There's a lot of gaming going on

The girls and TJ have been playing a lot of Monopoly.  They started with Monopoly "Here and Now".

But they moved up to Monopoly City where debit cards are all the rage.  They use electronic banking instead of cash.

Assembly required

The Space Shuttle, assembled by Snowden.

Cool people

They qualify as highly creative, nice, hard working, quirky, supportive, and generally all around cool people to know. That's J and her daughter E.

Claim your greatness

All too often we bemoan our imperfections rather than embrace them as part of the process in which we are brought to God. Cherished emptiness gives God space in which to work. We are pure capacity for God. Let us not, then, take our littleness lightly. It is a wonderful grace. It is a gift to receive. At the same time, let us not get trapped in the confines of our littleness, but keep pushing on to claim our greatness. Remind yourself often, “I am pure capacity for God; I can be more.”

- Macrina Wiederkehr

from A Tree Full of Angels

Simplicity at work

Pun intended. 

Literally simplicity at work.

A view from my pool

From the pool, water level. 

Home made mojitos

These are the fixings of a mojito.

Parrot bay is the perfect ingredient for this beverage.  Truly sweet and refreshing.

Stand still. The forest knows where you are.

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, and you must treat it as a powerful stranger, must ask permission to know it and be known. The forest breathes. Listen ... No two trees are the same to Raven. No two branches are the same to Wren ... Stand still. The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.

- David Wagoner, from his poem "Lost"

A new hat

What to do today

We must remember the past, define the future, and challenge the present -- wherever and however we can. It will take the rest of our lives even to begin. But then, what else have we to do?

- Jane O'Reilly, American

Summer Fun

When burning hot, have some fun...

in the water.

Phoenix in July

After a decade of Phoenix summers I noticed I am more tolerant of the 110 degree temperatures, and when time permits I admire the surroundings.  This is Phoenix in July.

This is an area that has spectacular views.

Happiness is:

Daisies on your daughter's hair.

The caramel frappe and South Mountain

This is a daily trip to a movie making class for Snowden.

The McDonald's frappe is the best coffee beverage ever...  I mean EVER.

The road to the school.

At South Mountain.

At the movies

At the movies on a summer day.

The things one can do without flash and a steady hand.

Growing Up

People who cannot suffer can never grow up, can never discover who they are.

- James Baldwin, from his book The Fire Next Time

Tension

Tension is God’s gift to us, a gift that sometimes will not permit us to escape its presence. I believe that our creative energies are activated by just that kind of upsetting tension. It is in responding to this gnawing discomfort that we have the possibility of giving shape to dreams that are at once faithful to who we are and who we can become.

- Paula Ripple, from her book Growing Strong at Broken Places

To Tattle

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Prayer

Prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action. It is, rather, like a beam thrown from a flashlight before us into the darkness. It is in this light that we who grope, stumble, and climb, discover where we stand, what surrounds us, and the course which we should choose.


- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, from his book Man's Quest for God

Why?

click pic to enlarge

Dough creations

Dough creations are not unusual around these parts.

Grasshopper fancies drawing faces.

This is the latest.

Battleship

When I was a young girl living in Mozambique, I played battleship the paper way.

Snowden found one and invited me to play. 

Smiling quietly, I was back in Africa with my young friends and we played again.

This is love

We are the proud owners of several creatures.

Love is...

carrying your guinea pig...

in a doll stroller as if he were your baby...

Well, he is Snowden's baby.

To Niece with LOVE

I didn't get to watch my niece grow up.

But she was always in my heart.

She's about to become a teacher.

Here's her new school bag.

To my niece with LOVE.

Over Scheduled?

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Easy Sunday

As I mused with a girlfriend about the nuances of volunteer involvement in local education support groups. 

Learning how...

to make french braids.

Must practice more... 

:-)

Goodwill

Have I rejoiced with and for my neighbor in virtue or pleasure? grieved with [her] in pain, for him in sin? ... Have I revealed any evil of anyone, unless it was necessary to some particular good I had in view? Have I then done it with all the tenderness of phrase and manner consistent with that end? ... Has goodwill been, and appeared to be, the spring of all my actions toward others?

- John Wesley, quoted in A Guide to Prayer for All God's People

Feeling pretty

click pic to enlarge.