Friday Shoot Out - the letter M

It was amazing to me how much of my town does NOT start with the letter M! I had to stretch a bit!!!

An 1800's map of Cochise County.

A gift from Hubby. I love mooses.

One of my favorite vases.

My two year old Mulberry tree. I think it's decided to stay.

Mimosa tree in the south 40 (back yard).

The Mall. Or what passes as a mall.

They are awesome!

Crazy people, but they're very fun!

Protecting the mailbox, no doubt.

This is a military town. We have intelligence training here and the fort employs about 13,000 civilians. Not sure there would be a town without it.

My bike that I have been threatening to get out & ride!

That's all I got people! Have a wonderful weekend!

Any Takers?

Anybody want a dog?

Cute, but an otherwise lazy bum!

A dog with a ferocious addiction!

I mean it.

Totally, out of control addiction to:

I KNOW! It took us two years to be able to have T.P. on the roll once he came into our lives. And believe me, I was so happy when the day came that he didn't tear it up all over the house!

And now it's kleenex. If it's dirty, all the better, but plain is alright too.

This is how deep his addiction goes...

Yes friends, this is what is left of my pocket, that had at one time held, you guessed it, a K L E E N E X!!!!!

Good thing he is so cute, that's all I gotta say!

Not Even Close to Wordless Wednesday

I am not superwoman. I'm not. Anyone that knows me, knows that. I thought I was okay with that, and truth be told, I am. It's just hard to have people expect things that are beyond what I can do at the time.

My kids are grown, and I still want to help them along their way, any way I can. I will always be here for them. God I love them! They are "of" me. They are my heart. My mother is ageing, not always able to do everything for herself. I will help her as much as I can. I love her & would love to see her be happy. My husband depends on me. He is my husband, God knows I love him, our future is together, and I want to keep working toward that future.

Here is what I would like to declare:

I have limits. As much as I would like to be the perfect daughter, I cannot.

I cannot do it all.

I can't seem to do even most of it.

I'm doing what I can.

I cannot be anyone's EVERYTHING at the expense of everything else.

Tuesday

I'm reading a book right now called Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos. So far I'm finding it pretty funny and witty. I love a great sense of humor in a book!

I came across a line in it that I found really interesting: "I think there are certain people who change the way time moves." For some reason, that sentence grabbed me. What do you think? Is time really moving differently?

I know that I've at times felt like the sentence was true. Is that really what is happening? Is it because of how we respond to them? Is it because we are different when we're around those people?

I swear I can spend so much time thinking about such crazy things sometimes!

Be Quiet

There was a time many years ago that I was reading A Gradual Awakening, by Stephen Levine. I loved the idea of trying to stop that gnat-like voice in my head and just be in the moment. Try it, it’s not an easy thing to do. I’m not even sure it’s possible, completely.

But what I learned was that through trying to accomplish this, I found that there was a new level of awareness. This particular awareness only happened to me once but I’ll never forget it.

I was alone, waiting for a customer to come in to my mother’s ice cream store. I was sitting in a director’s chair reading this book and putting myself into this other level of consciousness.

Three women came in talking and laughing, paying no attention to me, and I felt like I almost floated over to the counter. All of a sudden one of the women slowly turned to face me and our eyes locked. She recognized me, saw me, and connected with me, though we had never seen each other before. I can’t say anything else about it except that she got it. A word never passed between us. She smiled and nodded.

It was a wonderfully, weird experience.

All that being said, when I saw Dan’s picture on Pictures, Poetry, & Prose of the lighted candles, this is what came to mind.

Photo by Dan Felstead

Go outside. Stand still. Be quiet.

Can you feel them?
The wishes, the dreams, and prayers
Wafting in the air around you
Gently lifted on the wings of wind.

Can you hear them?
The cares, the worries, and concerns
Fretting through the branches of trees
Trying to find a way.

Can you see them?
The tears of sadness
Passing you on the street
Dropping like rain.

Can you sense them?
The smiles of the heart
That passes from one to another
Illuminated like the sun.

Can you imagine them?
Thoughts swirling loosely past
In you, through you, and around you
Filling the air with life.

Friday Shoot Out!

Random Things

Knowing this was the subject for this week's shoot out, I started looking around the yard for random shots. I started noticing all kinds of random plants that have sprouted up that I had no hand in planting.

Like this little spotted plant coming up in my geranium pot.

Or this petunia sprouting out of the gravel next to it's white cousin in the pot.

Or the nastursium peeking out around the asparagus fern.

Or the cilantro that I had planted 4 years ago, and this year decided to grow again.

Where did the little purple lobelia come from?

Two little vinca plants popping up in the pot with a rose bush.

A #%!&*! tumbleweed sticking out of the rocks.A lovely lantana that blew in a few years ago.

A jasmine vine sneaking in from the front yard.

And where did this feathery little friend come from?

Cute little wildflowers that found their way into my yard. I love that they all found me. Except for the @$%#*! tumbleweed!

Tonight!

We were watching tv tonight, and Shasta scratched on the screen of the back door to be let out. Very unlike her! She usually waits until I say the magic words in a high pitched voice, "Do my doggies have to go pee pee, poo poo?" Yes, I really do. I admit it, right here, right now. Every single night before we go to bed. You know, it makes it fun, right? Fun is good, even for doggies!

Well, at her scratching, even before my famous words, I got up to let her out. Open the screen, and she just stands there with her head stretched out, not going outside, but head cocked outside.

"Don'tcha have to go potty? What's the matter?"

Right outside the back door screen.

Thankfully, it had a little skinny head, which told me it was not a rattlesnake!!! I tried to coax it along with a broom, but it just doubled back on itself. Okay, back in the house, turn out the light, then back on with the light, open the screen, and it was GONE! Just that fast. Poor thing! I probably scared the spots off him!!!