Good Morning Sunshine !

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 24

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:33:55 GMT

Patience, patience, patience,

is what the sea teaches.

Patience and faith.

One should lie empty, open,

choiceless as a beach waiting

for a gift from the sea.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Some of us are taking a vacation break. Some of us may have breaks in our normal schedules that come from more difficult life changes ... illness, perhaps, or personal or job loss. Even unwelcome interruptions in the pattern of our daily lives can be an opportunity — for restoration, healing, growth, and wisdom

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

GOOD MORNING !

Patience is often an unwanted attribute. None of us like to wait around for things to happen. However, and that’s a big HOWEVER, we often don’t have much choice in the matter.

It sometimes seems I’ve spent my whole life waiting for something. The important thing to remember while we are trying to be patient is not to let the waiting become more important than the here and now. We can loose the beauty of the moment by thinking we are waiting for something more significant.

You can tell by what I write that I very impatiently wait for the weekends. They’ve become very essential to me. The thing is that Monday through Friday are really just as vital to my life as the weekends. I’m going to have to work harder at appreciating those days too.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Be as patient and faithful as the sea

…should the heat become, too hot to bear,

and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly as gracefully

as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 23

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:25:09 GMT

We ourselves feel that what we are doing

is just a drop in the ocean.

But if that drop was not in the ocean,

I think the ocean would be less

because of that missing drop.

Mother Teresa

Good Morning !

We are all special and important in the scope of things. Sometimes what we do seems so insignificant that we think it can hardly matter. But we all do make a difference. The other day I read that even terrible people have a purpose – that of showing what a bad example looks like. Hopefully we can be good examples and not the other.

There are many examples of good, strong and loving people in the world and when I do my searches on articles and quotes I’ve managed to find quite a selection. Hopefully some of these will help you too. I know that they help to start my day off with a more positive attitude.

I think attitude is more important than a good breakfast. If you are in the right frame of mind, everything seems a little brighter and even going off to work is easier.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.

Blaise Pascal

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 22

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:35:36 GMT

A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU TODAY…

Sandcastles

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.

A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle stix will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common.

They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

Yet that is where the similarities cease.

For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches. As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father's hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide. "It's my castle," he defies.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs...

And I don't know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child's heart.

When the sun sets and the tides take - applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

GOOD MORNING !

Many many times I’ve built my castles in the sand and it’s never failed to surprise me when they are washed away. I don’t know why I was surprised, I should have learned a lesson along the way, but I hadn’t.

Hopefully, I’ve reached the point in my life now that I’ll have no more surprises and disappointments, because I’ve stopped building the castles. I try very hard to be a day to day person and just accept what comes each day. I’ll take what comes and if doesn’t come that’s ok too. Life happens no matter what we plan so we might just as well accept it and go on.

We had some good showers yesterday afternoon, but no bad storms so that was nice . Today is much much cooler than the previous few days for sure. When I looked at the long range forecast, there was no rain for the rest of the week. Maybe this weekend will finally be the one with no rain. It has rained every weekend since I started camping.

It’s terrific Tuesday. Did you know that one report said people are at their best between 10 and noon on Tuesdays. I’ll have to make sure to keep track of what I do in those hours today and see if I was doing something really well.

The boss said he would be in the office today. He’s been out more than in lately so we’ll see how that goes. I get used to having the office all by myself. Oh well, he’ll be in his office and won’t bother me so that’s ok.

I’m looking forward to having a lunch hour. I haven’t had many of them lately either as if no one else is in, I have to stay in also.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

When I Was A Little Girl

When I was a little girl and we would go to the beach, I would try to play in the water, but the waves scared me. And so, I would run out into the water, and I'd see the waves coming and get scared and run back. But the waves would be faster than I could run and it would always overtake me, and throw me off balance, and I would go tumbling.

Then I learned (someone told me) that the way to deal with the waves was to put your hands out in front of you and jump into them when they came.

Author Unknown

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 21

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:23:05 GMT

It's easy to romanticize what we don't know.

It's easy to assume that someone else must

have a greater vision, a nobler purpose than

just going to work, having a family,

and living a life.

People are people, and have been throughout time.

Our problems aren't new or unique.

The secret to happiness is the same

as it has always been.

If you are unhappy with where you are,

don't be there.

Yes, you may be here now,

you may be learning hard lessons today,

but there is no reason to stay there.

If it hurts to touch the stove,

don't touch it.

If you want to be someplace else,

move.

If you want to chase a dream,

then do it.

Learn your lessons where you are,

but don't close off your ability

to move and to learn new lessons someplace else.

Are you happy with the path you're on?

If not, maybe it's time to choose a new one.

There need not be a great mysterious reason.

Sometimes it's just hot and dry,

and the beach is calling your name.

Be where you want to be.

Melody Beattie

GOOD MORNING !

Every time I read something like the quote above, I say to myself – I really do not want to be here…

The HERE is of course is my job, the place where I normally spend 7-4 Monday through Friday. The BEACH is always calling my name.

The question is would I really enjoy my weekends away so much if I didn’t have to work through the week???

Probably not.

They say you can’t have true JOY unless you’ve known sorrow. I guess what they are trying to say is that is must all balance out. A little of this and that can make something wonderful.

It is back to work for me and the week will be a long 5 day one. I’ll have the weekend ahead at the camper as my little pie in the sky. It’ll keep me focused on getting my job done so that come the weekend I can relax again.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

I walked slowly out on the beach.

A few yards below high-water mark

I stopped and read the words again:

WRITE YOUR WORRIES ON THE SAND.

I let the paper blow away, reached down

and picked up a fragment of shell.

Kneeling there under the vault of the sky,

I wrote several words, one above the other.

Then I walked away, and I did not look back.

I had written my troubles on the sand.

The tide was coming in.

Arthur Gordon

…should the heat become, too hot to bear,

and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 20

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:18:39 GMT

Summer afternoon--summer afternoon;

to me those have always been the two

most beautiful words in the English language

THIS IS THE LAKE AT OUR CAMPGROUND

There’s nothing that builds up a toil-weary soul

Like a day on a stream,

Back on the banks of the old fishing hole

Where a fellow can dream.

There’s nothing so good for a man as to flee

From the city and lie

Full length in the shade of a whispering tree

And gaze at the sky.

Out there where the strife and the greed are forgot

And the struggle for pelf,

A man can get rid of each taint and each spot

And dean up himself;

He can be what he wanted to be when a boy,

If only in dreams;

And revel once more in the depths of a joy

That’s as real as it seems.

The things that he hates never follow him there—

The jar of the street,

The rivalries petty, the struggling unfair—

For the open is sweet.

In purity’s realm he can rest and be clean,

Be he humble or great,

And as peaceful his soul may become as the scene

That his eyes contemplate.

It is good for the world that men hunger to go

To the banks of a stream,

And weary of sham and of pomp and of show

They have somewhere to dream.

For this life would be dreary and sordid and base

Did they not now and then

Seek refreshment and calm in God’s wide, open space

And come back to be men.

Edgar A Guest, A Heap O’ Livin’ / Just Folks

GOOD AFTERNOON!

It was so great to get away a few days, but now I’m home and hopefully renewed and refreshed for another work week.

When I arrived at the camper Thursday evening after work I was very tired and weary for sure. On Friday I had a very peaceful start to the day as all was quiet and I was the only one there. By noon DS#1 and family came in and we went spent most of the afternoon at the pool.

Friday evening DD and her hubby arrived with their 2 dogs and also DS#5’s dogs as they are watching them while DS#5 and his wife are on their trip.

Saturday was very hot and steamy and the section in front of where we camp filled up with weekend campers. We spent some time at the pool and just tried to keep cool. In the evening we went out to get ice cream then sat around the campfire.

THIS IS THE TENT AREA ACROSS FROM WHERE WE CAMP

It was so hot that you really didn’t need any more warmth, but it’s always nice to sit around and chat. DSIL said that if we turned on a fan to move the air where we were sitting we would get rid of the hungery mosquitoes that were trying to devour us. So there we sat around the fire with a fan blowing on us. Who would believe it???

Sunday, that is today, I was up early and went off to church as usual. No one in the other 2 campers was up or out when I left and I figured they had turned on their a/c and just wanted to keep cool. When I returned from church DS#1 said he and his family were packing up to go home as there were storms on the way.

DD and her hubby had their boat out and were all set to go fishing and said they were staying for awhile. But…then we heard thunder in the distance so they decided to put the boat away and pack up and head for home too.

Needless to say I wasn’t going to hang around and sit in a storm by myself, so the beagle and I came home too. As I’m home so early in the day I’ll probably get a jump start on the laundry and just relax a bit more.

I hope you all had a great weekend and got some of that wonderful R&R too.

THIS IS THE CHURCH I'M GOING TO WHILE CAMPING

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

A SUMMER PRAYER

Long warm days... The pace of life slows...

A time for picnics and rest in the shade...

Lord, help me to rest awhile

in the cooling shade of your presence.

Slow down my restless heart

and fill me with gentle compassion

for all your people.

Amen

THE POOL I SPENT MOST OF FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT.

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on,

kick back, and let the woes slide on by.

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 17

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:24:16 GMT

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer quite the other way

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

Robert Louis Stevenson

GOOD MORNING!

The poem above describes me to a tee…I do go to bed before it’s dark. The neighbors children are usually still outside playing. In my opinion they are out too late, but my opinion doesn’t mean a thing.

I would love to be sitting out on a pleasant evening watching the stars and listening to the evening sounds, but since I get up so early in the morning, it means I must go to bed early too.

I think it must be really dark about 10 o’clock now and usually I head upstairs about 9. The blessing of the weekend is I get to stay up. I sit by the campfire most nights til 11 or 11:30. It’s a little bit of heaven for sure.

I’ll head out to the camper after work today as tomorrow is a vacation day so it’ll be a nice 3 day long weekend for me. 2 nights by the campfire does sound grand. You’ll all be in my thoughts and prayers. I’ll check in Sunday evening to let you know how the weekend went.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.

Ada Louise Huxtable

The summer heat is coming,

and so I'm sending you a wish

to stay cool beneath the scalding sun.

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly as gracefully

as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 16

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:27:38 GMT

No bought potpourri is so pleasant

as that made from ones own garden,

for the petals of the flowers

one has gathered at home

hold the sunshine and memories of summer,

and of past summers

only the sunny days should be remembered.

Eleanor Sinclair-Rhode

GOOD MORNING !

I have a long list of happy times and sunny days that I can remember.

I remember going on picnics with my children and their dad teaching them to fish.

I remember hiking trails with the Cub Scouts at Summer Camp when I was a den leader for my boys and many many others.

I remember the fresh smell of little ones after a bath on a hot sticky day.

I remember building sand castles with moats around them

I remember staying with a friend and her family at the beach for a week when I was young…

I remember turning on the water sprinkler for the babes to run through

I remember the window fans that would lull you to sleep long before air conditioning became so popular.

I remember going to church with a summer hat, white gloves and shoes and purse to match. Oh, we never went without nylons and most of us wore something to hold the stockings up. The church didn’t have a/c either, but we never complained.

I remember walking the dusty roads winding around the hills and catching crayfish in the creek at my grand parent’s farm.

I remember fishing off their swinging bridge that crossed the creek and catching little blue gill.

Oh…there is lots more too…but that’s enough for today. I’ve so many happy sunny moments to be treasured.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Happy times and bygone days are never lost. . . In truth, they grow more wonderful within the heart that keeps them.

Kay Andrew

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly as gracefully

as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

GRAPHICS BY:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 15

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:36:21 GMT

Summer afternoon--summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

Edith Wharton

Nothing is more memorable than a smell.

One scent can be unexpected,

momentary and fleeting,

yet conjure up a childhood summer

beside a lake in the mountains...

Diane Ackerman

GOOD MORNING !

The big news of Monday was the fact that my beagle sniffed out a skunk hiding behind my back door steps. The pest control people will come today so I’ll keep you updated on that as we go along.

We were very fortunate that skunk kept his bad smell to its self. There are better smells to remember.

Everytime I smell roses I think of my mom. She wore a rose frangranced lotion for years. If I smell biscuits baking I think of my maternal grand mother. She baked biscuits for most every meal 3 times a day as long as my grand father was living.

If I smell chicken soup I think of my paternal grandmother. She was a Hungarian from the old country and made that soup better than any I’ve ever tasted.

Of course I love the smell of the beach and the ocean too. It brings to mind some very special thoughts of long ago.

When we think about it smells are so important. One of my little grand daughters won’t eat something without smelling it first. If she has a cold and her nose is plugged up…she eats next to nothing.

Thank the dear Lord my beagle has a good smeller…we would have never found out about the skunk til it was too late and we all would have smelled very badly.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Vacation used to be a luxury,

but in today's world it has become a necessity.

Author Unknown

The summer heat is coming,

and so I'm sending you a wish

to stay cool beneath the scalding sun.

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear, and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly as gracefully

as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on, kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 14

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:26:56 GMT

Summer will pass

and we'll wish that we had taken more

time to appreciate the warm weather.

These are all regrets,

a feeling that is much better

to avoid in our lives.

And the only way to avoid regret

in the future is to act in authentic ways today,

and to get as much as we

can out of each day,

and to give as much as we can to each day

GOOD MORNING !

I have to say that this summer is not going by unappreciated by me for sure. I have been loving most every moment of it so far. Oh, there have been a few rainy days that I’d rather not repeat, but for the most part I am savoring every moment.

If you don’t happen to live where winters are dark cold and dreary, you would never know just how much summer means. It has been grand getting up in the morning and not shivering as I step out of my nice warm bed. It’s also very nice to have longer daylight hours and to be able to drive to work in the daylight and not the dark. The warmth of the sun seems to take away the aches and pains that bothered me and being able to see my children a little more warms my heart too.

I had lots of R & R over the weekend and I should be ready for what may come my way today. It’ll be a busy start to the week as I dive into the payroll when I arrive at work this morning. Hopefully my mind and body will remember they are no longer in the vacation mode and will cooperate .

I owe, I owe,

It’s off to work I go…

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Appreciate every moment of every day because in retrospect they will all have gone by too fast.

M. Buchwald

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear,

and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on,

kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.

graphics by:

BOOK 08, CHAPTER 7, PAGE 13

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:23:56 GMT

Summer Shower

A drop fell on the apple tree,

Another on the roof;

A half a dozen kissed the eaves,

And made the gables laugh.

A few went out to help the brook,

That went to help the sea.

Myself conjectured,

Were they pearls,

What necklaces could be!

The dust replaced in hoisted roads,

The birds jocose sung;

The sunshine threw his hat away,

The orchards spangles hung.

The breezes brought dejected lutes,

And bathed them in the glee;

The East put out a single flag,

And signed the fete away.

Emily Dickinson

GOOD EVENING !

I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm home once more and sooooo lazy that it's hard for me to sit up and put this entry in. I thought I'd better get it in before I fall asleep and would have to do it tomorrow. The long ride home coasting up and down the hills almost did it. Put me to sleep I mean.

We had lots and lots of rain, mixed in with some very hot and steamy weather . There were lots of tent campers this weekend and Ifelt so sorry for them when it rained. We have nice decks with awnings and campers with a/c so really no matter the weather it is still fun for us. I finished reading one book and got half way through another .

Monday - Friday this week should be nice and sunny each day they say. It's still too soon for an accurate weekend forecast, but I'm willing to bet it'll rain again. As long as some sun shines I'm happy though.

Now I best get busy and get things ready around here for another work week. Vacation is over for me til next weekend and then I'll have one of my nice long 3 day weekends. I'll be ready for that I'm sure.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking.

Earl Wilson

I hope the summer is a great one,

with lots of fun and excitement.

But should the heat become,

too hot to bear,

and should trouble find you,

I hope you'll remember to fly

as gracefully as a butterfly

above it all.

Just slip your sunglasses on,

kick back,

and let the woes slide on by.