Small Reflections: 4th of July - Camera Critters

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

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Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos

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Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July - Camera Critters - Mosaic Monday

Make Time for Small Reflections
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!

I'm behind again because spent most of last week (and much of the holiday weekend) watching TENNIS at Wimbledon, but I'll be catching up in the 'virtual world' over the next few days.

Click Mosaic Monday logo to embiggen for better viewing

This is my 79th

Misty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.
4th of July Parade-Downtown Huntington Beach, CA

Click to embiggen for better viewing

and for others participating in Camera Critters & Mosaic Monday this week.
See more parade photos & Camera Critters at
Sacred Ruminations in Shadow Shot Sunday.

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
" You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." Erma Bombeck

18 visitors shared:

Mike Golch said...: Great photos,I hope that you are having a great 4th.; July 4, 2009 6:22 PM
Brooke said...: Just a fun collage of shots!; July 4, 2009 8:50 PM
i beati said...: patriotic critters and lots of them sandy; July 5, 2009 7:01 AM
Joy Des Jardins said...: What great photos of the 4th of July...love them. Hope you have been having a wonderful weekend Virginia. Love, Joy; July 5, 2009 7:34 AM
Mary said...: Your mosaic is really summery and cheerful, your fourth of July pictures are really nice. And the baby ducks are adorable! :O) Mary @Boogieboard Cottage; July 6, 2009 9:40 AM
Just A Mom (Call me JAM for short) said...: WOW! Lots of great photos that you were able to get. Looks like a fun weekend!

Happy Monday!; July 6, 2009 11:43 AM
Puna said...: This is wonderful and I particularly like the Erma Bombeck quote. I just love the Fourth of July.; July 6, 2009 12:13 PM
Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...: Any photo that has a Bichon Frise in it is a great photo. Your parade mosaic is really nice, too - very patriotic.; July 6, 2009 12:55 PM
Carolyn said...: Love all your colorful mosaics!
Carolyn; July 6, 2009 1:14 PM
Mama said...: What a beautiful colourful parade you have there and what lovely mosaic you have created, happy Monday, Kathy.; July 6, 2009 1:36 PM
at the cottage said...: What great photos and mosaic. I love the summer and all the colour. :)

Thank you

Deb; July 6, 2009 3:22 PM
Suzy said...: You gotta love a parade! Excellent mosaics. I love 4th of July. Cute pups too!; July 6, 2009 3:27 PM
Simply Heather said...: Wonderful Critters and Photos!!!; July 6, 2009 4:59 PM
NatureStop said...: Great pics and lovely mosaics!!; July 6, 2009 9:15 PM
Martha in PA said...: Looks like an AWESOME 4th!; July 7, 2009 4:22 AM
Sue said...: The horses are beautiful :) Thank you for stopping by, and your comment :); July 7, 2009 5:30 AM
lisaschaos said...: What a GREAT parade!! So many critters!; July 7, 2009 1:21 PM
Alberta Rencontres said...: I am never visiting something like this, The parade look very good, may be next 4th July I will be there :)); July 10, 2009 5:07 AM

Today I'm thankful ...

1. for all I've learned about blogging ... especially HTML codes that allow me to transfer my gratitude lists to Happily Retired Gal more easily these days.

2. I managed to stay awake all the way through my computer class from 6-9pm last night even though I'd been up since 2am.

3. that (with the information I've learned in my 'Fix Your Own Computer' class) I've managed to speed up my old laptop considerably ... and hopefully make the newer one more 'stable' (crossing my fingers that I won't get the 'Blue Screen of Death' several times a day any more)

4. for a pleasant 'catch up' lunch with a good friend and phone chat with my sister who is gradually headed home for the holidays

5. I attended the wonderful Vanguard University Christmas Concert last night at St. Andrew's church in Newport Beach ... what a glorious way to get me in the holiday mood ;-)

6. for my many 'virtual' friends sharing their thoughts and photographs in the Blogosphere.

7. it's RAINING ... finally ;-)

8. there's a break in the rainy weather so Molly & I can take a long walk together, but more of the 'wet stuph' is on the way.

9. I'll be getting a new perm this afternoon.

10. I'm registered for 3 new Adult School classes in 2010 with a good friend. It'll be fun to have this regular time to connect twice weekly for the next few months as we learn more about Photoshop and collages.

11. for another day of light drizzily rain.

12. I was able to share Satsuma tangerines from my sister's tree with friends and attended a Buon Natatle Party last night ... catching up with friends I've not seen for many years.

13. I finally figured out (with the help of Google) how to change the letter of my 1TB WD 'My Book' drive with the Vista OS after one got accidentally changed (wreaking havoc with the PSE6 'organizer') when I installed a new WD Passport drive to back up photos for safety's sake.

14. I remembered that today's the 2nd Monday of the month so I didn't miss catching up with friends at Retired Ladies Lunch ;-)

15. that after spending the day successfully backing up my photos on a WD Passport Drive, finally I managed to create and publish my Almost Wordless Outdoor Watery Wednesday post with photos from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands after the Rain before heading to my Fix Your Own Computer class tonight.

16. that I'm able to access the Internet with my ancient laptop while dealing with connectivity issues on the newer one ... even though it's E X T R E M E L Y
S L O W going to access & comment on blogs!

17. that this afternoon I was SUCCESSFUL finally in getting my newer laptop (a Dell running Vista) to access my encrypted wireless network ... so I'll be able to visit blogs more easily again, however I'm leaving for class soon so those visits will need to wait until tomorrow.

18. for all I've learned about fixing my own computer in my Adult School class and that I've got the rest of the year off for the holidays!

19. My sister and her husband have returned home and we'll be able to celebrate Christmas together with extended family!

20. for a delightful day spent with my sister yesterday starting with a delicious meal at Z'Tejas (I'll share photos another day), followed by a long walk (enough to make my feet hurt) with good conversation, late-afternoon coffee at Starbucks, and topped off with a lovely Christmas concert at the OC Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Theater.

21. I created my Christmas cards to send to family & friends.

22. after spending more hours than I care to admit trying to make my printer work, I've decided to send New Year's cards this year in order to cut myself some slack and limit stress.

23. for all those who offered suggestions and/or support as I worked on printer issues ... as yet unresolved.

24. to spend the day with family in Hemet ... celebrating Christmas Eve with my sister, her husband, their two sons (age 30 & 28), my brother's widow, their youngest son, his wife, their two daughters (age 5 & almost 4), and their son (age 2).

25. that I woke early enough to visit many of my virtual friends leaving Joyous Christmas wishes before taking Molly for a walk then heading to my sister's house for traditional strawberry waffles.

FYI - My previous Gratitude Lists can be found at Happily Retired Gal, my new WordPress site. It is my intention to keep this 'Daily Gratitude List' in my sidebar indefinitely because I believe it makes sense to focus on what's right in our lives regularly. Click for:
2009 Lists - November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2008 Lists - December, November

About Me

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How I Became a Blogger

Evolution of my blogs
Late in October of 2007, I started playfully exploring possibilities here and at SacredRuminations ... the site where I joined Carla's Sacred Life Project. I published daily on both sites initially, but in mid-January of 2008 I gave myself permission to cut myself some slack & rethink things. Since committing to Blog 365 at Small Reflections, I've continued to publish daily here, but I'm thinking about alternating days and/or experimenting a bit with a variety of possibilities in an attempt to balance my online activities with my "real life" ... without giving "short shrift" to either blog. Therefore, it's all a work in progress, and I hope you'll bear with me.

In October of 2008, I celebrated my 1st Blogoversary here at Small Reflections on the 22nd & at Sacred Ruminations on the 23rd.

I completed Blog 365 in 2008 with a total of 378 posts here at Sacred Ruminations, 234 at Sacred Ruminations, 20 at BlogRolls, Bling & Blurbs, and 30 at Happily Retired Gal for a grand total of 662 ... all in 366 days!

In 2009, my sister & her husband returned to So Cal for 4 months and I had less time to blog. Even though they're on the road again, I'm finding it challenging to recapture a daily blogging habit. Click for more specifics about this.

Click to find ...

My Blog Blasts for Peace:
Sacred Ruminations- The Strength of Gentleness
Small Reflections-A Revolution of Music
Blog Rolls & Bling - What if? (a Colorful Alternative to Bombs)
and last June:
Thirteen Thoughts on the Topic of Peace
Peace in Every Step

My Peace Globes are below
Clicking on them will take you to the related 'Bl0g Blast' post also.
"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear .... It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to." Marilyn Ferguson

Food for Thought

(or reminders for myself)

"it takes courage to become who you really are." e.e. cummings

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust

"How you handle the situation IS the situation." Stephen Covey

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you." Lao-Tzu

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." William James

"At mid-life more than any other time, we have renewed opportunity to create health by expressing our creativity fully." Dr. Christiane Northrup

"It is never too late to be who you might have been." George Eliot

"Things are only impossible until they're not." Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Go forth into the busy world and love it. Interest yourself in its life, mingle kindly with its joys and sorrows." Ralph Waldo Emerson

More thoughts

"We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have in life, we have neglected to give them what we did." Anyonmous

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. ... You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

"There are events in life that cannot be explained or changed. I acknowledge them, feel them, and I release the rage, guilt, loss, anger, and grief." Dr. Christiane Northrup

"Yesterday I dared to struggle. Today I dare to win." Bernadette Devlin

"The first and the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind is curiosity." Edmund Burke

"In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us." Virginia Woolf

"The really great writers are people like Emily Bronte who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and their unlimited imagination." James Michener

"If you think you can, or think you can't -- you're right." Henry Ford

More Thoughts ...

"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do." Georgia O'Keefe

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true." Richard Bach

"Telling stories causes others to remember what they have always known." Anonymous

"Character is the bridge between our beliefs and our behavior. Character is the glue of personality, the connective tissue that makes a person whole, integrated, a person of integrity." Joan Konner, journalist

"What you choose not to look at in life, rules your life." Lynn Andrews

"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"When a woman changes her life for the better, her entire family (whether or not she has children) generally benefits. She sets the tone. The well-being of the family and of society itself depends upon women becoming and remaining healthy. So we owe it to ourselves to put ourselves first and take the time we need to heal." Dr. Christiane Northrup

A bit of nostalgia for Christmas

Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July - Camera Critters - Mosaic Monday

18 visitors shared:

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

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