"Quiet Signs" Friday

Hey Friends! I wanna stand on top of a mountain & scream 'thank God it's Friday!!!.' All work & no vacation makes Tracey a very crazy girl! :-) Not many words today in honor of 'quiet Friday', but I wanted to show this. When I walked in the woods earlier this week, I had to use the restroom, but not this bad! Lol. It's cute though, isn't it?

Have good, safe weekends, all of you :-)

Thankful Thursday

Good Thankful Thursday, everyone! Thanks for dropping by :-) Things that give me thanks today:

• The crock pot! Tis the season!
• My car that gets me where I need to be. I know this is something we may take for granted, but believe me, I've had enough car problems in the past to be thankful
• The walk in the woods @ lunch yesterday
• The beautiful lake I came upon in the middle of the woods (pictured)
• The gazillion sweaters I have for Fall/Winter. I have a sweater fetish
• "D" serving me dinner & us eating together (this is rare)
• Being a friend for a friend, who is losing a friend :-(
• "Thursday Lunch" w/mom. This enhances Thankful Thursday :-)
• Being blessed w/still having mom on earth with us, while I know so many missing their mamas :-(
• Finding new blogs & connecting w/people online. It always reminds me that no matter our race, culture, religion, etc., we truly are all alike. And that's a good thing :-)

That's all I have for this Thursday. Come back again; you're always welcomed.


Pictures by me: :-)
(I like making little arrangements out of what I find on the ground. Just pick up some stuff & throw it together - you'll be surprised.)

Monday's Musings

Good Monday morning, all! I hope all weekends were restful & relaxing. As I sit here @ the office, my thoughts float about:

• I am proud of the way I decide upon awakening that I declare each day a good day & keep it that way; no matter who/what tries to get to me
• I am filled with thanks at the responses I get from folks on my photos. It truly gives me incentive to keep it up (not that I could stop if I tried :-))
• I am glad I followed my little voice this morning by risking my very life on one helluva road to take these pictures on the way in to the office. Made me late, but it was so worth it
  
• I can't wait until the end of October to take a road trip w/mom to The Yellow Butterfly Winery. This beautiful place is owned by the former mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Michael White. Camera(s) will be required, especially since by then, the Fall leaves' change should be full blown!
  
• Try to possibly do a road trip w/mom monthly (??) We used to do it quite often w/day trip bus tours before the rates went sky-high :-(
• Since I'm funding the gym, I vow to get back there & take up w/a personal trainer. At this age, it's getting harder & harder to keep the ole gut sucked in. Sigh...
• www.jazzradio.com is such a cool streamed station on iTunes. It makes my work day so peaceful
• I walked in the library & found this new one that I had just put on my 'Goodreads' list. Luck of the Irish!!! I'm also in the middle of reading this one; I don't know if it's such a good idea reading two books about 2 women that lose their mothers...
• Finally, I am brainstorming a way for my family to get closer together, to spend more time together. I love the way my bella, Lisa, and her family have Sunday dinner every Sunday - back & forth between her & her mother's house. And if you miss it, you'd better have a damn good reason. I love their commitment to it.
  
• Mom said the other day that it seems her children are so distant from each other. Like if we see each other, fine, & if we don't - fine. I don't want it to be like that.

Well, on with Monday.. :-)

Pictures by: me :-)

Soul Food

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." Mother Teresa

What a spiritually fulfilling day it was. I went to church w/mom. I never felt more blessed than when we held hands in prayer. It was 'men's day', too, so that was a double treat hearing their choir. So cool to see handsome guys aged 25-88 all dressed in black, praying together. The message was "The Uplifted Man." Powerful.

Also, everyone was so friendly. A few folks I went to school with & their families go there. Lot's of smiles & hugging.

I'm so glad I went. It made the rest of my day.

"Quiet Signs" Friday

Hey there! Happy Friday, all.

By Friday, I am always pretty much fried in the brain, so I'm short on words. Please enjoy the quiet of early Fall and have a great, safe, blessed weekend! And thanks for stopping by :-)


Pictures by: me :-)

Thankful Thursday

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel."--Anonymous

It always surprises me how quick Thursdays roll around! Thankful for:

• last night's visit with mom
• this end-of-summer weather
• the fact that Son loves his job
• regular, old-fashioned, non-flavored, oatmeal
  
• an early morning conversation with a friend
  
• my flowers that are still giving off crazy color
• Proud Jeremiah showing off his first tomato
• the heavy dew in the morning
• receiving sweet, heartful gifts via snail mail
• more good news for "D"
• folks that let me know they enjoy my pictures :0)
• maple/pecan coffee cake (1 slice only... not)
  

That's all that comes to mind for now. Until next week - stay full of grace. :-)



Pictures by: me

Angels Unaware

Good Tuesday morning, all.

In this picture from my train excursion, I may have forgotten to mention that while walking toward the train, I came upon the 3 conductors and an elderly lady (on far left.) She's the one who took the picture of me & the conductors (I think she was friends w/one of the women conductor).

I already have a mad, crazy love for the elders, but this lady made my day. As I approach to take pictures, we clicked instantly. She asked me if I believed in angels & I told her yes, of course.

She said that her late husband loved trains & she started not to come down, but he (as an angel) nudged her into coming down to join in the fun, and that she may meet an angel. I told her I believed right at that moment that she & I were BOTH meeting angels! At that, we wrapped our arms around each other & gave good, tight hugs. Mind you - I don't know her, but if you saw us embraced like family, you would've never guessed.

We walked arm-n-arm together to the steam engine while she pointed out different angles for me to shoot. I felt so comfortable with her, my heart was melting.

Bottom line is: this is the only picture I got of her - the back of her. I didn't think to get her beautiful face, nor ask her name. I got so caught up in shooting that when I looked, she was gone into the crowd. I looked for her, but no luck. I wished I would have at least gotten her name. I really wanted her name & address to send cheer cards to her, but I don't know how forward that may have been.

Well at least our souls joined together for a short time :-)

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby
some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2

Picture by me :-)
By the way - where was Son during this love-fest? Standing back watching like he always does when I embrace perfect strangers. Lol. He's used to it & hopefully it's instilling in him the love of 'angels.'

"Fall" In...

Hey friends; if you're ever interested in seeing Fall settle in Ohio, please click on the "Fall" link on the right of this blog. Since my gardening season has ended :-(, I decided to use the space to bring all of Fall's colorful beauty to you instead of letting the space sit dormant till next spring. Please stop by :-) There's not much there yet, but believe me, once Fall gets rolling, it will be a real treat for your eyeballs! Lol.

Thanks ~ me :-)

Easy

"Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do." Jean de la Bruyere


When I headed out yesterday with the camera, I wasn't expecting anything new since everything is in transition. The leaves haven't yet changed, but all blooms have died down. I wasn't able to 'see' anything.

Then I turned the corner & saw this beauty, sitting there in all it's glory for the taking.

This is the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad that travels through the park 2 mins. away from my house. I could hear that mournful wail of the steam whistle, yet I didn't know which train it was.

Seeing the huge puffs of steam, the conductors, (me in photo w/3 of them) & the sheer size of this train took my excitement level to the moon!

Suddenly, letting my inner-child out became easy.

And it was a good day. :-)


Pictures by: me :0}
Sunday Scribbling word prompt: "easy"

Howdy "Dew"!! :-)

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.”
Rabindranath Tagore

The temps really went down last night. It was 45 degrees this morning. Perfect for catching the heaviness of the dew. Fall is on it's way - ready or not! :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone. Come back anytime, day or night! I'll leave a light on for ya! (LOL!)


Pictures by: me :-}