I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
Kahlil Gibran

 

When we turn to one another for counsel we reduce the number of our enemies.
Kahlil Gibran

 

Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.
Kahlil Gibran

 
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The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.
Kahlil Gibran

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Shadow hunters unite! Time to share your shadowy world! Join Hey Harriet and all the rest of us shadow seekers/hunters and be a part of the fun!
Click on Harriet and sign up to have the most fun ever!

It's been a very busy week with my kids here for the birthday celebration, visiting with friends and doing some sightseeing! Lots of fun! And today we're off to Whidbey Island to do some more. But I'll be back to check your sites on Sunday! These are just a few of those lovely shadows I found this week!







Friday, August 7, 2009

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.
Kahlil Gibran



I prefer to be a dreamer among the humblest, with visions to be realized, than lord among those without dreams and desires.
Kahlil Gibran

Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.
Kahlil Gibran



If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
Kahlil Gibran



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

A Little Humor for the Morning

THEY ARE FINALLY TOGETHER ...

Judy got married and had 8 children.

Her first husband,Ted, died of cancer.

She married again, and her & Bob had 6 more children.

Bob was killed in a car accident, 12 years later.

Judy again, remarried,.... and this time, she & John had 5 more children.

Judy finally died, after having 19 children.

Standing before her coffin, the preacher prayed for her.

He thanked the Lord for this very loving woman and said,
"Lord, they are finally together."

Ethel leaned over and quietly asked her best friend, Margaret:

"Do you think he means her first, second, or third husband?"
Margaret replied:....

"I think he means her legs, Ethel..."

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Sky Watch Friday!

Time for Sky Watch Friday, hosted each week by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here to sign up and join us! Enjoy beautiful skies from all over the world and share yours with us!

As some of you know, two of my children are visiting this birthday week, so please forgive me if I'm unable to get around to all of your blogs and leave a comments, but I will return next week!! In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the skies!!



Here in Seattle we had more beautiful and varied skies along with varying temperatures -- from chilly to hot! Nothing like a little variety!









Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, is to live twice.
Kahlil Gibran

 

We should give meaning to life, not wait for life to give us meaning. ~Stacy

 

Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
Kahlil Gibran

 

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian. ~Dennis Wholey

 
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Living involves tearing up one rough draft after another. ~Author Unknown

Sometimes the best way to hold onto something is to let it go. ~Author Unknown

A Reminder for Us All

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Little Humor for the Evening

Best Out-of-the-Office Messages

1: I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.

2: You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.

3: I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless mails you send me until I return from holiday on 4 April. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

4: Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged £5.99 for the first ten words and £1.99 for each additional word in your message.

5: The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again.’(The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over).

6: Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

7: I’ve run away to join a different circus.

AND, FINALLY, THIS ONE TAKES THE PRIZE:

8: I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ‘ Margaret ‘ instead of ‘Steve.’

ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday is hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and it's a fun way to celebrate the alphabet! Click on her name to sign up learn you abcs in a whole new way!

The letter for today is C! How about C for Colorful and Cumulus Clouds? We have lots of those in Seattle!





Looking Back - Part 14 - Another Birthday

Hard to believe that another birthday has arrived -- I'm not sure, but I feel as though I've been having two birthdays a year since I turned 70! How else is it possible that I have gotten this old, this quickly!!

Birthdays have never been particularly important or even interesting for me except when my children were growing up. We did celebrate grandly then with everyone getting some kind of goody that I had made for them -- with four it was a lot less expensive to make the gifts and I did make everything from clothes to toys. And it was even more fun for me, making everyone a special gift. The birthday boy or girl got a stack of goodies, but the others each got one special gift. As a result they all looked forward to each other’s birthdays and it was great fun. My youngest daughter paid me back a couple of years ago when my sons were in Portland for their birthdays and she sent presents for all of us. That was a grand surprise.

However, at my current age, for the most part the only good thing about birthdays is that I’m still around to celebrate one at all. My kids seem to feel pretty much the same way about theirs and other than a call to say “I love you”, we pretty much let them slide by without a lot of hoohah. So when I was taking a writing class a few years ago, one of our assignments was to write about our birthday. I kind of sat staring at my computer screen, hoping some marvelous inspiration would float down and invade my thoughts. When nothing happened and the week was nearly gone, I decided to take a look at the websites that had been included with our instructions.

I discovered that P. B. Shelley and Louie Armstrong had both been born on August 4, too, and I wondered why the same muse wasn’t hovering over my shoulder. There were a number of football players, but that didn’t offer any particular inspiration. Then when I looked at events that had occurred on my birthday, I saw momentous things like Howard Stern withdrawing from the New York gubernatorial race and a truck carrying millions of bees overturning on a New York parkway. Amazing! As I scrolled down the page I saw a name that I knew! Kathy Whitworth, a girl who was born in the small west Texas town where I grew up and whom I had gone to school with! I surfed around and discovered she was among the world’s first leading women golfers and had won one of her first prestigious tournaments on my birthday! I’m pretty sure she didn’t plan it that way though.

I also discovered that while warming up before the 5th inning Yankee Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull! And Prince’s album Purple Rain went to #1. Carl Lewis won a gold medal in the 100-meter dash in the summer Olympics in Los Angeles and France performed a nuclear test. John Lennon and Yoko began recording “Double Fantasy”, Oliver North was assigned to White House duty and President Carter established the Department of Energy. Anne Frank was arrested in Amsterdam by the Nazis and the first train of Jews departed for Auschwitz from Mechelen, Belgium. And Dom Perignon invented champagne. And all on my birth date – August 4!

The assignment had turned into an intriguing one, a great history lesson -- and a chance to observe and reflect on the funny, mundane, tragic and everything in between that has taken place on just this one day in history. An opportunity to become aware of so much more than just a birthday, but a date to be celebrated and cherished as each day of all our lives should be.

Last year my birthday turned from the usual quiet day to an incredible one when my son, Adam, surprised me with an incredible seaplane flight over the entire Seattle area! And it was breathtaking! I even got to sit in the co-pilot's seat and had the most incredible view of all!

So, while I've been preparing for the upcoming day, I took a look back at me and this was what I came up with to celebrate my birthday on this August 4. A day that I will be celebrating with three of my children -- David is coming from Dallas, Kerith from Santa Rosa and, of course, Adam.

Sylvia Rae McCarty Kirkwood
My mother admired the actress, Sylvia Sidney.
My father’s name was Raymond – he wanted a boy.
Irish, skinny, freckled, too-curly auburn hair,
My relatives called me Priss, that says it all,
I was a feisty, prissy little girl,
But neither family nor relatives ever knew
The other little girl under the curls,
Or the hurts she kept hidden.
Then it was Bucky, at least until the braces went on and came off.
Kirkwood symboled a new woman, married to the Olympic hero,
Sylvia disappeared behind him, became Ninkles – no, don’t ask.
Ah, but then came the real gifts!
Four beautiful gifts that encompassed the best of both
The hero and the prissy, feisty girl.
Now the hair is white, but the feisty remains,
Hopefully less prissy, but not less spirited.
A journey through the names tells the story,
My story, and what a great story it’s been!

Monday, August 3, 2009

That's My World - Close to Home #2

Join the That's My World team -- Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise, along with all the rest of us and share your world! Click here to sign up and show us your world!



This is my second review of some of the lovely things in My World. This is a busy month for me, starting tomorrow when my son, David, arrives from Dallas and on Thursday, my daughter, Kerith, arrives from Santa Rosa. Plus my birthday is Tuesday! So, forgive me for not visiting/commenting on your blogs as usual. But, as Arnold said, I will be back!

This first shot is the Oregon Coast Railroad and a grand way to see that incredibly beautiful area!



The Oregon Coast at sunset!



The next two are of Lake Quinalt, part of the rain forest here in Washington state!



And this is how the lake looks in the winter.



And this is another shot of that gorgeous Oregon coast! That's My World and I love it!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Kahlil Gibran



Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.
Kahlil Gibran

Your friend is your needs answered.
Kahlil Gibran



Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.
Kahlil Gibran

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Kahlil Gibran

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Portland Time