A Beautiful Past

No man is rich enough to buy back his past.

Oscar Wilde

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Happy Veteran's Day to the men, women and their families who serve or who have served in our military. Thank you for your selfless sacrifice and service. Thank you for doing what you do so that we all may live free.

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Ready to Rise

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The rain has beaten down this poor leaf.

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But, wait!

Do you see it?

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The stem is fighting the pressure to be flattened.

In it's struggle it's readying itself to fly when the right opportunity comes along.

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I so relate to this.

Do you?

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Mellow Yellow Monday - Power of Love

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We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace. -William Ewart Gladstone

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All I can add to this quote is, "AMEN!"

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I am participating in Mellow Yellow Monday's this week - click here for more fun!

Drenched in Words

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment.

- Hart Crane

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Ever struggle with words?

Ever have trouble getting thoughts to come out your mouth in the correct order?

Or, how about being tongue tied when your heart is bursting with feelings.

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Hate it when that happens...

don't you?

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Broken Instruments

[A] final comfort that is small, but not cold: The heart is the only broken instrument that works.

- T.E. Kalem
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"Put one foot in front of the other."

"Put a smile on that beautiful face."

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I have heard those two phrases spoken by my mother many, many times.

Those phrases were usually said to me as I embarked on some new life journey and were usually on the other side of a new heartache.

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It's not easy to keep going when your heart is broken.

There are times when I wanted to make the world stop. I hoped against all odds that the universe might skip a beat and allow me to catch my breath. Or, maybe movement could pause a moment to allow me to gather the shattered pieces from the ground to tuck into my purse.

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Time doesn't stand still - for anyone - for any reason - ever.

And, maybe that's a good thing.

Maybe "time marching on" teaches us something in it's procession.

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I don't know, yet. I'm still learning.

Ever learning.

Always learning....

...Which is a very good thing.

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Sweet as honey

My grandfather always said that living is like licking honey off a thorn.

- Louis Adamic

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These thorns may resemble the color of honey, but for some strange reason I don't think they taste as sweet!

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Anyone interested in finding out?

I could mail you a sample!

;o)

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PS: Doogie is on pain meds (several!) and CAN move - just doesn't want to due to pain. He's resting in his bed. Thank you for your prayers!

Paw Baby

Dogs are miracles with paws.

- Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

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Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.

- Agnes Sligh Turnbull

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We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults. Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment.

- George Eliot
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I betchuve missed clicks of my baby, huh?

Maybe it is I who has missed posting them?

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In any case... my little baby is in dire need of prayers.

Or, maybe it's me needing prayers for him.

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Doogie's back pain has increased significantly.

He's had some treatments that have hurt and not helped.

He's on pain meds, steroids and several supplements as surgery is not an option.

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Please pray for Doogie's healing, relief of pain and increase in mobility.

Please pray for my peace and grace when the time comes to let him go.

I'll need it. And then some.

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He's been with me only two years but it feels like forever - in such a wonderful way.

He's my child in so many ways.

I know I was the one who initiated the adoption - but he so adopted me into his little heart.

He had me at first wag.

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Anywhere

Anywhere is paradise; it's up to you.

- Author Unknown

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This is an image that allows my imagination to soar.

The greens and blues ... the trees, grasses, water and sky .... they could almost be anywhere.

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Africa is what comes to my mind when I look at this image though.

And no, I've never been there. And no, I have no idea if they have such places there.

However, this image makes me think of a young man I care about that is about to graduate.

He invited me to his graduation in Africa and though I cannot attend in person, I am already there in heart and spirit. I pray his future is as bright as his smile and that his dreams come to fruition. I pray he never loses sight of God's love for him.

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So.... if wishes could come true I would wish myself to Africa to see a young man I care about graduate.

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If wishes would come true, what would you wish for today?

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Outstretched Hands

The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist.

-Laurence Leamer, King of the Night

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Clear Thoughts

Thoughts come clearly while one walks.

- Thomas Mann

Have you ever noticed how troubled thoughts begin to sort themselves out when you go for a walk or a run?

I have. Walking boosts creativity and gets my ideas flowing which is an added benefit to exercise.

Now, however, thoughts turn to how to keep umbrellas from turning inside out due to the heavy winds and rains.

These Oaks are now stripped bare.

But oh, what a glorious show they put on this year!

Sweet Vegetables

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. - Jim Davis

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I'd add Candy Corn to the list of suggestions, too!

Eat up!

The power of a button

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart.

-Gilbert Highet

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These yellow babies belong to my Mom. I saw them and instantly thought, “button, button, whose got the button!”

I know… don’t ask.

The quote for today’s image is almost an exact thought of mine.

I am really into reading lately and as I was reading I got to thinking how most people see a book as just lifeless sheets of paper with lots of words typed in them.

I’ve been seeing some as mirrors of my soul, my hopes and dreams.

I’ve read some that give me guidance and encouragement in areas of life that I struggle with.

And, there’s still others that make me laugh or cry and get so caught up in them I forget to turn out my light and go to sleep.

If it’s been a while…pick up a good book, find a comfy chair, a warm drink…and read.

I think you’ll be glad you did.

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Skywatch Friday - Sounds of color

Knock on the sky and listen to the sound.

- Zen Saying

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Every time I go out to shoot I look towards the sky. I look for light and color.

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Today, our Pacific Northwest skies are gray. (They often are during Autumn and Winter.)

When gray is in the horizon I try to use it as a backdrop for vibrant colors.

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Like these.

I'm having a hard time finding my favorite colors this Autumn. These colors are close contenders!

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Please click here for more Skywatch photos around the world!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Secret Patience

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Dizzying love

I'm so in love, every time I look at you my soul gets dizzy.

- Jaesse Tyler

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I am in love with Autumn..... with these COLORS.

I just can't get enough of them.

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I'm so in love that I've even picked boquets of leaves for my mantel.

Yes, my dizzying love for them is THAT much.

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And, even though the wind and rain has come (and more and more rain) I'm still in love with the colors that are growing darker and stained. As the trees become threadbare I get a little sad, but know that beauty lies just behind when the tree limbs are covered in snow or set aglow by Winter sunsets.

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Happy Autumn Blessings!

A beacon

A happy person is a beacon of light that shines across the darkest night to guide those across the rocky seas of life. - Holly Cregar Byerley, @JoviGirl8 ( via www.QuoteGarden.com )

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Yellow trees this year are drawing me out of my cocoon.
To me they are like beacon's of light when I'm lost in a dark night.
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They glow.
They shine.
They lead.
They beckon.
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I am helplessly drawn to their beauty.
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Promise vs Fear

We promise according to our hopes, and perform according to our fears.

- Francois duc de la Rochefoucauld

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I'm really curious, why do you think this quote rings true?

That is, if it rings true for you.

It rings true for me, at least right now it does.

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Is it because we are afraid to face our fears?
Are we afraid we might succeed?

Or, maybe we are afraid of what comes next - after we succeed.

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I don't have the answer - obviously - but I know I'm working on figuring it out.

Blessings to you as you go about your week.

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Yum!

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them.

- Phil Pastoret

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This pretty lady is Riley. She is one of the paw-babies living next door to my mom.

According to my Mom, Riley and her pal Winston, have been enjoying the grapes that fall off her vines.

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I saw Riley sitting so patiently (actually she was standing and straining to reach the grapes herself!) so I had to pick a couple for her and Winston.

I tried to give one to my little Doogie. He didn't like it much... go figure!

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Skywatch Friday - Hills of Friendship

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. - Elisabeth Foley

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I was so blessed today to be able to spend time with my great friends from Lake Curlew!

I clicked this from the car window (no, I was not driving) off of Highway 2. I just adore the color in the hills. I think the dark and rainy clouds make the colors just pop.

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Thank you, Diane and Jed, for a wonderful day. I so enjoyed spending time with you!

Thank you, Diane, for the delicious coffee and the hours of chatting.

I miss you already and can't wait to see you both again.

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Update: Jed has completed his radiation treatments and is doing very well. Hallelujah! Next step is imaging and talking with the oncologist to get those results. We are continuing to pray that the spot in the brain is now gone and that the spots in his lungs have not grown and are miraculously gone, too! Diane, Jed and I thank you for your continued prayers.

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Please click here for other Skywatch photos!

Two of a kind

There are at least two kinds of cowards. One kind always lives with himself, afraid to face the world. The other kind lives with the world, afraid to face himself.

- Roscoe Snowden

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Forgiveness

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.

- Paul Boese

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Today's post is dedicated to a young man involved in a dramatic and devastating situation.

I do not know the exact details but I do know that one life is lost and many others are forever drastically changed.

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I can't imagine what this young man is going through. I am sure he feels alone and scared. He must be hurting in indescribable ways as he's said he wants to die.

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Please pray for this man and the families involved. Please pray for encouragement, strength, guidance, understanding, compassion, forgiveness and love. Everyone in this situation will need all of this and more. Thank you.

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Fall Impressions

The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?

- Pablo Picasso

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The artist does not see things as they are, but as he is.

- Alfred Tonnelle

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The artist gazes upon a reality and creates his own impression. The viewer gazes upon the impression and creates his own reality.

- Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

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Blood Red

Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.

- Mark Overby

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Lingering Words

The best things said come last. People will talk for hours saying nothing much and then linger at the door with words that come with a rush from the heart.

- Alan Alda

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Ever notice this quote in your own life?
I used to notice this in mine quite a bit.

I would be having a conversation with someone and have something really important I needed to say. We would talk and talk and then when we got near the end of the conversation I would all of a sudden spew what needed to be said.

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Was it nerves?
Was it fear in speaking from my heart?
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Probably.

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But at least it got said.

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Real Life

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For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.

But there was always some obstacle in the way.

Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

- Fr. Alfred D'Souza
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Real life is a mixture of color and texture, inhaling and exhaling, living and dying.

Real life contains all of those things that we so often want to exclude from our lives yet are very much a part of our inner beings.

Real life is a really big deal.

And, we only get to live it once.

Make it the absolute best you can!

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PS: Crosshatch filter and Canvas Texture filter added to make "Real Life" a painting look-a-like

Every One

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

- Braveheart

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Isn't that quote sad?

I think it is...

I haven't lived all my years like I would have wanted - for various reasons.

However, I have been working my mind to the bone (a lot!) to discover the life I am meant to live.

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It's a process, and it's a journey. It's also an event I intend to fully enjoy.

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Happy Weekend to you and may you fully live each moment!

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Life in years

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

- Abraham Lincoln

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Minute by minute

Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.

- Stephen Vincent Benét

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Dying

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

- Norman Cousins

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Faith-full

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Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.

- J.R.R. Tolkien

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Every once in a while I think we need to purge ourselves of negativity and doubt.

However, if we can encourage ourselves to think before we speak - especially if we are talking within ourselves - I think we can get one step beyond the skepticism. I believe if we get our mouths to speak only words of faith, instead of doubt, we not only encourage ourselves but find strength to endure and creativity to solve problems.

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A Party

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

- George Cooper, "October's Party"

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I pray you enjoy your week...

and notice the color that's all around.

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