purple

purple is my favorite color. since making that discovery, i have found that there are a myriad of things in our world that can be found in the glorious color. crayons.

a large bird with purple and gray/black feathers known as the purple heron....beautiful.

one of our country's military decorations, the purple heart, given for military merit - courage... bravery...in the line of enemy fire.

eye make-up. the ability to contour your eye to look its best...dramatic, sharp, wowza!

food. who knew that food these days could be purple, but here it is...cauliflower. is it natural? organic? i don't know. but i do know that i love it's bright, bold color and in a salad it would look awesome.

shoes. glorious shoes. who doesn't love shoes? purple shoes? gotta have 'em. they will add that special pop of color to an outfit you've been wanting, admit it. when you're feeling blah, put these on and the world is suddenly all right or at least a little bit better don'tcha think? i do.

if you are feeling the need to shop, check out this purple store on line i found. it has all things purple, i kid you not.

flowers. everything is better with flowers. flowers of any color for sure but purple? come on. you couldn't pass this one by now could you? pop it in a little bud vase & smile away.

and finally, what better way to zip around than in a classy purple vehicle. isn't this one a dream? probably out of my budget but a girl needs to dream...

happy day.....

mug-a-holic

we all have them. the favorites. or favorite. the one that is used over and over again. we are shameless about it. if it's in the sink, we wash it out to use it again instead of taking a clean one out of the cupboard. if it's in the dishwasher, ditto. you know of what i speak. admit it. go ahead. you are not alone. i cannot be the only one. am i? sigh....

okay....i will admit it. i am a mug-a-holic. i tend to use the same mug all the time. yes, all the time. however i invest in new mugs, too. i see them. i think they're lovely, or different, unique, unusual, plain, bigger than ordinary, whatever....and want to have 'em. not because i will necessarily use them right away or even maybe ever. but....just because. isn't that good enough? and so i purchase them and into the cabinet they go.

so it was with this one.
isn't she a beauty? i saw it; loved the peace sign and the colors. although you can't tell, the inside is a very pretty orange which only added to it's loveliness for me. and it holds more than just an average cup. imagine having this greet you each morning. bliss....don't you think?

i have owned it now for almost 4 months. i have used it only twice. i like to tell myself i'm just keeping it in pristine condition but i know better. it will sit in my cupboard where i will see it when i open the door. i will admire it then. pick it up....perhaps caress it for a moment and then gently put it back down and close the door. i realize some may say this could be a sort of sickness. really? i don't know.

but i do wonder why i tend to resort back to using the same one or two over and over like an old pair of slippers. how the day will come when it will crack, or i'll drop it and it will shatter to be used no more, leaving me to break in one of the new ones that are patiently waiting behind cupboard doors.

happy day.....

bkd signature

i hold one of the greatest privileges in the world! i am an aunt to 7 adorable little ones...2 nephews and 5 nieces. well...okay... in reality, they are not quite so "little" any more. being an aunt is wonderful even though i would not claim to have been the best aunt ever and still am not.

although it is hard to believe they have grown up so fast, many of them have attended college already and are establishing themselves in careers. others are still in school making choices about their futures; decisions that will impact them for many years to come.

one niece, brianne, began experimenting very early in her life. she found that she enjoyed doing crafts; designing and making things, playing with different mediums, putting myriad colors and textures together. it became a part of who brianne was and is today. and so...

brianne became an entrepreneur...selling her wares. how cool is that? and not just via word of mouth but really putting them out there....becoming a business woman. her things can be found on etsy and she calls her line "bkd signature." brianne has been featured in various publications as well both online and in print. wow! talk about a proud aunt.

i had to purchase some of brianne's things because i loved the colors and designs. here they are for you to see:



this last one? can you tell? uh-huh...it's a bottle cap! how extraordinary is that? i believe it's genius and so special. but you have to check out brianne's line for yourself. she has lots of other products in addition to jewelry. tell her i sent you and have fun shopping.

happy day.....

spring storms

this is the backyard during our latest spring storm....the second one this week.

although the picture doesn't really do it justice, it was a beautiful snow fall. quiet and peaceful. big, fluffy snowflakes. the wet kind that are perfect for making snowballs.

i love spring snows. clean, crisp, fresh, pretty...don't last long. and as with most of colorado's spring storms, this one began fast.

clouds moved in darkening the skies. a few flurries started to fall. then suddenly, the downpour of heavy flakes began their decent blanketing the ground.

since i was not able to get outside, i stood at the window experimenting with my camera and new fauxlaroid app. i thought it gave an old fashioned appearance to the scene making it look sort of 50's with the lighting.

happy day......

collecting blood

so i recently spent some time in the hospital. as visits to the hospital go, this one was pretty decent. the hospital was relatively new, i had a private room - always a plus - the nursing staff seemed to have a desire to serve.

if you have not had the opportunity to at least stay overnight in a hospital, let me tell you it is not a place to go if you want to get rest. it is not like a hotel where you can simply check in to your room for the night, put on your p.j.'s, settle into bed and get a good night of sleep. oh no.

constantly you are being checked. blood pressure. blood oxygen level. temperature. meds. water. wound. questions. and then it starts all over. and if one has done it, be assured that at least 2 more will do it with you as well. just to be sure.

but the one thing i noticed this time around was that the collection of my blood only happened at 4:00 a.m. every day. no earlier. no later. they were precise. like clockwork. why? was my blood fabulous at that time of the morning? did they do a better job collecting the blood of patients at that time of the day? was it the ability of creeping up on patients "in the middle of the night" aspect they enjoyed? the vampire effect? got me.

but every day i was there, a different person arrived in my room; did their job quietly and without complaint, turning off the light when they were done to leave my room and were gone.

happy day.....

modern technology

do you have any idea what this is?

go ahead....take a guess.

anybody?

here's a clue: it's inserted into your body...into a blood vessel.

did that help? no?

if not, i'll tell you. it's an ivc filter, aka inferior vena cava filter. a device that sort of looks like an umbrella without the nylon - kind of - that is meant to prevent blood clots from passing through your heart and/or lungs, also known as pulmonary emboli.

isn't that amazing? it doesn't really look at all like it would be able to do that yet it has a 95% accuracy rate. that's astounding.

i now have one of these nifty devices in me. it's sitting just below my belly button and should protect me from incidents of pulmonary emboli....for which i am extremely grateful.

i am also grateful for dr. lazar greenfield who pioneered the filter after one of his patients died from a pulmonary embolism.

dr. greenfield worked with an inventor, garman kimmell, who made valves and other devices for oil and gas wells, trapping sludge in pipelines. two brilliant minds together came up with an unlikely gadget for the human body that proved remarkably successful.

it has evolved over the years and there are many different options available now; ones that can be removed versus remaining permanently in your body. modern technology...modern miracles.

happy day.....

this too shall pass.....

sometimes things just need to speak for themselves. so be it. enjoy.....




happy day.....

time

time is a precious commodity. what we do with it. how we use it. how we keep track of it. or is it? does it matter?

but do you rule it or do you let it rule you? do you allow it to consume you? do you get angry at it? do you laugh it off?


when you are going somewhere, are you early or late? do you care? is it important? do you value time?

when those you are with value time, then regardless of what or how you think, do you respect what they feel about time?



it is interesting to observe the many different ways in which people handle time. there are those that seem to be forever in panic mode, never enough time in the day to get everything done. there are those who do everything for others and never take time for themselves, ending up unhealthy in so many ways. there are those who always have time on their hands to do anything, then never seem to get anything done but always complain about never having time to do anything at all.

are we always trying to find balance with time? i know that i am. in the meantime i try not to let it get the best of me. one day, that 5 or 10 minutes will be the utmost blessing....and i will be grateful.

happy day.....

history lesson

the older i have gotten, the more i have come to appreciate history. alas, not so much when i was sitting in school. this individual managed to capture all of it in a mere 3 minutes and 12 seconds of whimsy. i believe it took 2,100 pages of drawing to create. whew!

happy day.....

one bible verse

sometimes all it takes is for one scripture to leap off the page and speak directly to me. as though it were written just for me all those years ago for this very day in time.

and god knew exactly where i would be, what i would be doing, my special circumstances and what my situation would be; and would then fling those words straight at me..... right to the very core of my being.

i needed to hear these words today:

"it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace." hebrews 13:9b esv

happy day.....

bubble wrap

the sweet sound of bubble wrap. have you played with it? admit it. go ahead. it's okay. at some point we all have. the melody of the pop, pop, pop. somehow it brings out the kid in me. i pop 'em slow. i pop 'em fast. but i can never bring myself to pop every single one of them.

i try to entertain the kitties but always end up scaring them....and then giggle even though it's not really funny. but... it really is if you know what i mean.

i'm fascinated by the honeycomb design. the way that some rolls are very big but then some are teeny tiny.

then i came across this neat website for virtually popping bubble wrap. you can get timed; put it into a manic mode, too, to go faster all the while hearing the sound of popping. be forewarned though, it could quite easily become addicting....it's mindless fun.

happy day.....

marley

this is marley. he leads a very tough life. he lives in a nice house. he has unlimited amounts of food and water at his disposal every day. he has a playmate named gracie of whom he is very fond. he has human companions that he has trained to meet his every need. he has various kinds of toys. he has a myriad of sleeping venues scattered throughout the house.

marley's day consists of eating, sleeping, playing, sleeping and sleeping some more. he seems to enjoy this life very much.

lately, marley seems to have developed a habit i've not noticed before. even as i write this, he is sleeping next to me displaying this habit....maybe habit isn't quite the right word. it's something i didn't know cats did. it's sort of disturbing really. he's snoring! yes, that's right....snoring! loudly, too. like a train. i'm not kidding. it's as though a locomotive is going to come rumbling through the house at any moment.

is this normal for a cat? i've never in my history of having cats ever heard one of them snore before. this is a first. one for the record books for sure. if i knew how to do it, i would tape him and post it for you so you would know i'm not making it up. then you would hear the sheer volume of what's coming out of him.

the sweet news? his purr is just as loud as his snore.

happy day.....

hunting clover

did you ever go on the hunt as a child? looking endlessly in a sea of green? running around thinking you'd found it? screaming with joy only to be disappointed. then going on the search again but coming up empty handed.

finding them is elusive. difficult. frustrating. rare. i never managed it. but i always delighted in the possibility. the hope that maybe one day i would capture the dream....

even now as an adult i am still fascinated with the four leaf clover. they are a pretty plant; their shape flattering in the way the leaves fold up together around each other in a sort of protective fashion. there is something mystical about them. something magical. do you see it? do you agree?

symbolically; one leaf represents hope, one for faith, one for love and one, of course, for luck or good fortune.

have you found your four leaf clover? experienced the thrill? that magical moment?

happy day.....

a book to love

an author wrote a book in 1922. a book full of magic and playfulness that provided hope for readers of all ages. a book that was more of a parable really, about rebirth and the power of love; about friendship and learning to be yourself. a story which confronts some essential questions that we ask ourselves: who am i? do i have worth? what's life all about anyway? a book both comforting and inspiring.

the velveteen rabbit. have you read it? it is one of my most favorite of all books. no matter how old i get, i love to read it. over and over again. i never tire of it even though i know what happens. it's always as if i'm reading it for the very first time.

in fact if memory serves, i need to buy a new copy as the last one i had got too worn out. this is one of those books that i would relish having a first edition copy...can you imagine? how fabulous....what a dream that would be.

happy day.....

oh my, pie

i love pie. i look for excuses to eat pie. big celebrations. small celebrations. milestones. birthdays. anniversaries. rain. snow. losing weight. gaining weight. a new outfit. new shoes. you name it, it's reason enough.

rumor has it, tomorrow - march 2 - is banana cream pie day! oh my! a perfect opportunity to eat pie. just look at this perfect specimen of pie will you. it's one of my absolute faves in the pie world. banana cream pie.




how can this be resisted? how can this be ignored? the creaminess of banana custard? the silkiness of whipped cream? plus the flakiness of the crust? i think i'm drooling.....excuse me while i figure out where to go get my perfect slice of heaven. ahhhhhh.....

happy day.....