Usually, I write this as soon as I get up on Friday morning.  But this morning that would have been way too early.  At 4:15 am, I was on my way to my son's house so he and my daughter-in-law could take my oldest grandson to the hospital to have the tube that wouldn't fall out of his ear by itself surgically removed.  I got to be there when my youngest grandson woke up and we had breakfast together and even got to read a book and paint before his ride to school came to get him.  I then got to be there when grandson #1 came home and he taught me a new game on his dad's IPad.  I am so glad that I live close enough to share all types of special moments with my son and his family.  This is something I will never take for granted and am so grateful for every single day. 

It is Wednesday and time to answer Jamie Ridler's prompt in Wishcasting Wednesday.  Jamie asked, "What do you wish for fall?"  I love fall.  I love the way it looks, the way it feels, the way it smells, and the way it sounds.  It is my favorite time of the year.  This fall I want to go for as many walks as possible and bring my camera.  I want to capture everything that I think is special about fall and share those images with whomever wants to look at them.  The picture above is one that I took yesterday.  It doesn't look or feel like fall  but I know that  it is coming.  Yesterday's picture will be the first of many to chronicle all the wonderful things that I see and experience this fall.  What do you wish for your fall?

                                         Life is change.  Growth is optional.  Choose wisely.
                                                                                       Karen Kaiser Clark, Writer

When I saw this pumpking sitting alone among all of the greenery, I wondered what would happen if it was a person sitting among other people who were very different from her.  Would she change to meet their needs, would they change to meet hers, or would they join together to learn and grow from each other?  I hope it would be the last.  What do you think?

It is Friday and time to reflect upon all of the things that I am grateful for this week. This week I am very grateful for the fact that I am starting a new hobby.  I am taking a photography class and I am excited about learning something new.  Learning was always valued in my family for the sake of learning.  You didn't have to have perfect grades or be a perfect person, you just had to to do your best.  I am really grateful that I had that type of support and that I continue to get that kind of support from both family and frends.  So I am grateful for all of the wonderful and different things there are to learn and I am grateful that I don't have to be perfect while I am learning them. 
I was given the assignment in an art class recently to look for lines and angles and curves and circles in things and then to draw them.  When I took this picture, I started to look for all of the lines and angles and curves and circles within it.  I am very grateful that one creative activity can so easily lead to another and another.  Learning and creating are something that make me happy each day.  I am certainly grateful for that.  What special moments are you grateful to have experienced this week?

It is Wednesday and time to think, and ponder and reflect upon Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesday prompt, "What do you wish to immerse yourself in?"  The reason this was so difficult today is actually a good reason. I have had several opportunities present themself lately and all of them are exciting but all of them would take time.  So in looking at my life and remembering how I want to live it, I decided I could not accept all of these wonderful invitations.  Of course Jamie's question came just at the right time on the right day as I was pondering what I actually wanted to do next.  After looking at all of the options, I realized that to get better at what I wanted to do I needed to narrow my focus.  I needed to concentrate on learning new things and applying them to what I already knew.  So to answer Jamie's question, "What do you wish to immerse yourself in?", I have decided that I would like to immerse myself in photography for two reasons.  First, I want to learn something new that will enhance my life. I want to take pictures of things in nature and things that make me happy.  Second, I want to strengthen my blog and I think by adding pictures that I have taken myself and sharing them with others my blog will become stronger.  I really enjoy blogging and I hope to continue to make my blog a place that people enjoy visiting often. I have also decided to begin a photoblog It's A Beautiful World to capture my journey as a beginning photographer.  I would love to have you join me on that journey as often as possible.  So once again, I would like to thank Jamie Ridler for asking just the right question!!!  What do you wish to immerse yourself in?

                               Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. 
                                                                                                                              Chinese Proverb
 This was the perfect quote for me to find today.  Lately, I seem to be in such a hurry to learn all types of things.  Learning something new is wonderful but I want to learn quickly and for everything to be perfect the first time.  Well, that is not how my world works and I need to accept that.  It takes time to learn something new and I definitely am not going to be perfect especially not the first time I do something but probably never.  I used to do things at a much slower pace and I know I actually enjoyed things a lot more when I took my time and enjoyed the process or the journey.  So I am going to remind myself of the Chinese Proverb quoted above and not stand still but grow slowly.  When I get in a hurry I am going to stop, take a deep breath, and think of the picture above.  Do you do something special to help you to remember to slow down and enjoy whatever you are doing?  I would love to know what helps you.

Well, it's Friday and time to write about all of the special moments that I am grateful for this week.  This has been a very unusual week.  My husband's computer crashed and today I lost everything on mine.  I mean everything.  We had a few other unusual things go wrong but tonight and especially right now I want to concentrate on all of the things that I am grateful for having experienced this week.

Watching my grandson play soccer 
Finding a new walking partner
Getting to know the wonderful people who took part in my first online workshop Circle of Dreams
Finding out that I have free membership to a great gym as part of my health insurance - there is something great about being my age
Looking up and seeing an incredible sky and full moon last night
Planning a trip to see my sister

It really has been a frustrating day. ( I lost all of my email addresses so if  we've corresponded in the past and you would like to send me your email address again, I certainly would appreciate it). But even with all of the frustration, there are many more things to be grateful for.  I think this practice of writing down what wonderful things I experience each week has really helped me to remember that. 
I hope you have had a wonderful week.  I would love to hear all about the special moments that mean the most to you.

Each Friday I recognize the special moments that I experienced throughout the week.  This week I have to say that I am so grateful that the tornado that criss-crossed through our area missed our subdivision, our street, and our house.  We had rain, our lights went out for a few minutes, and my phone went off in the middle of a conversation.  All very minor inconveniences when just blocks away families were huddled in bathrooms or closets or basements as they heard the roar of a train coming towards them.  I am so grateful that noone was hurt in our area and that people have been there to help each other.  It was just another reminder of how important it is to enjoy the simple things in life and never to take for granted all of the wonderful moments we have each day. 
Since the storm the weather has been cooler and it feels like fall.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year and I am so grateful that it is rapidly approaching. 
I am also grateful for all of the really great conversations I have had this week with people in person and online.  Everyone seems to be ready to start something new or share an idea or give encouragement and I am really grateful that there are so many women who want to support each other's goals and dreams.  So it has been an interesting week with lots of excitement which then makes those quiet simple moments even more special.  What special moments are you grateful to have experienced?

It is Wednesday.  Time to reflect and to answer Jamie's, of Jamie Ridler Studios, question, "What path do you wish to follow?"  There is only one answer.  I wish to follow my path, the path that I create.  I know that this path will take me to see great things, meet inspiring people, and be full of twists and turns. My path will go up and down I am sure because that is what a path will often do.  And even though I would love for this path to be perfect, I know that will probably never happen.   I also know that by looking for perfection I will make this path harder than it needs to be.  So I will enjoy my perfectly imperfect path.  I will enjoy all that it has to offer every day and keep on making it bigger and longer and wider and hope that many others will join me on this wonderful path that I continue to create.