Category: if you lived here
Extraordinary
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brené Brown Otherwise known as a walk in the park.
Special Day
“Your life journey is a special one. Cherish every single day of your life, because if you won’t, who will? Time flies so quickly and every day is a blessing. Don’t take it for granted. As you wake up every day, put your heart into every breath of yours. Be grateful to be able to…
Look Again
I was going through my photos from yesterday to clean up my phone when I got to this one. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before because my focus was on all the dogs. But then I honed in on the gentleman seated to the left. This is now my new favorite photo from…
Purina Pet Parade
St. Louis, specifically the Soulard neighborhood, is known for throwing an amazing Mardi Gras celebration. But in all the years we’ve lived here, remarkably we’ve never participated in any of the festivities – including the annual Purina Pet Parade. But we remedied that today. Originally, I’d signed us up to walk in the parade with…
Good Stuff
“The true happiness of your life lies not in the events that are happening, but rather in the quality of your own thoughts. Train your brain to see the beauty around you, to notice the little details, to see the good in people. Positivity is a choice. Your choice.” — @highperspective So, the Lou got…
Sunday with the Snow People
We didn’t get a lot of snow, but that didn’t stop St. Louisans from making the absolute most of what was there. People still went sledding down Art Hill, as evidenced by the myriad of tracks. And people still built snow people — lots of snow people. Little snow people. A Wilford Brimley snow person….
Snowy Saturday
My first snowy run of the season. A little slushy and sloppy, but not bad at all. And of course I had to look for faces. This one cracked me up because it looked like a grumpy cartoon. And this one seemed to be the result of a dog slipping, which made the expression appropriate.
Last page
“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley Looking forward to a new year and new hope. But before bringing 2021’s book to a close, I got to spend a fun evening with my kids at Union Station and the Foundry – which were still decorated…
A really good thing
A little downtown stroll with my fur boy this evening, right by the Farmers Market and the Christmas Market. I so enjoyed watching families search for their perfect tree and strap their winning selection atop their vehicles. There was excitement, anticipation and happiness in the air, as well as the gorgeous scent of fresh evergreens….
Frost Flowers
Several years ago I read about something called “frost flowers” and I’ve wanted to see one in person ever since. But the timing (a brief window in late fall) and conditions have to be just right (first hard freezes have arrived, but ground is still warm) for these ribbons of ice crystals to form, so…
Here we go
The trees atop Art Hill seem to have gotten the memo and are really starting to show their colorful stuff – and the rest of the park is trying to follow their lead. So the next week or two should be really fun.
Saturday Scenes
A beautiful day in the park. The swirling patterns of algae floating on this pond reminded me of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Fun Fall finds with Finn
This week’s walks are brought to you by the letter “F” — fun fall finds with Finn. Above: A house along our route knocks it out of the park every year, but this year’s skeleton scene actually made me gasp out loud. Below: Finn cannot understand why I cannot walk and pick up leaves at…
Ah, yes…
“Being grateful doesn’t mean you have to love every part of your life. It’s okay to feel hurt when something doesn’t turn out the way you thought it to be, especially for things you have given so much of your heart. What gratefulness means is that no matter what happens or what you go through,…
Five Words
Five words to keep in your vocabulary (even when you’re facing the unknown): 1.) Rest The act of ceasing to work in order to be refreshed and recover your strength (even when you don’t think you’re worthy of it). 2.) Play To engage in an activity just for the fun of it (even when there’s…
I spy…
You know, I always thought I was a fairly observant person — until I got a puppy. Everything is brand new to this guy. And I do mean everything. A crow’s cackle, a firetruck’s siren, a squirrel’s chatter…everything requires a pause and thorough investigation. And he doesn’t miss a thing. He forces me to slow…
That’s a first
In all the years we’ve lived here and all the times I’ve visited Forest Park, I have never seen the Grand Basin frozen over — and I’ve certainly never walked on the surface. But guess what I got to do recently? You got it. And what a blast it was. So was the snow angel….
As it unfolds
“Gratitude: the daily art of celebrating the life unfolding before your eyes.” – Morgan Harper Nichols And you just never know what you’re gonna see. Today was a really lovely, quirky and often humorous walk around a local lake. From beginning to end, there were so many funky and unexpected finds. Not shown below: a…
Think and be thankful
Today I listened to an audio recording of mass during a long walk through the park.It was a Sunday sermon like no other. The message, the light, the reflections, the clouds…it was all pretty glorious.
Truly
“I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.” – Ansel Adams What started as a bit of exercise in the park turned into more than two hours of wandering, exploring and savoring the colors, shapes and textures of the season. What a beautiful day on so many levels….
Wasn’t expecting that
I took a stroll through the Botanical Garden today and saw a number of blooms that surprised me. And here I thought that all of the fall colors had faded!
Color my world
“Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a lot to love a leaf. It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it takes much to love these colors — and there’s nothing ordinary about any of them. But wow, aren’t…
Perfect
Another stop on my day off: the Missouri Botanical Garden. A perfect place on a perfect day. But honestly, if I only saw the Autumn Crocus, I would’ve been totally happy.
hey there, friends 