Giving ~ Day 12

I don't really understand that process called reincarnation 

but if there is such a thing 

I'd like to come back as my daughter's dog. 
Leonard Cohen

ah.....weekends...

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: Schedule. To-do's. I'm sure I'll get a few things done, But no hurry...no have tos! 

Give Access: Fresh air...today there will be a hike!

Give Thanks: Home. My home. This home! I am so grateful for this place!!

Linking with Saturday Critters

Giving ~ Day 6

reflect on your present blessings

of which every man has many

not on your past misfortunes

of which all men have some

Charles Dickens

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: I'm back to fear - fear, confusion, sadness...confusion. Really, that's it. Confusion. Not knowing what to wish for, pray for, hope for. Faced with a loved one's illness and circumstances that are beyond my control - well, it leaves me feeling powerless, weighed down and...mostly...confused. Today I give away the need for answers.

Give Access: Today I open my heart to positive memories. And to the soothing nature of the warmth that accompanies them.

Give Thanks: Today I give thanks for health. For rest and lemony water and fresh air...and the health I enjoy.

Linking to

My Sunday Photo

Giving ~ Day 5

“Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister's eyes,

Into your brother's face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope

Good morning.”

Maya Angelou

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: I have already lost the battle with frustration once today - let out a small scream over something so very minor. There's lots to get done today - both mundane and creative things. Today I give away frustration and stress. Each little gnarly chunk of it.

Give Access: Today I give access to breath. I will remember and remind myself to breathe!!

Give Thanks: Today I give thanks for projects. Projects and productivity. How wonder-full it is to have a home to care for and a creative endeavor to prepare for!

Sharing my Little 

Backyard Critter with

Eileen

Giving ~ Day 4

My current favorite song won Song of the Year at the CMA music awards this week. It's the Tim McGraw hit, "Humble and Kind," that was written by Lori McKenna. In many ways the song is quite simple ~ sweet, melodic, pure...and gentle. Oh, so gentle. So it came as no surprise when I learned that a mother had written it, in one sitting, as a prayer to and for her children.  So personal. Such a chunk of her heart out there for all the world to hear. Take that kind of raw, soul-gripping honesty and combine it with McGraw's vision ... a vision that says the whole.wide.world. might want to quiet down and learn from these words ... well, you touch a few {gajillion} people ... me included.

One of the lines of the song ~ Don't take for granted the love this life gives you ~ was running through my mind as I stood for a few minutes by the edge of this pond. Just the notion of not taking things - anything - for granted is food for a whole lot of thought. The colors, the reflections...the tableau that is the changing of the seasons....blessing upon blessing. Add to that thoughts about the love that this life gives me ~ not has given me or might possible give me ~ but GIVES me. Today. Now. In the moment. Each moment. It is always TRUE that I am well loved. Thoroughly and completely and safely and genuinely loved.

That notion? Well that cures just about everything.

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: Perfect love casts out/drives out fear. Today I give away the fear of rejection. The thoughts of not measuring up. Or not being enough. Oh how this fear haunts me...lurks in every shadow of my being. Today I give away the fear of rejection.

Give Access: Light. The sky is blue. The sun light plays with me as it casts shadows across my family room floor. The yellows and reds that remain on my back yard trees are glowing this morning. Today I let in the light. I lift my eyes, I am warmed and I seek views and words and ideas that are full of light.

Give Thanks: Today I give thanks for all the love this life gives me.

Linking to

Weekend Reflections

Backyard Bliss

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

We've all seen this quote.

Many times.

On many memes.

This fall I have discovered something new about this seasonal bliss....

When the leaves are speaking to you

from your very own back yard,

the bliss-full, autumn tales

are even more melodious.

And soothing.

And mesmerizing.

I have

{literally}

spent hours watching the leaves change

and float

and dance

and frolic

across my {did I mention this?} very own back yard!

Joining Tamar and Lisa

the more things change, the more they stay the same

I love old stuff.

Always have.

Especially old stuff that has a connection to my family.

These old milk bottles,

and the pretty butter dish,

were on display at our town's little museum.

Funny how these days

we've returned to choosing glass containers

for food storage.

And funny how old gems like these

seem to be all the rage in wedding and home decor.

Fine with me.

Cause I really love old stuff!

Linking up with

Little Things Thursday

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

and

Weekend Reflections

Honesty

oh

what a tangled

web

we weave

when first we practice to

deceive

{Sir Walter Scott}

of all the many things i'm learning

as i watch my parents age

and brave the last years of their lives

the most vital is this:

face it

face stuff daily

pay the bills

don't buy what you can't afford

tell the truth

especially about those pesky elephants that hang out in the middle of the room

just face it

cause

sooner or later

{especially if you have a much later}

whatever it is that you didn't face

is gonna come and find you

so,

one day at a time...

one hurdle at a time...

just face it

honestly

soberly

and

thoroughly

Linking up with Tamar

it's that season again....

This is for all those mamas out there who are letting someone fly ...

Whether they're flying off for a half day of pre-K or to another state for college or half way around the world for work, our hearts break a tiny bit with each farewell, don't they?

So, for all of us mamas who are letting them fly ... I share these dragonfly wings. When I look at them, they seem so incredibly fragile. Gorgeous, and full of possibility and light...but oh, so fragile! Just like our kids, right?!? Yet these fascinating creatures, as you probably know, have survived millions of years! Engineers dream of making robots that fly as well as the 'delicate' dragonfly! Point is, friends...they're stronger than they look! And just like this dragonfly, our 'babies' will flit off, flutter around and come back to land in the same spot over and over. We've either given them strong roots, or we're working on it... So now it's "trust" time....

....yes, it's the season of letting go...

Joining Tamar

Enchanted Forest

On Sunday I visited Martha's Vineyard for the first time.

No, I didn't spot the President.

And yes, I did walk along a gorgeous beach,

have breakfast at The Black Dog

and visit some lovely artisanal shops.

Mostly, I drank deeply of time and conversation with dear friends.

These friends are dear enough,

and know me well enough,

to understand that any visit to a new place only feels complete for me

if I have some quiet, solo wandering time with my camera.

So wander I did.
Through a thoroughly magical space!
Acres and acres of private 'woodland' that borders a pond that hugs a private beach.
I have NEVER seen anything quite like it.
The light danced through the branches,
kissed the mossy ground...

...and led me to savory blooms and tiny beings.

No fairies...but plenty of  beautiful little wings!

"Life's enchanted cup sparkles near the brim."

Lord Byron

Joining Tamar

Anniversary Reflections

"There are far, far better things ahead 

than any we leave behind."

C.S. Lewis

Today we celebrate 32 years of

pretty-darn-good.

It's exhilarating to embrace the notion

that there are far, far better things ahead.

I love what we've had.

I love what we have - where we are right now.

And,

as this photo suggests,

the future always looks bright

through my husband's eyes!

So,

I'm sticking with him;

hoping for at least 32 more years ~

excited to journey on

and continue to discover

together

all this life has to offer!

Joining James

Now

"Life is all memory,

except for the one present moment

that goes by you so quickly

you hardly catch it going."

Tennessee Williams


The present moment.
Saying "yes" to the present moment
and surrendering to the now.
We hear it.
We think it makes such good sense.
I know I do.
Not dwelling on or in the past.
Not agonizing over the future.
Nope.
None of that.
Just living fully in the present.
I don't know about you,
but this concept,
like so many that we believe to be fundamental - 
reasonable, good for us, life affirming -
are so much easier to understand than to actually
put
into
practice!

If there's anything that a hummingbird can teach us -
and there are probably lots of things -
it is that notion that something is fleeting.
Something is flying by you so quickly
you hardly catch it going!
It seems very poignant to me when a hummer
settles on a branch in the midst of its busy buzzing about.
And, perhaps, even more so when it seems to pause -
to hover -
in mid flight.

This small,several second,
point of stillness seems to perfectly illustrate
that elusive notion of
'the present moment'

My little Oregon hummer seemed to be showing me,
as one day closed and the next was not yet known to us,
exactly what
NOW
looked like.
And felt like.

I'm oh so glad he paused like this,
just for me...
as if he had plenty of both wisdom and presence to share.




Joining Kat and Tamar

Reflections on a summer's eve...

The sitting.

And the sipping.

The chatter, the laughter, the tasting and the memories.

The forging of a new memory

and the slow dance to the musings of days gone by.

This is the stuff that glorious summer evenings are made of.

I know there will be many more such evenings

on Wheeler Ave.

Evenings under the red umbrella,

surrounded by family and friends...

This is why we were led to this place,

our new home.

It is a place to gather,

to give and to

grow.

{also...for you wine lovers out there... those who were sipping HIGHLY recommend this vino!}

"Fan the sinking flame of hilarity
with the wings of friendship;
and pass the rosy wine."
Charles Dickens



Joining Kim and James

reflections on the way to work....

i thank you god

for this most amazing day,

for the leaping

and greenly spirits of trees,

and for the blue dream of sky

and for everything which is natural,

which is infinite,

which is yes

e.e. cummings

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

School's Out!

"School's out for summer!

School's out forever!"

Alice Cooper

This year it seems that wherever I turn my head

I see a friend's child or a family member graduating.

So I've been busy crafting cards.

Choosing school colors

and motifs

and investing a little bit of love into each scrap of paper.

Wish I could see them all walk

and hug each parent...

such milestones are to be commemorated!

Seems it's graduation day for a blogging friend too.

We say farewell to our ever-inspiring Song-ography link up.

I refuse to think that we're saying farewell to our hostess and her blog.

Perhaps a brief "au-revoir" as she re-groups.

I'm choosing to believe that her next blog chapter will be even more

inspirational than her first.

It has been so fun to "see" song lyrics through each others' photos ~ 

A practice that I'm sure will continue for those of us devoted to Song-ography!

Joining Kathy one last time!

i went out in search of ....

RHODODENDRONS!!

And, oh boy, did I find them!

Believe it or not, these are the late bloomers ~

there were so many more that had already bloomed and faded.

But these waited for my visit,

and I happily lost myself in their beauty!

the flowers that bloom in the spring

tra la

breathe promise of merry sunshine

as we merrily dance and we sing,

tra la

we welcome the hope that they bring

tra la

of a summer of roses and wine

of a summer of roses and wine

and that's what we mean when we say that a thing

is welcome as flowers that bloom in the spring

tra la la la la

tra la la la la

the flowers that bloom in the spring

{from the Mikado}

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Regatta Reflections

Several weeks ago I journeyed further north in my new home state to a town called Hookset. The daughter of a good friend (who lives in Maine) was in a regatta and I used the race as an excuse to do a little exploring and to hang out with my friend! It was a picture perfect day, and we thouroughly enjoyed our time along the banks of the Merrimack River.

In order to keep boats from rambling too close to a dam/waterfall/power plant, these delightfully orange floating balls were strung all the way across the river. I couldn't help but be attracted to the reflection they made on top of the water!

Once at the boating club, I enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle that comes with readying the shells and getting them, the oars and the rowers on to the river. Truth be told, the travel, unloading, prep and re-loading take considerably longer than the race itself! My camera lens and I were, of course, on the look out for reflections the entire time!

My friend's daughter is the one with the pretty smile, not the one reflected in the shiny boat! It was really fun to get to watch her do what she so enjoys!

"Rivers know this:

There is no hurry.

We shall get there someday."

A. A. Milne

Linking with Kim for
Little Things Thursday

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Raindrops

"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

...nothing's bothering me!"

B. J. Thomas

Who knew how fun skylights could be??!?

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Humble and Kind

First of all, I LOVE this song.

It softens my heart every time.

I'm often teary by the end of it...

not weepy, just good teary.

Keep it simple.

Boil it down.

Sing your truth.

These are lyrics I wish that I'd written.

This morning,

this is what I was looking at while eating my breakfast.

When I first saw this house back in February,

there was snow on the ground.

But I knew.

I could feel it.

I knew that waking up here would feel as peaceful as waking up in my tent

on a sunny morning in a wooded campsite.

And it does.

Rain or shine.

But most especially when the sun is shining.

Before I knew it,

there were tears falling across my cheeks.

You see, my husband and I have had a bit of a nomadic life.

Which was a life we chose, for reasons that were important to us.

But for almost a decade we've been dreaming of this house.

Of this space.

We've dreamt of a gathering place.

A quiet place.

A chosen place.

I think we've been dreaming of this place.

And it's hard to explain how hard my husband has worked these past ten years.

It's a story - a good story - for another time.

It's an especially good story now that we're living this chapter.

It's an especially good story because he would never tell it about himself....

Maybe the reason I love this song so much

is that it brings him to my mind.

"Don't take for granted the love this life gives you,

When you get where you're goin'

Don't forget - turn back around

and help the next one in line.

Always stay humble and kind."

Joining Kathy for
Song-ography

Tiny, Magical Reflection

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing

is just a drop in the ocean.

But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

Mother Theresa

In moments when I feel less than,

weak,

insignificant or

unable...

the "macro" world helps me to shift my perspective.

Just look at the detail of those tree branches

captured in the tiny raindrop.

A wonderful reminder of the magic

and beauty

and possibility

that lives in each detail.

That lives in me.

And in each and every one of us.

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Spring Reflections are Pudde-wonderful

While waiting for blooms,

I'll take the rain, sunshine and puddles

as a sure sign that

greener days are soon to follow!

"spring....when the world is mud-lucious...and puddle-wonderful"

e.e. cummings

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections