Category: THOUGHTS

To Mothers Everywhere – And To Those Who Aren’t…

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Photograph, THOUGHTS2 Comments

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the mother’s out there! Fred and I are beyond blessed to still have our parents, and we know that. Many of my friends do not and that’s tough… especially on a day like Mother’s Day, where we celebrate the moms in the world!

Happy Mothers Day to those of you who are mothers. This is your day… enjoy it, I’m sure you’ve earned it! 🌸

Happy Mothers Day to those of you who are not mothers, and aren’t going to be… whether by the ways of the universe or by your own plans and beliefs – be there for other children that come into your life. Help them be good kids – this world needs good kids and sometimes it takes a village. 🐾… and if your kids happen to have four legs, give them an extra special hug! 🐕

Happy Mothers Day to those of you who have lost your mother. Truly, holidays like this can be miserable. If you are in that place, try to remember the good times, do something today to make your remember your mom even more, whether it be cooking a favorite recipe of hers or spending time doing something she loved. I bet you will feel closer to her when you do… Remember, she’s never truly gone – she’ll be by your side forever… Hugs to you – this sucks and is not easy, my thoughts and prayers are with you today. 🙏

Happy Mother’s Day to both of our Moms – Love you to the moon and back! xo

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Oh Happy Day!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Photograph, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Surround yourself with beauty – it doesn’t have to be expensive… a flower cut from the yard (preferably your own yard, ha ha) – or even a screenshot of flowers on the desktop of your computer. It will make you smile…

These were taken when I was at Costco one day trying to nonchalantly get some flower photos and stay out of the way at the same time. No easy feat, ha ha.

Happy Saturday!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Star of the show…

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS, TRAVEL1 Comment

I swear you can find something beautiful anywhere you look. Doesn’t this flower seem to be the star of the show? Oh so bright and well formed amidst other flowers that were on the downswing (in this shot). I think that just makes this stand out even more.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it?

Always be looking for the unlikely… simple beauty… always the best!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Pretty Flowers – Monhegan

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS, TRAVEL2 Comments

Pretty flowers capture my attention every single time. I have no idea what these may be, but they were beautiful.

There seems to be a common theme to this weeks post – Monhegan – Maine… It’s good to have all those memories stored so you can take mini-vacations while daydreaming, ha ha…

Enjoy your day!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Monhegan Sunflower!

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS, TRAVELLeave a comment

Monhegan (Maine) Sunflower… looks almost as if it’s waving or winking at you. Don’t you just love the vibrant yellow against the greens in the leaves?

This was another photo shoot on Monhegan, Maine. I can’t stop myself from taking photos of all the beautiful flowers! Happy day!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

View of Island Inn from Horns Hill – Monhegan, Maine

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS, TRAVELLeave a comment

This is a view of the Island Inn (with the flag) in the distance as viewed from Horns Hill, Monhegan, Maine. We love Horns Hill… it’s a great place to eat an ice cream cone 😜 – the steep hills help burn a calorie or two so you don’t feel quite so guilty.

Doesn’t the Island Inn look grand in the distance? It is… Home away from home, ha ha. That may be quite a stretch, but…

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

A typical day on Monhegan (Maine)…

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Monhegan, Maine. There is nothing like taking a nice walk around the island, passing the many charming cottages and taking in a view that is out of this world. This is such a sweet cottage, one of our favorites – I love the blue door.

A perfect day on the island goes something like this… Wake up at the Island Inn, head down for coffee and chat with friends, then head to breakfast. After breakfast take a stroll around, snapping photos and then heading back to the inn. Then out for a longer stroll/hike and back in time for lunch – either in the dining room or at the Novelty or Barnacle. Time to sit a spell and stare out to sea letting your thoughts drift away.

It’s so nice to just be. Quiet. Still. No TV, no radio, no telephone (except for the occasional try with a mobile phone if necessary, usually to meet up with other friends on the island.)

Another walk/hike, get ready for dinner, head to dinner and ENJOY the best meal ever. Then sit and chat with friends, turn out the lights and head to bed.

Best time ever. ❤️

PS, I just found out that this cottage is for rent, so keep that in mind! What a treasure!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston, SC Photo: Quote at Colonial Lake

On By Barbara StroudIn Charleston, Daily Blog, Photograph, SC, THOUGHTS1 Comment

On one of our venture’s downtown walking I happened upon this quote. This bench is at Colonial Lake in Charleston, SC – which underwent quite the facelift!

This quote is so true – the one’s you love are a gift far greater than anything money could possibly buy – cherish them!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… CATCH YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW!

Lavender House – Rainbow Row – Charleston, SC!

On By Barbara StroudIn Charleston, Daily Blog, Photograph, SC, THOUGHTS4 Comments

Pretty as a picture. Love this lavender on a home downtown (Rainbow Row). One thing you will see in Charleston, SC are colorful homes. Not all of them, but they do fit rather nicely in the tropical climate. The shadows on this home are stunning!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… 

CATCH YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW!

How to cut an orange – Really! Life. Changing.

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, FOOD, Photograph, THOUGHTS6 Comments

Life. Changing. Yes, what I’m about to tell you is just that. PLEASE tell me that you don’t already know about this. How can I be XY years old and never have heard of this? Head in the sand? Who knows, but for some reason I Googled it when I had a cold (what else is there to do? ha) – I watched a few orange-cutting videos. The method I tried didn’t seem like it would be good, so I thought that would be a quick one to cross of the list. Wrong! Here’s the (apparently Top Secret) method: Cut off each end, then slice (not super thin, but not thick). When you do so, you can pick up the slice and it will open (as you see on the bottom) making it INCREDIBLY easy to eat and NOTHING is left over. Not a spec!

Some of my oranges had thicker rind, so I just made a small slice and that worked fine.

Brilliant. You didn’t already know this did you? Please… just say No! 😉

If you do already know this, pass it along to another poor soul who may not! Ha ha.

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Hiking Monhegan…

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Hiking Monhegan Island, Maine. Is there anything better? The island is small so we can cover a good amount of territory and then stop for lunch, head back out then come back in time to get ready for dinner or meet up with friends.

The peace and quiet in these woods is immeasurable. We are not used to such quiet.  When we’re out hiking I will stop… “JUST LISTEN to the silence!” – I love it. Fresh air, silence, peace. It’s like no place on Earth.

Blessed to be able to visit!

Like Fred says… “this is my happy place”, me too Fred! Me. Too!

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Monhegan…

On By Barbara StroudIn Daily Blog, Maine, Photograph, THOUGHTS2 Comments

A license plate on the Monhegan Trucking truck.

A welcome site when you arrive to the island and need your bags taken to your location. It’s cool how the few trucks line up ready to take your bags. The Island Inn, the Monhegan House, Monhegan Trucking and others picking up mail, packages, etc.

They have it down to a science!

Back to normal posting next week – catching up after a week of being out with a cold. Back to the land of the living, woohoo!

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… CATCH YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW!

What do you eat when you have a cold?

On By Barbara StroudIn Charleston, Daily Blog, Photograph, SC, THOUGHTS2 Comments

The reason I’ve been posting photos is because I’ve been under the weather. 😷🤒Nothing drastic, just a horrible cold. This week I am feeling better, but playing catch up – so I will be back to normal posting next week! But… stay tuned, I have some great photos this week!

What do you tend to eat when you have a cold? I didn’t feel energetic enough to whip up a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, so Fred stopped on his way home from work and picked up some Egg Drop Soup from Red Orchids Bistro (in Charleston, SC). It was delicious. It lasted two days. It was perfect!

What else have I been eating? At first not much, too much time sneezing and coughing, but I did eat an orange each day which was delicious! Toast… scrambled egg, a lot of green tea, regular tea and fruit popsicles.

Wondering what YOU eat? Do you make something or order out? The ingredients in canned chicken noodle soup gives me the willies, yet it tastes the best, sadly. Unless you’re going to make your own of course!

More art, recipes and house plans next week…

📸 IMAGES ARE MY OWN UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED… CATCH YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW!