Quote 618 Benjamin Disraeli

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own."
...Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Memorial Day Week-end

Friday some friends of mine and I attended a Plant Swap.   Doug Erickson was the coordinator for the event.   This year it was held at the Unitarian Church Parking Lot, 1330 Ridge Road, Evanston, IL   What was available:   tools, pots, seedlings, and plants galore.  I enjoyed the music and the food and the conversation.   Great event.  Thank you Doug, for all your hard work.

This photo is posted for a dear gardener who passed away last year of cancer,   Esther these photos are for you!   My husband and I have lost many men and women who were friends and relatives and know that Memorial Day isn't just a cookout but a date to remember all our loved ones who are not here anymore.   We wish to thank the service men and women who have served our country. 

Quote 617 Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Earth laughs in flowers."
...Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote 616 Chuang Tzu

"Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness."
...Chuang Tzu (c.350-286BC

Quote 615 Miguel de Unamuno

"Only in solitude do we find ourselves."
...Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)

Skywatch Friday - Thursday, May 23, 2013

If you would like to see skies from all over the world click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Skywatch hosts are:   Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy.

I was going into a clothing store and couldn't remember if I had locked the car or not.   I walked closer to the car then unlocked the car and then locked it again.  If I had said yeppers it is locked and gone inside the store, I would have never seen this cloud.  I almost missed this opportunity for a shot. I looked up after locking the car and saw this cloud.   It looked to me like a canoe with lots of people rowing.   What do you think it looks like?

5/22 Outdoor Wednesday #228 - Meteor Crater, AZ

If you would like to view outdoor scenes click here:   http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.
Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

Tourist group walking to view a meteor crater.

This photograph shows the side of the crater.

Brave person putting his foot against rocks to probably balance himself.

A person really needs to be in an airplane to see how deep this crater really is.   Interested in more facts click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_Crater.

Prayers go out to to Oklahoma.

Quote 614 William Gaines

"Most of my major disappointments have turned out to be blessings in disguise.  So whenever anything bad does happen to me, I kind of sit back and feel, well, if I give this enough time, it'll turn out that this was good, so I shan't worry about it too much."
...William Gaines

Quote 613 Sarah Ban Breathnach

"Look at the blue sky, hear the grass growing beneath your feet, inhale the scent of spring."
...Sarah Ban Breathnach

Thinking Outside the Box - Magnolia Branch

Believe it or not, I placed this magnolia branch on scrap material on a coffee table in the living room.   This photograph is straight out of the camera except for cropping and placing a copyright on image.   Look how ghostly the petals look.

Our thoughts and prayers are going out to the folks in Oklahoma.   

Quote 612 Hathayogapradipika

"When the breath is irregular, the mind is also unsteady; but when the breath is stiff, so is the mind."
...Hathayogapradipika (14th century)

Happy Mother's Day - Quote 611 Og Mandino

Saucer Magnolia
Before the winds come

"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight.  Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do with no thought of any reward.  Your life will never be the same again."
...Og Mandino

Skywatch Friday - Season 6, Episode 44

If you would like to see skies from all over the world click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/.    Skywatch hosts are: Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy. 

Where's heckle?
Photo taken at the Petrified and Painted Desert, Arizona - 2013

Quote 610 Steve Allen

"Sometimes things which at the moment may be perceived as obstacles----and actually be obstacles, difficulties, or drawbacks---can in the long run result in some good end which would not have occurred if it had not been for the obstacle."
...Steve Allen

Quote 609 Rachel Carson

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."
...Rachel Carson

5/08/2013 Outdoor Wednesday - #226

If you would like to participate or view outdoor posts click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.  Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

Sedona, Arizona  is noted for its Red Rock. 

Quote 608 Mark Nepo

"The ways of others will fill the space we live in if we don't fill that space with our own authentic presence."
...Mark Nepo

Thinking Outside the Box - Steam

Everyday is an adventure to me.   I wake up and think what is going to happen that is fun.   My mantra or prayer each day is  "Let me say and do things which will please you oh Lord, God."   Then the day begins.  

Recently, I tagged along with John, my husband, to see the foot doctor, Dr. Debra E. Young at the Lincoln Park Podiatry.  Of course, my camera is in the car.    Stop!   I yell.   He says, "You want to take pictures now?"  Yes.   So he stops the car and out I go.  First stop was to walk over the Chicago River and take pictures of the city of Chicago.   Then I walked back to the car and then lo and behold I see this wonderful steam coming out and through and around this black iron railing.  It was just too cool to not stop.  I just had to have this shot.  You know the feeling.   And so, I present this gift to you.  Enjoy your day. 

 

Quote 607 Carol Hegedus

"Our purpose is that which we most passionately are when we pay attention to our deepest selves."
...Carol Hegedus, Humanitarian
THE BOOK OF AWAKENING, Mark Nepo ©2000, page, 276

Quote 606 Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"Lightness of touch and living in the moment are intertwined.  One cannot dance well unless one is completely in time with the music, not learning back to the last step or pressing forward to the next one, but poised directly on the present step as it comes."
...Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Quote 605 ShaktiGawain

"Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, its important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level.  We need to literally 'count our blessings' give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have."

...Shakti Gawin

Pink Saturday - May 4, 2013

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

Look what is in front of us, a PINK jeep.   Now that is awesome looking. 

Quote 604 M.C. Escher

‘Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible.’
...M. C. Escher

SkyWatch Friday - Season 6, Episode 43

Click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/  to join in the fun to see skies from all over the world. 
Skywatch Friday hosts are Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy.





Quote 603 Henry David Thoreau

"A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener.  So our prospects brighten on the influx of brighter thoughts."
...Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Captured: America in Color From 1939 to 1943

Check this site out:
http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.asp.

5/01/2013 Outdoor Wednesday #225

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

Flatlanders from Illinois are viewing this sign near Jerome, Arizona.

We could barely see the town below.

Mountains are surrounding town.

Our cars were parked under this spot.    In hindsight, this doesn't look safe to me.

Vegetation that grows way up here, not much.  

This day began an adventure which our hair could have stood on end because the blacktop road turned into a gravel and rocky road with a drop off to the right and mountain to the left.   You guessed it....our garmin was telling us to turn right.  TURN RIGHT....no way!   That is where the drop off was.  Two male adults and one grandchild were in one vehicle.   Two female adults and another grandchild were in another vehicle.   I was lucky.  I was in the second vehicle.   My grandchild, John, had a plan.   Plan A was if the car begins to fall open the door and grab one of the trees or shrubs as we go down.   He had a Plan B and a Plan C which escapes me right now.   When we reached the end of this scary road, my daughter-in-law, Christine, actually had room to turn the car around.   She totally is driving Queen.  What a trooper Chris is! 

So we headed back, it was getting near dark and our gas tanks were on empty and the garmin still telling us to turn right and the grandchild with his Plan A, B and C.    We were laughing so hard.   A sigh of relief came when we were on blacktop again.   We keyed in the garmin; locate the nearest gas station.   As luck would have it, the first station was closed; but the second gas station was open for business.   We purchased water and thank God there were clean restrooms.   We didn't take any more scenic routes that the garmin suggested while on our Arizona trip.

Quote 602 Eduardo Cuadro

"From the infinitely changeless vessel of spirit, I savor the inexhaustible richness of generosity."
...Eduardo Cuadro (1820-1903)