Day 3: Happiness is:

Waking up before the alarm clock.

So that I could go with Tracy to the Grape Harvest before sunrise.

Coming home from a photo outing by 8:30 a.m. to pick a muskmelon that grew in my garden from seeds thrown away last year.

Yummy. Also had a bacon, spinach and tomato sandwich. Tomatoes and spinach from my garden. More Yummy.

Went for a swim with my husband while the sun was still out, finished printing images to enter in the Sandwich Fair.

Happiness is a fulfilling and delicious day.

Day 2: Happiness is:

Taking a new picture of the shirt in the box and having no trouble with the image.

For my friends who know Christopher Moore, they understand this t-shirt.

Happiness is: Getting to wear the new t-shirt.

Happiness is: A colleague who is willing to slut it up just a little bit to get a laugh out of the group.

Best of all, she looked really pretty and check out those spicy red shoes. Way to go Kyla!

And for today, the last bit of happiness is my yummy , messy quesadillas that I made for dinner.

Day 1: Happiness is:

Well this is a bit awkward. I took a picture of a very happy moment and the photo won't transfer from my phone properly. 

Happiness is receiving the t-shirt you ordered. To make it even better it was wrapped in white tissue paper. Guess you'll have to catch me wearing it to see what it says:).

Other moments of happiness today: Finishing a grant and getting it delivered with 1/2 hour to spare. No water leaking into the library, photographing mushrooms near the library, and swimming in my pool.

A New 30 Days -- Assignment: Happiness is:

For September I am going to post a photo that I have taken showing my interpretation of happiness each day.

I found this quote and will use it as inspiration. Happiness is:

"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life.
But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first,
some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.
This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way.
So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination."
-- Alfred D. Souza


"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

August 31st. Happiness is knowing that you are not the one climbing into the ceiling and you were able to figure out where the water was coming from.

Summer Storm

We heard the thunder in the distance. Above and to the west the sky was still clear.
Thunder rolled again.
I went out with my camera. To the south the sky was dark. A swath of storm clouds crossed the bay moving north and east.
You could hear the thunder roll through the cloud line from east to west and then back again. Then the could filled with lightening and the thunder rolled.
As we listened we could hear the rain pouring down on the bay.
We sat dry watching and listening, waiting to see if we would get wet.

The first drops began to fall big and bold; harbingers of what was on its way.

I ran to the house and just as I reached the door, the storm was over us in earnest. A heavy rain, then hail, then a blinding downpour.

It took as long for the storm to arrive as it did for it to come to an end.
All that was left in moments was this memory.

Dolphin Journey

I had the good fortune of going out on a boat with Dolphin Journeys in Kona, Hawaii. Nancy Sweatt takes small groups out to swim with the dolphins. I contacted her company because of her spiritual connection with the dolphins. She already had a group going out on the one day that I was going to be in Kona. After a couple of emails, they contacted the family and I was invited to join their party. 

The family I joined was kind and friendly and accepted me as one of their own.

The dolphins accepted me in as well. We stopped the boat to watch the dolphins jump and spin out of the water. Kavika, the Captain asked if anyone knew why the dolphins spin like that. No one had and answer. His reply was, "Because they can."

Once in the water, the dolphins seemed to disappear. I asked them to come back and spend some time with me. I began to hear clicking a chirping, but still did not see anything. Then in my peripheral vision, I saw a pair swimming toward me. The first visit there were 7 or 8 dolphins. They came so close and they swam along at my pace. After a little while, they were ready to move more quickly. The headed toward the surface, their tail fins right in front of me and they swam out of sight.



A little while later, the clicking and singing began again. Slowly a couple of dolphins appeared and then more and more. They were under me and beside me. So close that I could reach out my arm and touch them. I was one of them. They did not make me work to keep up, they swam with me. I kicked and watched. Amazed, content, wanting to remember every moment. There were mothers and babies, pairs and quartets rubbing against one another, they were turning and spinning below me. Often two of them would swim together, one up-side-down the other above and they would be touching their fins together. So happy it seemed to be in connection with each other.


As I watched and absorbed noticing their coloration dark to light from top to bottom, one drifted up next to me. I turned to look at the beautiful creature. It looked me in the eye. I looked back and it began to swim around me in a circle. I turned on my side and joined in the circle swim. Together we went around my back arched to water caressing me and a dolphin playing with me.


There was no other world at that time. It was just me and the dolphins. I was, for a little while, a part of their family.

25. That is the number of dolphins that I swam with during that magical journey. 25. "As you go though major life changes, expect the best and your optimism will be rewarded." That is what Doreen Virtue wrote about the number 25 in her book Angel Numbers 101.


I am blessed. I am thankful. I shall spin whenever I can.

Volcano

Darkness

Stars light up the sky.

Specs of orange glow in the distance

A slow flow down the mountain

Under foot, cooled lava back as the night

Pele moves at her own pace

In her own direction

This night she moves off in the distance

We watch from a home build on

Pele's black remains

Fire and a sparkling sky meet at the end of the road.