Small Joys

This morning I woke up thinking about all the little things that bring us happy memories. 

Today's thought was back being a kid, traveling to Grandma's farm in Minnesota, and I remembered just how good the well water tasted.   We'd walk outside with the water pail and pump water from the ground.  There was running water in her house, but well water tasted that much better!  No matter the outdoor temp, the well water was always cold.  We'd dip it out of the water pail with a stainless steel cup.

Grandma always kept the water pail sitting on the counter near the back corner of the kitchen counter.  This is the only photo I could find where parts of the kitchen showed.  There's Grandma baking up some kind of dessert for after supper! 

Now that everyone (including me!) drinks water from a bottle, sourced from goodness knows where, or processed in some kind of facility, it's hard to remember how it was "back in the day".   I have to say that I think I miss those days.  Most of moments in every day was filled with little chores that needed doing in order to just keep going.   Living took thoughtful planning.  If you needed something for dinner, you didn't just open a freezer door and pop something in the microwave.  If you planned on a roast for dinner, most times you took it out of the freezer in the morning, left it to thaw, then began the cooking process in the afternoon.  If you wanted a cake for dessert, you needed to get baking in the late morning, or early afternoon, because both the cake pan and the roasting pan might not fit in the oven at the same time.   When the nearest grocery store was 20 miles to town, you made sure you bought what you needed for the week, because you couldn't just zip around the corner to grab something on your way home!  Although, if you were a mindful gardener, you could pick something out in the vegetable garden. 

"Sometimes, you never know the true value of of a moment until it becomes a memory."

Black and White

 

I have an affinity

for black and white photography

There's something elegant about it.

Or maybe it's that taking the color out of a photo

makes the person seeing the photo

have to do more than just glance at it.

then again, maybe I'm just ... weird that way.

Even the rain drops show up in this black and white version

and the reflection of the bird in each photo .... 

Pretty neat, but that's just me!

Got Nature?

It's so easy to take things for granted, to look at things that are always there and not really notice them.  Sometimes our lives are so busy, we move from work to home to chores to bed and forget there's more out there.

Like this flock of geese
honking noisily .......






I've been guilty of that for more than a month. It's much easier to walk Sadie around the neighborhood than hop in the car and head for our favorite park.  But we miss out on so much when we take the easy way out!

Even on a cloudy day, the sun breaks through and shines a bit of evening light on the pond.....





Golden Ball Lead Tree, they have a dreamy scent to me, light and elusive at times.











and of course,  #AzSadieThePug!

she just LOVES going to this park

and we walked for an hour!

"In every walk with nature, 

one receives far more than he seeks."

-John Muir

Curious Sadie

Pugs are a curious dog, and Sadie has an abundance of that quality.  There's nothing she doesn't want to sniff out and investigate when we go walking.  But sometimes that leads to trouble.....

This morning, early, we headed out to the local Riparian Preserve. Lots of ponds, ducks, birds of all kinds, etc.  Sadie loves to walk over there, we even have a routine of stopping at certain benches so she can catch her breath and sit with Mom for a bit.  (lol yeah, she's a pug alright!)

With the sun high in the sky near the end of our circle through the park, I stopped to peer between a couple of trees, into the sun, over the water, to see if any interesting birds were stopped.  We are a migration point for summer/winter bird stops.  I couldn't see anything, but I heard a "splop" sound.  As usual, I tugged on the leash, thinking Sadie was getting into something.  Her collar had slipped over her head and snapped back at me, leaving Sadie hanging on a ledge of dirt for dear life!  She had a look on her face that said "HEY MOM! Moooooommmmm help ME!"

As much as I wanted to, I didn't grab a photo - my pug can't swim!  I set my camera down, kneeled in the mud and grabbed her by the scruff, dragging her out of the chilly water.  Of course, she stinks to high heaven, and started shivering .... time to head home for a warm bath!

After her bath, and a chewie, we laid out in the backyard sun for an hour, getting her warm and dry; she's now snoozing at my feet.  *smh*  Pugs!  Gotta love 'em :)

Dreams

I had one of those crazy dreams last night....

I was with a group of people, we traveled in a van, The people are vague to me, I don't recall them being anyone in my social or family circle.  I was wearing dress pants and a sweater.  It was some kind of ... retreat perhaps?  I had a room with a bed, a narrow closet.  Put my suitcase on the floor, hung up my pants and sweater, slipped into jeans and a sweatshirt.  We were on or near a beach.  Skip to next scene, its the last day, we're going home later.  Last event of the trip is learning to surf.  (whoa, where did that come from?)  I am still wearing my jeans and sweatshirt, I have my camera in my purple kindle case and tuck it under my sweatshirt where it won't get wet. (lol as if!)  I lay on the board, and paddle out along with everyone else, there must be 20 of us.  Most of them are waiting for a wave.  I sit up and straddle the board, paddling toward shore, thinking just a small wave to take me in would be fine enough for me.   A white seal swims up next to me and I think Oh gosh! I need a picture of this.  I reach under my sweatshirt for my camera then think I better not pull it out, the saltwater will ruin my camera.  (as if its not already soaking wet!)  I go back to paddling again, the ocean pushing me toward shore, and there's a rush as I coast my way in.  I step out of the water, stand my board in the sand and walk toward the building.  (There are so many details I remember... looking to the right and left, I can see others on surfboards, everyone seems joyful.  I don't recognize the beach as one I've been to before).  By the time I reach this building, my jeans and my sweatshirt are totally dry.  I pass another girl in a hallway and mention this, she says isn't it great this time of year when everything dries so quick like that?   There's some kind of end-party, there are drinks and a buffet set up.  I dash back to my room to change into my slacks and sweater for the drive home. 

the only elusive thing has to do with something on the table, something that was going to be shared .... maybe it will come to me later.  but surfing???  me??  hardly!  lol 

altho.... I've always like the water, never feared it. 

there must be significance in the white seal, it was very vivid.

i felt as if I'd been in the room with the closet before, but can't name the place.

Anyway, was just sitting here with breakfast, reading a book, and the dream jumped into my brain, so I had to write it down.  Then research some dream interpretations.

Seals are (obviously) sea mammals, and are highly symbolic of our feeling, sensual selves. The seal helps us to remember our connection to our deep inner rhythms, feelings, and knowing, as represented by the sea. As humans generally believe themselves to be apart from ‘animals’, when really we are a-part of them, we often fight giving in to these deep rhythms and are afraid of ‘losing’ what we consider to be ourselves. When we are afraid of drowning in these depths, Seal being a good swimmer and knowing how to flow with the ever changing current, reminds us how to swim with the current. When we do this the negative feelings we have created such as worry, fear and anxiety are released from our minds. If seal enters your life, you are being asked to review the ebb and flow of your thoughts and emotions and find and keep up a point of balance. 

Water is a creative element and symbolises the feminine imagination and intuition. If the seal appears in your life, pay close attention to your imagination and insight - in the waking state and in dreamtime. A lot of what you imagine generally has a strong basis in reality, no matter how far-off it may seem. People with seal as a power animal are generally highly imaginative and very creative. They will need activities that channel and direct this. The Seal/Sea Lion can show you how to develop and focus your imagination. 

Fourteen Days In...

S.H.I.T. - So Happy It's Thursday!   While the week seemed to have gone by fast, today seemed to crawl.  But I got out of work on time, so that was a good thing. 

It's also our weekly trek to the library, and for dinner that I don't have to cook.  Tonight?  Taco Bell.  We tried the new Triple Steak Stack.  It was very cheesy, the steak was tasty, wrapped in a bolillo flatbread.  It was tasty, but I still like my Steak Salad instead. :)


My ME thing today was a trek around Riparian Preserve with Sadie.  We both love to get out, see people and other dogs, get some walk time in, and of course Sadie loves to run around and sniff at everything!  She's a good little walker and most times, we don't have an issue as to which way to go.  If I decide to do a little jogging, she forgoes the sniffing and prances right along with me.  hehehehehe






Crane at water's edge.
I couldn't pass up the photo op,
the reflection was terrific.

This little corner on the back side of the lake is usually filled with fishermen, but today it was empty, a nice little photo op :)

Water Slide!

This is my Dad --- circa 1970s!

He's riding the waterslide in Manteca, a new campground with  a small lake and fun amenities for the kids.

We spent many many weekends enjoying ourselves here, camping out in style with our pop up tent trailer.

It wasn't far to drive, we'd head up after work on a Friday, get all set up and have a late evening watersliding session.  After it got dark, the campground would play movies on an outdoor movie screen and us kids would park ourselves on a blanket on the ground to watch old Disney films.  There was a game room as well, where you could put coins in the jukebox, play a little pool or pinball.  (or... if you were brave, to flirt with the boys!!  No, wait .... I think that was my sister... yeah, I'm sure it was!! )

Many fun weekends were spent here,
and we never seemed to grow tired of it.
We didn't know we were making good memories,
we just thought we were having fun!

Thanks, Dad!

Sprinklers

 
Saturday morning

and the sprinklers

were on in the

local basin.

Sadie didn't hesitate

to investigate......

... but as they

circled around,

they caught her

unaware....

So for Sadie,

attack mode works

and she dives right in...

:)

Vessel

In my Goodwill adventures, I came across this piece on Saturday.  And just had to have it.  I'm not sure what it is, exactly.  But it appears to be some type of water vessel perhaps?  With a cord on the handles, might it have been worn around the neck?  Or is this just some rendering of someone's venture into learning clay?  Either way, its definitely a piece that will add interest to my decor!

In Native American culture, water is used 

as a symbol of purification and cleansing