Beautiful Shadowy Blooms ... Joy-filled Faves

and belatedly ...

1. Those who know me might have already guessed that I've been watching TENNIS this past week since the French Open started last Sunday, but I have taken time each day to walk Molly and snap some photographs ... Just for the JOY of it.

2. Between the coverage on The Tennis Channel and ESPN2, I've not had much time for anything else, but I did take time out Wednesday afternoon to get my hair cut & permed ... Just for the JOY of it and it's good to have 'care-free' hair again!

3. This morning (for some inexplicable reason) my Tennis Channel coverage died for about a half hour ... (although all my other channels were working just fine). With help from Tech Support at Time Warner Cable, I managed to get it working again ... though I missed some matches I wanted to see. Apparently (while I was without coverage) Serena Williams won her 3rd round match this morning, but Andy Roddick lost his ;-(

4. Friday morning I took a 3-hour class on Google Docs ... (Just for the JOY of it) ... and learned how to collaborate with others via the Internet. It's a pretty nifty tool ;-)

5. Today I'm sharing BEAUTIFUL shadowy views of African Iris blossoms ... also known as Fortnight Lily. Although MINE haven't yet bloomed this year, several of my neighbors' yards have been filled with lovely blooms this past week.

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
participating in Shadow ShotSunday, Today's Flowers,
Finding Beauty, Friday's Fave Five & Just for the JOY of it

Thought for Today
"Far away, there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." Louisa May Alcott

Wistfully wondering where weeks went ...

Herein are my
Morning (perhaps Midday) Musings
belated (or early) 'thirteen thoughts' for Thursday
with some neighborhood flowers
... just for the JOY of it!


Scroll down for Watery Outdoor Wednesday.
Midweek Blues, Yard Art, Thursday Thirteen,
and Just for the JOY of it!

1. It's hard to believe that my last post here at Sacred Ruminations was published on May 6th and that I shared my last 'randomness' on April 27th. I guess this is a result of altering my morning routine a while back ... (Just for the JOY of it) ... taking time to meditate and write in my journal by hand before turning on the computer.

2. I've chosen to set aside 'true but useless' information & things over which I have no control and decided instead to focus myself on 'really good things' ... (Just for the JOY of it) ... a practice which leads me to feel motivated to tackle tasks around home with renewed enthusiasm. I find myself coming to the computer (and/or the days news on the television) MUCH later in the day ... if at all.

3. One blessing of retirement is freedom to choose how I spend my time ... and for the last decade I've delighted in that opportunity. Occasionally, underneath the daily joys of retired life is the nagging feeling that I'm not contributing to the world as productively as I did ... once upon a time.

4. I'm aware that my yard is a gift to myself and others ... so when I spend time there watering, weeding, cutting back exhausted blooms and preparing the soil for new bedding plants ...(Just for the JOY of it) ... we all benefit. Sharing photographed views on my blogs extends the blessings to this virtual world ...

5. ... in addition, I've continued my daily habit of sharing thought-provoking quotes (Just for the JOY of it) in my blog posts (as I did for decades in the classroom) ... but wonder if that's enough?

6. I miss connecting with others in the virtual world through blog visits and feel out touch with those I've come to think of as friends in the Blogosphere ... so I'm hoping to find some 'balance' between the real & virtual worlds as time goes by.

7. I'm concerned about the continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ... pray it can be contained soon so that necessary 'clean up' efforts can be initiated ... HOPE this disaster will help us come to our senses about offshore drilling, rethink our dependence on fossil fuels and build a consensus to commit to real change now.

8. My heart goes out to all those directly affected by this oil disaster and the natural weather related destruction interrupting the lives of people in affected areas.

Click any image to embiggen for better viewing ...

9. After some lovely Spring weather over the past few weeks that allowed me to write outside on my front patio, we've had nothing but slow drizzles for the past few days here in Southern California ... just enough to keep the ground damp and the temperatures in the mid-60s. Last night I fell asleep to the sound of gentle raindrops on the roof ...

Fun to catch droplets
suspended from these lemons
on the tree out front

10. Today is no exception. In just a few minutes outdoors with Molly, I found myself quite damp & chilled ... and I needed to dry her off with a towel when we came indoors so I suppose that the colorful bedding plants I purchased over the weekend (shared yesterday at Small Reflections) will need to wait a while longer before finding a place in my garden!

11. I'm grateful for 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. That acknowledged, I'm relieved to have to have fresh produce and food in the fridge this morning after a major shopping run yesterday ... and it's very 'kewl' to have saved almost $43 using coupons.

12. A good friend just got herself an iPhone and is very excited about it. I'm reminded that Verizon Wireless keeps telling me that I'm eligible for a new phone. I suspect they'd like me to upgrade my service to include a $29.99 'data' package, but methinks I'm happy with my current plan and 'low-tech' red flip phone. I don't 'twitter' and hardly ever check my Facebook account so it hardly seems worth spending more money for something I probably won't use. My main reason for having at cell phone at all is for the regular contact with my sister as she travels the Southwest with her husband ... Just for the JOY of it!

13. My rose bushes are without blooms at the moment, but fortunately there are lovely morning glories and roses (like the ones I've shared above) in yards all around my neighborhood ... and I've shared some with you here ... Just for the JOY of it!

Click for others participating in
Random Tuesday Thoughts, Midweek Blues,
Wordful , Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday,
Yard Art and Thursday Thirteen ... Just for the JOY of it


This 'yard art' seems like
it's been cast aside ... but I
like it anyway ;-)



Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Midweek Blues and Yard Art
Hope you're each having a delightful day!

Thought for Today
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson

Morning Musings ... Miscellaneous Memes

Scroll down for Color Carnival, Midweek Blues,
Haiku Sky Watch Friday, Camera Critters, Pet Pride,
Weekend Reflections and Shadow Shots too ...

Belatedly Celebrating my 500th Post
in this my 502nd here at Sacred Ruminations

1. The weather has been lovely lately. I've spent considerable time cleaning up weeds and pulling out spent Nasturtiums & Irises the past few days to make room for new bedding plants, but I've not yet decided what to add. I left a few interesting 'mutants' ... just for the JOY of it ! Aren't they colorful ...

Love the little ladybug visitor here ...

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Color Carnival

2. This NEXT 'mutant' was photographed after some recent drizzles ... before the winds. I do love the droplets and the reddish color of the petals and am sharing Just for the JOY of it!

3. The Nasturtiums below grow in my neighbor's garden where there's more shade than in my yard ... but I noticed she's getting some interesting 'mutant's too. I like the way the light gets 'filtered' in her yard ... creating interesting shadows and larger leaves that in my own yard ;-)

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

4. Here are a couple of views of my 'Yard Art' discovery this week from around the neighborhood ...

Wooden Tiki God
amidst the Gazanias ...
orange & yellow blooms


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and for others sharing Yard Art on Thursdays

5. We've had mostly beautiful BLUE skies for the past week ... with just a few scattered clouds that ended up over the mountains off in the distance.

lovely skies this week
here in California
... delightfully blue ;-)



Molly's hoping Layla will come out to play!

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

6. Because my D-Link wireless router finally gave up the ghost for good, I've set up a new wireless network in my home using a Home Valet from Cisco. They've certainly made it simpler than it used to be to do such a thing. The system comes with a flash drive referred to as a 'key' that pretty much does the set up for one and any changes I made got saved to the 'key' so that if anything happens, I won't have to make them again. Pretty nifty ;-)

7. My strawberry patch is producing a few berries ... they're small but tasty!

8. If you missed my 'security alert' at Small Reflections yesterday and you use copy machines, you might want to check it out ... just because. Awareness of 'what is' might help YOU protect yourself from now on.

9. Molly often watches the dogs walking across the street longingly, but knows better than to go into the street herself ... even when Aloha forgets the rulez and runs across the street.

10. Her good behavior was rewarded this time as the dog walkers noticed her and decided to come visit for a while.

11. After some playful activity, all the fur-kids took refuge in the shade of this palm tree to rest a while ...

12. Then Molly & Aloha watched as their friends headed on their way again.

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

13. I couldn't resist snapping some 'reflections' of the doggies in a parked car and some flowers too ... sharing here just for the JOY of it.

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Weekend Reflections
Thursday Thirteen and Just for the JOY of it


Hope you're all having a delightful day
and that you have a wonderful weekend too!

Thought for Today
"If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative." Woody Allen