It Was a Very Good Day

The Daily Post Photo Challenge

Today Was a Good Day

Show us what makes you happy.  Share your ideal day, recount a memorable day in the past, or share your favorite things.

This photo was taken here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  It was at a time when our grandgirls were little and loved the joy of a ride on a tractor.

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Foot Traffic

PHOTO CHALLENGE

 

Beneath Your Feet

This week, look down and capture the ground beneath your feet.

My Driveway may not be perfect you know, but it works for country folks on the go.  I gather up stones for flower pots too, and if careful, no pebbles will stick in my shoe.  And just look at all the shapes and sizes.  My gravel driveway.  It’s full of surprises.

Never Wear High Heels on a Gravel Driveway

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Beyond Perfection for the Holidays

The Daily Post:  Ready, Set, Done!

Set a timer for ten minutes. 

Write without pause (and no edits) until you’re out of time. 

Then publish what you have

(it’s your call whether or not to give the post a once-over).

Note:  Being a perfectionist, I did give this post a once-over

and made some minor corrections to  

achieve perfection.

I am really NOT supposed to be writing this morning since we have company coming for dinner.  The menu is prime rib, mashed potatoes, green beans (pre-cooked and just need to be heated) and Waldorf Salad (already made up in advance).  It’s a sunny day in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  Sunshine is so welcome now because we have had days and days of chilly overcast weather. We even had an ice storm one night that melted the next day.

Almost everything is done except I’m not dressed and the house needs a once over to make it more than perfect.  Perfect is the key word here.

Our tree is up and gleaming.  The tiny-light wreaths are in the windows so everything looks festive as you drive up.   I am ready.  I must admit I am a perfectionist so vacuuming, dusting, setting out candles and hors d’oeuvres, and  preparing a beautiful table is next.

Tomorrow we are also expecting my niece, Judy and her wonderful German Shepherd, Noche.  I am sooooo excited about this and have already bought squeaky toys for the pup and those special chew bones she loves.  We can’t wait to see sweet Judy of course, but Noche is like a favorite child coming for Christmas and she makes things all the more festive.

I am wondering if I should hide things or remove them all together from tables and corners – the decorations you know.  Will have to ask Judy when she arrives if the dog attacks things.  We will all be here so she should feel secure, but she is known to move things around if left alone.

After Judy leaves Sunday, we will wait for Christmas.  Son and grandgirls will not be here until after the actual “day” as I have just learned they will be coming  in early January instead.  That will be fun!  All the pressure for perfection will be off and we can all just let our hair down.

 This Christmas Day we are expecting good friends, Barbie and Suzanne.  They were here last year too and we have such a good time playing scrabble, shopping the day after, and of course giggling and reminiscing Xmas Day with all the goodies we can manage to ingest.

Our Fun Friends for New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve will be fun too as we share it with another favorite set of friends and try to stay awake to midnight.

The sun is shining and I must get dressed and wander through the house and kitchen to make sure everything is perfect for our guests.  I have a feeling we will all be laughing at once and no one will notice all the perfection anyway.  The old adage, “with age comes wisdom” is actually true in some cases.  I know if I were wise-er, I would relax, but I still strive to be beyond perfect in preparing for a holiday party.

I will try to remember to take pictures of the festivities.

In the meantime, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Love,

Dor

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An End in Sight

Daily Post

Photo Challenge:  Converge

Photos are visual spaces where shapes and lines, objects and people come together.

This week, explore the ways lines and shapes can converge in interesting ways through photography.  You can take the theme in a literal or an abstract direction, as you see fit – from a photo of a by-road merging into a busy highway to an image of an airport terminal where people from all over the world form hectic, ephemeral communities.

 

 

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A Global Positioning Rebellion

Daily Prompt:  Wrong Turns

When was the last time you got lost?  Was it an enjoyable experience or a stressful one? 

Tell us all about it.

Bill and I finally purchased a GPS thing  (a Global Positioning System) to help us find our way around the planet.  Our youngest granddaughter named it “Lola.”

Although Bill is not likely to admit it, without Lola he is always lost.  And I am not much help either.

We have been lost in the parking lot at Hershey Park trying to find our way out to the street.  Once we could see our New Jersey hotel just across the highway – so near yet so far since we  could not reach it.  Another time we were lost on a toll road and it was a straight shot with well marked exits.  We have been known to drive around in circles in our own downtown covered garages.

Bill and I are always remarkably lost.

But suddenly there was Lola.

She gave us new found confidence as she handily found the way out of parking lots!

Finally, I could relax, sit back, enjoy the scenery, even put the seat back and snooze.

There was absolute joy and trust in the mighty little GPS gadget.  I just knew Bill was in good hands (well, not literally in good hands of course).  He was technologically balanced and steering wheel focused at last.

Lola, oh Lola, was in charge and doing her thing navigating us through the twists and turns of all the unexplored streets and highways of America.

We pampered her too.  She retained an honored place over the dashboard, was regularly updated, and was never lonely until………

Something happened.

Lola is now rebelling.

I think she finally figured out she is indispensable.

She may also be bored with people who can never find their way because she recently instructed us to turn onto a nonexistent access ramp!  Imagine?

Of course we forgave her that one infraction.

 Even so,  trust is the basis of a GPS/Human Relationship and our faith in Lola was ever so slightly shaken.

Lola’s second murderous attempt was entirely unforgivable.

“Turn Left onto XYZ Street,” she said as we neared our destination (the train station in Charlottesville, VA).  And yep, we turned.  And no, she did not come back to say, “Recalculating!”

Lola sent us down a one way street going the wrong way!

Beeping and screaming and threatening gestures from oncoming traffic were the clues that something was wrong.  Ignoring what Lola might say next we made a panicked “U” turn to get on the right track (thankfully not the train track).

Lola may be a secret serial killer!

Oh, I loved Lola so much before her homicidal tendencies that I was willing to include her in a polygamous marriage.  She is still out there waiting for us to get back in the car.   If I don’t count her maniacal streak I am grateful she still tries to help, but have concluded she is really the enemy in our midst.

I would rather be aimlessly wandering with Bill than going down one way streets the wrong way or turning onto nonexistent on-ramps with Lola.

And hard as it may be to believe, that is the true story of a modern GPS rebellion.

 

 

 

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