Cloud Pictures

I remember my Dad telling me that he loved his Grandma Wiggins very much.

He told me that she would hunt for cloud pictures with him when he was a little boy.

And so in these lovely summertime days, I think of my Dad and his Grandma as I

look up at the fantastic clouds all around me today.

What can you see in these?

A fat lady with a topknot beckoning?

A baby seahorse cavorting?

Look up.

Find the pictures in the clouds.

If you know a little child, show him how to do it, or

maybe he'll show you!

Summer glories

Ahhhhhhhhh the hydrangeas reign supreme on this early July day.

I am grateful for my zoom lens giving me this look into the intricacies of the center of

my beloved Lacecap hydrangea.

This started out in a pot as a Mother's Day gift to my wonderful mom.

Now it is huge and glorious.

Everyday I receive the greatest pleasure from its beauty.

Here' a little look for you!

Washing Machine Rant Saga

OK, first of all I don't have any beautiful photograph to show you this time. I just want to say that some days you have to run as fast as you can across the flat but shaky rocks in a fast moving body of water so you don't fall in. That is what I've been doing these past three days.

I've had all my 'spare' time taken up and then some, trying to get just what I need in order to replace my defunct washing machine. I went to Sears to buy a new one and they didn't have ANYTHING that would work in the space I have. The one I got from them is 'out of stock' and the salesperson didn't get me any information as to how long would that be the case and said she thought it had actually been discontinued.

No one wants to read all this nonsense. So I will do my best to not prolong all this annoyance I have had to contend with. Good thing, and VERY good thing indeed, is that with one exception, ALL the people (a LOT of them) that I have contacted (repairmen, store personnel, knowledgeable friends and family) have been so very very helpful.

My task is to try to keep all the long lists of data straight on the myriad post-it notes I have on my desk and then decide on a sequence of action. I may just have to spring for a dryer too, even though mine is working just fine thank you. The thing is, there are no guarantees that the old dryer will fit a kit that secures it to the new washer. AND will the men bringing the new washer even TOUCH the old dryer. I'm serious. Touch it. Much less take it off the old washer, and put it back on top of the new washer secured. Crazy.

But at the very least I finally found a top recommended brand that is the size I need to fit in my space. That was a big deal. Only it will take two weeks to get here from Michigan!

OK, before I just end in a huff, let me say that Tom at Lowe's in Gaithersburg rocks! He has been fantastically helpful and patient and funny and I am grateful for him today!

Family

My sister and my cousins at my 16th birthday party!

Such a long time ago and yet so sweet to see all of us in party clothes honoring the natal day of one of us. We did this for each one, but of course this is the one my Dad recorded and therefore I have the photo.

I'm feeling the presence of the older generation around me these days as I have delved into

many files of letters and photos.

We just held a small get together of some of us.

It was so precious.

Nothing else can substitute for family.

I would wish that everyone had the amazing one I grew up in.

Great Foundations!

My Mother and Father!

Full of mischief and good humor!

Lucky me and lucky sister!

It is a joy to me to see their smiling faces and how much this reminds me of the

best childhood ever.

I'm doing all I can to carry on what they did for me and how huge a difference it makes in

this world to see the fun in things and the pleasure of living.

Look Up (did I say this before?!)

We miss a great deal when we don't look up.

I found this out recently when visiting a museum presenting a retrospective of a

famous artist.

I was intent on the paintings until my son said to me,

Look up!

When I did, I saw marvelous quotes by the artist that had been put on the walls.

They were actually quite far up the tall walls, and without his nudge to look up,

I would have missed some great deep thoughts!

Here's one of my latest cloud shots from looking up.

It's a good summer here for fabulous clouds.

So start doing it!

Look Up!

The company of a cat

As I sit at my desk there is this window to one side of me.

Last year I got a carpeted shelf for my companion to watch the world go by.

Here she is, no doubt having spotted a bird in that luxurious tree.

She likes it and I love seeing her enjoyment.

Art and Life interwoven.