’ve moved Ms. Kitty’s bed and the blue chairs to a dry alcove by the front door.

22. the weather cleared enough for a pleasant camera walk this afternoon and I remembered to pay my bills online today.

23. to have connected by phone this morning with my sister and her husband as they were leaving Yosemite … headed up and over the Sierra Nevada Mts.

24. for beautiful clear sunny weather to spend time in my garden (after a sleepless night due to noisy neighbors) and an evening phone call from my sister letting me know they made it safely over the mountains … staying in Bishop, CA for the night before heading to Death Valley on Sunday.

25. for a good night’s sleep … and David Pogue’s Windows 7: The Missing Manual. What an incredibly useful (not to mention entertaining) resource!

26. I’ve set up an automatic backup for my Sony Vaio and shifted relevant files from an external backup of the old Dell Inspiron 9100 that crashed a while back.

27. my brother-in-law managed to share three ‘snow photos’ from their recent visit to Yosemite with help from their oldest son. Here’s one … I’ve shared the others on Friday at Sacred Ruminations: (They’ve been resized to be smallish files but you can click to embiggen a bit for better viewing)

28. for all I’ve learned in my Windows 7 class that ended today and the week-long ‘break’ before the next session begins.

29. I’ve checked out Goldstar.com … finally! What a nifty way to save money while getting out to enjoy entertainment opportunities.

30. for my sister’s sons … Happy 28th birthday to Daniel and happy 30th ‘gotcha-day’ to Casey! I love you both 😉

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

Thought for Today

“It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, it only matters where you’re going.” Brian Tracy

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

Colorful Weekend Miscellany

Raindrops and Sunshine on Roses …
Pretty in Pink

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

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Weekend Reflections and Window Views

Thought for Today

“The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything — or nothing.” Lady Nancy Astor

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

Roses, roses, everywhere …

My PINK roses here
RED ones on my other blogs …
ending with ‘pastel’

climbing roses … small
and short-lived but abundant
yellow, peach, and pink

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

Ohmygosh … it’s been a WHOLE WEEK since I’ve posted anything here, and even longer since I’ve visited anyone in the Blogosphere! Real life activities have kept me busy and away from the computer lately. Thanks to everyone for your continued visits and comments in the face of my absence. My ‘reader’ is collecting your posts and hopefully I’ll find time soon to begin catching up.

Last Wednesday I published my first ‘Mr. Lincoln’ rose of the season at Small Reflections and yesterday I shared my first Veteran’s Honor roses at Sacred Ruminations (along with some Beauty, Skies, Window Views, Reflections, FAVES & musings … Just for the JOY of it) … and I’m hoping to update my gratitude list then publish Camera Critters and Pet Pride at Small Reflections later today.

Soon I’ll share my ‘apricot’ Just Joey Roses
I hope you’re each enjoying a wonderful weekend 😉

Thought for Today

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” Niels Bohr

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

Ruby Blossoms in My Outdoor World

I happened upon
RUBY blossoms in these trees
on a recent walk

“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.” Confucius

“The mind is everything; what you think, you become.”
Gautama Buddha

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

Thought for Today

“So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us.”
Gaston Bachelard

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