Time For Dahlias!

"I must have flowers, always and always."

~Claude Monet

I agree! Flowers are one of the very things that make life worth living. I love flowers of all kinds, well, with one exception... the fuchsia. Do I think they are pretty? You bet! But, alas, they are the one flower that I am hopelessly allergic to. But bring on the dahlias, sunflowers, freesia, stock, violets, and roses of course! But for now, lets just talk dahlias.

The Dahlia Garden, in Golden Gate Park, is one of the parts of summer I look forward to. The sight of the garden bursting with color, and small flying insects, never fails to make me smile! It's gorgeous! And I never stop marveling at home many varieties of the flower there are!

The dahlia is beloved the world over. It is the official flower of San Francisco, the official emblem of Mexico, and in Japan, they are a symbol of good taste. I can see that, it's a lovely, long lasting garden flower that blooms into the autumn. With as many colors, sizes and shapes they come in, it makes it the perfect flower to landscape with. I am seriously considering adding a couple different dahlias to the rose garden next summer. We'll see.

Golden Gate Park Dahlia Garden
Part One
Photographed On July 10th 2013



Isn't the dahlia a lovely flower?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: Before And After

"Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick."

~Henri Cartier-Bresson

RRC: Before and After

See that cutie above? That's my Dylan. You might say... we picked each other out. LOL. The day we met, he was sad, having just been left behind when his mother was hit by a car, and I was sad to, having just lost my cat Elvis just a few weeks earlier. I think we connected through our shared grief. Elvis was the last kitten in his mother's litter, so when she died he needed to know he wasn't alone, he needed a mother, and I needed a little boy who needed me. It's love. We are family.

But Before Dylan... Came Hendrix...


He is my boy to, but he and Alan bonded first. Alan is his person. But when he needs a mommy, he comes to me. LOL. They are my two boys! :)

Now, here are the rest of my Before And After subjects...

A Beautiful Butterfly


Potatoes Ready For Planting And The Leaves A Few Weeks Later


Fireworks From 2005...


Dahlias From The Golden Gate Park Dahlia Garden 2012


Okay, that's my contribution for this round. Be sure to go see what everyone else has posted for this challenge! We have some wonderful photographers who participate in the Round Robin Challenges! Just click the link at the top of this post to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog, where you can find the list of participants, and all the information you need to play along!

~Me :)

Now My Mood Is Yellow

From For Ellipsis

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want... oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"

-Mark Twain

It's raining. I love the rain, but I am so ready for winter to be over. Sigh. Oh well, I can sit around feeling blue, or I can focus on the yellow moments in life. If spring has an official color, I am pretty sure it's yellow.

-Carly

Butterflies Flying In Formation

"Nerves and butterflies are fine - they're a physical sign that you're mentally ready and eager. You have to get the butterflies to fly in formation, that's the trick."

-Steve Bull

I have been experiencing some butterflies recently. The stress has been coming in waves. I don't know, a lot is going on for me I suppose, and I only have three more sessions with Sarah, before I officially retire from therapy. Sometimes when the stress gets bad, I wonder how long it will be before I go back to therapy, as opposed to standing on my own two feet, and apply what I have learned when times get rough. As bad as those moments of self-doubt can be, I know that I will be ok. I tell myself that I am not alone, and that everything I am experiencing, while new to me, isn't any different then what many others have gone through as well. Thank goodness those dark moments don't come around all that often. For the most part I have been visiting websites with information about diabetes, and learning for myself, at my own pace, what comes next.

Yesterday, I got a call from my doctor's office, telling me that she had ordered my new, OneTouch Ultra-2 starter kit, contains the meter, the test strips and the lancets. It was ready for pick-up at the Kaiser Pharmacy, so all I had to do was pick it up. Sigh. I had a full day planned, which is almost always so on Wednesdays, so I decided to pick it up on my way home from San Francisco. I needed my day in Golden Gate Park. It is my down time, after therapy. So, off I went to my appointment with Sarah, ready to face the fear of the day, learning to work my new glucose meter. I had some butterflies in my stomach most of the day, I know it won't be all that bad learning to work the meter, the fear I have is if I fail somehow. If my diabetes gets worse, even if I do the best I can to watch my intakes of sugars and carbohydrates. Sometimes, it has crossed my mind not to eat at all, because how can I go wrong that way? LOL. Yeah... I know... that would be pretty dumb. :)

So anyway, I planned out my dinner, which was take-out from Boston Market. Alan never asks me to cook on Wednesdays. :) I chose lean Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, and some veggies. I looked up the nutrition guide on the Internet before I left the house, so I could pick up something that would fit within my dietary guidelines. Isn't it neat the age we live in? We have it so much easier now then ever before, for most things. That is another thing helping me feel better about my situation, the fact that I can do a little research, and plan what to eat before I leave the house. No worries that I am about to consume something that will be very, very, bad for me. LOL.

Everything was all set. I started my day, and put the fear of picking up the meter behind me, for most of the day. I had a few butterfly moments, a couple big ones, but like the above quote, I was reminded that I was alive, and aware of the new challenge. By the time I got to the pharmacy, I was all set to pick it up, and have a consultation with the pharmacist, where I assumed they would teach me how to use the kit. LOL. Nope. When I got to the consultation window, the pharmacist told me that I needed to bring the kit to my diabetes class, which is on August 15th. Silly me. I should have realized that is when I would be learning how to use the meter. Jeepers... I need to get a grip. LOL. It's strange being diagnosed with diabetes, everything seems like it has to change right this minute. All these changes have to occur right now... and yet... there is time to go slow, and learn your way. So that's what I am doing, going slow, and learning my way. Tonight, for the first time in a couple weeks, I feel like the butterflies are flying in formation.

:)

-OndineMonet
Cabbage White Butterfly
Dahlia Garden
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
August 1st, 2007
Afternoon