In Honor of Today, The Color Blue

I like to think of Blue as a positive color as in the US Air Force theme song Wild Blue Yonder or that person who remains with you thick and thin as a true blue friend. And the photos so far this month from Becky’s theme of July Blues has been amazing. To all photographers who play in this interesting world of blogosphere, I thank you for sharing your gift with the rest of us. Some of us (me) do not really have that gift so these challenges are a great way for me to play and enjoy others talents.

Below is my BLUE for today since this is a great day for the red,white & BLUE and I share it also with Cee’s FOTD for my daily flower post.

Weeds are flowers as well and some have the most amazing flowers. This one is interesting as it only have two petals – reminds me of a tiny mouse. And those of you who read some of my post know that I am always making other creations from flowers like angels, choirs and yes, even a mouse.

IMG_20190704_105018 — Two blue ears, two yellow eyes and a yellow nose

Enjoy your day and if you are in the US, Happy Fourth, share smiles and hugs when possible, and as always remember to be kind.

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The Great Outdoors, fpj-photo-challenge

While this week’s challenge from Jansen Photo is Outdoors, I believe it is meant for the beauty of nature…well, I am going to bend that just a bit and be amazed by the architecture of man spanning the Mississippi River. After all, it is outdoors. This bridge has been under construction now for about 2 years and I think it is due to open by end of next year. It has been amazing to watch, I posted earlier pictures in November if you care to go see those here. We went across to the other side and had to use this bridge – what a reroute you have to go through right now, glad I don’t have to use it everyday because the roads are moving as well.

But I was amazed at the progress, especially knowing the winter we went through and the massive flood (91 days) that has just now settled back into its banks.

So check out these pictures and remember even though man can aggravate you at time, he can be pretty amazing as well. I also realize that I am a bit of a geek since I came from quality management but I think these are neat. Hope you enjoy.

These white things sticking in the air are going to be archways spanning across.

And in closing, I remind you to maybe reach out and build a bridge over to someone or something who needs to cross into kindness. It may bring brightness into their lives.

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Letters and Number Challenge

Since it is lunch time and I am in the kitchen, its the perfect place for letters and numbers. Our kitchens are not always for food but are also our hub of organization and a center for family, at least in my kitchen. Stuff is stuck all over the fridge.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is Letters and Numbers so enjoy my humor as I eat lunch.

As you have fun throughout your day remember not everyone is having fun. Share a smile and be kind. It may just brighten their day.

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July’s Colors and Letters, Citysonnet

Photo A Day Challenge from Citysonnet looks to be fun during the month of July. Well, a lot of the challenges do but looking over the list, these I can do without having to go far with my camera. Since my month has the potential to be out of control, this one may be an easy one for me to do.

July 1 is FAVORITE COLOR – that is easy – purple.

Purple is Skeeter’s favorite color as well.

Skeeter at Work — Right down to her purple polka dotted shoes.

And as always, I remind myself and all others the power of being kind. It has lasting power you may not visibly see but the brightness of it shines forever.

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Escapist Coloring Club,July 1

It is so much fun to see the creative colors and images we come up with for Linda Hill’s monthly Escapist Coloring club. I enjoy it’s fun but also I remind myself on those night when I can not sleep that I am working on a project for the Escapist Color Club prompt.

This month I have colored the delicate flowering hippo, a new breed for the tropical zones.

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She wears green eye-shadow to accentuate her lovely blue eyes. No self respecting male hippo would ever wear green eye-shadow.

Come join in on the fun and color with us.

As I was researching new ideas for showing kindness I found an entire website of pages to color that represent kindness. I just typed in “pictures of kind and coloring”.

color kind — I will have to print this and color it for next month

So remember to always be kind.

A Special Kind of Stupid

Anyone who reads my posts regularly knows that I am a major supporter of being kind and trying to find the best in people. And I believe that is how everyone needs to be treated. That is what is right. However…(Don’t you hate it when a sentence starts off with a however or a but after a statement like that has been said. You know it doesn’t bode well.)…People are not born stupid but they sure can act stupid and this guy was a special kind of stupid.

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It’s Friday evening and we usually always go out on Friday evening but because of the week we both had, we decided on take out. The casino about 15 minutes from the house has a pretty good little restaurant with sandwiches and stuff so we opted for that. I ordered ahead and went to go pick it up. As I got there, there is a pickup truck kind of out by itself and the windows are cracked and a dog was barking from inside. That made me unhappy as it is still 86 degrees and too hot to leave your dog in a car with only a small crack, but I see other movement so I figure and hope there is a person also inside.

I pickup my sandwiches and head back to my car and the dog is still barking. This only exacerbates the dogs situation because he is guarding the truck, he is hot because it 86 degrees – I don’t care that the sun is starting to go down, its still hot. Unacceptable practice in my book.

So I drive over by this truck to check out the situation and yes there is another body in there, a second dog. So now I am really mad. I am mumbling to myself the cruelty of this guy as I am looking for a scrap sheet of paper as I am going to leave him a note and get his tag number. So I write my note to put under the windshield and then get out of my car. Dogs have a body language and dogs who are wagging their tails so hard that it wags their entire back end are not ferocious dogs. I speak to the dogs as they are trying to get their heads out the window for attention and then I head around the front of the truck to get to the drivers side windshield. Now you need to visualize this, as this is the funny part of the story – this truck has massive mud bogging tires on it and I am only 5’4″, this was going to be a challenge but I was determined. As I place my hands on the hood of the truck to lift up and grab for the windshield wiper, I came back down with a shock. The truck is running. Whhaaatt??? Right now, this area is having an issue with car thieves and you are going to purposely leave your truck with the window partly down with dogs inside that are obviously not really mean dogs…and it’s running.

I got back in my car as I realized the dogs were okay and …this guy was not.

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We really should not judge people but sometimes their actions make us shake our heads in disbelief. “What did you do with your brain today? Take it out and play with it like a slinky?”

Forgive me for this unkind post. God did not give this guy the disability of not being able to think, especially if he is driving a 35K pickup, although he is throwing away money at a casino…so…

And what am I doing at a casino…just getting food. Casinos are known for good food and this one is pretty good and its close.

Forgive me again as I totally believe in always being kind. Lord give us strength to deal with those who try our patience. And try to be kind.

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I have no cute anecdote type picture to close this post so just enjoy the beauty of nature.

Angels in Orchids

I do enjoy my flowers but I also enjoy the many photographers who take pictures of flowers and life who then share them with us like Cee’s photos and challenges, Nancy Merrill’s many challenges or Irene’s many beautiful flowers she comes upon in the various gardens or trails she goes on.

I posted my orchid the other day with Cee’s “3” post but I am posting it again for the angels that I can see in these flowers. The beauty of flowers to me shows God color palette of the day and gardens are an amazing place to find and see His handiwork. Maybe I can go to our botanical garden this weekend.

Below are my angels of today.

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This angel has a skirt of lovely pink finishing in white at the bottom with a yellow bodice and the sleeves raised in praise are pink to match the skirt. There is a turtleneck color in creme with pink splotches and her hair in veiled in white. And her wings are splayed out behind her in graceful elegance. I realize that may be a little too much out of the box for some but I love to play and visualize other creations out of the beauty we find in nature.

Below is this same orchid with its fellow angel above it that if you follow the same patterns of color, this one seems to have its head and hands lowered down in prayer.

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The angle difference of the top flower makes the sleeves look like they are attached at the top and the yellow center looks to be a yellow muff for the hands. The head seems to be more in a downward tilt looking at the yellow muff in a stance of prayer.

Hey, its all in the eyes of the individual artist and we all are artist in our own realm. As long as we look, admire and enjoy their beauty, its all good – even if it gets a little quirky. As you admire the beauty around you, take time to smile and let your smile shine. That shine may be just the thing to dispel the gloom of someone else’s bad day. So shine on and be kind.

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Spellcheck Not Enough

There have been several complaints going across the waves of WordPress about them eliminating the spellcheck feature and while that is a concern and something I use each time I am at the computer…with me, that just isn’t enough – I need a WORD check. I apologize to all who read my words…I promise I do re-read and edit before I post…yet I still miss blatant errors. It’s embarrassing…I even went to college! – like that would make a difference.

Recently I posted on my Instagram page to come over and see my blog for encouragement, flowers, dogs and silliness. So I went through the Instagram site to see how they would see things…”oh mi gudness”!! How did I miss that, oh and look at that dumbness…so embarrassing.

So yes, I feel like a dingbat but I remember reading an article where your brain knows what you are trying to say or read and does it for you eliminating the error in your brain. Even those silly games where the letters in the center are wrong and if you can still read the sentence, you are supposed to be smart. Yea I am good at that but still mess up here. Good grief.

And for those of us with ADD or who have brains that go two sentences ahead of what you are trying to say or do, its a real problem, especially if you are trying to convey and important message.

So I apologize in advance and hope that is not the reason you would never be interest in the book I am getting published this fall. I have editors to fix that nonsense. But if you are a lover of dogs and a believer in the rainbow bridge, it may be a book of interest to make you laugh or not, no pressure.

Regardless, I appreciate you stopping by to read my blog, even with my poor editing ability. Hope those mistakes can now bring a smile to your face as it does mine. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves and the silly harmless mistakes we make and go on without it dragging us mentally down a dark tunnel. Life is too short for that. Laugh and let those around laugh with you, then re-punt or start over.

And in all things, remember to always be kind. That kindness you share, even when you don’t feel kind, may be the very thing to remove that dark cloud that has engulfed you.

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Do Spiders Fly???, Fun Challenges

The antics of spiders in web-making is amazing to me…as long as they stay outside. Jansen Photo’s challenge today is Radiant. I was not sure if I could play with this challenge but the picture I took of the web I thought was neat showing the sun radiating across it and the light fracturing as it hit the window and camera lens.

IMG_20190625_083709 — Web is over 5′ high and measures nearly 6′ in length to a nearby flower

I so enjoy sitting on my couch writing where I can watch the antics of the birds a they come to feed on my three feeders. Today they became part of Cee’s photo challenge of 3. Three feeders and three birds feeding if not more.

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Or how about the beauty of my miniature orchid with it 3 flowers on one stem.

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The fun we have sharing our enjoyment of photography and blogging with each other can be so inspiring. Thanks to all who share what they love.

And as we share the fun, remember to share in the kindness of the fun. Kindness brings smiles and makes the fun last.

Attitude of Hope and Love

There is so much sadness in this word today. So many broken promises, so many hurts both physically and mentally but I cling desperately to the spiritual truth of God’s love for me and all of mankind and of course for His creation with all its components. He said after creating the world at the beginning that it was good.

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And it was meant for good but alas, it failed due to the weakness of man and the trickery of the evil one. It failed due to the misunderstanding and distrust of man of God. It failed because man forgot the first love. Not our first love that we remember but we have forgotten that HE loved us first.

So many have become so complacent with the world that God is no longer even in their picture. Then they question those of us who still hang on to God’s hand and His love for us asking “WHY??”. My answer to them is…

I would rather live my life fully believing in a God that loves me, will take care of me, will guide me in all ways but when I go to die, only to realize the belief I encourage myself and others of the joy and peace we felt through our entire lives was only our imagination and none of our beliefs were true and once you are dead its over….. Than to live my life not thinking anything about a God that loves me, throwing all of my life and cares to the wind and doing everything that pleased only me, never thinking of the harm or discord I brought to anyone or anything else, then to die and realize in horror that I was wrong. There was in fact a loving God who loved me and cared for me and now…it is too late for me and I am lost forever.

That would be the saddest scenario that I can imagine. May we all strive to believe that there is a just, loving and compassionate God who left us an instruction book called the Bible to guide us in any way that we need, to help us face our toughest day, and to show us how to feel the joy of His peace that he offers us through His grace to all of His creation and that He does dearly love us.

And may we remember to reflect His love by showing the kindness He so heavily graces us with so that we in turn we can give it to those who have forgotten His ways and maybe bring them a smile and a hope of His love for them.

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