I'm not looking it up, but I bet a dictionary definition would be along the lines of beauty being something that is pleasing to look at in terms of coloring, design, symmetry, balance, and so on. That would be my definition when it comes to nature, art, architecture and that sort of thing. Beautiful things are interesting, inspiring, engaging, and often calming to gaze at and contemplate. Beauty in people has other layers of meaning. A beautiful person may have pretty eyes, flawless skin, great hair, and a trim figure; but the old saying about beauty being more than skin deep is definitely true about people. Beautiful people may or may not have those physical attributes; but I think it is kindness, joy, and peace that really makes a person beautiful and somehow that shows in their eyes and their countenance in a way that isn't easy to explain!
No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. ~John Keats
I've traveled by train a few times. When I was growing up, it wasn't at all unusual for us to take the train (Via Rail) from Calgary to Winnipeg and back to visit family. When I was 19, I took the Via Rail from Toronto to Winnipeg and back. As a young mom I took Amtrak from Philadelphia to Grand Forks (and back) with my two little boys. My parents picked us up in Grand Forks and took us to Winnipeg so we could visit family. We traveled by coach every time and while it wasn't as comfortable or private as having a sleeper car, it was fine and we enjoyed it. Being the only adult traveling with two small children was a little stressful, and I wouldn't do it that way now, but thirty or so years ago it was a little bit different. We've taken several short day excursions on steam trains over the years as well. My husband and I have often talked about doing an Amtrak train trip across the United States, or the Rocky Mountaineer in western Canada, which is something we might do once we retire. I've wanted to go on an Alaska cruise for decades, and the one that's most appealing to me is the combination of cruise and rail.
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| Me and my dad - he's the train enthusiast of the family! We all went on a day excursion on the steam train in Cumberland, MD several years ago |
3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells . . . choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.
I'm going with "bandshell" because it's related to being on stage and performing music. I don't like to think of it as performing, but in a sense I'm on stage almost every week as a musician and singer in the church worship team. And with Scioto Valley Chorus, I am performing, though not on a stage every week! We are currently preparing to be on the International stage in about six weeks, and we have a send-off show coming up in about a month.
Eggs . . . I enjoy omelets, scrambled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs . . . and eggs are an essential ingredient in a whole lot of other foods I enjoy. I do like tacos, but much prefer soft tacos so that's less shell-like. And I like pistachios, but they don't rise to favorite level.
Birthdays have been sort of a low-key big deal in our family. We make a big deal of the "birthday kid" but seldom have huge parties. As we've gotten older, birthdays were even less likely to have a big party. We're not always together to celebrate, but we do send gifts and call. When we are together, it usually means a birthday dinner at the restaurant of the birthday person's choosing. One fun thing we usually do is sing "Happy Birthday" in the most hilariously and ridiculously awful way we can!
My birthday will be a big deal this year, because I hit a milestone number! The big SIX-OH. And since my birthday is right after Christmas, and we now have a house that has room for houseguests, I have been pretty shameless in letting the kids know that Christmas will be at our place this year, for the entire family, because that's what I want for my birthday. Thankfully, everyone seems to be okay with that and I haven't had to guilt anybody into it. Haha.
Does anyone else use InLinkz for link parties? I think maybe they just cancelled the legacy subscription I had and bumped me down to the free version, which limits me to only two open link parties at a time, and won't let me share the link-up code with a co-host. I got no warning about this so I'm confused. Though not surprised, really, because that is how everything works on 'the interwebs'. It's free or a low price until someone arbitrarily decides that it's not. I'd like to think it's a glitch, but I suspect it's not. Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same surprise downgrade. Guess I'll be rethinking the scheduling of my link parties because I regularly have three open at a time, so that's annoying. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, I guess, but it is my random thought at the moment.
What's a big deal for you this week? Leave a comment and let me know!
I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic here: WQ - Best Friends. I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.
OH that will be so fun to have the whole family together for Christmas/ your birthday. I've just started looking into land and sea Alaska cruises as I'd really like to explore more of (some of) the national parks if we ever make it all the way over there. A train would be a real fun aspect, I think. Especially seeing Dara's photos she took on their train in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteWe want to do a big vacation next summer for our anniversary, so maybe the Alaska cruise will be in the mix for that. I love seeing others' photos of Alaska too. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteI have always used Linkytools. It was free when I started but there's a yearly fee which is reasonable. I never have more than two going (normally just one) so am not sure if there's a limit on how many parties you can have going at the same time. The host (Brett) has been very nice to deal with and helpful too. This is our year for Christmas (we alternate with the in-laws), but my sons-in-law have tricky schedules in terms of getting us all in the same place, same time. I try to keep my expectations in check, but am a work in progress : )
ReplyDeleteI may have to switch to Linkytools if the new restrictions on InLinkz aren't workable for me. Like I have time to learn a new platform! LOL We'll see what happens. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteYou are so right in saying beautiful people have kindness, joy, and peace and that makes them beautiful. You’re so right -- it shows in their countenance (and can distract from a bad hair day!!).
ReplyDeleteRegarding link parties and the problem you encountered, I’m not much into that but Blogger has been acting odd in recent weeks in some other areas. That’s been frustrating, too.
Seems like there's always one platform or website or another that is making big changes or having issues. Guess we just have to accept that it goes with the territory.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting!
You've taken some neat train rides! Trains seem like a pretty good option for traveling long distances without flying. I've never really considered it before but I don't think we live in a very train centric area. I have never hosted a link party and don't intend to; I appreciate everyone who does! There have been three major glitches with blogger recently that I'm aware of. You are on stage a lot. That is cool to use the talents God gave you!
ReplyDeleteMost of my train trips have been relatively short - two days at most. I wonder how I'd feel about a whole cross country trip - definitely need a sleeper car for that, especially at my age! LOL
DeleteI enjoy being on stage, usually, and I love being able to share music with others and especially being able to honor God with music.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Well, that stinks about InLinkz. Seems a lot of technology has been on the bum this past week. I'll have to check out your linky parties.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I can figure out a way to keep on with InLinkz, even if I have to make some adjustments. I'd love to have you visit my parties! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteI love what you wrote about beauty.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for travelling with two small children, that would have been my worst nightmare when my two were little.
I chose eggs too, they are good for so many different meals.
Ohh! How exciting to be hitting 60 and having the whole family there to celebrate you.
back when my kids were little my husband didn't have enough vacation time to join us for long visits to my family, so that's why I traveled by myself with them a few times. I actually think going by train with them was easier than flying!
DeleteI am definitely looking forward to my birthday this year - not the number of candles on the cake nearly so much as the opportunity to have the family together for it!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Eggs for the win! And I think you are the only one who chose bandshell. I didn't even know what it was....lol!!
ReplyDeleteLOL at being alone in the bandshell - maybe I should have dug up a picture of a bandshell to include! I thought about it. I'm off to see what others chose. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteNeed to do a HodgePodge post. It has been awhile. I always enjoy pondering the questions and reading everyone else's answers.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone takes advantage of your holiday invite and piles into your new home for the holidays. Won't that be fun!! I was hoping my Ft. Worth daughter would come home for Christmas this year but doesn't sound like that is going to happen. Maybe next year.