Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

Each of us Is all of us. I signed up for Chabad's Daily Dose emails a while ago and love reading them. These wonderful pearls of wisdom always make me think about life, humanity, religion, faith, God, the world, myself... They make me think about what truly matters in this life and in this world, about the difference between what is actually and truly important and what is only important because we (or the world) make it so. Your Daily Dose of Jewish Wisdom: A team, a society, a world is healthy when each member says, "If I don't add in my two bits, the whole system will fail." Not just any two bits, but the two bits that belong to you alone. No one is here just because everyone else is here. No system can function from the top-down alone. Because each of us—and everything that was created—has a spark of the Divine. So that each of us is all of us. A photo posted by Chabad.org (@chabadorg) on Mar 7, 2016 at 10:53am PST

A photo posted by dg (@mr.danielgillies) on Sep 9, 2015 at 11:06am PDT

ME GUSTA LA ROPA PERO ME GUSTA MUCHO MAS LO QUE ME DICEN DE LA PERSONA QUE LA LLEVA PUESTA. #MTQuote A photo posted by MARIO TESTINO (@mariotestino) on Oct 8, 2015 at 4:42am PDT

A photo posted by Lee Weissman (@abraham_tent) on Aug 20, 2015 at 9:01pm PDT

Beautiful! Zaanse schans A photo posted by @ms.foto.cologne on Jun 12, 2015 at 1:49am PDT

This made me laugh. And nod. A lot. And exclaim "Oh God, that's amazing" in a high-pitched voice. Not sure why that last bit was important but hey, I felt like tellin' the world... A photo posted by Kristin Chenoweth (@kchenoweth) on Apr 15, 2015 at 10:25pm PDT

Becoming a better photographer through participating in challenges. I like the idea and know it from (when I used) Instagram . My current mobile phone is an older model HTC that often 'freaks out' when trying to do simple things and on which I can't uninstall certain apps that all have permission to collect my data and personal information which means I don't use it to connect to the internet (as it's no-one's business but my own who I text or call, as far as I'm concerned). That means no Instagram for me since my old smartphone broke and I started using this one. New smartphone will possibly probably mean a return to IG (however even with a new smartphone I'm still undecided about returning to IG). As for now, the BBC.com article directs me to their own challenge and the 12 by 12 website (and Flickr group ). Colour me intrigued. When looking for a way to challenge yourself photographically it can pay to scan the online photographic community in se...

No caption... A photo posted by iansomerhalder (@iansomerhalder) on Dec 14, 2014 at 11:02am PST

This remains one of my favourite photos ever! There is beauty all around us, if only we stop and take the time to look at our amazing world - something too many of us forget all too easily. "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."   ~ George Washington Carver Source: Quotations about Nature | The Quote Garden Bloomin' Beautiful * * * Gozo, Malta * * * Feb 2013 A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Apr 20, 2013 at 2:43am PDT

Street View ~ Binnenstad Alkmaar A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Nov 4, 2013 at 10:20am PST

I am so sick and tired of Instagram's issues! Been trying (on and off) for the past 45 minutes to post comments to a photo I posted and am having no luck. Managed to get a few 'tags' posted however apart from the few tags, the others remain unposted. Instagram uses a method of tagging a photo so others can find it by subject. Tagging works by putting a hash tag before a word. One may search for #flowers or pictures of the #beach, for instance. When tagging is practically impossible, getting my photos 'out there' is harder as I can't put as many tags (descriptions) on my photos as I would like. Problems with posting comments to Instagram are annoying. They are not life threatening or anything like that, I am aware of that :-) Sometimes though, it's good to complain a bit when I manage to wind myself up too much over an insignificant problem! It helps me get it out of my system and hopefully gets my problem some exposure by putting it online. Anyone out t...

Autumn is here! As the seasons change, the natural world changes with them. Leaves change colours and start falling off trees. The wind busily blows everything around. It rains almost daily and there's a definite chill in the air. Autumn is here and it is amazingly beautiful once again! Autumn is by far my favourite time of year as far as photography goes. The wind, the rain and the changing colours provide an amazing array of interesting subjects to photograph, each tree or dark cloud more beautiful than the next. As fond as I am of the amazing variety of photography subjects autumn provides, I really don't like having to go places in autumn. While the half hour daily bike ride to work is relaxing and fun in summer, it has become a real struggle these past few weeks. I've stopped brushing my hair in the morning simply because it's a messy disaster by the time I get to work. No matter how tight the knot I tie it in, the wind always seems to catch some strands ...

I've never been one of the "popular girls". I'm also not at all someone who seeks fame or fortune. I never wanted to be class president or Miss Something-or-Other. Never wanted my photo in the newsletter or to be "famous one day". I'm happy being in the background, doing a great job supporting those whose face is in the newsletter and whose name is above the door. While I love taking photos, I have no interest in being the subject of them myself. I want to be appreciated for what I do and what I contribute, not for my familiar face or the power of my name. I want my work and my actions to speak for me! Having a blog, a Facebook page and an Instagram account (Oh, and Goodreads and Twitter and who knows what else!) feels strange and natural at the same time. Strange because even though I don't sign my post with my real name or have a mugshot on display, I am putting a lot of information about myself online for anyone to read and view, and for anyone ...

Monument dedicated to Alexander Ball . Lower Barakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta. Valletta, Malta A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Sep 6, 2012 at 2:51am PDT

As written about from time to time on this Blog, I am an avid photographer. I've been using Instagram (a smartphone app for sharing photos with other users) for about 8 weeks now. It is an amazing thrill to see that other Instagram users, absolute and total random strangers I don't know and have never met or had contact with before, like the photos I take. They sometimes even like them enough to leave comments or to follow my updates. As not everyone these days has a smartphone or cares to download and/or use a photo sharing app, it is very handy that Instagram photos are also available outside the app. Click this link to see a copy of all my photos on Pingram , and if you happen to have your own Instagram account, don't be shy and come on by! 

Adorable kitten, playing. Get it! A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 23, 2012 at 10:38am PDT

Gondelvaart A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 19, 2012 at 12:49am PDT

Hidden Treasure A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Aug 2, 2012 at 12:40pm PDT

Under the bridge A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 29, 2012 at 11:51am PDT

Windmill by the water A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 24, 2012 at 2:02pm PDT