More Oddities

How would you like to wake up in the morning and find this big fellow in your back yard?  One swish of the tail and they are all goners.

And I have no idea at all what this is called.   It has an eerie look about it and a mask to hide behind.

Long legs, get you every time.

A song at twilight.    Bet they harmonize well.  All together now . . . 'we wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish  you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.'

A walking 'stick' very unusual, colorful and I wonder if it stings.

Sunday morning.  I'm not awake  yet but will be soon.   Time to have coffee and blue berry pancakes.  Wish  you were here to join me.    I was out with my neighbor, La Verne, yesterday and we went over to check the Birds In A Nest shop.  La Verne is trying hard to find something for her family members for Christmas.   The shop has changed hands and isn't what it used to be.   High prices and no customers and they wonder why.  We went on to the Port and Sebastian's gift shop where they have a mixture of very high priced items to some very unusual items.  La Verne got some ideas but still had not found what she is looking for. . . if only she could decide . . . smile!    We stopped in the restaurant to have lunch and La Verne said she would love to have the crab sandwich;  $16.00 . . . that's outrageous, but we ordered it and shared it.  It really  was delicious but served on white bread; yuck . . . the cold slaw was tasty  .   Felt cheated to pay ten dollars for my half sandwich;  believe me I wont do that again.   La Verne wound up buying fudge for herself and we stopped off to watch the waves in action.   The sea is busy, high, and roaring as another storm comes in.   Our usual Oregon weather but unusually warm.

December 7th;  a day of infamy;   a day we set aside to honor those killed in Pearl Harbor so long ago.  Take time out today to honor their memory .  

Being Sunday, all day, give yourself a down day and do a lot of nothing special.    Be good, be kind, be gentle as you go about resting and relaxing.   If you get bored being idle, get up and find the boxes and decorate.   Have fun.   Hugs to all.

Christ is Christmas

Three wise men.  A lovely picture to remind us to keep Christ in Christmas. 

Something to make us smile.    Only an avid golfer would be out on the course in winter and I bet he or she would try to put that huge ball in the little tiny hole. 

Six days of December, gone already  . .  .moving fast, are you ready?   I bet not . . . join the club, not many of us are , and half the fun is getting ready.   I think America is still a free country, although there are some who are trying to change it into a socialistic country and want to dictate their views on us . . . well, we are free still and we do not have to change our way of life unless we want to.  I for one want to be able to keep the traditions we grew up with.   I want to wish you a MERRY Christmas and I want to be able to  sing the Christmas carols  and remember why we celebrate Christmas to begin with.   I remember the old timers used  to say "if everyone else jumps off of a bridge, that doesn't mean you h ave to" . . .so think about that as you go about wishing your family, and your friends  a blessed and a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.   For those of you who want change, go for it, just don't blame us when your holidays are not as they should be.    So today, start making your plans to make the upcoming holidays merry and bright.   Just like YOU. 

Pat took me for a ride over to the Port yesterday.  We have a stormy week so the waves were coming in every which way.  They were high and stirring up the sand so the color was dark in spots.    The wind was up and a couple of ladies who used to be in  the writer's group stopped by to say hello.   The lovely Angelique, with her delightful English accent and Shirley who changed her hairdo and I didn't recognize her . . . both filled with enthusiasm for a new work shop group they plan to start.   I told them I would stop in and check on them.   It sounds like a great plan and one that will help beginning writers.   Both are excellent writers and Shirley was the one lady who knew how to critique.   So hopefully they will be able to gather a good group together and continue to write.

Enjoy your weekend, remember your good deed today.  Those big boxes at the store looked pretty empty.   They need toys for tots so get busy.   Take time to be good to  YOU today, it is a necessary unwritten law that needs to be exercised . . .  YOU matter.  Hugs to all.

Mother Teresa- Words

Mother Teresa is going to be a saint, if she has not already been selected to be one.   She was a saint on earth and traveled the world with a solemn promise to do the best she could do and be the best she could be.

I came across her words today, for the very first time, and I want to share them with each and every one of you.

What she said was:

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it .
Life is luck, make it.
Life . . . fight for it.

Make a copy and put it where you will repeat her words every day.

Life is for the living.
Life is what  you make of it.
A trip through life with smiling eyes, big walk in hugs, and a promise to be the best you can be . . . quite a mantra to follow.

Maybe you can add a thought or two.   I did.

May your day be full of wonders as you live your seconds today.

Hugs to all.

TA DA!!

A novel idea.   If you have snow, how about trying this one out.   Kind of cute.

In 1907 this young lady was arrested for indecency! 

This 102  year old defends her home in Armani .  It is a wonder she could pick the rifle up.  It looks pretty heavy to me.

In 1920 they measured the bathing suits.   I wonder what they would think of the bathing suits the ladies are almost wearing today.

Woodstock . . . 1960 . . . a lot of tales came out of that event.

History is always interesting, and has a way of repeating itself.    Isn't it a truism about being careful what  you wish for?.

I wonder what happened to these folks.   How many  went down the long hard road of drugs and free love.  

I wonder, when they overturned the values they grew up with, whether they survived  the choices they made.   

Thursday already, the days turn into weeks and fly bye.    I went to the store yesterday to pick up some raisins so I could make a bread pudding and use up the rest of the bread I bought for turkey stuffing.  You wouldn't believe the crowds in the store along with the shelf stocking that was ongoing, the aisles were packed.   I managed  to pick u a few necessary  items I had to replace and walked out without the raisins.    Some days are better than others.  Smile.

I'll go back today but you know it will be very early in the day.  That afternoon shopping is for the young.

Coffee is ready and so am I.   I'm off to have a good day and hope you plan the same.    I have a beautiful Advent calendar and have to check the little door for  the surprise of the day.    Sheila loves Advent calenders and sends her family and friends one every year.   She is a keeper.   I hope you have keepers in  your life, there is something special about adopting daughters along the way.   

Don't forget that one good deed today,  if you go to the store remember to check the boxes for the Toys for Tots ,  and add some special little toys.    As a book lover, I usually find some fun books to add to the box.   I think that would be a good deed for me to follow up on today.   Be kind, be good, be gentle and show off those pearly whites.    Stretch those arms....exercise is good for the body especially if it wrapped around someone you love.  Hugs to all.

  

OH Yeah!

EMMA . . . Isn't she beautiful . . . look at those eyes,  Smiling eyes.  She is so loving and  very intelligent.   She really is a people person  as she dotes on attention .   She loves it when Erin is home and plays with her.   When she leaves, Emma goes into a day or two of depression.   She loves to be loved and she loves to bring you a toy or two so  you will spend time with her.       

An attachment came in  yesterday with some of the older folks having a word or two about age.   Retirement sounds good until you get there and then you find  you are busier than when you went off to work every day.    

If you continue to use y our muscles they continue to do their job . . . well that may work for those who have been active and disciplined all their lives but the majority of  us were not professional dancers and  most of us find that you can get down but you do not 'spring' up.

It looks like he has found the fountain of youth.   Well, we are told red wine is good for the body and sometimes for the soul.

We start to get old the day we are born, a continuing second by second event and one that we do not even think about until mid life when we realize that old adage. . . 'if I had known I was going to live this long , I would have taken better care of my self.'  So think about that no matter what age  you are and decide that you will  use your seconds wisely  and exercise, eat  what is good for the body .   the combination is what keeps the body alive and alert.   I once had an old Irish doctor tell me some sixty years ago, you do not give up fat, sugar and starch, as the body needs it all.  It is the portions that count.  We just never listen as we go back for seconds and thirds.    Live and learn . . . today is a good starting day especially during the holiday season when temptations are at their very best .

So grow old gracefully one second at a time.   I took a walk out  yesterday and  covered a good quite a few city blocks to the Post Office.   There was one clerk on duty, another came out of the back room to say he was going to lunch . . . wouldn't you think he'd see a line of people and take time to relieve the other clerk and  help  the customers.    No good deed from that clown.    The young lady did very well, she just continued to wait on us one by one and managed to keep her cool and sense of humor.   The walker works well and I got to sit while waiting in line.   I went on to  have my hair cut by Gina, the lady barber, who was having a very hard time of it .   The new bar opened next  door to  the parking lo t which is for the customers who come to the barbershop , the dentist and a few more spots.   The men are driving into the lot and taking up customer space and she cannot get her landlord to put up signs.  It is a towing office according to the police.   It looks like a never ending problem for those that pay the rent for their place and the parking areas.  The bar is new with no parking area in the back, but there is some parking out in the front area, just not a lot.  The patrons will have to  park on the street.    It should have an interesting  resolution. . . or will it?   I suggested big print 'towing' signs; that should do it.   Wonder what it costs to recover a tow. . . a few folks may soon find out.

Be good, be kind, be gentle as you go about your day today.    Find reasons to smile and pass the smile on.  Hugs to all.

Strange

Strange and beautiful.   I'd like a new blouse in those colors to go with brown pants.  Wonder what it is called.  The face of an owl, mean eyes , a dour expression, um . . . hope it doesn't fly this way.

Graceful and shades of a ballerina.  Wonder if it is eatable.

This little guy is ice fishing and doing quite a job of it.

This one is leaving a very intricate trail behind.

Is that a threat?  or is someone smitten?  

Don't  you love attachments with such beauty and strangeness.    It makes the mind come alive to see something new and different.    How lucky we are to have photographers in our lives to bring to life all the hidden beauty of the strange and wondrous birds and animals.  Speaking of photographers, granddaughter Erin did such a great job taking the pictures of a friend's wedding, the bride had special photos made into coasters for family and friends.  Great idea and a keepsake they will treasure.   

As you probably hear December First was the starting date for the crab season so in talking over a Christmas dinner menu  Pat and I decided that crab would be welcome at our table.    So easy, so luscious, and a lot of work to dig out all that delicious meat from the shells.   A nice salad, some crusty bread, a glass of Merlot  . . . We are at the ready !!  Erin is allergic to shell fish but we can find some fresh salmon to grill for her.   We haven't figured out a desert yet but I'm sure we can think of something.

Last but not least today, my books came from the publisher yesterday and they did a great job.   Check out Amazon for  "Valley Haven" and buy a copy if you have a reader or two on your list.    It is just a family tale of some folks you might enjoy spending an hour or two with, for once there was a place where I loved to go and was chosen to be part of the family.   So there is always a little fact in my faction and it is always fun to let my imagination run away with itself.    Remember it was a first novel that lay dormant for  years, almost edited out of  existence, but finally it found  time and place and here it is warts and all.    Enjoy!

I'm off to buy some envelopes.   Have some mailing to do.    

Be good and kind when you critique, remember how delicate I am. . . smile.

Be good to yourself today, it is something  you should do every day .    Stay even tempered, don't let anything get you all hot and bothered.  Stay cool, calm and collected as you get ready to celebrate Christmas.   I must have given up my tree at the last yard sale as I couldn't find it in the garage.  I couldn't find a box of special keepsakes either so I must have been in a magnanimous mood and lightened my load way beyond my own expectations.    I am decorated, have a lovely angel and creche set out;   old wood smokers I have had for years,  special candles I have never put a match to  and a glass tray with tiny wooden  creatures that look like they are in Macy's parade.   I'm almost ready , how about you?   Next it will be baking time, so get ready and make your plans and make it fun along the way.    Don't forget the good deed.  Today is a great day for good deeds.    Go . . . be that wonderful YOU.   Hugs to all.    

A Train

This picture came in this morning with words that are enlightening and true, making us aware that life is a journey.   It referred to each of us riding in a train, the train of life, and about the folks that get on and join us on the journey of life but have to leave us at different stations.   It goes on to tell us to enjoy our fellow travelers as we never know what station we will leave the train.   A truism.     

It gives us food for thought.    It tells us to love one another.   It shows us that life is not endless and that it behooves us to take care to appreciate those who come into our lives for whatever reason., whatever season and enjoy each and everyone for whatever time we have together.

So today, I appreciate each one of you.   I am glad you are on my train.    Make the journey a good one and take time to appreciate those who are riding with you on your train.

Stay well, take care of you,  and share the smiles and hugs as you go about  your business today.    Make up your mind to enjoy each and every second of your train ride.   It is time to get rid of prejudice and fear.   It is time to lighten  your load.  It is time to melt into one of those bear hugs and forgive and forget any and all 'slights' for the train moves quickly through the valleys and hills of life.

Be good, be kind, be gentle and forget about pushing someone off your train as they might be the best friend  you ever had.   Remember just three little words that cures all ailments. . . I love you.    Say it again....has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?   I think so.   Hugs to all.