A friend has a photo on his blog of a tyrannosaurus rex, and I remain intrigued by how it relates to his life or point of view. I think I'm a bit less cryptic than he is, or perhaps just more wordy. The photo above is of a century plant blossom. It was taken near where I live. Here is another photo I like, of Rattlesnake Canyon near the famous Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Both photos are related to this blog because in each life there is beauty, if we are not blinded by our expectations. I drove down the scenic drive that passes Rattlesnake Canyon recently with someone who could only see what it was not - thus she missed the beauty of what it was.

Pouring tea into the flood waters

With the flood of blogs on the net, one might legitimately ask why I'm adding my own glass of tea to the verbal waters. The answer is that I want to write. More specifically, I want to record my process, and perhaps stay better on track, as I spend about two hours a day for the next year writing what I hope is a memoir or biographical novel. My life is not unusual, I think, but it has been eventful, and I wonder if it might be instructive to others. I have a cousin, a glorious woman with her own full life and wonderful attitude, who often sends me jokes and quips. Her most hilariously personal was "Take heart: If you can't be a wonderful role model, you can still act as a horrible warning." I wonder, which, if EITHER, this year will leave me thinking I am.