Winter's Changing Landscapes

We finally had two back to back snow storms.

The first storm started one afternoon while I was walking.

Clouds obscured the mountain as tiny ice pellets fell.

By dawn of the next day, we had 13" (33cm).

The second storm gave us about 6" (15cm).

Sunlight created a rosy glow on virgin snow.

It finally looks like winter again, though our snowpack remains below normal.

High winds over several days knocked the snow from branches.

Gusts blew some beautiful sunset clouds over the mountain.

Winter's changing landscape is my Good Thing today.

Thank you for visiting.

(comments closed)

 

Shadow and Pattern

After the month of Small Stones, rest was required. How do some people post every day? 

I heard from many long-time blog friends by e-mail during and after the Small Stones. 

Thank you - it's fun to know someone is reading the blog!

The web, the cell phone, the computer, the tablet - everybody's world revolves around instant news and immediate social contact. People are lost without this connection. I'm an anomaly, I think - perhaps it's my (old) age. I need to have a rest from technology now and then. We don't subscribe to cable TV any longer. I never watch news programs and, to tell the truth, I rarely read it. Too much of what passes for news is manufactured fiction nowadays. People seem to get upset over nothing much. There is so much political polarization and social correctness all over the world that ordinary people with ordinary lives who do the best they can to support their families and show charity and understanding toward others get lost in the shuffle of movie stars, politicians, and pundits who like to think they have the last word.

They don't...

Here in my tiny corner of the universe, my simple life continues.

I rise in the morning giving thanks for another day.

I smile and try to interact with others by bestowing small kindnesses.

I observe and attempt to restrain judgement (never easy).

I have no importance whatsoever.

I look for good and find it - daily.

The quiet simplicity of winter is my One Good Thing today.

(comments closed)

Wishing You Many Good Things

I wander through
a river of stones
searching for life's
infinite possibilities

September snow in dry river bed, Burro Trail, Breckenridge, CO

I started this blog in January, 2011, to participate with other writers around the world in creating "small stones" which are brief, focused observations about daily life. In each subsequent January, I've done daily posts of small stones while also posting once a week or more in other months. The title of the blog is its goal - to find and report on One good Thing (and sometimes on more than one). 

Recently, I've decided that two blogs are more than I can handle. I intend to make One Good Thing private in about a week's time. I know that some people just stop posting and let their blogs in the public domain, but I've heard stories about theft of content as well as actual piracy of inactive blogs by spammers, so I've decided to close One Good Thing to the public. It will remain for my family to read if they so desire.

I want to thank all who have commented here the past several years. I've enjoyed getting to know you - many of you are writers/photographers who also participated in the small stone challenge.

I believe that good things are infinite and are waiting for us to find them. 

Wishing you an abundance of all good things!

I'll continue to post on my blog, Live and Learn.

Perhaps some of you will visit me there.

Thank You for your friendship,

Barb

Goodbye Again

Everything changes.

Bob and I are busy preparing for a change.

We're planning to sell our Denver house.

I smile as I pack and reorganize - there are many good memories.

However, time is at a premium and most is spent getting ready.

I get tired.

There is no time for the computer.

Think of me as I'll think of you - 

until I return.

Barb

(comments closed)

End of Year Post

point of view is everything

wishing you abundant happiness

(there is always One Good Thing)

I hope to return to posting in the New Year.

(comments for this post are closed)

A Reminder (to self)

Each day, a new beginning.

Linger in beauty.

(Find it everywhere.)

Rejoice in small wonders.

Sanctuary awaits.

Be aware:

One Good Thing

It's What I Make of It

I woke in darkness and thought,

"Today I'm 69."

I knew the alarm hadn't awakened me, so I dozed awhile longer.

When I finally opened my eyes again, the power was off.

I looked outside and realized why:

A foot of wet snow had fallen overnight.

I overslept - something I never do. 

Of course, this particular morning I had an early appointment. 

The fox watched silently as I rushed out the door to drive into town. 

Perhaps it came to say "Happy Birthday, Barb."

The mountain was nearly obscured by low hanging clouds.

Droplets of moisture and snow bombs fell onto my head as I entered the building.

Guess who I visited on the morning of my 69th birthday -

Yep, I had a 2 hour appointment to prep for a crown.

My long-time dentist is also the mayor of Breckenridge.

I asked him where the balloons, the cake, and the friends were hiding -

he said I'd have to settle for some novacaine and drilling instead.

Now, I'm in Denver where a loud thunderstorm just passed through.

Bob is preparing me a crab feast for my birthday dinner.

Snow, pain-free dentistry, and my husband cooking dinner - 

this may be my best birthday ever!

Surely, it's a birthday I won't forget!

On Monday, I leave on a Girlfriends' Vacation to AZ.

Today, for me, find one good thing  and pass it on.

Life's Rhythm

I've been staying with my four grandchildren for a week.

Life falls into a comforting rhythm.

I wake before dawn and brew my cup of tea. The house has the muted quiet of sleep.

I watch the sun rise over the distant peaks.
 

A new day is born.

Soon, I hear the eight year old on the stairs.

Always the first to rise, he likes this special time alone with me.

By 7, the 10 year old twins and 7 month old Sam are awake.

Eating breakfast, brushing teeth, changing a diaper, gathering backpacks -
off we go to the bus stop.
 

Sam and I wave goodbye and stroll up the road on our morning walk.

Birds sing and squirrels chatter. We see elk and fox and coyote tracks.

The day passes in a schedule of bottles, naps, and diaper changes.

 

Late afternoon, the front door crashes open. The children are "starved" after their day at school. Snacks and play time, dinner, homework, showers, pajamas - just enough time left for a book before lights out.
 

The house settles into sleep.

I brew a last cup of tea.

Life's quiet rhythm continues - One Good Thing...

Hope

I thought about writing a post on Monday, but after the bombing in Boston, I hesitated. I had friends in Boston for the Marathon. I needed to hear that they were safe. When word came that they were all OK, I felt relieved but also exhausted by random violence that forever changed so many lives.

It's been a snowy week in Denver, days and days of clouds and cold. Spring bulbs and blossoms that emerged too early were stunned by the below-freezing temperatures. Finally, today, the sun shines. Snow melts. Grass seems shades greener than yesterday.

Once again, I search for One Good Thing:

the warmth of the sun on my back, a robin ruffling its feathers, icicles dripping from the eaves, the smile of my Grandson.

I give thanks.

Life goes on.

A Feeling of Springtime in My Heart

Spring is more a feeling than a season at high altitude.

Though the calendar might indicate spring, it still looks like winter in Breckenridge, CO.

In fact, we had 7 inches (17 cm) of snow earlier in the week.

Most likely, we'll have snow on the ground through May.

However, the lighting is different - there is a soft glow on the snow.

Beautiful sunsets linger late over the western mountains.

Temperatures are warming, and the melt/freeze cycle has started.

fox tracks on the frozen Blue River, Breckenridge, CO

I want to thank all who have sent me positive wishes for healing.

I've posted some details about my illness and my journey toward health on Live and Learn.

I'm enjoying springtime both inside my heart and outside in my environment.

The feeling of spring is my One Good Thing today.

Goodbye for Now

I'll be absent from One Good Thing until the New Year.

(You can read an explanation at LIVE and LEARN.)

lobby of Four Seasons, Denver, CO

Until then, I hope you keep searching for the good in your Life.

my antique sled with wreath - Breckenridge, CO

Throughout the month of December, I know we'll all encounter many good things.

May the promise of the season enrich you.

A Muted Landscape

sometimes, just the slightest hint of color

is enough

We woke to a white world today in Denver, Colorado. More snow is expected overnight.

I walked through a muted landscape this morning.

The purity and silence of white was my One Good Thing.  

Sam I Am

brand-new to the world

and already dreaming....

my grandson:

Samuel William

born Sept 6, 2012

ONE GOOD THING!

Life Is Short-Treasure Friendship

On April 27, I'm going on a Girlfriends' Vacation with Mary, Di, Helen, and Sue. We're all retired teachers and met in the early 90's at Breckenridge Elementary School. Now we're scattered in different locations, but we try to gather to make new memories and have some fun at least once a year. We'll all spend a week in Mary's home state of Arizona. The second week, Mary and I will travel through Arizona into Utah to do some hiking and sightseeing. I treasure these special friends and look forward to our adventures.

As I get older, I've come to realize how important friendship is. Do you make friends a priority in your busy life?

To read a post about the trip by Lucinda B. Rabbit, visit LIVE and LEARN.

Cherish friends!

Can You Change Your Mood?

I've been feeling a bit prickly the last couple days. Do you know the mental heaviness I'm talking about - when something isn't quite right, and you're just generally out of sorts?

Sometimes, I need to change my mood. I really believe that when I experience these subtle downswings, there are ways to switch to a more positive frame of mind. Often, just getting outside for some fresh air is enough. Other times, I need to practice a technique my friend, Mary, taught me.

I take a walk, allowing random thoughts to come into my mind. If the thought is bothersome, stressful, angry, sad, or generally a bummer, I open an imaginary trapdoor in the back of my head. I move the thought I want to eliminate to that door and let it topple onto the ground and roll away from me. I keep moving forward, cleaning out negative thoughts and sad feelings until I begin to feel my mood stabilizing.

Now this is important: Problems still exist - I'll have to deal with them (hopefully productively) at another time. But, mentally, I feel a relief - a more positive attitude where I can feel appreciation, joy, and calm.

My focus turns outward instead of inward.

I feel more connected.

Small things give me pleasure.

The present moment seems enough.

What helps you feel better?

Exercise? Food? Music? Hobby? Shopping? Meditation? Prayer?

How do you change your mood?

PS I'm learning a new blog application (Blogsy) for iPad in preparation for my trip. I'm going to publish this post from that platform. It's giving my old brain a bit of stress - but hopefully building some new circuits, too. Now, my plan is to go outdoors and practice this technique to relieve my frustration!