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 ;–)

Advertisement

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 ;–)

Weekend Miscellany after my trip and my July Gratitude List transferred from Small Reflections

Scroll down for Weekend Reflections,
Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday
and more …

It was lovely to find roses of many colors
blooming in my yard when I returned from Taos …
Today I’m sharing the PINK ones because it’s Saturday!

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

Reflective Scenic Shadow Shot Photo taken at
Henningsen Gardens in Taos, New Mexico

(straight out of the camera above, watercolor filter below)

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
participating in Weekend Reflections, Scenic Sunday,
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. Serena Williams won her semi-final match against Kvitova and will play for her 4th Wimbledon and 13th Grand Slam title on Saturday.

2. both men’s semi-final matches at Wimbledon were competitive and fun to watch … especially the one with Nadal and Murray.

3. Serena Williams has played beautifully throughout the entire tournament (setting a new record for ‘aces’ served, dropping only 3 games in 7 matches) … winning the Ladies Championship match at Wimbledon … surpassing the Grand Slam totals of Billie Jean King.

4. the Rafa Nadal-Tomas Berdych final match at Wimbledon was competitive for the three sets it took for Rafa to win the Championship for the 2nd time, though I confess I was hoping for a 4 or 5 setter.

5. this year’s 4th of July weekend was less chaotic & disruptive than the norm here at the beach in So Cal … (probably because the weather was cooler driving loud party-goers indoors earlier than usual) and the fireworks (provided by Disneyland this year) were quite spectacular!

6. the sun came out … FINALLY this afternoon around 4:30.

7. for Lee who keeps my hair ‘care-free’ … although this time he cut it quite a bit shorter than ever before & I’m not quite sure I like how it looks at the moment.

8. to be writing regularly again in my journal, even though I’m not blogging much these days.

9. my season tickets for the Laguna Playhouse arrived in the mail this afternoon … finally.

10. an email coupon from Mimi’s Cafe for $5 off my delicious Blackened Salmon lunch today … and another to use at dinnertime in the next couple of months.

11. for a long (2 hour) catch up call from my sister (currently just outside of Glacier National Park) last night.

12. that today is Retired Ladies Lunch because it’s always fun

to reconnect with friends 😉

13. for late afternoon sunshine after another overcast day.

14. the folks at Allen Tires take such good care of my Explorer … checking & rotating the tires at no cost … letting me know when work needs to be done.

15. for trustworthy mechanics at Gustafson Brothers who keep my car running safely and well.

16. for last night’s fascinating skies and this morning’s beautiful double rainbow 😉

17. for beautiful sunny mornings and warm weather at the beach … finally!

18. life with Molly — especially the joy-filled way she delights in simple things each moment … reminding ME to do likewise.

19. for good friends who help me remain calm in the face of challenges, reminding me to breathe & relax.

20. I got everything packed for my trip to the 2010 Writer’s Retreat in Taos, New Mexico … though it took longer than anticipated and I was watering the yard until rather late this evening.

21. I made it safely from Southern California to Flagstaff, AZ and found a room for $69/night … more reasonable than the $130/night I paid in 2007.

22. for a good night’s sleep in Flagstaff (from 9pm until 6am) with no train whistles disturbing my rest every 15-20 minutes all night long (as happened at the more expensive lodgings in 2007) … and a safe drive from Flagstaff to Santa Fe, New Mexico today where I’ve secured lodging at the lovely old El Rey Inn for two nights so I can do some sight-seeing with my Nikon D60 in hand this evening & tomorrow … (snapping photos to share when time permits) … before driving up to Taos on Saturday morning 😉

23. to be in Taos at the Mabel Dodge House connecting with other writer-participants and beginning our journey together this evening.

24. for the delicious Southwestern meals prepared & presented with love, art, and attention to detail in addition to the Dance of Shiva shaking up & altering the patterns in my brain … opening me up to new possibilities.

25. for cool gentle rain showers moving through the area and LOUD cracks of thunder now and again.

26. to be writing in this awesome place … surrounded by energy & support.

27. for fellowship with my house-mates … sharing & responding to our writing … asking & answering questions leading to new insights & directions for my writing.

28. I talked with Jen today … (following up on conversations with Luna & Jill last night) … leaving with a ‘theme’ for my project … running into Luna at the gardens & taking in her suggestion for a book title … wandering with my camera taking photos … eventually settling down near Kara to write before eventually heading back to MDL for lunch … then on to Jen’s afternoon session on ‘structure’ … just what I needed.

29. I’m HERE now … on retreat … learning, writing, connecting with others, listening and sharing … growing, accepting, grounding, receiving, sensing, giving, protecting, opening with the Dance of Shiva … practicing a bit of gentle Yoga … savoring delicious Santa Fe meals … wandering the MDL grounds & Henningsen Gardens, snapping photographs … taking everything in with gratitude … exhaling to breath in when I find myself holding my breath too long.

30. for the authentic emotional validation received in K’s response as she listened to me share a bit of writing from this morning … suggesting the path ahead may be precisely correct in this moment. What a delightful & surprising gift as I prepare to head toward home …

31. to stay in Santa Fe at the El Rey Inn again last night where I slept long & soundly … enjoying delicious warm home-made flour tortillas with breakfast this morning … meeting & chatting with ‘Midge’ (an early-riser like myself who was traveling with ‘late-rising’ friends) … before walking Canyon Road to see & photographic public art … finding & purchasing lovely ‘basket photos’ as gifts … then shopping at Keshi for ‘fetishes’ to give friends back home … and finally driving to Placitas to stay with K & her husband overnight … getting a guided tour of their lovely home … wandering later alone to take pictures … walking K’s labyrinth with her & having R take photos of us, then taking pictures of them together … sharing a delicious meal on the patio and tasty ice cream later in the living room over pleasant conversation as we watched & listened to the storm before turning in for the night! I feel blessed and oh so grateful 😉

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 – 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 ;–)

Serena Williams – 4th Wimbledon Win and my June Gratitude List from Small Reflections

Scroll down for Mosaic Monday
Ruby Tuesday and more …

Roses photographed
in my yard and filtered with
Watercolor here

One more strawberry
from my yard … delicious treat
as I wait for more

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

Strawberries and Cream
is the name Serena gives
to this year’s outfit

Happily today
Serena Williams achieved
13th ‘major win’

playing Wimbledon
against Zvonareva this
morning in straight sets

passing Billie Jean’s
total of 12 major wins …
What a sight to see!

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Mosaic Monday and Ruby Tuesday

“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. that I’m feeling healthier after a weekend of cold symptoms.2. my DVR hasn’t deleted tennis matches I’ve not had time to watch yet.

3. for caller ID … allowing me to ignore annoying calls from people I don’t know who ignore ‘Do Not Call’ listings hoping to sell me things or services I neither need nor want.

4. that (after uninspired & disappointingly short women’s semi-final matches yesterday) both men’s semi-final tennis matches at the French Open were competitively entertaining … although I hoped that Melzer would win the 3rd set against Rafa so the match would have continued to a 4th (and possibly 5th) set like the Berdych-Soderling match did … just because.

5. for a good night’s sleep 😉

6. both the men’s and women’s Championship Tennis Matches were competitively entertaining this year.

7. a fun catch-up visit with my sister last night on the cell phone.

8. for a free medium latte when I purchased a pound of decaf coffee beans at Peet’s today.

9. for a delicious breakfast at Mimi’s Cafe, leftovers for tomorrow, and a free 4-pack of muffins currently in my freezer 😉

10. for afternoon sunshine bringing blue skies following morning drizzles all week.

11. after weeks of tendonitis in my elbow limiting activity, I’ve been able to toss a toy for Molly to fetch this past week and we’re BOTH happy about that.

12. for a tasty home-cooked meal at a friend’s house after which we watched ‘The Blind Side’ … what a wonderfully uplifting film about real people!

13. my neighbor from across the street who loves Molly came over today to play fetch with her … saving MY arm for another day’s play.

14. to connect with friends at Retired Gal’s Lunch this afternoon and catch up on summer plans.

15. my friend ‘S’ wasn’t injured physically when she totaled her Forrester this afternoon while driving home.

16. I was available to drive ‘S’ to her last craft class this morning so she could collect her ‘creative stuph’ … it was fun to meet the people she’s talked about for the last couple of years.

17. to hear from my sister finally … (this time from Colorado) … they’ve not had cell service and I was beginning to worry just a bit because it had been quite a while since her last call, but they’ve been enjoying their adventures on the road and that’s a good thing.

18. to all the ‘virtual friends’ who continue to visit my blogs whenever I find time to post something … hopefully one of these days I’ll be able to catch up with each of you 😉

19. for the 1st bloom ever on a relatively new Day Lily in my yard … a little lighter in color than my older one.

20. Wimbledon starts tomorrow and my DVR is cleared off & set to record ESPN’s coverage so I can record matches to watch as time permits.

21. that Roger Federer found a way to come back from 2 sets down in his first 2010 match at Wimbledon against the Columbian Alejandro Falla (who played the match of his life even though he couldn’t quite pull off the upset) to win his 200th match in a major tournament (saving match points along the way) … joining the likes of Jimmy Connors at 233, Andre Agassi at 224, Ivan Lendl at 222 and Pete Sampras at 203. That could have been the worst 1st-round upset ever at Wimbledon!

22. the veterinarian had a big bag of Molly’s Royal Canin Duck & Potato food in stock today.

23. for a tasty breakfast and a free 4-pack of muffins at Mimi’s Cafe this morning … with leftovers for tomorrow too 😉

24. John Isner won his 3-day 1st round Marathon Match against Nicolas Mahut … though I do feel bad that either had to lose this multi-record breaking 5-setter!

25. for all I’ve learned about Photoshop Elements, allowing me to ‘fix’ and share pictures I’ve snapped of ESPN’s tennis coverage with my Nikon D60 … quite fun 😉

26. Andy Roddick is through to the Round of 16 and seems to have a good draw against Yen Hsun Leu, a player I’ve not heard of or seen play before.

27. American Sam Querrey and Australian Leyton Hewitt made it through to the Round of 16 … with Sam to play Rafa Nadal and Leyton to play Novak Djokovic on Monday. I’d like to see those matches 😉

28. that both Serena & Venus are through to the Quarter finals in both singles & doubles, but saddened at the upset of Andy Roddick along with losses by Leyton Hewitt and Sam Querrey (both in untelevised matches) … and I confess that I’m upset with NBC’s coverage starting so late on the West Coast pretty much after all matches have been concluded in England.

29. Serena has made it through to the Semi-finals though what a surprise to see both Kim Clijsters & Venus Williams upset in their matches today.

30. to watch competitive men’s Quarter-final matches today at Wimbledon … but saddened to see Roger Federer out of the tournaments & learn of his injuries.

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 – 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 ;–)

Friday’s Fave Five and more …

Scroll down for
Sky Watch, Midweek Blues,
Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, and Mosaic Monday

Click for others participating in Friday’s Fave Five

1. The first four days of tennis at Wimbledon have been most memorable …
(FYI – I shared my thoughts about Day 3 at Small Reflections on Thursday and more photos at Sacred Ruminations on Saturday in Windows & Reflections at Wimbledon)… especially the first round ‘marathon match’ between John Isner of the USA and Nicolas Mahut of France that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over a three-day period. Because I’m in Los Angeles (not in England), I’m grateful for the excellent coverage by ESPN though it’s been challenging setting the DVR to switch back and forth from ESPN2 and ESPNU.  Amazingly Mahut (who lost the epic match 68-70) was back on court 18 just about an hour after it ended … playing doubles with his friend Arnaud Clement and that match was suspended for darkness (after the they lost the first set), so play will continue Friday.  They’re 4th up, so it’s possible play could be suspended yet again if they take the second set.  In addition on court 5, Isner will take on his 2nd round opponent Thiemo de Bakker of Holland (who played a shorter 5-setter over two days but had Thursday off to rest) finally on Friday.  If he makes it through this match (and the next against Xavier Malisse) he could come up against Rafa Nadal in the 4th round for one more hurdle in his second Wimbledon appearance ever.

Click any image to embiggen for better viewing

2. I’m relieved that Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Leyton Hewitt, and Rafa Nadal have survived the early rounds and hope things continue ‘on track’ for them. On the women’s side, Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, and Kim Clijsters are all off to an excellent start and I’m hopeful all my favorite players will make it to the Quarter Finals. In addition, I’ve enjoyed using my Nikon D60 to take photos of ESPN’s television coverage and Photoshop Elements to ‘crop & edit’ them to share … just because. Here are a few more from the Isner-Mahut match … and (although a totally accidental capture), the first is my personal favorite.

3. Once the morning low clouds (otherwise known as ‘June gloom’) disappears here at the beach in Southern California, skies have been blue for the most part this week with a few wispy white clouds.

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

4. While eating breakfast out with a friend at Coco’s recently we happened upon pink impatiens in parking lot planters. Below I’ve shared the mosaic I made with images straight out of the camera, then with the palette knife, watercolor, and finally poster edges filters … just because.

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

5. My sister called twice from the road this past week … we talked for more than an hour each time. It’s good to catch up with their travels this way. Her husband sent photos in email and I enjoyed seeing them in the midst of their travels too. This one is my favorite because I remember how much my sister loved to sit in trees and watch from above when we were kids.

Thought for Today

“Be an experimental person. Break up fixed routines. Expose yourself to new restaurants, new books, new theatres, new friends; take a different route to work someday, take a different vacation this year, do something new and different this weekend.” David J. Schwartz

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 ;–)

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 ;–)

Playful Potpourri …

Scroll down for Thursday Thirteen, Haiku Friday Sky Watch,
Camera Critters, Midweek Blues, Window Views
and Weekend 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!

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

Thirteen photographs
of a sparrow hanging out
in local palm trees

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Thursday Thirteen,
Haiku Friday, Sky Watch,
and Camera Critters

Window Reflections
near Long Beach Marina with
beautiful blue skies

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

Thought for Today

“”Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”
Albert Einstein

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 ;–)

Sunrise this morning in Southern California

Sunrise this morning
beautiful to say the least …
colorfully PINK!

Click to embiggen for better viewing and
for others participating in Haiku Friday, Sky Watch,
Finding Beauty, Color Carnival and Pink Saturday

Thought for Today

“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” Bill Bernback

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

I guess that’s why they call it the blues …

13 photographs
puffy clouds on lovely blue
skies between rainstorms

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Midweek Blues,
Thursday Thirteen, Haiku Friday, and Sky Watch

Thought for Today

“Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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