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Terri Webster Schrandt

February Monthly Color Challenge: Looking Through #Rose-Colored Glasses

“Rose-colored glasses are never made in bifocals. Nobody wants to read the small print in dreams.” — Ann Landers

pink floral bouquet

Welcome to February’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge! With Valentine’s Day approaching, many of us might look at the world through rose-colored glasses as we enjoy the season’s pink and red florals associated with the holiday’s romance.

But first…Commenting, Not So Rosy…

Thank you to everyone who reads my posts and leaves comments. Most of us are personal bloggers who enjoy the engagement and look forward to conversing with each other.
Are you having trouble leaving comments on others’ blogs? I am, and many others are, too.

  • For example, if I open a post through my Outlook e-mail notification and attempt to comment, I get this error message: “Sorry, this comment could not be posted.” This happens more often on my desktop and occasionally through the Jetpack App on my phone.
  • However, I can comment if I read a post in the WordPress Reader (which I rarely use as a preference).
  • I also receive some posts through my WP notifications in the subscriber tab on which I can comment.
  • Please continue to comment on my posts this week. If you want to write “test” before committing to writing, please don’t hesitate. I’ve done the same thing on many of your posts all week.
  • I have also copied my comment and tried again, and in some cases, they go through a second time.
  • If you are linking to Sunday Stills this week, I know the links work, but you can also try to leave a comment with the link, just in case.

If you are experiencing problems leaving comments, please take a moment to notify WordPress. The more they hear about the issue, the more I believe WP will take the request seriously to fix the problem.

pink flower border

Desert Roses

Please indulge me (or skim) as I share some details to wrap up our six-week road trip to Arizona. We enjoyed life in the Sonoran Desert with family and friends during our extended visit to Arizona and Southern California, beginning with the Winter holidays. Many mornings, we were greeted with rosy sunrises.

rosy desert sunrise
Rosy Desert Christmas morning
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Rosy Sunrise

Even the fountain in Fountain Hills was lit in alternating red and green lights for the holidays.

Fountain Hills
Rose-colored Fountain

“A cactus is a desert’s rose.” ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

desert cacti
Prickly Pear Cacti

Rosy Reunions

“The only thing sweeter than union is reunion.” – Kathleen McGowan

With 6-weeks at our disposal, we expected to spend more extended periods of time with our family, friends, and bloggers! It also meant spending much more time staying at our generous family’s homes, but that’s for another story 😉

I’ve already shared this photo of me and Dad on Christmas Day. Everything was rosy!

man and women christmas
Dad and Terri feeling rosy on Christmas morning

A few days later, we visited Jodie and Rob from Jodie’s Touch of Style in Sun City and had a fabulous lunch in the warm Arizona weather.

SAn diego bound

As we packed the car on the morning of January 4th, I slipped off the garage steps in my brother’s new home and rolled my right foot something awful. We arrived in San Diego later that afternoon and stopped at a pharmacy to buy a cane! We stayed with my daughter, who provided some first aid for my foot, which had swollen to twice its size. That evening, my daughter and her husband took us to the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island, which overlooks the stunning lights of the San Diego skyline.

city lights
San Diego Skyline

Yes, I hobbled up and down the restaurant’s stairs with the cane. And I couldn’t enjoy their famous boozy Mai Tai since I was on an acetaminophen pain reliever. 🙁

While on our 12-day side trip to San Diego, Hans and I spent time with our granddaughters.

children

This was taken on the football field of our old high school, where Hans’ son was practicing flag football with his team. I also had lunch in Mission Valley with Janis from Retirementally Challenged!

Back in Arizona…

All too soon, we headed back to Arizona, this time staying with Hans’ daughter and her husband for 10 days. They loved showing us around southeast suburban Phoenix and Scottsdale. My bonus daughter and I drove to Old Scottsdale to do some shopping and sightseeing.

waterfront
Old Scottsdale Waterfront

our Last Week in Arizona

Our last few days enjoying sunny weather, family, and friends were already upon us. We stayed a few more days in Fountain Hills with my brother and partner in their new home and were pleased with how much had changed in four weeks as they got moved in and organized.

The day before we left Arizona, someone was kind enough to have scheduled a blogger brunch meetup with the Arizona gang, including two out-of-towners (John and me). We really missed Marsha now that she’s enjoying Central California for the winter.

people in restaurant

On the far left is Janet’s SIL; Jodie of Jodie’s Touch of Style (Rob, her hubby took this picture). Seated is John and his wife from Journeys with Johnbo (a huge surprise!); Ingrid from Live Laugh RV; and Nancy from Two Trails One Road. Standing in back, L-R is yours truly, standing next to Janet from This, That, and The Other Thing. I love my family dearly, but getting together with fellow bloggers in real life is a fantastic experience!

We reluctantly scheduled our three-day drive back home, just outmaneuvering the winter weather advisories by one day. But not before we made a pit stop in Southern Idaho to visit Cheryl and Steve from Working on Exploring to see their new “Shouse” (shop-house) progress.

red car
A bit of snow in Idaho…
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Cheryl and Terri

In case you’re wondering, according to my Teledoc appointment, my foot wasn’t broken. But it slowed me down, and I had to elevate my foot a few hours a day, which slowed down my initial thoughts of hiking and walking. But things are looking rosier! Aging and falling are not for the faint of heart, and I’ve become a statistic at age 65.

pink flower border

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments if you can.

Sharing this week for Cee’s Flower of the Day and Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday.

“Sunrise paints the sky with pinks…” ― Vera Nazarian

December Sunrise
A Rosy Winter Sunrise Greeted Us At Home

I can’t wait to see how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore FROSTY.

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104 comments

  6. Terri,

    I’m jealous that I wasn’t available for the blogger gathering. Sounds like a lot of fun. As a grandfather, I loved seeing Hans with the girls. Those times are so special, and too rare. Sorry about your foot. I hear that a boozy Mai Tai is an excellent pain reliever ;-). We’ll be in Coronado in three weeks–my favorite campground. The picture below is San Diego at night from across the Bay. Have a great week. Please stay in touch. Joe

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  7. I loved reading about your trip. Welcome back!
    I’m so sorry I didn’t realize until now you had posted Sunday.
    I’ll post something from my archives but it is not going to be much at this point.
    Yes, the WP comment thing is extremely annoying and has been going on long enough, imo.
    And one last thing..loved that rosy cactus…how cool!
    Now you better believe I am going to copy this message to my clipboard before posting it, just in case.

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  12. You have some beautiful rosy reds! I’ve never been to Scottsdale, but your gorgeous picture makes me want to visit the next time I’m in Arizona!

    I haven’t had the issue on comments that others are talking about. But I follow blogs in the reader, then go their site from there and haven’t had any problems. (Saves on so many emails!)

    I found my red this week in a duck! A Red Faced Duck at Coulon Park – Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

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  14. I’m sorry to hear about your foot injury, Terri. I hope the painkillers helped, but it’s such a shame you could not have one of those cocktails. I hope the foot is much better now. Did that beautiful view of Downtown San Diego help with the pain? I hope so. I also hope the food was good.

    I’m sure the meeting with other bloggers was a huge success. I bet you all had lots to talk about.

    The comment problem is a pain, but it’s good to see you not getting stressed out about it. There are workarounds, and I’m hoping that if this comment goes through, it may even be fixed, as I didn’t have any problems leaving comments yesterday. Fingers crossed. But I’m copying the comment (just in case).

    P.S. No, it’s still not fixed.

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    • Thank you for all the kind words, Hugh! I’m lucky I didn’t break my foot. The good thing about being retired is that I can take the time I need to heal and rest when needed.

      The comment conundrum is a pain but most comments go through when using the Jetpack app or accessing posts in the Reader. Thanks for letting me know.

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  18. Lovely examples of red, Terri. That desert sunrise is amazing! I’m so happy that we had a chance to have lunch together and chat while you were in SD. I’ll be in Tucson later this month… I should check to see if any bloggers I follow live there (we’ll, of course, see Kathy and Thom). Fingers crossed this comment makes it through. 🙂

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  20. Wow! What an action-packed 6 weeks! You pack it full of fun, friends and family! I enjoyed seeing you at lunch with all the others. What a lovely time we had. I enjoyed all your Rosy pictures!

    I can only comment on your posts here in the WP reader. When I am on my browser (safari) on my iPad and begin to write in the comment box of your post it stops me from doing so. I will try it when I am on my laptop and using Chrome. I will get back to you on that.

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  21. Gorgeous colors Terri. I especially loved the fountain burst. Arg on your foot. I did that once and used a cane for 6 weeks. What a lovely road trip! And don’t get me started with comments. Most blogs I have to log in and out 3 times just to comment. Kind of takes the pleasure out of things. But it’s happening to all of us. ❤

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  24. A wonderfully rosy post, Terri. Those skies especially are amazing. Sorry to hear about your foot, but it doesn’t seem to have slowed you down. You’re a rosy social butterfly and I loved the pic of you and your dad, family, and blogger friends. Yes, WP is being a super pain. I’ll copy this comment before posting because I know I’m going to get an error. Ugh.

    Have a wonderful week, my friend. ❤

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  25. Hi Terri, I am sorry to hear about your foot and glad it’s okay. How exciting to meet other bloggers and nice to see Jodie. The commenting is a mess. I copy my comment so I don’t have to retype it, and usually the second time it goes through. Beautiful photos, especially the San Diego skyline. 💕

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  26. This is such a lovely post, Terri. Family and friends getting together. Hope your foot’s better now.
    Love the photo of you and your dad, and your granddaughters. What fun to meet other bloggers who probably know a lot more about us than friends or family as they choose to read us while we share our thoughts unhindered.
    I’ve never seen a pink cacti before.

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  27. Look at you and all the blogging buddies. Loved seeing Jodie among your pals. And knowing that Rob snapped the picture of the gang. Good times.

    That rosy sunrise capture is spectacular. And what an interesting contrast of warm colors with the cool winter landscape in your second rosy sunrise photo.

    We have been to the Phoenix area several times but never to old Scottsdale. Need to put that on the travel bucket list.

    We have a lot of prickly pear here in El Paso but mostly green. The purple ones are less common but even more special. They are a delicacy here. Prepared kind of like green beans with a more interesting flavor.

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    • Thank you for your warm comments, Leslie! Hanging with my fellow bloggers is a blast. Blogging is only one aspect of our lives and it’s interesting to hear about their everyday lives. Arizona has so much to offer. Old Scottsdale is a treat to see in person. I heard prickly pear are edible!

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  29. Hi Terri 👋 So sorry about your foot, but that photo of the San Diego skyline brought a big smile. I loved it there! 🙂 What a great experience it must have been, to meet up with all those other bloggers. Lovely photos as always, especially the Scottsdale waterfront. 😍

    I recently installed the WP.com comment form on my self-hosted blog, to make it easier for people. I had resisted it for 12 years, because of all the glitches and what happens? People had trouble commenting. Sigh…. Added to that, Bluehost was having problems off and all all day today and my blog kept crashing. Finally, things seem to be working right again. 🤞

    https://thedogladysden.com/rosyred-and-pink-sundaystills-photography/

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    • The entire blog world is crashing, 🤪 glad you got yours fixed. My theory with reading and commenting is that some folks have unsupported themes that don’t play nicely with newer technology.
      Thank you for your kind words, Debbie! Did you ever eat at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island? I always think it’s such a cool place. Our trip was great and worth the hassles.

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      • Thought it was fixed, then it crashed again. Seems to be up, now. Hope it lasts! I think you have a point, as I’ve seen many WP.com bloggers with old themes.

        OMG – yes! My parents took me to Bali Hai for Sunday Brunch one year. That was in the 1980s. What a cool place! And I remember they had a champagne fountain in the middle of the huge buffet. Thanks for triggering that memory. 😀

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  30. Huh! I’ve been getting that “you can’t comment” message too…just in the past few days. I THINK I was always on my phone, though I don’t know for sure. I don’t think I got it when I was on my laptop.

    6 weeks in AZ sounds absolutely heavenly. Last time we were there was Feb of 2020…just before covid. Then covid hit and we didn’t go anywhere, and then in 2022 my husband was diagnosed with cancer and we’ve been trapped here at home pretty much all the time due to doctor appointments and treatments and him just not feeling great. SO…go while you can! I’ve always known we should travel while we were still young and healthy…but goll darn, didn’t think we’d run out of time this fast!

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    • I’m sorry to hear about the glitchy comments, Dawn. I’ve seen the problem improve over this day. We enjoyed our travel and needed to go to see Dad, who is almost 89. I asked what if this us his last Christmas last August and we planned for this long visit. Our loved ones’ health and time spent with them is precious as you certainly know. Time has a sneaky way of flying by. Thank you for sharing that with me.

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  32. Hi Terri, I loved your look through rose coloured glasses, great photos of wonderful scenery and lovely family snaps. Red is a great colour especially this month and you’ve shared some wonderful images and stories with us. I particularly liked the blogger meetup, how fabulous that you could all meet up. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall listening to you all.

    I hope your foot is OK, what a terrible thing to happen on holidays!

    Thanks for commenting on my post before it was even Sunday over there!

    https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/02/09/february-monthly-color-challenge-looking-through-rose-colored-glasses/

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    • Thank you, Debbie! There was no shortage of pinks and reds on our trip. I’m glad you liked the trip highlights. The Arizona group gets together regularly and I was happy to be included while I was in town. My foot is much better. Luckily the holidays were just over when I slipped!

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  37. What a joyful post, Terri! And you with a sore foot, smiling through. A whole gang of bloggers- what’s the collective, I wonder? Wonderful pink skies and those two gorgeous little girls. Lots of good stuff. Now… will this comment go through, or won’t it? I’ll copy it, in case.

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  38. Terri –
    I am putting “test message” per your request. I am wondering if WordPress implemented some changes since I had to log on to access my blog today.
    * * * * * * * *
    Well, you certainly had a lot of rosy-red and stellar pink images in this post. Those were some awesome sunrises you captured and showed us in this post. I really like the rose-colored fountain and the pink cacti. You had a wonderful six-week trip, but it’s unfortunate about your foot which put a damper on walking and hiking. I hope you are healed up by now as it’s bad enough navigating around in snow and ice as it is, without issues. I have not walked in a week due our two bouts of freezing rain; I’m just walking on tippy toes, along the side of my house and to the garage to run the car, thanks to a 10-pound canister of Prestone Driveway Heat sprinkled liberally to give me some traction.

    Here is my post, only one rosy-red item at the tail end. I am using this post for celebrating Valentine’s Day, hearts and flowers and my 12-year blogiversary which will be on Tuesday.

    RED-dy, Set, Go!!

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    • Thank you, Linda! There was enough rosies to help describe our trip which was nice. I was going to add some rosy florals but my post was getting long. I’m glad you are being careful in your snow and ice. I walked home from church today. I put my snowboots in the car and wore those for the 10 minute walk home. The sun is shining under blue skies today which means single digit temps tonight. Happy 12 year blogoversary in case I forget!

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  41. Terri, no rose-colored glasses needed for this post. You had so many beautiful moments. I love the photo of Hans with the girls. Pure Joy!

    Same problems as you with comments. I copy and paste when I remember. It seems to happen most with my laptop. I don’t often read posts in Reader or on my phone, so can’t speak to that.

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  46. It was great catching up with you during your AZ visit. Sounds like you had a great visit despite the foot injury. I haven’t seen the “sorry, can’t post” comment since that one day, but commenting still seems to be a little glitchy.

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  47. I must have missed something, what happened to your foot? And on vacation! I’m glad you’re doing better. I’ve had the same problems with WP commenting. Now, I do what you do, copy the comment and then just paste it back in when the inevitable happens. I loved your pictorial journal of your visits, especially putting faces to names in the blogging world. Take care!

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    • Thank you, Anne! I didn’t mention my foot while we were on our trip. I had to try again with my comment on your post. Thank you for trying again, too! I really enjoyed getting together with my fellow bloggers. If I still lived in Sacramento, you and I could have had a fun day out taking pics!

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  50. Those sunrises are spectacular, Terri and the waterfront looks a wonderful place to visit. Lovely family photos too. Hope your foot is healing. I sympathise, I did the same thing myself a few years ago, climbing over a stile.

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    • Thank you, Cathy! I’ve said it before, but I know we are kindred spirits in our photography and possibly our ability to injure ourselves 😉 My foot is much better. Proves I move too fast and I need to tell myself to slow down and also LOOK down!

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      • It was difficult to be at my folks’ home but we had to get the job done. Leaving the home last Friday was sad as it was the last time I will be there. Life goes on, we must move forward.

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  52. How wonderful that you got to meet-up with other bloggers from the area. Glad your foot was OK . I damaged mine day 2 of a European holiday which included a river cruise down the Danube. When I got home and had it checked, it was broken!

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    • Thank you, Darlene! Its always very special to meet bloggers IRL and talk about blogging and other subjects! I see your timing like mine with your foot injury. Oh my–and yours was broken. I don’t know how you managed on your river cruise ❤

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