Today is Mother’s Day. My daughters had asked me earlier in the week, “What do you want to do for Mother’s Day!”
I chuckled… They were thinking breakfast, coffee, etc. I had another idea. For years, I’ve been talking to my daughters about Dragon Boat Racing. I was on a team in Seattle and also rowed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Teams are all over the world! It’s a lot of fun. Anyone can join. Yes, the teams want to win, but they also like to have fun. It’s similar to Ultimate Frisbee, the more the merrier. So, I told them I’d love for them to come to a new beginner practice.
Good news, they were on board. We’ve never been in a canoe together, so this should be a fun outing.
Oh, in the photo, you see that coyote on the dock?! He was added there to stop the birds from pooping. I’m told he does a very good job.
Have fun, make it a great day! Happy Mother’s Day!
If you have an IPhone, you probably have the feature where Apple shares a daily “memory” from your photos. Sometimes the photos are endearing, other times, I think, “WHAT, why haven’t I deleted that!”
Today, the memory was of New Year’s Eve. I’ve moved on from 2023, so why did Apple choose THAT memory. At the same time, I felt I needed to be respectful, as it was the Virgin Mary or my Guardian Angel who might have wanted me to have this nice memory.
On New Year’s Eve, I was visiting a friend. We needed exercise, went walking. At a long stop light, I happened to look up and I saw this gold dome with the Virgin Mary. Of course, I had to walk over.
I thought I would have a view of the golden dome in front of the church. Instead, I saw this Manger scene on the top of the building. This church had no grassy area, so they got creative.
I walked to the side of the building, again, I could not get a clear look of the Virgin Mary on the dome. Even on the back side, NOPE. Interesting design for this building. The Virgin Mary looks down into the church.
So, I’ll admit, I am smiling. Signs from Heaven come when we least expect them. Like today.
I have a 94 year old friend who is not doing well. I take this as a sign, a reminder, check in with her.
Have a wonderful day! I’m off to make that phone call! 💕
Do you have funny thoughts when you are walking? I went to visit a friend. We were walking the neighborhood. As we were talking, I stopped, giggled and had to take this picture.
I’ve always enjoyed gardening. Trimming the hedges, raking leaves, etc. I saw this bush, and immediately wished I had my gardening sheers with me. All those funny shoots sticking out, needed trimming.
Further on our walk, we came across this gigantic sunflower. Isn’t it amazing?
All alone, it grew so tall in such glory. There is a daintiness in this sunflower’s stance too.
There is beauty all around us. We just have to slow down to see it.
Life is interesting. Yesterday, I knew I needed to go walking, but I was going back and forth on “when.” You know how that is. One side of our mind says, “DO IT NOW,” but the other side says, “It’s cold outside, wait until later when it has warmed up.” The good old excuses.
I decided to get it done. Near the park where I walk there is a Catholic Church. When I go walking, I always stop and visit Jesus, say a quick prayer, and continue walking.
When I got to Jesus, I was amazed to look up and see the sun shinning perfectly on his face and his right arm/hand as if he was going to bless my head. Might sound silly, but as I was raised a Catholic, that was the first thing that popped in my mind.
I did apologize to Jesus for not going to Sunday mass. I just don’t enjoy it. I go to church when I want to. I like to go during the week, just pop in, sit for a few minutes in the quite dark church with many candles lit and feel at peace for a few minutes. OR as I mentioned, make a point of walking by church and stopping by when I go walking. That offers comfort too. No matter what struggles, we know we are not alone.
In the end, I would say most of us feel we are spiritual, we do believe in prayer or God or “something,” and we pray “our way.” That’s the best. My mother always liked the Buddhist teachings. We can pray anywhere.
There are so many things we need to pray about right now. Wars in Ukraine/Russia, now Israel, natural disasters, the migrant situation, inflation, illnesses, family/friends passing away, the list goes on.
So, I say, “Thank you, Jesus, for making me smile.” The sun shinning on you, was special indeed.
So, is this going to happen? An MMA fight between Twitter and Facebook.
At first, I thought it was someone making a joke or trying to fuel the flame between the two. However, it does seem that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are in talks to take their competitiveness to the ring. It’s a good reason/goal to get in shape.
If this fight happens, wherever it happens, it would bring billions in revenue. So, greed would win over humanity?
Isn’t there enough violence in the world without adding a spectacle like this?
Have you heard of Pub Cruisers? Lots of cities have them. A fun 2-3 hour tour of the city, accommodates 16 people. Drink beer, get exercise and stop at bars/restaurants along the way.
I happened to see this group going by in Michigan. They were having a great time.
Life is funny. I went through a drawer and found my old Ipod. I knew there was good music on there and different podcasts I used to listen to, so found my headphones and went out walking.
It was GREAT, so many songs I haven’t listened to in a long time.
This one by Freddie Stroma came up, “Possibilities.” It’s a really sweet sounding song. I was going to share the song from YouTube, but it looks like YouTube might be taking our “sharing” options away, at least for THIS song.
People ask me, how do you get things done? I look at them in surprise. Why, I multi-task, of course. I can do a zillion things at one time. Like a video in full speed. It’s true.
This weekend, for example, I needed to clean my windows, but I also needed to go walking. The weather was so nice, I wanted to read my book at the park. As I was thinking about what “choice” to make, I realized I could listen to an audio book while I cleaned the windows and when I walked. BRILLIANT IDEA!
The key is the narrators . I started searching the library for books. Luckily, we can play a sample, so it was an immediate thumbs up or thumbs down.
By chance, I found The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth. The storyline is good, set in Crete during WWII, so I could learn a little bit about their culture. I was pleasantly surprised with a multi cast of narrators. Normally, there is just one narrator. I’m always amused how narrators are fantastic at portraying a woman’s voice, a man, a child, a grandparent, etc. — it’s really entertaining — and that they remember throughout the book what voice they need to use for each character.
If you’re not a fan of audio, you should give it a try. Gee, you can garden, wash your car, chop vegetables while listening to a good book. Definitely worth it!
Share what you’ve been reading. I’m always on the lookout for something new to read.
Last night, I was looking for a show to watch on MHz Choice, an international streaming app. As I was browsing, I saw this movie, “Rivals Forever – The Sneaker Battle.” You can tell from the photo that this looked interesting. German subtitles.
Imagine my surprise when the story turns out to be about the sneaker brands, Adidas and Puma. I had no idea these brands were German and created by two brothers. If you don’t know the story, I don’t want to give it away. Definitely, interesting and eye opening. A great, but sad story.
Let’s face it, winter can challenge our exercise routine. Below zero temps outside force us to stay inside. Some people can walk in place to a video, for me that is B-O-R-I-N-G. I just can’t do it. I’d go insane.
I introduce you to the perfect sock I found for TOUGH days. Yes, when I saw this sock, I thought – it is the answer. Wearing a mean scary bear on my feet would motivate me to weather the storm, right?!
One of my daughters was on board, she loved it. The other one said, “But he looks so scary.”
To which I replied, “That’s the point! Sometimes we need to push ourselves. Take control, “tough it out,” motivate ourselves in a funny way to brave the cold weather. These bear socks do that – LOL.”
Have you ever worn the Darn Tough brand of sock? Made in Vermont, U.S.A. They are the Mercedes of socks. Yes, smooth, light, slick and high end. Oh, and colorful. As soon as I put them on I could tell the difference from my less expensive socks. I was ready to climb the mountain.
However, something was wrong, seriously wrong. They were so narrow. Yes, so tight fitting. I double checked the package. It’s the right size. Why so narrow. I imagined how the Chinese women felt years ago when they bound their feet. So, I need to call the company and sort this out.
Some good news. If you look at the packaging, it says, “Guaranteed for Life!” That means there is hope for an exchange. Maybe a Men’s Medium? By the way, my feet are normal size, nothing unusual.
Their website is amusing. Funny that they need to say they don’t guarantee one sock lost in the laundry, a sock being burned or animal destruction. I’m sure there are other disclaimers. They do show some of the returned socks. Definitely worn – with love – not sure about that, but worn, for sure.
We have great weather for walking, but snow is headed our way. No more time to write. I’ve got to call the company, get a new pair of socks – PRONTO!
Listen to David Goggins on Spotify, he gets you motivated!
Brilliant Viewpoint 