Haiku Friday - Thanks for Visiting

Blog 365
day of rest, but not for me.
I shall write Haiku!

Addicted I must
be to feel a weekly urge
posting in this form.

It has been 2 months
since I thanked my blogging friends
so today I am

giving these awards
to my faithful followers.
Thank you one and all!

During January and February of 2008

the following bloggers left comments on my posts often.

Commenting nearly every day
and on every post ... seriously folks!
Karen at Journey to Authenticity gets top honors!

She's followed closely by ...
Sandy of Momisodes (who managed to purchase, pack, move into
a new home this month and still keep up with blogging)
Eve of Adamswife's Weblog
Mother of Invention at Spilling Out!
Joy at The Joy of Six
(who leaves public comments & sends emails too)
Sonya of Mo Mhíle Grá
Yertle of Smile, Play, Dream
Lucy at Diamonds in the Sky and Lucy Creates!

Mary of Mary's Writing Nook (who created this lovely
award for me to share with others)
MPJ at A Room of Mama's Own
Mama Zen at The Zen of Motherhood
the Dream at You May Say I'm a Dreamer
His Girl Friday at Wellied on Life
Talking Bear at Sleepy Bear Hollow
Yolanda at Perfectly Imperfect
Peajay at Mórán cainte ar bheagán cúise
Moana at Desperately Seeking Serenity
Annie at Journey Through Life
Bella at Beyond the Map

Bloggers who respond on their own blogs (as I do),
prefer to send responses in emails
and/or who comment here occasionally
Melissa at Part of Everything
Grandy of Functional Shmunctional
Mike of Rambling Stuff
Pussreboots
Akelamalu at Everything and Nothing
Nicholas at A Gentleman's Domain
Kelly at Kikipotamus the Hobo
Olivia at Happy Luau

Then there are the bloggers who participate weekly in
Haiku Friday, Thursday Thirteen, & Wordless Wednesday

(and please forgive me if I miss someone here
because I appreciate all your visits & comments)
Colleen at Looseleaf Notes
Susan at West of Mars
Ellen B at The Happy Wonderer
Melissa at Taking What Is Left
Anglophile Football Fanatic
Damozel at The Flatland Chronicles and Buck Naked Politics
Melissa at Such Simple Pleasures
Janet of The Planet of Janet
Mama Geek at What Works for Us
Kat at Seeking Sanity
Secret Agent Mama
Jientje at Heaven in Belgium
Kat at Kat's Krackerbox Weblog
Sandy Carlson at Writing in Faith
Chelle Y at The Story of Me
Chuck at Foster Me Up
Claudia at Out on a Limb
Cathy at MINE
Susie J
Mama DB
Hootin' Anni
Marylin at A Little Space for Me
Maggie's Mind
Joyce at Mom's Musings
Jenni at Just Chicken Feed
Anne at the Pump Room
Wright at I Gotta Theory About That
Jennifer at A Mommy Story
JJ! at Dirty Laundry
Transplanting Me

New Blogging Friends I've Met Recently
Susie H at The Knit Farm
Betty at Betty's This and That
PJ at Bits and Pieces
Greatfullivin at Gratitude Journal
Cricket at Cricket's Hearth
Tina at Tina's Odds and Ends
Annie at A Yank Gone South
Ornery's Wife at Thoughts from Miller Manor

(Sigh! I know there are more of you, but my mind is addled and I want to get this posted ... so when you visit next ... please remind me in comments so I can add you here and be sure to take the 'thank you' awards with my hugs and blessings).

For anyone who wasn't reading Small Reflections in 2007, you're welcome to this award if you wish. It's the one I shared with blogging friends in December here.


Thought for Today
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in them than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." Dale Carnegie

For a Mr. Linky to other Haiku Fridays
go to A Mommy Story.

Click for Haiku Friday Volume 16.

To see my previous Haikus,
click on the Haiku Friday label below this post
or in the sidebar under About Me.

Thursday Thirteen #14 - Oronyms

Twelve Oronyms and a Challenge

Oronyms are sentences that can be read in two ways with the same sound. To inspire you to create & share one of your own, here are a dozen from The Joy of Lex by Gyles Brandreth.

1. The stuffy nose can lead to problems. The stuff he knows can lead to problems.

2. Where is the spice center? Where is the spy center?

3. Are you aware of the words you have just uttered? Are you aware of the words you have just stuttered?

4. That's the biggest hurdle I've ever seen! That's the biggest turtle I've ever seen!

5. I'm taking a nice cold shower. I'm taking an ice cold shower.

6. He would kill Hamlet for that reason. He would kill Hamlet for that treason.

7, You'd be surprised to see a mint spy in your bank. You'd be surprised to see a mince pie in your bank.

8. Some other I've seen .... (or) Some mothers I've seen ...

9. Reading in the library is sometimes allowed. Reading in the library is sometimes aloud.

10. A politician's fate often hangs in a delegate balance. A politician's fate often hangs in a delicate balance.

11. White shoes: the trademark of Pat Boone. Why choose the trademark of Pat Boone?

12. The secretariat's sphere of competence. The secretariat's fear of competence.

13. Sooooo ... what's yours going to be? Please share in comments below and snag a copy of the award below for your trouble.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Get the Thursday Thirteeen code here!

For easy access, I’ve listed more T-13 links along with the
Thursday Thirteen Blogroll to the bottom of my sidebar.

Thought for Today

"Only the mediocre are always at their best." Chinese Proverb

I offer this award to all who participate in my challenge
(and those who simply leave a comment below)
while acknowledging my gratitude to
MPJ of A Room of Mama's Own
who gave it to me in January.

Wordless Wednesday - Spring in My Front Yard ...

...near the ocean in
Southern California
I know many of you still have snow
so I decided to share a bit of
color from my yard to
brighten your
morning!

Feel free to enjoy my flowers until yours bloom!

Click for more Wordless Wednesdays participants.
For my other Wordless Wednesday posts
click the label below or the About Me
link in my sidebar.

Thought for Today
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." Mark Twain

Ten on Tuesday - Last week's Topic

Since I missed doing this topic (I only recently learned about this weekly posting idea) and because I don't watch many movies at all these days (in fact I don't even really know what movies are 'out there' to watch) ... but I want to participate today in this meme (and have some trouble following rules) ...

Here are 10 Things I Love

1. Friends in the real & virtual worlds.

2. Coffee in the morning

Can you find the face hidden in the coffee beans?
(Read more about this at Joy's)

3. Lol Cats 'n' Funny Pics
(check it out for yourself)

4. Long walks in beautiful places.

5. Funny emails from my friends

This one arrived with the caption, "I can't respond to my emails
because something crashed on my computer."

6. A sense of humor about growing older.

7. Watching Competitive Tennis!!!!!

8. Giraffes
This is a baby named Margaret
when she was just hours old.

See another picture of Margaret
(and a few more things I love) here.

9. Puppies of all kinds!

(See more in my 'A Puppy a Day' box
in my sidebar below).

10. Glorious sunsets over the ocean.

So ... now I'll go see what I'm supposed to do with this post
to let others know it's here, and I'll visit to meet
other bloggers who participate.

Click for more participating in Ten on Tuesday.

Hmmm .. now that I think of it,
this post might qualify as a Tuesday version
of Wordless Wednesday too!

Click for more participating in Wordless Wednesday

Monday Musings and a Meme

I'd like to thank everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday over the past few days. I enjoyed celebrating all weekend long! If somehow you missed my "party" ... check out my Haiku Friday and What is Hula Pie? posts for details. As I always do, I've left responses to your comments after each of these posts. If you didn't check the little box to receive follow-up comments in email, you might want to click on the comments today to read my additions there.

This morning I created a special page for Awards and Bling, added a link to About Me in my sidebar and cleared out most of the "bling" to restore some semblance of order on my blogs. Although I changed the date on the post to February 1 (where it will be easy to find & update later), it seems the post showed up in Google Reader (as did one I created a while back at Sacred Ruminations when I updated my About Me section). I suppose there's no way to avoid confusion with such "housekeeping" matters, but I wish there was. If anyone has suggestions for me on how to avoid such a post getting picked up in Google Reader, I'd be happy to hear from you.

And that reminds me. Once again my blogs aren't showing up in the Blog 365 Mega Feed, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this problem. The last two posts from Sacred Ruminations were from February 18th (Monday's Addendum to Saturday's Surprise) and February 13th (Wellness Wednesday - A Brief Introduction). The last two posts listed from Small Reflections was also from the 13th of February (Tuesday Thanks, Thoughts, Talk and a Tag) and the 12th (Natural Highs). Perhaps I'll send email to Kamen about this, but I am curious to know if anyone else has noticed the problem or if it's just happening with my posts?

Claudia of Everyday Kindness tagged me at Sacred Ruminations for a new Meme she created and I posted my responses on that blog, but I'd like to invite others to read and participate ... so here's the link (Kind Fives Meme). I hope you'll check it out when time permits, and if you do decide to play along (and encourage others to do likewise either by tagging or invitation) ... I hope you'll leave a link here so that I can read your responses.

I'm delighted to have discovered, joined, and added two new Blogrolls to my sidebar here. One is Bloggers over 50 and the other is Greatful Gals! I've already met some new bloggers and look forward to meeting more of you when time permits.

Thought for Today

"It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers ... but in our daily lives. If we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them." the Dalai Lama

Rainy Sunday Morning in Southen California

Views from my living room this morning
(photographed through the glass of my French Doors)

I love the way the raindrops on the window
show up in these 1st two pictures

and not in this one because I opened the
French Doors to shoot it.

Note the palm frond on the ground behind the lemon tree.
There are lots of these everywhere today again.

Thought for Today
"If you asked me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud." Emile Zola

What is Hula Pie? Come See and Celebrate!

It's my birthday and I'll be
celebrating all day long!
This one has no calories so
share a slice with me.


This is Hula Pie from Duke's

and this is Seven Spice Ahi
with Wasabi Sauce, Boc Choi, Mango & rice

garnished with a lovely orchid blossom!

Of course there were presents

and here's a slice of Hula Pie for you ;--)

I'll make some coffee (or tea)
if you'd like to sit down a while and chat.

I enjoyed each and every comment yesterday
and, of course, can revisit them today
whenever I wish ;--)

Thought for Today
"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace within ourselves." the Dalai Lama

Haiku Friday Volume 15 - Celebrating Life

Yesterday I went
to a local restaurant
with my two best friends.

Celebrating my
birthday early, Carol's late
as we always do

with an ocean view.
Wine and bread to start the meal ...
Hula pie to end.

In between my 'fav' ...
Seven spice Ahi with boc
choi & mango ... YUM!

Memories of this
and our visit afterwards
back at Carol's house

sipping tea are with
me this morning as I sit
typing this Haiku.

Yet tomorrow is
February 23rd,
day that I was born

1945
so I will be sixty-three!
Happily retired

I've been now for years,
doing mainly what I choose ...
grateful every day.

Memories and plans
running freely in my mind
as I simplify

clearing clutter out ...
making room for only those
things I love around

me ... creating a
place of joy to celebrate
as I live each day.

Possibilities!
Who knows what this rainy morn
holds in store for me?

What I know for sure
is I plan to celebrate
and enjoy it all!

For a Mr. Linky to other Haiku Fridays
go to A Mommy Story.

Click for Haiku Friday Volume 14.

To see my previous Haikus,
click on the Haiku Friday label below this post.

Thought for Today
"If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done." Ludwig Wittgenstein

Thursday Thirteen #13 Amazing Origami

Did you get to see the lunar eclipse last night?
I worried I miss it because of clouds and rain
in Southern California yesterday ...
but the skies cleared enough
to watch the whole show.
Awesome indeed!

Thirteen Amazing Examples of Origami 'Critters'

Recently I received an email with the following amazing images that seem interesting enough to share as a T-13 today. Apparently, "Last year, Simithsonian Magazine had a major article about origami and the incredible number of folds that can be made on a single small piece of paper like a dollar bill. Computer Program are also used to identify the number and location of folds for 'Olympic level folders' ... "

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

One

Two

Three

Four

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

Thought for Today
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Get the Thursday Thirteeen code here!

For easy access, I’ve listed more T-13 links along with the
Thursday Thirteen Blogroll to the bottom of my sidebar.

To see more of my T-13s ,
click on Thursday Thirteen in labels below.