Friday, July 31, 2015

A Friday Photo and A Pile That Waits For Me


Today's Friday photo is a very current one that I took about an hour ago ;-) As I've mentioned in previous Friday photo posts, I'm going to make an effort to share more of a mix of photos...some from the past and some that are more recent.

This is my pile of "stuff" that's been sitting here for weeks. I'm currently planning on going through it this weekend. That won't be all that I'm doing of course...gotta enjoy the weekend too, but this will be one thing on my to-do list. I need to stop putting it off. It won't take long and I'll be glad to be able to see the dang table again ;-)

This pile is kind of like an inbox for me so I need to go through it and put things in their proper place. When something comes in the mail or I make a note about my book or something, it often ends up in this pile. Looking at the pile now I'm amazed that it hasn't fallen over since it looks a little bit top-heavy. I think that a good start will be to rescue my book and notebook from the bottom because I really don't want to have to pick up everything all scattered across the floor...nope! Lol.

I'm actually quite an organized person but it seems that since I've been working on my book, a few other things stay waiting for me in piles. Actually clutter makes me kinda crazy even though this pile looks like I'm a pack rat. Lol. Anyway, no excuses...gotta clean up!

I hope that you have a great weekend and have fun with whatever you're doing! :-)

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Catching Up Days


I'm in catching up mode today, so my various notebooks are out in force. I've been kind of out of the swing of things so I'm trying to get back on track. I'm so behind with everything...Help! Lol.

I'll get it together soon :-)

Happy Wednesday!

Friday, July 24, 2015

A Friday Photo and An Iron Rooster


Today's Friday photo is from November 2012 and as you can see it's a rooster. I was playing with the evening shadow on the wall when I snapped the photo :-) This is my iron rooster that I've had for a few years now. I saw it at an outlet store and it was very inexpensive so I had to have it.

I think that I liked it so much because it reminded me of the vintage irons that we had around the house when I was growing up. They were made of solid iron and had been my grandmother and great grandmother's. By the time that I came along they weren't used for ironing clothes anymore, but they were held onto because they were a part of the family history. They had been used way way back in the day of course to iron and were heated instead of being plugged in like irons nowadays.

Whenever I would see the old irons they would remind me of my relatives who came before me. The vintage irons were grounding to me and connected me to my history. So I guess that when I picked up my iron rooster in the store and felt the weight of it, it instantly brought the vintage irons to mind. It's something found in the now that through memory connects me to the past :-)

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Bushes That Bring Butterflies


Hello :-)

Today I thought that I'd share this photo that I took a few years ago. As you can see, it's a colorful butterfly and I'm thinking of butterflies because of what's happening in the backyard.

Over the last week and a half, the butterfly bushes in the backyard have been blooming out.

Here's a photo below that I just snapped. The sky's kinda gloomy off and on, but the flowers are still showing up in all their glory!



The butterfly bushes have white flowers and purple flowers and they're ever expanding. I love that they've kind of taken over along the back. A few weeks ago I wrote here about not having much color out there and I mentioned how much I missed it. Well I guess that this was a case of ask and you shall receive ;-) They came out with an extra bit of oomph this year and I love them!  The butterflies are loving every minute too!

Happy Tuesday! :-)

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Saturday's Little Nerd Goodies


Happy Saturday!

This is one of my not-so-regularly-scheduled Saturday posts ;-) My most recent one was this one here. As I mentioned in that previous post, I find that I like to ramble a little bit on Saturday and it spills over here. Lol. I don't know what it is, but on Saturdays it's like all the words for the week have been stored up and decide to tumble out. As I've also mentioned before, I LOVE SATURDAYS! I guess that many of us do, huh? :-)

Since I get kind of wordy on Saturdays, I often take the time to work on my book or write something else and today I'll be doing just that. As you can see from the photo above, I have all of my little nerd goodies ready to go ;-) I write on my laptop, but often I write bits and pieces out by hand. I like the feel of the pen in my hand while I scribble across the page. I'm a little bit old school and a teeny little bit techy. I have various pens because each has a certain feel and I'm a bit of a pen nerd too so...Lol.

I'm going to be doing a little bit of reading along with writing today and I'm calling on Stephen King's expertise for some inspiration. I've had this book for years and I refer back to it again and again. It's part memoir and part writing guide. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing or for anyone who enjoys Stephen King's work. It's a great read.

So that's what I'll be up to today. What are you doing today or this weekend? Whatever you're doing, I hope you have fun! :-)

Friday, July 17, 2015

A Friday Photo and Lakeside Views


Today's Friday photo is from August 2011 and as you can see it's a view of a lake. It's here in Wiltshire. Even though it's going on four years since the visit there, this picture is taking my mind back. It was a fun and tranquil day. It was a great opportunity to get away from all of the noise and just unplug.

I think that we need to revisit this spot again soon :-)

Happy Friday and have a great weekend wherever you are!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Weekend Thoughts


I had a good weekend. How was yours? :-)

Mine was a combination of things and I came away from it with some observations about things. I was either reminded of something or I got confirmation of something. So I count that as a pretty great weekend!

As is customary for me these days, I worked on my book. I didn't get to write as much as I wanted, but the important thing is that I showed up and stayed committed to my goal. When I think back on it, this reminds me to simply JUST KEEP GOING! :-)

This past weekend I also put a bit of reading time in and it was helpful. I often hear the advice from authors that reading is essential to feed the writerly mind and I'm finding that to be very true. I must admit, when I first started writing my book I found it hard to get going and I felt kind of stuck. I've loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember so it was tough for me to feel so out of it. I realized that I hadn't been feeding my mind like I used to and therefore I couldn't hear the rhythms anymore if that makes any sense. Now that I've picked back up with my love for reading again, it's making a world of difference.

The other thing that I did this weekend was watch Serena Williams win Wimbledon again. She is phenomenal and she continues to RISE! It is incredibly ridiculous to see the venom that is thrown around on social media and from 'supposedly' professional media outlets about Serena every time that she...(gasp)....has the 'nerve' to win once again. Here's the thing...I'm like...forget those venomous ridiculous little people who feel the need to belittle her for reasons that have not a THING to do with her. Their bull is all about them. Serena Williams is an amazing athlete and an amazing woman who has to put up with a lot of crap and still win like a true champion. And I'm glad that she just keeps on going and stays true to herself no matter what :-) Thankfully everyone isn't such a hater and I'm glad because all that Serena and her sister Venus have achieved in their careers and the journey that they've traveled on is a testament to what true dedication and hard work can do.

As I watched Serena Williams once more win her title at Wimbledon, I had a bit of a reminder and a confirmation from her example. Even when we're up against tremendous pressure or outside forces may be trying to wear us down, we must stay the course and just keep on keeping on. Also, we should take a page from Serena's book and just keep on winning! ;-) When we don't give up, we win!

Two poems by Dr. Maya Angelou came to mind on Saturday as I watched Serena on television as she lifted her trophy. The poems are "Phenomenal Woman" and "Still I Rise".

Keep on keeping on Serena! :-)

Have a great week everyone!

Friday, July 10, 2015

A Friday Photo and Paris Memories


Today's Friday photo is one that makes me remember a particular time very vividly. In April 2007, my other half and I visited Paris and it was lovely. I remember it being very warm and I adored the warmer temperatures. I had gone through my first fall and winter in England by that time so I was overjoyed to be hot for the first time in well over a year :-) It was good for my bones.

These are a few of the souvenirs that I brought back home and they're in storage now sadly. One day in the near future we'll have enough room so that I can unfurl my posters and put out our keepsakes more :-) That simple pleasure will be an absolute joy for me. I know in the scheme of things it's just "stuff", but having your things around you, especially when you've lived in a temporary state of being for too long, can indeed be a comfort. For simplicity's sake I'll just say...rediscovering this photo made me smile.

This photo is sort of like the photos that I've shared of past flowers over the last couple of weeks. The pictures of the flowers help me keep the memory of those gorgeous flowers alive and this picture helps me remember the fun times that we've had and helps me to look forward to other adventures. Don't get me wrong. I'm not living in the past by any stretch of the imagination. I'm definitely in the now, but it sure doesn't hurt to remember too :-)

Have a great weekend wherever you are and I hope that you make some great memories!

Friday, July 03, 2015

A Friday Photo and More Flowers That Last


Today's Friday photo is very similar to last Friday's post. This is true, but I promise it's not a cop out post because I can't think of anything to share. Not at all. I'm actually having a good time looking through some photos that I haven't seen in a while in order to have more to share. I'm realizing that I've taken pictures of a lot of things from the mundane to the interesting over the years. I hope that you'll keep coming back to see what I find :-) Forgive me if I bore you sometimes. Lol. Still, I hope you'll come back each week.

Anyway, as I've been looking through my old photos I've come across quite a few pictures of flowers that I've received or just had around the house over the years. As I mentioned earlier, last week's Friday post here featured some lovely flowers and I talked about how photographing flowers can make them last a long time after they're gone. I love that idea. You can't touch the flowers or smell them anymore, but you can see them and the memories come flooding back if you're lucky :-)

These particular flowers are from four summers ago according to the date stamp. What a lovely sunny summer bouquet and their beauty is still here to enjoy!

Have a great weekend! 

To everyone back home in the USA or to those who are abroad like me...

Happy July 4th!!!

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Hello July

Happy July!!!!

I can't believe that we're halfway through the year already.

I like July 1st because I've always seen it as a reset button if I need it or a progress milestone in my life. I often will mark the day as one to regroup and recommit to whatever I'm doing. January 1st is the beginning of the year of course and it's the start of a whole new year, but I like July 1st also. Any day of the year can be a new start if we want, this is true. However, I love this midpoint day too as a day of renewal if that's what we want :-)

So I hope that everyone has a wonderful July 1st whether you use it as a new beginning or  if you just like July. Lol.

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful new month wherever you are!