Slowly winging my way back

2011 has certainly started out with a swift kick to the behind. I've been down and out this past week with the worst stomach flu I've ever had. In the spirit of fair warning, the following may enter TMI territory: I spent the better part of 3 days laying on the bathroom floor (and I mean literally better; the laying down times were when I wasn't actively dying), and a full week of sleeping for minutes a day and barely eating enough to keep myself conscious. But! I'm back. Yesterday I had my first full meal (which at this point equals a few tablespoons in volume), and last night I slept in my bed for the full night and woke up *not* once! I feel jubilant this morning.

(The above image was taken during a visit to the Camargue in France -- a magical place -- back in 2008.)

The Kitchen Window

Inside



Outside

Post-Christmas Ruminations

Well, all Christmases are over at last. The ornaments are packed away, though the tree is still standing. I'm going to miss the wonderful scent of pine that greats me each morning when I come downstairs. I can pretend that I live in a forest for a few minutes each day, ha!



In other news, the winter weather has returned to snow, which makes for a more pretty scene over the dreary rain. And the days have started to change as well: with each new one I've noticed that they are lasting a little bit longer than the one before. Joy!



And finally, my camera has gone off to Nikon for repairs. They told me it would take 4-6 weeks. So the old camera and I have become reacquainted, and with a wee bit of keeping-a-positive-attitude, we're getting along just fine. ;-)

Raining in January

Happy New Year!

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes to everyone. I've been offline a lot this month -- and it's been a long, long month -- hosting two Christmases, plus dealing with the decline of both my camera and my computer. Gosh, I have so many Christmas photos, but I think I'm having trouble posting them because it's been such a hectic month. So, back to the archives for these chickadee photos. On the upside, earlier this evening I celebrated the finale of my photo 365 project. It brought me a lot of joy to look back through the photos, so I'm happy that I kept at it (though, I did miss a few days here and there). I'm hoping that things will even out in the New Year, and by that I mean starting today! ;-)



My resolution for the New Year is going to revolve around the wise words of Howard Thurman - a resolution I feel confident I can keep throughout the year:

~
Don't worry about
what the WORLD needs.

Ask what makes
you come ALIVE
and do that.

Because what
the world needs
is people
who have
come
ALIVE.
~

Onward!