Happy Last Day of 2017

Well, here we are...at the last day of the year. I know I say it here all the time, but time flies 😁 Hey, I may as well round out the year true to self 😜 2017 has had its share of ups and downs just like every year, but this year I actually learned a few things which affected me enough that I think some of the lessons will actually stick this time. Fingers crossed. Time will tell.

The photo above is from my best nine collage from my Instagram account. According to the stats, these are my nine most liked photos of 2017. For me, it's interesting to see these snapshots of my year and to relive those moments. I'm instantly taken back in time.

There's definitely an overriding theme to my photos....a great love and appreciation of nature. I love capturing a bit of the beauty whenever I'm surrounded by nature. I say a bit because it's impossible for me to capture everything that I see or feel. The beauty of nature is so vast, so I'm content to be able to share what I can 😊

The other two photos are special to me too. As you can see, there's a picture of the Obamas. I didn't take that one, but I shared it because I'm grateful that we had them in the White House and it was a true pleasure to have them there. This was from January when they were leaving and i just wanted to say thank you!

And the final photo was from the 9th anniversary of my blog. Marking the occasion was important, because I'm a big believer in celebrating milestones. On March 4th, 2018 I'll be celebrating ten years of blogging. Who'd a thunk it? I don't know how "successful" this blog has been in terms of reach or influence really, but I'm proud to have stayed with it for this long. It's helped keep me on track in many ways so that's successful to me 😊 Thanks for visiting me.

Hey, let me not get ahead of myself. It's not March yet. It's December 31st and I want to take one day at a time and relish it. As I said earlier 😜, time flies. So I'm gonna do my best to enjoy each day in the year ahead because before we know it it'll be December 31st again. May we all return to this day again in 2018 together...alive, well, safe and thriving!

Happy last day of 2017! 🎉😁

Winter Is Definitely Here

Photo taken from the passenger side of a moving car so that's why it's blurry 😉

We woke up to a bit of snow this morning. 

   Winter has definitely arrived❄😊

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

Happy Holidays!

Dr. Brandon D. Rogers

This year, I was blessed to learn about an amazing young man. That man was Dr. Brandon D. Rogers. In January, I came across his incredible singing on Instagram and I was absolutely blown away. His voice was out of this world! I immediately wanted to hear more, so I looked back through his account and was instantly pulled in. He was a fantastic singer and indeed a doctor, but he was also a beloved son and brother, and an amazing friend to many. It made me smile to see his humor. I admired his commitment to medicine, his love for singing and his love for those around him. It was a joy to see his absolute love of life!

The Singing Doctor 

As I went backwards through his Instagram account, I had the chance to see the determination, dedication, hard work and strong faith that he drew strength from as he pursued his dream of becoming a doctor. I was absolutely inspired by his example and I know that many others were also. In a world that is so often focused on only showing the negative, seeing Brandon’s journey as an intelligent and caring human being was a breath of fresh air. Those of us who were following along on social media were able to get a glimpse into his wonderful and blessed life.

Sadly, on June 11, 2017, Brandon passed away in a car accident. He was 29. I never had the pleasure of meeting Brandon. Hearing about his passing was heartbreaking, because I knew that the world had lost a truly incredible person. In the months since his passing, I’ve crossed paths with so many people who never had the pleasure of meeting him either, but enjoyed his singing and drew inspiration from his example as a person who worked hard to make his dreams a reality. In my own life, I’m so inspired by Brandon. Because of him, I’m inspired to love even more, to go for what I want in life more, and to relish life even more, because he surely did that every single day.

His loss is definitely felt by many...those who knew and loved him and those of us who never met him, but realized immediately just how special he was. I think that when people are real, their goodness just shines through and people pick up on it, even through social media. Brandon touched the hearts of countless people around the world. Through his profession as a doctor, he was a healer and by also sharing that golden God-given voice that he possessed, I believe that he offered dual amounts of healing to the world.

It’s hard to accept that someone so young and in the prime of his life is no longer here. He had so much going for him and we can’t help but wonder what his continued impact upon the world would have been. Brandon didn’t get the chance to live a long life, but he truly lived his life to the fullest and achieved so much while he was here. He gave so much to the world and his good works are still paying dividends. He had the opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor and helping people. He directly affected and saved lives. That is amazing.

This year, Brandon had the chance to perform in Las Vegas with the legendary group Boyz II Men and he was also invited to audition for America’s Got Talent (AGT). These two opportunities came about because of a video that Brandon posted at the end of last year which went viral. You can see that video here. You can also see his Boyz II Men performance here and his AGT performance here.

One aspect of his life that was a joy to see, was the love that he and his family shared. When I think of the wonderful human being that Brandon was, I also think of the fertile soil of love within his family that he grew from. What a wonderful family and what an incredible, yet humble man he was.

Brandon's Legacy 

Dr. Brandon D. Rogers left a great legacy behind. His family has established the Dr. Brandon D. Rogers Memorial Fund to honor his commitment to education, medicine, the arts, and community engagement. To find out more about the memorial fund, you can find their Facebook page here. The memorial fund will help to create opportunities for the next generation of students and artists. For their first project through the memorial fund, the Rogers family has partnered with Riverside Health System (where Brandon worked) to raise funds to open a simulation lab that will bear Brandon’s name. This is an incredible way to honor Brandon’s legacy as this lab will be a vital tool in the training of future doctors. In order to help make the lab a reality, donations can be made here  .

You can also order an array of products which are emblazoned with Brandon’s name and the wonderfully creative logo which perfectly illustrates his love of both medicine and music. You can find them here.  All proceeds go directly to the Dr. Brandon D. Rogers Memorial Fund, which will help to do the important work of helping others, just as Brandon did during his life.

I’ll never forget Brandon. May his legacy and the good works done in his name continue to positively affect the lives of others for generations to come.



*Note: This post was written from my heart in order to celebrate Brandon's beautiful life and to spread the word about his memorial fund.

Happy Monday

Above: A winter view of the sky from about five years ago, just because I love taking photos of the sky

Happy Monday! I know that Mondays have a bad reputation, but even though they're not my favorite day, it's gotta be Monday sometime so why not today ;-) And every day that we wake up alive and well is a blessing and we get to start the week fresh. So Happy Monday! :)

It's hard to believe that a week from today it will be Christmas Day. I know I say it WAY too much, but I'm gonna say it again anyway...time flies. Only a couple of more weeks and 2017 is a wrap. But hey, lemme not get ahead of myself here. We have 13 more days left in this year so let's make them great! :)

Have a wonderful week wherever you are!

Snow Day

We had some snow over the weekend. We woke up to snow on Sunday without knowing that it was coming. It was quite a snowy weekend in many places apparently, because my family also got snow back home in the Atlanta area. I guess that winter has arrived ;-) 

The snow has melted on our street for the most part now with only a few patches in the shade. I imagine that those remnants will refreeze for a while since it's so cold.

Stay warm out there!

Have a great day wherever you are!

Sunday

Have a great Sunday! 

😁

Hello December

Happy new month! This year has flown by and it's wild that 2017 is coming to a close soon. In the meantime, I'm definitely ready to enjoy this final month of 2017, take stock of how my year has been, and then think about what I want to bring into my life in the new year.

I don't want to get ahead of myself though. This is day one of a whole new month, full of new opportunities each day. So I'm going to do my best to relish all 31 days! 😊

I hope that your December is wonderful!

Happy Thanksgiving

I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating today, back home in the United States and to those like me who are living abroad currently, but still keeping the tradition alive :-)

Every day is a day to be thankful, so I wish everyone well around the world.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. Things have been a bit hectic. I haven't been feeling really great and I've been trying to work on my long, long, long-awaited novel. Lol. Well, I'm feeling better, so fingers crossed that that continues to be the case. Also, I'm still working on my novel, because I've put too much darn work into it to stop now. Lol. It will definitely see the light of day in the new year, God willing :)

I have an event coming up the weekend of November 25th and I'll be sharing my experience afterwards so I hope that you can come back to hear all about it. I'm getting my first press pass ever, so I'm excited :) 

I hope that wherever you are that your weekend is great!

Happy Sunday

November

Have a great new month!

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

The Red Sun on Monday

This is the beautiful red sun from yesterday morning here in Wiltshire, UK ☀ It doesn't look as red on my video as it actually was, but it gives an idea of what it was like.

Apparently it happened because of the coming together of three conditions at the same time: the effects of Hurricane Ophelia, dust being carried over from the Sahara desert and smoke from the fires in Spain. It was incredible to see it. It looked like an eclipse was happening because it got quite dark and looked like a sepia photograph. What an incredible thing that these elements came together at just the right time and created something so unique.

Happy Weekend

These are the asters in our backyard after an afternoon rain shower today. I love the color of these beautiful flowers :)

Happy Weekend!

October

Fall Color

I saw all of this gorgeous color on the way home today. 

Fall is definitely here.
🍁🍂🍁

Saw A Rainbow

I saw a rainbow the other day, so I thought that I'd share it 🌈

Farewell Summer 2017

Since tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox aka the beginning of fall, I thought that I'd share a couple of photos. These are the last of the summer roses in our garden. This rose bush blooms every year, but this year they especially "rose" to the occasion. To me they are a reminder that despite the hard things in life, there is still beauty around us every single day.

Farewell Summer 2017 💗

Still Beautiful

These flowers are at the tail end of their time sitting in the window, but they're still so beautiful!

Happy Thursday!

Hello September

I can't believe that it's September again...this year surely has flown by, but then it seems they all go by faster and faster :) I always like a new month because it helps me to collect my thoughts about the month that's just finished and then I can look forward to what the new month brings. Of course we never know what's around the corner, but I always hope like we all do that the new month brings good new things.

So here's to hoping that September is full of good things for us all!

Happy Friday

Happy Friday and happy weekend! 😊

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend

💚 SPREAD LOVE 💚

Sunday

Happy Sunday! 

Hello July

I'm a day late, but better late than never....Lol.

** Note to Self (a gentle nudge with love, because I need it right now, but with no self judgement): Get it together Dori ;-)

Anyway, I hope that July is great for you and me. June was tough for me, but I'm believing that much better is ahead. Here's to good times :)

I'm planning to be much more present here on the blog again, because I miss it and I need to get back to the things that make me happy. Life is so short and we must enjoy each day to the fullest. We have to spend more of our time here on Earth doing what we love. I've been reminded of this a lot recently and it's so very true. So watch this space! :)

Happy July and have a wonderful day wherever you are!

Happy Weekend

Happy Friday! Happy weekend! 

These two daisies make me think about life. They're a part of nature and indeed part of this world just as we are. When I took this photo, I was just walking by and I looked down. I was drawn to taking a photo because they made me think of faces. Daisies often remind me of smiling faces. 

These two are missing a petal or two here and there, but they're doing their best to show up in the best way they can...while being the best version of themselves with what they have. Thinking of this reminds me of a quote by the late tennis champion Arthur Ashe.

"Start where you are.
 Use what you have.
 Do what you can."

~ Arthur Ashe

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Hello June

I didn't get the chance to welcome in June a few days ago, so even though we're three days in, here goes.....Hello June!!! :)

I love the warmer months as many of us do. I love watching the sunset at the end of these long summer days, as the sun does its beautiful dance along the horizon, as it bids us good night and makes way for the moon. There is such a magic at that golden time in the evening when the shadows grow longer and everything is bathed in this amazing light.

It's about that time here as I type this. Nature is glorious.

Hello June!

Here's to many more golden evenings like this :)

The Unofficial Beginning of Summer

Happy Weekend!!!

It's the three day bank holiday weekend here and it's Memorial Day weekend back home in the US, so we've finally arrived at the unofficial beginning of summer even though the official start of summer is in June. But hey, official...unofficial...it all works for me. Lol. I'm just glad to see warmer days and we're actually having some warm, sunny days here in Wiltshire right now, with not a rainy cloud in sight. Woo Hoo! ;-) I don't know how long the sunshine will last, but I'm gonna soak in the warmth and the good vibes to the fullest while I can :-)

Have an amazing weekend wherever you are, whether it's an extended weekend or not. Enjoy!!

Our World

Friday Flowers

Happy Friday!

I have another flower post today, but then I love flowers...I imagine many of us do though. What's not to love, huh? :)  These photos are actually taken from the same bouquet, but just on different days. The top photo is the most recent. I had to capture the beauty of the lily and share it once it bloomed out. Isn't it gorgeous?

Nature is extraordinary!

Have a great weekend :)

Orchids

This is my beautiful orchid :) My hubby gave it to me as a surprise gift about three weeks ago and it is still beautiful and thriving...fingers crossed ;-) I've always wanted to try growing and caring for an orchid, so I'm excited to give it a go. The flowers are seemingly so perfect that they don't look real. Orchids are just exquisite!

I'm been studying up on how to care for this beautiful plant. I love plants and gardening, so I'm hoping to develop a true green thumb like my mom had. She was a great gardener and could grow just about anything of the floral or vegetable variety.

I'll share updates from time to time about how the Yellow House orchid is doing ;-)

Have a great day and week!

Visiting Bath Once Again

This past Saturday, my hubby and I took a trip to Bath. It's not too far away and we love visiting there when we get the chance. While we were there enjoying ourselves, we wondered why we don't visit more often. We've decided that we'll definitely be visiting more often and enjoying more of what that beautiful city has to offer :)

The photo above is one of my favorite views of Bath along the River Avon. It's so beautiful. A great deal of Bath is constructed out of Bath stone, which has that lovely honey-colored hue to it.

The photo below is from lunch...nachos!!  ;-) Nachos are always a good idea in my book. Lol.

It was an overcast day for the most part, but it didn't matter because we had a fantastic time!

If you'd like to check out a few of my past posts about Bath, you can see them here and here.

Hello May

I hope you have a wonderful new month! 

💐🌼🌻🌺💮🌸🏵🌹🌷⚘🌼🌻🌺🌸💐🏵

Sunday Photos

Happy Sunday!

I hope that things are well where you are. I'm doing great, especially since I'm able to get here again. I love blogging! :) As I mentioned in my last post, things have become a bit more hectic, but hopefully I'm getting a handle on things once again, so I'll be able to come here and share more of my photos and thoughts. I appreciate everyone who continues to visit me here even when I can't get here as often as I'd like. Thank you so much for sticking with me :)

As usual, I've been snapping a few photos here and there with my phone. These days mostly everyone does this too though, right? Lol. Anyway, I try to capture a bit of what I see daily...some things turn out great and sometimes the idea or intention doesn't come through in the end product. Lol. Still, I love photography, so I hope you'll keep visiting me to see what I see!

Here are a couple of photos that I took recently when we were out for a walk on a beautiful day here in Wiltshire. We were up on the edge of a slope, looking out across the fields and into the distance. It was an absolutely BREATHTAKING view! I couldn't capture it well enough to do it justice, but at least I hope that you can see some of what I saw :)

I'll be back with more photos in a few days.

Have a great week!

Checking In

Hello :)

I just wanted to check in. I haven't posted in over a week. Sorry. Things have recently become quite hectic, so I'm not able to get here like I want.

However, this weekend I'll be back to share some photos and some thoughts, so watch this space :)

I hope that you're having a fantastic week!

Natural Scenes

I thought that I'd share a few photos from my Instagram account again. Recycling is good ;-)

I've taken these over the last week or so. I love nature and I love capturing little bits of it when I can. Whenever I'm not able to get out and about, I can always take a look at photos like these and I'm instantly taken back to that moment.

All three photos were taken here in Wiltshire. It's great to see the trees and flowers sprouting out for spring.

Happy weekend! :)

Being True

This is a photo that I recently shared on Instagram. It's kinda recycled in a way since it's been posted there, but hey, recycling as a practice is good isn't it? :)

I took this photo one day when I was just sitting in my armchair. I looked out into the backyard. I thought about how that couple of little daffodils are holding their own in contrast to all of that green. They are beautiful and I loved how they contributed a bit of difference to their fully green surroundings.

I may be reaching here, but for me, it reminded me that we must be beautifully and fully ourselves no matter who is around. And when we are true to ourselves, we make our mark and the uniqueness shines through! :)

Spring

HAPPY SPRING!

Photos From a Weekend

Today I thought that I'd share a couple of slightly fuzzy photos from the past few days that I've shared on Instagram. I took both last weekend. The top one was from when I was out and about having a short Sunday morning walk. The bottom one was taken from the passenger seat in our car as we headed out to do an errand.

As I mentioned on Instagram, the top one reminds me that spring is on its way in little ways that we can notice here and there. The bottom photo just reminded me how much I love the countryside, even with slightly broken fences :) Both remind me of the beauty of nature.

I hope that you have a great weekend wherever you are! :)

International Women's Day 2017

Happy International Women's Day!

On this day especially, I think of my mother, my sisters, my grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and all of the women who have lighted my way and/or paved the way on my journey as a woman. I am grateful for my journey every single day, but I love that women and their contributions are highlighted on this day. As we celebrate the contributions of women, we must also shine a light upon the injustices which women and girls experience daily around the globe. There is so much work still to be done.

I find encouragement on my journey quite often through quotes and this is one of my favorites. 

"I got my start

 by giving myself a start."

~ Madam C.J. Walker

Businesswoman, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

                               

My 9th Blog Anniversary

Today is the 9th anniversary of the day that I started this blog. Who'd a thunk it? :) I can't believe that it's been so long, but then it seems like the last nine to ten years have gone by in a blur anyway. I started out on March 4th and I've always liked this day because it feels for me like it sounds...I march forth! :) When the month of March comes, even though it's still chilly, the mind turns to thoughts of spring and summer. It's like we get to shake off the chill of winter and go forward into the renewal that spring brings.

On the first of March, I shared a quote on Instagram that I thought was very appropriate for this month. It's a quote from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I thought that it sums up March perfectly.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 

I hope that I can bring some renewal and new energy here as I go forward with my blog....as I march forth and onward towards my 10th blog anniversary. I'm planning to share more photography as always, but I also would love to dive a little deeper and share inspiring things. I hope you'll join me :)

Hello March

HELLO MARCH!

Wishing everyone an amazing

 and 

wonderful new month

Things That Light the Way

This past weekend I embraced two things that I love...taking pictures and sketching. If you have visited me here before, you'll know that I love sharing photos from my Wiltshire adventures and from anywhere else that I find myself roaming :) However, I don't usually share sketches or anything I've created. Never really thought to do so. Maybe I should share more of my creative hits and misses since creative expression is a big part of who I am. Hmmm. Watch this space.

Anyway, back to my point :) So, I had my trusty phone camera out on Saturday as hubby and I drove through the countryside as we did our errands. My camera on my phone isn't the best, but it's good enough to give the general idea of what I saw. Lol.

Here's a photo that I took of a tree along the roadside. A friend on Instagram remarked that the tree looks like a deer with his back turned to the road while he reads a book. I cracked up when I read her words because I immediately saw what she meant :) His antlers and head are so clear. I just think it's wild that I snapped this picture at exactly that moment as we drove by and it looks so much like a deer. And I'm in awe of her picture interpretation skills. Who knew that huge reading deer sit along the edges of Wiltshire roads? :)

As for my sketching, well before yesterday morning it had been a LONG time since I've sketched anything. I used to draw all of the time years ago, but that interest seems to have dried up, or maybe the urge to draw got pushed to the side due to everything else taking so much time. Well, this past week's stress shifted something within me and out of the blue I just picked up my sketch pad on Sunday morning and I let my pencil do what it wanted.

Below is the result.

I don't know exactly who this is, maybe it's kind of a self-portrait, maybe it's not. I'm jealous of her hair though. Lol. I have very curly hair, but I can never get it to look like this...perhaps this is a spiritual intention road map to how I want my hair to be in the future :) Or maybe it's not about me at all and this is just a character that sprung out of my mind and came through my pencil and her name is.....ummm, Ruby...yeah let's call her Ruby  ;-)  

Rediscovering my love of sketching was therapeutic and I'll definitely be keeping my pencil close by as I go forward. I'm going to make time for sketching here and there even if it's only for a few minutes. It never hurts to have more than a few things that bring you happiness. I'm grateful that I have photography and sketching to light the way!

Hey, maybe I'll draw some friends for Ruby....hmmm...maybe I will :)

Have a wonderful day!

Evening Light

I took this photo yesterday evening. The sky was just so beautiful! Even though spring is still a few weeks away, this gorgeous sky made me think of warmer days. 

Have a great weekend!

Keep Getting Up

This has been a good week because my husband and I are alive and well and that's a blessing :) However, I have to say, this week has been trying to drag me down big time, but here's the thing. I KEEP GETTING UP! That's what we all must do right? :) These two quotes above along with prayer have helped me through.

I know that this is just a season and I'm weathering this storm to the best of my ability. I won't go into it all because I don't want to bore anyone. Lol. I'll just say this, it's to do with my seemingly never ending job search. It is what it is (shrug). Things are opening up slowly...very slowly, so in the meantime I'm gonna be over here being ME :)

Today and this weekend I'm giving some love to my writing and especially my poor book. My book has been sitting there patiently waiting for me while I've been going through all of this craziness.

I thought I'd share these two quotes just in case anyone else out there is going through something. Hang in there :)

Happy weekend!

Frozen Hills

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago when we were out for a walk. 

Lemme tell you...it was COLD!!!! Despite the frigid temperatures and wind sweeping around the hills, it was a beautiful spot to enjoy nature and that's exactly why I was there. I needed to be rejuvenated and this walk did the trick. It was a sunny beautiful day, but the ground was still very frozen in the shade like in the photo above. Here's another photo from that day that I shared previously.

As I'm looking back over my photos, I'm thinking that it's time to go back out again and soak up the natural calm that I find in nature, even if it's a little chilly. I'll throw on an extra scarf ;-) 

 I'll definitely share whatever I see here :)

Have a great day!

Trees Seen On A Walk

Happy Friday :)

I thought that I'd share a photo today...one that I haven't shared before. As you know if you've visited me here before, I love taking pictures. So I'll sometimes just look back at what I've got that I could share.

I took this photo back in November when we were having a walk along a nature trail here in Wiltshire. I love trees and I love black and white photography so this is a favorite of mine :)

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

Winter Sunshine

I thought that I'd share a bit of winter sunshine today. I took this last Friday and shared it on Instagram, but I wanted to share it here also :) It was a beautifully sunny day.

There was a haze in the distance and the ground was frozen hard, but that big beautiful sun was there, so all was well!

Nature always restores me.

Happy day to you wherever you are! :)