It's Been Awhile....

Who is spreading that rumor that I have deserted my blog? I wouldn't call it deserting as much as taking extra long breaks. Yeah, that's it, long breaks.

I must admit that I didn't pick up my camera much during the months of January, February and into March because it was a totally boring winter. No beautiful snowfalls, no frozen icicles, no snowmen. Just brown, trashy road slop and bare limbs. Altho I did get some pretty good bird shots with the bare trees.

Well, now that's it's spring again in my part of the world, the camera has now returned strapped around my shoulder and ready to face the world.  I actually planned on a drive to the arboretum today because I know the magnolias have almost dropped all their pretty petals and the bluebells should be in full force, but the wind is also in full force which makes capturing those sweet spring flowers a little daunting.

My last three months haven't been a total camera loss.  I did go to Arizona in March and spent 10 lovely days in the sun and warmth visiting with my FOL buddy, Terri. We managed to get to the Desert Botanical Garden twice, the Butterfly Wonderland, and a nice lunch and walk in a local park. Always fun to get-away when you have had just a little too much winter.

After my return from the fun and sun, The Chicago Botanic Garden was having a huge display of orchids. Ofcourse this was a must-do for me and my camera. I did not realize there were so many types of orchids, both in size and color. Stunning doesn't even come close to describing the beauty.

OK, it's now taken me 3 days to write this one post. And you wonder why I don't post daily.  The wind seems to have calmed somewhat so I am going to try the Arboretum again today. I have over the past 12 months or so really lost my vim and vigor and have become extremely lazy. Thus probably the reason I haven't kept up with this blog. I don't know if it's age (you know I just had another birthday, 74 argh that sounds so old) and I still love to travel, take photos, be with friends, but sometimes naps in the afternoon become a priority. Hopefully with the new season upon us I will shed this feeling of laziness and get back on track with life. Have a good week, and hopefully see you again soon.

Until next time.....

The June July August Break

Oh dear, I did it again, Said I would and then I didn't. I am very unreliable. Blogging is akin to a habit, you must continually write and post so it becomes part of your daily habits. And I don't mean a bad habit, I mean a good habit, sorta like drinking a cup of coffee before the world begins to turn. Many bloggers are taking what is referred to as an August Break, where they either don't post at all or very minimally. I think I fell into that first category but my August break went back as far as the end of June, the 29th to be exact.

And I might be in real trouble when it comes to forming a habit.  I just checked Google (I love Google) and instead of the old adage of 21 days, apparently the University College London has done a more thorough study on habit forming and now it has been determined that no longer is it 21 days but 66, trumping the 3 weeks to now more than 6 weeks. Are you kidding me, OMG I'm done for.

Oh well, I will give a quick over-view of my adventures this summer. trying to catch up during my June-July-August break. The two photos above were taken in Chicago on a night photo-walk during the photography conference. I rarely, pretty much never, do long exposure night photography. You need a tripod and patience, both of which I tend to fail at.

The 4th of July I drove to Dayton, OH with my kids to spend a long weekend with my sweetie's family.  Only one good day of weather the whole weekend was a disappointment. I thought it was a rule that it doesn't rain on the 4th of July.  Seeing and being with family certainly makes the days brighter even if the skies are dark and rainy.

Later in July I flew to California to visit and stay with my son and daughter-in-law for a week. We visited the San Diego Zoo, along with a million others and walked the beaches with a million others, and yes, it was hot like a million other places have been this summer. Remind me not to visit California in July. Fall or spring seem to be the more pleasurable times. But again, seeing and being with my son and daughter-in-law removed the unpleasantness of the crowds and the heat.

  But one thing is for sure, roses love the hot southern California weather.

And along the way I found a red barn.....always a fav!

And a gorgeous butterfly....

Many happy moments were spent with family this summer....this being one of them.

Can you believe this little bundle of joy will be two next month.

I am heading to Michigan next week to visit old friends that have a cottage on Torch Lake. Expectations are high for many photo ops.  Hope you have had a lovely summer as we head into a new season soon. It's been too hot and too humid around these parts this summer. The windows and doors have been shut almost the entire month of July and into August with the air conditioner running. Love having the windows wide open, enjoying the soft breezes and the sounds of summer. Maybe in September it will cool down for that enjoyment.  Until then, I will continue to sit on the screen porch, overhead fan on high, ice cold drink by my side, with an occasional trickle of sweat dripping on the pages of my latest read.

Until next time.....

Dropped A Few More Coins

My poor Bailey (granddaughter who has been living with me since August) is still waiting to hear if she has been accepted into a new job she interviewed for over a month ago.  The job, if she gets it, would mean a move to Omaha, NB, which means ofcourse, I will lose my roommate of nearly a year. I know she really wants to move on with her life, and I want that for her too, but damn I'm gonna miss her.  After living alone for 4 years, new life was brought into my tiny little domain, new life with Bailey and with Boone (her kitten, I relented and let her buy). I will miss our TV watching together, our shopping trips, our runs to our favorite frozen yogurt place, but time and life moves on.

Right now she is headed to Champagne, IL to assist a store in need, so I really think this is the end of her life with Nana. Sob! On the positive side, I get a closet back. Deanna, it sounds like you need a good clean-out of your walk-in closet (translated means large) if you need an overflow closet.  It's on my list of "to do's".  Enough about cleaning, it's summer. So, after dropping her off at the car rental place I headed over to a favorite garden center. Uh oh, I did it again, dropped a few more coins and brought home more bloomin' beauties. And caught a glimpse of an early season butterfly.

Must get outdoors to plant those beauties I brought home. Hope your day is glorious!!

"Life is full of miracles, but they're not always the ones we pray for."  ~  Eve Arden

Linking to Kim at Little Things Thursday and TexWiseGirl for her Good Fences

Until next time,

An Easy Countdown When You Are In Arizona....

It's countdown, only 2 days until my birthday and I have quite a list to complete. My last blog post brought me to the count of 50 which means I still have 23 more "happy" things to list.

I am writing this from sunny Arizona where the temps have been from the 90's to the 40's. Last week when I arrived, Arizona was in the middle of an early heat wave and temps were way up.  Sunday brought much cooler weather and yesterday as I wandered around the zoo for 4 1/2 hours it was a comfortable 68 degrees. Perfect.

51. Zoos make me very happy, especially giraffes.

52.  Pink Flamingos make me happy....how can you not love a pink flamingo?  Even their color is happy.

Since I have been here I have been out to eat about a gazillion times, saw 2 movies, The Lady in the Van being one which I totally enjoyed, shopped, went to a concert where the Tokens were performing....now you say "who in the heck are the Tokens?'  They had 2 hits in their entire career (PS they are now in my age category so you know how old they are, (think 1950's do wop music). Their greatest hit was "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from the ever popular Lion King.  Click on the link and you can enjoy hearing the Tokens.

I've been to the Desert Botanical Garden and Butterfly Wonderland with my sweet friend, Terri, had a pedicure (ahhh), sat on the patio and snoozed in the sunshine, a wonderful time away from the not quite spring Midwest.

53. The desert makes me happy....there is great beauty to be found among the palm trees, the cactus, the birds,  And it especially makes me happy after a winter in Chicago.

54. Birds make me happy...their colors, their sweet sounds.

55. Happiness is living in the USA and proudly displaying our flag.

56.  Happiness is butterflies...

OK now on to more practical happy...

57.  Garbage disposals make me happy. I can remember the days when getting rid of kitchen garbage was nasty business.

58.  Campfires make me happy, sitting around, enjoying the flames, roasting a marshmellow or two.

59.  Daffodils in springtime.....

60.  Pasta of any size shape or form.

61.  Pedicures - having my toes. feet, and legs messaged, fresh polish on the toenails, and softened feet and legs is darn close to heaven.

62.  A car wash and a full tank of gas.

63.  Big Band Music....love Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing "Sing, Sing, Sing"

64.  Baby Christenings

65.  Checking 2 bags free with Southwest Airlines makes me happy.

66.  Walt Disney and his talents - where would we be without Cinderella, Mickey Mouse, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, 101 Dalmations, etc etc

67.  Berries of any size, shape or color (but red is my absolute favorite)

Only 6 more to do. How completely satisfied this exercise has been.  Not only am I happy about so many wonders in my life, I feel I am totally blessed with all. It certainly helps erase any negativity in my life, when you count your happy's and your blessings. As good ole Louis Armstrong would say...."it's a wonderful life!"

Until next time.....

The Butterfly Edition

Here I go again apologizing for being a sometimes, almost never blogger.  I was in Arizona for 10 days, just returned yesterday with the same snow still on the ground. So that was part of the reason, but come-on the last time I posted was Valentine's Day and that was Feb 14th and this is March 7th. What the heck. Anyway, I had a really, really great break from our snow & cold, stayed busy the entire time, saw 3 movies, went to Tucson, visited the zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden, and the Butterfly Garden. Went shopping, out to a birthday lunch, tagged along while Joyce bowled and enjoyed a leisurely lunch after with a new friend.  Out to dinner practically every night, quick trip to Superstition Mountain, and perused the Swap Meet where I bought 3, yes 3 purses.  Oh the list goes on and on, needless to say I am in recoup mood today.  Taking a breather before the next round of events here at home begins.

While there I met up with my gal pal, photography lover & blogging buddy at Focusing On Life, Terri Porter to visit the Butterfly Wonderland and the Desert Botanical Garden.  Thought I would share just a few of the gazillion photos I took while there.  Visiting the Butterfly Wonderland is truly a treat.  Flying free and landing anywhere their wings decide.  I had them in my hair, on my arm, in my hand, on my back.  I could feel them when they landed, but only just slightly.  So here a few of those glorious winged creatures.

This one had just hatched from the cocoon, so she is brand spankin' new!!

Loved the way the light shined on her wings.  Hmm is it shined, shinned or shone??

Whoa, this is almost too close....

OMG, nature is just incredible!!

Each one is just drop dead gorgeous.

Look at the way the light illuminates the antennae!!

If you hop over to my collaborative blog "Focusing On Life" you will see a variety of the green in Arizona, along with a couple more butterflies.

I spent 10 glorious days in the desert, but it's always nice to return home.  My kids were indeed glad that it was me who opened the door last night.  So many wags and kisses, ahhh the love of a dog is unparalleled. 

Joining Madge at "The View From Right Here" for her weekly Top Shot

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.  ~  Nathaniel Hawthorne

Until next time....

Somewhat Pink

Well, I started out by trying to gather images of pink and making this a pink post, but I didn't get very far before I ran out of pink....you just can't find a lot of pink in the white world I am living in right now.  But I did go out and buy pink tulips (actually I didn't even know what color they were when I made the purchase, their little buds were so tightly closed it took a couple of days before their true color was revealed.

And then I thought of my trip to the Arizona zoo, and the pink flamingos...don't ya just love pink flamingos.

And then I remembered there were pretty pink flowers that the butterflies were sipping from at Butterfly Wonderland in Phoenix....

And then ofcourse there is Cinder's new sweater....this is her bounding thru the snow.  No, she really isn't playing she is running to get back inside, this is not her favorite weather.

And then Toby, who doesn't have a lick of pink on him, standing there wondering why Cinder is in such a hurry to get back inside, because when the temps get to above 20 he is ready to stay and play.

Kathy over at You'll Shoot Your Eye Out has a fun meme on Sundays entitled Song-ography - take a song and photograph your interpretation...this week it is Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love"....personally if I was a big singing star, Meatloaf is probably the last name I would have chosen to be known as, but then I didn't do the choosen.  Anyhoo, I thought this might represent that song....you just don't see giraffes sitting down too often, and I am thinkin' one was feeling a little down (maybe a sore throat...snort) so her mate came down to keep her company.

So that's it.....my somewhat pink post, mixed in with a little Toby and a little Song-ography.  Hope you are having a great Sunday.  And btw, I finished The Snow Child....very fairy-tale like, easy read, I liked it, but again, I think next February we should be more astute in our choice of reading and not pick something that takes place in Alaska in the winter-time....just sayin.

"Book lovers never go to bed alone."  ~Author Unknown

Until next time.....