Monday, November 30, 2009

Perspective

What we know or think we know, what  we see  can change in a blink of an eye. Our perspective can change as we view the object from different angles, or as we learn more about a person, place or thing.

Perspective: the way in which objects appear to the eye, one's "pont of view", the choice of context for opinions, opinions, beliefs and experiences.

As we stepped out of Teresa's Resturant on Black Friday, I pointed at this building and said to Diane, that is where I worked in the early 90's. I checked the view finder and did not like what I saw. I changed the building by the way I viewed it..


The way the building looked changed with each few steps, even though it did not change and was the same building in every picture. The trick was In what I emphasized with my camera. I was changing the view . As I veiwed the photos, I thought this is just like life. Our lives change with how we view them, others change when we view them through their eyes or others eyes.


The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. Carlos Castaneda

“If you nurture your mind, body, and spirit, your time will expand. You will gain a new perspective that will allow you to accomplish much more.” Brian Koslow





There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state to another. Alexandre Dumas

What we know about a person changes the way we view them, for bad or for good. If we meet someone that we have heard bad things about, we think they are what we heard, not what they are. We can be guilty of judging others because they look different, act different or by words we have heard from another person.
As we start into the 31 days until the year 2010, I would like to challenge myself and all that read this, to make an effort to view others with a new perspective.

Each morning we drive by a neighbors house and either the man or the woman is standing on the porch waiting for the bus to pick up the young man who is a foot taller than his parents or maybe grand parents. My husband makes the same comment each time. WHY do they stand out there with him? he is in his own front yard. today my answer was, We don't know them or him. maybe he has a disablity we can't see. Maybe they just love him a lot. We don't Know the Real Story.
Share your stories of something that changed when you new The Real Story.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Black Friday Walk-A-Bout


Bradenton has beautified it's downtown area with brick sidewalks and old lampost. City Hall faces the Manatee river and shares that view with the library and yacht club. My friend Diane is still in the workforce, which requires us to do our photo shoots together on her day off.
Click on photo's for details



Black Friday we chose to hit downtown Bradenton, meet for breakfast at an outdoor cafe, and do a walk-a-bout on the waterfront with our cameras.
Who knew we would have 48 degrees and 20 knots wind on that morning? as we stepped out of our cars, the shock of the cold north wind slapped us in the face as we stood and admired the shadows the bright sun threw on the bricks.(remember we are in FLORIDA, home of warm temps year round). The flag is PROOF!
 
We both agreed the day was a bummer and that there would be no walking the 3 mile trail in that weather, besides all the birds were hiding. I said and guess what? all of downtown is closed and locked up tight, the sidewalks are empty of tables and chairs, the breakfast is a no go. Double Bummer. Or so we thought!
 

We decided to check out Teresa's Resturant, only a few blocks south of where we stood. One bummer dropped off our Walk-A-Bout, Teresa's was OPEN!
We spent well over an hour eating great food and entetaining our photograper selves by taking indoor pictures. Great food Great Fun AND fodder for another blog comng soon!

As we started to get in the car, I spied a cottage through the trees and said, Let's see if that boutique is open, everytime i pass it, I think I will stop one day and never do.




the second bummer of the day disapeared. As we walked up the shop owner came out the back door and we asked if they were open. She said in a few minutes, I said is it ok if we go in the fence and take photos unitl you open? Her answer was let me unlock the gate and disable the alarm and of course you can.



The Rust Crickett
Check out their website, click on this link, Rusty Crickets Coastal City Cottage and the owner made our day. Diane finished her Christmas shopping and I was given permission to take photo's in the shop. I gathered A wealth of blog material and all the Christmas photos I need  DVD movie Christmas card for my friends at the nursing facility.

Rusty Crickets unique Gifts, Coastal Treasures and Clothing Boutique Made our day.



This just proves Things are not always what they seem. Our Black Friday
Walk-A-bout went from bummer to blessings, Just Like That!


Share your stories of what appeared at first glance to be not what you wanted, but WAS!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksiving


4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Phillipians 4:4-7



In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast
Pilgrims didn't use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. They wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food.

The best food was placed next to the most important people. People didn't tend to sample everything that was on the table (as we do today), they just ate what was closest to them

Today dinner is centered on the turkey; 17th century meals included many different meats
 
Pilgrims did not worry about eating mostly meat or fat. The colonists were more active and needed more protein. Heart attack was the least of their worries. They were more concerned about the plague and pox.
no refrigeration in the seventeenth century. They dried Indian corn, hams, fish, and herbs The pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit, in sauces for meats.


They did not measure they just improvised. The best way to cook things in the seventeenth century was to roast them. Someone was assigned to sit for hours at a time and turn the spit to make sure the meat was evenly done.





Native Americans were the first to enjoy cranberries. They mixed deer meat and mashed cranberries to make pemmicana—a survival food. They also believed in the medicinal value of cranberries—long before science discovered cranberry's health benefits
Cranberries are one of only three fruits that are native to North America. It's a wild fruit that grows on long-running vines in sandy bogs and marshes, mostly in the Northeast, but also in the Pacific Northwest
 
Cranberries were called “sassamanesh” by Eastern Indians. It was the early German and Dutch settlers who started calling it the “crane berry” because the flower looked a lot like the head and bill of a crane.
 
Lets here it for sassamanesh salad. Happy Thanksgiving. I am taking a day off from blogging tomorrow. see you on Saturday.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thanks You For The Memories Milly

We lost a dear friend last week. In Memory Of Millie, and to say thank you to the staff and residents of at Heritage Park Nursing and Rehab Center. I am truly thankful that God blessed me with their love and all the fun memories they create for me. And I am thankful I can be a part of creating memories for them.

YES, that is a helicopter she is sitting in, she was always up for anything fun.

And a big smile for the young and handsome helicopter pilot. He made me smile to. and we were all thankful he knew how to fly that thing.

Marissa, Activities Director doing an interview about the ride. do you think Milly loved that ride?
I am thankful to be a volunteer!
If your life is not full and you feel thankful for nothing, look around you and find someone to smile at, to talk to, make someone else thankful you are there. Let's forget ourselves and think of others and then they can say they are thankful for us.

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Decide to make someone else thankful.
Volunteer and Make Others Thankful

Monday, November 23, 2009

Canine Christmas - Better Than Rudolphs Nose

Disaster strikes. An earthquake rumbles, an avalanche roars, a building collapses, a tornado roars through a Midwestern town, a hurricane brings destruction to the Gulf Coast or eastern seaboard, a bomb reduces a federal building to rubble.
Almost before the dust settles, the dog and handler teams are there, searching for victims alive and dead.
        They follow their noses to lost and injured or deceased humans




I spent 20 minutes with this Search and Rescue Dog and her handler at the Canine Christmas Festival 2009. As I petted and talked to her, she would put her paw up and wave it at me if I stopped stroking her. Her handler told me they had been to Chilie and many other countries and to Katrina in our country. I asked how they transport to other countries. She said they use military troop transport planes and the dogs fly sitting next to their handlers.  CLICK ON EACH PICTURE FOR DETAIL VIEWS

A little girl came and wanted to pet her, the handler led her down and to the little girl. the little girl was a little nervous at first, the trainer had the dog lie down.



As you can see, the child and the dog enjoyed kisses and huggs. I enjoyed my kisses and huggs also.
With a sense of smell far more powerful than man’s and an ability to probe nooks and crannies that humans cannot penetrate, these dogs save lives and bring comfort to the families whose friends and relatives succumbed in the tragedy.


Search and rescue dogs are the hard-working heroes of disaster relief, but it’s all a game to these talented canines. Finding a victim brings a reward – a hug, a treat, a tussle with a favorite toy. The dogs live for the praise, even though it must sometimes be muted in deference to grief


As I walked away from the working dog, I found one that could work as a horse/reindeer. HA HA. Romeo is a Great Dane and what a friendly and funny dog.




See what I mean about riding him? He could also help Rudoph pull a sleigh with no problem.
Romeo was the funniest of the Santa Shots that I watched that day. He just did not FIT on her lap.

Santa Romeo was the funniest part of my day, was this owner trying to get him on her lap



As Good As It Gets....................

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Canine Christmas Festival @ S.P.C.A

Yesterday I attended the annual fundraiser Canine Christmas Festival.

this canine Elf is Virginia, better known as V.....she was highly indignant when Mommy put her collar on. She is my friend Shirley's Grand Dog.



V up close and personal



This small elf is V's baby brother Cowboy. He does not know he is the baby brother.


Not all the dogs wore costumes, would you want to be the one to  put a santa suit on this little guy? Just kidding, he was so friendly and cuddly. I got enough hugs to last a long time.
The Event was held at the Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA.


Bishop Animal Shelter is a privately run non-profit animal adoption shelter founded in 1958 by two special people - Edward E. and Lillian H. Bishop. Their love and caring for animals resulted in their establishing the Bishop Animal Shelter. The land comprising almost 40 acres was formerly a citrus grove owned by the family. This little guy is a homeless Kangaroo baby.


Not everyone who attended fit the descripiton of Canine. this little goat had fun butting his head against the fence and scaring the dogs. We  are blessed to have Bishop Animal Shelter although I wish we had no need for it. The building sits on 40 lovely and shaded acres and was designed specifically for unwanted, stray and abandoned animals. Funding for the building and operation of the Shelter comes through a Foundation endowed by the Bishops. No city, county, state or federal funding is involved in its operation.











This Santa sat in the blazing sun all day, while children and pets had their pictures made for 5.00. All funds went to the SPCA.


This greyhound rescue was the hit of the party. Her name is Spot. Here in Florida, almost everywhere you go, you will find many of these wonderful dogs.





Click here for rescue site

this sweet litle elf gave me a big laugh. guess what he was smelling when I aimed the camera at him. All dogs do it. He dropped his head before I clicked.


If you have a few minutes and love/care for dogs, watch this movie on these greyhounds. They make wonderful pets and it takes them from a life of hard work.


Friday, November 20, 2009

Recycling/Reusing is important!


The amount of rubbish we create is constantly increasing because increasing wealth means buying more products, Increasing population means more people on the planet to create waste. New packaging and technological products contain materials that are not biodegradable.


 
Yesterday my blogging brain waves were triggered by the container we keep the gum in. The trigger said, HEY do your blog on Recycling.
You KNOW what came Next! As I opened and shut drawers and cabinets, pulling things out and snapping away, my husband said ?What are you DOING?" and as I continued the hunt, I mumbled "blog on recycling".
Our gum, tea bags, cough drops reside in plastic containers that deli lunch meat comes in. I keep them and use them for, small left overs, beets and squash. Why buy expensive plastic containers when almost every thing we buy these days comes in some kind of container.

Our cabinets and garage are full of Plastic Coffee Cans, which contain Sugar, Grits, Flour, DVD's and CD's and in the garage, clothes pins, screws, JUNK,


Small things like paper clips fit in a recycled lunch meat box and fits in the drawer

My drawer organizers are business card boxes, I use the top and the bottom, sit them in the drawer and the bigs ones hold tape and larger items, the small ones hold really small items, one box does double duty. I also use cheese boxes because they are strong. I have one business card box that holds OTHER peoples business cards.




The dog cookie jar is a pickled beet jar and the Cool Aid containers....we drop our change in a recycle vase on top of the chest of drawers, and then store in the cool aid jars. You say you don't drink cool aid? neither do we, but we have friends that do. this started when my husband was wade fishing and asked Lynn for a couple of these jars to tie string on and hang on his belt to keep his flies and other fishing gear in, tied to his waist they float. She kept giving them to him and theywere so nice and cute, i started looking for other ways to use them.





44 pounds of dog food, fits nicely in three 5 gallon buckets that the pool chemicals come in. We use these bucketsfor planters in my husbands bucket garden. at this time we have 3 trees and 2 pineapples growing in buckets. we use them for mopping the floors, washing the cars, watering plants.


Our world is in danger of becoming completely buried under a sea of plastic. Give me your ideas for recycling.........maybe I may have missed something. If you don't recycle, consider it.

ALSO: think of all the MONEY I have saved reusing things I have already spent money on........