"We become what we think about." ~ Earl Nightingale

Welcome to Sacred Ruminations

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,


Sunday, June 15, 2008

BYBS #6 and SSS - 7 Really Good Things


I started writing this post yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. I'm not sure why, but I decided to use smaller photos to illustrate my 'Really Good Things' ... finally gave up in frustration around 10pm and decided to try again this (Monday) morning (though I'm leaving the original date & time stamp ... just because). It started out 5 Really Good Things ... but I've added one at the top and another at the bottom to make 7.

1. I've added this as #1 at the top and 'renumbered' the rest because I learned finally how to get the photos and text 'lined up' (sort of) the way I'd like. I hope doing so doesn't mess up what comes below. Blogger certainly doesn't make this task easy ... but it's a measure of how much I've learned in these first 7 months of blogging to succeed. Just compare THIS post with one of my first ... where photos went wherever they wanted despite my best attempts to 'arrange' them to see what I mean.

I apologize to anyone who happened by whilst I was working on this task ... because the only way I could make it work was to publish it multiple times ... and look at it in one window while editing it in another. If anyone knows a simpler way, I'm open to suggestions ... and if anyone has questions for me, I'm happy to share what I've discovered through trial and error.



2. I find a few fresh strawberries each day in my yard and they taste soooo good! Makes me think I could go buy some new plants to add to my garden ... and maybe I will ;--)




3. The 'gopher' seems to have moved on without destroying the roots of my Hydrangea ...(or any other plants in my yard)... and for this I'm grateful.


I took THIS photo late yesterday afternoon, but shared a 'collage' (made with Photoshop rather than Picasa) of the 'evolution' of this Hydrangea at Small Reflections on Wednesday of last week.



4. My roses are coming back and getting ready to bloom all over again this Spring ...


and (although I don't recall the name of this flowering potted plant, it's finally come back and started to bloom with some measure of regularity ... though the flowers don't last long when they do show up.















5. It's such fun to watch Labs play with one another. I shared a photo earlier this morning at Small Reflections of Jenke & Molly 'pausing to catch their breath' after playing together on Saturday afternoon.



This afternoon they played together again ... then Jenke's dad offered them healthy treats with Glucos
amine, otherwise known as 'joint juice' ... and they both waited with 'manners' for their snack. Aren't they sweet?

6. While sitting on my front patio ... breathing and taking in the beauty of my Hydrangea and the returning roses (after Molly & Jenke played for the 3rd day in a row), I snapped these two photos late yesterday afternoon.

I'm delighted to have discovered my digital camera can take 'close-up' photos like this ... something I didn't realize it could do. I'm still not totally sure just how I was able to capture the full moon like this, but I intend to experiment until I figure it all out and can do it consistently.

7. As I shared at Small Reflections in my 47th Haiku Friday - Anticipation ...

I've ordered and am awaiting the arrival of this new Dell machine ... and I'm hopeful that my 'computer woes' will end once it gets here (on or before June 26th) and I get it up & running.










Closing thoughts:
How about that Tiger Woods? One wonders how he manages to do this time & again. I'm happy to be around today to catch the final round and hope they both play well.

For family members, friends & neighbors who experienced frustration in game 4 and held their breath in game 5 ... 'Go Lakers!'

My heart goes out to all those affected by the flooding in the Midwest ... to the family of Tim Russert (along with all of us who will miss his presence on Sundays) ... and to everyone dealing with difficulty today. May God bless, keep, and give us peace ... now and always.

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

12 comments:

Karen said...

Those are definitely some really good things! That IS a great picture of the moon--I've been experimenting with close-ups with my digital camera, too--I'm trying to get pics of the hummingbirds that visit my feeder. Perhaps it would help if I read the camera manual?!

storyteller said...

Karen - I have no idea where I was in my 'revisions' of this post when you happened by, but I'm glad to know you were able to leave a comment in the midst of my 'messing around' with it.

Thanks. If I had a manual for my camera, I suppose I could read it ... though that's never as much fun as experimenting. Methinks there might be a manual online I could download and consult ... so perhaps I will (if experimentation fails me) as a last resort.

Thanks for visiting. I enjoyed the photos you posted yesterday. Hope all's well with you and yours! Have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Momisodes said...

I love the potted flowers! I don't think I've seen anything like that before. Those sky shots are amazing as well :) Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Joyce said...

Those were lovely "really good things." The happy dogs, smiling their doggy smiles, are what I enjoy the most. :)

I always enjoy your flower photos so much, too. :)

storyteller said...

Sandy – Thanks! I did have a great weekend … watched part of the US Open and worried about Tiger’s knee every time he winced … wondering why he’d risk his health in this way. I caught most of the 19 holes in Monday’s playoff round with Rocco thinking the same thing, but watching him with his daughter afterwards …(raising the trophy)… I guess competitive golf is just in his blood.

Joyce – I’m glad you enjoyed my ‘really good things’ this week. I had fun putting the post together even though doing so caused me problems I needed to overcome … maybe even because it posed challenges to figure things out? After Tuesdays 1st Intermediate Photoshop class I ‘played with’ some of the ‘wall photos’ and ‘amended’ my Fun Monday post … then created a ‘collage’ I plan to post today at Small Reflections for Wordless Wednesday, but I’m TIRED …(as in WEARY)… this morning and am taking things S L O W L Y today. In fact, I may spend some time sitting on my patio enjoying my flowers this morning.

I hope you both enjoyed your weekend and that the week has gotten off to a good start for each of you. I appreciate you dropping by. It seems my computer is 'still in production' as of this morning ... something that was supposed to take 3-5 days. Today is Day 6 since placing my order last Thursday afternoon and I was hoping it might be getting ready to be shipped ... or even on it's way. Sigh! According to the weather report, today's supposed to be a HOT one even at the beach ... so maybe Molly and I will meander down to Dog Beach later?
Hugs and blessings,

maryt/theteach said...

storyteller, thank you for all these wonderful photos and the words that go with them! :)

Raven said...

Good list. Hope your computer arrives soon.

SandyCarlson said...

You have many good things in your life. Happy BYB Sunday.

Susan Demeter said...

What a lovely post Storyteller :)

storyteller said...

Mary, the teach – It’s my pleasure to share. I’m glad you enjoyed them.

Raven – Thanks! I hope so too, but (alas) it’s ‘still in production’ this morning … a full week after placing the order last Thursday afternoon … so I’m guessing it’s not going to arrive before the 26th (as promised) if then, but I’ve got my fingers crossed and am hoping for the best.

SandyCarlson – I do feel grateful and find that focusing on my many blessings lifts my spirits consistently.

Sue – What a lovely comment to leave today! Thanks so much ;--)

To all - Finding comments always creates joy within (especially when I’m rushing around in the mornings to get to class) … so I’m delighted to discover yours just now. Reading them caused me to revisit this ‘Really Good Things’ post and in so doing, re-experience those pleasures … so thank you all. I appreciate you dropping by and sharing your supportive thoughts. I hope you all have a delightful day!
Hugs and blessings,

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

you have so many good things and blessings.
I like this blog too.

I sort of know how to get photos lined up too but not with text the way I like.

storyteller said...

Trish (Baby~amore) – Thanks for visiting this blog (along with my new one) and leaving comments on both. I’m delighted you enjoyed your visit. I do feel blessed … and find ‘counting’ those blessings in the midst of stressful times helps me remember.

As for the photos, what I did in THIS post was to load them all as ‘small’ and ‘on the left’. Then I typed the text … cutting and pasting it to make it ‘fit’ where I wanted it to be … then I opened TWO windows in Mozilla side by side … publishing it … seeing what it looked like then editing it multiple times in order to get it just right before leaving it alone. The most challenging part was getting them lined up side by side, but trial and error ‘worked’ for me … eventually … as you can see.
Hugs and blessings,