Blue Monday

If you think this was going to be another "pity party post" not so.  I snapped out of it with the sunrise this morning.  Maybe that was the problem....no sun.  It has been a little dreary lately, but this morning, the sun was shining and proceeded to shine ALL day.  It almost feels like spring outside, the birds are chirping, the snow is almost gone except for spots that the sun doesn't reach, but wait a minute this is only January.  But isn't Ground Hog Day coming up this week??....Puxatony Phil will let us know if Spring is right around the corner.  And speaking of Puxatony Phil, one of my fav funny movies is "Ground Hog Day" with Bill Murray.  And it was filmed right here in Illinois....Woodstock, IL, a small town about an hours drive from here.  Yes, it has that cute town square, looks just like the movie.

OK, back to Blue Monday.  In my on-going quest to eat healthier, I ate more blueberries this morning for breakfast....the only blue fruit I know.  And thinking about it I don't know too many foods that are the color blue.  There are plenty of foods that are green, red, and yellow but not so much blue.  So in honor of the only blue fruit that comes to my mind I am linking this up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday with the added layer of hers entitled "simplicity".  A simple fruit with a simple texture.

After shopping (yes I went shopping, that always seems to cheer me up), as I was driving home the sun was setting.  What colors....only God can paint a sky like the one I saw this evening with all those heavenly blues and corals.  That is what makes photography so blow-that-bugle awesome.  To capture that beauty, and then to be able to look at it again and again and again.

Now off to the Bunco Pajama Party...you may see some fun pics later!!

"Earth is crammed with heaven."  ~  Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Until next time.....

Meaningful Monday

I love volunteering for "Feed My Starving Children".  It takes a little over 2 hours of my time and I feel like I contributed to the feeding of so many of our hungry children all over the world.  Especially in those third world countries where children are literally starving.  I was not able to participate for quite a while, but now that my sweet husband is being cared for I am now able to participate in the activities that I have missed doing for so long.   This morning my good friend, Marti and I drove to the building where the meals are packed and shipped, put on our hairnets (the most glamorous part) and managed with the help of 10 other women packed 18 boxes of food in an hour's time.  What is so wonderful is seeing groups of teenagers volunteering and enjoying the work as well.  In fact, this morning there were three times as many teenagers working as there were adults. Doesn't that just warm your heart!! While packing,  music is played and with so many teenagers there, the singing was infectious....I could even sing-along to "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond the rest of the music I did more humming than singing.  This was a place where your troubles vaporized with the rewarding feel of doing a good thing. 

This afternoon I met 3 gal pals at the movies to see "The Help"....I loved the book and I loved the movie.  For those of you who have read the book, it pretty much follows the story-line with very few parts left out...and for those of you who have not read the book, you will love the movie without feeling you have to read the book first.  I give it 4 stars!!  The acting is 1st rate, especially the two that play Minnie and Aibilene.  Oscar nods!!  And little Opie Taylor's (aka Ron Howard) daughter portrayed a real "bitch" (sorry for that, but I can think of no other description that fits more perfectly than that) and did it really well.  After the movie we proceeded to Panera, ate and then talked and talked and talked and talked.  Love those ladies!!

After I drove home I grabbed my camera since I had not taken a shot all day and went across the street, looked to the west and saw the sun setting behind the pine tree.  After another stunner day, the sky still had those wispy clouds and the blue became even more intense.  We have truly been blessed with terrific weather these past few days, 70's during the day, 50's at night....ahhhh!!!   I am sharing this with Lisa at the Creative Exchange. 

Hope your Monday was marvelous and your week is grand.

"When you are with a Friend, your heart has come home."  -  Emily Farrar

Until next time.......