The Brighter Side of Life!

[Jill Marie]

While walking with my husband and our 2 dogs yesterday I spotted a patch of blue flowers that I had never seen before on a path we have walked on over the last few years.  I pointed them out to my husband and he said he had never noticed them before either.  As we walked we saw more and more of them lining the path.  I realized at that moment how happy I was, because of the simple beauty of the flowers along with the sunshine, fresh air and the company of my husband and our dogs.  That got me to thinking, what else do I enjoy seeing or doing?  I started out the Memorial Weekend venting on this forum and now I would like to share some of my happier thoughts and welcome others to do the same.  Perhaps you would like to explain in detail something you love to do, or make a list of things you like to do.  It doesn't matter if it's something you did before your surgery and can no longer do or perhaps it's something you have come to enjoy after your surgery then again maybe it's something you have always liked to do but just do it in a different way now!

We walk our dogs at least 4 times a week, every day if the dogs had their way.  We walk them in a ravine where we can keep an eye on them, they love to chase the rabbits and rock chucks. The path we were on yesterday is called the Centennial Trail and it is about 40 miles long, it winds through our city and along a river.   We all sleep better when we have gone on a nice long walk. 

I love gardending, vegetable gardens that is.  We didn't plant one this year as we are redoing the landscaping in our backyard.  Hopefully by the end of summer we will have a new deck, small swimming pool and a fish pond.  My husband loves to work with his hands and create new things.  Most of the materials we need for the projects come from bartering with others so who knows what will happen.

We bought a small camp trailer last Fall and are looking forward to taking it to our annual family reunion in July, we have attended the reunion every year for the last 23 years, except the year I had my surgery.  Can't wait to roast a marshmellow and catch up with family friends.

In the Winter I go to the club to ride the bike and lift weights, it helps me keep in shape and helps me deal with stress.  During the Summer I ride my bike on the Centennial Trail.

My Dad was in the Army during WWII and over the last 10 years I have tracked down some of his fellow Army buddies.  We have attended 5 WWII  Reunions.  The most memorable was the one in D.C. where we visited the WWII Memorial. 

We're looking forward to traveling in Europe when we retire!

[mema]

Jill Marie,                                                                                                                                                                                 


My husband and I have always had a hand in babysitting our grandkids, on a daily basis one or two at a time.  We have five.  We are looking to buy a travel trailer.  My  husband and I would like to see the Grand Canyon and other National Parks.  My dream also has been to see Hollywood, because I am a movie buff.  We also would like to take our grandkids camping.                                                       

I am a novice scrapbooker.  I started past February doing a scrapbook for my sons 40th birthday.  I love doing it so much. I feel like a little girl playing cutouts.  And I've gotten pretty good restoring old pictures on the computer, with the help of my sister.                   

So I did one for her 50th birthday.  I now have a son turing 40 in January, and a daughter to do.  Hoping I can do one for all my grandkids.  I always wanted a hobby and could never come up with anything that interested me.  Whala! I love to scrapbook.


                                                                                                  mema

[matti]

When my boys were little (20 or so years ago) we would go to the park everyday and all the way there, they were filled with so much excitement they could hardly contain themselves, such sweet memories.  Fast forward 20 years and I am still going to the park everyday, but now it's a dog park with a labrador that is filled with so much excitement he can hardly contain himself. He howls and moans all the way there LOL  So much fun to watch him run and play with doggie friends. It's the simple things in life that are truely the best!

Cheryl

[Jill Marie]

Mema,

I'm jealous, we don't have any grandchildren yet, looking forward to all the fun we will have when we do.  The Grand Canyon is high on our list as well.

I'm glad you found a hobby that brings joy to you and your family.  Our youngest is in the Army and while he was deployed to Iraq his girlfriend made a scrapbook for him for his birthday, it had pictures of all his friends and family in it so he could feel closer to home when he looked at it.  He bacame very ill while in Iraq and was flown to Landstuhl, Germany to recover.  At one point we thought we would never see him again. The Army flew us to Germany and while there we posted on a sight called the Caring Bridge.  Family and friends posted their well wishes there too!  Our sons girlfriend gave me a scrapbook for my birthday with all the posts from the Caring Bridge in it.  I look at the scrapbook every now and then and am so glad she made it for me as I'm sure your family appreciates those you made for them.  Jill

[Boppie]

I love seeing smiles on my 6yo Grandson's faces.  They are fraternal twins.  They stick together like glue.  Yesterday I visited the taller boy at home.  He'd had his tonsils out.  He was on the couch and he had a nice smile for me when I came in.  This morning the smaller boy answered the phone and gave me a moment by moment report on his brother's progress and then he described his new bike reflectors that spin when you ride!  It doesn't take much to make them happy.  My problems seem so small when I am with those boys!

[Kathleen_Mc]

Happy parent moment....my daughter is 5 and in J.K., she bring home these very short readers and we read them together, up until the other day when she read on she had never had to me! Wow what an amasing mement as my son and I cheered, thank heavens I slowed down that day and took the time to read with her.
Kathleen

[Jill Marie]

It was a long day at work, new it would be the last day of the month is always hectic.  Anyway, I came here and read the posts and feel much better now.  Cheryl I know what you mean about the dogs, we call our two are second set of children.  I can picture you relaxing and enjoying watching the dogs have a great time.  Boppie isn't it great to see things through the grandkids eyes, wish we could do it like they do.  Kathleen you brought back wonderful memories for me, the boys reading for the first time, first bike ride, etc.  Glad you got to enjoy the time with your son and daughter.  Jill

[Jeanlea]

Today was my last day of school so I took my students to the local park to play for a while.  While they were having fun I walked around the outer edge of the playground area on the little beam that surrounds it.  I was so happy that I could do it!  I even went on the merry-go-round.  Afterwards I let them put their feet in the river which was very shallow.  It was fun watching them all walking around trying to catch crayfish.  What a nice memory.

Jean

[Windsong]

Hi Jill,

I'm glad that you began this post.
The day i read it I had just come back from being at my summer shack where i relaxed and loved the blue flowers blooming... forget-me-knots. ...On my way home I thought about them and then thought about how even a memory of one happy experience visualized years later,  can increase endorphins and make one feel better..... then i came here and clicked on and read your post.... all of that  was a positive uplifting thing.

Thanks,
Windsong

[ppearl214]

now, this is the kind of thread I like

Ah... when it's peaceful in my house and the dog (my pug, Beanie) is sleeping up against me and when she takes a very deep breath, a funny "snort" is released..... I just smile......I giggle... it's just the way she snorts.....

Like you all have mentioned.... some of the simplest things in life sure bring the brighter side....

Phyl

[Battyp]

Jill Marie your blue flowers reminds me of the first time I saw the bluebonnets bloom in texas.  They are gorgeous.  There also illegal to pick which coming from FL I had no idea.  Of course the day I chose to try to pick one was the day I had a poo poo behind me  LOL

Mema can I send you the scrap book I've been trying to do since before I got sick.  I keep thinking one day I'll get back to it. Hoping scrapbook materials do not rot  LOL

[Jill Marie]

Jean, It's amazing how one's happy day reminds another of a happy day then we all feel better.  My husband and I went on several field trips with the boys when they were in school.  Some to Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA where they held the 1974 Worlds Fair.  They did a wonderful job of taking an old run down section of town and turning it into a beautiful park which includes a place to feed the ducks and a Merry go round from a defunct park that was here in the 50's & 60's. Congratulations on walking on the beam!

Windsong, are the flowers we saw perhaps Forget-me-knots, the ones we sawwe are now noticing EVERYWHERE we go, they are very small blue flowers with a yellow center on Very long stems?  I love how we can enjoy something while we do it but get to enjoy it over and over again as we remember it.

Phyl, Gotta love cuddling with the dogs.  I sleep with one curled up by my stomach, don't sleep well when he decides to sleep on his bed at the end of our bed.  Every now and then he wimpers and wakes me up, I'm guessing he's wimpering because in his dreams he's chasing critters and having a blast!

Battyprincess, I will ask you the same question I asked Windsong, are the blue flowers I saw Bluebonnets?  My husband wants to take some from along the trail we walk on but I don't want to get in trouble for picking them!  Hope you are able to get back to the scrapbook, the ones I've seen are well worth the work.  I need to get back to my photo albums, has nothing to do with my Tumor just hard to get motivated on such a big task.

Saturday I was busy cleaning house, doing laundry and taking out the trash, sounds great doesn't it?  While outside I noticed that the birds were chirping up a storm so I glanced out into the yard to see what was going on.  My husband had a little sprinkler going and the birds were having a bath, it was in the 90's so they were cooling off.  I just stood there for a while and watched them flap there wings to cool off, made me wish I was a bird.  I told my husband about it and he went out and filled the birdbath so they would have a place to cool off when he turned off the sprinkler.  Friday night it was cooler outside than inside so we cooked franks on the grill and watched a movie on the laptop our youngest son got us for Christmas.  During the boring parts of the movie we turned our eyes to the movie in the sky, lots & lots of stars dancing in the sky!  Take Care, Jill Marie

[Sue]

Well, I can't decide if I feel better having read all your lovely posts, or worse!  We don't have pets anymore, but we did for many years. Quite a few fond memories in regards to our various cats and dogs that have come and gone. We don't have grandchildren, but I have a young friend with 3 kids and I go to see her now and then and visit with her little kids.  They are so cute.  We don't travel a lot,(or as much as I'd like) but we used to have a beach house on the Oregon coast and went there for many years and had many nice memories there.  After we sold our home there we then were able to explore other areas and I finally got my husband to take me north to see the San Juan Islands, Victoria BC and other towns in the Puget Sound area, like Port Townsend and Poulsbo. We had a wonderful vacation once and went to the San Juans and then over the mountains to see Leavenworth, WA and then up to Lake Chelan where we took a boat up to Stehekin, which was a fabulous trip. That's like the countries most remote National Park.  If you want to see some pictures:

http://www.ladyofthelake.com/

Okay, I'm feeling a little better!  Except for the grandkids thing.  I get awfully sad about not being a grandmother. And there's not a whole lot I can do about that!

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. It may not be Europe, but the Pacific NW has some wonderful scenic areas to enjoy and we haven't begun to explore this area yet. 

Take care everyone,

Sue in Vancouver, WA USA

[Windsong]

I am remembering a carefree day, zooming up the empty highway in Arizona to Sedona, radio on in a blue firebird, sun shining, sky so blue, space all around me, and the sounds of "Music Box Dancer" and then Blondie belting out "Heart of Glass" which had a great beat to it even if i don't recall the lyrics...lol... first trip there in '79...loved it....could see forever....

[Jill Marie]

Sue,  I understand the sadness of no pets and no grandchildren.  We had a dog named Lex that our oldest son got us when he was in High School.  He was like our 3rd child, closer to him than any pet we had ever had.  He helped fill the gap when the boys moved out, however, he got hit by a truck a couple of years years later.  That was the worse day of my life, worse than having a Tumor!  My husband wanted to get another dog for us to love but I just couldn't do it.  Eventually we ended up with two we adopted from a shelter.  When they are gone we will be done with dogs so we can travel abroad.  Once we're to old for that I'm sure we will head back to the shelter for more friends.  As far as the grandkids go we don't have any either, our oldest has had a couple of long term relationships that didn't work out.  The younger one is in the Military and hasn't been in one place long enough to find someone to settle down with.  I haven't lost hope though!

Where was your beach house on the Oregon Coast?  We were married in Ocean Shores, WA.  My Uncle had a beach house there that we stayed in for our honeymoon.  Haven't been to the San Juan Islands yet but considering the price of gas now I think we will be keeping closer to home than planned so we will put it on our list.  In other words, as you say the NW is beautiful.  We want to see Europe because we saw a bit of it when we went to Germany to be with our youngest son.  It really gave us the traveling bug. 

As for Lake Chelan, I checked out the web site and it is beautiful, we've seen a bit of it on our drive back from Seatlle when we take Whites Pass (think it's white's pass).  My sister lives in Puyallup and she camps there every year with her co-workers and my Dad joins them too.  We hope to meet up with them this year, they usually go in the Fall.

I've been through Vancouver more times than I can count.  I grew up in Goldendale and have lots of relatives in Portland and use to have some in Camas.  We drove my Mom to the doctors in Portland a lot also so we drove both the OR & WA sides crossing the Columbia River in varying places just to change the view.

Windsong,  in my younger days my dream car was a 60's or early 70's Red/Orange or Deep Blue Firebird, I can see you riding in it and having a great time!