Saturday in spring...or...Playing it safe"....

I must confess that I had a vastly different picture I nearly posted today, but I'm saving it for another time, if I don't lose my nerve, lol. Can a picture be totally appropriate and inappropriate at the same time? Maybe so....Anyway, you'll know it's *the one* if/when I use it, and you'll very likely guess the reason why.... To say the least, it's been a perfectly glorious morning.

It is absolutely spring out there and there are blooms popping all over the place. Two of our neighbors across the street are having yard sales, and SGTex was dispatched twice to check out a couple of things, bless his heart.

So today, it's all kinds of busy on our street with people coming and going, kids on bikes and birds chattering and oddly enough, the dogs are somewhat quiet. I told C last night on the phone that it's "dog hell" in this neighborhood-- not in a really bad, but somewhat comical way, and at times it can get p.r.e.t.t.y. n.o.i.s.y. LOL!!

We've 2 neighbor chihuahuas next door, 2 neighbor chihuahuas across the street. They enjoy our back yard and like to dig their way in for coffee mornings. Then on the other side is a tiny beagle-like thing that squeaks and basically rules the roost. Our 2 Havanese are kept real close, but Sebastian does escape and run in mad circles around the yard whenever he gets the chance, with Seamus tattle-barking from the kitchen. The most civilized of the gang is the neighborly old black lab from across the street who moseys over to look through the neighbor's gate to see if the tiny squeaker is home.

It was a good week, all in all, and if you don't believe me, stop by to see the dozen long-stemmed red roses My Man brought home yesterday morning in order to *WOW* me...which explains the mysterious picture I nearly posted, but alas, I am a bit shy...... ;+)

Shawn

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You can’t possess radiance, you can only admire it....”

"I mean, how many young women get a set of rubies just for doing something wholesome like swimming laps? Or win a diamond ring at Ping-Pong with their husband...? Well, I did, and for all of these memories and the people in my life I feel blessed. " ~Elizabeth Taylor

I was so sad and surprised, while watching CNN this morning, the news came that Elizabeth Taylor had passed on. I had heard that she'd been failing, but it didn't really register with me that she'd actually die.....I looked over at my husband and the first thing I said was something about Michael Jackson waiting on the other side of the River Styx to greet her, holding the lamp high and happily helping her onto the shore. I also mentioned that I figured she'd no doubt have handed the oarsman a diamond earring in payment for crossing....and SGTex said, "No doubt she wasn't the first to have done so."

I'm hoping that "Father of the Bride" will be on TV, and maybe we'll get a chance to see it. Or see her with Sir Richard Burton playing Cleopatra... That might be nice. Did you know that she relinquished her American citizenship to marry him? I'd forgotten that, and I guess I don't mind too much that she'd do that. It only goes to show you what a woman will do, when she has a great love for a great man.

Here's to you, Elizabeth Taylor, and to your journey to and through your next life. May it be filled with every happiness and may all your hopes and dreams come true.

Shawn

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photo courtesy of: http://fwallpapers.com

This isn't at all about St. Patrick's day, but....

.....it's about me, doing a bit of light thinking about life these days.

Japan: It would be wrong for me to skip over this topic. In fact, it should be the most important topic any of us discuss these days. I can't even imagine what goes on in the hearts and minds of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. What they're going to do in order to find some normalcy in their lives is beyond my comprehension.

What really gets to me, just as much as the heart-wrenching stories and images is what so many have to say as to the 'why' of what happened. For some reason there are those who are compelled to slap a 'reason' on the situation. It's either God giving a big warning to a population who, as a whole, don't worship Him, or it's Ma Nature fighting back and grabbing people by the short hairs, doing some saber-rattling. Either one of those ideas seems rather preposterous to me, seeing that Japan sits on one end of the Ring of Fire and the Earth has a tendency to rearrange continental plates from time to time. Things move and shift and rattle, because that's what a planet does. At least this one.

Vocation versus Avocation: Or, work to play and play to work. Or work and play at the same time. I read on another blog.... (that shall remain nameless, not because I'm jealous of it or anything, but because I can't remember what the name of it is and don't want to sort through my blog list on my favorites right now. Honestly).... Hey, did you read that sentence in one long breath, because that's how I typed it...eyeroll...As I was saying, I read that there are more than a few "tests" one can use in order to measure success potential for a new business (ad)venture. You all have no doubt heard that the main thing is, "love what you do/do what you love." Ummm, I'm not sure people are going to want to pay us for doing that, but you get the gist of what I'm saying. ;+) Food for thought, though. That's been on our minds lately, and has made for some pretty interesting discussion. We have our goals and dreams, and I guess something can be said for the fact that they remain the same. Are we closer to achieving them? I don't know, except to say that we've accomplished some things and have gotten some Big Deal Stuff out of the way, which is good. And the big things that we did were on The Dream List, aamof.

The day-to-day: In this case, I'm thinking that settling into somewhat of a routine is going to be a good thing for us. Not a rut, but a routine. There's a difference. :+) It's nice to see the evenings be longer, but since we changed the clocks I've noticed it's dark in the mornings when I wake up for the first time, and that's different. Spring is here, complete with birds and blooms all over the place, and I love it. I know, I probably said the same thing last year, and the year before that. :+) Hey, the mockingbirds arrived! I don't know where they go when they're not here, but it sure was fun to see them on the neighbor's back gate, harrassing Mortimer, their cat. It's not really named Mortimer, but I can't ever remember that cat's name and don't want to bother Sir, who is working.

Time to go see about dinner. Thanks for dropping by......

)O(

Shawn

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Saturday night....

Just a few thoughts about the past few days and what's been happening in the world.

This weekend, I am:

Feeling really sorry for those in Japan, especially. I cannot begin to comprehend their trauma and the devastation, and my heart goes out to them and to those who love them. I don't know about you, but I'm not seeing this as a 2012 thing or 'the good earth gone bad,' or 'mother nature is showing us up' or anything like that. I'm not one to close my eyes to the reason behind things, and TTYTT, I'm quite mystical and ready to see the supernatural, but some of the chatter comes a little too close to laying blame, and that makes me uncomfortable. We'll see what the upcoming super moon effects are, if any. I guess there's more to learn and wonder at than we realize, isn't there?

Contemplating making some changes this spring, and hoping to subtract some of the negative and add some of the positive effects upon our day-to-day life. Not bad~ a minus negative equals a positive. :+)

Well, that's about it for now. Time to wrap up the day and go share a midnight picnic with You-Know-Who......

And that's something I can wrap my mind and heart around, without any problem at all.....

Shawn

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