Remembering

In 1998 Randy & I were living in Florida. We went to New Jersey for Thanksgiving and I begged (and nagged) to go to New York, because I had never been. On Friday morning (Black Friday, mind you) we drove to Jersey City and took a water taxi across to Manhattan. We arrived at a dock and I looked upwards to see two of the tallest and most amazing buildings I'd ever seen.

After a day spent fighting the crowds, we took the water taxi back. From Jersey City, I took this picture of the buildings where we had entered the city.

I fell in love with Manhattan that day - a love that has never faded or waivered! After moving there, I went as often as possible. On Friday, September 7, 2001 my friend Mavis and I went up for the day. I've often thought of two tourists we met from Atlanta. Two young women who were excited about all of their plans to see all of the landmarks over the next few days. I wonder where they were on 9/11. I hope they were safe.

Wabi Sabi

Hello again,

Anyone who has read my blog more than once will have knowledge of my darling friend, Journey. She has taught me so many things and is constantly bringing new concepts into my life. Journey loves Wabi Sabi and I'm only beginning to learn about this fascinating Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. Thank you, Old Same, for this awareness!

I was at my sister's one day and snapped a few pictures of her hydrangea bush because the color was so vastly different from mine. It was only when I got home and downloaded the pictures that I realized there was a large spider perched on the bloom. I realized then that I might not have thought it so gorgeous if I'd realized at the time that a spider (which I hate) was in the picture. It really gave me pause for thought! How many times had I passed up beauty because what I noticed was the object's imperfection?

Though the edges of some petals on this bloom have turned brown, I think those imperfections only enhance the beauty of this lavender hydrangea:

As I was considering the Wabi Sabi idea one of my oldest treasures came to mind, sending me to my cedar chest to find this odd looking stuffed animal, which holds a special place in my heart. He lives in my cedar chest now to protect him from the cats! He was a gift from my great-aunt on my first Christmas. When I was little I slept with him every night and just KNEW that he was the guardian of my dreams and my protection from nightmares and monsters. I called him my Teddy Bear. Even when I was a teenager he perched on my bed. When I was in high school my cousin pointed out that this was no bear, but rather a mouse. I had never noticed! Seriously! Like the Skin-horse in the Velveteen Rabbit, my teddy bear/mouse was so dearly loved that his fur was rubbed off. Over the years his blue eyes have faded, giving him a slightly scary look. It doesn't matter...when I look at him I feel only love!

The old saying "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" holds very true for me. I've always loved Dolly's asymetrical markings but assumed I was just biased. Many other people have told me she is a beautiful cat so clearly my bias is not making me wrong :) But her beauty has taken on a different aspect how. My Dolly has cancer in her jaw. As you can see, Dolly's right cheek is now larger than her left. The cancer is clearly spreading. Her right eye is a bit smaller than her left now. In this picture she was reacting to being awakened by the flash of my camera so she appears a bit drowsy. But whatever her expression - to me, even in her imperfection, she is just perfect.

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I hope you find beauty in the imperfect world around you. I would love to hear from you!

Lessons in patience

Hello again, for those of you who know me, you'll understand that sometimes I have to be reminded that patience is a virtue. And even more often I have to be reminded that being virtous is something to which I aspire!

I've recently started keeping my camera in my purse. When the rewards for patience appear in a visual form, I try to capture them as reminders. I hope you will enjoy the evidence...

One night just as I was preparing to leave work I received a call. Since I hadn't yet logged off the phone system I was forced to take it. Of course the caller had no way of knowing that it was time for me to leave but I felt a bit put upon...why are they asking me these questions, don't they care that I want to go home? It only took me a few minutes to finish the call and get out of the office. When I left the building I was even more frustrated. It was clearly preparing to rain and I had to stop at the store to pick up cat food (don't EVER run out of cat food, it's dangerous). I decided to stop at a drug store rather than a big chain so that I could get in and out faster. The cashier was slower than I would like and...well, you get the picture. Finally I left and as I was pulling out of the parking lot I noticed

a full-arc rainbow. It was so beautiful that I pulled over and sat in my car to admire it. It occurred to me that if I had left at my usual time I would probably have gone into Walmart instead of Walgreens and I might have missed the rainbow entirely. As I watched it, time and hurrying to get home were completely dismissed. There's something magical about a rainbow, isn't there?

The next morning I went through a drive-through to grab breakfast. The line was long and I sat for several minutes without moving. That morning I felt only compassion for the person working the window. I could imagine how frustrated he or she must be and thought of the cranky customers he/she might be encountering (see there is a good thing about my job - I'm learning an entirely different kind of compassion). After I placed my order and waited to pull around I observed that the shrub by the curb was either being invaded by a foreign weed or had alot of new growth on it...

whichever the case...the contrast struck me as particularly pretty. Again, being forced to wait gave me a chance to observe nature's artwork!

These lessons serve to remind me to be more patient and more observant. They also teach me to be more like a cat... my cats can sit and stare at something for hours without feeling the need to rush on to their next task...

this morning the twins sat at the back door for ages watching the birds.

I hope you are finding moments that make you stop and enjoy your surroundings, beauty that takes your breath away, and lots of great people to share it all with. Thank you for stopping by to visit.

Just do one small thing...

Hi everyone, I've discovered that Scarlett's moto of "I'll worry about that tomorrow" is much easier for me to follow than is Nike's "Just Do It." So many things I put off until "tomorrow" when it would only take a few minutes to get them done.

Unfortunately blogging is one of the things that I intend to do more often but quickly fall into a writer's blog of sorts. My friend, Donna, just created a blog and has posted two interesting articles there (beyondblessedx3.blogspot.com). My friends Mindy (mindymilburn.wordpress.com) and Bonnie (http://bonniegunkel.wordpress.com) have created lovely photoblogs. With all of the of these fantastic blogs my friends are doing inspiration is certainly being tossed my way! If you don't believe me check out their work...

Are there things that you want to do but fail to keep up with? Or things you want to want to do? That's been a really big one in my life. I used to think I wanted to ski, scuba dive, ride a bike, quilt, etc. but when I actually tried them I realized I didn't LIKE them, I just wanted to like them. Does that make sense?

My goal is to create some routines for myself. Experts say to start towards goals by doing one small thing so I am going to start researching really good cameras and save my pennies for one - maybe someday I'll create awe-inspiring pictures like Mindy and Bonnie and so many other talented ladies I know.

I also want to someday do the three-day walk for cancer so I'll take that first step (pardon the pun) but investigating the registration fee and the 2011 schedule.

Even though I don't have any photographs for today's topic, I must share one of my kitties since it wouldn't be cat whiskers without a meow-graph.

Motto:

Life is short. When you see something you want - grab hold of it (with both paws if necessary)

Ahhh, the lessons I've learned from my "babies."

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are having a wonderful summer, staying cool, and loving life.

Monday's Marvels

Happy Monday to everyone. I hope your week started off with a smile. Today was the start of week two at my new job. I can't tell yet about the work since I'm still in training but the people are very nice.

Journey has encouraged me to find my photographic eye again so I'm trying. Today Mother Nature gifted me with a few marvels that just screamed to be photographically captured. I hope you enjoy them...

The hydrangea next to my front porch is so beautiful. The blue in this picture doesn't do it justice. The blue is really darker, like a morning glory blue. During the winter it was just a bunch of sticks and I thought whatever had grown there was dead. Just goes to show that even ugly sticks can become beautiful flowers, huh? Nature seems purely magical to me tonight.

These two young birds sat on the railing of the deck. Occasionally they would open their mouths very wide and their mother (or father) would fly up and deposit dinner. They were guests on the porch for quite some time. Lovely little babies, yes?

The pond behind the house has mostly dried up, but this Mother Duck has her 10 babies who are still too young to fly. My next-door neighbor has created little ponds from garbage can lids so that Mama and her babies can still enjoy the water.

I'm having problems getting photos to upload tonight so I'll close now but hope to have more pictures on here soon. Thanks so much for stopping by. I wish you magical moments of beauty each and every day.

The ghosts of lonely buildings

Hi All ~ my friend Barb called me from Canada the other day and I promised her I would get back to blogging so here I am!

Unfortunately I have no pictures to post today but I did have some thoughts that I decided to blog about. Tonight I went with my sister to our aunt's house. We had a lovely dinner and some great conversation.

Driving home I noticed several buildings I thought seemed lonely. In downtown Knoxville there's an old L&N station. Once a lively train station, it later became a restaurant and now has a sign saying "Office Space for Rent." This struck me as sad that a building with so much history would now be (at least partially) vacant.

Another structure is the Sunsphere on the old World's Fair site. The tower is topped with a sphere made of bronze-looking mirrored panels. During the 1982 World's Fair it shone so beautifully. Now it sits dark. It seems lonely.

Lastly, a building on a highway used to be a hotel. The lower floor is now home to a thrift store but the upper windows were dark. Maybe there are offices on these floors, I don't know.

As I was driving I thought of the ghosts of bustling crowds, laughing travelers, people breathing life into these spaces. It felt sad to me to see them dark.

Are there spaces around you that you've seen time and change take the life and light from the building? Do you think ghosts inhabit the spaces? Do the walls remember? I'd love to hear about the places you know!

I'll try to get back here with pictures soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Midway through Women's History Month

Hi Everyone and Happy Women's History Month...

Most people who know me well know that I count my girl-friendships as some of my grandest treasures in life. I've been extremely blessed by the tremendous friends life has led me to throughout the years. I've been equally fortunate to find female role-models.

I once did an exercise where I was asked to list the five women I admire most. Like many others, I listed celebs and historical figures: Oprah, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Theresa, etc. And I do admire those women. But today I've been thinking about women who have had a more personal impact on my life. I'm going to take advantage of my blog to share some of my appreciation for them!

~~~~~

Nancy Wise Hamilton

As you've probably heard me say at least a million times, my Aunt Nancy is one of the greatest people I know. She's more like a big sister than an aunt in many ways. When Mom died, Nancy (and her sweet husband Jack) were there for my sister and me 1000%. We really couldn't have made it through all the stuff without her.


Nancy inspires me. She has an easy grace about her that puts everyone at ease. She makes things look effortless - things like entertaining, exercising, and looking fantastic. My sister and I joke that Nancy must have either gotten our share of these genes or that she was switched at the hospital. Whatever the answer, I consider myself very fortunate to have my Aunt Nancy.

~~~~~

Lorin Basden Arnold

Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold was my professor and academic advisor while I was working on my undergraduate degree at Rowan University. She made learning challenging AND enjoyable (not always two things that come together in college level courses). One of the things I appreciate about Lorin is that she always supported and encouraged me as a student and as a person. In my gazillion years as a student, Lorin was my most influential professor!

In addition to being a busy professor, Lorin is a wife & a mother of six children. She is also a vegetarian (or perhaps she's a vegan now...not sure) who makes time for things she loves - like yoga and crocheting. I have begged her to tell me how she manages all of these things in a mere 24-hour day but since I'm getting no answer, I suspect it's magic! I once asked about her decision to shave her head and she responded that with six kids she didn't want to waste time maintaining a hair-style dictated by society!

Nancy and Lorin are just a couple of the women I consider role-models. I have many, many more.

~~~~~

So to all of you special ladies - the friends who have brought great joy into my life, who bring me laughter and new ideas and a sense of my own history - I say many thanks!

I hope that each of you can look around and see the greatness that other women bring to your own lives. And that you will celebrate Women's History Month, because each terrific woman you encounter adds a layer to your own history!

And one final wish... if you haven't yet read The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton, I hope you'll find time to do that this month! It is a delightful story that celebrates the special bond of women's friendship!