Tag: love

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6 Six Sentence Story – Love the Turtles

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Private Photo I took in 2018 at Lake Lynn in Raleigh NC where there is a large turtle population.

Love the Turtles

What do poaching

coastal development

plastic debris

pollution

unfair trade

have in common?

purple and blue sea turtle
Photo by Amanda Martino on Pexels.com

It is hard to hear this

for my heart breaks

it’s true

placing hand over heart

I swear to make certain

to see this through.

brown yellow tortoise
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Several species of turtles

are endangered

here’s a few:

Leatherbacks

Greens

Loggerheads

Hawksbills

Olive Ridleys

Kemp’s Ridleys

Flatbacks

all turtles with a purpose.

nature water animals turtle
Photo by Salo Al on Pexels.com

Empowered by our own abilities

we can make a difference

sharing the facts

taking a stand

telling our fellow people

taking a ride to the ocean-side

caring for those more vulnerable

reading-learning-teaching.

turtle on brown ground
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

While walking along the lake side

there were so many turtles

swimming

sunbathing

nestling

enjoying their domains

kept in splendid care

signs posted “Do Not Feed the Wildlife”

trusting that people are following those rules.

underwater photography of brown sea turtle
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

Left to their own

creatures fare well

people kind can help by not harming

not feeding when they ought not

polluting

leaving plastic stuffs to float out to the waters

all that mess to bring about bother and death

when it is time to show our love

peace has to come

I am certain.

…..

To learn more about Turtles, here are a couple of sites: See Turtles  Conserve Turtles I came across these via Google and am sure you will find others in the same way.

This is my Six Sentence Story. This weeks prompt word is “Place” and I placed my hand over my heart with a promise to say something about Turtles. Want to join in? Here’s the LINK

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10 Things of Thankful – March 1

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

purpleangels

Artwork by my niece whose work can be viewed on Instagram: ks_montgomeryartist

It’s that time again to express my 10 Things of Thankful or TTOT.

1. So, I did this for another challenge called The Six Sentence Challenge. I thought it fit in the theme of gratitude. You can hop over to read my actual post on my blog. Today, I wrote about the word “Clear” and I am grateful to have memories to work with to tell my story.  You can read it HERE

2. Gratitude for the gift of second opinions and that this has moved me on the right track with medications.

3. My two nephews who were in accidents and are on the other side. I did a post about Cardinals and I am grateful for the signs of those who have passed. Here’s the LINK…

4. Winning! I won a contest called “First Sentence Challenge” and I received my winning poster yesterday. You can see what it looks like HERE and my winning poem. Yay me!

5. I met a goal in my professional life and it’s going to help me do better.

6. I am almost done with taxes. The price mysteriously increased while I was doing them and I am not having that! So…time to call the tax people.

7. My blog friend, Jacki, who advises about finances. This is a huge interest of mine, since we have changed our lives to be more minimal and it’s really helped. Here’s her WEBSITE and I think it’s awesome! We used her website for a class in a meetup last week.

8. Humor! I turned on NetFlix the other day just to get relief from all the crazy! What a fun time just listening to comedy.

9. Connecting with people. It makes a big difference when we find people we truly connect with. This week I received a message from my friend who I promptly called, because texting was not going to work. I am happy that I chose to do so.

10. April 15th. I am grateful that it’s 45 days after today when that day comes.
Here’s the Blog Hop LINK FOR TTOT Why not take a look?

 

 

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6 Sentences – Clear

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

dolphinsswimmingby

Artwork by my niece may be viewed on Instagram: @ks_montgomeryartist

Clear

Clear as the ocean’s water in Maine, when I felt the cool water and the fish swimming by my legs, knowing a solid foundation, but loving the free feeling of the ocean’s sandy field.
Clear as the day when I decided to spring out on my own, knowing the risks and taking the chance to fall.

Clear as my mother’s blue eyes when she thought I was lost, only to find me poring over a book of patterns in the fabric shop, knowing then that, yes, this was her daughter and she was okay.

Clear as the natural part of life when I can just simply enjoy watching dolphins at play, coming close to the shores in the cool of spring, when horses trotted on the ocean’s sands, knowing the feeling of the breeze.

Clear as the moment when I just knew, beyond anything, that I was ready to be the person I was meant to be and succumbed to the joy of being.

Clearly, I see the ways of life and how they ebb and flow and how fortunate that in all the movements of life; I am still a part of the things that matter.

…..
Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Come back here on Thursday, link your post…
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers.
PROMPT WORD: CLEAR

Here’s the LINK!

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Cardinals As A Sign of Loved Ones

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

cardinal

Artwork by my niece given to her grandmother. See more works at ks_montgomeryartist on Instagram.

This seems to be the chosen season for many, not all, but many of those who have departed to be either having a birthday or death date. When I come upon certain dates, I look for signs that they may be saying “hello.”

One of the signs often seen are cardinals. Ironically, both of my nephews who passed away were big St. Louis Cardinals baseball fans. Keith, whose birthday is February 28, loved the Cardinals so much that his family wore Albert Pujols shirts for the funeral.

My other nephew has a birthday coming up in March. Michael was fortunate to get to have his picture taken at the Cardinals site in St. Louis. Every year, his mother would make the trek across Iowa to put a flag on his grave. If she could not make it for weather’s sake, there have always been close friends to help her decorate the grave. She is now resting with Michael. When going to the gravesite, it has not been unusual to see a cardinal paying a visit.

When I have gone for walks, I have seen cardinals and always say “hello.” You never know if it might be a sign from someone who has passed on.
I was reading up on this and found out that many times spirits come to visit in winged form. Remember the feather in Forrest Gump? You just never know, do you?

As I was searching online for significant information I came across this POST by Craig McManus I think he has valid points here.

Here are some facts about the cardinal bird. In looking at these, I can see how they would relate to those I have lost. How about you?

Cardinals mate for all their lives.

Cardinals do not migrate, which is why I saw the female hanging out at the pool in winter.

Both the male and female of the couple look out for the well-being of their young.

I wrote two poems about my nephews who both left too soon. They are in my book Heart Sounds, but I will share them here.

Keith

Little baby

Came so early

Such a tiny bit

Then he grew and grew and grew

Such a treasure

Such a joy

Such a talent

Such a boy

Trying and learning

Practicing and succeeding

Putting forth and taking hold

Like a man

Too short

Too, too short

To leave and not be known

Will not be the truth

Always, always alive

To those who love you

…

Michael

A little toy car in his pocket

A rock, a stick, and always dirt

A smile to blast rockets

A tree not unclimbed

A green apple chewed up and spat

A frog, a fish, a cricket knew their boy

Sleepovers many a weekend

Staying up late with music videos

Sharing pickle juice with your sister

Studying to know your knots

Sharing laughter about life itself

Sticking close to your sister

Turn around

Take a bow

Take a test

Take a vow

Try and try

To be the best that you can be

Then…

Then…

Then…

That’s the way the world spins

That’s the way the world ends

Turn around

Take a bow

Take a vow

Try and try

To be the best that you can be

My dearly departed sister, Michael’s mother, holding the cardinal painting received from my niece:

Paula with Cardinal

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10 Things of Thankful – February 22

Lisa Tomey-Zonneveld

It’s that time again to express my 10 Things of Thankful or TTOT.

1. So, I did this for another challenge called The Six Sentence Challenge. I thought it fit in the theme of gratitude. You can hop over to read my actual post on my blog. It was a lot of fun to write and I tried to put myself in Ellie’s “shoes.” I am thankful that my niece created the painting as a special request from me and it inspired me to write the story. Ellie’s Story

2. Gratitude for adjusting to the new medication. Hopeful that this will help.

3. Daddy and Jeffrey. Daddy’s will be gone 12 years as of February 25 and my brother Jeffrey has been gone since February 17, 1969 Here’s montage of pictures my sister created of Jeffrey and you can also see Daddy giving him his bottle.

Jeffrey

I am grateful for these fellows in my life, more than words can express. And even if they were not long enough here, I am grateful for when they were. And I am grateful for when I see reminders of them. Daddy lived to be 86 and Jeffrey to be 9. Here’s another picture of Daddy. Isn’t he handsome?

Daddy2006

4. Philatelism… I developed an interest in stamp collecting many years ago. While I haven’t touched them in a good while, I still save them with the thought that I will work on them in my old age. It’s interesting to learn the stories behind stamps, especially the history. Here’s a picture I keep by my desk.

mothersstamp

5. The ability to learn new things. The past couple of weeks I have been learning a new task and it’s caused my brain to hurt. My mind gets foggy as it is, so I am grateful that I can take some time to learn this.

6. Food. I am glad to have it to eat and glad they make it so I can eat it. There are certain things that my tummy doesn’t like a whole lot, so I am grateful for choices.

7. My blog friend Stacy. She writes a lot about gratitude in her blog. Here’s the latest! NegativeSpacey

8. Humor! It takes a good dose of smileage to get through each days mileage. I just made that up!

9. Writing! I have been working on my next book, except I figured out a different focus and it’s helped my brain cells to get excited.

10. Rest. I am working hard to get my sleep intact and while it is challenging, I made it through last night until about 3 a.m. Since I went to bed at 8 I am calling that a WIN!!

Here’s the Blog Hop LINK FOR TTOT Why not take a look?