picturingpositive

Keep Learning!

Posted on January 25, 2023 by Beth W.

All done!!!
Gotta love a bit of creativity in the building process!

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Walt Disney

I am in complete agreement with this quote by Walt Disney. I believe when we stop learning, life becomes a monotonous routine and we age much more quickly because our mind does not stay active. I think our mind needs exercise as much as our body does. Whether it is creating a garden design, drawing or painting a picture, building something or assembling a puzzle, keeping our mental gears in motion is important.

My sweetie and I, with help from his son and daughter, built the Lego roller coaster pictured above. It was time consuming, but very rewarding when we finally got to watch it go around the tracks.

I adore community education classes and while I haven’t become a professional in any of the skills I’ve learned through these classes, I have enjoyed every one of them. I have been lucky to find classes in Spanish, French, German, bonsai, drawing, zentangle, dog training, calligraphy, watercolor, hypnosis, belly dancing, wine tasting, danish and cheesecake making as well as many others.

I think being creative and trying new activities is key to staying young. My honey and I recently assembled a puzzle that kept us busy fitting the pieces together while teaching us what the state birds and flowers are. Fun and educational at the same time. Win Win!

I would love to hear what you do to keep your mind young and active.

Posted in accomplishment, Carpe Diem, completing tasks, creativity, Embrace Life, living life to the fullest, variety | Tagged community education classes, dog training, drawing, fun, Keep learning, languages, mental fitness, puzzle, staying young, Walt Disney, zentangle | 6 Comments

Christmas – A Time to be grateful

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Beth W.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration! My Christmas Eve was a bit more low-key than usual because my Dad, my daughter and several of my nieces weren’t there. We had a fun time, though. We have a gift exchange where we draw numbers and the largest number is drawn by the most fortunate participant. My nephew was towards the beginning of the line and managed to open two blankets only to have them stolen. He opened a third gift and got yet another blanket, and this one went home with him.

Christmas Day was spent with my sweetheart’s family at his brother’s home. It was a packed house, filled with fun and laughter and delicious food! I was completely surprised when I received two amazing gifts. I received a very special homemade gift from Ted’s stepmom and his Dad (well, I’m guessing his Dad lent more moral support than crafting ability…tee hee!) She crafted a lovely pillowcase that had a picture of me and Ted from our night out to see “Book of Mormon” and surrounded it with pictures of some of the zentangles I’ve made. Since I give away most of my little zentangles, the majority of these are already in new homes, so it is wonderful to have them to keep.

I was also lucky enough to receive my first ever gun as a gift from Ted’s brother and sister-in-law. How absolutely perfect for me that they chose a pink one! This was a great choice for me since I had the most fun playing with Ted’s pellet gun last time I came along for shooting practice. Maybe someday I’ll graduate to something bigger, but I think this one will be just right for quite some time!

My first ever gun….a pink pellet gun. I’ll try my best not to shoot my eye out!

Life does go on. I believe Christmas is the perfect time to remember and honor those who have gone before us. I have been blessed to have wonderful role models, both friends and relatives that have and that do encourage me and support me and are a beneficial influence for me and who have all helped to make me the person I am today.

The people who influence you are the people who believe in you.
Henry Drummond

Having a blast at my company Christmas Party in Deadwood, SD on December 2nd.

Sincere thanks to all those who took the time to think of me this holiday season. Special thanks to those who read my little blog and offer support and acceptance. I wish you peace, health and happiness in the year to come! Happy 2023!!

Love, Beth

Posted in Acceptance, accomplishment, Baking, Celebrate, Christmas, friendship, living life to the fullest, relationships, Relatives | Tagged blanket, celebration, Christmas, family, gift exchange, my first gun, Robert Frost, Robert Frost James Allen, thoughtfulness, zentangles | 16 Comments

Winter Wednesday ❄️

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Beth W.

While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best.
Tom Allen

While it is technically not winter, to me once it snows, winter is here. ❄️ Time to bundle up! ❄️

Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Posted in Nature, Seasons, Winter | Tagged bundle up, cold weather, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, snow, Tom Allen, Winter, winter Wednesday | 18 Comments

The Magic Thread

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Beth W.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

Maybe it is the colder weather and darker mornings that make me long for the weekends so I can sleep in and enjoy time with my sweetheart. At work my coworkers and I often ask the question posed by the frazzled little kitty above, “Is it Friday yet?” As I wished last night that the week would hurry up and end, I thought of one of the stories I read as a child that made an impact on me.

I found a link to the story for any of you who love fairy and folk tales as much as I do. For those not inclined to read, the gist of it is that a young boy named Peter is gifted a magic ball of thread that represents his life. With a tiny tug, he can make a day fly by. A harder tug sees the passing of a week, month or even a year. As you can guess, his life quickly flies by because of his desire to get through all the mundane tasks. As he nears the end of his life, he realizes that by skipping past all the moments he thought of as tedious, he has missed many special moments as well.

Peter and the magic thread

We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.
Bill Watterson

In the end, Peter discovers that life is lived better by being in the moment and not waiting for a far off day when all will be perfect. Life, after all, is made up of both little and big moments, happy and sad moments. We need to experience ALL of these moments to have a full and complete life.

I can’t say that I still won’t grumble about Mondays and celebrate Fridays, but I will try to appreciate that both are needed to create a lifestory worthy of looking back on. ❤️

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Posted in patience, persevere | Tagged fairy/folk tales, Fridays, The Magic Thread, wishing my life away | 7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday 11/9

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Beth W.

Posted in Beautiful, Carpe Diem, Nature, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged Metolius River, Nature, Oregon, Wordless Wednesday | 7 Comments

Expand Your Horizons

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Beth W.

Last week my honey and I went to see “The Book of Mormon” at our local civic center. I discovered that night that this would be the first musical he has ever seen. He hasn’t even seen Sound of Music….crazy, right?! 😅 He was a good sport and even though I know it wasn’t his thing, he accompanied me and I think he may have even enjoyed it just a teensy bit. 😅

Last night, I joined him at a Queensrÿche and Judas Priest concert. My musical taste is fairly eclectic, but metal is not my music of choice. In fact, when my sweetie and I were first communicating, I questioned if it was worth continuing to get to know each other once I found out metal was his favorite genre. Sometimes I am guilty of what Cognitive Behavior Therapy calls “fortune telling”. It refers to predicting a negative outcome without realistically considering the actual probability of that outcome. Imagining a future of screaming metal songs blaring in the background was definitely not a realistic outcome. My daughter challenged me that evening when I said I didn’t think we were compatible. She provided a voice of reason for me and said that it was just one thing and if I liked everything else about him, I should give the relationship a chance.

I am very glad I took my daughter’s advice. My honey has introduced me to songs by metal bands that are a bit less head banging than what he generally listens to. We even started a shared playlist on Spotify where we add songs to expose each other to new musical tastes. Through that playlist, I discovered a song from Queensrÿche that I liked and ended up listening to and adding a couple of their songs to my personal playlist.

Variety’s the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor.
William Cowper

When I saw that Queensrÿche and Judas Priest were touring, I thought, “fair is fair” and decided that I needed to expand my horizons and so I got tickets for the concert. I prepared for it last night by dressing in my best “rocker chick” outfit. I actually enjoyed Queensrÿche even though I’m sure the pulsing volume did a little damage to my eardrums.🎵🔊🎶While Judas Priest is an extremely talented band, they are a bit too heavy for my taste. Even so, I am glad, that I saw the show.

In the time we have been together, I have come to appreciate our differences as well as our similarities. Variety is the spice of life, after all and it keeps life interesting. I’m looking forward to the future and the new things we can learn from each other. 💕

Posted in Carpe Diem, Dating, Music, relationships, variety | Tagged Book of Mormon, concert, expand your horizons, Judas Priest, learn from each other, Music, musical compatibility, Queensrÿche, variety | 3 Comments

Happy Halloween! 👻💀🧙‍♀️🎃

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Beth W.

My little monsters that will welcome tonight’s Trick or Treaters! 🎃

But I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner.
Evan Peters

Posted in Celebrate, spooky | Tagged decorate, Evan Peters, festive, Halloween, spooky, trick or treaters | 11 Comments

Thoughtful Thursday…10/27/22

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Beth W.

Last Tuesday when I came home from work, I was filling my bird and squirrel feeders. Just before I went out there were four squirrels running around the trees, playing and chasing each other. It was the cutest thing. Of course, once Romeo got out, they went scrambling for the trees and made their way to the neighbors’ yards. I put my puppy inside and continued filling the feeders. While I was filling my new peanut holder, I heard a little chatter and looked over to see one of my squirrels tottering above the round bird feeder.

Since I had a peanut in my hand, I very slowly turned and stood for a minute. When the squirrel stayed in place, I ever so slowly lifted my hand and held it nearer. The little cutie came about a foot closer so we were less than a foot away from each other. It started to reach out towards the peanut, but reconsidered and backed up. This went on for several minutes. I finally had to go and get other things done, but it gave me hope that there may yet come a day when I will earn his trust and he will let me give him a peanut. It was very sweet being able to be up close and personal with him.

That evening, my encounter inspired me to create the little drawing above. I like the saying because I think this little guy was a blessing sent to brighten my day. Thank you, God!

Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful.
Prince

Posted in anticipating good, Carpe Diem, drawing, Nature, Thoughtful Thursday | Tagged blessings, drawing, Jim Elliot, Prince, squirrel, Thoughtful Thursday, zentangle | 8 Comments

Wordless Wednesday…Oct.26, 2022

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Beth W.

Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tagged cemetery, church, Loch Lomond, Luss, Scotland, Wordless Wednesday | 4 Comments

Throwback Thursday – Halloween Costumes 🎃

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Beth W.

Now that my kiddos are grown enough that they don’t dress up for Halloween anymore, it’s fun to travel back in time to relive the good old days. I found Geoffrey and Aurora’s pictures, but I can’t find the one I want of Nathan. He had a Grim Reaper costume that I think was his standard for at least 5 years. 😄 I did manage to find a VERY old one of me and my sister and brothers back in the day.