Catching up with Weekend Miscellany ...

Make Time for Small Reflections

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Finding Beauty
Weekend Reflections,
Haiku Sky Watch Friday
Camera Critters & Pet Pride

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others participating in Friday's Fave Five and Just for the JOY of it

Wow ... it's been more than a week since I've published here and almost a week since I've updated my sidebar Gratitude List, but this morning I'll do my best to catch up a bit ... Just for the JOY of it ... sharing my FAVES from the week while participating in some of my favorite weekend memes.

1. As may be obvious, I've not spent much time at the computer. Instead I've devoted myself to beginning my day by writing and reading lately. Pleasant weather permits me to spend early mornings in my blue chairs on the patio with the company of Ms. Kitty, Molly, and Aloha ... occasionally visiting with passers by and capturing neighborhood views with my Nikon D60. When I go inside for 'coffee refills' Molly usually stands at the door waiting for me to return.

My most recent 'read' is SWITCH: How to Change Things when Change is Hard by the Heath brothers, Chip and Dan. Their approach is intriguing and makes practical sense to me. I'm hopeful that using some of their ideas might help me continue to rid myself of clutter and clarify some next steps on my own life's path ... especially as I prepare to return to Taos, NM this summer for a second week-long Writers Retreat. I dropped by the Auto Club yesterday for maps and travel books and am gathering together other materials I want to bring with me.

2. Skies have been lovely and crows seem to be building (or repairing) a nest in the tall palm trees out front.

Soaring high above
crows bring twigs from nearby trees
creating their nest

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and Sky Watch Friday

3. Just one gladiola shoot survived the raucous play of Molly & Aloha this Spring and I've enjoyed watching it bloom pink all week ... Just for the JOY of it! Isn't it pretty?

... I plan to share more views tomorrow at Happily Retired Gal for Pink Saturday & Today's Flowers, (and perhaps some Macro Views for Monday too) but I noticed interesting reflections in the car parked by the parkway in front of my house and decided to share those shots here today ... just for the JOY of it!

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4. It's taken a while, but I finally helped my brother-in-law add a free 'image resizer' from Microsoft Power Toys to his 'Vista' machine so that when he sends my sister's pictures they'll embiggen when clicked upon. I'll share more of her photos in another post, but here I've decided to share some pictures taken by a friend on Easter Sunday. She lives in Northern California on acreage and has given me permission to share the photos here. I'll add them in a few minutes after I publish this because they're located on my Sony computer and I'm creating this post on the Dell.

Pictures from a friend
emailed this past week to share
'snow' ... Easter morning!

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5. Finally ... here are a few pictures of Molly & Aloha playfully keeping me company as I sit on my front patio this week ... and, of course, Ms Kitty's on her pillow under the chair.

Aloha the pup
is almost a year old now ...
but still rambunctious

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So ... now that I've added the snowy Easter photos for Finding Beauty above, I'll get myself a coffee refill and update my Gratitude List (Just for the JOY of it) before I take Molly for her morning walk. Later I'll be getting together with a friend so I'm not sure when I'll get around to visiting ... but hopefully I'll find time for some blog catch up during the weekend.

Here's wishing each of you a delightful day
and wonderful weekend!

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." A. A. Milne

HF SkyWatch, FiveFAVES, Color and Beauty

Make Time for Small Reflections
Scroll down for Color Carnival, Finding Beauty,
Today's Flowers, Mellow Yellow, Macro,
and Mosaic Monday too ...

1. Remember how Mom's Azalea got broken again in February of this year? I'm happy to report that it's coming back for the second time ... slowly but surely. The piece I planted in the parkway is still struggling and may not make it, but the original plant seems healthier this time around ... though very small at this point.

What it looked like in February ...


... and what it looks like now ;-)

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2. It's been a while now since I've seen blue skies like those in the Haiku Sky Watch logo below ... but the bare branches of the tree next door show signs of Spring.

Grey & drizzily
skies of late keep temp'ratures
in the mid 60s




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3. Over the past few afternoons (once the drizzles stopped) I've put some of the colorful new bedding plants in the ground ... and intend to get the rest planted today and/or tomorrow. I was tempted to leave the bright orange Nemesia in a pot on the patio, but decided to put it in the ground near the yellow & orange Lantana.

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4. The first two blooms on my newly planted Veteran's Honor rose bush lasted for almost 5 weeks and I suspected it might need time to recover ... but to my surprise I discovered a new bud on it just yesterday. In addition, the African Iris (otherwise known as Fortnight Lily) have started to bloom in the neighborhood ... though MINE hasn't produced any buds yet.

Veteran's Honor rose bud above and
African Iris/Fortnight Lily blooms below ...

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participating in Finding Beauty, Macro Monday,
Mellow Yellow & Today's Flowers

5. Yesterday I went with a friend to see Hershey Felder in his latest one man musical bio-play at the Laguna Playhouse, Beethoven as I Knew Him ... and it was so WONDERFUL that I'm thinking about returning to see it again! I'm looking forward to him in Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein later in the season and hope to see his pieces about Fryderyk Chopin and George Gershwin one day. We enjoyed an early dinner on the patio of the Beachcomber Cafe on the beach in Crystal Cove on the way home.

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Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." C.S. Lewis

Beauty ... Joy ... Sunrise ... Reflections ... Quotes

Make Time for Small Reflections
Scroll down for Finding Beauty, Sky Watch,
Window Views, Weekend Reflections, & Haiku Friday

1. "Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities."
Aldous Huxley

2. I enjoy checking out the Tuesday evening 'street fair' in downtown Huntington Beach on Tuesday evenings 'just for the JOY of it ... stopping to watch & listen to the entertainers who share their talents.

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

4. This bear outside of the Rocky Mt. Chocolate Factory always makes me smile. I love his t-shirt too.

5. "If you want to be happy, be." Leo Tolstoy

6. On Tuesday I purchased this new t-shirt for myself in the HB Store on the pier. I love the color and the logo ... just because.

7. This 'vendor' posed for a photo ... my sister & I each purchased a loaf of Jalapeño Cheese bread from him just for the JOY of it! Unfortunately MY loaf has no jalapeños so I plan to freeze it to thaw and return NEXT week for one with jalapeños.

8. "The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet." James Openheim

9. These little birds sitting on the wire against the clear blue sky made me happy when I noticed them sitting there.

10. I don't really like wind much at all, but I did find the views of palm trees fascinating the past few days.

11. Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. ~ John Barrymore

12. Sunrise is my favorite time of day and these views are from Wednesday ... taken from my front yard.

I love the way the light shines through the windows
for just a couple of minutes.


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13. "Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it." Jacques Prévert

Kewl reflections in
the curved rear window of my
old Ford Explorer

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Thursday Thirteen, Just for the Joy of It, Finding Beauty,
Window Views, Weekend Reflections, Haiku Friday
and Sky Watch Friday

Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today
"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life — happiness, freedom, and peace of mind — are always attained by giving them to someone else."
Peyton Conway March