Life is good ... let me count the ways ;-)

Make Time for Small Reflections

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Wordful Wednesday & more ...

Mabel Dodge Luhan House

... our meeting room

and a few Outdoor Views of the grounds
around the Mabel Dodge House

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others
participating in My World and Outdoor Wednesday


Herein are my Morning Musings
... just for the JOY of it!

... followed by a few photos from Taos below
Click for others participating in
Random Tuesday Thoughts, Wordful Wednesday
and Just for the JOY of it

Yes ... life IS good ... delightfully BUSY too, but you won't hear (or read) complaints from me. I'm happily engaged in many new activities taking me away from blogging for the time being ... but hopefully not forever. I try to keep my sidebar Gratitude List updated as time permits ... and hope to continue the process I started a few years ago because counting my blessings tends to make life even better all the time. On this final day of August, I've decided to add this month's list here ... just because. I'll transfer it to Happily Retired Gal tomorrow (if time permits) or as soon thereafter as possible ... beginning a NEW list for September.

August - 2010

1. for another long & good night's sleep ... time this morning to write & wander the grounds around K's house by myself while enjoying morning coffee ... perusing & taking a few notes from the lovely books about Labyrinths that K left on the night-stand ... walking her labyrinth alone (after walking it with her last night) ... connecting with her over coffee on the patio later, sharing personal stories (along with laughter & tears) ... reading & responding to her 'black book' ... savoring breakfast on the patio with K & R ... watching & photographing hummingbirds at the feeder before showering and packing up to hit the road for Flagstaff. I'm so happy the Mountain Lion fetish spoke to her!

2. an easy drive from Placitas to Flagstaff yesterday (gaining back the hour I lost as time changed from Mountain to Pacific) ... with gentle showers along the way that paused for me to carry in my luggage before starting up again & falling through the night ... another wonderful night's rest ... and morning pause in the rain for me to load 'stuph' into the Explorer ... followed by an easy drive today from Flagstaff back to Corona where I picked up Molly who was 'tired, clean, sweet-smelling, & happy to see me' ... then home again where we're happy together.

3. for time to transition back into life as I live it while holding on to the energy & ideas from the retreat ... telephone connections with friends 'C' and 'S' ... making plans to connect later this week ... a lovely visit in the blue chairs on the patio with neighbor 'B' who looked after the yard & Ms. Kitty in my absence ...

4. for another restful night ... writing while getting laundry done this morning ... checking out & listening to the first 3 of 21 'Successful Authors Secrets' talks after Jen shared a link in a follow up email ... being reminded of 'abundance & support' ... realizing I don't have to do anything alone.

5. I picked up mail yesterday afternoon so I could pay bills electronically this morning after doing some writing because this afternoon I'll be driving with friends to the Laguna Playhouse to see 'Life Could be a Dream' ...

6. for a lovely long visit with 'C' to catch up over lunch ... sharing a bit of my Taos experience while learning what's being going on with her.

7. I could help out neighbors with guest parking issues on this BUSY 'surfing contest' weekend ;-)

8. I responded to Facebook 'friend' requests and sent friend requests of my own using the 'retreat roster' (along with 'invites' to retreat participants without FB accounts) as a way of reconnecting after being back home almost a week ... then added links to recent blog posts.

9. for a lovely & longer than usual visit with friends at this months Retired Gals Lunch.

10. fascinating & practical information from the daily Successful Authors Secrets calls this month.

11. I managed to share some photos from the Taos Writers Retreat with other participants at the Google Group & Facebook today.

12. for a delicious 'taco meal deal' at Mimi's Cafe for $9.99 ... starting with salad & ending with a petite dessert (bread pudding) currently in my refrigerator waiting to be enjoyed later along with a free 4 pack of muffins in my freezer ;-)

13. the Verizon Wireless store in Newport Beach had a Palm Pre Plus I could look at ... even though they couldn't give me the low 'online price' of $29.99 in the store.

14. for leftovers from Mimi's Cafe, time to write & organize photos to share, and sunshine finally here at the beach!

15. I ordered a Palm Pre Plus online this morning and learned it was FREE with a 'smartphone' upgrade & 2 year contract renewal (rather than the $29.99 online deal I saw last week that seemed pretty good at the time especially considering it lists for $699 and I've always liked Palm OS products).

16. my sister and her husband arrived home this evening where they'll stay for a few weeks taking a 'breather' and dealing with 'necessary stuph' before they hit the road again right after Labor Day next month.

17. my Palm Pre Plus arrived this morning and I managed to get it activated and data transferred from my old LG phone.

18. with help from Palm Tech Support I managed to get my 6 year old old Palm Life Drive (that hasn't been backed up for months since my old Dell running XP crashed) to HotSync with my newer Dell laptop running Vista after which another Tech Support person helped me successfully transfer other data from my computer to my new smartphone ... pretty nifty ;-)

19. for a new perm & haircut yesterday and time to 'play' with my new Palm Pre Plus today ... teaching myself how to use it effectively.

20. for a pleasant lunch & catch up visit today with a good friend after which I ran a bunch of errands which included using my 20% coupon at Staples on writing supplies.

21. for this 5th day in a row of BLUE SKIES & SUNSHINE here in Southern California at the beach ... it's been a long time coming since summer is almost over and school will begin soon.

22. I uploaded three more albums of Taos photos to my Facebook page and picked up LOTS of 3x5 cards to begin a writing project.

23. I signed up for an online challenge for a 40-day 'Inner Mean Girl Cleanse' & shared at Facebook after which a few of my Taos friends joined too. We're ready to release old toxic habits that no longer serve & replace them with more loving ones.

24. I called Palm Tech Support with my questions this morning because I learned nifty new editing shortcuts & lots of other tips too ;-)

25. I met my sister & her husband for breakfast at Mimi's Cafe in Long Beach this morning ... we had a delightful catch up visit.

26. for this entire day spent with my sister ... visiting as we ran errands together, shared a tasty 'sushi' lunch at Matsu in Huntington Beach & free lattes at Peet's later in the day when we stopped by to purchase a pound of specially ground coffee for the new 'French Press' mugs (purchased at Sur Le Tab in Newport beach earlier in the day).

27. I've signed up for a 4-day event in Phoenix, AZ designed to help me clarify my purpose for a writing project ... and my sister has agreed to come along as my free guest so we'll have 6 days together since we'll drive both ways. Molly will enjoy another week at Camp Ilene in Corona ;-)

28. I finished & mailed off a hand-written letter to a friend from the Taos Retreat this morning and enjoyed a lovely phone connection with another retreat friend in the late afternoon.

29. for today's wonderful celebration with family & friends at McIntyre House in Los Angeles ... as a loved one celebrated a year of sobriety!

30. I've signed up for a Festival of Change at Online Clarity ... "a celebration and exploration of how we align ourselves with the flow of change - simply, naturally, and with a deeper, richer awareness" ... and am looking forward to participating 'virtually' in another event tomorrow night: A Call to Conscious Evolution: Our Moment of Choice at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles.

31. I'm meeting my sister, her husband, and friends for breakfast this morning ... after which my sister & I will spend the day together again.

FYI - My previous Gratitude Lists can be found at Happily Retired Gal, my new WordPress site. It is my intention to keep this 'Daily Gratitude List' in my sidebar indefinitely because I believe it makes sense to focus on what's right in our lives regularly. Click for:
2010 Lists - July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2009 Lists - December, November, October, September, August, July June, May, April, March, February, January
2008 Lists - December, November

Below is a 'screen shot'
of my Palm Pre Plus uploaded to
Facebook then saved to my laptop
so the resolution isn't the greatest but ...

... I'm actually IN this photo
along with all the participants of the
2010 Writers Retreat in Taos, New Mexico!
Yes you can click to embiggen ;-)
Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in." ~Alan Alda

Colorful Outdoor World and Random Musings

Make Time for Small Reflections

Scroll down for my Morning Musings,
Random Tuesday Thoughts & Wordful Wednesday
If you missed them, last Saturday I shared
PINK & pastel roses at Happily Retired Gal

The first pair of photos below show the first 3 blossoms of the season on my Mr. Lincoln rose bush in varying stages. I find each beautiful in its own way.

Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below

The next pair of photos show what's left of the FIRST rose of the season ... originally shared last week before the rain & after too. For some unknown reason, it has lasted much longer than the second rose of the season that appears in 3rd pair of photos below.

Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below

The pair of photos below show the SECOND rose of the season ... or rather what's left of it.

Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below

... and HERE is the THIRD Mr. Lincoln rose of the 2010 season ...

Click to embiggen for better viewing and for others participating in
Ruby Tuesday, Today's Flowers, Outdoor Wednesday
Color Carnival and My World

1. It's a beautiful morning here in Southern California, but there's a 60% chance of rain tonight through Thursday. I'm HOPING we'll actually GET some rain because the yard is very dry right now, so if it doesn't rain ... I'll need to spend time watering to keep my flowers alive. The ROSES are beautiful but the irises are 'spent' for the most part ... except for three new buds:

Straight out of the camera above & to the left below

Poster edges to the right above and below

2. Molly & I have been for a long walk already and she's had a chance to play with a variety of dogs in the neighborhood while I visited with their 'people' and took some photos. As a result ... I'm quite late to post today since it's almost noon already.

3. I started this post a couple of hours ago (at 10:12am to be exact) but was interrupted by a call from my sister almost immediately with questions about labeling photos with Windows Viewer ... something I showed her how to do while she was home but that she didn't practice at all. Apparently she tried to call yesterday but found she had no cell signal in Yosemite Valley. They were at the Lodge for brunch and it was raining ... then it started to hail! If it snows over the next couple of days they may have trouble getting over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and on to Death Valley as planned.

4. As it turns out, if she'd HAD a signal we wouldn't have connected anyway because I left my cell phone at home by mistake when I went to class yesterday and didn't realize it until much later while running errands on my way home ... stopping for gas, groceries, Molly's Duck & Sweet Potato kibble & treats.

5. I've spent hours locating and backing up photos I feared might have been lost when my Dell Inspiron 9100 (suddenly & unexpectedly) died a few weeks back ... and I'm very much relieved to have recovered them. If you don't back up photos on a regular basis, I urge you to do so ... seriously!

6. Methinks it's time to share my Just Joey roses from this season ... the bush is LOADED with blossoms at the moment and smells delightful! Below are three different views ... first straight out of the camera then with Poster Edges.

Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below



Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below



Straight out of the camera above ... Poster Edges below

Click for others participating in

Random Tuesday Thoughts and Wordful Wednesday

Hope you're each having a wonderful week!

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do what you want done because he wanted to do it." Dwight d. Eisenhower

Random Thoughts, Photos, and Memes ...

Make Time for Small Reflections

Scroll down for Yard Art,
Watery & Outdoor Wednesday
Just for the JOY of it, Thursday Thirteen,
Looking at the Sky, Camera Critters & Pet Pride
Herein are my Morning Musings and belated ...

1. I intended to share 'random thoughts' yesterday, but somehow time got away from me ... so I'm creating this list belatedly and combining it with some favorite Wednesday & Thursday memes Just for the JOY of it ;-)

2. Rain is predicted for later today (around 3pm through tomorrow morning) and that would be most welcome because it's been quite dry during March. I watered a bit on Monday morning as a 'tied me over' ...

Click to embiggen and for
others participating in Watery Wednesday

3. ... but if it doesn't rain I'll need to water the yard for real to sustain all these beautiful blossoms. See how these pink Amaryllis are going to produce more blossoms soon? I split the bulbs this past year and spread them all over the parkway, but these are still producing multiples. Seems strange to me, but I'm delighted all the same.

4. I'm especially delighted to discover a few more purple & yellow irises showing up along with the yellow ones ... see the two new buds on either side of the two new blossoms? I noticed one more farther to the left but haven't uploaded those photos yet so I can't share here ... but here's another ripe strawberry ready for picking ;-)

Click to embiggen and for
others participating in Outdoor Wednesday

5. The last few days I've been doing my best to fight off a cold ... taking extra Vitamin C, drinking lots of water, getting more rest, and using Zicam ... hoping for the best. I plan to pick up a 'Coldbuster' at Jamba Juice on my way to class at 11:30 today because I love the taste and hopefully it will help me fight off whatever ails me.

6. I hope to spend tomorrow (April Fool's Day ) with my sister and don't know how much energy (or time) I'll have to visit blogs today so I guess I'll be playing catch up over the weekend once again. She will be heading for Yosemite (and places beyond) on April 15th so we're making the most of what time we have left together ... just for the JOY of it!

7. My right forearm still hurts, but perhaps not quite so much as before. Sitting on my patio in a blue chair (just for the JOY of it) writing notes in my belated belated Christmas/NewYear's & Easter cards didn't help, but fortunately I managed to create a new address database and print the envelopes on my new Canon printer so they're in the mail and should arrive BEFORE Easter.

8. Thinking of Easter, this is what I've photographed to share for Yard Art this week ... just for the JOY of it!

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others sharing Yard Art

9. Alas .... I've run out of time and may need to publish this partially completed and finish later on today when I return from my Windows 7 class ... methinks that's exactly what I'm going to do because my mind has just shut down and Molly's bugging me for a walk ... just for the JOY of it!

10. It's 5am Thursday morning and raining gently outside at the moment with heavier rains predicted to arrive shortly (if ABC7's weather reporting can be believed). I'm not quite sure when it started but the 'wet stuph' wasn't falling when I went to sleep (earlier than usual last night) ... and it's supposed to clear up by noon.

11. I've moved Ms Kitty's 'under the blue chair bed' to the covered alcove by the 'real' front door at the side of my house so she'll have a second dry place to lounge around (in addition to her igloo), but haven't moved the blue chairs themselves yet. I'm watching the wind and hoping I can leave them in place to save my arm the added strain.

Celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of Camera Critters

12. Although I slept well for about 10 hours, I'm not quite sure how I feel this morning. I had zero energy when I returned from my class yesterday afternoon (considered leaving early but stuck it out until the end) ... and didn't even THINK about finishing this as intended so I'm doing it now as I charge my phone & camera battery in anticipation of the day ahead with my sister.

13. Finally, (because it's still dark outside) I'm sharing yesterday morning's sunrise ...

just for the JOY of it!

Click to embiggen any image for better viewing

Click for others participating in
(belated) Random Tuesday Thoughts,Wordful Wednesday,

Thursday Thirteen, Just for the JOY of it, Looking at the Sky
Camera Critters & Pet Pride

April 1st Bonus ... just because ;-)
Did you notice that Google has become

this morning? Click for their explanation ...
just for the JOY of it!

Hope you're each having a delightful day!

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for the Day
"“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. ” Bertrand Russell