A Blessed Mess

Think Health Care Reform

Never forget the power every single one of us has.  To quote our President (from a different context yet still relevant), remember "what one voice can do. One voice can change a room; and if a voice can change a room, it can change a city; and if it can change a city it can change a state; and if change a state, it can change a nation; and if it can change a nation, it can change the world!"

Are you FIRED UP?  Are you READY TO GO?

This Picture Speaks for Itself!

This Picture Speaks for Itself!, originally uploaded by rudybeardog.

Last one for the day and now it's off to dreamland where nothing itches and deadlines are meant to be extended.

Sweet dreams all and thanks for stopping by!

A Chronicle: The All-Nighter of Oh-Nine a.k.a. Itchypalooza

See for yourselves . . . 

Still playing around with watermarks.  I think if I can make them interesting in and of themselves, then they won't be annoying and no one can steal my work in this big mean world of the internets.

Huge nest of chiggers devoured each leg and poison ivy sprang up on my wrist, hence the itchy factor.  That's what happens when you drop a city girl in the country for a few hours!

Just how itchy was it?  Look for Carman in an earlier post for an idea of how itchy it was.

For more photos of the great All-Nighter of Oh-Nine, click the continue link below or see the set on flickr.

A Lovely Day In A Lovely Setting Spent With Lovely People

Tim and I spent today in the beautiful rolling hills outside of Shelbyville with a family who both delight and inspire us.  We don't get to see them much and the time we spend together is always delightful.  We never fail to leave smarter than we were when we arrived.  You can't be around these folks and not learn stuff.

Former educators, all of them;  smart and creative, patient and realistically encouraging.  We got to relax and catch up with friends, to share ideas, enjoy cats, hummingbirds and the world's most amazing Great Pyrenees who I have loved for a long time!  

We laugh a lot and smile a lot.  Spending time out there always seems to be the best medicine for whatever ails you.  Between the five of us, Tim is probably the only one who is still a strong and healthy so what "ails us" could be just about anything!

I finally get all of my camera gear into one bag and can have everything I could need at the ready whenever I want it.  This was  the first time I take my gear out for a spin in its new digs.  Do I need to mention that the new digs are heavy as heck?  Suffice it to say, they  never made it out of the car!  

I did take a few (maybe 4) and only did that because the elusive Socks the cat ran by when I was close to the car!  It's okay though because our friends' home and view are so beautiful that no photo I could take could do it true justice anyway.  I did, however, stalk Socks the jungle cat and got the bigfoot sighting style Socks photo!

I also learned today that if I take Bonine, I can write in a moving car without getting car sick or tired.  I have been having trouble with a particular essay assignment (My Story in less than a bazillion pages) so it was also nice to have all that travel time to work on it too.

Harley is Stylin'

This cat will never cease to make me happy!

Continue with the link below to see one more style he's started to sport.

gratitude

gratitude, originally uploaded by rudybeardog.

I'm playing with Photoshop Elements trial version and I think that I must have this software. As difficult as I find Photoshop CS3 or 4 or whatever we have on the Mac is almost as easy as I am finding PSE to be. Someone described PSE as being the pro version of Photoshop but without all those things most people never use anyway! I am pleasantly surprised though with all that it can do.

Back to something . . .

Be grateful and smile about it!

The Chinese Wealth Toad of Renown

The Chinese Wealth Toad of Renown, originally uploaded by rudybeardog.

I never said the toad was beautiful. It is a toad, after all, and this one has three legs too. But, I respect the toad and it brings good fortune in my door. At the risk of being thought nuts - I swear that this thing works.

Okay, I am nuts but still! :-D

See another view of the toad after the jump...

Even The Sky Is Fired Up

Time for me to watch this a few times!

Sunset, originally uploaded by rudybeardog.

Bev Says So And She's Right . . ."He's such an amazing orator!"

I've almost decided to start each day by listening to this! That would mean I start my days inspired and end my days grateful. Tim and I end each day by telling one another at least one thing for which we are grateful.

P.S. I want to make sure no one thinks that by referencing this one Obama speech, I'm trying to make a political statement. This speech and what it means to me have nothing at all to do with politics. The reason it keeps showing up here is because of just how much it inspires me. Being "Fired Up! Ready to GO! . . . feels good." I can't think of many better ways to start a day. That clarified, I share it here hoping that someone who reads this and listens to that speech will feel good because they did and if I can have a positive impact on someone, then I must be doing something right.

Why I felt the need to write what I just wrote has everything to do with a lesson I learned from my father. He taught me not to discuss three things outside of our family: Religion money and politics. 

I'm not sure I agree with him regarding religion because I love learning about religions other than my own so long as there is mutual respect for one another's beliefs. My marriage is a lot like that, reference my post about the Fruits of the Spirit (and if I could just get Tim to start bloggging, you'd be amazed at his grasp of Yiddish and Judaism!).

Money deserves to be verboten, Dad was dead on with that one. (OK I admit a poor choice of words just now, but I've got one sick sense of humor sometimes so it's staying!) 

But politics? I think I will give you fair warning now, particularly regarding the politics behind health care policy and reform, I am very likely to "go there." I may or may not do it here but it gets harder and harder for me to stay away from the political realm these days! Know this, no matter how strongly I might state a belief, I aim to always keep an open mind.

OK - As always, thanks for reading this.

"If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily."

A lovely Chinese proverb I know nothing about but one with which I most certainly agree.

"Lily in the Sky with Diamonds"  

Happy Sunday!

Fired Up! Ready To Go!

All politics aside - I have always loved this story.  Often, Tim and I will look at one another and say "Fired Up," to which the other of us will reply "Ready to go!"

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Good Stuff!

Good days . . .

you just gotta love 'em!  Fun new photos to come soon when I get time to go through them.  One solution to the shaky hands/focusing issue is to fire six or seven frames in quick succession because at least one will be in focus!  Necessity is the mother of invention - wonder what I'll come up with next.

Here's hoping everyone had a nice Memorial Day and if not in person, in their hearts, you all thanked our armed forces.

Until later, here's an oldie but goodie!