Grateful Reflections ...

Tuesday's visit to
South Coast Plaza yielded these
window reflections

in her eagerness
to greet my sister, Molly
knocked this blossom down


and I tried to save
it using this juice bottle
by the microwave

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and others participating in
Weekend Reflections and Window Views

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

1. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining ... it's a beautiful day at the beach here in Southern California ... SPRING has sprung in my front yard already with Nasturtiums, Irises, and Crocus in bloom and my roses coming back already!

2. My neighbor brought me a Veteran's Honor rose bush for my yard on Friday ... a gift from her father who has raised roses for a long time. I'm trying to decide just where I want to plant it, but the soil's way too wet right now so it's sitting on my front patio. What a lovely birthday gift and delightful addition to my garden!

3. I managed to get my Dell 1720 (running Vista) to access my very old Photosmart 7150 printer ... finally. When I tried to hook it up a while back, I couldn't get the drivers from the original CD to work because they were designed for Windows 98 ... but this last time I decided to just plug the printer in and see what happened. When asked if I had the drivers I said no ... so when asked if I wanted to search for them I said yes ... and apparently that's what I could have done in the first place because now I can print again. Of course I can't scan, copy, or fax and it's very S L O W ... but it's good enough for now at least to be able to print however long it takes.

4. Unfortunately, that same Dell 1720 (running Vista) continues to crash to a Blue Screen periodically when I try to visit blogs ... so I'm still behind ... trying to catch up as I'm able. Guess I'll be on the phone with Dell again next week trying to figure out a fix with tech support.

5. My heart goes out to all those in Chile affected by the recent massive earthquake and my prayers are with survivors coping with the aftermath. It's humbling to consider the power of nature to destroy ... especially knowing just how many faults run under the place I reside here in Southern California near the beach.

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

Wordful Wednesday ... Morning Musings

Herein are my Morning Musings

1. I left home yesterday morning at 8am for my Digital Media class ... met up with my sister afterward shortly after noon to spend the day together celebrating my birthday. Last Thursday night she broke her toe and since she wasn't walking well today we altered out plans a bit, putting off our intended 'beach & pier photo walk' and late afternoon lunch at Duke's (as described yesterday at Small Reflections). We'll do that another time ... perhaps on Friday (weather and her foot permitting).

2. Since I can't print anything currently, a friend suggested I email my birthday coupons to her so she could print them out for me ... and that's what we did. She gave them to me yesterday at class.

3. My sister and I celebrated at Z'Tejas in South Coast Plaza instead ... starting off with cornbread & honey butter ... sharing an order of 'tostada bites' then a 'pecan encrusted chicken spinach salad with feta cheese' ... and a slice of Ancho Fudge Pie.

Click to embiggen for better viewing

4. The skies look a bit threatening this morning and rain is predicted for today & tomorrow ...

5. Today at 9am I'm taking Molly to the Doggie Spa for a much needed bath. I've got most of her bedding in the washer currently, I'll vacuum thoroughly and wash her purple collar while she's there so everything will be clean when she returns. We'll both be happy to 'cuddle' again ;-)

Molly returns from her last visit in November of 2009

6. I've got two coupons from Starbucks ... one for a free 'birthday drink' and another for $2 off a hot panini. I'm thinking about stopping for the free drink after I drop her off and the panini when I pick her up to indulge myself ... just because.

7. I've not had much opportunity to visit the past few days but am hoping to do some catching up today if my computer will let me do so. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Of course, that makes it challenging to type ;-)

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

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Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus

Thought for Today
"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest." Larry Lorenzoni

the hurrieder i go, the behinder i get ...

Yes, I know it is
Saturday ... but I started
this post on Friday

running out of time
with computer 'issues' I'll
write about later

but for now I am
finishing this morning 'cuz
it seems 'right' somehow

Scroll down for Haiku Sky Watch,
Friday's Five Faves and BYBS

beautiful and yet
threatening, the skies above
always fascinate




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and for others participating in Finding Beauty,
Haiku Friday and Sky Watch


Belated ...

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Friday Fave Five

1. Although we didn't get to celebrate my friend's birthday at Duke's yesterday after all (because she wasn't feeling well) ... and despite a mishap causing significant pain in my sister's toe that I'll share another time ... we spent a pleasant afternoon together. We started with lunch at Matsu, my favorite local Japanese restaurant.

Click to embiggen for better viewing

2. After lunch my sister was looking for some shorts so we headed to REI where I discovered that the kewl Keen boots I purchased there at full price on February 7th were 'on sale' ... so I asked about their policy, learned they'd honor the sale price so I received a refund of $49. I loved the boots before, but I really love them now. I'm grateful she decided to shop REI yesterday because otherwise I wouldn't have known to ask ;-)

Guess this is an early birthday present for me!

3. The rain waited until we returned home ... falling overnight. The ground was wet this morning when I awakened, but the sun is out already so it looks like another nice day. Apparently more storms are off the coast headed our way, but hopefully they'll be mild like this first one.

4. Next Tuesday is my 65th birthday ... and as I type this I'm reminded I need to call about my Part D supplemental drug coverage to see if they've resolved the issues I shared previously.
My sister & I plan to celebrate at Duke's in Huntington Beach with lunch followed by Hula Pie ... the place I've celebrated with friends for years ;-)

5. I'm grateful my Dell Inspiron 1720 (running Vista) allowed me to create this post today because yesterday morning it kept crashing again when I tried to visit blogs. My older Dell Inspiron 9100 seems to have self-destructed. When I awakened yesterday, the old laptop had somehow turned itself on overnight and crashed to the Blue Screen of Death. No matter what I've tried, I can't get it to boot ... so I guess I'll take it to someone to see what can be done with it, but I suspect I might be in the market for a new computer since the new Dell has proven unreliable throughout the 19 months I've owned it. It seems Gilda Radner was correct ... it's always something, right?

Since I'm late with Friday stuph
(and there's no guarantee what today will bring)
I've decided to do 'double duty' early for Sunday ... just because.

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

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

Early Evening Musings ...

It's almost 5pm and
I'm just getting around to sharing my

but better late than never, right?
So ... herein are my Evening Musings
that methinks I'll link with Wordful Wednesday at

and Outdoor Wednesday too ;-)

My Digital Media class this session meets on T-Th from 8:30-11:30
in the morning. I'm not used to getting myself ready and out of the house so early any more. Of course Molly wasn't happy to miss her morning walk but we enjoyed walking together this afternoon when I returned home.

I spent considerable time over the last 3 days pruning my citrus trees and (as a result) my body aches. Guess it would have been smart to hire a tree trimmer to do this task, especially since I'm not finished yet.

That said, I've done it for decades and paying someone to do it seemed like an unnecessary expense, but perhaps I'll let someone else do it next year ... or not.

The lime tree was starting to put out blossoms,
so I knew I needed to get to work on it right away.

The lemon tree is still loaded with fruit
so I had to be careful what I cut back.

I still have no clue what this white blossom might be
but I'm certainly curious and would like to know.

I first shared original views of it (different from these)
at Small Reflections for Macro Monday on February 8th ...

then again as a mosaic on February 9th
at my WordPress site, Happily Retired Gal.

It changes daily so I keep snapping photos of it.

I've checked all the suggestions visitors have made with Google (Narcissus, Lily of the Valley, etc) but haven't found anything that really looks like it.

I've used the Poster Edges filter in Photoshop Elements to alter these images ... just because I like the way the effect looks.

If you have an idea what it might be or a suggestion about how I could determine it's name, I'd appreciate you sharing ...

because I'd love to plant more of these in my garden.

I'm pretty sure it's a bulb. I planted a bunch of different kinds of bulbs a few years back but inadvertently tossed the pictures with the names of plants that I'd intended to keep ...

Sigh ... so much for the best laid plans going awry ...

As for other matters ...

I've recorded the Olympics on my DVR since Sunday but haven't had time to watch everything. I did see the first night of Pairs Figure Skating and enjoyed watching Shen Xue & Zhao Hongbo perform their short program with such artistry, skill, and joy!

Mosaic created with PSE6 using internet images found with Google

A few minutes ago I finished viewing the long programs ... and (although their performance wasn't perfect) I'm delighted they secured the Gold Medal. What a happy ending for their 18 year journey.

In addition I'm happy for Pang & Tong who won the Silver in their 3rd Olympics (after just missing the podium in Torino). How pleased Yao Bin (the Chinese ice-skater turned coach who spent the last two decades building a Pairs Figure Skating program in China) must be. What a tremendous accomplishment!

I tend to prefer the individual events to 'team sports' ... (figure & speed skating, downhill racing, cross country skiing, jumping, snowboarding, etc) ... so I've not watched any hockey and probably won't.

I'm relieved to report that my Medicare Card arrived in the mail over the weekend ... HOORAY! Unfortunately my Plan D coverage is still up in the air ... apparently my original application has been lost. I spent a long time on the phone yesterday trying to resolve the problem and eventually was told they'd resubmit it. I'm supposed to call in a week to check on the status of things.

Hunger calls ... so methinks I'll publish this and fix myself something to eat then settle down to watch some Olympic events.

Click for others participating in
Random Tuesday Thoughts
Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer
(anything but) Wordless Wednesday
Obviously NOT ...

Thought for Today
"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." Chinese Proberb