kittens, bookstores, & service

blooming

the frog in the bookstore

meow

from the heart

kitty in the bookshop

whimsical

those days when you wear a cute outfit that you've always owned, but have never worn. yesterday was one of those days.

that awkward moment when you take a picture, and find out afterwards that you were holding the book backwards....

I simply love bookstores. Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny, windy day - it was much too pretty to stay cooped up inside. So I decided to dress up a bit - in those stylish long skirts that have been trendy lately, and are sooo comfortable - and walk around downtown to take pictures. So I walked and was enjoying the cozy buildings, but it got a bit too gusty for a bit, so I ducked into a cozy little bookshop on the corner. It's a perfect little bookstore - with the big windows looking out onto the street, the light coming in onto the shelves of books, and the interesting wooden knick knacks and gadgets and chessboards. The children's section has these whimsical shapes hanging from the ceiling, and they had a kitty-cat running around the store. It was so cozy! I was browing the books, and found a gem - Dispatches from the Heart - a collection of love letters from the front line, from the War of 1812 to WWII. Aaaand it was on sale. So, of course, I had to get it. And it's been really sweet reading it. :)

life has been so good recently. there's been way too many things to write about - and, honestly, I've been hesitant to keep writing so much about my life. I absolutely love writing, and photography, which is why I keep a blog. but I've started thinking - is it a bit self centered to have a whole site dedicated to writing about my experiences? to constantly talk about myself? that is not my intent; I suppose I just like sharing thoughts, and sharing photography - and keeping in touch with family & friends. and I hope some people who read it can be uplifted & helped. and writing has brought about some really good, interesting conversations with friends. so I suppose it's been a good thing. those thoughts have been in my mind a lot lately - just realizing how self absorbed I've been sometimes, and so wrapped up in my own little bubble of life and problems. I'm beginning to realize that losing your focus on yourself in your devotion and attention to others helps you have the greatest purpose and meaning in life - and that dedication to service and being aware of and helping other people brings the greatest opportunities for doing important, meaningful things in life. 

also - I'm starting to learn that looking for ways to serve, and finding ways to make the world a little better - even in my little spot in it - makes my problems seem so much smaller, and not quite so scary as I thought they were, and that things are really going to turn out okay, with whatever comes. as one of my favorite heroes, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, says: It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life story will develop. The greatest man who ever lived gave his whole life to serve others. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). I hope I can be more like that in my life. 

See how the masses of man worry themselves into nameless graves, 

while here and there a great,

unselfish soul forgets himself into immortality

-Ralph Waldo Emerson