Sacred Ruminations

December Inspirations - Joy in the Rain

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:53:00 +0000

ALMOST

Sharing rainy joys
and abundant lemons now
ready for picking ;-)

Click to embiggen & for others participating in
Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, My World
and (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

"Laughter is an instant vacation." Milton Berle

According to recent studies, we need 12 laughs a day just to stay healthy. I offer all who pass this way the gift of a link from Simple Truths ... to brighten YOUR day. Perhaps like me you'll watch it more than once ... and perhaps choose to pass it along to others like I did.

Thought for Today
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ...
It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Vivian Greene

December Inspirations-California Skies

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Click to embiggen for better viewing

13 views of my
Southern California
skies here near the beach

sunny every day
we've all got our fingers crossed
hoping for some rain

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Thursday Thirteen
Haiku Friday and Sky Watch
Blue Monday
Mosaic Monday

Addendum 6:33am Monday Morning
Delightfully, a
misty rain is drizzily
falling in a mist

just the kind of rain
Southern California
desperately needs ...

May it continue
steadily at this slow pace
to avoid flooding

while soaking the ground
raising water tables in
gradual manner

Thought for Today
"If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen." Richard de Vos

December Inspirations -Wordless Wednesday

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Almost

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Wordless Wednesday

Thought for Today
Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!
Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

Sunset over the Pacific

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Sunset recently
captured with my camera
... lovely scenic view

If embiggened you
will see 'gulls in flight and a
colorful sailboat

perhaps savoring
this late afternoon event
as the sun goes down

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Scenic Sunday, Color Carnival, and Mosaic Monday
As usual, I've also shared Mosaics at
Happily Retired Gal and Small Reflections

Thought for Today
"When you do things from your soul you feel a river moving in you, a joy. When action come from another section, the feeling disappears." Jalal ad-Din Rumi

13 Things I'm Grateful For

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:09:00 +0000

My Pictorial Gratitude List
Vertically on the left ...
1. the proximity of the Pacific Ocean
2. Paper Whites
3. Molly ... even when she's sandy
4. Bird of Paradise
5. Pink Roses

Originals - straight out of the camera

In the middle ...
6. the lemons are ripening
7. my Just Joey apricot colored roses
8. strawberries

Poster Edges

On the right ...
9. beautiful variable skies
10. colorful roses in the neighborhood
11. Ms. Kitty
12. the White Azalea a friend gave me when Mom died
13. Dog Beach where Molly can run & play

Solarized & Lightened

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Thursday Thirteen

Click to see my other T-13 this week at Small Reflections

Thought for Today
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice." Meister Eckhart

Mosaic and Blue Monday - Variations

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Variations of
my Sky Watch & Scenic views
posted earlier

Accented Edges

Poster Edges

Emboss at 59% Opacity

Posterized at 8

Solarized then Inverted

Click to embiggen for better viewing
... and for others participating in
Blue Monday
Mosaic Monday

See also my other Mosaic Monday posts this week at
Happily Retired Gal and Small Reflections

More photographs from
my sister ... 2005
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Thought for Today
"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." Mahatma Gandhi

Best Blog Award and something more ;-)

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Thanks to Tricia of Bluff Area Daily
who has just awarded me the Best Blog Award
I hope she'll accept the You Make My Day award below
and that other visitors will do so as well.

Rules:
To accept the Award, post it on your blog together with the name of of person who has granted the Award and link back to that blog. Pass the award on to 15 blogs you have recently discovered and think are great. Remember to contact the bloggers you have awarded to let them know they have been chosen.

My list (in alphabetical order)
Carver Cards: a Photographic Journal
Denise at An English Girl Rambles
Diane at Desert Colors
Ebie at the Main Ingredient
Eileen at Viewing Nature with Eileen
Janie at Utah Trails
Louise at the Potted Frog
Martha at Menagerie and Color Carnival
Martha's Musings
Mary at Little Red House and In a Soft Light
Pacey at Nelly's Flower Garden
Michelle at Rambling Woods
Rebecca at the Dusty Cellar
Sheila at the Quintessential Magpie
Willa at Pixel Minded

Thanks to all who devote time & energy
to creating such lovely blogs ;-)

To all who visit & comment, please accept the award below
and feel free to pass it along to folks who
Make YOUR day too ;-)

Click to embiggen for better viewing
I hope you'll find time to visit the
recipients of the Best Blog Award above
and let them know I sent you ;-)

Thought for Today
"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." John Lennon

Haiku Sky Watch Friday - Photos from my Sister

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Late to share this week ...
struggling to recover
from a nasty flu ;-(

Variable skies
from my sister on the road
... RV traveling

Below I've 'labeled'
locations for some of these
views but not for all

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Haiku Friday,
Sky Watch and Scenic Sunday

Tomorrow I will
add some variations for
Scenic Sunday and

Mosaic Monday
but for now it's getting late ...
This will have to do!

More photographs from
my sister ... 2005
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Thought for Today
"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway." Henry Boye

Frosty Foggy Scenic Sunday with a bit of Blue Sky

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:15:00 +0000

Haiku Friday Sky Watch is in the next post

Near Interstate 5
Northern California ...
'frosty' scenes surround

a nifty lighthouse
under beautiful blue skies
with a few white clouds

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Scenic Sunday
and Mosaic Monday too ;-)

More photographs from
my sister ... 2005
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Multiple Variations ... added at 1pm on Sunday

These mosaics look
much the same until you click
to 'embiggen' them

Palette Knife

Accented Edges

Paint Daubs

Texurized

Invert

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...

and for others participating in Scenic Sunday
and Mosaic Monday too ;-)
See also my
Mellow Yellow - Mosaic - Blue Monday
at Small Reflections

Thought for Today
"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway." Henry Boye

Haiku Sky Watch Friday - Arctic Circle Views

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:58:00 +0000

Cloudy skies above
Arctic Tundra photographed
by my trav'ling sis ;-)

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter." Ansel Adams

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away." Eudora Welty

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Haiku Friday and Sky Watch

More photographs from
my sister in Alaska ...
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Thought for Today
"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."
Ansel Adams

Shadow Shot Sunday - Mosaic & Blue Monday

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:09:00 +0000

If you missed it ...

my Peace Globe is in the next post
Scroll down for Mosaic and BLUE Monday variations

Still sunny ... shadows
easy to find everywhere
in my neighborhood

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Shadow Shot Sunday
at Hey Harriet

Inverted

Solarized

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Blue Monday

I love Photoshop
Elements and playing with
'filters' ... just because ;-)

Palette Knife

Stained Glass

Poster Edges

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Mosaic Monday

See my other 2009 Peace Globes at

Small Reflections
Happily Retired Gal
Blog Rolls, Bling and Blurbs

Thought for Today
"The sun is the epitome of benevolence - it is lifegiving and warmthgiving and happinessgiving, and to it we owe our thanksgiving." Jessi Lane Adams

Dona Nobis Pacem - 2009's Peace Blast

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:28:00 +0000

6th Blog Blast for Peace
November 5, 2009

Today I join Mimi Lenox and many other bloggers in the 6th Blog Blast for Peace ... and invite YOU to join the wave today on your Blog. Just click Mimi's link and read the directions for getting your own Peace Globe to personalize and publish. Then follow the directions to share with others through her official sites ... and visit others blogging for peace.

Click to embiggen for better viewing

If you missed them, click for links to my Blog Blasts for Peace:

November 2008
Sacred Ruminations- The Strength of Gentleness
Small Reflections-A Revolution of Music,
Blog Rolls & Bling - What if? (a Colorful Alternative to Bombs)
and June 2008:
Thirteen Thoughts on the Topic of Peace
Peace in Every Step

and on September 21st, 2009
for the International Day of Peace

Whirled Peace - We Each Can Make a Difference

Click for others participating in
the 6th Blog Blast for Peace!

See my other 2009 Peace Globes at

Small Reflections
Happily Retired Gal
Blog Rolls, Bling and Blurbs

Thought for Today
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa

Monday Mosaics and Motivators

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:32:00 +0000

Variations on
Sunday's Shadow Shot collage
presented Monday

along with a few
thought-provoking quotes today
... Inspirational ;-)

"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning." Jiddu Krishnamurti

Accented Edges

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." Carl Sandburg

Poster Edges

"In the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Abraham Lincoln

Solarize

Click any mosaic to embiggen for better viewing
... and for others participating in Mosaic Monday

Thought for Today
"Wisdom doesn't automatically come with old age. Nothing does - except wrinkles." Abigail Van Buren

Miscellaneous Mosaic Variations

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Outdoor Wednesday is in the next post
Scroll down for Color Carnival

Still sunny ... shadows
easy to find everywhere
in my neighborhood

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Shadow Shot Sunday
at Hey Harriet

Sharing colorful
versions of some earlier
mosaics of mine

Originals can be
viewed by clicking on the links
above each collage

Everybody knows
I love experimenting ...
just because I can ;-)

Pink Diplodanias - Inverted

Mellow Yellow Alaskan Views - Solarized

Wild Bear in Alaska - Solarize

Click to embiggen for better viewing
See also Oregon Coastal Skies Solarized
at Small Reflections and for
other Color Carnival
& Haiku Friday
participants

Click for a 2nd Color Carnival
this week at Small Reflections ... just because ;-)

If you're on Daylight Savings Time
remember to change your clocks
to 'Fall back' Saturday night.

Thought for Today
"What is now proven was once only imagined." William Blake

Bulb Shoots with a Mind of their Own

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:30:00 +0000

ShadowShotSunday
& Mosaic Monday are in the next post
ALMOST

These little bulb shoots
do not realize it's not
Spring ... rather crazy

to see them pop up
in October rather than
when they're supposed to.

Originals above & posted edges below
(click to embiggen for better viewing)

Irises planted
thirty years ago beneath
this Korean grass

have bloomed every Spring
but I have no idea what
might happen next now ...

because it's October!
Do YOU?
This is what they looked like this past Spring!

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Outdoor Wednesday
Midweek Blues
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday
See also little white butterflies at Happily Retired Gal

Thought for Today
"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love." Goethe

Shadow Shot Sunday - Mosaic Monday

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Forest shadows and
railings near Lake Arrowhead ...
Sunday mosaic

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Shadow Shot Sunday
at Hey Harriet

These mosaics look
much the same until you click
to 'embiggen' them

Lightened

Accented Edges

Paint Daubs

Rough Pastels

Solarize Lightened

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in

and Mosaic Monday

Site Meter Stats for ...
Sacred Ruminations

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Please accept this gift as a token of our appreciation
for stopping by and commenting ;--)

Thanks to everyone
who dropped by to celebrate
Blogoversaries

for my second year
at Sacred Ruminations
and Small Reflections.

If you missed them and
have the time just click below ...
Have a lovely day!

T-13 Celebrating my Second Blogoversary
at Small Reflections and/or
Sky Watch - Celebrating my 2nd Blogoversary
here at Sacred Ruminations

I've left two awards
featuring Ms Kitty and
Molly ... just because.

Thought for Today
"What are you being called to do? Stop, sit and listen for a while. The answer will come." Lisa Hammond

Haiku Sky Watch - Celebrating my 2nd Blogoversary

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Who knew how much fun
blogging would be way back when
I decided to

start this second site
on October twenty-third
2007?

Today's post makes my
four hundred seventy-fourth
... rather amazing.

Please accept this gift as a token of our appreciation
for stopping by and commenting ;--)

If you have the time
click to celebrate with me
at Small Reflections.

Revisiting skies
shared previously in this
multi-mosaic

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Haiku Friday and Sky Watch

Thought for Today

"The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice." George Eliot

Taking a moment ... just because

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Camera Critters is in the next post
Scroll down for Blog Your Blessings on Sunday
and Haiku Memories of my Brother

Fall photos from my
sister's U. S. travels back
in 2006

Palette Knife filter
blurs the details creating
an 'artistic' view

Distort - Pinch

Polar Coordinates

Poster Edges

Originals - Straight out of the Camera

Paint Daubs

Poster Edges

Click any image to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Scenic Sunday
Shadow Shot Sunday
Mellow Yellow Monday
Mosaic Monday

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again." Menachem Mendel Schneerson

October 18th
birthday of my brother who
died just before his

65th birthday ...
Would be 75 if
he was still on earth.

In February
I'll be 65 myself ...
strange how quickly time

passes. I'm grateful
for many memories and
life-long lessons learned.

Generous and kind
loving son, husband, father
brother ... passed without

meeting 5 grand kids
each born after his demise ...
Lively legacy ;--)

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
Cherokee Indian Proverb

See my Daily Gratitude List
in the sidebar at Small Reflections
and the lists I've transferred to Happily Retired Gal

What are some blessings in YOUR life currently?

For others who 'Blog Their Blessings'

go to My Blog Rolls and/or click on the
Blog Your Blessings logo
above Really Good Things.

For those who participate in Sacred Life Sunday
click the logo below:

Blessed Be ... and so it is!

Thought for Today

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." John W. Whitehead, The Stealing of America, 1983

Rainy Day Walk - Coots and Pigeons

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Almost

Unusual bird
near Alice's Restaurant
on a rainy day

Click any image to embiggen for better viewing.

A Coot Invasion?
As I walked around the park
these birds followed me.

Do you see the rabbit in the photo above?

One of these birds is not like the others ;--)

Originals

Poster Edges

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
for others participating in Haiku Friday, Camera Critters
and (Almost) Wordless Wednesday on Friday

Thought for Today
"What are the good things in your life? Write down all of the life choices or gifts that you are grateful for and want to celebrate today." Gail McMeekin

Lake Arrowhead Views and more ...

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Scenic Sunday and Color Carnival
are in the next post

Last weekend I drove
a friend up to Arrowhead
where she used to live

"I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements." Henry David Thoreau

"No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength." Jack Kerouac

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." John Muir

"A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable."
William Wordsworth

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.
It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder
measures the depth of his own nature."
Henry David Thoreau

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Blue Monday

Outdoor Wednesday

Watery Wednesday

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Midweek Blues
See more blue watery outdoor photos in my Mosaic Monday post
at Small Reflections

Thought for Today
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." John Muir

Scenic Sunday & Color Carnival - Whittier, Alaska

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Scroll down for Color Carnival

More photographs from
my sister in Alaska ...
Whittier area

Once upon a time
they traveled in this 5th wheel
towed with Chevy truck

but they got tired
of the 'hassles' ... trading it
for this Pleasure Way

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space,

but somehow they do.

Originals - Tweaked a bit and Lightened too

These mosaics look
much the same until you click
to 'embiggen' them

Poster Edges

Spherize

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Scenic Sunday

Civilization
in the wilderness provides
conveniences

Accented Edges

Solarize

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Color Carnival

Thought for Today
"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes." Mahatma Gandhi

T-13 Haiku Sky Watch Friday - Alaskan Skies

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Blue photographs from
my sister in Oregon ...
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Alaskan Marine Highway Skies

"Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."
Jonathan Kozel

Click to embiggen for better viewing ...
and for others participating in Haiku Friday and Sky Watch

Thought for Today
"If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen." Richard de Vos

Mosaic Blue Monday - Oregon Coast

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:16:00 +0000

Blue photographs from
my sister in Oregon ...
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space

but somehow they do

Original Mosaic
created by me with photos from my sister
slightly 'tweaked' by me with PSE6

Poster Edges

Accented Edges

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Mosaic and Blue Monday

Thought for Today
"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." Mark Twain

Scenic Shadow Shot Sunday plus BYBS

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Scroll down for Blog Your Blessings on Sunday

More photographs from
my sister in Fairhaven ...
RV traveling

I don't know how they

manage sharing this small space,

but somehow they do.

Fairhaven, Washington

Once again I share
photographs from my sister ...
Mosaic by Me ;--)

Poster Edges

Click to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in
Scenic Sunday
Shadow Shot Sunday

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
Cherokee Indian Proverb

See my Daily Gratitude List
in the sidebar at Small Reflections
and the lists I've transferred to Happily Retired Gal

What are some blessings in YOUR life currently?

For others who 'Blog Their Blessings'

go to My Blog Rolls and/or click on the
Blog Your Blessings logo
above Really Good Things.

For those who participate in Sacred Life Sunday
click the logo below:

Blessed Be ... and so it is!

Thought for Today

"Good things happen to those who hustle." Anais Nin

Blue Views from Alaska - Outdoor and Watery

smallreflections@gmail.com (storyteller) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Mostly

More photographs from
my sister in Alaska ...
RV traveling

Original Mosaic
created by me with photos from my sister
slightly 'tweaked' by me with PSE6

These mosaics look
much the same until you click
to 'embiggen' them

Paint Daubs

Poster Edges

Accented Edges

Pinch

Click to embiggen for better viewing

and for others participating in
Mosaic Monday

Outdoor Wednesday

Watery Wednesday

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Midweek Blues
See also some creative & colorful variations
at Happily Retired Gal

Thought for Today
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with your talent is your gift back to God." Leo Buscaglia