Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"...the heart is where we hold our friends - like precious gems in a jewel box."

...B.J. Gallagher

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself."
...Unknown

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."

...William James

Skywatch Friday - Season 5 - Episode 25

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Thanks to the Skywatch team for all their hard work.

©World of Orchids, 2501 N. Old Lake Wilson Road, Kissimmee, Florida

Happy to see that you came to visit during "the Holidays."  This week for Skywatch Friday I decided to post an image shot from inside looking outside which is one of my favorite things to shoot.

Hard times has struck the World of Orchids; but with camera in hand I was able to take several photographs of the greenhouse.    I looked up and this is what I saw; the metal frame with greenery pushing out toward the sunlight through a torn, stained covering.  Image was clicked, cropped and posted.

From our house to your house, we wish you a Happy New Year!

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the keys to my destiny."

Elain Maxwell

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Blessings for any trip. Guides come forward when needed, help arrives just in time, and unseen hands send you on your way. I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move."
...Robert Louis Stevenson

12/28 Outdoor Wednesday #155

If you would like to participate or view blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:   http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being our hostess.

Gotta Go by Gordon Huether. 2008

                                         Gotta Go by Gordon Huether. 2008

 

 Gotta Go by Gordon Huether. 2008

Persons arriving or departing at the Jacksonville International Airport can experience fine art everywhere.
Click here if you want to know more about Public Fine Art Gallery: http://www.jiaarts.org/collection.htm.

Thinking Outside the Box

I'm sitting in the living room reading a magazine, I look up and what do I see this image reflecting on the wall.    Amazing how the sunlight and shadows can place an image on an empty palette.   Looks like dinosaur bones to me.   Glad you stopped by, now tell me what you think these shadows on the wall look like.  

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

...Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
~Norman Vincent Peale

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

It's easy to halve the potato where there's love. -Irish Proverb

12/21 Outdoor Wednesday - #154

If you would like to view other blogs who have posted on this Outdoor Wednesday click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being the hostess week in and week out during 2011.   

                                       

From our house to your house we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed-it is a process of elimination."

--Elbert Hubbard

Thinking Outside The Box

Life Source December, 2011.
©World of Orchids, 2501 N. Old Lake Wilson Road, Kissimmee, Florida.

Hard times has struck the World of Orchids; but with camera in hand, I was able to take several photographs of the greenhouse inside and the exterior of building which will be recorded in this journal at various times in 2012.   Since I explore shapes and textures, light and darkness, windows and sky this shooting day was wonderful.

FYI:   If a person desires to purchase orchids there are some for sale.

Goals 365 Days of Quotes

 "People are like stained-glass windows.   They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within."

...Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
 ...CS Lewis

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say.  I just watch what they do."
...Andrew Carnegie

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses."
...Confucius

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” 
...Henry David Thoreau

12/14 Outdoor Wednesday - #153

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being our hostess even during this busy time of year.

Branch, The Grove, Glenview, IL  2011.

 Stones and tree trunk, The Grove, Glenview, IL - 2011.

Pathway, The Grove, Glenview, IL - 2011

The images posted were all taken at  The Grove, 1421 Milwaukee Road, Glenview, IL.   It is a quiet place in the suburbs to escape the city noises.  

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

...Charles R. Swindoll

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Find a place where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."
...Joseph Campbell

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."
...Woody Allen

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Every day we should hear at least one little song,
read one good poem,
see one exquiste picture,
and, if possible,
speak a few sensible words."
...Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art."
... Ambrose Bierce

12/7 Outdoor Wednesday - #152

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being the hostess for this event.

Abandoned building, windows with curtains, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 2011.

Abandoned building with broken windows, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 2011.

Barn, Siren, Wisconsin - 2011.

Howdy Folks!    Decided to post textures of wood again.    Abandoned buildings and broken windows seem to attract my attention.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."
... Confucius

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."
...Frederick Keonig

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
...e.e.cummings

Skywatch Friday - Season 5 - Episode 21

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click here:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/.  Thanks to the skywatch team members for making this post possible.

Howdy!   Isn't it amazing how fast the year went by in 2011?    Zip and here it is almost the holidays.   I can't believe it.  

This week I decided to post this sunset, Musky Bay, Lac Court Orielles, Wisconsin-2011.    Glad you visited.   Stop by again.   Meanwhile, take care.   See you next week.

Goals - 365 Days of Quotes

"Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them."
...Richard L. Evans

11/30 Outdoor Wednesday - #151

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:   http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

I was taking nature images, when all of a sudden I sensed this presence.   I stopped what I was doing and looked around then I saw this deer crossing the road and then it went into the field for a curious look at me and then it disappeared.   

I had visited THE GROVE, Glenview, IL on Saturday for a Holiday Sale.    I saw nature shots and figured I'll go back Sunday.   And so I did.    Seeing this deer made my day complete.

For more information about THE GROVE click here:   http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/the-grove.

So happy you stopped by to visit.    Hope you will stop by next week.   Meanwhile, take care.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer."
...Leonardo Da Vinci

Just finished reading this book:   THE PRESIDENT IS A SICK MAN,  Matthew Algeo, Chicago Review Press, Incorporated, Chicago, IL ©2011.

Wherein The Supposedly Virtuous
Grover Cleveland Survives
A Secret Surgery At Sea
and Vilifies
The Courageous Newspaperman
Who Dared
Expose the Truth

Thinking Outside the Box

Leaf Study. 

Edgar Degas, an artist, studied ballet.    I found this one lonely leaf at the beach.   One rainy day I edited the original image in a program called Picnik.   For me, this is a leaf study; but then I am no Degas.   

I prefer going outside and shooting with my camera; but using a digital imaging program is a lot of fun, a lot of hard work and sometimes doesn't work.  Then I hit the delete key.  Other images I save such as this one.   Ta Da!

I am so thankful for this opportunity to be able to take a photograph, then think, think, think, like Pooh Bear until what I visualize is outside the box thinking. 

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Nothing happens until something moves."
...Albert Einstein

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"There's something beautiful about finding one's innermost thoughts in another."
...Olive Schreiner

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"If your compassion doesn't include yourself, it is incomplete."
...Buddha

Happy Thanksgiving

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say "thank you?" ...William A.Ward

11/23 Outdoor Wednesday - #150

If you would like to participate or view other Outdoor Scenes click here:  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.   Thank you Susan for being our hostes.

Morning sunrise at Lake Michigan.

Edited image in Picnik.   Person appears to be giving thanks.

                                                       

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul---and you answer."
...Terri Guillemets

Recommend This Book

KEEPING A NATURE JOURNAL Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You, Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth,Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA 01247, ©2000

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"In this 20th century, to stop rushing around, to sit quietly on the grass, to switch off the world and come back to the earth, to allow the eye to see a willow, a bush, a cloud, a leaf...I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen."
...Frederick Franck, THE ZEN OF SEEING

Thinking Outside the Box

Leaf Study #2

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Every artist dips his brush into his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
...Henry Ward Beecher

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Life is full of endless possibilities."
...Mettrie L

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."
...Alexander Graham Bell

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 19

If you would like to participate or view skies from around the world click here:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/.   Thanks to the skywatch team for making this post possible.

Sunrise, Lake Michigan - 2011

Sat.
Thinking.
Breathing in.  
Breathing out.
Allowing nature to speak; as I listened.  
Suddenly I heard  .... l-o-v-e-l-y.  
Who broke the silent moment; quietly I laughed because I thought, 
could it be the Great Oz?
It dawned on me oh the Coast Guard speaker system was on.

Recommend These Books

If you live in the Great Lakes area and like to read fiction I highly recommend:

KEEPING THE HOUSE, Ellen Baker, Random House, NY.
I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS, Ellen Baker, Random House, NY, ©2011.

Lessons I Have Learned

You do not have to explain yourself to anyone.

Betty Anderson (God Bless Her Soul) taught me this lesson.   After her husband died, each of her five children were able to start and finish a college education.  Betty retired from a company where she had worked for over 25 years.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"An intent is a commitment to yourself to bring into existence a particular result."
...Debbie Ford

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."
...Eleanor Roosevelt

Turn your speakers on.
Go to link: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/junior-high-app-developer-pre-teen-tycoon-training-002455041.html

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."
...Bill Cosby

11/16 Outdoor Wednesday #149

If you would like to participate or view blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click here:   http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.    Thank  you Susan for being the hostess.

Howdy!    Recently, one of my errands was to pick up a few things at Pier One.   As I pulled into the parking lot, lo and behold, these flowers that look like cabbages

and these colorful yellow mums seemed to be asking Why not take a picture of me?"  Camera was handy.   So I did.

Then,  just as I was packing equipment away, I looked up and saw the sun breaking through the clouds.   Just couldn't resist taking shot number three.    Don't these branches look like they are applauding or saying "Thank you?"

It was a gorgeous day today.   Actually it was unusually warm for this time of year.   Tonight a harvest moon graced the skies. Tomorrow temperatures are expected to drop.   And so it is.

It was so nice of you to stop by and visit.  See you next week.  Meanwhile, I hope you will take care.

Highwood Pumpkin Fest

YES, 30919 Jack-o-Lanterns were carved at the Highwood Pumpkin Fest to break the Guinness Book of World Records. 
According to the Wilmette Life/Pioneer Press, Thursday, November 10, 2011.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Because  you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, 'move from here to there' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."
...Mathew 17:20
New International Version (1984)

Thinking Outside the Box

I was walking the beach when suddenly on the sand I noticed this one leaf.     I was so excited about studying it.    The background is grains of sand; but now the background looks like paper. 

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Nobody cares if you are miserable, so you might as well be happy." ...Anonymous

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"If the house of the world is dark, love will find a way to create windows."
...Rumi

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 18

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click on logo above. Thanks to the Skywatch team for making this post possible.

Howdy folks! Daylight savings time has helped me to get up and start the day. Rich colors and deep shadows greeted me on this day down at Lake Michigan.

I am pleased that you stopped by again. Meanwhile, you take care now and see you next week.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow."
...Charles Brower

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"The successful warrior is the average person with laser-like focus."
...Bruce Lee

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Love is shown in your deeds, not in your words."
...Fr. Jerome Cummings

11/9 Outdoor Wednesday #148

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click on logo above. Thanks Susan for being our hostess.

Howdy Folks! I decided to post old rusty lanterns taken at Gene's Used Furniture and Antiques, Gene Hause, Prop., W14337 Hwy. 8, Weyerhaeuser, WI 54895. Think I'll go boil some hot water and have a cup of tea while visiting other Outdoor Wednesday posts.

It was nice of you to stop. Meanwhile, take care and I hope to see you next week.

Enjoyed a pizza and some pasta with a friend at California Pizza (first visit). Both main dishes were delicious! Later went in and out of stores on Central Street in Evanston. Saw some Christmas present ideas. Bonnie, my hairdresser, cut off split ends and did a body perm to my hair yesterday. Now my hair looks like Farrah Fawcett's just a wee bit. In my dreams...tee hee.

Later, I enjoyed a pumpkin spice coffee at Dunkin Donuts with family members. Yummy!

My husband and I always watch Monday Night Football except for when we don't. Da Bear's won! One play was spectacular. Cutler fell down, spun around then stood up threw the football and guess what the receiver caught the pass. I was impressed.

And then, we watched the Kennedy mini series. I was taping OPRAH's Life Class and the Kennedy mini series. So we were locked out of DIRECT TV. I learned that you can not tape two shows and watch a third show besides. What a rip!

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right and forget the ones that don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
...Anonymous

Music speaks to my soul

This week-end Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Society of the Divine Word, Techny, Illinois was the place to go listen to the Chicago Master Singers. Some of the participants have volunteered for more than twenty years to this group. Alan Heatherington is the music director.

My friend Magda and I were privileged to hear pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonin Dvorak. Luckily the texts were in Latin and English.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Success is never a destination --- it's a journey."
...Satenig St. Marie

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
...Berthold Auerbach

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
...Frank Lloyd Wright

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked, "What is a hero?" My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences...Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
...Christopher Reeve

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 17

If you would like to participate or view skies from all over the world click on logo above. Thanks to the skywatch team.

Sunrise, Wilmette Harbor, Lake Michigan - 2011.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"By having a cheerful contenance, being friendly and fun to be around, you are giving praise to God."
...Joel Osteen

11/2 Outdoor Wednesday #147

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted an Outdoor Theme click on logo above. Thank you Susan for being the hostess.

Howdy! This week I decided to post one green leaf that was found at the Wilmette Beach, Lake Michigan. This photograph was edited in a program called PicNik.

Hope to see you next week. Meanwhile, take care.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."
...Chinese Saying

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It was raining here yesterday. Instead of curling up with a good book, I watched "The Good Witch's Family" on the Hallmark channel. I love to watch movies anyway. Thank you Elisabeth for your advice.

We have the candy. We have the mums and pumpkin on the front porch. Inside the house has been decorated with lots of scarecrows. Tonight we will leave the light on to light the way for witches and goblins to knock on the door and say "TRICK OR TREAT." What fun Halloween is!

What did you do for Halloween?

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
...Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thinking Outside the Box

Chain, Gene's Used Furniture and Antiques, Gene Hause, Prop., W14337 Highway 8, Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin - 54895.

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"In this life we cannot always do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
...Mother Teresa

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"When you start a painting, it is somewhere outside of you. At the conclusion, you seem to move inside the painting."
...Fernando Botero

Skywatch Friday - Season 5, Episode 16

If you would like to view skies from all over the world click on logo above. Thanks to the Skywatch team.

Pumpkin Fest, Highwood, IL, October - 2011

Attempt to carve 32,000 Jack-O-Lanterns, Guinness World Record

Photographer: Joyce Meyer

Mirror, mirror on the street, which Jack-O-Lantern is the fairest of them all?

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"For the friendship of two, the patience of one is required."
...Indian Proverb

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. Life is already filled with those who want to bring you down."
...Oprah Winfrey

Opened a Halloween ecard today. What fun!

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you're aboard, there's nothing you can do."
...Golda Meir

Goals-365 Days of Quotes

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
...Confucius

10/26 Outdoor Wednesday #146

If you would like to participate or view other blogs who have posted and Outdoor Theme click on logo above. Thank you Susan for being our hostess.

Saturday a very good friend of mine and I decided to go to the Highwood Pumpkin Fest. We just couldn't believe our eyes when we saw racks and racks and more racks of pumpkins lining the main street which was blocked off for the fest. The goal is to carve 32,000 pumpkins to achieve the Guinness World Record.