293. out pops another one….#3

giving birth to 

a love of color and form

folding paper

—never had kids, never made any babies….maybe i can create a collection of origami quilts and “give birth” to them in a book to be admired and remembered by. 

(this blog reproduction is a bit blurry)

 

292. feeling good

good friends

late day sun lighting them

having a gay time

 —it feels good to have good friends to share good times and bad, gay times and sad….sharing makes everything better. 

291. up in the air

ungrounded 

discombobulated

just hanging

—poor night sleeping:  this is just one of those days, reminding myself that things will change, they always do….hang in there. 

 

290. morning….

some mornings 

i don’t miss the stars

….not at all

 —for a long time, home was on the 7th floor of an 8- story building. the windows faced south and east. every morning i woke early, lighted candles, sat down for my morning practice of reading, and waited for the sun to rise over the greene street hill. now and then i recall those morning views— this was one of them. 

289. summer humdrum

sky blazing—

jumble of grasses and leaves

….just saying

 —taking notice of ordinary moments, life comes alive.

288. was dorothy here?

an empty plate

and two shiny red shoes….

was dorothy here?

 —recalling dorothy and her sparkly red shoes in the land of oz….the wissahickon woods are filled with a sense of wonder.

287. the muralist

the muralist—

“your life is what you make it

day by day”

 

—mural of life:  life is like a wall of wonder waiting to be discovered and explored.  life is a continuous process of exploration and learning that day by day shapes and expands our lives.   you create your own mural of life.

286. christmas in july

ho-ho-ho!

keeping the legend alive

here comes Santa Claus

 —Christmas in July was first held July 24 and 25, 1933.

Read all about it:  find out how it got started….see a list of Netflix movies you can watch now….learn how to celebrate Christmas in July….and other ways to bring more Christmas fun into your summer.  here’s the link:  https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas-in-july

(photo: Santa Claus in Oreland, PA, for the 4th of July parade 2021)

285. time rules

is it twelve noon?

or is it nine forty-five?

….who cares

 —time is a funny thing….time flies, time is money, time goes too fast, time goes too slow, time is more precious than gold, time changes everything. you can sense time but never possess time. you can have too little time or too much time, how about just enough time?    you can spend time but you can’t save time. where does time come from, where does time go?

i could spend time all day thinking about time, but for now gotta go because time is running on its merry way….

284. multidimensional

near and far—

seeing things from every angle

….zoning in

 —the best thing about going to museums, is watching the people.

283. get out!

taking a picture 

of dan taking a picture—

knee-deep in it

—in the midst of this reported hottest summer on record, what do we do??  we jump right in, get out in it, and enjoy the heck out of it!

 

282. rest your mind

 

rest your mind

lay your head down

let go….relax

—once in a while, stop all your activities and allow your mind to rest. 

281. and the winner is….

eyeball to eyeball

face off at the traffic cone—

the squirrel and i 

—at the auto body shop waiting for my car to be ready, who’ll make the first move??
 

280. can you hear it?

train whistle blows

is it coming or going—

or just an idea?

—just sitting here with this picture, the mind can venture off on its own adventure to some faraway place somewhere known or unknown….or a home that is no longer there….or a memory not wanting to be forgotten….

 

279. yikes!!

sun beats down….

water heats up….fish jumps out

poached!

—when life hands you lemons, make lemonade….when the water starts to boil, begin poaching!😆

278. counting time

everyday

sun and moon trading places

every day

 —1 day….24 hours….1440 minutes….86,400 seconds.  every day is the same, and yet….  

(hand-folded origami quilt)

277. here comes the sun….

here comes the sun….

what kind of day will this be,

i wonder

 —no worries….nothing to do all day but look around and wonder.  

276. giving it up

at long last

no need for saddles and stirrups 

….just grazing 

 —after all those years trying to be a real winner, happy now just being me.

275. take your bull by the horns

taming your bull….

no more need to struggle

sit back, enjoy the ride 

—the 10 Oxherding Pictures is a parable that depicts the zen way to tame, train, and transform your mind and heart for lasting inner peace.   https://tricycle.org/magazine/ten-oxherding-pictures/

 

274. pinky

it’s okay, 

give yourself permission to

just be yourself

 

—pinky was a siamese cat.  she shared her journey with me for more than 20 years and taught me a lot about life…how to let go…relax…and live a good, long life. 

273. mum’s the word

some things are better

left unsaid….silence is golden 

so they say

—making paper dolls just for fun….

 

272. harmony

standing tall

between heaven and the earth 

spirit and matter 

 —life is a journey of discovering who we are and of learning what it means to be human…happiness is not a matter of time or money—how much or how little we do or don’t have—but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.

271. a thousand words….

it rained all night

everything turned black and white

and beautiful 

 

—“a picture is worth a thousand words”….nothing more to say.

270. just croonin’

boo, boop, ee, do,

then they started singin’

ink adinka do….

 —sometimes you just gotta make your own paradise….

“folks, ain’t that beautiful? my symphony! a masterpiece!”

(Jimmy Durante’s song, Inka Dinka Do.)

269. neighbors

don’t ya know—

we’re all in this together

it’s one world, pal

 —“if you don’t know the guy on the other side of the world, love him anyway because he’s just like you.  he has the same dreams, the same hopes and fears.  it’s one world, pal.  we’re all neighbors.”  Frank Sinatra

268. dogs’ eye view

d’artagnan

and his three musketeers 

laying low

 —enjoying the 4th of july parade in oreland, pa….happy and grateful to be living in the u.s.a. 🇺🇸 

267. which one do i choose?

contemplating—

a swing or four-legged chair

freedom/stability?

 —interesting the things you can find in the middle of the woods….and the thoughts that conjure up from who knows where….

266. into the storm

caught up—

no matter how hard we try

no escaping it

 —iv’e always loved looking up at the sky.  since 2020, the sky has changed. it’s different now, more serious, more dramatic.  it’s the clouds….they’re exciting, they feel larger, closer, more looming, often threatening.  the sky captivates me so much so that i sometimes have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road ahead.

265. LOL!

GREAT!

telling myself everything’s GREAT!

….maybe it’ll work 🤣  

—i once was an after-school nanny for a 7-year old boy…. every day i’d pick him up from school and ask:  sam, how are you today? and every day, he’d say with great enthusiasm, EXCELLENT!  No doubt in my mind, he’s grown up to be a fine man.  just doing my best here to live up to his fine example.

264. last night’s dreaming #4

closing my eyes

surrounded by all my angels 

safe and sound

 —god bless and pleasant dreams!

263. no shortages here….

shoes-bags-headgear-masks

one for every day of the week 

….and beyond

 —age old traditions of street shopping alive in this well-stocked stall at the mall, a bazaar within a bazaar where you can buy what you need or see just about anything you might want.