* CLAUDIA LOST HER BATTLE *

A very dear friend of ours, Claudia Mundell, lost her fight with cancer earlier today.

http://claudiapage-bookie.blogspot.com/

She and I "met" through blogging and shared lots of things in common: writing, tea cups and tea pots, doilies, wind chimes, enjoying time out on the deck, and our canine companions. We actually met in person one evening in one of those serendipitous ways! Claudia, you will be missed by so many, but at least your writing lives on for all to enjoy.

I've been told there will be no services, which makes me sad, but that must've been Claudia's wishes.

I don't know if anyone has her blog password, so for now, the last post on it is from July 12.

In the days to come, I hope to post more things about Claudia, but for now, just wanted to get the word out. 

* You can type Claudia in the "Search this blog" box on the right column, directly below my memoir cover, and see more posts about this lovely woman. *

The link below will take you to the post I wrote past May, right after I learned about Claudia's cancer.

http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2016/05/our-dear-friend-claudiaaka-bookie.html

* WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY *



The Ronald realized a long time ago that I am very easy to please, which is something I'd already known for years! We talk about it off and on in an abstract kind of way; wondering why some people behave the way they do.

 

Are we just born with certain traits or do we learn them? What exactly do we inherit from our parents and other ancestors?

 

I like to believe that my way of looking at life is a combination: I was born with some happy characteristics and I also learned by example. In my very young years, I was a bliss child. There was lots of happiness and smiles, laughter and love, and a general feeling of security and contentment in my home.

 

Taking these photos gave me great joy which continues every time I look at them.

 

I took this yesterday while driving to my chiropractor's office.

This is in his parking lot.

There were tons of gorgeous clouds, but I just couldn't get the right views.

So many were big, fluffy cotton-ball-like .....

and others were dark.

 

My old shell chimes hanging under our patio umbrella.

 

 

Vern lifting his paw. See him smiling at me!

Vern and his water cup at Sonic.

 

I took him there for an ice cream treat because

he had a traumatic time getting his nails clipped. Aww...

 

Double rainbow!

 

This one was taken from inside my car.

 

This one from outside my car.

I wanted to show how high the rainbow was

when it began to curve.

 

 * Click on the photos for a larger view. *

* P.S. June 25th: Susan, at Writing Straight from the Heart, surprised me by posting her interview with me! Please stop by if you're not tired of reading about my memoir.There's also a photo of Vern, so that's a perk! :)

 

It also gives me pleasure to smile and offer my help to others. So many people go through life in a kind of fog, and don't even notice the beauty around them. Am I saying that I'm always cheerful and exuberant? Gosh, no! But, how about 90% of the time? I'd say Yes!

 

 

 

"There is a voice in the Universe urging us to remember our purpose for being on this great Earth. This is the voice of inspiration, which is within each and every one of us." -- Dr. Wayne Dyer

* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday!

(With a bit of a repeat post)

I first posted the following on Sept 28, 2011. Only one day away from exactly two years ago! How's that for Cosmic Karma?! I'm sharing it again today because of the symbolism of keys and doorknobs opening the way to success. And, because I also love wind chimes, which many of you are already aware of. 

(Did you know that if you're reading a Blogspot blog, you can search for archive blog posts in several ways? If you want to zero in on a certain word, such as....chimes....the easiest is to just type the word in the small search area in the upper left hand corner. All blog posts with that word will appear.)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

* Doors Open & Keys Turn *

I've collected a few things over the years and shared an item or two on my blog. Somewhere along this journey of mine I became very interested in decorative doorknobs and vintage-looking keys.

When I began this collection, the idea of them having a deep meaning never entered my mind, until just recently. Ahhh.....doorknobs open doors (to success) and keys turn the locks (to success.)

And didn't you just love Aunt Clara on the TV show, Bewitched?? 

Aunt Clara: Wouldn't you like to see my doorknob collection?
Phyllis Stephens: I beg your pardon?
Samantha Stephens: Aunt Clara collects doorknobs.
Aunt Clara: I have three thousand.

Part Two

I'm still unpacking and sorting and deciding what goes where, and I just came across another decorative, antique looking, key-door-latch thingy that I bought last year! So, I took a couple of hurried photos to add here.

Can you see the tag is still on the back? It will definitely be in my office/guest room, along with the others....if there's room!

I took this picture in a store a few weeks ago! (It wasn't on sale, so I didn't buy it, but I needed to remember what it looked like...and where I saw it!) Could it be any more perfect?? Chimes, a doorknob, and keys!!

Wishing all of you a wonderful, blissful week. Find your own keys to open the doors and windows in your life.

~~~~~

"Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel, by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt, or fear." -- Dan Millman

"Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person we become." -- Jim Rohn

 "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." -- Anonymous

Walking on the Sunny Side of Life

Finding the Music in Life

Today’s post is in participation with Women On Writing’s mass-blogging event, "Everybody is Talking About Finding the Music in Life."

We are celebrating the release of Sonia’s Song by Sonia Korn-Grimani. To read about the blogging event and follow the symphony of participating bloggers visit Wow - The Muffin. 
To read the Q&A with Sonia, visit Wow - The Muffin - Interview

Share your comments on any participating blog for a chance to win a copy of Sonia’s Song!
* I forgot to post the deadline to leave a comment here or at other participants, for a chance to win the book...print or e-book...winner's choice! Deadline: Thursday Oct 18, 11:59pm (Mountain Time)

Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in our daily struggles or traumatic events from our past that we feel like "poor, poor, pitiful me." But, instead, I think it's so important to not dwell on those things, and to start looking for the positives....to find the "music in our lives." 

As a participant in this Mass Blogging Event, I've been asked to share what helps me stay positive in this crazy world we live in. 

I love to listen to many styles of music!

(Below is taken from my blog post of October 4, 2011)

"There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is." ~William P. Merrill

When most people think of the The Beatles, I doubt if "prayerful music" comes to mind. We all have our favorite songs of theirs, ranging from the very first pop/rock tunes until the final more contemplative recordings. 

Somewhere in my past....maybe 15 or 20 years ago....two of those songs became prayer-like to me. The music and lyrics would pop into my mind, just when I needed them. I'd either sing out loud or only "in my head," depending on whether I was alone or not!

Those two songs are: 

The Long and Winding Road

Let it Be

I've read various so-called explanations about the lyrics of these songs, and it doesn't matter to me what the "real" meaning is or isn't. I know what they mean to me and that's all that counts.

Wind chimes make me happy.

I see beauty everywhere I look.

I'm crazy about Vern, especially when he smiles at me!

And I love my family.....every last one of them...

I believe in laughter, and kindness, and joy, and wonder, and forgiveness, and I think most of all HOPE.

Having hope has always gotten me through the saddest, most difficult days of my life. I always know that things will be better, and that I have the strength to get there. 

* If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I always end with a relevant quote.

"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death." -- Robert Fulghum All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

And He Thinks I'M the Klutzy One?!

I've mentioned my klutziness, my clumsiness, my banging into furniture and doorways that have been in the exact same places for years. I admit it. I'm a danger to myself. I constantly have bumps and bruises. Plus, I have EST (Extra Special Talent) in the "I can't believe I did that" category.

Example: Reaching into the clothes dryer to grab some towels. Somehow I manage to stick any one of my fingernails right into the teeniest crevice that I've never noticed before, and the nail breaks off.

Example: When using my bare foot to kick one of Vern the Wonder Dog's treats to him, I scrape my big toe so far and deep into the carpet that I almost give myself turf-toe, falling to the floor almost simultaneously crying and laughing.


Okay. See the picture below? It's part of our dining room. The chandelier was over the middle of our dining room table, until a few weeks ago when we gave it to one of "yours, mine, or our" sons. I had been sitting there with my laptop on the table because Vern likes to lay and look out the front window. (The window in my upstairs office is not that close to the floor.) So, in absence of that table, I put my small desk there.

That light fixture is plenty high enough that I don't have the problem of running into it, BUT my six foot tall husband, The Ronald, kept banging his head on it!! Which to me is even klutzier (and dumber) than the things I do, because his eyes are RIGHT THERE in that area! He kept insisting he didn't see it and if I didn't want to hear his *&#%@*, then I better hang something on it...for him to see.

So, voile'. There hangs one of my favorite things: Wind chimes! I think they add a bit of karma and help my writing mojo. What do you think? About my klutziness? The Ronald's inability to see what he's about to walk into? And my lovely chimes adding ambiance? Or anything else you want to comment on!

 *Welcome to my two newest followers, Renae and Mary. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! *

“My couch is coffee-colored. I can thank Starbucks and clumsiness for that.” 
― Jarod Kintz