Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Flower Memories


It's a beautiful sunny day today and it's even warm...YAY!!!! It actually feels like summer and that's a wonderful thing since it's felt perpetually like October for weeks and weeks and weeks before this latest bit of warmth. I'm a happy woman :-)

This sunny summer weather has me thinking about being outside a lot more and it has me taking a good look at our yard. What I've noticed is the lack of plants and things this year. There were beautiful pink azaleas a couple of months ago, but that's it. When I look out at the back yard there isn't any color. This plant in the picture above was from a couple of years ago. It hadn't bloomed to its full potential at this point, but later it was so vibrant.

Looking back at this old photo and having all of this warmth has me thinking that I may need to get a plant or two for the back yard to liven up the place a bit. I'm sure that in an overall roundabout way it'll help with my ongoing healing too. I'll be able to see the vibrance of some beautiful flowers every day :-)

Have a wonderful day wherever you are!

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Saturday Things



I'm having one of my bookish weekends again. Last week I got out and about so it's nice to have some time around home surrounded by my beloved books ;-) As I've mentioned before here, I'm very aware that I have a tsundoku thing going on, so I'm embracing it while diving into actually getting around to reading my books. Lol. I tell you, I'm finding books that I totally forgot that I had and it's quite exciting for me. I'm easily amused :-)

I'm also finally getting a chance to get back to my book that I am writing. I've fallen off my schedule a bit because I've been sick off and on for weeks. I'm hoping and praying that I stay feeling well. If I can continue to feel as well or better than I feel today then I can get along with things :-)

It's also a sunny day today which is SO welcome! For quite a few summers over the last few years we've had cold summers that feel more like fall, so whenever we get a nice warm day I'm happy as can be. Don't worry. I was out earlier so I'm not missing the nice weather. Even now I'm sitting here where I can feel the warmth of the sun.

Well, that's all for now. I just thought that I would do one of my not quite customary Saturday check-in posts. Every once in a while I'll drop by with some of my Saturday ramblings. Lol. I do love Saturdays, so sometimes I get extra chatty and it spills over onto the blog.

I hope that you're having a wonderful day wherever you are! Have a great weekend!

Friday, June 26, 2015

A Friday Photo and Flowers That Last


Today's Friday photo is a simple one. These are some beautiful flowers that I received several months ago. One of the beauties of photographs is that you can enjoy things or a moment in time long after those particular things are gone from existence. Flowers can live on forever as long as you keep the photos :-) I love that!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Love


This is what I'm concentrating on today and every single day.
 And I send it out to everyone.

Hate will never win!

Monday, June 22, 2015

I Pray for Better Days

It's been six days, almost a week since my last post. Sorry for my absence. It's been a rough week for us all.

As everyone knows by now, the horrible shooting happened at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina last Wednesday and I mourn for the lives lost so senselessly because of hate. This terrorist attack on that historic black church was pure evil! As I sit here writing this right now, I'm still at a loss for words.

I still don't know what to say except...RACISM IS ALIVE AND WELL!

Yes, I've experienced it back home in Georgia, but I also experience it right here in the UK and I've experienced it in many other places. Racism doesn't adhere to geographical boundaries.  Sometimes it's been subtle and sometimes it's been glaringly obvious. It doesn't matter about the level...it still sucks every single time. I know I'm not saying anything new or profound here, but I'm just tired. I know that eradicating racism has many layers and it will probably always be a fight, but we have to do our best to try. I don't have any answers, but I do know this...I'm gonna keep on keeping on. I'm committed to doing my part, in whatever way that is, to make things better for my family, my community and this world. It's up to people of every color to fight against the ignorance of racism. I know I can't change this world, but I can do what I can bit by bit. In the end, that's all that I know to do right now.

I pray for better days.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Watching Royal Ascot 2015



Royal Ascot 2015 begins today and goes on each day through Saturday. You can find out all about it here. It's always fun to watch on television. I'll be checking it out this week here and there to see what's going on. I won't be able to watch every bit of it because I need to work on some things, but I'll certainly be catching what I can. In case you're wondering, I'm not really a big horse racing fan. It's interesting, but my main reason for watching is the fashion. What can I say? Lol. I've gotta check it out in person one of these days ;-)
I'll be on the lookout for headpieces like the one above or others that are much, much grander. Some people go all out so it should be fun to watch. Ladies Day will be especially good for fashion watchers like myself. There will be an array of colors and styles to see and I'm really looking forward to it all :-)

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Remembering My Trooping the Colour Experience

Today in London, Trooping the Colour is being held. In fact it's happening right now as I'm typing this. I have it on television now. Watching it all has me thinking back to when we attended six years ago. Wow! Time flies! I can't believe that it's been that long ago.

Here's my post from 2009, complete with photos of the day along with a photo of the royal family at the end. I hope you enjoy going down memory lane with me. You can see my post HERE.

Friday, June 12, 2015

A Friday Photo and Huge Trees


Today's Friday photo is one that's a visual representation of what's been on my mind lately. This photo is from sometime in the late 2003/ early 2004 era when I was still back home in Georgia. I can't be more precise than that because that's all that I noted back then. I took this on an old camera that I had back then that took kind of blurry pictures. Lol. So this one is kinda blurry. It's okay though...this one isn't so much about the prettiness of the photo and more about memories and feeling :-)

As I mentioned, this represents what's been going through my mind lately...back home :-) I haven't been home in FIVE years and it would be beyond wonderful to just set foot where I was born again. I like being here in England, but touching base with where you come from from time to time is essential I believe. My staying away for five years isn't because I don't want to go back, it's just that it's expensive and things haven't lined up in my favor lately. I won't bore you with the details ;-) Anyway, I'll get there one day very soon. I know this to be true :-)

I guess you're wondering what this actually is. Well it's the top of the huge magnolia tree that was in my mom's yard. That tree is at least 80 feet tall. It's been huge for as long as I can remember. I always loved that huge tree. I used to climb on it a lot when I was a kid. It made a great hideout.

On the day when I took this photo I guess that I was just taking snapshots of everything just because and I'm glad that I did :-)

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Balance


If you've visited my blog before, you know that I love the beauty of nature and sharing photos that I've taken when I'm out enjoying it. Usually I share photos like the one above on Fridays and I'll usually tell a bit about where I took the picture. Well today's post is kind of like that, but I'm gonna veer off a bit if you don't mind :-)

First of all, this photo above is from June 2013 and I took it when we were out taking a nature walk. Walking around in nature is one of my favorite things to do and snapping quick photos while I'm out is the second thing :-)

As I mentioned, I'm going to veer off a bit today. I'm posting this photo above because it reminds me of a beautiful, peaceful day and nature always balances me and clears my head. I thought that I'd post a bit of nature today especially since my mind is on balance today.

I've mentioned here recently that I've been under the weather and I'm not healing as quickly as I'd like. However, I know that these things take time. I'm doing better today than I have in a while so I'm grateful for that. As I've been concentrating on healing and getting myself back to a good place physically, I've also been thinking a lot about my balance between my mind, body, and spirit. As I've been thinking about all of this, I've realized that in slowing down to get physically well I'm also faced with the reminder that I need more balance in my life. I have a tendency to go, go, go all the time and I've realized that taking a breath is a good thing. I know these things intellectually, but while I've been forced to slow down in order to heal, I'm being reminded within my heart and whole self.

Since I've been sharing my nature photos on Fridays a lot recently, I've had another realization. All of these photos were taken two or more years ago. I'm astonished when I see the dates sometimes :-) So I think that it's high time that I added some recent photos to my collection. I'm no great photographer by any stretch. I'm just a person who loves taking pictures of the beauty of nature and I like to share what I see.

I know it's a cliche, but I need to stop and smell the roses more and take some pictures while I'm at it ;-) Lol. I hope you'll return to see what I find.

Have a great day!

Friday, June 05, 2015

A Friday Photo and A Stormy Sky


Today's Friday photo is one from late July 2013. It was taken in our backyard. The reason why I took it is because the sky looks stormy and I love that kind of sky, as long as no terrible storm comes from it. I know...it's kooky. I like the look but I hate a crazy storm. There must be a meaning in there somewhere. Lol.

This is a shortish Friday post because I'm not feeling too energetic today. I guess that I'm still not 100% better, but I'm getting there :-)

I'm going to try to get some rest this weekend and if I feel a bit better I may take a short walk to get some fresh air. I'll probably scribble some more of my book down...I write bits and pieces on paper when they come to me sometimes and then later I type them into the computer. I'm also going to continue to read that intriguing book that I mentioned before. I promise to tell all about it once I've finished. I got a bit sidetracked when I was sick, so I'm gonna do some catching up.

What are your plans for the weekend? Whatever you do, I hope that it's lots of fun! :-)

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Chilly June



This is a short observational post. Okay...it's June right? So why is it so cold? Lol. I'm hoping that my little corner of Wiltshire will warm up for a while soon. Thankfully it was a bit warmer yesterday and there was a good bit of sun later in the day. Therefore, I'm holding onto the hope that a warm summer is around the corner :-)

And it's not just me, my other half is cold too and he's from here so it's not just my Georgia DNA getting the best of me. Lol. I've acclimated a lot, but I'm still not good buddies with the chill all the time  ;-)

It's sunny out there now, so I hope that just grows as the day goes on. While I'm waiting for a little bit of a heatwave I'll just keep my blanket and a warm beverage nearby ;-) Lol!

I hope that it's warm wherever you are! Have a wonderful day :-)

Monday, June 01, 2015

Hello June...Sunshine and Bits of Green



Hi!

I hope that your weekend was great. Mine was very nice. I took it easy, but got out a little bit to get a breath of fresh air.

The two photos above were taken over the last few days. I thought that I would share them to let you see what I saw. Pardon that they're not exceptional, but they were taken from the passenger seat as we sped along in the car. Lol.

We've had some sunny bits along with some overcast skies over the last few days, so I thought that I'd capture the sunny part while we had it :-)

These photos were taken further off the beaten path here in Wiltshire. I love nature as you know, so I was loving all of the green everywhere! I hope you enjoy taking a look!

Have a great day and Happy June! :-)