Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom ..

If you would like to read an incredible tribute to an incredible, awesome Mother, check out Arija's post for Mother's Day. Just click on her name. I've never read anything more amazing and heartrending and beautiful.

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Time to play with Sunday Shadows! Spring is here and the sun is shining and there are shadows everywhere! Join Hey Harriet and the rest of us and share your shadows! Click here to sign up to play!

Love the colored shadows!


Shadows in the children's garden at the school where I volunteer.


Even the tiniest of flowers leave a shadow!


The pear tree in our yard is all leafed out!

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

The world will never starve for wonder, but only for want of wonder.
G.K. Chesterson



A little bit of love can be like sunshine after rain and cause someone to realize that the life is not in vain.



The silence of nature is very real. It surrounds you . . . you can feel it.
Ted Trueblood



Flowers are like human beings . . . they thrive on a little kindness.
Fred Streeter



After a thundershower, the weather takes a pledge and signs it with a rainbow.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Discrimination

Once again discrimination rears its ugly head........


Will it never end??

You do know I'm laughing, don't you?

Little Humor for the Evening

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People -- What do you expect from such simple
creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding
plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You
can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white
T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car
mechanics tell you the truth.. The world is your urinal. You never
have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is
just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay.

Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never
stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut,
blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about
tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open
all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of
thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still
be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You
are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face
stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe
decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes
-- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your
legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have
freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25
minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

This is for all the women who can handle it and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

Sky Watch Friday!

Time to show our beautiful skies with us! Sky Watch is hosted each week by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here to sign up and share your skies with us!

As usual, we've had a little of everything this week. We've had clear skies, colorful skies and clouds of all colors and shapes.



 
 

 

 

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Sounds of the wind or sounds of the sea
Make me happy just to be.
June Polis



Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.
Dorothy Parker

Stop every now and then. Just stop and enjoy. Take a deep breath.
Relax and take in the abundance of life.


There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~Minnie Aumonier



There is pleasure in the pathless woods . . . there is rapture
on the lonely shore.

A New Approach

“Amazing what happens when you cast aside the testosterone”, was the first line of Roger Cohen’s Op-Ed column in the NYT on Monday and I couldn’t agree more.

The masters of the testosterone movement over the past eight years – specifically “porcupine, prickly” Cheney and numerous other Republicans perceive “a weak president”, but according to Cohen, the truth is that foes of the United States have been disarmed by Barack Obama’s no-drama diplomacy. He calls it the mellow doctrine – neither idealistic nor classic realpolitik, it involves finding strength through unconventional means, such as the acknowledgment of the limits of American power; frankness about U.S. failings; careful listening; fear reduction; adroit deployment of the wide appeal of brand Barack Obama; and jujitsu engagement.

Even though more time is needed to see its results, the “mellow doctrine has already brought some remarkable shifts.

The Castro brothers in Cuba are squabbling over the meaning of Obama’s overtures. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has gone gooey-eyed over the Yanqui president. Turkey relented on a major NATO dispute, persuaded of the importance of Obama’s conciliatory message to Muslims.

From Damascus to Tehran, new debate rages over possible rapprochement with Washington. In Israel, it appears the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to drag his Likud party kicking and screaming to acceptance of the idea of a two-state solution because he knows the cost of an early confrontation with Obama.

Not bad for 105 days.

As Cohen says, the fact is the United States spent most of the eight years before last January making things easy for its enemies. It was in the ammunition-supply business.

Nothing comforted U.S. foes as much as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, axis-of-evil moral certitude and the schoolyard politics of punishment. All you had to do, from Moscow to Caracas, was point a finger toward the White House and domestic woes paled. All you had to do, in the recruitment schools of Waziristan and Ramadi, was show video footage of Americans humiliating Muslims. Even among allies, nobody much wanted to help the former administration.

Of course, Fidel Castro is talking about “definite failure” for Obama and lambasting him for preserving a “blockade” (it’s in fact an outmoded partial trade embargo), while his brother Raul says Cuba’s ready and eager to discuss everything.

Obama and his administration still have a long way to go and it won’t be easy. And the likes of the aging Fidel will try to resist the mellow doctrine. But it will succeed if America’s foes understand that normal relations with Washington do not imply the loss of distinctive cultures and politics or the imposition of U.S. values, but rather the “mutual respect” which Obama has promised Iran.

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
Anais Nin

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
Anais Nin



All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness
within.
Horace Friess



Each season has its joys to treasure, to lift one's spirits and bring
us pleasure.

ABC Wednesday!

Guess what? It's time to play ABC Wednesday, hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt in Australia! Click here to sign up and play with the alphabet and the rest of us photo happy bloggers!

Today the letter is P as in the Partridge in a Pear tree!



Purple roses from Pike's Market! These are real, not fake. Dye is injected into the stem prior to blooming and this is what happens!



Peppers from Pike's Market and Pink and Purple Posies!





So, let's Party on!

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Old friends of mine from Portland came to Seattle and we spent the day together. It was a magnificent day -- we went to Snoqualmi Falls. Everytime I have an opportunity to visit one of the incredibly beautiful places here in the northwest I am reminded all over again of the magic in nature and in the beauty that is all around. It takes my breath away! I share some that beauty with you tonight along with some other people's words about nature and beauty.

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
Frank Lloyd Wright



Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson



It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.
Rachel Carson

That's My World -- Hell's Canyon and the Snake River

Time again to share your world! That's My World is hosted every Tuesday by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here to sign up join the fun and show us what you love about your world!



The Snake River and Hell's Canyon can be found in Washington and Oregon, but also Idaho. They "snake" their way through a lot of the northwest.


The name "Snake" possibly derived from an S-shaped (snake) sign which the Shoshone Indians made with their hands to mimic swimming salmon.
Variant names of the river have included: Great Snake River, Lewis Fork, Lewis River, Mad River, Saptin River, Shoshone River, and Yam-pah-pa.
Early inhabitants



People have been living along the Snake River for at least 11,000 years.


The HELLS CANYON area was once home to the NEZ PERCE and the SHOSHONE tribes. There is still evidence today of the people of long ago all along the rivers edge.

Today boaters can explore the canyon's many archaeological sites and old homesteads.


The SNAKE RIVER is said to have gotten it's name from the first white explorers who misinterpreted the Shoshone people who identified themselves in sign language by moving their hands in a snake-like motion...But instead of referring to a snake, they were saying that they lived near the river.



Other cultures of the Snake River's basin's protohistoric and historic periods include the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Walla Walla, Palus, Bannock, and many others.



Exploration

The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 was the first major U.S. exploration of the lower portion of the Snake River, and the Snake was once known as the Lewis River. Later American exploratory expeditions, which explored much of the length of the Snake River, included the Astor Expedition of 1810-1812, John C. Frémont in 1832, and Benjamin Bonneville in 1833-1834. The British North West Company and, after 1821, Hudson's Bay Company sent large trapping and trading expeditions to the upper Snake River and its tributaries. These annual expeditions began in 1817 and continued for about 30 years. They ranged widely throughout today's southern Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah, in the process exploring the region. Many of the rivers and mountains have French names, reflecting the employment of French-Canadian voyageur by the British companies. The policy of the Hudson's Bay Company's was to deplete the region of fur bearing animals as quickly as possible, so as to make it impossible for American traders to operate there. This goal was largely successful. American traders could not compete in the Snake River country. In contrast, the Hudson's Bay Company found the Snake River expeditions very profitable.



By the middle 19th century, the Oregon Trail had been established, generally following much of the Snake River.

The Snake River has become a favorite place for white water rafting as well as scenic canoe trips. Hell's Canyon is the deepest canyon in the US.

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Hallow the body as a temple to comeliness and sanctify the heart as a sacrifice to love; love recompenses the adorers.
Kahlil Gibran

Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
Kahlil Gibran

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
Kahlil Gibran

When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow.
Anais Nin

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin

Click on the photo to better see the buds.