Reflection

Oh my, have I been neglectful of this blog, wow. No updates since October. It looks like I fell off the blogger wagon, which I did but with the New Year 2016, I hope to do much better. I'll admit I don't seem to take as many photos as I used to, no reason, just lazy I think.

Last week in church, our Pastor asked us to reflect on this past year, reflect on the good as well as the bad and that is what I have been contemplating all week.  Little snippets of the year have drifted in and out of my brain for most of the week.  I should have written them down, since the operative word in that last sentence is "out". Images and thoughts have wound their way thru my brain like snow, landing but either whisk away by the wind or buried by others falling from the sky.

This past year what has not disappeared is....

I have found delight in my travels, Paris being the highlight. And a close 2nd is Arizona. What a nice getaway each year.

I have become lazier, spending way too much time on my I-Phone, checking emails, facebook and instagram or playing some benign game. Time I should have been making pictures or writing a blog post.

I am beyond blessed with finding a church that has totally embraced me.

I am distraught over the violence in the world, one that I alone cannot overcome.

I am buried in books to read, only wish my eyes wouldn't tire so easily. To help resolve this I have begun to download audibles when affordable.  Read for awhile, then listen until the eyes regain clarity. (falling asleep while listening has also become a slight issue, it's nice that you can set a timer with audible)

I found this Christmas holiday a little sadder than usual. My calendar was quite full of lunches, breakfasts, celebrations, holiday musicals, church events, but in the midst of it all I felt a sadness that my sweetie isn't here with me, more so this year than in the past. No wonder they title this disease as "The Long Goodbye".

I am delighted that there is a toddler in our midst. Matilda Mae is just pure delight. So inquisitive, so focused, pure joy.

I am not happy about the increasing expansion of the waistline (probably due to the laziness issue, see above), the addition of more wrinkles (don't let anyone convince you that there is a product that removes wrinkles within a week, 10 days, 2 weeks. Not happening.)

This year our Fall was beyond beautiful. Colors so deep and lush, with some leaves hanging on until our first snowfall.  And the light was tailor made for photographing those lovely shades of yellows and golds.

I was introduced to Netflix last year which probably added to the "laziness" issue.  In defense, there are some darn good series on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Right now I am watching "The Man in the High Castle" on Amazon Prime. The premise is what the USA would be like if the Axis powers, Japan and Germany had won the war. Something to think about.

I presented my first book review last year and if I do say so myself, I think I did an admirable job. I belong to 3 book clubs.  Two of them we read a book a month and then discuss it, the 3rd book club is a luncheon along with one of the members reviewing a book.  I call it "the story-time book club." I kept the delivery quite animated which in turn kept everyone awake. Giggle if you will, but after a nice lunch and a comfy chair it's quite easy to nod off. The book I reviewed was "The Red Notebook", a charming story with Paris as the location and a main character a bookstore owner.

I participated in my 3rd Open House in November where I sell greeting cards and calendars created from my photography.  The profits of $576. went to the Alzheimer's Organization. Going to put my thinking cap on this year to come up with more ways to expand.

Family time is certainly the best time.  Thanksgiving brought my whole family together around our table to eat and give thanks for our many blessings.

I hope this new year of 2016 is good to us all.  No resolutions, no word for the year, I tend to fail miserably at both, so I am just going to focus on appreciating life and the goodness and love that surrounds me.  I wish new hopes will always be a part of your life. Happy New Year.

Until next time.....

All Those Beautiful Colors

I just read that you should never ever apologize for not blogging....apparently readers do not like this so from this moment going forward I will never again apologize for not blogging, altho that guilty side of me always wants to. But no, not going to do it.

My little Cinder had dental work done on Friday.  She had 8 teeth pulled, 4 up and 4 down.  Now I know the first question is..."how is she going to eat." The good news is, that all 8 of the teeth were her front teeth, leaving her back teeth aka grinders, in tact. The grinders are just that, the teeth that grind and chew. Right now I have her eating soft foods, but so far she has had no trouble handling anything that has gone in her mouth. Not only did she get her teeth pulled and cleaned but she had 2 non-cancerous tumors removed on her body. When they brought her out to me after all this surgery, she looked at me with a "what the hell did you do to me?" look. She wasn't happy at all and pretty much ignored me for almost 24 hours. But she has perked up and is close to resembling the dog I took into the vet, minus 8 teeth, 2 tumors, and with the remainder teeth sparkling clean...Hallelujah!! Her breath was a "real knock you over crappy air flow smell" prior to the surgery. But no more and just $$$'s later she has a minty clean mouth.

It is definitely Fall here. Last night we had our first light frost, pretty much wiping out the remainder of my flowers. But that's OK, I am done with gardening by this time of the year. I have carried my camera with me whenever I go anywhere, trying to capture the stunning colors that are only here for such a short time. We have had quite a bit of wind lately which makes focusing challenging. But I managed to capture a few beauties through my lens....

The berries are just wonderful in the Fall.

A little accidental color match in a parking lot...

Glorious leaves in yellows, reds and oranges....

I love when these leaves turn color in the Fall, climbing up the tree trunks, but I honestly think it might be poison ivy...look but don't touch...

I hope that you have been enjoying your Fall color.

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter

    ~ Carol Bishop Hipps

Until next time......

I Really, Really Do

Three blog posts in a row.  I do believe that I have set a record for this entire year. How sad is that?!

I took the "kids" to the beauty shop today.....don't they look shiny & clean.  Next week Cinder goes in for dental cleaning and surgery. She has needed this done since the day I brought her home (2 years) but I have been putting it off because of the cost. But her breath is soooo bad it's become much worse than "morning breath" and you know how bad that can be sometimes, well at least mine can.  Toby doesn't seem to change from year to year, but Cinder has been spouting more gray around her face. Hmm, wonder if she wants a dye job to cover up all that gray....just kidding.

On my way home from taking them to the beauty shop, I stopped at the horse farm to check on "fall color".  The horses were in the back 40, so no shots of them, but I did spot color galore. Oh I really do love this time of year, I really, really do.

I specifically stopped there to grab a snap of the fence that leads into the horse farm.  I have not participated in Theresa's (aka TexWisGirl) Good Fences on her blog in many a day.

I liked that all the wild-flowers of late summer were still blooming, adorning the old wood fencing.
I know you have probably seen this quote many, many times lately....but it is so true for me at this very moment, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." L.M. Montgomery, the author of "Ann of Green Gables."  Thanks everyone for stopping by. I promise I will visit you all very soon!

Until next time.....

It's Been Awhile....

Hmm, thought I should write a blog post since (ho hum) again it has been awhile.  Let's see, what will my excuse be this time.  Nope, don't have one. Altho I do have a new room-mate. I think I mentioned in a blog post that my granddaughter, Bailey has moved in with me. Yes, she is still with me, settling in and trying to redefine her life after it took an unexpected turn of events. You know, life is like that. You have all these plans and then boom, something unexpected weaves it's way into your game plan and all that masterminding just goes down the proverbial toilet. We all fall, we all stumble, it's what we do after that stumble that reveals who we really are. Bailey will be just fine, she is a strong woman with a bright future. Her life will be defined by what she does going forward, not on what happened in the past.

OK, speaking of going forward, let's move on with some recent images from around here. We have had an up and down kinda Fall. One week it is absolutely gorgeous, the next very cool, and then a string of really cloudy, grey days and now we are inching back to the gorgeousness. We had a rather warm September which equals late Autumn color around here. There are small changes, but for the most part it's still pretty green around here altho very dry. We have a problem with equality when it comes to moisture. South Carolina has been deluged, 26 inches of rain in Charleston while we have had less than 1/2 inch of rain since before September. Like I said, moisture equality, not happening.

What I love about Fall is

 1) the berries that were beautiful flowers in the Spring are now weighing down branches in their glory (see above)

 2) the colors of reds, yellows, and oranges

3) Finding the last of the flowers of summer

4) And the light...oh the light and how it creates that special glow....

Read any good books lately? I am dying to download the new JoJo Moyes book, "After You" the sequel to "Me Before You" which I truly enjoyed. I have quite a few on my "must read" list. Right now I have started two books, "A Man Called Ove" and "The Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah. And along with all the new TV shows, it's hard to have enough time in the day to keep up. Laundry and organizing closets are just gonna have to wait.

Hope you are having a lovely Fall. And just because she is so gosh darn stinkin' cute.....

Until next time......