The road and oil for the machinery of life

"You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety." ~ Abraham Maslow

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." ~ Denis Waitley

"I see that I am inwardly fashioned for faith and not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear and doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry my being is gasping for breath — these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence I breath freely — these are my native air." ~ Eli Stanley Jones

And one more, because there is an oppositional duality that seems to permeate this season for me and besides it made me laugh:

"Mondays are the potholes in the road of life." ~ Tom Wilson (Ziggy creator)

;-)

Unconscious Mutterings Week 102

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Yoda:: wise one
   
2. Mensa:: Mensa International
   
3. Pink:: consumer goods with manufacturer donations to breast cancer research
   
4. Text message:: sometimes smiles; once upon a time most of them caused my feet to leave the ground
   
5. Galactic:: journey
   
6. Chicks:: Dixie
   
7. Quesadilla:: with guacamole, a nice snack or even sometimes a meal
   
8. Backpack:: have several; none of them adjust to suit me with a heavy load; only used for books these days, rarely a short day hike
   
9. Socket:: wrench
   
10. Compromise:: sometimes the only solution; sometimes there isn't one

Want to play? Go to Unconscious Mutterings.

Space stories and pics

There are a number of stories that caught my eye today at Space.com.
A sampling:
Huygens Probe Returns First Images of Titan's Surface

Space.com- Best Images of 2004 - Vote

And with a headline sounding like it is straight out of the tabloids:
ET Visitors: Scientists See High Likelihood

It's been a while since I had a little time to spare other than a mad dash around a few blogs and some news headlines. This was a nice little diversion.

BLUE SKY at last!!! My son needed a ride to work in La Crescenta today- this is the window shot on the way home. I continue to be amazed at this tiny camera, even though I can't tell exactly what I am shooting before hand. My eyes can't see that small, not necessarily the camera's fault- so every shot is a guess.  

The sun is out!

We have mostly sunshine and large patches of blue sky!!!! We still might have a shower or two, but my spirit feels lighter already.

On another note, I stumbled onto a free photography course- Jodies Coston's Free Online Photography Course at Morguefile. The class is finished, but the ten lessons are still online for self study. Actually Morguefile looks rather interesting to wander around.

found via My Word with Douglas E. Welch

So much devastation

Compared to what is going on elsewhere in and near Los Angeles county, I should feel fortunate that I only had to deal with a little street flooding and road closures. I might have been soggy after my little trek- and first time adventure on Metrolink, but I was safe.

We have had mudslides, people dead, real flooding, roads washed out completely, lots of swift water rescues and then of course a few recoveries (which is code for retrieving a body), dams about to overflow, and many evacuated places waiting for what will happen next.

One more night and day of rain and then we might get to dry out.

Of course, even this is nothing compared to the horrible devastation from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

This is the view before I boarded the Metrolink- bleak and dreary.  

One of two views snapped from the train window. I kept missing the best river shots, but was surprised this tiny camera captured what it did while we were moving.  

The view out the window from the Metrolink, on the way to Union Station this afternoon-
This river is usually only a trickle at the bottom of a very, very, deep concrete ravine.  

Another wet grey day

We have yet another day of rain here in Los Angeles and we aren't equipped for this amount. The road just outside of our culdesac is a little raging creek from Foothill northward towards Tujunga Wash. They patched part of the pavement late last week, but it has washed out again. We are getting water from the uphill parts of Foothill Blvd. and water from the storm drain that is seeking the path of least resistance. Apparently that path is out of the storm drain into the street.

Fortunately I have another way out, but I won't drive on the freeways in the rain except in an emergency. If I could, I would just stay home, but I have no options so I am headed out to try out Metrolink again today. The flooding at one of the major streets I must cross, supposedly still leaves one lane open- so I should be able to get to the station. Cross your fingers for me, please.

What makes me really uneasy is that in order to stay for the second class tonight, I will still need to leave shortly after it begins. And even that is taking the last bus that will get me to the last train going my way. If I miss that train, I am stuck at Union Station. There are no buses home at that hour and no more trains.

I like the green hills and I like the spring flowers that will come later, but we are way over our seasonal rain totals. Will somebody please send back the sun...