*inspiration* and a few other things

There are some cool things around the city that have been inspiring me lately. This red clock is one of them. I love how it's old-fashioned and red. I also really like this sign. It makes me smile whenever I see it. The third picture is of a building near us. Love the way the turquoise looks against the brick. The other pictures are of a building and a boat that I like. I love taking pictures. I love being inspired by the things I capture with my camera.





So last night Wendel and I were driving on the freeway in our truck (Wendel was driving) and out of no where the traffic came to an abrupt halt. Wendel hit the brakes but the road must have been slick because we fish-tailed across three lanes of traffic (the truck was out of control) and slammed into the barricade on the left side of the freeway with the side of our truck. It was one of those situations where you know there's going to be an impact but you can't do anything about it, so you just have to wait until you hit...kind of a slow motion sort of thing but happening really fast at the same time. It was scary. It is amazing that we weren't hurt or didn't hit any other cars and hurt anyone else. Our truck also had minimal damage (just a thin dent and scratch), which was shocking to us. We drove away feeling so grateful. This is one of those reminders of how precious life is, and how good it is to be here enjoying it.

Last night (after the accident on the freeway) we picked up a tv from someone selling it so we could have one for our loft upstairs as well as downstairs. The guy we bought it from was probably the most cheerful person I have ever met. He was also so nice. He's moving, which is why he was selling his tv (moving to Ireland for two months...so cool! I so love Ireland). He was just giving away most of the stuff in his apartment. He said, "If it brings you joy, it makes me happy." We were really impressed with his positive disposition and couldn't stop smiling ourselves around him. It was nice to cross paths with someone like that and made me want to be more like that as well. (Funny - his name is Sunny - maybe that is why he is so cheerful?) Anyway, it was a reminder to try to be cheerful and nice to everyone I come in contact with, so I can hopefully brighten their day as well.

It has been particularly cold here lately. I'm sitting by the fireplace, eating lentil soup and thinking warm thoughts...