Dear Reader:

A few weeks ago I took a leap of faith and cut back all the brittle brown stems on ” Big Red” my ” historic geranium. It looked sad and pathetic then but the gamble paid off… green stems are now producing green buds who in turn produce fresh, bright red blooms.

The other evening, after closing up the other apartment side, I turned on the porch lantern and stood there awestruck. The filtered lantern light lit up one fresh bright red bloom…even casting a shadow.

I ran to get my mobile phone and took a picture …thinking it would never take without a flash spoiling it … ( darkness had fully descended) but it did-with a visual clarity that took my breath away.

I had heard artists and photographers talk about the magical ” Golden Hours” ( the first hour of light just after dawn-the last hour of light before sunset.) I had not heard of the magical ” Blue Hour” -segment of time just after sunset dusk… when the sky is indigo and inky but in my case it was just plain dark outside when I took the picture.

The ” magical” blue in this picture is nestled beneath the bloom inside the stem and leaves-a glowing blue light? Do you see it? Nothing was there-rechecked it the next morning … Anne goes for ” UFO?” Why not?🤣 As good a guess as any?

The longer I live… the more convinced I am that we are surrounded by magic every hour of every day… and to see or experience it… we must believe that the extraordinary dwells among the ordinary. And remember to stop and take a second glance at the world.

So until tomorrow… ” Life is too short to miss the magic of each and every day. ”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday Jo Dufford surprised me by celebrating ” It’s Not Your Birthday … It’s You’re Alive and Thinking of You” Day! Jo knows exactly what I have been talking about in this blog post… if you don’t see magic… Make It! Give it to Someone Else! I just happened to be the happy recipient!

The bag was filled with all kinds of surcies… including a miniature garden gnome and a large one-they explained in a message that they normally lived underground helping seeds and bulbs grow-sprinkling their magic! But when they appeared on top of the ground they brought good luck! Thank you dear friend!!! You made my day!

Anne is stretching her indigo ideas into making Carp ( fish) kites. An upcoming theme at the Public Art Works Center is ” Release” and one of Anne’s kites ” Carp Koinibon” ( center piece for the exhibit) is called ” Catch and Release” -remembering ” Children’s Day in Japan May 5. Children have to learn the art of finesse in elevating these fish kites …picking up the wind, running backwards and finally releasing screams of joy!!!

Before signing off this evening my friend Libby and her wonderful family needs prayers-lots of them!

Libby tripped down some stairs in her son’s house …broke her right arm and fractured a vertebra in her neck. She was rushed to one Columbia Hospital and early in the morning rushed to another where she will remain in one of the trauma unit floor rooms for now.

Good news… she has avoided surgery-at least for now… while her recovery is watched and evaluated. Of course casts and braces are in order and then lots of recovery time.

Libby’s amazing daughter, Betsy, a Junior Ya, has kept the rest of us up to date on everything and Libby is coherent… nothing short of a miracle. God has heard our prayers! The Power of Prayer is a force of the Divine!!! Let’s keep them coming! Thank you… accompanied by praise!

**** Libby is 3rd from the front…