Well, it’s that time of year again when the mighty saguaro cactus starts to lose it’s crested blooms. One fell off today that was still pretty much intact, so my husband picked it up and saved it for me to photograph. It never ceases to amaze me how our scruffy, prickly cacti in southern Arizona can produce such beautiful blooms. These grow at the very top of each arm of the saguaro. Mother Nature provides us with such gifts. Enjoy! Namaste’
Today I decided to put together some of my favorite pics from our vacation last week. OK, so maybe I’m cheating just a little but I promised some folks that I’d do this.
Picmonkey has a great way to do a quick collage, so I did. The two cute doggies belong to the lady whose house we stayed in. Darryl’s sister is a pet-sitter and Bear and Angie’s “mom” kindly offered her house to us while she is away. We enjoyed spending time and having fun with these two little darlings so much!
The pic to the right is the first thing you see in the lobby of the Orleans casino (where, of course, we made a deposit and no withdrawals). It seems to me these cool cats should be playing WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHIN’ IN.
The red shoes were actually a ceramic decoration I saw in the hutch in the kitchen and thought they were just so unique. It looks like they might be a memento from Spain.
And the lovely purple flowers were growing in her back yard. Since I am a purple lover, they just had to get into the collage. Click to enlarge the image. Namaste’
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
~Dalai Lama
Thank you to all my readers who sent good wishes for a nice vacation. I do appreciate all of you. I wish I could read all of your blog posts and send my comments. I’m trying to catch up. May take a while.
Today’s image is one that I took while on vacation in Nevada this past week. My sister-in-law, Carryl, got permission from her neighbor for me to photograph this unusual flower. Her yard is lush with beautiful, colorful plants and flowers. I admire people who have a green thumb (and whose husband is a landscaper) :-). I have no idea what this flower is but I thought it to be just lovely.
Kindness (to me) is the color of purple. It’s also the color I use when I meditate, visualizing the violet flame of healing, forgiveness, protection and peace. Namaste’
My husband has a twin sister who is probably one of the sweetest people you’d ever want to know. Their birthday was last Friday, which is why I wasn’t posting until today. We spent that special occasion in Nevada where she lives. Today’s photos speak for themselves. One was taken when they were approximately four years old. The one I took below that is my attempt at a recreation of the original. They are so blessed to have each other. And I am so pleased to have spent their birthday with them. It’s good to be back to posting my 366 project – I have some catching up to do 🙂 Namaste’
I know; I know! No post yesterday. Decided to take a short vacation and will catch up with my 366 project when I return. Stay tuned. Have camera; will travel. Next post will be Monday, 28th. Hope everyone has a safe and joyful Memorial Day. Namaste’
Have you ever felt like you’re living in a box? I think we’ve all felt that way at one time or another. It’s a suffocating feeling. It doesn’t matter how pretty your box is, it’s still a box. What if we could step out of the box just once this week? Do one thing … large or small … that allows us to live larger than we have before. Make it something fun! What a way to expand our hearts and minds and raise our vibrations. Do the thing we fear the most … or take smaller steps and do the thing we don’t fear quite as much. Even a slight stretch will do. And, as for raising our vibrations, I’ve heard that smiling, especially when we don’t feel like it, does the trick. So does forgiveness. Forgive someone and smile. Listen to some music that makes you feel good. Living life is all about feeling good, right? Unlock the box, step out and feel good. Namaste’
TEACH ONLY LOVE, FOR THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE ~ A Course in Miracles
Today’s image is of some delicate little flowers that look like birds to me. They caught my eye as I was coming out of the bank and I think the contrast of orange and green is quite nice. Life is just full of contrast, isn’t it? I’ll bet if we all took one hour of being out in nature, we could see at least 100 ways she displays contrast. Namaste’
I’ve been wanting to get this picture for a long time but it’s on a road with a lot of traffic and you know me … don’t want to get mowed down by an oncoming vehicle. What fun would that be? Besides, I wouldn’t be able to complete my 366 project. So I waited on a side street until there was a very large gap in traffic, then pulled out, stopped long enough to get the photo through the passenger side window and sped off. I felt like a thief in the night 🙂 Wow! It was fun!
Whoever hung these bicycle parts on their fence must want the world to know that their bicycling days are over … or they’re paying homage to an old bike … or whatever else made them create this display. Maybe they just felt like “hanging it up.” Namaste’
While visiting my parents today, I walked around the grounds of the facility looking for something to photograph. The grounds are lush with beautiful plants, flowers and real, living grass, which is rare in southern Arizona. Mostly we have decorative rock in lieu of lawns in an effort to conserve water in our landscaping. But maybe they feel that most of the folks that live in assisted living might like to look out their windows and see some green grass. It really is pretty and reminded me of when I was a kid. I took my sandals off and just walked through it. It was so much fun!
But I digress. Today’s photo is of a row of chairs which I thought were interesting as they were pushed up against the courtyard wall so that they faced the fountain. I love water features, so after photographing the empty gallery of chairs, I sat for a while and just watched and listened to the water. Peaceful moments. I needed that today. Namaste’
LOOK AT EVERYTHING AS IF YOU WERE SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST OR LAST TIME. THEN YOUR TIME ON EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH GLORY~ Betty Smith
What would change in your life if you looked at things as if seeing them for the very first time? Or what if you looked at them as if it were the last time? We never know what’s going to happen in the next minute, let alone tomorrow. Lately I’ve been more aware of my surroundings, the things I see, and wondering why I hadn’t noticed certain things before. Have they been there all the time and I just didn’t notice? Or is our planet changing and I’m just noticing THAT now? I feel like a kid in a candy store. Really!
Today’s photo was taken as I was heading out this morning. The cloud caught my eye because it was so intriguing as I faced it head on, driving down the road and it was the only one I could see. I found myself thinking, “Either pull over and take the picture or keep your eyes on the road.” As soon as I got to a place I could pull over, this is what I got. Namaste’
Eyes to See 