Category: house

The Hill People

We’ve been blessed lately with lots of sunshine. Yay! When I was out basking in it the other day, I looked up on the hill from our back yard and noticed how the sunlight was illuminating the “house on the hill” as I like to call it. So I decided to take advantage of the late afternoon light. (You know me … I love light).  Little did I know as I zoomed out to get the shot close up that the residents were outside. I was just trying to focus without shaking the camera. I didn’t think I’d have enough time to run in the house and grab my tripod before the moment faded.

It looks to me like this couple were making the best of the sunshine, too. He probably getting the grill ready for their meal and she mixing up the cocktails. I wish they would have invited me 🙂 I would have gladly brought a nice salad. (Click the image to enlarge) Namaste’

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Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger

Independence Day – 2012

Happy Independence Day to all of you beautiful people!

Independence Day, the commemoration of America’s independence of the British Crown on July 4, 1776, has somehow gravitated to wishing others a Happy 4th of July. What’s up with that?  I don’t understand.  That’s like saying Happy 31st of May instead of Happy Memorial Day.  Our forefathers fought hard and a lot of lives were lost so that we could be a free country.  FREE = INDEPENDENCE.  So I say to you … Happy Independence Day and may God continue to bless us all.

One of my fellow bloggers wrote a great post for today and I’d like to share it with you:  WE THE PEOPLE.

The photos are of today … first one of our flag and subsequent ones as the summer storm hit and flooded our back yard.  Yee Haw!  Lots of lightning, thunder and rain … glorious rain!  I was so excited to see our parched desert get a gigantic drink of water.  Namaste’

Come to the Edge

“Come to the edge,” he said.  They said, “We are afraid.”  “Come to the edge,” he said.  They said, “We are afraid.”  They came.  He pushed them … and they flew!

This quote is one that I found a long time ago, written by an anonymous author.  I liked it so much that I painted it on a wall in one of our former homes.  And now I have it prominently displayed in my workspace.  Anytime I become afraid of something, I try to remember it, and another of my favorites is from A Course in Miracles … (paraphrased) “If you really knew who walked beside you, you would fear nothing.”  How often we forget that.  It took me three tries to get through the whole course, going back as far as 1994 the first time around.  Truly amazing material.

Today’s photo is of my workspace.  (You inspired me to do this, Nick).  This is where I write my blog posts & miscellaneous other things like my Morning Pages and food journal, edit photos, correspond with my peeps, create my photo cards, etc.  So now you have a window into my world, including my abundance vision board 🙂  Abundance doesn’t just come in the form of money.

And, as you can see on my monitor, the stately saguaro is one of the pics that rotates through my screen saver.  To the far right, hanging almost out of the picture is my son’s Army dog tags.  I’ve been promising to send them to him but have procrastinated.  (I kind of like having them around).  He was in the 10th Mountain Division and discharged right before the first Gulf War.  Selfishly, as his mom, I was glad his time was up, but I’m very proud of him for his service.  My heart goes out to all of the parents whose children are currently serving in harm’s way, and especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

(Note to self – go visit him in Texas – soon!)  Namaste.

Always Late

She's always late. Her ancestors came over on the "Juneflower."

In case you didn’t remember to Spring Forward, here’s a reminder.  Today’s post and photo was pretty easy.  This is about the only analog clock we have around here.  The rest are digital.  I call this one “old reliable.”  Always on even if the power goes out.  Namaste.

 

Aircraft Crossing

We live in an airpark, where most of the residents have a small plane (or two) and their own hangar.  I love the sound of small planes taking off.  For some reason, it reminds of the best parts of my childhood.

Neither my husband or I know how to fly a plane, nor can we afford one, but when we found this place, he loved it because it had “dirt.”  Eight acres of dirt and cactus.  So much cactus that if I ever see another one as long as I live, it just might be too soon.  But you know what they say, “bloom where you are planted.”  So we have.  We have come to love living in the airpark and hearing the stories from our neighbors of their adventures with their planes.  One of them even commutes from here to southern CA every day and another to Phoenix.

And then there’s Burt, who has his own helicopter which is really noisy.  And someone here has an ultra-light. I can always tell when that one is around.  It’s even more noisy than Burt.

Living in an airpark has its challenges with technology.  We can’t have cable T.V. It has to be a satellite dish.  Cell phone reception is fragmented.  And there is no piped in gas.  Everyone has a propane tank, but most of the homes are all electric.  Hardly anyone has a garbage disposal because we’re all on septic systems.

But with the exception of the planes taking off, it’s quiet enough around here to actually hear birds singing, coyotes howling, and Harris hawks calling to their mates.  Then at night, if they’re around, we can hear the owls of all varieties hooting like they own the place.  I love all of the sounds here. And I also love listening to the quiet, especially right before the sun does down.

We stopped by the airpark office today and saw this plane.  I don’t know what kind it is, but it sure looked interesting. The propeller is in the rear and it looks like it might be missing the nose gear.  Huh?

And then we noticed the new sign.  When I first saw it, I thought it was a railroad crossing sign.  What?????  The streets in the airpark are also taxi-ways. Like how could you miss giving the right of way to an airplane?   Look both ways!!!

As always, click images to make them larger.

Namaste.

Drop Your Pants Here

©imagesbyregina

When we lived in Ventura, CA (sure miss that place), we were always going to the local craft fairs down by the beach.  Sure miss that place.  Did I say that already?

I remember specifically buying this sign on a beautiful, sunny, warm day and it has traveled with us to each place we’ve lived since then.  No matter where the laundry room is, DROP YOUR PANTS HERE hangs over it and has continued to be quite a conversation piece.

Fortunately, no one has taken the message literally. Ok, guess I’d better get back to that laundry, because as we all know, it doesn’t get done by itself.

Why doesn’t someone invent a machine that will wash, dry, fold and/or iron the clothes, then put them away?  Maybe it has been invented . . . Robo-Maid.  Where is she when I need her?

As always, click the image to view it larger.

Namaste.

Old But Not Forgotten

©imagesbyregina

Oh, if only this old door could talk.  Wonder what it would say.  It belongs to my neighbor, who saved it from her parents house many moons ago.  For some reason, when I saw it, it reminded me of the old houses in the Garden District of New Orleans.  I was there many years ago and felt such a fascinating energy as I passed through those streets.

She was telling me that she just couldn’t discard it and I can sure see why.  It’s so much fun to keep items like this and do something creative with them. For right now, it’s going to lean on the mesquite tree, keep the prickly pear cactus company, and enjoy being in the desert until she comes up with a new use for it.

Now, when she does do something with it, I’ll be sure to photograph it again and we can all see its transformation.

As always, click the image to make it larger.

Namaste.

The Beach House

©imagesbyregina

This is a picture of the sign on our patio. The Beach House … a place where we want to retire someday.  We already have a vision board about it.  If you aren’t familiar with a vision board, it’s a place where you put pictures or photos or drawings (whatever works for you) of the things you would like to experience in your life.  Some call it a bucket list.  I have one of those, too, but this is different. My vision board is a piece of poster board with pictures of various items, like the beach house.  And just for good measure, I put the sign up.  I look at it every day and imagine being in the beach house, looking out the window at the ocean, sipping my coffee and witnessing another spectacular sunrise.

The beach house is a place that provides complimentary sunsets and ocean views.  It’s a place where I can feel the sand between my toes and build a sand castle if I want to.  It’s a place where our dogs can run on the beach, chase sandpipers, or dig a hole to cool off the belly when they need to.  It’s a place where the grandkids can come and stay as long as they like and spend the day surfing, skim boarding, swimming, clamming, or whatever else they want to do.  It’s a place that’s the epitome of relaxation, closing my eyes and meditating while listening to the waves lap the shore.

It doesn’t matter to me which ocean, but I would prefer warm water.  Do you hear me, Universe?  Hint. Hint. Life is good; dreams are free.

Namaste

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