Marie's Birthday/The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

My dear friend Marie and I

 spent the afternoon together

 on Thursday, Sept. 8th

celebrating her birthday

 which was on the 6th!

Here we are in our glory!   This is

actually 2 photos side by side

 and then I took a photo of it

from the computer screen!  

  I forgot my camera, but Marie

brought hers and was holding it

 at arm's length to get a pic !  

We took 5 of them and really only

 these were the best of the bunch.

(which ain't saying much   :o) 

   Nothing like having on no make-up

 and your hair wind-blown!   She

then emailed me the photos and

this is what I came up with!

We went to our favorite place,

the cafe at The City of Ten Thousand

Buddhas in Ukiah, California

These photos were taken last

June 2010, the last time we

were there with another friend.

The ten thousand buddhas are

 actually statues within the temple. 

I don't have the whole story,

but you can read about it

HERE .

Outside of the Temple.

There are peacocks roaming

around the whole property.

One time, years ago, I saw

a white one, but haven't since.

 I remember each time I tried

to get a close-up of one of them

in full spread, they quickly moved.

I don't know how I got this one !

 The fish pond.

Sometimes we see turtles too.

Another favorite are the street signs......

The food is vegan.  Our favorite

dishes are the mushrooms with

 basil sauce (one of the best!)

and dumplings...YUM !

This is the front of the cafe, with

Marie and Katie taken June 2010.

~~~~~~~~~~

We also stopped by another

favorite place in Ukiah,

 a store called Habitat located

at 110 South State Street.

We should have taken pics, but

didn't think about it until later.  

 We bought several candles and

I also got a faux lavender plant.  

 I have been wanting one to put

on my kitchen counter for a couple

 of years and never found one that

 looked real.  I think this one does

 and was thrilled that the owner

gave me a 25% discount since it was

 from the summer collection.   :o)

What do you think?

Does it look real?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quote from the Buddha

on Self Discipline ---
It is better to conquer
yourself  than to win a
 thousand battles. Then the
 victory is yours.  It cannot
be taken from you, not

 by angels or by demons,

 heaven or hell.

and on Life ---

The secret of health for 
both mind and body is not
 to mourn for the past, worry
 about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live
 in the present moment
 wisely and earnestly.