...Spring...

Winter is gone (finally).
Spring is almost, too.
Before summer pushes its way in for good (or ill),
here is a last bit of spring for you.

...birthday wishes...

 

Though Facebook can be the source of much time wasting, it does have some redeeming qualities. Reconnecting with people you've lost touch with is loads of fun, but getting all those extra birthday wishes is definitely the best part. I know everybody gets prompted that it is your birthday, but that is okay. As the number gets higher and higher I'll take whatever good wishes I can get...prompted or not!

...Christmas music...

Please press "pause" on my Christmas playlist at the bottom of this page to fully enjoy this "Crazy" organ solo of Go Tell It On the Mountain.

...CHRISTmas time is here...

Christ...the real gift of Christmas

...nature's small gifts...

Young boy fishing with his dog: Palm Beach County, Florida
Today I was driving behind a truck. One of those extended cab pick up things. As I followed behind I could make out the outline of a dog sitting in the middle of its backseat. It seemed to be one of those big, short-haired, floppy eared dogs that you see hanging around with guys with extended cab pick ups.



As we were driving along I was watching the back of this dog's head and just pondering the relationship between man and dog. The loyalty, the trust, the give and take of dominance between man and his companion whom we lifted up out of nature to suit our needs. Were we selfish to force our domination of one of nature's creations? What benefits does the dog receive from this relationship?



As I looked and pondered, something else came into view in the truck ahead. I saw something white on the dog's head. I looked again and saw a tiny white hand, a quarter the size of the dog's head. I couldn't see the hand's owner, they were too small to be seen over the car seat. But, I could see the white hand stroking the big, soft head over and over. And the dog turned and put it's head down into the seat, I'm sure to offer a big wet kiss to the owner of the little hand.



I've seen many beautiful places around the world. Sights that seemed almost too spectacular to belong in our mortal realm. But, the more I see, the more I appreciate the small and subtle blessings in nature that surround us every day. Like a kid and a dog.

...my cup overfloweth...

So many things to be thankful for.  Family, food, fun together.  The ease and comfort of being among those who know and accept you whatever the outcome of your Thanksgiving experiments.  While those away from us were missed, we were together in our hearts...and through our stomachs!  

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Go ahead and say your thanks to someone (out loud) today.  Only good can come from an attitude of gratitude.  Make it a habit. 

Psalm 30:12

...gratitude...

...digital photography...

My camera broke...which isn't really a great thing.  But, it got me thinking about digital photography and how great that is.  You can take as many pictures as you want.  When you have cute kids and dogs that is a blessing.  And really, it is great to have 100 pictures of the same sunset.  Until I can figure out how to take pictures of the new things I see that keep me happy, here is a link to some pictures of places I've visited in 2009.

http://picasaweb.google.com/trimarie1

...Halloween...

I love Halloween in our neighborhood.  It is so Americana.  Halloween in our neighborhood makes you think that, despite how they say we're going to "He-- in a handbasket", around here everything is a-okay.  Kids were running around the streets, mostly followed by adults joining right in with the fun.  We had lots of trick-or-treaters and the neighbors got a chance to come out and visit and chat. 

It makes me feel sad for the anti-Halloweeners.  They are so focused on the "pagan" aspects of Halloween that they miss what is really a happy and joyful time.  Halloween is about kids...being one and pretending to be one.  I love it.

Here's what greeted our trick or treaters!  She seemed very confused, but loved all the visitors!

...man's best friend...

Okay, here she is...

before...

and after.

She is way cute and too bright. If intelligence in dogs leads to excessive naughtiness, she must be the Madame Curie of canines! But those soft brown eyes are pools of repentance and the amount of forgiveness shown by her doggie heart is a lesson to all of us smaller hearted mammals.

"To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful and sagacious dog, I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable. There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man." - Edgar Allan Poe

...some really great kids...

Psalm 127:3

...Thursday afternoon sunshine...

I would not call myself a sports "fan", as in fanatic, but I always have been a sports enjoyer. One of my fondest tv memories is watching "Wide World of Sports" with my dad. That, the Olympics, an occasional World Series or Super Bowl and every once in a while some ice skating and gymnastics thrown in are my usual sports exposure.

But, I have recently been exposed to a whole 'nother world...high school football.

Sitting high in the stands on a beautiful Thursday afternoon, I took a look around. I saw a hawk circling above the stadium, airplanes coming in on approach, white lines and green grass, parents steadily streaming into the stands, younger people helping older people climb the bleachers, kids trying to hold a coke and nachos and pizza and climb the bleachers, cheerleaders trying to stay in precision while never breaking a smile, and my very tall kid in his bleached (almost) white pants standing on the sidelines.

I have found that I really enjoy these games. As long as I can stay out of the "ugly box" (this is my name for the group of parents watching the game for whom high school football is a religion) I find the game to be rather uplifting. All those people together in cheering on the team makes for a great vibe. Most of the spectators are very encouraging to the players and the team is good enough to make for some exciting play.


I'm glad my kid decided to get involved. The whole "Friday Night Lights" thing is something I did not participate in in high school. I'm glad to have the chance to experience it now. So, go check out your local high school team. L-E-T-S-G-O Let's go Let's go L-E-T-S-G-O uh Let's GO!

...rain...

Can you even imagine seeing rain for the first time?

It would be a little frightening.


A little confusing.


But, ultimately a lot of fun.


Oh yeah, drying off is the best part!

...small sins...

Okay, not "sins" exactly, but things you do even though you know they are bad for you. Here is my current obsession:

You know and love the almost caramely, sugary goodness of Sugar Babies, now add the apple-y green outside and it is taking over my thoughts in a way that must be slightly sinful.

They don't look like much. But, they are teaching me much about self-mastery!

...the final frontier...

Been anxiously awaiting the Space Shuttle launch. I've never seen one in person, but saw one on a big screen live at the Griffith Observatory once. It was, surprisingly, nerve wracking and moving.
I've always been a space nut. One of my earliest memories is watching the moon landing on tv. I don't know whether the moon landing itself left the impression or the fact that we were staying in a motel (something we never did) was more exciting. But anyway, I remember it. And here it is 40 years later! If you would like to travel back in time to re-experience man's exciting adventure to the moon, go check out this website that is re-creating it in real time.

Also, click the button on the sidebar at the bottom of my page to see today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Then, tonight, go outside and look at the stars for awhile. I have a lot more philosophical stuff to say about the heavens, but today I'm just posting the fun stuff and crossing my fingers for that launch.

...dancing...

You need to PAUSE the music at the bottom of the page before you watch this one...

Oscar the Meyer's Parrot dances to his favorite tune...Listen as he declares himself a "good boy" before and after...

...land of the free...

Seen on Independence Day...

...flag raising by Boy Scouts...

...lunch in front of "Independence Hall"...

...even the bugs enjoy a beautiful 4th at the water park...

...floating down a lazy river...

...viva multicultural America!...

...finally FIREWORKS!

D&C 134:4-5

...new life experiences...

I had a new life experience a couple days ago. I visited an hospice. A family friend is now in hospice care and busily making arrangements for her own funeral. She has asked me to sing and wanted to make sure I knew which songs, what order, etc.

I wasn't sure what to expect when arriving at the hospice and was really quite surprised. It was a regular looking house on a regular looking street, but when you went inside what a different spirit you find. Right away you knew that there was something special going on here.

Our friend's small room was filled with people, including small kids running around and visiting "Grandma". The room had the bed, a chair and couch, an armoire, french doors that looked out onto a garden, and two pictures on the walls. After discussing her plans for her funeral, she told us about the pictures on the walls.

One was of a garden gate. The kind you see in old English gardens that have actual walls. It looked like a wooden door. This picture was facing her bed and she told us when she first came into the room she couldn't see it very well and wasn't sure what it was a picture of. By the next day she could make out that it was some sort of door way and soon she said it looked to her like a veil. Now she could see it. It was the veil she would be passing through soon into the next part of her life. And look, couldn't we see that there was the shadow of a person on the other side of the veil. So you see, when you go through there is someone there waiting for you. The other picture was on the side wall and she finally could make out that it was a bench. That was where the Savior came and sat beside her during the long nights. Waiting with her until she walked through the veil.

I am so thankful to have been able to have this experience with the Spirit. Another one in many to help strengthen my faith and remind me of the tender mercies of the Lord.

Ether 12:19

...happy links...

It seems that much of the World Wide Web tends toward the trite, vulgar, or the very least, cynical; but occasionally I come across a happy link. (Okay, sounded a little Pollyanna there--but I am going to declare "a little Pollyanna" a needed and necessary thing today!)

Here is today's Happy Link: The World Of Beatrix Potter

ENJOY!

...cooling off on a hot day...