dr seuss quote

Good grief, Charlie Brown, has it really been three weeks?

I was about to say that Pauline of the Contented Crafter posted three quotes last week, then offered up the challenge/opportunity for others to do the same. It’s actually been three weeks, reminding me once again that life is just a teeny bit too busy now.

I digress. Doesn’t this sound like fun? Here is my own little twist: in the next three weeks, add three quotes spread out over three days and be sure to have fun doing it. That’s what we’re all about here. If I call out your name below, it’s because a) I think this is fun and b) I think you might enjoy it. NO pressure. In fact, you can forget I even mentioned it. It is kind of fun though and you never know who you’ll inspire with a funny, clever, pithy, creative, mind-bending quote.

Here’s what Pauline says:

like so many of my friends here in the world of blogging I’m not given much to following rules and I’m hoping some of you might just like to keep the thing alive by posting a quote on your own blog and you can nominate or not – according to how you feel about rules. Let me know if you pick up the banner.

This is what I think about ‘Quotes’: Quotes can be read and not understood. Quotes can be read and not seen. For a quote to have meaning, I must attempt to live it.

Pauline posted four quotes. What a rule breaker! 😉 That’s how much fun this is. You can read Pauline’s quotes here, here and here.

You can quote me on this…

Washington D.C.

Tag, you’re it (but only if you want to):

Lisa at Arlingwords
Diane at Garden Sunshine
Sheila at Sewchet
Johanna at Mrs. Walker’s Art and Illustrations

*with humble apologies to Dr. Seuss.

It’s day eleven of Blogging University: Blogging 101. With two weeks down and one to go, I’ve learned a lot.

Today’s assignment is to

publish a post based on your own, personalized take on a blogging prompt.

The prompt is

Places: beach, mountain, forest, or somewhere else entirely?

Where Am I?

When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
Love’s Labours Lost (5.2.900-4)

In 1989, single and unencumbered, I flew to Europe with a backpack and stayed for two months. I traveled mostly by train, but also by bus and boat. The best days were those spent on foot, exploring small towns, large cities and everything in between. I covered ten countries in all, including most of the British Aisles as well as France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

I traveled on a shoe string, working from a copy of Let’s Go Europe. Staying in youth hostels made the trip affordable and fun. I met travelers from around the world and in addition to their good company, I learned about other places to stop along the way.

It seems a life time ago, and of course in many ways it is. I’ve since married and had two boys, started a small organizing business and moved to San Jose. When I look at this photo, though, all the memories come back. Photographs, much like music or a certain smell, have a way of transporting you back in time. I remember buying the dress I’m wearing and the sweater to go with it. Those comfortable, ubiquitous sandals carried me everywhere. It was a thrill to step foot in this aging town and to learn more about its history.

A woman I met at one of the youth hostels snapped this photo on a warm, July day. Then we explored the sites together. We were still buying rolls of film in those days and developing them at a nearby drug store. It was here that I bought the first of many travel patches that I would later sew on my backpack.

Of course lots of the memories are lost with the years. Sometimes I want to peer outside of the photos edge, to see what might be there. I remember arriving but not departing and I don’t remember any of the meals. I wonder if I’m really that close to the river’s edge or is it simply an artifact of the camera’s lens?

What I do know is this: Traveling alone on another continent was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. There were times when I was lonely, cranky and scared, but they were far outweighed by the interesting people I met along the way and the tremendous sense of independence that comes from finding your way in a distant land. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Can you guess where I am from these clues?