I’m Just Me….

I’m not perfect.  I’m me.

I’ve made bad decisions and wrong choices, but I’m me.

I’ve said the wrong things,  I’ve said the right things, because I’m me.

I don’t like everything I’ve done, but I did it because I’m me.

I’ve love the wrong people and trusted the wrong people, and I’m still me.

If I had a chance to start again, I wouldn’t change a thing.  Why?   Because I’m me!

There are a lot of good things about me,

You just need to look past the imperfections to see what’s right.

If you can’t do that, then it’s your loss. I’m the best I can be.  I am me!

Glass Bug

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled

~Beautiful Photos courtesy of Tracie Louise Photography.  Thank you Tracie

Autumn is in the Air…..

This header picture of the Boondooma Homestead Gardens was taken by my dear friend, Tracie Louise Photography, somewhere in the Darling Downs of Queensland, Australia  during her early fall.  It is now her Spring and we are heading into Autumn and then on to Winter here in Oregon.  The rains have started, but thankfully not the days on end kind.   Next to the fresh Oregon Springs, early Fall days place second for me.  The morning air is crisp, with that hint of fog, from having a warming through the day before.  The leaves are turning rapidly it seems this year, even though we haven’t had any frost yet.

As much as I have put it off, it is time to think about turning on the heat in the morning and evening.  It is time to button down the hatches and get ready for the next 6 months of shorter, gloomy, Winter Oregon days.  Not to long and we will have to move our clocks back and it will be dark when we go to work and when we come home.  That is fine though, it’s the way we roll out here “On The Road Less Traveled”

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled!

Renewable Resources

Since I have been so distracted with my new project, my blog and my home have taken a back seat.  Today in my quest for a topic, I have realized we are surrounded by renewable resources.   Some living here in Oregon, who may see the rain and our weather as a hindrance, for me it is what keeps Oregon green.  I am not speaking of Green as environmentally friendly, such as recycling though Oregon is big on recycling, but Green because of our color.  The weather here definitely make for some very good conditions for Renewable Resources.

For me the Renewable takes on many venues. Be it the Laundry that comes back day after day,  The dirty dishes that seem to stack up and it’s only me in the house and then there is my yard.  The grass  is definitely renewable,  It seems just like yesterday that I mowed it.  With the rain we been having, it has renewed itself, Back are those tall blades of grass blowing in the wind.  Dandelions, which have now gone from pretty yellow flowers, to the little round puffs of seeds that as children we would pick and blow to the wind, making a wish.  Little did I know then, why the neighbor disliked us doing that.  Blowing new  little Dandelion seeds into their beautiful landscaped lawn.

My flower beds are full of renewable’s as well.  The weeds we pull for hours at a time, clearing out to see the beauty of the garden, are now back in full force.   Some of the weeds look very nice, but they can take over all to quickly.

Intermission…….

 ……. Back from the brief interlude,

actually it has been a couple of hours.

It started to sprinkle outside and I needed to take care of some of my Renewable Resources.  Yes,  I got out and mowed my lawn.  My furry companions, decided that they would rather be in the house and not outside in the rain, but for me it was very refreshing.

While I was out working with great vigor, finishing before the big downpour, I thanked God for what I have.  Thanking him that I have a lawn to mow and that I live in Oregon where the refreshing rain keeps us green.

Some may see it as a big chore taking care of the renewable resource that comes with that rain, but then there are some that would give anything now to see the rain and green.  I prayed for those that live in Colorado, that have lost it all.  Prayed for those that are on the front lines of the fire, working so hard to save Humans, Homes, Wildlife and Nature.

Next time you think that it is such a chore taking care of those renewable resources that surround you, remember to not take anything for granted.  Be thankful for what you have, for there are those that would give anything to have what you do.

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

Thank you Tracie Louise Photography, for sharing these wonderful photos from Queensland, Australia

Memorial Rose

With Memorial Day coming upon us, there are many we can thank and remember.  I would like to thank all of our Men and Women Soldiers stationed all over this world, that give of their lives.  Protecting and serving,  helping to keep the world a better and safer place.  They don’t know me by name, but they are willing to give it all so that I can have peace and freedom.  So Thank You for Serving!!

Grandpa Harry’s Rose

This time of year also takes me to back to years gone by.  A time to look back  and reflect about the loved ones that are not with us any longer and the legacy that they have left.  Some things may seem small, like remembering the Grandma that always made the Cookie care package at Christmas.  The other Grandmother that made the BEST Apple Pie and Potato Salad in the world.  My Grandpa Harry, or Pop as I would call him, sitting in the morning on his knee, as he sat on the old blue kitchen stool.  He would be drinking his morning coffee, before heading out to milk the cows.

My Dad drove a log truck for many, many years.  I remember riding along with him early in the mornings, watching the sun come up over the dash-board, as we bumped along the logging roads.  The smell of the fresh-cut timber,  awwww….. as good as the smell of fresh mowed grass.  Every time I smell the sap running in the warm Fir Trees, it brings back those fond memories of  those wonderful days.

Growing up on the Oregon Coast, getting up early in the morning, heading to the beach to dig for Razor Clams.  At that age, I didn’t do much digging, but I had the fun of running around on the beach, collecting whole sand dollars, drift wood and always on the lookout for the elusive Japanese Glass Float.  To this day sitting and walking on the beach, brings a calm.  It brings clarity and rejuvenate my soul.

Pop’s Rose Legacy

So many wonderful memories of the years gone by.  I am very fortunate to have one living memory still with me to this day.  It is what I call Grandpa Harry’s Rose.  It is a Rose bush moved from their farm in Knappa, Oregon to their house in Portland.  My mom had it after my grandfather passed away and now it lives at my house.  I don’t know what her official name is, but oh what a beautiful site she is.  Grandpa always said there was nothing more beautiful and perfect than the rose.  Well she is blooming again…. Oh what a beauty.  Grandpa Harry’s Memorial Rose is a legacy that I will continue to nourish,  until it’s time to pass it on to the next generation.

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

Header picture by Tracie Louise Photography.  Thank you for your beautiful work.

Bad Moon Rising

Excerpt from Bad Moon Rising

by: John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival

I see the bad moon arisin’
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin’
I see bad times today

Don’t go around tonight
Well, it’s bound to take your life
There’s a bad moon on the rise

Wow does that ever date me….. Got to love the Music from the 70’s.  When I saw this picture that my friend Tracie Louise Photography took, a couple of weeks ago, it reminded me of this song.  Don’t get me wrong the photo is amazing.

Sometimes we can surely feel this way.  That life is like a Bad Moon Rising, that there is trouble on the way.  No matter what we do something is going to go wrong.  Things just aren’t going to work out for us.  We ask God why?  Why do these things always happen to me?  Can’t I ever get a break in this life and things finally go right?

Recently such as life is….. We have been graced by one of those wonderful occasions, someone stole my son’s car.  Like wow, great…. now what are we going to do?  He is off at school working so hard to finish up his degree in Civil Engineering,  far from home and now not able to come home if he could.  Again, I worried and worried as a mom does, wondering what and how we where going to get him through this.

I know that this wasn’t the work of God, he doesn’t do things like this.  But he does give us free will and those bums that took his vehicle used their free will wrongly.  Then it came to me, Opportunity.  We can use this bad as an opportunity to have something good come out of it.  Like when life gives you Lemons, make Lemon Aid.  It may not have been God’s doing for this to happen, but he is now creating an opportunity for us to have something better.

Oh how wonderful life is.  Yes there maybe some bumps in my Road Less Traveled, but we can turn this around and make sure they don’t turn in to pot holes.  Not sure the road will get paved on this one, but it will be a smooth ride in the end.  So next time you see that Bad Moon Rising, coming up around the Bend, tell it to just keep moving along….. I am drinking my Lemon Aid.

Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

Thank you Tracie Louise Photography of Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia for the wonderful pictorial inspiration.

 

4 Tunnels…

I took this header picture last summer in central Wyoming.  We were on the road to Thermopolis, Wyoming, passing through the Wind River Canyon.  From this vantage point there are 4 separate tunnels and 5 tunnel that is out of the picture on the right side.  It was very cool.

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled

PS:  To all my wonderful followers… I apologize for the lack of postings lately.  I am working on a very BIG project now that is taking up all my downtime with study.  I promise, I will be back on the blogging boards soon.   I am so totally out “ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED” now.  Stories to follow.  Thank you for your patience.  ~Franny

Saturation

My friend recently posted a picture on her blog at Tracie Louise Photography and the comments where referring on how she had turned up the saturation or something with her camera settings.  I guess it has something to do with the light….. I am clueless

There is a saturation that I am familiar with here in Oregon…   that is how much rain soaked into the ground.

I Love the Rain!  The rain is like the life of the earth. It gives strength, it cleanses and refreshes, It gives life to our souls.

What we need to remember is ….

Don’t wait for the Storm to pass, Learn to Dance in The Rain!

The Painted Lady Butterfly

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled

Photography provided by Tracie Louise Photography,  Thank you Tracie your work is amazing to me.

Blogging Tips: Growing a Readership

I am not sure how to share this with my followers.  Still a Newbie on some of this.  This is a great blog from my friend over at Kana’s Chronicles.  Lots of great information for us Newbie bloggers and reminders for the Veterans.

Blogging Tips: Growing a Readership.

Enjoy.  ~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

Another Year….

Today is my Birthday…. ta, dah, da, dah…. sort of goes with the song from the Beatles White album.  Anyway, Just another year older.  It’s just another day.  Another year behind me.  Another year ahead On The Road Less Traveled.   Lots of ways to look at it.

By the Grace of God I am still here for another year.  Thank you Jesus for giving your life for me, that I am saved.

Lots of busy stuff going on this last week, so I have gotten behind in my postings.  Not to worry… I have some great topics coming through the gray hair… LOL.

Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday Wishes.  ~Franny

~Oregon Smiles with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

The Relic

When I first hear the word “Relic” I think of something very old.  Someone or something that maybe an antique or part of history, from  a very long time ago.  Funny thing is lately I have been referred to as someone’s Grandma.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind being called a Grandma,  I am a Gramma of a wonderful little baby boy.  Also, I would be very proud as this person’s relative.  She is a wonderfully, talented young woman and I am very proud she is my BFF’s daughter.  Maybe it’s the gray hair.. maybe I am starting to look old… maybe I am a Relic.

I might have a history, in fact I know I do, but I surly wouldn’t say that I am famous or a part of history.  Now some of my ancestors are a part of history, does that mean they are Relics.

What is a Relic? This is what the dictionary gives as a definition:

1. Something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared
2. An object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of a saint.

Hmmmm.. well I am a survivor, not sure if I am in the “survived the passage of time”…. well on second thought maybe…. I did grow up in the 70’s and was sort of Oregon Hippie.  I definitely am not a Saint and the good Lord can attest to that.  So I guess I am just looking old, or older, but I usually don’t feel old or a relic.  I still love a great Rock Concert, have my hearing and my own teeth.  I think it must be a state of mind, but I don’t think I am there yet.

There are lots of not so famous relics, like SS Dicky, that Tracie Louse Photography photographed on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia.

SS Dicky

It  has withstood the passage of time, laying there with an untold history in her bones.  Not only when it was functioning ship, but the stories it could tell of the visitors that have come and gone over the decades to take photos.  The stories of the storms and weather that surround it’s life on the beach.  Oh if the walls could talk.

Steamer SS Dicky was shipwrecked on a Caloundra beach which and named after her. The ship sailed from Rockhampton and as it arrived to clear Caloundra Head it met lashing rain and cyclonic winds that sent the ship on her beam ends. Captain James Beattie was forced to beach the ship to avoid hitting the rocks off Moffat Beach. On 4th February 1893 at 10.35 am the ship grounded stern first on the beach. The Marine Board of Queensland tribunal concluding the Captain showed lack of judgement in not successfully weathering Caloundra Head, for which his licence was suspended for three months.

Growing up on the Oregon Coast, we came to know the Peter Iredale.  It has weathered such storms.  As a kid we be up at the crack of dawn digging for Razor clams around the hull and a favorite destination for the local kids heading to the beach for a bonfire.  The wreck of the Peter Iredale is shown in this photograph, taken by Portland photographer Leo Simon on November 13, 1906, nineteen days after the ship ran aground near Ft. Stevens.

The Peter Iredale was a four-masted steel bark built in Maryport, England, in 1890 and owned by British shipping firm Iredale & Porter. On September 26, 1906, the Iredale left Salina Cruz, Mexico, bound for Portland, where it was to pick up a cargo of wheat for the United Kingdom.

Peter Iredale Circa 2005

Despite encountering heavy fog, they managed to safely reach the mouth of the Columbia River early in the morning of October 25.

Some have aged gracefully, The patina a glow with the age.  Oh the stories they could tell us.  Of their voyages around the world and those adventures of visitors while at their rest.  I do hope that when I am 100+ years old I can say,  that this Relic is still standing proud, watching over all that come and go.

Peter Iredale - Present Day

~Oregon Smiles… with Franny, On The Road Less Traveled.

         SS Dicky photo’s provided by Tracie Louise Photography