Celebrate!

I  celebrate a high altitude summer:

globe flowers

paintbrush

paintbrush and senecio

trails beckon

junco eggs in our backdoor wreath

life is renewed

In March, I had a medical emergency:

two ambulance rides
two hospitals
two procedures

Now I'm back in the mountainous landscape I love.

I'm feeling well and continue to regain strength.

I celebrate July 4th - America's Birthday.

My one good thing today is the gift of life.

I turned 81 in May.

Each day is a new beginning.

Thank you for visiting.

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Sad/Happy News

I'm a little sad lately. A dear friend had a major accident at the ski area. A broken femur required surgery. Her fractured wrist is casted. She celebrated her 84th birthday in a Denver rehab. No visitors are allowed, but a bunch of friends Zoomed with her on her birthday. I'm reminded of the fragility of life which can and does change in an instant.

However, today, I need to celebrate. Eighteen years ago, on February 12, Bob and I became grandparents for the first time. Ben was born, and a minute later, his twin, Amanda, made her debut. I remember the elation of seeing them for the first time, right after their birth, as we gazed through the window of the neonatal unit. Bob started crying immediately. He had seemed less excited than I was initially about being a grandparent, but his heart filled with love the instant he saw them. Both of us have been smitten ever since. Today they are officially young adults. They've brought us a great deal of joy and pride. They'll graduate high school this spring and are making plans for their future.

"cooking" at about 1 year 

sharing a joke

Happy 18th Birthday, Ben and Amanda! Just thinking of you makes me smile!

Grandchildren are my One Good Thing today and every day.

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Small Stone - Beginning, Middle, and End

I have a friend who starts reading a book, then goes to the last chapter because she wants to know how it ends. I'm appalled. 

Would you do that? 

I want the mystery, the excitement, the adventure of not knowing. Maybe I try to figure out how the story ends and then feel surprise when it veers in a different direction. 

I like the tension of delayed gratification. 

Life is story, of course. I'm glad that we can't look to the last chapter or read the last page before we move through the days and hours and minutes and seconds of our lives. 

When I'm close to the end, I hope I think,

"That was a really good story!"

The photo is about stones but (possibly) has nothing to do with what I wrote previously. I took it at Dog Beach in Del Mar, CA last spring. The names on the stones are of beloved pets who died.

Their lives are over, but I think the stories about them continue.

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Small Stone - My Beating Heart

Ten years ago, on January 8, 2010, I suffered a heart attack.

Today, I celebrate life.

An end became a beginning.

The journey continues.

Find one good thing.

Pass it on.

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Light and Dark

Light and dark are necessary both in photography and in life.

that slash of light on the mountain is a snowcat grooming the ski trail.

The contrast is what makes a photograph and a memory.

Wrapped in wings of light and dark, life takes flight.

full moon at dawn from my house

I am the bird - the wings are mine.

Be present I tell myself.

Allow dark to enhance light and light to enhance dark.

I've been thinking about light and dark because I've been experimenting with night photos.

Bob's phone quit so I gave him my iPhone X, and I bought an 11Pro. I've been having some fun with the phone camera which has a night mode. 

As is my nature, I extrapolate from the specific (the night photos) to the general (living a mindful life).

It amazes me how just a little bit of light can influence a vast darkness.

And how enveloping darkness can create a backdrop to showcase existing light.

Light and dark are my good things both in photography and in life.

Find One Good Thing today - take flight, be present.

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iPhone 11Pro photos edited in Snapseed

Bittersweet

Our son just left - it's early morning. 

He and I were up before dawn. 

He's doing a charity bike ride to benefit Children's Hospital. 

He's riding today in memory of a little girl who lost her battle with cancer. 

To think of losing a child!

 I sit with him in predawn darkness.

We speak in quiet voices as light begins to filter softly through the forest.

Tragedy and hope fill our hearts.

Life is bittersweet.

Yin and yang - light and dark.

Sadness and joy.

The balance of life -

One Good Thing

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Peace and Love Abide with You

March was hectic with record snowfall and company.

We had family visiting over their spring breaks from school.

The push/pull of the seasons continues.

April is sometimes mild and sometimes chilly.

Snow continues to fall, but melt is underway.

The dirt road where I normally walk is a muddy mess.

Winter still dominates at high altitude.

It often grips the landscape through May.

I got a new "smart" sports watch this week.

I didn't want one that I could use as a phone or camera.

I did want one that has great battery life and has navigation tools for hiking/biking.

I also wanted a wrist heart rate monitor.

Unfortunately, the Garmin Instinct is smarter than I am, so it took me hours to set it up.

Today, the watch and I went on the Rec Path to walk 5 miles.

I walked - the watch told me many things (some of which I didn't need to know).

It was a sunny, blue-sky day with temps 10-15 degrees above freezing.

As usual, I smiled most of the way.

even Kachina and the Eagle were smiling

Did you know that just the act of smiling is very beneficial to your health?

(Smiling and Health)

I always start the day by looking at myself in the mirror and smiling.

I smile at random people, and they return the favor.

A smile is like a yawn - the brain automatically responds to a smile with a smile.

When I pass people, I bless them by thinking, "May peace and love abide with you."

I do this for animals, too.

the Blue River is free from ice and snow at some places

Today, beside people smiles, I received a smile from a large Malamute dog.

(Perhaps he sensed my blessing...)

I've been doing a lot of reading about new brain research.

I'm watching podcasts on brain/heart/gut connections.

I hope to share some of the things I'm learning in future posts.

I'd encourage you to smile more often.

See if your attitude doesn't change.

I bet you'll feel more positive about your life.

I think it will help you find One Good Thing.

May Peace and Love abide with you.

One Good Thing

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Keeping the Beat

Eight years ago, early in the morning of January 8, I had a heart attack.

I was well and then suddenly I was in trouble.

Unknown to me, I tore the inner layer of the LAD artery near my heart skiing the previous day.

A blood clot formed at the tear and finally traveled to my heart.

Each year when January 8 rolls around, I give thanks.

I don't take my beating heart for granted.

I celebrate life on January 8.

I was thankful when I woke this morning.

Throughout the day, I was aware of my heart beating strongly.

So much has happened in the past 8 years.

I'm grateful I'm alive to bear witness.

I walked in warm sunshine this afternoon. 

The sky was a blue porcelain bowl overheard.

Gauzy clouds touched the peaks. 

The snow crunched under my trail shoes.

I passed a decaying pumpkin perched on a stump.

There was a light breeze blowing my hair.

A squirrel scolded me.

Neighbors waved.

"Thank you for this life," I whispered.

My beating heart is my Good Thing today - and every day.

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Stairs As Metaphor

I love photographing stairs:

down

stairs going to street level in our small, restored Bisbee hotel
(Letson Lofts)

sometimes a little scary
(watch your step)

night stroll, Mary descending gritty stairs between buildings
(what might be waiting at the bottom?)

or up

who needs a stairmaster for exercise?

up, up, and up  

a long haul
(and tiring)

changing over time
(like life itself)

sometimes easy and satisfying

crumbling steps to house (behind poppies)

other times precarious - just hanging in there

Mary and I visited Bisbee on my recent trip to AZ.
A historical mining town built on hills
is "taking steps" to reimagine itself
becoming a mecca for artists and entrepreneurs.

The metaphor of climbing Life's stairs - going both up and down
- searching for clarity and meaning -
- trying to remain stable -
my One Good Thing today.

Is there something commonplace
that you particularly like to write about or photograph?
Why is it meaningful to you?

Celebrating My Beating Heart

celebrate

only now, this moment

my beating heart

It's been 4 years since my heart attack - I write about it at

Live and Learn

Small Stone - Mindful Writing Challenge

The First Day of 2014 - Mindful Writing Challenge

spot of color in a whitened world

I finished a book on New Year's Eve

The Sweetness of Life by Francoise Heritier

encouraging me to

focus on the simple but inspiring

moments in life

Today:

blustery winds with drifting mounds of snow, pungent kitchen smells 

(pork and sauerkraut slow-cooking for good luck in 2014), long phone chat with a granddaughter (discussing books - I smile with pleasure as we speak), warm vanilla scent of burning candles (to off-set the sauerkraut), a new novel waiting for me on the Kindle, strong black coffee and a flaky blackberry scone tempting me on the chair-side table, fireplace flickering warmth, feelings of contentment and wellbeing, no place to be and nothing much to do

the first day of 2014

I'm join with others around the world during the month of January

observing carefully to write Small Stones for the 

Mindful Writing Challenge.

Won't you please join us, too?

(My Book Review Page is up to date for 2013.)

Happy New Year from Waldo!