I have a plastic flip-flop air-freshener ornament that hangs from the mirror in my car. About five years ago, it was a gift from a friend to commemorate our desire and our push to wear sandals to our workplace. While the push (to wear sandals ) created the result of administration pushing back and not allowing it, those of us renegades looked upon our plastic flip-flop as a symbol of our mission and our sisterhood.
Over the years, the freshener has died out on the flip-flop, but the ornament is still alive with the colors of bright royal blue and lime green. The bottom of the flip-flop has wavy grooves as if to allow traction if you could walk in it. The grooves remind me of the ocean waves. The top has indentations to show where your toes would rest. I really like that ornament! It's a symbol to remind me to not take life so seriously, especially as I'm driving to work with a thousand things on my mind. It's a reminder of the beachy or Jimmy Buffet's "margarita-ville" lifestyle that I'd like to have.
Then I remember that I already have that lifestyle. On my time off, I can wear flip-flops everywhere (even my church) and at any time in my climate. I have a house that's open, has the cool colors of blue sky and sand of the beach with lots of beach scene and palm tree photos lining the walls. On my time off, I don't have obligations of making meals (hubby so graciously does that) or caring for children or doing housework (I pay for that). I have the LIFE!
I hesitate to end it there, like I should say more, but "what?" What do I say? That at times I don't thank God enough for this wonderful life. That at times I don't realize how great I have it. I need that ornament to remind me to be thankful for the life that I have created with God's help. [Hubby just brought me a cup of coffee to drink while I blog... doesn't get much better than this!] What do I say? Yes, I have the life!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wildlife Surprises
There is wildlife everywhere, different varieties of animals and birds to see. On our recent visit to Wisconsin we were treated to some new sights. No, we didn't see any new breeds of animals, but we saw the same old animals in a different way.
Reflecting back a few months, we were taking my sister and brother-in-law down to South Padre Island and we showed them the spot that hubby and I had viewed hundreds of white pelicans. Having seen hundreds of brown pelicans at or near various spots in the Gulf of Mexico, we were surprised to see white pelicans, much less so many of them in one spot. My brother-in-law mentioned that he had seen white pelicans up in Wisconsin. We all remarked about that as it was nothing we had ever seen growing up there. Just like they never used to have opposums up there when we were young. So what a surprise on our trip up there that we were just a few miles into Wisconsin when we passed a pond and there was a white pelican.
The Trumpeter swan is another bird that has shown up more in Northern Wisconsin. However, as a child I never recall either seeing them or hearing of them. On a pond just outside of Siren, during the years we lived there, we have seen a pair of these swans during the spring of the year, some years the sightings only lasted about a month and the pair would be gone before summer ever arrived. Imagine our surprise when we were heading out of Siren on Fourth of July and passed the pond and there were the pair of swans plus four babies! I forced hubby to turn around in heavy holiday traffic and I got my camera and captured the experience.
Bears are another part of Wisconsin's wildlife. The sightings are sometimes a rare occurence. A person up there is more apt to see the remnants of what the bear has done..... ripped the bird feeders off their posts or rummaged through the garbage....the bear eats his fill and leaves a mess for the home owner to clean up. Usually this is done under the cover of darkness. One day we were driving into my sister's place (where we were staying on our vacation), we saw a bear walking parallel to the driveway. I quickly parked the car and ran into the house screaming, "Bear, there's a bear behind the house!" I took the steps two at a time to get to the basement to get my camera. By the time I got back up to the porch, the bear was halfway across the field and my camera did not capture much more than a blurred black spot in the middle of a green field. Oh well, I took a picture in my mind!
A day or so later, while having my morning coffee in my sister's dining room, I caught movement out in the same soybean field behind their house. There came two fawns and their mother deer. Before I tell you any more, I must say that deer are another member of the Wisconsin wildlife which with most residents have a love / hate relationship. We love them because we hunt them and they are good to eat. We love them when they stroll through our yards eating the grass and looking so picturesque. We hate them when they eat our flowers and shrubs (again, like bears it's usually done under the cover of darkness). We hate them because they tend to run in front of our vehicles and startle us and/or they get hit by our vehicle, which can cause thousands of dollars of damage.
I'm old enough that one of the first movies I may have seen on the big screen was Bambi. Who can forget the first sight of animals talking and doing things that humans did.... have fun, dance, laugh, have friends, cry. Bambi caused many a Wisconsin hunter's daughter to scream at her father upon his return from deer hunting, "How could kill Bambi's mother?!?" Oh my! Then those daughters grew up and hit a deer with their father's car. Ouch! All I can say is that I had a Bambi experience that I will never forget. The two fawns and their mother stepped out from behind the trees and we had a picture perfect view. This time, I did not run for my camera as I was afraid that I would miss out on their walk across the field. I knew this was a "take a picture in my mind" moment. Although it turned out to be more of a video in my mind.
The fawns and mother stepped out from behind the trees and suddenly the fawns started running in circles chasing each other. I just giggled and grinned. Then one of the fawns sprinted about 50 feet and stopped while the other fawn chased it. They ran back to mother and she must have told them, "You can't just run fast, you have to learn to jump too." Off the two fawns ran again, then they remembered Momma's words, so they jumped several rows of soybeans at the end of the sprint. They ran back to mother and danced around her and chasing each other in circles. Off they went again, both of them running and leaping across the field. Mother deer sauntered across the field, feeling confident that no vehicles or hunters were nearby to harm her babies. Again the fawns returned to the mother and then they decided to race to the fence to see who could get there first. Off they all went running, leaping, bounding across the field to a new life.
Reflecting back a few months, we were taking my sister and brother-in-law down to South Padre Island and we showed them the spot that hubby and I had viewed hundreds of white pelicans. Having seen hundreds of brown pelicans at or near various spots in the Gulf of Mexico, we were surprised to see white pelicans, much less so many of them in one spot. My brother-in-law mentioned that he had seen white pelicans up in Wisconsin. We all remarked about that as it was nothing we had ever seen growing up there. Just like they never used to have opposums up there when we were young. So what a surprise on our trip up there that we were just a few miles into Wisconsin when we passed a pond and there was a white pelican.
The Trumpeter swan is another bird that has shown up more in Northern Wisconsin. However, as a child I never recall either seeing them or hearing of them. On a pond just outside of Siren, during the years we lived there, we have seen a pair of these swans during the spring of the year, some years the sightings only lasted about a month and the pair would be gone before summer ever arrived. Imagine our surprise when we were heading out of Siren on Fourth of July and passed the pond and there were the pair of swans plus four babies! I forced hubby to turn around in heavy holiday traffic and I got my camera and captured the experience.
Bears are another part of Wisconsin's wildlife. The sightings are sometimes a rare occurence. A person up there is more apt to see the remnants of what the bear has done..... ripped the bird feeders off their posts or rummaged through the garbage....the bear eats his fill and leaves a mess for the home owner to clean up. Usually this is done under the cover of darkness. One day we were driving into my sister's place (where we were staying on our vacation), we saw a bear walking parallel to the driveway. I quickly parked the car and ran into the house screaming, "Bear, there's a bear behind the house!" I took the steps two at a time to get to the basement to get my camera. By the time I got back up to the porch, the bear was halfway across the field and my camera did not capture much more than a blurred black spot in the middle of a green field. Oh well, I took a picture in my mind!
A day or so later, while having my morning coffee in my sister's dining room, I caught movement out in the same soybean field behind their house. There came two fawns and their mother deer. Before I tell you any more, I must say that deer are another member of the Wisconsin wildlife which with most residents have a love / hate relationship. We love them because we hunt them and they are good to eat. We love them when they stroll through our yards eating the grass and looking so picturesque. We hate them when they eat our flowers and shrubs (again, like bears it's usually done under the cover of darkness). We hate them because they tend to run in front of our vehicles and startle us and/or they get hit by our vehicle, which can cause thousands of dollars of damage.
I'm old enough that one of the first movies I may have seen on the big screen was Bambi. Who can forget the first sight of animals talking and doing things that humans did.... have fun, dance, laugh, have friends, cry. Bambi caused many a Wisconsin hunter's daughter to scream at her father upon his return from deer hunting, "How could kill Bambi's mother?!?" Oh my! Then those daughters grew up and hit a deer with their father's car. Ouch! All I can say is that I had a Bambi experience that I will never forget. The two fawns and their mother stepped out from behind the trees and we had a picture perfect view. This time, I did not run for my camera as I was afraid that I would miss out on their walk across the field. I knew this was a "take a picture in my mind" moment. Although it turned out to be more of a video in my mind.
The fawns and mother stepped out from behind the trees and suddenly the fawns started running in circles chasing each other. I just giggled and grinned. Then one of the fawns sprinted about 50 feet and stopped while the other fawn chased it. They ran back to mother and she must have told them, "You can't just run fast, you have to learn to jump too." Off the two fawns ran again, then they remembered Momma's words, so they jumped several rows of soybeans at the end of the sprint. They ran back to mother and danced around her and chasing each other in circles. Off they went again, both of them running and leaping across the field. Mother deer sauntered across the field, feeling confident that no vehicles or hunters were nearby to harm her babies. Again the fawns returned to the mother and then they decided to race to the fence to see who could get there first. Off they all went running, leaping, bounding across the field to a new life.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thankfulness!
In my last blog before I departed on vacation, I said I planned to relax and rejuvenate. But actually it was hubby that rejuvenated, as he ended up in the Heart Institute in Minneapolis, where's he been a patient before. They ended up opening up two arteries that were 90 - 95% blocked with two stents. It's not the type of "rejuvenation" that one often thinks of, but it works.
My thoughts about vacation are ones of thankfulness.
Thankful that hubby's heart attack did not happen in the middle of Kansas, where we would have been unfamiliar with the hospitals and had no loving support from family nearby.
Thankful that hubby had a heart attack and NOT cardiac arrest.
Thankful that the heart attack did happen within miles of my previous employer and a great hospital. Also, the heart hospital where he was transferred to had all of hubby's medical records from previous heart treatment.
Thankful that family and friends were close by to offer support and prayers.
Thankful that I was still able to attend nephew/godson, David's graduation party.
Thankful that we were still able to do some visiting and having good times after hubby was released from hospital.
Thankful that we could actually witness a celebration of a marriage that has lasted sixty years, my parents.
Thankful that my hubby AND both of my parents are alive and well.
Thankful that we had a safe car trip up to Wisconsin and back again. 4200 + miles on this road trip.
Thankful for air conditioning when it's over 100 degrees when we got home.
Thankful that I had nine work days off and whatever problems await me at work will have to wait until tomorrow. I have a few more hours of relaxation and rejuvenation.
My thoughts about vacation are ones of thankfulness.
Thankful that hubby's heart attack did not happen in the middle of Kansas, where we would have been unfamiliar with the hospitals and had no loving support from family nearby.
Thankful that hubby had a heart attack and NOT cardiac arrest.
Thankful that the heart attack did happen within miles of my previous employer and a great hospital. Also, the heart hospital where he was transferred to had all of hubby's medical records from previous heart treatment.
Thankful that family and friends were close by to offer support and prayers.
Thankful that I was still able to attend nephew/godson, David's graduation party.
Thankful that we were still able to do some visiting and having good times after hubby was released from hospital.
Thankful that we could actually witness a celebration of a marriage that has lasted sixty years, my parents.
Thankful that my hubby AND both of my parents are alive and well.
Thankful that we had a safe car trip up to Wisconsin and back again. 4200 + miles on this road trip.
Thankful for air conditioning when it's over 100 degrees when we got home.
Thankful that I had nine work days off and whatever problems await me at work will have to wait until tomorrow. I have a few more hours of relaxation and rejuvenation.
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