First Day 2017

Wow… the first day of the new year.  This past year has been good, very good - one of learning how to be truly happy. Happy… is that really the goal of my life? I find that it is not what I previously thought. Happiness is seeing the true nature of things – everything from what I really think of a situation, of myself, what perceptions and motivations are truly present, how a person behaves and the effect on my emotions and life, to name just a few.

There have been challenging situations this past year as is always the case, but I know that the real issues involved my own perception, whether accurate or not. Seeing life as it is, people as they are with no filter is true happiness, as I no longer live under an illusion, a false view of what is. 

Not a path for the faint-hearted as it takes determination and hard work. I still have moments and days when I fall back into old patterns of codependency (seeking validation and worth outside of myself), allowing fear, guilt, or regret to motivate words or actions, or to trigger strong emotional reactions. BUT, I can say that this path I am on is leading me to more peace than I have ever experienced in my life of 57 years.

May the coming year be one of:

• compassion and love
• happiness
• peace
• contentment
• freedom from suffering
• living! Truly living!

One day at a time focusing on each immediate moment in time, facing each moment with honesty, openness, and a willingness to change. It sounds rather lofty, I know, but it really is down-to-earth, practical, and doable.

Some items of note from the past year:

• my first ever political involvement
• some day trips with my besties
• travel to Idaho with my sister for our mother's 95th birthday
• gardening! Digging up humungous plants and learning to love flowerless spaces!
• trading my cute, orange car for a more sedate and practical model
• deleting my Facebook account!
• adopting a healthier lifestyle with the Fast Diet
• many beach walks and neighborhood bike rides
• reading more non-fiction than ever in my life! (see 'Trials of a Padawan')

I'll end with one of my new favorite quotes:

"In the end, only 

three things matter:

how much you loved, 

how gently you lived, 

and how gracefully 

you let go of things

not meant for you."

~Buddha

Click HERE to see the slideshow a little larger...

Time With Friends

Taken at Red Butte Gardens, Salt Lake City

Activity: Road Trip

Destination: Laramie, Wyoming and Salt Lake City, Utah

Route: Through southern Washington, northeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, northern Utah, and straight across the bottom of Wyoming, then back veering off along the Columbia Gorge.

Goal: To enjoy time with my besties with wonderful conversation, laughter, seeing new sights, and generally enjoying life.

Memories:

~ reading and discussing fascinating books as we traversed miles and miles of highway.
~ learning new life-changing insights
~ poking around antique stores finding cool things to buy
~ finding better than usual restaurants, especially in Salt Lake
~ enjoying then drying up in the heat!
~ exploring beautiful gardens and the beautiful Wasatch mountains
~ walking Temple Square with somber thoughts
~ meeting a Facebook friend for real!
~ snapping dozens of photos and losing some.

End result: Another set of beautiful memories to add to my collection!

Here are the rest of my favorites (click on it to see it bigger!):

My Happy Place

Many of you know I've been spending rather a lot of time at the beach the last two or three months. If you remember, my roomies bought this awesome beach house - it has this cute, little apartment attached to the garage. I've had such a good time making it my own with lots of help from both my interior decorator and the handiest handy-man ever! 

I've included before and after pics just for fun:

This was my first view as we did a walk-through with
the realtor on the day Liz & Chuck made their offer.

No more little paintings on the wall!

The kitchen - before and after.

The bedroom before (had a lot of priming and painting to do to hide the fence).

And, after!

The bathroom - before and after (decided to work with the lavender ceiling).

I am so very grateful for the blessings of the Holy One. He has provided all I need and far more than I every expected. Baruch HaShem!

Yes, this is my happy place.

Beach Time!

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of spending the day with my dear friend, Kris. We've been friends for a very long time through many phases of life. Of course, we headed for the beach - it's the only destination for me these days! We enjoyed the beach house for awhile, ate at our favorite Irish Pub, poked around the some of the shops, then headed for the water as it was time to roll up the sidewalks of our little coastal town.

First we went oceanside meeting up with several of the locals (and lots of seaweed!):

Mysterious dried up jellyfish (I think)

This was one giant jelly, measuring at least 10" across!

Then on to Damon Point, always a favorite!

Came across a young wave jumper.

The waves were almost taller than this young beach lover!

* You can click on any picture to embiggen!

Visit With a Friend

Last week Liz, Chuck, and I had the distinct pleasure of a visit with our dear friend, Kev. She hails from Louisiana where we met her on our first road trip back in '08 - you know, that "Biggest Field Trip Ever" when my bestie and I traveled with four kids, three of them teens. Prior to that, we only knew each other through a favorite website, AtlasQuest. Since then, we've continued to enjoy a growing friendship.  

Anyway, she got to fly out here and spend a week with us. Most of our time was spent at the beach house relaxing (it's awesome!), visiting other friends,  along with side trips to Tillicum Village for an awesome salmon dinner and performance, and Mt. St. Helens. So, I gathered my favorite pics from our time together:

View from Johnston Ridge

We could see the tip of Mt Rainier off in the distance! Love the zoom feature!

Road Trippin'!

So, we were headed out on an almost month long road trip. We had plans to see some really cool places all the way into the midwest. Unfortunately, we arrived home on the fourth day out due to unforeseen circumstances (nothing life-threatening). Even though it was short, I still had fun traveling with my besties!

You can see more pics of our trip HERE!

Southern Idaho - Oregon Trail stuff!

Craters of the Moon! It was really fascinating, very windy, and cold.

Moon walking marmot

moon flowers!

We stopped by the Idaho Falls temple on our way out of town - beautiful as are all the ones we've visited.

View from the falls

splashy!

Butte, Montana

Snow in the Rockies on the way home.

Driving through Montana

The rest of my pics are HERE!

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend at Ocean Shores - a little sunshine, a little rain, a lotta rain, spiced wine, Hanukkah candles, beach treasures, rousing conversation, and beach walks.  G-d is good!

the middle rock stack was buffeted by the waves overnight...

Yartzeit

Today marks the third year since we left.

Those days were so very painful. We learned Torah, lived it, and claimed it as an identity. I took it as one more level of knowing You. That was all I wanted and craved when I first stepped foot there. I was so thrilled to find a place that focused on worshipping You, not elevating ourselves but truly knowing You.

How that degraded over time. Not only did it degrade but I became aware of how bound I was in a very unhealthy relationship. Watching those I held in high regard act in a way that was the complete opposite of what my G-d requires, and at the expense of one whose only desire was to serve and love.

I still mourn the loss of what I had. I will always remember those people and those experiences with sadness. I will always be thankful for what I learned there and the one friend that taught me more about loving others than anyone I’ve ever known.

Blessed are You, O L-rd, my G-d, King of the Universe, the beneficent and merciful One.

Second Hand Rose

 A visit to an out-of-the-way absolutely awesome antique store! Thanks,, my besties, for a fun day in a photographer's delight!