Belated HF#120-SkyWatch#32-PhotoHunt too

Click for HF #119 & FaveFive#4 & Today'sFlowers
and another Thankful Photo Hunt
in my 501st Milestone post
at Small ReflectionsLate this week with my
Haiku Sky Watch Friday post
I've combined it with ...

This week's theme is ... GRATITUDE

Greeted by dark clouds
with more showers predicted ...
imagine delight

when skies cleared like this
inviting my sister and
I to take a walk

(Click to embiggen for better viewing)
with our cameras
through the wetlands ... Beautiful
blue skies greeted us
Later driving south-
ward on PCH the view
below greeted us.
At Small Reflections
earlier today I share
Egret collages

created by me
using Photoshop & 'pics'
from that nature walk.

Click images to embiggen for better viewing.

Click for a second
Haiku Sky Watch Friday
published yesterday
at Happily Retired Gal
and for others participating in
Photo Hunt, Sky Watch,
Looking at the Sky on Fridays
& Haiku Friday this week.

Thought for Today
"The world is your school." Martin H. Fischer

WordfulWednesday - Belatedly catching up a bit

This is my 342nd post at Sacred Ruminations!
I suppose I could plan a celebration at 350
sometime next week ;--)

Click button for others participating in Wordful Wednesday

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them).

Sharing what greeted me Monday once again!

Click to embiggen either or both for better viewing

If you missed it ... I celebrated my birthday on February 23rd at Small Reflections ... sharing some Stormy Sky & Beautiful Rainbow Photos captured & collaged with PSE6 on Monday morning. Thanks to all who left me birthday wishes there and here on Sunday's post. It was definitely one to remember!

As a follow up to Monday's post ... I'll add here that weather permitted my sister & I to walk the wetlands with our cameras for a few hours without getting soaked ... and we opted for the 'skillet fruit cobbler' after sharing the Tostada Bites appetizer ...

Baked Seafood Enchiladas*
Blackened salmon and tuna, grilled cilantro pesto shrimp, wild mushrooms and baby spinach, topped with Jack and cotija cheeses and a roasted red pepper sauce, served with green chile rice and black beans.

I share my birthday Rainbow Award here as my 'belated Monday Motivator' and Simply Kind Tuesdays posts:

As my gift to all who visit ... please accept this Rainbow Award to enjoy yourselves & pass it along to others who practice gratitude in their lives on a daily basis.

Click to embiggen for better viewing
The quote is a Chinese Proverb that says:
"To know the road ahead ...
ask those coming back."

I'd like to than Drgngirl at Creative Self Belief for this ...

and share it with my bloggy friends
& visitors who leave me comments because
reading them always makes me feel warm & fuzzy.

Thanks to Tricia of Bluff Area Daily
for this Kreativ Blogger award ... I'm honored to be blessed with it once again.

Thought for Today
"As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world." Adabella Radici

BYBS and Sacred Life Sunday

Click for Shadow Shot Sunday #6
at Happily Retired Gal

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
Cherokee Indian Proverb

1. Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 64 years young ;--)
I'm grateful to be in good health with energy to learn & do new things ... pursuing learning all the time. I'll be celebrating at Small Reflections on Monday so I hope you'll drop by if time permits.2. Last Thursday afternoon my Writer's Workshop finally started and it seems like it will be a good group. The course runs through the end of April ... meeting weekly ... and I'm excited by the interactive feedback we'll be giving & receiving one another.

3. My sister & I continue to learn about our Nikon Cameras in the photography classes at the Ritz store in Irvine and yesterday we walked together at the beach snapping many photographs ... some of which I shared today at Small Reflections. 4. If you're buried under snow and need a glimpse of Springtime, drop by Small Reflections to see the floral collages I shared there Friday ... and if you can help me identify the orange, yellow, & white blossoms, I'd be grateful. The purple blooms are early Irises.
5. For additional blessings, I continue to add something daily to my 'thankful list' in the sidebar at Small Reflections.

What are some blessings in YOUR life currently?

For others who 'Blog Their Blessings'

go to My Blog Rolls and/or click on the
Blog Your Blessings logo
above Really Good Things.

For those who participate in Sacred Life Sunday
click the logo below:

Blessed Be ... and so it is!

Thought for Today
"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." Cynthia Ozick

CameraCritters - Photo Hunt ... WARM

Click for HF#118 - SkyWatch#31
This is my 47thMisty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.

This week's theme is ... WARM

I offer this ...
Heart WARMing Video

Birth of a Masai Giraffe

I found this video link at Chris B's - Ms Cellania and had to pass it along ... just because. It's a bit over sized, but if I make it smaller I lose part of the clip so I'm leaving it this way. Enjoy!

Belatedly ... (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Click for others participating in Wordless Wednesday,
Camera Critters, and other Photo Hunters this week.

Thought for Today
"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Carl Sandburg

HF#116 - SkyWatch#31 - Electric Skies

Click for HF #117 & FaveFive#3 & Today'sFlowers
and the Birth of a Masai Giraffe.

Fluffy clouds on blue
skies 'littered' with electrical
wires ... fact of life

in my neighborhood.
Maybe one day they will be
moved underground but

I'm not holding my
breath. I suspect they'll remain
long after I'm gone.

Click to embiggen for better viewing.

Click for a second
Haiku Sky Watch Friday
published earlier
at Happily Retired Gal
and for others participating in
Sky Watch, Looking at the Sky on Fridays
& Haiku Friday this week.

Thought for Today
"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind." Leo F. Buscaglia

Simply Kind Tuesday - Choosing Compassion

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion." the Dalai Lama

"During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy." Joann C. Jones

Claudia of Everyday Kindness has made some changes ... splitting the Everyday Kindness Challenge into two parts:

1. The original challenge to perform at least one act of kindness per day continues.
2. The new challenge is 'Simply Kind Tuesdays' ... the goal of which is to increase awareness of the kindness that surrounds us.

I invite you to participate in either or both challenges as time & energy permit. Clicking on the Simply Kind and/or Everyday Kindness logos at the top and bottom of this page will take you to others participating.

Thought for Today
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." Samuel Johnson

Happy Valentine's Day - PhotoHunt (Nautical)

This week's theme is 'nautical' ...

Walking in Long Beach
around the marina with
my new camera

snapping photographs ...
Serendipity? Perhaps
because I took these

pictures then collaged
them when TN Chick's email
arrived on Thursday.

Click to 'embiggen' for better viewing ...
& click for other Photo Hunters this week.

Click for
Camera Critters #45
HF#115 & Friday's Five Favs
HaikuFriday#114 & SkyWatch#29
HaikuSkyWatchFriday @ HappilyRetiredGal

If you need a 'shot of inspiration' here's a link to a lovely 3 minute video from Simple Truths sharing success secrets through awesome photos and powerful thoughts ... found in this morning's email.

This Valentine is for all my Bloggy Friends
and any visitors who leave me a comment ... just because.

Wishing you a delightful Valentine's Day

and wonderful weekend!

Thought for Today
"The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them." Stephen King

Haiku Friday #114 - Sky Watch #29

Thursday Thirteen #47 is at Small Reflections
Haiku Friday #115 & Fave Five will be there later on.

For the 3rd time this
week I offer cloudy skies ...
I'm a bit obsessed

with a series of
rainstorms finally passing
through our area

bringing much needed
rain relief for drought ridden
parts of Southern Cal.

Click to embiggen for better viewing.

Click for a second
Haiku Sky Watch Friday
published earlier
at Happily Retired Gal
and for others participating in
Sky Watch, Looking at the Sky on Fridays
& Haiku Friday this week.

Thought for Today
"There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends." Arnot Sheppard

Wordy Wellness Wednesday - Then and Now

This morning's quote from TUT.com

"One of my favorite things about time and space is that absolutely NOTHING can ever happen there that can't be seen as a blessings in some wonderful way."

Perspective rules,
The Universe

I don't know how it happened, but somehow this post ... created in early October of 2008 ... didn't get published. Upon discovering it in my drafts folder today, I've decided to add to what I created then and share it today ... just because. For clarification, the original
post is in black and today's additions are in purple.

This morning, I'm doing what I can to
B R E A T H E and R E L A X as a means to cope with the churning in the pit of my stomach while listening to this morning's 'news' ... (something I usually avoid, but seem drawn into today in the aftermath
of the 2nd Presidential Debate and the 'financial crisis' in our nation). Turning
off the television is an option, but when
I do so my mind continues to run ... fearfully, so in some respects it helps to leave it on in the hopes of hearing some 'good' news as I seek to 'center' myself and redirect my mind more productively.

That's what I wrote in October ...

After viewing President Obama's Address for the 3rd time this morning, my concerns about recent news about the Economy & 'the stimulus bill' in Congress have shifted.

I still find myself remembering to B R E A T H E and R E L A X when listening to the morning news ... realizing the Stock Market dropped almost 400 points yesterday because the financial folks don't like the lack of specificity in Tim Geithner's message. Listening to 'sound bites' aired repeatedly does cause me to turn
off the television ... and that may be a good thing. I know things
are likely to get worse before they get better ... especially when
I see charts like the one below from the Bureau of Labor Statistics ... illustrating why STIMULUS is needed NOW. The informative conversation concerning 'the rescue plan' outlined by Geithner yesterday shared on The NEWSHOUR with Jim Lehrer is worth a listen when time permits.

Do you SEE the current downward dive in job loss?
This certainly scares ME and I'm retired!!!

I assume the Republicans in Congress have access to this information ... so I just don't 'get' the hard line they seem to have taken as regards the current situation. That's why I shared the informational video at Small Reflections on Sunday. If you've not checked it out and if you're concerned about the financial mess, I recommend doing so when time permits.

I'm open to discussion here and/or in email. Methinks the citizenry needs to be engaging in meaningful discourse ... exchanging points of view ... generating ideas and writing to our Representatives in Congress because doing nothing is not an option and taking hard party lines helps no one. Serious discussion and debate ... openness to alternative ideas ... and respectful discourse & compromise is required to stop the economic free fall. Together we know more
than any of us knows alone ... and methinks it's time to step up and participate in our Democracy meaningfully.

As for doing what I can to keep myself healthy ... what follows are links from October of 2008. They still seem relevant to me as ways to help me remain calm ...

Not long ago Karen Maezen Miller (aka Momma Zen) shared this link in 'Laughter is Contagious' collage shared by Izzy n' Emmy and those I listed in recent Smiley Saturday posts like these from this past weekend:

1. Gattina's T-13 at Writers Cramps with 'Telephone Answering Messages'
2. Frivolous Friday at Sassy Mama Bear's Cafe at the End of the Universe
3. Angela's Witty Wednesday featured foolish things folks actually said in court ... reminding me of an 'illustrated' post I shared here at Small Reflections a while back entitled Disorder in the Court.
4. How Times Have Changed shared by Jo at Teacher Says
5. Time for a Giggle or Two at Sylvia's View From Over the Hill

Choosing to revisit and pass along posts like Natural Highs on each of my blogs and Quizzes too helps me to return to 'the moment' ... release tension & stress ... and redirect my thoughts more productively.

As for our weather here in Southern California ... the charts have changed a bit over the last couple of days ... so it's clear & sunny today with significant rain predicted for the weekend ... and lighter showers continuing through Tuesday. I'm delighted to report we've had 10 inches thus far and need about 5 more to avoid water rationing down the line.

Click to embiggen for better viewing.

Thought for Today
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer."
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

MondayMotivator - Belated BYBS - SacredLifeSunday

Click for ShadowShotSunday#4
PhotoHunt-Bridge(s) & Creative Photography
HaikuFridaySkyWatch

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." Life's Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
Cherokee Indian Proverb

I apologize
for being late once again
with BYBS

and My Sacred Life
at Sacred Ruminations.
I do write daily

in my sidebar at
Small Reflections ... making a
simple 'thankful' list

so to those like PERBS
who 'missed' this on Sunday, it's
a 'backup' of sorts ;--)

As usual I feel
blessings abound in my life!
Here are just a few:

1. The rain showers here in Southern California feel wonderful ... as if winter finally arrived. The flowers, grass, trees, & plants in my yard seem happier. You can see some in After Rain. I'm thrilled to report there's more rain on the way too.

2. Although I've had minimal time for blogging, continuing to spend time with my sister is wonderfully enjoyable and we're learning together about how to use our cameras as we visit together, dine out, and take walks for exercise.

3. I've enjoyed experimenting with the Tamron 28-300mm lens along with the various settings & features on my NikonD60 camera ... capturing some lovely shots along with making many mistakes from which I'm hopefully learning.

What are some blessings in YOUR life currently?

For others who 'Blog Their Blessings'

go to My Blog Rolls and/or click on the
Blog Your Blessings logo
above Really Good Things.

For those who participate in Sacred Life Sunday
click the logo below:

Blessed Be ... and so it is!

Thought for Today
"Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume." Jean de Boufflers