Beauty Glows From Within

With the sun playing peek-a-boo today,
I found glowing beauty
In fallen oak leaves.

And a climbing English Ivy plant.

Nature's Jewels - Diamonds!

A brief rain shower
A flash of sun

Enlarge this photo to see --

Nature's Diamonds!

Independence Gate

Isn't this fence/gate adorable? I found it in Independence, Oregon ... where my sister lives in an old historical house which I adore.

I can't wait for my next visit to Beth's town -- to go for another long walk and discover more treasures like this. Love ya, sissie!

Another Funny Face - Taped!

I found this guy watching me as I was going for a walk yesterday. He looks a little leery of having his photo taken, I think.

Muddy Cross

I would not have noticed this cross, except for the rain.
And the sun.

The Rains Are Gone ... For Now

It finally stopped raining ...
And look what I found!

Reflections in a puddle --
Finally -- blue sky!!!

Raining Cats and ... Cats?

This peaceful pond ... was once a lovely garden spot - right outside the picture window.

Before the rain started pouring this morning.

Hmmmmmm
I thought cats were supposed to hate water ?!?!

Dark Into Light

The late morning turned dark.
I looked up from my work to see why.
A huge black cloud was overhead.
Threatening rain.
I ran outside to see ...
It was directly above me.
Then the threat became reality.

Another Funny Face ...

I saw this guy on top of the fireplace.
Isn't he cute?
I love the heart-shaped eye
of the Pomegranate Man!

Breaking News ...

They could have worded this headline a little differently ...

(You'd think they'd find more than just ONE DEAD in a cemetery?)

Mom's Jewelry Gift

Isn't this the 'greenest' jewelry you've ever seen?

A wonderful bracelet.

Made of moss.

She wore it all day.
(Well, at least 5 minutes!)

Rainy Night in the Car ...

The rain started noonish yesterday. By the time the 10 o'clock news came on, we had gotten nearly an inch of the wet stuff. Of course we're used to it, we have all kinds of silly things we say

... Oregonians don't tan, we rust.
... It's not rain, it's liquid sunshine.
... You can tell we're from Oregon by the webs between our toes.

And more.

Makes it hard to take pictures, though, without a waterproof camera.

But I like the way the raindrops on the windshield reflect the lights in the parking lot. Kind of pretty.

Oregon City Falls

The falls are flowing heavy with run-off from our winter rains.

If you enlarge this, you will see a pair of intrepid gulls ... drifting dangerously close to the abyss.

And then flying off at the last possible second ...

Extreme Seagull Games!!!
(They make it look so easy!)

Button, Button - Who's Got The Button?

So what kind of buttons are these???

Yes! Boot Buttons!

From an old boot I found in a pile of junk and just had to get a picture of ...

I'm so glad that Velcro was invented. Can you imagine hooking up all those pesky little buttons???

Close Encounter With A Random Boobie Sniffer ...

((Okay, this is not the sniffer in question.
This guy is Yuno and he has his own issues.))

The story ...

Yesterday was a busy day at the Gleaners warehouse. There were so many people volunteering that we were running into each other. Tempers were fraying, including mine. Especially at a seemingly homeless lady who was helping to fill my order. She was loud, obnoxious, and obviously "on something".

Turns out she had a reputation for that. Volunteering while tweaking.

I decided that taking a break would be best for my temper. Maybe she would find someone else to pick on. I couldn't complain too much, because she was a very good worker. She did a lot of the heavy lifting ... something I'm not supposed to do much of yet.

But HER MOUTH!!!

Anyway, as I was coming back from break, I heard her voice behind me. Loud. "Oo0oooh! Who smells so good? I think it's HER!!!". Before I knew it, I had 200 pounds of loud obnoxious rude tweaking female plastered to my neck ... sniff, sniff, sniff ... "OH it IS you! You. Smell. Sooooooo Good." It seems she really really ... no, REALLY liked my perfume.

For the next 2 hours, she took every opportunity to trail behind me, taking in the perfume I was wearing as I wafted by. I tried to ignore her.

Until she started diving at me ... nose aimed at my chest ... (Um, when I say CHEST, I mean my very AMPLE, er, bosoms). Each time she would (sniff, sniff, sniff) say "I don't mean to be smelling your BOOBIES, but you SMELL SOoooooo GOOD". This happened at least 4 times.

Very disconcerting to say the least.

Finally she was leaving. I knew I would never be able to wear that perfume again ... would you? So I ran to my purse, pulled out the bottle and GAVE it to her.

She screamed so loudly that I thought I was going to lose my right eardrum.
Then she hugged me. Tight.

But at least she stayed away from my boobies.

Old Man Winter's Springtime Tricks

A new beginning for the strawberries ...

And the honeysuckle is already putting out fresh tender new leaves ...


But ...
Winter isn't over. Snow and freezing will probably hit again. I worry about the tender new growth that has been tricked into Springtime growth.

Old Man Winter playing tricks on Mother Nature.

Hmmm wonder who will get the last laugh this year.

Cat and Dog Clouds for Beth!

I thought of Beth when I saw
These adorable cloud creatures.

I see a cat, spitting mad ...
At a dog who has
Invaded its heavenly territory!

Seen at Home Depot

Dad went in to buy a new chainsaw, so I waited in the car. I happened to catch these adorable kids greeting a friend as they waited for their class to start.

On the other side of the car, I happened to catch this rainbow.

A sign of a good day.

2010 - Happy New Year

Happy New Years Day 2010

I spent some time yesterday catching up on my blog reading ...
I find most people hate New Years Resolutions.

One lady, I can't even remember who, was challenged to find a goal word for 2010. Just one word to sum up the goals for this year. She chose "Try".

Since "Try" was taken, I have chosen "finish".

Finish all of those projects I started ...
Finish taking my medication as directed ...
Finish letting all my friends know how much I appreciate them ...
Finish.

What's your goal word???