Happy Anniversary...the benefits of a good deed :)

Hello again! It's a very special day in our house! We're celebrating Lacey and Dolly's one-year anniversary here. Their story proves there are many rewards to even the most random act of kindness... or as my friend Lori-Ann says "no good deed goes unpunished!" Please permit me to share the round-about way a speeding ticket brought great joy to my life:

Last year on June 3rd I had to take a day off to go to court for a speeding ticket! Afterwards, I decided to take some towels to the animal shelter. While there the receptionist made a plea for canned dog food so off I went to the local grocery store (am I a sucker for animals or what????) When I returned there was an older couple there. The woman had a cat wrapped in a towel and another in the carrier. The woman was crying as the man announced to the receptionist that they were there to "surrender" the cats. The woman's 91 year old mom had passed away and the couple couldn't keep the cats due to allergies. Since our shelter is NOT a no-kill facility the girls' "shelf life" would have been about 72 hours. So I convinced the couple to change their plans. Instead of surrendering to the shelter (which would have resulted in tons of paperwork to spring the girls) the couple took the kitties and met me at a local vet clinic. This allowed me to adopt the cats immediately. They stayed at the vet's overnight while being checked out to prevent them from bringing any diseases into our house.

It's been a year now and I honestly cannot imagine life without these two!

"Don't bother me, I'm trying to sleep!!!"

After a year here, Lacey still won't come downstairs. I was planning to get rid of the little footstool in "her" room but she claimed it for her own!

Dolly's favorite song is played by an ice cream truck. It doesn't matter where she is in the house, if she hears the refrigerator or freezer door open she comes running to see if maybe, just maybe, she'll get a taste of ICE CREAM!!!!

In honor of her "anniversary" today she did! Yum!

Don't be fooled by how close together they are...there was lots of growling going on!

"All those carbs have made me very sleepy"

"Hey, Mom, why are you standing on your head?"

"Ahhh, the sun feels so good!"

Perhaps reflecting on Dolly & Lacey's story put me into the mood to do something worthwhile today so I cleaned out my pantry and donated the food to a local food bank. This afternoon I sat down to watch some taped Oprah episodes and was thrilled to find an episode about volunteering. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can still read the featured stories by going to Oprah.com/heroes.

There were many inspiring stories on the show which aired 5/19. One was of a young girl who is helping "homeless" cats. You can see her website at freekibble.com. By clicking on a give button on the site you can help feed cats and dogs. As you know, I love animals but I also love stories about kids who volunteer. My friend, Janet, has two daughters Sarah and Lauren. I've known Janet and her family for almost 10 years now and even when her girls were very young they always found ways to help those less fortunate! In a time where too many kids are completely self-absorbed it's very impressive to hear about the ways Sarah and Lauren reach out to others! Kudos girls!

One thing I believe with my entire heart and soul is that when we do for others our own lives are enriched.

Many thanks to all who have sent encouragement about the job interviews. I received notice today that I was not selected for one of the positions (luckily it was the one I was least excited about) and found out that for the other one the notification of the second round of interviews will be the middle of next week. I'm still very enthusiastic about that position as I believe it would be a PERFECT fit for me! So please keep those fingers crossed and I'll let you know when I hear more!

I hope you have a wonderful day and that great things come to you!

Happy June

Hi everyone. Happy June. Can you believe how fast the 1st five months of the year have passed?!?

I was surprised to discover it had been so long since I'd posted here. Time bandits strike again. Last week was great but didn't have many photo moments. I did interview for two jobs in New Jersey and celebrated a phone call from my sister telling me we have a contract on mom's condo! Perhaps things are taking a turn for the better!

Since I never got around to showing you the park where Mavis and I had our picnic I thought I would share those shots today. It's a lovely place. I hope you like the view...

Cool steps, huh?

This sweet little couple was going from bench to bench. Don't you just love seeing couples that look like they have been together forever?

The woods beside the lake were a spectacular green with the sun "dappling" through the trees. There's a walking path into the woods that I must explore someday soon.

And then just for fun....

A silly shot :)

AND

a whisker moment

Well, that's all from this corner of the world. I hope your June is off to a fantastic start.

Celebrating sunshine

Hi everyone! It's gorgeous here in New Jersey this week. To celebrate the sunshine my friend Mavis and I went on a picnic today. It was so nice to be outside. We went to a park with a lake or pond. I took a ton of pictures. Today I'm just going to share the birds but in the next day or two I'll post pictures of the park itself! It's really a fine place to walk, you just have to watch out for goose poop and strollers! LOL



I think this is a gray heron. It's the first I've seen in NJ. I often saw them in Florida. Hmmm....think this guy made a wrong turn?











A lovely pair of Mallard ducks catching some rays! This couple may be visiting relatives too as I've not seen them at the park before.









This is an adult Canada goose. Many people call them Canadian geese but the real name for them is "Canada" not "Canadian" - doesn't make much sense but there you have it!

I love them but overpopulation is becoming a problem as they are creating pollution problems in water areas! It's becoming quite common to "hire" Border collies to chase them away!




A family photo. I think a pair usually has four to six gooslings. Since they mate for life the male is almost always close at hand!

A baby...isn't it sweet?

Having fun with their friends...








Dolly likes to lay on the landing of our stairway. The sun comes in through a window over the front door, making this an ideal spot for sunbathing! What's your favorite way to celebrate sunshine?






I hope wherever you are, you have something to celebrate today! Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely day.

Train of thought and other meanderings

Hello again. I hope you're having a wonderful day. We've had a mixed bag of weather today. Some sun, some rain. I guess that's a metaphor for life too, huh?

I'm feeling a bit introspective today. Funny how it all started...



I can see this slide from my front door. The inky blueness of it makes me think of blue finger paints. Have you ever noticed you can almost TASTE the blue of finger paints? Maybe it's just me.






I really can't tell you why this shade of blue took me on a memory trip. But for whatever reason, it did. When I was young (probably 3rd grade or so) a community park near our house had summer "camp" (parents dropped off their kids and we spent the day playing outside). This was the closest I ever got to going to summer camp. One day I was on a really high slide and almost fell but someone caught me. As I was replaying this in my mind I realized that in times past I would have called my mom and asked her how old I was and who it was that caught me. Even though I'm lucky to still have my sister and aunts that remember my youth, none of them would have this information. It makes me a bit sad to think that such trivial information is no longer available to me. Maybe it's silly, but it's the little things like that which make me really miss mom the most!

Yesterday I talked to my friend, Janet. We met on our first day as "non-traditional" students at a community college in Florida. Thank goodness Janet approached me because I was feeling really nervous and quite out-of-place there with all of the 18 year olds. We quickly became friends. Yesterday Janet and I were talking about meditation. She pointed out that there are many ways to meditate and that my walks with my camera may be one of my forms! I think that's very insightful of her and right-on-target. When I have my camera in hand I am more present and in-the-moment than at most other times.

Since I was feeling a bit out of synch over the slide, I decided to go for a walk. Here are some of the things I discovered...

I think this is such a sweet lawn decoration.

I took this picture just because I thought the bench was beautiful. I do wonder what my neighbors think if they look outside and see someone aiming a camera at their house :)

The tennis courts are right off my favorite walking path and yet I've never stepped foot on them before. Perhaps because I don't play tennis? Although today, sitting on a bench after the rain, it was such a tranquil place I could see myself going there just to be still and quiet.

The surface of the tennis courts. I love the pattern so much that I'm going to print this picture out for a journal page. Doesn't it look like suede or marble?

Evidence of a brief rainshower this morning lingers! The leaves of this tree are really more of a burgandy than they appear in this picture.

But they appear orange from the underside. Journey sent me a gorgeous magazine called Life Images (by Stampington). In it there was a picture of a sunflower from behind. It made me think about how often I miss beauty by just looking at things from one angle! Or how I usually only take walks on beautifully sunshine-y days!

My friend, Janet titled this picture of her daughter and cat "Picture of Lazy." I think it's absolutely adorable! Don't they look happy to be together? Thanks for letting me use it!

Like the title says...my thoughts are meandering today. If you have someone you have loved and lost (as most of us do), have you found triggers like this one? What activities do you find anchor you in the moment? I'm so grateful for my camera, my walks, my blog and all of you! Thanks for taking time to stop by! Have a lovely day.

Happy Mother's Day - Happy Sunny Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Whether your babies are children, adults, or pets, I hope you are having a fantastic day!

I've had such a good week. In addition to seeing Debbie, Lori-Ann, and Courtney on Wednesday night, I was happy to catch up with my friends Sheri and Lisa on Friday night. We've been friends for about seven years now. When we first met Lisa's oldest daughter was in 1st grade. She's 14 now. Amazing how fast time passes, isn't it?

This is my first Mother's Day without my mom. I wasn't sure what to expect but it's not been horrible. My tradition was to call mom 1st thing in the morning to wish her a happy mother's day. So instead I called my sister. Luckily she is like me...an early riser. I think it might be genetic. My grandmother and my mom were both "early birds" - up early every day even if they didn't have anywhere to be! I've been like that for years and love it!

I wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather so I went for another walk! I bet you guys wonder if I ever leave my neighborhood since so many of my blogs focus on what's going on right here in our subdivision. I promise I do and someday soon I'll take my camera with me to prove it! For now, I hope you'll join me as I wander around the area.


These two trees are at the top of the hill in an open area. I guess they have grown crooked from the wind? I like to think they are dancing!

I've walked the trail through our neighborhood hundreds of times but today I noticed this path off the trail. It leads to a clearing. Looking at it I had a flashback to the neighborhood where I grew up. We had lots of woods around us. I found one tree where the branches had grown down to form an enclosure of sorts. My friend Karen and I would go hang out in there. We called it our "hut!" I guess that's the closest I ever got to having a tree house!


We've had A LOT of rain this past week so I was delighted to take a picture of the fabulous blue skies!




When the rain finally stopped on Friday I was so excited to see my shadow. Today I was still happy to see my shadow! Hmmm...I wonder if this is how the groundhog feels on February 2nd???


The birds were enjoying the sun too!

This pile of grass clippings seems really out of place along the walking trail. There's no grassy areas to be mowed really close by. There appeared to be an opening. I wonder if it's a burrow of some sort. Any ideas what animal might have made it?

One of the things I enjoy about "exploring" the neighborhood is to see the lawns. It fascinates me to see the ways people decorate their yards...

But as cheerful as the pinwheel is the prettiest colors are the flowers and shrubs





I believe the pink is a rhodedendron









and the white is an azalea.



Both are beautiful aren't they?




So now I'm back at home where my "babies" always give me something to smile about :)

I recently saw a journal prompt that I like. Complete this phrase in as many ways as you can... "Why do...?"

One of my immediate thoughts: "why do cats always want to sit or stand between the keyboard and monitor?"

I hope you're having lots of sunshine wherever you are!

P.S. - I'm having a tough time with formatting today so if things are not lined up properly that's why! Blame the computer gremlins LOL

A picture's worth a thousand words

Hi again! It's almost weekend. I hope you have something fabulous to look forward to this weekend.

Last night I met three friends for dinner. I met these ladies while I was working in a school last year (and the year before). Although the job ended, luckily the friendships did not! We've tried to get together monthly but life sometimes gets in the way. Ironically, I've recently realized that all too often I get together with friends and leave the camera at home. So last night I took the camera with me but almost forgot to use it. I'm so glad I remembered it in time to get a shot of the four of us! (From left to right...Debbie, Lori-Ann, me, Courtney.)





~and look, I've finally learned how to insert text onto pictures! WooHoo!

I'm looking forward to getting lots more pictures with friends now that I've made a mental note to take the camera along!





Toby hopes that I'll stop taking so many pictures of him if I'm using my camera to shoot other things! Fat chance!


For those of you who are moms, I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day...filled with all of the things you love!

From the beginning...

Happy Cinqo de Mayo and more importantly...happy birthday Susan!

Have you ever met someone and you knew immediately that this was the start of a fabulous friendship? It's only happened to me a few times but today I'd like to tell you about one of the most memorable...

A few years ago I was...ummm...insane! Seriously. Okay, not really but looking back I'm fairly certain that a case could have been made. After watching American Idol I started attending A LOT of concerts of one of their previous runners up. I won't name names here but think long-haired rocker. In August 2006 I was scheduled to go to Oroville, California for a concert and realized I didn't know anyone going! Yikes...I was flying literally across the country to attend a concert. So my plans went back and forth and I was supposed to meet up with someone but that plan got changed about a day before I was leaving. So I emailed someone (Susan) that I'd exchanged a couple of emails with and said "I'm flying into LA...can I ride with you to Oroville?" I think it was about an eight hour drive (or so it seemed...if you've not been to Oroville, you wouldn't understand! LOL) Let's just say it's waaaaaaaaaaaay out in West-Nowhere! Does it sound strange that two strangers would agree to carpool for a drive that long? Oh it gets better...

Since I was flying into LA and Susan lived in a suburb...I suggested I would get a hotel close to her house to make pick-up the next morning easier. Being the amazing person she is...she suggested that instead I stay at her house! Now, her husband, son, and daughter were seriously concerned that someone they didn't know (and Susan didn't know) would be sleeping under their roof. Perhaps I should have been worried that I was going to be sleeping in the house with four people I didn't know too? (Evidence of aforementioned insanity!)

Luckily Susan and I hit it off right from the beginning! She's one of the funniest, kindest people I've ever met.

Okay, if she'd been really kind she would have pointed out how unflattering my t-shirt tan line was in the shirt I wore to the concert!

After the road trip to Oroville we returned to LA and then left the next day for a concert somewhere near Phoenix! It was on this leg of the journey that we discovered we both share a somewhat warped, twisted, sick sense of humor and were playing practical jokes on each other almost immediately. Silly things like Susan doing the "gaslight treatment" on me with her nifty steering-wheel controlled audio system. Or me moving her car while at a rest-stop. As her daughter says "good times!"

Sure, some people get their pictures made with a cactus or something when in Arizona but why not a scrap-metal horse

or a green dinosaur?

It's been almost three years since that trip to California. Since then I've been out there three other times. The first time I returned I worried that we wouldn't have anything to talk about since we weren't being occupied by a concert but that worry quickly faded away! Whenever I visit we end up spending HOURS or DAYS talking about all sorts of things! I realize now that some friendships may start for a reason but are built to last for a lifetime! How lucky I am to have had a friendship that is so strong right from the beginning!!!

Today's 'whiskers moment' is Susan's cat, Noah! Isn't he pretty?

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! I hope you are blessed with great friends! I'd love to hear about them!