Welcome to Small Reflections


"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos
I hope you enjoy your visit. If you're looking for something specific, check out the links to posts by category in my sidebar and down a ways. They'll assist with tracking down different types of posts found on each of my three blogs. You might also enjoy checking out the other sites: Sacred Ruminations, Blog Rolls, Bling & Blurbs, and Happily Retired Gal.

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Friday, July 11, 2008

Haiku Friday #55 - Mental Musings of the Morning and 40PC - On Wheels (generating memories)

I'm trying out a slogan today ...
Make Room for Small ReflectionsI appreciate
everyone's suggestions for
slogans ... Decisions

occasionally
elude
me so assistance

is always welcome.

~ ~ ~
I'm enjoying my
new computer with Vista,

but mysterious


glitches have occurred
creating confusion and
disruptions ... so please


bear with me as I
sort things out. I promise I'll

visit when I can.


Last night Dell Support

Technician assisted ... we

opened in 'Safe Mode'
...

ran a program there

to 'repair' whatever's wrong

so hopefully now


everything will work.

Keeping fingers crossed, makes it

challenging to type ;--)

~ ~ ~
Friday's 40-0r-less Photo Challenge returns ... On Wheels! Robin writes:

"Come on...what are your thoughts when you see a herd of bicycles on the beach? You've got 40 words (or less, hence the title) to describe the scene, suggest a caption, wax poetic, or tell a VERY short story based on the photo above. Write your post anytime between now and Friday, then be sure to come back then to link your response. "

Bikes_on_the_beach

Familiar sight
living at the beach as I
do ... this brings back so

many memories
but foremost is the
time I rode from home

to San Diego
on my bike with my sister
& her family.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Okay ... that's 36 words but I'm sure you have questions so I'll add the following ... just because. You're welcome to ignore the rest of the story if you choose, but the name of this blog IS Small Reflections ... and this is one of mine.
Slice of Life Sunday
(on Friday)
I was in my mid-50s and in the habit of riding my bike daily for exercise along the beach (sometimes with my sister, but often alone). I don't recall how it came up, but one day someone suggested a bike ride to San Diego ... and it 'caught on' ... so without any real preparation or training, we set out early one Friday summer morning in a group of six (my sister, her husband, their 2 young boys, my friend Mark & me).

We stopped for breakfast in Laguna ... (resting our tired rear ends briefly) ... then headed south again. I've driven this route many times, but until this ride I had no idea how many HILLS there are along the coast between here and Sandy Eggo. By the time we reached Camp Pendleton, I felt like I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion and realized I needed salt ... so we stopped in the next town for p-nuts and Gatorade (to re-balance electrolytes).

Soon we were on our way again, but we decided to stop in Oceanside and spend the night ... called my brother & his wife who lived in the area. They met us for dinner and we enjoyed our visit ... swam in the hotel pool and sat in the jacuzzi to soothe our aching muscles. The next morning we started out bright & early even though our muscles were screaming, but soon we adjusted our rhythm and made excellent progress ... enjoying the spectacular views along the way. However, in Del Mar ... my young nephew lost control of his bike and collided with me ... splattering me all over the asphalt.

Fortunately we had a first-aid kit with us and shortly ...(with bandaged knees and elbows)... I got back on my 18-speed bike only to discover it was damaged and couldn't be ridden. Mark walked with me into the business area of town (carrying my bike) while my sister & family stayed behind. Fortunately we found a bicycle shop and within an hour or so my bike was good to go ... eventually (after a couple of hours) we were on our way again, though my knees hurt with every stroke. We did finally arrive in San Diego ... found a hotel with a pool & jacuzzi ... soaked for a while before and after dinner then slept. On Sunday we went to Sea World and had a great time, but instead of riding our bikes back home ... after a brief discussion, we opted for Amtrak ;--)
Click for Slice of Life Sunday participants and posts.

Although I started this post MUCH earlier, it's now 9:22am. I apologize for the delay, but hope you find today's post worth the wait. Thanks for visiting ... and remember
Small Reflections Smile Back!
~ ~ ~
HF #54 has been up at Sacred Ruminations for a while now.
For others participating in Haiku Friday this week, go to A Mommy Story or Playgroups are no Place for Children. Click to see my previous Haikus here at Small Reflections and at Sacred Ruminations, or click the Haiku Friday link in the About Me section of my sidebar for a Directory of all my Haiku Friday posts.
Thought for Today
"For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work." Doug Larson

18 comments:

Joyce said...

What an adventure, Storyteller! You are a go-getter, for sure. :)

In your haiku series, I got a chuckle from: "Keeping fingers crossed, makes it challenging to type"! That's great. :)

I certainly hope that whatever issues your new computer is having get corrected very soon!

Hope you have a lovely day. :)

Akelamalu said...

Great trip.

I'm sure your new laptop will turn out to be everything you hoped for, once you get it sorted. :)

Hula Girl at Heart said...

Great adventure! Thanks for taking the extra "words" to explain. Enjoyed the story.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, looking at that pic of those bikes reminds me of my youth. I used to love biking. Sadly, I can't do it anymore. *sighs*

Anonymous said...

Hope all the computer woes are soon behind you, and I loved the bikes on the beach.

Anonymous said...

This was definitely an adventurous adventure! I will be very pleased to add it to the Slice of Life Sunday Pie Safe. I would really appreciate it if you would list Slice of Life Sunday as submission to a prompt somewhere in the post.

Mary said...

Wow! You really did a number on your bike and yourself. I used to ride for miles every Sunday when I was a kid, but wouldn't even attempt a ride like that today. You are one brave lady.

Blessings for a great weekend.
Mary

Momisodes said...

Wow from San Diego!? What an amazing memory that must be :)

Hope the computer issues work out soon.

Betty said...

I enjoyed your post today. The bike trip sounds like a lot of fun. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt very badly when you crashed with another biker. I love to ride a bike, but I don't have a good place to ride. Wish I did.

Have a good weekend.

ChrisB said...

I so enjoyed your bike riding story. I'm not good on my geography but I guess that was some ride. As children bikes were an important mode of transport for us, living in the country.
I wasn't going to enter this week but I have put actually posted my efforts today.

karisma said...

WHAT? You WERE in your mid 50's????? Excuse me miss, but how old exactly are you? I was under the impression you were close in age to myself??? Not yet 40???? If you are older than 50's let me just say you are way cool! Ha ha! Just like my mama! She is way cool too! (She is like 64 right now and still loves a good party! However, she does like to smack me these days! How rude! Albeit Im a bit cheeky at times, but she NEVER used to smack me! It's those damn grandkids. They seem to take preference! Over Me! Go figure! Oh I cannot wait to have grandkids. They appear to be much more fun! LOL!)

Hugs and Blessings my sweet!

storyteller said...

Joyce – Yup … it was an adventure! My sister called from New Brunswick last night (they’re headed for Price Albert’s Island tomorrow) and I read this post to her. She reminded me her kids were about age 8 and 10 at the time and we reminisced a while before moving on to other topics.

Akelamalu – I’m sure already that this new laptop is going to be a huge improvement over the old one, but there definitely are some glitches to be worked through. I do love it already however ;--)

HulaGirlAtHeart – I’m delighted you enjoyed ‘my extra words’ as it was fun to reflect on this event with my fingers on the keyboard.

Tempest Knight – I know what you mean. My bike sits in the garage pretty much neglected these days. I’ve given some thought to trading up to a 3-wheeler …(chuckling as I type this)… but I don’t yet feel old enough for one.

Maggie – I suspect computer challenges will arise as I get used to the new one and modify the old one for the purposes I have in mind for it. The photo of the bikes on the beach came from Robin at Pensieve for the weekly ‘less than 40 Photo Challenge’ … and clicking on the 40PC link will take you there so you can play too if you wish.

Cricket – Thanks for accepting my story for the Slice of Life Pie Safe and giving me permission to add the Slice of Life logo. I’ve done that to this post and the two others you’ve added to the safe previously … the ones about my Mom and brother, and this morning I plan to add the logo to my sidebar when I finish responding to comments.

Mary – I don’t ride my bike much any longer, but I’d to use it to give Molly a better workout. I’m just worried she’ll pull me over … which is why I occasionally consider a 3-wheeler.

Sandy – The ride was from my house along the coast south to San Diego … about 100 miles or so one way. In retrospect, we could have planned and prepared better, but my sister & I have always been adventurously spontaneous … and after my divorce I did lots of things I probably wouldn’t have done while married.

Betty – After my nephew collided with me I had considerable pain in my knees, but I was raised to ‘ignore’ such trivial things as pain and push on … which is precisely what I did that day. Fortunately nothing was broken, but I was sore for a long time after.

ChrisB – I’ll be over in a while to check your 40PC post. Thanks for stopping by mine. The overall distance from here to there was about 100 miles along the coast, so we did about 50 miles each day … and that’s why we opted for Amtrak on the return trip ;--)

Karisma – I’m 63 … a 'happily retired' contemporary of your mom. I celebrated my last birthday online in February here and here, so my age is no secret … but I didn’t join the Fun Monday meme until a month or so after that.

To all – I enjoyed reading and responding to all your comments this morning … reliving the experience once again. Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I got caught up with computer issues again yesterday so didn’t get to visit everyone, but I’m planning to catch up today … so bear with me and I’ll get to your blogs as time permits. Hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend!
Hugs and blessings,

Hootin Anni said...

Excellent post Storyteller. Enjoyed the story. I also read your Thursday Thirteen and I must say I'm partial to the "Take Time for Small Reflections"!!! That is awesome. And I really honestly say it's fitting for you. Don'tcha think?

Happy weekend.

Maude Lynn said...

What an amazing ride!

Good luck with Vista. I've heard it's a nightmare.

Anonymous said...

Wow...W.O.W.! YOU GO, GIIIIIIRL!

There's a place for word limit (Friday's 40) and then the "right" time to tell more. THIS was the right time! What a story! What a memory! I can't believe y'all just decided to do this! And in spite of the glitches, everything seemed to work out fine.

No wonder a bunch of bikes reminded you of that :).

storyteller said...

Hootin’ Anni – Thanks and yez … that one DOES seem ‘fitting’ somehow.

Mama Zen – I have some pretty astonishing stories about those years actually … and perhaps I’ll share a few more from time to time. As for Vista, it’s my understanding that upgrading to Vista on an older computer is a nightmare, but buying a new one with it installed already is fine. I debated buying this new computer with XP Pro like I have on my old one, but that seemed foolish because all the new software over the next few years will be written for Vista and I’d eventually want to upgrade anyway. So far there have been ups and downs and ups but I’m liking many of the features and learning as I go.

Robin – One of the things I’ve learned in my lifetime is that things DO have a way of working themselves out when ya ‘go with the flow’ and ‘pay attention’ … choosing options along the way with eyes wide open. It’s funny how your photo brought all this up for me because I hadn’t thought of that ride for years!

To all – Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. Finding comments is always fun ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Tina Coruth said...

Storyteller,

I love your bicycle trip story. I think you all made a good decision at for the ride home! :-)

hugs,
Tina

storyteller said...

Tina – Thanks … me too ;--)
As for the Small Reflections ‘wordles’ in the previous post, when you double click them it takes you to the Wordles.net site and open with Java … so maybe there’s something you need to adjust in Java?
Hugs and blessings,

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