I went walking the other day. It was early in the morning with a bit of rain, just a drizzle.
I came across this group of pigeons eating breakfast.
Then I saw this pipe thing on a tree. What do you think it is for?
Then some flowers.
I enjoy mornings when everything is waking up and coming alive.
Have a great weekend!
Just as soon as the tulips came and we were in awe of them, now they are gone. As I walked yesterday, I noticed that roses are blooming. Pink is my favorite color, so I loved this.
At this time of year, I always think of St Therese of Lisieux who on her deathbed said she would “shower us with roses from Heaven.” They say if you pray a novena to St Therese, you will know she heard your prayer, because she’ll deliver a rose to you. WELL, not hand delivered, but you will find or see a rose and instinctively KNOW it’s from her, she has heard your prayer.
This happened to me! Years ago, I had been laid off my job. It was Spring, I saw roses and thought of her, so prayed for guidance. I waited, looked, hoped — nothing!
Until one day, I was at a coffee shop. I finished my coffee, went to throw my cup away outside and there was a bouquet of roses in a glass vase sitting by the garbage area. WHAT?? How strange and MIRACULOUS at the same time. Not one rose, but many. Now, granted, they were by the trash on their last leg, but to me, who had prayed – I KNEW they were my sign. Something “good” would happen. Yes, a job soon came!
So, on this bright sunny Wednesday, I wish you ALL a special day full of roses!! Look for your sign!
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.
Have a great weekend!
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.
Glad I took that walk when I did!
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?
Would you watch it?
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.
What are you/we waiting for?
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.
Happy exercising — Enjoy!
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.
Brilliant Viewpoint 