Quote 414

"Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."
...Albert Einstein

Thinking Outside The Box

Circle
Found on sidewalk, Central Street, Evanston, Illinois-2012

Violet's Cafe in Morton Grove, Illinois closed today.   I tasted my very first Pickle Soup there.   Spent many Mother's Day events at Violets.   Now, it is just the memories.

Quote 413

“Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted–a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
...Rabbi Harold Kushner

Red Cardinals, Monarch Butterflies and Coral Chevy

It is better to say YES I will go on errands with you dear.   If I had stayed home and started preparing dinner for us Friday night both of us would have missed these events.

We put our jackets on and slipped our shoes on before opening the screen door and abruptly going outside. Instead we stood inside the kitchen and watched a Red Cardinal eating a Monarch Butterfly on our back stairs.  More information on what Red Cardinals eat click here:.  http://www.ehow.com/about_6364793_northern-cardinal_s-diet.html.

Then on the drive home we saw a coral 1957 Chevolet automobile.   Information about the Chevy:
http://cruise1957.com/

So, think before you say NO.   Perhaps the outing will become an adventure.

Pink Saturday - April 28, 2012

Photos were taken at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.   For more information click here:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Botanic_Gardens.

Come on join in Pink Saturday click here:  http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/.   Thank you Beverly for being the hostess. 

A friend named, Sue, who is a volunteer  at the Chicago Botanic Gardens invited me for a tram ride.  The tram driver offerred a get on and get off ride.   It was a lovely sunny day for an adventure.   I would at this time like to Thank You, Sue for such a wonderful gift.

Quote 412

"There are only three things you need to let go of:  Judging, Controlling and Being Right.   Release these threee and you will have the whole mind and twinkly heart of a child."
...Hugh Prather

Quote

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."
...Wayne Dyer

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 42

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click here:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Thank you skywatch team for making this post possible.

Path to Lake Michigan.
In memory of Klaus, your spirit is with us today and always.

4/25 Outdoor Wednesday #172

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being our hostess.

School Bus Seat Belts.
Information IL School Bus Seat Belt Laws:  http://www.drivehomesafe.com/legislation/school_bus_seat_safety_belts.html

Quote

"We come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
...Sam Keen

Thinking Outside The Box

Remember playing tic, tac, toe?    Well, everytime my husband, John and I left one of our favorite places to eat breakfast,  I saw this on the sidewalk.   I procrastinated and I put off and I suffered from youngtimers until recently, I got out the camera and took this shot.   After working on the image in Picasa it now looks like a blackboard.

Remembering when I was young, I would be asked along with many different classmates of mine, to clean the blackboard.   Sometimes the blackboard would be left really clean, other times very messy, and last but not least other times the blackboard would be spotted.   This image invokes remembering the past.

Quote

"In order to be whole, suspend your criticism.   For life is not a matter of taste, but of awakening, not a matter of finding things pleasing or disturbing, but of finding things completing, not a matter of liking or disliking, but of opening the geography of one's soul."
....Mark Nepo
The Book of Awakening,  Mark Nepo, GALE, Cengage Learning, NY,
©2000, p. 104

Red Hat Luncheon

Today I attended a Red Hat luncheon at Rivers Casino, 3000 South River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018.   Enjoyed the lively discussions, loved the sound and lights in the gambling section, plus the free parking was a nice perk.  Click here for more information:   http://playrivers.com/.

I went home, changed into jeans and sweater and then shopped until I dropped.   On an I-94 overpass, my tire came off the ball joint.  An unknown woman put on her flashing lights, while I struggled to find my driver's license and AAA card to call someone for a tow.  When a squad car showed up, she rolled down her window and I thanked her.   What a nice person she was to help a complete stranger.   The policeman turned on flashing lights to warn drivers of the stalled automobile.  He then told me that he had already called in for a tow truck.   I thanked him for his help.    Both the unknown woman and the policeman had risked their lives to save mine today.  I feel so blessed!

A young man driving the tow truck showed up, put chains onto the Mercury Tracer, and drove me to our mechanic.   I was able to pay with a credit card.  

I called a girlfriend to come and pick me up from the garage.   Thank you Gwen for being there when I needed you most.   My husband and son were in Barrington helping a friend.    My other son was out of town camping with our grandchildren.   Today I was reminded how priceless good  friends and family really are.   

 

Quote

"Don't find fault.   Find a remedy."
...Henry Ford

Pink Saturday - April 21, 2012

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted Pink things click here:  http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/.   Thanks Beverly for being the hostess.

"Like flowers waiting on rain

our hearts wait on love."

Mark Nepo

The Book of Awakening

Haiku

Look back, look forward
facing dragons of the day
stone by stone by stone.

Written by:  Joyce Meyer

Quote

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
...Steve Jobs

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 41

If you would like to view other skies from around the world click here:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/.  Thanks to the Skywatch Team for making this post possible.

Rain expected tonight.

Quote

"Who ceases to be a friend never was one."
...Greek Proverb

Quote

"A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, so does self-awareness effect changes in the mind. In the light of calm and steady self-awareness inner energies wake up and work miracles without effort on your part."

...Nisargadatta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisargadatta_Maharaj

4/18 Outdoor Wednesday - #171

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

Noticed it was a foggy morning.    Hopped into my car for a photography shoot.   Just down the road a piece the image showed up.  Click, click and done.   If you let the moment pass, the shot is gone forever.  Fog dissipates.   Light and shadows move in, out, around lost in time.

Quote

With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvass, thought by thought, choice by choice."
...Oprah Winfrey

Haiku

Painted chamber moon
yearning to be awakened
feather by feather
 
Poem Written by:   Joyce Meyer

Thinking Outside The Box #2

#55 B

Thinking Outside The Box

#55

Quote

"The secret to success is simple: 
find a hurt and heal it,
find a problem and solve it,
find an obstacle and remove it, bridge it, or turn it into an opportunity."
...Robert H. Schuller

Quote

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."

...Mahatma Gandhi

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 40

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Thanks to the Skywatch Team!
 

Quote

The Master's Mantra: "May I always perform like a Mozart but think like a beginner."

...Robin Sharma

Quote

"One can not think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well."
...Virginia Woolf

4/11 Outdoor Wednesday #170

If you would like to participate or view blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.  Thank you Susan for being our hostess.

Bunny will decorate our front stoop for all the Spring season.  Notice the Eau Claire stone covering cement stairs and gray siding as background material.    Am grateful to see textures and shapes everywhere I look.

Quote

"Watch your thoughts, because they become words.  Watch your words, because they become actions.   Watch your actions, for they become habits.  Watch your habits, for they become character.  Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."
...Unknown

Haiku Los Angeles CA 1950s

Wooden apple crates
Cotton lacy curtain dressed
Empty long hallways

Thinking Outside The Box

Endless Possibilities

Quote

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save and perserve it."
...Plato

Chicago History Museum

My good friend Susan and I  decided to visit the Chicago History Museum.   We toured an exhibition of Charles James, who was a very famous designer.   If you are interested in finding out more click here:  http://media.modernluxury.com/chicago-charles-james-exhibition/charles-james-couture-fashion-exhibition.phpthe.   I learned that Antonio Lopez was allowed to sketch Charles James' designs, which have been enlarged and placed along the walls in the exhibit room.   Two of the dresses on display were made of 20 yards of material.   Can you imagine how much that would weigh for the woman wearing that outfit?

We walked on an "L" car dating back to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.   Another new experience for me was getting on and off a penny-farthing, a type of bicycle with one large wheel in front and one small wheel in back.   My feet couldn't reach the pedals too well.   I'd need wooden blocks put on the pedals if I really would ride this kind of bike.   Click here if you want information on this type of bike: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing.  Susan got into a Chicago hot dog bun http://chicagolikealocal.com/2012/03/31/sensing-chicago-at-the-chicago-history-museum/and climbed into a swan shaped paddle boat.  What an adventure!

To top the day off, we ate a Daley's Sandwich at their Cafe.   The french fries were the best we ever tasted.  We complimented the chef.   Then we headed home via Lake Shore Drive.    We saw boats in the harbors, folks enjoying the outdoors and then drooled over the sandy beaches.   Needless to say, it was a really fun day!

Quote

"Life's challenges are not suppose to paralyze you, they're suppose to help you discover who you are."
...Bernice Johnson Reagon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_Reagon

Quote 396

"Art does not reproduce the visible; rather,  it makes the visible."
...Paul Klee

Quote 395

"If you find it in your heart to care for someone else, you will have succeeded."
...Maya Angelou

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 39

 If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click here:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Thanks to the skywatch team for making this post possible.

Reflection of sky in window
Schmidt-Burnham House
The oldest surviving house in Winnetka, IL - 2012

Ladies Day Out

A good friend of mine named Margaret and I went on a culinary tour of Polish cuisine today.  We stopped in many delicatessens along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.    I brought home kolackies, krullers, almond coffee cake and Chalka raisin bread.    Sampling will start with some hot coffee later tonight with my husband, John and continuing until it is all gone.  

The most fun was picking out pickles from a very tall white plastic pickle barrel; getting home and giving this treasure to my youngest son named Norm.   He was so excited.   Giving a gift to someone else brings me pleasure.  I love to see the twinkle in the receivers eyes.  

So that was my day.

Quote

"Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself."
...Plato

Quote 393

"Be happy in the moment, that's enough.  Each moment is all we need, not more."
...Mother Teresa

4/4 Outdoor Wednesday - 169

If you would like to participate or view blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:   http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

Foggy morning at Wilmette Beach, Illinois -2012.   

Lake Michigan is a cold body of water and when it is foggy it is hard to tell where the sea ends and the sky begins.   Beauty is to the beholder.  

Glad you stopped by for a visit.   Until we meet again, take care.

Quote 392

"You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself, any direction you choose."
...Dr. Seuss

Thinking Outside the Box

Windows of Opportunities
©Joyce Meyer 2012

Buildings shot from "L" train, Chicago, Illinois; then used Picassa a photo program.  I wanted to take a pedestrian shot of buildings and turn it into just showing windows which looked almost like train tracks.    

Haiku

But I Knew He was There

Blooming springtime colors
Cardinal in magnolia tree
Yesterdays lost songs

Quote 391

"Don't take anything personally, nothing others do is because of you.  What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.  When you are immune to the opinions of others and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."
...Don Miguel Ruiz