Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

An Old Favorite...MOM?

 

 

  That's not Mom.                                                (Why are they staring at me?) 

        Are you sure?            

  It's not Mom.                                     (Hey, guys, I didn't do it, whatever it is,

        No, too tall, I guess.                                              I didn't do it, okay?)          

 

         Mom?                                                   (Why are they standing so close?)

 

   It's not Mom.

 

 

 

When It Rains...

 

It sometimes pours!

 

 

 

 

 

St. George Street, Grover's Gallery, and Victoria's Vintage photos, St. Augustine, last Friday!

© Laine Quinn 2018

It's been awhile, but I can explain...

 

 

Little did I know that when I accidentally shot the door to this cottage in May,

(while trying to find a bird in the oak tree at dusk that was making an unusual call),

that 4 months later, I would be moving in there.

That's most of the reason for my absence!

Then there is the other,

 

my new old car!

 

And now it is Thanksgiving,

and there is much to be grateful for.

Thank you to

all the friends who helped me along the way,

clearing out and painting and cleaning and moving.

It seemed endless.

And especially to the "Land Owner" who invited me to move into her studio,

Thank You, for all.

For All.

And to the one who practically donated the car to me!

Thank you!

Thank You!

Thank You!

 

Now that things have settled down a bit, I just might have more time to Blog!

 

 

Everything has to do with loving

and not loving.

                                                         Rumi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summertime...

 

Calm mornings at the beach...

 

The sea oats are already turning from green to gold to brown,

about to drop their seeds for next spring.

 

A Poem

 

Walking down my stairs,

I see a lizard.

It turns and looks at me,

tilting her head!

 

I wonder,

WHAT does she see?

 

                              By Me

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, © Laine Quinn

 

"Hello!"

 

Do you come here often?

 

Nice view, hey?

What's your sign?

Do I know you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pigeons on top of the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, St. Augustine, Florida.

©Laine Quinn 2018

Part of A Song...

 

About America

By David Byrne

 

And I miss America

but boy can she be cruel.

I know how tall she is

without her platform shoes.

 

Nuff said..

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Love Story...

 

An affair of the heart and soul...

 

 

Where waves crash

hearts are mended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, June 2018. © Laine Quinn 2018

The Stuff Of Life...

 

Frog eggs!

Day 2, the little dots will soon be tiny tadpoles!

 

 

 

How life begins, began, begun! © Laine Quinn 2018

Determination...

 

 

This little seedling rooted itself in the crack of my deck table.

That's how all of the forests began...

one seedling at a time.

 

 

 

 

"Life's longing for itself."

© Laine Quinn, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Job...

 

...for a shrimp!

 

Great hours, 3-6, $9.79/hr, plus tips!

 

 

 

Schooners Restaurant, where everyone loves the shrimp!

© Laine Quinn, 2018

Silhouette...

 

 

A trick of the eye...

how close are they to the crashing waves?

 

No photographic tricks,

just a matter of perspective.

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, © Laine Quinn, 2018

(Zooming in with the phone, poor quality.)

Top o'the Mornin'...

 

 

 

That Moment Thing...AGAIN!

 

Stop worrying,

be here now,

or the days will slip away

in the river of time,

and THIS is all we have,

This

NOW.

 

 

 

 

Just trying to take my own advice as I ponder the reflections at Moultrie Creek, 2.02.2018.

Requited Love

 

"Are they coming?"

"Yes, I see them now."

"You look good."

"You're a sight for sore eyes too!"

"It's funny, you and me. I never imagined that I'd fall in love with...well, you!"

"Yeah, it is funny. You're not changing your mind are you?"

"No, even if I could, I couldn't change my heart. I've never felt this good before,

and I wouldn't go back for anything, you know that."

"Me too. You are the bees knees and I just love being with you.

Look at this beautiful day!"

"Isn't it glorious?"

"Better than I ever imagined it would be."

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

 

A blast from the past! From 2/15/2012.

 

Original Simplicity...

 

 

Breathe

Walk

Smile

 

                                                         Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Back to basics,

one of my first teachers'

best advice.

 

 

 

 

Sunset, Moultrie Creek, from Vaill Point.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Happy New Year, and Welcome 2018!

 

 

(And so long 2017, and Good Bye!)

(Good Riddance!)

 

Leaving a difficult year and venturing into the unknown new one.

Learning to balance the bad news and sorrows  with the joy and love that is all around.

 

Thanks to all for the Joy and Love that is all around!

 

 

 

 

Sunrise, Crescent Beach, December 26, 2017.

 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

 

Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Stay Safe and Strong!

 

 

Every Day

 

Every day the sun rises,

whether we see it or not,

the rotation of the earth allows for one sunrise and one sunset a day.

 

 

On the International Space Station the sun rises and sets about 15 times a day!

 

It's a shift in perspective,

a way different point of view!

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach sunrise, last month, 2017.

 

Beauty...

 

Let the beauty that you love

be what you do.

 

                                              Rumi

 

 

 

An Interesting Bumper Sticker...

 

This was spotted on my way home from the beach yesterday evening...

 

My life is better than your vacation.

 

So, assuming a lot, like if any of that is true,

would you be the "My" in that sentence, or the "Your"?

Maybe a little bit of both, I hope!

 

 

 

 

 

The Thing Is...

 

The thing about evacuating ahead of a powerful, deadly storm, that may or may not be a direct hit on your world, is that you say

"goodbye" to your life, your things and your home,

not knowing what you will find when you return.

 

Here in St. Augustine, most of us have been lucky -

loss of power means everything in the refrigerator and freezer must be thrown away.

Tons of debris from the trees and the mighty winds that must be cleaned up.

Days of work lost.

Lucky to be sure.

Some have lost all.

It puts things into perspective, though, saying goodbye to your physical world.

You know first hand what is really important in your world,

and it can be summed up in one word-

LOVE.

 

We are lucky, those of us who can feel the love,

lucky indeed.

 

 

 

Crescent Beach, not a Hurricane! July 11, 2017.

 

Labor Day at the Beach...

 

 

A Beautiful sunny holiday.

Lots of families out to enjoy the beach,

playing, fishing, reading in the sun.

 

An overheard conversation about Hurricane Harvey -

on people's minds -

and another Hurricane barrelling toward the islands.

 

But life must go on, if we are to make sense of any of it.

Compassion and worry are alive, but so are joy and happiness.

 

Enjoy the moments!

 

 

Labor Day, Porpoise Point, St. Augustine, Florida, 2017

 

Stuck In The Middle!

 

 

Rain to the left of me,

Rain to the right,

here I am,

stuck in the middle

with a view!

 

 

 

 

More from the Crescent Beach storm, 7.10.2017. That's the shrimp boat on the horizon!

In Between

 

 

In between the sky and the sea.

Rain clouds closing in from the south and the north.

Whenever a boat takes to the water,

there is a story to tell.

 

Storms, sea creatures,

and the one that got away.

There is always a story!

 

 

 

Crescent Beach, storms brushing by and a shrimp boat minding it's own business. 7.10.2017.

 

Lucky...

 

 

Lucky shot!

or

The Visitor.

 

 

 

 

 

Godzilla and Me...

 

There is a boy named Aden

and a creature named Godzilla,

(who is sometimes a good guy

and sometimes a bad guy)

and me.

 

Aden loves Godzilla

and he loves to draw.

 

So one day when I had on one of my striped shirts,

Aden drew this for me.

 

 

It's me and Godzilla.

(Gray wasn't available, so blue hair!)

 

It's still my favorite drawing!

 

 

(Good guy/bad guy, like nuclear energy, good guy/bad guy, Godzilla came out Japan for a reason.)

Pipe Vine

 

I thought this might be the flower of the eggplant, because of the color,

but it turned out to be a Pipe Vine,

which is host to a certain caterpillar,

which turns into a beautiful

Swallowtail Butterfly!

 

 

 

I will let you know if we get the butterflies!

After last night's rain, the larger caterpillars are missing in action.

But there are still some little ones.

 

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Music Festival

 

Every June, there are two wonderful weekends of beautiful Music

at the Cathedral in downtown St. Augustine,

with the greatest acoustics and world class musicians,

it is heavenly!

 

Handel, Mozart, Haydn,

what can I say?

 

Thank You!

 

 

The Saint Augustine Music Festival, Saturday night.

 

A Last Time For Everything...

 

 

Last call, last chance
Last song, last dance
Sometimes you just don't know when that's gonna be
Hold me baby, give me a kiss
Like tonight is all there is
Cause there's a last time for everything

 

It's a Brad Paisley  song that someone mentioned in a piece I found somewhere,

and it stuck with me.

Can we really cherish our days and nights like it's the last time?

 

Why not?

This is our life, our time, our blessings,

why not cherish them always?

 

 

 

"Last Time For Everything", by Brad Paisley.

Sunrise at Vilano Beach, St. Augustine.

 

 

 

"I didn't do it..."

 

I didn't do it!

 

 

 

 

 

"HONEY", the new kid on the block looking guilty for no apparent reason!