I miss you Sam!!

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

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. ~Palmer Sondreal



It is only our own thoughts that hurt us and hold us back. Dr. Lee Jampolsky



The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash. ~Author Unknown



Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. ~Mildred Barthel



A smile is something you can't give away; it always comes back to you.
~Author Unknown



Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. ~Victor Hugo

Shadow Shot Sunday!


Time to go over to Hey Harriet and see what kind of shadows people everywhere have found this week -- and I hope they've had better luck than I have!!! Ah, well, it's that time of year! Shadow Shot is hosted every week by Tracy at Hey Harriet. It's fun, it's addictive and you get really frustrated when there's no sun! So, click on the icon, sign up and have fun looking for shadows!

We have had NO sun this entire week, it's wet, it's cold and I had to work to find some shots you haven't already seen.

The Christmas Cactus was very happy a couple of weeks ago -- you wouldn't want to see photos of him today though, but here he is when he was happy!



And the African Violet found some rays!



Back to the good old kitchen!





Have a great Shadow Shot Sunday everyone!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum



Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~M. Kathleen Casey



If you're going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill



If you want to forget all your other troubles, wear too tight shoes. ~The Houghton Line



If the wind will not serve, take to the oars. ~Latin Proverb



Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll. ~Author Unknown

Why, Why, Why...

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

Why does someone
Believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes,
Why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses
Are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE.......
The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness.. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sky Watch Friday!


So, how are your skies these days? Sky Watch Friday is hosted each week by Klaus and the Sky Watch Team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and myself! Click on the icon, sign up and join the hundreds of people all over the world who share the beauty of their skies with us each week. PLEASE! do read and follow the instructions before signing in! Thank you! Enjoy!

It has definitely been gray and grim and wet in Seattle this past week -- no surprise sunrise or sunset! But I'm posting a sample of what we've had over the past month.

Sometimes gentle, sometimes capricious, sometimes awful, never the same for two months together; almost human in its passions, almost spiritual in its tenderness, almost Divine in its infinity.
- Bayard Ruskin,
The True and Beautiful--The Sky



This majestical roof, fretted with golden fire.
- William Shakespeare






That golden sky, which was the doubly blessed symbol of advancing day and of approaching rest. - George Eliot



The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary. - Alfred Kreymborg



Laden with meaning

Some clouds
in some worlds
grief laden
dark
with
foreboding
and the trees
look up
wearing Raybans
into a dull sky,
as the
wind
sweeps them out
to reveal
the wonder of blue.

The same clouds
in other worlds,
bring a smile
to the face
of
a farmer in his
dry fields,
sitting
on his haunches
shaking a finger at God...

And this time,
He smiles and nods,
as
the wind
just tickles
the darkness
out of the clouds,
squeezing it out
to fall
in
monsoon torrents
over a parched
thirsty land...
Posted by Ugich Konitari to Sylvia From Over The Hill at January 14, 2010 7:33 PM

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



Your own thoughts and beliefs determine what you see and what you experience.
~ Dr. Lee Jampolsky



Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell



Perfect winter weather is a great caffeine, while perfect summer weather is the best sedative. ~Amethyst Snow-Rivers



If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. ~Mother Teresa



Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson



Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~Mark Twain

Please do hold good thoughts and prayers for the people of Haiti!

Carnation milk - 65 Years Ago!

A cute little lady from Iowa had worked in and around her family dairy farms since she was old enough to walk, with hours of hard work and little compensation. When canned Carnation Milk became available in grocery stores in approximately the 1940s, she read an advertisement offering $5,000 for the best slogan.

The producers wanted a rhyme beginning with 'Carnation Milk is best of all.'
She thought to herself, I know all about milk and dairy farms. I can do this!
She sent in her entry, and several weeks later, a black limo pulled up in front of her house. A man got out and said, 'Carnation LOVED your entry so much, we are here to award you $2,000 even though we will not be able to use it!'


New Exercises!



In my continual thought for my fellow computer friends, I offer.......

Neck Exercises to do at the computer



Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown



The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson



It is our defensiveness that keeps us feeling separate and alone. Dr. Lee Jampolsky



Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward



Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown



Seeing differences or similarities reflects two very different ways of approaching the world. One is through fear and the other is through love. ~ Dr. Lee Jampolsky



Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell. ~Edna St Vincent Millay

ABC Wednesday -- Z!

ABC Wednesday is hosted each week by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and it challenges you to see just how well you know your alphabet! And with this weeks letter we complete one more season of fun!! The letter for the day is Z! So, click on the icon, sign up, put your thinking cap on and what you can show us for Z day!

Z is for Zapotec Indians. The Zapotec weavers of southern Mexico are descendants of one of fifteen Pre-Historic Indian cultures of Mexico. If you ask a Zapotec Indian how long his family has lived in the Valley of Oaxaca, he will say, "Siempre (always)"; for the valley, hidden by volcanic mountain ranges, makes for a rich and productive agrarian culture and was isolated to trade. This combination has produced a culture whose dedication and value to the arts is incredibly unique. From this region, now come beautiful examples of the ancient art of weaving.



Z is for Zydeco - famous Cajun music form one can hear frequently in the bayous of Louisiana and in New Orleans.



Z is for Zebra! The cute little striped ones! How do they know who is who???



And last but not least Z is for Zucchini! The healthy, good for you Z!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty



If you had a case of "celestial amnesia," where you had forgotten any grudges and judgmental thoughts you may have once had, how would you feel and what would you do differently (i.e. What would you stop wasting your time on)? ~ Dr. Lee Jampolsky



One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why. ~Author Unknown



Your life is not an audition for a soap opera. ~ Dr. Lee Jampolsky



Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. ~Robert Frost



The more I see of man, the more I like dogs. ~Mme. de Staël



It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens. ~Cynthia E. Varnado



I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. ~Bill Dana



The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

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