Shoot for the Moon

I've had a couple of busy then bad days. I was feeling better and think i kind of overdid, I still have a problem with learning to pace myself, but when I feel good I want to accomplish all those things that I haven't gotten around to due to my health so I overdo. Friday was a particularly good day and I got a lot accomplished, dog to the vet, physical therapy, shopping, photo taking more than usual but didn't take extra steroids to compensate for the extra stress. Mistake, mistake. When that happens I tend to sleep all the next day, which is pretty much happened.

On top of that Jeremy came home from scout camp where he was one of the leaders, while this was real nice, he also brought home a bug of some kind and we were both sick today. So sleep is what I accomplished today.

I did wake up long enough to eat and then was awake enough to watch the movie 'Secretariat'. A movie that really moved me.  Here was an ordinary women with a dream to help her family and through all her trials including thinking that instead of helping her family she was losing them due to her absence, but in the end she teaches them so much more.  She taught them about following your own  dreams, perseverance and other great character traits.  Sometimes I feel so bad about my health problems and how they have taken me away from my family, both in down time and the time I have to spend to take care of myself, but my family has learned many character traits from my trails that they would not have learned otherwise.
I've seen this movie once before but this time it struck me that she would not have made her dreams come true if it wasn't for the support system of friends and co-workers who turned into friends with which she picked and surrounded herself with.  I too have had and still have a support system for which I am extremely thankful for.  Without them I would not have been as successful as I have been.  This time the movie moved me to tears at her and her support system and their triumph.  Even though I was a junior and senior in high school (which really dates me) I was still right there with them at the triumphs and disappointments along the way even though I knew how it all turned out, because this time I understood the feelings that was happening in the film.  What a difference it made.
Anyway it reminded me of the moon picture and the quote as she shot for the moon and made it then went even further to reach the stars.  Not just in the triumph of her horse but the triumph of her spirit and the difference she made in so many people's lives.
Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina ☺☺☺ 

Good morning from Georgia

My mimosa tree

I love my mimosa tree, it greets me every morning with it's delicate lacy leaves as I go out back to work on my veggie garden.  Unfortunely it grew up right next to our house and is quickly growing taller than our house so it has to go before it does any permanent damage.  Fortunely there are plenty of small ones that can be transplanted to wherever I would like one. I even dug a small one up an put it in a pot inside. I am in the process of deciding where in the yard I would like one; one of the fun parts of doing a garden is the planning and seeing the plan grow and develop. In more ways than one you can see it grow from the plans to the garden growing the way you want it.  Trees grow, flowers fill out and bloom, and veggies develop.  Right now I am working on a 5 year plan for my yard that includes trees, perrenials, edible plants and annuals.  Little by little my yard developes in beauty and I'm already looking forward to the fall planting especailly since I missed most of the spring planting due to my siezures, which have gotten much better and I now have hope to be able to do some of the things that I have been planning.  Hooray, hooray for me.
We are staying home this 4th of July and I am pleased that we can enjoy it here at home with our ever growing garden.
Enjoy your day
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Courage

"Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."

~Mary Anne Radmaher~

Physically I had a really bad day yesterday.  This picture was taken last night just before sunset but when I sat down to download it; I fell asleep.  I had lots that I wanted to do but instead all I could do was sleep.  I really don't like those kind of days.  But I am still plugging along and just to let you know although I am feeling a little better, between appointments, phone calls and other daily interferences this post as simple as it is has taken about eleven hours from start to posting not a whole lot of improvement. ... Sigh....but onward I go.  Tomorrow I've planned a day of resting and pampering so I can make it to church on Sunday and enjoy it.  Sometimes the courage to keep going on takes a little pre-planning and taking care of myself so I can do the things that are most important to me.  How about taking the time to pamper yourself a little?  You'll feel better and keep up the courage to carry on and  I'll bet you will-

Enjoy your weekend

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺ 

Coming in for a landing

“The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”

Norman Cousins quotes (American Essayist and Editor, long associated with the Saturday Review. 1912-1990 Sometimes I feel like this little bird, homing in on it's destination with hope, determination and action as I strive to improve my health. Enjoy the journey ☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

My computer found it's way home

I absolutely miss my computer when it is in the shop, and surprise, surprise I was given an estimated time of the work being done by Monday, but they called the same day and told us it was ready.  I just can't explain how elated I was to get it back.  My camera and my computer are life savers for me.  Being somewhat house bound; my camera allows me to see the world around me in a different light and my computer gives me a link to the outside world.  Even when I am inside I still take photos out my window of the many birds that visit my bird feeders.

Hope you enjoy my birds like I do, a glimpse into a beautiful world that surrounds us if we make the effort to see it,  after all I could have left my curtains shut or never even put up the feeders in the first place which was Tom and Emily's idea but I got the feeders and Tom put them up and now even on my worst days I can still enjoy the beauty of nature.

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Pleasures of living in Georgia

My life has kind of gotten in the way of my blogging.  Sunday was actually kind of wonderful.  I got to go to church, counsel with my bishop to get my head back on straight, and spend the rest of the day with my family setting wedding plans.  Just one of those pleasant days. Until.... late that night and Felicity started throwing up what she ate the night before. OH YUK!!  That wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't continued till noon Monday.  They say having a dog is like having a 2 year old and that's what it felt like.  Sleeping lightly listening for her. Getting up when I heard her, cleaning up, checking her to see if she was still hydrated.  Like most 2 year olds it's the mommy who gets to do this but unlike most 2 year olds Felicity weighs 100#.  We've had dogs with stomach problems (Akita's are notorious for it) for so long our family cookbook has a recipe in it called Dog Soup and when those outside our family see it they think it is a joke, but it is not it is what we feed our dogs when they get sick. Anyway I am no longer a young mother so the rest of Monday was shot,  I was one tired Grammie.  Tuesday I had cataract surgery, for a secondary cataract which is only a short office surgery, but still requires some recoup time.  Wow Wednesday I got up and what a difference the surgery made, everything was so much more detailed.

On the way to the pharmacy I was reminded of one of the many pleasures of living in Georgia.  I quite often make fun of living in Georgia and having a sense of humor does help no matter where you live as each place has it's own idiosyncrasies.  Every place also has it's own pleasures.  In Georgia being a temperate rain forest there are flowers and trees everywhere.  There are wild spaces and some surprising cultivated spaces.  I take an alley to the pharmacy and the back doors to the stores are landscaped.  There is even a couple of small parks and sitting areas right there on the alley.  All the photos today are from that alley yesterday.  Parking lots tend to be landscaped also.  Almost everywhere you go in Georgia there are flowers, trees, birds, and little critters.  And gardeners abound.  There are garden tours and shows.  Georgia is a beautiful place to live.

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina ☺☺☺

WOW

This is going to be short and sweet; I'm stealing time between setting up my new computer and transferring data. This photo is the WOW I got from my new computer. This little beetle has been in my files waiting to be edited, but it was not very high on my list of priorities because it was just a little beetle on the brick wall with a reflection on it's back. Kind of dull and ordinary. Then I put one of my back-up disks in my new computer just to see how the pictures would look on the new screen with the new computer. I set it up for slide show and when this picture came up I realized that the reflection was not just a streak of light but a reflection of the sky and the trees. WOW! I almost couldn't believe my eyes (giggle with delight). I love my new computer and I have a feeling that it is going to make even more of an improvement in my life than I thought.