Ending of the perfect week

We saw the sun sparkle on the water.

We left our footprints in the sand and observed the beauty of Mother Nature.

We saw the tropical beauty of sparkling blue clear water lapping the shore.

And ended the week with a sunset that could not be equaled in it's beauty, although impossible to be captured on film.

I could not have asked for a more perfect week.  We didn't do a lot but that was exactly what I needed.  I left behind stressful work and personal situations that I know will be waiting for me when I get back.  This week was an escape from reality and I knew it and took it with both hands, embracing it fully as just what it was.  It was a gift of respite from stresses that have been overwhelming.  They won't go away and will probably only be worse when I return, but now I've had time to commune with Mother Nature and with God, resting for just a brief while from what I know awaits. 

In looking back over recent years, I have seen that often we have had the opportunity to get away right before there was a time of great stress.  I hope and pray that this is not the case this time, but know that if it is, that at least we've been granted this gift of rest and enjoyment of the beauty that is the ocean. 

Birthday present

My fifty-first birthday has sped right up here and for this birthday I am getting something I have wanted for a while, which is a trip to the beach. Kerry is not really a beach person, so he is always resistant to my suggestions about going there. It does seem like there have always been other places we needed to go when we have been able to take time off, like to visit family or we just have not had enough time to get this far from home

  The last time we were at the ocean for a vacation was 6 years ago before the girls got married. We took our last family vacation then and made a spontaneous trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. That is where we are now, enjoying several days on a budget vacation but I am finally here, breathing in ocean air, feeling the breeze off the water, hearing the waves lap the shore. There is just nothing like it to me to restore the soul. I can find communion with nature anywhere. I love being in the woods, in the mountains, near a lake. God is there and so obvious to any observing eye, but, indeed, there is a special something extra for me about the sea and just BEING there. By that I mean "being". Perhaps the rhythms of the water and wind cause me to slow my mind down, let it empty of all those busy and often harmful thoughts, and actually "be" in the moment.

That is something that is hard for me to do, live in the moment.  I try to constantly remind myself to, but it is easy to start worrying about problems and solutions, the "what if's" and next thing you know another day has slipped by and then another.  Having a birthday past the half-century mark will definitely remind you that time is "slipping into the future". When a moment is as beautiful as this it is so much easier to savor, though, than those days spent working or doing mundane tasks.

I love a pretty sunset and those over water are so awesome.  Don't think you can ever tire of seeing beauty like this.

We enjoyed eating out the other evening at a restaurant recommended by my friend, Kelli. It was a very popular local establishment, J.Micheals, that was pretty busy for a Monday evening. Hard to see the detail of all the decorations in the pic above, but it was quite colorful and the food was delicious.

 

I was walking back to the room from the pool when I noticed the cool shadows of the railing. This might be a cool background for something.  I keep saying I want to get back into art more, but I've not been too successful.  There are some personal business issues that have been on my mind and I have got to get to where I can put these to the side instead of waiting for the perfect day. 

I did bring some fabric stuff and some journals with me.  So far have started a couple of pages in my "Blue Traveler" journal and worked on some needlepoint in the car on the way down.  I've read one book and started another. Lazy stuff and that is just what I wanted to be doing.

Seeing the light

I am trying to get some posts off even if I have nothing artistic to share.  If for no other reason, than to keep myself in a habit.  This picture is one that I took on the way home last week.  I love to try to catch the rays of sun as they shine through the clouds. As it happens, my morning and evening commutes coincide with the rising and setting of the sun, making it easier to capture such a moment, ones that seem to me to be sending a message that our God is there watching out for us with a light so bright that it can break through to us when we need it. I need to be reminded of this sometimes.  Life can seem so burdensome at times, when problems that you pray will be resolved don't seem to be anywhere near that resolution.  It can be hard to understand the "why" and "when".  Then you hear of others who have so much more to bear that you feel small. Even so, to each of us, our cares are still important and real.  It still lifts my heart to see these rays breaking through clouds and to know I am not alone with my burdens.

What your bookshelves look like when you are a "collector" of many things!

 

Show above a shelf in my dining room.  It used to be my living room and my Dad built us a lovely built-in entertainment center across one end of the room.  If/when we ever move, I will be sad about leaving things like this behind.  He is gone now and he built most of our kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and the afore-mentioned unit. Of course, Kerry and I have built most of the house, too, so that will be hard to leave, too!

Well, I digress, as I often do. The shelf above highlights my eclectic tastes, shall we say.  Two dollheads, rescued from from a burn pile, 2 mercury glass candleholders, hand-carved snake and wooden letter openers made by a friend, a butterfly that made it's way into the garage and didn't make it out(died from the heat, I guess),bird feathers,  small vintage business card for a Hitchcock Lamp available at J.H. Hedenburg's in Brooklyn, and a lovely little bust.

I love little things like this.  Too much, I guess.