Time Out!

Will be taking a couple of weeks to do some traveling....
My brother, Dockie and wife Annie P. will be traveling with us.
Flying to Los Angeles and then driving to Las Vegas for our anniversary...
From there we go to the Grand Canyon and on to Cheyenne, Wyoming for a walk down memory lane with Dockie and Ann. Dockie was stationed at Warren AFB when he and Ann got married.
Then on to Washington state to visit nephew, Randy.
From there back down the Pacific Coast Highway for over a thousand miles.
From sea to shining sea.....that’s our America to explore in the days ahead....
Enjoying.......The Good Life!

Put It To Rest!

I am so mad!
I am so angry!
I am furious!
Someone I ‘trusted’ let me down!
......Going the second mile, again and again, with this individual......did not seem to matter in the long run....
Truly I have forgiven.....only God knows my heart.....
but suddenly a bright light appears here now.....in my thinking!

.......Just because you have forgiven someone......doesn’t mean that you have to have ......a relationship with them!
I heard a teaching on this one time....by Joyce Meyers....and immediately her words on this subject spring to life in my remembrance!
Therefore, I will....Put It To Rest.....and merrily go on my way ....
Enjoying the Good Life!

Jesus said it best....”Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!”

Clarification.....

For you ‘animal protection’ readers....
the ‘tuttle’ that Joshua was ‘throwing into the pool’....
WAS NOT A REAL TURTLE......
It was his favorite ‘plastic’ bath tuttle......
Guess I took too much for granted thinking anyone would KNOW that I would never make a child’s game.....OUT OF A REAL TURTLE!
I stand corrected.....
Let’s Laugh......NOW!

Let’s Laugh Now!

Life really is fun, if we only give it a chance.
Countless moments of serendipity are constantly alive to us and inviting us to participate, if we but have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to respond.
Everyday life has its own hidden fun and comedy.
As John Powell said, “Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained.”
When we can laugh at ourselves and our own situations and the life around us, it actually produces physiological and chemical changes in our bodies that bring about a greater sense of vitality, health, and even healing....

...Job 8:21 says..."He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.”

excerpts taken from....The healing of Joy and Laughter.... by:Tim Hansel

Write Now!

Writing about ‘spontaneity’ seemed to cause it to happen more!
Seize The Moment.....made me look at more ‘precious moments’.
Whatever I write about.....seems to be reiterated again and again.

Over the week-end, going to our boat just for relaxing from the ’traffic life’, there was relaxation, peace, Florida Herons and Cranes on our boat docks and serenity. Just what the ’Dr.’ ordered!
Lo and behold, having coffee on our docks early on Sunday morning with my brother Dockie and Annie P.....along came a ’bee in the bonnet’ idea from Dockie...“I need to take my big boat to my house across the lake (3 boat hours away) in order to properly fit the new Gell-Coat tops I’m making!”
Annie P. says, “No Way!” “ We have too much to do to prepare for our upcoming trip next week.”
Spontaneity and flexibility won!
The guys, Charlie and Dockie, untie the lines and wave good-bye, smiling from ear to ear.
Annie P. and I ’head out’ each in our own vehicle.
Seems like.....we had been ‘had’!
See pictures of ‘tops in progress’.....Link #1....“will show finished product shortly“....says Dockie.

P.S. Worked to my advantage....was able to visit my sister, Shyrl, in the hospital. Also, family.....Sister Joyce, Blake and sweet cheerleader, Brittany, arrived at hospital for a visit as well.....
Later Patsy, Bonnie and Becky come for an unexpected visit to Dockie’s dock....Pammy too!
Yep, you never know what ‘you’re gonna get’...as Forrest Gump says......

Let’s Go!

Spontaneous...
Impulsive...
Instinctive...
Automatic...
Deliberate...
Voluntary...
Flexibility...
Out of all these ‘similar’ words, I prefer.....SPONTANEOUS!
Spontaneous applies to that which is done so naturally that it seems to come without prompting or premeditation......
Being flexible does not mean being ‘wishy-washy’.....to me!
To some it may seem so....
Having many years in a military atmosphere, planning and regimentation became second nature for our family....
Spontaneous events were fairly uncommon.
‘Tis different now!
I love ‘spontaneous’ moments, events, activities.......
Just now as I write this I received a phone call from our son, Chuck, trying to make tentative arrangements to meet in St. Cloud to see ’Aunt Shyrl’ in the hospital tomorrow....
Chuck is in the golf course business.....weather affects his jobs tremendously.....
Our conversation went something like this...
“Mom, can I call you back tonight about meeting in St. Cloud tomorrow...
The rain may cause me to cancel today’s ‘job’ which I might have to do tomorrow....but if it rains tomorrow too.....then we can meet in St Cloud for hospital visit and lunch....”
There you have it....now we both have to be flexible and spontaneous as well. Just goes to show that the Forris Gump philosophy of ....“Life’s like a box of chocolates.....you never know what you’re gonna git!”
is a continuous walk.....of faith....daily!

Seize The Moment!

Easy to say!!!
Stop what is ‘absolutely necessary to finish meal’.....or stop ‘doing your duty’ and play an endless game of ‘throw tuttle in pool’ with 2 yr. old Joshua.....seemed frivolous in making the ’weighty decision’......but Joshua won!
He absolutely fascinated me as we again and again took the pool net and retrieved his ’beloved floating tuttle’....
I watched as he listened to my instructions as how we must unloosen the screwed end of the pole in order to lengthen it when ’tuttle’ went too far.
Soon he was balancing himself midway of the fairly heavy 9 ft. pole and by himself, to gauge to what extent it must go in order to ’net tuttle’.....
My orders from him.....‘hands off‘....once he could do the job alone......
His muscle coordination, agility, and perception intrigued me tremendously since the pole was ’heavy’ in comparison to his 30 lb. ‘electric’ body.
What a moment in life when a two year old....or a 16 or 40 year old....learns their own....strength and ability!
Wouldn’t have missed it for the world...
Next, he wants everyone to stop and ‘see him’ save ‘tuttle’.
Everyone being Pops and Britt....
Learning was exciting for him.....’showing off’ was a ....MUST!
What a moment in life that I would not have wanted to miss for anything.....
Joshua smiling, laughing, ‘being proud’ sealed in my memory....forever.

Joshua and all of us....will have moments of pain, sadness, disappointment and perhaps even.....despair.
Yet yesterdays memories were ‘seized’ and sealed as a moment in time of pure and joyful innocence of life at its best.
It did not add to my bank account....it did not elevate my ego....no noble deed was accomplished.....except....
......pure and simple joy and delight in life....the good life.....
Isn’t that what life is really.....all about?

Use It...or Lose IT!!!

Scientists are finding that the mind, like the body, needs an exercise program.....There are all kinds of brain-training programs nationwide because the young and old alike.....are experiencing.....plain ole...forgetfulness.
One called, “Brain Upgrade” at New York’s Open Center or “Boost Your Memory Power” at Pasadena City College emphasize the need to actually work at a discipline for our ’brain’.
A professor of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center, Lawrence Katz, has written a book called...”Keep Your Brain Alive.”
Prof. Katz states, ”More and more emphasis is placed on keeping your body in shape and ’fit’ and now we must address the same issue for your brain.”
One study showed that individuals begin forgetting at age 35.....forgetting, misplacing car keys or glasses...
Explanations for why we forget are numerous, to say the least!
The general consensus says it’s.....information overload because we must remember more than ever before. Today, we must know unlimited numbers or passwords, Social Security, personal identification numbers, fax and cell phone numbers. etc. etc. Another study showed that Americans sleep less and experience more stress....both factors affecting memory.
The juggling of many tasks....which attribute to our everyday lives, can cause memory overload.
“We end up multitasking, and that’s the biggest reason we can’t remember,”
said Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institue.
This ‘authority’ suggests ways to form a much-needed discipline for ourselves. Some Tips are:
Get this....Talk aloud when you put down your keys or glasses and want to remember the location. Tell yourself exactly where you put them. Later, you’ll remember hearing your own voice speak back to you....(I haven’t tried this one..)
Another, Vary your mental workout. Unfamiliar situations and challenges stimulate the brain. Try tying your shoelaces or brushing your teeth with your left hand if you’re right handed.
Also, start a healthful brain diet: Drink six glasses of water each day, eat low-fat foods and plenty of fruits and vegetables, avoid fried foods and take the vitamins E and C. If you smoke, quit. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
And last, minimize stress to maximize memory....set realistic expectations and take relaxation breaks at regular intervals.
All good advice, huh!
Sounds like ‘work’ to me.....or a new discipline of the brain...
Oh well, guess we must....Use it or Lose it, our brain that is.....
....I’ve used mine enough in writing this page so I MUST take a break and treat myself to a wonderful cup of Cappuccino on my patio....
Guess what? I’ve got brain cells I’ve never even used before....
Think I will save them till I ‘really need them”!
Like.....tomorrow!

At Last

I have reorganized my Photo Album Page! Click Link #1 to see....
Was running out of room so I removed some photos and shuffled others around. I added a few new ones under ‘Tropical” since the back yard is so lush and green this time of year.
These are especially for you dear friends, The Lujans, in Utah!
Hope all of your summer time....anywhere you are....is awesome.....
Enjoy!

Forever

Have been very busy...... celebrated Chuck’s birthday on Friday night at Kiku Japanese Steak House in Icot Center. Family members galore celebrated together and the food was wonderful....See picture on Link #1.

Next morning, bright and early, Carla and another friend, left Tampa airport for their Youth Leadership Forum in Minnesota, all expenses paid.

Charlie and I took off for our boat at Kissimmee River Park.....loaded with several 4x4’s. We needed to insert new posts in order to position our boat further out into the canal to be assured of water, year round, under our out drive unit. As a result, our dock will have to be extended to the area of the new poles....but that is another weekend activity. Meantime, we are actually ‘walking the plank’ in order to enter The Milagro.
Agility is a must!

Talked to family members and found out the trauma for Joshua that one of his two favorite “gold fish” had died...
I asked Britt how she explained this to a precocious 2 yr. old and she said,
“I just told him that Nemo went ‘night-night’....forever.....”
He didn’t pursue it any further and Britt and “Nana’ breathed a sigh of relief.
For you see.....a two-year-old has no concept of.....forever.
‘Today’ is only a word to them.....as well.
Two year olds live in the......NOW!
They are ’happy’ or ’sad’....NOW!
They are hungry or not.....NOW!
Their little lives exist in the ‘Present’ and they are ’present’ to every moment of the day......
Adults are often living but not ’present’....How many times have we been talking to someone and we know they are not listening.....or simply are not ’present’ to the NOW?
I am guilty as well.....solving tomorrow’s problems while carrying on a conversation with a friend today.
Forever is endless.....Today is ‘the beginning’ ......
When was the last time you flew a kite, went for a bike ride, or made something with your hands?
When was the last time you caught yourself enjoying life so deeply that you couldn’t quite get the smile off your face?
NOW.....is my gift of life.....I will enjoy today.....NOW!

What For?

Given the liberty of expressing myself freely......is a privilege of which I am very grateful.....
Everyone has an ‘opinion’.....everyone is entitled to their ‘opinion’ based on their point of view.....
Not everyone ‘feels free’ or wishes to express their personal ‘philosophy of life’ in the verbal word, written word or other communicating forms.
Art and music gives life to the inner expression of the originator of each piece of art or music......
Beauty is expressed in many ways.....it may be as simple as holding the hand of a precious grandchild while listening, intently, to their chatter.
Doing a ’favor’ for a friend. Serving a loved one a glass of iced tea....
This is an expression of ones philosophy of life....of pure, simple....Love.
Freedom of the heart....to express itself unrestrained.........is sheer....JOY!
Otherwise.....what are we living for?