Follow My Bliss: August 2014

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Those Were The Days My Friend

We thought they'd never end
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Life Magazine 1969

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Yesterday's anniversary dinner in downtown L.A.'s Bestia restaurant went great. I have to admit I had some trepidation about taking public transportation yesterday. For one thing the metro blue line is being worked on and so instead of the trains you need to take a bus. We've done this before and it works surprisingly well (better in fact in my opinion that the trains!) That's because it's an express bus that speeds you on the freeway directly to downtown instead of the normal slow stops. The problem is it stops running at 7:30. Also, as many of you know we enjoy adventures but this particular restaurant "Bestia" is in the Arts district, an industrial area which though being slowly "gentrified" and someplace I don't want to be waiting for a bus stop. So the thing is we've had this very generous gift for a couple of years from Aria and family for dinner there and we thought now is the time to use it.

Another Way To Express Ourselves

Friday, August 29, 2014

More On Bikes

"There's a certain amount of romance to bikes. They're both beautiful and utilitarian." - Dave Eggars

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Steal Away With Me

For just a minute let's let ourselves float away to somewhere dreamy...

Thank you Colleen for your cottage in Plymouth photo

Didn't that feel nice? Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Let's Be Positive

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Deep Gratitude

"At times our own light goes out
and is rekindled by a spark from
another person. Each of us has
cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the
flame within us." -Albert Schweitzer

Monday, August 25, 2014

The Kids Are Honeymooning

Happy Monday all. The newlyweds are off to honeymoon in Cabo surfboards and all. We had a wonderful night last night thanks to Lynda loaning us her duffy at the bay. Sunset on the water was beautiful. I'm taking my 16 yr old niece and sister in law to Hollywood and touring L.A. today. The fun continues.

Image may contain: 3 people, including Matthew Oliver and Lynda Dowlen, people smiling

Image may contain: 3 people, including Matthew Oliver and Lynda Dowlen, people smiling

Treat Yourself

"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." Iris Murdoch

It's the little things that are the big things in life...

Peace and Love to you always.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

What If

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Happy 33rd Anniversary to Us

To the Man I Married
Angela Manalang-Gloria

I
You are my earth and all the earth implies:
The gravity that ballasts me in space,
The air I breathe, the land that stills my cries
For food and shelter against devouring days.
You are the earth whose orbit marks my way
And sets my north and south, my east and west,
You are the final, elemented clay
The driven heart must turn to for its rest.

If in your arms that hold me now so near
I lift my keening thoughts to Helicon
As trees long rooted to the earth uprear
Their quickening leaves and flowers to the sun,
You who are earth, O never doubt that I
Need you no less because I need the sky!

II
I can not love you with a love
That outcompares the boundless sea,
For that were false, as no such love
And no such ocean can ever be.

But I can love you with a love
As finite as the wave that dies
And dying holds from crest to crest
The blue of everlasting skies.

The Pursuit of Happiness

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."-Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1809-1865)

This link will take you to a delightful, concise and very clever look at a great man, Abraham Lincoln's, life. I hope you will be able to view this. This should have been the way I learned about history. It would have made it alot more meaningful and easier to retain.

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/in-love-with-a-lincoln/?em

Friday, August 22, 2014

Pre Wedding Fun

It is a kind of "Once Upon A Time" love story.

Being born an ocean and worlds apart could not keep Matthew and Athena from meeting and falling in love. They met almost the first weekend she landed in Cork, Ireland for her semester study abroad. Mat was in Ireland for the first time and only for a weekend having flown in with friends from London. It was the Autumn of 2008 and Athena was just about to turn twenty years old. I believe one could categorize this as "Love at first sight." Their romance has lasted as they've journeyed together across continents from then until now to establish a life together. Today they will be married! We wish them well as they go forward as husband and wife. Here are a few photos to document their shared journey to this day.

Some glimpses from their journey together: