My Forty-Something Year Old Fuschia Lives On

Scroll down for Mosaic & Blue Monday,
Ruby Tuesday, My World, and Outdoor Wednesday

but first, belatedly ...



Skies are grey in June
here in California
but my HOUSE is blue

Tiny though my yard
is ... I take delight in it
each and every day ;-)

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...

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

1. As usual for June here in Southern California at the beach, our skies have been gloomy in the morning (and occasionally all day long), but my garden is doing well. From personal experience as a Native Californian, I know the cooler weather WILL pass eventually so I'm just trying to enjoy 'what is' right now ... Just for the JOY of it! Today's post focuses on an elderly Fuschia I brought with me in a hanging basket from a previous home and which planted itself in the ground decades ago when the hanging basket fell apart.

2. I always enjoy catching up with my retired friends on the second Monday of each month, my sister (whenever she has a cell signal and calls me from the road), and neighbors when I work in my yard ... Just for the JOY of it! This week provided many opportunities to connect with others social for both Molly and myself ;-)

3. I'm happy to be able to help out a friend (dealing with serious health issues) by providing transportation for her after she was involved in an auto accident last week. Fortunately the Subaru protected her from injury by coming apart as it was intended to do ... but as a result, the car's a total loss so she'll be looking to purchase a used vehicle in the weeks ahead. After listening to her talk enthusiastically about her marvelous twice-weekly craft classes for more than a year, I observed one first-hand on Wednesday and met the friendly folks who all encouraged ME to sign up for the classes next Fall.

4. Jennifer Louden's assistant Deb has set up a Google Group for the upcoming 2010 Taos Writer's Retreat participants so we can renew old friendships and get acquainted with new folks as we prepare for the gathering at the Mable Dodge Luhan house later this summer. Sadly, I suspect I must have done something inadvertently when I updated my profile there because I'm unable to connect at the moment, but hopefully that will be corrected soon.

5. Although I'm not much of a sports fan (with the exception of the four major tennis tournaments), I did watch the last two Lakers vs. Celtics games and found the last one quite exciting. I'm looking forward to upcoming Wimbledon matches over the next two weeks and have my DVR set to record coverage on ESPN so I can watch as time permits.

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others participating
in Shadow Shot Sunday, Today's Flowers,
Friday's Fave Five, Finding Beauty, Just for the Joy of It,
Blue Monday, Mosaic Monday, Ruby Tuesday,
My World, and Outdoor Wednesday

It's been a while since I've blogged with any regularity and even longer since I've visited virtual friends in the Blogosphere ... but rest assured that my reader continues to collect your posts and I'm confident that eventually life will slow down enough for me to spend more time at the computer. In the meantime ... thanks for your patience. I hope all is well with you and yours.

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
"We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them." Kahlil Gibran

Ruby Tuesday - More OC Fair Performers

Two weeks ago I
shared acrobats performing
at the OC Fair.

Below jugglers
demonstrate their skills in my
Tuesday Mosaic.

Originals - straight out of the camera


Posterized


Spherized

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Ruby Tuesday

Thought for Today
"What really matters is what you do with what you have." H.G. Wells

Multi-tasking on Tuesday with Acrobats

Ruby Tuesday - Acrobats at the OC Fair
Scroll down for Midweek Blues
and Random Tuesday Thoughts

one acrobatic
act at the Orange County Fair ...
(click to embiggen)

Originals - straight out of the camera

Posterize


Spherize

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Ruby Tuesday



Invert


Invert with Poster Edges


Invert with Neon Glow and Poster Edges

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and for others participating in Midweek Blues


Just for FUN!
Solarize


Polar Coordinates

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It's been a BUSY Monday away from home
so I'll be playing 'catch up' with
blog visits tomorrow ...
therefore

will be added in the morning ... because
I'm too tired & hungry to think
right now at 6:45 pm
Monday evening.

Sigh! I'm getting a later than usual start at the computer this morning, but true to last night's promise ... I'm adding my Morning Musings in whatever Random Thought manner they choose to arise (before I do anything else) ... as I sip my morning coffee.

1. The fur-kids have been fed and I've started a load of laundry, glanced through my email & checked my blogs for new comments.
I had minimal time at the computer yesterday, but am hoping to catch up with Monday visits today ... then make my Tuesday rounds.

2. I appreciate everyone who has dropped by already and I freely admit that making mosaics then experimenting with filters in Photoshop 6 is great fun for me! Sharing some of my favorite results and seeing how others respond is 'kewl' too. Thanks to those of you who take time to 'embiggen' the mosaics and share your opinion in comments ;--)

3. Molly still misses Jenke, but she's going to have a new playmate when Aloha (the Dalmation puppy who moved into Jenke's old house) grows up. If you missed these and have a few minutes this morning, you might enjoy: A Farewell Playdate, Follow up on Molly's Loss, and Monday Multi-tasking with Molly's Yellows & Blues.

4. I continue to swim in the mornings for exercise (anywhere between 8 & 10am). Today I'll probably go over there around 9:00 even though the sun probably won't come out until much later here at the beach. It's more like June gloom than mid-August ... so when others talk about 'Fall' and 'Back to School' ... I find it hard to wrap my mind around the possibility that summer is drawing to a close when it hasn't really started (except for a couple of weeks of unusually HOT weather in July).

5. Listening to news of the multiple wildfires to the north around the Santa Cruz area evokes vivid memories of fires in Southern California and my prayers for containment and recovery go out to all involved. The dry conditions coupled with coastal winds makes fighting such fires extremely dangerous and difficult ... and I'm grateful the Santa Ana winds aren't blowing off the desert.

6. I'm hoping to put together a My World post about another Free Concert in the Park I attended on Sunday evening where a Dixieland Band put on a fun show and where several participants decided to 'dance' to the music! Great fun ;--)

Click for others sharing Random Tuesday Thoughts

Here's wishing a Happy Tuesday to all!

Thought for Today
"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity." Eleanor Roosevelt

Monday Multi-tasking, Ruby Tuesday, My World ...

and much more ...

Following up on
yesterday's 'Sunflower' post ...
note the purple worm

Click to 'embiggen' for better viewing

Weekend in Review ...
reds, yellows, and blues abound
Monday Mosaic ;--)

Orange County - So Cal
State Fair Craft Exhibitions ...
neighborhood views too

Click to embiggen for better viewing
... and for others participating in
Blue, Mosaic, and Mellow Yellow Monday,
Ruby Tuesday, Midweek Blues, My World
and Color Carnival too.

Thought for Today
"The last of the human freedoms is to choose ones attitude in any give set of circumstances." Viktor E. Frankl