This week’s Topics in the Fun Foto Challenge are
Squares, Triangles and Angles
Squares and triangles can make ships…..
or they can make a cat…….
or maybe even a snowflake
and if you play the angles just right… you can make a fan
Travel Theme:Twist
Look Up, Look Down Challenge
The building located at One World Trade center in New York City has been dubbed The Freedom Tower. It most commonly refers to the primary building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. It is 104-stories, and shares a name with the northern Twin Tower in the original World Trade Center that was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
Driving down the West Side Highway it comes into view, taking up the skyline and reminding me of the buildings that once stood there, and the horror of September 11th.
Travel With Intent-Look Up Look Down Challenge
Terrific Tuesday Trials – Candid Capture
Wordless Wednesday
Marilyn’s Daily Prompt-Tantrum Tuesday
Marilyn at Serendipity has a new challenge for the week-and today is
Tantrum Tuesday – Rant day!
Whatever you are pissed off about, let’er rip! Don’t hold back. How do you really feel?
Well I spent my Tuesday ranting. And now thanks to Marilyn who deemed today’s challenge Tantrum Tuesday I get to do it all over again here on my blog. Perfect!
My morning began with what I had hoped would be a civilized discussion on the phone, involving power, control, and money. I should have known better. The three most heated topics, each hot on their own, but when put together, dynamite.
The conversation did start out slow and quiet, but then, it began to turn, and the fingers began to point, accusations started flying, though they started quietly, underhandedly at first. I still had hopes of getting what I wanted and felt slow and steady and I might get there. But then the decibel levels began to rise and things started going South.
It is all the more frustrating when the person you are ranting at is someone who is self absorbed and shallow, and incapable of self introspection. She functions completely on a surface level, never delving deeper to find the real reasons behind her actions. Someone who at the age of 46 actually said to me in the course of this conversation that someone was “picking on her” and that is why she had responded the way she did. Picking on you? Are you kidding? And when I sarcastically asked, “how old are you?” She actually told me- not even realizing how ridiculous her words had sounded. It continued downhill from there, both of us reminding one another of every past fault, mis deed, until finally when I could take it no more, I threw the final punch- and accused her of abusing the role she had been appointed to, and using that power unethically. Now that really hit a nerve and as our voices reached full crescendo, we both hung up.
So at least I got off my chest all I had wanted to say to her, which made me feel much better, and I was able to go about my day with a clear head. I didn’t bring her around to change her mind about her actions, but there was satisfaction in letting her know how I felt.
Sometimes a rant is needed, sometimes things that are important need to be said even if in doing so you know the relationship will not withstand the accusations. So be it.
The Three R’s
I read the following in a local paper and thought I would share it. Simple message, and the 4th R I would add is Remember it!
Recognizing — recognizing the good, the good that is always present in our lives, all the things with which we are constantly blessed. See the cup as half full not empty.
Relating — trying to feel what others are feeling, empathizing. Try to see the world through the eyes of the other.
Reflecting — not reflecting as in thinking deeply about, though that is also important, but reflecting like a mirror- how our actions reflect on ourselves. Thinking about how we present ourselves to the world.
The opportunities are ubiquitous.
Receiving change from a cashier, a smile a “thank you” — leaves an impression.
On the road, where politeness is at a premium, driving politely leaves an impression.
The way we speak, the way we interact with others, all leave an impression.
We must strive to leave the right one.
Vacation For A Day
Some people need to go on at least two vacations a year, minimum. They like to travel, they feel the need to get away from all the stress in their daily lives. Others don’t have stress but like to go away, see new places, be pampered. There is something nice about leaving a hotel room in the morning in a state of disarray, and coming back in the evening to find the bed made with a mint on the pillow.
I am not a big traveler. I enjoyed it when I was younger, no fear of flying, not minding a drive that took 7 hours, never giving a thought to who slept in a bed before me and what they might have left there.
My husband and I enjoy taking short trips on Sundays that serve as a mini getaways. Usually the places are not more than an hour and half drive from where we live. We spend the day exploring a different area, seeing new sights, and feel we have traveled far from home.
Yesterday we visited 28 acres of beautiful gardens overlooking the Hudson River in New York. Tucked away in the Riverdale section of the Bronx lay an oasis. The weather was perfect, warm but not hot, the sun shining, no humidity in the air, and quiet all around. We spent 3 hours walking the grounds, sitting for a bit, having lunch overlooking the river. There was an art project going on in the studio where you could create your own interpretation of a garden using all different mediums on construction paper. Not for kids only I might add!
Our drive home took 15 minutes and we felt as if we had been much farther away and gone for much longer than four hours. Sometimes a vacation does not mean you need to pack a suitcase. Just a small lunch and the right shoes and you are there.
Sunday Stills Challenge-Power Lines
This tree grows despite the power lines that now run through it….
And those power lines do mar the view….
But woe was I when Hurricane Sandy ripped a tree from the ground taking the power lines from my house with it, and leaving us in the dark and cold for a week!
Unsightly but very necessary!
Weekly Photo Challenge-Contrasts
Cee’s Oddball Challenge
42nd Street New York City
Ailsa’s Travel Theme: World Cups
Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack has chosen
World Cups for this week’s Travel Theme.
Here are some from my collection of “World Cups”
Hot Town, Summer in the City
I live in the suburbs. It is pretty quiet here. You can hear the newspapers hitting the driveways after being flung out the window of the delivery car at sunrise, the noise of the garbage truck making its early morning rounds twice a week. By mid day few cars are driving down the block, everyone having gotten to where they need to be for the day. The only background noise is the chirping of the birds, and perhaps the hammering of workmen building a new house around the block.
The streets of New York City lie just fifteen minutes from this suburban bliss, a short bus ride that allows me to leave the quiet behind, and enter a world with people jamming the streets, the noise of honking cabs and sledgehammers in the street. The smell of cigarette smoke as smoking is banned inside buildings, so people line up out in front puffing away to get their fix. Street cart vendors line the streets, selling hot dogs and pretzels, fruit, or even vegetarian fare.
Bryant Park allows for a quiet respite within the hustle, an escape from the traffic and throngs of people, even though you are still outdoors. Surrounded by the towering skyscrapers, but also flowers and plants, a quiet reading area, a ping pong game. The juxtaposition of the city – hustle bustle and noise, quiet beauty.
Here you can join me in the sights and imagine the sounds of a day in the City.
Daily Prompt : Seasonal Scents
The Daily Prompt asks: What’s the smell you associate the most with summer?
Without a doubt, suntan lotion. I just need to get a whiff from a passer by, and I am transported back to the summers of my childhood, the beaches on Long Island, white sand and the sound of the crashing waves as they came in and rolled out along the shore.The plaid thermos filled with juice, tunafish sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, neatly folded over with the ends in triangles and tucked under to hold the sandwich within. My mother slathering us with Coppertone, SPF 0- there was no such thing in 1966. When my skin started turning a lovely shade of pink I would seek refuge under the huge striped umbrella my father had mightily planted deep within the sand. Climbing up the enormous dunes-which sadly are long gone due to erosion- then running as fast as we could, my sister, brother and I holding our father’s hand, laughing all the way down. Scent is a powerful sense, it has the ability to transport us back in time, to remind us of people, of places, to make those associations in a split second. Who would think the smear of some lotion could take one back to replay so much in the mind. But it can, and does everytime.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Straight Lines
Straight Lines- Until You Get To The Top!
Westin Hotel New York-Times Square
A Word A Week Photograph Challenge – Inside
Award Thanks
Thank you to Wandering Story Teller for bestowing upon me the Very Inspiring Blogger Award
One of the things I am supposed to do after accepting this award is to share seven facts about myself. So here goes:
I’m short
I love coffee
I love dogs
I love to bird watch
My voice rises as soon as I am faced with adversity- much to the chagrin of the person on the receiving end. Still trying to work on that 😀
I love to shop- it is one of my hobbies.
Sales and coupons only!
I own over 45 pair of shoes
Thank you for this award- as I am new to blogging it is exciting to find that people are interested in reading what I have to say!
One Word Photo Challenge: Gold
One Word Photo Challenge
GOLD
The setting sun was reflecting off the trees along the highway turning them to an amazing shade of GOLD
Down The Shore
The New Jersey Shore includes about 127 miles of Atlantic shoreline.
When people plan to head to the beaches in New Jersey, they never say they are “going to the beach,” they say, we’re going “down the shore”, and not even “to the shore.”- it’s going down the shore.
According to Urban Dictionary:This term is used by people in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware “tri-state area” to describe the general vicinity of the coastal barrier islands in relation to inland locations.”Why not just call it ‘the beach’?” they say. Because of the narrow shape of these islands, one can easily access the beach and the bay, where there are different views and recreation activities available. So, when someone from, for example, Philly travels to the coast, they are not necessarily going to “the beach”. They are going “down the shore”. I have also read that because the “shore” lies in the Southern part of the state, the Northerners (like me) are literally “going down.”
“The Shore” or the coast of NJ is lined with over 40 communities. The beach is only part of the experience, some towns have amusement park boardwalks, others are quiet boardwalks, meant just for walking, no bikes are even allowed.
Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go “down the shore” to a beautiful little town called Ocean Grove.
Ocean Grove began as a Christian (Methodist) seaside community for summer worship and relaxation in the late 1800’s. It still keeps its beach closed on Sunday mornings between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm, and Ocean Grove is still “dry”, the sale of all alcoholic beverages is prohibited. The streets are lined with beautiful Victorian Era houses, some have been turned into lovely Bed and Breakfasts. The Main Street is lined with interesting shops, filled with antiques and collectibles, flowers, and an old Apothecary store that has been turned into a restaurant/ice cream parlor but left the original cabinets filled with assorted bottles and potions.
We walked the boardwalk and sat in the sun on a bench and then found our way to Main Street for a coffee. And thanks to EZ Pass (for those who do not know what that means, highway tolls are paid by an electronic device attached to the inside of the windshield which allows you to to pass through the toll lane without stopping, therefore keeping the traffic moving instead of backing up) we were home in just over an hour. Though we felt we had been away for days!
Travel Theme: Shine
Shine is the Word for the Travel Theme at Ailsa’s Blog Where’s My Backpack
These wonderful pieces of Pyrite were sitting in a garden I passed… shining and glittering in the sun
Cee’s Oddball Challenge
A Box of Barbies
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between
Look Up, Look Down Challenge
The Bridge Apartments atop the Trans-Manhattan Expressway on the Manhattan approach of the George Washington Bridge
Your Front Row
I attended a birthday party for my friend’s daughter this week- she turned 12. Her grandmother read the following, (author unknown) which I found to hold a wonderful message not only for a 12 year old entering her teens, but for this 50 something year old too. Words to remember.
“Everyone Can’t Be In Your Front Row”
Life is a theater invite your audience carefully.
Not everyone should have a front row seat in our lives.
There are some people in our life that need to be loved from a distance.
Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to:
Which ones lift and which ones lean?
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?
When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?
Which ones always have drama or don’t really understand, know or appreciate you?
You cannot change the people around you…but you can change the people you are around!
Choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life.
One Word Photo Challenge – White
One Word Photo Challenge WHITE
Snow White
Wedding Dress White
White Marble Piano with Statue Carved Into It
A Day In The Life 
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