ThoughtfulEscapes

...it's life.

Cherry blossoms!

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God gave me a gift on Monday!!!  I went into the grocery store on the way home from picking mom up at the airport – I was getting her flowers for her welcome home. … They had cherry blossoms – let me clarify, they had branches cut off from cherry blossom trees!  I saw cherry blossoms in real life – for the very first time in my life!  I couldn’t believe it…I didn’t even have to think twice – I bought them for myself.  You see, I have always wanted to see cherry blossoms in real life.  In my recollection these were the first real cherry blossoms I have ever seen.

Yes, I paid $7.99 for three branches of an outdoor tree.
Yes, you can call me a crazy Alaskan.
BUT, guess what – I don’t care :-D!!!!

I’m still holding out for my dream … Someday, Lord willing, I will get to see Washington DC in April {& again in fall, whenever that is, and in winter too}.  April is my birthday month, maybe someday I will see real cherry trees and cherry tree blossoms for my birthday :-D.

Keep reading for a more explanatory version :-D!

For a very long time I have loved cherry blossoms.  I don’t recall ever having seen cherry blossoms in real life. When, as a young adult, I lived out of Alaska for a couple years – I thought the flowering trees I was seeing then were cherry blossoms.  About five years ago, when looking at a friend’s photo of cherry blossoms, I realized they weren’t the same.  I learned then, the ones I thought in Oct ’95-Feb ’98 were actually dogwood trees.  I was pretty disappointed, don’t get me wrong – I think flowering trees are beautiful {no matter what they are} and I really wish we had flowering trees in Alaska!  I wished growing up we had such things in either northern Wisconsin or Alaska…the two states I have spent the bulk of my life in.  The disappointing knowledge I hadn’t in fact actually seen a real cherry tree blossom caused me to even more GREATLY desire to see real cherry blossoms.  Someday.

I have always equated spring, Washington DC, and cherry blossoms … someday.  As excited as I was to have the opportunity to travel to Washington DC last year, it was in October.  I have always wanted to see the East Coast in the fall.  What I discovered was October is the end of fall in Alaska, but fall hadn’t even started in Washington DC. So, while I got to see Washington DC, I got to see the Capitol and the Washington Monument for real, with my own eyeballs, not just a picture – I didn’t get to see cherry blossoms and I didn’t get to see it in the fall.  For that matter, the Reflection Pool was under construction and was actually a hole – the bottom was dug up, with no water in it, not even a mud puddle.  No reflecting.  I know I promised pictures of our trip in October, but my camera was tired and it really didn’t focus that great or take the pictures I expected/anticipated.  I will work on finding some of the best, but it was pretty disappointing {to say the least} to have my first trip to DC not be well documented with photos.

Enough rambling….but I do have to say, I am really disillusioned with my Nikon right now.  It won’t take pictures.  I had to dig out my old camera to take the above photos.  It’s a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H7.  I bought the new camera {Nikon D3100} because I have worn the Sony one out.  It is tired and has a hard time focusing; I’ve had it 5+ years and have taken 15,000+ pictures on it.  Also, I really wanted to learn how to take “real” photo’s.  As in using Manual.All the time.  At this point Nikon’s advice has been to not use the camera in Manual, but to only use it on Auto……ya, not real impressed.  Working on this.  In the mean time I pulled out the Sony and will have to see which camera works for taking pictures until I get it all sorted out.  Have a blessed day.
{ps: I am in the process of figuring out how to move my blog to my own domain.  If [or more accurately when] weird things are happening with the blog, please bear with me.  Feel free to comment and let me know I’ve messed something up.  Right now, blogger is telling me there isn’t anything to even back-up. no blog, no files, no posts…..ummm?  Any advice, anyone?}

Think Green!

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Okay – in reality it’s green somewhere else.  Lots of somewhere else’s, actually-but not here.  We are at 45* for the second day in a row, but we still have tons of snow needing to melt; the snow is pretty rotten and not worth much except to remind us we don’t have green or outdoor growth yet.  This tree is actually in Washington DC, and what it looked like the beginning of last October.

I used the above picture though because it kind of represents life — the single tree is like each of us, all the branches are representative of all the things we are involved in and the leaves are the activities or to-do list of all that has to be done for each part of our life.  For example:

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Blessed Rest-full day to you.

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needing to see some green :-D…
I hope you have had a wonderfully blessed weekend 
and rest-full day today.  

If you are facing difficulty and challenges, 
and they are threatening to overwhelm you – 
I hope you will turn to the Heavenly Father.  
You just have to ask.
He is always with you and He cares.  

Sometimes it is hard to change the path we are on,
but He promises to be there for us when we call on Him.  
Always and Forever.

“Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.” 
John 14:1
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8

Sun!

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Today I skipped out on all the need/want/have-to-do’s on all my lists.  I went to visit with dear friends and meet a new baby.  It was WONDERFUL!  To top it off, the sun was bright and warm.  I of course had my “real coat” with me, but I only wore a long sleeve shirt with a down vest.  I felt so light.  I was seriously relishing how warm it was and how maybe spring would come sooner {as long as I don’t look at the __ feet of snow on the ground, in piles EVERYwhere}; after all it was so warm {I would have guessed high-30s/mid-40s}.  Then I saw a thermometer.  At that point I questioned my sanity.  It was 19*.  Yes, that is above zero and not a negative number – but seriously?!  19* is still a LONG ways from melting.

I needed a break from the computer and when I’m home I don’t see the sun in my apartment.  So, since I was out, my children were with my mom, and the sun was shining – I drove.  I didn’t do my normal start at point A, and do errands in a line and end without back-tracking.  I kind of lost the ability to care, the sun was in my eyes and it was “warm”.  In the end, I checked in with mom – all was fine at home, but she & a friend were getting to sew.  I was almost tempted to go home and sew.  In the end, I got a coffee, went to the highest parking lot in town, and parked.  I sat in my car, looking at this view, with warm sun in my face and my eyeballs were very happy.  I had planned to read some stuff I needed to get through, but instead got to catch up with a friend from out of state.  {the wonders of cell phones :-)….}

We are blessed to live in Alaska.  In spring I do wonder why I choose to be here – but look at that view!  I could have turned in pretty much any direction and the view was the same – fresh, crisp, white snow on mountains, glistening to the point of hurting your eyes.  Alaska is home, even though I have heart ties in Wisconsin where I spent several childhood years (so I have a strong all things farm pull),  I have lived most of my life here.  While I’d love to see/shop at some of the wonderful places I see posted about {antiques, fabric, home decor, etc.}; I’d really miss Alaska.  I do really wish we had spring though.  :-D

Just so you know – I’m not totally a pessimist….
— Snow storm on April 26, 2008 … Alaska in April
— Snow in April, 2009 … April Fool’s or not?
— Not trusting warm in mid-March, 2010 … SPRING! (maybe, but probably not)
Uh, huh…I’m just finally learning.  Enjoy it in the moment, but don’t depend on it staying :-D.  Yes, I am thick skulled and slow to get this — but this is the last three years’ records….so, I still wish we had spring and think in the future I just need to plan to go see spring elsewhere.  I can see the flowers, smell the flower, and feel the warm sun; then come back and be content to wait until Memorial Day weekend to do my planting :-D.