Spreading love, joy, peace, faith & unity

Archive for the ‘photography’ Category

Reblog #11 – Smile

It was September two years ago when we were in the midst of the pandemic, isolated, sequestered, missing friends and family. I posted this blog titled “Smile.” It’s time this cold, snow sparkling in the sunshine day in November to repost it. I hope it makes you smile. It brought a smile to MY face!

Smile when your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
Though there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by – if you’ll just smile!

Do you know that song?
I’ll share it with you …
Along with some things
that made me smile today:

Everyone needs a blue-footed booby for a smile!
And I dare you to look at this cross-eyed owl trying to see that ladybug – and not smile!!
This snowy egret got its feathers ruffled over SOMEthing!
I used to have a pet goat when I was a kid. This one made me smile big time!

(Change the Thursday to Friday on the following meme) And that “Good Night” can say “Good Morning” or “Good Afternoon” (depending on where you are in th world).
But before I leave you, I told you I’d share that song with you.
It’s not the current version of “Smile” by Katy Perry.
It’s the version from the 1950s when I was a kid (a freshman in high school -to be exact!)!
Here it is. Smile!


This is one of Nat King Cole’s songs that I loved the most.
Its message is so important for us in this world today.

You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you’ll just smile!

Hug each other tight…
Just like these rainbow lorikeets


SMILE!!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow.

Reblog #8 – Be at Peace

Seek the stillness
Seek the tranquility
See the peace within
The calm in you and me

Photo by Lisa Glines

Imagine a peaceful lake
Breathe contentment into your life
Relax and be a gentle presence
Turn away all stress and strife

Don’t try to hear me –
The wind drowns out my voice.
Just enjoy the scenery!

That is a video
Taking you down the driveway
to our home behind the trees

Photo by Nick Kwan on Pexels.com

Do not let the wind
Disturb your tranquility
The wind moves the clouds

The clouds paint pictures
The clouds bring much needed rain
Wind whips them away

Let the wind help you
Blow away any distress
And just be at peace

Smile, my friends!



When this post was first written,
Bob & I were headed out in the boat
to float the Madison River.
Since then, we have sold the boat.
A lot has changed in our lives.

I took this photo on my walk earlier the day this post was first written.

I took TazE for a walk by the river.
She loved it.
Today it is snowy and blowy here…
No river walks.
But I will post a few pictures to show you
what peaceful scenes our Madison River provides!

Many thanks to Ed Coyle for his talented photography

.

Come and visit us here someday!

Be at peace, my friends.

I gotcha covered in prayer.
Have a peace-filled day.


Love,
JanBeek

Reblog #1 – Most Beautiful Things

Beautiful Things
Are sometimes visible things;
Most = Invisible!

This Persian’s pretty;
Her purr’s the absolute best –
And the love she gives.

These roses are grand,
But their fragrance is the best;
And their “giver” too!

This bird is gorgeous,
But its song is the greatest –
And its Creator!

This scene’s amazing;
But the peaceful feelings here
Are magnificent.

Adorable child –
She’s so beautiful to see,
Her trusting heart’s best!

The cake’s impressive,
But memories are more grand.
Beautiful moments!

(By the way that’s us: Bob & Jan… 57 3/4 years ago)

The moments, feelings,
The sweet smiles and the laughter –
That’s where beauty lives.

Life’s luxuriant
When people and places reign.
Beautiful visions!

Thank you for being
A beautiful part of my life
In my WordPress World.
You add JOY by your presence.

See you later!

In the Winter Now

Jem Croucher, Poet’s Corner introduced to me today a new poetry form. Her blog beautifully described “In the Autumn Now” in an aaab rhyme scheme.

For those of you unfamiliar with those poetic descriptors, the aaab scheme means the first three lines all rhyme, but not the 4th one.

The fun thing about her last line is that it was the poem’s title and it was repeated in each of the four stanzas. Brilliantly done! (There are probably other rules to this rhyme form, like 7 or 8 syllables to create rhythm on each line… but I’m not sure I can do that! So will just go with the rhyme scheme and number of lines for now.)

I’m going to try my hand at this poetry form, but as you know if you saw my post yesterday, we – here in Ennis, MT – are “In the Winter Now.” Alas, our fall colors are buried under several inches of snow. Beautiful, but – oh my – too early for me!

From my kitchen window

October snow fell softly

The view from our dining room
Through the screen of my bathroom window –
Look up – can you see the icicles?

October snow – unseasonable
Way too early – unreasonable
Return of colors – unfeasible
In the Winter now

Lack of wind – delightful
Snow in clusters – rightful
Blue sky returning – eyeful
In the Winter now

Howling winds return – disappointing
Wind chimes play – enjoying
Returning storm looms – annoying
In the Winter now

Tasting falling snowflakes – purely
Venturing out in the snow – securely
Getting skis ready – prematurely
In the Winter now

Wanna try your hand at this poetic form?
Go ahead … give it your best shot.
It’s fun!

For a really good example of the form,
check out Jem’s
In the autumn now
It’s delightful!

Send your poem to Jem Croucher
She’d be delighted to hear from you.

Speaking of fun –
Look at that photo of us –
100 years ago –
Ready for winter!

Hah!
See ya later.
Stay warm.
Love, JanBeek

Sweet Swiss Times

Our weekend began with a cloudy day in Sierre, Switzerland, but soon the sky cleared and the weekend was sunny and beautiful.

It was a beautiful fun-filled time with family and friends. Let me share some highlights with you. We’re having such sweet Swiss times! One highlight of our weekend was a choir festival in Véraz (near Sierre) where our daughter, DeDe, and grandson, Chris, sang with the Chippis choir.

Every day here in this beautiful country is full of the blessing of family and friends. Sweet catch-up time. I love sharing the fun with you.

Me with DeDe at the choir festival
Bob with DeDe

After the festival, we went to André’s brother’s fiancée’s place for a raclette evening. So nice to have catch-up time with Kad & Roger.

Meantime, our friends, Jim & Terry, took the bus from Vissoie up to Grimentz where they are enjoying a few days of hiking in those fabulous mountains. They’re sharing a few photos of their experiences. Have a look!

Wow! Great photo, Terry!
Terry, the hiker
Jim … the trooper
Hah! Listen to Terry’s description of their hike and Jim’s take on this!

Yes, the mountains are alive with the sounds of water and hikers and joy! Once upon a time, a dozen years ago, Bob & I took that hike. Now we are content to enjoy those high Alpine views through others’ cameras! Oh, and from the bus- of course.

Thank you for your responses to our posts. We love sharing our trip vicariously with you, dear friends. Wish you could be here in person.

See ya tomorrow (God willing)-

Love, JanBeek

EAA Art Festival – Ennis, Montana

Hello, dear blogging friends.
It’s been a busy weekend for me.
Saturday was our Ennis Arts Association Festival.

How’s the weekend been for you?
What were your weekend highlights?

Saturday was a beautiful day
In Ennis, Montana for our 26th annual
Ennis Arts Association
Madison Valley Art Festival

The Madison Valley Art Festival is an outdoor event (held rain or shine) on the historic trail between Yellowstone National Park and Virginia City, a path well-traveled by tourists visiting the state’s national parks and historic landmarks, and fly fishing on the Madison River.

Our Presbyterian Women hold their annual fundraiser at the festival.
They sell baked and canned goods donated by the MV Presbyterian Church members.
There were three tables full of goodies, but by 2:00 pm, this is all that was left!
We enjoyed the left-overs at fellowship after church today!

The Li’l Hog Pit had a wonderful menu
and they served the record crowd
with efficiency and delicious food.
We’re grateful to Benny and her hubby
for their expertise and availability.

Bob enjoyed his lunch with our friends, Bonny & Joel.

From 10: am to 5:00 pm,
the Tune Tanglers provided music
for the art enthusiasts.
We’re grateful for their shared talent!
They spread the gospel message
with their musical choices
as well as good ole western songs.

Artists such as talented painter, Kathleen Van Driessche,
come from far and near.
We had 61 artists in 54 booths this year.
Something for everyone!

I walked around and admired all the
paintings,
pottery,
photography displays,
jewelry,
woodworking,
metal sculptures,
etc.

If I wasn’t saving my money
for or upcoming Swiss trip,
I might have convinced Bob
to get this wooden vase
(with a glass insert)
for me.
I love it!

But the price tag said,
“Not this year, Jan!”

As the afternoon wore on,
the shade was especially appreciated.
We had an unusually calm day
(without our typical Madison Valley wind)
and the temperatures reached into the 90s.

We were happy to return home to our home
where we had opened it up to the cool (50 degree) night air
and closed it up during the day. Ah, God is good!
Life is good! Praise Him for our artists, musicians,
Ennis Art Association workers who set up and took down,
and all the people who came out to support the event.

Maybe next year you can plan to come join us for the last weekend in July.
Ya think?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Maybe later today…

Love,
JanBeek

Git Walkin’

This is the week to git walkin’ –
It’s time to git off m’ butt –
Time to leash the pup.
Git outta this home-bound rut!

So off to the park
On this beautiful day –
Git walkin’ before the sun
Warms too much and I wanna stay.

Git m’ hubby to come
And join me in the park.
We’ve got a gorgeous place –
Let’s go before it gits dark!

Take the pup to the river
And enjoy the midday sun.
Let the hubby walk her –
They’ll both have fun!

Bob & TazE
@Lion’s Club Park

With my trusty camera
I’ll git some photos fir ya.
Come walk a spell with me.
Come close – let me stir ya!

Ready? Let’s walk!!

It’s a gorgeous blue-sky day.
There’s not another soul in sight.
We’ve got the park to ourselves –
The day looks mighty bright!

Ya gotta come in person
If you wanna read this sign –
Can’t tell ya about it
Not even the upper headline.

It’s so peaceful to be
In this place with only me
And my hubby and my dog.
Let’s sit a spell and just BE!

Didja bring along a snack?
We could sit here and eat.
Give our pup a treat
And get off our weary feet.

But, no that’s not why we came.
We came to just git walkin’ –
So git a move on, Jan,
And quit yer silly talkin’!

TazE says the day is heating up
So we gotta keep on movin’ –
Whistle a tune as you jog.
Exercise the dog and get groovin’!

Around the back side of the park
The scenery changes a lot.
Fields of baled hay and no shade –
Now it’s starting to get hot!

Don’t you love these round ones?
They were square in fields back home.
Things are done differently
When you git out and roam.

Looking beyond the hayfield,
You can see a ridge halfway up.
That’s where our place is located.
It’s a great neighborhood, yup!

Walking back into the shade
Of the tree-lined park, we see
A gazebo on the lawn out there.
Wanna come sit a spell now with me?

No, it’s heating up; let’s move.
I was surprised as I walked on
To see my friends from the Manor
Having a picnic out on the lawn.

That’s some of the folks
That I lead Bible Study with weekly.
When they saw me out of context,
Some greeted me quite meekly.

Isn’t it wonderful that friends
From our local nursing home
Can get into the van and travel
To the park and watch others roam?

When I saw a couple of the kids
From our neighborhood at play,
Their greetings were robust!
Their smiles and hugs made my day!

Time for a potty stop before
Heading home to get some rest.
I’m so grateful to the Lion’s Club
For their park. Kudos to Cherrie and the rest

Who work to keep it pristine.
It’s a gift to our community.
We plan to walk there most days.
Aren’t you glad today you joined me?

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek


Walk with me
through the darkness.
Pick me up each time I fall.
You’ll bring light and erase the starkness!

(Love Randy’s invitation in the song below)

Bloganuary#20 – Favorite Photo

Check out my response to the #Bloganuary prompt #20.
Click on the link above.

By the way, I love that photo of Bob back in his beekeeper days when he permed his hair. Don’t you? It was taken in our house in Modesto, CA with our Boston, Jacques. He had funny buck teeth (the dog, not Bob).

Do you know why Bob curled his hair? He hates to wear hats. As a beekeeper with naturally oily hair, bees loved to buzz in there and sting his scalp. The curls lifted the hair off the scalp and dried out the oiliness. The bees left his head alone. Interesting, huh?

I hope you enjoy the collection of photos I put on the Bloganuary site today.

Tell me, can you choose a favorite photo that you have taken?

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Embrace Clear Roads

The sky is gray – The roads are clear – Your prayers are felt – our God is so dear!

Our Creator is magical- This world is astounding – We see His handiwork – His care is resounding!

Everywhere we look we marvel – at the beauty everywhere – So travel with us, dear friends – We’re happy we can share.

See ya later.

Love, JanBeek

Embrace Safe Travels

Thank you so much for your prayers for our safe travel and clear roads and beautiful weather. Your prayers were answered.

That was the area we were most worried about: Island Park, Idaho. It was so perfect today. God is good! We could not have asked for more perfect weather and more beautiful road conditions! You were with us, dear friends. Thank you!

Perfect sunset!!

Enjoying a relaxing dinner in Elko, Nevada.

Bob & I traded off driving. It made the 500 +/- miles go much more smoothly.

Have a good night – and continue your prayers, please. They worked!!

Meantime, in Switzerland, DeAna & André are enjoying a busy December at Relais des Mélèzes – their beautiful Swiss chalet/hotel/restaurant in Vissoie, Switzerland. They are in need of health and healing prayers. Can you add them to your very effective prayers, please?

Thanks so much! See ya tomorrow (God willing) … another 500 miles to go through, up & over Donner Pass – Lord, hold off the storm!

Amen?

Tag Cloud

%d