This is Why I Wander

Some days I walk to the park in my neighborhood, hang a heart (or several hearts), do a couple of laps, 

then head to the walking path where I'll do several rounds.

But today I decided to wander the neighborhood and I'm so glad I did, because I stumbled across my happy flower.

Beautiful hollyhocks!

And while admiring these beauties, I made a surprise discovery.

A very large grasshopper blending in on a stem.

There was a second home that also had a patch of hollyhock outside the front gate.

 Seems to be a wasp frolicking in the pollen.

Today is the International Day of Happiness.

Spending time in nature and spying little pockets of beauty makes me very happy.

Today also marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but if you're still digging out of winter, then this is for you.

Happy Tuesday!

Mixed Weather Bag

Yesterday we had some crazy weather.

Hazy skies on our drive to meet friends for lunch.

While there, I mentioned that it looked like there was dust, but since there was thunder everyone just thought we were going to get some much needed rain.

Which we did on the way home.

But then, at 3:50 p.m., I noticed it starting to get darker, and that's when everything started to change.

These pictures were taken between 3:50 and 4:30 p.m. and show the progression of the dust storm that took over the sky.  Thankfully it all passed through fairly quickly but it rained just enough at the tail end of the storm to make everything very mucky.  

Still a bit hazy today when I ventured out to meet my craft group for a morning of crocheting, knitting and cross-stitching.

Always fun to see what everyone else is up to.

Hope your Saturday is a good one!

Meet My New Friend

So, on Tuesday of this week, I was walking around my neighborhood,

Rumaithiya Garden

minding my own business,

snapping pictures along the way,

feeding kitties (I always carry food with me),

enjoying time outdoors

and then this happened.

I spotted a little tortoise wandering around on his own.

Of course, I had to stop to investigate.  A guy came from the direction of the houses that were set back from the road and I asked if he thought the turtle belonged to anyone there, but he said no. 

The funny thing is that I had just been to my local yarn store so was carrying bags of yarn, plus a container of cat food and now I'm walking home with a tortoise in tow.

I'm sure I looked like a crazy woman.

Jingles is curious but I'm happy to see that she is not threatened by another species.

He's not so sure about her, though.

Years ago when our boys were little, we came back from summer vacation to find that their father had purchased two turtles and I knew absolutely nothing about caring for them.  It was also hot at that time and let's just say things did not go so well when I set up house for them on our balcony.

The weather is still good right now, so this little guy is staying out there for now.

He's very good at hiding and likes to find a corner when he is ready to snooze.

So far he loves parsley and kale and cucumber and carrots.

I've named him Tofu.

Happy Friday!

A Day to Celebrate

Happy International Women's Day!

The above photo was taken at a new restaurant strip in Colombo, Sri Lanka where my friend, Rizwana, and her daughter took me to lunch on February 26th.

We had pizza and salad at an Italian restaurant called Park Street Trattoria which was really good.

Later in the evening we had plans to go out to dinner with our husbands and let's just say that some little white lies were told.

I have spent the last few years celebrating my birthday in Sri Lanka and somehow my friend still always manages  to surprise me in a really special way.

 Flowers

 Food

Cake

Thanks to my lovely Sri Lankan friend, Rizwana, and the entire family, it is always such a wonderful celebration.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more in life there is to celebrate.

(Oprah Winfrey)

Friendship blessings,

Outdoor Art Session

Today I met my friend, Aruna, for an outdoor drawing and painting session.

I took art classes in middle school and have always loved doodling and painting, but it's not something I commit to every day.

She messaged me some images ahead of time to consider, so once we were together, we made our choices and got to work.

She is much more serious about the final result than I am.  I'm just enjoying the moment and having fun.  And I have to say, it was very relaxing.  Hours passed by without us even noticing the time.

It was nice to draw and paint birds while listening to birdsong all around us.

I managed another little drawing while she was finishing up.

This colorful little elephant was handpainted by Aruna as a gift for me.

Isn't it lovely?

We had a great time and look forward to planning more creative get-togethers in the future.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!