2022- Reflections on the past year

December 28: Reflections on 2022/Writer’s Choice/ or YOUR WOTY (Word of the Year)

Good and bad

Go hand in hand

Joy and sorrow

Running parallel

Life is in balance

Only answer is gratefulness

Always look ahead

Seek tomorrow with hope

Let go of yesterday with forgiveness

Let the past remain in the past

Don’t spoil your today and enjoy

Without regrets of what cannot be changed

Horizon by KL Caley

The new day dawns with hope

Lifting my heart and soul high

Let the light spread and brighten today

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( I am using this image by K L Caley, because it is just perfect for this post)

Written in response to;WQW 50: Remembering 2022 With Quotes, Poetry, Photos, and Stories, hosted by Marsha

Also included WritePhoto # Horizon, hosted by KL Caley

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Celebrating the end of the year

December 21: Christmas, Hanukkah, or Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

A day to remember

Its almost the end of the year

The days lengthening gradually

The nights get shortening every day

New hopes to look forward to, new dreams to dream

❄️❄️❄️

This is a beautiful message by Margaret Atwood;

This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, it’s cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past let’s go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath”

Celebrate and find joy at this time

One year is ending another beginning

Keep the candle of hope burning bright

Time like a river flows endlessly till the end

❄️❄️❄️

Written for; WQW 49: Wintery Holidays, hosted by Marsha

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Holiday cooking and special food

December 14: Food: Delicious Delights

Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays

We celebrate two Eids in one Islamic year. And like any other faith, our festivals also have a strong connection to food, family gathering together for a meal, and cooking traditional recipes with love.

Our traditional dishes on Eid-Uk-Fitr are sweet vermicelli cooked in milk with almonds, pistachios, and cardamoms added to it. It is usually served as breakfast.

Festive season is a wonderful opportunity to connect with people from other countries and cultures. Food is a great unifying element. Invite friends and acquaintances belonging to all kinds of cultures for a meal. It will be a learning experience for everyone.

What is the best part of a festival?

Everyone gathered around a table

Food prepared with love, served generously

Camaraderie and laughter will brighten it

Making the meal a source of beautiful memories

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Do you bake or cook Christmas gifts for friends and family? Do you fix a special recipe for the holiday meal? Do you have a favorite treat you enjoy during the holidays?

Written in response to: WQW 48: Delicious Holiday Delights, hosted by Marsha

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Abandoned/ historical buildings- Lahore Fort

I would like to introduce you all to such a historic landmark building of my home city, The Lahore fort. This holds that special charm, that beauty, and magic about it! It is not an abandoned building persé but a historical landmark, which indeed is a work of art!

The main entrance of Lahore fort( Shahi Mahal)

This magnificent fort was built in 1556 by the Mughal emperor Akbar. It is a wonderful example of Mughal architecture and there are beautiful examples of both Muslim and Hindu styles of motifs.

Bara Dari-( 12 doors) an open courtyard where the Mughal emperor used to meet people.

Even though this is not very well maintained, it has stood the test of time quite well. It boasts of beautiful and well-laid gardens and multiple decorative halls.

Gardens outside the Sheesh ( mirror) palace

Anyone who visits Lahore has to visit this historical treasure

Hope you enjoyed this mini trip to one of my favorite places in Lahore. A place of secrets, and of timeless beauty where the imagination can take you back centuries.

Written for; WQW 46: Are Abandoned Buildings Compelling Art?, hosted by Marsha

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Counting our blessings

Giving thanks is essential for each one of us

We all are so blessed with countless blessings

Where does one start to enumerate all the gifts

If we look at our own self we can never be thankful enough

For what we have been given to experience this world with

Then we have our family, our friends, and our community too

The health and wealth, the joy and the laughter all treasures

The words we read, those that we write, and the songs we sing

The seasons we experience the seas that we sail on and

The beauty that we are able to see and perceive all around us

A happy🍁🍂🍀🌷 thanksgiving to you all!🍂🍁🌺

Written for WQW # 45; Thanksgiving, Gratitude, hosted by Marsha

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Memorable trips- 2019, Washington state and the Olympic Peninsula

WQW # 42- Memorable Trips, hosted by Marsha

I am sharing my trip of Washington State and Pacific Coast that I took in 2019 with my daughter and grandson.

It was with much anticipation that I looked forward to my visit to the Pacific coast in the north of Washington state. The plan was to drive and stay a couple of night along the way.

In two and half days we did a loop of the Olympic peninsula, traveling around 600 miles. It was a great trip and we drove through most of the towns and ports in the area.

I hope you enjoy!

Day-1

Cape Flattery, Pacific Ocean, Clallam county

View from Cape Flattery

Cape resort, Neah Bay

Neah Bay

Lake Quinault, Olympic National Forest

These are the pictures from the first leg of the trip, going to Neah bay, Makkah reservation. The weather was fantastic and the views absolutely wonderful.

The beauty of nature is such that words become unnecessary.

Day -2

Port Angeles was a super amazing experience.

Feiro Marine life center, Port Angeles

Beautiful painting on the outer walls depicting life in the past.

Pier # 8, Port Angeles

A view of Port Ludlow from the road.

Gig Harbor, Puget Sound.

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Honoring the veterans

November 9: Holiday: Veteran’s Day

Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays (a Photo or Writing Challenge)

Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause, honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves as best can, the same cause”

Abraham Lincoln

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War is never a welcome option

Armies built by conscription

Soldiers fighting on beachhead,

Fronts, and in deep trenches

Lives sacrificed by millions

So that citizens live a free life

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The soldier is the army, no army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In fact the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country”

George S Patton

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I hope that we don’t have to go to war ever again

A war, justified or imposed upon the people is always tragic

Loss of lives, families torn apart and futures destroyed

But if we are asked to defend our homeland, we all will rise

With pride we will bear arms and stand united against the enemy

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I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor never the tormented”

Elie Wiesel

The silence of people who can do something is much more damaging than the verbosity of those who can’t.

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beachhead | sacrifice | conscription | trench | front

Written for;WQW #43: Honoring Those Who Protected Lives, hosted by Marsha

Also included Greg’s 5 words weekly challenge

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Mystery of the magical sense of touch

November 2: Senses: Touch or Feeling

The best sense of touch; Having mother’s hand touch on forehead”

Mother!

I long for your warm hugs

For your loving hand touching my face

It’s been too long since I felt your love

Through your loving embrace, your gentle touch

Touch is the most fundamental sense. A baby experiences it all over before he’s born and long he learns to use sight, hearing or taste. And no human ever ceases to need it. Keep your children short on pocket money but long on hugs”

This is such a beautiful truth. We need to be touched with care and love by those who are close to us. A hug can say what many kind words cannot. A child cocooned in a mother’s womb learns of the love expressed through touch.

We take our sense of touch for granted, but it is as important as sight, hearing or any of the other human senses”

When we care, we touch

When we’re concerned, we touch

We express our emotions through our touch

Such a vital part of our communication

Is the sense of touch that conveys

Our feeling without the need for words!

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Written for; WQW #42: The Mysterious Sense of Touch, hosted by Marsha

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Cold weather knocking at the door

As October draws to an end, winter is knocking at our doors. Some people love winter weather while others dread it. Since I, personally love change, I celebrate when weather changes.

The cold of winter

Teaches us about

Keeping our faith

About strengthening relationships

And about sticking together

To celebrate this season

With love and hope

Do not let the misery of cold weather

Invade the warmth of the love in your heart

Instead, let it teach you the value of summer

For it is in contrast that we learn to appreciate

What we are missing in one season and have

The abundance of in the next one!

Imagine how boring it would be for us if the weather stayed the same year around. The changing seasons make us appreciate the beauty of all the different types of climates that have been created for us.

Written in response to; WQW #40: Getting Ready for Cold Weather, hosted by Marsha

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When the wind blows

Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays (a Photo or Writing Challenge)

Wind in the sails

Takes my boat

Towards my destination

If the wind blows

In the opposite direction

I need to adjust the position

Of my sails to reach my destination

Standing in an open field,

enjoying the wind in your face,

we become alive, invigorated

for the wind is like the laughter of the nature,

cheering us up!

I love the positivity of this quote. How refreshing to read that all types of weather are good and enjoyable for us.

I specially enjoy the wind blowing through my hair, trying to push me back or forward. It is such an amazing feeling.

Written for WQW # 39- October 12: Air: Wind, Storms, hosted by Marsha

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