Gratitude for the Simple Things in Life

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

Although I continue to keep a Daily Gratitude List in my sidebar at Small Reflections, I do like to Blog my Blessings on Sundays here, so here goes: I'm grateful ...

1. for excellent competitive Australian Open tennis matches to watch this past week. I'm glad the Williams sisters won the Women's Doubles Championship and the Bryan Brothers took the Men's Doubles Trophy ... that Serena pulled out the win against Justine Henin to win in Australia for the second year running ... and that Roger regained the Australian Open title after losing there the last two years (in addition to the US Open last September) ... re-establishing himself as #1 at the age of 28½ by defeating Andy Murray in straight sets.

2. to spend Friday and Saturday with my sister ... after getting my Medicare, supplemental & drug plan 'ducks in a row' on Thursday. We enjoyed sharing a breakfast at the Harbor House in Sunset Beach Friday morning then drove to Balboa Island to walk around taking photos, after which we headed for Fashion Island ... happily buying nothing other than a latte at Starbucks in the afternoon. We did stop by Ritz Camera there to check on camera classes and signed up for two classes on Saturday.

3. My sister took these photos as we drove along Pacific Coast Highway on our way south to Balboa & Newport Beach. The weather over the weekend was beautiful but more rainstorms are headed our way and it's supposed to be wet all week long.

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and for others participating in Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shots,
Blue Monday and Mosaic Monday

4. in addition to the photography classes, my sister & I shared a tasty lunch of Mushu Pork at PF Chang's and a 'mini' yogurt at Pinkberry's before heading for home in the late afternoon.

5. I picked up Polarized filters for both my lenses and got a 3rd filter free. Now I need to figure out how they work ;-)

6. that my laptop & Blogger have allowed me to create and publish this post without crashing. I'm hoping to be able to catch up on blog visits this afternoon.

See my Daily Gratitude List
in the sidebar at Small Reflections
and the lists I've transferred to Happily Retired Gal

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
"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you'?" William A. Ward

Stormy Weather ... and TENNIS

Rainshowers have returned ... the slow drizzily kind that will soak into the soil (hopefully). The flat of pansies await planting still since the soil was too saturated to plant them after the series of 3 storms just passed.

Click images to embiggen
for better viewing of the seagull in flight ...

It's been hard to watch a series of tennis upsets for the Americans ... Andy Roddick lost a 5 setter to Marin Cilic (hope his shoulder injury isn't serious) and Venus Williams (after taking the first set 6-2 and getting a 5-3 lead on Li Na in the second) somehow dropped the match at 6-7, 5-7 ... unexplicably. Perhaps Tuesday's 3-set Doubles Match took more out of BOTH sisters than met the eye? They've not had a 'day of rest' since the tournament started.

To give Marin Cilic and Li Na their due, both played aggressively in their matches ... and deserved the wins.

Sad to see Safina & Nadal retire from their matches due to injury. Hope it's nothing serious enough to keep them off the courts in the future.

Amazing to see two Chinese players make it the the 'Quarters' ... a first for China!

This morning I'm watching my DVR recording of last night's match between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka ... can't believe how Serena's struggling ... dropping serve 3 times in this first set (after not dropping a serve in any of her previous singles matches)
... making 25 unforced errors ... failing to capitalize on numerous 'break' opportunities on Azarenka's serve ... losing the first set 4-6 ... dropping her first two service games in the second set. Simply stunning!

Victoria Azarenka has played with confidence from the start. Watching Serena drop two service games in the second set made things seem hopeless as Azarenka held for a 4-0 lead ... but Serena has clawed her way back to 3-4 (breaking back once & holding twice) then breaking again to level the set at 4 all ... holding serve for a 5-4 lead giving her a chance to break for the win and the opportunity to serve first in the 3rd set.

To her credit, Azarenka holds for 5 all ... but Serena holds for a 6-5 lead and another chance to break for the win & serve first in the 3rd set. She's making the same kind of come back that Li Na did against Venus in the previous match ... kind of fun to watch, though still worrisome until Serena actually wins the second set taking the match to a 3rd set.

Azarenka holds for the tiebreak at 6-6 that Serena wins (7-4) to even the match ... so there will be a 3rd set. I hope it's a competitive one from both players because that's the best kind of tennis to watch! I'm a bit concerned about Serena's health because she looked (and sounded) in pain earlier and didn't show much emotion when she closed out the second set. I guess I'll see what happens.

Both players have left the court so I'm going to finish & publish this before Mozilla crashes on me ... get a cup of coffee and enjoy the rest of the match. I know it's already been decided while I slept, but watching on the DVR makes it current for me so please don't tell me who wins when you stop by to comment.

I don't play tennis myself any longer, but I do love watching the major tournaments on television. I suspect Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko weren't thrilled having to wait a while longer to begin their match last night (yesterday in Australia). I'll be watching it next & don't want to know the outcome of it either ;-)

Photos from the 2010 Australian Open website

12pm addendum

How amazing is Serena to come back like that ... winning 13 of the last 17 games ... playing a clean 3rd set (18 winners, 3 errors) & winning the match 4-6, 7-6, and 6-2? Hard to imagine ... but this was Azarenka's first Quarter Final and Serena's made similar comebacks before in 'majors' ... and she's a fighter for sure.

Photos from the 2010 Australian Open website

The Davydenko-Federer match after was really something too! Methinks Roger owes a debt of gratitude to the Williams sisters for delaying the start time so that much of the match was played in the shade because as the temperatures dropped, so did the play of Nikolay Davydenko who ran over Roger Federer for a set and a half when things turned. Methinks the difference shows up best in the number of breaks ... Davydenko converted 5 of 19 chances while Federer converted 8 of 14 opportunities.

Photos from the 2010 Australian Open website

I've taken Molly for a walk and am hoping the computer will let me visit some blogs (without crashing) now ... after which I plan to watch my DVR recording of the Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Novak Djokovic match so I can delete it before I leave for class this evening. It could be highly competitive since these two played for the Championship in 2009.

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Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
(anything but) Wordless Wednesday, Midweek Blues and Sky Watch

Hope YOU have a delightful day ;-)

Thought for Today
"How can something bother you if you won't let it?"
the Quote Garden

Sun's Out ... I see SHADOWS again ;-)

The prompt is Sunny Days

After all the rain
we've enjoyed two clear days with
beautiful sunshine!

Clouds in the distance
giving way to amazing
brilliance against blue ...

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and for others participating in One Single Impression

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

Although I continue to keep a Daily Gratitude List in my sidebar at Small Reflections, it's been a while since I last Blogged my Blessings here, so here goes: I'm grateful ...

1. that the rain has stopped (for the weekend at least) and next week's predicted weather isn't supposed to be as severe as last week's storms. We really do NEED the rain (though not all at once like this) ... the ground has responded producing new growth (and WEEDS everywhere)! Guess I'll be busy in the garden for a while.
I'm hoping to get the flat of pansies in the ground next week but the soil's much too saturated today.

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and for others participating in
Shadow Shot Sunday, Mellow Yellow, & Mosaic Monday

2. It's wonderful to see blue skies and shadows again ... and Ms Kitty's happy to have her favorite spots dry enough to hang out & watch the world go by!

3. I'm relieved to have made progress with my Medicare applications last week and am hoping everything will progress from here with no unexpected glitches. I'm still trying to decide about a Plan D prescription plan and am open to input on the process if anyone has advice to offer. Online research is confusing at best and the fact that my computer has been crashing to the Blue Screen of Death several times a day isn't helping ... but I'm confident I'll figure it out before the end of the month and get myself signed up for something.

4. I've been backing up my photos and documents this morning and plan to call Dell later on today or tomorrow once that's finished. The previous 'crash messages' have indicated WLAN 'driver' issues (though I've checked numerous times & have the most recent drivers for my card installed) ... but an early morning 'recovery message' indicated that the WLAN card isn't working properly so perhaps they'll send me a new one and my problems will disappear. (One can always hope, right?)

5. Although I've fallen behind on 'blog visits' ... the rain and computer problems have freed up time to watch Australian Open tennis matches and US National figure skating championships on television this week ... and that's been a pleasant diversion. I do hope to be able to catch up eventually and I appreciate all of you who have continued to drop by in the meantime.

See my Daily Gratitude List
in the sidebar at Small Reflections
and the lists I've transferred to Happily Retired Gal

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
"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." Frank A. Clark

More rainy views and ...

miscellaneous afternoon thoughts ...
Scroll down for Scenic Views of Newport Beach Harbor

1. Since the 'secure envelope' hasn't shown up in the mail ... I called yesterday to see what could be done ... asked if I could 'walk in' to have them copy my paperwork and was told I could. This morning I made it safely to the Social Security office in Fountain Valley and ran a few errands on the way home. Some intersections were flooded but passable.

... there's LOTS of debris in the streets ... especially here at the beach.

2. At the Social Security office, I checked in ... was given a number ... and waited about 35 minutes to see someone. It took another 25 minutes to get my paperwork scanned into my Medicare file and all but one of my questions answered. I'm supposed to call back next week to find out whether my 'claim number' will be my own SS# followed by a 't' ... or my 'ex's' SS# followed by a 'b' ... apparently it's anybody's guess until the number is actually assigned. I'm assured that my coverage begins on February 1st even if I don't have my 'award letter' and Medicare card. Hopefully I won't need it any time soon. (Taking time to knock on wood before continuing).

3. On the way home, I stopped by Costco to pick up a few things and to buy gas for the Explorer ... made another $200 donation for Haiti while checking out because Costco matches it dollar for dollar and 100% of the money goes to the Red Cross.

4. The ocean is choppy & the skies grey ... lots of water everywhere.

5. I'm glad to be home sipping a cup of tea and watching tennis as I type. Justine Henin managed to come back from a set and a break down in her match yesterday against Kleybanova, but Kim Clijsters wasn't so fortunate in her match against Nadia Petrova who played the match of her life. It was hard to watch Kim struggle with herself and not find her game ... making more than 21 errors and hitting just a few winners ... losing to Petrova 6-0, 6-1 ... something that's not happened to her since Serena defeated her a decade ago 6-0, 6-2.

6. John Isner played a great match against Gael Monfils ... winning it in 4 sets. Andy Roddick defeated Feliciano Lopez in four sets after dropping a tiebreaker in the first set, and Gonzales won his match against Korolev in 5 sets ... Del Potro, Murray, and Tsonga won their matches too. I'm watching the Nadal vs. Kohlschreiber match currently on my DVR with Nadal up two sets ... looking for the win.

7. Although Ms Kitty doesn't like the rain, she likes being indoors even less ... but she does 'hang out' by the French Doors out front during lulls in the weather. (see more photos of her in this morning's post at Small Reflections).

8. Molly wants to go for a walk, but doesn't like water falling from the sky even though she loves to roll around in puddles (go figure). The continuing rain makes a walk look unlikely at the moment but we did get outside for a while yesterday afternoon. It was cold & windy!

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Stormy Views of Newport Beach Harbor





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and for others participating in Scenic Sunday

Thought for Today
"Weather forecast for tonight: dark." George Carlin