With the hot and humid dog cat days of summer upon us Simba is hard pressed to do much of anything.
He’s not exactly oozing energy.
Until, of course, I either 1) get my laptop out or 2) we put an open empty box on the floor AND the dog walks by.
Energy….FOUND!
“Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.”
― James Herriot, James Herriot’s Cat Stories
A trip to the Perot Museum in downtown Dallas took us to the Gems and Minerals Hall. An exhibit which filled me with awe as I wandered around and looked at an amazing array of treasures from this wondrous earth.
In particular, the large, and very pretty, amethyst geode was remarkable to look at. So gorgeous with all the shiny and sparkly purple gems glistening under the bright lights -it was enough bling to send a girl into a trance!
My granddaughter, Thérèse, loved it, too!
Spending time inside an air-conditioned museum on a hot Texas day was fun.
Spending it with family was even better.
Six years ago my dad completed his journey here on earth.
In the early hours of that morning my mom sat with him when he breathed his last. It was a peaceful – and blessed – death which seems strange to write but, really isn’t. He was at home, in no pain and had the opportunity to say goodbye to his family.
Later, waiting for the funeral home to arrive, I sat on my back patio. Facing east, 
and the house my parents lived in, the sun began to rise and a soft breeze wafted across the yard. I watched, and listened, as the leaves gently swayed in the big pine tree and, I knew angels were moving through as they escorted my dad to Heaven.
It was a beautiful moment in the midst of a loss.
It was a quiet moment – before the glaring busyness of phone calls, texts and visitors began – to reflect on all that was and all that could have been.
Just a couple of hours later a song about grief and death – Welcome Home – by Michael W. Smith began playing….
What a lovely sound
Angels all around
Saying this is where you belong
Welcome home
Welcome home
Welcome home
Coincidence? Not in my world.
It has been six years since the angels welcomed my dad and, still, when the breeze moves the tree ever so softly I think of the angels escorting him and I know that he is home and….
It is well with his soul.
An urban amble on the Katy Trail in Dallas, Texas was an outing I immensely enjoyed. A 3.5 mile trek stretching from SMU at the north end to the American Airlines Center on the south end the trail offered an abundance of opportunities to enjoy nature and city at the same time.
We saw planes, trains and automobiles amidst very tall skyscrapers and yet, plenty of trees offered lots of shade. Several private apartment/townhome patios – that backed up to the trail -had water features or fountains and the gentle sound of trickling water helped us forget we were in the middle of Big D. Runners, rollerbladers, dogs, birds, squirrels and (bike)riders were too numerous to count. A patio restaurant known as the Katy Trail Ice House offered a scenic caboose and a refreshing variety of 50+ beers on tap.
It made for a good day.
A couple of years ago I was playing around and took a ‘scale’ picture of my small granddaughter against a big tree. At 4.5 months of age she was too young to sit by herself so my husband held her up while I backed away some distance. Then with a “ready, set, go!” he ran out of the shot, I click,click, clicked and then he ran back in and grabbed her before she could fall over.
Teamwork!
Little baby. Big Tree.
Overall, she really wasn’t too thrilled with her modeling gig. But, she’s a happy baby and quickly forgave us as soon as we catered to her every whim. 🙂
And, just because I can….here’s her adorable face today.
Our church hosted a carnival this past weekend. The kind with a Ferris Wheel, rides that sling you around, inflatable obstacle courses, haunted houses for scaring and state fair food like corny dogs and funnel cakes. It was a great, fun-filled weekend.
I did not ride any of the rides. Not for any particular reason – it’s just that as I’ve gotten older I have discovered that I like keeping my feet on the ground. And, oddly enough, my life still feels complete even without the thrill of a roller coaster. A couple of people encouraged me to ride the Ferris Wheel telling me how pretty the lights would be when I could see them from the top but, I opted to enjoy the sights from the ground.
Then as I drove the boys to school at Oh:DarkThirty I found myself at the top of the **High Five Interchange in Dallas. Twelve stories up I realized I was getting a pretty good glimpse of the lights displayed by North Dallas. When I exited the highway and turned back south towards their school I looked back left. Dawn was just beginning to break resulting in the first hints of orange and pink on the horizon. Against a dark backdrop it was magnificent. Then, more to my delight, as I looked south again, I could see the lights of Downtown Dallas – 11 miles away – lit up against the still mostly dark sky. I was in awe of this urban beauty I was experiencing.
Turns out – I didn’t even need a Ferris Wheel to enjoy the sights Dallas has to offer.
Since I could not safely drive and take photos I pulled these pictures of Dallas-at-night from my archives.
Eating on the rooftop at Gators in The West End in Downtown Dallas
The Omni Hotel, Dallas
Margaret Hunt Bridge at dusk
***you can read a blog I wrote about Driving in Dallas by clicking on the link.
A beautiful and perfect spring day resulted in a 3 mile walk around town. And, even though Allen, Texas is a busy place there was no shortage of solitude found.
This dove looked a little lonely.
The turtle was having a little mid-morning adventure.
And a duck found a water-filled ditch to have a little swim.
You would never guess the amount of traffic surrounding this little oasis of abandoned tracks.
The tracks provided a treasure of wild blackberries.
And, that resulted in this delicious blackberry cobbler for dessert.
I love my little town.
This morning it was time to break out the lighthearted side of life. No adulting just a playful, tongue-in-cheek attempt to laugh at myself and take that oh-so-serious mask of life off for a bit.
The gym I go to, Title Boxing Club, has been stepping up the fun aspect of our work outs by incorporating a ‘Wacky Wednesday’ contest each week. This weeks theme was the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s.
Oh I rocked this contest. Pulling out the Halloween stash I put on my make-love-not-war-peace outfit.
When I got back home I heard my 16 year-old in the living room so I jumped into the doorway and yelled, “PEACE BABY!” The expression on his face was totally and completely worth dressing up in the middle of the week at the end of April.
So worth it.
He snapped my picture and proceeded to add it to his Snapchat story. I love to see my son laugh – even if it is at my expense.
No serious adulting masks today. Just a little spirited enthusiasm to brighten a Wacky Wednesday.
Happy Hump Day!
A whisper of beauty, serenity, and peace to start off this morning and a new week.
Happy Monday!
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.
Psalm 118:24
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/whisper/
My Crazy Graced Life 