Tag: OWS

Mother’s Day – What I See

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Mother’s Day is odd at this stage in my life. I think of my two adult children…my 2 adventures in motherhood. They live 500 miles away, so an in-person celebration rarely happens…pandemic or no pandemic. A quiet day at home with phone calls will be what I look forward to. Having children of my own made this a holiday to enjoy. Now it’s a long distance joy.

These beautiful flowers arrived from my daughter and her family with a sweet message of love and gratitude. Their lovely card arrived yesterday. I am very happy with that…along with memories of so many Mother’s Days gone by. I can see in my mind’s eye all the hugs, handmade cards, thoughtful gifts, breakfast in bed (complete with a printed menu one year), traditional photos in front of the forsythia (if it was blooming!) in the side yard. My in-laws, who only lived 30 minutes away, would come over to share in the celebration. “Here’s your Mother’s Day!” my mother-in-law once announced upon arrival…handing me a gorgeous hanging fuchsia plant to display on our deck. I always got a kick out of her – she got right to the point. I smile thinking back on it.

I noticed this flower arrangement includes my favorite “fun flowers” – snapdragons! Even now, I just can’t resist pinching one and seeing it “talk.” Smiles there too.

Happy Mother’s Day!

One Word Sunday: See or Sea
Cee’s Flower of the Day

Drink

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OneWordSunday: Drink

Mother and Child
Mary Cassatt

This painting caught my eye at the Shelburne Museum (Shelburne, Vermont) during a visit in 2019. I was struck by the tenderness captured between mother and child. As a former nursing mother, it brought back sweet memories.

In my mind…the perfect drink.

Lost

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One Word Sunday: Lost

Lost. Now here’s a topic I am intimately familiar with. My claim to fame, such as it were. Spatially challenged? Don’t try to follow me to the elevator when I leave a hotel room. It will take a couple of tries before I get there. Those doors all look the same. They do!

My earliest dreams – probably at the age of 6 or 7 – were nightmarish…riding the bus home from school and being dropped off in a neighborhood that at first looked like mine. I’d walk from house to house looking for My House. The familiar ranch with the brick front porch. I became hopelessly lost in those dreams and woke up in a panic. Funny how those memories stay intact.

It didn’t improve with age. I needed a map or written directions for (many) months when driving to a new job 20 minutes away – this was back in 1995. One family joke is…what would happen to some poor soul who asked ME for directions? It’s happened and I freeze.

So, imagine my eternal gratitude and celebration when the Garmin navigator device was invented – replacing the ever reliable AAA Trip-tick with its booklet full of detailed maps. And then miracle of miracles…GPS google maps! Live action and an insistent voice that keeps Recalculating! At least I don’t have to do it.

My email spam folder often provides comic relief – begging me to click on links and apply to work for a major ride sharing company. Can you imagine? They obviously did very little research – if any – as to who they target for advertising. Even with a GPS chirping away, it would be risky business hiring me as a driver.

No matter…I still have a stash of street maps jammed in the seat pocket of my car…just in case. And they always work.

In Reverse

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One Word Sunday: Reverse

On this day of rain and wind as tropical storm Henri (not a hurricane, phew!) passes overhead, I thought I’d share a photo of a warm sunny day…featuring the reverse side of a sunflower.

The “face” of the mighty sunflower usually gets all the attention, but not this time.

Handy for a Hammock

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One Word Sunday: Handy
BeckyB’s July Squares: Treesquare

Father & 3 year old daughter – 1985

What is a tree (or two) handy for? Besides climbing that is.

Trees can be perfect for hanging a hammock!

A place to settle on a hot August afternoon, when a little girl says…let’s read a book daddy!

Hide and Seek

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One Word Sunday: Light
Weekend Sky

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It’s been one of those weeks. You know, one you’d like to forget…pretend it’s a dream.

However…today brought with it the promise of longer days with the beginning of daylight savings time where I live. I know the days aren’t really longer, but the hours of daylight will begin to stretch well past dinnertime. I’ll take more light however I can get it.

The sun kept teasing me this morning as I sat at my computer. It would shine through my window…and then disappear…shining…disappearing. It got me out of my chair. I stepped outside and was greeted by a cloud parade playing hide and seek. Or was it the sun playing hide and seek? I watched and waited and clicked.

In capturing the action – and probably staring into the sun too long – I began noticing the clouds making faces. Or something. Whatever was going on, I got it.

Seasonal

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One Word Sunday: Seasonal

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You have to look down and step carefully during a walk in the woods…after a much needed rain. Otherwise your shoes get soaked.

During one such walk in mid October, I was greeted by a mirror image of the view from above. Trees – pelted by the previous day’s storm – still dropping their leaves on the path. It reminded me of those accidental (or not) double exposures from back in the days of film.

The last of Autumn’s colors…briefly preserved.