tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231168802024-03-07T01:38:54.556-06:00LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLIND"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore.Dream.Discover." twainLORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-2986217099512926702012-12-17T09:40:00.002-06:002012-12-17T09:40:54.078-06:00Mental health Legislated?! BA! HUMBUG!!Seriously?!!! Now we are going to legislate who is a mental health threat?! Unbelievable! And just HOW will you do that!??? Lets see....those who take prescription drugs for mental health will no longer be able to purchase a gun....or perhaps those who go to therapy or counseling will no longer be able to purchase a gun....Hmmmmmm.....where will it begin and where will it end.....and who will be the ones who get to play god and decide....
I have had "mental illness" as far back as I can remember. I have been "diagnosed" now for many decades....I ....Own....Guns.....I have never once thought about shooting a class full of students, or postal workers, or my parents, or my spouse, nor have I ever considered blowing up a building like Timothy McVay!! But now we as a people or government or nation are going to start profiling and judging the mentally ill? When will we all recognize that EACH of us is part of the problem? We all meet or know people each and every day. None of us knows which of these people have the potential for mass murder, or single murder for that matter. Yet each of us, every day, are too busy or blinded to perhaps go out of our way to speak kindly to each other or simply stop and talk to someone about something other than the outward busy ness we share. How many of us choose to go deeper than the hurried surface of our lives with each other? How many of us are kind to those whose lives touch ours daily? Who of us takes time to care beyond our convienice? And yet we are quick to point fingers at those tortured souls who are lead to violence! WE ARE THE ENEMY! We as humanity have become to busy to care, to hurried to listen, to self absorbed to stop and look into the eyes of those we meet each day and be kind and compassionate. So why don't you legistlate THAT!! The problem is not keeping guns out of the hands of those with mental issues. It is the fact that people don't care about people. That we don't love our neighbors as ourselves. That we are not good samaritans with the guy packing your groceries, Or the family member we hold a grudge against. It is US who walk quickly past hurting people everyday of our lives. It is us who sit and talk with each other but who don't know each other. It is our lack of care, compassion, kindness, and love that spits out these mutants of society! Mutants because someone somewhere didn't care...didn't love...like my friend says " when you point your finger at someone else, there are always 3 pointing back at you..... LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-29788042535276553032011-05-19T11:12:00.002-05:002011-05-19T11:35:17.254-05:00OMGRAVYReally?!! It has been 5 months since I blogged anything?!! I confess....I didn't even finish the questions I intended to answer....I failed....but He is unfailing.....I give up....He does not....I am guilty....He took it from me.....I am my Beloveds and He is mine....I continually am overwhelmed by my life, both the good and the bad.....anyone else ever feel like that?! OH! That's right!!! Nobody is really "out there"!!! BAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAA! So.....I journal almost everyday and sometimes I wish to journal here....just to get it off me chest I guess....so...here is my "chest", my "heart" my "soul", and my "mind"(or what is left of it!) born to you all! All you Internet-socially active (not) peeps out there, who like me, on occasion read or actually write, in a blog.....welcome.<br />Sooooo....lots of life changes in the past 5 months...but then, hopefully life IS full of changes, much better than being stagnant I suppose. Rick quit his job of almost 30 years. And with no fanfare, with only a month of non-employment, now has the privilege of another job in the moving business yet without all the intensity and expectations of the former life he led....he is finding himself again after almost 40 years of being lost to himself, to me and to God....I have never been prouder of him....he IS indeed a new creature and amazes me with his ever changing life. We put our house up for sale, but have absolutely NO IDEA where our God will send us.....tired of trying to figure it out, we are doing what should have been done all along, which is to seize this, the only day I have, and live it to its fullest....one day at a time. To trust, have faith, believe...all the "sayings" we have heard all of our lives, now being practiced in its fullest form....carpe diem.....finally...a chance to practice yet again, all I have come to believe in. At this point in my life, I have not one thing to loose and all that is important to real life to gain.<br /> <br />Simplicity<br /><br />Stillness<br /><br />Sacrifice<br /><br />Solitude<br /><br />So much that is vastly overlooked by the ever busy crowds that surround me....I long for the days of front porch friends....Of family diners.....of playing with a cigar box and dirt.....yes, I know.....a Norman Rockwell picture I am sure, but it takes me to a much simpler time in my life.......but that simplicity is mine to have even now if I but reach for it.....and I have. To maintain that stillness in the midst of these times is indeed a challenge, but well worth the effort it takes....breath.....listen.....care.....think....how often do we participate in these things in our own busy lives? Well....lets roll....LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-4880476050784561102011-01-01T10:33:00.003-06:002011-01-01T10:41:48.799-06:00Someonewho has made your life worth living for...#7. In the beginning it was my boys. My boys turned into my grandchildren...then after a cataclysmic separation from my husband of 36 years, it has now shifted my world to where it should have been all those years...my husband.....not only does he make my life worth living, but makes living here tolerable....nay, more bearable. You see, being born a melancholic person there are days when there is simply nothing here that seems to make it tolerable to stay on this side of that dark curtain. The perceived or real pain makes this side of life very unbearable to the mind...and to the heart at times. So, at times there simply seems like there is nothing that would make this life worth living for. Upon second glance, and I do have to take many more of those than most people, there are things that indeed make my life in need of living....thank you Rick, for staying with me, for walking beside me, for holding my hand and my head during those times when to my way of thinking it is not worth it.....LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-48178494763110134012010-12-06T15:06:00.002-06:002010-12-06T15:10:55.407-06:00Please dear GodI hope I NEVER have to see my children or grand childrens death....I wanna go first....I hope I don't have to see my husband die either! Not that death scares me...as a matter of fact, the sooner the better as far as I am concerned, but having my heart broken here on earth is a worse death than any physical death I can think of! This old ticker of mine is a little hypersensitive and the mental and emotional anguishes are SOOOOOOOO much more painful...at least this has been my own experience. There you have it. I am a mental and emotional baby. I admit it. And so be it amen.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-45248079841046577192010-12-04T22:00:00.003-06:002010-12-04T22:08:16.809-06:00HopeSomething I hope to do in my life.....well, there are too many things to even begin to think! I want to be the best grandma EVER, I want to have the best marriage EVER....I want to draw pictures without second guessing myself....I want to have self confidence....I want to see, hear, touch and smell EVERYTHING that comes my way....I want to live long enough to do these things, but not too long so as to be a burden...I want to help people like others have helped me....I want to visit Malta, Italy, Sicily, Spain, England and Iceland....Is this too much?!!! I have lived over half of my alotted time here on this earth, and have wasted way the heck too much of it! I want to live every day to its very fullest and enjoy every minute. I want to learn so much! And there is so much I wish I had learned at a younger age....it would have made these latter years more palatable. Live and learn....Carpe Dieum....Here and Now.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-45332953246344410202010-12-02T21:16:00.002-06:002010-12-02T21:21:45.374-06:00hmmmm....Okay...I started this thing and by golly, I am determined to finish it.....someday. #4....I have to LIVE forgiveness with my husband every day....I say LIVE forgiveness, because when the person who is suppose to love you the most, hurts you the most, it must be lived and not a one time thing. When trust is gone, forgiveness must be lived in the now. It is never ending. It goes forward and does not stop. We have been married for 38 years, but have only truly loved each other in a healthy way for a mere year and a half. A hell of a ride, and a living forgiveness was a must during our separation. So...my final answer....Rick!LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-67898562080079543932010-11-16T20:48:00.003-06:002010-11-16T20:58:53.405-06:00Oh dear....Soooooooooo many things come to mind on #3.....but to choose one, I think the first thing that comes to mind is to forgive myself for not being perfect....the perfect wife....the perfect mom.....friend, daughter, sister, aunt....yup, that pretty much sums it up in a really tight nutshell. Mostly being such a rigid mom....raising my boys in fear of failing, I failed. Well, in my own mind anyway..they turned out pretty good as a matter of fact, despite the young, crazy, over religious mom they were given. Many regrets there that I will not go into, but you get the gist of the thing....but I have to choose today to live here and not there...to go forward and not look back except to learn from it....I have learned that I can actually CHOOSE to live my life in the present and the now with full capacity and enjoy every second....I don't have many left and I don't want to waste one more.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-37911936799504407122010-11-14T15:06:00.003-06:002010-11-14T15:16:29.657-06:00Oooooooo.....Look at me!! I am answering the next ? on the next day!! WoooHoo!! Well....don't get use to it all you millions of people out there that hang on my every word!! ROLMFAO!!! Now....to be serious....if only for a moment....<br />Which is the answer to ?#2 "what do you love about yourself"? I love the fact that I am diverse. I can be stupid and fun, serious and intelligent, melancholy and overwhelmed with feelings, I can be a pain in the ass and the one you love the most at the same time! Reminds me of that Alanis Morrissette song EVERYTHING.<br /> "I'm the funniest woman you've ever known. <br />I am the dullest woman you've ever known. <br />I'm the most gorgeous woman you've ever known <br />And you've never met anyone as, as everything as I am sometimes."<br /><br /> A living breathing oxymoron. It can be confusing, even to me, but it is what makes me not be bored with myself or the life around me. There is always a different way to look at something....a different facet of the same diamond. Like John Candy said " I like me"! All of my parts are essential in the whole.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-7479268803659461342010-11-13T21:10:00.002-06:002010-11-13T21:23:59.423-06:00Ummmm....Well, as you can tell, I did not start this journey right away....I will also NOT answer these questions on a daily basis...I will be doing well to finish them at all, but I do want to give it a try. So....numero uno es....<br />"Something I hate about myself"....well, I have spent many years and as many dollars in therapy to do the opposite of hating myself, but for this exercise I will look over all I have learned about self loathing....I hate the fact that I love too much. There. I said it. I think over loving is dangerous to my soul (to quote my friend)....it tends to lead me down the path that it will be reciprocated and that is not always the case. I feel at times, like a puppy who just sits and wags its tail waiting for a glance, or a pat on the head, or even dare to believe a ball will actually be tossed for me to play with. I think I am loved, but perhaps not in the way my June Cleaver head dreams it would be like. I am learning though....I am opening my eyes beyond my Cleaver mind and seeing that because we are not all alike, we do not love alike, we do not dream alike, we do not look alike and that is how it should be. Hmmmm...come to think of it, perhaps it is the expectation of that love reciprocated that is the real culprit heh? And then, as always, I have to be the one who does this for myself....to start by loving myself, regardless of others....a life lived in co-dependency is not fertile ground for cultivating this concept, but this too can and will change. It already has......LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-42521931400124642742010-11-08T14:31:00.002-06:002010-11-08T14:37:02.708-06:00REALY?!!!Its almost THANKSGIVING?!!?? Well, Oblahde Oblahda......A friend of mine has been posting this challenge on her blog....I am inspired by it and so decided to do the same....I know no one reads blogs anymore....they have passed the way of the written page...edged out by the supersonic "social networking" places....but alas....I still read books that are printed on real paper, I actually talk to my friends instead of text them....grow my own veggies.....and make things with my hands. Oops.... off subject. Sooooooooooooo.....here goes.....this is for me mostly, to see these things written down somewhere for posterity.....read at your own risk....<br /><br />this is the list of all the topics:<br /><br />Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.<br />Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.<br />Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.<br />Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.<br />Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.<br />Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.<br />Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.<br />Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.<br />Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.<br />Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.<br />Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.<br />Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.<br />Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days.<br />Day 14 → A hero that has let you down.<br />Day 15 → Something or someone you tried to live without, and can't.<br />Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.<br />Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.<br />Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.<br />Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?<br />Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.<br />Day 21 → Your best friend is in a car accident right after you two fight. What do you do?<br />Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.<br />Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.<br />Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs.<br />Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.<br />Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?<br />Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?<br />Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?<br />Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.<br />Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourselfLORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-53471873493785995682010-09-07T11:23:00.005-05:002010-09-08T20:45:56.215-05:00HUH?Well, its coming on fall and I am really not through with summer yet! My garden is just now getting where I can enjoy the fruits of my labor and watering! But then, I remind myself that I AM in "another time zone altogether".....still getting use to waking up to 45 degree weather.....to the dear eating my flowers....to the beauty I see everyday as I look out to the mountains...to the missing of my friends and the familiarity of my place of birth....but I am reminded by those who love me that it takes time. Time...isn't that the truth for almost everything we encounter or do in this life? Time to heal, live, build relationships, save for something we want or need and yes, time to get use to a new life. The beauty here and the grandchildren here help me to keep my focus on the positive, but what if I did not HAVE those things to help me focus on the beauty that surrounds me? I am reading a book called "ON BECOMING AN ARTIST - Reinventing Yourself Through MINDFUL Creativity" (for the purpose of spurring my lazy butt into creating with my God given talent!), but what I am learning through it is not just for my artist side, but for my just living side. It helps me to remember that to be MINDFUL is what keeps me in the present and not the past, no matter where my body lives. "MINDFULNESS makes us sensitive to context and perspective . When we are MINDLESS, our behavior is governed by rules and routines." This can be true whether we eat breakfast, drive our car, talk to people, do our jobs, spend time with loved ones, or clean the toilet! We can BE there in the doing, or be MINDLESS in the doing. No matter what. And it is like everything else in our lives, unless we train ourselves to be mindful in the small mundane places in our life, we will NOT be able to do it in the more difficult places in our lives. You don't climb a mountain before walking around the blocks! My point, I guess in all this rambling, is to say to myself and to those of you who endure these ramblings, is to keep focused on today by training myself to be MINDFUL of today...of the moment...of the day...of the season.... whatever and wherever that is. As Seals and Crofts sang so melodiously, "We will never pass this way again" ...and one day is never like another....what did you miss today? What did I not see today in the squirrels chasing each other or the old lady that crossed the road in front of me? What did I not hear that came from my spouses heart and mind? What did I miss by not playing that game "just one more time" with my grand kids? I don't want to have lived a life of regret that I have seen so many others proclaim, but one of being mindful of everything around me. In THAT state of being, I can then reap my garden no matter what the circumstances, and glean the art that life is made of.<br />"The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we don't look with more than our eyes or listen with more than our ears, reveal only . . . the gardener, the stranger coming down the road behind us, a meal like any other meal. But if we look with our hearts, if we listen with all of our being and our imagination - if we live our lives not from vacation to vacation, from escape to escape, but from the miracle of one instant of our precious lives to the miracle of the next - what we may see is Jesus himself, what we may hear is the first faint sound of a voice somewhere deep within us . . . " --Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent DefeatLORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-79734433682328354332010-07-17T10:19:00.001-05:002010-07-17T10:25:46.595-05:00Alexi Murdoch - All my days<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JgsT-klFnXY&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JgsT-klFnXY&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br /><br />Well I have been searching all of my days<br />All of my days<br />Many a road, you know<br />I've been walking on<br />All of my days<br />And I've been trying to find<br />What's been in my mind<br />As the days keep turning into night<br />Well I have been quietly standing in the shade<br />All of my days<br />Watch the sky breaking on the promise that we made<br />All of this rain<br />And I've been trying to find<br />What's been in my mind<br />As the days keep turning into night<br />Well many a night I found myself with no friends standing near<br />All of my days<br />I cried aloud<br />I shook my hands<br />What am I doing here<br />All of these days<br />For I look around me<br />And my eyes confound me<br />And it's just too bright<br />As the days keep turning into night<br />Now I see clearly<br />It's you I'm looking for<br />All of my days<br />Soon I'll smile<br />I know I'll feel this loneliness no more<br />All of my days<br />For I look around me<br />And it seems He found me<br />And it's coming into sight<br />As the days keep turning into night<br />Now even breathing feels all right<br /><br />Just my simple thoughts this morning....the song describes my life over the past couple of years...even now its relevance hangs in the air over my shoulders....LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-73978671188579434122010-05-15T22:02:00.006-05:002010-05-15T22:27:37.257-05:00GRANDSGrandkids are indeed GRAND....especially ALL of mine....they bring smiles to my sometimes dreary world...they bring a lift to my spirit when it is down.....they do so very much for me by just being themselves....they don't have to impress me....they accept my love freely offered with no doubts and no demands....unpretentious....<br />My hope is that I am giving them something as well....that is is a mutual give and take.....perhaps that includes a history....perhaps that includes a listening heart.....perhaps that includes strength or stability....or maybe an unconditional love.... these and so much more are what my grandparents gave me. No, they did not replace my parents, but they gave such a great added dimension to my own soul...my own being....they were some of the most important people in my life....<br />I think my own children and others as well, can relate to that...maybe thats why the people who invented this language put the "GRAND " in front of GRANDchildren and GRANDparents......because it is <br />GRAND.....Thank you kids for all you bring into my life and all the lessons I learn from your simplicity.....I LOVE YOU A, B, C, D, I AND S......<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yL-SpG-63AlMi7I7aqw7zodcwETQdTlxuHS6cShpKTpxRrHyxRARfL_f_UbC5aIQK9yRHpreRFTGxV5akP8UPKtPK4ZdBSs1KSRUyZ2lNkZriGwTUNooxE0Nh-_EWzemMY-5/s1600/IMG_1604.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yL-SpG-63AlMi7I7aqw7zodcwETQdTlxuHS6cShpKTpxRrHyxRARfL_f_UbC5aIQK9yRHpreRFTGxV5akP8UPKtPK4ZdBSs1KSRUyZ2lNkZriGwTUNooxE0Nh-_EWzemMY-5/s320/IMG_1604.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471703511767091074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWayd1Wjpb5c_AnlbNCFCi6H0AMTwM-ea1Dyw9MaznqmLJmEe1vmRUb8ILmtRr_Ex4Iuwxedk8Gn60827HAtptes0jyS_LzNL2KRpq4AjkFAqnzCLoRGCHlCIwswFVGLeSn60c/s1600/IMG_1751.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWayd1Wjpb5c_AnlbNCFCi6H0AMTwM-ea1Dyw9MaznqmLJmEe1vmRUb8ILmtRr_Ex4Iuwxedk8Gn60827HAtptes0jyS_LzNL2KRpq4AjkFAqnzCLoRGCHlCIwswFVGLeSn60c/s320/IMG_1751.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471703502258011666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXSM1yKW0AVtTOVChuIMgqdgfBiONGiB1HLbLZVX8UwbwfZm6RfjmF2iTwYrctJAsxxor11LfFP2GBvlkNAkzYwh-GFzd4pEWTBQ9Q0EJK4FYTnjStWzGbl-_E0IFGGWkkRT3/s1600/IMG_2366.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXSM1yKW0AVtTOVChuIMgqdgfBiONGiB1HLbLZVX8UwbwfZm6RfjmF2iTwYrctJAsxxor11LfFP2GBvlkNAkzYwh-GFzd4pEWTBQ9Q0EJK4FYTnjStWzGbl-_E0IFGGWkkRT3/s320/IMG_2366.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471703494063218018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0tuA5bliivU9S5hsx9_3nzcZ6yA-ZQ8XAFISsiQlhkUzdI7VdPOnC2ININ-pByqcEz1UKDRLDZ6HdDj08WLmQVMi2EL5YvOWoZ7yQtfHa7colpju36iB3UDixtWmVuE3scyO/s1600/IMG_2475.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0tuA5bliivU9S5hsx9_3nzcZ6yA-ZQ8XAFISsiQlhkUzdI7VdPOnC2ININ-pByqcEz1UKDRLDZ6HdDj08WLmQVMi2EL5YvOWoZ7yQtfHa7colpju36iB3UDixtWmVuE3scyO/s320/IMG_2475.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471703492161609634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqqz4XdQbPdOB84noBoJWDMMjgiacqL43TseKvF1F4n2o5JePzt_ak1llAJbDpILc9cR27HBNIKvnXj0hIOp9JDdNQAvZsmKfEnZCRaI-hYZVVjOpDv5Vf2hyphenhyphenxnVdjsVIRwKk/s1600/IMG_2571.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqqz4XdQbPdOB84noBoJWDMMjgiacqL43TseKvF1F4n2o5JePzt_ak1llAJbDpILc9cR27HBNIKvnXj0hIOp9JDdNQAvZsmKfEnZCRaI-hYZVVjOpDv5Vf2hyphenhyphenxnVdjsVIRwKk/s320/IMG_2571.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471703478274166498" /></a>LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-27319616486226700592010-04-27T21:14:00.003-05:002010-04-27T21:26:54.015-05:00MY MY MYHow time flies!! As I sit here in my living room in beautiful Colorado, with my husband, dogs and cat, I think I become aware of just how much I have to be thankful for.....even though this has been hard on this ol gal (not an easy task to move from your birthplace at the ripe old age of 56), I do indeed have much to be thankful for. We are getting ready to make a trip up to Wyoming to be the grateful guests at our 6th grandchild's birth....amazing...really...am I THAT old?!!! To have 6 grandchildren?!!! Well....I come from a long line of healthy family.....my grandma was 95 when she passed into that other world....My parents are coming up on 80 and are still riding their motorcycles and driving 10 hours to see us...so it looks like i will be around for a little longer!<br />I sit here and listen to the music pouring out of my first husbands macbook....i see the 3 pound dog laying atop his comfortable belly....we smell the cool breeze as it blows through our pine trees and wafts into the house that sits atop a hill and overlooks the mountains....we are coming up on one of the most important anniversaries in our lives....the one that we celebrate our trial and tears of coming through a separation....of our commitment to this love we started over 37 years ago.....we celebrate the peace that accompanies pain......yes....there is much to be thankful for on this late April evening......may you celebrate your life, with all that it entails....and be thankful.....I never in my wildest dreams thought this life would or ever COULD be mine....but it is....I am a MAJOR dreamer and now I know that some of them really do come true.....not like the Hallmark movies, or the happily ever after junk....but the dreams of the heart to be known and to know.....as John Lennon said once in a beautiful song....."Ricko (yoko) and me..and thats reality the dream is over..."LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-29776053293760461852010-02-19T11:31:00.002-06:002010-02-19T12:01:48.382-06:00SHOVELINGYou know, you can learn a lot about life from the seemingly monotonous things of everyday ...IF, and that is a very big IF, you pay attention and listen to your life. Today, as I have seemingly done at least once a week now, I went out to shovel the snow that had fallen yesterday and through the night. I enjoy the outside so very much, so this is not a job I dread, rather one that I do indeed look forward to doing! I know, that in itself should prove my insanity. Nevertheless, as I shoveled this deep and dusty snow, so many thoughts started to ramble in my head, which is not unusual for me, but it is rare that I remember them long enough to write about! These thoughts are not earth shaking, but for me, thoughts like these need to be mulled over and meditated on so that I can squeeze out of them the nectar of knowledge that seems to elude most of us most of the time. So.....what the heck ARE these thoughts I go on and on about?!! Well, they are the thoughts of silence...about the things we miss all around us because we are so busy with theTHINGS around us....the huge crow up in the tall pine that caws at me each time I wreck his silent world by the shovel scraping the ground...It seems as though the sound of it is like our "nails on a chalkboard" sound to him...because he is silent when I am and starts making racket every time my shovel does its work. <br />Another thought that occurred to me is that shoveling snow is like my life....the snow comes only ever so often as do the troubles and trials that come to me...the snow, like my life, must be scraped off or else when we drive across it with the cars, it turns into ice that can not be shoveled but must melt with the warmth of the day. Like my life...when these trials come, they must be dealt with in the proper way, with the proper tools, in the proper time or the traffic of my life will only make it harder to scrap the hardened parts off....and they will only go away with time and the warmth of my Son....I have learned over the 50 plus years of my life, that I better get on it asap because I KNOW what it is like and I KNOW the difficulty that it is to deal with the ICED places of my heart and of my mind...it takes twice the energy and twice the time and is twice as hard if I don't deal with them as they come....as they fall like snow on my driveway.<br />It is also a great time to meet neighbors whom you have not seen or do not know yet. As I was shoveling in my newly acquired neighborhood, one of my neighbors came out to shovel her drive. We talked and shoveled and talked some more about our lives...I heard her stories and she heard mine....we found we have a lot in common and it was a JOY to speak with her. That would not happen if I was not out shoveling snow... and so it is with the "neighbors" we travel life's highway with whether they live in our house, our town, go to our church or work with us...if we do not shovel our own snow by sharing our lives and hearts and troubles and trials, we will never know their thoughts or hearts or minds...perhaps we don't WANT to know and if that is the case, we are worse off than we thought! I will never forget my mother in law telling us after her husband died that as he was dying and they were sharing their last moments together, that she told Rick, that she SO wanted to just say to him "a penny for your thoughts" but never did and how she SO regretted NOT asking him that question. Sad. But we are SO like that today in SO many ways...whether out of fear, or ignorance, or rushing around, or time, or (as is the case with me) don't want to "impose", BUT we loose the opportunity to know the others that come through our lives. We don't take the time and effort to know the ones we have been given and the ones that we are given to. So...take time to shovel, to think, to clear your soul mind and heart, to know the ones our lives touch...to know yourself. And please don't wait till those driveways of your soul become iced over.....go....now.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-73340525689974741102010-02-13T11:05:00.003-06:002010-02-13T11:20:30.696-06:00PROCRASTINATIONYou know, I am amused by this word....why does this particular word, whose meaning is not very positive, begin with the word PRO?!!!! It is not PRO to PROcrastinate!!! Anyway, all that to say that I MUST get to work on my art!!!! I have no excuses now but the ones I make up in my head....I have a specified room ready....I have it organized...I have TIME if I choose to....BUT,(and that is a big word here)...for some reason I have been putting it off. The LINK to the right of this blog titled by this same WORD, helped me today tremendously!!! So....I pass it on to you out there, whoever you may be,in blog land....perhaps it will help you in whatever area you are prone to this vile dis ease.....(yes, I meant to separate that word). I seem to be able to come up with so many excuses, reasons and virtual whinings but am realizing that it is just a matter of doing...of priority...of discipline.....all of which seem so elusive at times....BUT (there is that massive word again!) it CAN be done.....even I HAVE done it on several occasions!!! YES, it is a mind set...a habit...something to be lived and not disscused....to be grasped and not grovelled in...something to protect and not shoved back into the recesses of my life....SO, why am I even blogging about this? So that I can read it myself...remind myself...reprimand myself...reiterated to myself...regain FOR myself, the lost days and hours and minutes of sloughing off my LIFE!!! My LOVE!! My ABILITY!! To make myself accountable TO myself because in the end, that is who we are indeed accoutnable to......cheers my friends!LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-50694014327332774372010-01-19T21:36:00.002-06:002010-01-19T21:44:38.702-06:00SO MUCH FOR THAT!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmREhzqM-jOJSvAoq3Iw3BTrRMLjtPZLZGpnvEXP6LUwGTid9saOLZCGbO8OfWpa56tlKDTzJLIwCF2n8QpHqhAk3IeGqYPppYQTzvLa1hhkAQC0QxzNYWhlrsT95F8GuRbhae/s1600-h/IMG_2014.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmREhzqM-jOJSvAoq3Iw3BTrRMLjtPZLZGpnvEXP6LUwGTid9saOLZCGbO8OfWpa56tlKDTzJLIwCF2n8QpHqhAk3IeGqYPppYQTzvLa1hhkAQC0QxzNYWhlrsT95F8GuRbhae/s320/IMG_2014.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428662879812883218" /></a><br />You know....Facebook has its good stuff, myspace too, and all the things you can "do" on each of them....but somehow, still, no one is talking!!! No one shares their heart, thoughts, moods, questions, answers, problems, laughter.....it is just a quick fix to the rapidly dying art of writing....of journaling....of having to actually take more than the few seconds (FB) to communicate the depths of your soul.....it takes TIME....EFFORT....THOUGHT....all of which are in short supply these fast paced days....SO....<br />I am back.....back from the land of the LOST art of speak. I enjoy this, even if no one in this entire busy world reads it! I am back for my own sanity, for my own enjoyment, for my own knowledge and growth, for a look into more than the 2 sentence space on FB and MS. Oh, they have their niche, each one of them...it just so happens that the deeper niche is here....where you must take all the above and incorporate them in your own life in order to appreciate what is said from others hearts and souls to yours...that is ...IF you are willing to listen....LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-3494797961656556392009-07-07T16:21:00.007-05:002009-07-07T16:51:49.100-05:00The DeadNo...not the grateful dead (though I see the irony in those 2 words side by side), no peeps....looks like Ricky is right....blogs are dead it seems....my how things fly into and out of radar these days....too bad....it goes the way of the newspaper....the way of the diary or the handwritten journal....the handwritten letter that you looked forward to from your grandma or friend....yes, some deaths are slow and lengthy, but apparently not the blog....it was like a massive heart attack....taken over by the twitbookningplurk social networking thingy....and yet IS it?!! IS it really SOCIAL? Hmmm..... lets see...SOCIAL - "marked by friendly companionship with others; "a social cup of coffee"...."living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups; "...."Inclined to seek out or enjoy the company of others; sociable."... these are only a few of the online (yes, online!) definitions....so.....see for yourself if you think these "social networks" seem indeed "social". I think they, like blogs, just make it easier NOT to be "social"....yes, they get you in contact with people you would not otherwise be in contact with, but do you truly socialize? Do you know about these friends of yours in a deeper way? Do you understand their hearts any clearer? Hard to do unless it is a slower time of face to face contact or at the least a decent phone conversation......conversation, facial expressions, body language, tears, anger, unbelief, not listening, the heart felt touch of another.....all this and more, lack in today's way of socializing....too bad.....we all miss out by going this direction.... and yet, to do or be otherwise, is not to be "up to date" with the times.....and for what.....so that we can be connected to people we don't really know or have time to really care about? So that we are connected with some tweet from someone or some entity that we get "news" from? And the thing is, is that it is "news" that we just belly ache about getting ANYWAY!!! The world is full of this madness.....so? So, step outside the tech box and into your neighbors yard.....into your friends or familes hearts....into the grocery store and the clerks day....bring some real sunshine to real people in this ever changing but real life that we supposedly "live".....me? I will keep writing here and there and everywhere....why? because I enjoy the art of it. Me? I will walk next door to talk to the old man taking care of his 93 year old mom and try to brighten his day or offer help. Me? I will cook for the friend who can't because she is sick. Me? I will look into the eyes of the people I come in contact with today and let them know there is light out here in this sometimes dark and care LESS world that seems to be so wrapped up in its own technology. Nothing wrong with it....I am using it NOW!!! But watch out.....it can take the place of truly knowing someone....of truly speaking your heart to a breathing living person....it can replace what is true and right and down your own road everyday in the EYES of the people you pass by or look away from as you send your IM/TWEET/FACEBOOKING important texts.....as I point the finger at the world at large, 4 other fingers MUST point back at myself.....yes, I see that hand...er finger.....nope, I won't stop blogging, as a matter of fact, I have 2! One for the ones who want to KNOW me and those who want to know ABOUT me. Whether they are read or not, or taken interest in or not, whether anyone freakin cares or not, is NOT the point....the point....to speak my heart....to listen to others replies, to spark thought and conversations with those I DO care about.....Take the good and leave the rest.....<br />"<span style="font-weight:bold;">Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."</span><br />Mark Twain (1835-1910)LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-70096348295710365052009-05-08T20:59:00.002-05:002009-05-08T21:14:56.329-05:00COME ON!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gCv-S4N9B6IrsUgDlSKZ0s6jD1EcLqVXnEwqJ5eM9tc-iUEiztruK0rUoxnANuDOqdEw_HkMMBRuaB8nBE_cNhEez8hND_rv6tLnYwKaVYXzHJi_KyG7zF7DBmgPpevgWNHC/s1600-h/DSC_0469.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gCv-S4N9B6IrsUgDlSKZ0s6jD1EcLqVXnEwqJ5eM9tc-iUEiztruK0rUoxnANuDOqdEw_HkMMBRuaB8nBE_cNhEez8hND_rv6tLnYwKaVYXzHJi_KyG7zF7DBmgPpevgWNHC/s320/DSC_0469.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333641951561533970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjaV7gaEaD4tmAQmXqljJu37ezFZT15Gsb9siix0KxVnqghvW2NLXZjUm1QEfaf8AAtmtqBTINIBT91dmbVFrujGTV8Jbq0CJm1TXxdkaQ0cdk5NgNQygu4Oz6ZVohunZWmfc/s1600-h/DSC_0416.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjaV7gaEaD4tmAQmXqljJu37ezFZT15Gsb9siix0KxVnqghvW2NLXZjUm1QEfaf8AAtmtqBTINIBT91dmbVFrujGTV8Jbq0CJm1TXxdkaQ0cdk5NgNQygu4Oz6ZVohunZWmfc/s320/DSC_0416.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333641948350889250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCv1jd8TkF9FZ2kf1jhEljryfK-qFFaVrE8UnGULIlHoidj7H_NpJzVN7ICQCfVjX5hJj8nMaKYMw20Fq9S0lfCHts_9MQKlsud16N4TdW2UID7KVXam_EEDhxfU9o4fjAVurC/s1600-h/DSC_0388.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCv1jd8TkF9FZ2kf1jhEljryfK-qFFaVrE8UnGULIlHoidj7H_NpJzVN7ICQCfVjX5hJj8nMaKYMw20Fq9S0lfCHts_9MQKlsud16N4TdW2UID7KVXam_EEDhxfU9o4fjAVurC/s320/DSC_0388.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333641941456589170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvJGIonuoJEF6CX0buvzltzZT0pnopgGkBzenPSCcAz_2RZZ-IOk_5N1AlLmTtoVpaQ9ge7a3qQ5ZXmekeELbljkaGYgPsKy00ml5NwDAWVT0JbDLzvr0CJA6Qw5zJReo4Ogt/s1600-h/DSC_0344.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvJGIonuoJEF6CX0buvzltzZT0pnopgGkBzenPSCcAz_2RZZ-IOk_5N1AlLmTtoVpaQ9ge7a3qQ5ZXmekeELbljkaGYgPsKy00ml5NwDAWVT0JbDLzvr0CJA6Qw5zJReo4Ogt/s320/DSC_0344.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333641937262342178" /></a><br />Okay...how many more pictures of mountains can you post!!! Lots is the answer. This is but a smattering, trust me....so far I think I have taken around 800? Don't worry, I won't force you to look at them. But just want to post the last day for your enjoyment...and mine....Can't believe it has already been a week....we celebrated our 1st vow anniversary at a fondue place here in Banff....lovely. We went over to the Kootenay National Park today....again...spectacular. This has been the best vacation and the best of times with eachother....I would never have dreamed or even feigned to hope that I would be at this place in my life....both physically in the Canadian Rockies, or emotionally with my husband. Both have been breathtaking. Both have exceeded even MY expectations....I am happy, whatever that is ....for you.....for me, it is having my husband be my best friend, my love, my life and have that returned many times over....it has been a short time and a long time both at the SAME time...how does that happen? Anyway....so we live another day...paying attention to our own lives and the lives of eachother. It works. Ciao!LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-57556713536608598532009-05-07T18:25:00.004-05:002009-05-07T18:43:11.234-05:00Huh?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrZ_dMT_0d_TqE4CaKKpQs8z8bdeGkUTCrY5bagZe6JxKOvjISgHv_tz0FXWneHrCiiI7xR9oZNTaX6pPg1DnHFefVegZ3_dJPJ920Ef3py1VSDqlMd3xhZQ7JNwBfAnQiioF/s1600-h/DSC_0015.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrZ_dMT_0d_TqE4CaKKpQs8z8bdeGkUTCrY5bagZe6JxKOvjISgHv_tz0FXWneHrCiiI7xR9oZNTaX6pPg1DnHFefVegZ3_dJPJ920Ef3py1VSDqlMd3xhZQ7JNwBfAnQiioF/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333231472022266594" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIhIvkM-ZD4OaE1yqg_3_wXd6wxmgDfQL1FasR5ca9l4so6GynMTqrzHq7iTVDISDd0O7tm_ZC5giQVJduBmixBFUWlf0YSxeUW1utW-qWb6tldcEzt3Fmr8PLXlpoTyT5-Rw/s1600-h/DSC_0219.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIhIvkM-ZD4OaE1yqg_3_wXd6wxmgDfQL1FasR5ca9l4so6GynMTqrzHq7iTVDISDd0O7tm_ZC5giQVJduBmixBFUWlf0YSxeUW1utW-qWb6tldcEzt3Fmr8PLXlpoTyT5-Rw/s320/DSC_0219.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333231462652685506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOfUYQ5goBBvLsAFMy82E4Eh45bIR306x0Eu1b3LYkgBGwK55TiKr6ePJZ6zHPdv967tdyoxqVNBXxvxf5IWck84vkAN-H7pGM1oOJoXf4ukKAmBrgkPG3CkHSGkGcNWLGrX7/s1600-h/DSC_0232.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOfUYQ5goBBvLsAFMy82E4Eh45bIR306x0Eu1b3LYkgBGwK55TiKr6ePJZ6zHPdv967tdyoxqVNBXxvxf5IWck84vkAN-H7pGM1oOJoXf4ukKAmBrgkPG3CkHSGkGcNWLGrX7/s320/DSC_0232.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333231459582066610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcO_vR_SeSSZuhb_NqyMbVLcFdTaoheKLqbgtNaKQgfS-wZH5jy88QqLLCVAcL6rWoRF7_zCPCjydlZl2O4cYckFO4CNbvnFsvwJZ-F1AvppnrTyvPyR-Zfd_JiY6L4Sj8LSuZ/s1600-h/DSC_0304.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcO_vR_SeSSZuhb_NqyMbVLcFdTaoheKLqbgtNaKQgfS-wZH5jy88QqLLCVAcL6rWoRF7_zCPCjydlZl2O4cYckFO4CNbvnFsvwJZ-F1AvppnrTyvPyR-Zfd_JiY6L4Sj8LSuZ/s320/DSC_0304.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333229914843348418" /></a><br />Woke up late this morning...ahhh....the joys of vacation....it was snowing outside, the stillness here is almost deafening....I have forgotten what quiet in nature sounds like...it is peace. As I sat out on the back porch overlooking the pines and pinnacles of the Canadian Rockies, a HUGE native raven flew on to the porch to share the stillness awhile with me before taking off to find his breakfast I am sure....just hope it is not going to be my little morning friend the ground squirrel....he comes out daily for me to see his beauty and work ethics. The day held everything in it. The snow, the rain, the clouds, the light reflecting off the seasons last snow....the air is cool and dry and crisp....not like home where you can literally smother to death just getting to your car some days....it it refreshing with every breath and with every site my sore eyes see....here, again is just a smattering of pictures for you to drool over...and for me to cherish when I get back to the Oklahoma heat! Enjoy as I have....again, check my flicker on the slideshow to enjoy more...LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-54891077894227632932009-05-04T22:27:00.005-05:002009-05-04T23:04:32.382-05:00OH CANADA! FER SURE!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRBVZ-4uEDXjcS9Qv1uIvyNnnd2eqGeKlAuytmy3_r9ireO2KhQ-Ot8G4agaM5MSSIhNBdpCef13DlJeNZ5o7uhlErf-u8_1-klH3iWh8OOwgJX9xhk8F-DjXRDsqYFNLNNw4/s1600-h/DSC_0097.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRBVZ-4uEDXjcS9Qv1uIvyNnnd2eqGeKlAuytmy3_r9ireO2KhQ-Ot8G4agaM5MSSIhNBdpCef13DlJeNZ5o7uhlErf-u8_1-klH3iWh8OOwgJX9xhk8F-DjXRDsqYFNLNNw4/s320/DSC_0097.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332181834832961170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0O5tr18dVzzCyjDsQJ0GrYDJqgM_pgVJj0mHD9RhJLTeqxttuo5qyvWx6nUi488AOXkx2w10y2cyaQ_mvsI0jS-6Q1rzuk2Bo6sZFePuTCxzGVwfuqnxZb2-TXc6lYro0bQY/s1600-h/DSC_0009.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0O5tr18dVzzCyjDsQJ0GrYDJqgM_pgVJj0mHD9RhJLTeqxttuo5qyvWx6nUi488AOXkx2w10y2cyaQ_mvsI0jS-6Q1rzuk2Bo6sZFePuTCxzGVwfuqnxZb2-TXc6lYro0bQY/s320/DSC_0009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332181827307836418" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFW0r4__r5NrK9sSCUBOGVbpwKrgbLOdwP0YNfCBbgxjyYk6MzDBX1wwnbW4aBRTAwtLew-gFXLqEJCH3QVq9QCsURtVVsV36CpMAxQuRpxAfws-0LO_NrxhsTc7_xaR8n-xFS/s1600-h/DSC_0143.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFW0r4__r5NrK9sSCUBOGVbpwKrgbLOdwP0YNfCBbgxjyYk6MzDBX1wwnbW4aBRTAwtLew-gFXLqEJCH3QVq9QCsURtVVsV36CpMAxQuRpxAfws-0LO_NrxhsTc7_xaR8n-xFS/s320/DSC_0143.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332180852008673378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHMdmNZTDk1fB7UOxkKV4WJMyrAoGLX1RPHmdkY48qD5qYxNyY5EJy4qiePofkI1GfK8vfpz0zAV7ANBdclBR8rNZcxMuNeBuZLAgC0L7suqVv_oZngnA211SboBvTdsMkBkl/s1600-h/DSC_0251.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHMdmNZTDk1fB7UOxkKV4WJMyrAoGLX1RPHmdkY48qD5qYxNyY5EJy4qiePofkI1GfK8vfpz0zAV7ANBdclBR8rNZcxMuNeBuZLAgC0L7suqVv_oZngnA211SboBvTdsMkBkl/s320/DSC_0251.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332180065075073298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0Q8enkRUvCC-FvrY14i64X3TXDobjOy59HgMdkQr5U7w69wbhmWlPRDnEk_hlOJcIXVVJCWmhwiM3N2hFrVINs5pKAhjdN6AXZStIq-gXiesCND-3EYRnCNYA5iFrmVMekuo/s1600-h/DSC_0084.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0Q8enkRUvCC-FvrY14i64X3TXDobjOy59HgMdkQr5U7w69wbhmWlPRDnEk_hlOJcIXVVJCWmhwiM3N2hFrVINs5pKAhjdN6AXZStIq-gXiesCND-3EYRnCNYA5iFrmVMekuo/s320/DSC_0084.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332180061154435922" /></a><br />Okay...this is so stinking beautiful!! It has taken our breath away around every corner! You were right Uncle Donnie!! On Sunday, we mosied down to the town of Banff which is only about 2 minutes from the Buffalo Lodge. It was the weekend and fairly full of tourists, but still a good time just looking in shops and at people. Today, we took off and went down highway 1A up to Lake Louise...O.M.GOSH how gorgeous!! Then we took highway 1 or the Trans Canadian Highway up through Yoho National Park, into Golden British Columbia, down to Glacier National Park and back to Banff. Unbelievable sites we saw. The mountain range here just supercedes the Colorado Rockies by a long shot!! And of course, the pictures do NOT do it justice. The water is clear and blue and green and snow and, and, and....here are a few pics, but someday, you MUST see this for yourselves!<br />P.S. click on the slideshow to the right and see more pics!LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-70828229197941547382009-04-22T20:35:00.001-05:002009-04-22T20:35:35.801-05:00Richardson East Cardboard Testimonies<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/n7O7JsJQ788' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/n7O7JsJQ788'/></object></p><p>We could be on that stage.....broken marriage, second chance...</p></div>LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-75391650644306105752009-04-11T22:25:00.002-05:002009-04-11T22:31:16.650-05:00Happy Easter......<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2602229&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2602229&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/2602229">"The Children's Song" - Josh Garrels</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/joshgarrels">Josh Garrels</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-92075512748495712442009-04-07T21:06:00.002-05:002009-04-07T21:33:05.656-05:00SPRING!!!!Yep....after lots of beautiful snow and a hard freeze, I am betting that spring is here to stay!!! So...I planted my flower beds, (which have been a barren wasteland), and am going to plant my very prolific garden (which takes up half of our already small backyard!) in hope and faith that the North Wind will not decide to blow this way again until around November!!!<div>Our house is coming along great. Our relationship seems to resemble our house. More compact, not so much junk, going through a total remodel, taking lots of time and patience to accomplish what we want and where we want to go, is a pain in the royal ass at times, but is very gratifying to see the results. Lots of hard work in both of these remodels. It has been very interesting and enlightening working on this house and our realationship at the same time and seeing how so MUCH of it comparable. When you plant new plants, you realize that you are doing the same with our realtionship. When you clean out the accumulated crap for a garage sale, we do the same cleaning out of the crap in the relationship. When you try to tweek the little annoying things in your house to make it a home, we do the same with eachother and ourselves tweeking and making just right and better and more appealing, to ourselves. Etc....It is coming on close to a year now folks and I can't wait for May 1st to be here and gone. We are reminded every single day of what last years <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">upheaval</span> cost us. We talk about it, we cry about it, we forgive about it, we try to forget some of the things about it, but we will never rid ourselves of the scars that remain. It was a major transforming blow but neither of us would trade it for all the world would have to offer us. The tragedy of the past is becoming the stepping stones to our future. We could not be where we are today without it. And just exactly where is it, you ask, that we ARE today? Well, I don't think you have that much time to read....but in a Readers Digest version, we are free. Free to be the people we lost or never had become. Free to love the way it was intended to be......respecting one another and our individual opinions....caring for the other more than ourselves.....mindful of the others feelings and thoughts (important notice: you must KNOW those before you can be mindful of them)......tenderly sacrificing....ever mindful and always aware totally of the hell we lived in and the the heaven we both desire to attain. Not picture perfect, but I swear....I only dreamed that life would be this good. I even ask Rick at times if this is real.....he is different, but I am different too. I can be strong and not bitchy. I can have an opinion without it always having to be right. I can make it on my own if need be. I can <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">admit</span> when I am wrong. I can live and not fear the next move from my husband. I can breathe and grow inside my own soul. We have a long way to go, but we have come so far in such a short time... God has blessed us. That is the meaning of "blessing"....doing more than would be humanly possible. Like Ricks counselor told him...."Don't push the river, it will flow by itself". We are not pushing, we are living and flowing and learning about <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">each other</span>, God and ourselves. It has exceeded my hopes, and that, for a dreamer like me, is saying a lot.</div><div>So think of us on the 1st of May.....it was a true Mayday last year, but this year, it will be a different May 1st...one with flowers hopefully.</div>LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23116880.post-66879546881505026112009-03-03T16:36:00.002-06:002009-03-03T16:47:26.582-06:00MOODY BLUESBreathe deep the gathering gloom<div>Watch lights fade from every room</div><div>Bedsitter people look back and lament</div><div>Another day's useless energy is spent</div><div><br /></div><div>Impassioned lovers wrestle as one</div><div>Lonely man cries for love and has none</div><div>New mother picks up and suckles her son</div><div>Senior citizens wish they were young</div><div><br /></div><div>Cold hearted orb that rules the night </div><div>Removes the colours from our sight</div><div>Red is grey and yellow white</div><div>But we decide which is right</div><div><br /></div><div>And which is an illusion</div>LORD I MUST HAVE BEEN BLINDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03498678066595626675noreply@blogger.com0