The Grace of a Dog

Un-winged and naked, sorrow surrenders its crown to a throne called grace. ~Aberjhani

On this Friday, I find that coming downstairs in the mornings and not seeing Ruby waiting for me is heart crushing. I find that every time I eat a meal, I'm still setting two tiny bites aside on my plate in honor of Ruby (I realized later that my daughter is doing the same). I find that a very simple routine, fixing a salad, is almost unbearable because it was Ruby's favorite thing and she would sit at my feet waiting for her crouton. I find going to the bank very hard because it's directly next door to the vet where we said goodbye. I find that grief makes your heart ache just as intensely whether it's a human being or a precious dog.

But do you know what else? I find that, despite the tears and pain of not having my Ruby here, I also feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It's with me every moment of the day and it brings me such comfort. I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful that we got to have this beautiful angel in our lives. She was the best gift our family has ever been given. Between the tears of grief, we feel that gratefulness just as strongly. And our days are also filled with endless memories that make us smile and laugh...she gave us so many moments we will treasure forever.

We will get through this...but these first days are hard. We leave her water bowl out, we place her toys and pictures beside our computers and night stands, we leave the Ruby dust bunnies in the corners, and we take it one day at a time. I will try my best to handle my grief with as much grace as my sweet Ruby handled the last days of her life.

I promise there won't be endlessly sad blog posts in the coming weeks...these words today just felt right.

R.I.P. Ruby Rose

I heard somebody define heaven once as a place where, when you get there, all the dogs you ever loved run to greet you. ~Robert B. Parker

My heart is breaking today...our sweet corgi, Ruby, has left us after 13 amazing years. She was the most beautiful, sweetest, silliest, loveliest dog I've ever known. We always said that we won the doggy lottery when Ruby came into our lives. It's going to be so strange (and hard) to not have my constant companion and best friend by my side as I go through my days. But she's my little guardian angel now, and I take comfort in believing her presence is with me and my family wherever we are. I love you, Ruby Rose. You're in my heart forever.

Don't Forget to Breathe

I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. ~Wendell Berry

I stopped at the lake this past week while out running errands...it was an incredibly beautiful day. It was nice to take a break for a few minutes and simply breathe as I stared at the water. It was so calm and quiet...just what I needed. I was happy to stumble upon these geese sitting on the dock. Later on when I was editing the photo on my iPhone, I played with a few of my favorite apps to give it a painterly feel. The painterly apps are my very favorites on my phone! I can achieve effects that I could never get with PSE. My two favorites are Glaze and iColorama. I combined the two, using Blender, to get the results here. I also used a Luminance filter. I love the colorful, dreamy results!

I'm linking up with Kim's Friday Finds - click on the button below to visit! I wish everyone a great weekend.

My Week in Instagrams

I seem to start every blog post lately with "I've been so busy". Right now I'm in the midst of planning a bridal shower for a good friend's daughter...it's fun but has taken up most of my free time. There's less than two weeks until the shower, so I'm in full crafting mode! My poor blog is looking neglected, and my poetry writing has come to a complete stop for the time being. I thought I'd post some shots I've taken with my iPhone in the last week - it's the only camera time I've gotten lately. The weather here in Virginia has been truly fantastic...fall is coming, and the daily temps and sunshine are wonderful. There have been several Salted Caramel Mochas in my life, too. There's something about these crisp, fall-like days that casts a Starbucks spell on me. :)

Thank you for stopping by - I hope to get back into the blog groove one of these days soon!

Lift Off

Overhead the birds are calling, their cries seeming to fill the air. As I watch, they rise, flinging their bodies against the sky, intent upon the moment, spinning and turning like embers or smoke upon the air. I envy them, this life of theirs, the way they live so free of themselves, they are without past, without future, an exaltation of life beating in so many parts, rising up into the infinity of space. Watching them I find I want to weep, and yet I have no tear. ~James Bradley

Kathy's prompt for Song-ography this week is "I Want to Break Free"...my week has been so busy that I had to choose an image to share from my iPhone. I haven't had my real camera out very much, but I've had my iPhone with me on some walks, which I've done a lot of with this gorgeous weather we're having in Virginia.

I captured this image of a heron sunning his wings out on the lake, and it made me want to trade places with him for a little while. I think it would be so nice to feel the sun on my wings, to hear the gentle lapping of the water all around me, with no distractions...and to know that at any moment I could lift off and fly to the sky on an adventure, swooping amidst the clouds. I would love that feeling of freedom, and also that aerial view of the lake from up above. Wouldn't that be awesome? I sure think so.

I used to have dreams as a kid that I was flying, and they were so vivid and real. I was always so sad when I woke up and realized it was just a dream. I don't have the flying dreams as an adult...I wonder why that is? I wish I did, because I'd like to experience that feeling again, if only for a moment!

Click HERE to visit Kathy's blog and participate in Song-ography - it's a fun prompt and she has a new one each week. Thank you for stopping by.

Geometry in Nature

A photograph is not created by a photographer. What [he or she] does is just to open a little window and capture it. The world then writes itself on the film. The act of the photographer is closer to reading than it is to writing. [He or she] are the readers of the world. ~Ferdinando Scianna

The weather has been picture perfect here this past week, and I've been taking daily walks...while walking, I started noticing leaves, angles and lines on sidewalks (and yep, a mushroom, too). Once I noticed this pattern, I started actively searching for more geometry in nature (which is surprising, considering I was very bad at geometry...). Before I knew it, I had a whole set taken with my iPhone. I thought I'd link up and share with Kim Klassen's Friday Finds...it's amazing what you can discover with your camera if you really stop and look. All of these images were taken with my iPhone and processed with the Snapseed app.

Have a wonderful weekend! Thank you for stopping by.

Send Me A Postcard

Send me things in the mail. Wherever you go, I don’t care where you go, just send me something in the mail from where you are. —Wallace Berman

It's time for Bonnie's monthly prompt at Pixel Dust Photo Art...I always look forward to this so much! This month's theme is water. I took a photo of the ocean from my Hilton Head vacation in July, and tried to make it look like an old postcard. I used Bonnie's Backlight texture, as well as a couple of others to give it an aged look (a crackle texture and an old tintype frame texture, both of which I found by doing a Creative Commons search on Flickr). I used the cutout effect at some point to make it look more like a printed illustration. I also put it through RadLab several times to sharpen, change the tone, etc. I added the text, using two free fonts from 1001fonts.com: QuigleyWiggly and Pointedly Mad.

Click on the button below to visit Bonnie's blog and participate, and to see next month's prompt. Thank you for visiting!

Original Image:

If I Had a Million Dollars

If I had a million dollars, the first thing I'd do is buy oceanfront property...and this would be my view every day as I walked to the water. I can't imagine a life where I could walk alongside the ocean on a daily basis...it would be pure heaven. I'm linking up today with Kathy's Song-ography prompt (click HERE to visit her lovely blog and participate). Thanks for letting me fantasize for a few moments, Kathy! It sure was fun while it lasted. :)

I've never been a millionaire but I just know I'd be darling at it. ~Dorothy Parker