Maggie

I've been going through my photo archives, processing some images that I'd previously overlooked. Today, I gave Maggie a makeover. She is the fur-baby of my dear friend Susan. She's one of the sweetest and most protective dogs I've ever known.

Plus, she has a great name ... and eyes.

Maggie

My World Today

Outside my window...
Dappled light
Trees throwing shadows
on bushes

I am thinking...
About ironing a shirt, sewing on a button,
Watching Top Chef

I am thankful for...
My daughter Jodie
She brings so much fun into my life (like hand puppets!)

From the kitchen...
Dinner in the making
Grilled pork and chicken, cucumber and tomato salad,
fresh melon, sugar-free pudding

I am wearing...
My standard "uniform"
Black exercise pants and a gray t-shirt

I am creating...
Small stitched items
Bookmarks for friends

I am going...
To Corvallis, Oregon
Jodie wants to check out the university there

I am reading...
Another Newbury award book:
Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz

I am hoping...
Our Julie has a safe journey home.
She gets to visit for two weeks!

I am hearing...
The neighbor's sprinklers endlessly running
Dale starting up the BBQ

Around the house...
A bit of redecorating
New bedroom furniture arrives on Saturday

One of my favorite things...
Bejeweled Blitz
I can't seem to play that game enough these days

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Lunch with Dale tomorrow, touch up painting,
sleeping in my own bedroom
Art on the Green

Summer Reading

I did a pleasant little something for myself last week that I've not done in quite some time: read a children's novel just for the fun of it.

I love children's books. So much action and character development needs to happen is a short number of pages and a limited breadth of vocabulary. I've been enthralled with these books ever since working in the Children's Room of the Fullerton Public Library when I was in college.

Some of my favorite books are the Newbury award winners. I collect these books, along with the Caldecott award winners for picture book excellence.

Wanting a change of pace from my usual non-fiction fare, I pulled The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars off my bookshelf. It's a lovely coming of age story of 14 year old Sara. She's coming to terms with wanting to fit in, having to rethink difficult relationships, and wanting to grow up to be like her big sister. The story centers around Sara's relationship with her mentally disabled younger brother, Charlie.

One summer day, Sara took Charlie to the local lake to see the swans. Charlie was enthralled and didn't want to go back home. That night, Charlie got out of bed to go find the swans by himself. But he got confused and lost. As the person who knew Charlie better than anyone else in the world, Sara was determined to find him.

It's a very nice story about how a young woman begins to work out for herself what is important and how she chooses to face her challenges. Sara also learns the value of trusting her own judgment about the character of others by the way they act.

Beautiful North Idaho

[ click for larger view ... it's worth it ]

Lake Pend Oreille

pronounced "pon-dor-ay"

Macro Monday - The Berries

They look like they've been polished!

The Berries

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Macro Monday is easy to play,

snap a macro (or close-up) photo,
post it on your blog
then go to Lisa's Chaos
and sign Mr Linky.

Sunday Secrets: July 25, 2010

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I find it to be an insightful sociological experiment.

These three secrets tickled my fancy today:

I wish I'd been as inventive when my kids were little!

Lovin' my 50s!

Don't exactly know what this means,
but I love the image.

Fleur

Fleur



I caught a patch of flowers blooming in dappled light on a street corner.







Thought I'd try a different size/shape.
This was fun.

Daisy Days

Our neighborhood is breaking out in clumps of daisies.
Hmmm.
That looks much prettier than it sounds.

Daisy Days

Daylily

My neighbors have the loveliest gardens. On my walk this morning, I captured these blooms with my phone's camera.

Daylily

Life in a Day

Want to join in?







Oh! Another opportunity to participate in a grand sociological experiment!

Want to Go for a Ride?

Hop into my boat!



Oh how perceptions change over time!

Sunday Secrets: July 18, 2010

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I find it to be an insightful sociological experiment.

These two secrets from today both
tell a story of broken and lost relationships,
and the residual feelings one feels.

He sank.
I'm still standing.

Songs. Aromas. News events. Stories. Touch.
The way light enters the room.

Gratitude: Jodie is 17!

Happy Birthday, Jodie!

Talking to her sister, Julie, this morning.

[ click for a larger image ]

* * * * *

Weekly Gratitude
For 52 weeks, count your blessings and document them once each week

Head Trip

I don't know if this means anything to my readers but ...

I got a CRAZY HIGH SCORE in Bejeweled Blitz this morning!

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I find it to be an insightful sociological experiment. Today's secrets didn't inspire me very much, but these two are worth a second look.

Why is it that reading about other folks'
passive aggressive behavior
always tickles my fancy?

It's awfully hard to impress me by what you drive.
HOW you drive is a different story!

Be Prepared!

July 9: Ready for Winter

My Little Town

Last week I stopped by the waterfall for which my town is named, Post Falls. Our falls are dammed for electric power, and only a couple of the gates are open now so that the Spokane River and Lake Coeur d'Alene (upstream) are full for summer water fun.

This image is of the graceful bridge which spans the Spokane River just below the falls. In the foreground you can see some of the eddies created by the water rushing over the rocks and dam. Then the river smooths out as it travels north and west into Spokane.

On My Morning Walk

My husband and I got an early start today, so decided to go out to breakfast before he had to head into work. The restaurant we like is about two miles from home. So as he drove into the office, I had a nice walk home in the perfect 67º morning air.


About a third of the way home, this gorgeous clematis was crawling up one side of a chain link fence and cascading down the other. I've never seen clematis blooms quite this big before. The flowers were stretching east into the morning sun.

Look into the background and you'll see the deep red roses climbing the fence beside these purple blooms. Such wonderful, intense color on this pristine day.

I was glad I had my camera-phone with me!

Sunday Secrets: July 04, 2010

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I find it to be an insightful sociological experiment. These two secrets made me smile this morning:

Back roads are the best roads.
They let you slow down and enjoy.

Dale and I are painting our bedroom now.
Oh, how nice if change IS in our future!

Sunday Secrets: June 26, 2010

So, I'm almost a full week behind. That's OK. I had an excellent trip last week and it's taking me a bit of time to get back into the groove of home life.

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. I find it to be an insightful sociological experiment. These four secrets caught my attention last Sunday:

I'm one of those oddballs that does generally read directions and owner's manuals. I tip my hat to those who figure things out without having to read directions. I also growl at those who refuse to read directions yet complain about the task at hand. It's just not that hard, folks.

On back: I hope you come back soon!

The best part of my day used to be picking up mail at the PO box. I heard you broke your ankle, so don't work there any more ... and I hear you're not coming back. Poo.

On back: Enjoy!

Oh, I am so tempted to do this to one particular nemesis. But I believe in karma, so I refrain.


A sentiment carried by three of my favorite atheists. They are much better lovers than some theists I know!