Off to the middle east for 12 months. She was just old enough to understand, and kept delaying the hug, because she knew that would mean he would leave. Tore me up.

This was thew last time I got to see my babies . They have all went their own way .I miss them very much . Have a great day everyone!

Explore # 420

...me! Did this really happen? BlytheCon? And I met so many of my awesome online friends? I guess that it did! It happened SO fast, but is was so wonderful! I loved meeting everyone! Thank you again to the wonderful Maggie, Julie and Kyle for making this happen!!!!

Venue Pearl...Saying Goodbye...BlytheCon 2011

In my travels, I happened upon this cowboy saying good-bye to a friend nailed to a fence post at a cemetery. Thought that B&W would give it a bit of an old time feel, and yes I could have gone sepia, but with the subject I thought simpler was better. The light was not the best for the shot, but took it anyway, never know when you will get back to something....or not..

blogged

explore(d)

Thank you

x

Part of

www.flickr.com/photos/rapidwinder/tags/autumnleaves/

and

www.flickr.com/photos/rapidwinder/tags/newtoy/

*More of my photography: www.afternooncoffee.net

dear friends, today was the memorial service and funeral of a wonderful man, a deeply spiritual man who counted his memories as treasure, and held his many friends and family members in the warmth of his heart.

will you meet me at the teahouse today, where we may reflect on those who are beloved yet no longer among us? i think my friend would have liked these words by thomas merton: "Yet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity, and, beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity."

love to you, dear friends~

and much joy~

jeanne

(this image is the scan of a color slide taken while walking among the beloved trees earlier in the year ~ i don't remember exactly when...)

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Father of the bride during a toast, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G

My sweet Sister Carol past away 11 months ago it is time to say good bye xxxxxxx on may 10 th 2014.

www.flickr.com/photos/didde/

Rest in Peace dear Carole

I love you so much

You were the sweetest person I knew on Flickr

Now you are in Heaven with God and all his Angel and you are one of them.

Simone xxxx

Leaving the Lofoten Islands after nine adventurous months in a tiny fishing village in the Arctic. On the Hurtigruten ferry, watching the midnight sun from the deck.

She is aware and thankful for everyone's kind words and sentiments however her condition is basically unchanged and this will confirm her departure from social media content posting and messaging. Thanks again for all the support over the years.

Update on TUC: She is still hospitalized from her fall in June and has a very long road to recovery and doctors can only guess that it will take months with no prognosis on the ultimate outcome--- which is very difficult news to all that know and love her. Should her condition be stabilized and/or improve she likely may not return to her regular fun activities unfortunately 😔 which includes new posts, photos and other content.

Know that she appreciates your friendship and time together online and in real life. She wishes you well in health and safety and to take care, travel safe and have safe fun.

Northwest view of Kohala Coast

Polaroid Spirit 600

Impossible 600 Color Film

to my friends,,,yesterday late afternoon we said goodbye to our little beagle buddy....the most precious, kindest ..gentlest soul..he had been dealing with cancer..nasal lymphoma.. and for the last few months it had began progressing rather quickly .....this past weekend breathing was becoming very hard for him, congestion more severe .. yesterday afternoon it had progressed to almost only threw his mouth.....it was time. his little body was so tired...his daddy said his goodbyes.... i called my sisters ..sherry and mary..sherry was out of town...but her love for buddy * support was with us.....mary met us at the clinic .. with twyla and us both close, he was in my arms,..he new how much he was truly loved...god took him so very peacefully into his waiting arms.....

the house is empty once again without you sweet baby...your mommy & dad, furry sisters & brother love and miss you more than words could ever say

"but oh what a glorious party they are having in heaven"

june 2000~oct 2011

to my friends that have know and loved belle, our moms sweet baby girl....she became suddenly ill last night..her little tummy began filling with fluid, she became weak and despondent...though her night was peaceful and she slept well....this morning at the hospital we ran blood work and radio-graphs only to find she had a mass that was freely bleeding inside her abdomen ..............with my sisters...sherry, mary and niece amy near we new she was ready to go home..to be with her mommy , our brother hub that loved her dearly & meet our daddy for the first time....it was so hard for us all, but she new how much she is loved as god took her into his waiting arms...

the house is so empty tonight without you bell...your furry cousins don't understand where you are.......

we all love you dearly and will miss you more than words can say.....sweet baby girl.....

"oh what a glorious party they are having in heaven" aug 99~oct 11

Met a sweet couple yesterday that flew here for a farewell to our precious island.

In 1976 I was single and working in Florida and one of my co-workers asked me if I would be interested in having a 10 year old Amazon parrot, her elderly parents could not care for him anymore and being the animal lover I am I said sure. Little did I know then that he would be with me for another 37 years.

Memories:

•Birdman riding in the passenger seat of my beloved 1967 Pontiac all the way from Florida to Texas when we moved here, him loving every minute of it talking and carrying on all the way here

•Sitting on a picnic table with us eating crab legs, he loved cracking them and working the meat out.

•The day the screen door blew open and he flew out into to woods behind where we lived and me riding my bike around the block calling and whistling to him until we found him, Mike sneaking up behind him with a long handled fishing net and scooping him up and back to safety

•His antics every morning until he got some of Mike’s apple that he eats every day

•How he would get so excited at the sound of pistachios rattling in his treat container

•Back in the days when he could still fly he would fly into the kitchen and land on my shoulder when I was cooking scrambled eggs, another favorite of his

•Finding him in the shower with me because he flew in to take one too

There are lots more of course from so many years together but these are a few of my favorites,

Birdman has been such a constant in our lives, every morning we wake up to the sound of him ringing his bell and talking to us. Unfortunately age has taken its toll on him and his quality of life has declined to the point where we had to let him fly across the rainbow bridge. This evening the silence from whereh is cage was is deafening, he will be greatly missed….

A special thanks to Kay and her husband for the special support they offered, it means a great deal to us.

I wanted to let you all know that yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to make the decison to say goodbye to my best friend Solo... sniff.

I really wanted one last picture of us together before he left us for the rainbow bridge. Solo had a wonderful day outside in the sunshine and passed in the green grass rather then in a vet clinic. I'm not one for posting shots of myself, but I held the camera out while I hugged my boy yesterday afternoon cuddling together and captured this shot. I will miss my old man dearly... I loved him SO MUCH! My heart aches, my eyes swollen...

He was a great dog in every way. He loved everyone and was such a people dog. He lived to the ripe old age of 14 years, 2 months a week and a bit but in the end his heart was struggling to work too much. A friend said that he was in congestive heart failure and likely it was that he had Mitral Valve Disease. I didn't want him to suffer.

A piece of me is gone with him. He will be missed dearly by Dave, myself and Cruise. We loved him dearly and I know he touched many of you in one way or another.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. ~ Unknown

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or disontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring -- it was peace. ~ Milan Kundera

This has been a sad decision for all of us... :-(

Pam, Dave & Cruise

288 / 366

october 15, 2012

dear jennifer,

i can't be your friend.

i can't watch someone else fill my shoes and live the life that was suppose to be for me.

i can't move on until my heart heals.

and i'm sorry that i tried to move on too quickly because i did a lot of damage.

i need to put my life back together. and maybe someday i will love again.

but for now i need to take care of me. and live my life.

and figure out how to live a life of purpose. a life of happiness.

so good luck in whatever it is you decide to do. and know that i have never loved anyone quite the way i loved you.

and please get out of my head.

you texted me while i was editing this photo.

♥

stephanie

(words by steph taylor one of my fave musicians of all times)

Captured by my new iPhone 7 Plus as one of my very first shots. Titus Is always camera ready it seems.

Thank you Bohannon for your service. Go rest high on that mountain.

Week 24

First are always the hardest. And this was not any easier. Even though I just work part time during the week, I decided lump the days together in a row instead of go my usual every other day. And it has been rough. By the time we get home he just wants to nurse for a long time, cuddle up with a warm bath and then is out. He is too tired to play or smile- and I am so sad about that. Full time working moms are tough! I know I can't be home full time, but I also know I can't be away full time. All this balance stuff is hard. I miss having both boys around am ready for the long weekend together.

wanna see him wave? an animated gif on: blog.redcheeksfactory.com/2012/05/saying-goodbye.html

Obojetnie jak to nazwiemy gdzie odchodzimy z tego swiata, ale On poszedl do Swiatla....

© All rights reserved

Pozdrawiam wszystkich serdecznie

Liebe Grüße an alle

Wishing you all the best!!

Anja<

Candid shot of the woman in front of me on some flight. Her shoulder caught my attention.

I think I was listening to 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' at the time, most likely in a melancholy mood.

Thinking about a dear friend I use to travel with. A friend that I had a falling out with. Over trivial matters in the big aspects of things. Issues and problems seems small when you look down at the world from thirty thousand feet.

Funny, the things you think about and prospective you have on things when all you have to do is look out the window.

Manchester, UK

[I know the quality of the picture is not good, but I was shaking with excitement as I took this photo. ///لرزش شدید دست عکاس به علت هیجان = کیفیت پایین عکس]

هادی ساعی خداحافظی کرد

بدرود. ممنون از همه تلاشهایت. در قلب ما باقی خواهی ماند

Hadi Saei (June, 1976) the most famous Iranian Taekwondo athlete. Saei has won (as Liliyan has kinedly indicated) the followings in taekwondo:

Olympic Games

Gold 2004 Athens 68 kg

Gold 2008 Beijing 80 kg

Bronze 2000 Sydney 68 kg

World Championships

Gold 1999 Edmonton 72 kg

Gold 2005 Madrid 72 kg

Silver 2003 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 72 kg

Bronze 2007 Beijing 72 kg

Asian Games

Gold 2002 Busan 72 kg

Bronze 2006 Doha 72 kg

Asian Championships

Gold 2006 Bangkok 72 kg

Silver 2002 Amman 72 kg

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l8hnz5_RzXY

192 / 366

july 10, 2012

ugh. the last night is so hard.

my eyes keep leaking.

meh.

♥

stephanie

This one's for my brother. I met him briefly at the airport tonight - he was in Cape Town on a business trip for the day. We see each other fairly regularly. Although he lives only 2 hours by aeroplane and although we talk on the phone several times a week, it's still hard to say good-bye - especially now that we're getting older an even more so after my Mom passed away. My Dad is in his 70's (although he doesn't look a day over 65!!! LOL) and we only have each other. This shot made me think of all the times we traveled together.

Leaving that airport tonight, this song by Chris Rea came to mind - not that I was crying but it is September and I was feeling slightly 'blue'. It may be a song for lovers but I'm making it a song for loved family! :)

We had such a lovely talk tonight and we left knowing that we'll be praying for the other and what we're facing in our respective lives. It's so nice to have an older brother that looks out for you.

This one's for you, Johan! I love you. x

I'll be all right though I may cry

The tears that flow they always dry

It's just that I would rather be with you now

And every time I see that star

I will say a prayer for you

Now and forever September blue

'Cos I'll always love you

September blue

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAlInxDbPww

.

This piece of me in pieces was not my original intention. I usually like to do cheery and whimsical art. As I was manipulating different ideas for the theme tonight, I decided to add the tears at the last second. Thought it was quite appropriate this week. I realized this morning that I have missed out in a few of my daily themes which I would normally not miss out on. What has come over me? Suddenly it came to me I must not be so tough after all. It's only been a few days since Sabrina left for school. Although we didn't shed any tears with all of the excitement, the sadness is starting to kick in. For all of us parents sending our kids off somewhere far away (or closer like my girl) it's okay to let go.

We're Here Group theme tonight: Mask

Purple haze all in my brain.

Lately things just don't seem the same.

Actin' funny, but I don't know why.

'Scuse me while I kiss the sky.

Jimi Hendrix

The colours of autumn are fading away.... The trees are naked, the bushes bare. The cold tunes of winter can be heard in the wind. Like a pack of howling wolves the northern streams roam the cold grounds. Softly the last leafs whisper, quietly they return to earth.

Sometimes we must say good bye to a family member, a friend, a pet, or maybe even someone we barely knew. Sometimes those good byes are smaller than that. And may seem insignificant, but they still matter.

I had to say good bye to Miss Charlotte very early this morning. Her life cycle was over and I was able to spend the last moments holding her and touching 'fingers' with her until she let go.

I am glad I was able to share last summer watching her grow up, take care of her for her last 3 months, and have the amazing experience of sharing just a moment of life with her. Sounds cheesy? Most humans show less appreciation for the very people they claim to love most. Definitely not cheesy.

She was held gently, touched and stroked softly, and she would reach out and touch me back, making contact while she could. You say "pssh just a spider", I say "but I had to say good bye, how does who she was, what she was, make that any less sad?"

It's true love when goodbye doesn't separate two hearts.~Author unknown

365: The 2018 Edition-Point Of Departure

My daughter and granddaughter left this evening to drive back home to Canada. She likes driving at night, she says it's much easier since the traffic is lighter. We had a fabulous visit! I miss them already but they will return for another visit before too long.

Have a Happy New Year's Eve!

DeerVader aka the Mutilator saying goodbye for the day before heading into the woods.

Headed to Montreal for #lceeq2014

a sad morning: farewell kisses go out to a little kitten which lived only one month, died this morning... and I will have to say goodbye to a dear friend leaving our area - there will be visits in the future, though

This photo is one I didn't take. It is of one of my oldest friends, Viv, and her mother, Barbara.

I received an email from Viv, sent out about 5 days ago. I hadn't checked my emails for a few days, so when I saw it late last night, I was concerned, and opened it immediately. I was told the sad news that Viv's mom was given just about 4 days to live, and that was yesterday. I haven't heard any more, and don't know if she's passed yet.

Viv became one of my first friends when we moved to South Daytona from Long Island in 1965. Back then, her mom was very young, having had Viv when she was a teenager. She had just married her second husband, who was not Viv's father. I remember Viv's last name changing when he adopted her and her brother, Bud.

The first time I met her, Viv's mom was tiny. She had long, red hair in a ponytail, and I remember thinking how striking she was. Viv eventuallly took after her, especially in the area of determination.

Barbara went through some very hard personal issues around the time Viv was married the first time, when we were 19. Viv's mom's marriage ended, and she began working as a waitress, putting herself through nursing school. I remember Viv massaging her feet one night after one of her long, hard shifts, when she was tired and hurting. I was very impressed with how hard she worked to accomplish her goals.

Through the years, many changes took place in all of our lives. Viv divorced, and eventually remarried a wonderful guy who had loved her for years, Fran. Barbara did go into nursing, becoming a trauma nurse, flying with patients in life and death situations in a heliocopter. Bud retired from the Navy after many years of service.

Viv's mom must've been the inspiration for her life, too. Things happened to Viv that would have derailed the average person for life, but she picked herself up and kept moving forward, eventually earning her master's degree in education, and becoming a teacher. Her persistence really paid off, just like her mom's, and I have been so proud of her!

Today, I say goodbye to Mrs. C. Her life saved other lives, and touched even more. It's hard to imagine the planet going on without her, but it will, and will be a better place for her having been here. The bible says that the day of a person's death is better than the day of their birth. I used to struggle with that, but now I understand. When a person leaves us, their legacy continues on. We come here with nothing, and leave with nothing, but when we go, it's the life we live that lives in those we've loved, helped, and encouraged. This is one of those lives, and, if it hasn't already happened, will soon be one of those days.

Please keep the family in your prayers during this hard time.