The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 American-Italian epic Spaghetti western film starring Clint Eastwood. I'm not a fan of spaghetti westerns, but I have to admit that the plots often parallel some of life's greatest triumphs and tragedies.  Good triumphs over evil...payback is hell...etc. In fact, should Sergio Leone decide to make a "spaghetti drama" today, I would have just the material depicting slices of life in today's world. October (and it's not even over yet!) is a testament to my own personal Good, Bad and Ugly.

The Bad...my friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Good? Well, if there is one, I'm not sure.  But I made her a cute Chemo hat.

More Bad...I backed into parked car with the hubby's truck. The Good? I Have Insurance.


More Good... watched the wee ones make sugar cookies.  Nothing bad about that!

The Bad...went to a craft fair.  It's been a long time since I have been to one, and I was saddened to see more of the same cheesy stuff you always see. Where's the innovation???  The Good?  I found this "stein" to take to a fun Oktoberfest party down the street!!

"Red Solo Cup"

More Good...went on a Sunday picnic in the wine country with friends.  Now that's always good!!

The REALLY good? Take along fresh apple pie!

The Ugly? No words are needed. I left my purse in the front seat. My Bad. Soccer Moms beware...they sit in wait in the school parking lot...watching your hustle and the distraction and chaos of getting your kid to the field...

The good in this? I have insurance. And I have a good bank who watches my accounts. Laurel 6...Thieves 0. The bad? Replacing all the cards, Gigi Hill wallet gone, no driver's license and two hours at DMV...

I am pretty glad that October is almost behind me.  It's been a roller coaster.  But in the end, I can say that even though the Bad and The Ugly were tough, there is still much to be thankful for...like photographing my granddaughter for her senior portrait, taking our good friends out to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, having fun with my knitting friends, reading a great book, enjoying a "Refuel" daily devotional series, watching "Upstairs, Downstairs" on PBS, getting my flu shot, celebrating another friend's 70th birthday, spending the day in Berkeley shopping at Stone Mountain and Daughter for fabric and many other blessings.

Life is a daily drama, but it's meant to be lived each day.  So I will not focus on the (*%*#@^*&^, but concentrate on enjoying today. After all...it's finally Fall, it's raining and I have firewood.



Laurel. Breathe...

 

Sharing with:

Our World Tuesday









The pleasures of boating....

Whether I am floating on the lake down the road,

putting along like the African Queen, feeding the ducks...

Or enjoying the Delta wild life....

Or watching the sunset on Shasta Lake

Being on the water is like a mini-vacation right at your fingertips. 

Water is soothing, life giving, and rejuvenating. Simple, yet complex...Sounds like fine wine, huh?

Laurel. Love boating.

Sharing today with

Our World Tuesday

Ready for Fall...

I'm not a tree hugger in the truest sense of the word, but for as long as I live I will never understand why people cut down beautiful trees without cause.  Last year, we lost several birch trees in neighboring yards and the bozo across the street actually cut down a giant REDWOOD! Apparently, city people are aggravated with shade, spiny balls and/or piles of leaves that they might have to rake.  Consequently, our neighborhood street has none of the charming Fall beauty it had when we moved in 8 years ago..there is one lone Liquid Amber around the corner that has survived the chainsaw.

Come on people...it's not like we valley dwellers in California have any of the stunning Fall color that graces our friend's home in Vermont, so why cut down the ONLY tree in the neighborhood that produces magnificent Fall foliage? Interestingly, you have to pay the county if you want to cut down an ugly Valley Oak as they are protected.  Not sure why, as we kill them anyway with our over watered yards.

Enough of my rant...

Fall is my favorite time of the year. As the summer heat has frayed the last raw nerve of my blogging friends across the nation, I'll bet they are looking forward to it too.

Laurel. What smells better than a Fall morning? Nothing.

Sharing today with

  Our world Tuesday   Tuesdays Around the World

In my own back yard

This is how it goes: You take a trip somewhere, anywhere, and you are awed by the beauty of the landscape.  The deserts and red rocks are different than the view out your front door.  You snap your camera endlessly so that you can remember its song, and all the while, just up the road at home is magnificence that you have taken for granted.  You have forgotten there are people in this world who dream of one day seeing your state's treasures.

After driving three or four hundred miles a day on our road trip, we traveled a mere hundred miles up the interstate to surprise our friends in Tahoe. How quickly we forget how blessed we are to live in Northern California.

Laurel. Enjoy a Sunday drive.

Linked to Our World Tuesdays.

Boys will be boys...

So they tell me....

On the sidewalk in Rome...

My grandson bought a street bike this week....need I say anything else???

Linked up with Our World Tuesday and Photo Not ncluded, my photo blog link-up.

Laurel. Gas mileage isn't everything.