Facie’s Ramblings

My friend Mel wrote a post that resonated with me. I must take a trip back over there and comment on it. Because I so get it. I am a fretter (and, spell-check, I don't care if you don't think that is a word). I worry. I ponder. I worry some more. I often wait for the other shoe to drop, as she said. But even though sometimes anxiety gets the best of me, I still continue to be a fairly optimistic person. I try to see the bright side. I count my blessings often. I take pleasure in little things, and I take pleasure in meaningless things. But whatever puts a smile on your face, so long as it is not a detriment to yourself and others, well, it can't be all that bad. As I have posted about a handful of times, Phipps is my happy place. As I have also said a number of times, it was the best $75 I spent almost two years ago, and was again one of the best uses of $75 this past January (or maybe December) when I renewed. I purchased a dual membership, which has allowed me to ta...

Phipps spring flower show came to an end almost a week ago. As usual, it was beautiful, calming, and delightful. I wish I could come up with better adjectives, but that's all I have right now. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Ah, spring!

Back in December, I posted some pics from an afternoon/evening at Phipps Conservatory. I so enjoyed my time there that I went back a week or so later to get a dual membership. Probably the best $75 I have spent on anything. (And it was more like spending $54 since I was able to put the $26 I spent that evening in December towards my membership.) Including that time, I have been to Phipps at least five times, sometimes with others and sometimes alone. I have gone to the winter show, the spring show, to something in between the winter and spring show, and then J and I went today, for the summer flower show. Maybe I will do a post of the spring show, for posterity's sake. But here is the summer show! Here are some pictures of random, pretty flowers and plants  (I have no clue what is what): Purple is my favorite color, so of course this is beautiful Right now there are trains in many rooms. Love how the yellow and pink/red mix Here are some pic...

I am going to try to keep myself from posting/uploading 50 pictures from a recent trip to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh (Oakland). If you live near Pittsburgh, you really should get yourself to Phipps before the winter light show ends on January 12. A friend, our kids, and I went yesterday, spending the late afternoon hours walking through the various exhibits before taking a good (and gingerbread martini!) break. Then, when it was dark, we went through most of the areas again, to experience the flowers draped in lights. Here is a little tour for you. First, here are a bunch of pictures from the daylight portion, mostly of flowers. My favorite is tree near the bottom of the photos below, reflecting into the water below, as well as the one room, which also reflects in the water below it. But the real sight to behold are in the photos below, which I took once the sun went down. The first set is...