Thankful Thursday: Daily Affirmations

Below are Cheryl Richardson's Daily Affirmations, Published 10/12/2011 for Oprah's Lifeclass, along with pictures I've taken over the past several days.

Today is a really good day.

Only good lies before me.

Abundance flows into my life in surprising and miraculous ways every day.

Life loves me.

I love myself, and I forgive myself.

I am safe.

All is well.  I have time for everything I need to do today.

My life is so blessed.

We gather together with great joy and love.

I love this day.

I release all drama from my life and now get energy from peace.

Everything I do brings me joy.

Changing my thoughts is easy and comfortable.

I look with expectation to my next moment, which is fresh and new.

I am greeted with love wherever I go.

All is well, and so am I.

Blessings to all!

Walking and Water

Immediately upon returning home from the States, I started back with my walking routine. At least an hour a day, early in the morning before it gets way to hot to bear. Of course, it's still very hot out there ... so hot that the cold water I take with me in a reusable water bottle is practically boiling after 30 minutes.  At that point, I can no longer drink it, but use it to pour on my hands as I make my way home.  When the warm wind blows, it actually cools the water on my hands and in turn helps to cool me down.

 The walking path is filled with birds every morning who are enjoying the grass and the sprinklers.  I spied this fine looking pigeon having a grand time taking a shower and long drinks of water.

 

 

 

It was so funny to watch.  You could see that he thoroughly enjoyed the water blasting right on him over and over again.

Unique water fountains are located all around the country and are very important for those who have to work outdoors.

 

Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
 (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939)

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday.

Travel Tuesday: Pueblo

For the 4th of the July the boys and I took a day trip to Pueblo, Colorado which is about a 3 hour roundtrip from Alamosa.

Teenage boys are not always keen to walk around old downtown areas just to see what's there, but it is one of my favorite things to do.

Especially when you find an art gallery filled with ceramics, paintings, jewelry and yarn creations.

I especially love the building art we saw everywhere throughout Colorado.

And even had a chance to make some art of my own.

There was a guy doing chalk art on the sidewalk who asked us to draw something so I did.

"Marhaba" is an Arabic word that means "hello" or "welcome".

I figured since it was the 4th of July that there would be more going on.  There actually was a street fair with food, games, live music and fireworks planned for later in the evening, but there was an entrance fee.  Since I was not keen on driving mountain highways at night, which is when the fireworks would take place, we decided to just head back.  Besides, we needed to get ready for the next leg of our journey.

More to come from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

  

Monday with Melissa

Today I took a break from household duties to spend time with my very good friend, Melissa.  We decided awhile back that whenever we got together, we would try out new restaurants and shops.  Instagram has been a great way to discover what's out there.

First we had brunch at The Gathering Bistro.

 I absolutely loved the cozy atmosphere and decor.   

And how drawings on the walls were mixed with the actual physical decoration.  

 Very hard to get good pictures while there were other customers in the restaurant.

 There's a lovely seating area outside, though it is much to hot to take advantage of it right now.

 

We decided that we definitely need to go back again to try some of the lunch items on the menu.

Melissa is always the navigator on these outings as she has GPS on her phone and my sense of direction is severely lacking.  (I would have never made the 3,210 mile journey in the States last month without my trusty Garmin GPS.) 

Our next stop was a shop called Darhaa.

Nicely designed and displayed, but much smaller than I had anticipated. 

 Filled with unique gifts and a gift wrapping service is offered.

 Some things were a little pricey but specialty items usually are.

It was nice to get out and about for a few hours and discover new places, but tomorrow it is back to cleaning.  

Hope you all have a great week!

Stashbusting Sunday: Leftover Cotton

After being away for a month, there is much cleaning to do around here.
But in between cleaning sprees, I am making time to get in a bit of stashbusting.

Quick and easy projects that don't take a lot of thought.

After all, I did find a lovely yarn shop in Denver that required the purchase of new cotton.

Summer stashbusting is happening at Linda's Crafty Corner.

Have a super Sunday.

Sightseeing Saturday: The Great Sand Dunes

The Great Sand Dunes were designated as a National Monument in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed an Act designating the area as a National Park and Preserve.

As a child I had visited here with my family on summer vacation.  Who knew, some 40 years later, I would be back with my own children.  Or that my son would be attending college in the area.

The dunes sit to the west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and are the tallest in North America, rising about 750 feet above the floor of the San Luis Valley.

The perimeter of the dunes is surrounded by Medano Creek which only flows during the spring and summer months.  (The dark area below is the water line.)

You actually have to cross the creek to get to the dunes which I found so interesting.  When I think of dunes, I think of desert where water is scarce.

It would have taken forever to even try to get to the top, so we only walked up a couple of dunes.  Definitely a work out.  Going back down was the easy part.

As we were leaving I found this.

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

(Confucius)

Have a blessed day.