Enuff said

This says it all, we can all learn something from this post. I do not know where it originally came from but I borrowed from the web.... and want it to be something I meditate on... how bout you?

Randon thoughts

As the title says this post is just random thoughts.... the picture is of Whiskeytown Falls, they are just 5 miles from our house. Oh yeah 5 miles and a hike that could kill you lol, I did the hike it did not kill me just made me want to die. LOL It is so beautiful and worth the killer hike to get to them. We live in a very beautiful area.

Easter has come and gone and I survived.... the first holiday EVER that both of our sons were not at our dinner table, I survived, life did not stop, I survived.

The day after Easter the 25th, marked the 17th anniversary of my mothers going home to be with her Saviour. It is always a mixed bag of emotions every year on this day. But as I have said here before life is about changing nothing ever stays the same. I do miss my mom, her smile, her laugh, and her story telling, she could have a room full of people laughing so hard they could not breathe..... oh how I miss her.

The Royal Wedding is just days away. Did you get your invitation??? wink wink. Me either, but my wife and I love a good wedding and we will be watching, not at 1 am, when they start the broadcast here on the West coast,no we will catch it later, they will be rerunning it all day no need to loose sleep over it, lol. Oh how my wife and I love a wedding, we will stop and watch a ceremony in a park, feeling a bit guilty by being there but just marveling in the wondrous new love, and the hopes and dreams that are there in that moment... so wonderful.

Speaking of weddings and such, our youngest son, who I have wrote about here. Well he told my wife and I that he and his soon to be ex wife are going to give their marriage another try. We are cautiously excited about this. We told him that they cannot continue to do the same things they have done and expect a different outcome, that they needed to change things, get counseling. We will see, we pray that they can work things out, that this dream of a life long commitment to each other works for them. He brought her to Easter dinner, the first time we have seen our daughter in law since October, it was a sweet reunion. We love our children's spouses as our own, we want the best for them and we pray for them. Please keep them in your prayers too.

Spring is here in all Her Glory!! And are we ever glad! Those months and months of rain was taking its toll on me. I am so enjoying the wonderful sunshine and warmth of the sun... Now it is time to get out and work in my garden, so many things to do.

So with that I am signing off, as the title says these are just some of my random thoughts in this journey we call life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Community Service ~ Woman's Refuge

For the last 2 months I have been drumming up pledges for a fund raising event I was taking part in. I was asked by a family member to walk in this event. I was going to be Walking A Mile In Her Shoes, a fund raiser for our local Woman's Refuge.

This wonderful place offers assistance for those people, both women and men, who find themselves in domestic violence situations, and also offers assistance to those individuals who have been sexually assaulted. But they offer so much more, I will get to that in a minute.

Through the wonders of Facebook, and my wonderful family and friends, We, and I say we because it was a group effort, we raised $900.00 for the Redding Women's Refuge. All I did was put on a pair of Red Glittered 3 inch platform shoes and walked my mile. It was a great event, raising money for a Great Organization.
I walked my mile, my feet were killing me!!! But it was all for a good cause. I finished and then went about my day.

My wife and I had errands to run and as we always do on a Saturday we stopped by a few yard sales. At one such sale, a young lady walked up to me and asked if she could shake my hand, I was a bit confused but extended my hand, she said she noticed that I had my Walk A Mile In Her Shoes shirt on and she wanted to thank me for walking.. She then told my wife and I that several years ago she and her then toddler child, had used the services of the Redding Woman's Refuge. She was ending an abusive relationship and needed a place to stay and the Refuge offered that to her and her child.
Now some people may think that this is some weird coincidence, but NOT me I truly feel that this was Divine intervention, putting me at that yard sale, with the t- shirt proclaiming that I had just finished this event. I stood in amazement that before I had walked in this event I had NEVER had one person walk up to me and tell me their story of abuse. I was touched beyond words.

I write this blog today acknowledging that there are bad things that happen to good people. Knowing full well that there are times in everyone's life that they need a hand up, without judgement, without fear of condemnation.

Agencies such as the Redding Woman's Refuge are a needed part of our community, though I wish it were not so. They assist those who are in the deepest depths of despair and who need to have someone there to guide them through what may seem to them to be the darkest days of their lives. Those people who volunteer at the Refuge give them unconditional love and support all the while guiding them though the process of getting their lives back in order. And to those Volunteers I stand at attention and in awe of their unwavering love and support to these individuals.

So my 3 inch Red Glitter platform shoes are now put away in the back of my closet, but only until next year. Because every year Women's Refuges all over the nation need to be supported. And I can do that one walk at a time, raising as much money as I can to help support this awesome cause.

As you go about your life this next year stop and pray for those people who find themselves in abusive relationships, and those who find themselves the victims of sexual assault. Knowing that we can ALL make a difference if we just take the time to. Even if it is just walking a mile in her shoes..... in this journey we call life......

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Spring is here in all HER Glory

Well since I have been bemoaning and lamenting for quite sometime about how dreary the weather has been and how I wished the sun would shine..... I am here to say that yep Spring is here in all HER wondrous Glory!!!! This week has been a wonderful week of sunshine, warm temperatures, and just great weather!!!

My wife and I went for a walk on our famous Sundial Bridge here in Redding California. And to be honest it was more like as stroll because there were so many people that we knew walking.

We would stroll for a bit and then we would stop and visit, so it was a wonderful walk. The day was warm, the sun was shining and it was beautiful... We truly live in a beautiful place with so many miles and miles of walking and bike riding trails. As you walk you can watch fly fisher persons fishing, watch drift boats with fisher persons fishing, watch kayak's go by and then the wildlife. It is so pretty.

I posted on my Facebook yesterday that I, being a gardener cannot wait until I can get my hands in the dirt and plant some beautiful flowers. I love this time of year. One of my favorite flowers/ plants is the Geranium, and the color?? RED. They just make me smile and I have them planted at our house in my flower beds, in flower pots and just every where. I posted a picture of Geraniums in flower boxes, so pretty, and then when I went to the grocery store what did they have???? Yep you guessed it RED Geraniums in all their glory, what is a gardener man to do? I tell you they JUMPED into my basket, so I HAD to take them home.

I use the excuse that I love Geraniums because they are natural mosquito repellents, and since we live on a creek.... I am just saying. But to be honest even when we did not live near water I planted them, and as I say they just make me smile. But I have read more than once, that the reason the homes in Europe have window boxes and they are filled with Geraniums is because they do repel mosquito's....

So this week end I am planting my RED Geraniums, and smiling! I am also marveling in this wonderful weather we are having, and going to enjoy every minute of it. So as I sit on my deck, after I do my planting of course, I will think of you, and wish you good wishes, and happy thoughts as we all travel through this journey we call life.........................
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Spring and it's late arrival

Well today after a very long rain filled winter, Spring decided to arrive in all her glory! She just waltzed in like being about 1 month late was no big deal!! Well let me tell you it was a big deal and if I was not so happy to see Spring I would tell her so.

The clouds have parted and the sun is shining here in Northern California!!! We, as in collectively all of Northern California are giving a HUGE sigh of relief from all of that rain, well with the exception of my lovely wife, she loves the rain. That for another story another day.

When I woke up this morning and looked out and saw BLUE sky, this middle age, balding man was a HAPPY man!!!! I know we need the rain but oh my gosh we have had it and then some this year.

So last week I was dreaming about the sun coming out and today here it is!!!! Ahhhh I can dry out a bit, get some of the rust out of my system..

For those of you who live in rainy places, my hat is off to you. I for one cannot go for days on end without seeing the sun, I yearn for the warmth it brings, the smile it puts on my face and how it makes all of us just a bit happier.

I tell ya I was ready to renew my membership at the tanning salon, I needed to feel the warmth of the sun even if it came in the form of a high powered light bulb!

So for today and for the many days after today when the sun shines here in Northern California I will bask in all of its glory, warmth and good feelings.

I know I am a bit fickle, as I know that we need the rain, I just want it to rain every night after I go to sleep and then the sun comes out when I am up and out doing my daily routine. I said I was fickle didn't I?

So to all of you out there who like me are enjoying this reprieve from the rain, I say go outside, sit in a chair, walk the river trails, work in your yard, or just smile and know that this is just the beginning of a great Spring and Summer.

And do not let Spring know I am a bit miffed at her for being so tardy to her own party, I mean really, she should have showed up a month ago and started the party then.

Well I am off to go bask in this new found treat.....the sun...... hope you can take some time to enjoy it.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Long Winters and Dreaming of Spring

Here in Northern California we have had a very long winter this year. I usually love the rain and cloudy days, but this year we have had them for so long... I am dreaming of Spring.

Dreaming of watching the budding of the leaves on all the trees, watching the flower buds swell just before they burst forth with all of their beauty and fragerance.

Dreaming of being able to sit on the deck or patio on a Saturday morning reading my paper, having a cup of coffee on the table and just breathing in the fresh air. Dreaming of having breakfast outside on the deck, just my wife and I, fresh fruit, mimosa's, fresh ground coffee beans making a wonderful French Pressed cup of coffee.

Dreaming of being able to work in my flower beds, filling them with sweet Pansies, Snap Dragons, Shasta Daisy's, wonderfully fragerant Petunias, oh I can close my eyes and just see them all now. Truth be told I have 5 flats of Pansies sitting on my deck right now waiting for the rains to stop so I can plant them in the flower beds.

Dreaming of coming home from work and having the sun still shining, going for a walk along the creek behind the house, listening to the birds sings, and watching the bee's buzz around pollinating the flowers and tree's. Looking and watching the water hoping to see a beautiful trout swim by. And on the first warm day of Spring putting my feet into the creek, the cold taking my breath away as I get used to it. Feeling so alive as Spring brings forth all of her beauty and life.

Dreaming of seeing the new born Fawns playing on the lawns in downtown French Gulch, with their spots all white and clean, looking so sweet and innocent. Dreaming of seeing the goslings, Canadian Honkers swiming in a small pond right off of our mountain road. All swimming in a straight line behind mom and dad, oh the wonder of Spring.

Dreaming of the cool of the night as it turns from dusk to night and the sky lights up with all of the wonderful bright stars. Looking up and wondering who else on the other side of the world might be looking at that same star I am gazing on right now. And this year for the first time, looking at the stars and wondering if my son and his wife might be looking at them from their new home, and we for a moment in time could be connecting looking at that same star...

So what are you dreaming of right now? As we await the dawning of Spring, a new beginning? A new job? A new home? A new friend? We all need to dream, we all need to reach for that one lone star, hoping that we can reach it. I know that at times I am really talking out loud to myself in this blog, putting down in connected letters my feelings, wishes, dreams...... but I want you to also have the same, wishes, feelings, dreams..... so go ahead and dream of Spring, and the wonders that it brings forth, and for a moment just after dusk turns to night who knows, we maybe wishing on the same bright star.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Coffee and a cozy shop

You know when you go into a shop, you immediately get a vibe good or bad about it. We all have these instincts, feelings about the place, the person waiting on us. Well here in our fair city of Redding, California, we have a wonderful little coffee shop, Breaking New Grounds.

No drive thru you have to get out of your car and go inside to get your coffee. As you enter the door you are greeted by the owner Lisa, in her cheery exuberant way, as if she is welcoming you into her home, you feel immediately at ease.

You order your coffee, bagel, or the BEST carrot cake ever, or a sundry of other pastries to go with your coffee.

Now I have been going to this little coffee shop for over a year now, so I do not even have to say my order, my coffee is poured, dark roast, room for cream, a bagel, just cheese on it, and my morning newspaper. I pay for it and sit at the counter.

In this past year as I have sat at this counter every morning Monday thru Friday, from 8:00am to 8:30am, I have met some amazing and wonderful people who also frequent this little coffee shop. From the workers in the offices around to locals like me who just drop by to start their day.

And through this year I have made friends, some closer than others but friends none the less. We have shared our lives with each other, we have supported each other, we have even cried with each other as life does at times deal us all blows that we need to be comforted from.

But as I have sat there on that bar stool at the counter in that little coffee shop I have learned some life lessons about not only myself but others as well. We all need to have a coffee shop where we can go and enjoy a cup of coffee with a side of kindness, and a real dose of life.

So today my hope is that you can find that little coffee shop, tea house, to just go to and sit and enjoy. Be able to make friends, share you life with them, support each other and just enjoy your time that you spend there. Because we all need a little kindness from strangers who can become our friends, In This Journey Called Life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis