Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

The quotes today are from two of my favorite writers.



A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
Mark Twain



A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.
Mark Twain



A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
Mark Twain



A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.
Mark Twain



A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
Leo Buscaglia



Don't brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever.
Leo Buscaglia



Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade.
Leo Buscaglia

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Hey, shadow sleuths, it's that time again! We'll all be gathering over at Tracy's blog, Hey Harriet to see what we've all come up with in the way of shadows for the week! Click on the icon, sign up and show your stuff. I promise not to tell anyone that you've become a shadow addict like the rest of us!!

There has been another serious shortage of sunlight this week, but this Wednesday afternoon it suddenly put in an appearance and I was able to get a few.

Our neighbor across the alley had a very interesting shadow of their fence.



A Sam really, really in need of a haircut! Coming up next Thursday! Yea!



How did this watering can get soooooo big???



Soft colors!



Flowering trees enjoying sun!

Weekend Reflections

Weekend Reflections is hosted each weekend by James starting at 11 AM on Friday and if you love shadows you will love reflections. So, click on the icon, sign up and share your reflections with us!

It's been difficult to catch enough sunshine to find reflections or shadows! Lots of very crabby clouds and moody gray skies and right now I match them perfectly. But here's what I came up with for today. You can embiggen any of these by clicking on the photo.

All of our colored glass in the breakfast room were smiling and preening in the window as they enjoyed a little sun!



Back at the Bird Sanctuary I found a watery reflection of trees, clouds and skies.



And, of course, the ducks themselves always love to show off!

They ' re Back! Those Wonderful Church Bulletins!

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

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The Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: ' Jesus Walks on the Water. ' The sermon tonight: ' Searching for Jesus. '
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Ladies, don ' t forget the rummage sale. It ' s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say ' Hell ' to someone who doesn ' t care much about you.
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Don ' t let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang ' I will not pass this way again, ' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don ' t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be ' What Is Hell? ' Come early and listen to our choir practice .
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare ' s Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church ' s new campaign slogan last Sunday: ' I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours. '

Sky Watch Friday!

Time to share your skies!! Sky Watch is hosted each week by Klaus and the Sky Watch team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and me! Click on the icon, sign up, and show us what makes you look up!!

We have had what I can only describe as "emotional skies" -- lots of clouds, lots of wind, some rain. A few days ago I saw a sky full of the most unusual clouds, whipped about by strong winds into incredible shapes and patterns. And then there were contrails mixing it up with the clouds. The following ones were taken about mid-afternoon over a period of about a half hour, after which they turned dark, opened up and the rain came again. But they were breathtaking! I've never seen anything quite like them before in spite of always having my head in the clouds.
The last shot was at sunset yesterday after a rainy day.



What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it. - Isaac Bashevis Singer



The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. - Anne Frank



It is the marriage of the soul with Nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination. - Henry David Thoreau



We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.
- Albert Einstein



Nature does nothing uselessly. - Aristotle



The Sky is the daily bread of the imagination. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.
-- Ralph Blum



A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. -- Kahlil Gibran



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



A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson



Everybody needs a hug. It changes your metabolism. -- Leo Buscaglia



Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. -- Swedish Proverb



Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. -- Emily Kimbrough

Why Not?

This one has been around for a while, but every time I read it I realize just how true it is and since there is another birthday coming up this summer, I thought it was a good reminder and one I'd like to share with you. I don't know who wrote it, but my very dear 87 year old friend here in Seattle sent it to me.

One day I had lunch with some friends. Jim, a tall, balding golfer type about 80 years old, came along with them---all in all, a pleasant bunch.

When the menus were presented, we ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Jim who said, "Ice Cream, please. Two scoops, chocolate.

I wasn't sure my ears heard right, and the others were aghast. "Along with heated apple pie," Jim added, completely unabashed.

We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time.. But when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy mine.

I couldn't take my eyes off Jim as his pie a-la-mode went down. The other guys couldn't believe it. They ate their lunches silently and grinned.

The next time I went out to eat, I called and invited Jim. I lunched on white meat tuna. He ordered a parfait. I smiled. He asked if he amused me I answered, "Yes, you do, but also you confuse me.

How come you order rich desserts, while I feel I must be sensible? He laughed and said "I'm tasting all that is Possible. I try to eat the food I need, and do the things I should. But life's so short, my friend, I hate missing out on something good.

This year I realized how old I was. (He grinned) I haven't been this old before."
So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I had ignored.
I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many trout streams I haven't fished. There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead.

There are too many golf courses I haven't played. I've not laughed at all the jokes. I've missed a lot of sporting events and potato chips and cokes.

I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face. I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace.

I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast. I want un-timed long distance calls to the folks I love the most.

I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain. I need to feel wind on my face. I want to be in love again.

So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire. I had that final chocolate mousse before my life expired..

With that, I called the waitress over.. I've changed my mind, I said. I want what he is having, only add some more whipped cream!

Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige, but on relationships with people we like, love and respect. Remember that while money talks,
CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SINGS!

ABC Wednesday - O!

Get out your dictionary! It's time for ABC Wednesday which is hosted each week by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and the ABC team -- Denise, Roger, Jay, Troy, Barb, Gattina and me!!

O is for Oops! It's October!





And O is for Otters who swim in the Ocean -- when they're not in the zoo!



The Otters' tribute

Spring sunshine
glistening
like stars,
as it blends
with the
ebullient sprays
from blue waves,
shining
on the strips
of grass,
greening
in satisfaction.

The older one
hears,
from far away,
the strains
of something ,
with
Stars and Stripes....

A leap
on to the bank,
hands
across the heart
he stands
at attention;
The partner,
notices,
learns,
and emulates
the elder;

An otters
tribute,
to a
wonderful
homeland,
that makes living,
so much fun
for them.....
Posted by Ugich Konitari to Sylvia From Over The Hill at April 27, 2010 8:57 PM


O is for Oh such lovely Oleanders!



And they are in a glass of milk -- at least that's what it said about the picture -- I found it on Google, my place to go if I don't have the picture that I want. Why it is in milk, I haven't the faintest idea!

Mmmmmm O is for Olives and Omelets!





Hungry yet???

That's My World

Hope you guys aren't getting tired of my spring world here in Seattle, but it just keeps getting better -- at least in my eyes! For those of you who are stopping by for the first time, perhaps you'd enjoy sharing your world with us! If so, click on the icon, read the instructions, sign in and show us what it is about your world that makes you smile, that takes your breath away or just gives you that great feeling of being thankful for the world you live in.

So, this is my world today, more flowers, an always beautiful harbor and breathtaking skies!



In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous. - Aristotle



Nature does nothing uselessly. - Aristotle



The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble. - Blaise Pascal



Come forth into the light of things; Let nature be your Teacher.
- William Wordsworth



Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves. - Jean-Jacques Rousseau



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



Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give. - Eleanor Roosevelt