Monday Windows – Hobbits

For Ludwig’s Monday Window

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world.”
JRR Tolkien

Windows come in all shapes and sizes, from square and barred to round and gilded. Here are a few we shot on a trip to Matamata, NZ aka Hobbiton

Yes that’s a hobbit hole

curved window on another hobbit hole, the fuzzy quality of the photo is caused by a sudden deluge and we all know that “it will continue to rain until the rain is done.”

Inside a hobbit hole, looking out. My favorite aspect of this pic is the “xray vision” effect of the people outside in the single patch of sunshine that day.

Concerning Hobbits – Howard Shore LOTR video

Til next time ~Peace ~JPP

One-Liner Wednesday – Growing Old

For Linda’s One Liner Wednesday

Image by John Gibson from Pixabay

We don’t stop dancing because we grow old
we grow old because we stop dancing
paraphrased from George Bernard Shaw

Mr. Bojangles — Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Til next time ~Peace ~JPP

Sunday Stills — Heart of water

The Sunday Stills prompt for this week is water world.

I have been around water most of my life, it’s where I tend to be most content. Sitting on a beach watching waves, perched on a rock in the river, watching clouds float across the sky, water everywhere. Water can be calm and reflective, it can be fun and playful, it can be frightening in it’s power. It is exhilarating and soothing at the same time. Now I was born on a water/air cusp so maybe my affinity is astrological or maybe, just maybe I have the heart of a mermaid. 🙂

Sunset on Waikiki

A Perfect Moment

Sitting on a Rock in the middle of a river
One sultry August afternoon
The Summer sun warm on my face
The mountain water cold on my dangling feet
Ducks swim in the shade of a weeping willow
At the river’s edge
A summer breeze sings through the tree tops
And dances with the slender aspens
Against an Azure sky
For a moment, life is …… perfect

Surf on Oahu

Master of Tides – Lindsey Stirling

Til next time ~Peace ~JP

2020 picoftheweek – Miniature

For Maria Antonia’s 2020 picoftheweek challenge my prompt for this week: Miniature

Miniature Lord of the Rings figures from Weta Workshop, Miramar, NZ

Tiny dwarf iris snapped at Queens Garden, Invercargill, NZ

“Little drops of water
tiny grains of sand
make the mighty ocean
and the pleasant land
and so those little moments
humble though they be
create the mighty hours
that make up eternity”
From an old nursery rhyme author undetermined

Tiny Dancer – Elton John

Til next time Stay safe, stay sane, stay sanitized

One Liner Wednesday – Back to Work

For Linda G. Hill’s One Liner Wednesday

Do NOT make me unleash the flying monkeys!

I started back to work, part time, a couple weeks ago. This pretty well sums up my week. How about you?

Flying Monkeys Attack — Wizard of Oz

Til next time Stay safe, stay sane, stay sanitized ~JP

Monday Window – Fun Fun Fun

Red as flames in the afternoon sun
the porthole window makes me smile
tiny reminder of years long gone
of Friday nights of fun, fun, fun

For all of us who remember porthole windows, grape nehi, candy cigarettes, and $100 pickup trucks

For Ludwig’s Monday Window challenge

Fun Fun Fun – The Beachboys

Til next time ~Stay safe, stay sane, stay sanitized ~JP

Sunday Stills – A Mother’s Love

They say a mother’s love
is like a rose
rich with beauty and fragrance
giving without thought
to the shortness of it’s season

But for me it’s been more
like a cactus flower
wild, unimaginable beauty
difficult to find
impossible to forget

and prickly, very prickly

For Sunday Stills – A Mother’s Love

Mother’s Day was yesterday here in the US. It’s a mixed emotion kind of day for me as my mother and my mother-in-law are both gone many years and I still miss them. Like many other mothers, I received greetings and socially distant hugs from children and grandchildren this year and all is well. My own experience with motherhood has been fraught with joy and pain, disaster and triumph. So thanks to my Moms for the love they gave me, the insight and advice; and thanks to my children, for forgiving me the worst of my mistakes.

You and Me Against the World — Helen Reddy

Til next time ~Stay safe, stay sane, stay sanitized ~JP