FridayFAVES - Joy-filled Miscellany - Heartbreak

Scroll down for Window Views,
Shadow Shots, Camera Critters & Pet Pride
and some Miscellany on my Mind

1. My brother-in-law managed to share three 'snow photos' from their recent visit to Yosemite with help from their oldest son. They've been resized to be smallish files (to cut down on time time required to send them since campground Internet access leaves much to be desired), but you can click to embiggen a bit for better viewing.

2. After a few days without phone contact, my sister called late yesterday afternoon to catch up. They found campgrounds in Death Valley crowded so they weren't able to stay as long as they'd planned. As a result they're currently just south of Flagstaff and plan to stay in a Coast to Coast campground for a few days ... taking day trips to explore the area before heading south. They have no Internet access so can't send any more photos at the moment, but have promised to do so as soon as possible.

3. After hearing about this resource from friends & acquaintances for a long time, I've checked out Goldstar.com ... finally! What a nifty way to save money while getting out to enjoy entertainment opportunities. I've purchased tickets at half-price for a weekend matinee featuring the music of the Eagles (let's hear it for nostalgia folks) and plan to attend with a friend.

4. Although we got a little overnight rain this past week, my yard required deeper watering ... and it's WINDY currently so I'll probably be watering again this weekend. If you missed them, I did share some outdoor flower views in my previous post here at Sacred Ruminations and Ruby Red Amaryllis in my Colorful Outdoor World at Small Reflections. My weekend post at Happily Retired Gal is a Playful Potpourri ... with YardArt, T13, HF SkyWatch, WindowViews, Reflections, and Critters too ;-)

5. This week I've set up an automatic backup for my Dell Inspiron 1720 and my Sony Vaio (using separate Iomega external hard drives) after shifting relevant files from an 'out of date' Western Digital 'MyBook' backup of the old Dell Inspiron 9100 that crashed a while back. You'd think I would have learned the importance of regular back ups years ago from previous computer crash disasters, but sometimes I need multiple opportunities to learn valuable lessons. If either of these computers crashes down the line I won't have to reconstruct and/or recreate the files bit by bit as I've done in the past. If YOU don't back up your files on a regular basis, may I suggest you get yourself an external hard drive and set one up ASAP ... just because.

Click images to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Friday's Fave Five
and Just for the JOY of it!

A few important things on my mind today ...

and 'Gotcha' day too ;-)

It's my youngest nephew's 28th birthday today (and his older brother's 'gotcha' day) ... so I want to wish them each a delightful day to celebrate. I love you both! My sister & her husband adopted both boys as infants and in a strange turn of events ... each one arrived on the other's birthday. How's THAT for a bit of serendipity?

to Lily Hydrangea of
Long Island Daily Photo

Lily celebrated her Blogoversary a while back with a wonderful give-away and I won my choice of FIVE lovely cards from her Zazzle online gift shop plus a sheet of personalized postage stamps with my choice of design. I've tried to photograph them to share but downloaded (and cropped) this image from her site. Methinks you'll get a better look by checking out the links. Her work is beautiful ;-)

Click images to embiggen for better viewing and for
others participating in Window Views and Shadow Shots

The original shot of these palm fronds on the roof
taken WEEKS ago ... is a bit crooked

so I straightened it a bit before cropping for
this close up of the 'palm fronds' ...

because yesterday's wind blew them down

into the front yard ... where Molly & Aloha played

Straight from the camera above
with Poster Edges below ...

and cropped for better viewing ...




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

On a sad note ...

My heart is heavy for those who lost loved ones in the catastrophic explosion on the offshore drilling rig that caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that appears to have a real potential to become the worst oil spill in history if the continuing leak isn't plugged soon ... surpassing the damage done by the Exxon Valdez tanker that spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound in 1989. Apparently this leak is pouring out crude oil at a rate of up to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons or 955,000 liters) a day because there was no 'automatic' shut off on the rig ... and it makes me wonder about all the other oil rigs out there.

These Internet photos from earlier oil disasters
break my heart and cause me to question our priorities

Thought for Today
""You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind." Darwin P. Kingsley

Midday Musings about my Outdoor World

Herein are my
Morning (perhaps Midday) Musings,
some struggling flowers and
a multitude of roses
just because!

Scroll down for Wordful,
Watery Outdoor Wednesday
and Midweek Blues

1. It's cool & dreary out this morning but apparently the predicted rain isn't going to fall after all so I'll be watering the yard in a little while because WINDS are on their way and the ground is already quite dry ... even though I watered just a few days ago to keep my flowers blooming. Here are a few struggling plants ... Allysum, Johnny Jump Ups, Pansies, and Gazanias.

I love this 'string' of Johnny Jump Ups
appearing to support one another ...

while this one hangs in there all on its own.

Click to embiggen any photo for better viewing


Small pansy plants above
and a clump of Johnny Jump Ups below

2. So far my roses don't seem bothered by the lack of water and are blooming enthusiastically in pink, red, and apricot hues! I've shared previously on each of my blogs, but here are photos from yesterday.

Red Veteran's Honor Roses above
and a more 'generic' pink rosebud below

My one remaining Mr. Lincoln rose ... fading

from various perspectives

Click photos to embiggen for better viewing

3. Roses seem to do well in the neighborhood as well. Here are some views from recent walks to brighten your day ... each treated with 'Poster Edges' because I like the look.

4. Molly & Aloha have become friends ... in fact Molly seeks her out whenever possible ... though their play is rough because Aloha (the almost one year old Dalmatian-Whippet mix) can be quite aggressive and relentless, and Molly needs frequent opportunities to rest mid-play ... though do both stop to drink often.

Straight out of the camera above
Poster Edges below

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...



Molly takes rest breaks sooner than Aloha ...

and Aloha initiates play quickly in a myriad of ways




... but BOTH take 'water' breaks often!


Other than from the hose,
this is all the water we'll be seeing outside


... unless we take a walk down to the ocean ...



where I see beautiful watery views like these ;-)


Click for others participating in
Random Tuesday Thoughts, Midweek Blues,
Wordful , Watery and Outdoor Wednesday
Hope you're each having a delightful day!

Thought for Today
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
Albert Schweitzer